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 30 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

Press and Public Relations Offices

Mr M Storey asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister (i) to detail the number of staff employed by each Department in their press and public relations offices in each of the last ten years; and (ii) for the overall cost in each year.

(AQW 370/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness): The table below provides a breakdown of the total number of staff employed across the 11 departments in their press and public relations offices. These staff are not just involved in the press office work but provide a range of communication services including media relations, public relations, news releases, advertising, internal communications and web development and management.

The figures are not held centrally but have been provided by each department. Due to management information systems, a number of departments were unable to provide the required information for the 10 years requested. To ensure consistency across the departments, figures have been provided from 2003/04 to 2008/09.

The salary figures provided are approximate and are based on the latest information available within departments.

Year	Number of Staff (11 departments)	Salary Costs
2008/09	112.53 (38.53 admin)	£3,018,015
2007/08	115.19 (44.19 admin)	£3,198,924
2006/07	113.19 (46.19 admin)	£2,802,856
2005/06	108.19 (51.19 admin)	£2,879,399
2004/05	110.19 (52.19 admin)	£3,678,400
2003/04	102.19 (48.19 admin)	£2,631,407

The Ryan Report

Mr M Durkan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what engagement has taken place between their Department and authorities in the Republic of Ireland in relation to (i) the findings; and (ii) recommendations, of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (the Ryan Report).

(AQW 1310/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: To date there has not been any engagement by our Department on the Ryan Report. However, we have committed to putting the issue of the Ryan report on the agenda of the next meeting of the Ministerial Sub-Committee on Children and Young People for discussion.

The issue of child protection and the safeguarding of children is a key priority for all of us and an issue which impacts on the work of several departments in the devolved administration, as well as the Northern Ireland Office.

OFMDFM has recently published a major policy statement on Safeguarding Children which has brought together developments underway across the Executive, NIO and Court Service. It has helped us to identify gaps and where further initiatives are required

We share concerns about allegations of abuse against children and want to see full investigations of any specific incidents take place. We would strongly urge if anyone has evidence of abuses committed within this jurisdiction against them, if they have not already done so, to bring it to the attention of the PSNI for investigation.

A2 Broadbridge Dualling Project

Mr M Durkan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 301/10, for an update on funding from the Integrated Development Fund for the A2 Broadbridge dualling project.

(AQW 1479/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The position is unchanged from the answer given to AQW 301/10.

DRD, the lead Department for the Broadbridge project, has confirmed that the project commenced on 18 May 2009.

Homosexuality

Dr S Farry asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister if it is Executive policy to refer to homosexuality as 'a lifestyle choice'.

(AQW 1548/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Executive does not have a policy on this issue.

The Bain Report

Mr M Durkan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister when the Bain report on the location of public sector jobs will be considered by the Executive.

(AQW 1587/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: It is not our practice to disclose details of Executive business. The content of Executive papers and all aspects of Executive business are confidential.

Executive Meetings

Dr S Farry asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many Executive meetings, in this calender year to date, included discussions on the economic downturn.

(AQW 1598/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: It is not our practice to disclose details of Executive business. However, as previously stated in AQO 143/10, issues surrounding the downturn are a standing item on the agenda of Executive meetings. We can therefore assure the Member that up to and following the announcement of its package of economic measures in December 2008, the Executive has given due and continuing priority to the discussion of the economic downturn and of measures to alleviate it.

Department with the Information Commissioner's Office

Mr D Kennedy asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 928/10, (i) to provide a summary of the basis of the five complaints against the Department with the Information Commissioner's Office; and (ii) the anticipated timescale for resolution of these complaints.

(AQW 1622/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Since we responded to AQW 928/10, one of the five complaints has been resolved informally outside the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI). Indeed, three other Departments had the same complaint closed through informal resolution.

In three of the four outstanding cases, the applicants complained that OFMDFM had incorrectly applied exemptions to support a refusal to disclose information and, in the remaining case, it was alleged that the Department had ‘failed to comply with the Act’.

In one of the four cases, the Department refused to disclose information on the basis that it constitutes personal information and, in the three other cases, refused to disclose information on the basis that it relates to the formulation of government policy. An internal departmental review was undertaken in respect of each of the complaints. The outcome of each review was that the Department had correctly applied exemptions, and that the information had been properly withheld.

Of the four cases, one is currently under active examination by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Investigation has not yet commenced in respect of the other three. The Information Commissioner’s Office has not provided the Department with any indication of when these cases will be opened or concluded.

Community Relations Council

Mr M Storey asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the amount of funding allocated by their Department to the Community Relations Council in each year since devolution was restored.

(AQW 1692/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The amount of funding allocated to the Community Relations Council through grant-in-aid by the Community Relations Unit since devolution in May 2007, is as follows:

Financial year	Amount £
2007/08	3,286,782.00
2008/09	3,340,830.00
2009/10	3,547,000.00

Church Leaders

Mr D McKay asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what steps they have taken to ensure that all church leaders feel free to practice their religion, without being subjected to oppostion or protest.

(AQW 1733/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The freedom to practice or manifest one’s religious belief is enshrined in Article 9 of the Human Rights Act "Freedom of thought, conscience and religion". It states:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others".

In order to raise awareness of these and other rights across the public sector, our department has developed a number of Human Rights publications and has featured these in a number of cross-departmental seminars. This guidance has been targeted primarily at those public servants developing policy or delivering public services to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities under the Human Rights Act. These are available under the Human Rights section of our departmental web-site: http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/index/equality/human-rights.htm

Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy

Mr D Kennedy asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister (i) when they intend to answer AQW 122/10; (ii) if the delay is acceptable; and (ii) to give reasons for the delay.

(AQW 1741/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: AQW 122/10 was answered on 16 October 2009.

Strategic Investment Board

Mr F Molloy asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to explain why there has been a delay in the recruitment of Non-Executive Directors to the Strategic Investment Board; and to indicate when these positions will be filled.

(AQO 243/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: This issue has been under active consideration and we have decided to appoint a number of new non-executive directors to the Strategic Investment Board. Details of these appointments will be announced in due course.

Department of Justice

Mr M Durkan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to list the buildings the Department of Justice will occupy upon its establishment, including their locations.

(AQW 2080/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The personnel of the Department of Justice would initially consist of the majority of staff currently working for the NIO and NI Court Service, and it is expected that they would be accommodated in buildings which they now occupy.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Deer Farms

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many deer farms there are in Northern Ireland and in which counties.

(AQW 1617/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): In 2008, 15 farms were recorded in the June Agricultural and Horticultural Survey as having 10 or more deer. Of these, 8 farms were in County Down, the remaining 7 were distributed across other Counties.

NI Executive's European Office in Brussels

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many times her Department has been in contact with the NI Executive's European Office in Brussels in the past two years; and to detail the reasons for this contact.

(AQW 1620/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Executive’s Brussels office is an important resource offering key support on European matters. My Department has posted a member of staff to the office who is dedicated to Agri-food, Veterinary, Fisheries and Rural Development issues. There has been daily contact between DARD staff based in the north of Ireland and the DARD staff member in Brussels over the last two years on issues ranging right across my Department’s responsibilities.

I have commissioned a review of my Department’s relationship with the EU institutions in order to further improve our ability to influence and input to European decisions and policy making,

Duplication of Funding

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how she will ensure that there is no duplication of funding for projects from the Rural Development Programme and the Rural Childcare Programme.

(AQW 1663/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My officials will ensure that information on Rural Childcare Programme projects is passed to the Local Action Groups assessing childcare project applications submitted under Axis 3 on the Rural Development Programme.

Additionally, DARD programmes adhere to strict audit guidelines and the payment of financial support is conditional, among other requirements, on receipt of original invoices to support claims. Any potential duplicate funding should be identified at that stage.

Funding Issues

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what steps she has taken to ensure that delays in funding issues with the present Rural Development Programme are not repeated with future European Funding.

(AQW 1664/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Firstly, I would like to make clear that many of the measures within the present Rural Development Fund have been open and issuing letters of offer for funding for some time. For example, the Processing and Marketing Scheme opened in December last year and has so far issued letters of offer to the value of just over £5m. However, other measures, for example, Axis 3, which requires a bottom up, partnership approach to decision making, has taken a little longer to get off the ground but many Local Action Groups have been issuing letters of offer since the summer.

In relation to future European funding, an independent mid-term evaluation of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 will be undertaken in 2010. One of the issues the evaluators will consider is the effectiveness and efficiency of the Programme’s implementation, including identifying successes and what could have been done better and recommending best practice for use in future Programmes. In addition to this, an independent ex-post evaluation of the Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 will be completed following the end of the Programme period. The evaluation will look at all aspects of the Programme’s administration and will make recommendations on how any problems can be addressed for future Programmes. I will be examining carefully the outcomes of both evaluations to ensure that appropriate action is taken to continue to improve the delivery of future programmes.

Rural Development Programme

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if displacement in relation to Rural Development Programme funding is limited to each individual Council cluster, with no effect on neighbouring clusters or the rest of Northern Ireland as a whole.

(AQW 1665/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Displacement must be taken within the context of the specific project and the defined need of that project and therefore is different for every one. My department has issued operating rules and additional guidance on the completion of the economic appraisal within which the displacement issue is addressed. Additional mentoring has also been provided to lead council staff.

Cost of Training Councillors

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the cost to her Department of training councillors for Rural Development Programme initiatives, broken down by (i) building hire; (ii) mileage; (iii) time; (iv) hotels; and (v) hospitality expenses, for all councillors, civil servants and training staff.

(AQW 1669/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: To date the cost to my Department for the training of Councillors for Rural Development Programme initiatives is broken down as follows:

(i) Building Hire - £105.00

(ii) Mileage - 0

(iii) Time - Councillors time is not paid by DARD

(iv) hotels - 0

(v) hospitality - £384.58

Dog Licenses

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many people currently hold dog licenses.

(AQW 1676/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Dog licences are issued by the local Councils. The information provided to my Department includes the number of dog licences issued, but not the number of people who currently hold dog licences.

In 2008, 114,208 dog licences were issued here.

Local Action Groups

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what will happen to contracts set up through the present Local Action Groups funding after the full implementation of RPA.

(AQW 1693/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Firstly can I clarify that contracts to deliver the Rural Development Programme Axis 3/4 were entered into with Joint Council Committee’s who in turn put in place agreements with Local Action Groups. My officials have started work to explore the options for post RPA implementation of the programme, and have had informal discussions with those councils who represent local government on the transition committees. Recommendations upon which I will make my decision will be presented to me shortly. I would want as far as possible to maintain the rationale on which funds have been allocated and the continuity of the Programme.

Animal Welfare Act

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the projected costs related to the implementation of the proposed Animal Welfare Act.

(AQW 1715/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 1972 provides the PSNI with enforcement powers in respect of cruelty and unnecessary suffering offences against any animal. The 1972 Act and the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (NI) 2000 as amended, also provide a wide range of powers to my Department in respect of welfare offences pertaining to farmed animals. The current powers will be carried forward in the proposed new Welfare of Animals Bill and will have no additional financial implications.

The Welfare of Animals Bill will also provide new powers which will be mainly in respect of non-farmed animals.

Where any new licensing and registration enabling powers are being taken within the Bill, in line with Government policy the implementation of these should be done on a full cost recovery basis.

There are likely to be some additional costs associated with enforcement of the new powers but these are not expected to be significant. My Department will be meeting with officials from the PSNI, the Department of the Environment’s Local Government Policy Division and Local Council representative bodies over the coming weeks to discuss the future implementation and enforcement of the new Welfare of Animals Bill provisions

Single Farm Payments

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (i) how many Single Farm Payment complaints have been received by her Department; and (ii) how many claimants have been fined for (a) over claiming; and (b) under claiming, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1767/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development introduced a department wide Complaints Procedure on 1 June 2006 to deal with customer complaints about quality of service. Up to the present a total of 25 complaints have been received in regard to Single Farm Payment Branch.
Adjustments and exclusions are applied under the Single Farm Payment Scheme in respect of an under declaration or an over declaration of land.

(a) In the 2006 scheme year, a total of 326 farm businesses had a reduced payment or an exclusion applied in respect of an over declaration of land. In the 2007 scheme year, the total was 426 and for the 2008 scheme year the total was 218.

(b) In the 2006 scheme year, a total of 158 farm businesses had a reduced payment or an exclusion applied in respect of an under declaration of land. In the 2007 scheme year the total was 128 and for the 2008 scheme year the total was 101.

River Service

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to give reasons for the delay in River Service's drainage study for the Dromore Road area of Banbridge.

(AQW 1794/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: As a result of the extreme flooding of August 2008 DARD Rivers Agency has seen a significant increase in workload in relation to immediate post flood investigations and information gathering, as well as detailed flood risk alleviation studies for the more complex cases. Whilst I fully understand and sympathise with the very real concerns of those affected by the flooding, my Department is making every effort to manage these studies within the resources that are available. The study of the Showgrounds Stream in the vicinity of Dromore Road, Banbridge is well underway and I am assured that the results will be available in spring 2010.

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE

Camogie

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of camogie; and (ii) what funding has been allocated to the sport in the last two financial years.

(AQW 1698/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland): Neither my Department nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) retain information on how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of camogie. However, membership figures reported in November 2008 for the governing body, the Ulster Camogie Council, indicate 9,061 members.

In the last two financial years, SNI has made awards totalling £30,000 to the sport of camogie.

Archery

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of archery; and (ii) what funding has been allocated to the sport in the last two financial years.

(AQW 1699/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither my Department nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) retain information on how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of archery. However, membership figures reported in November 2008 for the governing body, the Northern Ireland Archery Society, indicate 796 members.

In the last two financial years, SNI has made awards totalling £35,039 to the sport of archery.

Rowing

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of rowing; and (ii) what funding has been allocated to the sport in the last two financial years.

(AQW 1761/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither my Department nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) retain information on how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of rowing. However, membership figures reported in November 2008 for the governing body, Rowing Ireland Ulster Branch, indicate 611 members.

In the last two financial years, SNI has made awards totalling £41,480 to the sport of rowing.

Shooting Sports

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many people are estimated to participate in the shooting sports; and (ii) what funding has been allocated to shooting sports in the last two financial years.

(AQW 1762/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither my Department nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) retain information on how many people are estimated to participate in the shooting sports. However, a new federated governing structure is being established for fullbore, smallbore and clay target shooting which will provide participation numbers in these disciplines.

In the last two financial years, SNI has made awards totalling £77,280 to the shooting sports.

Fencing

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of fencing; and (ii) what funding has been allocated to the sport in the last two financial years.

(AQW 1763/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither my Department nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) retain information on how many people are estimated to participate in the sport of fencing. However, membership figures reported in November 2008 for the governing body, the Northern Ireland Fencing Union, indicate 305 members.

In the last two financial years, SNI has made awards totalling £38,046 to the sport of fencing. In addition to this, the Department’s Events Unit supported this year’s World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships with an award of £85k in 2008/09.

Reallocate Funding

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, pursuant to AQW 248/10, (i) if he is now in a position to reallocate the remaining £25.841m no longer required for the Maze stadium; and (ii) to detail the allocations he plans to make to (a) the Irish Football Association; (b) Ulster Rugby; and (c) the Gaelic Athletic Association.

(AQW 1780/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure:

(i) As stated in AQW 248/10 it is proposed at this point in the year to reallocate the £25.841m of the Multi Sports Stadium budget as detailed in the attached table. This will, of course, be subject to the outcome of the September monitoring round.

Sport NI are also currently re-profiling their sports capital programme therefore the indicative allocations may be subject to further adjustment.

Project Title	2009/10
House of Sport	1,000
North Belfast Learning	21
2012 Sports Facilities / Elite	7,907
SCNI Capital	101
50 metre pool	654
Soccer Strategy	2,367
Tollymore	2,592
Sports Strategy Implementation	11,199
Multi Sports Stadium	(25,841)

(ii) There are no plans, in the current year, to make any of the reallocated funding available directly to the IFA, URFU or GAA.

Travel Costs

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how much was spent by his Department on staff travel cost claims in the last financial year.

(AQW 1875/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Department spent a total of £177,502 on staff travel costs in 2008-09.

This figure includes expenditure on the reimbursement of claims submitted by staff in respect of travelling expenses and also includes amounts paid directly to booking agents for air, rail and sea travel and for accommodation costs for staff travelling on official business.

Sporting Achievements

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) how many receptions for sporting achievements due to be held in the next six months, have been sponsored by his Department; and (ii) to detail who will be receiving a reception and for what reason.

(AQW 1896/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I hosted a joint reception with the DOE Minister Edwin Poots MLA in Parliament Buildings on 26^th October 2009 to acknowledge the success of Colin Turkington in winning the 2009 British Touring Car Championship.

I have also agreed to host a reception for the Northern Ireland Olympic Skeet Shooting team to mark their recent achievement of winning the home international tournament in August 2009. A date has not yet been arranged for this event.

Evangelical Protestantism

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if his Department has carried out any analysis of the need to fund a study of the history and values of evangelical Protestantism; and if he will work with funding bodies to encourage this.

(AQW 1938/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: My Department has not carried out any analysis of the need to fund a study of the history and values of evangelical Protestantism.

Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act my Department is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and good relations.

My Department is open to working with relevant bodies to promote community relations in Northern Ireland, within the context of a shared and better future.

Blind and Partially-Sighted People

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what steps have been, or will be, taken by his Department to ensure that the same level of service is provided to blind and partially-sighted people as that provided to fully-sighted people.

(AQW 1986/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: My Department is committed to Promoting Social Inclusion and removing the barriers which exist that exclude people from full participation in the culture, arts and leisure sector.

DCAL has developed corporate guidance on producing information in accessible formats. In ensuring equality of opportunity in accessing information, the guidance refers specifically to people with sensory and learning disabilities and commits my Department to providing documents on request, in alternative formats. DCAL’s internet site is also enabled with Browsealoud software. This software reads web pages aloud for people who have difficulty reading on line.

My Department is represented on the Accessibility & Inclusion Priority Action Group, chaired by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), tasked with taking forward some of the key components of the UK Vision Strategy. As a result of this engagement a number of key personnel from my department will undertake RNIB training during November in appropriate communication techniques for the blind and partially sighted population.

Evangelical Protestantism

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if his Department has carried out any analysis of the need to protect the human rights of people who uphold the beliefs and values of evangelical Protestantism; and if he will work with funding bodies and government funded agencies to encourage this.

(AQW 2009/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: My Department has not carried out any analysis of the need to protect the human rights of people who uphold the beliefs and values of evangelical Protestantism.

Under the Human Rights Act 1998 my Department is committed to ensuring that all areas of legislation, policy and administration practice comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Events at Parliament Buildings

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if his Department has a policy on hosting events at Parliament Buildings; and, if so (i) when the policy was formulated: (ii) by which Minister; and (iii) to detail the policy in writing.

(AQW 2091/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: My Department does not have a formal policy specifically related to the hosting of events at Parliament Buildings. Through custom and practice the Department has occasionally hosted events in Parliament Buildings within protocols set by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission. Events have been hosted either on the initiative of the DCAL Minister of the day, or in response to a request to host an event. Each proposed event is considered on its merits within the broad customs and practice of the Department to date.

Blind and Partially-Sighted People

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what provision is made by his Department to make documents accessible to blind and partially-sighted people.

(AQW 2115/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The DCAL Equality Scheme sets out how my department proposes to fulfil its obligations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. My department is committed under the scheme to ensure that the information and services that DCAL provides are made as accessible and equitable as possible.

To support this commitment my Department has developed a staff Guide to Making Information Accessible. The purpose of this Guide is to strive to achieve best practice in ensuring that DCAL business areas provide a diverse range of customers, stakeholders and citizens with accessible information as quickly and effectively as possible.

