Northern Ireland Assembly Flax Flower Logo

This publication contains the written answers to questions tabled by Members. The content of the responses is as received at the time from the relevant Minister or representative of the Assembly Commission and has not been subject to the official reporting process or changed in any way.

Friday 07 March 2008

Written Answers to Questions

Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
Agriculture and Rural Development
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Employment and Learning
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Environment
Finance and Personnel
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Regional Development
Social Development
Assembly Commission

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

West Tyrone Voice

Mr T Elliott asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to the answer to AQW 272/08, to detail the funding made available to 'West Tyrone Voice', in each of the last 10 financial years.

(AQW 3810/08)

The First Minister and deputy First Minister (Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness): Records show that funding available to West Tyrone Voice between April 1998 and March 2007 was £820,085. A year by year breakdown of these figures is not currently available.

In addition this group may also have applied for funding from other programmes or schemes, such as the District Council Community Relations Programme or European Union funding through the Local Strategy Partnerships, we do not hold this information.

Derry & Raphoe Action

Mr T Elliott asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to the answer to AQW 272/08, to detail the funding made available to 'Derry & Raphoe Action', in each of the last 10 financial years.

(AQW 3811/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Records show that funding available to ‘Derry & Raphoe Action’ between April 1998 and March 2007 was £347,229. A year by year breakdown of these figures is not currently available.

In addition this group may also have applied for funding from any other programmes or schemes, such as the District Council Community Relations Programme or European Union funding through the Local Strategy Partnerships, we do not hold this information.

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the number of written Assembly questions answered each month, since May 2007.

(AQW 4097/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The number of written Assembly Questions answered each month since May 2007 is as follows:-

Month

Number

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008*

1

29

26

14

10

27

22

32

30

38

TOTAL

229

*This figure comprises replies up to and including 22 February 2008.

Planning Appeals Commission

Mr T Clarke asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the steps that are being taken to address the pressures on the Planning Appeals Commission.

(AQO 2320/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: We are fully committed to addressing pressures on the Planning Appeals Commission and have committed within the Public Service Agreement to deliver increased resources to enable the Planning Appeals Commission to address the backlog of appeal cases. As a result additional funding has been made available both in year and through the Budget 2008-11.

The amount of receipts which may be retained by the Commission has been increased from £150,000 to £241,000 within the current financial year and the Commission’s budget allocation has been increased by over half a million pounds in each of the next three financial years resulting in a budget of £2.368m in 2008-09, £2.378m in 2009-10 and £2.396m in 2010-11. In addition the amount of receipts which the Commission may retain has increased from £241,000 to £376,000 per annum in each of these years. This will provide an overall increase of up to £1.973m in the Commission’s spending power over the next three years.

This extra funding will enable the Chief Commissioner to strengthen and expand the existing capacity of the Commission to address the existing workload and associated backlog of planning appeals. Plans are already in place to recruit a further 6 part time call-off panel commissioners and 6 permanent full-time commissioners.

Commissioner for Older Persons

Mr K McCarthy asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the progress made on the appointment of a Commissioner for Older Persons.

(AQO 2285/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The appointment of an Older People’s Commissioner is a key priority for us and officials will endeavour to prioritise the process where possible.

In order to assist in developing proposals for the specific remit of the Office, a number of consultation events are currently being organised, one in Cookstown and two further events in Belfast and Londonderry.

A report, which will include options on the possible role and remit of a Commissioner, taking account of the outcome of consultations will be presented to us later this month. Following this, Officials will draft proposals for the remit of the Commissioner and members of the public will be consulted on this.

We are keen to ensure that momentum towards the establishment of an Older People’s Commissioner is not lost and are currently finalising interim arrangements, details of which will be announced shortly and conveyed to the OFMDFM Committee and this Assembly.

Child Poverty

Mr T Lunn asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to provide an update on the targets it will set in order to reduce child poverty.

(AQO 2259/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Within Programme for Government 2008-2011 we have set challenging targets;

Tackling Poverty and Social Inclusion which affects the most vulnerable in our society will require co-ordinated action across all Departments and further interim targets will be developed in conjunction with Departments to reduce child poverty.

Anti-Racism Strategy

Mr A Maskey asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to provide an update on the anti-racism strategy.

(AQO 2387/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The Executive’s primary focus is on building a shared and better future for all people living here, both new and host communities. We are committed to building and shaping a society that is free of both racism and other forms of intolerance. The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is currently working on bringing forward detailed proposals for a ‘Programme of Cohesion, Sharing and Integration for a Shared and Better Future.’ This programme will build on some of the excellent work, particularly by district councils and community organisations, to address the challenges which local communities are facing. Action to tackle both racism and sectarianism will be at the core of these proposals.

This programme will focus on local people dealing with local issues through their own local solutions.


We will bring forward these proposals for discussion with the Committee of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.

Social Cohesion

Mr A Bresland asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to confirm that funding for a programme of social cohesion will be significantly increased over the next three years.

(AQO 2318/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: As I have previously said, we are fully committed to building a shared and better future for all. We will bring forward proposals for a programme of cohesion and integration for a shared and better future to the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.

The core of these proposals will be action to tackle racism, sectarianism and intolerance. The emphasis of the action will be support for local people to deal with local issues through their local solutions.

The Budget recognises that the past 3 years have seen significant progress in improved relationships, with historically low levels of violence and tension.

We want to ensure that improved relationships within the whole community continue and we want to address the challenges that face new and host communities. The expenditure on good relations and good race relations in the past 3 years is approx £21 million.

Within the budget we will increase this investment to ensure continued improvement in relationships and to address the challenges facing new and host communities by almost ₤7.5m over the next 3 years.

Total investment between 2008/09 and 2010/11 will therefore be approximately ₤28.7m, (taking account of efficiencies over the period) to meet the PSA target of building a shared and better future for all.

Freedom of Information Act

Mr J McCallister asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether or not consideration is being given to extending the operation of the Freedom of Information Act to include bodies not presently covered by the Act.

(AQO 2266/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The extension of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act to new public bodies is provided for routinely, either by the legislation that establishes the new body, or by an Order made by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice following consultation with the First Minister and deputy First Minister. Furthermore, the Freedom of Information Act provides that publicly-owned companies are covered by its provisions from their inception.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice may also make an Order to extend the Freedom of Information Act to bodies which exercise functions of a public nature or to contractors who provide services which are a function of a public body. A three-month public consultation carried out by the Ministry of Justice regarding such an extension concluded on 1st February 2008. Should the Ministry of Justice decide to make such an Order, then a further consultation would occur with those organisations likely to be affected by the Order, accompanied by a full impact assessment of the coverage.

Victims' Commissioners

Mr A Maginness asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the legal advice it received in relation to the appointment of four Victims' Commissioners.

(AQO 2316/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: We took legal advice from the Departmental Solicitors Office on the concept of appointing four Commissioners for Victims and Survivors.

Eames/Bradley Consultative Group

Mr D Ford asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the representations it plans to make to the Eames/Bradley consultative group on the past.

(AQO 2299/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Officials met with the Consultative Group on the Past in October 2007. The Consultative Group asked to meet with us. These meetings took place in January 2008. The meetings were largely a listening exercise and no conclusions have been reached at this stage.

Capital Realisations Taskforce

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to confirm whether or not the Capital Realisations Taskforce report will take account of any recommendations emerging from the review of the location of public sector jobs.

(AQO 2376/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness:

The Capital Realisations Taskforce report focuses on how best to realise the value of underutilised or surplus public sector assets. We recognise the existing regional infrastructure disparities. We will work to address them and to ensure that we deliver a more balanced regional outcome, including within the out-workings of asset realisation.

Civic Forum

Mr S Moutray asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the analysis it has made of the replies it has received from former members of the Civic Forum to the department's consultation exercise.

(AQO 2264/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Following the restoration of devolution in May 2007, the members of the Civic Forum were consulted about their availability and willingness to serve, in an interim capacity, if it were decided to reconvene the Forum during the review period.

Forty-nine of the original 60 members of the Forum were consulted. Of the other 11, 6 had been appointees of the former First Minister and deputy First Minister and there were 5 vacancies. Thirty-two members indicated unambiguously that they would be willing to return in an interim capacity. Of the remainder, 4 preferred to await the outcome of the review, 6 did not wish to return and 7 did not reply.

As well as considering individual members’ responses, we also had to consider the extent to which those prepared to return would be sufficiently representative of the original sectors.

Although about half of the original members of the Forum were willing to serve while the review was underway, this was not representative of some of the smaller sectors and, given the short remaining lifespan of the existing Forum, it was decided not to recall the members but to concentrate instead on pressing ahead with the review.

Bill of Rights

Mrs M Bradley asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what action it is taking to support the work of the Bill of Rights Forum; and to confirm that it is committed to delivering an extensive and inclusive Bill of Rights.

(AQO 2389/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Responsibility for the Bill of Rights rests with the NIO. The Bill of Rights Forum will make recommendations on a Bill of Rights to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and it in turn will make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister has no direct role in the development of proposals on a Bill of Rights.

Equality Legislation

Mr M Storey asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail its plans to assess the impact of equality legislation on the different communities in Northern Ireland.

(AQO 2261/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness:

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has a statutory responsibility under Schedule 9 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to keep under review the effectiveness of duties imposed by Section 75 of the Act. The Commission is currently reviewing the effectiveness of Section 75; it published a draft report for consultation in May 2007 and a final report is due at the end of March 2008. The review includes a focus on the impact that the legislation has had across the nine Section 75 categories and on the development and implementation of public policy.

The Department has also been reviewing equality legislation in the context of the single Equality Bill process, and has identified some areas that need to be addressed. Proposals will be brought to the Executive in due course.

The Department also views a range of statistical evidence in considering the impact of policy and legislation including: Equality Commission for Northern Ireland statistics on the monitored workforce; the Labour Force Survey Religion Report; various reports on the socio-economic conditions of the two communities; survey evidence of job applicants and appointees; and monitoring of the employment, unemployment and economic activity rates of different groups including religion, disability, gender and age.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Ruddock Review

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide an update on her department's implementation of the recommendations of the Ruddock review into the handling of the alpha-nortestosterone issue; particularly in relation to (i) on-farm searches; and (ii) developing best practice guidelines from the examination of approaches taken by other enforcement agencies.

(AQW 4154/08)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): Progress is well underway with all the recommendations of the Ruddock review of the handling of the alpha-nortestosterone issue. I can provide an update as follows:

Recommendation 1

Progress has been made on implementing the recommendation to provide scientific evidence which will allow interpretation of the legislation to be changed. There is now emerging recognition within the EU that alpha-nortestosterone is likely to occur naturally in injured or stressed male bovines. The European Community Reference Laboratory is expected to draft a guidance paper to reflect this position. Further scientific work to inform the evidence base in this area is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Recommendation 2 and 4

The recommendations that DARD should adopt a project management approach in order to improve policy development and implementation in the future, is also being progressed and I can advise that a team of key senior officials is being established, representing DARD, AFBI, the Food Standards Agency and the Departmental Solicitors Office. In the event of a residues emergency this team will facilitate a rapid response to findings arising from emerging science and ensure policy development is initiated immediately.

Recommendation 3

You refer in particular to the recommendation concerning on-farm searches and our commitment to develop best practice. As I indicated in the Assembly on the 21st of January, my officials are currently reviewing and updating standard operating procedures and this work will be completed shortly.

Recommendation 5

Systems have been put in place to ensure that the recommendation to formally involve key stakeholders in strategic discussions in any future similar event is fully implemented.

Agriculture Industry

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of foreign nationals who are working (i) on farms; and (ii) in the agriculture industry.

(AQW 4161/08)

Ms M Gildernew: My Department does not collect information on the numbers of foreign nationals employed on farms or in the Agriculture industry in the North. However, following the European Union Farm Structure Survey conducted in 2007 DARD estimated that some 541 farms employed personnel from outside of these islands over the period April 2006 to March 2007.

Bluetongue Disease

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (i) to confirm that compensation measures are in place for those farmers who have lost cattle and business due to the recent bluetongue outbreak; and (ii) to detail the steps she has taken, following her statement on the 19 February 2008, to ensure that Northern Ireland remains disease-free.

(AQW 4164/08)

Ms M Gildernew: As I explained to the Assembly on 19th February, my Department is under no obligation to pay any compensation for imported animals that have been affected by or exposed to the bluetongue virus.

This position has been made abundantly clear to the agriculture industry and the position is supported by industry leaders.

If the animal was not imported from another country, then compensation would be payable if the Department requires it to be slaughtered. In the case of such affected animals compensation is paid at 50 per cent of the value of the animal: if not affected the rate of compensation is 100 per cent.


No compensation is payable for loss of business.

In relation to the steps I have taken to ensure that the North remains disease free, the latest and most significant action was to suspend the imports of cattle over 12 months and sheep over 6 months from Bluetongue Zones. I took this action in response to emerging scientific evidence following the Bluetongue case in North Antrim.

I have also run an advertising campaign in the daily and farming press to ensure that everyone is aware of the dangers of importing livestock. This follows a public awareness campaign during 2006 when the Department issued posters and flyers to farmers and Private Veterinary Practitioners. At that time the Chief Veterinary Officer also wrote to all cattle and sheep owners in the North reminding them to be vigilant and to make them aware of the precautions they should take in relation to Bluetongue. The DARD website has also been regularly updated with information for the farming community, including advice and symptoms to look out for.

My own consistent message to farmers has been to think very carefully before importing livestock from Bluetongue infected areas and I have reiterated this message numerous times.

I have put in place a comprehensive surveillance programme to ensure that no other infected animals are present in the North. I have also sought veterinary advice on the level of testing post-import. As a result, in addition to the current post-import test 10 days after the animals comes in, a further test will be required after 30 days.

Overnight Accommodation

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the cost of overnight accommodation for her departmental officials, attending functions in an official capacity, (i) in total; (ii) in Northern Ireland; (iii) in the Republic of Ireland; (iv) in Great Britain; (v) in other EU countries; and (vi) elsewhere, in each of the past three years.

(AQW 4208/08)

Ms M Gildernew:

 

Accommodation costs for attendance at functions in:-

NI

ROI

GB

Other EU Countries

Other Countries

Total Costs (£)

2004/5

£

£168

£1,033

£

£

£1,201

2005/6

£105

£76.50

£497

£1,246

£

£1,924.5

2006/7

£177

£1,015

£997

£2,813

£379

£5,381

Additional information:-

The above information details expenditure on overnight accommodation for the core Department (excluding Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies) and relates to functions organised by industry/private companies in the financial years 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 where officials have attended to represent the Department. The figures exclude costs for attendance at training/personal development events.

The Department was unable to disaggregate expenditure incurred for a small number of functions where overnight accommodation has formed part of the overall costs for attendance at the event. These figures are not included in the above information.

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of written questions she has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4214/08)

Ms M Gildernew: From May 2007 to 31 January 2008 I have answered a total of 247 written Assembly Questions. The breakdown by month is as follows –

May 2007 – 10

June 2007 – 22

July 2007 – 27

August 2007 – NIL

September 2007 – 23

October 2007 – 55

November 2007 – 45

December 2007 – 38

January 2008 – 27

Bluetongue Disease

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the advice she has received from the Chief Veterinary Officer concerning bluetongue disease.

(AQW 4224/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I have been in regular discussions with my Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) on Bluetongue since it became an issue for us. The advice I receive on any particular issues is based on the output of my Department’s Strategy Group. That Strategy Group convenes in emergency/exceptional circumstances and is chaired by the Permanent Secretary, and attended by senior officers and when required, those with specialist knowledge in the particular area. The advice I receive therefore takes account of the views of the CVO whose advice is incorporated within the advice from this group.

Bluetongue Disease

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail how bluetongue infected stock were able to make it into the country if they were infected before transit.

(AQW 4225/08)

Ms M Gildernew: On 11th January a consignment of cattle arrived in the North from an export assembly centre in the Netherlands. All the animals had tested negative for the Bluetongue virus before leaving the Netherlands. They had been tested using the PCR test that detects virus in the blood. This testing was in accordance with the European regulations and all animals were able to be exported in line with EU intra-community trade conditions.

On arrival in the North they were restricted in the herd of destination until routine post-import tests were carried out 10 days after arrival, as is the case for all ruminant animals imported into the North from Bluetongue affected areas of the EU. At this point eight animals tested positive for the presence of antibodies on the Elisa test, although they all remained negative on the PCR test meaning that no virus was present in their blood. The negative PCR and eight positive Elisa tests showed that the animals had been affected by or exposed to Bluetongue virus in the past. As these were the first Elisa positive animals to be detected in the North on post–import testing, and as a precautionary measure, the restriction was maintained on these imported animals and they were retested 30 days post-import. It was at this test that active infection was detected in the blood of one animal. This animal had been PCR negative prior to import, Elisa negative and PCR negative on the first post-import test, and remained Elisa negative.

As you are aware this case is still under investigation and I would not make further comments until that investigation is complete.

Bluetongue Disease

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm whether or not the decision to cull the livestock affected by bluetongue was made on the advice of the Chief Veterinary Officer.

(AQW 4230/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The decision to cull livestock affected by Bluetongue was made by me. In reaching my decisions I took advice from my Department’s Strategy Group which convenes in this type of circumstance. The Strategy Group is chaired by the Permanent Secretary and attended by senior officials, and when required, those with specialist knowledge in a particular area.

The group that provided information on culling livestock included the Chief Veterinary Officer and the Head of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) as well as other senior officials including the Senior Finance Officer.

Infectious Vectors

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm whether or not infectious vectors were found on livestock that could have caused the spread of bluetongue disease.

(AQW 4236/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Regarding the recent case of Bluetongue in North Antrim, vector surveillance that was in place on the farm did not find vectors on or around the vicinity of the affected livestock at that time that could have caused the spread of Bluetongue virus. However, one midge was caught in a trap on the farm on the weekend of 23/24 February and has been sent to the Community Bluetongue Reference Laboratory at Pirbright for testing.

Farm Nutrient Management Scheme

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of pre-work inspections for Farm Nutrient Management Scheme projects that have yet to take place.

(AQW 4242/08)

Ms M Gildernew: As at 25th February, 520 applicants to the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme had pre-approval inspections yet to be completed.

Single Farm Payments

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of Single Farm Payment entitlements her department has claimed back since the introduction of the scheme.

(AQW 4247/08)

Ms M Gildernew: For the 2005 scheme year, Single Farm Payment Entitlements to the value of €9,916.69 were confiscated because the usage rules were not met. For the 2006 scheme, the value was €11,442.40. So far for 2007, the value is €8,116.24. The total value is €29,475.33, in respect of 208 entitlements, since the introduction of the scheme.

Single Farm Payments

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail how she intends to allocate monies received from unused Single Farm Payment entitlements claimed back by the department.

(AQW 4249/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The value of Single Farm Payment entitlements returned to the National Reserve to-date, is less than €30,000.

The amount in the National Reserve, which might be attributed to the North, is estimated to be €330,000. This is needed to address unresolved cases, to meet revisions to entitlements already allocated and, subject to the outcome of consultation, for any new entitlements which need to be issued following reform to the CAP fruit and vegetable regime.

Consequently I have no other plans to introduce allocations from the National Reserve.

Animal Welfare

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the bodies and number of specialists who advise her on animal welfare.

(AQW 4252/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I do not take advice on animal welfare directly from any bodies or specialists outside my Department and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute.

I do however, take advice from veterinary and scientific professionals in my Department and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute. I also consult with a wide range of stakeholders who have an interest and expertise in a wide range of animal welfare issues.

Foreign Imports

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the assistance she is giving to producer sectors, in order to address the impact that foreign imports, misleadingly labelled, are having on the sale of local produce.

(AQW 4256/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Firstly, I must respond to your point about imported food being misleadingly labelled. My Department is responsible for the labelling of beef and I can assure you that the legislation in this area is robustly enforced. The beef labelling rules require all operators in the supply chain, including retailers but excluding the food service sector, to label their beef with origin and traceability information. These rules apply equally to locally produced and imported beef. Regular inspections are carried out and appropriate enforcement action is taken where necessary. The labelling of other foods is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency and is therefore outside my remit.

The labelling issue aside, I can assure you that I am committed to assisting the local agri-food industry to compete successfully in both domestic and export markets.

My Department is involved in a range of initiatives designed to increase business performance and success in the marketplace. I recently launched a new round of the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme which aims to promote quality regional food and increase its consumption within Ireland and Britain. In the first phase of the programme over £300,000 was awarded to representative groups. Activities included the new Food Pavilion at the Balmoral Show and the Lough Neagh Food Festival, which showcased the wide range of quality local produce available.

At primary producer level, knowledge and technology transfer, industry training programmes, and benchmarking, all contribute to improving farm business performance and assisting farmers and growers to produce the quality of product demanded by an increasingly competitive marketplace.

My Department facilitates the EU Protected Food Names Scheme which provides a system for the protection of food names on a geographical or traditional recipe basis. Registered names are protected from imitation throughout the EU and should benefit from increased consumer awareness of regional and speciality foods. I can advise that my Department is currently progressing a number of applications under this Scheme.

The Livestock and Meat Commission (a Non-Departmental Public Body of DARD’s) is responsible for the promotion of red meat and red meat products in both domestic and international markets. You should be aware, however, that EU State Aid rules place severe constraints on the use of Government funds for promotional activities both here and across the EU.

Birdcover Projects

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm if there are threats to livestock or the environment in relation from foreign ingredients used in DARD promoted birdcover projects.

(AQW 4374/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The seed components of wild bird cover sown as Optional Habitats under the Countryside Management Scheme and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme are not considered to be a threat to the environment or to livestock

Trawlermen's Trading Company

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, further to her meeting with the Northern Ireland Trawlermen's Trading Company, what action she is taking to address their concerns; and to detail the offers of assistance she has made to the Company.

(AQW 4375/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I had a very helpful meeting with the Trawlermen’s Trading Company and we discussed a range of issues around future financial support for the fleet including vessel modernisation and re-engining. My Departments proposals for financial support for the fishing industry will be contained in its European Fisheries Fund Investment Plan which will issue for consultation at the end of April. This coincides with the launch of similar documents in England, Scotland and Wales.

I explained to the delegation that I would be meeting with Commissioner Borg in April and I intended to use that opportunity to relay to him the concerns expressed by our fishermen and the difficulties being experienced because of escalating operating costs.

Communications Course

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm (i) if a screening exercise has been carried out in relation to an equality impact assessment on the proposed ending of the communications course at Loughry College; and (ii) if she will make the documentation regarding this screening exercise available to MLAs.

(AQW 4579/08)

Ms M Gildernew: No decisions have yet been taken on the proposal to end the Communications programme and a screening exercise in relation to the proposal has not yet been carried out.

Firm decisions on the proposal will be taken only when the full implications have been assessed, including consideration of equality implications. Papers can be released once the process is completed.

Single Farm Payments

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm that Single Farm Payments will not be paid to those entitled to payment, but who have indicated they prefer not to have the payment lodged in a bank or building society account.

(AQO 2302/08)

Ms M Gildernew: On 24 April 2007 my Department announced that, with effect from 1 March 2008, agriculture subsidy payments would only be paid electronically. This decision was taken in order to prepare for compliance with the European Commission’s requirement that all subsidy payments should be made electronically, and in our case by Bankers Automated Clearing System (BACS) to a UK bank account, from 16 October 2008. However, recognising some farmers’ concern, I announced recently that the date for introducing this change would be deferred until 1 May 2008. In doing so, I am ensuring that 2007 Single Farm Payments and 2008 Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowances payable up to the end of April will not be delayed for those not yet BACS compliant. After 1 May it is intended that no subsidies will issue unless my Department has been provided with the necessary bank details to facilitate electronic payment. I urge any farm business, that has not already provided bank details to my Department, does so as soon as possible. This information is essential as all future subsidy payments, including those relating to the 2008 Single Farm Payment Scheme, will only be made electronically to a UK bank/building society/credit union account through the BACS system.

Pig Industry

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail any discussions that have taken place with the pig industry in relation to the poor profitability within the sector.

(AQO 2349/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Since my appointment as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development I have had discussions with the industry on a number of occasions to find out more about the pig sector and the problems facing it. I am also planning to visit a pig farm very shortly. I remain deeply committed to supporting the industry and share the concerns of the pig sector at this difficult time.

At the beginning of September I contacted every supermarket in the North, expressing my concern about returns at producer level given the rising cost of feed prices and am aware that there has been a subsequent rise in some retail prices. I met the Ulster Pork and Bacon Forum following which I agreed that my Department will co-fund, with industry stakeholders, a review of key issues impacting on the pig sector.

I met the senior management team of a leading pork processor and, following a meeting with industry representatives, I wrote to Defra and DAFF ministers to urge support for the re-introduction of export refunds which were subsequently reinstated.

I have had discussions with my Ministerial colleagues in health and education with a view to increasing the public procurement of locally produced pork and bacon. Under EU legislation, the procurement of food by public sector bodies cannot be restricted to specific locations or suppliers. In this respect the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Central Procurement Directorate has a key role to play and has developed a range of guidance with the aim of increasing the participation of local enterprises in competition for Government business.

Of course, in addition to formal discussions with the industry, I have regular informal discussions with farmers and others on this subject and many others, as I travel around the North.

I will continue to work directly with representatives of the industry to see how we can progress together through the current difficulty, and my officials will continue to deal with farmers on an individual basis to discuss a range of issues, including areas of potential improvement in production efficiency on-farm.

Woodland Forests

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline her plans to explore increased development of native woodland forests on an all-Ireland basis.

(AQO 2371/08)

Ms M Gildernew: A Forestry Strategy was published by my Department in 2006, following two rounds of public consultation and an economic appraisal. The Strategy outlines key themes, one of which is a programme of afforestation, including the creation of new native woodland, that the Department will take forward through the 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme.

To date, good progress has been made in establishing native woodland in the North, 1,030 hectares having been established since 1998, over 40% of which has been created by private landowners with the assistance from the Woodland Grant Scheme and the remainder planted by Forest Service.

My officials also deal positively with their counterparts in the South on a range of forestry activities, including the subject of native woodland. For example, the Native Woodland Group, established jointly by DARD Forest Service and DoE Environment and Heritage Service, includes representatives of Woodlands of Ireland and the South’s National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Native Woodland Group also provides a representative to attend meetings of the Woodlands of Ireland Steering Committee. This provides a means by which technical, regulatory and other information relevant to native woodland development will continue to be shared on an all-Ireland basis. I am aware that the Native Woodland Scheme in the South has recently re-opened and my officials will continue to monitor this mechanism for support of native woodland creation. I will also consider further ways in which my forestry officials can co-operate with counterparts in the South on a range of forestry issues.

Farm Nutrient Management Scheme

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail her plans to ensure that the maximum number of farmers benefit from the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme before the cut-off date.

(AQO 2308/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I can advise that such plans have been in operation and that good progress has been made on inspections and in issuing grant approvals.

Last June, when I secured funding assurance to cover all applications to the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme (FNMS), my Department set a target to have pre-approval inspections completed this spring so that the maximum number of farmers could get an opportunity to benefit by the closing date. I am pleased to advise that some 4000 applicants have now had their pre approval inspection and approvals have issued to over 3,000 applicants.

Last June, pre approval inspections were still required on a balance of 2,800 applications. These were divided into three groups for pre approval inspections and the Department is now part way through processing the last group. The Department committed additional advisory and inspection staff to assist in the pre-approval process and so the effort has been put into the task.

During the period August to November 2007, I issued three News Releases updating progress on the processing of FNMS applications. In these I stressed the importance of farmers, who had already received their approval, getting their work completed.

I also encouraged those farmers who had their pre-approval inspections not to delay in getting information back to DARD so that their approvals could be issued. The Department has monitored those cases who needed to get planning or other approvals and has kept in touch with the relevant bodies. Farmers should not delay asking for those necessary clearances.

Organic Action Plan Group

Mr D Ford asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what plans she has to make a statement in relation to progress of the Organic Action Plan Group for Northern Ireland.

(AQO 2289/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I met with representatives from the Organic Action Plan Group for NI in December 2007 when they updated me on their progress to date and the need to take stock of achievements and set the path for the next 3 years. Some of the Group’s achievements include the production of a Market Study; holding an Organic Supply Chain Conference; detailed advice to the Department in relation to the introduction of a new Organic Farming Scheme and the Countryside Management Scheme ‘Organic Option’ under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013; and, sponsorship of producer study visits to the South and to England. The group are currently finalising a consumer information leaflet and organic educational materials for schools.

Bog Meadows Nature Reserve

Mr G Adams asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the work undertaken by the Rivers Agency in the Bog Meadows nature reserve.

(AQO 2329/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Rivers Agency was involved in a water recreation scheme in 1998/1999 in partnership with the Ulster Wildlife Trust and the Friends of the Bog Meadows for development of the Bog Meadows nature reserve, conservation and amenity site. The works mainly involved the excavation of the main pond to improve the wildlife amenity, re-aligning watercourses and improving access to the area. The Agency, which had a water recreation remit at that time, contributed approximately £30,000 to the scheme.

Rivers Agency has ongoing drainage maintenance functions on the designated section of the Ballymurphy Stream at this location and the inlet grille to the road culvert at the M1 motorway to ensure free flow and minimise the risk of flooding. In 2006 the Agency undertook substantial works to address flooding of the paths in the reserve from overtopping of the Ballymurphy Stream. These Agency works on the designated watercourse also facilitated the Ulster Wildlife Trust, in their opening up of an undesignated watercourse which had become silted.

Annual maintenance works on the Ballymurphy Stream, which included clearance of the channel, were undertaken in October 2007.

Forest Service

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether or not there are any plans to de-centralise the Forest Service out of Belfast.

(AQO 2345/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Forest Service’s HQ is located in Dundonald House. However, the majority of staff are already decentralised, working from District Offices at Castlewellan, Enniskillen and Garvagh and a number of small operational bases throughout the North. At present, there are no plans to relocate the HQ outside of Belfast.

Northern Ireland Products

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the steps she is taking to promote Northern Ireland products, such as Portavogie prawns, Comber potatoes and Glastry ice cream.

(AQO 2342/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I am committed to supporting quality local produce as I believe that we have access to some of the best natural ingredients in the world.

I have recently launched the new round of the NI Regional Food Programme which aims to promote quality regional food and increase its consumption within the island of Ireland and Britain. Under this programme assistance is available to develop and expand profitable and sustainable markets by encouraging better co-operation and communications between all sectors of the food industry.

