Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird
asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many potential recruits have been rejected on the grounds of religion since the creation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and what is that number as a percentage of the total recruited. [HL3065]

Lord Rooker
Since the creation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland there have been 11 completed recruitment exercises, which have generated in excess of 65,000 applications.

The number of non-Catholic recruits that are expected to be rejected as a result of the 50:50 provisions is 708. This figure is a projection based on the likely number of appointments to be made from each recruitment exercise up to and including the Campaign 11.

This figure represents 1.68 per cent of the total number of non-Catholic applicants.