The Guide recognises the needs of blind or partially sighted people and commits to providing documents in a wide range of alternative formats such as large print, Braille and audio alternative formats.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Efficiency Savings

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Education 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 1404/10)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane ): Tá leagtha amach sa tábla seo thíos na réimsí caiteachais i mo Roinn a ndeachaigh na coigiltí éifeachtachta sna tréimhsí 2008-09 agus 2009-10 i bhfeidhm orthu.

The spending areas in my Department impacted by the efficiency savings in 2008-09 and 2009-10 are set out in the table below:

Spending Area
DE Administration
RPA – Establishment of ESA
Effective Workforce Management
MAGS 2
Classroom 2000
Earmarked Sums
Community Relations
ELB Teacher’s and Non Teachers’ Pay
Aggregated Schools Budget
Capital Efficiencies

Further details are contained in the Efficiency Delivery Plan published on the Department’s website and can be accessed at the following link:

http://www.deni.gov.uk/de_edp_introduction_rv.pdf

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Education (i) what discussions she has had with the Minister for Social Development and her Department regarding the transfer of Neighbourhood Renewal; (ii) when these discussions took place; and (iii) what discussions her Department has had with Neighbourhood Renewal Projects regarding future service provision.

(AQW 1537/10)

Minister of Education: Bhuail oifigigh ó mo Roinn leis an Aire Forbartha Sóisialta ar 13 Bealtaine 2009, agus rinneadh plé ar an aistriú chuig na comhairlí áitiúla nua sa bhliain 2011.

My officials met with the Minister for Social Development on 13 May 2009, during which the transfer to new local councils in 2011 was discussed.

I am also considering correspondence from the Minister for Social Development and her Department regarding the issue of posts and services currently funded by DSD that have been assessed as being within the policy responsibility of the Department of Education. I have committed to meet with Minister Ritchie once I have had an opportunity to fully consider the issues raised.

DE and DSD officials continue to work closely regarding the transfer of education related Neighbourhood Renewal programmes including the streamlining of existing processes.

Neighbourhood Renewal projects are managed by DE and funds are transferred from DSD; there are presently no plans to change current management procedures for existing projects.

Irish and Ulster Scots Translations

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education how much her Department has spent on Irish and Ulster Scots translations in each of the last five financial years.

(AQW 1590/10)

Minister of Education: Léiríonn an tábla seo thíos an méid airgid a chaith an Roinn Oideachais ar aistriúcháin Gaeilge agus Albainis Uladh i ngach bliain airgeadais le cúig bliana airgeadais anuas.

The table below details how much the Department of Education has spent on Irish and Ulster-Scots translations in each of the last five financial years.

Financial Year	Irish	Ulster-Scots	Total
2004/2005	£12,621	Nil	£12,621
2005/2006	£6,202	Nil	£6,202
2006/2007	£4,136	£50	£4,186
2007/2008	£13,274	£108	£13,382
2008/2009	£47,062	£261	£47,323

In 2008 the Department recruited two Irish Language Staff Officers to facilitate its use of Irish. These officers have undertaken a range of duties including urgent translation work. The costs incurred in carrying out specific tasks are not separately calculated.

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education how much money her Department has spent on (i) Integrated education; and (ii) Irish medium education; (a) in total; and (b) per pupil, in 2007/08 and 2008/09.

(AQW 1591/10)

Minister of Education: Léiríonn an tábla thíos an méid airgid a chaith an Roinn Oideachais ar Oideachas Imeasctha agus ar Ghaelscolaíocht sna blianta airgeadais 2007/08 agus 2008/09. Léiríonn an tábla an méid a caitheadh ar gach dalta, freisin.

The amount spent on Integrated Education and Irish Medium Education in the 2007/08 and the 2008/09 financial years by the Department of Education is shown in the table below. The table also contains the per pupil amount.

	Total Spend 2007/08 £000s	Per Pupil Amount (£) 2007/08	Total Spend 2008/09 £000s	Per Pupil Amount (£) 2007/08
Integrated Education	87,839	4,792	99,638	5,241
Irish Medium Education	11,007	4,346	12,551	4,798

Note: Information in relation to Irish-medium Units, attached to English-medium host schools has not been provided as it is not possible to disaggregate the funding of the Unit from the host school.

Taxi Hire

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Education how much her Department has spent on (i) taxi hire; and (ii) private coach hire, in each Education and Library Board area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1616/10)

Minister of Education: Mionsonraítear sna táblaí thíos na méideanna a chaith na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne ar thacsaithe agus ar chóistí príobháideacha a fháil ar cíos do na trí scoilbhliana 2006/07, 2007/08 agus 2008/09 ó na buiséid fhoriomlána iompair a sholáthraíonn an Roinn.

The following tables detail the amounts Education and Library Boards spent on taxi and private coach hire for the three school years 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09 from within overall transport budgets provided by the Department. This amount includes the annual cost of administrative support, and is broken down as follows:

Expenditure on Taxi Hire

Year	BELB	NEELB	SEELB	SELB	WELB
2006/07	761,482	1,822,177	1,828,720	1,891,579	1,215,907
2007/08	885,834	1,643,059	1,451,667	1,972,757	1,200,206
2008/09	1,126,176	1,810,739	1,428,930	2,267,153	1,390,371
Total	2,773,492	5,275,975	4,709,317	6,131,489	3,806,484

Expenditure on Private Coach Hire

Year	BELB	NEELB	SEELB	SELB	WELB
2006/07	444,054	1,923,972	567,971	1,996,555	1,128,407
2007/08	398,564	1,928,938	492,452	1,897,676	1,171,370
2008/09	488,069	2,249,887	436,403	1,882,770	1,365,665
Total	1,330,687	6,102,797	1,496,826	5,777,001	3,665,442

Private coach hire is used where neither Translink nor ELB services are available and where there are sufficient pupils to justify providing a route. Taxis are primarily employed where statements of special education needs specify such provision, but may also be provided where the number of pupils on a route is so small that the provision of a bus cannot be justified and pupils have no alternative means of transport.

School Buildings

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education, in relation to school buildings, to detail (i) the estimated costs; and (ii) the actual costs of (a) new builds; and (b) school extensions and improvements; and (iii) the stage of any ongoing project, in the North Down constituency, since 2007.

(AQW 1623/10)

Minister of Education: Tugtar sonraí sna táblaí in Iarscríbhinní A agus B de mhórthionscadail chaipitil scoileanna agus de mhionthionscadail chaipitil scoileanna i dtoghcheantar Dhún Thuaidh, (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 tables at Annexes A and B provide details of major school capital projects and minor capital projects in the North Down constituency, which are (i) currently being planned; (ii) construction work is underway; and (iii) have been completed since 2007.

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

ANNEX A

Major Capital Projects

SCHOOL	DETAILS OF PROJECT	ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST £m	APPROVED CONTRACT COST £m	CURRENT POSITION
Bangor Academy & Sixth Form College	New school on extended site	22.0	23.82	Completed May 2008
St Columbanus’ College	New school on existing site	12.97	n/k	Pre-tender submission received 15 October 2009 – currently under consideration in Department.
Ballyholme Primary School	Extension & refurbishment	2.06	3.6	Completed 29 February 2008
Priory College	New school on new site	16.8NB: These projects will be dealt with as one contract.	n/k	Outline sketch plans (Stage C) received 14 May 2009 – currently under consideration in Department.
Holywood/Redburn Primary School & Holywood Nursery School	Amalgamation in a new school. New nursery school on new site	16.8NB: These projects will be dealt with as one contract.	n/k	Awaiting outline sketch plans (RIBA Stage C)
Bangor Grammar School	New school on new site	15.1	n/k	Final sketch plans (RIBA Stage D) approved 29 January 2008. Pre-tender submission awaited.
Towerview Primary School	New school and nursery unit	3.84	3.1	Completed 27 February 2009

ANNEX B

Minor Capital Projects

SCHOOL	DETAILS OF PROJECT	ESTIMATED COST	APPROVED CONTRACT COST	CURRENT POSITION
ST MALACHYS PS, BANGOR	TOILET REFURB	£142,150.00	£135,484.00	COMPLETED
BANGOR GRAMMAR	HE PROVISION	£105,980.00	£97,801.00	COMPLETED
SULLIVAN UPPER	TOILET REFURB/ DRAMA/ FIRE ALARM	£438,800.00	£300,000.00	COMPLETED
SULLIVAN UPPER	AIR-CON EQUIPMENTC2K room	£3,000.00	£3,000.00	COMPLETED
SULLIVAN UPPER	DISABLED ACCESS	£31,340.00	£11,340.00	COMPLETED
ST COLUMBANUS COLLEGE, BANGOR	REFURB OF TOILETS	£34,000.00	£37,744.00	COMPLETED
ST COLUMBANUS COLLEGE, BANGOR	SECURITY FENCING	£34,000.00	£26,000.00	COMPLETED
BANGOR GRAMMAR	UPGRADE BOILER HOUSE	£10,457.00	£10,457.00	UNDER CONStRUCTION
BANGOR GRAMMAR	DISABLED RAMP	£2,000.00	£2,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
SULLIVAN UPPER	DDA WORKS	£220,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
SULLIVAN UPPER	FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT	£186,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
SULLIVAN UPPER	TOILET REFURB & RADIATOR REPLACEMENT	£324,000.00	£392,849.86	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
SULLIVAN UPPER	RE-ROOF SPORTS HALL	£155,700.00	£121,803.30	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Bangor Nursery	extension & DDA adaptations	£106,497.00	£113,971.00	Completed
Trinity Nursery	security fencing	£3,002.00	£3,002.00	Completed
Trinity Nursery	roof	£70,350.00	£63,005.00	Completed
Ballyholme Primary	specialist choral music ceiling in Assembly Hall	£32,000.00	£36,529.00	Completed
Ballyholme Primary	removal of surplus temporary classrooms	£13,144.00	£11,199.00	Completed
Bloomfield Road Primary	Boiler plant	£96,814.00	£99,022.00	Completed
Bloomfield Road Primary SMK	kitchen refurbishment	£102,368.00	£102,368.00	Under construction
Clandeboye Primary	new boiler plant	£109,253.00	£108,000.00	Completed
Clandeboye Primary	extension to door access control system	£5,220.00	£6,674.00	Completed
Clandeboye Primary	additional security fencing	£13,088.00	£12,944.00	Completed
Crawfordsburn Primary	staff & pupil toilet refurbishment	£100,000.00	N/K	UNDER CONSIDERATION
Crawfordsburn Primary	upgrade/extend CCTV system	£3,500.00	£3,500.00	Completed
Crawfordsburn Primary	Improvements to entranceway	£100,000.00	£138,348.00	Completed
Glencraig Integrated Primary	Mobile for playgroup	£182,588.00	£197,323.00	Completed
Glencraig Integrated Primary	external lighting	£5,370.00	£5,370.00	Completed
Glencraig Integrated Primary & Millisle Primary	toilet refurbishment (combined scheme with Millisle Primary)	£117,109.00	£131,591.00	Completed
Grange Park Primary	natural gas water heater	£6,390.00	£5,576.00	Completed
Holywood Primary	security fencing	£3,532.00	£3,582.00	Completed
Holywood Primary	Repairs to existing mobile classrooms and removal of 2 Temporary Classrooms	£24,488.00	£27,561.00	Completed
Holywood Primary	IT upgrade to refurbished mobile classroom	£3,000.00	£2,313.00	Completed
Holywood Primary	staff room internal refurbishment	£7,500.00	£8,537.00	Completed
Kilmaine Primary	landscaping	£60,000.00	N/K	tenders to be REQUESTED
Millisle Primary	security fencing	£7,499.00	£11,349.00	Completed
Millisle Primary	new enclosed soft surface play area	£32,207.00	£31,119.00	Completed
Millisle Primary	provision of new curtain walling (including asbestos removal)	£196,765.00	£242,183.00	Completed
Rathmore Primary	Improvements to entrance & DDA works	£179,092.00	£166,417.00	Completed
Rathmore Primary	Provision of new safety surface to nursery unit	£9,902.00	£9,902.00	Completed
Rathmore Primary	improvements to toilet facilities	£100,000.00	£100,000.00	tenders to be invited later in 2009/10
Rathmore Primary	door entry system	£4,430.00	£4,430.00	Completed
Rathmore Primary	removal from site of 3 mobile classrooms	£7,758.00	£7,749.00	Completed
Rathmore Primary SMK	gas water heater	£7,084.00	£7,084.00	Completed
Saint Annes Primary	CCTV/fencing/roller shutter, etc	£6,515.00	£6,170.00	Completed
Saint Comgalls Primary	CCTV system	£6,923.00	£6,923.00	Completed
Bangor Central Integrated Primary	provision of play equipment	£16,019.00	£16,475.00	Completed
Bangor Central Integrated Primary	pedestrian link to Bangor Academy	£56,394.00	£56,394.00	Completed
Bangor Central Integrated Primary	new boundary fencing, alterations to car park and traffic barrier	£60,210.00	£58,446.00	Completed
Bangor Central Integrated Primary	alterations & extension to Gym	£97,648.00	£96,685.00	Completed
Donaghadee High (closed)	refurbishment for re-location of killard house special school	£300,000.00	£344,188.00	COMPLETED
Donaghadee High (closed)	new vEhicular access and car park for relocation of killard house	£300.000.00	£390,000.00	under construction
Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College	enabling works associated with PPP contract	£304,845.00	£304,845.00	Completed
Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College	demolition of former school premises	£187,247.00	£187,247.00	Completed
Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College	ramps and signage	£4,000.00	£9,821.00	Completed
Priory College	improvements to Home Economics rooms	£98,326.00	£98,326.00	Completed
Glenlola Collegiate	astro turf pitch	£96,232.00	£96,232.00	Completed
Glenlola Collegiate	cold lunch accommodation	£100,000.00	£103,500.00	Completed
Glenlola Collegiate	additional classroom	£73,324.00	£78,195.00	Completed
Glenlola Collegiate	valve insulation covers	£3,000.00	£3,000.00	Completed
Clifton Special	supply and installation of large play unit	£91,773.00	£91,773.00	Completed

School Buildings

(AQW 1624/10)

Minister of Education: Tugtar sonraí sna táblaí in Iarscríbhinní A agus B de mhórthionscadail chaipitil scoileanna agus de mhionthionscadail chaipitil scoileanna i dtoghcheantar Dhún Theas, (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 tables at Annexes A and B provide details of major school capital projects and minor capital projects in the South Down constituency, which are (i) currently being planned; (ii) construction work is underway; and (iii) have completed since 2007.

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

ANNEX A

Major Capital Projects

SCHOOL	DETAILS OF PROJECT	ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST £m	APPROVED CONTRACT COST £m	CURRENT POSITION
St Patrick’s Primary School, Saul	New school on extended site	1.35	1.75	Completed August 2008
St. Mary’s Primary School, Newcastle	New school on existing site	3.2	n/k	Awaiting Pre-Tender submission
The High School Ballynahinch	New school on existing site	8.9	n/k	Outline sketch plans under consideration (RIBA Stage C)
Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch	Extension + Refurbishment	11.6	13.7	Construction underway. Estimated completion date Summer 2010
St Bronagh’s Primary School, Rostrevor	New school on Convent of Mercy PS site (Amalgamation of Convent of Mercy PS + St Mary’s Boys PS)	3.7	n/k	Awaiting revised outline sketch plans (RIBA Stage C)
Carrick Primary School, Warrenpoint	New school on a new site	3.2	n/k	Pre-Tender submission under consideration
St Clare’s Abbey Primary School, Newry	New school on extended St Clare’s site (Amalgamation of St Clare’s Convent PS + St Colman’s PS)	5.7	n/k	Scheme on hold. New Economic Appraisal being undertaken
St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel	New school on existing site	11.7	n/k	Awaiting Pre-Tender submission