The programme in past 12 months has provided financial support to a range of successful events, such as the Lough Neagh Food Festival, which showcased the wide range of quality local produce available.

The European Union Protected Food Names scheme provides a system for the protection of food names on a geographical or traditional recipe basis. Under this system, a named food or drink registered at European level is given protection against imitation throughout the European Union. This may in turn help them to take advantage of the wider markets that are arising from consumers’ increasing awareness of the importance of regional and speciality foods. Applications for the scheme may only be submitted by industry interests through my Department.

The Department is at the initial stages of progressing an application for Comber Potatoes under the EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. We have not been approached by interested parties regarding Portavogie prawns or by Glastry ice cream.

Rural Development Programme

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the organisations that will be responsible for the delivery of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-2013.

(AQO 2348/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Axis 1 of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 will be delivered by a mix of DARD staff and third-party delivery agents.

Focus farms and benchmarking, two elements of measure 1.1, which covers vocational training and information actions, will be delivered by third-party delivery agents, who have yet to be appointed. The farm family options will be delivered through Local Action Groups covering seven council clusters, which I shall presently describe in more detail.

Measures 1.2, adding value to agricultural and forestry products and improving marketing capability, and 1.4, the supply chain development programme, will be delivered directly by the Department.

Measure 1.3, modernisation of agricultural holdings, will be delivered by third-party delivery agents, who have yet to be appointed.

Under Axis 2 of the NIRDP 2007 - 13, DARD’s Countryside Management Branch is responsible for the development, delivery and management of the Agri-environment Programme, including the Organic Farming Scheme.

The Agri-environment Programme will be delivered through the new and improved Countryside Management Scheme (NIRDP). It is anticipated that this scheme will be open to applications late spring / early summer 2008.

Rural Payments and Inspection Division, DARDNI, deliver the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance Scheme under Axis 2.

Forestry Schemes are delivered by Forest Services under Axis 2.

The quality-of-life measures under Axis 3 of the programme will be delivered by seven council clusters, each in partnership with a newly formed Local Action Group. Each cluster will have one council as lead financial actor. The clusters that have formed are:-

        1. Antrim, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey, in which Antrim will lead;
        2. Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Larne and Moyle, in which Ballymena will lead;
        3. Ards, Banbridge, Down and North Down, in which Ards will lead;
        4. Magherafelt, Cookstown, Dungannon and Enniskillen, in which Cookstown will lead;
        5. Belfast, Castlereagh and Lisburn, in which Lisburn will lead;
        6. Omagh, Strabane, Derry and Limavady, in which Omagh will lead; and
        7. Armagh, Craigavon, and Newry and Mourne, for which a lead council will shortly be agreed.

The clusters are now beginning to animate their areas in preparation for the competitive selection of Local Action Groups, which will include at least 50% representation from the economic and social partners, as well as organisations representing civil society. The role of the Local Action Groups will be, in partnership with their council cluster, to define a local development strategy for the cluster area to inform priorities for programme delivery.

As managing authority, DARD will, of course, retain overall responsibility for delivery of the 2007-2013 NI Rural Development Programme.

Farming Sector

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the assistance being offered to encourage those in the farming sector, under the age of 35, to remain in the sector.

(AQO 2309/08)

Ms M Gildernew: My Department, primarily through the Development Service of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) provides support and assistance to those farmers of all age groups who wish to develop their farm business and commit to a future in the industry.

CAFRE’s team of Development Advisers, who are located throughout the North, work with farmers through delivery of tailored Development Plans for their businesses. Through this process business objectives and development needs are identified and the appropriate support agreed. Development Advisers provide support to these farmers through delivery of:-

For those young people wishing to pursue a career in farming, CAFRE also provides further and higher education programmes in agriculture. Courses ranging from NVQ level 2 to Honours degree level, (which is delivered in partnership with Queen’s University, Belfast), are available at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus in Antrim. The NVQ level 2 part-time programme is also available at CAFRE’s Enniskillen Campus.

On behalf of DARD, CAFRE is also currently delivering the New Entrants Scheme (NES) which commenced in June 2005. Under the NES, participants are encouraged to come forward with innovative agricultural projects that will add value and make a positive impact to the farming industry and the rural economy.

Financial assistance takes the form of an interest rate subsidy on loans taken out in pursuance of an agreed agricultural project as detailed in the applicant's business plan. The maximum amount of interest rate subsidy available is £17,000 and the maximum duration of subsidised interest payment is five years.

The Scheme was originally due to close in June 2008. However, in December 2007 I announced that, subject to the necessary legislative amendments, the closing date for applications to the Scheme will be extended to 27 February 2009 or when the £4.5 million budget has been fully committed, whichever comes sooner. At current rates of expenditure it is anticipated that the budget will support 280-290 applicants.

Brucellosis in Cattle

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline her plans to tackle brucellosis in cattle.

(AQO 2369/08)

Ms M Gildernew: We have made significant progress in recent years with Brucellosis. Since peak levels for the disease in 2002, the herd incidence has been reduced by more than 50%. My ultimate aim is to eradicate Brucellosis completely from the North and we are continuing to work towards that end.

I will continue to ensure that everything possible is done to keep pushing forward towards the eradication of this disease. Our veterinary assessment is that as we continue to drive Brucellosis levels down, we will need to retain all aspects of the existing control programme. My Department will continue to monitor and improve the implementation of the programme according to the disease situation as it changes. We may need stricter measures as we deal with the tail of the epidemic. We will also need the co-operation of farmers through good biosecurity and compliance with the rules.

At present, my Department is considering what additional measures might be applied in any areas in the North where Brucellosis incidence is highest, including the border areas of South Armagh but also Newry and Fermanagh, or any other area where the disease might flare up. This is so that we will contain and stamp out disease in any disease hotspot areas and prevent it spreading to other areas in the North.

Over the coming months, my Department will be engaging with farmers around the North to raise awareness about the disease risks and to advise them what more they could do to protect their herds from Brucellosis. This must be a genuine partnership effort with the industry. Individuals play a vital role in reducing the spread of this disease. For instance, it is critical that farmers maintain good biosecurity on their farms such as maintaining good boundary fencing, and making sure that negative pre movement test results are received before moving cattle. It is also vitally important that farmers report any abortions in cattle, immediately, because it is by detecting the disease early that we can prevent it from spreading.

There is very close, on-going co-operation between my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) in Dublin on Brucellosis. There is an active North/South Working Group which brings together officials from DARD and DAFF that meets regularly to specifically discuss Brucellosis issues and share good practice.

This close level of North/South co-operation will continue, given the interest we all share in moving as quickly as we can towards an island that is free of this disease.

Farm Nutrient Management Scheme

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm that the department has been advised that documents accepting the terms and conditions of the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme, posted by approved applicants, (i) have not been delivered to Orchard House; or (ii) may have been mislaid in her department's office.

(AQO 2301/08)

Ms M Gildernew: All documents received by the Department under the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme (FNMS) are recorded and acknowledged on the Department’s data base.

Since the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme opened on 26 January 2005 over 3,000 FNMS approvals have been issued. Some 20 applicants have stated that they returned their signed FNMS acceptance documents by post but the Department has no record of having received them either in Orchard House or in any of the County Agricultural Offices. There is no evidence that the Department has mislaid any FNMS documents.

Farmers have not been disadvantaged and duplicate approvals were issued where necessary.

CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE

Community and Voluntary Sector

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the groups within the community and voluntary sector that have been informed that funding will cease in March 2008; and to outline the services/programmes that will be affected.

(AQW 4274/08)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr E Poots): The Department has not informed any community or voluntary groups that funding will cease in March 2008.

Voluntary and Community Sector

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail, since the publication of the Budget, those groups within the voluntary and community sector which have secured funding and for what services.

(AQW 4276/08)

Mr E Poots: Through awards made under the Community Sport Programme, the following organisations have been awarded additional funding to complete a project level evaluation at the end of their initial 3 year investment award (2005-2008):

Organisation

Amount - £

Project

Age Concern

2,000

Community Sport Development Initiative (Lisburn)

Youth Sport Omagh

1,500

Community Sport Programme – people with disabilities, women & girls

Newry & Mourne Carers Association

2,500

Swimming Lessons for Adult Family Carers

Greater Village Regeneration Trust and Lower Ormeau Residents Action Group in association with Castlereagh Borough Council

5,000

Older & Active Programme

Through awards made under the Community Sport Programme, the following organisations have been awarded additional funding for the training and deployment of community coaches through the Inclusive Community Coach Programme.

Organisation

Number of individuals selected for programme

Total amount - £

Brownlow Campus Sports Trust

1

1366

Clarendon Sports Association

1

1366

Greater Village Regeneration Trust

1

1366

Down Clubmark Association

1

1366

Youth Sport Omagh

2

2732

Lower Ormeau Residents Action Group

1

1366

Arts funding through Northern Ireland Screen has been issued as follows:

Organisation

Amount - £

Cinemagic

37, 500

Nerve Centre

82, 500

Queens Film Centre (QFT)

60, 750

Belfast Film Festival (BFF)

40, 500

Northern Visions

78, 750

Cinemobile

7, 500

Nerve Centre – After School Film Clubs, North West

20, 000

Cinemagic – Ater Schools Film Clubs

60, 000

Creative Learning Centres (CLC) – Studio On

237, 500

CLC – Amma Centre

93, 750

CLC – Co-Ordinator

30, 000

CLC - Nerve Centre

138, 750

Festivals Provision

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, pursuant to his answer to AQO 1772/08, if he will consider making provision for other festivals if he is provided with three-year business plan for them.

(AQW 4427/08)

Mr E Poots: Only in very exceptional cases would the Department undertake a direct funding role. However, on a without prejudice basis, I am considering if provision should be made to facilitate a small number of established festivals who can demonstrate over time a greater self-reliance on box office receipts and private sector sponsorship.

Translation of Correspondence

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the expenditure spent on the translation of correspondence received by all departments, that was written in (i) Irish; (ii) Ulster-Scots; and (iii) other languages, in the last two years.

(AQW 4494/08)

Mr E Poots: Records kept by my Department do not specify the type of document translated. I cannot distinguish the amount spent on correspondence received from the amount spent on other translations such as responses to correspondence, advertisements and official documents.

Detailed breakdowns of translation costs for each Government Department for each of the last two years are provided in the following tables. These figures are provided to DCAL by each Department annually.

 

BREAKDOWN 2005/06

DEPARTMENT

TOTAL 2005/06

IRISH

ULSTER SCOTS

* ETHNIC

SIGN

** OTHER

NIO

£527,454.57

£480.76

£0.00

£510,893.87

£16,079.94

£0.00

DE

£37,827.10

£19,349.27

£0.00

£14,094.27

£3,559.65

£823.91

DARD

£5,076.85

£3,192.16

£95.89

£1,590.00

£0.00

£198.80

DEL

£232,064.00

£0.00

£0.00

£230,841.00

£1,223.00

£0.00

DETI

£7,510.19

£390.89

£0.00

£5,430.59

£1,611.17

£77.54

DFP

£1,498.03

£899.73

£0.00

£180.00

£356.50

£61.80

DHSSPS

£27,262.66

£8,974.00

£0.00

£17,545.66

£0.00

£743.00

DOE

£16,330.78

£7,290.06

£7,931.62

£309.10

£800.00

£0.00

DRD

£546.04

£436.04

£0.00

£110.00

£0.00

£0.00

DSD

£309,871.19

£0.00

£0.00

£308,602.40

£561.00

£707.79

OFMDFM

£24,081.60

£2,740.77

£515.36

£15,210.47

£4,291.60

£1,323.40

DCAL

£25,183.92

£20,801.17

£783.40

£1,535.90

£532.30

£1,531.15

TOTAL

£1,214,706.93

£64,554.85

£9,326.27

£1,106,343.26

£29,015.16

£5,467.39

BREAKDOWN 2006/07

DEPARTMENT

TOTAL 2006/07

IRISH

ULSTER SCOTS

ETHNIC*

SIGN

OTHER**

NIO***

£359,775.00

£1,963.00

£193.00

£337,935.00

£19,070.00

£614.00

DE

£235,520.11

£19,371.88

£50.61

£212,177.62

£3,590.00

£330.00

DARD

£8,723.20

£2,087.49

£489.77

£6,145.94

£0.00

£0.00

DEL

£118,987.71

£2,375.06

£630.00

£35,795.65

£80,187.00

£0.00

DETI

£12,482.65

£223.75

£0.00

£11,622.02

£113.00

£523.88

DFP

£14,040.03

£9,971.29

£0.00

£174.36

£3,763.88

£130.50

DHSSPS

£14,786.46

£14,046.45

£0.00

£740.01

£0.00

£0.00

DOE

£22,246.57

£20,145.87

£1,060.50

£508.20

£532.00

£0.00

DRD

£5,042.51

£410.67

£175.00

£1,547.34

£2,593.00

£316.50

DSD

£262,630.97

£1,932.88

£0.00

£257,924.33

£990.95

£1,782.81

OFMDFM

£14,926.86

£3,891.97

£499.60

£7,815.46

£2,111.40

£608.43

DCAL

£44,918.38

£40,667.70

£0.00

£2,191.31

£0.00

£2,059.37

TOTAL

£1,114,080.45

£117,088.01

£3,098.48

£874,577.24

£112,951.23

£6,365.49

* Ethnic refers to translations other than English, Irish and Ulster-Scots

** Other refers to braille and interpretation costs

*** NIO have identified an additional £552,348 in Interpretation costs which has not yet been categorised for use in the above tables.

Irish Translation

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) to confirm that his department provides translations of Assembly written questions from English into Irish for the Department of Education and other Government departments; (ii) to detail the cost of providing these translations; and (iii) what assessment he has made of the extent to which the provision of these services contributes to delays in meeting response times for questions.

(AQW 4550/08)

Mr E Poots: The translation service operated by my Department has overseen requests for translation of Written Assembly Questions from the Department of Education. No other Government Department has requested translations in relation to Written Assembly Questions.

My Department does not keep a record of the translation costs organised by document type however the Department of Education have estimated that £346.33 has been spent on translations into Irish for inclusion in answers to Written Assembly Questions. This work is ongoing and these costs relate to invoices received as of 3 March 2008.

I am unable to offer an assessment of the means by which my Ministerial colleagues choose to respond to questions asked of their Departments. My Department does not operate a policy of translating Written Assembly Questions and therefore there is no effect on the response times.

Circuit Racing

Mr D Burnside asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline his plans for supporting motor cycle road and closed circuit racing in 2008.

(AQO 2273/08)

Mr E Poots: Responsibility for supporting motor cycle road and closed circuit racing in Northern Ireland is a matter in the first instance for the governing bodies of motorsport as represented by the 2&4 Wheel Motorsport Steering Group Limited (2&4 Wheel MSG).

My Department has made available a sum of £100,000 to assist 2&4 Wheel MSG support motor cycle road and closed circuit racing in Northern Ireland during 2008.

In addition to this, I have met with representatives of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland (MCUI) and 2&4 Wheel MSG to discuss how major motor cycle events can be further developed.

Library Provision

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to indicate the measures he has put in place to avert cuts in community library provision in Belfast.

(AQO 2361/08)

Mr E Poots: Following the Comprehensive Spending Review public consultation exercise, I secured an additional £4 million pounds for my Department for the next two years.

Of this, I have allocated £1 million to libraries over the next two years and the Belfast Education and Library Board will benefit from this allocation.

I have also secured in the region of £30 million pounds capital for the next three years, and a further £107 million for the following seven years, to modernise and improve the library estate across Northern Ireland and I would encourage all Boards, including Belfast, to bring forward proposals to access this funding.

However, the Belfast Education and Library Board is responsible for determining how best to deliver public library services in Belfast from within available resources.

Irish Language Broadcasting Fund

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the meetings his department has had with the United Kingdom Government in order to secure additional funding for the Irish Language Broadcasting Fund.

(AQO 2334/08)

Mr E Poots: My officials held initial discussions with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office both before and after Christmas with a view to determining how the UK ensures compliance with the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of its agreed media provisions.

Broadcasting remains a reserved matter, therefore, it is planned to continue these discussions with officials in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Motor Sport Safety Measures

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to give a timescale within which allocations will be made from the funding announced for motor sport safety measures.

(AQO 2283/08)

Mr E Poots: Responsibility for the allocation of funding for motorsport events, including the timescale within which allocations are made, is a matter, in the first instance, for the governing bodies of motorsport as represented by the 2&4 Wheel Motorsport Steering Group Limited (2&4 Wheel MSG). I understand that 2&4 Wheel MSG is currently in discussion with motorsport clubs over the allocation of the recently announced funding.

Multi-Sports Stadium

Mr D Ford asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to provide an update on the expected completion date for a new multi-sports stadium.

(AQO 2288/08)

Mr E Poots: A completion date for the Multi-Sports Stadium is dependent on how quickly we can get on a decision on a way forward. The Outline Business Case on the Multi-Sports Stadium is currently with the Department of Finance and Personnel for scrutiny and, if approved, will then be submitted, as part of the overall Maze/Long Kesh proposal, to the Executive for consideration. The entire process could however take a number of months.

Elite Facilities Projects

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to give a timescale within which the next stage of the proposed elite facilities projects will be completed by Sport Northern Ireland.

(AQO 2296/08)

Mr E Poots:

In March 2006, the then Minister for Sport, David Hanson MP announced that approximately £50m had been provisionally allocated for high priority sports infrastructure projects.

Since then, two separate competitions have been held, seeking expressions of interest from anyone interested in developing elite Olympic and Paralympic facilities in Northern Ireland.

The 2008/2011 Budget provides circa £145m for all sport including £111.6m for capital funding. We are currently in discussion with Sport Northern Ireland about the allocation of the capital budget and planning for the delivery of the Elite Facilities Programme.

Once we have agreed the budget available for the Elite Facilities Capital Programme, Sport Northern Ireland will then proceed with issuing letters to those organizations that have been approved to proceed to the next stage. It is intended that this will happen in the next future.

Devolution of Broadcasting

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline his department's efforts to secure the devolution of broadcasting responsibilities and powers.

(AQO 2352/08)

Mr E Poots: Broadcasting responsibilities and powers are currently reserved matters and therefore I cannot comment further.

Stadium Development

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the capital grants that are available for stadium development in relation to (i) rugby; (ii) gaelic games; and (iii) soccer, in this year's budget.

(AQO 2317/08)

Mr E Poots: The recently announced capital budget for sport is £31.2m in 2008/09, £36.4m in 2009/10 and £44m in 2010/11. Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) is responsible for the development of sport including the distribution of funding. SNI is currently considering how these funds can be allocated across sport. As part of that process, SNI is working closely with sports governing bodies, including that for Soccer, on stadium development needs. Decisions on the grants available for stadium development, including maximum grants, will be taken by SNI once this process is completed

Ulster-Scots

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the resource implications of moving Ulster-Scots from Part II to Part III Status.

(AQO 2257/08)

Mr E Poots: It would not be possible to determine the resource implications required to move Ulster-Scots from Part II to Part III of the Charter without carrying out an extensive study across a number of Northern Ireland Civil Service and Whitehall Departments. This may determine the resource implications to those areas of the UK Government that could be affected by the Charter.

Library Services

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the revenue and capital monies available to library services.

(AQO 2314/08)

Mr E Poots: The total libraries recurrent budget for each of the next three years is £31.3m in 2008/09, £32m in 2009/10 and £31.8m in 2010/11.

These figures include funding for public libraries and other library funded bodies.

The capital budget is £6.1m for 2008/09, £11.5m in 2009/10 and £14m in 2010/11. The 10 year Capital Investment Strategy allocates a further £107 million in the following seven years to library capital projects.

Stadium Development

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (i) the grants available under capital stadium development for senior soccer clubs; and (ii) the maximum grant available.

(AQO 2311/08)

Mr E Poots: The recently announced capital budget for sport is £31.2m in 2008/09, £36.4m in 2009/10 and £44m in 2010/11. Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) is responsible for the development of sport including the distribution of funding. SNI is currently considering how these funds can be allocated across sport. As part of that process, SNI is working closely with sports governing bodies, including that for Soccer, on stadium development needs. Decisions on the grants available for stadium development, including maximum grants, will be taken by SNI once this process is completed

EDUCATION

Fabricated Items

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Education to detail all those who tendered for stainless steel fabricated items in newly built schools in the North Eastern Education and Library Board area; and to detail the successful tenderers, in each of the last two years.

(AQW 988/08)

The Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane): I have asked for a review of the Boards’ procurement processes to provide assurance that there is compliance with best procurement practice.

The North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) have advised their

tendering procedures is to advertise publicly for main contractors who wish to be included in a select list of contractors for their major schemes. A short list would then be prepared (based on approved criteria) and the successful contractors would be invited to submit tenders in due course.

It is the successful main contractor’s decision as to which sub-contractor to appoint for the supply and fitting of stainless steel fixtures. The NEELB has confirmed that four new schools have been built within its area in the last two years.

Ceapadh príomhchonraitheoir difriúil i ngach cás, agus tuigim gurb é Stephens Catering Equipment Ltd an fochonraitheoir a bhí ceaptha ag na conraitheoirí go léir le feistí dosmálta a sholáthar agus a fheistiú.

A different main contractor was appointed in each case, and I understand that Stephens Catering Equipment Ltd was the sub-contractor appointed by all the contractors for the supply and fitting of stainless steel fixtures.

Maintenance Funding

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Education to detail the planned reductions in maintenance funding for primary schools in the Strangford constituency, in each of the next three years.

(AQW 2793/08)

Ms C Ruane: The amount of funding allocated to maintenance by the South Eastern Education and Library Board is decided each year as a portion of its block grant.

Ní bheidh an Bord in ann a maoiniú pleanáilte i gcomhair cothabhála do na trí bliana seo romhainn a shocrú go leithdháiltear a bhlocdheontais do na blianta sin.

The Board will not be in a position to establish its planned maintenance funding for the next three years until after its block grants for those years are allocated.

Written Question

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Education why an answer to AQW 1772/08 has not yet been received, given that the question was submitted two months ago; and to confirm whether or not the principle of academic selection is safeguarded in legislation.

(AQW 2864/08)

Ms C Ruane: Ba mhaith liom leithscéal a ghabháil as an mhoill freagra a thabhairt ar AQW 1772/08. Tá sé tugtha le fios domh go bhfuil freagra tugtha uirthi faoi seo.

I wish to apologise for the delay in responding to AQW 1772/08 which I understand has now been answered.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) her department's bids in relation to the Comprehensive Spending Review; and (ii) the amount of funding that has been allocated against them in the Budget 2008-11.

(AQW 3303/08)

Ms C Ruane: Sa tábla thíos tá liosta de na tairiscintí maidir le caiteachas reatha a chuir mo Roinn isteach mar chuid de phróiseas Buiséid 2007. Chuir an Buiséad deiridh an maoiniú breise seo a leanas ar fáil don Oideachas:

The table below lists the bids in relation to current expenditure submitted by my department as part of the Budget 2007 process. The final Budget has provided the following additional funding for Education:

£m

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Current Expenditure 149.1 300.0 428.7

Capital investment requirements were considered as part of the process of formulating the Investment Strategy. The final allocations for Education amount to:

£m

Capital Investment 214.6 253.3 201.1

BUDGET 2007 – DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BIDS SET AGAINST PRIORITIES

£000s

TITLE

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

Res

Admin

Res

Admin

Res

Admin

Sustaining Existing Services

Children and Young People Funding Package - Restoration of Existing Provision

23,174

23,800

24,443

Departmental Administration - Review of Public Administration/ Reforms

2,078

2,531

2,640

Education Administration Reform

3,000

38,400

13,405

Education Services: Maintenance of Expenditure Levels (MEL) (Excl Schools' Aggregated School Budgets)

23,956

47,436

72,222

EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in the north of Ireland

512

0

0

and the Border Region of Ireland - Measure 2.2

Developing Children and Young People

Healthy Schools

250

3,250

3,750

Integrated Development Fund (including Renewing Communities) - Continuation of Existing Provision

5,299

5,442

5,589

Improving the Professional Development of Teachers

5,000

7,200

7,200

Maintenance of Schools Estate

7,419

10,534

16,000

Pre-Employment Checks of Teaching/Non-Teaching Staff

942

1,161

1,161

Preparation for the introduction of new arrangements for the

1,000

500

500

transfer of pupils from primary to post-primary education

School Transport - Safety

4,580

4,640

4,695

School Budgets - Guaranteed Per Pupil Uplift

114,660

192,327

262,251

Strengthening Governance

750

1,750

3,000

Sustainable Living Schools

3,750

5,250

6,500

BUDGET 2007 – DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BIDS SET AGAINST PRIORITIES (Continued)

£000s

TITLE

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

Res

Admin

Res

Admin

Res

Admin

Supporting The Economy

Curriculum, Assessment & ICT

25,567

23,725

22,952

Early Years - Begin with Quality

27,070

27,810

28,570

Employability, Careers and Business Education

6,000

6,500

7,000

Enhance Science Technology Engineering &

3,629

6,124

6,124

Mathematics (STEM) Education & Increase

Supply of STEM Skills

Entitlement Framework Support

17,667

500

21,464

510

21,239

520

School Improvement Fund including Measures

12,950

500

13,600

510

14,000

520

to Promote Literacy and Numeracy

Extension of Specialist Schools Programme

3,273

4,976

6,792

Implementation of a Languages Strategy for NI

9,130

9,222

9,419

PPP and Infrastructure Procurement

8,000

25,555

39,960

Support for Foundation Stage Statutory Curriculum

20,200

17,200

17,200

 

Equality and Inclusion

Children affected by Educational Disadvantage

3,897

4,214

4,223

Connecting Schools to their Communities

30,784

32,290

33,935

High Quality Youth Service

7,334

9,164

13,494

Irish-Medium Education

3,270

2,305

2,325

Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Inclusion - Early Years/Early Intervention Package

15,697

16,835

14,782

SEN and Inclusion - Development of School Based Integrated

7,320

500

12,241

510

14,126

520

Capacity building

SEN and Inclusion - Enhanced Support

1,297

1,469

1,503

TOTALS

397,377

3,578

576,384

4,061

678,360

4,200

Meeting with Counterpart

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Education to detail the outcome of the meeting with her counterpart in the Scottish Executive.

(AQW 3325/08)

Ms C Ruane: I met with Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 12 December. During the meeting, we discussed a range of issues including Irish and Gaelic-medium education, teacher recruitment and induction, raising standards and tackling educational underachievement and funding.

Tugadh miontuairisc ar an chruinniú don Choiste Oideachais ar 8 Feabhra 2008, agus tá cóip di ar fáil i Leabharlann an Tionóil.

A detailed report on the meeting was provided to the Education Committee on 8 February 2008 and is also available in the Assembly Library.

Meetings Held

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of meetings she has held with (i) MLAs; and (ii) other groups, since she took up office.

(AQW 3369/08)

Ms C Ruane: Ó ghlac mé oifig, bhí 43 cruinnithe agam le CTRí agus 142 cruinniú le grúpaí eile.

Since I took up office, I have held 43 meetings with MLA’s and 142 meetings with other groups

Capital Projects

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Education to outline the capital projects which will begin during the coming year.

(AQW 3398/08)

Ms C Ruane: Tá na mórthionscadail chaipitil a meastar faoi láthair gurbh fhéidir le hobair tógála tosú ar an láthair orthu i 2008 sonraithe sa tábla thíos.

The table below details those major capital projects where it is currently estimated construction work could start on site in 2008.

These projects will be progressed with the relevant education authority and the timescales for doing so will be subject to the necessary planning and building processes being completed satisfactorily and the availability of sufficient resources.

SCHOOL

DETAILS OF PROJECT

St Clare’s Abbey PS Newry

New school on extended site

Lisnagelvin P.S.

New school on existing site

Lisbellaw P.S.

New school on existing site

Banbridge Academy

Extension & Refurbishment

Templepatrick PS

New school on existing site

St Joseph's P.S Madden, Armagh

New school on existing site

St Columba's P.S, Straw, Draperstown

New school on new site

St Catherine's College, Armagh

Extension

Whitehouse PS, N'Abbey

New school on existing site

St Pat's & St Brigid's P.S. B'castle

New school on existing site

Carrick P.S. Warrenpoint

New school on extended site

St Mary's P.S, Newcastle

New school on existing site

Magherafelt P.S.

New school on new site

Scoil Na Fuiseoige P.S, Belfast

New school on existing site

Magherafelt HS

New school on existing site

St Colman's P.S. Lambeg

New school on extended site

Parkhall College, Antrim

New school on existing site

St Columbkille's P.S. Carrickmore

New school on extended site

St Oliver Plunkett P.S. Forkhill

New school on new site

St Pat's Boys/Girls Acad, Dgnon

New school on existing site

Coranny & Cornagague P.S.

New school on new site

St Conor's P.S, Omagh

New school on extended site

Bangor Grammar

New school on new site

Knockevin Spec School, Downpatrick

New school on existing site

Knockbreda HS, Belfast

New school on existing site

Strathearn GS, Belfast

New school on existing site

Glendhu NS, Belfast

New school on existing site

Ravenscroft NS, Belfast

New school on existing site

Glastry College, Ballyhalbert

New school on extended site

Cranny Special School, Omagh

New school on existing site

Arvalee Spec School, Omagh

New school on existing site

Primary School Leavers

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Education to detail the percentage of primary school leavers that have gone to (i) grammar schools; and (ii) secondary schools, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 3567/08)

Ms C Ruane: Sa tábla thíos tugtar céatadáin na ndaltaí a d’fhág an bhunscoil agus a chuaigh chuig (i) scoileanna gramadaí; agus (ii) meánscoileanna, le cúg bliana anuas.

The percentage of primary school leavers that have gone to (i) grammar schools; and (ii) secondary schools, in each of the last five years is set out in the table, below.

Date Transferring to Post-Primary Education

% Transferring to Grammar Schools

(i)

% Transferring to Non-Grammar Schools

(ii)

September 2003

36

64

September 2004

38

62

September 2005

38

62

September 2006

39

61

September 2007

39

61

Sustainable Schools

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education to detail the reasons for the absence of any reference to a policy for sustainable schools within the Programme for Government and 2008-2011 Budget.

(AQW 3669/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Programme for Government and Budget documents set out a strategic framework for the delivery of policies and programmes over the next three years, though they do not provide an exhaustive list of all policies.

Tá beart i gComhaontú Seirbhíse Poiblí 16 "Le pleanáil straitéiseach an eastát scoile a fheabhsú" agus sprioc ghaolmhar le cur chuige pleanála bunaithe sa cheantar a bheith ann. Beidh cur chuige beartais i leith scoileanna inbhuanaithe mar phríomhghné de phleanáil bunaithe sa cheantar.

