To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is on employing secondees from the private sector; how many secondees from the (a) private and (b) public sectors his Department employed in each year since 1997; from which companies and organisations they were seconded; at what level they were employed; and if he will make a statement. [127061]
This response covers both the Northern Ireland civil service and the Northern Ireland Office.Policy on inward secondments is set out both in the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code and in the GB equivalent. Inward secondments are generally used to meet particular business needs, for example where there is a shortage of skills or expertise to undertake particular work.
| Health and social services trusts | Doctors | Nurses | Other health care professionals | Other employees |
| Altnagelvin Hospitals Trust | 1,100 | 10,867 | 2,171 | 17,430 |
| Armagh and Dungannon Trust | 297 | 8,581 | 1,824 | 10,871 |
| Belfast City Hospital Trust | 997 | 23,297 | 7,976 | 18,883 |
| Causeway Trust | 70 | 16,678 | 3,197 | 24,684.5 |
| Craigavon Area Hospital Trust | 733.4 | 9,018.4 | 2,546.1 | 9,788.1 |
| Craigavon and Banbridge Community Trust | 143.8 | 3,505.7 | 977.6 | 11,368.3 |
| Down and Lisburn Trust | 352 | 14,712 | 3,281 | 29,254 |
| Foyle Trust | 80.8 | 8,886.2 | 1,620.7 | 19,244.2 |
| Greenpark Trust | 86 | 12,291.9 | 2,639.9 | 3,385.7 |
| Homefirst Community Trust | 532 | 15,464 | 3,202 | 40,991 |
| Mater Infirmorum Trust1 | 310 | 4,771.8 | 941.21 | 6,532.94 |
| Newry and Mourne Trust | 158 | 10,326 | 4,470 | 29,937 |
| North and West Belfast Trust | 183 | 8,698.1 | 5,953.9 | 37,160 |
| Royal Group of Hospitals Trust | 951.5 | 25,905.4 | 8,341.4 | 47,270.4 |
| South and East Belfast Trust | 230.8 | 13,509.6 | 6,786.5 | 19,068.4 |
| Sperrin Lakeland Trust | 324.9 | 20,804.5 | 2,359.5 | 19,767.7 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals | 511.1 | 21,468.2 | 12,498.9 | 26,176.4 |
| United Hospitals Trust | 770 | 19,111 | 4,189 | 23,107 |
| Northern Ireland Ambulance Service3 | n/a | n/a | 9,047.38 (hours) | 701.88 (hours) |
| 1 Period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. | ||||
| 2 This figure does not include community care assistants. | ||||
| 3 The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was only able to provide information in hours due to the shift pattern worked by employees. The figures provided are for year ending May 2003. |
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many general practitioners in Northern Ireland are on sick leave from work. [124521]
Not all GPs report when they are unable to attend work due to sickness. The total number of GPs on sick absence is therefore not known. As at 30 June 2003, the Central Services Agency is aware of 18 general practitioners absent from their practice due to sickness and is paying for the employment of locums.