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 16 October 2009

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
Revised Written Answers

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy

Mr D Kennedy asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of the First Minister's comments at the Ulster Hall on 8 September, if the Department will make a statement on the drafting and circulation of the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy.

(AQW 122/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness):

The comments made by the First Minister at the Ulster Hall on 8 September were not the agreed view of this office. The draft Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration was originally meant to have been brought forward before the end of last year. That and subsequent commitments on timing were made in good faith, and it was our expectation that those would be met. However, it was not possible to meet that date. Reaching agreement on the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy (CSI) remains one of the top policy priorities of OFMDFM. Currently, officials within OFMDFM are working on a revised draft of the Programme to identify areas of agreement and disagreement.

Complaints

Mr D Kennedy asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 16/10, how many complaints are outstanding against their Department; and how many of these were discussed at the meeting of the Central Freedom of Information Team and the NI Regional Office of the Information Commissioner on 26 February.

(AQW 928/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister:

There are currently five complaints registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office against the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. At the time of the meeting between the Central Freedom of Information team and the Northern Ireland Regional Office of the Information Commissioner, on 26 February 2009, three of them had been registered. There was discussion around the handling protocols for one of the complaints, as it had also been received by three other Departments.

Expenditure for the North South Ministerial Council

Mr G Campbell asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister why the format of the reported expenditure for the North South Ministerial Council, as set out in the Annual Report pertaining to the breakdown of costs by main expenditure areas for the Joint Secretariat, has changed in the last two years.

(AQW 1007/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister:

In 2007, the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) Joint Secretariat reviewed the format of its annual report with a view to reducing production costs. Arising from this review, annual reports in 2007 and 2008 were shorter and more focused than in previous years and have been produced in electronic format only.

In line with this approach, information on NSMC Joint Secretariat expenditure in the 2007 and 2008 annual reports has been published on the basis of total expenditure only.

The total expenditure for the NSMC Joint Secretariat in 2007 and 2008 was £1,626,707 and £1,724, 872 respectively. Staff costs are met by OFMDFM and the Department of Foreign Affairs. All other costs associated with the Joint Secretariat are shared between the two administrations.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 74/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (iii) agencies of their Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 1112/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister:

The figures provided in AQW 74/10 for private consultancy (see Table 1 below) include expenditure on capital projects.

The Department is not taking forward any projects under the Private Finance Initiative, and the Department does not have any Executive Agencies.

Table 1

Description	2004/05 (£’000s)	2005/06 (£’000s)	2006/07 (£’000s)	2007/08 (£’000s)	2008/09 (£’000s)
Private Consultancy	404	830	1,193	2,758	1,017

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Flooding Programme

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of areas defined under her Department's flooding programme as "Areas at Risk" in each constituency.

(AQW 890/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): Currently an Inter-Agency Flood Liaison Group, chaired by DARD Rivers Agency, and including DRD Roads Service, NI Water and NI Fire and Rescue Service, has identified 79 "flooding hotspots" across the eighteen MLA constituencies to date. A number of additions have been proposed by DRD Roads Service and these will be considered at the next meeting of the Group. These "hotspots" are subject to ongoing consideration for flood alleviation work by the relevant Group member(s). Furthermore NI Water has advised that it is also developing a register of properties at risk of flooding, based on previous incidents and by use of computer models which simulate the hydraulic performance of the sewerage networks. It is envisaged that a draft version of the register will be discussed with the NI Authority for Utility Regulation by April 2010. Looking to the future Rivers Agency is undertaking a "Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment" for the north of Ireland as required under the EU Floods Directive. Although the Directive does not require this assessment to be completed until December 2011, it is anticipated that it will be completed in the current financial year.

Renewable Energy

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether stand-alone renewable energy projects are admissible for funding under Axis 3, Measure 1of the Rural Development Programme and to outline the criteria.

(AQW 977/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 AXIS 3 Measures explain that ‘Renewable Energy sources may be funded only where it is part of a capital expenditure project for a new or expanding business’.

DARD is currently engaged in a review of the eligibility criteria for ‘stand alone renewable projects’, however until the outcome of this review all applications must be assessed on the basis of the current criteria.

Derelict Buildings

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the extent and range of her Department's power and authority to compel property owners in towns and villages to make safe, and improve, the appearance of derelict buildings.

(AQW 1043/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development does not have the power or authority to compel property owners in towns and villages to make safe, and improve, the appearance of derelict buildings.

Single Farm Payment

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many applicants for the Single Farm Payment have been refused hardship payments in each constituency, in each of the last three years, because forms were submitted late.

(AQW 1105/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: European Council Regulations provide that applications submitted under the Single Farm Payment Scheme after 15 May of the scheme year may be accepted without penalty on the grounds of force majeure/ exceptional circumstances and where the application is made in writing within 10 working days of the applicant being able to do so.

My Department rejected a total of 89 late applications to the Single Farm Payment Scheme under the force majeure/ exceptional circumstance provisions in respect of the 2006 scheme year. For the 2007 scheme year, the total was 69 applications rejected and for the 2008 scheme the total was 49 rejected.

Single Farm Payment Branch does not hold Single Farm Payment details on a constituency basis. The data is currently held by county/postcode.

Single Farm Payment

(AQW 1107/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: European Council Regulations provide that claims submitted under the Single Farm Payment Scheme which do not satisfy certain scheme eligibility criteria may be accepted without penalty on the grounds of force majeure/exceptional circumstances and where the application is made in writing within 10 working days of the applicant being able to do so.

My Department rejected a total of 6 applications to the Single Farm Payment Scheme under the force majeure/exceptional circumstance provisions in respect of the 2006 scheme year. For the 2007 scheme year, the total was one application rejected and for the 2008 scheme the total was one rejected. In each case the figures shown do not include late applications considered under the force majeure provisions.

Single Farm Payment Branch does not hold Single Farm Payment details on a constituency basis. The data is currently held by county/postcode.

Hardship Payments

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many applications from fishermen for hardship payments have been refused in each constituency, in each of the last three years, because forms were submitted late.

(AQW 1108/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I would advise that, over the past three years, no fishing vessel has been refused hardship payment. To date £658,800, has been paid to all 171 vessels who submitted their application and claim on time and the Department is now processing the final 31 claims from fishermen who made late application and/or claim to the scheme, with the aim of having the scheme completed by the end of October.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked e Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, pursuant to AQW 73/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (iii) agencies of her Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 1111/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I can confirm that the figures referred to AQW 73/10 include external consultancy expenditure (as defined in DAO (DFP) 03/05) on DARD capital projects and in respect of its agencies.

DARD has not had any Private Finance Initiatives to date.

Bovine TB Regulations

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of cattle slaughtered under Bovine TB Regulations, that showed no lesions or signs of disease, over the last two years.

(AQW 1116/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The number of animals removed during 2007 and 2008 following skin test reaction that showed no lesions or signs of disease at post mortem is 9187.

It is important to realise that lack of confirmation at these post mortem tests does not mean the animal is not diseased as the post mortem examination is primarily for the purposes of public health.

Single Farm Payment

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (i) to explain why her Department has insisted on Single Farm Payment herd inspections being carried out only days after the same herd has been rounded up for routine TB and Brucellosis tests; (ii) to explain the necessity to close the herd if the owner is not prepared to subject his herd to another inspection within a short timeframe; (iii) for her assessment of the level of stress caused to the animals during the inspection routine; and (iv) if she will ensure that the well-being of the animals is considered during the inspection routine; and (vi) if she will undertake to reduce the costs associated with additional testing.

(AQW 1120/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Department uses APHIS to monitor TB and BR testing in the herds selected for SFP herd inspections. Where possible SFP inspections involving livestock will be synchronised with disease testing although this is not always possible due to resource constraints, or where disease testing is arranged at short notice. SFP inspections should be carried out without any prior notice where possible, but there is discretion to allow up to 48 hrs notice in duly justified circumstances and if the purpose of the control is not jeopardised.
DARD CII procedures require that herds selected for announced inspections are placed under movement restrictions from the date on which the inspection was appointed. Where inspections are unannounced, the herd is placed under movement restrictions from the date on which the herd keeper was made aware that an inspection was to be completed. In both cases the movement restrictions remain in place until the inspection has been completed.
iv DARD Inspectors at all times endeavour to keep animal stress to a minimum and ensure that animal welfare is not compromised by the inspection process.

As part of Better regulation the costs to the farmer are being considered.

Translating and Publishing Material

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the cost to her Department of translating and publishing all material in both Ulster-Scots and Irish, in each of the last ten years.

(AQW 1173/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Department only holds records on this information for the last seven years. Expenditure incurred by the Department on the translating and publishing of Irish and Ulster-Scots material in the last seven years is as follows:-

	Irish £	Ulster-Scots £
2002 / 03	310.89	Nil
2003 / 04	76.59	Nil
2004 / 05	311.90	Nil
2005 / 06	3,192.16*	95.89
2006/ 07	2,087.49*	489.77
2007 / 08	4,303.75	88.54
2008 / 09	1,805.20	278.95

* Includes NDPB expenditure

Bumblebee Population

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what her Department is doing to (i) prevent the decline in the bumblebee population; and (ii) recreate its habitat and set aside dedicated areas for it to thrive.

(AQW 1183/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: There are a number of options in DARD’s agri-environment schemes that encourage participants to manage habitats which benefit the bumblebee population.
These areas of managed existing habitat and created optional habitat include:

Pollen and nectar mixture - which contains a mix of legumes flowering at different times to provide a habitat with a continuous supply of pollen and nectar for bumblebees, butterflies and other insects.
Rough grass margins where minimal disturbance benefits ground nesting bees;
Conservation cereals with reduced pesticide and herbicide input;
Tree planting and planting of traditional orchards where apple trees, rowan, whitebeam, hazel and holly are pollinated by bees;
Wild bird cover which contains kale and weeds of arable land which may be pollinated by bees;
Hedgerow restoration where hawthorn, gorse and blackthorn are all pollinated by bees; and
Responsible management of field boundaries, in particular, cutting on a rotational basis to encourage flower and berry production.

Rural Development Programme

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for an update on the establishment of the new delivery structures and the allocation of funding under Axis 3 of the Rural Development Programme.

(AQO 211/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I am pleased to announce that considerable progress has now been made with all seven contracts for funding having been signed by the Joint Council Committees and returned to my Department. As I have stated previously over sixteen hundred applications have been recorded as received on the database from across the north for the measures under Axis 3 of the Rural Development Programme (In the SWARD area 616 applications; Lagan Rural Partnership 108; GROW 95; North East Region 109; DRAP 198: ARC 330; and SOAR 183 applications) . I think this number of applications shows the level of interest out there in rural communities of businesses wishing and willing to develop and grow. I would point out that not all areas have opened all their measures yet.

I can report that following eligibility checks and site visits nearly eight hundred of these applications have now been considered as eligible for assessment by the Local Action Groups. To date over one hundred and thirty projects have achieved or exceeded the pass mark for assessment making them eligible. The GROW and SWARD group’s have so far issued letter’s of offer worth just under one million pounds, three hundred and fifty thousand pounds of this to farm diversification projects. At least three more areas will be in a position to issue letters of offer by the end of the month. Indications are that the first claims for expenditure will be submitted for payment in November with the first project launch in December. I think you will agree this will inject much needed investment into our rural areas.

National Trails Day

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the activities planned for National Trails Day.

(AQO 212/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: National Trails Day was held on Sunday 4 October. In all, 11 events were hosted by Forest Service, as part of an all-Ireland National Trails Day. Some of these events were organised jointly with partner organisations. For example, Fermanagh District Council, RSPB and the Tollymore Red Squirrel Group. Events included a lakeside and woodland trail walk at Hillsborough Forest; a forest trail walk and red squirrel fun event at Tollymore Forest Park; a waterfall walk and forest trail horse trek at Glenarrif Forest Park; a family cycling event on forest trails at Gosford Forest Park; a red squirrel awareness event at Gortin Glen Forest Park and a Geopark guided nature walk at Lough Navar Forest. Around 800 people took part in the organised events and there was a noticeable increase in the number of visitors to forests. All normal entry charges were waived for the day. National Trails Day has grown in success from last year and it is totally consistent with my desire to see more use made of our forests and the social use potential of our forests realised.

Loughs Agency

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how much funding her Department contributed to the Loughs Agency in the last financial year.

(AQO 213/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Loughs Agency financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December, however in the DARD financial year 2008/09, DARD contributed £2,503,750 to the Loughs Agency.

EU Milk Quotas

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for her assessment of the EU Agriculture Commissioner’s proposal to end to milk quotas by 2015; and what representations she has made to DEFRA and the EU Commissioner concerning this matter.

(AQO 214/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The CAP Health Check agreement provides for the phasing out of milk quotas which will end in 2015 under EU legislation. The EU Commissioner has stated very firmly that the Commission will not propose an extension to the milk quota regime so I think we have to accept that they will expire in 2015 and consider how best the industry can prepare for a quota free environment.

A number of research projects on phasing out milk quotas have found that there will be a negative impact on producer prices as production increases at EU level. They have also indicated that the negative impact on prices is greater if quotas are suddenly removed and production expands rapidly without any transition period. Therefore, given the Commission’s determination to end quotas, I argued during the CAP Health Check negotiations that quotas should be phased out in an orderly way. I believe that the CAP Health Check agreement does that by keeping the increase to 1% per year and will achieve a situation whereby quotas will gradually become irrelevant in all Member States paving the way for their abolition. Since the CAP Health Check agreement, I have not made any further representations to the EU Commissioner or Defra on the specific issue of milk quotas.

I am aware that it has been suggested that the current market situation has been caused by the EU increasing milk quotas and there have been calls for the increases to be stopped and quotas reduced. I do not believe that the evidence supports these suggestions. The increase in milk quota has not been taken up and at EU level production in 2008/09 actually fell and is estimated at 4.2% below quota. It is also the case that a significant factor in the collapse in world dairy markets was increased production in the USA and New Zealand which are not constrained by quotas. This fact means that we should be careful in taking action, however well intentioned, that would constrain supply by EU producers but would mean that any resulting shortfall on the world market would be met by countries outside the EU.

North/South Hotline

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if the North-South hotline linking the two Agriculture Departments is now in operation.

(AQO 215/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Links between my Department and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food have always been strong, but at the March meeting of the North South Ministerial Council we agreed to strengthen co-operation in dealing with major incidents in light of the animal feed contamination incident.

We agreed that our officials would review and if necessary, revise the existing arrangements. I am therefore pleased that an interim system has been put in place, which will be maintained until our reviews on the dioxin incident have been completed and the findings made known. This interim system builds on the rapid notifications systems that are already in place to deal with serious disease outbreaks. The existing arrangements have now been extended to cover any issues that have a potential impact on animal health and welfare or on animal products or the food chain.

A good example of how this interim system works was in the recent detection of novel H1N1 in a pig herd here. Although novel H1N1 in pigs does not represent an animal, public health or food safety risk, in the interests of maintaining close working relationships my officials used the procedures in the rapid notification system to contact their counterparts to inform them of the situation. Officials in the South took the same action when they detected novel H1N1 in a pig herd.

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what services in his Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1306/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland):

The efficiency programme is designed to release funds to front line services, not to diminish them in any way.

All NICS departments have produced Efficiency Delivery Plans to provide assurance that they are able to deliver the required level of efficiency savings in a strategic and planned manner rather than through arbitrary cuts to front line services.

Girl Guides

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he would consider a reception to mark one hundred years of the Girl Guides, and their contribution to society in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1525/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure:

I recognise the positive contribution made by the Girl Guides to Northern Ireland society; however it falls outside the remit of my Department to sponsor a reception to mark this one hundred year anniversary.

Department of Education

Schools in the Upper Bann Constituency

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Education to detail the estimated and actual costs of all (i) new school builds; (ii) school extensions and improvements and; (iii) the stage of each project, in the Upper Bann constituency, since 2007.

(AQW 622/10)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane ):

It is critically important that investment in the education estate is consistent with and supportive of the policy framework I am putting in place. At the heart of this are Every School a Good School, Revised Curriculum, Sustainable Schools and the Entitlement Framework. As area based planning develops these policies will drive the reshaping of our estate and the consequential investment plans. As Minister for Education I need to ensure that the substantial resources we are now investing produce the best outcomes for children and value for the taxpayer. I have commissioned therefore a review of current projects to validate that all are consistent with the policy framework and hence will be viable and sustainable in the long term.

Tugtar sonraí sa tábla thíos de mhórthionscadail chaipitil scoileanna i dtoghcheantar na Banna Uachtaraí, (i) atá á bpleanáil faoi láthair; (ii) ar cuireadh tús le hobair tógála orthu; agus (iii) ar cuireadh i gcrích iad ón bhliain 2007 i leith.

The table below provides details of major school capital projects in the Upper Bann constituency, which are (i) currently being planned; (ii) construction work is underway; and (iii) have been completed since 2007.

SCHOOL	DETAILS OF PROJECT	ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST£m	APPROVED CONTRACT COST£m	CURRENT POSITION
St Patrick’s College, Banbridge	New school on existing site	10.5	n/k	Final sketch plans under consideration (RIBA Stage D)
Tannaghmore Primary School	New school on existing site	5	n/k	Revised final sketch plans awaited (RIBA Stage D)
St Teresa’s Primary School, Lurgan	New school on extended site	2.5	n/k	Revised final sketch plans awaited (RIBA Stage D)
Portadown College	New school on existing site	19.3	n/k	Economic Appraisal under review
Banbridge Academy	Extension & Refurbishment	15.6	16.9	Construction underway. Estimated completion date Oct 2011
Waringstown Primary School	Extension & Refurbishment	1.48	1.38	Completed October 2008

For those projects still in the planning stages it not possible to provide actual contract costs as they have not yet reached procurement stage.

Capital Schemes

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education when the capital schemes will start at (i) St Oliver Plunkett primary school, Forkhill; (ii) St Mary's Burren primary school, Dromintee; (iii) St Joseph's primary school, Madden; and (iv) St Clare's Convent Abbey primary school, Newry.

(AQW 861/10)

Minister of Education:

It is anticipated that this review will be completed in the near future and subject to the outcome of the review it is estimated: -

(i) that the new build for St Oliver Plunkett PS, Forkhill will commence in early Spring 2010 and complete around Spring 2011.

(ii) that the new build for Carrick PS, Burren, Warrenpoint will commence in early 2010 and complete around summer 2011.

(iii) that the new build for St Joseph’s PS Madden will commence in early 2010 and complete around Spring 2011.

(iv) a revised Economic Appraisal for St Clare’s Convent PS, Newry is currently being prepared. It is not therefore, possible to give an indication at this time, as to when construction work will commence. However given the age and condition of the building this is a priority.

Bíonn na hamscálaí thuas faoi réir na bpróiseas riachtanach pleanála agus tógála bheith curtha i gcrích go sásúil agus faoi réir acmhainní bheith ar fáil in aon bhliain ar leith. Beidh siad faoi réir beartas na Roinne fosta agus cuirfidh siad san áireamh iad, mar shampla pleanáil bunaithe sa cheantar.

The timescales set out above are of course subject to all the necessary planning and building processes being completed satisfactorily and the availability of resources in any particular year.

Schools Converting to Natural Gas

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 131/10, what steps she is taking to encourage the 95 schools capable of converting to natural gas to do so.

(AQW 877/10)

Minister of Education:

Bíonn na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne freagrach as córais téimh san earnáil rialaithe agus san earnáil faoi chothabháil. Bíonn scoileanna deonacha gramadaí agus scoileanna imeasctha faoi chothabháil stáit freagrach as a gcórais téimh féin.

Heating systems in the controlled and maintained sectors are the responsibility of the Education and Library Boards. Voluntary grammar schools and Grant maintained integrated schools are responsible for their own heating systems.

Funding is available through the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Central Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF) for conversion to more energy efficient fuels.

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Education to provide a breakdown of how much has been spent to date by her Department on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 883/10)

Minister of Education:

Is é bunú an Údaráis um Oideachas agus Scileanna (ESA) an t-athrú is mó don earnáil Oideachais mar gheall ar chur i bhfeidhm an Athbhreithnithe ar Riarachán Poiblí (RPA).

The establishment of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is the key change for Education resulting from the implementation of the Review of Public Administration (RPA). Details of expenditure incurred to date by my Department on the RPA, as set out in the table below, relate to the Policy and Legislative team within DE and the ESA Implementation Team. In addition staff throughout the Department will have contributed to varying extents to the work relating to the establishment of ESA, however, it would not be possible to disaggregate this expenditure.

	05/06 £’000	06/07 £’000	07/08 £’000	08/09 £’000	09/10* £’000	Total £’000
Total	107	1,214	1,864	2,719	684	6,588

*expenditure up to 31^st. August 2009

Education and Skills Authority

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education how much the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority has cost to date.

(AQW 897/10)

Minister of Education:

Is é bunú an Údaráis um Oideachas agus Scileanna (ESA) an t-athrú is mó don earnáil Oideachais mar gheall ar chur i bhfeidhm an Athbhreithnithe ar Riarachán Poiblí (RPA).

The establishment of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is the key change for Education resulting from the implementation of the Review of Public Administration (RPA). Details of expenditure incurred to date by my Department on the establishment of ESA, as set out in the table below, relate to the Policy and Legislative team within DE and the ESA Implementation Team. In addition staff throughout the Department will have contributed to varying extents to the work relating to the establishment of ESA, however, it would not be possible to disaggregate this expenditure.

	05/06 £’000	06/07 £’000	07/08 £’000	08/09 £’000	09/10* £’000	Total £’000
Total	107	1,214	1,864	2,719	684	6,588

*expenditure up to 31^st. August 2009

First Aid Training

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Education what first aid training is offered to new teachers.

(AQW 913/10)

Minister of Education:

All Education and Library Boards undertake, on an annual basis, a needs analysis of the training required by schools in the forthcoming academic year. School principals are responsible for determining the training needs of all their teachers, including those newly qualified, and it is considered that schools are best placed to ascertain which teachers and how many require first-aid training. Such training is delivered by a Health and Safety Executive accredited provider.

In addition, guidance for schools on first-aid training is available within the Inter-Board and CCMS Health and Safety Manual for Principals and Governors. This guidance provides an overview of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations (NI) 1982 and details the steps schools need to take to ensure compliance with these regulations.

I ndiaidh eisiúint an doiciméid "Ag Tabhairt Tacaíochta do Dhaltaí a bhfuil Riachtanais Speisialta Cógais acu" ón Roinn Oideachais sa bhliain 2008, soláthraíodh clár oiliúna do phríomhoidí scoile lena chinntiú gur féidir le scoileanna freastal ar riachtanais gach dalta a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta cógais acu.

Following the issue of the Department of Education’s document, "Supporting Pupils with Medication Needs" in 2008, a training programme for school principals was offered to all schools to ensure that all pupils with medication needs could have their needs met in schools.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 70/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (ii) agencies of her Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 915/10)

Minister of Education:

Cuimsíonn an figiúr do chaiteachas ar chomhairliúchán príobháideach a thug mé mar fhreagra ar AQW 70/10 caiteachas ar thionscadail caipitil agus ar Thionscnaimh Phríobháideacha Airgeadais. Níl mo Roinn freagrach as aon ghníomhaireachtaí.

The figure for private consultancy expenditure which I provided in response to AQW 70/10 does include expenditure on capital projects and Private Finance Initiatives. My Department is not responsible for any agencies.

Report into Pre-school Education

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education what action her Department is taking to implement the Comptroller and Auditor General's report into pre-school education.

(AQW 938/10)

Minister of Education:

Liostaíodh roinnt réimsí arbh fhéidir a fheabhsú i dTuarascáil an NIAO ar an Chlár um Fhorleathnú Oideachais Réamhscoile a foilsíodh ar 19^ú Meitheamh 2009 agus ba chóir don Roinn iad sin a chur san áireamh agus beartas do pháistí á fhorbairt as seo amach.

The NIAO Report on the Pre-school Education Expansion Programme published on 19^th June 2009 listed a number of areas for potential improvement which the Department should consider when developing future policy for children.

The Department is committed to addressing the observations and recommendations in the NIAO Report and will be taking those forward in developing the Early Years 0-6 Strategy.

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education what role she envisages for the Northern Ireland Youth Forum in the future.

(AQW 954/10)

Minister of Education:

Bunaíodh an Fóram don Óige le spreagadh a thabhairt do níos mó daoine óga le páirt a ghlacadh sa tseirbhís óige. Is eagraíocht í an Fóram atá treoraithe ag an óige agus leagann siad béim ar an phointe go bhfaigheann siad treoir agus fócas ó dhaoine óga. Tá sé tábhachtach go gcuirtear i gcónaí le cumas páistí agus daoine óga sa tseirbhís óige agus is mar gheall air sin go gcuireann an Fóram isteach ar chistiú mar Eagraíocht Dheonach Réigiúnach don Óige ón Chomhairle Ógra, agus tá cistiú acu faoi láthair le feidhm ionadaíoch do dhaoine óga a chomhlíonadh ag leibhéal straitéiseach in obair don óige.

The Youth Forum was established to encourage greater involvement of young people in the youth service. The Forum, as a youth-led organisation, emphasise that they get their direction and focus from young people. It is important to continue to build the capacity of children and young people in the youth service and therefore the Forum apply for funding as a Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation to the Youth Council, and are currently funded to perform a representative function for young people at a strategic level in youth work. In its annual report of 2009 the Youth Forum highlight that "the organisation has cultivated an active membership of young people, and participative structures, to set the strategic direction of the Forum".

In 2008, the Department of Education approved the appointment of a Transitional Director to the Forum to lead the organisation through changing times; this is managed by the Youth Council. The duties of that post include working with key stakeholders to position the organisation in the new structures, and to advise on the future development of the Youth Forum taking cognisance of RPA, DE Policy, Youth Service Liaison Forum initiatives, Section 75, inclusion and the principles of equality, diversity and interdependence. Therefore it is a matter for the Forum and its membership to agree how the Forum can work with young people to encourage and support active participation, including working with the Transitional Director to explore the relationship and interconnection between the Forum and Network for Youth. I would therefore very much encourage the Forum and its members to clearly define and agree the role of the Forum in light of the emerging participative structures.

The Network for Youth, as an emerging structure for children’s participation, is a response to young people consistently reporting that they do not have adequate opportunities to have their voices heard, or their concerns listened to when decisions that affect them are being taken. The new Education and Skills Authority (ESA) will have responsibility for developing the Network for Youth, which provides a unique opportunity to encourage active citizenship by providing increased opportunities for all young people to express their views equally. The Network for Youth will not compete with existing youth or children’s groups; instead it will seek to build on what has already been achieved.

The Network is not intended to be the only way for children and young people to influence government. There are already a number of groups which do this effectively or on a smaller scale. It will be important that these existing structures are able to connect to the Network to ensure that a wide range of groups of young people or from local areas can be relayed to decision makers. It will strengthen the voice of young people, by providing for children's participation developed at local levels, but collated and considered on a regional basis.

Following the announcement that a Network would be established, the Youth Forum developed ideas on the Network with groups of young people and presented these to the Department. A Working Group was then established in August 2007, made up of a cross section of stakeholders from both the youth and children’s sector including the Youth Forum, and chaired by the Youth Council. The Working Group proposed a facilitated Network. It is important that the design of the Network takes account of existing participation structures and is part of an overarching and coherent system for children and young people’s participation. The Youth Council is currently working on options for this design based on the recommendations of the Working Group with input from key stakeholders. A report is due in December 2009.

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education whether she envisages the Northern Ireland Youth Forum continuing to provide a link between young people and Government.

(AQW 955/10)

Minister of Education:

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education what relationship and interconnection she anticipates between the Northern Ireland Youth Forum and Network 4 Youth, whether she envisages any overlap in their roles; and what plans are in place to avoid any overlap.

(AQW 956/10)

Minister of Education:

Network 4 Youth

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education to provide an update on the development of Network 4 Youth.

(AQW 959/10)

Minister of Education:

Children Being Statemented

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 423/10, to outline the reasons for the diverging trends in relation to the number of children being statemented in each of the Education and Library Board areas.

(AQW 969/10)

Minister of Education:

The Chief Executives (CEs) of the Education and Library Boards (ELBs) have advised that over the past few years ELBs have been extending the range of special educational needs (SEN) provision for children across all five stages of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (COP). This has resulted in more support being provided to pupils at an earlier stage without the need for statutory assessment, leading generally to a decline in the number of children who have received statements of special educational need at Stage 5 of the COP.

Mar sin de, ní gá go léiríonn líon na bpáistí a bhfuil ráitis ar Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais (SEN) faighte acu líon na bpáistí a bhfuil soláthar breise SEN faighte nó á fháil acu ag gach leibhéal den Chód Cleachtais.

The number of children who have received statements of SEN is therefore not necessarily a direct reflection of the number of children who have either received or are receiving additional SEN provision at all stages of the COP.

As part of the process of converging practices and protocols within the ELBs ahead of the transfer of responsibilities to the new Education and Skills Authority (ESA) on 1 January 2010, the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) has taken action in relation to the number of children who would have been receiving Board support for SEN without holding a statement of SEN. Many of these children have now been assessed and will have received a statement of SEN. It is for this reason that the statistics for the BELB show a slight increase in children holding statements of SEN.

The increase in the number of children with statements in the Southern Education and Library Board area in the 2007/2008 academic year includes a higher than average number of statements ratified by the Children and Young Persons Committee of the Board and issued in September 2007. The figures for 2007/2008 also include numbers of statements formalised and issued during July and August 2008 thus falling into the same academic year whereas in the 2006/2007 year there were no statements issued during the summer months.

Education and Skills Authority

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education how many staff have been appointed to the Education and Skills Authority.

(AQW 979/10)

Minister of Education:

Ceapadh Príomhfheidhmeannach ainmnithe agus 6 Stiúrthóir ainmnithe chuig an Údarás um Oideachas agus Scileanna.

The Chief Executive designate and 6 Directors designate have been appointed to the Education and Skills Authority

Special Programmes for Underachieving Schools

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the total amount of funding provided through special programmes for underachieving schools in (a) 2005/06; (b) 2006/07; (c) 2007/08; and (d) 2008/09; (ii) the total funding forecast for special programmes for underachieving schools in (a) 2009/10; (b) 2010/11; (c) 2011/12; and (d) 2012/13; (iii) the schools that are in receipt of this funding; and (iv) the criteria currently used to allocate funding; and to outline any planned changes to this criteria in the future.

(AQW 983/10)

Minister of Education:

Tá tacaíocht airgeadais tugtha ag an Roinn tríd an chiste thiomnaithe d’fheabhsú scoile do chláir a bhfuil sé mar aidhm ghinearálta acu caighdeáin sa litearthacht agus san uimhearthacht a ardú, agus trí thacaíocht do scoileanna tearcghnóthaithe. Léiríonn an tábla thíos an cistiú a tugadh faoin chiste d’fheabhsú scoile sna blianta ó 2005-06 go dtí 2008-09.

The Department has provided support through its dedicated school improvement fund for programmes aimed at raising standards in literacy and numeracy generally, as well as support for underachieving schools. The table below shows

the funding disbursed from the school improvement fund in the years from 2005-06 to 2008-09.

2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
£10.4m	£9.4m	£7.2m	£9.0m

In previous years, the school improvement fund provided support for underachieving schools through the School Support Programme (SSP) and Group 1 funding. Schools were selected for these programmes following discussions between the Department, the Education and Library Boards, and, where appropriate, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS). These discussions were informed by end of key stage assessment results, Free School Meal Entitlement and other data. Following a review of the effectiveness of those programmes, funding for the School Support Programme and Group 1 schools ceased in August 2008.

The fund has also provided support for joint action plans from the Education and Library Boards for raising standards in literacy and numeracy, including through the Raising Achievement Programme (RAP) and the Raising Achievement in Numeracy Programme (RAIN). Schools in these programmes have been selected by the relevant Board on the basis of performance in end of key stage assessment results or, at post-primary, GCSE performance.

A list of the schools that benefited from funding under these programmes in the years 2005-06 to 2008-09 has been placed in the Library.

From 2008-09, the school improvement fund has also been used to support my targeted intervention programmes in Belfast and Derry – Achieving Belfast and Achieving Derry – Bright Futures. These programmes, whilst different in their scope and coverage, share the same objective of raising standards and closing the gap in achievement that has persisted for too long between our most affluent children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who face other barriers to learning. The Achieving Belfast programme concentrates efforts on some of the lowest performing schools in the city. The Achieving Derry programme includes all schools, pre-schools and youth provision in the Derry City Council area. A list of the schools participating in both programmes has also been placed in the Library.

The funding available in 2009-10 is £8.3m. This funding is in addition to other funding programmes and schools’ own delegated budgets and is being used to support a range of interventions, including the regional literacy and numeracy action plans and the Achieving Belfast and Achieving Derry programmes.

Turning to future years, given the current uncertainty in terms of future budget provision, it is simply not possible at this stage to determine the amounts that will be available for school improvement. Indeed, my focus, following the publication of my school improvement strategy, is first and foremost on ensuring that schools use their existing delegated budgets – which will, in future, be more reflective of the objective needs of schools – to improve outcomes for their pupils. Through the Education and Skills Authority, I will also expect underperforming schools to be identified early and to receive the support they need to effect improvement.

Teachers' Pension and Retirement Scheme

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education when she will enter into negotiations with the Teachers' Unions regarding the future of the Teachers' Pension and Retirement scheme.

(AQW 1044/10)

Minister of Education:

Bunaíodh an Coiste Comhairleach ar Aoisliúntas Múinteoirí (TSCC) sa bhliain 1993 le fóram a chruthú do chomhairliú rialta a dhéanamh le ceardchumainn na múinteoirí ar cheist an aoisliúntais agus ar nithe eile gaolmhara, lena n-áirítear cúiteamh i leith luathscoir.

The Teachers’ Superannuation Consultative Committee (TSCC) was established in 1993 to provide a forum for regular consultation with the teacher unions on superannuation and related matters, including premature retirement compensation. Membership of the TSCC currently comprises representatives of the Department of Education; the Department for Employment and Learning; the five recognised teacher unions; two unions representing lecturers in colleges of further education; and employer representatives from both the school and further education sectors. The TSCC meets biannually, normally in May and November. In February 2008 a sub-group of the TSCC was established to consider options for managing the costs of premature retirement compensation and has met on six occasions to date. The most recent meetings of both the Committee and the sub-group were held on 27 May 2009.

Northern Ireland Languages Strategy

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education for an update on the progress of the Northern Ireland Languages Strategy.

(AQW 1046/10)

Minister of Education:

Tá mo Roinn ag obair i gcomhar leis an dá ollscoil lena chinntiú go gcuirfear a moltaí deiridh ar straitéis do nuatheangacha ar fáil go luath. Nuair a bheas na moltaí seo faighte agam, déanfaidh mé breithniú ar an bhealach chun tosaigh agus ar an bhealach is fearr le tacaíocht a thabhairt do scoileanna agus do mhúinteoirí le teangacha a theagasc i scoileanna anseo.

My Department is working with the two universities to secure delivery, in the very near future, of their final recommendations on a modern languages strategy. Once I have received those recommendations I will consider the way forward on how best to support schools and teachers in the delivery of languages in schools here.

Integration of Newcomer Children in Schools

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education what current and future action her Department and the Inclusion and Diversity Service Adviser will be taking to fulfil the commitment to continued co-operation in education on approaches to the integration of newcomer children in schools, as discussed at the NSMC meeting on 6 July 2009.

(AQW 1047/10)

Minister of Education:

Chuir an Roinn an tSeirbhís um Chuimsiú agus Éagsúlacht (IDS) ar bun sa bhliain 2006 leis an tacaíocht a thugtar do dhaltaí núíosacha a neartú agus a fheabhsú, trína chinntiú go gcuirtear leibhéal seasta tacaíochta agus sainchomhairle ar fáil do na scoileanna deontaschúnta uile agus do na scoileanna speisialta uile.

The Inclusion and Diversity Service (IDS) was established by the Department in 2006 to strengthen and improve support to newcomer pupils, by ensuring that a consistent level of support and specialist advice is provided to all grant-aided and special schools.

The work of the Inclusion and Diversity service is guided by the Departmental policy ‘Supporting Newcomer pupils’ which was launched in April 2009. While the acquisition of English language skills is absolutely fundamental to the policy, schools and the Inclusion and Diversity Service (IDS) now take a more whole child/whole school approach which recognises and celebrates the diversity which has enriched our indigenous cultures.

One of the key responsibilities of the Inclusion and Diversity Service is to promote north/south collaboration. As part of this, IDS, together with colleagues in the south, have created a toolkit to help primary schools and teachers support their newcomer pupils. The ‘Together towards inclusion - toolkit for diversity in the primary school’ was launched on 10 December 2007 and every aspect of it is designed to benefit all pupils equally. It offers examples, templates and models as well as a large number of classroom activities, all designed with clear learning/teaching aims.

Currently work is ongoing to develop similar toolkits for post-primary, nursery and special schools. These toolkits should be completed and available to schools by the end of March 2010, thereby providing valuable resources on the integration of newcomer children to all nursery, primary, post-primary and special schools across the island.

Officials from both north and south have met regularly to learn from each other’s experiences in supporting newcomer pupils, and will continue to meet and co-operate on joint projects as the need arises.

Connecting Young People to the Democratic Process and Structures

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education to outline the current and planned range of organisations sponsored by her Department to connect young people to the democratic process and structures; and their primary roles and objectives.

(AQW 1051/10)

Minister of Education:

As part of the revised curriculum in schools and through a range of opportunities offered in the youth service, young people learn about the democratic institutions, how they can participate in the democratic process, their role in promoting inclusion, justice and democracy; and how they can exercise their rights and social responsibilities in relation to local, national and global issues.

Tá Saoránacht ina mír den churaclam reachtúil athbhreithnithe ó Bhliain 1 go dtí Bliain 12. Cuimsítear é ag leibhéal na bunscoile trí Fhorbairt Phearsanta agus Comhthuiscint, agus cuimsítear é ag leibhéal na hiarbhunscoile trí Fhoghlaim don Saol agus don Obair. Ag Eochairchéimeanna 3 agus 4, tugann Ag Iniúchadh an Daonlathais agus Rannpháirtíocht Ghníomhach deis do dhaoine óga tuiscint a fháil ar an dóigh arbh fhéidir bheith páirteach i bpróisis dhaonlathacha agus tionchar a imirt orthu agus tuiscint a fháil ar chuid de na príomhinstitiúidí daonlathacha agus an ról atá acu maidir le cur chun cinn an chuimsithe, an cheartais agus an daonlathais.

Citizenship is part of the statutory revised curriculum from Year 1 to Year 12. At primary level this is covered through Personal Development and Mutual Understanding, and at post-primary level through Learning for Life and Work. At Key stages 3 and 4, Exploring Democracy and Active Participation provides opportunities for young people to understand how to participate in and to influence democratic processes and to be aware of some key democratic institutions and their role in promoting inclusion, justice and democracy.

The Department of Education has invested in a substantial programme of piloting and teacher training for post-primary schools, recognising the important role citizenship education can play in developing our young people as contributors to society, and the need for teacher support to deliver citizenship in the classroom. The Department does not endorse specific organisations in relation to the delivery of the revised curriculum. However, the Department has provided resources to the Education and Library Boards for citizenship officers, and further training and support materials have been provided for both primary and post-primary teachers as the revised curriculum is implemented. In addition, my Department provides all Year 11 pupils with a Young Citizens Passport booklet, providing information on a range of relevant areas as a reference point for them.

Fostering young people’s active participation is a main theme of youth work. The Department funds the Education and Library Boards and the Youth Council to support youth service provision across the north of Ireland, including a range of programmes and organisations to encourage and support young people to become active citizens.