Public Service Agreement 16 includes an action "To improve the strategic planning of the schools estate" with an associated target to put in place an area-based planning approach. A key element of area- based planning will be a policy approach to sustainable schools.

Professional Consultants

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail whether the precedent that exists to permit her department to employ the services of professional consultants, in relation to work concerning independent integrated schools.

(AQW 3716/08)

Ms C Ruane: My Department would not normally employ consultants to undertake work in relation to schools which are not in receipt of grant funding.

The Department did not fund any work in relation to Development Proposal 172. Development Proposal 202 involves an existing grant-aided school, Down Academy, which is owned by the South Eastern Education and Library Board.

Building options for existing schools are examined through undertaking a feasibility study and an economic appraisal. Professional consultants have been engaged by my Department to undertake a feasibility study and an appraisal in this case and work is continuing to complete them.

Is é £50, 000, gan CBL san áireamh, an costas iomlán measta ar an obair atá i gceist.

The overall estimated cost for the work involved is expected to be in the region of £50,000, excluding VAT.

Rowallane Integrated School

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to confirm whether or not her department employed the services of professional consultants in relation to Development Proposal 172, Rowallane Integrated School; and to detail (i) the work completed; and (ii) the cost incurred by her department.

(AQW 3717/08)

Ms C Ruane: My Department would not normally employ consultants to undertake work in relation to schools which are not in receipt of grant funding.

The Department did not fund any work in relation to Development Proposal 172. Development Proposal 202 involves an existing grant-aided school, Down Academy, which is owned by the South Eastern Education and Library Board.

Building options for existing schools are examined through undertaking a feasibility study and an economic appraisal. Professional consultants have been engaged by my Department to undertake a feasibility study and an appraisal in this case and work is continuing to complete them.

Is é £50, 000, gan CBL san áireamh, an costas iomlán measta ar an obair atá i gceist.

The overall estimated cost for the work involved is expected to be in the region of £50,000, excluding VAT.

Blackwater Integrated College

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to confirm whether or not her department employed the services of professional consultants in relation to Development Proposal 202, Blackwater Integrated College; and to detail (i) the work completed; and (ii) the cost incurred by her department.

(AQW 3718/08)

Ms C Ruane: My Department would not normally employ consultants to undertake work in relation to schools which are not in receipt of grant funding.

The Department did not fund any work in relation to Development Proposal 172. Development Proposal 202 involves an existing grant-aided school, Down Academy, which is owned by the South Eastern Education and Library Board.

Building options for existing schools are examined through undertaking a feasibility study and an economic appraisal. Professional consultants have been engaged by my Department to undertake a feasibility study and an appraisal in this case and work is continuing to complete them.

Is é £50, 000, gan CBL san áireamh, an costas iomlán measta ar an obair atá i gceist.

The overall estimated cost for the work involved is expected to be in the region of £50,000, excluding VAT.

Ministerial Meetings

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of meetings she has held with (i) delegations representing one or more of the local councils; (ii) the Northern Ireland Local Government Association; and (iii) the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, since May 2007.

(AQW 3722/08)

Ms C Ruane: Ó Bhealtaine 2007, bhí dhá chruinniú agam le toscairí a bhí mar ionadaithe ar cheann amháin nó níos mó de na comhairlí áitiúla. Tá cruinniú le bheith agam le Cumann Rialtais Áitiúil TÉ. Ní raibh cruinniú agam le Cumann na bPríomhfheidhmeannach de chuid an Rialtais Áitiúil. Bhuail mé le Comhairle Dúiche an Iúir agus na Múrna.

Since May 2007, I have had two meetings with delegations representing one or more of the local councils. I have a meeting scheduled with the NI Local Government Association (NILGA). I have not met with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE). I have also met with Newry & Mourne District Council.

Academic Selection

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Education to confirm the current legislative position in relation to academic selection.

(AQW 3854/08)

Ms C Ruane: The current system of academic selection within grammar schools has its legislative framework under the 1997 Education Order and its supporting regulations. By virtue of the Education Order 2006, this legislative framework will lapse with effect from Transfer 2010. Article 28 (1) of the 2006 Education Order gives to the Department a power to specify, through regulations, the admissions criteria that schools will be permitted to use.

Faoi Article 28 (2) den Education Order 2006 tá cosc ar an Roinn critéir acadúla iontrála a chuimsiú in aon chritéir cheadaithe iontrála sa todhchaí. Níl Article 28 (2) tosaithe.

Article 28 (2) of the Education Order 2006 precludes the Department from including academic admissions criteria in any future permitted admissions criteria. Article 28(2) is not commenced.

Alternative Education Projects

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of Alternative Education Projects in West Belfast, that are currently in receipt of funding from her department.

(AQW 3955/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department does not fund any Alternative Education Projects in West Belfast. All Departmental funding for alternative education is allocated directly to the Education and Library Boards and it is a matter for each Board to decide how these funds can be best used to meet the needs of young people in its area.

The Belfast Education and Library Board makes provision for young people, who no longer attend mainstream school, in Loughshore Educational Resource Centre, Conway Education Centre, The Bridge and Newstart Education Centre.

I láthair na huaire tá an Roinn ag obair leis na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne le cinntiú go mbeidh cur chuige níos comhornaithe ann maidir le hOideachas an Luchta Siúil. Ba cheart go gcuirfeadh sé seo feabhas ar rannpháirtíocht pháístí an Luchta Siúil ag gach leibhéal dár gcóras oideachais.

The Department is currently working alongside the Education and Library Boards to ensure a more co-ordinated approach to Traveller education. This should improve participation of Traveller children at all levels of our education system.

An Munia Tober's Alternative Education Project

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Education to detail the plans her department has to fund An Munia Tober's Alternative Education Project in West Belfast.

(AQW 3956/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department does not fund any Alternative Education Projects in West Belfast. All Departmental funding for alternative education is allocated directly to the Education and Library Boards and it is a matter for each Board to decide how these funds can be best used to meet the needs of young people in its area.

The Belfast Education and Library Board makes provision for young people, who no longer attend mainstream school, in Loughshore Educational Resource Centre, Conway Education Centre, The Bridge and Newstart Education Centre.

I láthair na huaire tá an Roinn ag obair leis na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne le cinntiú go mbeidh cur chuige níos comhornaithe ann maidir le hOideachas an Luchta Siúil. Ba cheart go gcuirfeadh sé seo feabhas ar rannpháirtíocht pháístí an Luchta Siúil ag gach leibhéal dár gcóras oideachais.

The Department is currently working alongside the Education and Library Boards to ensure a more co-ordinated approach to Traveller education. This should improve participation of Traveller children at all levels of our education system.

Training Sessions

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Education to detail the professional in-service training sessions her department provided to teachers, and head teachers, on (i) tackling bullying of children with special needs; and (ii) the academic attainment and attendance of children with special educational needs.

(AQW 4003/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department of Education does not provide any training for teachers or head teachers in these areas. In-service teacher training is provided by each of the Education and Library Boards (ELBs) and I understand that anti-bullying training focuses on the needs of all children and young people and is not specific to those with special educational needs. The aim of the training is to encourage and facilitate a whole-school approach to the development an anti-bullying culture.

Training is followed up with school-based advice from ELB staff and on-going telephone guidance and support in relation to specific anti-bullying issues and on the content of a school’s anti-bullying policy. Advice on preventative strategies including Positive Behaviour Management, Circle Time, training of ancillary staff and awareness raising sessions for parents is also available to schools.

This year the Inter-Board Anti-bullying Group, which has close links with the local Anti-Bullying Forum, facilitated the development of an anti-bullying teacher training programme to ensure consistency of approach across the North.

Déanann na scoileanna féin gnóthachtáil agus tinreamh páistí agus daoine óga a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta acu a mheas ar bhonn aonraic cionn is an réimse leathan riachtanas a bhíonn acu.

Attainment and attendance of children and young people with special education needs is considered individually by their schools due to their diverse profile of needs.

Educational Performance

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Education to detail the priority (i) a receiving school; and (ii) an over-subscribed receiving school, is to give to previous educational performance by primary school children, under her proposals for post-primary education.

(AQW 4084/08)

Ms C Ruane: My proposals provide for a rounded picture of a child’s education and aptitude for learning to be used to inform an advisory procedure which results in a parent and child determining the most suitable provision for a child. This advisory procedure would operate in a context where there are no academic admissions criteria.

Nuair a bhíonn ró-éileamh ann cuireann na scoileanna critéir iontrála i bhfeidhm maidir le teaghlach, pobal agus crritéir thíreolaíochta, agus beidh na mionsonruithe seo le plé.

Where oversubscribed, schools would apply admissions criteria including family, community and geographical criteria, the detail of which will be subject to consultation.

Portadown College

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Education to provide a timescale within which she will announce (i) the results of the economic appraisals; and (ii) a start date, in relation to the new build at Portadown College.

(AQW 4113/08)

Ms C Ruane: Chuir Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne an Deiscirt breithmheas eacnamaíochta (BE) athbhreithnithe faoi bhráid na Roinne i mí Dheireadh Fómhair agus tá sé seo ag an Roinn faoi láthair le faomhadh.

A revised Economic Appraisal (EA) was submitted to the Department by the Southern Education and Library Board in October and is currently with the Department for approval. It also needs the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel. Subject to full approval being forthcoming and the project progressing through the planning stages it is expected that the new build could commence in spring 2009.

Bunscoil an Traonaigh

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail the total investment made in the purchase of lands to site Bunscoil an Traonaigh, on its existing site at Enniskillen Road, Lisnaskea.

(AQW 4125/08)

Ms C Ruane: My department has not made any capital investment for purchase of land at this site which is being rented from a local owner. The school was recognised for recurrent funding by my department in 2004.

To date no approval has been granted by my department for the purchase of land for Bunscoil an Traonaigh sited on the Enniskillen Road, Lisnakea.

My department was requested by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) to assess the suitability of the new site for a school which is in receipt of grant funding since 2004. The new site was approved by my department’s technical advisors.

D’fhiafraigh CnaG de roinnt comhlachtaí poiblí agus den earnáil phríobháideach lena fhionnadh an raibh aon talamh ar fáil sa cheantar arbh fhéidir scoil nua a shuíomh air.

CnaG pursued enquiries with a number of public bodies and the private sector to ascertain if any land was available in the area in which to site a new school. These included the Ministry of Defence, the Housing Executive, the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Western Education and Library Board. No other satisfactory sites were identified by CnaG.

Bunscoil an Traonaigh

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the involvement of; and (ii) the assistance given by, her department in the purchase of the lands to site Bunscoil an Traonaigh, on its existing site at Enniskillen Road, Lisnaskea.

(AQW 4126/08)

Ms C Ruane: My department has not made any capital investment for purchase of land at this site which is being rented from a local owner. The school was recognised for recurrent funding by my department in 2004.

To date no approval has been granted by my department for the purchase of land for Bunscoil an Traonaigh sited on the Enniskillen Road, Lisnakea.

My department was requested by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) to assess the suitability of the new site for a school which is in receipt of grant funding since 2004. The new site was approved by my department’s technical advisors.

D’fhiafraigh CnaG de roinnt comhlachtaí poiblí agus den earnáil phríobháideach lena fhionnadh an raibh aon talamh ar fáil sa cheantar arbh fhéidir scoil nua a shuíomh air.

CnaG pursued enquiries with a number of public bodies and the private sector to ascertain if any land was available in the area in which to site a new school. These included the Ministry of Defence, the Housing Executive, the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Western Education and Library Board. No other satisfactory sites were identified by CnaG.

Bunscoil an Traonaigh

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail the processes employed by her department in determining (i) the location of; and (ii) the amount of land required to site, Bunscoil an Traonaigh, on its existing site at Enniskillen Road, Lisnaskea.

(AQW 4127/08)

Ms C Ruane: My department has not made any capital investment for purchase of land at this site which is being rented from a local owner. The school was recognised for recurrent funding by my department in 2004.

To date no approval has been granted by my department for the purchase of land for Bunscoil an Traonaigh sited on the Enniskillen Road, Lisnakea.

My department was requested by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) to assess the suitability of the new site for a school which is in receipt of grant funding since 2004. The new site was approved by my department’s technical advisors.

D’fhiafraigh CnaG de roinnt comhlachtaí poiblí agus den earnáil phríobháideach lena fhionnadh an raibh aon talamh ar fáil sa cheantar arbh fhéidir scoil nua a shuíomh air.

CnaG pursued enquiries with a number of public bodies and the private sector to ascertain if any land was available in the area in which to site a new school. These included the Ministry of Defence, the Housing Executive, the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Western Education and Library Board. No other satisfactory sites were identified by CnaG.

Bunscoil an Traonaigh

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail the alternative sites that were considered prior to the purchase of the present site for Bunscoil an Traonaigh.

(AQW 4128/08)

Ms C Ruane: My department has not made any capital investment for purchase of land at this site which is being rented from a local owner. The school was recognised for recurrent funding by my department in 2004.

To date no approval has been granted by my department for the purchase of land for Bunscoil an Traonaigh sited on the Enniskillen Road, Lisnakea.

My department was requested by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) to assess the suitability of the new site for a school which is in receipt of grant funding since 2004. The new site was approved by my department’s technical advisors.

D’fhiafraigh CnaG de roinnt comhlachtaí poiblí agus den earnáil phríobháideach lena fhionnadh an raibh aon talamh ar fáil sa cheantar arbh fhéidir scoil nua a shuíomh air.

CnaG pursued enquiries with a number of public bodies and the private sector to ascertain if any land was available in the area in which to site a new school. These included the Ministry of Defence, the Housing Executive, the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Western Education and Library Board. No other satisfactory sites were identified by CnaG.

La Salle Boys' School

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the cost of providing a new school building for La Salle Boys' School, Andersontown, Belfast.

(AQW 4133/08)

Ms C Ruane: Go dtí seo is é £17.466m an costas iomlán leis an foirgneamh nua scoile a sholáthar do Scoil Ghasúr La Salle, Béal Feirste. Cuimsíonn seo an costas tógála, táillí sainchomhairleoirí gairmiúla agus leithdháileadh i gcomhair troscáin agus trealaimh don scoil nua.

The total cost to date for the provision of the new school building for La Salle Boys’ School, Belfast is £17.466m. This includes the construction cost, professional consultants’ fees and an allocation for the provision of furniture and equipment for the new school.

Saintfield High School

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the cost of providing Saintfield High School with its Information Technology suite.

(AQW 4134/08)

Ms C Ruane: Ba é £180,000 an costas ar Shraith Seomraí nua Teicneolaíocht Eolais a sholáthar taobh istigh den chóiríocht leathnaithe, athchóirithe as an nua ag Ardscoil Thamhnach na Naomh. Cuimsíonn seo soláthar Seomra Staidéar Gnó; seomra TEC; agus spás d’acmhainní agus spás stórais a bhaineann leo.

The cost of providing the new Information Technology Suite within the newly extended and refurbished accommodation at Saintfield High School was £180,000. This includes the provision of a Business Studies Room; an ICT room; and associated resource and storage spaces.

Educational Psychologist

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the annual salary of the last educational psychologist employed through her department.

(AQW 4135/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department of Education does not employ educational psychologists.

The Education and Library Boards (ELBs) employ educational psychologists and are responsible for their salaries.

I cannot divulge individual salaries as these are personal information and covered by the Data Protection Act.

Chuir príomhfheidhmeannaigh na BOL in iúl dom, áfach, gurb é £30,546 - £40,011 an scála tuarastail atá ann i láthair na huaire do shíceolaí oideachais.

The Chief Executives of the ELBs have, however, informed me that the current salary band for an educational psychologist is £30,546 - £40,011.

Peripatetic Music Tutors

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the current hourly rate of pay for peripatetic music tutors.

(AQW 4200/08)

Ms C Ruane: Fostaíonn gach ceann den chúig Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne oidí ceoil taistil. Tuigim go mbíonn an ráta tuarastail in aghaidh na huaire éagsúil ag brath ar an údarás fostaíochta féin.

Peripatetic music tutors are employed by each of the five Education and Library Boards. I understand that the hourly rate of pay can vary depending on the individual employing authority.

I have asked the five Education and Library Boards for full details and I will write to the member when I have this information.

Peripatetic Langauge Tutors

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the proposed hourly rate of pay for peripatetic (i) Spanish; and (ii) Irish, tutors.

(AQW 4201/08)

Ms C Ruane: £18 an ráta molta in aghaidh na huaire atá ann. Tá an ráta seo bunaithe seo ar chomhairle ó na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne a fhostaíonn na hoidí.

The proposed hourly rate is £18. This rate is based on advice from the Education and Library Boards, who are employing the tutors.

Sustainable Schools

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education to detail the impact that the delay in providing a policy on sustainable schools will have on the next phase of capital investment.

(AQW 4221/08)

Ms C Ruane: Faoi láthair tá thart ar 100 mórthionscadal caipitil atá i mbun pleanála nó inar thosaigh an obair ar shuíomh agus níl dáta ar bith socraithe le haghaidh fógra faoi chlár caipitil eile. Ní chuireann foilsiú pholasaí scoileanna inbhuaine isteach dá bhrí sin ar uainiú na chéad chéime eile den infheistíocht chaipitil.

There are currently approximately 100 major capital projects in planning or where work has commenced on site and no date has been set for a further capital programme announcement. The publication of the sustainable schools policy does not therefore impact on the timing of the next phase of capital investment.

Fundamental Review of Special Education

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Education to detail the action her department is taking to develop the findings and recommendations of the Fundamental Review of Special Education.

(AQW 4248/08)

Ms C Ruane: Following referral to the Education Committee and Executive the draft policy proposals and recommendations from the Review of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Inclusion will be issued for public consultation. Based on current timescales, public consultation should commence in July 2008.

Tá £25 milliún ó Cháináisnéis 2007 urraithe agam do chur i bhfeidhm na moltaí deiridh. Cuirfear iad seo i bhfeidhm sa bhliain 2010/11 agus cuirfear tús le hobair thábhachtach ullmhúcháin ag tosú sa bhliain 2009/10.

I have secured £25 million from the Budget 2007 for implementation of the final proposals. Implementation will begin in the 2010/11 year, with important preparatory work commencing in 2009/10.

Traveller Educational Projects

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of Traveller educational projects funded by her department.

(AQW 4254/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department provides earmarked funding for the education of Traveller children directly to the education and library boards. A total of £364k has been allocated to the boards for the 2008/09 financial year, equating to £443 per Traveller child. It is the board’s responsibility to decide how best to use these funds to meet the needs of Traveller children in their local area.

Ní choinníonn an Roinn mionsonraithe maidir le tionscnaimh aonaracha a dhéanann na boird oideachais agus leabharlainne agus faoi láthair tá sé ag obair leis na boird chun cur chuige níos comhordánaithe a chothú maidir le hoideachas don Lucht Siúil.

The Department does not hold details of individual projects undertaken by the education and library boards and is currently working with the boards to foster a more co-ordinated approach to Traveller education. One of the results of such an approach would be the regional roll-out of successful educational projects which currently operate at individual board level.

Grammar Schools

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds who gained places in grammar schools geographically closest to their homes.

(AQW 4303/08)

Ms C Ruane: Information about the proximity of pupils admitted to grammar schools to their home address relative to their proximity to alternative school types is not readily available. The most relevant information available in relation to this question is that 6% of children attending grammar schools in 2006/07 had an entitlement to free school meals.

Leis an figiúr seo a chur i gcomhthéacs, bhí 27% de líon na ndaltaí i scoileanna neamhghradamaí i dteideal béilí scoile a fháil in aisce i 2006/07 agus bhí 18% den daonra iomlán iar-bhunscoile i dteideal béilí scoile a fháil in aisce.

To set this figure in context, children entitled to free school meals comprised 27% of the pupil population in non-grammar schools in 2006/07 and the overall level of free school meal entitlement within the post-primary population was 18%.

Educational Technology

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to outline her plans to ensure that staff and managers, who deliver services to blind and partially sighted school pupils, have every opportunity to keep abreast of the latest advances in educational technology for this sector, including a full understanding of the Daisy specification.

(AQW 4333/08)

Ms C Ruane: Tá sé tuigthe agam go ndéanann na cúig Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne athbhreithniú ar riachtanais oiliúna na foirne sa tsainréimse seo ar bhonn rialta.

I understand that the five education and library boards review the training needs of staff in this specialist area on a regular basis. When training needs are identified appropriate mechanisms are put in place to ensure that this training is delivered.

This includes training in the use of specific equipment and appropriate technology that is relevant to pupils who are blind as well as those with visual impairment.

Comprehensive Technology Assessments

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to detail her plans to ensure that all blind and partially sighted pupils in primary and secondary education receive regular and comprehensive technology assessments; and to provide an assurance that funding will be available to supply any equipment recommended by such assessments, along with the necessary installation and training.

(AQW 4334/08)

Ms C Ruane: I understand that the five education & library boards (ELBs), under the aegis of the Regional Strategy Group for Special Educational Needs, have established a working group which is dedicated to the specialist area of visual impairment. The aim of this group is to provide a consistent approach across the five boards in relation to service delivery in this specialist area.

Currently, the boards employ specialist teachers in the area of visual impairment either directly or by agreement with Jordanstown Schools. This enables support to be made available to children and young people in the primary and post-primary sectors. Staff in these services have specialist qualifications in visual impairment which facilitates the assessment of children and young people with visual impairments.

Furthermore, recommendations which arise in relation to these assessments which require specific equipment and technology are generally progressed by equipments panels. Consequently, this equipment or technology is ordinarily funded through the ELBs special education budget.

Tá na Boird ag obair lena chinntiú go bhfaigheann baill foirne sa tsainréimse seo an oiliúint riachtanach mar chuid dá bhforbairt leanúnach ghairmiúil lena chinntiú go bhfaigheann páistí agus daoine óga chomh maith le scoileanna tacaíocht chuí i dtaca le húsáid sainteicneolaíocht amhairc.

The Boards are working to ensure that staff in this specialist area receive the necessary training as part of their continuous professional development to ensure that children and young people as well as schools are adequately supported in relation to the use of specialist visual technology.

Accessible Textbook Service

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education to detail the plans she has to set up a properly resourced and accessible textbook service for blind and partially sighted school children.

(AQW 4338/08)

Ms C Ruane: I am advised that the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) currently access material and textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils from a wide range of specialist sources, including:-

In addition, each ELB provides textbooks to young people on the basis of locally accessed materials, as well as providing photographic services or adaptive technology services in response to the needs of specific children and young people who are blind or visually impaired.

Material can also be accessed from selected publishers which can meet the needs of children and young people who are blind or who have visual impairments. The ELBs understand the imperative for publishers to take cognisance of Disability Discrimination Legislation relating to accessible textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils and as a consequence a wider range of material is available than previously.

However, the expediency with which material can be accessed by children and young people is an area where further enhancements to service delivery could be made. In response to the RNIB campaign, "Where’s My Book?", DE established a scoping project, which was led by the Education and Library Boards and on which RNIB was represented. The aims of the project were to consider and scope the scale of the NI difficulties in making available materials in the correct format. In conclusion, the scoping study research has found the main conclusion of the RNIB’s research "Where’s my Book", to be justified and recommends that consideration be given to the establishment of a regional centre which can respond quickly to school requests.

The ELB Regional Strategy Group for Special Educational Needs (RSG) has, therefore, established a working group which is dedicated to the specialist area of visual impairment. The aim of the group is to promote a consistent approach across the five ELBs in relation to service delivery in this specialist area. Further to consideration of this matter by the Visual Impairment Group and consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the voluntary Sector, Statutory Sector, parents as well as children and young people the RSG has acknowledged that a centralised service for textbooks for children and young people who are blind or visually impaired has some merit.

Ag an phointe seo, tá na meicníochtaí trína dtiocfaí ar an tseirbhís nua lárnaithe seo á bhforbairt a thuilleadh faoi láthair.

At this stage, the mechanisms by which this new centralised service would be accessed are currently being developed further.

Accessible Textbook Service

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education what plans she has for a textbook service for blind and partially sighted school children to be in place for the start of the school year in September 2008.

(AQW 4339/08)

Ms C Ruane: I am advised that the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) currently access material and textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils from a wide range of specialist sources, including:-

In addition, each ELB provides textbooks to young people on the basis of locally accessed materials, as well as providing photographic services or adaptive technology services in response to the needs of specific children and young people who are blind or visually impaired.

Material can also be accessed from selected publishers which can meet the needs of children and young people who are blind or who have visual impairments. The ELBs understand the imperative for publishers to take cognisance of Disability Discrimination Legislation relating to accessible textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils and as a consequence a wider range of material is available than previously.

However, the expediency with which material can be accessed by children and young people is an area where further enhancements to service delivery could be made. In response to the RNIB campaign, "Where’s My Book?", DE established a scoping project, which was led by the Education and Library Boards and on which RNIB was represented. The aims of the project were to consider and scope the scale of the NI difficulties in making available materials in the correct format. In conclusion, the scoping study research has found the main conclusion of the RNIB’s research "Where’s my Book", to be justified and recommends that consideration be given to the establishment of a regional centre which can respond quickly to school requests.

The ELB Regional Strategy Group for Special Educational Needs (RSG) has, therefore, established a working group which is dedicated to the specialist area of visual impairment. The aim of the group is to promote a consistent approach across the five ELBs in relation to service delivery in this specialist area. Further to consideration of this matter by the Visual Impairment Group and consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the voluntary Sector, Statutory Sector, parents as well as children and young people the RSG has acknowledged that a centralised service for textbooks for children and young people who are blind or visually impaired has some merit.

Ag an phointe seo, tá na meicníochtaí trína dtiocfaí ar an tseirbhís nua lárnaithe seo á bhforbairt a thuilleadh faoi láthair.

At this stage, the mechanisms by which this new centralised service would be accessed are currently being developed further.

Translation and Interpretation Services

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Education to detail the financial provision she has for 2008/09 to provide translation and interpretation services for people from ethnic minorities, in relation to the completion of application forms.

(AQW 4345/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Inclusion and Diversity Service operated by the education and library boards provides translation and interpretation services to aid communication between parents, whose first language is not English, and schools.

Sa bhliain 2008-09 beidh maoiniú de os cionn £1 milliún ar fáil don tSeirbhís Chuimsithe agus Ilchineálachta agus as seo cuirfidh siad seirbhísí aistriúcháin agus ateangaireachta ar fáil.

In 2008-09 the Inclusion and Diversity Service will be funded with just over £1 million, from which they will provide translation and interpretation services. At this point it is not possible to state how much may be spent on translation and interpretation services as it is not possible to predict demand.

Lisanelly Army Barracks

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the proposed development of an education village at the Lisanelly Army Barracks in Omagh.

(AQW 4365/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department has received expressions of interest from six schools about the possible development of part of the Lisanelly site as an educational campus and I recently met with representatives from some of those schools and their management and heard their views in support of the proposed campus.

Tugann Lisanelly fíordheis soláthar oideachais a phleanáil go straitéiseach ar bhonn trasearnála le leas pháistí ar an Ómaigh sa todhchaí.

Lisanelly provides a real opportunity to plan strategically education provision on a cross-sector basis for the benefit of future children in Omagh

Spanish Lessons

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of Education to provide details on private companies that (i) offer; and (ii) deliver, Spanish lessons in primary schools.

(AQW 4371/08)

Ms C Ruane: Ní choinníonn an Roinn seo sonraí maidir le cuideachtaí príobháideacha a thugann ceachtanna Spáinnise i mbunscoileanna.

My Department does not hold details of private companies who offer or deliver Spanish lessons in primary schools.

Teachers' Pension Scheme

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education to outline the reasons for her department's decision to stop 'added years' payments under the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

(AQW 4388/08)

Ms C Ruane: Déanaim tagairt don fhreagra a thug mé don Fheisire ó Bhéal Feirste Theas ar 12 Feabhra 2008.

I would refer the Member to the reply I gave the Member for Belfast South on 12 February 2008.

(Official Report published on 15 February 2008, AQW 3331/08)

Teachers' Pension Scheme

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education to confirm whether or not she will (i) defer the decision to end 'added years' payments under the Teachers' Pension Scheme; and (ii) begin consultation with the teachers' unions on this matter.

(AQW 4391/08)

Ms C Ruane: No decision has been taken to end the payment of added years: the decision to credit a teacher with additional service remains discretionary. However, in future those who decide to award added years will be accountable for the decision and for the associated costs, as provided for in the Teachers’ (Compensation for Redundancy and Premature Retirement) Regulations (NI) 1991 (as amended).

Is é an Coiste Comhairleach Aoisliúntais do Mhúinteoirí anseo an fóram atá bunaithe do chomhairliúchán ar ábhair a bhaineann leis an Scéim Pinsean Mhúinteoirí.

The Teachers’ Superannuation Consultative Committee here is the established forum for consultation on matters relating to the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme. Members of the Committee were first made aware in February 2006 that action was required to control the escalating costs of the Premature Retirement Compensation Scheme (PRCS). PRCS was included on the agenda and discussed at subsequent meetings of the Committee held in June 2006, December 2006, June 2007 and November 2007. A PRCS Review Group has now been established for consultation with relevant parties, including teachers’ unions, on the arrangements for PRCS for future years. It met on 26 February and a further meeting is scheduled for April.

Accessible Textbook Service

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Education to detail the steps her department is taking to address the problem of access to reading materials for partially sighted people, given that 96% of books are only available in standard print.

(AQW 4412/08)

Ms C Ruane: Special Education provision is matched to the assessed individual needs of each child, and this assessment will take account of professional advice, both from the education and medical professions, and will consider such matters as the child’s age and academic ability. For some the medium through which to make the special education provision may be enlarged print, for others Braille, while for others an IT solution may best meet their needs.

I am advised that the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) currently access material and textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils from a wide range of specialist sources, including:-

In addition, each ELB provides textbooks to young people on the basis of locally accessed materials, as well as providing photographic services or adaptive technology services in response to the needs of specific children and young people who are blind or visually impaired.

Material can also be accessed from selected publishers which can meet the needs of children and young people who are blind or who have visual impairments. The ELBs understand the imperative for publishers to take cognisance of Disability Discrimination Legislation relating to accessible textbooks for blind and partially sighted pupils and as a consequence a wider range of material is available than previously.

