asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a requirement for applicants for a position or post to have a detailed knowledge of Irish or Ulster Scots complies with equality requirements; and [HL2844]
Why the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure required applicant interviews to a position for civil servants, advertised in a memorandum entitled interchange opportunity IC14/07 dated 8 March 2007 from the Social Security Agency, to be carried out in Irish. [HL2918]
Interchange opportunity IC14/07 dated 8 March 2007 relates to a position within a private limited company. A number of public and private sector organisations participated in the interchange arrangements, so the opportunity in question was not open only to civil servants. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure did not require applicant interviews to be carried out in Irish. This was a decision taken by the directors of the company. In this situation, any requirement for applicants for a position or post to have a detailed knowledge of Irish or Ulster Scots would be a matter for the organisation involved and would be related to the skills required for the post.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which positions in the Northern Ireland Civil Service require appointment interviews to be held in Irish; and how many interviews have taken place or are proposed to take place on that basis. [HL2845]
No appointment interviews have been held in Irish for posts in the NICS and none is planned.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many private companies over the past two years have used the internal recruitment process of the Northern Ireland Civil Service to recruit their staff; and which companies were involved. [HL2977]
No private company has used the NICS recruitment service to recruit its staff.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How often was the process of internal trawl used by the Northern Ireland Civil Service to recruit employees for (a) the Civil Service, and (b) outside bodies over the past two years. [HL2978]
The internal trawl process relates to internal moves and has not been used to recruit employees for (a) the Civil Service, and (b) outside bodies over the past two years.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has an equal opportunity policy for recruitment; and whether any individuals have been recruited by that department as a result of interviews conducted in Irish. [HL2979]
All of the 11 Northern Ireland departments are covered by the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) equal opportunities policy statement. This statement is contained in the recruitment policy and procedures manual, which sets out the strategic issues relating to recruitment as well as the actual processes used. The NICS recruitment processes have been designed to ensure compliance with the recruitment principles outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners' Code. The recruitment policy and procedures manual is available on the NICS recruitment website at www.nicsrecruitment.gov.uk. There have been no staff recruited into DCAL as a result of interviews carried out in Irish.