To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have worked in his Department on (a) paid and (b) unpaid work experience or internships in each of the last three years; on average how many hours a week were worked by such people in each year; what types of work each was involved in; what proportion were in full-time education; what proportion did not complete their set period of work experience; and how much those who received remuneration were paid on average per week in each year. (242108)

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) participates in Cabinet Office summer placement schemes aimed at attracting talented undergraduates/graduates with either disabilities or from ethnic minorities to the Civil Service Fast Stream. The Department provides salaried placements of six to eight weeks duration working in policy areas or on projects.

The NIO has also provided one-year salaried placements for IT sandwich students to enable them to meet the industry relevant skills element of their IT degree courses. While in the Department the students provide IT helpdesk support to staff. In addition, the NIO facilitates ad hoc requests for unpaid work experience of up to one week's duration for students in secondary level education. This allows students to experience work in the civil service and involves mainly shadowing existing staff. All the students facilitated have been in full-time education at the time, each working 36 to 37 hours per week, and all completed their set time period. The following table provides details of the placements facilitated in the last three years: