Civil Service: Northern Ireland Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 12 July (WA 121), which Northern Ireland Civil Service departments planned staff reductions in 2005-06; in each case, how many reductions were planned; and, of the 1,198 staff reductions that year, how many were casual staff; and how many new casual staff started work in the same year.[HL7252] Lord Rooker The planned reductions in 2005-06 relate to funded posts under the Fit for Purpose reform programme rather than actual staff (i.e. headcount) reductions. Headcount numbers will vary up and down as staff leave or when vacancies are filled, but the number of funded posts in the Fit for Purpose programme is reducing to meet targets. The planned reductions in funded posts for each of the 11 Northern Ireland departments and their agencies in 2005-06, as profiled by departments in April 2005, were as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department |2005-06 Planned Reductions in Funded Posts| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Agriculture and Rural Development |153 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure |9 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Education |28.5 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department for Employment and Learning |20 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment |15 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Finance and Personnel |61 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety|29 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department of the Environment |0 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department for Regional Development |174 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Department for Social Development |267 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister |7 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total |763.5 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of the 1,198 funded posts suppressed, only one was filled by a casual member of staff. The number of new casual staff who began work in 2005-06 in the 11 Northern Ireland departments and their agencies was 753. The use of casuals to meet a temporary business need does not impact on the achieved reductions in funded posts. Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 12 July (WA 121), what form the vacancy control of the Northern Ireland Civil Service currently takes; and how it tallies with both continuing recruitment and promotion and the intention to avoid redundancies when the public administration review changes occur in 2007-09.[HL7253] Lord Rooker Decisions on whether to fill vacancies in the 11 Northern Ireland departments and their agencies are taken by departments in line with business need and the requirement to deliver agreed workforce reductions and in the light of the review of public administration. To ensure a corporate approach, the Department of Finance and Personnel must approve all promotion and recruitment actions. The scope for vacancies to be filled by the redeployment of existing staff is initially considered by departments before recruitment or internal promotion. Information on current and potential staff surpluses and vacancies that departments envisage may be difficult to clear is shared between departments on a monthly basis.