However, the expediency with which material can be accessed by children and young people is an area where further enhancements to service delivery could be made. In response to the RNIB campaign, "Where’s My Book?", DE established a scoping project, which was led by the Education and Library Boards and on which RNIB was represented. The aims of the project were to consider and scope the scale of the NI difficulties in making available materials in the correct format. In conclusion, the scoping study research has found the main conclusion of the RNIB’s research "Where’s my Book", to be justified and recommends that consideration be given to the establishment of a regional centre which can respond quickly to school requests.

The ELB Regional Strategy Group for Special Educational Needs (RSG) has, therefore, established a working group which is dedicated to the specialist area of visual impairment. The aim of the group is to promote a consistent approach across the five ELBs in relation to service delivery in this specialist area. Further to consideration of this matter by the Visual Impairment Group and consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the voluntary Sector, Statutory Sector, parents as well as children and young people the RSG has acknowledged that a centralised service for textbooks for children and young people who are blind or visually impaired has some merit.

Ag an phointe seo, tá na meicníochtaí trína dtiocfaí ar an tseirbhís nua lárnaithe seo á bhforbairt a thuilleadh faoi láthair.

At this stage, the mechanisms by which this new centralised service would be accessed are currently being developed further.

Special Schools

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Education to provide a list of special schools that cater for the needs of children who are (i) visually impaired; or (ii) blind.

(AQW 4413/08)

Ms C Ruane: Scoileanna speisialta a riarann faoi láthair do riachtanais pháistí atá (i) lagamhairc; nó (ii) dall:-

Special schools that currently cater for the needs of children who are either (i) visually impaired; or (ii) blind:-

Belfast Education and Library Board

Cedar Lodge

Fleming Fulton

Glenveagh

Harberton

Mitchell House

Oakwood

Park Educational Resource Centre

St.Gerard’s Educational Resource Centre

North Eastern Education and Library Board

Jordanstown

Castle Tower

Kilronan

Riverside

Sandelford

Thornfield

South Eastern Education and Library Board

Beechlawn

Brookfield

Clifton

Killard

Knockevin

Longstone

Parkview

Tor Bank

Southern Education and Library Board

Rathore

Ceara

Donard

Lisanally

Sperrinview

Western Education and Library Board

Foyleview

Arvalee

Elmbrook

Belmont

Knockavoe

Erne

Rossmarr

Early Childhood Studies

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Education to confirm whether or not her department will give early years specialist status to graduates of the foundation degree in Early Childhood Studies, given that it is equivalent to NVQ Level 4.

(AQW 4415/08)

Ms C Ruane: The Department of Education is currently in the process of considering the Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies as being a recognised qualification for Early Years Specialist status. I hope to have a decision on this within the next few months.

Chomh maith leis an riachtanas le cáilíocht oiriúnach atá faofa ag an Roinn, ba cheart réamhthaithí de 2 bhliain ar a laghad a bheith ag Speisialtóir Luathbhlianta ag obair i ról ceannaireachta i suíomh réamhscoile cláraithe, chomh maith leis na scileanna eagraíochtúla is gá.

In addition to the requirement for a suitable qualification approved by the Department, an Early Years Specialist should also have prior experience of at least 2 years working in a leadership role in a registered pre-school setting, and also the necessary organisational skills.

Pupils with Autism

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils with Autism in (i) special schools - severe learning difficulty; (ii) mainstream primary and post primary schools; and (iii) other forms of provision.

(AQW 4422/08)

Ms C Ruane: Líon na nDaltaí le hUathachas 2007/08

Number of Pupils with Austism1 2007/08

School type

Number of pupils with Autism

Primary schools2,3

865

Post primary schools3

230

SLD Special schools4

568

Other5 – MLD Special schools

242

Pre-schools

22

Nursery schools

45

Source: NI school census 2007/08

1 It is a possibility that some of the pupils at SEN stages 1 and 2 with this condition may not have been recorded

2 Primary includes nursery and reception classes and pupils in years 1 – 7

3 Includes pupils in mainstream classes and special units

4 Includes pupils who attend schools which cater for both MLD and SLD.

5 Excludes Alternative Education Providers, Independent schools and hospital schools

Contact Youth

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to outline the training given to the counsellors in Contact Youth for the provision of the schools' counselling service.

(AQW 4440/08)

Ms C Ruane: The tender for the provision of the new Independent Counselling Service for Schools was managed by the Central Procurement Directorate’s Supplies and Services Division, in accordance with the standard public service procurement procedures.

The criteria used to evaluate the tenders was as follows:

case scheduling and response times, emergency requests arrangements,

case closure criteria and organisational administrative systems.

Counsellors employed by Contact Youth must be qualified to at least Diploma level in counselling and have a minimum of 150 hours of clinically supervised practice. Contact Youth provided 9 days induction training including child protection training and specific training on working with young people. An additional day on Child Protection training was provided by the Child Protection Support Service for Schools.

Cuireann Teagmháil leis an Ógra uair go leith maoirseachta aonair agus dhá uair a chloig maoirseachta grúpa sa mhí ar fáil dá gcomhairleoirí.

Contact Youth provide their counsellors with one and a half hours of individual supervision and two hours of group supervision per month. This is facilitated by external clinical supervisors appointed by Contact Youth and exceeds the current recommended requirement of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Guidelines.

Contact Youth

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to outline the nature of the supervision given to the counsellors in Contact Youth in the provision of the schools' counselling service.

(AQW 4441/08)

Ms C Ruane: The tender for the provision of the new Independent Counselling Service for Schools was managed by the Central Procurement Directorate’s Supplies and Services Division, in accordance with the standard public service procurement procedures.

The criteria used to evaluate the tenders was as follows:

case scheduling and response times, emergency requests arrangements,

case closure criteria and organisational administrative systems.

Counsellors employed by Contact Youth must be qualified to at least Diploma level in counselling and have a minimum of 150 hours of clinically supervised practice. Contact Youth provided 9 days induction training including child protection training and specific training on working with young people. An additional day on Child Protection training was provided by the Child Protection Support Service for Schools.

Cuireann Teagmháil leis an Ógra uair go leith maoirseachta aonair agus dhá uair a chloig maoirseachta grúpa sa mhí ar fáil dá gcomhairleoirí.

Contact Youth provide their counsellors with one and a half hours of individual supervision and two hours of group supervision per month. This is facilitated by external clinical supervisors appointed by Contact Youth and exceeds the current recommended requirement of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Guidelines.

Contact Youth

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education to outline the criteria applied to assess the suitability of Contact Youth for the provision of schools' counselling.

(AQW 4442/08)

Ms C Ruane:

The tender for the provision of the new Independent Counselling Service for Schools was managed by the Central Procurement Directorate’s Supplies and Services Division, in accordance with the standard public service procurement procedures.

The criteria used to evaluate the tenders was as follows:

case scheduling and response times, emergency requests arrangements,

case closure criteria and organisational administrative systems.

Counsellors employed by Contact Youth must be qualified to at least Diploma level in counselling and have a minimum of 150 hours of clinically supervised practice. Contact Youth provided 9 days induction training including child protection training and specific training on working with young people. An additional day on Child Protection training was provided by the Child Protection Support Service for Schools.

Cuireann Teagmháil leis an Ógra uair go leith maoirseachta aonair agus dhá uair a chloig maoirseachta grúpa sa mhí ar fáil dá gcomhairleoirí.

Contact Youth provide their counsellors with one and a half hours of individual supervision and two hours of group supervision per month. This is facilitated by external clinical supervisors appointed by Contact Youth and exceeds the current recommended requirement of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Guidelines.

Language Strategy

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to her answer to AQW 3582/08, to confirm that Polish and Portuguese will be considered as part of this language strategy.

(AQW 4491/08)

Ms C Ruane: I am awaiting recommendations from the joint University of Ulster and the Queen’s University of Belfast Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, to inform an overall languages strategy for the North.

Mar chuid de sin, tá iarrtha ar an Ionad smaoineamh ar bhealaí chun iontógáil raon níos leithne teangacha Eorpacha agus domhanda a chur chun cinn chomh maith le teangacha núíosach sa Tuaisceart, Polainnis agus Portaingéalach san áireamh.

As part of this, the Centre has been asked to consider ways of promoting the uptake of a wider range of European and global languages and also the languages of newcomers to the North, which would include Polish and Portuguese.

Community Relations

Mr D Ford asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to her answer to AQW 3994/08, to detail the funding her department will give directly to other organisations to promote community relations work in schools, in the 2008-09 financial year.

(AQW 4509/08)

Ms C Ruane: The promotion of community relations in schools is delivered by the Schools Community Relations Programme and £1.272m will be allocated across the five Education and Library Boards for 2008/09. The Department funds 26 voluntary organisations through the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme of which 14 are funded to promote community relations in schools. The total allocation for these groups for 2008/09 is £673,390.

Thacaigh an Roinn le tionscnaimh eile i scoileanna ar feadh 2007/08 agus tá cinntí á ndéanamh fós maidir le maoiniú leanúnach.

The Department supported other initiatives in schools throughout 2007/08 and decisions are still being taken in relation to continued funding.

Irish-Medium Sector

Mr N McCausland asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of teachers employed in the Irish-medium sector.

(AQW 4516/08)

Ms C Ruane: Tá 123 múinteoir Bunscoile agus 35 múinteoir Meánscoile fostaithe san earnáil oideachas trí Ghaeilge.

There are 123 Primary school and 35 Secondary school teachers employed in the Irish-medium Sector.

Ethnic Minority Achievement Service

Mr T Gallagher asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to her answer to AQW 2990/08, (i) if, in accordance with the Department's stated policy, the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service has guidelines in place for supporting children and young people who have English as an additional language; (ii) to confirm that the guidelines have been issued to all schools in Northern Ireland; and (iii) to outline the steps she has taken to ensure the guidelines have been implemented in all schools where children whose first language is not English have been enrolled.

(AQW 4520/08)

Ms C Ruane: A policy on English as an additional language has been publicly consulted on and it is planned to have the draft finalised and launched in all schools in early 2008. To prepare the way for the policy to be applied consistently, the five Education and Library Boards set up a single regional Inclusion and Diversity Service (previously named Ethnic Minority Achievement Service), in April 2007.

This new service brought together services across the five Education and Library Boards in relation to the education of all children and young people whose first language is not English. The aim is to strengthen and improve support to all EAL pupils, their parents and teaching staff, primarily working through schools by using a number of new services and approaches. It is adopting a regional approach to determine which schools need support and the type of support and to direct work more appropriately.

Since being established, it has set up a number of new services such as interpreting, translating and a multi-lingual website to provide support to teachers and newcomer parents, which can be accessed at www.education-support.org.uk. All these new services are available to all schools in the north of Ireland that require support with the teaching of English to their pupils who have EAL.

In addition to this, I launched a North/South Diversity toolkit for primary school teachers in December 2007. An extensive training programme for all teachers within primary schools has been undertaken in relation to the toolkit. There are plans for toolkits to be developed for post-primary and pre-school education provision.

Schools and teaching staff further benefit from additional support and guidance from January 2008, as the Inclusion and Diversity Service have recruited and placed diversity coordinators, who have previously worked in the area of EAL and have expertise in it, to work with clusters of schools. This initiative facilitates capacity building by working with all schools on whole school and classroom issues, which includes language support

Cuireann an Roinn cistí ar fáil go díreach do scoileanna mar atá £943 an páiste EAL do 2007/08, ag éirí go £983 an páiste i 2008/09. Braitheann sé ar an scoil socrú conas is fearr an t-airgead seo a úsáid agus i ngníomh tá scoileanna ag baint úsáide as ar bhealaí éagsúla ar mhaithe le páistí EAL agus daoine óga ina scoileanna.

The Department also provides funds direct to schools, namely £943 per EAL child for 2007/08, rising to £983 per child in 2008/09. It is up to the schools to decide how best to use this money and in practice schools are using it in a variety of ways for the benefit of the EAL children and young people in their schools.

Press Officers

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of press officers employed by her department.

(AQW 4531/08)

Ms C Ruane: Faoi láthair tá 4 Preasoifigeach fostaithe ag an Roinn Oideachais.

There are currently 4 Press Officers employed by Department of Education.

EMPLOYMENT AND LEARNING

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the number of written questions he has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4269/08)

The Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey): I have answered the following number of written questions each month since May 2007:

Month

No of Questions Answered

May 2007

8

June 2007

31

July 2007

28

August 2007

0

September 2007

21

October 2007

42

November 2007

32

December 2007

15

January 2008

15

February 2008

52

Total (at 27/2/08)

246

People with Disabilities

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the efforts that have been made to widen access to (i) higher education; and (ii) further education, for people with disabilities.

(AQW 4270/08)

Sir Reg Empey: (i) Widening participation in higher education by students from those groups which are currently under-represented is one of my Department’s key strategic goals and targets, in particular, students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with learning difficulties and disabilities.

My Department pays a widening access premium to the universities and university colleges for students with learning difficulties and disabilities. This premium is based on the number of full-time undergraduate students in receipt of a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). In 2006/07, the total premium paid was £374,000. In 2007/08, the total premium being paid is £371,000.

The DSA, funds the Register of Support Providers which supports administration of a register of freelance professional and non-professional support workers who are recruited and trained to assist students with disabilities. The Register, which is administered by the University of Ulster, is available to all disabled students in the universities, university colleges and Further Education colleges with higher education provision. Disabled students can avail of a range of support provider roles including coaching for those with dyslexia, note-taker, proof-reader, typist, campus assistant, library assistant and sign language interpreter.

Funding is also provided, by my Department, to Queen’s University, Belfast for its Let’s Work project. This project is aimed at students and graduates with a disability. A specialist careers adviser offers individual careers guidance and information sessions, supports access to work placements and part-time work, and provides workshops on job-skills and career options after graduation.

(ii) My Department has in place a range of initiatives and incentives designed to assist those students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities who attend Further Education Colleges. These include:

My Department is currently undertaking a review of the nature and extent of special needs provision throughout the Further Education network, to determine how best provision might be improved further, within the terms of Further Education’s remit.

People with Disabilities

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the number of people with (i) sight difficulties; and (ii) hearing difficulties at (a) universities; and (b) further education colleges; and to outline the assistance that is available to them.

(AQW 4271/08)

Sir Reg Empey: Available statistics show that, in the academic year 2006/7, there were 305 students enrolled at Queen’s University and the University of Ulster who were classified as blind or partially sighted. In the same year, there were 260 students who were classified as deaf, or having a hearing impairment.

In the academic year 2006/7, there were 488 students enrolled at Further Education Colleges who were classified as blind or partially sighted. In the same year, there were 839 students who were classified as deaf, or having a hearing impairment.

At each institution, those students who declare a disability are offered individually tailored support. This ranges from personal assistance at lectures and examinations to the purchase of specialised equipment and reasonable modifications to the respective institution’s estate.

Language Tutors

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the number of students who require (i) British; (ii) Irish; and (iii) other, sign language tutors.

(AQW 4272/08)

Sir Reg Empey:

Available statistics show that, in the current academic year (2007/8), there are 448 students undertaking a course in Sign Language at Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland; (i) 441 students use a British Sign Language Tutor and (ii) 7 students use an Irish Sign Language Tutor.

Language Tutors

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the number of (i) British; (ii) Irish; and (iii) other, sign language tutors.

(AQW 4359/08)

Sir Reg Empey: Available statistics show that, at present, there are (i) eighteen exclusively British Sign Language (BSL) tutors, (ii) six exclusively Irish Sign Language (ISL) tutors and (iii) no sign language tutors of other languages.


A further six tutors are bilingual in both British and Irish Sign Language.

Appleby Trust

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what plans he has to assist the Appleby Trust to secure long-term funding to continue to assist and support work placements in the Armagh area for people with learning difficulties; and what consideration he has given to liaising with the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in order to increase the level of available funding to the Appleby Trust.

(AQW 4500/08)

Sir Reg Empey: The Department for Employment and Learning does not fund the Appleby Trust, nor has it been approached by the Trust for funding.

I understand that the Appleby Trust has now secured funding from an anonymous benefactor which will be matched by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust for a year.

Modern Apprenticeships

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the cost of the 'Review of Modern Apprenticeships in the North West - Understanding demographics/trends to date and forecasting future scenarios'.

(AQW 4505/08)

Sir Reg Empey: The Department engaged PriceWaterhouseCoopers to carry out the study at a total cost of £23,713.

Independent Organisations

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, pursuant to his answer to AQW 4500/08, to detail his department's policy in relation to the financial assistance given to independent organisations who help people with learning disabilities gain work placements.

(AQW 4686/08)

Sir Reg Empey: The Department for Employment and Learning does not provide financial assistance to individual organisations on an ad-hoc basis to provide services to people with learning disabilities. A range of programmes and services are funded by the Department to assist people with disabilities, including learning disabilities, find and keep employment. Contracts to deliver these programmes and services are awarded as a result of publicly advertised tendering exercises under the control of the Department of Finance and Personnel.

ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Tourism Funding

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the tourism funding that his department has provided in each of the last three years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 3692/08)

The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mr N Dodds): Tourism funding made available by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and Invest NI is provided in the table below. While the investment is shown on a Parliamentary Constituency basis, the economic and tourism benefits that this brings have a much wider effect. For example, investment in the five Signature Projects will bring benefits across the whole of Northern Ireland. The table also includes funding committed to tourism projects which were implemented over several Constituencies.

In addition to direct financial assistance, NITB provides support in the form of marketing, print publications, media and public relations activities, and coverage of tourism products in Parliamentary Constituencies on its consumer website www.discovernorthernireland.com. Invest NI also offers support for capability development to tourist accommodation businesses for areas such as training, management development and the development of ICT based management information systems.

Table - Financial Assistance Offered by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Invest NI

PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY

2004/2005

2005/2006

2006/2007

TOTAL

Across 2 or more constituencies

£4,119,880

£592,628

£1,030,975

£5,743,483

Belfast East

£31,000

-

£825,000

£856,000

Belfast North

£457,144

£142,204

-

£599,348

Belfast South

£638,819

£23,825

£29,573

£692,217

Belfast West

£15,000

-

-

£15,000

East Antrim

-

£219,000

£130,000

£349,000

East Londonderry

£264,889

£917,271

£256,289

£1,438,449

Fermanagh & South Tyrone

£661,681

£445,710

£3,705,577

£4,812,968

Foyle

£237,859

£2,712,269

£617,930

£3,568,058

Lagan Valley

£223,408

£225,000

-

£448,408

Mid Ulster

£64,529

£167,647

-

£232,176

Newry & Armagh

£371,199

-

-

£371,199

North Antrim

£71,761

£347,302

£1,905,368

£2,324,431

North Down

£134,845

£82,099

£1,160

£218,104

South Antrim

£13,428

£109,260

£28,364

£151,052

South Down

£302,452

£2,544,500

-

£2,846,952

Strangford

£98,762

£22,396

-

£121,158

Upper Bann

-

£58,529

£475,000

£533,529

West Tyrone

£40,200

£9,000

£15,000

£64,200

TOTAL

£7,746,856

£8,618,640

£9,020,236

£25,385,732

Attracting Tourists

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the studies that have been carried out by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in relation to the needs of tourists from the United States; (ii) the initiatives he has planned in order to develop the Ulster-Scots/Scotch-Irish culture as a means of attracting tourists; and (iii) the amount of money invested in developing Ulster-Scots/Scotch-Irish culture as a means of attracting tourists, in each year for the last 5 years.

(AQW 3847/08)

Mr N Dodds: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) carried out a Visitor Attitudes Survey at the end of 2007, which questioned a sample of visitors (including those from the USA) on a variety of aspects of their stay. Responses are being analysed and will be used to inform the NITB Corporate Plan.

Tourism Ireland (TIL) is responsible for promoting Northern Ireland in the US market. In partnership with an Industry Steering Group (which included a number of Northern Ireland partners), TIL carried out a major review of the North American market in 2006. The Review encompassed an in-depth examination of prevailing market conditions, the competition, the market’s potential together with a critical assessment of TIL’s strategy, marketing programmes and operating resources for the market.

Where Ulster Scots cultural activities can contribute to the development of cultural tourism opportunities, NITB uses www.discovernorthernireland.com as a tool to provide consumers with relevant information. NITB promotes Northern Ireland’s cultural diversity by including Ulster Scots cultural activities, where appropriate, in its cultural tourism marketing material.

NITB funds development of the tourism product through its Tourism Development Scheme (TDS). To date no applications have been made by promoters of Ulster-Scots/Scotch-Irish projects. Under the Peace II Scheme in 2004 an offer of £30,000 was made to the On Eagles Wings Scotch-Irish event for international marketing.

NITB includes Ulster-Scots features in broader campaigns where appropriate. For example, the Andrew Jackson Centre and the Ulster Scots history of the Antrim Coast and Glens are included in promotional material relating to the Causeway Coastal Route. and Ulster-Scots music festivals will feature in NITB’s forthcoming campaign focussing on music and festivals. A specific publication, ‘Northern Ireland: the American Connection’, was produced for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, at a cost of £13,000.

Investment Conference

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the private sector firms involved in the Investment Conference scheduled for May 2008.

(AQO 2269/08)

Mr N Dodds: The invitation process is underway and the Office of the First and deputy First Ministers has issued a "Save the Date" letter to over 250 targeted US CEOs. This letter did not include a response requirement, however, already interest from Executives in attending the conference is strong.

Formal invitations were issued with an RSVP request, w/c 18 February, and the number of acceptances is expected to rise.

It should be noted that we will not be disclosing names of attendees in advance of the conference, as companies have asked us to keep this information commercial in confidence.

Requests to participate/speak have also gone to existing investors and when permission is received, their names will be disclosed.

Road Signage

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to provide a timescale within which his department will erect appropriate signage at the border between the A1 and M1, to indicate entry into and exit from Northern Ireland.

(AQW 4312/08)

Mr N Dodds: This question was originally asked of Department for Regional Development but was transferred to DETI.

Policy relating to tourism signage at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is led by District Councils. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board wrote to each of the border Councils in October 2007 asking them to consider "Welcome to Northern Ireland" signage as part of their annual tourist signing audit. I understand that Newry Council are actively working with Roads Service of the Department of Regional Development to secure "Welcome to Newry & Mourne" signs at the border crossing with Co. Louth

Northern Ireland Energy Holdings

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the discussions he has had with Northern Ireland Energy Holdings, in relation to the company's financial payback to Northern Ireland Electricity.

(AQW 4313/08)

Mr N Dodds: DETI officials were briefed on, but were not involved in detailed discussions with Northern Ireland Energy Holdings (NIEH) in relation to their 2007/08 contribution to electricity prices in Northern Ireland. The question of any surplus or deficit from the NIEH operation of the Moyle electricity interconnector is subject to regulatory scrutiny and control by the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation.

Northern Ireland Energy Holdings

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the discussions that have taken place between his department, the Utility Regulator and Northern Ireland Energy Holdings, in relation to a possible further payment to Northern Ireland Electricity.

(AQW 4314/08)

Mr N Dodds: No formal discussions have taken place between DETI, the Utility Regulator and Northern Ireland Energy Holdings (NIEH) on the issue of payments to NIE. It is the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation that determines the extent to which any surplus or deficit from the NIEH operation of the Moyle electricity interconnector is channelled back to customers via the electricity tariff.

Northern Ireland Energy Holdings

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to indicate what assessment he has made of the level of savings passed to customers, as a result of Northern Ireland Energy Holding's ownership of the electricity and gas interconnectors.

(AQW 4315/08)

Mr N Dodds: The Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulator (NIAUR) has provided DETI with assessment of the performance of Northern Ireland Energy Holdings (NIEH) operations of the energy interconnectors.

For the past three years the Moyle interconnector has had a deficit on operating costs but has not called on Northern Ireland Electricity customers to pay for this. Instead NIEH has used its reserves to fund this shortfall - £3.5million 2007/08; £9.4million 2006/07 and £12.4million 2005/06. Had NIEH not done so, customers would have had to pay for this through an additional charge for electricity.

With regard to the gas interconnector NIEH has paid back to shippers (and ultimately to customers) £1.48million in January 2007 and £1.12million in January 2008.

Northern Ireland Energy Holdings

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to make a statement on the investment of £10.6m, made by Northern Ireland Electricity Holdings, in the Renewable Energy Fund, Platina.

(AQW 4316/08)

Mr N Dodds: Northern Ireland Energy Holdings (NIEH), in agreement with the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAUR), have initiated a European Renewable Energy Fund aimed at helping meet EU renewable energy targets, as well as delivering a return for Northern Ireland energy consumers. The aim is to deliver a return by investing in low-risk renewable energy projects over a five year period followed by a realisation period of 5 to 7 years. NIEH have earmarked £11.5m to this fund which is managed by Platina Finance, and which currently totals £53.5m. An announcement of investments in projects is expected shortly.

Northern Ireland Energy Holdings

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to confirm whether or not he was consulted on the investment of £10.6m, made by Northern Ireland Energy Holdings, in the Renewable Energy Fund, Platina.

(AQW 4317/08)

Mr N Dodds: Northern Ireland Energy Holdings did discuss their proposal for a private equity renewable energy fund with the former Secretary of State, Peter Hain, MP.

The proposed investment was agreed with the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAUR) within the regulatory framework for the Moyle electricity interconnector.

GAA as a Tourism Product

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the action his department is taking to promote Gaelic games as a tourism product.

(AQW 4329/08)

Mr N Dodds: Responsibility for promoting Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) tournaments and games rests with the GAA. Where matches attract visiting spectators (generally as part of an organised competition) thereby generating visitor numbers and revenue to the economy, they have the potential to generate positive PR through word of mouth, print, radio and television.

Over the past two years, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, has been developing, in partnership with Sport Northern Ireland, a new 10-year Strategy for Sport and Physical Recreation in Northern Ireland. The contribution of sport generally, including matches and tournaments, to tourism has emerged as an important issue in the development of the Strategy. A final Strategy is expected to be ready later in the spring.

Information about sports, including Gaelic games, with links to relevant websites is available on Tourism Ireland’s www.discoverireland.com website.

Film-Making Location

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the measures being taken to market Northern Ireland as a location for film-making.

(AQW 4356/08)

Mr N Dodds: In April 2007, the Northern Ireland Screen Commission (NI Screen) launched its second three year strategy to develop the local film and television industry. Invest NI is supporting the the strategy with £12.4 million of funding over the period 2007 – 2010. Of this £12.4 million, £8.1 million is available as loan finance to secure inward investment in the form of high value productions, film, television and digital content, to shoot on location in Northern Ireland.

In addition, £750,000 (£250,000 per annum) is available to support the marketing activities of NI Screen where the majority of this expenditure is again targeted at attracting inward investment.

NI Screen undertakes a comprehensive range of marketing activities. These activities include, organisation of familiarisation visits to Northern Ireland for high profile international producers with potential projects; sales trips to target independent producers and studios in New York, LA, Dublin and London; attending and exhibiting at relevant trade shows e.g. Cannes; placing feature articles with trade magazines and press; strategic placement of adverts selling the funding, facility and tax benefits of Northern Ireland as a location; and production of sales tools e.g. brochures, DVD’s and website.

The success of the Commission’s current and previous strategies is demonstrated by the fact that they have secured over 25 productions to date including Lord Attenborough’s ‘Closing the Ring’ and ‘City of Ember’. ‘City of Ember’ is a $50 million Hollywood feature film from the Tom Hank’s owned production company Playtone. This film was shot in the Paint Hall in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast and is due for release in October 2008.

Manufacturing Sector

Mr R Newton asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to confirm the total number of employees in the manufacturing sector during the years 1997/1998, 2000/2001, 2003/2004 and 2006/2007.

(AQW 4360/08)

Mr N Dodds: Table 1 below presents the number of manufacturing jobs and the net annual change between September 1997 and September 2007. All figures have been seasonally adjusted.

Table 1. Number of employee jobs in manufacturing: September 1997 to September 2007

Year

Number of employee jobs

Annual change (jobs)

1997

107,550

-

1998

107,490

-60

1999

105,510

-1,980

2000

103,630

-1,880

2001

99,990

-3,640

2002

96,390

-3,600

2003

91,690

-4,700

2004

88,880

-2,810

2005

87,340

-1,540

2006

87,750

410

2007

88,180

420

Figures relate to the September quarter each year and are rounded to the nearest 10 as a result differences in levels may not match those in the final column.

Source: Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey

Manufacturing Sector

Mr R Newton asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to confirm the total number of employees in the textiles and clothing sector during the years 1997/1998, 2000/2001, 2003/2004 and 2006/2007.

(AQW 4361/08)

Mr N Dodds: Table 1 below presents the number of employee jobs in the manufacture of textiles and clothing and the net annual change between September 1997 and September 2007.

Table 1. Number of employee jobs in the manufacture of textiles and clothing: September 1997 to September 2007

Year

Number of employee jobs

Annual change (jobs)

1997

23,580

-

1998

21,720

-1,860

1999

18,990

-2,730

2000

15,850

-3,150

2001

12,640

-3,200

2002

11,450

-1,200

2003

8,470

-2,970

2004

6,210

-2,260

2005

4,770

-1,440

2006

3,520

-1,250

2007

3,070

-450

Figures relate to the September quarter each year and are rounded to the nearest 10 as a result differences between levels may not match those in the final column.

Source: Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey

Reconnect Household Renewable Energy Programme

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the number of applications for the Reconnect Household Renewable Energy Programme in the East Antrim constituency, in the last financial year.

(AQW 4425/08)

Mr N Dodds: In the period since the launch of Reconnect (July 2006) to the end of February 2008 there have been 330 applications received in the East Antrim constituency area.

Tourist Accommodation

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the incentives his department is offering to hoteliers to improve tourist accommodation in the Lagan Valley constituency.

(AQW 4459/08)

Mr N Dodds: Invest NI has a comprehensive range of support available to the hotel sector throughout Northern Ireland, including those located or intending to locate in the Lagan Valley Constituency. This includes advice and grant support for strategic and process improvement (Capability Development) and financial support for product development (Capital Development).

There is an extensive range of Capability Programmes available. Invest NI support includes the training and development of staff, management improvement, development of marketing, process and energy efficiency, e-enablement, the development of information systems, knowledge management, energy efficiency and environmental practices. These and other capability programmes can be delivered to meet the individual requirements of the client company.

Invest NI can provide Capital Support including loans or preference shares and grants for tourist accommodation projects with a clearly defined strategy for growth. Capital assistance can be considered for new builds and expansions of hotels that are in support of the NITB Signature Projects or Winning Themes.

Assistance offered by Invest NI for the development of the tourism accommodation sector in Northern Ireland is detailed on the Invest NI website. This may be accessed through the following link: http://www.investni.com/tourism_support_report.pdf,

Tourism Numbers

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the number of tourists that visited Northern Ireland in 2005 and 2006; and (ii) the country of origin of these visitors.

