Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

As of February 2017, the latest date for which data is available, the number and proportion of staff employed by the Department is as follows:

a) Full- time permanent - 63 (78%);

b) Part-time permanent - 5 (6%);

c) Contract of less than 2 years - 1 (1%) (Apprentice on a 18-month contract);

d) Agency staff - 5 (6%);

e) Zero hours contract - 0.