The Youth Council through its International Committee is responsible for the co-ordination of a number of North/South, British/Irish, and European funded programmes. Through the ‘Youth in Action’ programme €150,000 has been secured for youth democracy projects. Young people can apply for funding for Youth Democracy Projects which aim to increase the active participation of young people in the life of their local, regional or national community or at international level by supporting their participation in the mechanisms of representative democracy. Local youth councils which have been operating in the north of Ireland for many years, primarily supported through the Education and Library Boards and some through District Council structures are another mechanism for young people to learn about and experience democracy.

The Department of Education is keen to support all schools in the north of Ireland to establish a School Council using the Democra-School programme designed by the Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY).The programme is designed to support and encourage the development of meaningful school councils and the practice of democracy in the school environment.

My officials will be considering how this work can link with emerging participative structures such as the Network for Youth, and I have also met with Junior Ministers and William Hay to discuss how my Department can work with OFMDFM and the Assembly Commission in the development of their respective initiatives to encourage participation, including the Assembly Commission Education Programme, and how we can work together on increasing opportunities for young people to engage positively with Government.

Department for Employment and Learning

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to provide a breakdown of how much has been spent to date by his Department on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 884/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey):

DEL has incurred a total of £63,915 to date on the Review of Public Administration. This is made up of £53,692 of staffing costs and £10,223 of other costs, which includes consultancy.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, pursuant to AQW 151/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (ii) agencies of his Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 916/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The figure provided for private consultancy under AQW 151/10 did not include expenditure on external consultants with regard to either Capital projects or Private Finance Initiatives, as such expenditure was not incurred by the Department. The Department does not have any Agencies.

Learner Access Engagement Programme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many people gained a qualification through the Learner Access Engagement Programme, broken down by (i) regional college; and (ii) gender.

(AQW 987/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The information requested by the member is set out in the table below:

College	Total enrolled	Total achieved qualification	Male achieved qualification	Female achieved qualification
Belfast Metropolitan College	449	14	12	2
Northern Regional College	61	32	6	26
North West Regional College	245	89	19	70
South Eastern Regional College	141	100	22	78
Southern Regional College	45	4	1	3
South West Regional College	112	47	2	45
TOTALS	1053	286	62	224

The total ‘achieved qualification’ does not include those students who have sat examinations but have not yet received their results.

Additionally, as course enrolments continue throughout the academic year, many students have not yet completed their chosen course of study or their examinations.

GCSE and A-Levels Resits

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what fees are applicable for students re-sitting GCSEs or A-Levels in Further Education Colleges.

(AQW 1017/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

There are two types of fees that can be charged to learners. First, there are tuition fees, and Further Education colleges, as incorporated bodies, are responsible for setting the level of tuition fees for the courses they provide. The Department does not intervene in this process. In addition to the course tuition fee, if a student is taking an examination, for example a GCSE or A Level, an examination fee is payable to the Awarding Body of that qualification. In some cases, colleges also charge a nominal administration fee.

There are a number of factors that will determine the extent to which these charges are applied to learners who re-sit GCSEs or A Levels. These include: the age of students (with some distinction being made those under and those over 19 years of age); the mode of attendance (whether full-time or part-time); whether the course is being studied alongside other courses; and whether the student wants to attend classes or just to be entered for the re-sit examination. In addition, there are differences between individual colleges in terms of how these factors are applied to the fees they charge students, and differences in the level of fees charged.

However, Further Education colleges do offer fees concessions to students based on their ability to pay. Concessionary fees are available to those in receipt of, for example, Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (income based), Guaranteed Pension Credit, and income based National Health Service Exemption Certificates.

Full details on the charges levied by individual colleges are available in their courses prospectuses.

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the entry qualifications required by each Further Education College for the Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme.

(AQW 1075/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The Learner Access and Engagement Programme is open to adults who are not in work and who do not hold a qualification at least at Level 2, who may have barriers to learning. These barriers may include caring responsibilities, disability, poor levels of literacy and numeracy, poor behaviour in, or attitude to training and other personal, emotional, or domestic circumstances.

Learners already enrolled in statutory Further Education provision are excluded from these arrangements.

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail what groups or individuals were consulted during the review of the Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme by Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

(AQW 1076/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The Department has commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers to carryout a comprehensive longitudinal evaluation of the Learner Access and Engagement initiative, which will continue for the three year duration of the pilot programme.

During the first quarter of the evaluation, I understand that Pricewaterhouse Coopers consulted with all six Further Education Colleges and with my Department.

My Department has been advised by Pricewaterhouse Coopers that other stakeholders including contract holders, their staff, and programme participants will be consulted in due course.

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if any of the groups involved in the review of the Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme by Pricewaterhouse Coopers were contract holders in the programme.

(AQW 1078/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The evaluation will include interviews with 12 contract holders. I understand that these interviews will take place before the end of this year.

My Department has also been advised by Pricewaterhouse Coopers that other stakeholders including programme participants, contract holders and their staff will be consulted in due course.

Courses for Prisoners

Mr P Butler asked e Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the courses his Department provides for prisoners in (i) Hydebank; (ii) Maghaberry; and (iii) Magilligan prisons.

(AQW 1177/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: In helping to address the literacy and numeracy needs of prisoners in Hydebank, Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons, the Department funds the further education colleges to deliver Essential Skills courses. Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) delivers Essential Skills courses in Literacy and Numeracy at both Maghaberry and Hydebank prisons. The North West Regional College (NWRC) provides Essential Skills courses in Literacy and Numeracy at Magilligan Prison.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service Vocational and Educational Service engage with the further education colleges to deliver other recreational and vocational courses.

New Sports Facility at University of Ulster, Coleraine

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Employment and Learning (i) to outline the extent of his Department's involvement in the new sports facility to be built at the University of Ulster's Coleraine campus; and (ii) if the facility will be available for use by local schools, sports organisations and the general public.

(AQW 1244/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

(i) Earlier this year my Department issued a call for proposals for funding under the University Strategic Capital Investment Fund. Both universities submitted proposals. The proposal from the University of Ulster was for the construction of a new indoor sports facility at its Coleraine campus. The University has since submitted an economic appraisal which is currently being considered by officials. No decision as regards funding has yet been taken by this Department.

(ii) The University’s Widening Access programme allows access to university facilities for the local community and this is linked closely to the opening up of educational opportunities. In the economic appraisal, the University has stated that it will actively promote the availability of indoor and outdoor facilities to its students, staff and the local community.

1997 Dearing Report

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, what measures have been put in place to address the findings of the 1997 Dearing Report which stated that 40 per cent of students who studied outside Northern Ireland would have preferred to remain here.

(AQW 1259/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

Recent research commissioned by my Department identified the factors associated with the decision making processes of school pupils in relation to seeking entry to Higher Education. This was completed by Osborne et al and published in June 2008 which concluded that 'the evidence points towards the bulk of those who leave Northern Ireland are those who want to leave - they are, for a range of reasons, determined leavers'. Data collected from the Higher Education Statistics Agency would show that in 2007/08, around one quarter of NI domiciled students were enrolled at a Higher Education Institution in Great Britain.

In the period from 1994/95 to 2009/10, my Department has provided an overall increase of 5,118 full-time higher education places to institutions in Northern Ireland. Of these, 4,678 additional places were allocated to the two Northern Ireland universities, 2,834 to Queen’s University and 1,844 to University of Ulster, and 440 full-time higher education places were allocated to the further education sector.

University of Ulster’s Business Plan

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if he has received copies of the University of Ulster’s business plans for the development of the new campus in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast and the new campus at Magee.

(AQW 1280/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

I can confirm that I have received a copy of the University of Ulster’s business case for the development of the University’s campus in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. The business case is currently being considered by officials within my Department and, if approved, will be forwarded to the Department of Finance and Personnel for its consideration.

I have not received a business case for any development of the University’s campus at Magee.

Teacher Enrolments

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what role his Department has in determining the number of teacher enrolments each year; and what discussions he has held with the Minister of Education on this subject.

(AQW 1285/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The number of Initial Teacher Education enrolments at the universities and university colleges in Northern Ireland, in each academic year, is set by the Department of Education. When the annual allocations are notified to the Department for Employment and Learning, the Department then calculates the amount of recurrent grant funding the new intakes and existing students will generate for each institution.

I have discussed with Minister Ruane, the rationale for the allocation of places between providers. I have also discussed the possible financial implications for my Department if the Department of Education proposed allocating intake figures beyond the current Comprehensive Spending Review period.

Queen’s University

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what discussions he has had with Queen’s University concerning the proposed abolition of its German Studies Department.

(AQW 1286/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

I discussed this issue when I met with the Vice-Chancellor, Peter Gregson, in August and passed on the concerns raised by a number of parties at the possible implications of this decision.

Since that discussion, the Vice-Chancellor has written to me outlining the reasons why the University came to this decision. These reasons include the current and projected low demand from students from Northern Ireland wishing to study for a degree in German. This, coupled with the ongoing decline in the number of pupils studying German at ‘A’ Level, means that, in the view of the University, the continuation of a degree course would be unsustainable.

The University has also cited the German Department’s recent poor performance in the Research Assessment Exercise as a further reason for this decision.

German Studies Department at Queen's University

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for his assessment of the potential impact of the proposed closure of the German Studies Department at Queen's University on jobs and investment from companies based in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

(AQW 1287/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

As you may be aware, Invest NI has responsibility for encouraging and cultivating inward investment in Northern Ireland from overseas investors, such as those located within Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I am advised by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment that, during the course of Invest NI’s inward investment and trade activities with these nations, Invest NI is not aware of any impact caused by the availability of German language skills within the local workforce. In those instances where any of Invest NI's German clients have chosen to invest in Northern Ireland, a local knowledge of the German language has not been a factor in the location decision.

However, I am advised by Queen’s University that it will continue to offer German as an extra-curricular activity and as part of other degree programmes, such as International Business. These requirements are met through the University’s Language Centre where German can be studied to post ‘A’ level standard.

Furthermore, in Northern Ireland, German will continue to be offered at degree level by the University of Ulster.

Expansion of the Magee Campus

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if he has received an outline business plan or other proposals from the University of Ulster relating to the expansion of the Magee campus, and if so, to outline the proposals and his response.

(AQW 1328/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

I have not received an outline business plan from the University relating to the expansion of the Magee campus. However, in February this year, the Vice-Chancellor wrote to the Permanent Secretary and enclosed a copy of the Magee Campus Strategic Development Plan.

The Development Plan outlines the case for the increase in undergraduate student numbers at Magee by 1,000 over a five year period (2010 to 2015). The proposed areas for growth at Magee are in the areas of Business and Professional Services (90 places); Computing, Electronics and Software (90 places); Creative Technologies and Animation (140 places); the Institute of Health and Wellbeing (280 places); and, the Institute of Sustainable Technologies (400 places).

In terms of the University’s physical estate, the Development Plan envisaged two new buildings being constructed on the Foyle and Londonderry College site should it become available. The new buildings would house the Institute of Health and Wellbeing and the Institute of Sustainable Technologies.

The Development Plan requested my Department’s support for a bid, principally through the next Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). The Permanent Secretary confirmed that the Department would work closely with the University at that time.

I have further indicated to the Vice-Chancellor that if resources were to be made available by the Executive in the future to support developments in the North West, I would consider submitting a bid for Higher Education development.

Intake of Students

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the intake of students, both full and part-time, in the University of Ulster and Queen's University in each of the academic years between 2004/05 and 2009/10.

(AQW 1330/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The number of first year students enrolled on both full and part-time courses at the University of Ulster and Queen’s University in each of the academic years between 2004/05 and 2007/8 is detailed in the table below:

	University of Ulster			Queen's University
	Full-time	Part- time	Total	Full-time	Part-time	Total
2004/05	6,805	3,885	10,690	5,650	5,695	11,345
2005/06	7,045	3,840	10,885	5,645	5,495	11,140
2006/07	5,945	3,785	9,730	5,550	5,090	10,640
2007/08	6,280	3,930	10,210	5,645	4,380	10,025

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Notes:

(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
(2) The latest available data are for 2007/08.

Undergraduate Places

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many undergraduate places were available in the University of Ulster and Queen's University in the academic years between 2004/05 and 2009/10; and how many will be available in the year 2010/11.

(AQW 1333/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The undergraduate Maximum Student Number (MaSN) allocation for each university in academic years 2004/05 to 2009/10 is shown below:

Academic Year	Queen’s University	University of Ulster	Total
2004/05	10,676	12,608	23,284
2005/06	10,902	12,628	23,530
2006/07	11,052	12,702	23,754
2007/08	11,134	12,688	23,822
2008/09	11,236	12,668	23,904
2009/10	11,296	12,658	23,954

The base MaSN allocation at both universities has reduced in the last three years due to a decline in the Initial Teacher Education places assigned by the Department of Education. In the case of Queen’s University, this has been offset by increased medical and dental places funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and additional agricultural places funded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Allocations for 2010/11 have still to be determined by officials in my Department and will take account of available financial resources and competing demands.

Nortel Workers Rights

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if she will consider raising, with the British and European Parliaments the apparent disregard by Nortel (UK) Limited for accepted workers rights and entitlements under EU law and directives; and what measures she intends to take to ensure that Nortel workers' rights and entitlements are protected and that EU directives are implemented.

(AQW 1365/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

In responding, I am making the assumption that you are referring to workers’ rights to meaningful consultation in a redundancy situation. Under EU and domestic law, employers proposing to make collective redundancies must complete a consultation period with employee representatives before issuing redundancy notices. If Nortel employees consider that this requirement has been breached, then they may make a complaint to an Industrial Tribunal, which could result in protective awards to employees of up to 90 days. The Department, however, has no legal sanction against employers who do not comply with their statutory obligations to consult workers.

Following similar allegations of failure to consult properly with workers, the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment and I recently wrote to all insolvency practitioners in Northern Ireland to remind them of their obligations under the law on collective redundancies.

As employees already have redress under the law, I have no plans to raise this issue with the British or European Parliaments.

Under both GB and NI legislation, employees also have rights and protections, including the right to receive statutory redundancy pay as a minimum. The level of protection in domestic law already provides for at least the level of protection required under the relevant EU Directives.

Apprenticeship Training in West Tyrone

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many students enrolled in apprenticeship training in West Tyrone; and how many of them gained employment, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1403/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The Department has supported 1251 apprentices in the West Tyrone area between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2009. The data in Annex A lists numbers of apprentices in each of the last three years whose given address is within the West Tyrone area. Although these apprentices reside within the West Tyrone area, they may or may not have enrolled with Training Providers in the West Tyrone area and may or may not be employed by companies in the West Tyrone area.

ANNEX A

Number of enrolments for Apprenticeships programmes in the West Tyrone area 1 September 2006 – 31 August 2009

1 September 2006 – 31 August 2007	225
1 September 2007 – 31 August 2008	327
1 September 2008 – 31 August 2009	699
Total	1251

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what services in his Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1444/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: A number of service improvements have been made as a result of the application of the monies generated from the efficiency savings made by the department. These have resulted in an enlargement in the skills base in NI and contributed to the strengthening of the local economy. The improvements include: increased investment via the Further Education colleges in the essential skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT; an increase in the provision of PhD places by 100 per annum and an increase in research funding in the two universities. It has also enabled the Department to provide effective support to both people and businesses, in light of the significantly increased demand as a result of the economic downturn.

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Projects in the North Antrim Constituency

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) what projects her Department has funded; and (ii) the amount of money provided by her Department, in the North Antrim constituency, since May 2007.

(AQW 455/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): Please see table attached which provides details of projects funded and actual expenditure incurred by my Department in the North Antrim constituency area since May 2007.

NORTH ANTRIM CONSTITUENCY AREA

DETAILS OF PROJECTS FUNDED BY DETI AND ITS NDPBs SINCE MAY 2007 WITH ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

PERIOD COVERED	(I) LIST OF PROJECTS	(II) THE AMOUNT OF MONEY PROVIDED
ENERGY PROJECTS 1 DETI Energy Branch funds a range of projects and programmes which benefit all of Northern Ireland. It is not possible to meaningfully allocate expenditure to the North Antrim Constituency area for these projects. An approximate estimate of total expenditure would be £9 million.
1 May 2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Reconnect Household Scheme providing grants to householders towards the cost of renewable energy installations.	£502,000
	Renewable Energy Networks for Environmental Welfare (RENEW) Initiative – willow biomass project in Ballymoney area	£10,000
	Construction of hydro electric installation Ballycastle area	£49,000
EU PROGRAMMES PROJECTS
1 May 2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Peace II Programme - Ballee & Harryville Community Enterprises – The Department provided Peace II funding towards a capital build workspace development project with the aim of improving economic infrastructure in the area and creating jobs.	£400,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymena Borough Council – Enterprise Development Programme – Focused on the areas central to the maintenance and development of Ballymena BC	£29,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymena Borough Council – Building the Future Programme – built on Ballymena’s existing strong physical and digital infrastructure.	£140,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymena Borough Council – Expanding Horizons Programme – focused on development activities for established business in the Borough.	£15,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymena Borough Council – Programme Management	£7,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymoney Borough Council – Strengthening the Enterprise Base – promoted a suite of projects to improve the competitiveness of existing enterprises and accelerate the formation of sustainable new business and jobs.	£17,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymoney Borough Council – Creating the Supporting Infrastructure – a small number of strategically important projects to create entirely new tourist products and attractions to strengthen the town.	£11,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymoney Borough Council – Programme Management	£13,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Ballymoney Borough Council – Strengthening Town Competitiveness programme – To strengthen the town as a shopping and hospitality base both for those living locally and for the tourist population	£22,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Moyle District Council – Business Growth & Development programme – is aimed at stimulating enterprise and entrepreneurship within the District	£35,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Moyle District Council – ICT Development – aimed at stimulating enterprise and entrepreneurship with the ICT sector in the District	£1,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Moyle District Council – Trade Development – to promote trade, international relations and co-operation across the service sector within the District’s towns and villages.	£27,000
1 May 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	BSP Programme - Moyle District Council - Programme Management.	£14,000
HSENI FUNDED PROJECTS
2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Health and Safety Works NI, the small business advisory unit of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, held the 3^rd Engineering health and safety awareness workshop in Northern Regional College, Ballymena on 10^th September 2008. 350 engineering businesses were invited to the workshop.	£5,000.00
2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Asbestos Awareness Seminar aimed at the construction sector workforce, tradesmen, engineers and IT cablers. Held at Northern Regional College, Ballymena on 11 December 2007.	£300.00
NITB FUNDED PROJECTS 2 For these projects listed that were paid financial assistance against eligible project costs, the economic and tourism benefits that they bring have a much wider effect. In addition financial assistance has been paid by the NITB to other projects that were implemented over several constituency areas including North Antrim, however these amounts cannot be attributed to any single constituency.
1 May 2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Ballymoney TIC – fit-out of new TIC (grant to Ballymoney Borough Council)	£31,000 ²
	Cottage Wood – Cushendall – development and up-grade of access, facilities, parking and paths and trails (grant to Moyle District Council)	£50,000 ²
	Aquaholics – Ballycastle – provision of new dive boat for private sector dive company (grant to Aquaholics Ltd)	£33,000 ²
	Rathlin Westlight bird watching facilities – provision of facilities and improved access to observation point at Rathlin Island West Lighthouse (Grant to RSPB)	£114,000 ²
	Riverside Park Footbridge – Bushmills – provision of new footbridge over river Bush in Bushmills (grant to Moyle District Council	£14,000 ²
	Design and Implementation of the Causeway Coastal Route strategic driving route covering 9 local authority areas stretching from Newtownabbey to Limavady (500 brown and white orientation signs) [grant to Causeway Coast & Glens Regional Tourism Partnership]Ballymena Borough Council – technical support towards a feasibility study as to the potential of water-based tourism by extending the marina at Portglenone.	£630,000 ² £3,000 ²
	Giant’s Causeway Visitor Facilities Ltd – architect, design and professional fees associated with the proposed new Visitor Centre at the Causeway.	£304,000 ²
STRATEGIC POLICY PROJECTS ³ The Remote Broadband Services Contract covers Northern Ireland in its entirety but through analysis of addresses for customers connected to a satellite service under the contract to date, it has been established that 24 priority customer fees and 1 cell fee have been attracted by the supplier under the contract to date for customers located in the North Antrim constituency.⁴ The Local Broadband Access Contract, when in operation, covered Northern Ireland in its entirety. The contract was valued at £9.23m (over the five years) with the benefits derived from its delivery being enjoyed across all areas of the region. Due to the nature of its delivery, it is not possible to identify the level of spend that would be specific to the North Antrim constituency. ⁵ The3.9m Logon-ni project covers Northern Ireland in its entirety. As part of the project, a mobile advice unit is visiting all areas of the region providing free advice on the benefits of broadband services to business development. The mobile unit has already visited the Moyle District Council area of North Antrim (August 2009) and will be visiting other areas within the constituency as part of the future work programme. In addition the team of Logon-ni broadband advisers have been working with 30 companies in the North Antrim Constituency on the development of broadband action plans.
1 May 2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Provision of satellite broadband services under the ‘Remote Broadband Services Contract’. Contract was awarded in January 2009 for a period of 3 years.	£11,000 ³
	Provision of Wi-Fi hotspots in Ballycastle town centre.	£12,000
	2ND Generation/3rd Generation Mobile broadband trial using satellite infrastructure in Ballintoy	£25,000
	Provision of DSL and satellite broadband services under the ‘Local Broadband Access Contract’. Awarded in March 2004, the contract completed on 31 March 2009.	Not available ⁴
	Logon-ni – a programme providing expert, "supplier neutral" ICT advice to SMEs, focusing on the needs of the individual businesses and how the application and integration of broadband services into key business processes can assist with their development.	Not available ⁵
INVEST NI FUNDED PROJECTS In addition to the projects listed below there is a range of entrepreneurship programmes funded by Invest NI that are delivered throughout Northern Ireland, and are not targeted at any particular Parliamentary Constituency or Council areas. Examples of these programmes include the Start a Business Programme, Advantage, and Princes Trust. The expenditure on these initiatives has not been included in the table as they are not specific to any parliamentary constituency or council area. However for further information, Invest NI paid £218,000 to the Enterprise Agencies of Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle that are located in the North Antrim constituency for the period from May 2007 to March 2009 to deliver the Start a Business Programme.
1 May 2007 – 15 Sept 2009	Ashgrove Contract Furniture Ltd - Gap (Growth Accelerator Programme)	18,000
	B.E.A.T. (NI) Limited - Social Enterprise Programme	5,000
	Ballymena Bus Development CTR Ltd TSO - Innovation Vouchers	4,000
	Billy Warke - Credit Crunch Diagnostic (BIS Consultancy)	2,000
	Bradys Hunter Limited – EMIS	1,000
	Bushmills Hotels Ltd - SFA 250k or more	337,000
	Catering Equipment Engineers Ltd - Business Improvement Training Programme	7,000
	Christies Direct Ltd - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	5,000
	Ciga Healthcare Limited - Innovation Vouchers	4,000
	CIGA Healthcare Limited - Management Information Systems	3,000
	Compass Advocacy Network Limited TSO - Social Enterprise Programme	10,000
	Cullybackey Improvement Association - Social Enterprise Programme	5,000
	Doherty & Gray Ltd - SFA less than 250k	21,000
	Dontaur Engineering Ltd - External Business Health Check	1,000
	Ecomesh Limited - Export Start	16,000
	Eddie Ferguson - Growth Accelerator Programme (GAP)	4,000
	Fearghas Quinn - Product Process Development	17,000
	Francis Dinsmore Ltd - Accelerated Support Fund (ASF)	26,000
	Francis Dinsmore Ltd - Balanced Scorecard	5,000
	Francis Dinsmore Ltd - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	5,000
	Francis Dinsmore Ltd - GAP (GROWTH ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME)	7,000
	Francis Dinsmore Ltd - Lean Manufacturing	4,000
	Frank & Gloria Alexander - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	6,000
	Frank & Gloria Alexander - Management Information Systems	1,000
	Frank & Gloria Alexander - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	2,000
	Frank Mc Caughan James Mc Caughan & Francis Farrell - Interim Manager	19,000
	Galgorm Manor Hotel Limited - External Business Health Check	5,000
	Garage Door Systems Ltd - Business Improvement Training Programme	39,000
	Garage Door Systems Ltd - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	5,000
	Gary Hood - SFA less than 250k	8,000
	Gary Mc Connell - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	2,000
	George Fleck SNR, George Fleck JNR, Agnes Fleck,Brenda Fleck - Interim Manager	6,000
	Glenovation Limited - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	3,000
	Glens Of Antrim Potatoes Ltd - Business Improvement Training Programme	22,000
	Glens Of Antrim Potatoes Ltd - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	22,000
	Glover Site Investigations Ltd - Management Information Systems	15,000
	Guy Thompson & Brad Huston - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	1,000
	Guy Thompson & Brad Huston - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	H K Dickey - Growth Accelerator Programme (GAP)	11,000
	Hayburn Wood Products Ltd - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	29,000
	J M F LTD - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	5,000
	James Harkness - External Business Health Check	5,000
	John Borland - Growth Incentive	1,000
	John Morton - NorthStar Mentor cheme	1,000
	John Sharkey - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Joseph Hughes & Susan Hughes - Business Improvement Training Programme	51,000
	Joseph Hughes & Susan Hughes - Growth Incentive	3,000
	Joseph Hughes Painting Contractors Limited - SFA less than 250k	3,000
	Lawscript (NI) Limited - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Liam Mc Garry, Patrick Mc Garry & Patricia Mc Garry - Northstar Mentor Scheme	2,000
	Madden Brothers Limited - Management Information Systems	2,000
	Maine Surface Finishing Limited - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	1,000
	Maine Surface Finishing Limited - Management Information Systems	3,000
	Maine Tankers Limited - Management Information Systems	3,000
	Mark Rea - Growth Accelerator Programme (GAP)	2,000
	Mcauley Kitchens Limited - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	3,000
	Michael Cunningham - GAP START	19,000
	Michelin Tyre PLC - Business Improvement Training Programme	442,000
	Michelin Tyre PLC - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	1,000
	Michelin Tyre PLC - Inward Existing	164,000
	Moore Concrete Products Limited - Business Improvement Training Programme	29,000
	Moore Concrete Products Limited – COMPETE	11,000
	Moore Concrete Products Limited - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	5,000
	Moore Concrete Products Limited - Management Information Systems	4,000
	Moore Concrete Products Limited - Process Solutions	1,000
	Moyle Enterprise Company Ltd - Social Enterprise Programme	5,000
	New World Developments Ltd - SME Energy Grant	3,000
	O'Kane Poultry Ltd – COMPETE	13,000
	ONUS (NI) Ltd - Social Enterprise Programme	5,000
	Pat O Boyle - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Peter McFetridge - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Peter O Kane - SFA less than 250k	25,000
	Red Bay Boats Ltd - Business Improvement Training Programme	5,000
	Resource (NI) Ltd - External Business Health Check	7,000
	Robert John & William Adrian Cherry - Pre-Start	7,000
	Roy Moore - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	S J Mcauley Engineering Ltd - Management Information Systems	1,000
	Salmar Construction Ltd - Growth incentive	5,000
	Salmar Construction Ltd - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Sean Blaney - Credit Crunch Diagnostic	5,000
	Sean Blaney - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Smiths Engineering Works (NI) Ltd - Management Information Systems	2,000
	Stephen McCully & Arnold Robinson - GAP (Growth Accelerator Programme)	1,000
	Stephens Catering Equipment Co Ltd - External Business Health Check	5,000
	Steven Houston T/A Red Heifer Cheese - Pre-Start	1,000
	System Controls Limited - Growth (Minor) Contracts	15,000
	System Controls Limited - Northstar Mentor Scheme	2,000
	Take The Biscuit Limited - Credit Crunch Diagnostic (BIS Consultancy)	5,000
	Travan Precision Engineering Ltd - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	6,000
	Warwick Engineering (NI) Ltd - Interim Managers	12,000
	William Mccaughern - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	1,000
	Woodland Furniture Ltd - Management Information Systems	54,000
	Woodland Furniture Ltd - NorthStar Mentor Scheme	4,000
	Wright Composites Ltd - SFA 250k or more	150,000
	Wrightbus Limited - Management Information Systems	5,000
	Funding from Invest NI for export development projects to help companies become more competitive in export markets.	255,000
	Funding from Invest NI for participation in international trade missions and events.	15,000
	Woodside Road West, Ballymena – Feasibility Study Fees / Design Fees / Planning Application Fees in respect of Improvements to Flood Defences	114,000
	Garryduff Road, Ballymoney – the excavation and construction of a road formation along with associated land drainage	7,000
Total amount of money provided by DETI and its NDPBs since May 2007 to the North Antrim Constituency area		£4,735,300

InterTradeIreland

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the number of projects funded by InterTradeIreland; and (ii) the amount of funding provided for each project, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 912/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The following projects and funding were provided through InterTradeIreland. A breakdown of these projects and funding can be found at Annex A (2005), Annex B (2006) Annex C (2007).

InterTradeIreland is funded on a basis of two thirds from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (ROI) and one third from DETI.

	Number of Projects	Funding
2005	45	£5,500,926 million
2006	45	£7,008,933 million
2007	55	£7,501,734 million
Total	145	£20,011,593 million

194,547.18
Programme Costs - ITI (2005)

Sector Specific Networks -SSN
BioMedIreland	121,705.46
Homethrown	11,513.69
ICT	96.55
Bord Bia/NIFDA Network	61,231.48
Polymers & Plastics

Areas of Excellence Networks - AEN
EquityNetwork Advisory Service	182,070.75
EquityNetwork Business Angels Network	70,595.47
EquityNetwork Education & Awareness	95,319.76
EquityNetwork Private Equity Conference	97,622.49
EquityNetwork Seedcorn Competition	290,903.96
Supply Chain Ireland	72,455.71
Pilot Supply Chain Chamipon Programme	61,383.83
All Island Benchmarking Forum	12,625.14
All Island Public Procurement (SEP)	74,130.01
957,107.12

Community of Interest Networks - CIN
MicroTrade	252,852.95
PLATO	96,701.35
US/Ireland Research Partnership
Universities Ireland	56,768.22
406,322.52

Network Enabling Tools - Trade
Acumen	379,300.02
Focus Pilot & Rollout	365,821.91
Network & Getwork	153,745.35
Awards & Events	9,908.95
EX (Awards & Events)	5,524.03
Knowledge Centre	28,177.25
942,477.51

Network Enabling Tools - Business Development
Fusion Pilot	523,046.71
Fusion Roll-out	1,297,476.74
Innova	163,416.34
Auril CPD	46,801.62
ExpertiseIreland	287,014.65
2,317,756.06

Business & Economic Research - B&ER
Business Competitive Model	35,209.05
Competitiveness & Trade Research	226,858.25
Competitiveness Forum	-3,536.75

Network Support & Facilitation	97,635.88
ITI Awareness & Promotional Activities	15,849.68
372,016.11

Financial Assistance Scheme / ITI Sponsorship Projects
North-South Roundtable Group	31,031.42
Done Deal' Sunday Business Post	12,004.71
Ernst & Young - Entrepreneur of the Year	40,307.68
All Island Marketing Event - AIM	33,624.97
World Nano-Economic Conference	8,920.14
USCC - ITI Secondment	45,934.67
Construction Development Project	7,117.27
CB Business Competitiveness Event	675.59
PA - ITI Performance Review	30,310.66
Lionra - All Island Trading Network	33,589.74
Deloitte, Fast 50 Awards	25,000.00
Development Funding - ICLRD	41,246.66
Bus Brokerage Economic Appraisal	935.64
310,699.15


TOTAL PROGRAMME EXPENDITURE 2005	5,500,926

Programme Costs - ITI (2006)

Sector Specific Networks -SSN
BioMedIreland	154,494.20
Lionra - All Island Trading Network	9,936.07
All Island Software Network	53,305.38
Bord Bia/NIFDA Network	98.77
Polymers & Plastics	12,382.39
Homethrown	-2,696.44
NW Science & Technology Network	25,685.49
Network Support & Facilitation	41,443.12
294,648.98

Areas of Excellence Networks - AEN
EquityNetwork Advisory Service	77,418.74
EquityNetwork Business Angels Network	99,444.97
EquityNetwork Education & Awareness	50,285.23
EquityNetwork Private Equity Conference	134,812.52
EquityNetwork Seedcorn Competition	316,415.02
Logistics XP / Supply Chain Ireland	21,504.10
Pilot Supply Chain Chamipon Programme
All Island Best Practice Network	17,675.40
All Island Public Procurement (Conference)	12,966.45
730,522.43

Community of Interest Networks - CIN
MicroTrade	307,085.96
PLATO	41,268.45
US/Ireland Research Partnership	51,030.66
Universities Ireland	12,551.24
ICLRD	49,942.04
North-South Roundtable Group	35,529.40
US Relationships	220.22
497,627.97

Network Enabling Tools - Trade
Acumen	439,464.11
Focus Rollout	346,773.27
Network & Getwork	228,132.17
Awards & Events	14,869.49
ITI Awareness & Promotional Activities	3,803.94
Go Tender	90,437.86
1,123,480.84

Network Enabling Tools - Business Development
Fusion Pilot	201,409.54
Fusion Roll-out	2,815,906.63
Innova	803,262.30
Auril CPD
ExpertiseIreland	199,376.72
4,019,955.19

Business & Economic Research - B&ER
Business Competitive Model	37,939.49
Competitiveness & Trade Research	125,440.13
Knowledge Centre	14,842.33
178,221.95

Financial Assistance Scheme Projects
Mobile software Business Network	34,242.99
IBEC-CBI JBC Freight Transport report
Dare to be Digital (Digital Hub Agency)
34,242.99

ITI Sponsorship Projects ( Programme Budget)
Ernst & Young - Entrepreneur of the Year	51,529.79
Leadership Summit	18,932.05
All Island Infrastructure Investment Conference	7,329.96
All Island Corporate Responsibility Conference	11,750.00
NI Economic Conference	3,180.41
BioIreland Conference	16,582.95
All Island Business Supplement
Entrepreneurshp Conference (Derry Chamber)	10,000.00
ITI (Non-Project Allocated) Appraisals & Evaluations
Business Brokerage Service Economic Appraisal	10,927.46
130,232.62


TOTAL PROGRAMME EXPENDITURE 2006	7,008,933

Programme Costs - ITI (2007)

Business Networks
BioMedIreland	111,240.82
All Island Software Network	107,821.85
Polymer & Plastics Network	30,235.39
North-West Science & Technology Network	73,648.44
All Island Learning Networks (Skillnets)	45,266.31
Mobile Software Business Network	207,878.40
Network Support & Facilitation	58,697.63
Build Up Construction Network	46,876.25
Digital Asset Management Network	2,450.00
Reminac Network (BioMedIreland)	34,634.60
Mobile Advertising Platform Initiative	51,007.72
All Island Digital Media Forum
769,757.41

Areas of Excellence Networks
EquityNetwork Advisory Service	96,913.73
EquityNetwork Business Angels Network	150,758.97
EquityNetwork Education & Awareness	27,880.91
EquityNetwork Research & Publications	39,483.97
EquityNetwork Private Equity Conference	110,462.99
EquityNetwork Seedcorn Competition	460,632.47
Logistics XP	5,580.53
All Island Best Practice Network	28,569.01
All Island Public Procurement Conference	2,201.10
Entrepreneurship Master Class Programme	6,731.90
929,215.58

Community of Interest Networks
MicroTrade	-24,731.10
PLATO	20,011.00
US/Ireland Research Partnership	32,933.77
Universities Ireland	14,380.00
North-South Roundtable Group	34,197.73
MicroTrade Phase 2	140,567.10
217,358.50

Network Enabling Tools - Trade
Acumen	536,389.07
Focus Rollout	263,483.56
Network & Getwork	61,609.27
Go Tender	6,787.43
All Island Supplier Model (Construction)	39,566.66
907,835.99

Network Enabling Tools - Business Development
Fusion Pilot	-20,052.01
Fusion Roll-out	3,013,780.66
Fusion Phase 3	187,089.43
Innova	908,341.65
Auril CPD	500
Pilot EU Framework Programme (FP7) Support Programme	2,975.12
ExpertiseIreland	144,238.51
Science Technology & Innovation Research	69,089.42
3rd International Conference on Services Innovation	22,051.00
All Island Design Strategy	9,643.73
4,337,657.51

Business & Economic Research
Competitiveness & Trade Research	163,792.43
Baseline Survey	335
Knowledge Centre	15,594.56
179,721.99

THIRD PARTY PROJECTS
ITI Financial Assistance Scheme Projects.
Dare to be Digital (Digital Hub Agency)	5,143.63
WITS - Wiser Workforces	13,473.00
BT InterTradeIreland Business Monitor	11,848.80
30,465.43

ITI Sponsorship Projects (Programme Budget).
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007	56,319.31
BioEngineering in Ireland Conference 2007	2,000.00
ISBE Conference 2008	15,000.00
QUB Event: Royal and Irish Academies of Engineering	1,000.00
Irish Times Innovation Magazine	31,049.37
Sunday Tribune P&P Supplement	12,125.70
All Island Software Industry Awards	12,226.75
129,721.13


TOTAL PROGRAMME EXPENDITURE 2007	7,501,734

InterTradeIreland

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the running costs of InterTradeIreland for each of the last three years.

(AQW 1025/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The table below details the running costs of InterTradeIreland for each of the last three years.

INTERTRADEIRELAND	2005	2006	2007
	Stg£m	Stg£m	Stg£m
InterTradeIreland Budgets as per Business Plans (as provided by OFMdFM)	9.27	10.219	10.27
Agreed Budgets per Business Plans provided by InterTradeIreland	9.27	10.218	11.63* 10.41
Operating Costs	1,060,318	1,149,717	1,084,167
Staff Costs and Board Remuneration	1,321,160	1,401,286	1,579,274
Total Northern Ireland Contribution	3.09	3.41	3.47

- *In respect of the 2007 Business Plan, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment was unable to commit to more than £3.47m and although the Business Plan was approved it was on the understanding that expenditure would be limited to £10.41m;

- This information is held in calendar years;

- Operating Costs includes rent and rates, promotional activities and computer costs.

InterTradeIreland

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many jobs have been created by InterTradeIreland in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1061/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

InterTradeIreland have created the following number of jobs:

2006 90

2007 140

2008 127

This information is held in calendar years.

Foreign Direct Investment

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the estimated amount of foreign direct investment in (i) Lagan Valley; (ii) Lisburn City Council; and (iii) Banbridge District Council areas, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1071/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Tables (i), (ii) and (iii) provide information on the amount of foreign direct investment offered support by Invest NI within the Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency Area (PCA), Lisburn City and Banbridge District Council Areas (DCA) respectively during the five-year period 2004/05 to 2008/09. This represents the estimated total cost of these projects to Invest NI’s externally-owned clients. The number of projects and the associated assistance offered by Invest NI is also included. Projects have been split into those where the main focus is on employment creation and those that are innovation based, including activities such as training, research and development, trade development and technology and process development.