ANNEX B

Minor Capital Projects

SCHOOL	DETAILS OF PROJECT	ESTIMATED COST	APPROVED COST	CURRENT POSITION
ST PATRICKS PS, HILLTOWN	REPLACEMENT MOBILE	£52,850.00	£37,900.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMANS PS, ANNACLONE	CAR PARKING DROP OFF LAY –BY	£60,000.00	£100,577.25	COMPLETED
ST COLMANS PS, ANNACLONE	FENCING & GATE	£5,600.00	£5,600.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMAN’S PS, KILKEEL	CCTV	£12,000.00	£12,000.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMAN’S PS, KILKEEL	ACOUSTIC ADAPTATIONS	£5,000.00	£5,000.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMAN’S PS, SAVAL	ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS	£78,173.00	£93,886.00	COMPLETED
ST PATRICKS PS, RATHFIRLAND	EXTENSION TO FIRE ALARM SYSTEM	£3,300.00	£2,730.00	COMPLETED
ST PATRICKS PS, RATHFIRLAND	FENCING & GATE	£2,750.00	£2,750.00	COMPLETED
ST JOSEPHS PS, CROSSGAR	IMPROVEMENTS TO PLAYGROUND & FRONT ENTRANCE	£17,500.00	£17,500.00	COMPLETED
ST MARYS PS SAINTFIELD	PROVISION OF EXTERNAL LIGHTING	£5,818.00	£5,818.00	COMPLETED
ST MARYS HS, DOWNPATRICK	EXTENSION TO GYM FOR PROVISION OF STAGE	£221,000.00	£254,158.48	COMPLETED
ST COLMCILLES HS CROSSGAR	ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS	£69,137.00	£48,400.00	COMPLETED
DE LA SALLE, HSDOWNPATRICK	PROVISION OF HOME ECONOMICS	£192,730.00	£205,465.14	COMPLETED
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	FIRE DOORS	£445,000.00	£297,750.00	COMPLETED
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	LANGUAGE & MULTI-MEDIA ROOMS	£100,000.00	£100,000.00	COMPLETED
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	ALTERATIONS RO FIRE DOORS/ SECURITY LIGHTING & CCTV	£38,575.00	£44,360.00	COMPLETED
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	GAS UPGRADE	£29,155.00	£29,155.00	COMPLETED
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	WORK TO HEATING PIPES	£10,500.00	£11,776.00	COMPLETED
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	HANDRAILS FOR STAIRS	£1,875.00	£2,565.00	COMPLETED
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	LEAKING ROOF	£4,312.00	£12,160.00	COMPLETED
ST BRIGIDS PS, DOWNPATRICK	PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENTS	£7,000.00	£7,000.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMCILLES PS, DOWNPATRICK	FENCING & PATHWAY	£3,000.00	£3,000.00	COMPLETED
ST COLMCILLES PS, DOWNPATRICK	INTERNAL ACCESS	£4,444.80	£9,052.00	COMPLETED
ST MALACHYS PS, CASTLEWELLAN	PLAYGROUND WORKS	£10,000.00	£10,000.00	COMPLETED
ST MARYS PS, NEWCASTLE	ICT CABLING	£2,700.00	£2,589.56	COMPLETED
CEDAR INTEGRATEDCROSSGAR	UPGRADE OF GAS	£2,765.00	£2,765.00	COMPLETED
KILLOWEN PS	RAMPING FOR DISABLED PUPILS	£1,250.00	£1,250.00	COMPLETED
BALLYHOLLAND PS NEWRY	ACOUSTIC IMPROVEMENTS PLUS VISION PANELS FOR SEN ROOM	£6,505.00	£6,505.00	COMPLETED
BALLYHOLLAND PS NEWRY	CCTV	£4,000.00	£4,000.00	COMPLETED
GRANGE PS, NEWRY	CCTV (UPGRADE)	£4,000.00	£4,000.00	COMPLETED
ST MATTHEWS PS, MAGHERAMAYOCASTLEWELLAN	TOILET REFURB/ REPLACEMENT	£89,700.00	£72,671.73	COMPLETED
HOLY CROSS, ATTICAL KILKEEL	ALTERATIONS TO LOBBY & DOOR ACCESS	£34,000.00	£34,000.00	COMPLETED
HOLY CROSS, ATTICALKILKEEL	REPLACEMENT OF DOUBLE MOBILE WITH TOILETS	£137,340.00	£137,340.00	COMPLETED
ST PATRICKS PS, MAYOBRIDGE	REPLACEMENT OF ROLLER SHUTTER DOOR	£1,500.00	£1,380.00	COMPLETED
ST PAULS PS, CABRA	REPLACEMENT OF MOBILE CLASSROOM	£50,850.00	£62,800.00	COMPLETED
ST MARYS PS, RATHFRISLAND	DISABLED ACCESS TO ENTRANCES	£1,200.00	£1,200.00	COMPLETED
ST MARYS PS DECHOMET	TOILET REFURBISHMENT	£19,533.97	£19,533.97	COMPLETED
GRANGE PSNEWRY	SPECIAL NEEDS TOILET	£4,250.00	£4,250.00	UNDER CONSTUCTION
GRANGE PSNEWRY	PLAYGROUND	£4,250.00	£4,250.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
HOLY CROSS PSNEWRY	REFURB OF PUPIL TOILETS	£25,000.00	£25,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MARYS PS, RATHFRILAND	WIDENING ENTRANCE GATES AND ADDITIONAL CAR PARKING	£90,000.00	N/K	AWAITING REVISED PROPOSALS AND COSTS
ST MARYS PS, RATHFRILAND	SINGLE TEACHING MOBILE AND REFURB OF STAFFROOM	£86,000.00	N/K	SELECT LIST REQUESTED 30/09/09
ST MARYS PS DECHOMET	PRINCIPALS OFFICE	£45,000.00	N/K	SELECT LIST REQUESTED 28/09/09
ST MARYS PS DECHOMET	ENRICHED CURRICULUM STORAGE	£2,700.00	£2,550.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MARYS PS, GLASSDRUMMAN	DISABLED RAMPS & LIFT	£39,000.00	N/K	SELECT LIST REQUESTED 28/09/09
ST COLMANS PS, ANNACLONE	EXTENSION TO STAFFROOM & ADDITIONAL STORAGE	£50,200.00	N/K	SELECT LIST REQUESTED 30/09/09
ST COLMANS PS, ANNACLONE	ADDITIONAL TEACHING ACCOMMODATION	£75,000.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 28/07/09
ST PATRICKS PS, RATHFRILAND	TOILET REFURB	£44,000.00	N/K	SELECT LIST REQUESTED 28/09/09
ST COLUMBAS COLLEGE, KILKEEL	HOME ECONOMICS REFURB	£255,307.00	N/K	AWAITING REVISED PROPOSALS AND COSTS
ST MARKS HS, WARRENPOINT	HOME ECONOMICS REFURB	£317,881.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 03/09/09
ST COLMCILLES HS, CROSSGAR	ADDITIONAL CAR PARKING FACILITIES	£13,000.00	£13,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST COLMCILLES HS, CROSSGAR	REFURB OF STAFFROOM	£33,069.00	£17,025.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MALACHYS HS, CASTLEWELLAN	REDESIGN OF RECEPTION	£23,501.00	N/K	QUOTATIONS REQUESTED 14/10/09
DE LA SALLE, HS DOWNPATRICK	REPLACEMENT WINDOWS & CONCRETE REPAIRS	£67,000.00	£67,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	HOME ECONOMICS PROVISION	£360,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
SHIMNA COLLEGENEWCASTLE	REPLACE ROOF	£426,867.56	£433,867.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST PATRICKS GS, DOWNPATRICK	C2K CABLING	£47,000.00	£47,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST CLARES CONVENT PS, NEWRY	ELECTRICAL/ HEATING SUPPLY TO OFFICES	£10,000.00	£10,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
KILLOWEN PS, ROSTREVOR	ADDITIONAL TEACHING MOBILE	£75,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
KILLOWEN PS, ROSTREVOR	EXTERNAL PE STORE	£5,000.00,	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
KILLOWEN PS, ROSTREVOR	RESITING ELECTRICAL METER BOX	£15,000.00	£15,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
KILLOWEN PS, ROSTREVOR	DISABLED RAMP/ TOILET	£36,250.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 07/09/09
KILLOWEN PS, ROSTREVOR	RAMPING	£5,000.00	£5,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
BALLYHOLLAND PS, NEWRY	CAR PARKING	£3,500.00	£4,721.00	COMPLETED
SACRED HEART PS NEWCASTLE	SECURITY FENCING	£5,269.00	£5,269.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
SACRED HEART PS NEWCASTLE	ADDITIONAL STAFF/DISABLED TOILET & EXTENSION TO PE STORE	£26,443.00	£26,443.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST COLMCILLES PS, CROSSGAR	CAR PARKING FACILITIES	£13,000.00	£13,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MALACHYS PS CASTLEWELLAN	REFURBISH STAFFROOM/STAFF TOILETS	£92,636.50	N/K	PROPOSALS AND COSTS UNDER CONSIDERATION
ST MARYS PS, NEWCASTLE	TOILET IN NURSERY UNIT	£7,500.00	N/K	4 QUOTES REQUESTED 28/09/09
BUNSCOIL BHEANNA BOIRCHECASTLEWELLAN	PROVISION OF REPLACEMENT MOBILES	£561,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS
CEDAR INTEGRATED PSCROSSGAR	HEATING SYSTEM	£13,900.00	N/K	AWAITING REVISED COSTS
ST COLMCILLES HS, CROSSGAR	HOME ECONOMICS REFURB	£345,000.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 03/08/09
ST COLMCILLES HS, CROSSGAR	REFURB CHANGING ROOMS	£89,000.00	N/K	PROPOSALS AND COSTS UNDER CONSIDERATION
ST COLMCILLES HS, CROSSGAR	REPLACEMENT MOBILE CLASSROOMS	£175,000.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 10/09/09
CONVENT OF MERCY PS DOWNPATRICK	SECURITY FENCING	£26,000.00	£26,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST PATRICKS PS, BALLYNAHINCH	PLAYGROUND EXTENSION & CAR PARK CONVERSION	£155,000.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED 23/09/09
ST PATRICKS PS, BALLYNAHINCH	REFURBISH GIRLS AND STAFF TOILETS	£161,309.50	N/K	REVISED PROPOSALS AND COSTS REQUESTED
ST MARYS PS, SAINTFIELD	EXTEND OUTDOOR PLAY AREA	£7,500.00	£7,500.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MARYS PS, AUGHLISNAFIN	BOUNDARY WALL & BALL STOP FENCING	£13,545.00	£13,545.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MACARTANS PS LOUGHINISLAND	FOOTPATH AROUND PITCH	£2,500.00	£2,500.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST JOSEPHS PS, KILLOUGH	UPGRADE WINDOWS	£50,000.00	N/K	AWAITING TENDERS FROM SEELB
ST JOSEPHS PS, KILLOUGH	VARIOUS SECURITY	£5,937.00	£5,937.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MARKS HS WARRENPOINT	CAR PARKING	£65,000.00	£65,000.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST MARKS HS WARRENPOINT	ADDITIONAL 4 MOBILE CLASSROOMS	£240,634.00	£242,344.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT	£2,123.00	£2,130.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	LEAK IN PIPE WORK	£4,900.00	£4900.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ST LOUIS GS, KILKEEL	RELOCATE MEDICAL ROOM TO OFFICE	£18,000	N/K	PROPOSALS AND COSTS UNDER CONSIDERATION
BRONTE PRIMARY SCHOOL BANBRIDGE	CLASSROOM EXTENSION	£140,000.00	£130,500.00	COMPLETED
RATHFRILAND HIGH SCHOOL	PROVISION OF GYM MOBILE	£60,000.00	£88,330.38	COMPLETED
RATHFRILAND HIGH SCHOOL	PROVISION OF MOBILE ACCOMMODATION	£13,723.00	£14,639.44	COMPLETED
RATHFRILAND HIGH SCHOOL	PROVISION OF MOBILE ACCOMMODATION	£20,938.00	£20,938.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
RATHFRILAND HIGH SCHOOL	MODIFICATIONS TO ENTRANCE LOBBY	£150,000.00	N/K	TENDERS REQUESTED
KILKEEL HIGH SCHOOL	TWO CLASSROOM HOME ECONOMICS SUITE	£150,000.00	£188,450.00	COMPLETED
KILKEEL NURSERY SCHOOL	MINOR WORKS INCLUDING DDA ADAPTATIONS	£250,000.00	£237,900.00	COMPLETED
KILBRONEY INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	2 CLASSROOM EXTENSION, OFFICE ACCOMMODATION AND CLASSROOM REFURBISHMENT	£200,000.00	£385,000.00	COMPLETED
KILBRONEY INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	PROVISION OF COVERED PLAY AREA AND HYGIENE ROOM	£23,141.00	£23,141.00	COMPLETED
BRACKENAGH WEST PS KILKEEL	PROVISION OF MOBILE ACCOMMODATION FOR STORAGE	£14,830.00	£14,830.00	UNDER CONSTRUCTION
DRUMADONNELL PRIMARY SCHOOL	EXTENSIONS AND ALTERATIONS	£283,000.00	£228,000.00	COMPLETED
IVEAGH PS NEWRY	INSTALLATION OF CHAINLINK FENCE	£6,544.48	£6,544.48	COMPLETED
DRUMLINS INTEGRATED PSBALLYNAHINCH	SEPTEMBER 2005 ACCOMMODATION	£145,470.90	£145,470.90	COMPLETED
DRUMLINS INTEGRATED PS BALLYNAHINCH	SEPTEMBER 2007 ACCOMMODATION	£275,681.25	£275,681.25	COMPLETED

School Principal Appointments

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education how many School Principals in the South Eastern Education and Library Board were appointed by (i) Board Members through the Teaching Appointments Committee; and (ii) Board Commissioners, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1627/10)

Minister of Education:

Seo a leanas líon na bPríomhoidí Scoile i mBord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne an Oirdheiscirt a cheap na Comhaltaí Boird tríd an Choiste um Cheapacháin Múinteoireachta i ngach bliain féilire le cúig bliana anuas:
The number of School Principals in the South Eastern Education and Library Board appointed by the Board members through the Teaching Appointments Committee in each of the last five (calendar) years is as follows:

2005	9
2006	11
2007	6
2008	7
2009 – to date	9*

* Figure does not include 1 Principal post for which pre-employment checks are currently ongoing and 2 Principal posts currently at the short listing stage.

None. The South Eastern Education and Library Board have advised that the Board Commissioners have not taken over the functions of the Teaching Appointments Committee (TAC), and the TAC continues to operate as before.

Peripatetic Teachers

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what funding has been made available for Peripatetic Teachers in primary schools, under the Primary Languages Scheme, in each language taught, in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

(AQW 1635/10)

Minister of Education: The funding made available for my very successful Primary Languages Programme supports the management, recruitment and employment of peripatetic language tutors to work with primary schools across all three languages – Irish, Spanish and, more recently, Polish.

Níl miondealú ar chistiú de réir teanga ar fáil go héasca, ach is féidir liom an clár foriomlán cistiúcháin a dheimhniú do na blianta 2008-09 agus 2009-10. Caitheadh £324k san iomlán sa bhliain 2008-09 agus tá suas le £1m ar fáil sa bhliain 2009-10 chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don chlár tábhachtach seo. Faoi láthair, íoctar £20 san uair mar ráta le teagascóirí taistil agus déantar aisíocaíocht costais taistil leo ar na rátaí ceadaithe.

A breakdown of funding by language is not readily available but I can confirm the overall funding position for 2008-09 and 2009-10. A total of £342k was spent in 2008-09 and up to £1m is available in 2009-10 to support this important programme. Peripatetic tutors currently receive an hourly rate of £20 and reimbursement of travel costs at approved rates.

Homophobic Bullying

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education, in light of the decision of the Department of Education in the Republic of Ireland to issue guidance on homophobic bullying, to detail if she intends to introduce similar guidance.

(AQW 1667/10)

Minister of Education: I strongly regard all bullying, including homophobic bullying, as completely unacceptable in both our classrooms and in our society. I noted, with interest, Minister Haughey’s launch of the resource "Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students in Post-Primary Schools: Guidance for Principals and School Leaders", earlier this month.

My Department’s publication 'Pastoral Care in Schools: Promoting Positive Behaviour’ offers detailed guidance, practical initiatives and case studies to support schools to tackle bullying. The guidance specifically states that racist, homophobic, sectarian or other offensive name-calling is a form of bullying. This guidance is intended to stimulate discussion within a school around the issue of bullying and to encourage collective ownership of the issue and the actions to be taken to counter it. There are no plans to produce new guidance to deal specifically with the issue of homophobic bullying, as such guidance already exists and is available to schools.

Last year, I was pleased to provide the foreword to ‘Leave it out – Developing anti-homophobic bullying practice in schools’, which was produced by Save the Children, Youthnet and the Rainbow Project and distributed to all post-primary schools.

My Department continues to fund and participate in the local Anti-Bullying Forum which has established a number of working groups, one of which is specifically considering the issue of homophobic bullying. This Working Group produced a teacher fact sheet, which was distributed to all schools to coincide with the International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO) in May this year. In addition, the Working Group has put considerable effort into ensuring that the Anti-Bullying Forum’s website (www.niabf.org.uk) offers advice and guidance on this issue. Through its membership of the British and Irish Anti-Bullying Forum, my Department also continues to build a shared expertise and develop a stronger focus to tackle the common problem of bullying for children.

Soláthraíonn Ciorclán 2001/15 de chuid mo Roinne treoir do scoileanna i dtaca le hOideachas Caidrimh agus Gnéasachta (RSE). Go háirithe, ba chóir go mbeadh polasaí ag scoileanna ar an dóigh a rachaidh siad i ngleic le RSE sa churaclam. Ba chóir go mbeadh ceangail shoiléire ag an pholasaí seo le polasaí tréadchúraim na scoile agus go leagfadh sé aidhmeanna an chláir teagaisc amach, mar fhorbairt ghaolta deimhneacha, mar ilchineálacht agus mar mheas do dhaoine eile. Ba chóir go mbeadh an polasaí seo faoi réir comhairliúcháin le tuismitheoirí, agus ba chóir go mbeadh sé formhuinithe ag Bord Gobharnóirí na scoile.

My Department’s Circular 2001/15 provides guidance to schools on Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). In particular, schools need to have a policy on how they will address RSE in the curriculum, showing clear links with the school’s pastoral care policy and setting out the aims of the teaching programme, such as developing positive relationships, diversity and respect for others. The policy should be the subject of consultation with parents and should be endorsed by the school’s Board of Governors.

RSE guidance advises that teaching should at all times be appropriate to the maturity and level of understanding of the pupils, including their personal and emotional circumstances and issues should be dealt with in a broad and balanced way, free from sensationalism and personal bias.

Teaching Posts

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education how many newly qualified teachers have secured permanent teaching posts within Northern Ireland, in each of the last three academic years.

(AQW 1670/10)

Minister of Education: Seo a leanas líon na múinteoirí nua-cháilithe a fuair postanna múinteoireachta buana i dtuaisceart na hÉireann i ngach bliain acadúil le trí bliana acadúla anuas.

The number of newly qualified teachers who have secured permanent teaching posts within the north of Ireland, in each of the last 3 academic years is as follows:

Year	Number of graduates	Number Permanently employed
2006/2007	807	353
2007/2008	808	262
2008/2009	725	178

School Exclusions

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education how many primary school exclusions involved "looked after" children in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1717/10)

Minister of Education: Bailíonn an Roinn staitisticí i dtaca le fionraíocht agus le díbirt ó gach ceann de na cúig Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne (ELBanna) ar bhonn bliantúil. Soláthraíonn scoileanna an t-eolas seo do na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne.

The Department collects statistics on suspensions and expulsions from each of the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) on an annual basis. This information is provided to ELBs by the schools in their area.

The information provided by schools does not contain the level of detail you require.

School Exclusions

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education how many secondary school exclusions involved "looked after" children in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1718/10)

The information provided by schools does not contain the level of detail you require.

Education and Skills Authority

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 1015/09, to provide an update on what functions currently undertaken in (i) Rathgael House; and (ii) Waterside House; will be transferred to the Education and Skills Authority.

(AQW 1726/10)

Minister of Education: Tá liosta in Iarscríbhinn A de na feidhmeanna atá á ndéanamh (i) i dTeach Ráth Giall; agus (ii) i dTeach Thaobh an Uisce; a aistreofar chuig an Údarás um Oideachas agus Scileanna ar 1 Eanáir 2010.

Annex A contains the list of functions currently undertaken in (i) Rathgael House; and (ii) Waterside House; which will transfer to the Education and Skills Authority on 1 January 2010.

ANNEX A

Functions currently undertaken in the Department of Education, Rathgael House, which will be transferred to the Education & Skills Authority
School Estate - Major Works	Operational aspects of Approval of Capital Allocation (New Starts Programme) in conjunction with DFP. Capital Works Process. Operational aspects of Achieving Excellence in Construction policy framework. Financial monitoring of scheme expenditure profiles.
School Estate - Minor Works	Minor works budget. Development of Schools Estate Policies for IME sector. Integrated Schools Programme. IME Schools Programme. Operational aspects of Policy initiatives.
School Estate – Finance & Energy Efficiency	Budget Allocation Process. Monitoring – Major/Minor works (Controlled & Voluntary Sectors). Energy Efficiency Scheme. Quarterly Creditors Process.
School Estate – Development	Operational aspects of capital development. Capital grant recovery. Surplus Places.
Teacher Education	Operational aspects of Teacher Education Policy. Operational aspects of determination of intakes to Initial teacher education courses (supply & demand). Operational aspects of policy, approval funding & oversight of teachers’ early and continuing professional development. Teaching Awards Trust – manage the regional & national nominations of teachers and other school-based staff. Funding and attendance at meetings of the NI Centre for information on Language Teaching (NICILT).
Curriculum/Assessment	Operational aspects of development of Primary Sports Programme Policy, Funding & oversight of its implementation. Operational aspects of Casework & representation.

Functions currently undertaken in the Department of Education, Rathgael House, which will be transferred to the Education & Skills Authority
Qualifications & ICT	Operational aspects of regulating qualifications. Dissolving Boundaries Project – Cross border funding for citizenship.
Business Education	Funding of Business Education activities to specific organisations. Operational aspects of policy co-ordination of Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths.
14-19	Operational aspects of development & monitoring of Specialist Schools Policy. Operational aspects of policy on support arrangements for Entitlement Framework.
School Improvement	Operational aspects of School Improvement Policy. Operational aspects of Extended Schools Policy. Operational aspects of Full Service Extended Schools Programmes. Operational aspects of monitoring & evaluating Integrated Development Fund Projects. Operational aspects of Neighbourhood Renewal.
Accounts	Teachers Superannuation Scheme Accounts Section.
Teachers Negotiating & Pensions Policy	Operational aspects of Negotiating Machinery. Operational aspects of Information Management.
Early Years	Operational aspects of Sure Start Policy. Operational aspects of core funding for NI Child Minding Association & Early Years Organisation. Operational aspects of Early Years Fund. Update of Childcare Choices website. Operational aspects of Pre-school Education Expansion Programme. Operational aspects of Policy related to Childminding.
Youth & Community Relations	Operational aspects of developing policy priorities for Youth & ongoing youth policy. Operational aspects of the Capital Investment Strategy for Youth.
Integrated Education	Operational aspects of the legislative duty to encourage and facilitate Integrated Education (IE) responsible for the development of policy in relation to IE.

