§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 50:50 recruitment procedure to the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on police recruitment. [129838]
§ Jane KennedyThe Police Service of Northern Ireland continues to attract a very high number of applicants: over 27,500 have applied over the course of the five competitions held since the 50:50 recruitment procedures began. As a direct result of 50:50 recruitment, the proportion of Catholics in the PSNI has increased from 8 per cent. at the time of the Patten Report to 13.3 per cent. as of 1 September this year.
§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase the representation of(a) females, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) those with disabilities on district policing partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [129839]
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§ Jane KennedySchedule 3 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 sets out how the appointments of political and independent members to District Policing Partnerships (DPPs) are to be made. District councils are responsible for the appointment of political (elected) members. Councils were required to ensure that the political members of the DPP reflected the balance of the parties prevailing among the members of the council, immediately after the last local government election.
The responsibility for the appointment of independent members lies with the Policing Board. A widespread advertising campaign and public information evenings were used by the Policing Board to encourage applications.
In addition, approaches were made to several thousand community groups to promote the interest from potentially under-represented sections of the community including females, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. To facilitate those with disabilities, the application form was produced in Braille, audio and large print.
§ David BurnsideTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of(a) Roman Catholics and (b) Protestants have been unsuccessful in their applications since the 50:50 recruitment policy started for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [130419]
§ Jane KennedyDetails of the number of unsuccessful applicants to the Police Service of Northern Ireland since the introduction of 50:50 recruitment are as follows:
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Number Percentage Catholic applications 9,823 35.6 Catholic applicants unsuccessful 9,342 95.1 Non Catholic applications 17,727 64.4 Non Catholic applicants unsuccessful 17,284 97.5 The figures are based on the total number of applications received in the five competitions held so far i.e. they will include more than one application from some individuals. As not all of the competitions have been completed there may be some minor changes to the numbers over time.