(i) - Invest NI Assistance Offered To Externally-Owned Clients in Lagan Valley PCA (2004/05 - 2008/09)

Type of Assistance	Year	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m
Employment Related	2004/05	1	0.14	1.05
	2005/06	1	6.95	66.29
	2006/07
	2007/08
	2008/09	2	0.55	2.17
	Total	4	7.64	69.51
Innovation	2004/05	11	0.10	0.24
	2005/06	3	0.02	0.10
	2006/07	2	0.89	3.21
	2007/08	5	0.26	0.93
	2008/09	6	0.56	1.42
	Total	27	1.83	5.90
TOTAL	2004/05	12	0.25	1.30
	2005/06	4	6.97	66.39
	2006/07	2	0.89	3.21
	2007/08	5	0.26	0.93
	2008/09	8	1.11	3.59
	TOTAL	31	9.47	75.41

(ii) - Invest NI Assistance Offered to Externally-Owned Clients in Lisburn DCA (2004/05 - 2008/09)

Type of Assistance	Year	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m
Employment Related	2004/05	1	0.14	1.05
	2005/06	1	6.95	66.29
	2006/07
	2007/08	1	0.40	2.51
	2008/09	2	0.55	2.17
	Total	5	8.04	72.03
Innovation	2004/05	11	0.10	0.24
	2005/06	3	0.02	0.10
	2006/07	6	1.15	3.99
	2007/08	6	0.51	1.69
	2008/09	6	0.56	1.42
	Total	32	2.34	7.44
TOTAL	2004/05	12	0.25	1.30
	2005/06	4	6.97	66.39
	2006/07	6	1.15	3.99
	2007/08	7	0.91	4.21
	2008/09	8	1.11	3.59
	TOTAL	37	10.38	79.47

(iii) - Invest NI Assistance Offered to Externally-Owned Clients in Banbridge DCA (2004/05 - 2008/09)

Type of Assistance	Year	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m
Employment Related	2004/05	1	0.49	2.89
	2005/06
	2006/07
	2007/08
	2008/09
	Total	1	0.49	2.89
Innovation	2004/05
	2005/06
	2006/07	1	0.00	0.00
	2007/08	6	0.16	0.43
	2008/09	3	0.29	0.78
	Total	10	0.45	1.21
TOTAL	2004/05	1	0.49	2.89
	2005/06	0	0.00	0.00
	2006/07	1	0.00	0.00
	2007/08	6	0.16	0.43
	2008/09	3	0.29	0.78
	TOTAL	11	0.94	4.10

NOTES TO TABLES:

Table totals may not add due to rounding
Planned investment includes assistance offered.
Total offer locations in geographic tables exceed total number of offers, as some projects are located in more than one area.
Some of the assistance offered may not paid if projects are not fully delivered by the client.

Job Creation

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many jobs were created in (i) Lagan Valley; (ii) Lisburn City Council; and (iii) Banbridge District Council areas, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1072/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: It is not possible to provide information on the total number of jobs created in each of the areas requested. DETI collects information on the number of jobs at a particular point in time and therefore can only provide the net change between two points in time.

Table 1 provides information on the net change in all employee jobs in each of the areas requested as measured by the biennial Census of Employment (conducted in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007). The net change takes into account both job gains and losses during the period.

Table 1 – Net Change in all Employee Jobs by Area

	Net Change
Area	2001-2003	2003-2005	2005-2007
Lagan Valley PCA	809	2,536	1,967
Lisburn DCA	899	2,413	1,636
Banbridge DCA	342	937	834

Table 2 presents information for those businesses assisted by Invest NI during the five financial years ended March 2009. This is based on the number of jobs promoted or safeguarded relating to projects assisted during this timeframe. Invest NI clients would be expected to create these jobs during the lifetime of assisted projects.

Table 2 – Invest NI Jobs Promoted and Safeguarded in Lagan Valley (PCA) and Lisburn and Banbridge DCAs (2004/05 to 2008/09)

Local/External	YEAR	Lagan Valley PCA		Lisburn DCA		Banbridge DCA
Local/External	YEAR	New jobs	Safe Jobs	New jobs	Safe Jobs	New jobs	Safe Jobs
External	2004/05	16	17	16	17	13	66
	2005/06	71	278	71	278
	2006/07
	2007/08			12	26
	2008/09	29		29		0	0
External Total		116	295	128	321	13	66
Local	2006/07	158	62	210	62	21	0
	2007/08	111	8	111	18	19	7
	2008/09	86	36	89	36	11	0
Local Total		355	106	410	116	51	7
Grand Total		471	401	538	437	64	73

NOTES TO TABLE 2:

Local refers to those companies in indigenous ownership. External refers to those companies in foreign ownership.
New Jobs represent the number of jobs expected to be created during the lifetime of projects offered assistance during the period under review.
Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported during the period under review.
Local job figures are only available for the 3 year period 2006/07 - 2008/09

In addition, the Northern Ireland Start a Business Programme (SABp), which is provided by Invest NI in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland, expected to create the following jobs through locally-owned business start up projects over the same period – see Table 3.

Table 3 – SABp Jobs Promoted (2004/05 to 2008/09)

Year	Lagan Valley	Lisburn	Banbridge
2004/05	180	167	105
2005/06	172	164	113
2006/07	159	148	102
2007/08	144	152	104
2008/09	104	109	67
TOTAL	758	740	491

Craigavon Industrial Hub

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what steps she is taking to refocus her Department’s and Invest NI's strategies on the Craigavon industrial hub, now that it has emerged that Craigavon has 225 manufacturing businesses compared to Belfast’s 340.

(AQW 1136/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department and Invest NI’s strategies do not include investment targets for specific sub-regional areas such as Craigavon.

Invest NI provides assistance in support of both new clients seeking to establish a business in Northern Ireland and existing clients intending to expand their operations. In doing so, Invest NI has limited scope for ‘directing’ investment to specific geographic areas and although it is able to influence some location decisions, assistance patterns are largely demand-led by businesses wishing to improve their competitiveness and gain a larger share of international markets. Additionally, the benefits associated with business development are not constrained by local boundaries such as District Council Areas and Parliamentary Constituency Areas, which are not self-contained labour markets.

Invest NI has 161 client operations within the Craigavon District Council Area and the total amount of assistance offered to businesses in the area during the past seven years was almost £68 million, in support of projects which planned to invest £289 million. This represents £982 per head of adult population, which is some 59% higher than the NI average, and represents the 3^rd highest rate of the 26 District Council Areas.

Larger investments in the area include those by the Almac Group, Nacco Materials Handling Ltd, Moy Park and Glanbia Cheese Ltd.

Please be assured that my Department and Invest NI will continue to work with other Departments, local partners and stakeholders, such as the District Councils to deliver business development support across all areas of Northern Ireland.

Tourism

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline the structures within her Department which support tourism in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1137/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department works with three main bodies providing support to the tourism industry:

Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB)

NITB advises DETI on tourism policy matters and is primarily responsible for the development of the tourism sector in Northern Ireland through the Tourism Development Scheme. NITB also works with District Councils and a number of local delivery bodies to develop the tourism product throughout Northern Ireland.

Invest Northern Ireland

Invest Northern Ireland is responsible for tourism accommodation grants and business support to the tourism sector for client companies.

Tourism Ireland Ltd

Tourism Ireland Ltd, a North – South Body established under the framework of the Belfast Agreement and jointly funded by DETI and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in the Republic of Ireland, is responsible for the overseas promotion of Northern Ireland as a tourism destination. The company also collaborates with NITB and local Councils in the development of marketing strategies and specific overseas campaigns.

Locally Managed Enterprises

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline her plans to develop locally managed enterprises based on patents held in the University of Ulster and Queen's University.

(AQW 1141/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

Invest NI provides funding to both Universities to support the staffing and activities of their knowledge exploitation offices through the Higher Education and Innovation Fund. These offices aim to maximise economic return from commercialising R&D.

Invest NI’s Proof of Concept Programme provides pre-commercialisation funding to academics to move research from the lab towards the marketplace. The demand in the universities for this programme remains at a very high level and the current budget of £6.1m is almost fully committed. Applications to the programme must provide evidence of originality and true commercial potential for which a specific market opportunity has been identified and validated. The 2008 funding round attracted 48 applications from QUB and UU of which 34 are being supported. The 2009 round received 45 applications of which 23 have been approved.

New spinout companies, resulting either from successful PoC projects or based on patents already held by the Universities, can access financial support through Invest NI’s Grant for R&D.

DETI has supported the creation of NI's first dedicated Science Park at Queen's Island in Belfast. The science park is actively supporting a number of high-technology start-up and university spinout companies. Notably it is home to the CONNECT technology brokering and networking service and the Halo business angel network.

Building on the recommendation in its first report, MATRIX - The Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel - has begun work on a study into more efficient exploitation of intellectual assets in Northern Ireland, across both the business and academic communities.

Renewable Energy

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the targets for renewable energy that Northern Ireland is currently working towards; and the level of progress against those targets.

(AQW 1144/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Our current renewable energy target relates solely to electricity generation: it is that, by 2012, 12% of electricity consumption in Northern Ireland should come from indigenous renewable energy sources and that 15% of the renewable element should be from non-wind sources.

Currently, generation from indigenous renewable sources accounts for 8.5% of electricity consumption with around 97% of that generation being from wind. DETI is confident that the 12% overall target will be achieved by 2012 with the 15% sub-target depending on the realisation of a number of projects that are currently at various stages of development.

DETI’s draft Strategic Energy Framework which closed for consultation on 30 September proposed new renewable targets for achievement by 2020: 40% for electricity and 10% for heat.

External Consultants

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment pursuant to AQW 7839/09 and AQW 152/10, (i) to provide a breakdown of all expenditure on external consultants; and (ii) to explain the discrepancy in the figures given in these answers for 2008/09.

(AQW 1172/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) A breakdown of all expenditure on external consultants for each year during the period 2004-05 to 2008-09 is attached.

(ii) The Department’s answer to AQW 7839/09 stated that the figures provided for 2008/09 financial year were base on accounting information that had not been subject to audit.

The figures provided in the Department’s answer to AQW 152/10 reflect the fully audited position for 2008/09.

Breakdown of external consultancy expenditure in 2004-2005

Financial	£0
Management
1. Policy appraisal and review	£686,943
2. Strategic management	£167,160
3. Organisational development	£518,945
4. Performance measurement	£88,220
5. Management Accountancy	£99,474
6. Audit	£37,900
7. Economic appraisal	£235,301
8. Internal audit	£66,046
9. Feasibility study	£0
Assurance	£0
10. Quality accreditation	£2,759
11. Investment appraisal	£40,340
12. Corporate governance	£32,330
Research	£0
13. Projects	£487,045
14. Surveys	£267,309
Marketing	£0
15. Marketing	£324,482
16. Market research	£151,978
TOTALS	£3,206,232

Breakdown of external consultancy expenditure in 2005-2006

Financial	£0
Management
1. Policy appraisal and review	£784,728
2. Strategic management	£321,711
3. Organisational development	£157,615
4. Performance measurement	£167,827
5. Management Accountancy	£1,022
6. Audit	£3,960
7. Economic appraisal	£158,804
8. Internal audit	£249,569
9. Feasibility study	£17,675
Assurance	£0
10. Quality accreditation	£79,401
11. Investment appraisal	£764
12. Corporate governance	£46,659
Research	£0
13. Projects	£492,228
14. Surveys	£226,869
Marketing	£0
15. Marketing	£291,484
16. Market research	£13,877
TOTALS	£3,014,193

Breakdown of external consultancy expenditure in 2006-2007

Financial	£0
Management
1. Policy appraisal and review	£1,257,880
2. Strategic management	£317,365
3. Organisational development	£161,788
4. Performance measurement	£98,431
5. Management Accountancy	£0
6. Audit	£104,150
7. Economic appraisal	£233,923
8. Internal audit	£29,640
9. Feasibility study	£98,514
Assurance	£0
10. Quality accreditation	£19,174
11. Investment appraisal	£950
12. Corporate governance	£41,113
Research	£0
13. Projects	£243,602
14. Surveys	£285,933
Marketing	£0
15. Marketing	£222,004
16. Market research	£117,701
TOTALS	£3,232,169

Breakdown of external consultancy expenditure in 2007-2008

Management
1. Policy Appraisal and review	£693,192
2. Strategic management	£589,197
3. Organisational development	£155,097
4. Performance measurement	£138,920
5. Corporate Governance	£24,806
Financial	£0
6. Audit	£32,621
7. Economic appraisal	£367,502
8. Internal audit	£11,732
9. Business Case	£0
10. Financial Appraisal	£196,470
11. Accountancy	£697
12. Forensic Accounting	£14,080
Information Services (IS) & eBusiness	£0
13. General IS & IT Advice	£71,003
14. Programme & Project Management Support	£566,110
15. Application Development	£4,144
16. Web Services	£0
17. IT Security Services	£0
18. E-Business Services	£1,875
19. Telecoms Services	£0
20. Network Infrastructure Services	£0
21. Microsoft Product-centric Services	£0
TOTALS	£2,867,446

Breakdown of external consultancy expenditure in 2008-2009

Management
1. Policy Appraisal and review	£913,211
2. Strategic management	£427,270
3. Organisational development	£78,622
4. Performance measurement	£180,085
5. Corporate Governance	£52,780
Financial	£0
6. Audit	£90,439
7. Economic appraisal	£295,257
8. Internal audit	£16,335
9. Business Case	£0
10. Financial Appraisal	£581,875
11. Accountancy	£23,399
12. Forensic Accounting	£74,050
Information Services (IS) & eBusiness	£0
13. General IS & IT Advice	£7,700
14. Programme & Project Management Support	£309,934
15. Application Development	£184,422
16. Web Services	£0
17. IT Security Services	£5,520
18. E-Business Services	£10,350
19. Telecoms Services	£40,000
20. Network Infrastructure Services	£0
21. Microsoft Product-centric Services	£0
TOTALS	£3,291,247

NI Electricity

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail how much NI Electricity are paying for the electricity generated at the Dargan Road Landfill site; (ii) who this money is paid to; and (iii) how much of this money is paid into the public purse.

(AQW 1184/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The questions raised relate to a commercial arrangement between Belfast City Council and NIE Energy Limited and, as such, are a matter for the parties concerned. Nonetheless, in relation to the third question, the Council has already indicated publicly that it will benefit to the extent of an annual income of around £1.5 million from the site.

Foreign Direct Investment

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the estimated total amount of foreign direct investment in each of the Belfast parliamentary constituencies, and in the Belfast City Council area, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 1194/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

Tables 1 to 5 provide information on the amount of foreign direct investment offered support by Invest NI within each of the Belfast Parliamentary Constituency Areas (PCA) and in the Belfast City Council area during the five-year period 2004/05 to 2008/09. The number of jobs promoted or safeguarded as a result is also included. The information in the tables represents the estimated total cost of these projects to Invest NI’s externally-owned clients and the number of jobs that the projects expect to create or safeguard. The number of projects and the associated assistance offered by Invest NI is also included.

Projects have been split into those where the main focus is on employment creation and those that are innovation based, including activities such as training, research and development, trade development and technology and process development. Although not directly related to job creation, these capability development activities will underpin business competitiveness leading eventually to growth and employment opportunities, although they cannot be accurately forecasted at this stage.

Table 1 - Invest NI Assistance To Externally-Owned Clients In Belfast East PCA & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2004/05 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	4	8.29	10.61	410	79
	2005/06	4	1.69	11.59	232	-
	2006/07	6	11.10	41.28	624	60
	2007/08	8	12.22	86.72	226	1,069
	2008/09	5	22.83	529.85	943	-
	TOTAL	27	56.11	680.05	2,435	1,208
INNOVATION	2004/05	40	5.83	18.25	-	-
	2005/06	15	0.28	0.90	-	-
	2006/07	24	3.22	19.67	-	-
	2007/08	26	6.00	23.17	-	-
	2008/09	9	0.63	2.41	-	-
	TOTAL	114	15.95	64.41	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	44	14.12	28.87	410	79
	2005/06	19	1.96	12.49	232	-
	2006/07	30	14.32	60.95	624	60
	2007/08	34	18.21	109.89	226	1,069
	2008/09	14	23.45	532.25	943	-
	TOTAL	141	72.06	744.46	2,435	1,208

Table 2 - Invest NI Assistance To Externally-Owned Clients In Belfast North PCA & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2004/05 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	2	0.17	0.45	27	-
	2005/06	1	2.60	25.08	46	-
	2006/07	1	0.16	2.52	44	-
	2007/08	-	-	-	-	-
	2008/09	3	1.65	53.04	108	2
	TOTAL	7	4.57	81.09	225	2
INNOVATION	2004/05	9	1.24	6.06	-	-
	2005/06	4	0.31	1.50	-	-
	2006/07	2	0.06	0.18	-	-
	2007/08	2	0.01	0.01	-	-
	2008/09	8	1.83	9.33	-	-
	TOTAL	25	3.45	17.09	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	11	1.41	6.51	27	-
	2005/06	5	2.91	26.58	46	-
	2006/07	3	0.22	2.70	44	-
	2007/08	2	0.01	0.01	-	-
	2008/09	11	3.48	62.37	108	2
	TOTAL	32	8.02	98.18	225	2

Table 3 - Invest NI Assistance To Externally-Owned Clients In Belfast South PCA & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2004/05 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	13	9.19	34.80	1,379	-
	2005/06	4	8.17	56.01	795	47
	2006/07	9	9.46	54.10	987	123
	2007/08	6	3.22	24.27	283	7
	2008/09	10	8.72	74.40	1,279	-
	TOTAL	42	38.74	243.58	4,723	177
INNOVATION	2004/05	22	1.56	4.98	-	-
	2005/06	15	1.01	8.56	-	-
	2006/07	17	4.00	23.21	-	-
	2007/08	17	0.47	8.26	-	-
	2008/09	11	1.71	4.83	-	-
	TOTAL	82	8.77	49.84	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	35	10.75	39.78	1,379	-
	2005/06	19	9.18	64.57	795	47
	2006/07	26	13.46	77.31	987	123
	2007/08	23	3.69	32.53	283	7
	2008/09	21	10.43	79.23	1,279	-
	TOTAL	124	47.51	293.42	4,723	177

Table 4 - Invest NI Assistance To Externally-Owned Clients In Belfast West PCA & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2004/05 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	1	6.45	21.35	750	0
	2005/06	-	-	-	-	-
	2006/07	-	-	-	-	-
	2007/08	3	1.10	6.60	142	26
	2008/09	1	0.04	0.31	1	3
	TOTAL	5	7.59	28.26	893	29
INNOVATION	2004/05	5	0.03	0.10	-	-
	2005/06	3	0.87	4.62	-	-
	2006/07	7	0.55	1.47	-	-
	2007/08	7	0.30	0.93	-	-
	2008/09	2	0.43	1.50	-	-
	TOTAL	24	2.18	8.62	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	6	6.48	21.45	750	-
	2005/06	3	0.87	4.62	-	-
	2006/07	7	0.55	1.47	-	-
	2007/08	10	1.40	7.53	142	26
	2008/09	3	0.47	1.81	1	3
	TOTAL	29	9.77	36.88	893	29

Table 5 - Invest NI Assistance To Externally-Owned Clients In the Belfast City Council Area & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2004/05 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	19	23.74	66.16	2,561	12
	2005/06	9	12.45	92.67	1,073	47
	2006/07	16	20.71	97.90	1,655	183
	2007/08	15	15.23	110.84	587	1,054
	2008/09	19	33.23	657.60	2,331	5
	TOTAL	78	105.36	1,025.17	8,207	1,301
INNOVATION	2004/05	51	4.98	18.51	-	-
	2005/06	26	2.45	15.57	-	-
	2006/07	38	7.57	43.74	-	-
	2007/08	40	6.18	30.45	-	-
	2008/09	30	4.60	18.07	-	-
	TOTAL	185	25.78	126.34	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	70	28.72	84.67	2,561	12
	2005/06	35	14.90	108.25	1,073	47
	2006/07	54	28.28	141.63	1,655	183
	2007/08	55	21.40	141.30	587	1,054
	2008/09	49	37.83	675.66	2,331	5
	TOTAL	263	131.14	1,151.51	8,207	1,301

NOTES TO TABLE:

Table totals may not add due to rounding.
Planned investment includes assistance offered.
Some of the assistance offered may not be paid if projects are not fully delivered by the client.
New Jobs represent the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.

Foreign Direct Investment

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the estimated total amount of foreign direct investment in the Foyle parliamentary constituency, and in the Derry City Council area, in each of the last 5 years.

(AQW 1195/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

It should be noted that the boundaries for Foyle Parliamentary Constituency Area (PCA) and Derry District Council Area (DCA) constitute the same geographical area. Therefore, Table 1 provides information on the amount of foreign direct investment offered support by Invest NI within both the Foyle PCA and the Derry DCA during the five-year period 2004/05 to 2008/09. The number of jobs promoted or safeguarded as a result is also included.

The information in both tables represents the estimated total cost of these projects to Invest NI’s externally-owned clients and the number of jobs that the projects expect to create or safeguard. The number of projects and the associated assistance offered by Invest NI is also included.

Table 1 - Invest NI Assistance Offered to Externally-Owned Clients in Foyle PCA & Derry DCA (Includes Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded) - 2004/05 to 2008/09

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2004/05	1	2.50	37.10	40	117
	2005/06	3	19.12	72.62	361	1,258
	2006/07	3	6.28	25.85	754	-
	2007/08	4	8.78	36.26	865	67
	2008/09	1	0.25	1.68	30	-
	TOTAL	12	36.93	173.51	2,050	1,442
INNOVATION	2004/05	8	0.55	2.27	-	-
	2005/06	9	3.26	22.06	-	-
	2006/07	6	0.33	1.06	-	-
	2007/08	3	0.07	0.36	-	-
	2008/09	2	0.19	0.55	-	-
	TOTAL	28	4.40	26.30	0	0
TOTAL	2004/05	9	3.05	39.37	40	117
	2005/06	12	22.38	94.68	361	1,258
	2006/07	9	6.61	26.91	754	-
	2007/08	7	8.85	36.62	865	67
	2008/09	3	0.44	2.23	30	-
	TOTAL	40	41.33	199.81	2,050	1,442

NOTES:

Table totals may not add due to rounding.
Planned investment includes assistance offered.
Some of the assistance offered may not be paid if projects are not fully delivered by the client.
New Jobs represent the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.

Foreign Direct Investment

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for an estimate of the total foreign direct investment in the East Antrim constituency, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1206/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

Table 1 provides information on the amount of foreign direct investment offered support by Invest NI within the East Antrim Parliamentary Constituency Area (PCA) and the number of jobs promoted or safeguarded as a result during the three-year period 2006/07 to 2008/09. The information in Table 1 represents the estimated total cost of these projects to Invest NI’s externally-owned clients and the number of jobs that the projects expect to create or safeguard. The number of projects and the associated assistance offered by Invest NI is also included.

Table 1 - Invest NI Assistance Offered To Externally-Owned Clients In East Antrim PCA & Jobs Promoted or Safeguarded (2006/07 - 2008/09)

TYPE OF ASSISTANCE	YEAR	No of Offers	Total Assistance £m	Total Planned Investment £m	New jobs	Safe Jobs
EMPLOYMENT RELATED	2006/07
	2007/08	1	1.53	15.92	235	-
	2008/09	1	0.03	0.08	2	-
	TOTAL	2	1.56	15.99	237	0
INNOVATION	2006/07	10	0.06	0.21	-	-
	2007/08	28	1.81	5.15	-	-
	2008/09	6	0.31	0.98	-	-
	TOTAL	44	2.18	6.34	0	0
TOTAL	2006/07	10	0.06	0.21	-	-
	2007/08	29	3.34	21.07	235	-
	2008/09	7	0.34	1.05	2	-
	TOTAL	46	3.74	22.33	237	0

NOTES TO TABLE:

Table totals may not add due to rounding.
Planned investment includes assistance offered.
Some of the assistance offered may not be paid if projects are not fully delivered by the client.
New Jobs represent the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.

Advice4debtNI

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 319/10, to detail (i) which key stakeholders were met by Advice4debtNI in relation to the telephone debt advice service; (ii) when each of those meetings took place; and (iii) what cross-working opportunities and referral protocols have been put in place as a result.

(AQW 1226/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) & (ii) Since June 2009, Advice4debtNI has met with the following key stakeholders:

June 2009 Citizens Advice

August 2009 Advice NI

September 2009 Consumer Council, Financial Capabilities Partnership, Department for Social Development, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Enforcement of Judgements Office

October 2009 National Debtline, Money Advice Trust

In addition, Advice4debtNI management participated in the Debt Remedies Rainbow event in June 2009 which was attended by a wide cross section of representatives from business, government and the voluntary and community sectors. Advice4debtNI officials also extended their network of contacts at the Northern Ireland Debt Discussion Forum Annual Conference held in September 2009.

(iii) Informal referral arrangements are already in place with National Debtline, Consumerline and Jobs and Benefits offices. All such arrangements will be formalised in due course in light of the level of calls being dealt with.

Hotel Occupancy

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail hotel occupancy rates for each month of the last five years.

(AQW 1256/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Northern Ireland hotel room occupancy rates by month, from 2004 to 2009, are detailed in the table below. The number of hotel rooms in Northern Ireland increased by 10% between August 2008 and August 2009.

	2004 %	2005 %	2006 %	2007 %	2008 %	2009 %
Jan	46	45	49	51	46	43
Feb	56	58	60	60	59	55
Mar	56	58	64	67	60	55
Apr	65	62	67	69	67	58
May	65	64	67	72	70	61
Jun	69	72	72	76	73	65
Jul	64	64	62	69	67	64
Aug	68	71	73	76	76	70
Sep	72	71	74	79	71
Oct	66	68	66	74	64
Nov	58	64	62	65	55
Dec	46	51	49	51	46

Credit Unions

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment if Credit Unions in Northern Ireland will be requested to pay a fee similar to those in Scotland which have been asked to pay a minimum of £1500 each as a contribution towards the maintenance of UK banks.

(AQW 1277/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: I have no plans to request Northern Ireland credit unions to make such payments.

One of the recommendations included in the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment’s report of its inquiry in the role and potential of credit unions was that regulation of all credit unions in Northern Ireland move from DETI to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in order to expand their range of services to include, at the very least, those which credit unions in Great Britain can offer currently. In my response to the Committee’s report, I endorsed this recommendation.

The proposed transfer to FSA regulation is currently being jointly taken forward by officials from my Department, HM Treasury, and the FSA. All proposals, including payments in respect of the operation of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, will be subject to detailed consideration before any decisions are made. I am hopeful that a joint DETI / HM Treasury consultation paper will be issued by the end of the year.

Invest NI

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline (i) the total spend of Invest Northern Ireland during the financial years 2007/08 and 2008/09 and (ii) what proportion of this spend was allocated to administration.

(AQW 1284/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: In 2007/8 the total expenditure by Invest NI was £160.5 million, of which 15.9% related to Administration.

In 2008/9 the total expenditure by Invest NI was £167.6 million, of which 15.7% related to Administration.

Hotel Occupancy

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the average hotel occupancy rate for each day of the week, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1322/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment:

Hotel occupancy rates are not available for each day of the week. However, hotel room occupancy rates are available by weekday and weekend for each of the last five years (see table below).

Hotel Room Occupancy Rates by weekday/weekend*

2004
% 2005
% 2006
% 2007
% 2008
%

Weekday 60 62 64 68 64

Weekend 59 61 62 65 63

* Weekdays are defined as Monday to Thursday and Weekends are defined as Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

Invest NI

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (i) how many staff are currently employed by Invest NI; (ii) to detail the total wages paid to these staff per annum; and (iii) to provide a breakdown of the number of staff who earn (a)less than £10,000; (b) £10,000 – £19,999; (c) £20,000 - £29,999; (d) £30,000 - £39,999; (e) £40,000 to £49,999; (f) £50,000 to £59,999; and (g) more than £60,000 per year.

(AQW 1354/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: In Northern Ireland, as at 30 September 2009, Invest NI employed 602 staff;
The total wages paid to these staff per annum is £18,365,101.06.
The above staff fall into the following salary bands:

(a) 5 staff earn less than £10,000;

(b) 190 staff earn £10,000 – £19,999;

(c) 130 staff earn £20,000 - £29,999;

(d) 179 staff earn £30,000 - £39,999;

(e) 58 staff earn £40,000 to £49,999;

(f) 23 staff earn £50,000 to £59,999; and

(g) 17 staff earn more than £60,000 per year.

Invest NI has actively managed its headcount figure from a peak of 748 (Full Time Equivalent) on in it’s inception in 2002 to the current FTE of 583 (Headcount 610) in September 2009.

Invest NI

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the total number of Invest NI offices in Northern Ireland; (ii) the locations of these offices; (iii) the total number of staff employed in each of these offices; and (iv) the total wages paid to staff in each office per year.

(AQW 1356/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) Invest NI has a total of 5 offices in Northern Ireland. In addition there are 3 sub-offices.

(ii) The location of the offices and sub-offices is as follows:

North Eastern Office: Ballymena

North Western Office: Londonderry Sub Office: Coleraine

Southern Office: Newry Sub Office: Craigavon

Western Office: Omagh Sub Office: Enniskillen

Belfast Headquarters

(iii) The staff numbers currently employed in each of the above offices are as follows: North West office – 17; Southern Office – 14, Western office – 13; North East office – 8; Belfast Headquarters – 550.

(iv)The total wages paid to staff in each office are as follows: North West office – £512,363; Southern Office – £401,200; Western office – £391,807; North East office – £214,496; Belfast Headquarters – £16,845,235.

Invest NI

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the total number of Invest NI offices worldwide, excluding Northern Ireland; (ii) the locations of these offices; (iii) the total number of staff employed in each of these offices; and (iv) the total wages paid to staff in each office per year.

(AQW 1358/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) Invest NI currently has a network of 11 offices located outside Northern Ireland. In addition, Invest NI has representatives based in Tokyo and Seoul.

(ii) Invest NI has a network of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) offices located in North America (Boston, New York, San Jose), Europe (London, Brussels, Dublin) and South Asia (Mumbai). These offices focus on promoting Northern Ireland as a location capable of providing solutions to the business needs of new investors.

Invest NI also operates Trade Development Centres in Boston, Dubai, Mumbai, Dusseldorf, Taipei and Shanghai which provide practical assistance to Northern Ireland companies seeking to develop and secure new business and strategic business partnerships in those markets. In addition, Invest NI has a representative in Seoul who focuses on promoting technology development and university links.

Invest NI also has a part time FDI and Technology representative in Tokyo and Seoul.

The Boston and Mumbai offices have dual roles in FDI and Trade development and are each counted as one office in the response to point (i).

(iii) and (iv) The following table shows the number of staff based in each office and the current annual salaries costs:

Location	Office Type	Number of staff employed(note 1)	Total current annual salary costs (£)
Boston, USA	FDI, Trade	12	500,030
New York, USA	FDI	5	196,880
San Jose, USA	FDI	4	176,907
Dublin, ROI	FDI	4	114,775
London, UK	FDI	1	24,960
Dusseldorf, Germany	Trade	3	122,935
Mumbai, India	FDI, Trade	3	67,088

Notes:

Figures include staff employed directly by Invest NI and locally engaged staff.
Currently Invest NI has contractors and service providers in the following offices (which Invest NI does not pay a direct salary):

Location	Office Type	Number of service providers or contractors
Brussels, Belgium	FDI	2
London, UK	FDI	4
Dubai, UAE	Trade	3
Shanghai, China	Trade	2
Taipei, Taiwan	Trade, Technology	1
Seoul	Technology	1 (part time representative)
Tokyo	FDI	1 (part time representative)

The Seoul and Tokyo offices are provided by the service provider and are not official Invest NI offices.

Invest NI

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline the number of jobs created by Northern Ireland companies with the assistance of Invest NI in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1360/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: During the three financial years 2006/07 to 2008/09 Invest NI promoted 6,697 jobs and safeguarded 1,738 existing jobs through support to locally-owned projects. This represents the number of jobs that indigenous Invest NI clients expect to create or safeguard during the lifetime of projects offered assistance during the period under review.

Table 1 provides information on the number of jobs promoted or safeguarded and the amount of assistance offered by Invest NI to these employment-related projects. This represents the value of support which is expected to be paid during the life-time of these projects. The amount of investment that they plan to stimulate is also included.

Table 1: Invest NI Assistance Offered To Locally-Owned Employment-Related Projects and Associated Planned Investment (2006/07 to 2008/09)

Financial Year	No. of Offers	Jobs Promoted	Jobs Safeguarded	Assistance Offered £m	Planned Investment £m
2006/07	351	2,242	315	16.25	150.02
2007/08	324	2,018	732	24.91	280.48
2008/09	356	2,437	691	33.41	245.74
TOTAL	1,031	6,697	1,738	74.58	676.24

Notes

Table totals may not add due to rounding.
Planned investment includes assistance offered.
Some of the assistance offered may not be paid if projects are not fully delivered by the client.
New Jobs represent the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.

In addition to the assistance offered directly by Invest NI, offers totalling almost £3million were made indirectly through the Start A Business programme to individuals intending to set up a business. These projects were expected to create almost 9,000 new jobs. This programme is delivered in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland and provides guidance to new businesses, reliant on the local Northern Ireland market.

Invest NI

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many entrepreneurial starts-ups to which Invest NI has provided financial assistance and training, in each local council area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1361/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: During the period 2006/07 to 2008/09 Invest NI directly offered assistance to 267 new locally-owned businesses that have the potential for significant growth, primarily through the development of markets outside Northern Ireland.

In addition, 8,726 offers were made to individuals intending to set up a business with a focus on the local market. Most of these were assisted indirectly through the Start A Business programme, which is delivered in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland.

Table 1 below shows the number of offers approved in each District Council Area in each of the 3 years under review.

TABLE 1: INVEST NI OFFERS APPROVED TO INDIGENOUS BUSINESS STARTS BY DISTRICT COUNCIL AREA (2006/07 – 2008/09)

DISTRICT COUNCIL AREA	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	TOTAL
ANTRIM	82	71	48	201
ARDS	101	91	72	264
ARMAGH	103	106	77	286
BALLYMENA	82	106	61	249
BALLYMONEY	76	70	47	193
BANBRIDGE	98	102	67	267
BELFAST	325	412	335	1,072
CARRICKFERGUS	49	37	36	122
CASTLEREAGH	94	100	89	283
COLERAINE	103	127	97	327
COOKSTOWN	94	108	78	280
CRAIGAVON	94	119	121	334
DERRY	232	282	170	684
DOWN	124	152	90	366
DUNGANNON	123	136	125	384
FERMANAGH	217	245	157	619
LARNE	88	95	52	235
LIMAVADY	80	114	70	264
LISBURN	146	151	111	408
MAGHERAFELT	103	136	73	312
MOYLE	54	74	32	160
NEWRY & MOURNE	159	212	126	497
NEWTOWNABBEY	98	101	81	280
NORTH DOWN	99	93	72	264
OMAGH	125	156	124	405
STRABANE	79	95	63	237
TOTAL	3,028	3,491	2,474	8,993

Invest NI Overseas Trade Missions

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the cost of Invest NI overseas trade missions; and the amount of investment these missions have provided for the economy, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1362/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The table below gives details of the cost of Invest NI overseas trade missions in each of the past three years and the value of orders generated by those missions.

TRADE MISSIONS 1 APRIL 2006 - 31 MARCH 2009

YEAR	COST	ORDERS
	£Million	£Million
2006/2007	1.25	289.3
2007/2008	1.1	367.4
2008/2009	1.85	117.2
TOTALS	4.2	773.9

Moratorium on Recruitment and Promotion

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (i) if she intends to introduce a moratorium on recruitment and promotion across her Department; and if so (ii) when it will commence; (iii) what, if any, exceptions will be made; and (iv) how long it will last.

(AQW 1397/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: There are currently no plans to introduce a moratorium on recruitment and promotion across the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. The Department continues to manage vacancies and achieve efficiencies through workforce planning and close monitoring of staffing levels.

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what services in her Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1599/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: DETI has a target to deliver 3% cash releasing efficiencies of £7.7 million, £15.2 million and £22.5 million respectively over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11, which will provide additional spending power to the Department during this time.

Savings in the last financial year and in the first six months of this financial year have been achieved primarily through the decision not to pursue the Electricity Contract Buy Out initiative on the basis that was no longer the most efficient way to proceed. Administration savings of 5% within the overall 3% target have also been achieved without adversely affecting service delivery.

Department of the Environment

Scrabo Country Park

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of the Environment if the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is considering, or has previously considered the possibility of developing a visitors centre at Scrabo Country Park.

(AQW 992/10)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): The Northern Ireland Environment Agency already has well-advanced plans for the construction of a visitor centre for Scrabo Country Park at the car park below the golf course clubhouse. Construction will be dependent on securing planning approval and the availability of funds.

Scrabo Country Park

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of the Environment if he will encourage the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to improve the marking and mapping of walking routes at Scrabo Country Park.

(AQW 994/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency already has plans to replace the vandalised directional signage of walking routes at Scrabo Country Park with more durable signage and to renew interpretative panels and leaflets showing maps of the walking routes. These works will be carried out when funds become available.

Marine Bill

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment what is the timescale for the Marine Bill.

(AQW 1081/10)

Minister of the Environment:

The position on the Northern Ireland Marine Bill remains unchanged from that given to the Assembly on 2 March 2009. I remain committed to introducing legislation to the Assembly in 2011, subject to Executive approval, with a view to its being on the Statute Book in 2012.

The UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill, which contains provisions relevant to Northern Ireland, is expected to receive Royal Assent this autumn.

Health and Safety Violations

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of the Environment how many health and safety violations were committed by staff in each of the District Councils, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1100/10)

Minister of the Environment:

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Bridleways

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment how many miles of bridleway exist; and if he has any plans to extend the provision of bridleways.

(AQW 1130/10)

Minister of the Environment: I would refer the Member to my response to AQW 810/10.

Carbon Budgets

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of the Environment what consideration has been given to introducing carbon budgets.

(AQW 1140/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Climate Change Act 2008 set legally binding targets for the UK to cut emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. The Act also provides for a carbon budget to be set for each succeeding period of five years beginning with the period 2008-2012.

The first three carbon budgets were set in law following the Budget 2009, committing to cut the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 1990 levels, by 22% in the current period, 28% in the period centred on 2015 and 34% in the period centred on 2020.

Local Government Boundary Commissioner

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of the Environment to outline the basis, including any legal reasons, for conducting a consultation on the final recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Commissioner.

(AQW 1143/10)

Minister of the Environment: Schedule 4 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 (as amended) requires the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner to consult on his provisional and revised recommendations. There is no legislative requirement to consult on the final recommendations.

Squirrels

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment what steps he is taking to curb the threat to red squirrels from diseases carried by grey squirrels.

(AQW 1181/10)

Minister of the Environment: Squirrel pox is widely documented as a contributing factor in Red squirrel decline in the UK. To date there have been no confirmed cases of the disease in the Red squirrel population in Northern Ireland, although evidence exists to suggest that it is present in our Grey squirrel population.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency is aware of the potential risk of disease transmission between the two species, and is presently assessing the potential risk to the Red squirrel population in Northern Ireland. The issue is to be discussed at the next meeting of the Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum. The purpose of the Forum is to progress the Red squirrel Action Plan and to discuss and coordinate research, as well as advising on best practice for Red squirrel conservation activities in Northern Ireland.

Through the Forum, the Agency will be disseminating advice such as the need to clean and disinfect squirrel feeding stations and survey equipment. Further information will be given on what materials and disinfectants should be used to reduce the possibility of cross infection.

Poly-Tunnels

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister of the Environment for his assessment of the need for planning permission for poly-tunnels used for domestic growing.

(AQW 1210/10)

Minister of the Environment: There is no specific reference to poly-tunnels in planning legislation however the thrust of planning appeals cases and case law on this issue indicate that where tunnels have been erected, operational development is held to have occurred. The extent to which poly-tunnels comprise operational development will depend on the site of the proposal, the method of fixing to the ground and the degree of permanency.

However, where the erection of a poly-tunnel is proposed or has been carried out within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse that development may benefit from permitted development rights by virtue of Class D Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Planning (General Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 1993. In this instance the development must comply with the limitations on the size and placing of the building or structure set out in the legislation. In other instances where the development does not comply with the limitations in the legislation, a planning application will be required.

Planning Applications

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of the Environment if the Planning Service accepts anonymous objections or complaints regarding planning applications or use of premises.

(AQW 1239/10)

Minister of the Environment: My Department accepts and considers all representations including anonymous objections or complaints as part of the development management decision making process or the use of premises. However, it is important that an objector identifies themselves when making a representation as it may seriously affect the weight attached to comments if they do not, particularly if they concern their own circumstances on their property. Also, if an objector does not identify themselves my Department cannot write to them regarding potential significant amendments made during the processing of an application nor can they be informed about a decision or provided with reasons for that decision when it is made.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of complaints received by each local Council relating to anti-social behaviour in (i) private developments; (ii) NI Housing Executive estates: and (iii) Housing Association developments, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1254/10)

Minister of the Environment: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of council-led Anti-Social Behaviour Orders issued over the last three years, in each local Council area.