Functions currently undertaken in the Department of Education, Rathgael House, which will be transferred to the Education & Skills Authority
Schools Finance	Operational aspects of Voluntary Grammar GMI Schools Funding. Monitoring/reporting of schools surplus/deficit position against delegated budgets including planned expenditure. Revision of surplus/deficit monitoring mechanisms. Preparation of financial information/briefing.
Schools Administration – Governance & School Visits	Operational aspects of School Policy Development & Implementation. Operational aspects of School governance Policy.
Schools Administration – Services Section	Operational aspects of School Food Policy. Operational aspects of funding allocation. Operational aspects of School Transport Policy. Education Maintenance Allowance.
Special Education	Operational aspects of Special Education Policy & contribution to cross Departmental policy developments. Operational aspects of monitoring of earmarked funding & development of business cases.
Healthy Schools & Travellers	Travellers – Operational aspects of policies to support schools & children. Operational aspects of the development of Policy in relation to Newcomers. Operational aspects of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Order (SENDO).
Pupil Support	Operational aspects of the Child Protection Policy. Operational aspects of the Schools Counselling Service. Operational aspects of the development of the Child Protection – Unsuitable Persons Policy and regulation. Operational aspects of the development of the Promoting Good Behaviour Policy, legislation & guidance. Operational aspects of the development of the Children & Young People at Risk policy & legislation.

Functions currently undertaken in the Department of Education, Waterside House, which will be transferred to the Education & Skills Authority
Teachers Pay & Pensions	Function will transfer in its entirety.

School Maintenance Backlog

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education to detail the school maintenance backlog in the North Down constituency.

(AQW 1745/10)

Minister of Education: Seo a leanas figiúirí don riaráiste cothabhála do scoileanna i dtoghcheantar Dhún Thuaidh, de réir an chórais bhainistíochta eastát de chuid na mBord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne:

According to the Education and Library Boards’ estates management system the maintenance backlog in schools in the North Down constituency is as follows:

School	Maintenance Backlog (£)
Ballymagee Primary School	3,290
Ballyvester Primary School	9,170
Bangor Central Primary School	143,970
Bangor Nursery School	55,945
Bloomfield Primary School	343,855
Clandeboye Primary School	282,445
Clifton Special School	5,100
Crawfordsburn Primary School	20,450
Donaghadee Primary School	147,330
Glencraig Integrated Primary School	71,625
Grange Park Primary School	257,040
Holywood Nursery School	8,075
Holywood Primary School	233,069
Kilcooley Primary School	254,582
Millisle Primary School	152,615
Priory College	540,285
Rathmore Primary School	367,630
Redburn Primary School	604,405
St Anne's Primary School	40,215
St Columbanus' College	696,745
St Comgall's Primary School	5,190
St Malachy's Primary School Bangor	211,558
St Patrick's Primary School Holywood	328,145
Trinity Nursery School	137,955

September Monitoring Round

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education what bids her Department made in the September Monitoring round.

(AQW 1746/10)

Minister of Education: Seo a leanas na tairiscintí acmhainne a chuir an Roinn Oideachais isteach le linn Bhabhta Monatóireachta Mheán Fómhair 2009/10:

Resource bids submitted by the Department of Education in the 2009/10 September Monitoring Round were:

£10.0 million - Education & Library Board Access to End Year Flexibility

£10.2 million - Schools and Youth Maintenance

£1.7 million - Staffing Pressures

School Principals

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education how many appointments of school principals were made by the South Eastern Education and Library Board in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1759/10)

Minister of Education: Seo a leanas líon na bPríomhoidí Scoile a ceapadh i limistéar Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne an Oirdheiscirt i ngach bliain féilire le cúig bliana anuas.

The number of School Principals appointed in the South Eastern Education and Library Board in each of the last five years (calendar) is as follows:

2005	9
2006	11
2007	6
2008	7
2009 - to date	9*

* Figure does not include 1 Principal post for which pre-employment checks are currently ongoing and 2 Principal posts currently at the shortlisting stage.

Consultation Process

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education to outline her Department's policy or guidance on procedures for consultation with parents and local communities, in relation to proposals for change to education provision in a parish area, with particular reference to the provision of feed back to parents and local communities on (i) responses received; (ii) assessment of the options; and (iii) the reasons for the subsequent recommendations.

(AQW 1773/10)

Minister of Education: A Development Proposal is required to support any proposed significant change in the size or nature of a school. Consultation is a key element of this statutory process, which is defined under Article 14 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986, as amended (in relation to consultation) by Article 24 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003.

Is é an moltóir a bhíonn freagrach as comhairliúchán a dhéanamh le tuismitheoirí agus le páirtithe eile leasmhara agus ina dhiaidh sin leis an Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne ábhartha, a bhíonn freagrach as foilsiú an mholta. Nuair a bhíonn an Moladh Forbartha foilsithe, beidh deis ag na páirtithe leasmhara go léir tuairimí a thabhairt go díreach don Roinn Oideachais le linn thréimhse comhairliúcháin dhá mhí eile.

The responsibility for consultation with parents and other interested parties lies with the proposer and subsequently with the relevant Education and Library Board, which is responsible for publishing the proposal. Following publication of any Development Proposal, there is a further two-month consultation period during which all interested parties can forward comments directly to the Department of Education.

Guidance on the process is available from the Department’s website in the booklet ‘Development Proposals for Grant-Aided Schools’. This booklet contains detailed advice on good practice in relation to consultation and can be found at http://www.deni.gov.uk/dev_proposal_for_grant_aided_schools-3.pdf

Primary Schools

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education to list primary schools that have undergone amalgamation within the last 15 years and to detail how many of these schools (i) have had capital schemes completed; (ii) have been approved and are awaiting capital expenditure; and (iii) have been considered but have not yet been approved for a capital expenditure.

(AQW 1774/10)

Minister of Education: Níl an t-eolas i dtaca le líon na gcónasc bunscoile a tharla le cúig bliana déag anuas ar fáil go héasca agus bheadh costas díréireach i gceist leis an eolas seo a fháil. Tá sonraí ar chónaisc ón bhliain 2004 ar aghaidh le fáil, áfach, agus tá siad liostaithe thíos.

Information relating to primary school amalgamations for the last fifteen years is not readily available and would result in disproportionate cost. However details on amalgamations since 2004 are available and are listed below. Within that list:-

nine amalgamated primary schools have had major capital works schemes completed;
two amalgamated schools have been announced for major capital works funding and are awaiting capital expenditure; and
a proposed major capital works schemes for one amalgamated primary school is currently in the early stages of planning.

ELB Area	Schools Amalgamated	Date of Approval	New School Name
2003/4 School Year
SELB	Ballygawley PS and Innismagh PS, Ballygawley	05/01/2004	Richmond PS, Ballygawley
2004/5 School Year
BELB	St Catherine’s PS, St Gall’s PS and St John’s PS, Belfast	31/08/2005	St Clare’s Primary School, Belfast
SEELB	Clough PS, Downpatrick and Downshire PS, Dundrum	30/04/2005	Cumran Primary School, Clough
	Hillsborough PS and Newport PS, Hillsborough	31/08/2005	Downshire Primary School, Hillsborough
	Annaghmore PS and Tullyroan PS	31/08/2005	Orchard Primary School, Portadown
SELB	Dervaghroy PS, Hutton PS and Sixmilecross PS	28/02/2005	Cooley Primary School
2005/6 School Year
SELB	St Marys’ Boys PS and Convent of Mercy PS, Rostrevor	31/08/2006	St Bronagh’s Primary School, Rostrevor
2006/7 School Year
NEELB	St Louis’ PS, St Joseph’s PS, St Mary’s PS and All Saints, PS Ballymena (Parish of Kirkinriola)	31/08/2007	Two new schools - St Brigid’s Primary School and St Colmcille’s Primary School, Ballymena
SEELB	Crossgar PS and Drumaghlis PS	31/08/2007	Glasswater Primary School, Crossgar
SELB	St Joseph’s, PS Poyntzpass and St James’ PS, Tandragee	31/08/2007	St Joseph’s and St James’ Primary School, Poyntzpass
2007/8 School Year
BELB	Sydenham Infants’ PS and Strand PS, Belfast	31/08/2008	Victoria Park Primary School
NEELB	St Joseph ’s PS, Ahoghill and St Patrick’s PS Aughtercloney	31/03/2008	St Paul ’s Primary School, Ahoghill
SELB	Killyman PS and Tamnamore PS, Dungannon	31/08/2008	Killyman Primary School , Dungannon
WELB	Burnfoot PS and Largy PS, Limavady (note Dungiven PS closed 31/08/2007 as first phase of amalgamation)	31/08/2008	Drumrane Primary School , Dungiven

No amalgamations have taken place in the period 01/09/2008 to 31/09/2009.

Primary Schools

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Education how many of the primary schools that have been subject to amalgamation within the last 15 years have not been classified as Category 2 status.

(AQW 1775/10)

Minister of Education: Níl an t-eolas i dtaca le líon na gcónasc bunscoile a tharla le cúig bliana déag anuas ar fáil go héasca agus bheadh costas díréireach i gceist leis an eolas seo a fháil. Ón bhliain 2004, níor rangaíodh trí chónasc, a raibh sé scoil páirteach iontu, mar stádas Catagóir 2.

Information relating to primary school amalgamations for the last fifteen years is not readily available and would result in disproportionate cost. Since 2004, three amalgamations, involving six schools, have not been classified as Category 2 status.

Integrated Status

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to list, by constituency, the schools which have current applications for integrated status.

(AQW 1779/10)

Minister of Education: Faoi láthair, níl aon Mholtaí Forbartha ann atá foilsithe maidir le scoileanna nua imeasctha faoi chothabháil stáit a bhunú, nó maidir le stádas imeasctha rialaithe a fháil.

There are currently no published Development Proposals for the establishment of new grant-maintained integrated schools, or the acquisition of controlled integrated status.

Teaching Posts

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of Education how many teachers, following completion of their Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Northern Ireland, did not obtain a permanent teaching post in a primary school in Northern Ireland, in each of the last three years.

(AQO 300/10)

Minister of Education: Seo a leanas líon na múinteoirí a bhain Teastas Iarchéime san Oideachas amach i dtuaisceart na hÉireann nach bhfuair post buan múinteoireachta ar bhunscoil i dtuaisceart na hÉireann i ngach bliain le trí bliana anuas:

The number of teachers who completed Post Graduate Certificate in Education in the north of Ireland and did not obtain a permanent teaching post in a primary school in the north of Ireland, in each of the last three years is as follows:

Year	Number
2006/2007	166
2007/2008	208
2008/2009	210

Working Beyond 65

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Education how many staff in her Department have applied for permission to work beyond the age of 65; and how many of the requests have been granted, in each year since 2006.

(AQW 1900/10)

Minister of Education: Ní bhfuair an Roinn Oideachais aon iarratas ag iarraidh cead a fháil le bheith ag obair thar 65 bliain d'aois ó 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2006 (nuair a tháinig na Rialúcháin um Chomhionannas Fostaíochta (Aois) (TÉ) 2006 i bhfeidhm) go 31 Lúnasa 2008. Ó Mheán Fómhair 2008 ar aghaidh, ní bheidh ar fhoireann na Státseirbhíse iarratas a chur isteach chun cead a fháil le bheith ag obair thar 65 bliain d’aois.

The Department of Education received no applications for permission to work beyond the age of 65 from 1 October 2006 (when the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (NI) 2006 came into force) to 31 August 2008. Since 1 September 2008, Civil Service staff no longer need to apply for permission to work beyond 65.

Secondary Schools

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of outdoor education facilities; and (ii) the number of places available for secondary school pupils in each facility.

(AQW 1912/10)

Minister of Education: Ní bhíonn Ionaid Oideachais Allamuigh (OECanna) maoinithe ag an Roinn go díreach mar go maoiníonn an tSeirbhís don Óige i ngach limistéar Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne iad. Tá sé de dhualgas ar na Boird agus, in am trátha, ar an Údarás um Oideachas agus Scileanna cinneadh a dhéanamh ar an dóigh a mbainisteofar soláthar oideachais allamuigh.

The Department does not directly fund Outdoor Education Centres (OECs), which are funded by the Youth Service within each Education and Library Board area. It is a matter for the Boards and, in due course, the Education and Skills Authority to decide how outdoor education provision is managed.

The Chief Executives of the Boards have provided the following information on Board-controlled outdoor education provision in their areas:

Board area	Facility Name	Places available for young people
BELB	Delamont OEC	47
NEELB	Bushmills OEC	67
	Woodhall Centre	30
	Ballyhome Centre	32
	Derganagh House	32
SEELB	Ardnabannon OEC	100
SEELB	Killyleagh OEC	50
SELB	Killowen OEC	48
SELB	Shannaghmore OEC	54
WELB	Corick Residential Centre	20
	Gortatole OEC	48
	Magilligan Field Studies Centre	32
	Ulster American Folk Park Residential Centre	46

The numbers of places shown refer to the number of residential spaces available. Although all spaces shown are available for secondary school pupils, they are also available for others who may wish to use the centre, including primary school pupils and youth organisations. As some groups use OECs on a day group basis, the number of pupils involved in activities in some Centres may at times be higher than the maximum residency numbers shown.

The Education and Library Boards currently have no plans to increase the number of places available in OECs within their areas in the immediate future. Any application to the Department to support an increase, for example, by way of capital works to extend residential capacity, would be subject to the same consideration and procedures as all Youth Service capital applications.

Secondary Schools

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education if she has any plans to extend the provision of outdoor education places for secondary school pupils.

(AQW 1913/10)

The Chief Executives of the Boards have provided the following information on Board-controlled outdoor education provision in their areas:

Board area	Facility Name	Places available for young people
BELB	Delamont OEC	47
NEELB	Bushmills OEC	67
	Woodhall Centre	30
	Ballyhome Centre	32
	Derganagh House	32
SEELB	Ardnabannon OEC	100
SEELB	Killyleagh OEC	50
SELB	Killowen OEC	48
SELB	Shannaghmore OEC	54
WELB	Corick Residential Centre	20
	Gortatole OEC	48
	Magilligan Field Studies Centre	32
	Ulster American Folk Park Residential Centre	46

DEPARTMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT AND LEARNING

Varney II Report

Dr S Farry asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what action his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Varney II Report, 'The Review of the Competitiveness of Northern Ireland'.

(AQW 1550/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey): Sir David Varney’s review examined a range of issues including employment; skills; innovation; enterprise; public sector reform; and tax policy issues. The first two fall to my Department. All of the recommendations in relation to employment and skills have been considered in the drafting of the revised Skills Strategy – Success through Skills 2 – which is due to be published for public consultation in the near future. The Department is also aiming to increase the supply of students in Science; Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and has commissioned a feasibility study to provide a bursary or scholarship for students in these subjects.

In relation to innovation, and as recommended by Sir David, the Department, in conjunction with Invest NI, has "embedded a permanent third stream of finance" through the Higher Education Innovation Fund which provides the universities with core funding for their business and community facing activities. The initiative is now in its second round of support and involves funding of some £9m being provided by the two bodies between 2007/08 and 2010/11. It is currently being reviewed prior to the implementation of the third round of funding from Academic Year 2010/11.

Apprenticeships

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many people have enrolled in apprenticeships in the Lagan Valley constituency in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1595/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The Department has supported 1,108 apprentices in the Lagan Valley 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 Lagan Valley area. Although these apprentices reside within the Lagan Valley area, they may or may not have enrolled with Training Providers in the Lagan Valley area and may or may not be employed by companies in the Lagan Valley area.

ANNEX A

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

1 September 2006 – 31 August 2007	201
1 September 2007 – 31 August 2008	289
1 September 2008 – 31 August 2009	618
Total	1,108

Youth unemployment

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what measures he is taking to address the high levels of youth unemployment.

(AQW 1807/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department has a range of opportunities to address the needs of young people who have left school. As part of this, the Department continues to offer a guarantee of a training place for 16 and 17 year olds, under its Training for Success and Programme-Led Apprenticeship programmes.

Training for Success is designed to enable young people to progress to higher level training, further education, or employment by providing training to address personal and social development needs, develop occupational skills and employability skills and, where necessary, Essential Skills training. TFS is available for those who have attained the minimum school leaving age, who are under 18 years of age and who are unemployed. This is extended up to the day before their 22^nd birthday for those with a disability or up to the day before their 24^th birthday for those leaving care. The Skills for Your Life strand of this programme specifically aims to address the personal and development needs of young people who have disengaged from learning and/or have significant barriers to participating in learning.

ApprenticeshipsNI continue to be a high value opportunity for young people, with the employer-led apprenticeship being the option of choice. However, you will be aware from my recent announcement of the purpose and value of Programme-Led Apprenticeships, which were introduced on 7th September 2009 as an intervention measure during recession. This will ensure that young people aged 16-17yrs (and up to 24 years for those requiring additional support) who wish to follow an apprenticeship, but who are unable to find employment, can do so.

In addition, my Department announced measures to secure the continuity of apprenticeship training throughout the current economic climate for young people who are employed as apprentices.

Contingency arrangements were introduced from 1 December 2008 for apprentices in the construction, motor vehicle and engineering sectors, to ensure they would be able to complete the technical element of their frameworks if made redundant.

A foster-employer initiative was introduced earlier this year to identify companies who would be prepared to employ redundant apprentices and complete their training.

Where an alternative employer cannot be found for those apprentices who are over 18, the Steps to Work initiative can offer placements with employers, of up to 52 weeks in the priority skills areas that are being affected by the economic downturn. More widely, as the Department’s main adult programme, Steps to Work is available to anyone aged 18 or over who is not working or is working for less than 16 hours per week. A lone parent aged 16 or over can also avail of the programme.

Further Education Colleges provide a wide variety of professional, technical and academic courses for young people who leave school, and who do not wish to follow a training or apprenticeship route.

My Department is currently developing two small pilot schemes to test alternative approaches to supporting under 25 year olds who have been unemployed for 12 months or more. These proposals and currently going through an approval process.

My Department’s Careers Advisers currently provide an impartial, all-age Careers Information, Advice and Guidance service to clients including unemployed young people. Provision of effective Careers Information, Advice and Guidance for clients vulnerable to social exclusion, is a key action within "Preparing for Success" the Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Strategy.

Careers staff, based in JobCentres, Jobs and Benefit Offices and Careers Offices, throughout Northern Ireland, endeavour to make contact with 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education, training or employment, to provide support with career decision making, with the ultimate aim of re-engagement.

University of Ulster

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to provide an update on the University of Ulster's commitment to develop science park facilities at the Coleraine and Magee campuses.

(AQW 1830/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The University has advised me that it is currently in discussions with the Northern Ireland Science Park regarding options for the further development of such facilities in Coleraine and Londonderry.

Autism

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what plans he has to develop a strategy for people with autism (i) to allow them to gain access to employment; (ii) to train Social Security and Jobs and Benefits staff to understand and meet the needs of people with autism; and (iii) to ensure that the new Employment and Support Allowance is not failing people with autism.

(AQW 1859/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: In responding to this question from Mr Butler, the Department for Employment and Learning has responsibility for delivering the Employment Service, mainly through its staff in the Jobs and Benefits Offices throughout Northern Ireland. The Department for Social Development, through its staff in the Social Security Agency has responsibility for administering the new Employment Support Allowance.

