North/South Implementation Bodies

HL Deb 16 December 2003 vol 655 cc119-20WA

Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 19 November (WA 323) concerning North/South Implementation Bodies, why the staff costs of the Special European Union Programmes Body increased by over 100 per cent between 2001 and 2002. [HL98]

Baroness Amos

Staff costs for the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) increased by 56 per cent between 2001 (£587,574) and 2002 (£914,491). Average SEUPB staff numbers increased from 21 to 33 (57 per cent) over the same period.

Beginning late 2001, the SEUPB undertook a series of recruitment exercises to bring the number of permanent staff up to the NSMC approved complement. Many of the civil servants seconded to the SEUPB at the time of its establishment were thus able to return to their departments. The SEUPB also recruited temporary staff during 2002 to cover maternity leave and short-term peaks in workload. In addition, former Northern Ireland Partnership Board staff were seconded to the SEUPB during the first half of 2002 to complete work on the closure of PEACE I.