(AQW 1257/10)

Minister of the Environment: There were six council-led Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) between 2006 and 2008. Details are contained in the table below.

Year	District Council	Council-led ASBOs issued
2006	Belfast	1
2007	Antrim	1
2008	Down Larne Lisburn	1 2 1
Total		6

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of requests to issue Anti-Social Behaviour Orders received by each local Council in (i) private developments; (ii) NI Housing Executive estates; and (iii) Housing Association developments, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1258/10)

Minister of the Environment: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

PPS21

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment, when the recommendations of the Independent Working Group on non-farming rural dwellers on PPS21 will be available for public scrutiny.

(AQW 1300/10)

Minister of the Environment:

The Independent Working Group report on non-farming rural dwellers will be available on the Planning Service website from 12 October 2009.

PPS21

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment, when the recommendations of the Independent Working Group on non-farming rural dwellers on PPS21 will be available for public scrutiny.

(AQW 1300/10)

Minister of the Environment:

The Independent Working Group report on non-farming rural dwellers will be available on the Planning Service website from 12 October 2009.

Nutt's Corner Race Tracks

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of the Environment what action his Department is taking to ensure that residents close to the Nutt's Corner race tracks are not subjected to excessive noise and breaches of planning regulations.

(AQW 1301/10)

Minister of the Environment: District councils are the statutory regulatory authority for carrying out noise monitoring at any sports facilities. Under the Pollution Control and Local Government (NI) Order 1978 the councils have powers to investigate, monitor and take enforcement action for noise nuisance from motor sport activity. The powers also extend to neighbouring councils to take action against a noise nuisance that arises outside their jurisdiction.

Planning Service is currently investigating four alleged unauthorised motorsport tracks in the Moira Road area of Nutts Corner to establish if breaches of planning control have occurred.

Motor Sports Tracks

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of the Environment if approval has been given for the construction of earth banks on either the approved motor sports tracks at Nutts Corner, or the unauthorised tracks at the Moira Road.

(AQW 1366/10)

Minister of the Environment: To the Department’s knowledge, no approval has been given for earth banks at any of the tracks either approved or unauthorised.

Unauthorised Motor Sports Tracks

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of the Environment to provide an update on the Planning Service investigation into the unauthorised motor sports tracks on the Moira Road and to detail if licences have been issued under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations.

(AQW 1367/10)

Minister of the Environment: Enforcement investigations are ongoing into the two unauthorised tracks on Moira Road which involve operational development and we anticipate retrospective applications for both of them in the near future as agents have been appointed.

There are two further tracks operating at Moira Road which are being monitored by Planning Service to ensure that they do not exceed their permitted development rights. Currently these tracks are not illegal in planning terms. The Department cannot discuss the details of any ongoing investigations as disclosure could prejudice the outcome of any enforcement proceedings, should they be necessary.

The site is not licensed under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

Nutts Corner Race Track

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of the Environment what departmental support is available for Antrim and Lisburn Councils to permanently install mini disc or digital audio tape recorders at residents' properties, near the Nutts Corner Race tracks, that are currently experiencing noise pollution.

(AQW 1369/10)

Minister of the Environment: Under the Pollution Control and Local Government (NI) Order 1978 District councils are responsible for investigating, and taking appropriate enforcement action in respect of, noise nuisance. My Department does not provide separate financial support to councils for the purposes of purchasing noise monitoring equipment.

Social Housing Development

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of the Environment how many times the Minister of Social Development has formally registered an objection to a social housing development since assuming Ministerial Office in May 2007 and in her capacity as MLA or Councillor.

(AQW 1398/10)

Minister of the Environment: An interrogation of Planning Service’s electronic records and data retrieval system 20/20 has returned no objections made by the DSD Minister to a social housing development since she assumed Ministerial office in May 2007, either in her capacity as MLA or Councillor.

Service Level Agreements

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister of the Environment if he anticipates delays in developing agreed working relationships and Service Level Agreements between local Councils and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, due to the long-term absence of the assigned officer; and what measures he is taking to ensure that targets are met.

(AQW 1410/10)

Minister of the Environment: In its current three year Corporate and Business Plan (2009/10 – 2011/12), the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has set an objective to develop agreed working relationships with key partners including new District Councils.

The purpose of the objective is to ensure that Service Level Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding exist with key partners and stakeholders, including the new District Councils in place after the Reform of Public Administration has been implemented.

I am satisfied that the resources required to achieve this objective will be in place and that all associated targets will be achieved.

PPS21

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of the Environment how many planning applications in the Omagh office, deferred under PPS14 were (i) approved under PPS21; (ii) further deferred; and (iii) issued with a refusal.

(AQW 1469/10)

Minister of the Environment: At 30 June 2009, 91 applications had been approved under PPS21, 619 remain deferred and 9 had been refused.

Tourism Agency 'Visit Scotland'

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment what action he intends to take to address the claim by the tourism agency 'Visit Scotland', that almost 50% of people in Northern Ireland have never seen a wild animal.

(AQW 1533/10)

Minister of the Environment: I understand that the survey conducted by Visit Scotland relates only to Scotland.

Department of Finance and Personnel

Allegations of Sexual Harrassment

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the legal costs incurred by his Department as a result of allegations of sexual harrassment made by a member of staff against another member of staff, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1034/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): The Department of Finance and Personnel has one such case which has not yet concluded. Accordingly, it is not possible to say what the legal costs of the case will be.

Rates

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail (i) the regional domestic rates; and (ii) the regional commercial rates paid in all postcode districts, in the greater Lurgan area, over the last five years.

(AQW 1193/10)

		2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	notes
DOMESTIC

	Receipts (£)				1
	BT63 5	32,286	39,136	45,232
	BT65 5	269,915	261,865	273,551
	BT66 1	234	871	1,398
	BT66 6	1,761,683	1,961,159	2,085,643
	BT66 7	1,183,516	1,096,634	1,137,211
	BT66 8	1,410,120	1,243,090	1,346,115
	BT67 9	1,235,265	1,284,265	1,397,235
	UNKNOWN	24,082	24,590	28,586
	Total	5,917,101	5,911,610	6,314,971	2

NON-DOMESTIC

	Receipts (£)				1
	BT63 5	252,547	339,729	265,607
	BT65 5	51,214	52,525	56,227
	BT66 6	2,305,583	2,354,450	2,540,803
	BT66 7	159,025	170,669	177,026
	BT66 8	1,750,014	1,593,628	2,503,028
	BT67 9	682,023	755,775	704,242
	UNKNOWN	190,818	169,147	170,131
	Total	5,391,224	5,435,923	6,417,064	2

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The total rates paid for properties in the wards of Church, Court, Drumanoe, Knocknashane, Mourneview, Parklake, Taghnevan, Woodville and Derrytrasna for the last three years are shown in the attached table. The figures fro previous years are not readily available due to the replacement of rating IT system.

Notes:

1. The rates shown above are those paid relating to properties in the wards listed above, split into post codes as requested. The figures are not the total rates paid by properties in the postcode sectors listed.

2. The split of receipts between domestic and non-domestic properties has been derived from the current valuation list, as the sector is not recorded on each individual receipt transaction. Properties that have both a domestic and non-domestic valuation have been included in 'non-domestic' receipts.

Individual receipts are not allocated between the district and regional components of each rates bill and as a result it is not possible to break receipts down into regional and district elements. In addition, receipts are received at a point in time and may not relate to the rating year in which they are received. An approximate estimate of the regional receipts could be obtained by applying the relevant proportion of the total poundage in each year. The poundages for Craigavon District Council are provided in the two tables below.

DOMESTIC	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
District Rate	163.65	0.3395	0.3474
Regional Rate	198.17	0.3608	0.3608
Total Rate	361.82	0.7003	0.7082

NON-DOMESTIC	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
District Rate	21.51	21.86	22.38
Regional Rate	28.17	29.10	29.89
Total Rate	49.68	50.96	52.27

Note: Domestic rates were based on Net Annual Values until 31 March 2007 and on 1 April 2007 changed to being based on capital values as part of the rating reforms. This is the reason for the significant change of domestic rate poundages between 2006- 07 and 2007- 08.

Pay Rises

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline (i) the pay rise awarded to civil servants in (a) 2007/08 and; (b) 2008/09; and (ii) how this compares with the average pay rises in the private sector.

(AQW 1222/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The pay awards for Northern Ireland Civil Servants compared to the NI Private Sector in 2007/08 and 2008/09 are attached. The NICS figures are based on the average base pay increase for staff in post. The figure provided for the NI Private Sector is based on information taken from the results of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE survey information related to the pay-week which included 16th April 2008. The estimated pay increase figure was calculated by comparing the 2008 ASHE figure with that available for 2007. The results are therefore not necessarily representative of pay over a longer period and are not directly comparable with the NICS pay award figures. An estimate for the average increase for the year to April 2009 is not yet available as ASHE 2009 results are due to be published in November 2009.

YEAR	NON-INDUSTRIAL	INDUSTRIAL	SENIOR CIVIL SERVICE	ASHE
	NICS PAY AWARDS			PRIVATE SECTOR
2007	4%	3.44%	2.52%	3.7%
2008	4%	3.5%	2.48%	N/A

Executive’s Access to End of Year Flexibility

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the current arrangements his Department has with HM Treasury concerning the Executive’s access to End Year Flexibility.

(AQW 1384/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The current arrangements in respect of the drawdown of funding from the End Year Flexibility (EYF) stock of the Northern Ireland Executive are detailed in the Statement of Funding Policy for the devolved administrations and the 2009-10 Consolidated Budgeting Guidance for UK departments. Both documents are available on the HM Treasury website.

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Fatal Listeria Outbreak

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for a definitive date for the publication of the report into the fatal Listeria outbreak at the Royal Victoria Hospital in May and June of 2008.

(AQW 860/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): This report is now complete and will be presented to the Public Health Agency Board at their next meeting. Once approved by the PHA Board the report will be published as soon as is practicable.

Ambulance Service

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if there are plans to reduce the number of ambulances that currently serve the mid-Ulster area under the restructuring of the Ambulance Service.

(AQW 862/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the member to the answer I gave to AQW 749/10 on 8 October 2009.

Review of Public Administration

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much money each Health and Social Care Trust will save under the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 881/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Trusts have been set targets totalling £38.2m recurrently (or £93.8m in total across the current CSR period) out of Trust budgets as their contribution to the overall RPA target of £53m recurrent savings. The remaining £14.8m savings will be found from the HSCB, PHA and BSO and the implementation of shared services.

This is split as follows

Trust 2010/11 £m
Target

SE 6.4

Northern 7.2

Belfast 13.4

Southern 5.5

Western 5.7

Total 38.2

Trust	2010/11 £m Target
SE	6.4
Northern	7.2
Belfast	13.4
Southern	5.5
Western	5.7
Total	38.2

Tamiflu

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what research has been carried out on the effects of Tamiflu on children.

(AQW 882/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Tamiflu is licensed for the treatment of influenza use in children from six months of age during a pandemic influenza outbreak. Research, in the form of clinical trials, has been conducted to determine the safety, quality and efficacy of Tamiflu in children as part of the licensing process.

The use of Tamiflu in children is supported by the European medicines regulator which has granted a marketing authorisation for Tamiflu for this age group.

Ambulances

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many ambulances serving the East Antrim area (i) met; and (ii) failed to meet their target times, for each of the last five years.

(AQW 904/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) does not measure response time performance for individual ambulances or on the basis of parliamentary constituencies. However, performance information for the legacy Northern Board area, which includes East Antrim, is available and is shown in the table below. From 1 April 2009 NIAS performance is measured by local commissioning group (LCG) with East Antrim falling within the Northern LCG. Figures for 2009/10 year to 31 August 2009 are also included.

Year	NHSSB Performance
2004/05	42%
2005/06	43%
2006/07	44%
2007/08	49%
2008/09¹	57%
2009/10²	65%

NOTES

¹In 2008/09, NIAS’s target was that, from April 2008, an average of 70% of Category A (life-threatening) calls across Northern Ireland should be responded to within eight minutes. Within individual Board areas performance should be improved to at least 62.5% by March 2009.

²In 2009/10, NIAS’s target is that, from April 2009, an average of 70% of Category A (life-threatening) calls across Northern Ireland should be responded to within eight minutes. Increasing to an average of 72.5% by March 2010 (and not less than 65% in any LCG area)

Swine Flu

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline how people seeking the swine flu vaccination will be prioritised.

(AQW 905/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer you to my Assembly statement on 15/09/2009, in which this information was provided.

Diabetic Framework

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when he will set up a Diabetic Framework similar to that in other parts of the UK.

(AQW 908/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In June 2003 the Department published a framework for diabetes services in Northern Ireland developed by a joint CREST/Diabetes UK Taskforce, which echoed similar initiatives in England, Wales and Scotland.

All of these frameworks set similar standards across the UK in prevention and early detection, care, monitoring and treatment, specific groups, planning and managing services and implementation.

The CREST/Diabetes UK Taskforce envisaged that a 5-10 year programme would be needed to implement the recommendations of the framework and my Department continues to monitor progress on its implementation.

My Department is also developing a series of Service Frameworks which set out explicit standards for health and social care. A Service Framework for Cardiovascular Health and Wellbeing was launched in June 2009. The Cardiovascular Service Framework includes 3 standards relating to diabetes which will have a positive impact on the diagnosis of the condition and on the treatment and management of people with diabetes to prevent the onset of complications.

It is anticipated that further areas for service framework development will be taken forward next year. These will be selected from the remaining priority areas identified and evaluated by the Department. Diabetes is one of the priority areas for consideration.

Crest Report

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why the Crest report, carried out in conjunction with Diabetes UK, has not had its strategy formulated.

(AQW 909/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The CREST/Diabetes UK Taskforce report, which was published in 2003, contained recommendations covering a wide range of areas including prevention, early detection, treatment and the need to target vulnerable groups. The Taskforce envisaged that a 5-10 year programme would be needed to implement the framework and groups were established at local and regional level to take forward the implementation of the framework.

A wide range of measures have been put in place regionally and locally to address the recommendations in the report. Various Departmental strategies have reinforced the health promotion message in preventing diabetes and in slowing down the onset of the complications that may arise from diabetes and on foot of the Taskforce report an additional £3m has been invested in community-based specialist diabetic nurses, podiatrists and dieticians to improve services for people with diabetes.

Diabetes UK

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he will meet with Diabetes UK to agree targets, a strategy and procedures to improve care for people diagnosed with diabetes.

(AQW 910/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A service framework for cardiovascular health and well being was launched in June 2009. Diabetes UK (NI) was fully involved in the development of the framework which contains 3 standards specifically aimed at people with diabetes – the need for accurate diagnosis, annual review of the patient’s condition and access to structured patient education programmes.

Officials from Diabetes UK (NI) have also held discussions with officials from my Department to discuss how the diabetes policy agenda should be taken forward.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many patients from Muckamore Abbey Hospital have been resettled into the community in the last twelve months.

(AQW 919/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: During the twelve month period 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2009 twenty long stay patients were resettled, or commenced resettlement, into the community, from Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if his Department has a discharge management plan in place for patients who are due to be discharged from Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

(AQW 920/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The provision of services, including preparation and planning for discharge from learning disability hospitals, is the responsibility of Health and Social Care Trusts (Trusts) in Northern Ireland.

Trusts advise that the needs of individuals are assessed by hospital and community staff working together with patients and families/carers, as appropriate. Every person due to be discharged from Muckamore Abbey Hospital will participate in the development of a person-centred discharge plan which details the wishes and needs of the individual and how their plan will be managed in their new home.

Aspergers and Autism

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what support services are available through the Northern Health and Social Care Trust for people diagnosed with Aspergers or Autism in the South Antrim constituency.

(AQW 921/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Due to the complexity of needs of people diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Asperger Syndrome, a range of services may be required by children and adults and, numerous teams and professionals in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust provide such services. A range of core and support services are available to children and adults in the South Antrim areas based on assessed need. These services can include: Child Development Clinic and Autism Diagnostic Service; involvement of Allied Health Professionals which includes Occupational therapy and Social Work services. In addition to being supported by the Multi Disciplinary Learning Disability Teams and the Community Mental Health Teams, adults with Asperger Syndrome or autism can access a range of day care services and respite provision.

An ASD Co-ordinator has also been appointed in the last year, tasked with assessing and improving services available to both children and adults in all parts of the Trust. This Co-ordinator is a member of the Regional ASD Network which will be progressing the implementation of the ASD Strategic Action Plan.

Child Protection

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the issue of anti-social activity by young people falls within the remit of Social Services given the associated child protection issues.

(AQW 941/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Dealing directly with young people who engage in anti-social behaviour is a public order issue which is primarily the responsibility of PSNI, Public Prosecution Service and the Courts. Those people who are the victims of such behaviour should therefore be encouraged by everyone to pursue the appropriate legal redress.

Anti-social behaviour by young people is an issue of general concern which affects a growing number of communities across NI. It has been shown to have many different causal factors from poverty and poor housing to alcohol/ drug abuse, boredom and inadequate parenting. Responsibility for the amelioration of these factors would therefore fall across a range of Government Departments and agencies. Many of these factors are clearly outside the remit of this Department – detection and prosecution, education, training and employment, youth and community services, housing, sport and leisure, diversionary activities.

DHSSPS has a specific role to play in supporting children in need and their families. By investing in family support services, better parenting initiatives, treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, CAMHS, the Department seeks to improve the wellbeing of young people who may be at risk of involvement in such behaviour. In certain circumstances DHSSPS and its Agencies have specific and specialist child protection responsibilities for example where anti-social activity places a child at risk of serious harm. In such an instance it is anticipated that we will discharge these statutory functions to the full.

However, all Government Departments with responsibility for services delivered to families and/or children also have a duty to ensure children’s protection for areas which fall within their policy remit.

M.E.

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many doctors currently specialize in M.E.

(AQW 944/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: According to the Health & Social Care Trusts, there are currently no doctors that specialise in M.E. People suffering from this very debilitating condition continue to have access to appropriate care and treatment, ranging from primary and community care to specialist regional neurology services, depending on their assessed individual needs.

Supplementary Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what accountability measures are in place to track funding for the training of student doctors under Supplementary Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education.

(AQW 945/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The funding allocation model for Supplement for Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education (SUMDE) is currently under review. Audit processes are being developed and piloted to produce improved accountability and transparency.

Epilepsy

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the support services available for people diagnosed with epilepsy in the Western Health and Social Care Trust area; and (ii) the relevant officers who have responsibility for delivering these services.

(AQW 957/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In common with epilepsy sufferers elsewhere in Northern Ireland, much of the care and support required by this patient group will be provided by General Practitioners in primary care.

In the Western Trust area, patients with epilepsy requiring consultant care are seen by either the resident neurologist in Altnagelvin hospital or at general neurology clinics across the Trust area.

A Belfast based neurologist, with a subspecialist interest in epilepsy, provides a weekly general neurology clinic at Altnagelvin. Another Belfast based neurologist provides 2 general neurology clinics per month in the Tyrone County Hospital and the Erne Hospital and provides a weekly telelink to both hospitals specifically for epilepsy patients.

	Injuries to ambulance service personnel (including paramedics)	Injuries to fire service personnel
Year	Work-related Injuries	Assaults	Work-related Injuries	Assaults
2004	0*	57	69	6
2005	24	41	42	4
2006	96	71	75	4
2007	94	86	52	1
2008	122	86	27	6

Service	Provider	Locality/Area	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Tier 2/3 counselling, support and mentoring service for 17 years and under	Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre	Former Northern Board (NB) wide	£53,089	£52,624	£71,547
Community and family support services	Ballymena Family & Addicts Support Group	Former NB wide	£58,232	£79,365	£58,067
Cross-sectoral training and awareness programme	Coleraine Rural & Urban Network	Former NB wide	£65,297	£87,004	£65,123
Supported and direct access accommodation	Living Rivers Trust	Former NB wide	£73,670	£73,670	£98,869
How to drug proof your kids	Carrickfergus Community Drug & Alcohol Advisory Group (CCDAAG)	East Antrim	£2,500	N/A	N/A
Health education and training – drugs and alcohol	ACET (NI) Ltd	Former NB wide	£2,500	N/A	N/A
Targeted education and prevention programmes with young people	ACET (NI) Ltd	East Antrim	N/A	£23,680	£24,319
Targeted education and prevention programmes with adults	Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre	East Antrim	N/A	£34,629	£50,887
Drug awareness (Monkstown)	Monkstown Community Association	East Antrim	N/A	£4,321	N/A
Drugs and alcohol awareness 4 Mossley	Monday Night Madness	East Antrim	N/A	£2,706	N/A
Counting the cost of alcohol	Community Direct	Former NB wide	N/A	£4,128	N/A
Drugs and alcohol awareness 4 Mossley	Monday Night Madness	East Antrim	N/A	N/A	£4,302
Motiv8	CCDAAG	East Antrim	N/A	N/A	£5,000
Diversionary activities	Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre	Former NB wide	N/A	N/A	£3,585
Pilot Project	CCDAAG	East Antrim	N/A	£49,145	N/A
Project Co-ordinator	CCDAAG	East Antrim	N/A	N/A	£22,951

In addition an epilepsy nurse specialist provides a monthly review clinic at both the Tyrone County Hospital and the Erne hospital and also carries out domiciliary visits.

The Trust also provides a range of services such as domiciliary care and day care services as made be required following an assessment of an individual’s specific health and social care needs.

Daisy Hill Hospital

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his plans for the future provision of Paediatric Trauma Support in Daisy Hill Hospital.

(AQW 958/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In answering this question it has been assumed that the question relates to paediatric trauma support delivered in the Emergency Department. There are no plans to change the current processes for managing paediatric trauma on the Daisy Hill site.

The Southern Trust is currently working to enhance senior medical cover in Daisy Hill Hospital Emergency Department through the appointment of a substantive consultant in emergency medicine and development of a Business Case for a second consultant post. Plans are also in place to re-design the hospital’s Emergency Department from April 2010. A Paediatric Trauma Service will continue to be provided for patients who present to Daisy Hill Emergency Department which will link with other acute teams on the Daisy Hill site.

Daisy Hill Hospital

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if Trauma Services in Daisy Hill Hospital will be diverted to Craigavon Area Hospital or any of the Belfast hospitals.

(AQW 960/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no plans to change the existing processes for managing trauma at Daisy Hill Hospital. Trauma cases will continue to be brought to Daisy Hill Emergency Department from the usual catchment area. If clinically appropriate, cases may be transferred to Craigavon Area Hospital or a Belfast Hospital for ongoing management.

Daisy Hill Hospital

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his plans for the future provision of ambulance services in Daisy Hill Hospital.

(AQW 961/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) plans for its services operating out of Newry Ambulance Station, which is located at Daisy Hill Hospital, will result in a net increase of 2,060 hours of paramedic cover annually. This will mean that there will be more rapid response paramedics on the ground delivering life-saving emergency care to those who need it.

Daisy Hill Hospital

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if his Department has any plans to make Daisy Hill Hospital a day-care hospital.

(AQW 962/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no plans to make Daisy Hill a day-care hospital. Daisy Hill Hospital is key to the delivery of acute services in the Southern Trust area. The hospital will continue to provide a wide range of inpatient, daycase and outpatient services to the local community.

Paramedics, Ambulance Service and Fire Service Personnel

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the total number of (i) paramedics and ambulance service personnel; and (ii) fire service personnel injured in the line of duty, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 964/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is shown in the table below for the last five calendar years:

Injuries to ambulance service personnel (including paramedics) Injuries to fire service personnel

Year Work-related Injuries Assaults Work-related Injuries Assaults

2004 0* 57 69 6

2005 24 41 42 4

2006 96 71 75 4

2007 94 86 52 1

2008 122 86 27 6

* NOTE: Data was not recorded prior to 2005 when a new system (DATIX) was introduced to record untoward incidents.

Independent Safeguarding Authority

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline how his Department will communicate the new Independent Safeguarding Authority system of background checks on people wishing to work with children and vulnerable groups to private sector organisations providing services or working with these groups.

(AQW 978/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: On behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive, and working closely with the Northern Ireland Office, my department is leading on implementation of a new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) for Northern Ireland, of which the Independent Safeguarding Authority is an integral part. We have established an extensive stakeholder network to oversee implementation of the VBS. The statutory, voluntary, community, faith and private sectors are all represented on one of a number of stakeholder groups. Outside of the formal stakeholder network, my officials have also engaged directly with a wide range of organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses.

In addition, my department commissioned the Volunteer Development Agency to run a series of awareness-raising seminars, which were attended by around 1300 participants, representing all sectors across Northern Ireland. In conjunction with the Home Office, the Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Education, we will soon be embarking on a VBS direct marketing campaign, which will be targeted at approximately 5000 Northern Ireland employers, including private organisations.

A second VBS conference will be hosted in November 2009 and guidance, which will explain what will be happening from the next key date in the VBS calendar, October 2009, will be published within the coming weeks.

Risks to Hearing

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what assessment he has made of the short-term and long-term risks to hearing associated with the use of mp3 players.

(AQW 995/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: No such assessment has been made.

Current EU standards for Personal Music Players (PMP) prescribe no maximum sound limit nor require any specific labelling in respect of volume levels, requiring only that a statement be included in the PMP instruction manual to warn of the adverse effects of exposure to excessive sound level.

However, new EU standards for PMP are under development and the European Commission issued a mandate on 28 September 2009 to CENELEC, the EU Committee for electro technical standardisation, requiring new technical safety standards to be drawn up. In addition to warnings about PMP use and possible hearing loss, the new plans require that PMPs have a default volume setting of around 80 decibels. The new standards will still permit users to exercise personal choice to override the default settings if they so wish.

Ambulance Service

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if there are plans to reduce the number of ambulances that currently serve the East Antrim area under the restructuring of the Ambulance Service.

(AQW 996/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) provides emergency response cover in East Antrim from its stations in Larne, Carrickfergus and Whiteabbey. NIAS plans for its services operating from these stations will result in a net increase of 12,305 hours of paramedic cover annually. This will mean that there will be more rapid response paramedics on the ground delivering life-saving emergency care to those who need it.

This increase in paramedic cover is to be achieved by the replacement of 5,215 hours of emergency ambulance cover with 17,520 hours of rapid response paramedic cover.

Drug and Alcohol Awareness Programmes

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to detail funding allocated to voluntary and community groups for drug and alcohol awareness programmes in the East Antrim constituency in each of the last three years; and (ii) to list the groups.

(AQW 997/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Through funding made available via the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs, the former Northern Board commissioned and funded a number of specialist Board wide and locality based substance misuse services in support of the Northern Drug and Alcohol Co-ordination Team's Action Plan in the three year period 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09.

These services and programmes address both alcohol and drug awareness, reflecting the strategic approach to tackling substance misuse and best practice in regard to alcohol, illicit drugs, prescribed drugs and other substances. Northern Board wide services/programmes were available to residents of East Antrim.

Therefore the funding for the range of voluntary and community sector services available to those in the East Antrim area is set out in the table below:

Service Provider Locality/Area 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Tier 2/3 counselling, support and mentoring service for 17 years and under Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre Former Northern Board (NB) wide £53,089 £52,624 £71,547

Community and family support services Ballymena Family & Addicts Support Group Former NB wide £58,232 £79,365 £58,067

Cross-sectoral training and awareness programme Coleraine Rural & Urban Network Former NB wide £65,297 £87,004 £65,123

Supported and direct access accommodation Living Rivers Trust Former NB wide £73,670 £73,670 £98,869

How to drug proof your kids Carrickfergus Community Drug & Alcohol Advisory Group (CCDAAG) East Antrim £2,500 N/A N/A

Health education and training – drugs and alcohol ACET (NI) Ltd Former NB wide £2,500 N/A N/A

Targeted education and prevention programmes with young people ACET (NI) Ltd East Antrim N/A £23,680 £24,319

Targeted education and prevention programmes with adults Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre East Antrim N/A £34,629 £50,887

Drug awareness (Monkstown) Monkstown Community Association East Antrim N/A £4,321 N/A

Drugs and alcohol awareness 4 Mossley Monday Night Madness East Antrim N/A £2,706 N/A

Counting the cost of alcohol Community Direct Former NB wide N/A £4,128 N/A

Drugs and alcohol awareness 4 Mossley Monday Night Madness East Antrim N/A N/A £4,302

Motiv8 CCDAAG East Antrim N/A N/A £5,000

Diversionary activities Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre Former NB wide N/A N/A £3,585

Pilot Project CCDAAG East Antrim N/A £49,145 N/A

Project Co-ordinator CCDAAG East Antrim N/A N/A £22,951

Junior Doctor Posts

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many junior doctor posts there are in the Paediatric Department in the Erne Hospital; and (ii) how many of these posts are currently filled.

(AQW 999/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below.

Erne Hospital Department Number of junior doctor posts Number of junior doctor posts currently filled

Headcount WTE Headcount WTE

Paediatric 7 7.0 6 6.0

Obstetric & Gynaecology 6 6.0 6 6.0

Medical 18 18.0 18 18.0

Surgery ¹ 12 12.0 11 11.0

Accident & Emergency ¹ 1 1.0 0 0

Source: Western Health & Social Care Trust

Notes:

One of the full-time junior doctor posts is counted twice, once in Surgery and once in Accident & Emergency as it is a split post on a 3 month rotation. The junior doctor in this post will rotate to Accident & Emergency in November.

Junior Doctor Posts

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many junior doctor posts there are in the Obstetric and Gynaecology Department in the Erne Hospital; and (ii) how many of these posts are currently filled.

(AQW 1000/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below.

Erne Hospital Department Number of junior doctor posts Number of junior doctor posts currently filled

Headcount WTE Headcount WTE

Paediatric 7 7.0 6 6.0

Obstetric & Gynaecology 6 6.0 6 6.0

Medical 18 18.0 18 18.0

Surgery ¹ 12 12.0 11 11.0

Accident & Emergency ¹ 1 1.0 0 0

Source: Western Health & Social Care Trust

Notes:

One of the full-time junior doctor posts is counted twice, once in Surgery and once in Accident & Emergency as it is a split post on a 3 month rotation. The junior doctor in this post will rotate to Accident & Emergency in November.

Junior Doctor Posts

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many junior doctor posts there are in the Medical Department in the Erne Hospital; and (ii) how many of these posts are currently filled.

(AQW 1001/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below.

Erne Hospital Department Number of junior doctor posts Number of junior doctor posts currently filled

Headcount WTE Headcount WTE

Paediatric 7 7.0 6 6.0

Obstetric & Gynaecology 6 6.0 6 6.0

Medical 18 18.0 18 18.0

Surgery ¹ 12 12.0 11 11.0

Accident & Emergency ¹ 1 1.0 0 0

Source: Western Health & Social Care Trust

Notes:

One of the full-time junior doctor posts is counted twice, once in Surgery and once in Accident & Emergency as it is a split post on a 3 month rotation. The junior doctor in this post will rotate to Accident & Emergency in November.

Junior Doctor Posts

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many junior doctor posts there are in the Surgery Department in the Erne Hospital; and (ii) how many of these posts are currently filled.

(AQW 1002/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below.

Erne Hospital Department Number of junior doctor posts Number of junior doctor posts currently filled

Headcount WTE Headcount WTE

Paediatric 7 7.0 6 6.0

Obstetric & Gynaecology 6 6.0 6 6.0

Medical 18 18.0 18 18.0

Surgery ¹ 12 12.0 11 11.0

Accident & Emergency ¹ 1 1.0 0 0

Source: Western Health & Social Care Trust

Notes:

One of the full-time junior doctor posts is counted twice, once in Surgery and once in Accident & Emergency as it is a split post on a 3 month rotation. The junior doctor in this post will rotate to Accident & Emergency in November.

Junior Doctor Posts

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many junior doctor posts there are in the Accident and Emergency Department in the Erne Hospital; and (ii) how many of these posts are currently filled.

(AQW 1003/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below.

Erne Hospital Department Number of junior doctor posts Number of junior doctor posts currently filled

Headcount WTE Headcount WTE

Paediatric 7 7.0 6 6.0

Obstetric & Gynaecology 6 6.0 6 6.0

Medical 18 18.0 18 18.0

Surgery ¹ 12 12.0 11 11.0

Accident & Emergency ¹ 1 1.0 0 0

Source: Western Health & Social Care Trust

Notes:

One of the full-time junior doctor posts is counted twice, once in Surgery and once in Accident & Emergency as it is a split post on a 3 month rotation. The junior doctor in this post will rotate to Accident & Emergency in November.

Car Parking Charges at Hospitals

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he will consider extending the list of people exempt from paying car parking charges at hospitals.

(AQW 1004/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: At present, many patients suffering from cancer and other serious conditions are entitled to free parking at hospitals. Trusts also have arrangements in place to offer assistance to people who meet low income criteria.

Car Parking Charges at Hospitals

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he intends to prevent the introduction of car parking charges at hospitals in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area.

(AQW 1005/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The decision to apply car park charging and the level of charging to be applied is an operational matter for each Trust.

Security at the Ulster Hospital

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what steps he is taking to increase security at the Ulster Hospital.

(AQW 1021/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: All Hospital Trusts operate a Zero Tolerance policy regarding attacks on health and social care staff. New legislation to allow the removal of those who create a nuisance or disturbance from hospital premises will become effective shortly. The policy also includes training for staff and personal alarms, and a dedicated senior director in each health and social care organisation who has responsibility for staff safety.

Therapy for Gambling

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 8727/09, how many patients with a co-existent mental illness or alcohol problem currently receive therapy for gambling as part of their treatment.

(AQW 1024/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: No information is available centrally on the numbers patients with a co-existent mental illness or alcohol problem who currently receive therapy for gambling as part of their treatment. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Treating with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is known to have good results. An additional £7m has been allocated for the development of psychological therapies, including CBT, over the CSR period. My Department is finalising a strategy for the development of psychological therapy services and this will be published in the Autumn 2009.

Staff Employed in Day-Care Settings

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many staff are employed in day care settings in each Health and Social Care Trust area.

(AQW 1036/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information is provided in the table below in respect of all HSC staff employed in statutory facilities.

Current staff employed in day care settings¹ in HSC Trusts

HSC Trust Headcount WTE²

Belfast 1,045 843.1

Northern 703 313.3

South Eastern 398 293.8

Southern 342 240.4

Western 395 326.3

Source: Health & Social Care Trusts

Notes:

1 Day care settings include day centres, adult centres, special schools and resource centres that do not provide 24 hour care.

2 WTE= whole-time equivalent

Staff Employed in Day-Care Settings

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many staff employed in day-care settings were absent on sick leave during each quarter of the last financial year, in each Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 1054/10)
Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information relating to sickness absence levels in HSC Trusts is published bi-annually on the Departmental website at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/hrd/wpu/wpu-monitoring.htm . The information is presented across terms and conditions groups rather than specific to particular settings.

Day-Care

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many people with a learning disability in each Health and Social Care Trust area were unable to attend day-care because of staff being absent on sick leave during the past twelve months; and (ii) how many of these people were offered alternative services.

(AQW 1056/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Within the Belfast, Northern and Southern Health and Social Care Trusts no clients were unable to attend day care due to staff being on sick leave.

Within the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust 128 clients were unable to attend Day Care because of staff sick leave over the past 12 months, however 108 of these received an alternative service. In most instances clients missed only one or two days.

In the Western Health and Social Care Trust one client’s access to day care has been affected by staff sickness, and an alternative service was not available for a 6 day period.

M.E.

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what services are available for patients diagnosed with M.E. in each Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 1059/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am advised that in each Trust area care for the vast majority of patients with ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is provided and coordinated by GPs. There is a range of treatment and support options available in Northern Ireland including community care and support, specialist regional neurology services and mental health services. Patients may also be referred to specialists outside Northern Ireland where this is considered clinically appropriate.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline how the ban on overtime for nurses and the use of nursing agency staff from 1 October 2009 will effect the delivery of patient services in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 1077/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Belfast HSC Trust is implementing a range of initiatives to ensure the delivery of the trust’s required efficiency savings under CSR07 and to ensure the Trust breaks even. The Trust has submitted a financial contingency plan. This plan does not contain proposals to ban overtime and the use of agency staff.

Ban on Overtime and the Use of Nursing Agency Staff

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what measures are being put in place to protect isolated units, such as those caring for patients with a severe neurological condition, and to ensure that existing services are not curtailed by the ban on overtime and the use of nursing agency staff.

(AQW 1080/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Belfast HSC Trust is implementing a range of initiatives to ensure the delivery of the trust’s required efficiency savings under CSR07 and to ensure the Trust breaks even. The Trust has submitted a financial contingency plan. This plan does not contain proposals to ban overtime and the use of agency staff.

Neurology Unit at Forster Green Hospital

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when the neurology unit at Forster Green Hospital will be moving to the Musgrave Park site.

(AQW 1082/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Subject to confirmation of additional funding, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust intends to build a permanent home for neurology services on the Musgrave Park Hospital site. Enabling works for the new building are planned to start by December 2009, provided the necessary funding is in place.

Locum Consultants

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many locum consultants have been employed in the Erne Hospital since the beginning of this financial year.

(AQW 1088/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There have been 4 (4.0 WTE) locum consultants employed by the Erne hospital since the beginning of the financial year.

Locum Medical Consultants

Dr K Deeny asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much has the Western Health and Social Care Trust spent on the employment of locum medical consultants since the beginning of the financial year.

(AQW 1089/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As at the end of August the Western Health and Social Care Trust had spent £705K on the employment of locum medical consultants since the beginning of the financial year.

Hospital Bed Spaces

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of bed spaces available in each hospital, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1090/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Data relating to available beds is published annually and can be found online at the following link:

http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-activity_stats-2/hospital_statistics.htm.

Health and Social Care Trusts

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action is being taken to assist Health and Social Care Trusts with their projected overspend.

(AQW 1091/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While all trusts are currently facing financial pressures, every trust has a statutory duty to break even. Trusts are working closely with commissioners, primarily the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency, to identify measures to achieve financial balance. My Department continually monitors the forecast financial position of the trusts. Contingency plans have been developed by Trusts and these are currently being considered.

Mixed Sex Residential Homes

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his Department's policy on mixed sex residential homes for people with learning difficulties and mental health conditions.

(AQW 1093/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Departments policy on mixed sex residential homes for all people is to comply with the relevant Northern Ireland Residential Care Home and Nursing Home Regulations. These Regulations contain provisions as to how homes are conducted, in particular with regard to residents’ privacy, dignity, sex and disability.

All residential and nursing homes must be registered with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) in accordance with statutory requirements and must comply with the relevant regulations and standards.

Health and Social Care Trust: Staff Sick Days

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many sick days were taken by staff in each Health and Social Care Trust, in the last financial year.

(AQW 1095/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information has been supplied by the Health and Social Care Trusts.

Health and Social Care Trust Number of sick days 01/04/08/ to 31/03/09

Northern 147,275

Southern 102,411

South Eastern 113,507

Belfast 260,049

Western 127,937

NI Ambulance Service* n/a

*As NI Ambulance operates a 24 hour service, sickness absence data is captured as ‘hours lost’ rather than ‘days’. The total hours lost for the same period above was 139,581.74

My department monitors sickness absence rates in HSC Trusts on a bi-annual basis and I have set a target in my Priorities for Action for reduction in sickness absence to a regional average of 5.2% by March 2011.

Health and Social Care Trust

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what the cost was to his Department for salaries in each Health and Social Care Trust, in the last financial year.

(AQW 1099/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information on salaries you have requested is contained in note 2.1 of each of the six Trust’s 2008-09 annual accounts.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 163/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (iii) agencies of his Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 1113/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Department reports expenditure on private consultancy in line with guidance from the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). Up to 31 March 2009 there has been no requirement under the guidance to include expenditure on capital projects or Private Finance Initiatives. From April 2009 new guidance requires that expenditure on capitalised consultancy is included. As a result, from that date, expenditure on those areas will be reported.