(AQW 4568/08)

Mr N Dodds: It is estimated that 1,972,000 visitors came to Northern Ireland in 2005 while 1,979,000 visitors came in 2006. The country of origin of these visitors is outlined in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Country of Origin of Visitors in 2005 and 2006

TOTAL VISITORS TO NORTHERN IRELAND BY HOME COUNTRY1

2005/2006

2005

(000s)

2006

(000s)

% Change

Great Britain1

1,308

1,281

-2

England and Wales

934

914

-2

Scotland

374

368

-2

Irish Republic

271

277

+2

Europe

176

209

+19

France

21

34

+62

Spain

16

30

+88

Germany

42

40

-5

Netherlands

17

19

+12

Italy

14

24

+71

Nordics2

16

21

+31

Other Europe*

50

41

-18

North America

145

145

-

USA

105

115

+10

Canada

40

30

-25

Australia/New Zealand

47

42

-11

Elsewhere*

24

25

+4

Total:

1,972

1,979

-

1 England, Scotland and Wales are often referred to as constituent countries of the UK.

2 Nordic countries include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

* Small sub-samples do not allow for a more detailed market profile for Other Europe and Elsewhere.

Debt Relief Order

Ms C Hanna asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to provide a timescale within which the Debt Relief Order will be implemented in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 4596/08)

Mr N Dodds: Should policy analysis and consultation show that there is merit in bringing in a Debt Relief Scheme in Northern Ireland I would propose to introduce a Bill during the 2009/10 session and to have a scheme in operation by 2011/12.

ENVIRONMENT

Planning Applications

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of the Environment, since the introduction of draft Planning Policy Statement 14 (PPS14) on 16 March 2006, to detail the number of planning applications submitted for social housing in rural areas that may qualify under CTY6 of PPS14; and the number of these applications that have been approved.

(AQW 3928/08)

The Minister of the Environment (Mrs A Foster): I regret that the Planning Service’s current IT system does not record applications in sufficient detail to provide the information requested. Accurate figures for the years in question could only be provided through a manual exercise at a disproportionate cost.

Meeting Requests

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of meeting requests she has received since May 2007.

(AQW 4064/08)

Mrs A Foster: I have received 247 meeting requests since May 2007.

Bottled Water

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the amount of money that her department has spent on bottled water, in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4158/08)

Mrs A Foster: My Department has spent the following on bottled water in the last 3 years:

Expenditure on bottled water within my Department has recently been the subject of a review, the outcome of which is that bottled water and water coolers are to be withdrawn across my departmental offices as soon as possible, with the exception of conference rooms and public reception areas where no alternative supply is available.

Review of Public Administration

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of the Environment to outline the actions she is taking to address the impact the delay in the Review of Public Administration is having on the morale of staff in local councils and planning offices; and to make a statement to alleviate staff concerns about their future employment options.

(AQW 4189/08)

Mrs A Foster: I recognise the concerns staff may have due to the current uncertainty on the future shape of local government and that is why I also recognise it is important that the review of the local government aspects of the RPA is concluded as quickly as possible. However, it is also important that the Executive takes the time to get the decisions right.

As I have previously indicated, the views expressed by stakeholders, Members of the Assembly and the Environment Committee in response to the Emerging Findings that I published on 18 October 2007 were all shared with relevant Ministerial colleagues during November and December. I have been working closely with Ministerial colleagues since then to consider those views and agree a way forward. Those discussions continue, and it is my intention to report to the Executive and announce decisions to the Assembly and public as soon as possible.

European Landscape Convention

Mr J Wells asked the Minister of the Environment to detail her department's plans to implement the European Landscape Convention.

(AQW 4205/08)

Mrs A Foster: The United Kingdom is considered to already fulfil the essential requirements of the Convention. Given this, and current resource limitations, my Department is not drawing up a specific implementation plan at this stage. Instead, we will take opportunities as they arise to examine relevant policies and practices to identify the scope for conserving and enhancing our landscapes for the benefit of all.

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of written questions she has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4212/08)

Mrs A Foster: The number of questions I have answered since May 2007 is broken down as follows:-

MONTH

NUMBER

May

16

June

100

July

60

September

56

October

111

November

95

December

70

January

61

February

113

March

7

TOTAL

689

Planning Policy

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of the Environment what her assessment is of the definition of 'Open Space', as set out in Planning Policy Statement 8: Open Space, Sport and Outdoor Recreation'.

(AQW 4258/08)

Mrs A Foster: The definition of open space for the purposes of PPS 8 is set out in Annex A of that document. I am content with the provision of this Annex which advises that open space is taken to mean all open space of public value and which includes a typology illustrating the broad range of such spaces.

Waste Management Licensing Regulations

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of the Environment (i) whether or not the dumping of sewage sludge at three separate locations within Baronscourt Woodlands, Duke of Abercorn's estate in Strabane District, is in compliance with the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003; and (ii) to detail what inspections have been carried out by the Environment and Heritage service to ensure that these regulations are being fully complied with.

(AQW 4262/08)

  1. Mrs A Foster: The landspreading of sewage sludge is currently taking place at four locations within the Baronscourt Estate in Strabane District. This activity is in compliance with the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (NI) 2003 and has been registered as exempt.
  2. EHS inspected these sites on 24 January 2007, 9 August 2007 and
    27 November 2007 and recorded that the waste operator was complying fully with the Regulations.

Planning Regulations

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the relevant planning regulations that would prevent the application for 43 apartments at 24 - 30 Manse Road, Newtownards (X/2008/0024) from being processed.

(AQW 4264/08)

Mrs A Foster: There are no planning regulations that would prevent the application from being processed.

Tree Preservation

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment what consideration she is giving to placing a tree preservation order on beech trees, adjacent to the planning application (X/2008/0024) for apartments and houses at 24 - 30 Manse Road, Newtownards.

(AQW 4265/08)

Mrs A Foster: Two planning applications have been received for the site at 24-30 Manse Road, Newtownards, one for houses and the other for apartments. Whilst the applicant has shown that some of the mature trees along the boundary of the application site will be retained, a number will require felling to facilitate development. The Department has arranged to survey the site and assess the condition of the trees and thereby consider the appropriateness of placing a Tree Preservation Order on the site.

Programme of Assimilation

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister of the Environment whether or not she will consider a programme of assimilation for foreign national road users on the rules of the road.

(AQW 4279/08)

Mrs A Foster: The preparation of a revised Highway Code for Northern Ireland is progressing well, and I intend to publish the final version by the end of April 2008.

My Department’s road safety advertising agency has been asked to prepare a media plan to ensure that all road users are made aware of the new version and encouraged to obtain a copy. The needs of foreign national road users will be taken into account in the preparation of this plan.

The revised Highway Code will also be placed on the Department’s website, and be available to all road users for downloading free of charge.

When the revised version of the Highway Code has been completed, my Department will consider how foreign-language versions of the Code might best be made available to those who need them, having regard to the costs of such translations, the availability of the necessary funding, and other relevant factors.

The needs of foreign national road users in relation to road safety generally will also be considered as part of the development of the new road safety strategy.

Livestock Carcases

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the advice provided to district councils in relation to the removal of livestock carcases that are left to decay along public highways.

(AQW 4373/08)

Mrs A Foster: Environment and Heritage Service has no statutory responsibility for this issue and therefore has not provided advice to district councils about the removal of livestock carcasses left on public highways.

Review of Old Mineral Permissions

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to the answer to AQW 4048/08, to provide details in relation to the review of old mineral permissions (ROMPS); and to outline when this review will be (i) carried out; and (ii) completed.

(AQW 4393/08)

Mrs A Foster: It is generally accepted that there are a number of mineral planning permissions dating from the 1970s and 1980s that are deficient in effective environmental conditions. Indeed, a number of dormant quarries have been able to return to active status, by virtue of their old permissions, without any review of their operating conditions.

In line with the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the Department of the Environment has introduced legislation through The Planning Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to require the initial review of old mineral permissions (ROMPs). Because of the distinctive characteristics of mineral extraction and processing, it is accepted that planning control of mineral extraction cannot be a one-for-all process like other forms of development; but that mineral permissions should be subject to periodic review, to enable controls to be updated.

The Department will be undertaking an initial review of mineral permissions in two phases which it is intended will commence in the autumn. The exact date is dependant on the finalisation of amendments to the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 to allow for ROMPs applications to be subject to the Regulations. It is anticipated that a public consultation of the amended EIA Regulations will be published before the summer.

The legislation provides a mechanism to review all existing planning conditions thus providing an important opportunity to secure improved operating and environmental standards within the quarrying industry. The new provisions, when commenced, will initiate the review of all mineral permissions in Northern Ireland to ensure that they have planning conditions that comply with modern environmental standards and ensure that dormant quarries cannot be returned to use before their planning conditions have been reviewed and environmentally acceptable operating standards secured.

My Department has identified the need for a centralised, dedicated team in Planning Service Headquarters to coordinate the review and process future ROMPs applications. This team will begin processing ROMPs applications received after regulations referred to above are in place.

The review process is a continuous one and as such it is not envisaged that there will be a completion date. Rather, the Department will be undertaking the initial review of mineral permissions in the two phases, dealing with the oldest permissions first. Thereafter, mineral sites will be subject to periodic review 15 years from the date of the initial review or if a minerals planning permission is neither Phase I or Phase II, 15 years after the date upon which the most recent mineral permission was granted.

Mullaghglass Landfill

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to her answer to AQW 3505/08, to give a timescale within which the Planning Service will make a decision in relation to Mullaghglass landfill and its compliance with condition 20 of the planning permission.

(AQW 4395/08)

Mrs A Foster: Planning Service propose to bring an opinion on the planning application to construct a footway before a meeting of Lisburn City Council on 7th April 2008.

Bin-Tax Pilot Scheme

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the plans she has to introduce a 'Bin-Tax' pilot scheme, similar to that introduced in Great Britain.

(AQW 4436/08)

Mrs A Foster: I have no plans to introduce a ‘Bin-Tax’ pilot scheme in Northern Ireland. The Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland, published by my department, focuses on the prevention of waste and considers the types of measures that may be employed to encourage this. One such measure is the provision of legal powers to district councils to charge for the collection of residual household waste. While the Strategy commits my Department to consulting on this matter by 2009, policy development in this area is at a very early stage and I will follow the progress of the pilot schemes in Great Britain with interest.

Minerals Development

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to her answer to AQW 4048/08, to detail the number of Areas of Constraint on Minerals Development (ACMDs).

(AQW 4472/08)

Mrs A Foster: Neither of the existing Development Plans which relate to the Belfast Hills area, namely the Belfast Urban Area Plan 2001 and the Lisburn Area Plan 2001, include Areas of Constraint on Minerals Development (ACMD) designations.

This designation is, however, proposed for the Belfast Hills and other areas in the Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (dBMAP). The proposed ACMD designation is identified as being the same areas as those identified as Area of High Scenic Value and the Lagan Valley Regional Park in the draft plan.

The proposed boundaries for ACMD designations for the Belfast Hills are set out in the dBMAP under the following designation references:-

  1. Designation Ca 02/10 Area Of Constraint On Mineral Developments: Belfast Hills-Divis/Ligoniel Site of Local Nature Conservation Interest, Belfast Countryside
  2. Designation Ln 03/45 Area Of Constraint On Mineral Developments: Belfast Hills - White Mountain Site of Local Nature Conservation Interest, Lisburn Countryside
  3. Designation Ln 03/45 Area Of Constraint On Mineral Developments: Belfast Hills - White Mountain Site of Local Nature Conservation Interest, Lisburn Countryside

Illegal Waste

Mr T Gallagher asked the Minister of the Environment to confirm that the Government of the Republic of Ireland has agreed to the repatriation of illegal waste from any of the sites in Northern Ireland where waste originating in the Republic of Ireland had been dumped.

(AQW 4518/08)

Mrs A Foster: The Environment and Heritage Service has received a letter from Dublin City Council (which is the competent authority for these matters in the Republic of Ireland) indicating that they will appoint a contractor to remove waste from two illegal dumps in Northern Ireland and take this to a landfill site in the Republic of Ireland. Officials from both jurisdictions are meeting in the near future to discuss how these operations will proceed and to agree methodology.

Rose Energy

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to her answer to AQW 4394/08, to confirm if her department will grant planning permission to Rose Energy for a chicken waste plant.

(AQW 4650/08)

Mrs A Foster: Rose Energy have not yet submitted a planning application. My Department will determine any future planning application in accordance with procedures laid down in statute.

FINANCE AND PERSONNEL

Departmental Decentralisation

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of jobs that will be decentralised to locations outside Belfast, broken down by department, in the next three years.

(AQW 3869/08)

The Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr P Robinson): The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to move ten posts to Loughry College in Cookstown within the next six months. These will form part of the new Agri-environment Scheme Management Branch at the college.

An independent review of policy on the location of public sector jobs, including civil service jobs, has been established in December 2007. The review and the terms of reference were unanimously approved by the Executive as a means of helping Ministers to come to an agreed approach on the whole issue of dispersal. The review team, chaired by Professor Sir George Bain has been asked to put forward a set of practical recommendations for the longer term approach to location of public sector jobs in Northern Ireland and to propose an agenda for action. The review is due to report in Summer 2008 when the Executive will have the opportunity to consider the team’s findings and recommendations.

The terms of reference and membership of the review team can be accessed at http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/review_of_policy_on_the_location_of_public_sector_jobs_in_ni.pdf

Sickness Record

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, pursuant to his answer to AQW 2846/08, to detail the number of staff from each Government department with (i) a live warning; or (ii) who are under notice of dismissal, at January 2008, that have been the subject of previous disciplinary procedures resulting from an unacceptable sickness record.

(AQW 3937/08)

Mr P Robinson: The details requested in AQW 3937/08 are set out in the attached table. For the purpose of answering this question it was decided to include those staff who, at January 2008, were subject to inefficiency action and have been the subject of previous inefficiency procedures in the 2 years preceding the start of the first warning letter in the current inefficiency procedure. The timescale varies from the first warning letter to the actual dismissal stage in each individual case, depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

Department (including their Executive Agency & NDPBs where available)

Overall number of staff with a live warning or under notice of dismissal at January 2008, and who also were the subject of previous inefficiency procedures in the 2 years preceding the start of the first warning letter in the current inefficiency procedure

OFMDFM

NIL

DHSSPS

1

DCAL

NIL

DE

2

DFP

38

DRD

20

DEL

9

DETI

11

DSD

Not readily available*

DOE

12

DARD

48

TOTAL

141

* DSD have advises that figures could only be produced at disproportionate costs to the Department.

Rates Relief

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to confirm whether or not people aged over 70 (i) will be required to apply for the 20% rate relief; or (ii) will qualify automatically, given that the necessary information about this group will be known to other departments.

(AQW 4146/08)

Mr P Robinson: Due to data sharing limitations, applicants will initially be required to complete a simple application form in order to enable the Lone Pensioner Allowance to be place in April this year. Help will be made available to those applicants who may require assistance with the application process.

However, my Department is currently examining the possibility of introducing enhanced data sharing powers to allow for the exchange of relevant information between Government agencies. It is hoped that such powers may lead to the automatic award of this allowance (and others) in the future. This will require primary legislation and the completion of a privacy impact assessment to ensure that the interests of the public are safeguarded.

Vacant Properties

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what action he is taking to ensure that residential properties that are claimed to be vacant, are actually vacant.

(AQW 4170/08)

Mr P Robinson: I would refer the Member to his previous question AQW 3821/08 and my reply of 26 February 2008.

Rates Relief

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to provide an update on the action he has taken to increase rates relief uptake by qualifying home owners, following his statement to the Assembly on the 27 November 2007.

(AQW 4171/08)

Mr P Robinson: In line with the outcomes of the Executive Review of Domestic Rating, my Department has commissioned an urgent study, which is being led by Help the Aged/Age Concern, to bring forward actions that can be taken to support Government awareness and take-up strategies for next year in relation to rate relief provision. Their first findings report is expected at the end of March 2008.

In addition to raising awareness and promoting the reliefs that are available, I will also look at the potential for making a real difference through acquiring more comprehensive data sharing powers in primary legislation from April 2009. This would allow better targeting of support, with the ultimate aim of introducing more automation to the process, which is what I consider to be effective joined up government. The introduction of data-sharing powers to facilitate uptake of rate relief, would of course be accompanied the completion of privacy impact assessments in order to protect the interests of the public and ensure the safeguarding of personal data.

Ulster-Scots Speakers

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of Ulster-Scots speakers, according to the last census, who 'speak, read, write and understand Ulster-Scots'.

(AQW 4179/08)

Mr P Robinson: The information requested is not available from the 2001 Census as the language question in the 2001 Census was specific to Irish. Proposals for the 2011 Census, including the topics to be included in the 2011 Census questionnaire, will be presented in the form of an Executive Consultative paper in the autumn of this year.

Substance Abuse

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of fatalities attributed to (i) aerosol; and (ii) substance, abuse, in each of the last 3 years, broken down by (a) age group; (b) sex; and (c) geographical location.

(AQW 4192/08)

Mr P Robinson: It is not possible to answer the question directly therefore information is provided on deaths due to "volatile substance abuse" and separately all drug-related related deaths.

Table 1 below gives the number of deaths related to "volatile substance abuse" in Northern Ireland from 2003 to 2005. These figures are based on independent research carried out by St George’s Hospital, University of London. Details on deaths are taken from information provided by the State Pathologist’s Department, HM Coroner for Northern Ireland, and the General Register Office for Northern Ireland. The researchers define a "volatile substance abuse" death as one which involved the deliberate inhalation of gas, aerosol propellants, solvents in glue or other solvents and which would not have occurred if the deceased had not taken this substance.

Table 1: Number of deaths related to volatile substance abuse in Northern Ireland, 2003-2005 (St George’s Hospital, University of London)

Occurrence Year

Number of Deaths

2003

5

2004

1

2005

5

In addition tables 2-4 below give the number of drug-related deaths1 by sex, age and Health and Social Services Board. The figures relate to deaths due to misuse of both illegal (e.g. a heroin overdose) and legal drugs (e.g. a paracetamol overdose).

Table 2: Number of drug-related1 deaths in Northern Ireland by sex, 2004-2006

Sex

Registration Year

2004

2005

2006

Male

27

48

51

Female

21

36

40

Table 3: Number of drug-related1 deaths by year in Northern Ireland by age, 2004-2006

Age

Registration Year

2004

2005

2006

Under 18

1

5

1

18-21

2

3

2

22-25

1

8

6

26-29

1

5

4

30-39

12

18

28

40+

31

45

50

Population Growth

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the current estimated (i) population growth rate; and (ii) total population, for (a) 2011; (b) 2021; and (c) 2031.

(AQW 4213/08)

Mr P Robinson: The table below shows the mid-year population estimate for Northern Ireland for 2006 and the 2006 based principal population projection for Northern Ireland for 2011, 2021 and 2031.

Year

Population1 (millions)

2006

1.74

2011

1.81

2021

1.92

2031

2.00

1 The mid-year population estimates and population projections are generally quoted in rounded form, this is because population counts from the census and subsequent updates involving births, deaths and migration cannot be precise. In general the precision of the population estimates could be considered to be no better than to the nearest 100

The table below shows the percentage population increase from 2006 to 2011, 2011 to 2021 and 2021 to 2031 and the equivalent annualised increase for these periods

Period

Percentage Population Increase

Annualised Percentage Increase

2006 - 2011

4.0%

0.8%

2011 - 2021

6.1%

0.6%

2021 - 2031

4.0%

0.4%

Public Records Office

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether or not the current workforce in the Public Records Office meets equality provisions as set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and to outline whether or not recent equality proofing has been undertaken in relation to the make up of the workforce.

(AQW 4237/08)

Mr P Robinson: Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act requires public authorities in carrying out their functions in Northern Ireland to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between a number of different groups. The Act does not in itself impose any obligations in terms of the make up of a workforce. Several pieces of legislation outlaw discrimination in employment on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, religious belief and political opinion. Only the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 requires employers to monitor their workforce and, where a lack of fair participation is discovered, to take steps to address it. The Northern Ireland Civil Service is treated as a single employer for the purposes of the Fair Employment and Treatment Order and therefore the profile of individual Departments or Agencies is not gathered.

Corporation Tax

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the contingency plans he has within the context of the Budget 2008-2011 to cover a loss of revenue in the event that the Northern Ireland Assembly is granted the ability to vary the rate of corporation tax during the lifetime of that Budget.

(AQW 4243/08)

Mr P Robinson: On 29 January 2008 the Assembly approved the programme of expenditure proposals for 2008-09 to 2010-11 as set out in the Budget document, laid before the Assembly on 22 January 2008.

These spending plans will be subject to review as more up to date information becomes available and any pressures emerge, through the in-year monitoring process and subsequent Budgets.

The Review of Tax Policy in Northern Ireland led by Sir David Varney rejected the case for a lower rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland based on the costs and benefits to the UK as a whole. It also suggested that the broader business environment was more important in influencing business investment decisions than the corporation tax rate.

In the event that the ability to vary the rate of corporation tax was made available to the Executive, I would make strong representations to HMT to ensure that priority front line services would not suffer as a consequence.

Capital Realisation Task Force

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to give a timescale within which the Report of the Capital Realisation Task Force, which was presented to him in December 2007, will be published; and to detail the reasons for the delay in publication.

(AQW 4286/08)

Mr P Robinson: The Report of the Capital Realisation Taskforce will be published in the near future.  Since receiving the report in December 2007, the Executive has considered in detail its recommendations and has welcomed these in principle.  Further work commissioned by the Executive on the practical arrangements for structures and protocols is now nearing completion.

Legal Fees

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail how much was paid in legal fees to defend the failed application for judicial review by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) in relation to Article 2 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

(AQW 4289/08)

Mr P Robinson: To date, no legal fees have been paid in respect of the defence of this matter, which is presently the subject of an appeal.

Non-Ministerial Car Pool

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the usage of the non-Ministerial car pool in January 2008 by (i) department; and (ii) civil service grade, broken down into (a) number of bookings; and (b) journey time.

(AQW 4295/08)

Mr P Robinson: The attached table details non ministerial car journeys by department and grade for period 1 January to 31 January 2008.

NON MINISTERIAL CAR JOURNEYS BY DEPARTMENT AND GRADE FOR PERIOD 01/01/08 TO 31/01/08

DEPT

DE

DFP

DHSSPS

OFM

DSD

DRD

DETI

DEL

DCAL

DOE

DARD

Total no of Journeys

/hours by grade

HOCS

n/a

n/a

n/a

17

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

17

Total journey time

12.35

12.35

PERM SEC

6

37

2

0

2

2

5

17

2

0

5

78

Total journey time

14.00

64.00

3.50

0.00

2.45

2.00

4.4

21.35

1.1

0

5.35

118.15

GRADE 3

50

21

7

11

2

0

15

3

3

2

0

114

Total journey time

58.15

29.00

11.5

23.1

1.15

0.00

19.45

3.45

3.45

2.35

0.00

151.60

GRADE 5

0

11

16

9

4

0

3

8

0

1

5

57

Total journey time

0

12.1

26.2

8.25

7.40

0

2.15

12.3

0

1.15

8.25

77.75

GRADE 7

0

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

Total journey time

0.00

2.15

1.55

5.45

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.45

14.60

STAFF OFFICER

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

1

0

0

0

5.00

Total journey time

0

0

0

0

0

0

2.25

1.35

0

0

0

3.60

VISITOR

1

0

0

0

2

1

0

0

0

6

0

10

Total journey time

2.15

0

0

0

1.55

2.5

0

0

0

8.1

0

14.30

Civil Service Staff

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of Northern Ireland Civil Service staff (i) who have requested a transfer from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry; and (ii) who have been granted a welfare priority rating.

(AQW 4320/08)

Mr P Robinson: The number of staff who have requested a transfer from Belfast to Londonderry is 221. Nine of these staff have been granted a welfare priority rating .

Decentralisation of Civil Service

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what consideration he has given to the decentralisation of Northern Ireland Civil Service jobs from Belfast to other areas; and to detail the criteria used to determine the location of decentralised services.

(AQW 4321/08)

Mr P Robinson: An independent review on the wider issue of policy on the location of public sector jobs was established in December 2007. The review and the terms of reference were unanimously approved by the Executive as a means of helping Ministers to come to an agreed approach on the whole issue of dispersal of jobs. The review team has been asked therefore to put forward a set of practical recommendations for the longer term approach to location in Northern Ireland, including civil service jobs, and to propose an agenda for action. The terms of reference and membership of the review team can be accessed at http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/review_of_policy_on_the_location_of_public_sector_jobs_in_ni.pdf

At this stage it is too early to speculate on the outcome or any determining criteria. It is, however, an opportune time to consider the distribution of public sector jobs generally in light of the Executive’s clearly stated priority of encouraging private sector investment and growing the economy.

The review is due to report in Summer 2008 when the Executive will consider the team’s findings and recommendations. In the meantime a framework to underpin decision making on the location of bodies related to the Review of Public Administration was published in November 2007. All public sector organisations including the civil service and all central government departments are encouraged to adopt the guiding principles and methodology set out in the framework in any decision making process. Details of the framework are available at http://www.rpani.gov.uk/estates_framework.pdf

Rates Revaluation

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail (i) the number of requests for revaluation reviews in Strangford constituency that resulted in a reduction of rates; and (ii) the average number of requests for revaluation reviews that resulted in a reduction of rates, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 4347/08)

Mr P Robinson: I can confirm that in the Strangford constituency a reduction in valuation was granted in 991 domestic and non-domestic cases completed from 1 April 2007 to date.

The information requested in the second part of the question is provided in the attached table.

Veterinary Office in Ards

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the alternative sites that are being considered for the relocation of the Veterinary Office in Ards.

(AQW 4348/08)

Mr P Robinson: Several sites in Newtownards and one in Bangor were considered for the relocation of the Veterinary office. The exact details of the sites considered are commercially sensitive. The Department has now successfully agreed terms for premises in Kiltonga Industrial Estate, in Newtownards and we anticipate that the replacement office will be operational in approximately 6 months.

Fuel Duty

Mr T Elliott asked Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the representations made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in relation to his intentions to raise fuel duty by 2p from 1 April 2008.

(AQW 4377/08)

Mr P Robinson: The setting of duty rates on fuel is a Reserved Matter for determination by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Pre-Budget Report 2007 confirmed that fuel duty would increase by a further 2 pence in April 2008.

I recently wrote to the Chancellor on the 17th January 2008 indicating that the increase in fuel duty would have a negative impact, particularly in the more rural regions of Northern Ireland. I therefore asked him to consider some form of fuel duty derogation.

Departments Assets

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to (i) provide details on; and (b) list the value of, all assets, under the control of Northern Ireland departments, that have been sold and reinvested, in each of the last ten years.

(AQW 4396/08)

Mr P Robinson: The sale of public sector assets, which are underutilised or surplus to requirements, is an important mechanism through which resources can be used more efficiently and effectively as well as acting as a source of additional funding for investment in public sector infrastructure.

The table attached sets out the level of asset sales by each Northern Ireland department over the past ten years. However the figures prior to 2001-02 are on a different accounting and budgeting basis to subsequent years and hence are not directly comparable with those for later years.

More detailed information regarding the specific assets sold by each Northern Ireland department is not held centrally.

Asset Sales by NI Department 1997-98 to 2007-08 (£ million)

 

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

DARD

0.7

0.8

0.2

0.7

1.8

0.6

0.2

2.8

5.7

3.7

3.2

DCAL

   

0.1

 

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

 

0.2

0.1

DE

     

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.6

1.1

7.4

22.5

15.2

DEL

0.1

2.0

3.3

0.0

0.2

0.2

         

DETI

       

8.4

10.0

19.9

21.7

24.3

28.6

30.6

DFP

0.0

0.1

 

0.0

 

0.1

0.0

24.8

1.5

1.6

0.1

DHSSPS

1.2

1.9

0.8

2.5

2.1

1.7

5.0

9.9

10.8

26.4

8.7

DOE

0.0

0.3

1.9

2.1

0.5

2.7

3.2

1.7

0.3

0.3

1.0

DRD

1.3

1.3

3.0

3.3

6.2

3.1

1.7

16.8

9.9

12.8

9.4

DSD

7.1

6.4

7.8

5.5

101.7

131.2

179.3

115.7

110.5

162.3

148.5

TOTAL

10.5

12.7

17.1

14.1

121.2

149.5

210.1

194.8

170.4

258.3

216.9

  1. Figures for 1997-98 to 2000-01 are not directly comparable with those for 2001-02 to 2007-08
  2. 2007-08 figures are based on the December Monitoring position.

Peace III Funding

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail, for each government department, the measures relating to Peace III funding to which groups can currently apply.

(AQW 4453/08)

Mr P Robinson: PEACE III comprises two operational Priorities and a third, Technical Assistance Priority. Each of the operational Priorities delivers funding through two Themes:–

Priority 1 – Reconciling Communities

Priority 2 – Contributing to a shared society

Themes 1.1 (Regional element) and 2.1 (Creating shared public spaces) are currently open for applications. Details of these calls are available on the SEUPB website (www.seupb.eu).

Theme 1.1 (Local element) is open to applications from Local Authorities and County Councils who have been asked to apply with their local action plans by end March 2008. It is anticipated that at least some of these local action plans will include proposals whereby the local authorities would subsequently seek funding applications to the cluster from local groups.

SEUPB intend the remaining Themes to open by April 2008.

Population Demographics

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the proportion of the population under the age of 18 years.

(AQW 4545/08)

Mr P Robinson: The latest estimate of the Northern Ireland resident population relates to mid-year 2006; for persons aged under 18 years the estimate was 432,000 people, which represents 25% of the Northern Ireland population.

Middletown Autism Project

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to confirm if he will submit the details of the Middletown Autism Project, including (i) costings; (ii) consultation outcomes; and (iii) strategic plans, to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

(AQW 4615/08)

Mr P Robinson:

The Northern Ireland Audit Office is totally independent of Government and has the statutory authority to report to the Assembly on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other public sector bodies use the resources allocated to them. All information is available to the Audit Office whose staff can examine it whenever they wish. Departments cannot direct the Audit Office to investigate particular issues but it remains open for any individual or organisation to draw to the Audit Office’s attention any matter which causes them concern.

HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Draft Strategy on Consultation

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to his answer to AQW 605/07, to confirm whether or not the draft strategy will be ready for consultation by March 2008.

(AQW 4103/08)

The Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): The draft Physical and Sensory Disability Strategy will not be ready for consultation by March 2008. However, elements of strategic work are underway that will inform the Strategy and significant progress is being made.

The Regional Review of Wheelchair Services is due to be complete in April 2008, a Review of Acquired Brain Injury Services has been commissioned and work is underway to identify appropriate members to take this forward; work to implement changes to adult sensory services will be complete by the end of summer 2008.

The aim is that each of these strands, and further work that will be commissioned, will feed into a Physical and Sensory Disability Strategy that will help those with a physical and/or sensory disability to lead as full and inclusive lives as possible in society.

Speech and Language Taskforce

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to provide a timescale within which the Speech and Language Taskforce will publish its report.

(AQW 4104/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The Regional Speech and Language Therapy Task Force completed its report and submitted it to my Department on 31 January 2008. The report is currently under consideration and I will release it as soon as I have considered it fully.

Continuous Pain Relief

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to confirm whether or not there is a set time for a patient being prescribed continuous pain relief by their GP, before being referred to a (i) Pain Management Clinic; or (ii) Consultant/Specialist.

(AQW 4115/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: There is no set time for which a patient will be prescribed continuous pain relief. It is a matter of clinical judgement as to whether or when a GP refers a patient for further investigation or treatment. Dependent on the GP’s assessment a patient may be referred to a Pain Management Clinic or Specialist/Consultant for whatever further treatment they consider necessary.

Fluoridisation of Water

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to confirm his department's intentions, in relation to the fluoridisation of the water supply.

(AQW 4118/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Currently there are no plans to approve the introduction of fluoride into Northern Ireland's drinking water.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the monies allocated for people with multiple sclerosis in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4119/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: It is not possible to identify separately the total amount of funding allocated for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Health and social care resources are normally allocated on a service or Programme of Care basis rather than by specific medical condition. People with MS may access a wide spectrum of health and social care, including primary and community care and acute hospital services. In particular, they benefit from the Physical and Sensory Disability Programme of Care and have access to a range of services based on a clinical assessment of their need. These services include respite, therapy services, day care services and wheelchair services.

Specific additional funding of £2 million was allocated for disease modifying therapies for people with MS in 2006/07 and 2007/08 to ensure that by March 2008 no-one will be waiting longer than 13 weeks to start treatment with these specialist drugs. Expenditure on disease modifying therapies for people with MS over the past three years was as follows:

2004/05 £4.3 million

2005/06 £4.5 million

2006/07 £5.1 million

Currently 842 patients are on treatment (including 32 whose treatment is suspended for clinical or other reasons). The total expenditure on disease modifying therapies for people with MS is expected to be in the region of £7 million in the current financial year.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of people suffering from multiple sclerosis in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4120/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The number of people suffering with multiple sclerosis in Northern Ireland is not currently available. However, information is available on the number of admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was recorded. The table below provides the number of admissions for multiple sclerosis in each of the last three years to 2006/07 (the latest year for which information is available).

Diagnosis

2006/07

2005/06

2004/05

Multiple Sclerosis

1,438

1,519

1,173

Source: Hospital Inpatient System.

Note: It is not possible to report on how many of these admissions are new diagnoses, or how many people have been diagnosed, but are not being treated in an inpatient setting. Discharges from hospital and Deaths in hospital are used as an approximation to admissions. It is possible that any individual could be admitted to hospital more than once in any year and will thus be counted more than once as an admission.

Children with Disabilities

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the monies allocated for children with disabilities in the Budget.

(AQW 4121/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The total budget secured under the Comprehensive Spending Review for children and adults with disabilities in Northern Ireland is £8m, £11m and £24m respectively over the next 3 years. Of this £1m, £2m and £7m, has been made available for physical and sensory disability and £7m, £9m and £17m, has been made available for learning disability. This will benefit both children and adults with disabilities.

Funding of £18.5m, £17m and £17.5m for the Children and Young People’s Funding Package (including the Children’s Fund) has been secured to develop a wide range of services for children and young people some of whom will have a disability.

In addition, funding of £2m, £3m and £4m, over the next 3 years, has been allocated to provide services for children with complex needs to be cared for at home rather than a hospital setting.

Bamford Review

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he is taking in relation to (i) preventative work; and (ii) early intervention, as highlighted in the Bamford Review.

(AQW 4122/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: In relation to preventative work, the Promoting Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan, issued in 2003, contains 20 actions across the public sector to improve people’s mental health and emotional well being. In the current year my Department made available £600,000 to support the health and social care sector and the Health Promotion Agency to implement actions which are their responsibility. It is now my intention that we update the strategy and action plan in the light of the Bamford review recommendations and of the recent work on suicide prevention. This work will be cross-Departmental.

Early intervention to minimise future problems is a key objective of the health and social care sector in general and applies equally to the fields of mental health and learning disability, as highlighted by the Bamford review. The additional funding going into mental health and learning disability services over the next three years will facilitate earlier interventions. Reducing waiting times for and improving availability of psychotherapy, increasing significantly multi-professional staff for community mental health teams and better advice and advocacy services will all improve detection and treatment times. Early intervention with children with learning disabilities is also important and better community learning disability support services will help children reach their maximum potential.

Fire Service

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the cost of training a fire officer; (ii) the starting salary of the most recently appointed fire officer; and (iii) the cost of the most recently purchased fire engine.

(AQW 4132/08)

  1. Mr M McGimpsey: The direct cost of training of a new entrant to the fire and rescue service during the basic 14-week course, in terms of trainee and instructor salary, is £8,641. It is not possible to identify accurately the related infrastructure costs for an individual as a range of other courses for operational firefighters and officers are run concurrently at the training centre.
  2. The starting salary for a firefighter following initial basic training is £21,245 per annum.

(iii) The most recently purchased fire engine cost £147,809.

Anaesthetists Availablity

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to the answer to AQW 3042/08, to confirm that an anaesthetist is available at the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, for (i) A&E; and (ii) general surgical operations, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

(AQW 4141/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust has confirmed that the Ulster Hospital provides full anaesthetic cover 24 hours per day, 7 days a week to A&E, Theatres, Intensive Care, maternity services and all wards.

Home Start and Sure Start

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to confirm whether or not funding for Home Start and Sure Start will continue on a permanent basis beyond April 2008.

(AQW 4143/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: I have decided to support the four locally-based Home Start projects currently being supported by the Fund for one more year until March 2009.

I understand that Sure Start, as a core programme of the Department of Education, has been mainstreamed.

Ambulance Provision

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the current ambulance provision for those previously serviced by the Mid Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt; and (ii) how this compares to the ambulance provision prior to the new arrangements in relation to A&E access at the Mid Ulster Hospital.

(AQW 4153/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The current ambulance provision in Mid-Ulster is as follows:

Ambulance Station

Accident & Emergency

Intermediate Care / Patient Care Service

Magherafelt

1 vehicle - 24 hrs x 7 days

1 vehicle - 2000 to 0800 x 7 nights

1 vehicle - 0800 to 1500 Monday to Friday (Friday finish 1430)

1 vehicle - 0830 to 1730 Monday to Friday

1 vehicle - 1230 to 2330 Monday to Friday

1 vehicle - 1000 to 2100 x Sat

1 vehicle - 1100 to 2100 x Sun

Cookstown

1 vehicle - 24 hrs x 7 days

1 vehicle - 0800 to 1600 Monday to Friday

1 vehicle - 1100 to 1900 Monday to Friday

The A&E ambulance based in Magherafelt providing additional cover from 2000 to 0800, 7 nights a week, was introduced in response to the change in A&E opening hours at the Mid-Ulster Hospital A&E department from October 2006.

Wind Energy

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the income generated by the wind turbine located at Antrim Area Hospital; and (ii) the total savings resulting for the hospital by using wind energy.

(AQW 4155/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The income generated by the wind turbine located at Antrim Area Hospital from February 2005 to January 2008 is some £56k

The total savings resulting for the hospital by using wind energy from February 2005 to January 2008 is some £186k with an associated saving of 1084.39 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide.

Out-of-Hours Services

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to give a commitment that out-of-hours services in Strabane will be retained.

(AQW 4167/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Currently all Out of Hours (OOH) services in Northern Ireland are subject to a review looking at their efficiency and effectiveness. As the review will not be published until May this year no decisions have been made, although no commitment can be given at this time that there will be no change to the OOH service in Strabane in the future.

Staff Demographics

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the percentage of staff in his department that is (i) male; (ii) female; and (iii) disabled, broken down by grade.

(AQW 4177/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The information requested is contained in the table below. The figures relating to disabled staff may not reflect the actual numbers who meet the legal definition of "disabled" since staff are not compelled to notify the Department of any disability/long-term condition.

GRADE (including analogous grades)

%MALE

%FEMALE

% DISABILITY

AA

45.1

54.9

5.88

AO

29.2

70.8

4.42

EO2

32.84

67.16

5.22

EO1

52.83

47.17

5.66

SO

57.51

42.49

1.04

DP

56.8

43.2

2.96

7

66.3

33.7

5.43

6

88.46

11.54

7.69

SCS

65.52

34.48

3.45

Speech and Language Therapy

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of children and young people currently (i) receiving; and (ii) awaiting assessment for, speech and language therapy, in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts.

(AQW 4184/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: a) Information on the number of children and young people currently receiving speech and language therapy services is not collected centrally. However, information is available on completed waiting times for a first outpatient appointment of an episode of care with a community speech and language therapist, by length of time waiting. The length of time waiting is collected according to specific time bands, and is counted as the time elapsed between the date of the request for a first appointment being received by the speech and language therapy service and the date the first appointment took place.

Table 1 overleaf contains information for the quarter ending 31 December 2007 (the latest date for which information is available) and shows that, of the 3,246 persons who attended their first outpatient appointment, 2,587 (80%) had waited for less than 3 months, 539 (17%) had waited between 3 and 6 months, and 120 (4%) had waited for six months or more.

Table 1: Number of Completed Waits for a First Appointment with a Community Speech & Language Therapist during Quarter Ending 31 December 2007 1

HSC Trust

Less than 3 months

3 to 6 Months

6 months or more

All Completed Waits

Number

%

Number

%

Number

%

Belfast HSC Trust

682

89%

80

10%

6

1%

768

Northern HSC Trust

591

68%

206

24%

74

8%

871

South Eastern HSC Trust

562

90%

61

10%

4

1%

627

Southern HSC Trust

317

76%

94

23%

4

1%

415

Western HSC Trust

435

77%

98

17%

32

6%

565

Northern Ireland

2,587

80%

539

17%

120

4%

3,246

Source: DHSSPS Information returns CP3.

1 Information is currently provisional and may be subject to change.

b) Information in Table 2 overleaf shows the number of children and young people awaiting an initial assessment for speech and language therapy at 31 December 2007, the latest date for which information is available.

At 31 December 2007, 1,821 children and young people were awaiting an initial assessment for speech and language therapy. Across HSC Trusts, this ranged from 227 in the South Eastern HSC Trust to 547 in the Western HSC Trust.

Table 2: Number of Children & Young People Awaiting an Initial Assessment for Speech & Language Therapy Services at 31 December 2007 1

HSC Trust

Length of Time Waiting

Total Waiting Assessment

Less than 3 months

3 to 6 months

6 months or more

Belfast HSC Trust 2

257

21

2

280

Northern HSC Trust

300

41

6

347

South Eastern HSC Trust

206

16

5

227

Southern HSC Trust 3

0

0

0

420

Western HSC Trust

431

86

30

547

Northern Ireland

1,194

164

43

1,821

Source: DHSSPS Information returns CP5.

1 Information is currently provisional and may be subject to change.

2 A batch of appointments in the South & East Belfast locality of the Belfast HSC Trust were affected by the postal strike, resulting in a group of patients waiting more than 6 months for their initial assessment.

3 Information provided cannot be broken down by length of time waiting for assessment.

Operations Refusal

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of patients who have been refused operations, due to (i) age; (ii) obesity; (iii) smoking; and (iv) level of alcohol consumption, for each hospital.

(AQW 4193/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The information requested is not collected on a regional basis. The decision to undertake surgery is determined by clinical factors, which take account of an individual patient’s condition and circumstances and consideration of the risks and benefits of particular treatments. In some instances it may be clinically appropriate to defer surgery until appropriate non-surgical measures have been undertaken to improve an individual’s general health and their likelihood of a successful outcome following surgery.

Accessibility of Health Information

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his plans to implement the recommendations of the Equality Commission on 'Accessibility of Health Information in Northern Ireland for People with a Learning Disability'.

(AQW 4195/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Officials from my Department met with representatives of the Equality Commission in January 2008 and agreed to examine in detail the recommendations set out in the Report "Accessibility of Health Information in Northern Ireland for People with a Learning Disability". Departmental officials, Service Commissioners and Service Providers are currently examining the recommendations, assessing their feasibility and bringing together a proposed programme for implementation. A further meeting is planned with representatives from the Equality Commission in April to discuss the proposed programme for implementation and to agree a monitoring process.

Voluntary and Community Sector

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the groups within the voluntary and community sector that have secured funding from his department since the publication of the Budget; and to further detail the services this funding will deliver.

(AQW 4196/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: All details of funding that is given to groups within the voluntary and community sector are published on the Government Funders Database. The database lists the total amount of funding provided and provides details about what services the funding will deliver. The 2008/09 budget has just been finalised, therefore, any new funding awarded from this budget will appear on the Funders Database as those awards are made.

The public version of the database can be viewed at www.volcomgrantsni.gov.uk.

Adolescent Psychiatric Unit

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the (i) recruitment; and (ii) training, that has taken place in relation to the adolescent psychiatric unit at Forster Green Hospital.

(AQW 4198/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The adolescent psychiatric unit is currently based at Knockbracken pending the completion of a new 18 bed facility at Forster Green planned for completion in 2009 / 2010.

As regards recruitment, the Trust has advertised extensively in the local and national press and in relevant professional journals. It has also targeted nursing colleges nationally, sending senior nursing staff to job fairs and to attend colleges and arrange interviews locally. The Trust is also working closely with local nurse education institutions such as Queen's University and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.

As a result, 10 nurses have been recruited and further interviews are being held next week to fill some of the remaining vacant posts.

In relation to training, the Trust is acutely aware of the importance of staff development and training for those employed in this specialist service.  This remains the subject of continuous review.  All staff appointed to this service have completed a comprehensive induction programme which focuses on issues including:

Training is kept under continuous review and staff are provided with opportunities to attend relevant training courses.

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of written questions he has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4209/08)

Mr M McGimpsey:

The information requested is set out in the table below:

Month

Number of AQs Answered

May 07

24

June 07

133

July 07

36

August 07

11

September 07

58

October 07

111

November 07

148

December 07

152

January 08

92

February 08*

186

Total

* Figures at 22 February 2008

Orthodontist Appointments

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of people who have been waiting for an appointment with an Orthodontist for over (i) six months; (ii) one year; and (iii) two years.

(AQW 4217/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Waiting times for a first outpatient appointment in the orthodontics specialty, by monthly time band, for the position at 30th September 2007, the quarter for which official information is most recently available, are outlined in the table below.

Number of patients in Northern Ireland waiting for a first outpatient

appointment in the orthodontics specialty at 30th September 2007

Waiting time in months

0-2

3-5

More than 6 months

Total

Number of patients waiting

402

100

0

502

Source: Departmental Return CH3

There were no patients waiting for inpatient admission in the orthodontics specialty at 30th September 2007.

Orthodontist Appointments

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of people currently waiting for a consultation with an Orthodontist.

(AQW 4218/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Waiting times for a first outpatient appointment in the orthodontics specialty, by monthly time band, for the position at 30th September 2007, the quarter for which official information is most recently available, are outlined in the table below.

Number of patients in Northern Ireland waiting for a first outpatient

appointment in the orthodontics specialty at 30th September 2007

Waiting time in months

0-2

3-5

More than 6 months

Total

Number of patients waiting

402

100

0

502

Source: Departmental Return CH3

There were no patients waiting for inpatient admission in the orthodontics specialty at 30th September 2007.

Orthodontist Appointments

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of children under 16 years of age currently waiting for an appointment with an Orthodontist.

(AQW 4219/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Information on the number of children under 16 years of age currently waiting for an appointment with an Orthodontist is not available centrally.

Victims of Vioxx

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the steps he is taking to (i) secure justice for victims of Vioxx; and (ii) compensate the Health Service for both the additional cost of treating those with ill-effects from Vioxx and the purchases of Vioxx.

(AQW 4238/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: I am aware that patients in the UK who have taken the drug Vioxx are challenging the decision by the American manufacturer Merck Inc to compensate only US patients affected by the drug.

I will monitor the situation in respect of UK citizens obtaining compensation from the manufacturer; however, it would not be appropriate for me or my Department to comment on a case which may move into litigation.

I have no plans to compensate the Health Service for the additional costs of treating those with ill-effects from Vioxx, nor for the costs incurred in purchasing Vioxx.

Maternity Services

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to provide an assurance that maternity services will continue at the Causeway hospital.

(AQW 4240/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: I can assure you that we plan to maintain the provision of consultant-led maternity services at the Causeway Hospital.

Chlamydia Infections

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the incidence of Chlamydia infection for the years 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005; (ii) whether or not his department has an active educational programme concerning Chlamydia infection; and if so, (iii) what other departments support this programme.

(AQW 4244/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The number of diagnoses of Chlamydia infection made in Northern Ireland GUM clinics is given in the table below. The earliest year for which information on Chlamydia infection is available is for 1991.

KC60 Code

Condition

1991

1995

2000

2005

C4A, C4C

Uncomplicated Chlamydial infection

512

473

963

1631

C4B

Complicated Chlamydial infection (including PID and epididymitis)

21

42

40

82

Total Infections

533

515

1003

1713

Source: CDSC NI.

Figures are derived from the statutory KC60 returns made by the Northern Ireland GUM clinics.

Figures relate to diagnostic episodes and not to individual people. Thus, an individual person may have contributed to more than one episode in any given time period.

The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) has produced leaflets and posters about sexually transmitted infections including Chlamydia. Radio advertisements addressing these issues were broadcast during Valentine’s week in 2007 and 2008. My Department has also recently commissioned the HPA to develop a public information campaign to promote positive sexual health.

A Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan is in its final stage of development. A multi-agency Sexual Health Promotion Network will oversee its implementation and will include the Department of Education and other relevant organisations.

HIV Infections

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what information he has regarding the causes of increases in HIV infections in Northern Ireland over the last 15 years.

(AQW 4245/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: I am aware there has been an increase in the numbers of new infections of HIV in Northern Ireland over the last two decades. In 2006 there were 57 new diagnosed cases compared to 12 new diagnosed cases in 1992.

Analysis of trends of the probable route of exposure is complicated by the small number of cases in each category and the potential for year to year variation.

Sex between men and sex between men and women remain the most significant categories of probable route of infection, accounting for 91% of new diagnoses to date. Heterosexual transmission has assumed increasing importance since 2002 and now accounts for 41% of new diagnoses made to date.

There is still, however, a relatively low prevalence of HIV in Northern Ireland in comparison to the rest of the UK and internationally.

It is essential to focus on the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases in the context of an overall approach to good sexual health. A draft Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan is in its final stage of development. The Strategy aims to improve, protect and promote the sexual health and wellbeing of the population in Northern Ireland.

HIV Infections

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether or not he will liaise with other departments in developing an updated education programme to alert the public of the potential threat from HIV, given the increase, in percentage of the United Kingdom total, of the prevalence of new HIV diagnoses since the early 1990's.

(AQW 4246/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: A Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan is in its final stage of development. A multi-agency Sexual Health Promotion Network will oversee its implementation and will include representation from the Department of Education and other relevant organisations. In line with the Strategy, my Department has recently commissioned the Health Promotion Agency to develop a public information campaign to promote positive sexual health and this will include raising awareness of HIV. My Department also funds a number of voluntary organisations working in the field of HIV prevention through information, education and awareness raising.

Black Triangle Drugs

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the 'black triangle' drugs currently available on prescription.

(AQW 4250/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Each month the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) produces a Black Triangle List which shows those drugs currently available on the UK market which are subject to intensive surveillance. The current list can be found on the MHRA website at http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=278

Black Triangle Drugs

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of 'black triangle' drugs withdrawn in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4251/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The following table, provided by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which produces and maintains the ‘black triangle’ list for the UK, details the number of ‘black triangle’ drugs that have been withdrawn in each of the last five years:

Year

Number

2003

0

2004

0

2005

1

2006

0

2007

1

Organ Donations

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of organ donations for each of the last five years; and (ii) his assessment of the proporation of all possible donations that this represents.

(AQW 4253/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Between 2003 and 2007 the number of deceased organ donors from Northern Ireland annually have totalled, 26, 36, 20, 31 and 33. Live donors across the past five years have totalled 40.

Data indicates that of all potential organ donors approximately 50% currently donate organs. The recognition that the UK has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in Europe led to the formation of the Organ Donation Taskforce in 2006. Their first report, published on 16 January, sets out a number of steps aimed at addressing barriers to donation in order to increase the number of donor organs available. It is hoped that this will result in a 50 per cent increase in organ donation across all regions of the UK within five years.

Maternity Services

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of births; and (ii) the percentage of births in Northern Ireland, that occurred at Craigavon Area Hospital, in each of the last 5 years; and to further detail (a) the number of caesarean sections carried out; and (b) the percentage of births that were caesarean sections, at Craigavon Area Hospital, in each of the last 5 years, and how this percentage compares to other maternity units.

(AQW 4255/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The number of births and percentage of births in Northern Ireland that occurred at Craigavon Area Hospital is provided in the table below.

Year

Number of Births at Craigavon Area Hospital

Percentage of N.I. births occurring at Craigavon

2002-03

2,691

12.3%

2003-04

2,843

13.7%

2004-05

3,111

14.8%

2005-06

3,147

13.9%

2006-07

3,588

14.1%

Source: Child Health System.

The number of caesarean section births at Craigavon Area Hospital and the percentage of births that were delivered by caesarean section are given in the table below for each of the last five years for which information is available.

Year

Number of Caesarean Section Births

Percentage of Births delivered by Caesarean Section

2002-03

832

30.9%

2003-04

914

32.1%

2004-05

982

31.6%

2005-06

1,058

33.6%

2006-07

1,140

31.8%

Source: Child Health System.

Of all births in Craigavon Area Hospital for 2006-07, 31.8% were delivered by caesarean section. This is the second highest rate of caesarean sections in Northern Ireland for 2006-07, with only the Royal Jubilee Maternity Service (34.8%) having a higher percentage of caesarean section births.

Drug Prevalence

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether or not he has plans to meet with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland in order to combat drug use, following the publication of the results from the 2006/2007 Drug Prevalence Survey.

(AQW 4277/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Drug misuse was a substantial agenda item at the recent British-Irish Council summit meeting, which was held in Dublin on 14 February 2008. During the summit, the Ministers with lead responsibilty for drug misuse in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man all contributed to an informative and postive debate, highlighting key learning and sharing best practice. The relevant First Ministers from each jurisdication also played a full part in the discussion.

The British-Irish Council Group that specifically focuses on drug misuse will continue to meet at official level on a regular basis during 2008, and it is anticipated that a further Ministerial level meeting will take place in late 2008.

Information from relevant surveys and research programmes, such as the 2006/2007 Drug Prevalence Survey, has and will continue to inform these discussions.

Trust Insurance Policies

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether or not Trust insurance policies require payment by the Trust of an excess in the event of successful medical negligence claims made against the Trust, and if so, how much in excesses has been paid by Trusts in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4287/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: As a general rule, Government Accounting advises that Departments do not purchase commercial insurance policies as, except in exceptional circumstances, it is cheaper for Government to cover its own risks. For publicly funded bodies to gain a financial advantage requires private insurance companies to make a loss on the cover they provide, a situation which is unlikely and unsustainable in the long term.

None of the Trusts therefore hold commercial insurance policies to cover medical negligence claims over the last five years. The cost of medical negligence claims is met from the Department’s resources.

Trust Insurance Policies

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the amount paid by each Trust by way of insurance premiums to cover claims for medical negligence in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4288/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: As a general rule, Government Accounting advises that Departments do not purchase commercial insurance policies as, except in exceptional circumstances, it is cheaper for Government to cover its own risks. For publicly funded bodies to gain a financial advantage requires private insurance companies to make a loss on the cover they provide, a situation which is unlikely and unsustainable in the long term.

None of the Trusts therefore hold commercial insurance policies to cover medical negligence claims over the last five years. The cost of medical negligence claims is met from the Department’s resources.

Consultants at A+E

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of consultants that have worked in Accident and Emergency departments over the last ten years.

(AQW 4291/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The information requested is provided in the table below.

Number of Consultants in Accident & Emergency Departments

As at September

Headcount

WTE

1998

13

12.6

1999

18

17.1

2000

18

17.1

2001

19

18.1

2002

22

21.6

2003

26

25.7

2004

28

27.7

2005

30

29.8

2006

34

34.0

2007

33

32.9

Source: Human Resource Management System.

Table Notes:

1. WTE = whole time equivalent of staff. The whole time equivalent of staff is calculated by aggregating the total number of hours that staff in a grade are contracted to work, and dividing by the standard hours for that grade. In this way, part-time staff are converted into an equivalent number of ‘whole-time’ staff.

Cancelled Appointments

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of appointments that have been cancelled by Daisy Hill Hospital in the last year; and (ii) the reasons for cancellation.

(AQW 4305/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has confirmed that for the calendar year January 2007 to December 2007, a total of 71,524 patients were seen at outpatient clinics in Daisy Hill Hospital. Unfortunately the Trust’s computer system which is used to manage outpatient appointments cannot, as it is presently configured, produce an accurate figure for those appointments cancelled by the Trust which have affected patients or the reasons why the appointments are cancelled. However, plans are in hand to ensure that this information will be available in the future for all Trusts in Northern Ireland. It is planned that such figures will available for the next financial year.

It should be noted that the latest figures indicate that the Southern Trust is on course to achieve the present waiting time targets which aim to ensure that by March 2008 no patient waits longer than 13 weeks for a first outpatient appointment, and 21 weeks for inpatient or daycase treatment.

Ambulance Bus Service

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail how Daisy Hill Hospital co-ordinates appointments with the Ambulance Bus service.

(AQW 4306/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The ambulance bus service or Patient Care Service (PCS) is the non-emergency tier of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service providing non-emergency patient transport services across Northern Ireland.

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has advised that transport to first inpatient appointments for those patients whom are entitled to use the PCS is arranged with the ambulance service by the patient’s GP.

Transport for subsequent outpatient or review appointments is arranged by the Trust using a computer system at the time the review appointment is made. Trust staff are always guided by GPs when arranging patient transport.

Cancelled Appointments

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the procedures, including timeframes, for hospitals to cancel appointments and to provide new appointments.

(AQW 4307/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Cancellation of clinic sessions at short notice is a waste of valuable resources. My Department has taken a number steps over the last number of years to address this issue.

Clinical staff are now required to give a minimum of six weeks’ notice of planned leave. This measure, together with new booking arrangements which mean that patients’ appointments are booked no more than six weeks in advance, should ensure that the number of cancelled appointments is kept to an absolute minimum and, where they occur, are due to unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, hospitals are required to contact the patient by telephone and agree a new appointment date, usually within six weeks.

Geriatric Wards

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the salary of the most recently appointed activity worker to a geriatric/psycho geriatric ward.

(AQW 4318/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The most recent appointment of a health care assistant with responsibility for social activities in a geriatric/psycho geriatric ward was in the Southern HSC Trust. The salary for that individual is £17,199.

Psychologist Appointment

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the salary of the most recent psychologist appointed through her department.

(AQW 4319/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: My Department does not appoint Health and Social Care staff. The most recent appointment of a Clinical Psychologist in the Health and Social Care was a new entrant to the profession. The appointment was made by the Belfast HSC Trust and the salary is £24,719.

CBT Therapist

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the salary for the most recent appointment of a CBT therapist.

(AQW 4323/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The most recent appointment of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist was in the Belfast HSC Trust and the salary is £35,630.

Children with Autism

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number; and (ii) the cost of assessments carried out for children with possible autism, in the past year.

(AQW 4324/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Professionals working in both the health and education sectors have a role in assessing children with possible autistic spectrum disorders. This includes Educational Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists. Due to the number of different settings in which assessments can take place and the range of professionals involved, it is not possible to detail the number of children assessed for autism in the past year or the costs of such assessments.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner most recently purchased by his department.

(AQW 4325/08)

Mr M McGimpsey:

My Department does not purchase Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanners.

MRI Scanners are purchased by Health and Social Care Trusts; the most recent such procurement was by the former Mater Infirmorum Hospital Trust in March 2007 at a cost of £608,000.

Retention and Recruitment Premium

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the progress that will be made on payments to all staff before the end of the financial year, in relation to the Agenda for Change, and the Retention and Recruitment Premium.

(AQW 4340/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: Over 78% of HSC staff are now on Agenda for Change rates of pay. Maintenance Craft Workers who qualify for the National Recruitment and Retention Premium will receive this when they move to the new rates.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of incidents of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome over the last ten years, broken down by (i) Health and Social Care Trust; and (ii) Health and Social Services Board.

(AQW 4341/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The tables below give the number of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome1 in each Health & Social Care Trust and Health & Social Services Board, over the last ten years.

Table 1: Number of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome1,2 registered in Northern Ireland, by Health and Social Care Trust area, 1997-2006

Health and Social Care Trust

1997-2006

Belfast

7

South Eastern

4

Northern

3

Southern

2

Western

2

Northern Ireland

18

Table 2: Number of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome1,2 registered in Northern Ireland, by Health and Social Services Board, 1997-2006

Health and Social Services Board

1997-2006

Eastern

11

Northern

3

Southern

2

Western

2

Northern Ireland

18

1 International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code R95 for years 2001-2006 and Ninth Revision code 798.0 for years 1997-2000.

2 Only infants aged less than one year old are included.

Still Births

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of still births in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4343/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The table below gives the number of stillbirths in each Health & Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, registered in each of the last five years.

Table: Number of stillbirths registered in Northern Ireland, by Health and Social Care Trust, 2002-2006

Health & Social Care Trust Area

Registration Year

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Belfast

26

19

22

13

18

South Eastern

22

13

24

25

23

Northern

31

23

26

21

14

Southern

20

30

18

16

18

Western

23

23

23

14

16

Northern Ireland

122

108

113

89

89

Hip Replacements

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of hip replacements that have been carried out in the last year; and (ii) the cost of these procedures.