(1) The Department for Employment and Learning is aware of the employment needs of all its customers with disabilities including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The Department administers the Pathways to Work programme which is an innovative approach to helping people with health conditions and disabilities including those with Autistic Syndrome Disorder. The programme is a work focused approach delivered by specially trained Advisers who help new claimants on Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance to consider their work options and provides the help and support they require to seek and obtain appropriate employment. This programme is also available on a voluntary basis to those already in receipt of Incapacity Benefit. Pathways to Work eligible customers may also volunteer to participate in the Department’s Steps to Work Programme.

The Department’s Disablement Advisory Service (DAS) provides a range of employment programmes to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, including Autistic Spectrum Disorder. These include Access to Work (NI), Workable (NI), New Deal for Disabled People, Job Introduction Scheme, Work Preparation Programme and Condition Management Programme.

With regard to the DAS programmes listed above, the particular programme that is appropriate for each individual is discussed and agreed with a Pathways Personal Adviser based in local Jobs and Benefits Offices/Jobcentres across Northern Ireland.

(2) All of the Pathways Advisers are trained in Disability Awareness and indeed, Autistic Syndrome Disorder is specifically covered as part of the training programme they undergo before commencing work as an Adviser. This training is delivered by Occupational Psychologists from the Occupational Psychology Service Team who, together with a team of Disability Programme Managers, provide ongoing advice, support and assistance to the Pathways Advisers.

For its part, the Social Security Agency delivers training to its frontline staff as part of a mandatory customer service training for all staff to help meet the needs of its wide range of customer groups. Additional training in dealing with people who have a disability is provided for staff working in areas such as the Disability and Carers Service and the Employment and Support Allowance Centre through Disability Action. The Agency cannot provide training for staff within Social Security Offices and Jobs and Benefits Offices in how to deal with specific disabilities due to the prohibitive level of funding required to implement this.

(3) The Social Security Agency provides a range of channels for those who need to access Employment and Support Allowance these include a telephony service, clerical claim forms, face to face service for vulnerable customers who need assistance, as well as the opportunity for a nominated representative to be appointed to engage on behalf of a vulnerable customer.

In conclusion, DEL’s employment programmes and services are delivered on a pan-disability basis and are open to people with a wide range of disabilities, including ASD. DEL will continue to monitor and evaluate programmes and services to ensure the continued provision of a valuable and professional service to all of the disabled clients who are seeking help to find and retain employment

SIR REG EMPEY MLA
Minister for Employment and Learning

Nurses

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if he has consulted the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on the recruitment, training and availability of nurses.

(AQW 1914/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The recruitment, training and availability of nurses is solely the responsibility of the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. I have had no consultations with him on this issue.

Recruitment Employers' Confederation

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when he last met representatives of the Recruitment Employers' Confederation in relation to NHS personnel requirements and associated issues.

(AQW 1915/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The Recruitment Employers’ Confederation (REC) is the representative body for the UK’s private recruitment and staffing industry. Whilst I have not met with REC myself, Departmental officials have regular meetings with REC representatives to discuss issues relating to compliance with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

However, any meetings between Departmental officials and REC are only to discuss employment and recruitment compliance issues that relate to the private recruitment sector. Officials have not discussed NHS personnel requirements or associated issues with REC, as this would be outside the Department’s remit.

Agency Staff

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if he is aware of the difficulties faced by nursing agencies and recruitment organisations due to the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust informing hospitals that agency staff can only be recruited from one specific agency.

(AQW 1917/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department’s only formal engagement with the private recruitment and employment sector is to inspect and monitor private recruitment agencies and businesses, and to investigate any complaints against agencies/businesses, in order to ensure their compliance with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

I have not been made aware of the difficulties that you have raised. However, ‘preferred provider contracts’ would be a business decision for the individual public body concerned and it would be inappropriate for the Department to comment on any procurement practices other than its own.

DEPARTMENT OF ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Invest NI

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, in relation to funds, grants and financial assistance given to companies in which Invest NI board members have an interest in, to detail (i) total amount received; (ii) its purpose; and (iii) the companies which received the assistance, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 400/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): Due to the nature of Invest NI’s operations and the composition of its Board members, it is inevitable that transactions will take place with companies and organisations in which Board members may have a beneficial or non-beneficial interest. Transactions with these related companies are conducted on an arms length basis and all financial assistance packages are subject to normal project and programme rules and internal appraisal procedures. Those cases involving the purchase of goods and services are subject to normal tendering processes, and the organisation’s procurement policy which complies with DFP guidelines. All proposals and transactions are approved in line with the delegation policies established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

The total payments made to companies in the last five years in which Invest NI Board members have an interest, and which are disclosed in Invest NI’s Annual Reports, are as follows: -

2004/5 - £5,536,451

2005/6 - £8,473,210

2006/7 - £10,884,693

2007/8 - £12,180,189

2008/9 - £16,752,339

The analysis by Board Member is included below.

Beneficial Interest
Roy Crawford Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.12.04	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Investment Belfast	79,380	8,991	80,574	2,570
TOTAL	79,380	8,991	80,574	2,570
Non Beneficial Interest	0	0	0	0

Beneficial Interest
Rosemary Peters-Gallagher Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.09	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Moore Stephens Chartered Accountants	-	-	277	-	-	-
University of Ulster	427,081	27,103	1,813,931	13,727	2,700,326	2,237
Institute of Directors	-	-	-	-	-	-
Institute of Chartered Accountants	-	-	-	-	-	9,229
Northern Bank	-	-	-	-	62,535	-
TOTAL	427,081	27,103	1,814,208	13,727	2,762,862	11,466
Non Beneficial Interest	0	0	0	0	0	0

Beneficial Interest
Rosemary Peters-Gallagher Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.09	2007-8	2007-8	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Moore Stephens Chartered Accountants	-	-	-	5,875
University of Ulster	2,550,705	321,453	2,966,190	68,856
Institute of Directors	5,969	-	-	12,857
Institute of Chartered Accountants	-	5,793	-	2,190
Northern Bank	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	2,556,674	327,246	2,966,190	89,778
Non Beneficial Interest	0	0	0	0

Beneficial Interest
Alan McClure Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.07	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Guildhall Advisory Services Ltd	-	-	-	523	-	-
Alpha Environmental Systems	26,841	-	77,288	-	45,192	-
Ilex Urban Regeneration Ltd	-	100	-	-	-	-
Precision Industrial Services Ltd	36,729	93	45,089	222	2,000	-
NU Print Trimmimgs Ltd	56,336	-	73,118	-	147,690	-
Clear Water Technologies	316	-	-	-	-	-
Sepha Holdings Ltd	-	-	-	-	25,776	-
Guild House Advisory Services Ltd	-	-	-	-	-	1,601
TOTAL	120,221	193	195,494	745	220,657	1,601
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Gilbert Little Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.08	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Aepona Ltd	115,180	2,983	-	-	-	-	450	479
Oaktime Trust (Tamaran Ltd)	-	-	-	7,907	-	-	-	-
Aepona Telecoms Ltd	-	-	233,910	-	170,700	-	-	-
Tamaran Ltd	-	-	-	-	-	8,002	-	8,224
TOTAL	115,180	2,983	233,910	7,907	170,700	8,002	450	8,703
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Debra Jenkins-Devine Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.07	2004-5	2005-6
	Grants	Grants
	£	£
EXUS Energy Limited	152,318	6,239
TOTAL	152,318	6,239
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Patrick Haren Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.09	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2007-8	2008-9
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Services	Services	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
NIE plc	-	287,070	-	296,907	505,248	206,830	2,366,761
SX3 (Service & Systems Solutions)	208,210	123,889	28,541	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	208,210	410,959	28,541	296,907	505,248	206,830	2,366,761
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Rotha Johnston Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.09	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8	2008-9	2008-9
	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
BT Shareholding	-	-	-	-	69,534	322,047	146,559
NIO	-	-	1,576	-	-	-	1,387
Andor Technologhy	-	153,515	-	240,801	-	236,949	3,380
Cibo Ltd	94	228	-	-	-	-	-
Queens University Belfast	-	-	-	1,945,899	118,273	1,615,196	325,389
TOTAL	94	153,743	1,576	2,186,700	187,807	2,174,192	476,715
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Bernie Hannigan Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.08	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Diabetica Ltd	-	-	-	-
University of Ulster	417,280	36,904	1,813,931	13,727
Queen's University Belfast	1,285,563	52,390	3,478,039	21,013
Northern Ireland Science Park	307	-	-	-
Northern Ireland Science Park (Holdings)	-	-	-	-
UUSRP Ltd	-	9,826	-	5,634
UU Tech Ltd	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	1,703,150	99,120	5,291,970	40,374
Non Beneficial Interest
UU Tech Ltd	-	-	-	-
UUSRP Ltd	-	-	-	-
Northern Ireland Science Park (Holdings)	-	-	-	-
Board for the Centre for Competitiveness	-	-	-	-
Queen's University	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Bernie Hannigan Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.08	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Diabetica Ltd	-	-	-	-
University of Ulster	2,700,326	2,237	2,551,297	320,861
Queen's University Belfast	5,285,631	15,943	-	-
Northern Ireland Science Park	-	-	-	-
Northern Ireland Science Park (Holdings)	-	4,694	-	-
UUSRP Ltd	-	2,738	-	-
UU Tech Ltd	766	-	-	-
TOTAL	7,986,724	25,612	2,551,297	320,861
Non Beneficial Interest
UU Tech Ltd	-	-	3,450	16,912
UUSRP Ltd	-	-	-	8,966
Northern Ireland Science Park (Holdings)	-	-	20,025	6,061
Board for the Centre for Competitiveness	-	-	37,242	373,603
Queen's University	-	-	1,945,899	118,273
TOTAL	-	-	2,006,617	523,815

Beneficial Interest
Deborah Boyd Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.08	2005-6
	Grants
	£
Enterprising Womens Network (Armagh and Down)	8,178
TOTAL	8,178
Non Beneficial Interest	-

Beneficial Interest
Fabian Monds Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.12.05	2004-5	2005-6
	Services	Services
	£	£
Western Connect Ltd	10,379	3,721
TOTAL	10,379	3,721
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Non Beneficial Interest
Roy Adair Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
Beneficial Interest	-	-
Business In The Community	-	7,896
Prince's Trust	607,358	1,500
TOTAL	607,358	9,396

Beneficial Interest
David Dobbin Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
British Telecom NI Plc	322,047	146,559
Food From Britain	-	81,349
Medevol Limited	1,514	-
United Dairy Farmers Ltd	173,026	-
Dale Farm	47,540	3,030
Strategic Investment Board	-	-
Intertrade Ireland	-	21,267
Queens University of Belfast	1,615,196	325,389
The Princes Trust	607,358	1,500
TOTAL	2,766,681	579,094
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Mark Ennis Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
Airtricity Holdings Ltd & Subsidiaries	-	591
Sensor Technologies & Devices Ltd	36,784	-
CBI	-	7,621
Creative Composites Ltd	17,105	1,697
TOTAL	53,889	9,908
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Non Beneficial Interest
Alan Lennon Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9
	Services
	£
Beneficial Interest	-
Business In The Community	7,896
TOTAL	7,896

Beneficial Interest
Gerry MacCormac Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
Business In The Community	-	7,896
Northern Ireland Science Park	14,125	36,405
Institute of Directors	-	12,857
TOTAL	14,125	57,158
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Frank Hewitt Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
Northern Ireland Science Park	14,125	36,405
TOTAL	14,125	36,405
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Tim Brundle Appointed: 1.4.08 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
University of Ulster	2,966,190	68,856
UUTECH Science Innovation Centre	4,225	53,800
Datactics	13,068	976
Causeway Data Communications Ltd	14,918	-
Sophia Search Ltd	36,204	-
Bombardier Aerospace/Short Bros	5,832,839	1,000
Cleaver Fulton Rankin Solicitors	-	39,616
TOTAL	8,867,445	164,248
Non Beneficial Interest
SISAF Limited	45,000	-
TOTAL	45,000	-

Beneficial Interest
Ed Vernon Appointed: 1.4.06 Retired: Still Serving	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Institute of Directors	-	-	-	5,969	-	12,857
Queens University Foundation	5,285,631	15,943	1,945,899	118,273	1,615,196	325,389
BTW Shiels	-	-	-	596,324	-	-
TOTAL	5,285,631	15,943	1,945,899	720,565	1,615,196	338,246
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Bill McGinnis Appointed: 1.4.02 Retired: 31.3.08	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8
	Grants	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
The McAvoy Group	252,261	255,834	-	110,000	-	52,187	-
Management & Leadership Network (MLN)	-	-	-	-	-	15,000	-
Department for Employment and Learning (DEL)	-	-	325	-	385	-	3,821
Maccom (Rep. Of Ireland)	325	-	-	-	-	-	-
Prince's Trust	-	-	-	788,942	-	285,654	1,500
UK Trade & Investment	-	-	-	-	360	-	14,868
Federal Electronic Security	-	-	-	-	-	7,000	-
Memsis	87,434	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	340,019	255,834	325	898,942	745	359,840	20,188
Non Beneficial Interest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Beneficial Interest
Bryan Keating Appointed: 1.4.06 Retired: Still Serving	2006-7	2006-7	2007-8	2007-8
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Axis Three Ltd	-	-	-	-
Andor Technologies	153,515	-	240,801	-
Datactics Ltd	9,600	-	1,999	-
Crescent Capital II	-	-	1,500,000	-
Mail Distiller	2,445	-	-	-
Omiino Ltd	-	-	-	-
Investment Belfast	47,625	375	-	-
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast	5,285,631	15,943	-	-
TOTAL	5,498,817	16,318	1,742,800	-
Non Beneficial Interest
Investment Belfast	-	-	-	7,874
Northern Ireland Science Park	-	-	-	-
Sophia Search Ltd	-	-	-	-
Mail Distiller	-	-	-	36,867
TOTAL	-	-	-	44,741

Beneficial Interest
Bryan Keating Appointed: 1.4.06 Retired: Still Serving	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services
	£	£
Axis Three Ltd	41,564	918
Andor Technologies	236,949	3,380
Datactics Ltd	13,068	976
Crescent Capital II	750,000	-
Mail Distiller	-	-
Omiino Ltd	185,321	2,105
Investment Belfast	-	-
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast	-	-
TOTAL	1,226,902	7,379
Non Beneficial Interest
Investment Belfast	-	-
Northern Ireland Science Park	14,125	36,405
Sophia Search Ltd	25,674	10,530
Mail Distiller	-	-
TOTAL	39,799	46,935

Beneficial Interest
Stephen Kingon Appointed: 7.6.02 Retired: Still Serving	2004-5	2004-5	2005-6	2005-6	2006-7	2006-7
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£	£	£
PricewaterhouseCoopers	-	915,090	-	592,072	-	318,594
BT Ireland Ltd	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mivan Limited	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mivan (UK) Ltd	-	-	-	-	-	-
Stephen Kingon Associates	-	-	-	-	-	-
Anderson Spratt Holdings	-	-	-	-	-	-
Balcas Ltd	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	-	915,090	-	592,072	-	318,594
Non Beneficial Interest
Business in the Community	17,141	15,065	69,304	51,937	-	-
Centre for Competitiveness	437,541	306,536	227,266	343,574	-	460,740
Royal Institute for the Deaf	763	-	-	1,158	-	-
NI Chamber of Commerce	139,026	-	84,668	63,894	-	-
Threshold	-	-	-	-	-	-
Princes Trust	-	-	584,553	1,126	788,942	-
TOTAL	594,472	321,600	965,790	461,689	788,942	460,740

Beneficial Interest
Stephen Kingon Appointed: 7.6.02 Retired: Still Serving	2007-8	2007-8	2008-9	2008-9
	Grants	Services	Grants	Services
	£	£	£	£
Pricewaterhouse Coopers	24,165	377,572	-	-
BT Ireland Ltd	-	69,534	322,047	146,559
Mivan Limited	-	-	13,358	-
Mivan (UK) Ltd	1,102	-	-	-
Stephen Kingon Associates	-	23,214	-	63,578
Anderson Spratt Holdings	-	-	1,275	-
Balcas Ltd	-	-	113,234	-
TOTAL	25,267	470,320	449,913	210,138
Non Beneficial Interest
Business in the Community	-	-	-	-
Centre for Competitiveness	37,242	373,603	-	322,087
Royal Institute for the Deaf	-	1,401	-	490
NI Chamber of Commerce	-	-	-	-
Threshold	-	-	-	48,115
Princes Trust	285,654	1,500	607,358	1,500
TOTAL	322,896	376,504	607,358	372,192

Motorhome Tourism

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what action her Department is taking to enhance motorhome tourism.

(AQW 1511/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Representatives of the motor home sector have been in contact with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and the Department of Enterprise Trade & Investment (DETI) directly and through elected representatives on a number of occasions during recent months. In addition the Enterprise, Trade & Investment (ETI) Committee has also requested information regarding motor home tourism.

Following discussions with representatives of the motor home sector it is understood that concerns relate mainly to access to vehicle parking and the provision of services specifically for motor home tourist known as ‘aires de service’.

Councils have a key role to play in the provision of parking and services for both touring caravans and motor homes. In addition the provision of motor home facilities in Northern Ireland is governed by the Caravan Act (1963), all facilities for touring caravans or motor homes must conform to the requirements of this act.

To date two seminars for representatives of Councils have been hosted by NITB and DETI (September 2008 and May 2009 respectively) to explore opportunities and best practice models in servicing motor home users.

On 25^th September NITB facilitated a meeting with a representative of the motor home sector with Fermanagh District Council to explore potential servicing opportunities in County Fermanagh.

Varney II Report

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what action her Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Varney II Report, 'The Review of the Competitiveness of Northern Ireland'.

(AQW 1552/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department submitted a detailed response to DFP on the recommendations contained in Sir David Varney’s second report. In my response, I explained that DETI/Invest NI were already taking actions to address the majority of Varney’s recommendations and this continues to be the case.

One of the Varney II recommendations was that a review of Invest NI should be conducted. This was one of the factors that led me to establish the Independent Review of Economic Policy, which was published on 29 September 2009.

On 5 October 2009, I launched a six-week period of consultation on the Independent Review’s report to gather views from key stakeholders before taking further action on the report and its recommendations.

Recession

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what advice she has received on when Northern Ireland is likely to emerge from the current recession.

(AQW 1593/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: It is clear that the Northern Ireland economy is still experiencing difficulties as a result of the global recession. Official statistics recently published by my Department on 14 October 2009, show that output has continued to fall in the production sector, with unemployment continuing to rise.

However, it is also important to note that recent trends have revealed a slowdown in the rate of decline. For example, the latest increase in the claimant count was the smallest increase for the last fifteen months. Also, while output levels for the service sector remained flat during quarter two, 2009, revised figures for the first quarter of the year registered growth for the first time in two years.

As my Department has lead responsibility for PSA 1, ‘to improve Northern Ireland’s manufacturing and private services productivity’, I commissioned forecasts to regularly monitor the performance of the local economy. These forecasts are suggesting that the economy is expected to return to marginal growth in 2010.

Northern Ireland Executive's European Office in Brussels

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many times has her Department been in contact with the Northern Ireland Executive's European Office in Brussels, in each of the last 2 years; and to detail the reasons for this contact.

(AQW 1613/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Statistics are not compiled on the number of individual contacts between DETI staff and the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels (ONIEB), however there has been substantial engagement over the last 2 years on a range of matters, the most significant of which are identified below.

State Aid Issues - ONIEB has facilitated the Department in discussions with the European Commission on State Aid issues. Examples of positive outcomes enabled by this engagement include approval of a State Aid framework to allow support for the Bombardier C Series aircraft. ONIEB also was instrumental in obtaining Commission approval for the Exceptional Market Support Measure Regulation which provided hardship support to pig meat and beef processors and farmers following the dioxins contamination of animal feed incident in December 2008.

