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

My Lords, I am delighted that there has been a strong welcome throughout the Chamber for the order. I am also delighted that the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, has welcomed the final piece in the devolution jigsaw, and I am grateful for that welcome. I am, of course, sad that the noble Lords, Lord Glentoran and Lord Laird, spoke about my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in the way that they did. However, the positive outcome in the Northern Ireland vote today is right and proper for the people of Northern Ireland, and I am glad that we can all celebrate that. Several noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, referred to the numbers of Catholic men and women who are leaving the police force rather than joining it. We regret that some people are leaving the police force but 1,914 Catholics have been recruited into the PSNI and only 209 new recruits have left. So, while we regret that fact, a lot more people are joining. People have left for a variety of reasons, including the wrong career choice, differences in personal circumstances and so on, but I recognise that for some people it is extremely difficult to serve in the police force in Northern Ireland. However, the police do a splendid job and I am glad that we all recognise that. One interesting fact in my briefing is that in a recent poll—and I know that polls are not the flavour of the day—93 per cent of respondents from a Catholic background indicated that they would recommend policing as a career to family or friends. That is an interesting point which builds on what the noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney, said. The noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, quoted sections from the Patten report and reminded us of the views of the late Lord Gerry Fitt. I am well aware of the views expressed by the noble Baroness and her noble friends in 2007. She is right to say that the 50:50 provision cannot go on much longer, but it will not go on; this is the final order on this subject. My noble friend Lady Blood made an important point about equality, but the point of this policy is to ensure that the police have the support of the whole community in Northern Ireland, as many noble Lords have said. While I recognise the strong views expressed by my noble friend, I think that this policy has had the outcome that all noble Lords would wish for. To all noble Lords who mentioned those applicants who have been unsuccessful because of the 50:50 policy, I understand the disappointment and frustration of those applicants, but I trust that, in the near future, everybody will be able to be appointed on merit. The noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan, has huge experience in this area and she is right to say that the police can operate only with the consent of those who are policed; that is a very important point to make. She is also right that it will take time to have a balanced police force in all the ranks, to see these bright new recruits coming through into the senior ranks. We are confident that in the not-too-distant future, we will see a much more balanced police force. To the noble Lord, Lord Bew, I say that we are confident that, with the high application rates seen in the past few campaigns, the composition of 30 per cent will be maintained, especially with all parties supporting policing and sitting on the Policing Board. We think that, in that way, Catholics will continue to have confidence in the system and that they will continue to apply and to join the PSNI. The noble Lord, Lord Laird, spoke about female representation and suggested that it increased without discrimination. As I mentioned earlier, since the introduction of 50:50, 3,807 officers have been recruited to the PSNI. This large volume of recruitment has helped female composition to increase and, of course, we celebrate that. The Patten report acknowledged that it was important for female and ethnic minority composition to increase, but he focused on the more important need to address the community imbalance. I was interested to learn from the noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney, that more people in Northern Ireland speak Chinese day-to-day than speak Irish. We learn things every day. It is important to recognise that the PSNI has run and continues to run a programme with Belfast Metropolitan College targeting individuals whose first language is not English. The purpose of this is to enhance their ability to undertake the application process. Initiatives such as these will ensure that the representation from ethnic minorities increases. As I mentioned earlier, it is 0.44 per cent at the moment. The ethnic minority population is 0.48 per cent, so it is probably where it should be, but of course, we do not want that to be reduced in any way. The noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney, also spoke of what he called the limited consultation. The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 only stipulates that the Secretary of State should consult the Policing Board, but the Northern Ireland Office widened the consultation extensively. It extended the consultation to the PSNI, the political parties—the DUP, the UUP, Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party—Northern Ireland MPs, the Equality Commission, the Human Rights Commission and British Irish Rights Watch, but neither the Presbyterian Church or the Church of Ireland were consulted and nor was the Orange Order. I just put that on the record for noble Lords’ information.