As confirmed in my previous response, the expenditure by the Health Estates Agency of my Department is included in the figures.

Private Nursing and Care Homes

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what regulations are in place to monitor (i) the difference in costs between private nursing and care homes and those under the control of his Department; and (ii) the difference in costs between individual private nursing and care homes.

(AQW 1123/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Private care homes are independent businesses and the Department can not impose regulations to monitor their fees. Care Homes are, however, required by legislation (Residential Care Home Regulations (NI) 2005 and Nursing Homes Regulations (NI) 2005) to be transparent regarding the level of their fees. Health and Social Care Trusts are required to procure care from private providers on the basis of quality and value for money.

M.E.

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people are currently have M.E. in each Health and Social Care Trust area.

(AQW 1133/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information is not available on the number of people who currently have M.E.

Ambulance/Rapid Response Vehicle

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline what situations an ambulance could respond to that a rapid response vehicle could not.

(AQW 1148/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Rapid response vehicles can respond to all categories of emergency calls.

Ambulance/Rapid Response Vehicle

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline any medical equipment that can be carried by an ambulance but cannot be carried by a rapid response vehicle.

(AQW 1149/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A rapid response vehicle is not equipped with a long board, scoop stretcher, vacuum mattress and carry chair as these are used for loading or preparing to load a patient into an A&E vehicle.

Rapid Response Vehicles carry all vital life-saving equipment that are carried by A&E ambulances.

Rapid Response Vehicles

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what changes there will be to the number of rapid response vehicles under the proposals to reconfigure the provision of ambulance services.

(AQW 1150/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service plans to increase the number of rapid response vehicles by 11 to 33 and decrease the number of A&E ambulances by 16 to 116 during the current comprehensive spending Review period. This reprofiling of emergency response cover will result in more paramedics on the ground delivering life-saving emergency care to those who need it.

Ambulance Services

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what changes there will be to the number of ambulances under the proposals to reconfigure the provision of ambulance services.

(AQW 1151/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service plans to increase the number of rapid response vehicles by 11 to 33 and decrease the number of A&E ambulances by 16 to 116 during the current comprehensive spending Review period. This reprofiling of emergency response cover will result in more paramedics on the ground delivering life-saving emergency care to those who need it.

Rapid Response Vehicles/Ambulances

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline any differences in the Health and Safety restrictions place on staff in rapid response vehicles compared to those in ambulances.

(AQW 1152/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service has a number of policies and procedures relating to health and safety, lone working, and the dispatch of rapid response vehicles and A&E ambulances. Generally, ambulance crews will not be deployed to known or suspected risk locations unless police officers are on-scene and have confirmed it is safe to approach.

Nurses

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many nurses have been trained in the last financial year.

(AQW 1179/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: During the last financial year (April 2008 – March 2009) 645 nurses have completed training at undergraduate level in Northern Ireland.

Carparking Charges

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to oultine his plans on the introduction of carparking charges at Antrim Area Hospital.

(AQW 1187/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Car parking charges are an operational matter for individual Trusts but must be set against key guidance principles that demonstrate transparency in that they are justified as part of a wider, environmentally planned approach to travel management and facilitating access to our hospitals by patients, carers, visitors and staff. However, it is important that patients who attend hospital on a regular basis do not have the additional stress of worrying about paying for car parking. At present, under regional policy, many patients suffering from cancer and other serious long term conditions are entitled to free parking at hospitals. Trusts also have arrangements in place to offer assistance to people who meet low income criteria

Front Line Services

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what measures he has introduced to ensure Social Services have the resources to deliver front line services, such as Meals on Wheels.

(AQW 1188/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Within the increasingly stretched resources at the disposal of my Department, care is taken to ensure that all Social Services, including Meals on Wheels, receive an appropriate share of available funds.

In the period 2007/08 to 2008/09 planned expenditure on all personal social services rose by £52.1m (8%) in Northern Ireland. More than half of the total 2008/09 social services expenditure was used for care of the elderly population to allow them to remain within a community setting including the provision of Meals on Wheels services.

Meals on Wheels

Mr M Brady asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to oultin the criteria for older people to qualify for the Meals on Wheels service.

(AQW 1189/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Meals on Wheels services are provided for vulnerable people who are unable to prepare a meal for themselves or to obtain a cooked meal from another source, and who without the service would be nutritionally at risk. This is determined by individual needs assessments carried out by the HSC Trusts.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder Strategic Plan

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) for an update on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Strategic Plan as it relates to adults; and (ii) how these measures will be funded.

(AQW 1191/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Strategic Action Plan was published in June 2009, to improve services to both children and adults affected by autism spectrum disorder. To ensure that the actions are implemented as effectively and efficiently as possible the multi disciplinary, multi agency multi Regional ASD Network (RASDN) is over seeing the implementation of the Action Plan. Whilst the implementation of the action plan is in the early stages, good progress is being made as the Network continues to promote a "whole life" approach to service improvement for children and adults, which recognises the importance of early intervention, provision of integrated health and social care services and linkage with education, employment, housing, leisure and benefits

To underscore the implementation of the action plan an additional £2.02m has been secured for investment in health and social care services to improve services to people of all ages affected by autism.

Health and Social Care Trust

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the total administrative costs in each Health and Social Care Trust, for the last financial year.

(AQW 1198/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information for the last financial year is not available.

Underlying Heart Conditions

Mr T Gallagher asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if any facilities exist to screen young people for underlying heart conditions.

(AQW 1245/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The UK National Screening Committee (NSC), which advises the four UK health departments on all aspects of screening, has previously considered the research evidence on screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and advised that the current evidence does not support the introduction of a screening programme. This advice was reviewed by the NSC in 2008 when I asked the Chief Medical Officer to write to the Chair of the NSC to ask if they would prioritise the planned policy review.

In December 2008 the NSC published the outcome of this review, and has advised: "Screening should not be offered. Pre-participation screening of athletes for HCM or other causes of sudden cardiac death should not be instituted at present."

Any young person who has any cardiac symptoms should contact their GP who will refer them to hospital as appropriate.

The Service Framework for Cardiovascular Health and Wellbeing recommends that first-degree relatives of people found to have HCM or other inherited cardiac disease or who suffer a sudden cardiac death are offered access to genetic testing and subsequent specialist follow-up as appropriate.

CRY and The Sports Academy at University of Ulster, Jordanstown have established a clinic to test for certain conditions associated with sudden cardiac death.

Bariatric Surgery

Mrs C McGill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the costs of patients who travelled to the UK mainland for bariatric surgery in (i) 2007/08; and (ii) 2008/09.

(AQW 1296/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The cost of patients travelling to the UK mainland for Bariatric Surgery in 2007/8 and 2008/9 is as follows.

Year Number of Patients Cost

2007/08 31 £355,151.00

2008/09 25 £348,986.00

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what services in his Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1316/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While I have always expressed deep concern about the pace of efficiencies, I have obtained assurances from the Health Trusts that in implementing their CSR efficiency proposals the quality of services for patients and clients will be maintained or improved and that Priority for Action targets and commitments will be delivered. All efficiencies are being reinvested in service developments.

However due to pressures arising from pandemic flu, increased demand across all specialities and a low settlement above inflation budget settlement have made delivery of cash releasing efficiencies, and consequently financial breakeven, more challenging in 2009/10. As a result several Trusts have had to develop contingency plans containing proposals to bring themselves back into financial balance and these are currently being considered. I would emphasize that no decisions have been made and the proposals are still just proposals. My priority is to protect frontline services.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Clinic

Mrs M O'Neill asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to expalin why no consultation took place with patients, or patient charities, prior to the closure of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome clinic in Belfast City Hospital.

(AQW 1350/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In relation to ME/CFS services at Belfast City Hospital, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have advised that the clinic was being provided purely on a voluntary basis by a consultant psychiatrist with a special interest in ME/CFS. However, the consultant concerned has recently retired and in preparation for his retirement, no new referrals were accepted from July. The Occupational Therapy element of this service is however continuing for existing patients.

The Trust did not consult patients with respect to this decision as the clinic in question was a not a commissioned service and therefore was not funded by the HSC Board

Waiting Time for Patients: Heart Surgery

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the average waiting time for patients to have heart surgery following assessment.

(AQW 1374/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The average waiting time for heart surgery¹ at 30^th June 2009, the latest quarter for which official data are available, was 48.29 days.

¹ This relates to all patients waiting for inpatient admission within the Cardiac Surgery specialty.

Source: DHSSPS Inpatient Waiting Times Dataset.

Forster Green Hospital

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he is aware of the health and safety problems caused by the current staff shortages at Forster Green Hospital.

(AQW 1412/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust continually endeavour to maintain safe staffing levels in all wards, including those at Forster Green Hospital. If unanticipated staff shortages occur the Trust have the opportunity to obtain additional staffing through a number of options such as the Trust’s Nursing Bank, increased rotas, redeployment of staff from other areas, or by exception through nursing agencies.

However, the Trust has advised that they are not experiencing any current staffing difficulties at Forster Green affecting the health and safety of the Unit.

Forster Green Hospital

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what steps he is taking to address the shortage of nursing staff in the Neurology Unit of the Forster Green Hospital.

(AQW 1413/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust continually endeavour to maintain safe staffing levels in all wards, including those at Forster Green Hospital. If unanticipated staff shortages occur the Trust have the opportunity to obtain additional staffing through a number of options such as the Trust’s Nursing Bank, increased rotas, redeployment of staff from other areas, or by exception through nursing agencies.

However, the Trust has advised that they are not experiencing any current staffing difficulties at Forster Green affecting the health and safety of the Unit.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Clinic

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why the recently closed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome clinic in Belfast City Hospital was not adequately funded.

(AQW 1421/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome clinic at Belfast City Hospital was provided by a consultant psychiatrist with a personal interest in chronic fatigue on a voluntary basis. In the 12 months to July 2009, 16 patients were seen at the clinic. The consultant concerned has recently retired and in preparation for his retirement, no new referrals have been accepted from July. The Occupational Therapy element of this service is however continuing for existing patients.

You will appreciate that in determining the allocation of resources for specific services it is for the Health and Social Care Board to assess demand and to decide what services should be provided and how they should be delivered. The clinic in question was not a commissioned service and was therefore not funded by the HSC Board.

Swine Flu Guidance

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when swine flu guidance will be distributed to the faith sector in Northern Ireland as was done in England and Wales.

(AQW 1425/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department has responsibility for developing swine flu guidance for those providing Health and Social Care services. The guidance issued in England and Wales for the Faith Sector was developed by the Department of Communities and Local Government and related to Pandemic Flu and local influenza pandemic committees.

Contact Youth Folio

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) if any counselling providers had the opportunity to add their services to the Contact Youth folio after 31 March 2009; and (ii) if any other tendering events took place after those which were held in February and June 2008.

(AQW 1428/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In delivering the "Lifeline" service, Contact Youth has developed partnerships with a number of organisations which provide counselling, mentoring, befriending, and complementary services throughout the Health & Social Care Trust areas. With regard to the specific information requested, I can confirm that:-

Since 31 March 2009, two further organisations have been recruited to Contact Youth’s Lifeline folio – Saver Naver and Protect Life (formerly known as Task). Both organisations had previously applied to promote Lifeline support services through Contact Youth’s formal tendering process. Contact Youth reviews its service for gaps in provision on an ongoing basis, and it remains receptive to any counselling provider approaching them with a view to potentially providing services to Lifeline at a future date.

Contact Youth has not carried out any further tendering events for Lifeline since those held in February and June 2008.

Creggan Burn Health Centre

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on the new build of the Creggan Burn Health Centre in Derry.

(AQW 1439/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am unable to confirm at this time when the Creggan Burn Park Health and Care Centre project specifically will commence.

Forster Green Hospital

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an assurance that patient care will not suffer as a result of the overtime ban at Forster Green Hospital.

(AQW 1466/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust continually endeavour to maintain safe staffing levels in all wards, including those at Forster Green Hospital. If unanticipated staff shortages occur the Trust have the opportunity to obtain additional staffing through a number of options such as the Trust’s Nursing Bank, increased rotas, redeployment of staff from other areas, or by exception through nursing agencies.

However, the Trust has advised that they are not experiencing any current staffing difficulties at Forster Green affecting the health and safety of the Unit.

Junior Doctors

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he is taking, or intends to take, to address the ongoing shortage of junior doctors in hospitals.

(AQO 192/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Recruitment and employment of the appropriate staff to deliver the range of services expected are primarily the responsibility of Trusts. There are 53 vacancies in the junior doctor workforce of 1700. This represents a vacancy rate of just 3%. However, I am acutely aware that the majority of vacancies exist in a small number of specialties, creating service difficulties. My Department is working closely with NIMDTA to explore options for the recruitment of junior doctors which is due to begin shortly for 2010.

I also want to stress that the number of junior doctors has increased from 1200 in 1997 to 1750 in 2009. Additionally funding has been secured to allow the medical school at QUB to expand by 40%. We will see the first impact of this expansion in the workforce next year.

Healthcare: Mid Ulster

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he can give people in Mid-Ulster an assurance that they will have equal access to healthcare provision.

(AQO 193/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I fully recognise the concerns of the mid-Ulster community about their access to hospital services and I assure you that my first priority is to ensure that people across Northern Ireland, including the people of mid-Ulster have access to services which are of the highest possible quality and are safe and sustainable.

In order to deliver against that essential priority, the Northern Trust has advised me that it must consolidate acute inpatient surgery at Causeway and Antrim Area Hospitals.

The Mid Ulster will be developed as a local hospital and will continue to provide the vast majority of hospital services required by the local community, including a minor injuries service, day surgery, day procedures, diagnostics and outpatient services.

DHSSPS: Budget

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an assessment of his Department's budget position.

(AQO 194/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Health Service is faced with increasing demand, pandemic flu and challenging efficiencies. I am in the business of helping to save lives; that is why I asked for exemption from efficiency savings. Sadly, even with a pandemic, I am still in a position of having to fight for the money I need. I trust that the Executive recognises these real issues in its response to September Monitoring.

With a pro-rata approach to cuts in 2010/11 I would be faced with cutting both capital and revenue investment and existing services. The cuts in my capital budget alone would equate to at least 2 health and care centres, several children’s homes and a new local hospital.

The effect of this will be to increase pain and distress and to shorten lives. As an Executive, we must target any budget reductions on the lowest priority areas of our entire spending.

Private Hospitals

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many operations in the last year were sub-contracted to private hospitals and subsequently deemed to be sub-standard and needed to be repeated.

(AQO 195/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Regional Health and Social Care Board is responsible for negotiating and managing contracts with the Independent Sector on behalf of Trusts.

The Board has advised me that in the 2008/09 financial year there were no operations carried out by the Independent Sector which were sub-standard and needed to be repeated.

It should be recognised that with any medical procedure there will be a number of individual cases where the outcome is not all that was hoped for, despite all the relevant clinical standards being adhered to.

Mental Health Care for Older Persons: East Belfast

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he has taken to provide individual care plans and social activities for older people with mental health and learning disabilities, particularly those over 65 years, as promised by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust following the closure of the mental health day centre provision in East Belfast.

(AQO 196/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: It is a statutory requirement that service providers assess the health and care needs of individuals, and provide appropriate services.

The clients who formerly attended the mental health day centre in East Belfast have a range of healthcare needs including mentaI health conditions, learning disability, physical disability and sensory impairment. My Department has written to Belfast Trust asking the Trust to review the individual needs of those clients who have been temporarily placed in Everton Day centre.

Sunbeds

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if any options are being considered for the regulation of the sunbed industry following the recently published statistics on the risks of skin cancer.

(AQO 197/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am considering a range of possible measures for regulating the sunbed industry in Northern Ireland, with particular regard to the need to protect the health of children and young people under the age of 18.

DHSSPS: Capital Budget

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an assessment of his Department's capital budget.

(AQO 198/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have been allocated £3.3bn across the 10-year ISNI period ending 2017/18 against a need estimated at more than £7.8bn. In the current CSR I received just over £700m against a bid of £1bn. £95m of this was dependant on the sale of surplus assets, however, the economic downturn has rendered this sales target unachievable and my CSR budget has effectively been reduced by more than £50m.

I now also have to manage Swine Flu pressures from within my existing resources, and have been asked by the DFP Minister to try to identify additional easements of £22m in 2009/10 and £26m next year. The result is that I am now struggling to maintain the capital development programme within current constraints.

Large elements of my planned programme to address the legacy of under investment in the health system could have to de delayed, with serious implications in terms of service risk and health and safety. Effectively my investment programme has been stalled just as it had begun to develop real momentum.

Hospitals and Primary Care need increased rather than reduced investment.

Cuts of the magnitude outlined above equate in infrastructure terms to at least 2 health and care centres, several children’s homes and a new local hospital, comparable to the new Downe Hospital that I recently opened in Downpatrick.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Mr D Ford asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the provision of services for young people with Attention Deficit Disorder.

(AQO 199/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Younger children with Attention Deficit Disorder are treated in the community by paediatric services. Older children are treated by child and adolescent mental health services. An additional £1m provided in 2007/08 to enhance child and adolescent mental health teams is now re-current.

Earlier this year my Department endorsed NICE guidelines on the diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and Adults and these will apply to local services.

In addition to statutory services, my Department also provides core funding for NI-ADD, a voluntary organisation which provides a range of services and support to these children and their families.

Acute Services: Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail any discussions he has had with the Minister of Finance and Personnel to seek funding to retain acute services at the Mid-Ulster Hospital.

(AQO 200/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have not had any discussions with the Minister for Finance and Personnel in relation to services at the Mid-Ulster hospital.

Funding is not the reason for changing how we provide acute services in the Northern Trust area. These changes are being made in the interests of patient safety and to ensure that we can provide the highest possible quality services which are safe and sustainable into the future.

Muscular Dystrophy

Lord Browne asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans are in place to improve services for patients with muscular dystrophy in Northern Ireland, following Lord Walton's report on services for patients in the United Kingdom.

(AQO 201/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am fully committed to providing appropriate care for all people with a disability in Northern Ireland, including those with Muscular Dystrophy. I welcome the Walton Report, and will wish to consider it in detail as my Department continues to develop services for people with a disability. It should be recognised that Health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, however, my Department is currently developing a Physical and Sensory Disability Strategy, which will shape the future strategic direction of physical and sensory disability services in Northern Ireland.

Moreover, in recognition of public interest in the provision of specialist neurology services, I recently commissioned the Health and Social Care Board to undertake a full and comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the 2002 Review of Adult Neurology Services. In parallel with this process, my officials are reviewing the continued relevance of the Review’s recommendations in light of any professional or other guidance which has issued since their publication. The Walton Report will be fully considered as part of this evaluation and will help inform the future provision of services.

Department for Regional Development

Orange Arches

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of orange arches that have been erected in each of the last three years which (i) met his Department’s regulations regarding safety and insurance; or (ii) were not approved by his Department or did not meet safety and insurance regulations.

(AQW 695/10)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy):

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the number of orange arches that have been erected in each of the last three years, which met Roads Service’s regulations regarding safety and insurance, are outlined in the table below:-

2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009

Number of Consents 45 45 48

I can further advise that Roads Service does not maintain a central database of the number of orange arches which did not receive formal consent.

NI Water

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister for Regional Development if his Department intends to refund the Causeway Hospital for bottled water bought during 3-4 days in mid-September when NI Water failed to provide suitable drinking water.

(AQW 763/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that following essential work on the water distribution system there was some discolouration of the water supply to the Causeway Hospital, but subsequent tests confirmed that the water was safe to drink.

NIW will consider any claims for the cost of bottled water through its normal claims process. Should the Causeway Hospital wish to submit a claim it should contact PL Claims Section, Customer Relations Centre, PO Box 1026, Belfast, BT1 9DJ.

Railway Line Closures

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number and duration of closures of the railway line in the environs of Lurgan and in the Upper Bann constituency over the past 12 months.

(AQW 792/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have provided the following table which details the number and duration of closures of the railway line in and around the Lurgan and Upper Bann areas over the past year.

October 2008 - September 2009

Date Time Total closure

1 20/10/2008 13.16 - 14.53 1hr 37min

2 09/11/2008 22.24 - 06.23 7hr 59min

3 22/02/2009 06.39 - 09.02 2hr 23min

4 08/03/2009 10.57 - 19.27 8hr 30min

5 24/03/2009 22.40 - 00.37 1hr 57min

6 27/03/2009 19.30 - 00.37 5hr 07min

7 28/03/2009 20.30 - 00.05 3hr 35min

8 30/03/2009 06.20 - 09.25 3hr 05min

9 31/03/2009 06.00 - 09.45 3hr 45min

10 04/04/2009 21.35 - 12.24 14hr 49min

11 25/04/2009 20.10 - 22.30 2hr 20min

12 01/05/2009 23.51 - 05.05 5hr 14min

13 18/06/2009 12.05 - 19.18(19/06) 31hr 13min

14 05/07/2009 13.45 - 15.03 1hr 48min

15 10/07/2009 23.09 - 05.00 5hr 51min

16 20/07/2009 17.36 - 20.55 3hr 19min

17 17/09/2009 18.04 - 06.00 11hr 56min

18 18/09/2009 17.39 - 08.07(20/09) 38hr 28min

19 21/09/2009 05.30 - 7.30 2hr 0min

20 25/09/2009 23.45 - 08.51 09hr 06min

Railway Line Closures

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the costs associated with closures of the railway line in the environs of Lurgan and in the Upper Bann constituency in the past 12 months, including the cost of alternative transport provided.

(AQW 793/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have informed me that the direct costs associated with these closures would be in the region of £221,000. This relates to costs for malicious damage and bus substitutions as a result of these security alerts. The estimated costs for signalling and permanent way for the recent incidents in Lurgan on 17 and 18 September 2009 are also included. These costs do not include the loss of revenue paying customers that may have arisen as a result of the closures.

Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 153/10, to detail (i) the nature of consultancy provided and the projects covered in 2005/06 and 2006/07; and (ii) the net benefits of the consultancy.

(AQW 885/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The tables below set out the nature of the consultancy, the projects covered and the net benefits of each for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years.

DRD External Consultancy Projects 2005-06

Nature of Consultancy Project Description Benefits

Assurance - Quality accreditation Infrastructure HealthCheck Independent assurance that Departmental computer network was secure.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Quality Accreditation Independent assurance that all Departmental websites met mandatory minimum accessibility requirements.

Assurance - Quality accreditation HMRI costings iro Commissioning New Rolling stock for NIR Independent assurance the statutory requirement for the introduction to passenger service of new trains was met.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Legal advice on City of Derry Airport - State Aid application Independent legal advice to enable an accurate State Aid application to the EU for approval of safety related capital expenditure at the City of Derry Airport.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Review of Belfast City Airport Provisions for the management of aircraft noise The audit provided independent quality assurance that the Department's noise monitoring arrangements were fit for purpose.

Assurance - Quality accreditation ISO 9001 Accreditation 05-06 Independent assurance that all Roads Service contractors comply with Roads Service Contract Specification requirements.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Advice on regulation of new water company Independent advice and guidance from OFWAT, the water regulator in England and Wales, on the development of the regulatory framework for the new water company.

Assurance - Corporate governance Sophos configuration in W2K3 The design of an anti-virus infrastructure for the department's computer network.

Assurance - Investment appraisal Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project - Procurement Phase Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Finance -Strategic Provision of PPP Financial Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.

Finance –Strategic Provision of PPP Insurance Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.

Finance – Strategic Provision of PPP Legal Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.

Financial – Audit Bangor relay Report required by NIAO as part of the research for their report into the Upgrade of the Belfast-Bangor Relay.

Financial – Audit Bangor relay Report required by NIAO as part of the research for their report into the Upgrade of the Belfast-Bangor Relay.

Financial – Audit End of year audit FDR/Confares/Bus route subsidy 04-05 Independent annual assurance on spend on the NI Concessionary Fares and Fuel Duty Rebate schemes.

Financial – Audit End of year audit FDR/Confares/Bus route subsidy 05-06 Independent annual assurance on spend on the NI Concessionary Fares and Fuel Duty Rebate schemes.

Financial – Economic appraisal Advice on licence issues associated with water charges Specialist advice on Water Service's Public and Private Partnerships with the department's proposals for the development of the regulatory framework and licence for the new company.

Financial – Economic appraisal Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service Specialist advice to identify options for the establishment of a self funding water and sewerage industry in NI.

Financial – Economic appraisal Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service (IFM) Expert advice to update the Integrated Financial Model (IFM), which formed part of the Strategic and Financial Review of Water Service, as a result of a Ministerial decision to delay the introduction of water charges from April 2006 to April 2007.

Financial – Economic appraisal Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service (IFM) An updated version of the Integrated Financial Model (IFM), which formed part of the Strategic and Financial Review of Water Service, as a result of a Ministerial decision to delay the introduction of water charges from April 2006 to April 2007.

Financial –Feasibility study Accessibility Analysis Expert advice and associated estimate of the revenue funding necessary to meet appropriate standards of accessibility to public transport in both the Rural and Other Urban Areas.

Financial –Feasibility study EU Project Assessment Independent specialist assessment of a proposed EU funded project. This assessment is a requirement of the EU selection process.

Financial –Feasibility study Contract C085 - Consultancy Support for the Efficiency Programme - Client Services Function Independent advice and expertise in implementing Water Service's Business Efficiency Strategy and Rolling Business Efficiency Programme to achieve efficiency gains.

Financial –Feasibility study Contract C086 - Consultancy Support for the Efficiency Programme - Contract Services Function Independent review of specific efficiency projects and validation of performance indicators identified potential cost efficiencies within contracts in Water Service.

Human Resources Appointment of Directors - Linked to Veredus Recruitment of senior personnel in critical areas such as Asset Management, Operations, Finance & Regulation and Legal Services within Water Service.

Human Resources Commissioner on recruitment panel Compliance with recruitment procedures for senior civil service roles, in this case the recruitment of new directors within Water Service.

Human Resources Develop Change Workshops Expert advice and guidance in preparing employees for transition to Northern Ireland Water Limited.

Human Resources Recruitment for Operations posts - Linked to Veredus Recruitment of senior personnel within Operations directorate within Water Service.

Human Resources Recruitment of Directors & Heads of Departments Recruitment of senior personnel in critical areas such as Asset Management, Operations, Finance & Regulation and Legal Services within Water Service.

Management –Organisational development Advice to Roads Service Board on future administration arrangements for roads functions with RPA Independent advice on financial and governance implications of the Review of Public Administration.

Management –Organisational development Review of RSD stores and use of Qualtec Specialist preparatory advice for anticipated impact of Review of Public Administration and AccountNI. Supply Chain Manager introduced to improve co-ordination and consistency across Roads Service Direct.

Management –Organisational development Specialist Advisor - DPE Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.

Management –Organisational development Asset Management Model Specialist advice to deliver an asset management model to optimise the asset base and enable staff and processes to deliver best value for the customer.

Management –Organisational development Consultancy - Efficiency Specialist advice and knowledge / skills transfer from another UK water provider in the fields of efficiency, human resources, tariff design, energy management, billing and cash collection.

Management –Organisational development Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project Independent expert advice to design, procure and implementation of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase Independent expert advice to design, procure and implementation of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Due Diligence Independent expert advice for the transition to a GoCo.

Management - Organisational development HR-IT Consultancy Independent expert advice to develop IT systems to enhance the HR function within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase Independent expert advice to implement a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Performance Measurement MOM (MS Pilot Project) Specialist advice to deliver an Operations Console that presents core ICT support roles and tasks in real-time. ICT staff have been trained in the concepts, techniques and skills to maintain the new Operations Management solution within Water Service.

Management - Performance Measurement Contract C125 - Consultancy Assignment Independent Certifier for OFWAT Regulatory returns Independent advice to assign investment requirements for Waste Water Treatment Works.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Review of the Rural Transport Fund Programme Specialist advice and guidance the ensure Rural Transport Fund services are delivered to rural dwellers who need them most.

Management - Policy appraisal and review Planning Policy Statement 14 - Sustainable Development in the Countryside Independent comprehensive expert advice on the planning issues to be considered in the Review of the Rural Planning Policy.

Management –Policy appraisal and review Advice on development of water reform legislation Expert legal advice in water industry law, regulatory and environmental issues and legal processes to draft new legislation to establish a self funding regime for the delivery of water and sewerage services through the introduction of charges to domestic customers.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Legal Advice to NIAER on water reform legislation Expert regulatory assessment of the key provisions of the new water and sewerage draft legislation.

Management – Policy appraisal and review External consultancy - no further information available Strategic procurement assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction which generated significant cost savings.

Management – Policy appraisal and review PCSPS Legal Fees Expert advice to develop a Scheme Trust Deed and Rules in line with pension legislation.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Pensions - J Goodchild Interim appointment of manager of pension scheme to provide technical input until appointment of a full time manager.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Professional Services Actuarial expertise to negotiate with Government Actuary Department and calculate initial employer’s contribution rate upon formation of GoCo pension scheme.

Management - Strategic Management Expert financial advice - PSO high level review Expert financial advice on financial governance arrangements for the Public Service Obligation to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the financial information provided by Northern Ireland Railways.

Management - Strategic Management Expert marine advice on the Rathlin Ferry Service Expert technical marine advice providing assurance on the operation of the Rathlin Ferry Service.

Management - Strategic Management Review of PSO Expert advice to develop a comprehensive Financial Memorandum to improve financial governance arrangements over the Public Service Obligation.

Management - Strategic Management Advice on Sustainable Transport Expert advice in the development of cycling blueprints contained in the Transport Plans for Belfast and 29 other towns.

Management - Strategic Management BVR Bonus Review Expert advice on the verification of the bonus scheme.

Management - Strategic Management Water Reform Programme Management - Planning and Reporting Expert specialist advice to develop and maintain a Consolidated Programme Plan for the multiple projects that made up the water reform programme.

Management - Strategic Management WR Programme Risk Healthcheck Report Independent assessment of the risks associated with the water reform programme and guidance on the development of an initial risk register.

Management - Strategic Management Crown Immunity Costs - EQR Expert advice on implications of loss of Crown Immunity upon transition to GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Incinerator site Protection and monitoring Expert advice regarding environmental considerations surrounding Incinerator site.

Management - Strategic Management Pensions Project Programming expertise relating to new pension contribution rate for payroll as part of GoCo pension scheme.

Management - Strategic Management PPC Applications for Dunmurry Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.

Management - Strategic Management PPC Applications for Omagh WWTW Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.

Management - Strategic Management PPC applications for Strabane WWTW Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.

Management - Strategic Management Preparation for GOCO training and development strategy Specialist advice relating to GoCo development strategy.

Management - Strategic Management Preparation of PPC Permit Application for incinerator Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.

Management - Strategic Management Production of trade effluent discharges database Specialist advice on trade effluent discharges database.

Management - Strategic Management Provision of a Training & Development Strategy Training and coaching of change facilitators to prepare employees for transition to GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Review of risk assessment & efficiency action plan Specialist advice on Business Risk Process for the transition to a GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Risk Management Pilot Scheme Specialist advice with development of Compliance Assurance Risk Model.

Management - Strategic Management Technical Review of DMARGIS Independent technical advice to develop a software system to meet Water Service’s short and medium term asset information needs.

Management - Strategic Management Tests of likely Significance(TOLS) Independent expert assessment under the habitat directive of environmental impact of potential water and sewerage projects.

Organisation & Change Management DPE - Implementation (Phase 2) Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.

Procurement Water Service PPP Directorate Professional Advisory Commission re PPP/PFI Specialist advice and expertise in the efficient procurement of PPP partners and the successful development of PPP projects.

Procurement Provision of PPP Technical Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.

Research Projects NISTRM Prompt delivery of revised traffic forecast data, revised local government division growth factors (using new housing growth indicators) and handover of key modelling datasets to allow RS to manage the future use of the transport model.

DRD External Consultancy Projects 2006-07

Nature of Consultancy Project Description Benefits

Assurance - Quality accreditation Comms support on redesign & implementation of SOPHOS The design of an anti-virus infrastructure for the department’s computer network.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Quality assurance on review of DRD's noise monitoring scheme at Belfast City Airport, and expert advice on Departments input to Examination in public of Planning Agreement at Belfast City Airport Expert advice on noise monitoring scheme and expert input to Examination in Public of Planning Agreement at Belfast City Airport.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Assessment of Translink's application for COPE status Independent assurance for Translink to be recognised as a Centre of Procurement Expertise (COPE).

Assurance - Quality accreditation ISO Accreditation 06-07 Independent assurance that all Roads Service contractors comply with Roads Service Contract Specification requirements.

Assurance - Quality accreditation Advice on regulation of new water company Independent advice and guidance from OFWAT, the water regulator in England and Wales, on the development of the regulatory framework for the new water company.

Finance -Strategic Provision of PPP Legal Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.

Finance –Strategic Provision of PPP Financial Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.

Finance –Strategic Provision of PPP Insurance Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.

Financial – Audit End of year audit FDR/Confares/Bus route subsidy Independent annual assurance on spend on the NI Concessionary Fares and Fuel Duty Rebate schemes.

Financial – Economic appraisal Provision of financial services - water reform Specialist expert financial advice and accounting guidance on the mechanism for transferring responsibility for the delivery of water and sewerage services to a government owned company.

Financial – Feasibility study Feasibility study on rapid transit in the BMA Specialist advice to develop a strategic Outline Case to assess routes and technology options for Rapid Transit.

Financial – Feasibility study Contract C085 - Consultancy Support for the Efficiency Programme - Client Services Function Independent advice and expertise in implementing Water Service's Business Efficiency Strategy and Rolling Business Efficiency Programme to achieve efficiency gains.

Legal Services Development of policy for delivery of new NI legislation Expert advice on harbours legislation enabling the drafting of a Harbours Bill and subordinate harbours legislation.

Management - Accountancy Finance Division Consultancy Support Specialist advice and review of reporting suite and chart of accounts for Account NI.

Management - Accountancy Actuarial services in relation to pay restructuring exercise carried out within operations directorate Expert advice relating to Voluntary Early Redundancy costings within Water Service.

Management - Accountancy Financial Systems Project Expert advice regarding the replacement of Water Service's financial system upon formation of GoCo.

Management - Accountancy Implementation Support to Financial Systems Project Expert advice and guidance to realise cash and non-cash benefits from the transition to a GoCo.

Management - Accountancy WasteWater Efficiency Review Expert advice and identification of opportunities for improvement in mechanical and electrical services through benchmarking against other UK water companies

Management - Organisational development Implementation of Windows 2003 Active Directory Environment Specialist advice regarding the security of the Department's computer network.

Management - Organisational development Executive search to Chairman of Belfast Harbour Commissioners Expert advice and executive search resulted in improved pool of candidates put forward to the selection panel for assessment.

Management - Organisational development Car clubs scoping study for Northern Ireland Expert advice confirmed the validity of "car club" concept as a sustainable travel option for Northern Ireland, enabling progression towards pilot operation.

Management - Organisational development Advice to Roads Service Board on future administration arrangements for roads functions with RPA Independent advice on financial and governance implications of Review of Public Administration.

Management - Organisational development Specialist Advisor - DPE Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.

Management - Organisational development Due Diligence Independent expert advice for the transition to a GoCo.

Management - Organisational development Efficiency Model Independent expertise in interrogating the model and its outputs within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Non Domestic Tariff Model Independent expertise to develop a Tariff Model for non-domestic customers in Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Review of modelling project Specialist advice to validate that outputs from Integrated Financial Model and Combined Tariff Model were free from material error and fit for purpose within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Econometrics for Regulatory Submissions Specialist advice to model Water Service opex and capex efficiency against other UK water suppliers.

Management - Organisational development Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.

Management - Organisational development Support for Corporate and Business Plan Expert knowledge transfer from another UK water provider in water specific issues in preparing the Strategic Business Plan.

Management - Organisational development Drinking Water Safely Plan Expert advice in the preparation of independent Water Research Council Report.

Management - Performance Measurement Review of DRD's noise monitoring scheme at Belfast City Airport Expert acoustical advice and professional assistance in the presentation to the Examination In Public of the Department's role in using noise modelling and noise monitoring in the exercise of its powers to mitigate the effects of airport noise.

Management - Performance Measurement Interim Reporter Independent assessment of Capital Works Programme for Strategic Business Plan submission.

Management - Performance Measurement Regulatory Advice Expert advice regarding economic regulation.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Review of the Rural Transport Fund Programme Specialist advice and guidance to ensure Rural Transport Fund services are delivered to rural dwellers who need them most.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Facilitation of Planning Policy Statement 14 (PPS14) Expert advice and facilitation of 6 regional workshops as part of the public consultation on draft Planning Policy Statement 14.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Preparation of non-statutory integrated spatial framework for North West Expert specialist advice, jointly commissioned by DRD and DEHLG, to provide a draft spatial framework which would support the cross-border North West Gateway initiative jointly led by the Office of the First and Deputy Minister and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Update of Retail Study carried out in 2003 Expert advice as part of the public consultation on draft Planning Policy Statement 5.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Moving Traffic Offences Business Case Expert advice which sourced best practice and produced a successful Business case to allow the enforcement of moving traffic offences in bus lanes to proceed.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Advice on development of water reform legislation Expert legal advice in water industry law, regulatory and environmental issues and legal processes to draft new legislation to establish a self funding regime for the delivery of water and sewerage services through the introduction of charges to domestic customers.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Legal Advice to NIAER on water reform legislation Expert regulatory assessment of the key provisions of the new water and sewerage draft legislation.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Project Expert strategic procurement advice and assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Consultancy fees re business plan Expert advice and guidance to write and design services for the production of a summary document of the Strategic Business Plan.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Strategy 2010 Expert advice to the Water Service executive team in a strategic planning workshop to plan the Strategy 2010 deliverables within a GoCo

Management – Policy appraisal and review Pensions Project Specialist pension administrator set up and administered new GoCo pension scheme.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Project Expert strategic procurement advice and assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Project Expert strategic procurement advice and assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Project Expert strategic procurement advice and assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction.

Management – Policy appraisal and review 3 days consulting to operations by database audit on electricity supply Independent audit on electricity supply.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Legal Advisors Expert legal advice in water industry issues ensuring compliance with laws and regulations during transition to GoCo.

Management – Policy appraisal and review ITS - Balance Scorecard consultancy Specialist advice to identify improvements to analytical services laboratory in the monitoring of water and trade effluent samples.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Provision of Company Pensions Actuarial Advice Expert advice regarding various aspects of setting up GoCo pension scheme. Actuarial expertise in negotiating with Government Actuary Department and calculation of initial employer’s contribution rate. Expertise in development of Scheme Trust Deed and Rules.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Pensions Project Third party pension administrator appointed to set up and administer new GoCo pension scheme, costs now met by the scheme.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Business Transformation Expert advice and independent monitoring and reporting to Water Service Executive Team of performance against the Transformation Plan.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Expert advice for the award of procurement contracts to ensure compliance with EC Regulations.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Project Expert strategic procurement advice and assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Procurement Expert advice for the award of procurement contracts to ensure compliance with EC Regulations.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Strategic Business Plan Support Expert advice in the development of the Strategic Business Plan

Management – Policy appraisal and review Strategy 2010 Support Expert strategic advice regarding the re-engineering of the business.

Management - Policy appraisal and review Water Service Financial Advisors Expert advice to assist Water Service transition to Northern Ireland Water (NIW). Transfer of skills and knowledge to NIW staff took place.

Management – Policy appraisal and review HR Consultancy Expert advice delivered a performance management system and pay and grading review within Water Service.

Management – Policy appraisal and review PR Consultancy Specialist advice on media issues prior to the transition to GoCo.

Management – Policy appraisal and review Rebranding for new company & metering leaflet Expert advice regarding branding issues due to transition to GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Business Development Analysis for NIR Expert advice on future railway investment provided assurance that an Economic Appraisal being commissioned by Translink was based on accurate and unbiased passenger demand information.

