Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what professional development courses are made available to staff of her Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
Professional development courses are made available to staff when the business role requires this, for example, accountancy exams for finance staff. Any course attended by a member of staff must be business related and must be supported by a business case. Costs are agreed on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in her Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
None.