(AQW 4355/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: There were 2076 hip replacements carried out in Health Service Hospitals in Northern Ireland in the year 2006/07.

(Estimated total expenditure on hip replacements in an inpatient or daycase setting in Northern Ireland for the financial year 2006/07 was £10.9m.

Minor Injuries Unit

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to confirm that there will be no reduction or withdrawal of services at the Minor Injuries Unit at Ards Community Hospital in the immediate future; and (ii) to make a statement on his long term plans for the Unit.

(AQW 4357/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: All Departments must achieve 3% efficiency targets per annum across the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) period in line with Executive agreement. For DHSSPS this amounts to £118/£233/£344m expressed cumulatively and therefore all services and all provision must be kept under review.

Trusts must achieve 3% per annum efficiency savings and so I have asked all Trusts to give me their proposals on how CSR efficiencies should be delivered. In developing their proposals, I have specifically asked for efficiencies, not cuts, and that the implications for staff and patients are fully explained. I have not yet received fully worked up proposals from Trusts and I will not be making decisions on Trust efficiency proposals until all the implications are clearly established.

Several members of the Assembly have been strongly advocating efficiencies. It is incumbent on us to take the opportunity now to look across the new Trusts and to reshape services where they can be provided more efficiently and effectively. Where monies are freed up, we will invest them into new service developments for the benefit of patients and clients across Northern Ireland.

Breastfeeding Bill

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he intends to introduce a Breastfeeding Bill, similar to legislation in force in Scotland, to protect the rights of mothers to breastfeed their children in public places or licensed premises.

(AQW 4358/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: There are no plans at present to introduce legislation similar to the Breastfeeding Act in Scotland. The Breastfeeding Strategy published in 1999 is currently being reviewed. Developments in breastfeeding promotion and practice, including legislative changes in other parts of the UK, will be considered as part of the review to inform recommendations on the way forward.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease within the Strabane District Council area, broken down by age and gender, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4362/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Unauthorised Leave

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of staff who have taken unauthorised periods of leave, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust, in the last two calendar years.

(AQW 4363/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The information requested is not held centrally. In order to extract this information from personnel and payroll records Health and Social Care employers would have to undertake a special manual exercise which could only be done at a disproportionate cost.

Alzheimer's Patients

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the amount of funding provided to address the needs of Alzheimer's patients in the Strabane District Council area.

(AQW 4367/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: My Department does not record planned funding specifically for Alzheimer’s patients. However the treatment of Alzheimer’s falls within Elderly care. In 2007/08 an estimated amount of £12m is planned to be spent on residents of the Strabane Local Government District area under this programme of care.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of patients currently being treated for Alzheimer's Disease within the Strabane District Council area.

(AQW 4368/08)

Mr M McGimpsey:

The information requested is not collected centrally.

Midwife-Led Maternity Unit

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of births in the last 12 months; and (ii) the number of births that can be accommodated annually, at the Down Midwife-led Maternity Unit.

(AQW 4397/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The number of births in the last 12 months at the Down Midwife-led Maternity Unit, the Craigavon Maternity Unit, the Ulster Maternity Unit, the Mater Maternity Unit and the Royal Victoria Maternity Unit are given in the table below.

Hospital

Number of Births in 2007

Down Maternity Unit*

0

Craigavon

3,708

Ulster

2,950

Mater

1,174

Royal Victoria

5,482

*Downe Maternity Unit closed from 2003/2004

Information on the number of births that can be accommodated annually at each of these Units is not available centrally.

Health Centre in Newcastle

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to provide an update on the current status of the proposed health centre in Newcastle, Co Down.

(AQW 4405/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: A Health and Care Centre for Newcastle is being considered within my Department’s Primary & Community Care Infrastructure (PCCI) programme, which is a reform and modernisation programme to provide for a range of community based projects over the next 10 years. These will include primary care facilities such as Health and Care Centres, facilities for Learning Disability, Physical Disability, Mental Health, Elderly Mentally Ill facilities, Adult Centres and Children’s Homes.

Within the current Budget there is an allocation of £40 million for these facilities, which allows the first five of these projects to be progressed over the next 3 years. Business Cases for these projects, which have been prioritised in consultation with the Boards and Trusts, are currently with my Department for consideration. The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust has identified as its first priority a new Health and Care Centre for Dunmurry. In addition the Trust is presently reviewing its remaining PCCI plans with a view to confirming a priority list of other schemes across the Trust area.

The Trust expects to be in a position to confirm its assessed priorities to my Department for consideration, in the spring of 2008.

Occupational Therapist Service

Mr B McElduff asked tthe Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the reasons for the withdrawal of an occupational therapist service from Arvalee School, Omagh; and to confirm whether or not he will reverse this decision.

(AQW 4416/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The responsibility for operational matters in the provision of service rests with the Health and Social Care Trusts. The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) has advised me that the Occupational Therapy service at the Arvalee School, Omagh, has not been suspended. It continues to provide a service within the school to children requiring urgent intervention and those in greatest need of therapy.

The Occupational Therapists in WHSCT are currently undergoing a review of their services, embarking on a programme to ensure that the needs of all children at special schools continue to be met and that other children who are waiting for routine assessments are seen in a timely fashion.

Sun Tanning Parlours

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the research his department is undertaking into links between increased levels of skin cancer and the use of sun tanning parlours.

(AQW 4434/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: My Department has not commissioned research in this area. However, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) has been asked to provide advice to Government on the health effects of sunbed use. COMARE is an independent expert advisory committee, which provides advice to Government Departments and the Devolved Administrations in relation to the health effects of natural and man-made radiation. The Committee’s report is expected by the end of 2008 and is likely to inform future policy development.

In addition, the Sunbed Working Group of the Northern Ireland Melanoma Strategy Implementation Group (NIMSIG) is currently examining the issues relating to sunbeds and their use.

Suicide Awareness

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the strategies his department has in place to raise awareness of the issue of suicide among young people; and to detail (i) the suicide awareness programmes supported by his department; and (ii) the amount of funding allocated to each programme.

(AQW 4460/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The Suicide Prevention Strategy ‘Protect Life - a shared vision’ was published in October 2006, following an extensive public consultation process which included key children’s organisations.

The Strategy contains 62 actions, of which a number are specifically aimed to target assistance for young people and in particular young males.

In 2007/08 my Department allocated £3.06m recurrent funding for suicide prevention. £1.8m was allocated to support local communities with the development of initiatives to tackle the high rates of suicide and self harm across NI. The Health Boards were tasked with using this funding to develop local action plans which included targeted outreach programmes for young males and the provision of counselling/mentoring support for young people.

A further £350k was allocated to the Health Promotion Agency to develop a public Information campaign. Two advertisements were developed and aired in March 2007. One of those "the box" was specifically targeted at young people and is currently being re-run again.

The remaining funding was allocated to cover the costs of research and development, training, All-Island Co-operation and two pilot schemes.

Fire Station at Cushendall

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail his proposals for the fire station at Cushendall, including whether he plans to refurbish the existing station or provide a new building.

(AQW 4464/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: I can confirm that the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service plans to build a new station at Cushendall.

Ambulance Care Assistants

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail his plans to include the work carried out by ambulance care assistants on Bank Holidays in calculating unsocial hours allowance.

(AQW 4482/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: The Agenda for Change agreement sets out the arrangements for pay enhancements for Ambulance staff who in the normal course of their employment are required to work in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays. This pay enhancement is determined by the number of unsocial hours actually worked within the normal working pattern over a 13 week period. Ambulance Care Assistants are in some instances required to work at unsocial times but quite often the pattern of work may be subject to change. This fluid situation presents a difficulty when calculating the hours to be worked at unsocial times over the 13 week period. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Trust is currently working with local staff representatives to reach agreement on a method of calculating payments for these staff. Once agreement is reached any arrears due will be paid to the staff concerned.

Agenda for Change

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the mechanisms in place to provide consistency in the allocation of pay bands under Agenda for Change, in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts.

(AQW 4503/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: All procedures for ensuring consistency in pay bands assigned to staff under the Agenda for Change arrangements have been agreed in partnership with staff representatives. Health and Social Care employers and staff representatives must ensure that the grading assigned to the job is consistent across all similar type roles within their organisation. In addition to this local consistency check a process comparing the grading in other organisations is also carried out. Where a grading is found to be similar in two other organisations it is considered to be consistent across the region

Agenda for Change

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to detail the number of staff who have appealed their new pay band under Agenda for Change, and have received the decision of their appeal; and (ii) to provide a timescale within which the remaining staff will receive the outcome of their appeal, for each Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 4504/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: My Department does not hold the information in the format requested. Officials have asked each Health and Social Care Trust to provide these details and I will write to the member when this information is available.

Roe Unit

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to give an assurance that the current provision of 15 continuing care beds at the Roe Unit, located at the North West Independent Clinic, and funded by the Western Health and Social Care Trust, will be maintained at this level.

(AQW 4560/08)

Mr M McGimpsey:

The Western Trust, in common with all Trusts, is responsible for providing services for its local population.

The Trust has recently reviewed its contract with the North West Independent Clinic and I understand the Trust will to continue to fund 12 continuing care beds and 3 nursing home beds for the provision of care for older people. This level of service provision will continue to be reviewed in light of the needs of the population, available resources and competing priorities.

Sion Mills Branch Surgery

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to confirm if the Western Health and Social Services Board has plans to use the former Sion Mills branch surgery premises for other health and social care purposes.

(AQW 4586/08)

Mr M McGimpsey: This information is not currently available. Whilst providing general information and advice the Agency also undertakes targeted exercises to increase benefit uptake among vulnerable groups. The 2007/2008 Benefit Uptake Programme does include a specific exercise in which over 5000 individuals, comprising of families where there is a child with a disability and families with three or more children, are offered a comprehensive benefit check. This exercise is the first in which the Agency has specifically targeted families with children. As this Programme is on-going it is not possible to provide final costs for this exercise at this time.

In addition all Agency front line staff contribute to benefit uptake by providing information and advice on social security matters. Due to systems limitations and the volume of enquiries received by the Agency each year the costs associated with providing information and advice to particular groups are not available.

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Waste Produced

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the percentage of waste produced by the department that is recycled.

(AQW 3793/08)

The Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): A recent waste audit for the Department’s headquarters building, Clarence Court, which is shared with another Department, confirmed that the percentage of waste recycled had increased from 15% in 2004 to 75%. Similar recycling arrangements exist in other buildings, many of which are also shared, but no figures are maintained by the Department of the overall percentage of waste recycled.

In addition, a recent study undertaken in partnership with the Quarry Products Association (NI), has indicated that a maximum of 10% by volume of secondary and recycled materials is normally included as part of the road construction layers.

Roads Service is also currently working with Waste and Resources Action Partnership in a pilot scheme to determine the total value of recycled products used within road schemes.

Under works contracts awarded by Roads Service, the contractor is responsible for disposal of all waste associated with the contract to appropriate licensed waste disposal or recycling sites. Roads Service is not able to accurately track the quantity of waste material that is actually recycled in the licensed facility.

The Derryboye Road

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline his plans to grit the Derryboye Road, Killinchy.

(AQW 4077/08)

Mr C Murphy: The Derryboye Road is a C-class road which runs between the B7 Killyleagh Road, Crossgar and the A22 Comber to Killyleagh Road, both of which are included on the winter salting schedule. Whilst the Derryboye Road has not previously met the criteria for inclusion on the schedule, I have asked my Department’s Roads Service to arrange for an assessment (including a traffic survey) to be carried out to ascertain whether this route now meets the criteria and can be added to the schedule for routine salting.

This will be undertaken at the earliest opportunity and I have asked that officials contact you when the results of the assessment are known.

NCP Traffic Attendants

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the towns and villagesin which NCP traffic attendants are authorised to operate.

(AQW 4106/08)

Mr C Murphy: Traffic Attendants, employed by NCP Services Ltd., are authorised to operate in all towns and villages where parking and waiting restrictions are in place. Deployment of Traffic Attendants is agreed between my Department’s Roads Service and NCP Services Ltd. on the basis of need.

Deterioration of the Tubber Road

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development what action he is taking to address the deterioration of the Tubber Road, Kircubbin.

(AQW 4144/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the Tubber Road, Kircubbin, is a rural unclassified road and that its general overall condition is acceptable. While there have been some damages to verges by overriding vehicles, repairs have recently been carried out. The carriageway is free of any major defects.

I understand that following periods of very heavy rainfall, localised flooding can occur adjacent to No. 26 Tubber Road. Although this does not severely restrict the carriageway width, I have asked that my officials investigate the options for a resolution of this matter.

Bottled Water

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the amount of money his department has spent on bottled water, in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4159/08)

Mr C Murphy:

The following table sets out the amounts spent by the Department for Regional Development on bottled water in each of the last 3 years.

Financial Year

Amount Spent on Bottled Water

2004/05

£58,194

2005/06

£65,216

2006/07

£56,342

The amounts include expenditure by Roads Service and also Water Service, which in the period up to 31 March 2007, was an Agency of the Department. The expenditure for 2005/06 and 2006/07 include amounts of £5,685 and £2,436 respectively for bottled water which was procured for use by members of the public in emergency situations.

Road Signs

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the cost incurred by his department in (i) cleaning; and (ii) replacing, road signs affected by graffiti, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 4172/08)

Mr C Murphy: Officials from my Department’s Roads Service have informed me that the costs for cleaning and replacing road signs affected by graffiti, are not recorded separately, as this is a small part of the general sign cleaning operation.

Road Signs

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of people who have been prosecuted for (i) graffiti; and (ii) other damage to, road signs, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 4181/08)

Mr C Murphy: Officials from my Department’s Roads Service have informed me that they have not prosecuted anyone, for graffiti or damage to signs in the past five years.

Light Rail System

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Regional Development what consideration he has given to a light rail network, operating from Belfast to Donaghadee, via Comber and Newtownards, along pre-existing rail corridors as a (i) publicly funded; (ii) privately funded; or (iii) PPP/PFI, project.

(AQW 4185/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department commissioned a feasibility study for Rapid Transit for Belfast. The scope of this study included determining the best system in terms of technology (either light rail or bus rapid transit), routes and costs. The study also explored how any system should be funded, including the scope for developer contributions from the private sector.

One of the routes under consideration is EWAY which connects Belfast City Centre to Dundonald along the disused Belfast & County Down railway line. I am currently considering the outcome of the study but there are no plans for considering a rapid transit network beyond this area.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mr A Maskey asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an update of the progress that has been made in providing traffic calming measures at the junction of Primrose Hill and Saintfield Road, Belfast.

(AQW 4187/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that agreement has recently been reached with the developer of the Brooke Hall development, on the layout of new traffic lights at the junction of Primrose Hill and Saintfield Road. It is now the responsibility of the developer to implement the scheme, in accordance with their planning approval. The developer has indicated that they intend to commence work in March 2008.

Sewerage Blockages

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the call-out standards set by Northern Ireland Water, to attend and deal with sewerage blockages, (i) between Monday and Friday; (ii) at weekends; and (iii) during public holidays.

(AQW 4202/08)

Mr C Murphy:

I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it aims to attend an incident where a home is flooded from the public sewer within 4 hours of receiving a call and to remove blockages in the public sewer within 24 hours. These service standards apply at all times, including weekends and public holidays, but are unlikely to be met during extreme events such as periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall or when the incident is not the responsibility of NIW.

The service standards for water and sewerage services are contained in NIW’s Customer Charter, which is available on its website at www.niwater.com.

Septic Tanks

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the current average waiting time for customers to have their septic tanks emptied, broken down by district council area.

(AQW 4204/08)

Mr C Murphy: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that the average waiting time for a standard septic tank to be desludged during January and February 2008, was 9 working days. As this information is not recorded by district council area, it is not possible to provide the breakdown sought.

NIW aims to desludge septic tanks within 12 working days and urgent requests, such as overflowing tanks, within 2 days. These standards would not apply in cases where access is difficult or special arrangements are required to facilitate desludging such as the use of tractors.

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of written questions he has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4211/08)

Mr C Murphy: I have answered the following number of written Assembly Questions, broken down by month, during the period 8 May 2007 to 31 January 2008.

Period

Number of Written Assembly Questions answered

8 to 31 May 2007

32

June 2007

90

July 2007

87

August 2007

0

September 2007

54

October 2007

119

November 2007

91

December 2007

77

January 2008

57

Total

Tubber Road, Kircubbin

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the steps being taken to upgrade and improve the surface of the Tubber Road, Kircubbin.

(AQW 4229/08)

Mr C Murphy: As indicated in my reply to the Member’s previous question relating to Tubber Road, AQW 4144/08, my Department’s Roads Service has advised that the carriageway surface is free of any major defects and the overall condition is acceptable. Consequently, I can advise that there are, at present, no plans to carry out resurfacing on Tubber Road. However, the road will continue to be subject to ongoing cyclic inspection and repairs, carried out in accordance with Road Service’s maintenance guidelines.

Light Rail System

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the financial and clerical assistance provided in relation to plans for a light rail system to service the greater Belfast metropolitan area.

(AQW 4231/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department commissioned a study to examine the feasibility of Rapid Transit for Belfast. The study was overseen by a Project Steering Group which consisted of representatives from DRD’s Regional Planning and Transportation Division, Roads Service, Economics Branch and the Strategic Investment Board.

The study included consideration of light rail and bus based technology. The total cost of the feasibility study is estimated at £402k.

Road Signs

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the cost of replacing road signs affected by vandalism in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4235/08)

Mr C Murphy: Officials from my Department’s Roads Service have advised me that the cost of replacing road signs affected by vandalism is not recorded separately.

However, on three occasions in the last five years, there have been spates of sign thefts in Roads Service’s Western Division. On each occasion the cost has averaged around £3,000 and was reported to the PSNI.

Joint Initiative

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister for Regional Development what action he is taking to explore the potential for a joint initiative with Donegal County Council to install lighting and a footway on the road between Claudy village, Strabane to St Columba's Chapel, Donnyloop, Donegal, in order to enhance pedestrian and motorist safety.

(AQW 4263/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department’s Roads Service has advised me that a footway currently extends from Clady village in County Tyrone for approximately 600 metres to the border with County Donegal. The first 200 metres of this footway, from Clady village to the 30 mph speed limit, has street lights. The remaining length to the border does not have street lights, as it could not be justified, due to lack of development along that stretch of road.

The responsibility to continue the footway from County Tyrone for a further 600 metres to the small settlement at St Columba’s Church at Dunnaloob rests with Donegal County Council. Should Donegal County Council wish to promote this scheme, Roads Service would be pleased to assist with any traffic management required within its responsibility.

Flooding Problems

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to the answer to AQW 3298/08, to detail the timeframe within which gullies are cleaned in relation to those locations which experience ongoing problems with blockages and recurrent flooding.

(AQW 4282/08)

Mr C Murphy: Officials in my Department’s Roads Service have advised that the additional inspection and, if necessary, cleaning of gullies at locations that experience ongoing problems with blockages and recurrent flooding is undertaken as part of Roads Service’s routine road maintenance programme. The frequency of these inspections is dependant on the volume of traffic using the road, e.g. rural roads carrying between 500 and 5000 vehicles per day (vpd) are inspected every 2 months, whereas rural roads carrying less that 500vpd are inspected every 4 months. The response time for remedial action will be dependant on severity of the problem and the potential inconvenience or risk to the public.

Roads Service also responds to reports of flooding problems received from the public. It is not possible to provide an exact timeframe for responding to such incidences, because of variations in the volume of work involved, the complexity of the problems encountered and finite staff resources available.

By way of illustration, during recent flooding that occurred on 4 January 2008, Ards Section Office received approximately 35 telephone calls about flooding incidents, throughout the Borough, in the space of approximately one hour. With limited resources available to tackle such a large number of incidents, staff had to prioritise their responses to enable them to deal firstly with threats to property and potential road safety hazards.

As the flooding incidents subsided, those cases which required further investigation were dealt with, as soon as resources permitted.

Narrow Water Bridge Proposal

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline the factors he will take into consideration when determining the viability of the Narrow Water bridge proposal.

(AQW 4292/08)

Mr C Murphy: With regard to AQW 4292/08, my Department’s current plans which align with Budget 2008 and the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland (2008-18), do not include proposals for a bridge at Narrow Water. Roads Service is not therefore currently considering the viability of this proposal.

However, I am aware that the southern government has asked Louth County Council to conduct a technical study into the Narrow Water Bridge proposal. Roads Service is also currently undertaking a study to investigate the feasibility, and identify a possible route for a Newry Southern Relief Road, and to explore other options to relieve traffic congestion in the southern part of the city of Newry and help traffic from Warrenpoint access the A1.

I have asked that both Roads Authorities share information on the two studies.

Narrow Water Bridge Proposal

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development what contribution, in both monetary and percentage terms, it is anticipated that the Executive will have to make towards the Narrow Water bridge proposal.

(AQW 4293/08)

Mr C Murphy: In relation to AQW 4293/08, there are no plans, at present, for the Executive to make a financial contribution to this project.

Frederick Street Link in Newtownards

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an update on the progress towards the commencement of the A22 Frederick Street link in Newtownards.

(AQW 4294/08)

Mr C Murphy: I am pleased to advise that the contract to build the Frederick Street link was awarded on 27 February 2008, and that work will commence on site during March 2008. Officials in my Department’s Roads Service estimate that the construction will take approximately six months to complete, with the new road opening to the public in autumn 2008.

Park-and-Ride Facilities

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of park-and-ride facilities there are (i) in Northern Ireland; and (ii) in the East Antrim constituency.

(AQW 4308/08)

Mr C Murphy: Park and Ride facilities in the North are provided by my Department’s Roads Service and by Translink. The information below pertains to those facilities provided by Roads Service. I have asked officials to obtain the relevant details in relation to those facilities provided by Translink and write to you in due course.

In response to AQW 4308/08, I am advised that Roads Service currently provides 9 permanent Park and Ride facilities in the North. At present there are no Park and Ride facilities provided in the East Antrim constituency.

Park-and-Ride Facilities

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of people that have used park-and-ride facilities, broken down by parliamentary constituency, for each month over the last 5 years.

(AQW 4309/08)

Mr C Murphy: I am advised that Roads Service does not maintain details of the number of people using each of the facilities on a monthly basis. They do, however, undertake periodic surveys on usage based on the number of spaces occupied at a point in time. The table below details the estimated percentage utilisation in each Roads Service Park and Ride facility.

Parliamentary Constituency

Carpark Name

Number of Available Spaces

% Daily Utilisation

2007

Lagan Valley

Sprucefield

320

90

Belfast South

Blacks Road

220

80

Belfast East

Ravenscroft Avenue

109

50

Belfast East

Eastside Phase 2

213

95

Belfast North

Northside (incl York Street 2)

123

100

South Antrim

Toome By-pass at Drumderg Roundabout

90

40

North Antrim

Dunsilly Roundabout

258

33

South Antrim

Paradise Walk Roundabout, Templepatrick

65

95

North Antrim

Ballee near Ballee Roundabout

40

100

Park-and-Ride Facilities

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the plans he has to expand the provision of park-and-ride facilities (i) in Northern Ireland; and (ii) in the East Antrim constituency.

(AQW 4310/08)

Mr C Murphy: I am advised that Roads Service is presently considering plans to provide Park and Ride facilities at the following locations:

The Millbrook Roundabout site is in the East Antrim constituency.

Street Lighting

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Regional Development to confirm that the Roads Service will work in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, to ensure that street lighting is provided at the rear of Wallace Park, Rasharkin.

(AQW 4327/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that Wallace Park, Rasharkin, is a small housing development with street lighting to the frontage of all properties. The unlit laneway running to the rear of the properties, that divides numbers 1 – 12 and 13 – 30, is not adopted by Roads Service and is therefore, the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

Free Bus Passes

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an update on his plans to provide free bus passes to all those over the age of 60 years.

(AQW 4353/08)

Mr C Murphy: An equality impact assessment and policy consultation on the proposal to introduce free travel for those aged 60 to 64 will begin shortly. Subject to a satisfactory outcome of this consultation I expect the necessary preparatory work to be completed by the autumn. This would allow the application process to commence in the summer with the first journeys under the proposed extension being made in October 2008.

Pay and Display Car parks

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the total amount of finance raised through pay and display car parks in 2007; and to confirm if this money was used to create additional, affordable car park spaces.

(AQW 4379/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department’s Roads Service officials advise that £3.89 million was received through Pay and Display car-parking charges in the period January 2007 – December 2007.

Revenue generated by all car-park charges are used, with income from Penalty Charge Notices, to supplement the overall financing of Roads Service by central government.

National Car Park Scheme

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide a breakdown of the amount of money raised by parking fines since the inception of the National Car Park Scheme, including information on surcharges, broken down by each constituency.

(AQW 4383/08)

Mr C Murphy: Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) was introduced at the end of October 2006. My Department’s Roads Service has advised that in the period to 31 January 2008, £1,010,720 has been received from Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) paid at the full PCN value of £60. A further £3,874,770 has been received from PCNs paid at the 50% discounted value of £30. A further £225,000 has been received following issue of Charge Certificates as a result of non-payment of PCNs. The value of a Charge Certificate is £90. This gives a total of £5,110,490.

I am unable to give you a breakdown of these figures on a constituency basis, as the information is not held in this format.

National Car Park Scheme

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of parking tickets issued, in (i) figures; and (ii) as a percentage, that have been appealed since the inception of the National Car Park Scheme, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 4384/08)

Mr C Murphy:

Roads Service officials advise that, in the period to 26 February 2008, a total of 205,940 PCNs have been issued.

There are three stages to the appeals process:

  1. Informal Challenge to Roads Service.
  2. The number of informal challenges received totalled 19,793 (9.6%).

  3. Formal Representation to Roads Service.
  4. The number of formal representations received totalled 6,283 (3.05%) – a percentage of these will previously have been the subject of an informal challenge.

  5. Formal Appeal to an independent adjudicator.

The number of appeals to an independent adjudicator received totalled 156 (0.08%) – all of these will previously have been the subject of a formal representation.

I am unable to give you a breakdown of these figures on a constituency basis, as the information is not held in this format.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline his policy in relation to road calming measures for villages.

(AQW 4402/08)

Mr C Murphy: The objective of traffic calming is to improve driver behaviour and control speed, thereby contributing to a reduction in the number, and severity, of casualties resulting from road traffic collisions.

My Department’s Roads Service achieves this objective through the provision of a range of engineering measures, which include gateways, central islands, build-outs and road humps. (However, it is not Roads Service policy to provide road humps on through routes).

In line with the Regional Transportation Strategy, it is Roads Service policy to provide gateway features at the entry points to villages and settlements, to highlight to drivers the change in the road environment. In many cases, a speed limit change is associated with a gateway feature. Central islands and additional road markings have also been used effectively, to improve the road environment.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to his answer to AQW 1968/08, to detail the timescale within which construction will be completed in relation to traffic calming measures in King Street, Newcastle.

(AQW 4406/08)

Mr C Murphy: As you will be aware, from my previous reply to AQW 1968/08, construction of the King Street Traffic Calming scheme commenced on 13 August 2007, but after some resource problems, the contractor was unable to complete the work.

My Department’s Roads Service had received assurances from the contractor at the end of November 2007, that work would recommence and be completed before Christmas 2007. Unfortunately, this did not happen, despite regular liaison with the contractor throughout January and February 2008.

Roads Service officials have now been informed that the work will recommence on Monday 3 March 2008 and be completed by Friday 14 March 2008.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide a timescale for the completion of traffic calming measures in Killyclogher, Co Tyrone.

(AQW 4414/08)

Mr C Murphy: My Department's Roads Service has advised that the proposed scheme to provide traffic calming measures at Killyclogher, Omagh, are included in its 2007/08 Local Transport and Safety Measures programme. The contractor is scheduled to commence work on 3 March 2008.

This scheme comprises a number of traffic calming measures, including the provision of speed cushions, 20mph zones, gateway speed limit signing, traffic islands and two new mini-roundabouts. It will also include alterations to an existing mini-roundabout, to create a double mini roundabout.

It is anticipated that all of the traffic calming measures, apart from the double mini-roundabout, will be completed by the end of March 2008. Land will be required to introduce the double mini-roundabout and the acquisition of it has not yet been completed. It is therefore anticipated that the double mini-roundabout will be provided within the 2008/09 works programme.

Sewerage Systems

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Regional Development if he will undertake an urgent review of the sewerage systems in the Dunmurry area, given the problems and complaints in relation to the waste water treatment work at Dunmurry.

(AQW 4418/08)

Mr C Murphy: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it has identified the need for capital expenditure of around £12.5 million to upgrade Dunmurry Wastewater Treatment Works and the sewerage network in the area.

Due to competing priorities, work is not scheduled to commence until mid 2010 subject to funding being available following the regulatory periodic review in 2009. The work will take over 2 years to complete.

In the interim, NIW is undertaking work to improve the quality of the discharge from Dunmurry Wastewater Treatment Works and will continue to monitor closely the performance of the Works and take any necessary remedial action to prevent further problems.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail all the factors that were taken into consideration in taking the decision that traffic calming measures should not be introduced at Circular Road, Castlewellan.

(AQW 4507/08)

Mr C Murphy: The factors that were taken into consideration for the assessment of traffic calming on Circular Road, Castlewellan were the same as those used for all such assessments and are as follows:

The scoring attributed to these factors is used to establish a relative priority list for possible schemes in each council area. Unfortunately, Circular Road has not achieved a sufficient priority to merit inclusion on the current programme for Down District.

Official Enquiry

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to confirm that he will bring the initial findings of the official enquiry into the collision at the automated Level Crossing at Old Cullybackey Road, Ballymena, to the Assembly as early as possible, so that any improvements in safety at level crossings can be fully discussed.

(AQW 4628/08)

Mr C Murphy: Northern Ireland Railways is currently carrying out a full investigation of the circumstances and causes of the accident at this level crossing. I will place a copy of the report of this investigation in the Library as soon as it becomes available.

Northern Ireland Water

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to his answer to AQW 1508/08, to detail the reasons why Northern Ireland Water have not yet completed the necessary work to address water pressure problems in Lyngrove Hill, Glenavy.

(AQW 4649/08)

Mr C Murphy: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that the work to replace a length of watermain at Glenavy Road, Crumlin has now been completed. Existing services will be transferred to the new watermain by the end of March 2008 and NIW is confident that this will resolve the water pressure problems experienced by residents in Lyngrove Hill, Glenavy.

A57 Antrim/Dublin Road

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail what action his department is taking to reduce the number of accidents on the A57 Antrim/Dublin Road.