Management - Strategic Management Review of PSO Expert advice delivered a comprehensive Financial Memorandum which improved financial governance arrangements over the Public Service Obligation.

Management - Strategic Management Review of timing of software issues for smartpass Expert advice on the continued unbroken use of smart passes during re-issue project.

Management - Strategic Management Expert marine advice on the Rathlin Ferry Service Expert technical marine advice providing assurance on the operation of the Rathlin Ferry Service.

Management - Strategic Management Programme Management WRSG strategy Expert advice on improving the understanding of best practice in Benefits Management and how it could be applied to the water reform programme.

Management - Strategic Management Programme Management Support Specialist advisers developed and maintained a Consolidated Programme Plan for the multiple projects that made up the water reform programme.

Management - Strategic Management ITS - Test of likely significance Expert advice related to environmental impact of potential water and sewerage projects.

Management - Strategic Management Training Consultancy/OD Transformation Toolkit Expert advice in developing the HR function and HR strategy to facilitate the transition to GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Technical Review of WIS GIS system Independent technical expertise and advice for the development of geographical information systems within NIW

Management - Strategic Management Crown Immunity /EQR Expert advice provided a gap analysis related to loss of Crown Immunity upon transition to GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management SBP/Technology Programme Specialist advice on achieving efficiencies using telemetry.

Management - Strategic Management Payroll Project Expert advice to design early stages of the project to develop a new HR and payroll IT system within Water Service.

Management - Strategic Management Implementation of ITIL - New Payroll System Preparatory work in setting out the company's user requirements and project initiation documentation for new HR and payroll IT system.

Management - Strategic Management Capital works programme Expert advice to provide a transparent, expert challenge to the proposed capital works programme as part of the Strategic Business Plan.

Management - Strategic Management Data Gap Analysis for Underground Assets Expert advice identified full Capital Maintenance Planning Common Framework (CMPCF) approach could not be developed at the time but enabled work to commence on collecting and storing the data that would allow a full CMPCF approach to be implemented over time within Water Service.

Management - Strategic Management CIPD Training Specialist training of internal staff to become accredited trainers which enhanced overall internal staff training.

Management - Strategic Management Test of Likely Significance Independent assessment under habitat directive of environmental impact of potential water and sewerage projects.

Management - Strategic Management ITS - Consents to discharge project Expert advice and support enabled tight timescales to be met when applying for formal discharge consent in preparation for the move to a GoCo.

Management - Strategic Management Review of analytical services Expert advice and review of laboratory services to identify possible rationalisation.

Management - Strategic Management Routestar training Specialist training for meter reading team.

Management - Strategic Management SBP-CWP Expert advice within the Strategic Business Plan process to assign investment requirements for Waste Water Treatment Works.

Marketing DPE PR Campaign (Professional Fees only) Specialist media advice in advance of the introduction to Decriminalised Parking Enforcement in October 2006.

Marketing Water Reform Customer Awareness Media Campaign Specialist comprehensive advertising campaign on the planned introduction of domestic water charges wef 1 April 07.

Marketing Communications brand audit Specialist media advice in advance of a public awareness media campaign on the introduction of water and sewerage charges which were to be introduced in April 2007.

Organisation & Change Management DPE - Implementation (Phase 2) Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.

Procurement Water Service PPP Directorate Professional Advisory Commission re PPP/PFI Professional advice and expertise in the efficient procurement of PPP partners and the successful development of PPP projects.

Technical – Project Support Provision of PPP Technical Advice Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.

Research Projects .Net developers Consultancy Specialist advice increase level of skill in IT development teams.

Research Projects Redesign of Rathlin Ferry Pass Expert advice to redesign scheme based on Internal Audit recommendations in circumstances where in-house development was not possible.

A5 Road

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide a breakdown of the estimated costs for the completion of the A5 road.

(AQW 898/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The current estimated cost of the A5 project is £650 - £850 million.

The breakdown of the upper figure is as follows:

£M

Construction 540

Fees/Surveys/etc 60

Statutory Authorities 27

Acquisition of Land/Compensation 53

Risk 170

If you require clarification on the cost estimate, please contact the A5 WTC team at Roads Service, Boaz House, 15 Scarffes Entry, Omagh, Co Tyrone BT78 1JH (telephone 028 8225 4786).

Average Journey Time

Mr D Ford asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the average journey time since the road works began for (i) a private car from the Sandyknowes roundabout to Belfast City Centre; (ii) a private car from Rush Park to Belfast City Centre; and (iii) the Airbus from Templepatrick to Belfast City Centre.

(AQW 903/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

I can advise that my Department’s Roads Service has a system of Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras (ANPR) on the city bound carriageway of the M2 motorway from just north of Sandyknowes to the gantry at the top of Nelson Street off-slip. These cameras are used only for the estimation of journey times and the information gathered is encrypted and stored for a maximum of a rolling 24 hour period.

Roads Service has advised that during the time when the roadworks were present on the M2, this system was not operational, as the lane alignments were changed on several occasions to facilitate the construction works.

However, since the completion of the roadworks, the system is again operational and I can report that the morning peak, between approximately 7:45am and 9:30am, show journey times from Sandyknowes to Nelson Street at an average maximum of 20 minutes. For the remainder of the day, the inter peak period, the journey time is a reasonably constant average of seven minutes.

Roads Service do not hold journey time information from Rush Park to City Centre, however, I am advised that from Greencastle to Nelson Street, the morning peak journey time is 14 minutes and the inter peak time is three minutes.

Translink has also advised that it does not hold specific journey time information for the period during the works on the M2. However, they have recordings for Monday 7 September 2009, which gives a representative sample of the normal journey times for the Airbus 300 during the winter school term and where there are no major delays on the M2 Motorway. I can advise that on this date, the average journey time for the Airbus 300 from Templepatrick to Belfast City centre was 23 minutes.

Private Consultancy

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 153/10, if the figure for private consultancy includes expenditure on (i) capital projects; (ii) Private Finance Initiatives; and (ii) agencies of his Department; and, if not, to detail the expenditure on these.

(AQW 914/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The expenditure figures for private consultancy firms which were provided in my response to AQW 153/10 included agencies of this Department and Private Finance Initiatives.

The figures provided excluded expenditure on capital projects. Capital projects are part of the core business of Roads Service and Water Service (prior to 1 April 2007) and do not fall within the definition of external consultancy as defined in the NICS central guidance. The information relating to these projects is not readily available at the level of detail required.

Illegally Erected Flags and Signs

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Regional Development how many illegally erected flags and signs Roads Service has taken down in (i) 2007/08; (ii) 2008/09; and (iii) 2009/10 to date.

(AQW 923/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Details of the number of illegally erected flags and signs removed by my Department’s Roads Service since April 2007 are provided in the table below.

Year Number of illegally erected flags and symbols removed Number of illegally erected signs removed

2007 - 2008 201 7,331

2008 - 2009 372 4,857

1 April - 30 September 2009 160 2,046

Road or Footpath Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what new road or footpath schemes are planned for the Kilcooley estate area of Bangor over the next five years.

(AQW 949/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service provides information on completed and proposed schemes in the Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils. These reports can be accessed from the Roads Service internet site at the following web address:

http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm

Road or Footpath Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what new road or footpath schemes are planned for the Crawfordsburn Village area over the next five years.

(AQW 950/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service provides information on completed and proposed schemes in the Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils. These reports can be accessed from the Roads Service internet site at the following web address:

http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm

NI Water

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister for Regional Development how NI Water is to improve its procurement process and increase opportunities and accessibility for contractors and sub-contractors.

(AQW 952/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it is currently developing a long-term capital works procurement strategy which will involve the use of an Alliance Framework and will be fully in line with procurement best practice. The strategy, which was outlined by NIW over three Alliance workshops with the local supply chain in August, will provide a number of benefits including capital savings and efficiencies and opportunities for the local construction industry. In addition, NIW will continue to use competitive tendering to meet part of its procurement needs, thereby providing further opportunities for local contractors and consultants.

Concessionary Fares

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) the extent of concessionary fares available to people with epilepsy who use public transport; and (ii) any concessionary status which is afforded to adults or carers who accompany persons with epilepsy on public transport.

(AQW 953/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Epilepsy in itself does not entitle an individual to concessionary travel. However, depending on the frequency of attacks and severity of an individual’s condition, a person with epilepsy could be eligible for a half fare concession under the Disability Living Allowance or the Driving Licence Refused categories. The Concessionary Fares Scheme does not at present provide concessions for carers or companions.

Belfast – Dublin Enterprise

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development how many passengers have used the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service since the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct on 20 August 2009, compared with the total number of passengers who used the service in the equivalent periods in (i) 2006; (ii) 2007; and (iii) 2008.

(AQW 967/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Translink have provided the following information on how many passengers have used the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service since the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct compared with the total number of passengers who used the service in the equivalent periods in (i) 2006; (ii) 2007; and (iii) 2008.

YEAR Period 6 PASSENGER JOURNEYS

2006/07 79,012

2007/08 90,868

2008/09 82,573

2009/10 14,468

The period 6 figure for 2009/10 is not comparable with previous years. This is because the figures have not been adjusted for passengers purchasing tickets in the South. Translink have indicated that comparable period 6 figures will be available in the near future.

Belfast – Dublin Enterprise

Mr T Burns asked e Minister for Regional Development what is the total amount of revenue generated by passengers using the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service since the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct on 20 August 2009; and to provide corresponding figures for the same periods in (i) 2006; (ii) 2007; and (iii) 2008.

(AQW 968/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have provided the following information on the total amount of revenue generated by passengers using the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service since the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct and the corresponding figures for the same periods in (i) 2006; (ii) 2007; and (iii) 2008.

YEAR Period 6 REVENUE (£)

2006/07 463,468

2007/08 472,595

2008/09 533,762

2009/10 238,130

The period 6 figure for 2009/10 is not comparable with previous years. This is because the allocation of revenue with Iarnrod Eireann has not been completed. The NIR period 6 2009/10 estimate therefore includes revenue which will transfer to Iarnrod Eireann and excludes any transfers from Iarnrod Eireann. Translink have informed me that in net terms the figure is likely to reduce.

Final period 6 figures will be available in the near future.

Road or Footpath Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what new road or footpath schemes are planned for the Silverstream area of Bangor.

(AQW 1013/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service provides information on completed and proposed schemes in the Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils. These reports can be accessed from the Roads Service internet site at the following web address:

http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm

Half Fare Smart Pass

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline the current policy with regard to refunding the unused cash portion of a return ticket purchased by (i) a Half Fare Smart Pass holder; and (ii) a non Half Fare Smart Pass holder.

(AQW 1020/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

When half-fare paying Smart Pass holders purchase a return ticket they pay for half of two full fare single tickets. One ticket is issued. Translink has advised that this ticket is treated as a return ticket and its policy for all return tickets is that no refund is given if the outward journey is undertaken but the return journey is not.

In all cases where the return journey cannot be made because the train is delayed or cancelled passengers may be entitled to compensation under the delay repay scheme. Details of the Delay-Repay scheme are shown in the Translink Passenger’s Charter and are also available on www.translink.co.uk/delayrepay.asp

NI Railway

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development if he will examine (i) the running time for the 06.20 Belfast to Londonderry NI Railway service; and (ii) ways to achieve a pre 9.00 arrival on the Belfast to Londonderry service.

(AQW 1022/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

I am aware of one proposal to alter the timetable for the 6.20 from Belfast to Derry, proposed by the ‘Into the West’ group. Translink, who are operationally responsible, reviewed the proposed change and remain of the view that a greater amount of time benefit accrues to more people under the existing timetable.

Translink have however informed me that they will continue to review timetables on the Derry line in the context of the whole network and will seek to deliver further improvements in running times, where feasible, in the near future.

NI Railway

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 507/10, if the NI Railway services departing Belfast Central Station at 16.10; 16.40; 17.10; 17.40; and 18.10 all terminate in either Portrush or Londonderry.

(AQW 1023/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have told me that this is true apart from the fact that the 16.40 service terminates in Ballymena. Train utilisation for all evening peak time services on the Derry line from Belfast is highest between Belfast and Ballymena. Therefore it is important to have greater capacity on this part of the line. The 16.40 service relieves demand on the other services, which terminate beyond Ballymena and that on all services beyond Ballymena standing for extended periods is not a problem for any evening services.

NI Railway

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 507/10, how the compression of services helps to relieve overcrowding on NI Railway services departing at 16.10; 16.40; 17.10; 17.40; and 18.10 on the Belfast to Londonderry line, given that passenger numbers are likely to remain, or increase, due to the cancellation of the former 15.30 service.

(AQW 1026/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have told me that the 15.30 service, being off peak, was only filled to around 20% capacity. The relocation of this train to peak time means that what was off peak surplus capacity is now utilised in peak time when passenger numbers are higher.

School Children from Rural Areas getting to school by bus

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development if he has had any discussion with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding issues faced by school children from rural areas in getting to school by bus.

(AQW 1027/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

I have had discussions with both the Minister of Education, regarding gritting of school bus runs during winter months, and with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, regarding the general issue of gritting/snow clearance of rural roads.

As I announced in my Statement to the Assembly on 28 September 2009, I have asked Roads Service to introduce improvements to the operational response around rural schools that are regularly affected by adverse weather conditions.

These improvements will ensure better communications between Roads Service and schools which experience difficulties, and will allow Roads Service to provide a more flexible and timely response, as and when road conditions necessitate.

The required changes to operational practice will be in place for the commencement of this year’s winter season.

School Warning Light

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development when the new school warning light at Greyabbey primary school will be in operation.

(AQW 1028/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Roads Service has advised that the flashing warning signs to be installed at Greyabbey Primary School have been ordered and, in the interim, the poles have been erected.

These signs are manufactured in England and the components must be electrically tested before erection commences on site. While Roads Service cannot give a definitive date for installation, they would be hopeful that the signs will be operational within the next couple of months.

External Consultants

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent to date on external consultants on the proposed A5 route; and what is the projected total cost for these consultants.

(AQW 1030/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

External consultants were engaged by the Department to provide the necessary skills to procure the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contracts on the A5 (Tullyvar Improvements).

As these contracts cover a bundle of improvement schemes in two packages, including the maintenance of 180 kilometres of roads for the next 30 years, it is not feasible to breakdown the specific costs relating to the A5 improvements.

External Consultants

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent to date on external consultants on the proposed A4 route; and what is the projected total cost for these consultants.

(AQW 1031/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

External consultants were engaged by the Department to provide the necessary skills to procure the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contracts on the A4.

As these contracts cover a bundle of improvement schemes in two packages, including the maintenance of 180 kilometres of roads for the next 30 years, it is not feasible to breakdown the specific costs relating to the A4 improvements.

External Consultants

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Regional Development what steps his Department is taking to phase out or reduce the costs of external consultants.

(AQW 1032/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department minimises the costs of external consultants by only engaging them after full consideration of all in-house alternatives and where they will provide value for money.

The Department procures and manages all external consultancy projects in accordance with the procedures set out in the NICS central guidance which includes:-

Completing a business case for each project, justifying the need for the consultant and the benefits to be realised;

Obtaining the appropriate approvals at Director level or above;

Procuring the consultancy using the services of a Centre of Procurement Expertise to ensure best value for money;
Managing the consultancy using an appropriate methodology;
Completing a post project evaluation to ensure that the objectives of the assignment are met; and
Disseminating any lessons learned.

The Department records detailed compliance and financial information relating to all external consultancy projects on a dedicated consultancy database. This information is reported to and monitored by the Departmental Board on a quarterly basis. The Department also carries out detailed checks on project documentation to ensure full compliance with the guidance.

Pay and Display Machines

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the cost of repairing pay and display machines in Newtownabbey in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1079/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that it is unable to provide details of the repair costs of pay and display machines in each of the last three years, but can provide details of the cost of maintaining pay and display machines, since the commencement of the parking enforcement contract with NSL on 30 October 2006. Details of maintenance costs for the machines in Ballyclare are detailed below.

Town 30 October 2006 to 29 October 2007 30 October 2007 to 29 October 2008 30 October 2008 to 31 August 2009

Ballyclare £2,505.16 £2,833.86 £2,427.92

Belfast Rapid Transit System

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an update on the progress of the Belfast Rapid Transit System.

(AQW 1086/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Rapid Transit Division is preparing a project works programme denoting main milestones up to December 2011 and is taking forward primary legislation to allow for the implementation and operation of Rapid Transit.

Topographical, geotechnical, traffic and parking surveys have been commissioned and should be completed by the end of November 2009.   These will be used in the Outline Business Case to verify the findings of the Strategic Outline Case.

BACKGROUND NOTE

The project team is currently working on updating the programme for the approval of the Programme Board.

You have issued the draft paper to Executive colleagues summarising the Rapid Transit policy proposals and seeking their comment in advance of the paper being included on the agenda for the Executive meeting scheduled on 22 October 2009

Traffic and Parking surveys on all route options are completed. Topographical, Geotechnical and Deflectograph surveys and a land adoption search are ongoing.

Belfast – Dublin Enterprise

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) how many passengers used the Belfast – Dublin Enterprise; and (ii) the income generated by this route, in each of the six months prior to the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct on 20 August 2009.

(AQW 1097/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have provided the following information.

PERIOD NUMBER DATES PASSENGER JOURNEYS REVENUE (£)

12 2008/09 23/02/09 – 29/03/09 76,592 520,716

1 2009/10 30/03/09 – 26/04/09 64,816 332,754

2 2009/10 27/04/09 – 24/05/09 58,215 342,893

3 2009/10 25/05/09 – 28/06/09 72,545 471,350

4 2009/10 29/06/09 – 26/07/09 58,433 312,496

5 2009/10 27/07/09 – 23/08/09 64,517 390,195

The figures above include all passenger trips on the Enterprise but the income figures represent the share to NI Railways.

Belfast – Dublin Railway Line

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development how much passenger revenue is likely to be lost on the Belfast – Dublin railway line as a result of the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct on 20 August 2009.

(AQW 1098/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink say that it is very difficult to assess the impact of the Malahide bridge incident at this stage and therefore how much passenger revenue is likely to be lost.

They have informed me that patronage loss to date could be down by 60% on the Belfast – Dublin railway line. However, the passenger and revenue figures for the period immediately after the incident have not yet been finalised between Iarnrod Eireann and NIR. The Department of Transport in Dublin state that the bridge re-opening is planned for late November. However the length of time taken to carry out work of this nature is always open to a degree of uncertainty. It is also difficult to know with any degree of certainty when passenger figures will fully recover even if the re-opening takes place as currently planned.

For all these reasons it is difficult to quantify the likely loss of passenger revenue. I can, however, report that as part of normal in year financial monitoring Translink have estimated a potential loss of between £1m-£2m depending on the factors listed above. These figures will be subject to ongoing review and verification.

The A8

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) to detail how many properties will be acquired to facilitate the remaining dualling work on the A8 and the estimated costs of acquiring these properties; and (ii) to provide an update on the vesting process.

(AQW 1101/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that dualling the remaining stretch of single carriageway, on the A8 Belfast to Larne road, will require the acquisition of a further four properties in addition to the one building already owned by the Department. In May 2009, Land and Property Service estimated the cost of the four properties, which consist of a private dwelling, a building site, a derelict building and an agricultural barn, to be in the region of £550,000.

Roads Service and its Consultants are working on the final stage of the scheme assessment process and will be in a position to publish draft Orders, which will include a draft Vesting Order, in early to mid 2011.

Cancelled Trains

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development how many trains which have been cancelled in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1102/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have provided the following information.

NIR local network Enterprise

Period-Year Cancellations Cancellations

Oct 04 to Sept 05 836 0

Oct 05 to Sept 06 899 1

Oct 06 to Sept 07 736 0

Oct 07 to Sept 08 630 0

Oct 08 to Sept 09 522 0

By way of context, each year in excess of 100,000 train services are operated in the NIR network and approximately 5,500 Enterprise services are operated

Road or Footpath Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what new road or footpath schemes are planned for the Groomsport Village area.

(AQW 1103/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service provides information on completed and proposed schemes in the Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils. These reports can be accessed from the Roads Service internet site at the following web address:

http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm

Road or Footpath Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what new road or footpath schemes are planned for the Millisle area.

(AQW 1104/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Roads Service provides information on completed and proposed schemes in the Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils. These reports can be accessed from the Roads Service internet site at the following web address:

http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm

Winter Services Around Rural Schools

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister for Regional Development if he will extend option two, as outlined in his statement 'Winter Services Around Rural Schools' to the House on 28 September 2009, to include all rural schools.

(AQW 1115/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Option 2, referred to in my statement, 'Winter Services Around Rural Schools' is targeted at the 46 schools, which had specific problems, throughout the winter of 2008/09 that resulted in their closure.

The list will change and adapt over time due to climatic variations. However, extending the list to all rural schools would not be an effective manner in which to deploy resources.

'Dropped Kerb' Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development what 'dropped kerb' schemes are planned for the North Down area over the next financial year.

(AQW 1145/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that a programme of works for the provision of dropped kerbs and tactile paving in North Down, for the 2010/11 financial year, has not been finalised, However, I can advise that the following locations will be included.

Abbey Ring, Holywood (various locations);
Willowbrook Area, Bangor (various locations);
Breezemount Estate, Bangor (various locations);
Owenroe Drive/Ballygowan Gardens, Bangor; and
Owenroe Drive/Clandeboye Road, Bangor.

I can further advise that there may be an opportunity for Roads Service to commence some of this work in the latter part of this financial year.

Scheduled Maintenance Work

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the next scheduled maintenance work on each motorway.

(AQW 1157/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Firstly, I should explain that the maintenance of the motorways in the North is undertaken by those contractors who were awarded the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Package 1 and Package 2 contracts.

The DBFO Package 1 contract was awarded to Highway Management and includes the maintenance of some 60 kilometres of the M1, M2, M3, M5, M22 and A8(M) for a period of 30 years. DBFO Package 2 was awarded to Amey Lagan Roads and includes the maintenance of some 120 kilometres of the M1, A1, A101 and A4 for a period of 30 years.

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that major maintenance schemes, scheduled for commencement on the North’s motorways in the next three months, are as follows:

M1 – Resurfacing J10 – J9 eastbound;
M1 – Resurfacing J7 and J8 westbound;
M1 – High Friction Surfacing J14 and J15 slip roads;
M1 – Sprucefield Bridge Repairs;
M1 – Ballyskeagh Bridge Repairs;
M1 – Safety Barrier Replacement at Tamnamore East Bridge, Tamnamore West Bridge, Laghey Bridge, Tempanroe Bridge, Douglas Bridge, Stangmore East Bridge, Stangmore West Bridge, Beattie’s Corner Bridge, and Hunts Corner Bridge; and
M2 – Six Mile Water Bridge Repairs

Routine inspections and maintenance work will also continue to be carried out on the North’s motorways.

Roadworks

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the roadworks carried out by (i) Roads Service; (ii) other departmental bodies; and (iii) non-Government companies in the Carrrickfergus and Newtownabbey areas, since 01 September 2009.

(AQW 1160/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Road Service has advised that it has undertaken the following roadworks in the Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey areas since 01 September 2009:-

Carriageways

Ransevyn Drive, Whitehead;
Woodburn Road, Carrickfergus;

Traffic Management Schemes

Carnmoney Village, Glengormley – pelican crossing almost completed;
Prince Charles Way, Carnmoney – pelican crossing very recently started;
Doagh Road, Ballyclare – pedestrian refuge;

Footways

Doagh Road, Ballyclare;
Ballyeaston Road, Ballyclare;
Ransevyn Drive, Whitehead;

Private Streets Enforcements (remedial works carried out by Roads Service due to Developer de-faulting on commitments)

The Beeches, Hightown Road, Glengormley;
Willow Heights, Carnmoney Road, Glengormley;
Rodgers Quay, Carrickfergus;
Prospect Loanen, Carrickfergus;

Street Lighting installation

Dean Park, Castlemara, Carrickfergus;
Glenville Drive, Parade and Green, Whiteabbey;
Shore Road, Whiteabbey; and
Bleach Green Ave, Whiteabbey.

Road Service officials have also advised that NI Water provided notification of 172 road openings in the Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey areas between 1 September and 7 October 2009.

I can also advise of the number of road openings notified to Roads Service by non Government companies in the Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey areas between 1 September and 7 October 2009:-

NIE – 132;
Phoenix Natural Gas – 126;
Virgin Media – 22; and
BT – 17.

Cost of Publishing and Translating

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the cost of publishing and translating all material from his Department in Irish and Ulster-Scots format for the last ten years.

(AQW 1164/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department was created in December 1999. From that time, to 1 October 2009, my Department has spent the following amounts in publishing and translating all material in Irish and Ulster-Scots:

Cost in £s of material published and translated:

Year Irish Ulster-Scots

1999-2000 Nil Nil

2000-2001 Nil Nil

2001-2002 Nil Nil

2002-2003 Nil Nil

2003-2004 148 134

2004-2005 338 Nil

2005-2006 436 Nil

2006-2007 411 175

2007-2008 893 49

2008-2009 5514 202

1 April to 1 October 2009 1529 Nil

Total: £9269 £560

A26

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) the accident history on the A26 road in the vicinity of Glenavy village, in the last 5 years; and (ii) any measures his Department has taken to improve road safety in this location.

(AQW 1176/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service aims to improve road safety, where possible, and to this end, receives data on collisions involving personal injury from the PSNI. This data is used to identify locations where there are numbers of collisions occurring, over a three-year period, and to identify a common cause which can be treated by engineering measures.

The original collision data remains under PSNI control and you may wish to contact them directly regarding precise collision details. However, Roads Service has advised that the stretch of the A26 in the vicinity of the Main Street and Lisburn Road junctions has had a total of 15 collisions, in the 5-year period between 2004 and 2008 inclusive.

Roads Service has adopted a proactive approach to improving road safety. As part of this, a number of Route Management Studies have been undertaken, to identify potential improvements which could enhance road safety, or alleviate congestion. The A26 Route Management Strategy identified a number of potential improvements at various junctions along the route, including a roundabout at the junction of the A26 / Lisburn Road, and a right turn pocket at the junction of the A26 / Main Street.

Each of these proposals will be assessed in detail before being prioritised for possible inclusion in any future Minor Works programme. The implementation of each scheme will, therefore, depend on the overall scheme priority, successful completion of statutory processes, and the necessary funding being available.

Translink: ‘Delay-repay’ Scheme

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the total number of compensation vouchers issued by Translink under the ‘Delay-repay’ scheme in relation to (i) Northern Ireland Railways (ii) Ulsterbus (iii) Metro in each of the last five years; and to detail the total value of these vouchers.

(AQW 1211/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The Delay–Repay compensation scheme was introduced on Friday 29 February 2008, offering compensation to any ticket holder (bar passengers entitled to free travel schemes) in Northern Ireland Railways. The scheme does not apply to Ulsterbus or Metro. Hence single, return, weekly, monthly and annual ticket holders are all entitled to claim compensation if their local rail services have been delayed:-

30 – 59 minutes, entitled to 50% of the single fare paid
60 – 119 minutes, entitled to 100% of the single fare paid
Greater than 119 minutes, entitled to 100% of the return fare paid

All compensation is paid in NI Railways vouchers and can be claimed up to 28 days after the delay.

The total number of compensation vouchers issued by Translink under the Delay-repay scheme in relation to Northern Ireland Railways is shown in the table below:

Financial Year No of Vouchers issued Total Value of vouchers

2007/08 (March 2008 only) 78 £178

2008/09 681 £2,786

2009/10 (To 30 Sept 2009) 209 £673

Vehicles Damaged by Potholes

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Regional Development how much compensation has been paid to vehicle owners in each constituency for repairs to vehicles damaged by potholes or other road deficiencies, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1260/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The amount of compensation paid to vehicle owners in each constituency for repairs to vehicles damaged by potholes or other road deficiencies in each of the last five financial years is shown below. This information cannot be provided on a constituency basis as it is held on a Section Office basis. Roads Service Section Office areas correspond roughly with District Council areas.

ROADS SERVICE SECTION OFFICE VEHICLE DAMAGE COMPENSATION PAID BY YEAR

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

ANTRIM £6,9636.91 £6,627.14 £5,518.30 £2,221.95 £2,207.22

ARDS £8,883.04 £7,038.99 £4,429.49 £9,817.54 £6,413.14

ARMAGH £3,749.27 £6,456.10 £4,424.64 £5,370.94 £11,286.40

BALLYMENA & LARNE £7,707.36 £8,033.69 £8,278.51 £5,875.58 £7,536.18

BALLYMONEY & MOYLE £2,292.12 £4,547.75 £2,925.02 £3,753.81 £2,533.07

BANBRIDGE £3,726.09 £3,048.23 £3,069.64 £3,900.72 £3,115.25

BELFAST NORTH £2,390.24 £2,843.32 £8,125.78 £2,171.45 £1,253.15

BELFAST SOUTH £5,480.10 £474.55 £1,048.21 £8,476.90 £2,757.99

CASTLEREAGH £4,663.89 £1,913.36 £28,048.96 £3,809.35 £1,931.29

COLERAINE £1,939.25 £4,606.85 £1,593.78 £957.77 £4,025.52

COOKSTOWN £3,235.77 £5,111.04 £3,112.97 £4,501.47 £11,118.40

CRAIGAVON £4,850.41 £1,830.50 £4,151.07 £7,766.89 £3,649.51

DOWN £3,046.51 £3,210.26 £3,884.05 £4,452.79 £5,532.29

DUNGANNON £6,351.74 £7,829.79 £5,856.67 £5,747.39 £9,073.04

FERMANAGH £6,357.17 £4,814.15 £5,351.55 £7,129.00 £9,229.72

LIMAVADY £815.29 £485.50 £238.52 £796.39 £1,877.43

LISBURN £16,846.16 £12,930.67 £16,821.03 £8,817.50 £17,699.88

LONDONDERRY £7,066.62 £2,466.08 £2,278.93 £6,905.68 £2,588.56

MAGHERAFELT £1,729.47 £2,549.89 £1,462.21 £2,685.77 £1,314.88

NEWRY & MOURNE £28,033.62 £15,599.00 £33,773.36 £30,638.85 £43,197.01

NEWTOWNABBEY & CARRICK £6,100.73 £8,896.73 £4,660.00 £6,151.56 £6,707.87

NORTH DOWN £1,253.06 £1,621.19 £925.45 £681.29 £3,200.43

OMAGH £6,921.09 £3,210.21 £7,918.98 £7,368.52 £9,775.77

STRABANE £7,6237.39 £876.25 £633.21 £999.01 £2,065.07

STRANGFORD FERRY £393.80 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00

TOTAL £148,407.10 117,021.24 £158,530.33 £140,998.12 £170,089.07

Chronic Road Congestion

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) what steps his Department is taking to tackle the chronic road congestion in Newtownabbey adjacent to the Doagh Road, Shore Road, Whiteabbey Station Road, Monkstown Road, Jordanstown Road, Circular Road and the Glenville Road; and (ii) what plans his Department has to ensure that any future road openings will take account of the impact on traffic patterns across a wider area than that adjacent to the excavation or installation scheme.

(AQW 1334/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

My Department’s Roads Service has advised that Northern Ireland Water (NIW) are carrying out essential improvements to their infrastructure in the Newtownabbey area, and that this work is still ongoing on the Doagh Road. Unfortunately, it was inevitable that these works were likely to cause significant traffic disruption.

Roads Service, PSNI and NIW considered all possible methods of construction and traffic management control, in detail, prior to commencement of the works. Closure of the Doagh Road to expedite the works was considered. However, this was rejected as it was likely to cause very significant traffic congestion in the wider area.

The works on the Doagh Road are progressing well, with lane closures and temporary traffic signal controls in use. NIW and its contractor for the work on the Doagh Road have agreed to a longer working day and weekend working, and it is hoped that this will lead to completion of the works earlier than anticipated.

The impact of road openings on traffic patterns, across a wider area, is constantly monitored to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Measures, such as, Variable Message Signs, and alterations to traffic signal timings, may be used to improve traffic flow.

NI Railways

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development why the current NI Railways Londonderry line timetable now refers to 'Derry', when the original timetable referred only to 'Londonderry'; and who made the decision to make this change.

(AQW 1336/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink have informed me that in regard to the general issue of dual naming, destination boards on NIR trains now refer to Derry/Londonderry instead of Londonderry and have done since the end of November 2007.

In addition, in respect of publications and documents, while NIR have no documented policy, the practice is to use a mixture of "Derry", "Londonderry" and the combined "Derry/Londonderry"

Therefore it is consistent to have the timetable with dual naming.

I have been informed by Translink that the decision to use the titles "Londonderry Line" and "Derry Line" on the new Derry/Londonderry timetable was taken by NIR management in response to customer expectations.

Half Fare Smart Pass

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 687/10, whether the Return Fares Scheme for Half Fare Smart Pass holders has ever been subject to an Equality Impact Assessment.

(AQW 1338/10)

Minister for Regional Development: No. As set out in my answer to AQW 687/10, the screening exercise undertaken earlier this year indicated that an Equality Impact Assessment was not required.

New Bus Station in Banbridge

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide an update on his Department's plans to build a new bus station in Banbridge.

(AQW 1406/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

The issues surrounding the identification of a suitable site for a new bus station have not been resolved. Plans to build a new bus station in Banbridge depend on resolution to this issue as well as securing the necessary budgetary provision.

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 834/10, to detail all expenditure by his Department, and agencies of his Department, on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 1424/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

In my reply to the Member’s Assembly Question AQW 834/10, I detailed the consultant’s fees and approximate staff costs incurred by my Department’s Roads Service on the Review of Public Administration. Any other staff costs incurred within the Department would be very minimal and are not recorded separately.

Compensation

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Regional Development how much compensation has been paid out to those tripping and falling on pavements in East Antrim, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1471/10)

Minister for Regional Development:

Unfortunately, my Department’s Central Claims Unit does not hold the information in the format requested. However, Central Claims Unit does maintain a record of compensation claims details for each Roads Service Section Office. The area of the East Antrim constituency extends over three Section Offices. It includes some parts of the Ballymoney and Moyle Section Office near Glenariff, the Larne district within the Ballymena and Larne Section Office and the Carrickfergus district and three Newtownabbey wards within the Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus Section Office. Claims figures for the Glenariff area and the three Newtownabbey wards could only be extracted at a disproportionate cost. The following figures show the amounts of compensation paid by Central Claims Unit for each of the last five financial years to those tripping and falling on pavements in the Larne and Carrickfergus Section Office areas and also in respect of all of the Newtownabbey Section Office area, which includes the Newtownabbey constituency wards.

Compensation Paid

2008/09

Carrickfergus Section Office £6,000.00

Larne Section Office £5,000.00

Newtownabbey Section Office £32,621.00

TOTAL £43,621.00

2007/08

Carrickfergus Section Office £4,100.00

Larne Section Office NIL.00

Newtownabbey Section Office £39,962.50

TOTAL £44,062.50

2006/07

Carrickfergus Section Office £750.00

Larne Section Office £2,375.00

Newtownabbey Section Office £76,220.41

TOTAL £79,345.41

2005/06

Carrickfergus Section Office £14,500.00

Larne Section Office £17,500.00

Newtownabbey Section Office £23,415.66

TOTAL £55,415.66

2004/05

Carrickfergus Section Office £40,750.00

Larne Section Office £1,500.00

Newtownabbey Section Office £48,000.00

TOTAL £90,250.00

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Regional Development what services in his Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1535/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department has a target to deliver 3% efficiencies of some £22 / £44 / £65 million over the Budget period 2008-11. To date the Department has delivered these savings without any impact on its services.

BACKGROUND

In line with the approach adopted by Whitehall Departments, Departments here developed plans to deliver cumulative efficiency savings of 3% a year over the Budget period 2008-11, including an annual real reduction in civil service administration costs of 5%, in order to accommodate expected cost pressures, and at the same time deliver improvements in public service provision. All resources released by this work are reallocated to public services here.
The objective of the Department’s Efficiency Delivery Plans is to demonstrate how we propose to achieve 3% resource and 5% admin annual net cashable efficiencies, amounting to some £22 million / £44 million / £65 million (of which £0.8 million / £3.1 million / £5.4 million is Admin) .
The Department identified, at a high level, 3% efficiency reductions within the roads rail and bus capital programmes, corporate service functions and through efficiencies incorporated within the Northern Ireland Water subsidy requirement, as set out in the table below.

Efficiency Delivery Plan - Categories 2008/09
£'000 2009/10
£'000 2010/11
£'000

Overall DRD Efficiencies 22,463 44,250 65,384

Water Efficiencies - to be incorporated within the NIW subsidy requirement 9,014 17,758 26,239

Remaining DRD Efficiencies 13,449 26,492 39,145

Of which Admin Efficiencies 830 3,130 5,366

Generation of additional income 3,494 3,952 4,412

Reduction in capital budget for plant / depot additions / refurbishment 2,500 2,500 2,500

Other Capital efficiencies 2,600 8,000 7,790

Reductions in rail / bus capital 1,100 5,950 4,500

NITHC Asset Disposals 0 0 11,600

Core Costs (Resource) 475 510 527

Bus route subsidy 2,450 2,450 2,450

Subtotal 12,619 23,362 33,779

Service Delivery Efficiencies (Admin) 830 2,995 5,099

Reductions in Core Costs (Admin) 0 135 267

Admin Subtotal 830 3,130 5,366

Total 13,449 26,492 39,145

Department for Social Development

Social Housing Allocations

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development to list the total number of social housing allocations in each of the last two years, broken down by the religious background of the new tenant.

(AQW 872/10)

Minister for Social Development (Ms M Ritchie): Table 1 gives the breakdown of the Housing Executive allocations for the period requested. Housing Associations allocate houses using the Housing Executive Common Waiting List and Table 2 gives the breakdown of Housing Associations allocations for the period requested.

Table 1 – Housing Executive allocations

2007/08 2008/09

Catholic 2,864 3,061

Other 417 578

Protestant 3,457 3,604

Undisclosed 549 885

Total 7,287 8,128

Table 2 – Housing Associations allocations

2007/08 2008/09

Catholic 5864 6126

Other 796 812

Protestant 4944 5374

Undisclosed 808 962

Total 12,412 13274

NB: Housing Association data is gathered by way of a questionnaire and in 2007/08 it is estimated that 84% of tenants completed the questionnaire and in 2008/09 it is estimated that 85% completed the questionnaire.

Funding for Community Workers

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development if her Department ring-fences funding for community workers.

(AQW 943/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Department does not ring fence funding for any individual post or worker. Decisions on what is funded are based on the evaluation of a detailed application and a robust economic appraisal in which consideration is given to value for money and whether the option presented offers the best way to address deprivation and/or disadvantage within the target community.

In some programmes the Department seeks to sustain and build a stronger community infrastructure through the funding of core posts in regional and sub-regional organisations. For example, under the Regional Infrastructure Programme and the Community Investment Fund, funding is provided towards the salaries of key staff providing services to the voluntary and community sector on a regional or sub-regional basis. However in all cases a decision to fund is based on the assessment and appraisal of a formal application.

Housing Schemes

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development what housing schemes are planned for the Silverstream area of Bangor.

(AQW 1006/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive has confirmed that there are no schemes planned in the Silverstream area of Bangor.

Incapacity Benefit Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development how many active cases are currently being dealt with by the Incapacity Benefit Branch.

(AQW 1011/10)

Minister for Social Development: As at the end of August 2009, 101,129 people were claiming Incapacity Benefit. This includes both claims where an amount of Incapacity Benefit is in payment or where National Insurance credits only are being awarded.

Incapacity Benefit Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development to provide details of any backlog within the Incapacity Benefit Branch, including the reasons for this backlog.

(AQW 1014/10)

Minister for Social Development: There is currently no backlog in the processing and delivery of work in Incapacity Benefit Branch. The outstanding work is within acceptable levels.

