I propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 283 together.
My Department provides grant aid to Community Employment (CE) schemes for the employment of supervisors. CE supervisors are not employed by my Department – rather they are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector.
The Deputy should note that, in the past, CE supervisors have benefited from pay increases linked to all phases of Benchmarking, Sustaining Progress (Parts 1 and 2) and Towards 2016 (all 4 phases). It is also worth noting that CE supervisors have experienced no reduction in pay over recent years as a result of other public sector pay adjustments.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.