HC Deb 31 March 2003 vol 402 cc527-9W
Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants have been employed by(a) his department and (b) each of its agencies and non departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [92357]

Mr. Paul Murphy

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Paisley, South on 23 January 2003,Official Report, column 333W, for HCS staff. In addition, the overall figures for the Northern Ireland Office for N ICS and HCS are collated in September of each year and are as follows:

Total
1994–95 5,705
1995–96 4,779
1996–97 4,590
1997–98 4,446
1998–99 4,232
1999–00 3,929
2000–2001 3,306
2001–02 3,318
2002–03 3,361

1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02
Northern Ireland Departments 15,980 8,869 7,630 7,230 6,820 6,943 8,667 9,102
Sponsored agencies:
Business Development Service 259 227 238 278 268 266
Child Support Agency 1,044 968 1,151 1,229 1,206 1,424 1,470 1,612
Construction Service 725 690 576 557 516 509 507
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency 242 253 261 275 297 320 351 398
Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency 252 289 312 318 326 319 348 391
Environment & Heritage Service 370 353 352 360 354 372 410
Forest Service 412 395 387 372
Government Purchasing Agency 58 68 72 91 100 79 89
Industrial Research & Technology Unit 149 156 152 143 141 148 154 171
Land Registers for NI 230 220 205 199 195 194 201
NI Health & Social Services Estates Agency1 125 117 120 117 114 119 119
NI Statistics & Research Agency 107 125 177 219 255 290 301
Ordnance Survey NI 195 192 179 177 178 175 176 179
Planning Service 422 407 386 420 452 484 529
Public Record Office NI 90 91 80 62 67 68 70 69
Rate Collection Agency 286 282 252 256 250 233 238 234
Rivers Agency 493 460 431 420 402 408
Roads Service 2,379 2,269 2,207 2,163 2,162 2,175 2,230
Social Security Agency 5,655 5,699 5,799 5,555 5,582 5,526 5,732 6,091
Training & Employment Agency 1,318 1,334 1,200 1,318 1,365 1,269
Valuation and Lands Agency 317 313 288 270 222 267 268 279
Water Service 2,384 2,353 2,278 2,228 2,216 2,176 2,202
Sub Total 9,548 16,377 17,028 16,663 17,069 17,206 16,262 17,058
1 Average figures.

Northern Ireland Civil Service
1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02
Northern Ireland Departments 15,980 8,869 7,630 7,230 6,820 6,943 8,667 9,102
Sponsored Agencies:
Non-Departmental Bodies:
Certificate Office 2 2 2 2 2 2
Commission for Racial Equality 5 3
Health & Safety Executive for NI 68 76 76
Local Enterprise & Development Unit 1 1 1
Mental Health Commission 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7
Northern Ireland Tourist Board 5 3 4 3 1
Office for the Regulation of Electricity & Gas 14 14 19 19 23 28 15 14

NDPBs are generally supported by civil servants from their sponsor departments, and do not employ their own staff with exception of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Juvenile Justice Board. The figures for the NIO agencies and NDPBs are collated in September of each year and are as follows:

Compensation agency Forensic science Northern Ireland NI prison service Probation board for Northern Ireland Juvenile justice board
1994–95 149 126 4,265 2 0
1995–96 132 125 3,515 1 0
1996–97 131 123 3,377 1 0
1997–98 120 122 3,212 1 0
1998–99 139 125 3,085 1 0
1999–2000 128 123 2,720 1 0
2000–01 138 128 2,123 1 0
2001–02 141 137 2,143 1 0
2002–03 137 131 2,137 1 2

The following table shows the number of civil servants (permanent and temporary, non-industrial and industrial employees) in Northern Ireland Administration bodies from 1994–95 until 2001–02, with figures for each agency and non-departmental body shown separately. Only those non-departmental bodies employing civil servants have been included. Statistics for 2002–03 are not yet available.

Northern Ireland Civil Service
1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02
Planning/Water Appeals Commission 13
Sub Total 30 28 34 37 37 106 98 110
Total NICS staff 25,558 25,274 24,692 23,930 23,926 24,255 25,027 26,270

Note:

The absence of a yearly figure in the table indicates that the agency/NDPB was not in existence at that time.

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