Access to EU Funding - ONIEB has worked closely with Invest NI on improving access to EU funding opportunities such as Framework Programme 7 which supports research & development initiatives. Invest NI’s office in Brussels is co-located with ONEIB.

Barroso Taskforce - The Office plays a leading role in enabling the work of the Northern Ireland Barroso Taskforce aimed at increasing the range and quality of engagement between NI and the EU institutions with a view to supporting the creation of more growth and jobs. Within this context, ONIEB has facilitated a number of meetings between DETI and EU officials across a range of Directorates General including Employment & Social Affairs, Regional Policy, Competition, and Energy & Transport.

EU Policy Advice / Events – ONIEB has provided the Department with information on policy developments at EU level and kept us informed of relevant workshops and events. The Office has facilitated two visits when I visited Brussels to discuss energy matters and the dioxins incident as referred to above.

Energy Switching Infrastructure

Dr A McDonnell asked e Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the current capacity level for energy switching infrastructure; (ii) if Northern Ireland has sufficient switching infrastructure to offer the same level of choice to domestic energy consumers as exists in England, Scotland and Wales; and if not (iii) the reasons why not; and (iv) what steps her Department is taking to address the infrastructure short fall.

(AQW 1621/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR) works alongside the energy companies in Northern Ireland to ensure that the arrangements for full customer switching are in place in the event that a licensed energy supplier elects to participate in the gas and electricity supply markets.

There are four elements to the question outlined above and these are addressed as follows:

Electricity

(i) To date there has been a total of £39million investment in customer switching capacity in the electricity sector, with £24million of this in the domestic electricity sector and £15million in the non-domestic sector. This has given full unlimited switching capacity in the non-domestic sector and partial switching capacity in the domestic sector, i.e. 6,000 domestic customers per month can switch to a total customer switch limit of 125,000 customers at present.

(ii) As detailed in (i) above the systems in Northern Ireland (NI) do not currently afford the same level of switching capability for domestic electricity customers as in GB where they have unlimited switching.

(iii) NI does not have the same level of switching capacity as in GB as the NI electricity market was not open to full supply competition before November 2007. Therefore it was not justified for electricity companies to invest substantially in domestic switching capacity before this date.

(iv) As evidenced in (i) above, the current switching system for electricity customers allows for substantial levels of switching and as there are now new suppliers in the market and with the prospect of these suppliers serving domestic customers, there are stronger incentives for investing in more comprehensive domestic switching systems. NIAUR is therefore currently working with the energy companies to ensure that the necessary switching infrastructure is in place to allow full effective switching for both domestic and non-domestic electricity customers. It is anticipated that a full system capable of unlimited switching capacity in the NI electricity market will be in place by March 2012.

Gas

(i) The existing gas customer switching systems within the Greater Belfast licensed gas area are largely manual. The Belfast gas market has around 112,000 domestic gas consumers. The market has been fully open to supply competition since January 2007 and the current switching system is capable of switching up to 50 customers per week.

(ii) The systems in Northern Ireland (NI) do not currently afford the same level of switching capability for domestic gas customers as in GB where they have unlimited switching, within a much larger customer base.

(iii) A number of competitors hold gas supply licences in the Greater Belfast area, and a number of business customers have switched supplier. However, as yet, no new gas supply licence holders are actively competing for business in the domestic gas market. Hence the switching systems have thus far not been developed to support anything more than moderate levels of domestic switching.

(iv) In order to obtain an independent assessment, the Utility Regulator intends to engage consultants to determine the exact capabilities and limitations of the existing gas switching systems and an assessment of the costs of proposals. The Utility Regulator is currently discussing the optimal solution with Phoenix Natural Gas and potential suppliers with a view to reaching a consensus on the way forward.

The Department continues to take an active interest in the creation of conditions which ensure that opportunities exist for new energy suppliers to enter the respective supply markets, and that suitable arrangements are in place to allow customers to switch supplier, as new companies participate in the market.

Taxis

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment if her plans for an enhanced role for taxi drivers in promoting tourism require formal regulation to ensure quality of service and to protect tourists from being overcharged for fares.

(AQW 1666/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: In Northern Ireland, regulation of the taxi industry is the responsibility of the Department of Environment (DOE).

Via a process of stakeholder engagement and brand implementation taxi drivers have been identified as having the potential to influence the visitor experience in relation to their stay in Northern Ireland. They are often the first point of contact for visitors and provide invaluable insights to inform visitor experiences.

In recent years, Northern Ireland has seen a significant increase in the number of people choosing to explore Northern Ireland by taxi. The taxi driver project identified and filled a gap in tourism training provision for taxi drivers in relation to customers and product knowledge.

The role of formal regulation and fares however sits firmly with the DOE- see link below.

http://www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk/index/taxi.htm

Economic Disadvantage

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what percentage of people in (i) each council area; and (ii) each constituency are living in economic disadvantage.

(AQW 1731/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Estimates of ‘economic disadvantage’ are based on the income and employment domains of the 2005 Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure. These domains are not mutually exclusive i.e. one person may be counted as both ‘income deprived’ and ‘employment deprived’ depending on their circumstances. It is therefore not possible to provide a single measure of the number living in ‘economic disadvantage’.

For information, the tables below provide separate details of the proportion of the relevant population who are ‘income deprived’ and ‘employment deprived’ using the definitions in the 2005 measure. The ‘income deprived’ measure is based on the proportion of the total population in that particular area who are ‘income deprived’, while the ‘employment deprived’ measure is based on the proportion of the population aged 18 to retirement age who are ‘employment deprived’.

(i) Percentage of people ‘Income deprived’ or ‘Employment deprived’ by District Council area.

District Council Area	% ‘Income Deprived’¹	% ‘Employment Deprived’²
Antrim	14.4%	12.5%
Ards	13.7%	12.1%
Armagh	18.7%	14.7%
Ballymena	15.0%	11.5%
Ballymoney	18.5%	14.0%
Banbridge	14.0%	12.9%
Belfast	30.6%	19.1%
Carrickfergus	13.4%	12.5%
Castlereagh	11.5%	11.1%
Coleraine	18.6%	13.2%
Cookstown	24.1%	17.1%
Craigavon	20.1%	16.6%
Derry	34.7%	21.9%
Down	17.8%	14.0%
Dungannon	24.5%	15.7%
Fermanagh	23.0%	14.7%
Larne	15.4%	13.5%
Limavady	22.9%	16.2%
Lisburn	18.1%	12.5%
Magherafelt	18.6%	13.7%
Moyle	23.9%	15.6%
Newry and Mourne	27.8%	17.6%
Newtownabbey	15.0%	12.0%
North Down	10.7%	9.8%
Omagh	23.0%	17.1%
Strabane	31.7%	22.5%

¹ Proportion of the population in each area that are income deprived.

² Proportion of females aged 18 to 59 and males aged 18 to 64 in each area that are employment deprived.

N.b. Figures are not mutually exclusive i.e. one person may be counted as both ‘income deprived’ and ‘employment deprived’ depending on their circumstances.

Source: NI Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005

(ii) Percentage of people ‘Income deprived’ or ‘Employment deprived’ by Parliamentary Constituency.

Parliamentary Constituency	% ‘Income Deprived’¹	% ‘Employment Deprived’²
Belfast East	19.2%	14.6%
Belfast North	36.5%	23.3%
Belfast South	15.9%	10.7%
Belfast West	46.0%	27.3%
East Antrim	14.0%	12.5%
East Londonderry	20.2%	14.3%
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	22.1%	14.7%
Foyle	34.7%	21.9%
Lagan Valley	12.2%	10.5%
Mid Ulster	23.1%	15.7%
Newry and Armagh	26.2%	17.2%
North Antrim	17.4%	12.8%
North Down	11.1%	10.0%
South Antrim	13.0%	11.5%
South Down	18.8%	14.4%
Strangford	12.8%	11.8%
Upper Bann	19.0%	16.1%
West Tyrone	26.8%	19.4%

¹ Proportion of the population in each area that are income deprived.

² Proportion of females aged 18 to 59 and males aged 18 to 64 in each area that are employment deprived.

N.b. Figures are not mutually exclusive i.e. one person may be counted as both ‘income deprived’ and ‘employment deprived’ depending on their circumstances.

Source: NI Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005

Recession

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for her assessment of why Northern Ireland has been more adversely affected than other regions by the current recession.

(AQW 1808/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: It is clear that the Northern Ireland economy is still experiencing difficulties as a result of the global downturn. Official statistics produced by my Department show that all sectors have faced significant challenges, with some being more affected than others. However, I do not believe that the impact of the recession has been greater on Northern Ireland than it has on the UK as a whole.

While it is clear that the private sector in Northern Ireland has experienced difficulties, as is the case in every region of the UK, it is also important to note that our decreased exposure to the financial sector has helped stabilise the local economy. Furthermore, the relatively large size of the public sector has also helped lessen the impact of the downturn locally.

This is borne out in forecasts commissioned by my Department. These indicate that while the local economy is expected to contract by 4.3% in 2009, output in the UK as a whole is expected to experience a larger fall. Furthermore, forecasts also suggest that Northern Ireland will return to marginal growth in 2010.

Bankruptcy

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what steps her Department intends to take to reform the laws regarding bankruptcy.

(AQW 1817/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department has no plans to materially amend the law applying to bankruptcy. By long-standing convention bankruptcy law in Northern Ireland is kept in parity with that applying in England and Wales. My Department is not aware of any plans to reform bankruptcy law in England and Wales.

There are plans to make certain minor adjustments to bankruptcy law in England and Wales, and if these go ahead my Department will take action to bring in corresponding provision for Northern Ireland. This would include replicating by Assembly Bill a planned Legislative Reform Order amending the primary legislation under which bankruptcies are administered to enable greater use to be made of electronic communications.

Work is already underway to make an amending piece of subordinate legislation corresponding to the Insolvency (Amendment) Rules 2009, which were brought into force in England and Wales on 6 April 2009 to enable better targeted publicity in insolvency proceedings, including bankruptcy.

The entire original Rules and subsequent amendments which apply in England and Wales are currently the subject of a consolidation exercise which is not due to be completed until 2011.

My Department’s Insolvency Service is currently working on a Debt Relief Bill. Debt Relief will be an alternative to, rather than a reform of, bankruptcy. It will enable debtors who meet certain eligibility criteria, including a limit on total debt they can owe, to apply to the Official Receiver for a Debt Relief Order instead of petitioning the Court for bankruptcy.

Businesses Operating in Northern Ireland

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 1134/10 how many people are employed by (i) the 3,325 firms which have an owner from outside Northern Ireland; and (ii) the 67,465 firms which are locally owned.

(AQW 1818/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Pursuant to AQW 1134/10, the latest data from the Inter-departmental Business Register¹ indicates that at September 2009, the 3,325 businesses categorised as having an owner² from outside Northern Ireland, were estimated to employ a total of 335,940 (45% of all employees³). The 67,465 locally owned businesses employed an estimated total of 412,525 (55% of all employees).

1 It should be noted that the business register only contains information on all businesses in the United Kingdom which are VAT registered or which operate a PAYE scheme. Therefore those smaller businesses which do not exceed the VAT threshold or are VAT exempt will be excluded from the figures.

2. Please note that each business on the register is defined as being locally owned unless a single outside investor holds a greater than 50% total shareholding. As a result the estimates provided in this answer are likely to underestimate the total number of businesses in Northern Ireland which may be partly owned by interests outside of Northern Ireland.

3. The business register is not the primary recommended source for employee estimates and is likely to provide an over-estimate of the total number of employees.

Businesses Operating in Northern Ireland

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 1134/10, of the 3,325 firms which had an owner from outside Northern Ireland how many employed (i) more than 1000 people; (ii) between 500 and 1000 people (iii) between 100 and 500 people; and (iv) under 100 people.

(AQW 1820/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Pursuant to AQW 1134/10, table 1 presents a breakdown of the number of businesses with an owner from outside¹ Northern Ireland, by employee size category. This information has been sourced from the Inter-departmental Business Register² at September 2009.

Table 1 - Number of "not locally" owned businesses by employee size category, Sept 2009

Employee Size category	Number of "not local owned" businesses³	Percentage (%)
0 - 99	2,855	85.9%
100 - 499	360	10.8%
500 - 999	60	1.7%
1000+	55	1.6%
Total	3,325	100.0%

1. Please note that each business on the register is defined as being locally owned unless a single outside investor holds a greater than 50% total shareholding. As a result the estimates of business numbers provided in this answer are likely to underestimate the total number of businesses in Northern Ireland which may be partly owned by interests outside of Northern Ireland.

2 It should be noted that the business register only contains information on all businesses in the United Kingdom which are VAT registered or which operate a PAYE scheme. Therefore those smaller businesses which do not exceed the VAT threshold or are VAT exempt will be excluded from the figures.

3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and may not sum due to rounding.

Businesses Operating in Northern Ireland

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 1134/10, how many of the 67,465 locally owned firms employed (i) more than 1000 people; (ii) between 500 and 1000 people; (iii) between 100 and 500; and (d) under 100 people.

(AQW 1821/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Pursuant to AQW 1134/10, table 1 presents a breakdown of the number of locally¹ owned businesses by employee size categories. This information is once again sourced from the Inter-departmental Business Register² at September 2009.

Table 1 - Number of locally owned businesses by employee size category, Sept 2009

Employee Size category	Number of locally owned businesses	Percentage (%)
0 - 99	67,185	99.6%
100 - 499	250	0.4%
500 - 999	20	0.0%
1000+	15	0.0%
Total	67,465	100%

1. Please note that each business on the register is defined as being locally owned unless a single outside investor holds a greater than 50% total shareholding. As a result the estimates provided in this answer are likely to include some businesses in Northern Ireland which may be partly owned by interests outside of Northern Ireland.

3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and may not sum due to rounding.

NI Science Park Foundation

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to confirm whether the NI Science Park Foundation agreed, at the time of its inception, to develop science park facilities at the University of Ulster's Coleraine and Magee campuses; and to detail (ii) the amount of money set aside for this; and (iii) how much of this money has been taken up by the University.

(AQW 1827/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: It has always been the intention that the Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) would not be limited to its current Queen’s Island location; rather it would extend, in time, across Northern Ireland.

In 2003, within the Science Park’s Phase 1 budget, £4.25 million was allocated for investment in the North West in association with the University of Ulster (UU). This was earmarked for the development of the Science Park at Magee and Coleraine, a total of 40,000 sq. ft.

The University of Ulster subsequently decided that it was unable to utilise the funding and it was returned to NISP in August 2005.

NISP recently renewed discussions with the University of Ulster on the potential for extending the Science Park to the North West and these discussions are on-going.

'Go for It'

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail all financial investments in new business enterprises as a direct result of the 'Go for it' programme, in each of the last three years, in the North Down area.

(AQW 2098/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The ‘Go For It’ programme is a marketing campaign administered by Invest NI aimed at anyone interested in starting a business in Northern Ireland. The primary funding mechanism supporting new locally-owned businesses is the Enterprise Development Programme (formerly the Start A Business Programme), delivered by Invest NI in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland. Table 1 below shows the number of Start A Business programme offers made in the North Down Parliamentary Constituency Area (PCA) over the last 3 years. The amount of assistance offered has also been included.

Table 1 – Assistance Offered by Start A Business Programme in North Down PCA (2006/07 – 2008/09)

Year	No of Offers	Total Assistance (£)
2006/07	111	42,200
2007/08	91	33,000
2008/09	81	27,600
Total	283	102,800

Go for It Programme

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to list (i) the businesses in the North Down area that were assisted under the 'Go for It' programme, in each of the last three years; and (ii) if these businesses are still trading.

(AQW 2126/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Between April 2006 and March 2009, 283 new start ups in the North Down Parliamentary Constituency Area were assisted through the Start a Business programme. This is broken down as 111 businesses supported in 2006 - 07, 91 in 2007 - 08 and 81 in 2008 - 09.

Of the businesses that started up in the constituency between 2006 and 2008, post start monitoring information held by Invest NI indicates that 67% are still trading. The information is not yet available for the majority of businesses who started up in 2008 - 09, as post start monitoring to ascertain their trading status is only commencing.

As the majority of those who participated on the programme were individuals, their details are subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act and I am therefore unable to provide you with a list identifying all those who received assistance during the period in question.

The primary vehicle supporting locally-owned businesses is the Enterprise Development Programmes, comprising both the Go for It and Growth programmes. These programmes are delivered by Invest NI in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland. Within the Enterprise Development Programmes, Go for It, which replaced the Start a Business programme in April this year, caters for pre-starts and start ups. It has been designed to offer a more flexible and enhanced continuum of support for prospective start ups and is promoted through an extensive marketing campaign. As the new programme has only been operational since April, it is too early to provide any meaningful information on trading status for those businesses assisted thus far.

Go for It Programme

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many people have been employed as a direct result of the 'Go for It' programme, in the last three years, in the North Down area.

(AQW 2198/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Invest NI's primary mechanism for supporting locally-owned businesses is the Enterprise Development Programmes, comprising both the Go for It and Growth programmes. These programmes are delivered by Invest NI in partnership with Enterprise Northern Ireland. Within the Enterprise Development Programmes, Go for It, which replaced the Start a Business programme in April this year, caters for pre-starts and start ups. It has been designed to offer a more flexible and enhanced continuum of support for prospective start ups and is promoted through an extensive marketing campaign.

Table 1 below shows the number of offers made through the Start a Business programme in the North Down Parliamentary Constituency Area (PCA) over the last 3 years and the number of jobs that these projects expect to create.

Table 1 –Number of Jobs Expected to be Created by Enterprise Development Programme in North Down PCA (2006/07 – 2008/09)

Year	No of Offers	Number of Expected Jobs
2006/07	111	115
2007/08	91	95
2008/09	81	84
Total	283	294

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

PPS21

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the costs of the PPS21 Independent Working Group for non-farming rural dwellers.

(AQW 1597/10)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): The cost of the Independent Working Group is £19,446.67 with one expense claim outstanding. This is made up of £18,000 in fees and £1,446.67 in expenses.

Northern Ireland Executive's European Office in Brussels

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment how many times has his Department been in contact with the Northern Ireland Executive's European Office in Brussels, in each of the last 2 years; and to detail the reasons for this contact.

(AQW 1612/10)

Minister of the Environment: Due to my Department’s responsibility for environmental issues, there is regular contact between my officials and those in the Executive’s European Office. The majority of this contact involves the exchange of advice and guidance on European issues which affect my Department, although I am unable to reliably quantify the number of instances as no record is kept.

I can however confirm three specific cases in 2008 and three in 2009 where officials provided input in response to requests for information from the Office, in addition to a number of informal exchanges which took place earlier in 2009 with regard to the Barosso Task Force. I can also confirm that officials from my Department and the Department for Regional Development met with officials from the Office on 28 November 2008 in Belfast to discuss the working relationship between the Brussels Office and NI departments.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of the Environment if his Department has responded to the EU Regulatory Statement on Genetically Modified Organisms.

(AQW 1860/10)

Minister of the Environment: My Department is not aware of such a statement. However, the European Commission carries out periodic reviews of the EU regulatory framework for GMs in conjunction with Member States. My Department contributes to the UK response to such reviews when they fall within its remit.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of the Environment if his Department has responded to the EU Commission Report on the socio-economic impacts of the release of Genetically Modified Organisms.

(AQW 1861/10)

Minister of the Environment: This report is not due to be published until June 2010. The Commission wrote to Member States during the summer seeking input to the report, and my officials are working with colleagues in England, Scotland and Wales on the UK response to this request.

Staff Travel Costs

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of the Environment how much was spent by his Department on staff travel cost claims in the last financial year.