(AQW 4652/08)

Mr C Murphy: In my answer to the Member’s earlier Question relating to the A57 (AQW 4062/08), I provided details of a proposed road widening and realignment scheme on this route. It is anticipated that these works, when completed, should help in achieving a reduction in the number of accidents that have occurred along this road.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Development of Social Housing

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the most recent development of social housing that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive was responsible for; (ii) the number of houses constructed; and (iii) the cost of the development.

(AQW 4131/08)

The Minister for Social Development (Ms M Ritchie): The last new build scheme undertaken by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive was a rural cottage replacement scheme at Drumaness, Ballynahinch which went onsite on 30 March 2001.

The scheme was for 4 new build detached bungalows to replace existing rural cottages at dispersed locations in the Drumaness area and cost £383,698.

Translation and Interpretation Services

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the provision she has made in this year's budget to provide translation and interpretation services in relation to application forms to be completed by people from ethnic minorities.

(AQW 4165/08)

Ms M Ritchie: In the current financial year my Department has allocated a total of £141,000 for translation and interpretation services in relation to customers whose first language is not English. Within that total it is not possible to provide the specific amount associated with the completion of application forms.

Staff Demographics

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the percentage of staff in her department that is (i) male; (ii) female; and (iii) disabled, broken down by grade.

(AQW 4175/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Within the Department for Social Development including the Social Security Agency and Child Support Agency the percentage of staff that are (i) male; (ii) female; and (iii) disabled, broken down by grade as at 21 February 2008 are detailed below:

GRADE

% MALE

% FEMALE

%DISABLED

Permanent Secretary

0.01

0

0

Under Secretary (G3)

0.04

0.01

0

Assistant Secretary (G5)

0.12

0.04

0.01

Senior Principal (G6)

0.05

0.06

0.01

Principal (G7)

0.73

0.41

0.01

Deputy Principal

1.07

1.28

0.07

Staff Officer

2.11

2.37

0.26

Executive Officer 1

3.55

5.51

0.33

Executive Officer 2

9.66

15.72

0.95

Administrative Officer

17.15

29.64

1.96

Administrative Assistant

3.22

4.68

0.41

Senior Personal Secretary

0

0.06

0

Personal Secretary

0

0.18

0

Typing Manager

0

0.01

0

Typist

0

0.33

0.01

Support Grade Band 1

0.04

0.04

0

Support Grade Band 2

1.15

0.38

0.04

Support Grade Band 2 Cas

0.26

0.02

0.04

Security Guard

0.04

0

0

SW Course Student IT

0.05

0.01

0

Total

39.24

60.76

4.10

It should be noted that the disabled figures provided are those held by the Department for those staff that have indicated they have a disability. However, some staff did not respond when asked whether they had a disability, therefore the figures are only indicative.

Voluntary and Community Sector

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the groups within the voluntary and community sector that have secured funding from her department since the publication of the Budget; and to further detail the services this funding will deliver.

(AQW 4197/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Since the publication of the draft budget on 22 January 2008, my Department has made 11 offers of funding to voluntary and community sector organisations at a total value of £400,867.13. This funding covers a wide range of community activity and details are outlined in the table below.

 

Organisation

Funding Branch

Project Title

Objective

Total Awarded

Galliagh Development Trust

NWDO

Galliagh Development Trust - Core salaries Continuation

The Galliagh development Trust is a new body which will take forward the community plans for a new £5 million pound multi-purpose community facility in Galliagh and to develop the Galliagh masterplan.

£17,876.41

Greater Shankill Partnership

BRO West

Strategic Regeneration Framework

Part of Renewing Communities and Action Plans to set the Strategic context for Neighbourhood Renewal and other key initiatives such as Arterial Routes and Health Action Zones.

£85,972.00

Lenadoon Community Forum

BRO West

Lenadoon Counselling Project Refurbishment

To fit out new premises to provide a more efficient use of available space for confidential Counselling services.

£25,300.00

Shankill Womens Centre

BRO West

SWC Refurbishment GS/NRP2/11/07

To provide a more efficient use of available space for use in confidential Counselling services due to increased caller traffic.

£28,773.84

Suffolk Community Forum

BRO West

Purchase of Minibus

To provide transport to enable access to training and other activities available in areas outside Suffolk.

£23,425.38

Ulidia Housing Association Ltd

NIHE

Ulidia VPG Payment Jan 08

Grant in respect of discount awarded to tenants who purchased their home

£19,042.00

Windsor Womens Centre

VCU

Windsor Womens Core Funding

To provide funding for a percentage of the core costs of the organisation.

£117,144.47

Braid Amateur Boxing Club

RDO Northern

Running Costs

To engage youth of the community and give them focus

£32,243.46

Dunclug Partnership

RDO Northern

Shared Future

Concert on 12/03/2008

£2,166.88

Shankill Community Projects (Lurgan)

RDO Southern

Play Area

Provision of a covered play area at Mount Zion House, Lurgan

£40,804.26

Drumarg Community Association, Armagh

RDO Southern

Running Costs

Community House Running costs

£8,118.43

£400,867.13

Written Questions

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of written questions she has answered in each month since May 2007.

(AQW 4210/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The table below details the number of written questions I have answered in the period 8 May 2007 to end of February 2008.

Year

Month

AQWs answered

2007

May

13

2007

June

54

2007

July

59

2007

August

0

2007

September

20

2007

October

78

2007

November

81

2007

December

72

2008

January

45

2008

February

110

 

Total

532

Solar Panels

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister for Social Development to give her assessment of the success of the installation of solar panels, particularly their effectiveness in reducing fuel poverty in homes.

(AQW 4233/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Energy efficiency and energy reduction methods remain the preferred methods for reducing household fuel bills and alleviating fuel poverty. Insulation measures in particular provide significant benefit for minimal cost.

Some solar panel installations are being monitored to provide accurate information on their actual performance in terms of output of hot water. Once we have a full year’s data, we will be able to carry out an initial cost-benefit calculation.

Renewable Energy Sources

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister for Social Development, in view of rising oil and gas prices, whether or not she intends to have renewable energy sources included in newly built social homes.

(AQW 4234/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The requirements for the social housing development programme are that new homes should achieve maximum energy efficiency, and minimal environmental impact, heat loss, and running costs.

From 1 April 2008 my Department will introduce a three star level in the Code for Sustainable Homes as the mandatory standard for new Social Housing Development Programme dwellings. The Code for Sustainable Homes has been developed to enable a step change in sustainable home building practice with a view to achieving a six star rating - zero carbon home - by 2016.

For a new home to achieve a three star level it will have to be 25% more energy efficient than one built to the 2006 Building Regulations standards. The Code will require consideration of the use of renewable energy sources such as electricity from photovoltaic panels, hot water from solar water heating panels and combined heat and power boilers. These renewable energy sources have already been installed in many new build Housing Association properties and their use will increase as we work to achieving the zero carbon homes by 2016.

Community and Voluntary Sector

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the groups within the community and voluntary sector that have been informed that funding will cease in March 2008, and what particular services/programmes will be affected.

(AQW 4273/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The Department for Social Development is not responsible for all funding provided for services delivered by the voluntary and community sector. My Department does however provide support for the Sector through a range of funding programmes and I have asked that a list of those groups that have a contract for funding that expires in March this year, and the programme concerned, is placed in the Library as soon as possible.

Severe Disability Allowance

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to clarify why people with Down’s Syndrome who qualify for Severe Disability Allowance have to provide medical certificates from their doctor.

(AQW 4311/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Severe Disablement Allowance is not available to new claimants from 6 April 2001. However, existing recipients can continue to receive the benefit for as long as they satisfy the conditions of entitlement for the benefit. A person must continue to meet the threshold of incapacity and evidence of this is normally provided in the form of a statement from the claimant's doctor or by meeting the incapacity threshold under the Personal Capability Assessment.

It is a statutory requirement for the receipt of Severe Disablement Allowance that, unless exempt from the Personal Capability Assessment or until the Personal Capability Assessment is satisfied, a person provides medical evidence to confirm that they are unable to work. However, people receiving Severe Disablement Allowance before 13 April 1995 are subject to different statutory provisions and are treated as being incapable of work without needing to satisfy the Personal Capability Assessment as long as they continue to provide medical certificates. If a claimant is in a specified category, for example receiving the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, he/she may also be exempt from the requirement to provide medical certificates.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of complaints that were received by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in relation to (i) noise; and (ii) anti-social behaviour, in the (a) Ards; (b) Castlereagh; and (c) Down district offices, for each of the past three years.

(AQW 4354/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The information requested is as follows:

 

1 January 2005 –

31 December 2005

1 January 2006 –

31 December 2006

1 January 2007 –

31 December 2007

Northern Ireland Housing Executive District Office

Noise

All other ASB cases

Noise

All other ASB cases

Noise

All other ASB cases

Newtownards

61

111

32

119

45

162

Castlereagh

21

32

60

71

70

126

Downpatrick

28

63

20

19

37

50

Glenwood Environmental Improvement Scheme

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Social Development to outline her department's policy in relation to the provision of funding to projects in areas of high deprivation and social need, in light of the postponement of the Glenwood Environmental Improvement Scheme.

(AQW 4403/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Tackling social deprivation is central to the work that my Department is progressing under the Programme for Government. Much of that work is encapsulated in the public service agreements that underpin the Programme for Government. These recognise my Department’s significant role in a range of issues that are critical to the fight against poverty. My Department takes the lead in the promotion of decent, energy-efficient, affordable housing; in the regeneration of disadvantaged areas, towns and city centres; and in supporting community development.

As far as the Glenwood scheme is concerned this is a Northern Ireland Housing Executive project which like all programmed schemes is subject to the availability of finance. In this case, given the value and scale of the works, the Housing Executive decided that it would be appropriate to phase the work. The first phase is now programmed to start in October 2008, and the second in April 2009.

Glenwood Environmental Improvement Scheme

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Social Development whether or not she will review her decision to postpone the Glenwood Environmental Improvement Scheme.

(AQW 4404/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Tackling social deprivation is central to the work that my Department is progressing under the Programme for Government. Much of that work is encapsulated in the public service agreements that underpin the Programme for Government. These recognise my Department’s significant role in a range of issues that are critical to the fight against poverty. My Department takes the lead in the promotion of decent, energy-efficient, affordable housing; in the regeneration of disadvantaged areas, towns and city centres; and in supporting community development.

As far as the Glenwood scheme is concerned this is a Northern Ireland Housing Executive project which like all programmed schemes is subject to the availability of finance. In this case, given the value and scale of the works, the Housing Executive decided that it would be appropriate to phase the work. The first phase is now programmed to start in October 2008, and the second in April 2009.

Lisanelly Army Barracks

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the discussions she has had with the Department of Education, in relation to the future development of the Lisanelly Army Barracks in Omagh.

(AQW 4429/08)

Ms M Ritchie: To date, I have had no discussions with the Department of Education in relation to the future of the Lisanelly Army Barracks in Omagh. However, officials from my Department have been working, and are continuing to work, with their colleagues in the Department of Education to explore options relating to the future development of the Lisanelly site.

Housing Shortfall

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the action she is taking to address the social housing shortfall in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

(AQW 4435/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The need for social housing in Fermanagh and South Tyrone will be addressed through the five year social housing development programme. The programme is currently being updated and I have asked the Housing Executive to send a copy to you as soon as it is available. In the meantime I have placed details of the waiting lists for these areas, in the Assembly Library.

Social Security Agency

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the proportion of the Social Security Agency benefit uptake budget that has been targeted at families with children in the spending plans for the next 3 years.

(AQW 4487/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The Social Security Agency is unable to provide this information as the Agency’s budget is not allocated on this basis. All Agency front line staff contribute to benefit uptake by providing information and advice on social security matters; this includes families with children. In addition to providing general information and advice, the Agency also undertakes targeted exercises to increase benefit uptake among vulnerable groups.

The Social Security Agency is in the process of finalising its business plan for the incoming year and benefit uptake remains one of the Agency’s five key priorities.

Energy Performance Certificates

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development to provide a timescale within which Energy Performance Certificates will become mandatory, and to make a statement.

(AQW 4488/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Legislation to introduce Energy Performance Certificates to Northern Ireland is being taken forward by the Department for Finance and Personnel.

It is intended to roll out a programme for the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in three phases starting at the end of June of this year with existing dwellings being offered for sale on the housing market.  This will be followed at the end of September by EPCs for newly constructed dwellings and finish with public and private rentals at the end of December.

Housing Executive

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the amount of land owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that is currently being sold for private housing in (i) the East Antrim constituency; and (ii) Northern Ireland.

(AQW 4489/08)

Ms M Ritchie: Table 1 below details the land owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in East Antrim that is not required for development and proposed for sale. Table 2 details the remaining surplus land owned by the Housing Executive that is not required for development and proposed for sale.

Table 1

Housing Executive land in East Antrim, for disposal

Housing Executive District

Site Area (Ha.)

Carrickfergus

32.95

Larne

14.12

Newtownabbey

12.94

Total East Antrim & Newtownabbey

60.01

Table 2

Remaining Housing Executive land for disposal

NIHE District

Site Area (Ha.)

Belfast

2.38 

Bangor

0.71

Newtownards

2.62

Castlereagh

3.27 

Lisburn

1.25 

Downpatrick

1.19 

Banbridge

0.99 

Newry

1.39 

Armagh

1.63 

Lurgan

4.66 

Portadown

0.29

Dungannon

0.39 

Fermanagh

0.68 

Ballymena

0.72 

Antrim

20.32 

Ballycastle

0.02

Ballymoney

2.22

Coleraine

15.16 

Waterside

0.30

Magherafelt

2.03 

Strabane

7.3 

Omagh

0.86 

Cookstown

0.30 

70.68

 

All surplus sites have been checked against housing need and it is only where no social housing need is identified that sites are advertised for sale.

Housing Executive

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the amount of money raised from the sale of land owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 4490/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The table below details the amount raised from the sale of surplus Northern Ireland Housing Executive land (excluding house sales) in each of the last five financial years.

Year

£*

2002/03    

2,770,000

2003/04     

3,949,000

2004/05    

1,397,000

2005/06    

3,218,000

2006/07    

55,156,000

*The amount received after deduction of administrative costs.

House Building

Mr M Brady asked the Minister for Social Development, further to her statement to the Assembly on 26 February 2008 in relation to (a) the 1500 houses to be built in year one; (b) the 1750 houses to be built in year two; and (c) the 2000 houses to be built in year three, to detail for each of the three years (i) the locations in which her department plans to build these houses; (ii) the number of houses to be built in each location; (iii) the type of houses to be built in each location; and (iv) the timescale in which her department expects these houses to be occupied in each location.

(AQW 4511/08)

Ms M Ritchie: This information is available from the 5 year social housing development programme. The programme is currently being updated and I have asked the Housing Executive to send a copy to you as soon as it is available. From a start on site, a typical housing development takes some 12 to 15 months to complete.

Fisherwick Housing Estate

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister for Social Development to detail her spending plans for improvements to Fisherwick Housing Estate Ballymena, and to confirm if the plans include the provision of a children's play facility.

(AQW 4571/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The dwellings in Fisherwick Crescent were included in a Northern Ireland Housing Executive Multi Element Improvement scheme in 1998 at a cost of more than £700k (approximately £21k per dwelling). There are no current plans for further improvements.

The provision of play areas is a matter for the local council who have not yet approached the Housing Executive about land within the estate. I understand that the Housing Executive would consider any such proposal if a formal request was made.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister for Social Development, pursuant to the answer to AQW 4298/08, to confirm when the department's spending programme in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas, over the period 2008-2011, will be finalised.

(AQW 4643/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The Department’s spending plans for Neighbourhood Renewal Areas for the period from 2008 – 2011 will be finalised on a rolling financial year basis. Spending commitments for the new Comprehensive Spending Review period will be based on a combination of factors including the prioritisation of competing demands for funding, the rate at which projects in receipt of commitments of funding progress and the potential availability of additional resources that may be secured as part of in-year funding bids. As plans are drawn together there will be an opportunity to make longer term commitments of Neighbourhood Renewal funds to some projects over the three year funding window and scope to bring planned schemes and projects forward as resources permit.

Housing Executive

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of houses owned by (i) the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; and (ii) other Housing Associations, in (a) Crumlin; (b) Randalstown; and (c) Antrim town.

(AQW 4653/08)

Ms M Ritchie: The information requested is as follows:

NIHE stock (at March 2007)

 

NIHE

Housing Association

Antrim Town

2,103

158

Crumlin

106

62

Randalstown

196

53

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister for Social Development to detail her plans for an announcement regarding neighbourhood renewal as a matter of urgency, in light of possible staff redundancies by the end of March.

(AQW 4733/08)

Ms M Ritchie: I am committed to making sure that Neighbourhood Renewal is focused on making a real difference to the lives of people living in our most deprived communities and I have been giving this issue careful consideration. I will be making an announcement shortly.

ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Bottled Water

Mr S Wilson asked the Assembly Commission to detail the amount of money that the Assembly has spent on bottled water, in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4157/08)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): The following table highlights the amount spent on bottled water from January 2005 to December 2007. This is specifically relating to the 19 litre plastic bottles that are dispersed throughout the building in water s. The water is purchased from Classic Mineral Water, and is acquired through our Support Services contractor, currently Eurest.

Table 1

Month

£’s 2005

£’s 2006

£’s 2007

January

394.00

890.80

1218.97

February

1502.00

662.40

645.20

March

1079.20

1382.00

663.00

April

993.60

913.60

976.40

May

559.60

1119.20

679.60

June

1370.40

1736.00

2740.80

July

1176.40

1136.40

1204.80

August

1982.00

1039.20

1096.40

September

1739.60

953.60

1827.20

October

962.20

1244.94

1844.40

November

519.60

953.60

2364.00

December

1656.00

1058.26

1660.47

Yearly Total

13934.60

13090.00

16921.24

* Please note the total for year to date 2008 is £1262.00. Figure taken from January 2008 account.

In addition to the bottled water highlighted in Table 1, there are other purchases of water throughout the Northern Ireland Assembly. For example, glass bottles of water (sparkling and still) are requested on a daily basis at Committee meetings, on a sale or return arrangement. These usage figures are set out in Table 3. An alternative to bottled water is available for Committees, in the form of tap water provided in large jugs. In addition, bottled water (plastic, 500ml) is also available from the various vending machines situated throughout the building. A sample of the water usage from vending machines is set out in Table 2 below, along with the amount spent. It should be noted that the Assembly receives a guaranteed gross profit return on each bottle of water purchased from the vending machine as part of the Support Services contract. The recycling of these bottles is carried out on a daily basis. In terms of glass bottles, a collection is made daily from Parliament Buildings by Estate Management as part of a Stormont Estate recycling initiative. With reference to the plastic bottles purchased from the vending machines, these should be disposed in the relevant recycling receptacles that are located in tea points throughout the building. The 19 litre plastic bottles purchased through the Support Services contract are collected on a weekly basis to be returned to the supplier, and re-used or recycled. The Plastic cups that are provided at the water fonts are collected on a daily basis, and are recycled by Estate Management in the same way as the glass bottles.

Table 2

A sample of total Water Sales from Vending Machines (January 2008, February 2008)

February

Per machine

Selling Price

Total

Still Water 500ml

2 ,5, 3, 3

£0.80 inc vat

£10.40

       

January

     

Still Water 500 ml

1, 1, 3, 2

£0.80 inc vat

£5.60

       
       
 

Bottles 20

Total sales

£16.00

Table 3

Name of Committee

Water Usage (bottles)

Total

Usage

Jun-07

Jul-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

ETI

Enterprise Trade and Investment

121

68

89

124

97

108

45

106

758

ARD

Agriculture and Rural Development

99

35

86

150

79

70

48

86

653

E&l

Employment and Learning

57

51

58

79

56

46

52

102

501

RD

Regional Development

96

48

53

49

51

63

0

0

360

F&P

Finance and Personnel

69

42

58

98

54

76

32

52

481

S&P

Standards and Privileges

45

17

35

35

34

51

14

40

271

SD

Social Development

78

52

70

87

73

92

64

115

631

ENVIR

Environment

50

35

68

73

64

72

67

68

497

CA&L

Culture, Arts and Leisure

66

41

101

84

59

49

36

63

499

HSS&PS

Health, Social Services and Public Safety

85

40

31

84

0

76

14

85

415

PAC

Public Accounts Committee

110

55

118

66

27

71

44

66

557

EDUC

Education

93

26

48

67

60

85

42

66

487

PROC

Procedures

7

8

0

25

13

20

36

15

124

A&ER

Assembly and Executive Review

0

14

16

139

37

45

47

71

369

OFM/DFM

Office of the First Minister/Dep First Minister

73

55

70

120

49

82

43

82

574

TOTALS

1049

587

901

1280

753

1006

584

1017

7177

*Please note that no Committee meetings occurred during the month of August 2007

*Cost per bottle is £0.25p. Total cost for 7177 bottles = £1794.25

Bottled Water

Mr S Wilson asked the Assembly Commission to detail the number of bottles of water that have been provided by the Assembly for use at (i) Committee meetings; and (ii) Assembly functions, in each of the last 3 years.

(AQW 4160/08)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): Please see the information you require in the attached annex.

Annex

(i) In March 2007, the Northern Ireland Assembly awarded a new Support Services contract to Eurest following a procurement exercise. In previous years, this contract had been held by Mount Charles. As a result, we are unable to provide figures for the period prior to March 2007, as our previous contractor would have held this information. According to Eurest, records highlighting the usage of bottled water in Committee meetings have been held from June 2007, and are set out below.

Name of Committee

Water Usage (bottles)

Total

Usage

Jun-07

Jul-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

ETI

Enterprise Trade and Investment

121

68

89

124

97

108

45

106

758

ARD

Agriculture and Rural Development

99

35

86

150

79

70

48

86

653

E&l

Employment and Learning

57

51

58

79

56

46

52

102

501

RD

Regional Development

96

48

53

49

51

63

0

0

360

F&P

Finance and Personnel

69

42

58

98

54

76

32

52

481

 

Name of Committee

Water Usage (bottles)

Total

Usage

Jun-07

Jul-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

S&P

Standards and Privileges

45

17

35

35

34

51

14

40

271

SD

Social Development

78

52

70

87

73

92

64

115

631

ENVIR

Environment

50

35

68

73

64

72

67

68

497

CA&L

Culture, Arts and Leisure

66

41

101

84

59

49

36

63

499

HSS&PS

Health, Social Services and Public Safety

85

40

31

84

0

76

14

85

415

PAC

Public Accounts Committee

110

55

118

66

27

71

44

66

557

EDUC

Education

93

26

48

67

60

85

42

66

487

PROC

Procedures

7

8

0

25

13

20

36

15

124

A&ER

Assembly and Executive Review

0

14

16

139

37

45

47

71

369

OFM/DFM

Office of the First Minister/Dep First Minister

73

55

70

120

49

82

43

82

574

TOTALS

1049

587

901

1280

753

1006

584

1017

7177

*Please note that no Committee meetings occurred during the month of August 2007

*Cost per bottle is £0.25p. Total cost for 7177 bottles = £1794.25

(ii) Bottles of water are not provided at functions unless they are specifically asked for by the event organizers. If bottled water is provided, this would be charged at the same tariff as an external event/function. Therefore, no records are kept of how many bottles of water are actually consumed at each function.

Environmentally Sustainable

Mr R Beggs asked the Assembly Commission to detail the progress that has been made towards making the Northern Ireland Assembly more environmentally sustainable; and in particular, what steps have been taken to reduce (i) heating costs; (ii) overall energy requirements; (iii) water consumption; and (iv) the use of bottled water.

(AQW 4284/08)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): An audit was undertaken by Carbon Trust in 2002, I would refer the Member to AQW 2375/08 which detailed the key recommendations and actions implemented. Moreover a second environmental audit has been carried out by Office of the Keeper and Research Services to look at environmental management within Parliament Buildings. Office of the Keeper is currently in the process of meeting with Carbon Trust to review this audit in light of new initiatives to ensure that the Assembly is as environmentally efficient as possible. Talks are also underway with Carbon Trust to source energy awareness training for staff within Parliament Buildings. The Northern Ireland Assembly takes part in the Public Sector Energy Campaign.

i) The Assembly Commission is continuing to work on reducing the heating costs for Parliament Buildings. By converting to natural gas as a primary heating source carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 458 tonnes. Building Management Branch is constantly reviewing the heating schedules and liaising with DFP Engineering Services and Energy Unit on energy saving matters.

ii) The Assembly Commission works closely with the DFP Engineering Services and Energy Unit and the Carbon Trust to improve energy efficiency. A number of measures have been introduced, for example - energy-saving bulbs are used, where feasible, throughout the building and a number of offices have powered lighting that turns off when there is no one in the office. The Assembly Commission is committed to adopting a proactive approach to energy management and where possible uses renewable sources. Currently 25% of electricity supplied to Parliament Buildings, is from a renewable source.

iii) Water saving flush systems for urinals have been fitted in the following locations.

Building Management Branch is presently consulting with DFP Engineering Services and Energy Unit and Carbon Trust for guidance on fitting water saving devices to each toilet within the building. It is hoped that these will be trialed in a few of the toilets to ensure they do not have an adverse effect before installing them in all toilets. The ‘Hippo Bags’, cistern dams had to be removed in some Public Sector buildings as they did not allow adequate flush of the WC pan.

iv) I would refer the Member to AQW 4285/08.

Bottled Water

Mr R Beggs asked the Assembly Commission to detail (i) the cost of bottled water consumed during the previous calendar year; and (ii) what plans it has to use a more environmentally sustainable supply of water.

(AQW 4285/08)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): (i) The following table highlights the amount spent on bottled water from January 2007 to December 2007. This is specifically relating to the 19 litre plastic bottles that are dispersed throughout the building in water fonts. The water is purchased from Classic Mineral Water, and is acquired through our Support Services contractor, currently Eurest.

Table 1

Month

£’s 2007

January

1218.97

February

645.20

March

663.00

April

976.40

May

679.60

June

2740.80

July

1204.80

August

1096.40

September

1827.20

October

1844.40

November

2364.00

December

1660.47

Yearly Total

16921.24

Please note the total for year to date 2008 is £1262.00. Figure taken from January 2008 account.

In addition to the bottled water highlighted in Table 1 above, there are other purchases of water throughout the Northern Ireland Assembly. For example, glass bottles of water (sparkling and still) are requested on a daily basis at Committee meetings, on a sale or return arrangement. These usage figures are set out in Table 3, although records by Eurest are only available from June 2007. An alternative to bottled water is available for Committees, in the form of tap water provided in large jugs. In addition, bottled water (plastic, 500ml) is also available from the various vending machines situated throughout the building. A sample of the water usage from vending machines is set out in Table 2, along with the amount spent. It should be noted that the Assembly receives a guaranteed gross profit return on each bottle of water purchased from the vending machine as part of the Support Services contract. The recycling of these bottles is carried out on a daily basis. In terms of glass bottles, a collection is made daily from Parliament Buildings by Estate Management as part of a Stormont Estate recycling initiative. With reference to the plastic bottles purchased from the vending machines, these should be disposed in the relevant recycling receptacles that are located in tea points throughout the building. The 19 litre plastic bottles purchased through the Support Services contract are collected on a weekly basis to be returned to the supplier, and re-used or recycled. The plastic cups that are provided at the water fonts are collected on a daily basis, and are recycled by Estate Management in the same way as the glass bottles.

Table 2

A sample of total Water Sales from Vending Machines (January 2008, February 2008)

January

Per machine

Selling Price

Total

Still Water 500 ml

1, 1, 3, 2

£0.80 inc vat

£5.60

       

February

     

Still Water 500ml

2 ,5, 3, 3

£0.80 inc vat

£10.40

       
       
 

Bottles 20

Total sales

£16.00

Table 3

Name of Committee

Water Usage (bottles)

Total

Usage

Jun-07

Jul-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

ETI

Enterprise Trade and Investment

121

68

89

124

97

108

45

106

758

ARD

Agriculture and Rural Development

99

35

86

150

79

70

48

86

653

E&l

Employment and Learning

57

51

58

79

56

46

52

102

501

RD

Regional Development

96

48

53

49

51

63

0

0

360

F&P

Finance and Personnel

69

42

58

98

54

76

32

52

481

S&P

Standards and Privileges

45

17

35

35

34

51

14

40

271

SD

Social Development

78

52

70

87

73

92

64

115

631

ENVIR

Environment

50

35

68

73

64

72

67

68

497

CA&L

Culture, Arts and Leisure

66

41

101

84

59

49

36

63

499

HSS&PS

Health, Social Services and Public Safety

85

40

31

84

0

76

14

85

415

PAC

Public Accounts Committee

110

55

118

66

27

71

44

66

557

EDUC

Education

93

26

48

67

60

85

42

66

487

PROC

Procedures

7

8

0

25

13

20

36

15

124

A&ER

Assembly and Executive Review

0

14

16

139

37

45

47

71

369

OFM/DFM

Office of the First Minister/Dep First Minister

73

55

70

120

49

82

43

82

574

TOTALS

1049

587

901

1280

753

1006

584

1017

7177

*Please note that no Committee meetings occurred during the month of August 2007

*Cost per bottle is £0.25p. Total cost for 7177 bottles = £1794.25

(ii) Tentative steps were previously taken to source possible alternatives to the current bottled water used, in order to provide a more environmentally sustainable supply of water. At the time, Building Management Branch sourced water cooler units with direct line feeds from the water mains. These water cooler units also came with a waste outlet. However, as a result of information provided by various Northern Ireland Civil Service departments who had installed similar water coolers, it was decided not to pursue this at the time due to a risk of flooding. Since this time, there have been no further attempts to source alternatives; however we are extremely mindful of environmental issues and will continue to be open-minded about sourcing a workable alternative to the current bottled water system in operation within the Assembly. In addition, we have emphasised a commitment to environmental protection to our Support Services contractor, and have encouraged Eurest to adopt a positive approach to environmental policies and practices.

Wireless Internet

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission if there are any plans to increase the strength of the wireless internet signal to allow wireless laptop computers, issued by the Assembly to Members, to be used to their full potential.

(AQW 4369/08)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): The IS Office on behalf of the NI Assembly Commission, began the replacement of the old computer network and the provision of a secure Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in September 2007. Phase 1 of the project included the provision of an interim wireless network in Parliament Buildings in September 2007. The final phase of the work, currently underway includes a review of wireless coverage to eliminate any weak signal areas identified by users of the interim solution.