Derelict Buildings

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the extent and range of her Department's power and authority to compel property owners in towns and villages to make safe and improve the appearance of derelict buildings.

(AQW 1045/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department cannot compel private individuals in towns and villages to make purely cosmetic improvements to their own property.

In respect of urban regeneration, my Department has powers under Part VII of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 to acquire land by agreement, or compulsorily by vesting order, but chiefly as part of a development scheme where it is considered that an urban area should be developed, re-developed or improved. Such schemes are undertaken in settlements of more than 4,500 people, which is the current policy definition of an urban area. Such schemes may address these issues, but not as a primary objective.

The Housing Executive has powers under Article 63 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. It gives the Housing Executive the authority to secure or demolish premises in order to either prevent damage or to protect housing accommodation and to recover costs from the owner where appropriate. This legislation is complemented by the Belfast Improvement Acts, most relevant being the Belfast Improvement Act 1878 and the Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 which empower Belfast City Council to take action in relation to dangerous buildings and structures and environmental issues (removal of rubbish etc.). There is an overlap in responsibility under legislation as regards Belfast, and therefore the Housing Executive and Belfast City Council act in partnership to ensure compliance with the requirements of Article 63.

I am not aware of any housing legislation which requires an owner to merely improve the appearance of a derelict building.

Staff Transfer

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Social Development to outline her Department's policy in relation to staff who request, and are offered, a transfer to another area.

(AQW 1058/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Department for Social Development operates within the Northern Ireland Civil Service Vacancy Management Policy. Under this Policy, staff may be placed in a priority pool for a transfer if they fall within the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act and a transfer would be considered a reasonable adjustment or they have compelling welfare considerations which would necessitate a transfer. Staff may also seek a transfer through the Elective Transfer process which gives staff across all departments the opportunity to apply directly for advertised vacancies for which they satisfy the criteria, provided that they can be released from their existing post, taking account of business needs.

Housing Schemes

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the housing schemes planned by the NI Housing Executive for Dromore in the next financial year.

(AQW 1070/10)

Minister for Social Development: There is one new build scheme planned for Dromore over the period April 2009 – March 2010. The scheme, at Beechgrove Phase 2 in Dromore, will provide 5 units of general household accommodation and is being developed by South Ulster Housing Association.

There are two kitchens schemes in the programme for Dromore for next year. The first scheme involves kitchen replacement to 55 properties in the Dromore rural area with an estimated cost of £300k. The second scheme involves kitchen replacement to 33 properties in Dromore town with an estimated cost of £180k. Both schemes will proceed subject to funding being available.

NI Housing Executive

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development how many homes have been allocated by the NI Housing Executive in (i) Larne; (ii) Carrickfergus; and (iii) Newtownabbey, in each month, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1087/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is not available in the format requested. The Housing Executive records allocations on a quarterly basis by District Office as detailed in the table below.

Quarter ending Newtownabbey1 Newtownabbey 2 Carrickfergus Larne

Jun-06 34 36 37 31

Sep-06 30 35 34 35

Dec-06 27 36 27 27

Mar-07 27 53 39 30

Jun-07 22 48 38 17

Sep-07 19 32 22 25

Dec-07 24 50 24 23

Mar-08 9 50 24 16

Jun-08 24 39 21 18

Sep-08 33 33 22 21

Dec-08 24 34 49 33

Mar-09 41 51 44 18

Social Housing

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are on the waiting list for social housing in the Strangford constituency.

(AQW 1092/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. The Strangford constituency comprises the whole of the Ards Council area plus small parts of Down and Castlereagh and the table below provides figures for all three Council areas.

Waiting List June 2009

Ards District 1,684

Down District 1,281

Castlereagh District 1,357

TOTAL 4,322

Incapacity Benefit Claim

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development for the average time taken to process an Incapacity Benefit claim.

(AQW 1124/10)

Minister for Social Development: Following the introduction of ESA from 27 October 08, new claims to IB are only accepted where the claim links back to a previous IB claim (known as a linking claim). Whilst there is no longer a Public Service Agreement target set for processing Incapacity Benefit claims, the actual average clearance time for an IB claim is still monitored. The average clearance time for a claim to Incapacity Benefit (IB) is 20.4 days. This figure relates to the month of August 2009, which is the last month for which there are full figures available.

Incapacity Benefit Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development to provide a breakdown of the annual budget for the Incapacity Benefit Branch.

(AQW 1127/10)

Minister for Social Development: The allocated budget for Incapacity Benefits Branch for 2009/10 is currently £6,149,000. A breakdown of this allocation is provided in the table below.

Business Area Budget

Programme Salary costs £6,051,000

General Administrative Expenditure £98,000

Total £6,149,000

Incapacity Benefit Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development if there is a dedicated call handling section in the Incapacity Benefit Branch.

(AQW 1154/10)

Minister for Social Development: There is no dedicated call handling section within Incapacity Benefit Branch. Telephone duties are carried out by processing staff as they regularly have to contact customers and other operational business areas to progress claims.

Incapacity Benefit Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development how many staff within the Incapacity Benefit Branch are tasked on a daily basis with tackling benefit fraud.

(AQW 1158/10)

Minister for Social Development: Incapacity Benefits Branch has three trained Fraud Liaison Officers. In addition to this, fraud awareness is delivered to operational staff in the branch on an annual basis and all staff are aware of their responsibility to report any incidences of suspected fraud to a Fraud Liaison Officer.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development, given that 90% of blind and partially sighted people do not secure their full benefit entitlement, what steps her Department is taking to ensure they receive their full entitlement.

(AQW 1182/10)

Minister for Social Development: I am committed to ensuring that everyone gets the benefit to which they are entitled. In this case I understand that the percentage reference originates from Action for Blind People, quoting an RNIB statistic from 2002. Since then much work has been done to increase the uptake of benefit across all customer groups.

Social Security Agency staff, as part of day to day business, provide a range of services to ensure that all people are advised of their potential entitlement to benefits. These include:

- Outreach services

- Promotional activity

- Departmental website

- Network of local and centralised offices.

- Publication of leaflets.

Copies of documents and leaflets are available in Braille, audio tape or large print on request.

Recently, the Agency introduced a Benefit Adviser Service through the NI Direct web site. It provides a benefit calculator with information on 27 benefits/credits/allowances and a Calculation and Comparison Service for 11 benefits. This service is available to both working age and older people and can be accessed anonymously by individuals or advice organisations with internet access.

Since 2005 the Agency has delivered Benefit Uptake Programmes to increase awareness and uptake of social security benefits. These Programmes targeted older people, families, people with disabilities and those with caring responsibilities. As a result, almost 350,000 letters and leaflets have been sent out and an additional £27 million of annual benefit has been generated.

While the Agency has not targeted blind or partially sighted people in particular through its benefit uptake activities, I would point out that they may have been selected through the normal process of identifying vulnerable customers to be contacted through the Programmes. The 2009/10 benefit uptake activities include offering full benefit assessments to 25,000 people as well as extending the Agency's outreach provision.

Social Housing

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in (i) the Newtownabbey area; and (ii) the Carrickfergus area.

(AQW 1209/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of people on the Waiting List for social housing in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus at end of June 2009 were:-

- Newtownabbey 1 801

- Newtownabbey 2 902

- Carrickfergus 1021

Crumlin Road Courthouse

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on her Department’s involvement in the plans to develop the Crumlin Road Courthouse and jail properties.

(AQW 1218/10)

Minister for Social Development: The development of the Crumlin Road Gaol/Girdwood park site is being taken forward subject to a Masterplanning process. Following completion of consultation on a draft EQIA I am currently considering options on the draft Masterplan proposals. I would hope to be in a position to progress these within the near future.

I have recently announced the extension of the public tours of the Gaol. These have been ongoing since April 2009 and they have been extremely popular with over 22,000 visitors this year. A further major programme of restoration work on the Gaol is commencing with the refurbishment of the Gatehouse and Governor’s Corridor, due to begin in early 2010.

The development of Crumlin Road Courthouse is not the responsibility of my department as it is owned privately and the owner has ambition to develop the site when market conditions are right. Departmental officials have been working with the developer in an effort to bring about its redevelopment.

This Grade B+ listed building is located in a prominent position on a major arterial route opposite the Crumlin Road Gaol and Government remains keen to ensure that development in this area is carried out in an integrated way.

Regeneration of Smaller Town Centres

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Social Development if there is provision within her budget to provide funds for the regeneration of smaller town centres such as Carnlough, Bushmills and Dromore.

(AQW 1219/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department has responsibility for the regeneration of urban areas in Northern Ireland. The current policy definition of ‘urban’ by the NI Statistics Research Agency is a settlement with more than 4,500 residents. The only provision within my budget therefore is for new schemes within such areas.

Dromore in County Down is defined as ‘urban’ and has benefited from urban regeneration funding in the recent past. DSD provided funding of £175,000 for the Dromore Public Realm Improvement Scheme completed in August 2008. Dromore has also benefited by £38,500 from the Department’s Town Centre Promotions and Marketing programme.

Although my Department has not funded new projects in rural villages since 2004, there are a number of legacy projects which the Department has honoured. Both Bushmills and Carnlough were supported in a joint initiative with the International Fund for Ireland, resulting in investment of just under £1.6 million in Bushmills and £590,000 in Carnlough.

Funding to Groups in the Kilcooley Estate

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail all funding given to groups in the Kilcooley estate, in each of the last three years; and the purpose of each award.

(AQW 1227/10)

Minister for Social Development: The following groups have been funded by DSD in the Kilcooley Estate in the last three years:

Group Programme 06/07£ 07/08£ 08/09£ Purpose of funding

Kilcooley Community Forum Neighbourhood Renewal 42,673.42 43,293 43,581.22 Support and development of the Kilcooley Forum

Kilcooley Community Forum Neighbourhood Renewal 2,971.60 Upgrade of Forum Computers

Kilcooley Community Forum Small Grants for Volunteering 1,000 Small grants to support groups and individuals to maximise potential, bringing greater benefits to wider community.

First Friends Play Group: Neighbourhood Renewal 9,751.28 17,003 8,122 Provision of child care and establishment of a community enterprise group.

North Down Impact- Access all Areas Neighbourhood Renewal 4,791.62 Cross-community project with Poleglass.

North Down Alternatives Neighbourhood Renewal 27,994.85 Targeting anti-social behaviour, youth at risk, community capacity, the fear of crime and the needs of vulnerable residents.

Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group Small Grants for Volunteering 1,000 1,000 1,000 Small grants to support the promotion and establishment of education programmes for women, young people and pre-school children

Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group Neighbourhood Renewal 4,032.60 Provision of audio transcription equipment for paralegal training

Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group Neighbourhood Renewal £25,153 STEP project to provide accredited training and an employment mentoring service for women from Kilcooley

The Square Centre Small Grants for Volunteering £1,000 Small grant to support the community café, nearly new shop to assuist vulnerable and socially excluded residents

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development how many (i) desktop computers; (ii) laptop computers; (iii) fax machines; and (iv) telephones are utilised within each section of the Appeals Service.

(AQW 1228/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is provided in the table below:

Section Desktop Computers Laptop Computers Fax Machines Telephones

Prehearing 22 12

Hearing 25 16

Post Hearing 16 14

Administration and Support 16 1 2 10

Total 79 1 2 52

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development how many active cases are currently being dealt with by the Appeals Service.

(AQW 1229/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Appeals Service is currently dealing with 3,555 active cases, figure correct at 30^th September 2009.

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development (i) for her assessment of the effectiveness of the Appeals Service (ii) whether the Appeals Service is fit for purpose; and (iii) how often it has attained its Key Performance Indicators targets.

(AQW 1230/10)

Minister for Social Development: (i) & (ii) The Appeals Service provides an essential service which brings together the parties to the appeal and the judiciary for the fair and independent delivery of decisions in a way that best meets both the expectations of all parties to the appeal and the demands of the public purse.

Approximately 12,600 appeals were processed in 2008-09 with customers receiving their final determination within 16 weeks of the appeal being received in The Appeals Service. In processing these appeals The Appeals Service arranged just under 17,000 Tribunal hearings, involving a range of 24 different types of appeals, in 17 cities and towns across Northern Ireland. This consistent performance demonstrates the branch’s effectiveness and supports the view that it is fit for purpose.

(iii) The average time to bring a case to hearing has improved from just less than 15 weeks in March 2006 to 11 weeks in September 2009. In addition the number of appeals currently in the system is well within acceptable levels.

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development the average time taken by the Appeals Service to process (i) a Disability Living Allowance Appeal; (ii) a Rent Officer Appeal; (iii) an Incapacity Benefit Appeal; and (iv) an Employment and Support Allowance Appeal.

(AQW 1232/10)

Minister for Social Development: The average time to process an appeal to hearing is:-

(i) Disability Living Allowance Appeal 11 weeks

(ii) Rent Assessment Appeal 9 weeks

(iii) Incapacity Benefit Appeal 10 weeks

(iv) Employment and Support Allowance Appeal 6 weeks

Replacement Windows

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development when the new dwellings on the Glen Estate, Newtownards will have replacement windows fitted.

(AQW 1242/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive’s planned improvement and maintenance programme has been affected by the shortfall in the Housing Executive’s budget. The Housing Executive is therefore currently unable to confirm when improvement works to these properties will be completed.

Housing Executive Tenancies

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many Housing Executive tenancies were terminated due to anti-social behaviour in each local Council area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1255/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. The table below details the number of properties recovered by the Housing Executive District Office administrative area because of anti social behaviour for the last three years.

District Office 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Belfast West 2 1 3

Belfast East 0 1 0

Belfast North 3 1 1

Belfast South 1 0 0

Belfast Shankill 0 0 0

Bangor 0 1 2

Newtownards 1 1 0

Castlereagh 0 0 1

Lisburn 1 3 3 7

Lisburn 3 0 0 0

Downpatrick 0 0 4

Banbridge 0 0 0

Newry 1 0 3

Armagh 1 0 1

Lurgan/Brownlow 0 2 2

Portadown 1 1 0

Dungannon 2 3 0

Fermanagh 2 5 1

Ballymena 0 2 1

Antrim 0 0 0

Newtownabbey 1 0 0 1

Newtownabbey 2 0 0 2

Carrickfergus 0 0 1

Larne 0 0 1

Ballycastle 0 0 0

Ballymoney 0 0 0

Coleraine 0 2 0

Waterloo 0 0 0

Waterside 0 0 2

Collon 0 3 1

Limavady 0 0 2

Magherafelt 0 0 2

Strabane 0 0 0

Omagh 0 5 2

Cookstown 0 2 3

Total 17 33 43

Housing Schemes

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the housing schemes planned by the NI Housing Executive for Lisburn, in the next financial year.

(AQW 1263/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive is unable to confirm details of its programmes of activity beyond the current financial year and cannot therefore advise when individual schemes are likely to go on site in subsequent years. The Housing Executive will review its programmes when budgets have been confirmed, as the delivery of these programmes is dependent on the availability of funding in any given year.

Details of the Housing Executive’s programmes of activity are included in their District Housing Plans which are reviewed annually and presented to local councils. he Lisburn District Housing Plan is available at www.nihe.gov.uk.

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development if she has any plans to transfer additional staff to the Appeals Service.

(AQW 1266/10)

Minister for Social Development: Staffing levels in The Appeals Service are monitored on an ongoing basis and when necessary, reviewed, to ensure they reflect variations in workloads. At present there is one vacancy in the branch and a suitable candidate is being identified to fill this post.

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development to provide a breakdown of the annual budget for the Appeals Service.

(AQW 1267/10)

Minister for Social Development: The allocated budget for The Appeals Service for 2009/10 is currently £4,640,899. A breakdown of this allocation is provided in the table below.

Business Area Budget

Wages & Salaries £1,765,899

General Administrative Expenditure £2,875,000

Total £4,640,899

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development how many complaints have been received by the Appeals Service from (i) individual claimants; (ii) Citizens Advice Bureau staff; (iii) solicitors; and (iv) elected representatives such as Councillors, MLAs or MPs, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1268/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information regarding Citizen Advice Bureau staff is not available; any complaints from this body are included in the totals for representatives from voluntary sector.

The information requested is detailed in the table below:

Year Claimants Representatives from Voluntary Sector Solicitors Elected Representatives Total

2004-2005 25 1 4 2 32

2005-2006 17 4 0 2 23

2006-2007 15 1 1 0 17

2007-2008 13 2 1 3 19

2008-2009 11 7 0 1 18

Totals 81 15 6 8 109

Appeals Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development if there is a dedicated call handling section in the Appeals Service.

(AQW 1269/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Appeals Service does not operate a dedicated call handling section.

Improvement Scheme in the Glen Estate, Newtownards

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development if she would agree to review the improvement scheme in the Glen Estate, Newtownards, aimed at increasing the bungalow dwellings from one bed to two bed, if there should be a shortfall in funding.

(AQW 1276/10)

Minister for Social Development: These proposed Multi Element Improvement works would involve all of the 16 affected bungalows getting an extension to provide an extra bedroom at a total cost of some £833,000. The Housing Executive’s planned improvement and maintenance programme has been affected by the shortfall in the Housing Executive’s budget. The Housing Executive did review its programme and is currently unable to confirm when improvement works to these properties may commence.

Credit Unions

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister for Social Development what discussions he has had with Credit Unions to explore their proposals for investing in the social housing programme.

(AQO 170/10)

Minister for Social Development: I met with the President of the Irish League of Credit Unions and an ICLU Board member on 8 June 2009.This discussion centred on the impact of proposed legislation on credit unions and how credit unions can contribute to social development initiatives including issues regarding housing.

Following on from this meeting officials from Housing Division met with representatives of the Credit Union movement on 25 June.

Whilst the Credit Union movement was keen to explore how it could invest in a range of social projects across the North, including housing, no detailed proposals were tabled.

The issue here is that any borrowing would need to be guaranteed by the Department and would score as public expenditure. This would ultimately mean the Departmental Expenditure Limit for my Department would exceed that set by the Northern Ireland Executive.

I understand the Credit Union movement plan to have further discussions with the Minister for Finance to see how any investment from them could be structured.

Payment of Contractors

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development (i) if the Grants Office is meeting its targets for payment of contractors employed to carry out disabled adaptations; (ii) what the time frame is for payment; and (iii) how many contractors are still awaiting an interim payment before submitting their signing-off certificates.

(AQW 1292/10)

Minister for Social Development: I understand the Member is referring to the Housing Executive’s Lisburn Grants office. The Lisburn Grants Office is currently taking on average 6.8 weeks to process payments for Disabled Facilities Grants. The Housing Executive aims to make all grant payments within 6 weeks of a request from the grant applicant, provided all relevant invoices, guarantees and certificates have been received. At the end of September, there were 5 interim payments for Disabled Facilities Grants waiting to be processed.

Funding

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development to detail all funding awarded by her Department to Councils in the South Down constituency, in each of the last three years; and to detail the total planned investment in the constituency over the next three years.

(AQW 1293/10)

Minister for Social Development: It is not possible to provide the information in the way requested as we do not record all funding by electoral ward and therefore I have included the funding awarded in each of the last three years to the District Council Areas which, in whole or in part, make up the South Down constituency, i.e. Banbridge, Down and Newry & Mourne, with the exception that funding in Newry City has been excluded:

2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 Grand Total

Regional Development Office(RDO) £4,473,617 £302,180 £4,905,863 £9,681,660

Voluntary & Community Unit(VCU) £615,351 £644,718 £654,225 £1,914,294

Total £5,088,968 £946,898 £5,560,088 £11,595,954

The Housing Executive does not provide funding directly to Councils.

The total planned investment in the South Down constituency area over the next three years is:

£,000

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Total

RDO 5,785 460 6,245

VCU 572 60 45 677

Housing 11,517

Grand Total 17,874 520 45 18,439

In relation to the planned investment over the next three years, the Housing Executive is unable to confirm details of its programmes of activity beyond the current financial year and cannot therefore advise when individual schemes are likely to go on site in subsequent years. The Housing Executive will review its programmes when budgets have been confirmed as the delivery of these programmes is dependent on the availability of finance in any given year.

In the South Down constituency 3 Jobs & Benefits offices remain to be delivered in Newcastle, Downpatrick and Ballynahinch. Plans are well advanced for the Newcastle Jobs & Benefits office at an estimated capital cost of £2.36m. A number of potential sites are being investigated for the location of the new Downpatrick Jobs & Benefits office and based on current assumptions the cost estimate for this development is upwards of £7.25m. The estimated cost of the Ballynahinch Jobs & Benefits office is around £1.93m but due to the need to complete the development of the Downpatrick office to accommodate staff from Ballynahinch, this office is unlikely to be progressed within the 3 year window. Final costs cannot be confirmed until developers have been appointed to take forward the necessary work.

Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings Scheme

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the number of homes purchased under the Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings scheme, in each of the last five years; (ii) the purchase price of each property; and (iii) how much was received when each was sold on.

(AQW 1303/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive has provided the following information. Table 1 details the number of homes purchased under the Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings scheme in each of the last five years.

Table 1

Year Properties Purchased

2004/2005 58

2005/2006 69

2006/2007 22

2007/2008 22

2008/2009 46

Table 2 attached details the purchase price and resale price of the properties sold in each of the last five years.

Table 2 - SPED RESALES

2004/2005

2005/2006

2006/2007

2007/2008

2008/2009

Purchase Price

Resale Price

Purchase Price

Resale Price

Purchase Price

Resale Price

Purchase Price

Resale Price

Purchase Price

Resale Price

1 £47,000 £43,113 £83,550 £61,000 £75,000 £125,000 £590,000 £790,000 £155,000 £83,000

2 £52,000 £44,000 £33,500 £22,000 £160,000 £266,000 £80,000 £160,000 £220,000 £150,000

3 £73,000 £65,500 £61,000 £61,000 £322,000 £300,000 £115,000 £180,000 £220,000 £132,000

4 £38,000 £36,500 £135,000 £145,000 £110,000 £180,000 £120,000 £221,000 £143,500 £75,000

5 £59,500 £52,000 £73,000 £66,500 £280,000 £262,000 £84,500 £113,000

6 £130,000 £45,000 £85,000 £78,500 £106,500 £129,000 £135,000 £100,000

7 £57,000 £53,000 £47,000 £40,000 £73,000 £85,000 £180,000 £226,000

8 £58,000 £50,000 £78,000 £74,000 £165,000 £162,500

9 £74,000 £66,500 £53,000 £45,000 £295,000 £330,000

10 £85,000 £72,000 £63,000 £50,000 £300,000 £270,000

11 £62,250 £56,000 £166,000 £130,000 £69,000 £67,000

12 £55,500 £40,000 £80,000 £55,500 £180,000 £77,500

13 £68,000 £60,000 £200,000 £165,000 £89,000 £89,250

14 £40,000 £35,500 £77,500 £72,000 £40,000 £64,000

15 £73,500 £65,000 £45,000 £43,000 £167,500 £186,500

16 £45,000 £40,000 £247,000 £215,000 £60,000 £65,000

17 £122,500 £105,000 £38,000 £34,000 £225,000 £237,500

18 £68,000 £50,000 £305,000 £257,500 £156,000 £165,000

19 £58,000 £46,000 £58,500 £52,000 £295,000 £304,000

20 £75,000 £60,000 £43,000 £43,000 £235,000 £236,000

21 £66,000 £55,000 £67,000 £65,000 £167,500 £175,000

22 £180,000 £156,480 £20,000 £20,500 £130,000 £153,000

23 £77,750 £70,000 £77,000 £79,000 £120,000 £128,500

24 £172,500 £152,500 £57,500 £66,000 £262,500 £252,500

25 £315,000 £249,999 £133,000 £145,000 £100,000 £114,500

26 £170,000 £152,500 £53,500 £48,000 £160,000 £170,000

27 £71,000 £63,000 £177,000 £161,000 £53,500 £61,500

28 £67,500 £60,000 £175,000 £135,000 £120,000 £142,500

29 £71,980 £40,000 £92,000 £110,000 £190,000 £180,000

30 £46,000 £41,000 £230,000 £192,000 £116,000 £127,000

31 £255,000 £248,500 £127,500 £90,000 £116,000 £126,500

32 £327,000 £305,000 £500,000 £510,571 £80,000 £96,000

33 £86,000 £79,000 £54,000 £57,000 £435,000 £435,000

34 £68,250 £64,750 £121,000 £126,000 £127,000 £133,000

35 £35,916 £25,000 £207,650 £190,000 £89,000 £95,000

36 £64,400 £62,000 £72,000 £68,000 £285,000 £330,000

37 £183,500 £170,000 £240,000 £237,500 £186,000 £197,000

38 £59,500 £57,000 £150,000 £151,000 £101,000 £129,000

39 £39,000 £36,000 £238,000 £197,500 £90,000 £117,000

40 £53,000 £51,000 £76,000 £70,000 £86,950 £119,000

41 £54,600 £50,000 £129,000 £119,500 £59,000 £88,000

2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009

Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price

42 £175,000 £175,000 £65,000 £67,000 £235,000 £267,500

43 £62,500 £55,000 £112,000 £104,000 £162,500 £157,500

44 £59,000 £53,000 £268,500 £260,000 £145,000 £156,500

45 £185,000 £160,000 £157,500 £135,000 £152,000 £165,000

46 £128,000 £123,500 £82,500 £82,500 £142,000 £188,000

47 £26,000 £23,000 £45,000 £42,000 £130,000 £172,000

48 £65,000 £63,500 £160,000 £153,500 £97,500 £137,500

49 £81,000 £78,000 £49,750 £48,000

50 £158,000 £147,000 £150,000 £153,000

51 £57,500 £54,000 £123,000 £117,000

52 £65,000 £61,000 £75,000 £86,000

53 £176,500 £167,000 £260,000 £212,000

54 £210,000 £178,000 £220,500 £216,000

55 £130,000 £128,000 £130,000 £128,500

56 £145,000 £138,500 £67,000 £74,000

57 £160,000 £142,500 £96,000 £92,000

58 £130,000 £127,000 £82,000 £85,000

59 £130,000 £130,000 £80,000 £85,000

60 £232,000 £171,000 £115,000 £115,000

61 £137,500 £130,000 £112,000 £102,000

62 £145,000 £136,000 £118,000 £114,000

63 £149,000 £145,000 £86,000 £86,000

64 £132,500 £122,500 £262,500 £246,500

65 £42,500 £39,750 £55,000 £55,000

66 £160,000 £151,500 £145,000 £166,000

67 £105,000 £103,000 £197,000 £199,500

68 £232,000 £210,000 £110,000 £106,000

69 £46,000 £52,500 £132,500 £129,000

70 £90,000 £100,000 £355,000 £345,000

71 £136,000 £134,000 £228,000 £205,000

72 £170,000 £165,000 £106,000 £113,000

73 £165,000 £140,000 £96,500 £98,000

74 £127,500 £100,000 £99,500 £98,000

75 £120,000 £117,000 £86,000 £90,000

76 £222,500 £220,000 £64,000 £70,000

77 £102,500 £100,000 £160,000 £170,000

78 £120,000 £120,000 £183,000 £192,000

79 £75,000 £72,000 £155,000 £155,000

80 £43,000 £47,000 £125,000 £138,000

81 £129,000 £140,000 £112,500 £126,000

82 £149,000 £142,000 £102,500 £99,000

83 £166,500 £172,700 £75,000 £75,000

84 £128,500 £100,000 £300,000 £285,000

2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009

Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price

85 £152,500 £149,000 £185,000 £180,000

86 £133,000 £128,000 £132,000 £132,500

87 £113,000 £114,000 £60,000 £68,500

88 £140,000 £130,000 £122,500 £133,500

89 £110,000 £100,000 £93,000 £99,000

90 £91,500 £90,000 £130,000 £130,000

91 £78,000 £74,000 £142,000 £144,000

92 £137,000 £135,000

93 £173,000 £152,750

94 £163,500 £163,500

95 £142,000 £139,000

96 £297,000 £282,500

97 £80,000 £82,000

98 £177,500 £155,000

99 £135,000 £136,200

100 £182,500 £173,000

101 £172,500 £163,000

102 £145,000 £145,000

103 £108,000 £111,500

104 £130,000 £121,000

105 £160,000 £155,000

106 £170,000 £151,000

107 £154,000 £145,000

108 £271,000 £250,000

109 £93,500 £93,500

110 £57,000 £63,500

111 £128,000 £124,000

112 £162,500 £150,000

113 £250,000 £240,000

114 £173,000 £182,000

115 £70,000 £66,750

116 £195,000 £187,500

117 £122,500 £118,000

118 £277,500 £250,000

119 £156,000 £152,000

120 £120,000 £110,000

121 £130,000 £130,000

122 £147,500 £135,000

123 £94,000 £99,500

124 £79,000 £77,000

125 £147,000 £136,750

126 £53,000 £52,000

127 £120,000 £110,000

2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009

Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price

128 £136,500 £134,500

129 £86,500 £89,000

130 £94,500 £94,500

131 £163,500 £166,000

132 £56,000 £54,000

133 £38,500 £37,500

134 £38,500 £55,000

135 £180,000 £164,000

136 £90,000 £85,000

137 £92,500 £90,000

138 £84,000 £80,000

139 £217,500 £193,400

140 £160,000 £148,500

141 £165,000 £180,000

142 £280,000 £249,500

143 £200,000 £182,000

144 £46,000 £47,500

145 £48,000 £48,500

146 £190,000 £222,000

147 £177,500 £160,000

148 £91,000 £93,750

149 £178,500 £186,000

150 £85,000 £86,500

151 £98,000 £101,000

152 £68,500 £74,401

153 £62,500 £68,750

154 £195,000 £202,500

155 £59,000 £56,000

156 £187,500 £187,500

157 £177,500 £175,000

158 £55,000 £52,000

159 £134,000 £125,000

160 £78,000 £70,000

161 £182,000 £182,000

162 £205,000 £200,000

163 £191,500 £188,000

164 £166,000 £165,500

165 £85,000 £89,000

166 £137,000 £134,000

167 £141,000 £138,500

168 £197,000 £192,000

169 £40,000 £41,500

170 £70,000 £74,500

2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009

Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price Purchase Price Resale Price

171 £122,500 £123,000

172 £102,000 £102,000

173 £131,000 £130,000

174 £270,000 £259,000

175 £99,000 £95,000

176 £191,000 £200,000

177 £76,000 £53,000

178 £152,500 £157,000

179 £117,500 £115,000

180 £123,000 £120,000

181 £170,000 £162,000

182 £82,500 £93,000

183 £89,000 £89,800

184 £115,000 £111,000

185 £160,000 £166,000

186 £125,000 £132,000

187 £43,000 £39,000

188 £158,950 £151,000

189 £99,500 £96,000

190 £77,500 £77,500

191 £88,000 £88,000

192 £37,000 £39,500

193 £97,000 £94,950

194 £72,750 £71,500

195 £67,000 £69,500

196 £86,000 £94,000

197 £132,500 £128,000

198 £191,500 £184,000

199 £77,500 £77,500

200 £125,000 £118,000

201 £123,500 £121,000

202 £105,000 £101,000

203 £108,000 £110,750

204 £37,750 £38,000

205 £80,000 £78,000

206 £85,000 £85,000

207 £187,000 £187,000

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Social Development what services in her Department have been affected by efficiency savings (i) in the last financial year; and (ii) in the first six months of this financial year.

(AQW 1305/10)

Minister for Social Development: During 2008/09 and in the first six months of 2009/10, my Department has succeeded in fully protecting frontline Social Security and Child Maintenance services from the effects of challenging efficiency targets.

However, cyclical maintenance in Housing and delivery of Environmental Improvement Schemes were affected in 2008/09 and funding for some Voluntary and Community Sector projects had to be discontinued.

In the first half of 2009/10, reinvestment of efficiency savings has assisted in protecting key service delivery priorities such as the Children and Young People’s and Modernisation Funds. However, there have been further efficiencies in respect of planned and cyclical maintenance, some regeneration programmes have been reprioritised and there have been further reductions in the funding made available for the Voluntary and Community sector.

Social Housing

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in the Larne area.

(AQW 1363/10)

Minister for Social Development: At 30 June 2009 there were 531 housing applicants on the social housing waiting list for Larne.

Culmore Gardens, West Belfast

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister for Social Development if she would consider bringing forward the upgrade of the frontage of the houses in 1, 4, 11, 13 and 19 Culmore Gardens, West Belfast.

(AQW 1375/10)

Minister for Social Development: There are currently no further improvement schemes programmed for the properties in question.

NI Housing Executive Homes

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive homes in West Tyrone are currently vacant; and how many of these have been vacant for more than twelve months.

(AQW 1381/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the table below contains the number of vacant dwellings, along with the number which have been vacant for more than 12 months, for the Strabane and Omagh District Council areas which include the areas within the West Tyrone parliamentary constituency.

Vacant Dwellings

Strabane 10 (of which 3 are vacant for over 12 months)

Omagh 50(of which 26 are vacant for over 12 months)

Decent Homes Standard

Mr F McCann asked the Minister for Social Development how the suspension of the home improvement or private sector grants scheme, will impact on the ability of the Housing Executive to meet the targets for the Decent Homes Standard by 2014.

(AQW 1432/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Decent Homes Standard target only applies to social housing and as such will be unaffected by any reduction in funding available to homes in the private sector.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister for Social Development to outline (i) what discussions she has had with other Ministers and Departments recently regarding the transfer of neighbourhood renewal; (ii) when these discussions took place; and (iii) if budgets will be included in any transfer.

(AQW 1543/10)

Minister for Social Development: On the 13^th of May this year as Chair of the Ministerial Group on Neighbourhood Renewal I met with representatives of Departments and representatives of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. The transfer of the delivery of Neighbourhood Renewal to the new local Councils in May 2011 was discussed at that meeting and welcomed by representatives from local government.

The new local Councils will receive the full resources that are associated with the operational delivery of functions transferring from my Department.

NI Housing Executive

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to outline how the NI Housing Executive regulates housing associations contracted to supply social housing.

(AQW 1555/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive does not have a regulatory function. Responsibility for regulating Housing Associations rests with the Governance and Inspection Team within the Department for Social Development.

Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme

Mr M Storey asked the Minister for Social Development to provide an update on the Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme.

(AQO 218/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme, or SPOD, is aimed at meeting the needs of small isolated deprived areas which do not qualify under the Department’s mainstream Neighbourhood Renewal Programme. This programme includes areas such as Finaghy, Drumcoo in Dungannon, Riverdale in Larne and Kilmacormick in Enniskillen. Funding of the Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme will continue until 31 March 2010. An independent evaluation report of the first three years of the Programme (up to 31 March 2009) received by my Department is currently under consideration. I will make a decision on the future of the Programme before the end of this year.

Social Housing

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Development to provide an update on her Department’s current social housing deficit.

(AQO 221/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Budget was facing a £100 million shortfall before the June Monitoring Round and the £20 million allocation received, while welcome, was needed just to meet existing contractual commitments in relation to Private Sector Grants. However a condition imposed by the Executive relating to this additional funding meant that an additional £20 million from within existing resources was to be released to the Egan contractors.

In order to meet this condition and to deploy the £20 million for grants, the Housing Executive will have to postpone other maintenance and related works, including suspending asbestos removal and change of tenancy repairs. The Housing Executive is continuing to investigate the possible options and ramifications of releasing the required funding. So, even meeting Executive stipulations on the £20 million we are still left with an £80 million shortfall.

The recent Housing Needs Assessment carried out by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has identified a need for 3,000 homes to be built each year to meet housing need. I agree with this assessment.

Members should understand, and I believe most do, that Housing is the only mainstream Government Programme that is dependent on a high level of capital receipts coming in from house and land sales.

The economic downturn has made it impossible to bring in this money. It is no-one’s fault. But the only way to fix the problem is to allocate a sufficient budget for housing that is not dependent on house sales. And if we sell lots of houses then the money is returned to the centre.

I say it again, we need to once and for all put housing on a firm financial footing.

Housing Budget

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Social Development how the shortfall in the housing budget will impact on planned housing programmes in the next financial year.

(AQO 222/10)

Minister for Social Development: The projected £107 million shortfall in the Housing capital budget for the next financial year can only be addressed by reducing planned expenditure across all housing programmes. I will again try to protect the most vulnerable in society and available funding will have to be directed to priority programmes and to where commitments already exist.

However by doing so, the other housing programmes, such as Private Sector grants and capital improvements to Housing Executive properties, cannot be fully funded without the allocation of additional funding from the Executive.

£107 million is a great deal of money. It is not a question of belt-tightening or being a bit more creative – we are doing all of that. We will need to work an economic miracle to meet our programme targets in the year ahead.

Town Centre Regeneration: Antrim and Ballyclare

Dr W McCrea asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the town centre regeneration programmes for Antrim and Ballyclare.

(AQO 223/10)

Minister for Social Development: I am pleased to advise that there has been positive progress in relation to the delivery of projects and masterplans for the future regeneration of Antrim and Ballyclare.

In Antrim I can confirm that an Environmental Improvement scheme at Railway Street is scheduled to commence in January. A masterplan to guide the development of the town centre is currently being prepared with Antrim Borough Council and will go out for public consultation later this month. Other regeneration projects are currently being worked up for the town. However these will require an economic appraisal and any decision to fund them will be subject to the Department’s budget being available to cover the cost of these new schemes.

In Ballyclare I opened a £676,500 public realm scheme around the Town Square in September. I am also pleased to announce that funding of £315,000 has been committed towards a new scheme along Main Street that will commence in January 2010. Funding for the appointment of consultants to prepare a masterplan for the town was approved on 24 September 2009 and the assignment is due to commence in November 2009.

Semple Review

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister for Social Development if the recommendations contained in the Semple Report are still part of her housing strategy.

(AQO 224/10)

Minister for Social Development: Sir John Semple was asked to undertake a review of affordable housing in September 2006. He produced a report in the spring of 2007 which contained 80 recommendations that spanned the work of a number of government departments. Although the housing market and challenges facing us today are very different to those which faced Sir John then, many of his recommendations have already been implemented and others continue to be delivered over the longer term. The New Housing Agenda, which I launched last year, in effect took forward much of work still to be delivered from Semple, along with new proposals and initiatives identified since Semple was first published. The New Housing Agenda sets out a radical and energetic agenda for housing which has not been seen for a generation, and it continues to have my full and total support.

Lisburn City Centre

Rt Hon J Donaldson asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the potential funding for implementation of the proposed masterplan for the regeneration of Lisburn City Centre.

(AQO 226/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Lisburn masterplan is planned to be delivered over the next 10 to 15 years. Our ability to implement the actions identified in the masterplan is constrained by a number of factors, including:

The complexity of the work involved in regeneration schemes;
The extent of the financial resources which the Department can secure in general for urban regeneration;
The staff resources in DSD and partner organisations; and
The planned transfer of responsibility for regeneration to local authorities in May 2011.

I do not know at this stage what funding will be available from Treasury and through DFP for future projects. However, I can assure you that each proposal will be considered against other competing priorities and a fair decision arrived at.

Social Housing

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister for Social Development what progress has been made in implementing the developer's contribution to social and affordable housing, as set out in the Semple Report.

(AQO 227/10)

Minister for Social Development: Legal responsibility for the introduction of Developer Contributions for social and affordable housing rests with the Department of the Environment. I am extremely disappointed that Northern Ireland remains the only region within these islands where developers are not required to contribute to the provision of much-needed social and affordable housing.

While I do recognise that this is a complex policy issue that requires sensitive handling in a number of regards, for example economic feasibility, it is essential that the Department of the Environment takes swift steps to develop a scheme as soon as possible. I have arranged a meeting with Minister Poots to determine how we can collectively expedite the introduction of this much needed scheme.

Housing Executive Homes

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Social Development how many Housing Executive homes had their heating systems changed in each of the last three financial years.

(AQO 228/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of heating systems in Housing Executive properties changed in each of the last three years is as follows:-

            2006/07             5420

            2007/08             4060

            2008/09             2959

Shared Future: Public Meetings

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the public meetings she has been holding about how we can build a Shared Future.