(AQW 1863/10)

Minister of the Environment: My Department has spent £1,806,052 on staff travel cost claims during the last financial year.

Local Government Reform

Mr G McHugh asked the Minister of the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to provide financial support for the cost of Local Government reform, in particular the inequitable rates differential on some rate payers due to the amalgamation of councils.

(AQW 1872/10)

Minister of the Environment: The funding of Local Government reform, including the issue of the convergence of rates, is critical to the success of the programme and I will be addressing this with the Finance Minister, the rest of the Executive and with District Councils over the coming months.

Planning Appeals

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment whether applicants who are successful in appealing against planning decisions should have their costs refunded; and if so, what plans he has to address the anomaly which discriminates against these applicants.

(AQW 1880/10)

Minister of the Environment: There is currently no mechanism available to applicants to enable them to recover costs incurred following a successful appeal against a planning decision.

In the consultation paper on Reform of the Planning System in Northern Ireland, my Department requested feedback on proposals to introduce a power that would allow the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) to award costs where a party has been put to unnecessary expense and where the PAC has established that the other party has acted unreasonably. The consultation period ended on 2 October 2009. My Department is currently considering the responses received on the Reform Paper.

Road Safety Issues

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment what progress he has made in the last year with his counterparts in the Republic of Ireland on road safety issues, such as, penalty points, driving disqualification and the harmonising of driving licences.

(AQW 1886/10)

Minister of the Environment: Work to achieve the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, within the framework of the 1998 European Convention on Driving Disqualifications, is now nearing completion. Formal declarations by the UK and Ireland will shortly be made to the Secretary-General of the EU Council in accordance with Article 15.4 of the Convention, with a view to implementation of the new arrangements in early 2010. The UK and the Republic are the first two member states to take this pioneering step to put the Convention into practical effect.

Mutual recognition of penalty points is a more complex issue. However, a feasibility report on the matter has been completed, and my officials will be working with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on the required programme of work. The timeframe involved has yet to be determined.

Cooperation in the area of road safety advertising and publicity has continued. Some current advertisements, the costs of which have been shared, are being shown on both sides of the border. They include those involving consultant Gerry Lane, who talks about the impact of road traffic collisions from the point of view of the medical staff who have to deal with the outcomes, and about the effects of not wearing seatbelts correctly. Officials have also been sharing experience in the use of new technology for advertising and publicity purposes.

My officials are also considering the current proposals for lower drink drive limits, and liaising with the authorities in Dublin on whether there might be any scope for coordination.

On the issue of driving licences, there is no specific programme of harmonisation between the two jurisdictions. The framework of regulation for driver licensing is defined by EC directives and all member states are required to comply.

Proposed Wind Farm at Lisnamuck Road

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister of the Environment to provide an update on planning application C/2008/0163/F for a proposed wind farm at Lisnamuck Road, Blackhill, Co. Londonderry.

(AQW 1946/10)

Minister of the Environment: The planning application for 3 turbines at Lisnamuck Road, Blackhill is still under consideration. Planning Service has requested further environmental information under Regulation 15(1) of the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland (1999) (as amended 2008).

When this information is received it will be advertised in the local press to enable further comment by interested parties. The information will be fully assessed before a final recommendation is made by Planning Service.

PPS14

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

(AQW 1990/10)

Minister of the Environment: In Downpatrick Division 158 applications were deferred under draft PPS14. 43 have been approved and 110 remain deferred. One application has issued as a refusal and 4 have been withdrawn.

Recycling

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment how many councils (i) facilitate; and (ii) do not facilitate the recycling of glass products in household recycling bins; and (iii) what steps is he taking to ensure all local councils provide this service.

(AQW 2021/10)

Minister of the Environment: Currently there are 8 District Councils who operate the "box" facility which collects domestic glass at the kerbside, whilst the remaining 18 Councils operate the "blue bin" facility which does not collect domestic glass. However, in all Council areas domestic glass can be taken to a local civic amenity site operated by the relevant District Council or a "bring" site such as those found at supermarket car parks. District Councils are the statutory authorities in Northern Ireland with responsibility for providing suitable receptacles and for collecting controlled wastes in their districts. It is not within the remit of my Department to mandate a standard regime.

Reorganisation of Local Councils

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of the Environment what is his Department's policy in relation to severance payments for Councillors who resign from local councils, as announced under the reorganisation of local councils.

(AQW 2028/10)

Minister of the Environment: As I said in my Statement to the Assembly on 20 October 2009 about the Local Government Reform Programme, I am sympathetic to the idea of severance payments for retiring councillors. When my Department conducted a consultation on Severance Arrangements for Councillors (6 April to 31 May 2009) the majority of respondents were in favour of having a scheme as soon as possible, provided that arrangements were in place for the resultant vacancies to be filled by co-option.

As I stated in my response to an earlier question (AQW 1175/2010) I have been discussing a possible amendment to the current arrangements for filling casual vacancies in district councils with NIO Minister, Paul Goggins. He issued a public consultation on possible amendments on 23 October with a closing date for responses of 15 January 2010.

The primary legislation which would enable my Department to make a severance scheme, the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, is currently at Committee stage. When that Bill has completed its passage through the Assembly my Department will be able to make regulations which set out the detail of the severance arrangements for councillors.

Blind and Partially-Sighted People

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment what provision is made by his Department to make documents accessible to blind and partially-sighted people.

(AQW 2045/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Department, under Section 49B of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), submitted a Disability Action Plan to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland which shows how it is fulfilling the duties provided in the DDA. The Department, in consultation with various representative groups from the disability sector, produced a ‘Guide to Making Information Accessible’ for staff which helps to ensure that information provided to the public is available in a range of formats which meet the needs of people with disabilities. This Guide is reviewed annually which includes consultation with those groups who represent blind and partially sighted people.

The Department includes on all its publications the statement that ‘this document is available in alternative formats, please contact us to discuss your requirements’. The Department, on request, can produce documents in Braille, Digital Daisy and large print formats to meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. It can also produce tactile maps, plans and diagrams.

The Departmental website is designed to meet central government standards covering both accessibility and presentation. In accessibility terms this means it complies with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines.

Planning Powers

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister of the Environment if he can confirm that planning powers will be transferred to the new councils in 2011.

(AQW 2060/10)

Minister of the Environment: In accordance with the Review of Public Administration decisions, I remain committed to transferring the relevant planning functions to the new district councils. The transfer of these planning functions is a key element of my wider programme of reform of the planning system.

There were delays in getting the planning reform proposals cleared by the Executive and published for consultation. This means that we are now outside best practice in terms of the timetable for delivering the legislative programme for planning reform, including the transfer of planning functions to the new district councils by 2011.

The size of the programme and the challenges that it brings should therefore not be underestimated. However, my officials remain committed to driving this work forward as quickly as possible to ensure we stay on course to deliver by the 2011 deadline.

Blind and Partially-Sighted People

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of the Environment what steps have been, or will be, taken by his Department to ensure that the same level of service is provided to blind and partially-sighted people as that provided to fully-sighted people.

(AQW 2086/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Department, under Section 49B of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995), submitted a Disability Action Plan to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland which shows how it is fulfilling the duties provided in the DDA. The Department, in consultation with various representative groups from the disability sector, has produced a ‘Guide to Making Information Accessible’ for staff which helps to ensure that information provided to the public is available in a range of formats which meet the needs of people with disabilities. This guide is reviewed annually.

The Department includes on all its publications the statement ‘this document is available in alternative formats; please contact us to discuss your requirements’. The Department, on request, can produce documents in Braille, Digital Daisy, audio and large print formats to meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. It can also produce tactile maps, plans and diagrams. The Departmental website is designed to meet central government standards covering both accessibility and presentation. In accessibility terms this means it complies with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines and offers Browsealoud service which converts text to speech.

Planning Service has made available an official to visit a visually impaired member of the public to explain the policy implication of a planning document to note any concerns raised and record any comments offered. Planning Service has undertaken public information days to help explain new policies in a draft Planning Policy Statement and has used workshops and other external arrangements to draw in the views of the public and the community sector including representatives of disability groups.

The Department also provides funding to Disability Action for the administration of two schemes: The Access Service which provides technical advice and information towards the creation of a built environment which is accessible to everyone; and Community Access Grants Scheme which helps to improve access to existing facilities provided by voluntary and community organisations for people with disabilities.

To ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to private hire vehicle services at no additional cost, the Department introduced the Disability Discrimination (Private Hire Vehicles) (Carrying of Guide Dogs etc) Regulations (NI) 2008 which requires licensed private hire vehicle drivers and operators to permit the carrying of an assistance dog without additional charge when it accompanies a disabled person. Legislation is currently being prepared which will place a legal duty on drivers of public service buses to assist people with disabilities, including the visually impaired, to board and alight from the bus.

NI Environment Agency has produced Mediascapes voice over scripts for several of its Parks. It hopes to launch these on the Mediascapes web-site in the near future to allow downloads from the site to GPS compatible mobile phones.

Grey Squirrel Population

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister of the Environment what action his Department is taking to prevent a rise in the grey squirrel population; and if his Department has any plans to protect the existing red squirrel population.

(AQW 2209/10)

Minister of the Environment: My Department recognises that the grey squirrel is a serious threat to the future survival of red squirrel populations in Northern Ireland.

In May 2008 the former Environment and Heritage Service and the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the Republic of Ireland published the all-island Species Action Plan for the red squirrel, which stated several key objectives for conserving the red squirrel. A wide ranging cull of grey squirrels across Northern Ireland would not be practical and the plan recommends targeted culls of grey squirrels in areas close to red squirrel strongholds. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) supports and provides advice to private landowners and local squirrel groups who wish to undertake grey squirrel control. DARD’s Forest Service routinely practices squirrel control on its lands for the protection of trees.

NIEA is currently working with Forest Service on a project to monitor incidences of squirrel pox disease in local squirrel populations and is presently engaged in discussions with scientists at Queens University regarding a research project on the subject.

NIEA has also been supporting protection of red squirrels through the Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum. The purpose of the Forum is to take forward recommendations in the Red Squirrel Species Action Plan, to discuss and co-ordinate squirrel research, and to advise on best practice for red squirrel conservation activities in Northern Ireland.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL

Recycling of Grass Cuttings

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline any departmental policy on the recycling of grass cuttings and how it is being implemented.

(AQW 663/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): There is no formal departmental policy in place covering recycling of grass cuttings.

Recycling of Grass Cuttings

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much grass is currently recycled by Government Departments.

(AQW 664/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Information on the total weight of grass recycled by Government Departments is not generally recorded however the following data is available:

At the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum approximately 50 tonnes of grass is recycled annually.
At the Ulster American Folk Park approximately 15 tonnes of grass is recycled annually.

Recycling of Grass Cuttings

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what use Departments make of the grass cuttings they produce.

(AQW 665/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Departments make use of grass cuttings in a variety of ways which include:

Leaving the grass to bio-degrade on-site;
Recycling for composting;
Feeding of animals through independent contracts with local farmers.

HR Connect

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what action he will take to ensure that HR Connect will deliver prompt and accurate payment of Civil Service Equal Pay claims when a settlement is reached.

(AQW 1274/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Discussions with NIPSA are continuing with the aim of securing a negotiated settlement to the civil service equal pay issue if possible.

In the event that a negotiated settlement is reached a number of arrangements will be needed for its implementation.

I have instructed my officials to ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place.

Loss of Capital Receipts

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of the impact of the loss of capital receipts on each Department.

(AQW 1386/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I am not in a position to comment on the impact of the loss of capital receipts on each department. Each Minister would have to assess their own position.

The Department of Finance and Personnel does not routinely receive any significant capital income and no capital receipts were assumed for the department in the current financial year when budgets were set as part of the Budget 2008-11 process.

The position in relation to the Workplace 2010 capital receipt, previously anticipated in the 2008/09 financial year, is set out in my answer to AQW 1388/10.

Car Parking Spaces for Public Sector Workers

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much each Department spent providing car parking spaces for public sector workers in (i) 2007; (ii) 2008; and (iii) 2009 to date.

(AQW 1576/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The amount spent by Department by year on car parking spaces for public sector workers was as follows:-

	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010 (to end September)
DEL	£11,280	£11,459	£4,855
DOE	£238,391	£276,366	£165,697
DSD	£203,563	£204,902	£73,147
DRD	£2,971	£1,920	£1,440
DCAL	£15,000	£15,000	£3,750
DETI	£416,000	£405,000	£186,000
DE	0	0	0
DFP*	£1,246,108	£976,775	£499,127
DARD	0	0	0
DHSSPS	0	0	0
OFMDFM	£30,684	£27,380	£1,889

* Includes spaces leased by DFP on behalf of other Departments.

Bicycle Parking Pays

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much each Department spent providing bicycle parking bays for public sector workers in (i) 2007; (ii) 2008; and (iii) 2009 to date.

(AQW 1578/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Only the Department of Finance and Personnel has incurred expenditure in providing bicycle parking bays from 2007/2008 onward. This has been carried out as part of major capital works on buildings and the specific cost cannot be readily extracted.

Public Transport Usage for Public Sector Workers

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much each Department spent on public transport usage for public sector workers in (i) 2007; (ii) 2008; and (iii) 2009 to date.

(AQW 1579/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information requested is held by individual Departments.

The relevant figures for the Department of Finance and Personnel (including its agencies) for the financial years covering the period of the query are as follows:

2006/07	£399,499
2007/08	£430,168
2008/09	£374,461
2009/10 (to 30 September)	£154,040

The information is provided on the basis of financial years representing the basis of preparation of the Department’s accounts.

Special European Programmes Body

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for her assessment on whether the Special European Programmes Body is adequately facilitating projects that encourage innovation and new business incubation.

(AQW 1714/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is the Managing Authority for two EU Programmes—PEACE III and the INTERREG IVA Cross Border Programme. INTERREG IVA makes provision under its Enterprise theme to encourage innovation and competitiveness in enterprise and business development. The Programme has a budget of €256 million. All assisted projects must be cross border.

To date, the Enterprise theme has awarded some €7 million to projects that support innovation and a further €7 million worth of applications in this area is currently under assessment. There will be a further call for applications in the New Year. This level of support for innovation is in line with the original programme expectations and is considered adequate.

All applications for INTERREG IVA funding are assessed using agreed selection criteria, including value for money. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) is accountable for all resources allocated under the Enterprise theme and participates fully in the assessment of funding applications.

Location of Public Sector Jobs

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the costs associated with the production of the report by Sir George Bain on the Location of Public Sector Jobs; and the costs of maintaining the unit set up to deal with this issue since publication of the report.

(AQW 1727/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The cost of the Review of Policy on Location of Public Sector Jobs was £205,500. This includes the fees and expenses for the independent members, and the salary costs of the DFP staff who supported the Review. It also takes account of research costs, and the expenditure incurred on public meetings, printing and publication of the report. Since the report was published, any administrative work relating to location has been undertaken by staff who are also engaged on other DFP duties.

Civil Service

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many vacancies there are in the Civil Service in the Derry City Council area, broken down by (i) grade; and (ii) Government Department.

(AQW 1728/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The number of vacancies in permanent Northern Ireland Civil Service posts, located in the Derry City Council area, in each of the eleven Northern Ireland Departments and their Agencies, is set out in the attached table.

NICS Vacancies in the Derry City Council area, broken down by Grade and Government Department Full Time Equivalent (FTE) basis at 15 October 2009

Dept	AA	AO	EO2	EO1	SO	DP	G7	G6	Other		Total
Dept	AA	AO	EO2	EO1	SO	DP	G7	G6	No.	Grade	Total
DEL		2	6								8
DFP				1				1			2
DRD		0.7							13	Road Worker TG2¹	4.7
DSD	1.6	1.3	2.4	0.2	0.2		2		10	SGB2²	17.7
Totals	1.6	4	8.4	1.2	0.2		2	1	14		32.4

¹ Technical Grade 2

² Support Grade Band 2

Note: Departments not shown in the table had no vacancies

Civil Service Staff

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many Civil Service staff are employed in the Foyle constituency at each location, broken down by Department.

(AQW 1730/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information is provided in the attached table.

FOYLE CONSTITUENCY
Department	Location	No of Staff
DARD	Crown Buildings Londonderry	28
	Orchard House	149
	Vets Office Foyle Meats Ltd	15
	Vets Office Wm Grant and Co Ltd	5
Total		197
DE	Waterside House	123
Total		123
DEL	Foyle Jobs and Benefits Office	84
	Lisnagelvin Jobs and Benefits Office	38
	Richmond Chambers	5
Total		127
DETI	Crown Buildings Londonderry	4
Total		4
DFP	Orchard House	51
DFP	Waterside House	126
Total		177
DHSSPS	Waterside House	23
Total		23
DOE	Crown Buildings Lisnagelvin	4
	New Buildings Industrial Estate	28
	Orchard House	47
	Woodburn Environment Agency Depot	4
Total		83
DRD	Depot Crescent Road	62
DRD	Orchard House	10
Total		72
DSD	28 Temple Road	214
	Carlisle House	347
	Crown Buildings Lisnagelvin	55
	Richmond Chambers	4
	Foyle Jobs and Benefits Office	161
	Orchard House	36
Total		817
OFMDFM	Orchard House	3
Total		3
Grand Total		1626

Notes

Data source as at 19 October 2009.

Figures do not include those on career break.

Figures include permanent, casual, industrial and non-industrial staff.

Agency Staff and Mobile Worker Schemes

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether he has issued guidelines to other Departments on the use of agency staff and mobile worker schemes.

(AQW 1734/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: A User’s Protocol for the NICS Provision of Temporary/Short term Workers has been issued to all Departments. Additional guidance has issued to Departments advising that the use of agency staff should be kept to a minimum and that such staff should only be used to meet short term business needs for a period not exceeding 51 weeks. Guidance has not issued in relation to mobile worker schemes.

Agency Staff

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel if he has had any discussions with the Minister for Employment and Learning and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety regarding (i) the use of agency staff and agency staff training; and (ii) quality control, in respect of Health Service recruitment.

(AQW 1735/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I have not had any discussions with the Minister for Employment and Learning and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety regarding (i) the use of agency staff and agency staff training; and (ii) quality control, in respect of Health Service recruitment.

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 Banbridge town, over the last five years.

(AQW 1736/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The total rates paid for properties in the wards of Ballydown, Banbridge West, Edenderry, Fort, Seapatrick and The Cut for the last three years are shown in the table attached. The figures for previous years are not readily available due to the replacement of rating IT system.

DOMESTIC
	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	notes
Receipts (£)				1
BT32 3	1,920,543	2,329,126	1,994,217
BT32 4	2,317,064	2,103,338	2,200,135
UNKNOWN	13,835	11,453	14,061
Total	4,251,442	4,443,917	4,208,412	2
NON-DOMESTIC
Receipts (£)				1
BT32 3	2,494,474	2,839,409	2,673,366
BT32 4	1,122,518	1,831,673	2,336,461
UNKNOWN	33,646	23,017	25,264
Total	3,650,638	4,694,099	5,035,092	2

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 Banbridge District Council are provided in the two tables below.

DOMESTIC
	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
District Rate	159.90	0.300	0.312
Regional Rate	198.17	0.361	0.361
Total Rate	358.07	0.661	0.673
NON-DOMESTIC
District Rate	22.59	22.59	23.48
Regional Rate	28.17	29.10	29.89
Total Rate	50.76	51.69	53.37

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.

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 Portadown town, over the last five years.

(AQW 1737/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The total rates paid for properties in the wards of Annagh, Ballybay, Ballyoran, Bleary, Brownstown, Kernan, Cocrain, Edenderry, Killycomain and Tavanagh for the last three years are shown in the table attached. The figures for previous years are not readily available due to the replacement of the rating IT system.

