Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (Renewal of Temporary Provisions) Order 2010

Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll and I am sure that the whole House will join me in sending our thoughts to his wife, Kate, and their family and friends. It is also appropriate to mention the debate that took place earlier this afternoon in the Northern Ireland Assembly, on the transfer of policing and justice powers. Today is an historic today for Northern Ireland. The Assembly voted, on a cross-community basis, to request the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. This is a key moment in the process first envisaged in the Belfast agreement of 1998 and restated by the Joint Declaration of 2003 and the St Andrews agreement of 2006. Most recently the agreement at Hillsborough Castle set out a timetable which would see the transfer of powers by 12 April. The vote today will enable the Secretary of State to bring forward legislation in Parliament to give effect to the transfer of powers by this date. He will lay these orders tomorrow. The Government have long maintained that it is in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland that decisions on policing and justice matters should be made by local politicians. The vote today means that the completion of devolution is now a reality and I welcome the decision of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I look forward to the debates on the orders in this House in due course. I turn to the renewal order which continues the temporary provisions for the appointment of police officers and police support staff for a further—final—year to March 2011. There are two reasons for bringing forward this further renewal order. First, we are committed to achieving our target of 30 per cent Catholic composition and, secondly, appointments from the latest campaign and outstanding appointments from earlier campaigns ought to be made on the same basis and under the same provisions. As many of the noble Lords are aware, the temporary provisions have been debated extensively both here and in another place on numerous occasions. Indeed, this is the third renewal of these provisions. However, much has changed since the first renewal in 2004. At that time, some elements of Northern Ireland’s community remained uncommitted, unsupportive and unco-operative with the police service. Today, the climate is noticeably different. All main parties support policing and the rule of law and we all look forward to 12 April when the final piece of the devolution jigsaw will fall into place and policing and justice transfers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government are committed to the need for this legislation. To drive forward the vision of policing with the community, the police service must have the confidence of the community and this requires the service to be reflective of the community. As the composition has changed, confidence in the police has increased. From a baseline of 72 per cent in 2003-04, 82.2 per cent of survey respondents today feel that the PSNI treats both communities equally. These temporary provisions are one of the most significant reasons why public confidence in policing is increasing across the community. In the 16 competitions since the PSNI formed in 2001 there have been in excess of 107,000 applications from across the community. The latest campaign was launched on 14 January 2010, less than a week after the murderous attempt on Constable Peadar Heffron. When this campaign closed on 12 February, there had been 9,008 applications. This is a clear indication that the work of a minority who are attempting to disrupt the peace process is not accepted by the majority of people in Northern Ireland, who are intent on making it work. The first new recruits joined the PSNI in November 2001. They joined a service that was only 8.3 per cent Catholic. Today, thanks to the temporary recruitment provisions, the Catholic composition in the PSNI stands at 27.88 per cent, and 3,807 young men and women have been appointed to the PSNI. They have helped to bring about tremendous change to policing in Northern Ireland, making the PSNI a world-renowned police service. It is clear that the temporary provisions are achieving their aim of a more representative police service within a limited timescale. I acknowledge that certain noble Lords remain opposed to these measures, but I believe that the benefits that these provisions have had on increasing Catholic composition, as well as the positive impact on increasing community confidence in policing, justify the continuation of the provisions for a final year. I of course sympathise with individuals who, although qualified, have not been appointed as a direct consequence of the temporary provisions. In the first 14 competitions, there were 88,822 applications; 10,854 reached the merit pool, and 3,749 were appointed. Of the 7,105 who were not appointed, only 984 were unsuccessful because of 50:50. The rest would not have been appointed, regardless of 50:50, as they did not score highly enough in the merit pool. In other words, less than 3 per cent of all non-Catholic applications have been affected by these measures. The community in Northern Ireland is becoming increasingly diverse. The PSNI has implemented a number of outreach measures that are aimed at encouraging recruits from ethnic minority backgrounds, including attendance at community events such as the Belfast Mela. There are currently 32 ethnic minority officers in the PSNI from a variety of backgrounds, including Indian, Chinese and black Caribbean. This represents 0.44 per cent of the regular officers: a figure that is comparable with the overall level of the working age ethnic minority population in Northern Ireland, which is 0.48 per cent. The proportion of females in the PSNI has also increased significantly since 2001. At the time of the Patten report, female composition stood at just 12.6 per cent. Today, it is 24.87 per cent. The gender action plan will ensure that measures are put in place to retain these female officers and monitor their progression through the ranks. The increase in composition of all these under-represented groups is to be welcomed. A more representative police service will assist the PSNI to engage consistently and effectively with all sections of the community, thus helping officers to solve crimes and keep our communities safe. The renewal order that we are considering today will continue the temporary provisions that are in force for a final year to 28 March 2011. However, the Government are committed to returning to Parliament to end the provisions at whatever point in the year it is clear that we shall reach the 30 per cent target. As we look forward to a new future in Northern Ireland, following the vote in the Assembly this afternoon, with all sides working together constructively, it is important that the temporary provisions are continued for a final year. This will ensure that the Government’s target of 30 per cent Catholic composition is achieved and that the new Northern Ireland has a police service that works with and for the community. I beg to move.