(AQO 229/10)

Minister for Social Development: I thank the Member for his question. Taking action to achieve the vision of a Shared Future has been high on my agenda since taking office as Minister.

I believe that the failure to agree an agreed policy and a programme of action focused on a shared future is a serious impediment to cementing the peace process; it is a failure of political leadership. The lack of progress in this area has a particularly damaging impact on tackling the problems of our most disadvantaged communities and so I have already taken steps to introduce Shared Future measures in some of my Department’s existing programmes. I have for example introduced screening every ‘new build’ scheme that comes forward onto the Social Housing Development Programme to explore its potential for inclusion as a Shared Future development. I have also, in partnership with the International Fund for Ireland, established the Shared Neighbourhood Programme.

But these developments alone cannot tackle our problems of sectarianism and division. In my view, the successful achievement of the vision for a shared future based on equality and mutual respect will require actions not only to tackle the scourge of sectarianism but to challenge and address division and separation on other grounds, such as disability, race or cultural background. Recent events around the experience of the Roma families and the long running abuse targeted at migrant communities serves to underline that position.

It is important, therefore, to develop a broader strategic approach to this important issue and over the past 2 months or so I have hosted a series of public meetings – ten so far with others planned - to discuss how a shared future agenda might be progressed. The primary purpose of these meetings has been to listen to what the people have to say about the problems faced by communities and to hear their suggestions for possible ways forward. The meetings have been well attended, reflecting an appetite and a strong desire for taking forward the shared future agenda.

I intend to develop proposals based on, amongst other things, the ideas and suggestions generated at these meetings and will bring my findings and proposals to my Executive colleagues in due course.

Housing Budget 2010-11

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development what is the projected shortfall in the housing budget for 2010/11.

(AQO 230/10)

Minister for Social Development: The projected shortfall in the housing capital budget for 2010/11 is £107 million and this will impact on all Housing spending programmes.

Northern Ireland Assembly Commission

Cost of Repair and Maintenance

Mr J Dallat asked the Assembly Commission to detail (i) the cost of repair and maintenance to the roof of Parliament Buildings; and (ii) to indicate the cost of repairing damage to offices through water leaks, in the last five years.

(AQW 1029/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson):

(i)

The roof of Parliament Buildings is comprised mainly of a series of flat roofs with a barrel roof over the central office accommodation.

The flat roofs are of ‘upside down’ construction with a waterproof membrane, insulation and protective slabs on top of a reinforced concrete slab.

Unfortunately, the waterproof membrane has broken down in several areas and extensive repairs have been necessary.

This work was carried out during the summer recess 2009 and was the most extensive since the refurbishment of Parliament Buildings. It is expected to cost in the region of £10,000.

Unfortunately it is not possible to separate the costs for previous minor repairs from routine maintenance costs for cleaning debris, weeding, repairs to gutters and downpipes etc.

An investigation into how best to resolve ongoing issues with water ingress has been carried out and initial options and costs for long term repairs have been presented to the Assembly Commission for their consideration.

A full scheme detailing recommendations and costs is being compiled. It is anticipated that the proposed solution will incorporate environmental considerations such as rainwater harvesting.

Additional work is due to be carried out in relation to the tiles on the upper part of the roof above Room 401, however the cost is not yet known for this work.

(ii)

Unfortunately it is not possible to separate the cost of redecorating offices in Parliament Buildings specifically in relation to water damage from the roof. A programme of redecoration was carried out in 2002-2003, including windows, radiators, ceilings, walls, skirting, architraves and doors. All staff offices, meeting rooms, MLA's offices, Party Support rooms, Ministerial offices and Executive offices were redecorated in this project. The total cost for this work was £250,499.69 of which £121,044.59 was paid in the financial year 2003-2004.

Youth Assembly

Mrs N Long asked the Assembly Commission to provide an update on its plans for a Youth Assembly; and (i) how it is envisaged it will function; and (ii) its planned role and remit.

(AQW 1050/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Moutray): As part of the Assembly Commission’s commitment to improve engagement with the general public, youth parliaments in a number of contexts have been investigated and proposals for a Northern Ireland Youth Assembly are under development.

Informal discussions with young people and other stakeholders are currently taking place. The Speaker intends to formally launch the concept of the Northern Ireland Youth Assembly at an event in Parliament Buildings on 20^th November.

Blue Flax Restaurant

Mr T Burns asked the Assembly Commission (i) to detail the total number of complaints which have been received about the Blue Flax restaurant, in each of the last three years; and (ii) to provide a summary of the nature of the complaints.

(AQW 1185/10)

For the purpose of this answer, please find the following table that sets out the total number of complaints received since September 2006 to September 2009, and broken down by category/nature of complaint. The complaints have been received through the feedback facility that is available to all Members and staff through AssISt.

September 2006 to September 2007 September 2007 to September 2008 September 2008 to September 2009

Food Quality 6 2 9

Portion Size 2 1 4

Waiting Time 4 1 1

Cost 2 1 8

Service/Staff 1 1 2

Hospitality 1 0 4

Miscellaneous 6 4 8

TOTALS 22 10 36

Blue Flax Restaurant

Mr T Burns asked the Assembly Commission to detail the total income generated by the Blue Flax restaurant in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1186/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson):

For the purpose of this answer, the following table sets out the total income generated in the Blue Flax restaurant from September 2006 to September 2009 (3 year period). The figures are nett.

Year 1 – September 2006 to September 2007 £214,374.76 *

Year 2 – September 2007 to September 2008 £284,942.30

Year 3 – September 2008 to September 2009 £290,224.95

* It should be noted that due to the changeover of catering contractors in early 2007, specific figures for income in the Blue Flax restaurant are not available. This is the case in February 2007. However, in this specific example I have added the overall catering income for that month as the Blue Flax makes up a large proportion of this.

REVISED WRITTEN ANSWERS

Friday 16 October 2009

(AQW 1129/10)

My Department has provided financial support to the University of Ulster for teaching and learning and for research amounting to £90.6m in 2009/10. In the current academic year, the University is being funded for 12,658 full-time undergraduate student places. The distribution of its funding and these places across its various campuses is a matter for the University itself.

The Department has not been asked for financial support for capital infrastructure development at Magee.

(AQW 638/10)

Subject to the Assembly’s normal legislative procedures, it is expected that the first Commencement Order for the Taxis Act will be made by the end of October 2009.

Erne Hospital Department	Number of junior doctor posts		Number of junior doctor posts currently filled
	Headcount	WTE	Headcount	WTE
Paediatric	7	7.0	6	6.0
Obstetric & Gynaecology	6	6.0	6	6.0
Medical	18	18.0	18	18.0
Surgery ¹	12	12.0	11	11.0
Accident & Emergency ¹	1	1.0	0	0

HSC Trust	Headcount	WTE²
Belfast	1,045	843.1
Northern	703	313.3
South Eastern	398	293.8
Southern	342	240.4
Western	395	326.3

Health and Social Care Trust	Number of sick days 01/04/08/ to 31/03/09
Northern	147,275
Southern	102,411
South Eastern	113,507
Belfast	260,049
Western	127,937
NI Ambulance Service*	n/a

	October 2008 - September 2009
	Date	Time	Total closure
1	20/10/2008	13.16 - 14.53	1hr 37min
2	09/11/2008	22.24 - 06.23	7hr 59min
3	22/02/2009	06.39 - 09.02	2hr 23min
4	08/03/2009	10.57 - 19.27	8hr 30min
5	24/03/2009	22.40 - 00.37	1hr 57min
6	27/03/2009	19.30 - 00.37	5hr 07min
7	28/03/2009	20.30 - 00.05	3hr 35min
8	30/03/2009	06.20 - 09.25	3hr 05min
9	31/03/2009	06.00 - 09.45	3hr 45min
10	04/04/2009	21.35 - 12.24	14hr 49min
11	25/04/2009	20.10 - 22.30	2hr 20min
12	01/05/2009	23.51 - 05.05	5hr 14min
13	18/06/2009	12.05 - 19.18(19/06)	31hr 13min
14	05/07/2009	13.45 - 15.03	1hr 48min
15	10/07/2009	23.09 - 05.00	5hr 51min
16	20/07/2009	17.36 - 20.55	3hr 19min
17	17/09/2009	18.04 - 06.00	11hr 56min
18	18/09/2009	17.39 - 08.07(20/09)	38hr 28min
19	21/09/2009	05.30 - 7.30	2hr 0min
20	25/09/2009	23.45 - 08.51	09hr 06min

DRD External Consultancy Projects 2005-06
Nature of Consultancy	Project Description	Benefits
Assurance - Quality accreditation	Infrastructure HealthCheck	Independent assurance that Departmental computer network was secure.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	Quality Accreditation	Independent assurance that all Departmental websites met mandatory minimum accessibility requirements.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	HMRI costings iro Commissioning New Rolling stock for NIR	Independent assurance the statutory requirement for the introduction to passenger service of new trains was met.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	Legal advice on City of Derry Airport - State Aid application	Independent legal advice to enable an accurate State Aid application to the EU for approval of safety related capital expenditure at the City of Derry Airport.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	Review of Belfast City Airport Provisions for the management of aircraft noise	The audit provided independent quality assurance that the Department's noise monitoring arrangements were fit for purpose.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	ISO 9001 Accreditation 05-06	Independent assurance that all Roads Service contractors comply with Roads Service Contract Specification requirements.
Assurance - Quality accreditation	Advice on regulation of new water company	Independent advice and guidance from OFWAT, the water regulator in England and Wales, on the development of the regulatory framework for the new water company.
Assurance - Corporate governance	Sophos configuration in W2K3	The design of an anti-virus infrastructure for the department's computer network.
Assurance - Investment appraisal	Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project - Procurement Phase	Independent expert advice with the procurement of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.
Finance -Strategic	Provision of PPP Financial Advice	Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of PPP contract.
Finance –Strategic	Provision of PPP Insurance Advice	Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.
Finance – Strategic	Provision of PPP Legal Advice	Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.
Financial – Audit	Bangor relay	Report required by NIAO as part of the research for their report into the Upgrade of the Belfast-Bangor Relay.
Financial – Audit	Bangor relay	Report required by NIAO as part of the research for their report into the Upgrade of the Belfast-Bangor Relay.
Financial – Audit	End of year audit FDR/Confares/Bus route subsidy 04-05	Independent annual assurance on spend on the NI Concessionary Fares and Fuel Duty Rebate schemes.
Financial – Audit	End of year audit FDR/Confares/Bus route subsidy 05-06	Independent annual assurance on spend on the NI Concessionary Fares and Fuel Duty Rebate schemes.
Financial – Economic appraisal	Advice on licence issues associated with water charges	Specialist advice on Water Service's Public and Private Partnerships with the department's proposals for the development of the regulatory framework and licence for the new company.
Financial – Economic appraisal	Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service	Specialist advice to identify options for the establishment of a self funding water and sewerage industry in NI.
Financial – Economic appraisal	Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service (IFM)	Expert advice to update the Integrated Financial Model (IFM), which formed part of the Strategic and Financial Review of Water Service, as a result of a Ministerial decision to delay the introduction of water charges from April 2006 to April 2007.
Financial – Economic appraisal	Strategic and Financial Review of the Water Service (IFM)	An updated version of the Integrated Financial Model (IFM), which formed part of the Strategic and Financial Review of Water Service, as a result of a Ministerial decision to delay the introduction of water charges from April 2006 to April 2007.
Financial –Feasibility study	Accessibility Analysis	Expert advice and associated estimate of the revenue funding necessary to meet appropriate standards of accessibility to public transport in both the Rural and Other Urban Areas.
Financial –Feasibility study	EU Project Assessment	Independent specialist assessment of a proposed EU funded project. This assessment is a requirement of the EU selection process.
Financial –Feasibility study	Contract C085 - Consultancy Support for the Efficiency Programme - Client Services Function	Independent advice and expertise in implementing Water Service's Business Efficiency Strategy and Rolling Business Efficiency Programme to achieve efficiency gains.
Financial –Feasibility study	Contract C086 - Consultancy Support for the Efficiency Programme - Contract Services Function	Independent review of specific efficiency projects and validation of performance indicators identified potential cost efficiencies within contracts in Water Service.
Human Resources	Appointment of Directors - Linked to Veredus	Recruitment of senior personnel in critical areas such as Asset Management, Operations, Finance & Regulation and Legal Services within Water Service.
Human Resources	Commissioner on recruitment panel	Compliance with recruitment procedures for senior civil service roles, in this case the recruitment of new directors within Water Service.
Human Resources	Develop Change Workshops	Expert advice and guidance in preparing employees for transition to Northern Ireland Water Limited.
Human Resources	Recruitment for Operations posts - Linked to Veredus	Recruitment of senior personnel within Operations directorate within Water Service.
Human Resources	Recruitment of Directors & Heads of Departments	Recruitment of senior personnel in critical areas such as Asset Management, Operations, Finance & Regulation and Legal Services within Water Service.
Management –Organisational development	Advice to Roads Service Board on future administration arrangements for roads functions with RPA	Independent advice on financial and governance implications of the Review of Public Administration.
Management –Organisational development	Review of RSD stores and use of Qualtec	Specialist preparatory advice for anticipated impact of Review of Public Administration and AccountNI. Supply Chain Manager introduced to improve co-ordination and consistency across Roads Service Direct.
Management –Organisational development	Specialist Advisor - DPE	Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.
Management –Organisational development	Asset Management Model	Specialist advice to deliver an asset management model to optimise the asset base and enable staff and processes to deliver best value for the customer.
Management –Organisational development	Consultancy - Efficiency	Specialist advice and knowledge / skills transfer from another UK water provider in the fields of efficiency, human resources, tariff design, energy management, billing and cash collection.
Management –Organisational development	Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project	Independent expert advice to design, procure and implementation of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.
Management - Organisational development	Customer Billing/Contacts/Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase	Independent expert advice to design, procure and implementation of a Customer Contact and Billing function and a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.
Management - Organisational development	Due Diligence	Independent expert advice for the transition to a GoCo.
Management - Organisational development	HR-IT Consultancy	Independent expert advice to develop IT systems to enhance the HR function within Water Service.
Management - Organisational development	Mobile Work Management Project - Implementation phase	Independent expert advice to implement a Mobile Works Management System within Water Service.
Management - Performance Measurement	MOM (MS Pilot Project)	Specialist advice to deliver an Operations Console that presents core ICT support roles and tasks in real-time. ICT staff have been trained in the concepts, techniques and skills to maintain the new Operations Management solution within Water Service.
Management - Performance Measurement	Contract C125 - Consultancy Assignment Independent Certifier for OFWAT Regulatory returns	Independent advice to assign investment requirements for Waste Water Treatment Works.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	Review of the Rural Transport Fund Programme	Specialist advice and guidance the ensure Rural Transport Fund services are delivered to rural dwellers who need them most.
Management - Policy appraisal and review	Planning Policy Statement 14 - Sustainable Development in the Countryside	Independent comprehensive expert advice on the planning issues to be considered in the Review of the Rural Planning Policy.
Management –Policy appraisal and review	Advice on development of water reform legislation	Expert legal advice in water industry law, regulatory and environmental issues and legal processes to draft new legislation to establish a self funding regime for the delivery of water and sewerage services through the introduction of charges to domestic customers.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	Legal Advice to NIAER on water reform legislation	Expert regulatory assessment of the key provisions of the new water and sewerage draft legislation.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	External consultancy - no further information available	Strategic procurement assistance in areas of e-sourcing and e-auction which generated significant cost savings.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	PCSPS Legal Fees	Expert advice to develop a Scheme Trust Deed and Rules in line with pension legislation.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	Pensions - J Goodchild	Interim appointment of manager of pension scheme to provide technical input until appointment of a full time manager.
Management – Policy appraisal and review	Professional Services	Actuarial expertise to negotiate with Government Actuary Department and calculate initial employer’s contribution rate upon formation of GoCo pension scheme.
Management - Strategic Management	Expert financial advice - PSO high level review	Expert financial advice on financial governance arrangements for the Public Service Obligation to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the financial information provided by Northern Ireland Railways.
Management - Strategic Management	Expert marine advice on the Rathlin Ferry Service	Expert technical marine advice providing assurance on the operation of the Rathlin Ferry Service.
Management - Strategic Management	Review of PSO	Expert advice to develop a comprehensive Financial Memorandum to improve financial governance arrangements over the Public Service Obligation.
Management - Strategic Management	Advice on Sustainable Transport	Expert advice in the development of cycling blueprints contained in the Transport Plans for Belfast and 29 other towns.
Management - Strategic Management	BVR Bonus Review	Expert advice on the verification of the bonus scheme.
Management - Strategic Management	Water Reform Programme Management - Planning and Reporting	Expert specialist advice to develop and maintain a Consolidated Programme Plan for the multiple projects that made up the water reform programme.
Management - Strategic Management	WR Programme Risk Healthcheck Report	Independent assessment of the risks associated with the water reform programme and guidance on the development of an initial risk register.
Management - Strategic Management	Crown Immunity Costs - EQR	Expert advice on implications of loss of Crown Immunity upon transition to GoCo.
Management - Strategic Management	Incinerator site Protection and monitoring	Expert advice regarding environmental considerations surrounding Incinerator site.
Management - Strategic Management	Pensions Project	Programming expertise relating to new pension contribution rate for payroll as part of GoCo pension scheme.
Management - Strategic Management	PPC Applications for Dunmurry	Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.
Management - Strategic Management	PPC Applications for Omagh WWTW	Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.
Management - Strategic Management	PPC applications for Strabane WWTW	Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.
Management - Strategic Management	Preparation for GOCO training and development strategy	Specialist advice relating to GoCo development strategy.
Management - Strategic Management	Preparation of PPC Permit Application for incinerator	Regulatory advice and the production of a Pollution Prevention Control permit application for Sewage Sludge generation in line with regulatory requirements and timelines under European Directive.
Management - Strategic Management	Production of trade effluent discharges database	Specialist advice on trade effluent discharges database.
Management - Strategic Management	Provision of a Training & Development Strategy	Training and coaching of change facilitators to prepare employees for transition to GoCo.
Management - Strategic Management	Review of risk assessment & efficiency action plan	Specialist advice on Business Risk Process for the transition to a GoCo.
Management - Strategic Management	Risk Management Pilot Scheme	Specialist advice with development of Compliance Assurance Risk Model.
Management - Strategic Management	Technical Review of DMARGIS	Independent technical advice to develop a software system to meet Water Service’s short and medium term asset information needs.
Management - Strategic Management	Tests of likely Significance(TOLS)	Independent expert assessment under the habitat directive of environmental impact of potential water and sewerage projects.
Organisation & Change Management	DPE - Implementation (Phase 2)	Specialist advice to the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Project. These skills were transferred to staff.
Procurement	Water Service PPP Directorate Professional Advisory Commission re PPP/PFI	Specialist advice and expertise in the efficient procurement of PPP partners and the successful development of PPP projects.
Procurement	Provision of PPP Technical Advice	Specialist support to assist the Department procure and deliver two packages of road schemes using the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract.
Research Projects	NISTRM	Prompt delivery of revised traffic forecast data, revised local government division growth factors (using new housing growth indicators) and handover of key modelling datasets to allow RS to manage the future use of the transport model.

	£M
Construction	540
Fees/Surveys/etc	60
Statutory Authorities	27
Acquisition of Land/Compensation	53
Risk	170

Year	Number of illegally erected flags and symbols removed	Number of illegally erected signs removed
2007 - 2008	201	7,331
2008 - 2009	372	4,857
1 April - 30 September 2009	160	2,046

PERIOD NUMBER	DATES	PASSENGER JOURNEYS	REVENUE (£)
12 2008/09	23/02/09 – 29/03/09	76,592	520,716
1 2009/10	30/03/09 – 26/04/09	64,816	332,754
2 2009/10	27/04/09 – 24/05/09	58,215	342,893
3 2009/10	25/05/09 – 28/06/09	72,545	471,350
4 2009/10	29/06/09 – 26/07/09	58,433	312,496
5 2009/10	27/07/09 – 23/08/09	64,517	390,195

	NIR local network	Enterprise
Period-Year	Cancellations	Cancellations
Oct 04 to Sept 05	836	0
Oct 05 to Sept 06	899	1
Oct 06 to Sept 07	736	0
Oct 07 to Sept 08	630	0
Oct 08 to Sept 09	522	0

Year	Irish	Ulster-Scots
1999-2000	Nil	Nil
2000-2001	Nil	Nil
2001-2002	Nil	Nil
2002-2003	Nil	Nil
2003-2004	148	134
2004-2005	338	Nil
2005-2006	436	Nil
2006-2007	411	175
2007-2008	893	49
2008-2009	5514	202
1 April to 1 October 2009	1529	Nil
Total:	£9269	£560

Financial Year	No of Vouchers issued	Total Value of vouchers
2007/08 (March 2008 only)	78	£178
2008/09	681	£2,786
2009/10 (To 30 Sept 2009)	209	£673

TOTAL	£43,621.00
	Compensation Paid
2008/09
Carrickfergus Section Office	£6,000.00
Larne Section Office	£5,000.00
Newtownabbey Section Office	£32,621.00
2007/08
Carrickfergus Section Office	£4,100.00
Larne Section Office	NIL.00
Newtownabbey Section Office	£39,962.50
TOTAL	£44,062.50
2006/07
Carrickfergus Section Office	£750.00
Larne Section Office	£2,375.00
Newtownabbey Section Office	£76,220.41
TOTAL	£79,345.41
2005/06
Carrickfergus Section Office	£14,500.00
Larne Section Office	£17,500.00
Newtownabbey Section Office	£23,415.66
TOTAL	£55,415.66
2004/05
Carrickfergus Section Office	£40,750.00
Larne Section Office	£1,500.00
Newtownabbey Section Office	£48,000.00
TOTAL	£90,250.00

Efficiency Delivery Plan - Categories	2008/09 £'000	2009/10 £'000	2010/11 £'000
Overall DRD Efficiencies	22,463	44,250	65,384
Water Efficiencies - to be incorporated within the NIW subsidy requirement	9,014	17,758	26,239
Remaining DRD Efficiencies	13,449	26,492	39,145
Of which Admin Efficiencies	830	3,130	5,366
Generation of additional income	3,494	3,952	4,412
Reduction in capital budget for plant / depot additions / refurbishment	2,500	2,500	2,500
Other Capital efficiencies	2,600	8,000	7,790
Reductions in rail / bus capital	1,100	5,950	4,500
NITHC Asset Disposals	0	0	11,600
Core Costs (Resource)	475	510	527
Bus route subsidy	2,450	2,450	2,450
Subtotal	12,619	23,362	33,779
Service Delivery Efficiencies (Admin)	830	2,995	5,099
Reductions in Core Costs (Admin)	0	135	267
Admin Subtotal	830	3,130	5,366
Total	13,449	26,492	39,145

	2007/08	2008/09
Catholic	2,864	3,061
Other	417	578
Protestant	3,457	3,604
Undisclosed	549	885
Total	7,287	8,128

Quarter ending	Newtownabbey1	Newtownabbey 2	Carrickfergus	Larne
Jun-06	34	36	37	31
Sep-06	30	35	34	35
Dec-06	27	36	27	27
Mar-07	27	53	39	30
Jun-07	22	48	38	17
Sep-07	19	32	22	25
Dec-07	24	50	24	23
Mar-08	9	50	24	16
Jun-08	24	39	21	18
Sep-08	33	33	22	21
Dec-08	24	34	49	33
Mar-09	41	51	44	18

Waiting List	June 2009
Ards District	1,684
Down District	1,281
Castlereagh District	1,357
TOTAL	4,322

Business Area	Budget
Programme Salary costs	£6,051,000
General Administrative Expenditure	£98,000
Total	£6,149,000

Group	Programme	06/07£	07/08£	08/09£	Purpose of funding
Kilcooley Community Forum	Neighbourhood Renewal	42,673.42	43,293	43,581.22	Support and development of the Kilcooley Forum
Kilcooley Community Forum	Neighbourhood Renewal			2,971.60	Upgrade of Forum Computers
Kilcooley Community Forum	Small Grants for Volunteering			1,000	Small grants to support groups and individuals to maximise potential, bringing greater benefits to wider community.
First Friends Play Group:	Neighbourhood Renewal	9,751.28	17,003	8,122	Provision of child care and establishment of a community enterprise group.
North Down Impact- Access all Areas	Neighbourhood Renewal	4,791.62			Cross-community project with Poleglass.
North Down Alternatives	Neighbourhood Renewal			27,994.85	Targeting anti-social behaviour, youth at risk, community capacity, the fear of crime and the needs of vulnerable residents.
Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group	Small Grants for Volunteering	1,000	1,000	1,000	Small grants to support the promotion and establishment of education programmes for women, young people and pre-school children
Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group	Neighbourhood Renewal	4,032.60			Provision of audio transcription equipment for paralegal training
Kilcooley Women’s Education and Development Group	Neighbourhood Renewal			£25,153	STEP project to provide accredited training and an employment mentoring service for women from Kilcooley
The Square Centre	Small Grants for Volunteering			£1,000	Small grant to support the community café, nearly new shop to assuist vulnerable and socially excluded residents

Section	Desktop Computers	Laptop Computers	Fax Machines	Telephones
Prehearing	22			12
Hearing	25			16
Post Hearing	16			14
Administration and Support	16	1	2	10
Total	79	1	2	52

District Office	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Belfast West	2	1	3
Belfast East	0	1	0
Belfast North	3	1	1
Belfast South	1	0	0
Belfast Shankill	0	0	0
Bangor	0	1	2
Newtownards	1	1	0
Castlereagh	0	0	1
Lisburn 1	3	3	7
Lisburn 3	0	0	0
Downpatrick	0	0	4
Banbridge	0	0	0
Newry	1	0	3
Armagh	1	0	1
Lurgan/Brownlow	0	2	2
Portadown	1	1	0
Dungannon	2	3	0
Fermanagh	2	5	1
Ballymena	0	2	1
Antrim	0	0	0
Newtownabbey 1	0	0	1
Newtownabbey 2	0	0	2
Carrickfergus	0	0	1
Larne	0	0	1
Ballycastle	0	0	0
Ballymoney	0	0	0
Coleraine	0	2	0
Waterloo	0	0	0
Waterside	0	0	2
Collon	0	3	1
Limavady	0	0	2
Magherafelt	0	0	2
Strabane	0	0	0
Omagh	0	5	2
Cookstown	0	2	3
Total	17	33	43

Friday 16 October 2009

Written Answers to Questions

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy

Complaints

Expenditure for the North South Ministerial Council

Private Consultancy

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Flooding Programme

Renewable Energy

Derelict Buildings

Single Farm Payment

Single Farm Payment

Hardship Payments

Private Consultancy

Bovine TB Regulations

Single Farm Payment

Translating and Publishing Material

Bumblebee Population

Rural Development Programme

National Trails Day

Loughs Agency

EU Milk Quotas

North/South Hotline

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Efficiency Savings

Girl Guides

Department of Education

Schools in the Upper Bann Constituency

Capital Schemes

Schools Converting to Natural Gas

Review of Public Administration

Education and Skills Authority

First Aid Training

Private Consultancy

Report into Pre-school Education

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Northern Ireland Youth Forum

Network 4 Youth

Children Being Statemented

Education and Skills Authority

Special Programmes for Underachieving Schools

Teachers' Pension and Retirement Scheme

Northern Ireland Languages Strategy

Integration of Newcomer Children in Schools

Connecting Young People to the Democratic Process and Structures

Department for Employment and Learning

Review of Public Administration

Private Consultancy

Learner Access Engagement Programme

GCSE and A-Levels Resits

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Learner Access and Engagement Pilot Programme

Courses for Prisoners

New Sports Facility at University of Ulster, Coleraine

1997 Dearing Report

University of Ulster’s Business Plan

Teacher Enrolments

Queen’s University

German Studies Department at Queen's University

Expansion of the Magee Campus

Intake of Students

Undergraduate Places

Nortel Workers Rights

Apprenticeship Training in West Tyrone

ANNEX A

Number of enrolments for Apprenticeships programmes in the West Tyrone area 1 September 2006 – 31 August 2009

Efficiency Savings

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Projects in the North Antrim Constituency

NORTH ANTRIM CONSTITUENCY AREA

DETAILS OF PROJECTS FUNDED BY DETI AND ITS NDPBs SINCE MAY 2007 WITH ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

ENERGY PROJECTS

EU PROGRAMMES PROJECTS

HSENI FUNDED PROJECTS

NITB FUNDED PROJECTS

STRATEGIC POLICY PROJECTS

INVEST NI FUNDED PROJECTS

Business Area	Budget
Wages & Salaries	£1,765,899
General Administrative Expenditure	£2,875,000
Total	£4,640,899

Year	Claimants	Representatives from Voluntary Sector	Solicitors	Elected Representatives	Total
2004-2005	25	1	4	2	32
2005-2006	17	4	0	2	23
2006-2007	15	1	1	0	17
2007-2008	13	2	1	3	19
2008-2009	11	7	0	1	18
Totals	81	15	6	8	109

	£,000
	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	Total
RDO	5,785	460		6,245
VCU	572	60	45	677
Housing	11,517
Grand Total	17,874	520	45	18,439

Table 2 - SPED RESALES
	2004/2005		2005/2006		2006/2007		2007/2008		2008/2009
	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price
1	£47,000	£43,113	£83,550	£61,000	£75,000	£125,000	£590,000	£790,000	£155,000	£83,000
2	£52,000	£44,000	£33,500	£22,000	£160,000	£266,000	£80,000	£160,000	£220,000	£150,000
3	£73,000	£65,500	£61,000	£61,000	£322,000	£300,000	£115,000	£180,000	£220,000	£132,000
4	£38,000	£36,500	£135,000	£145,000	£110,000	£180,000	£120,000	£221,000	£143,500	£75,000
5	£59,500	£52,000	£73,000	£66,500	£280,000	£262,000	£84,500	£113,000
6	£130,000	£45,000	£85,000	£78,500	£106,500	£129,000	£135,000	£100,000
7	£57,000	£53,000	£47,000	£40,000	£73,000	£85,000	£180,000	£226,000
8	£58,000	£50,000	£78,000	£74,000	£165,000	£162,500
9	£74,000	£66,500	£53,000	£45,000	£295,000	£330,000
10	£85,000	£72,000	£63,000	£50,000	£300,000	£270,000
11	£62,250	£56,000	£166,000	£130,000	£69,000	£67,000
12	£55,500	£40,000	£80,000	£55,500	£180,000	£77,500
13	£68,000	£60,000	£200,000	£165,000	£89,000	£89,250
14	£40,000	£35,500	£77,500	£72,000	£40,000	£64,000
15	£73,500	£65,000	£45,000	£43,000	£167,500	£186,500
16	£45,000	£40,000	£247,000	£215,000	£60,000	£65,000
17	£122,500	£105,000	£38,000	£34,000	£225,000	£237,500
18	£68,000	£50,000	£305,000	£257,500	£156,000	£165,000
19	£58,000	£46,000	£58,500	£52,000	£295,000	£304,000
20	£75,000	£60,000	£43,000	£43,000	£235,000	£236,000
21	£66,000	£55,000	£67,000	£65,000	£167,500	£175,000
22	£180,000	£156,480	£20,000	£20,500	£130,000	£153,000
23	£77,750	£70,000	£77,000	£79,000	£120,000	£128,500
24	£172,500	£152,500	£57,500	£66,000	£262,500	£252,500
25	£315,000	£249,999	£133,000	£145,000	£100,000	£114,500
26	£170,000	£152,500	£53,500	£48,000	£160,000	£170,000
27	£71,000	£63,000	£177,000	£161,000	£53,500	£61,500
28	£67,500	£60,000	£175,000	£135,000	£120,000	£142,500
29	£71,980	£40,000	£92,000	£110,000	£190,000	£180,000
30	£46,000	£41,000	£230,000	£192,000	£116,000	£127,000
31	£255,000	£248,500	£127,500	£90,000	£116,000	£126,500
32	£327,000	£305,000	£500,000	£510,571	£80,000	£96,000
33	£86,000	£79,000	£54,000	£57,000	£435,000	£435,000
34	£68,250	£64,750	£121,000	£126,000	£127,000	£133,000
35	£35,916	£25,000	£207,650	£190,000	£89,000	£95,000
36	£64,400	£62,000	£72,000	£68,000	£285,000	£330,000
37	£183,500	£170,000	£240,000	£237,500	£186,000	£197,000
38	£59,500	£57,000	£150,000	£151,000	£101,000	£129,000
39	£39,000	£36,000	£238,000	£197,500	£90,000	£117,000
40	£53,000	£51,000	£76,000	£70,000	£86,950	£119,000
41	£54,600	£50,000	£129,000	£119,500	£59,000	£88,000
	2004/2005		2005/2006		2006/2007		2007/2008		2008/2009
	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price
42	£175,000	£175,000	£65,000	£67,000	£235,000	£267,500
43	£62,500	£55,000	£112,000	£104,000	£162,500	£157,500
44	£59,000	£53,000	£268,500	£260,000	£145,000	£156,500
45	£185,000	£160,000	£157,500	£135,000	£152,000	£165,000
46	£128,000	£123,500	£82,500	£82,500	£142,000	£188,000
47	£26,000	£23,000	£45,000	£42,000	£130,000	£172,000
48	£65,000	£63,500	£160,000	£153,500	£97,500	£137,500
49	£81,000	£78,000	£49,750	£48,000
50	£158,000	£147,000	£150,000	£153,000
51	£57,500	£54,000	£123,000	£117,000
52	£65,000	£61,000	£75,000	£86,000
53	£176,500	£167,000	£260,000	£212,000
54	£210,000	£178,000	£220,500	£216,000
55	£130,000	£128,000	£130,000	£128,500
56	£145,000	£138,500	£67,000	£74,000
57	£160,000	£142,500	£96,000	£92,000
58	£130,000	£127,000	£82,000	£85,000
59	£130,000	£130,000	£80,000	£85,000
60	£232,000	£171,000	£115,000	£115,000
61	£137,500	£130,000	£112,000	£102,000
62	£145,000	£136,000	£118,000	£114,000
63	£149,000	£145,000	£86,000	£86,000
64	£132,500	£122,500	£262,500	£246,500
65	£42,500	£39,750	£55,000	£55,000
66	£160,000	£151,500	£145,000	£166,000
67	£105,000	£103,000	£197,000	£199,500
68	£232,000	£210,000	£110,000	£106,000
69	£46,000	£52,500	£132,500	£129,000
70	£90,000	£100,000	£355,000	£345,000
71	£136,000	£134,000	£228,000	£205,000
72	£170,000	£165,000	£106,000	£113,000
73	£165,000	£140,000	£96,500	£98,000
74	£127,500	£100,000	£99,500	£98,000
75	£120,000	£117,000	£86,000	£90,000
76	£222,500	£220,000	£64,000	£70,000
77	£102,500	£100,000	£160,000	£170,000
78	£120,000	£120,000	£183,000	£192,000
79	£75,000	£72,000	£155,000	£155,000
80	£43,000	£47,000	£125,000	£138,000
81	£129,000	£140,000	£112,500	£126,000
82	£149,000	£142,000	£102,500	£99,000
83	£166,500	£172,700	£75,000	£75,000
84	£128,500	£100,000	£300,000	£285,000
	2004/2005		2005/2006		2006/2007		2007/2008		2008/2009
	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price
85	£152,500	£149,000	£185,000	£180,000
86	£133,000	£128,000	£132,000	£132,500
87	£113,000	£114,000	£60,000	£68,500
88	£140,000	£130,000	£122,500	£133,500
89	£110,000	£100,000	£93,000	£99,000
90	£91,500	£90,000	£130,000	£130,000
91	£78,000	£74,000	£142,000	£144,000
92	£137,000	£135,000
93	£173,000	£152,750
94	£163,500	£163,500
95	£142,000	£139,000
96	£297,000	£282,500
97	£80,000	£82,000
98	£177,500	£155,000
99	£135,000	£136,200
100	£182,500	£173,000
101	£172,500	£163,000
102	£145,000	£145,000
103	£108,000	£111,500
104	£130,000	£121,000
105	£160,000	£155,000
106	£170,000	£151,000
107	£154,000	£145,000
108	£271,000	£250,000
109	£93,500	£93,500
110	£57,000	£63,500
111	£128,000	£124,000
112	£162,500	£150,000
113	£250,000	£240,000
114	£173,000	£182,000
115	£70,000	£66,750
116	£195,000	£187,500
117	£122,500	£118,000
118	£277,500	£250,000
119	£156,000	£152,000
120	£120,000	£110,000
121	£130,000	£130,000
122	£147,500	£135,000
123	£94,000	£99,500
124	£79,000	£77,000
125	£147,000	£136,750
126	£53,000	£52,000
127	£120,000	£110,000
	2004/2005		2005/2006		2006/2007		2007/2008		2008/2009
	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price
128	£136,500	£134,500
129	£86,500	£89,000
130	£94,500	£94,500
131	£163,500	£166,000
132	£56,000	£54,000
133	£38,500	£37,500
134	£38,500	£55,000
135	£180,000	£164,000
136	£90,000	£85,000
137	£92,500	£90,000
138	£84,000	£80,000
139	£217,500	£193,400
140	£160,000	£148,500
141	£165,000	£180,000
142	£280,000	£249,500
143	£200,000	£182,000
144	£46,000	£47,500
145	£48,000	£48,500
146	£190,000	£222,000
147	£177,500	£160,000
148	£91,000	£93,750
149	£178,500	£186,000
150	£85,000	£86,500
151	£98,000	£101,000
152	£68,500	£74,401
153	£62,500	£68,750
154	£195,000	£202,500
155	£59,000	£56,000
156	£187,500	£187,500
157	£177,500	£175,000
158	£55,000	£52,000
159	£134,000	£125,000
160	£78,000	£70,000
161	£182,000	£182,000
162	£205,000	£200,000
163	£191,500	£188,000
164	£166,000	£165,500
165	£85,000	£89,000
166	£137,000	£134,000
167	£141,000	£138,500
168	£197,000	£192,000
169	£40,000	£41,500
170	£70,000	£74,500
	2004/2005		2005/2006		2006/2007		2007/2008		2008/2009
	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price	Purchase Price	Resale Price
171	£122,500	£123,000
172	£102,000	£102,000
173	£131,000	£130,000
174	£270,000	£259,000
175	£99,000	£95,000
176	£191,000	£200,000
177	£76,000	£53,000
178	£152,500	£157,000
179	£117,500	£115,000
180	£123,000	£120,000
181	£170,000	£162,000
182	£82,500	£93,000
183	£89,000	£89,800
184	£115,000	£111,000
185	£160,000	£166,000
186	£125,000	£132,000
187	£43,000	£39,000
188	£158,950	£151,000
189	£99,500	£96,000
190	£77,500	£77,500
191	£88,000	£88,000
192	£37,000	£39,500
193	£97,000	£94,950
194	£72,750	£71,500
195	£67,000	£69,500
196	£86,000	£94,000
197	£132,500	£128,000
198	£191,500	£184,000
199	£77,500	£77,500
200	£125,000	£118,000
201	£123,500	£121,000
202	£105,000	£101,000
203	£108,000	£110,750
204	£37,750	£38,000
205	£80,000	£78,000
206	£85,000	£85,000
207	£187,000	£187,000

	Vacant Dwellings
Strabane	10 (of which 3 are vacant for over 12 months)
Omagh	50(of which 26 are vacant for over 12 months)

TOTALS	22	10	36
	September 2006 to September 2007	September 2007 to September 2008	September 2008 to September 2009
Food Quality	6	2	9
Portion Size	2	1	4
Waiting Time	4	1	1
Cost	2	1	8
Service/Staff	1	1	2
Hospitality	1	0	4
Miscellaneous	6	4	8

Year 1 – September 2006 to September 2007	£214,374.76 *
Year 2 – September 2007 to September 2008	£284,942.30
Year 3 – September 2008 to September 2009	£290,224.95