DOMESTIC
	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	notes
Receipts (£)				1
BT62 1	1,037,049	952,137	1,028,161
BT62 3	1,778,923	1,597,949	1,691,091
BT62 4	588,101	530,525	579,964
BT63 5	3,703,603	3,554,690	3,663,146
BT63 6	18,655	23,085	23,598
BT64 1	45,864	38,476	40,846
BT64 2	100,808	92,174	109,427
BT64 3	109,888	99,395	109,939
BT65 5	1,596	1,233	1,246
BT66 6	8,581	8,860	8,536
BT66 7	25,380	29,931	32,666
BT66 8	30,869	34,850	34,567
unknown	26,403	24,780	33,394
Total	7,475,720	6,988,085	7,356,582
NON-DOMESTIC
Receipts (£)				1
BT62 1	1,836,459	1,910,462	1,956,061
BT62 3	3,058,300	3,030,773	3,369,356
BT62 4	337,697	366,394	398,215
BT63 3	10,393	10,608	10,662
BT63 5	3,407,503	3,975,271	4,110,072
BT63 6	3,130	3,211	3,293
BT64 1	523,692	881,140	796,791
BT64 3	65,322	56,149	51,900
BT66 4	35,345	54,730	61,144
BT66 6	6,583	7,074	7,523
BT66 7	21,217	22,142	22,709
BT66 8	32,342	33,176	34,025
BT67 0	1,490	12,570	35,670
unknown	436,492	231,879	434,026
Total	9,775,964	10,595,580	11,291,447	2

Notes:

3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.

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
District Rate	21.51	21.86	22.38
Regional Rate	28.17	29.10	29.89
Total Rate	49.68	50.96	52.27

Flooding Incident Line

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the performance of Flooding Incident Line on 9 October 2009.

(AQW 1740/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The Flooding Incident Line performed very well on the 9 October, despite the level of rainfall being less than that required to trigger a flash flood warning. It received 53 calls between 11:00am and 21:30pm. The busiest period was between 17:00 and 18:00 where 28 of those calls were received. Of the 53 calls, 52 of them were answered while one was abandoned by the caller after 3 seconds.

During the busiest period, the average time to pick up a call was 30 seconds, during all other times calls were picked up on average within 3.5 seconds. Again during the business period, the longest waiting time was 2 minutes 55 seconds, but during all other times the longest waiting time was 15 seconds.

The 52 calls answered led to 42 incidents being logged and transferred to the appropriate agency; 7 for NI Water, 33 for Roads Service and 2 for Rivers Agency.

Multi-Annual Plan for the East Border Region

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel when he will approve the Multi-Annual Plan for the East Border Region.

(AQW 1850/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The EBR MAP is a strategic document which sets out a broad development plan for the region under the INTERREG IV Programme. There is no requirement for the Minister for Finance and Personnel to approve it. Individual projects within the plan will be considered and approved by the Special EU Programmes Body as soon as possible after they are presented.

Special EU Programmes Body

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel when the Special EU Programmes Body will announce the projects successful for funding under the £20 million 'Environmental' call which closed on 10 July 2009.

(AQW 1851/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The 21 applications received under the INTERREG IVA Environment Sub-Theme are currently being examined by the Special EU Programmes Body’s Joint Technical Secretariat. Initial advice on the technical aspects of the applications is currently being sought from relevant Departments North and South. It is expected that these applications will be brought to the Programme’s Steering Committee from March 2010 onwards. All applicants will be notified of the outcome when the Steering Committee has agreed its final decision.

Interreg IVA

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline the reasons for the delay in approving the project plans submitted to the Special EU Programmes Body by East Border Region Ltd under Interreg IVA.

(AQW 1881/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: There is no delay in the approval of the projects submitted by East Border Region Ltd. All of the projects submitted by East Border are currently progressing through the agreed selection process.

Project proposals submitted to the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) are assessed by the INTERREG IVA Steering Committees against the agreed INTEREG IVA selection criteria. Projects must also undergo an appropriate level of economic appraisal and be reviewed by the relevant accountable government department. Final approval follows the completion of these agreed assessment procedures.

Each of the East Border Region’s projects is at a different stage in this process. SEUPB is awaiting further information from the Region on its Enterprise project proposals and for some of its Cross Border Collaboration theme projects. SEUPB are currently examining the economic appraisal of themes proposed by East Border Region for Tourism.

Bain Report

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the total potential cost of implementation of the Bain report on the re-location of public sector jobs.

(AQW 1890/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: In recent correspondence I have alluded to potential costs of around £40 million to relocate 3,000 – 4,000 public sector jobs as part of a pilot exercise. This is based on the indicative cost model contained in Appendix E of Professor Bain’s report, full details of which can be found at http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/final_report-location-of-jobs.

Partially-Sighted and Blind People

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what provision is made by his Department to make documents accessible to partially sighted and blind people.

(AQW 1922/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: All of my Department’s publications are available in alternative formats, including Braille and large print, upon request.

Civil Servants

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many civil servants have been dismissed due to inefficiency of performance; and how many have appealed the decision, in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 2063/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information requested is provided in the table attached. The overall figures presented include NI government departments and their Executive Agencies.

	06/07	07/08	08/09	Total across all years
Number of Staff dismissed	3	3	1	7
Number of Staff appeals	0	0	0	0

Married Partners Not Born in the UK or Ireland

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of (i) men; and (ii) women who have married partners not born in the UK or Ireland from (a) EU; and (b) non-EU countries, in each of the last 10 years, including the nationality of the marriage partner.

(AQW 2092/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The number of marriages by bride’s / groom’s country of birth and groom’s / bride’s nationality is given in the tables below for registration years 2005 to 2008^P. Prior to this marriage registration information on country of birth/nationality was not captured electronically.

^P Provisional data

Table 1a: Number of marriages by groom’s country of birth and bride’s nationality, registration year 2005

Bride's Nationality	All Countries	Groom's Country of Birth
Bride's Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,140	7,738	119	283
British or Irish	7,864	7,578	87	199
Other EU National¹	91	26	20	45
Non-EU National	185	134	12	39

Table 1b: Number of marriages by bride’s country of birth and groom’s nationality, registration year 2005

Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	Bride's Country of Birth
Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,140	7,759	119	262
British or Irish	7,841	7,573	62	206
Other EU National¹	95	60	20	15
Non-EU National	204	126	37	41

Table 2a: Number of marriages by groom’s country of birth and bride’s nationality, registration year 2006

Bride's Nationality	All Countries	Groom's Country of Birth
Bride's Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,259	7,874	146	239
British or Irish	7,982	7,690	84	208
Other EU National¹	103	45	51	7
Non-EU National	174	139	11	24

Table 2b: Number of marriages by bride’s country of birth and groom’s nationality, registration year 2006

Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	Bride's Country of Birth
Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,259	7,866	135	258
British or Irish	7,994	7,696	78	220
Other EU National¹	120	55	52	13
Non-EU National	145	115	5	25

Table 3a: Number of marriages by groom’s country of birth and bride’s nationality, registration year 2007

Bride's Nationality	All Countries	Groom's Country of Birth
Bride's Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,687	8,299	155	233
British or Irish	8,380	8,117	76	187
Other EU National¹	121	36	68	17
Non-EU National	186	146	11	29

Table 3b: Number of marriages by bride’s country of birth and groom’s nationality, registration year 2007

Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	Bride's Country of Birth
Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,687	8,268	150	269
British or Irish	8,410	8,114	66	230
Other EU National¹	137	53	71	13
Non-EU National	140	101	13	26

Table 4a: Number of marriages by groom’s country of birth and bride’s nationality, registration year 2008^P

Bride's Nationality	All Countries	Groom's Country of Birth
Bride's Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,510	8,112	153	245
British or Irish	8,201	7,925	78	198
Other EU National¹	146	68	65	13
Non-EU National	163	119	10	34

Table 4b: Number of marriages by bride’s country of birth and groom’s nationality, registration year 2008^P

Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	Bride's Country of Birth
Groom’s Nationality	All Countries	UK or Ireland	Other EU Countries¹	Non-EU Countries
All Nationalities	8,510	8,082	175	253
British or Irish	8,229	7,916	102	211
Other EU National¹	131	55	63	13
Non-EU National	150	111	10	29

¹EU countries relates to the 2009 definition of the EU27 which includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

^P Provisional data

Special EU Programmes Body

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel if he will engage in discussions with the Special EU Programmes Body and seek to gain an extension to the deadline of 31 December 2009 for N+2 applications to ensure community groups across North Down do not lose out on funding.

(AQW 2141/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Annual spending targets for EU Programmes (N+2 targets) are an EU regulatory requirement. Under the N+2 regulation, all Programmes are required to achieve an agreed level of expenditure each year. Any shortfall between actual expenditure and the annual spending target is deducted from the Programme. The PEACE III Programme has a target €19.8 million for 2009.

Although this target applies at Programme level, all PEACE III projects are expected to contribute to its achievement. However, provided that the overall Programme target is achieved, no resource should be lost at either Programme or project level.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), the PEACE III Managing Authority, currently forecasts that the 2009 targets will be achieved with no resource lost to the Programme. SEUPB advises, however, that achieving the target will be challenging and that there are no grounds for complacency. All projects must make every effort to achieve their respective targets.

Rates

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many houses, thought to be unoccupied, were in fact occupied and not paying rates in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 2145/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The position with regard to unoccupied property changes daily and has done so over the past three years. Land & Property Services (LPS) is responsible for maintaining accurate records of vacant properties and, in doing so, relies on information from a number of sources including local councils as well as owners and occupiers.

The very significant rating reforms and associated IT replacement programme meant that vacancies were not examined as comprehensively as they should have been in 2006 and 2007, and therefore it is not possible to provide details broken down by financial year. However, since 2008, LPS has been working closely with local councils to inspect all properties recorded as vacant, as well as properties where no bills had issued because of difficulty collecting occupancy information. As a result, some 63,000 properties have been inspected and 11,057 bills have been issued, with a total value of £23.5 million.

Cross-Border Local Authority Partnerships

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline when the projects approved under INTERREG IVA for the cross-border local authority partnerships will be in a position to begin spending.

(AQW 2162/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Projects submitted under the INTERREG IVA Programme may begin spending immediately following the acceptance of a Letter of Offer. The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), Programme Managing Authority, issues Letters of Offer as soon as project proposals have successfully passed through the Programme’s agreed approval procedures. These include assessment against the INTERREG IVA selection criteria (e.g. value for money). The first such letters of offer are expected to issue during November.

Health Service Recruitment

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel when he last met with the Minister for Employment and Learning and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to discuss the essential use of agency staff, quality control and agency staff training in respect of Health Service recruitment.

(AQW 2177/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I have not had any meetings with the Minister for Employment and Learning and the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to discuss the essential use of agency staff, quality control and agency staff training in respect of Health Service recruitment.

Peace III Funding

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what steps he will take to ensure that Peace III funding is not clawed back by the Special EU Programmes Body due to applicants missing the N+2 deadlines because of delays caused by administration and bureaucracy.

(AQW 2178/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The PEACE III N+2 expenditure target applies at Programme level. If the target is met, there will be no cut in the Programme budget and, therefore, no need to review individual project budgets.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), the PEACE III Managing Authority, is currently forecasting that the 2009 N+2 target will be achieved. However, achieving the target will depend upon all projects working to achieve their individual expenditure targets.

Interreg IVA

Mrs D Kelly asked e Minister of Finance and Personnel, as is the case with Project Kelvin, if projects approved under INTERREG IVA will be in a position to spend, and therefore not become subject to decommitment of funds.

(AQW 2183/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: All projects approved under INTERREG IVA are in a position to spend money in line with their letter of offer agreements.

The European Commission’s N+2 spending target applies across the INTERREG IVA Programme as a whole. Failure to meet the target results in a decommitment of resource from the Programme. Depending on the significance of this it may require individual project allocations to be re-examined.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) as INTERREG IVA Managing Authority closely monitors spending at individual project level and liaises with projects on spending forecasts. On the basis of current forecasts, INTERREG IVA will achieve its N+2 target in 2009 and no resource will therefore be lost through decommitment. However, this will depend upon project forecasts being achieved.

Civil Service Equal Pay Claim

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for an update on the negotiations on the Civil Service Equal Pay Claim and to indicate the likely timetable for a settlement offer and back payment to the staff concerned.

(AQW 2211/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Officials are engaged with NIPSA with the aim of achieving a negotiated settlement to the equal pay claims, if possible.

I am determined to seek a resolution to this matter as soon as possible. However, as I have previously pointed out, this issue is complex and there is a lot of work to be done before it can be concluded. It is for this reason that I am unable to give a timescale.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

European Centre for Connected Health

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to clarify why, in the current economic climate, his Department is duplicating the national Telecare/Telehealth trial through the European Centre for Connected Health in Belfast; and to detail (a) the spending on this centre to date; (b) the future funding to be allocated; and (c) the current funding ring-fenced for the centre.

(AQW 1490/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): We are not duplicating the English ‘whole system demonstrator’ projects.

The spend on the centre’s running costs in 2008/09 was £380k and programme expenditure in that year was £2.4m. A total of £3.1m has been allocated for 2009/10. Funding allocations for 2010/11 and subsequent years have not yet been finalised.

Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust has not yet reopened the Musgrave Ward in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, after it was closed for refurbishment last year.

(AQW 1494/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While Musgrave Ward has been closed since 1 September 2008 the majority of its bed complement has been retained by opening extra beds in other wards.

Immediate contingency plans for pandemic flu mean that Musgrave Ward has been identified for possible use during the next three months if required.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust plans to cover the work of the maintenance staff who have been offered redundancy.

(AQW 1496/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Belfast Trust conducted a thorough review of its Estates Department and concluded that services could be provided with a reduced number of staff. As a result some staff were offered the opportunity of early retirement.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans are in place to ensure patient services do not suffer as a result of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust cutting half of its dietitian posts.

(AQW 1497/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Belfast Trust has assured me that it has not cut half of its Nutrition and Dietetics posts. As part of the trust’s in-year savings plan two locum and two temporary posts were terminated. However all permanent posts are unaffected.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, with the possibility of further ward closures in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, what plans are in place to cope with the pressures of increasing birth rates and seasonal illnesses.

(AQW 1500/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Trust’s latest contingency proposals are still under consideration and there are no specific plans for ward closures.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were anticipated in pre-agreed contracts for the Belfast Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (c) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1505/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were conducted in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1506/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The table below details the number of clinical biochemistry and immunoassay tests conducted in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in each of the last five years. It should be noted that the Trust came into existence on 1 April 2007; data for the previous years include legacy trust figures.

Year	Clinical Biochemistry	Immunoassay
2004/05	8,887,082	512,911
2005/06	9,441,551	557,499
2006/07	10,135,948	610,761
2007/08	10,479,827	629,557
2008/09	13,774,888	684,680

*Information provided by Belfast HSC Trust

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what the anticipated contracted cost was for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only), in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1507/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not available.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what the actual contractual spend was for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only), in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1508/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not available.

Ambulance Calls

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if all Ambulance emergency phone calls are recorded.

(AQW 1514/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service’s Regional Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre records all emergency phone calls unless technical faults prevent this being done or business contingency plans are invoked so that mobile phones must be used instead of land lines.

Card Before You Leave

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on the Card Before You Leave initiative.

(AQW 1515/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Health and Social Care Board and the five Trusts in Northern Ireland have recently taken steps to ensure that the Card Before You Leave scheme is in place throughout every acute psychiatric admission unit and each major Accident and Emergency Department in Northern Ireland. This will ensure that all people who wish to have a next day mental health assessment following attendance at A+E for a mental health problem will receive it.

Trust's Spend on Taxis

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the amount spent on taxis by each Health and Social Care Trust, since the beginning of the last financial year.

(AQW 1516/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not held centrally.

Tele-Medicine

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline any plans to expand the use of tele-medicine across Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1517/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A number of remote Telemonitoring pilots are underway in each of the five HSC Trust areas and in 2009/10 approximately 2,500 patients will have been in receipt of a remote telemonitoring service through the pilots.

The European Centre for Connected Health, which is now part of the Public Health Agency, has been working with HSC Trusts to develop and implement a service which will, provisionally, by 2011, enable 5,000 people with chronic disease across Northern Ireland to have benefitted from a remote telemonitoring service.

Foster Homes

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many children are currently living in foster homes in Larne.

(AQW 1518/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: It is assumed that the question relates to children in foster care placements in Larne. The information is not available in the format requested.

Health Service Employees

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what percentage of Health Service employed doctors, surgeons and consultants are permitted to work privately.

(AQW 1528/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: All employed Doctors, Surgeons and Consultants are permitted to work privately.

Under the terms and conditions of the new nationally agreed contracts full time practitioners are contracted to work 40 hours, or more, each week for the HSC.

Thereafter a practitioner may undertake private professional services for other organisations provided that this does not result in detriment to HSC patients or services or diminish the public resources that are available for the HSC.

Where a conflict of interest arises, HSC commitments must take precedence over private work.

Health Service Employees

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many Health Service employed doctors, surgeons and consultants also currently work in the private sector.

(AQW 1529/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Health Service Employees

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much has been paid to Health Service employed doctors, surgeons and consultants to perform private treatments, in each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1530/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Diabetes

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the Health and Social Care Trusts have any plans to introduce a managed clinical network for diabetes.

(AQW 1536/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A regional paediatric diabetes clinical network is in place and the Western HSC Trust has also introduced a managed clinical network for adults with diabetes. There are no current plans for other adult networks at this time.

The development of further networks will be a matter for the HSC Board to take forward in conjunction with the relevant Trusts.

Care Providers

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has any plans to address the duplication of testing by primary and secondary care providers.

(AQW 1539/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: It is entirely a matter for clinicians to decide the nature and number of diagnostics tests that should be carried out on individual patients.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline (i) what discussions he has had with the Minister for Social Development and her Department regarding the transfer of Neighbourhood Renewal; and when these discussions took place; and (ii) what discussions his Department has had with Neighbourhood Renewal projects regarding future service provision.

(AQW 1540/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) The transfer of the delivery of Neighbourhood Renewal to the new local Councils in May 2011 was discussed at a meeting of the Ministerial Group on Neighbourhood Renewal on the 13^th of May 2009, attended by representatives of other Departments, including DHSSPS, and Local Government; and

(ii) there is ongoing work between DSD Development Offices, the Health and Social Care sector and local Neighbourhood Renewal Partnerships on the future delivery of services needed in Neighbourhood Renewal areas.

Accident and Emergency, Mater Hospital

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his plans for the future of the Accident and Emergency Department in the Mater Hospital, north Belfast.

(AQW 1541/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no plans to make changes to the Accident and Emergency service at the Mater Hospital.

Company Cars

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if any of his departmental staff, or staff on the Regional Health and Social Care Board, have 'company' cars.

(AQW 1569/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Neither Departmental staff nor staff members of the Health and Social Care Board have ‘company’ cars.

Taxi Hire

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if any of his departmental staff, or staff on the Regional Health and Social Care Board, use taxi services for work purposes.

(AQW 1570/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Departmental staff have access to the centralised DFP car pool for use for work purposes. On occasions when this service is fully booked or unavailable, staff have access to a DFP central framework contract with taxi service.

Ambulances

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many ambulances serving the Lagan Valley area (i) met; and (ii) failed to meet their target times, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1600/10)

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 during the last five financial years NIAS performance data was collected for Health and Social Services Board areas. Lagan Valley fell within the former Eastern Board area and the table below shows performance for responses to Category A life-threatening calls within the 8 minute target.

Year	EHSSB
2004/05*	56%
2005/06	60.8%
2006/07	66.5%
2007/08	72.7%
2008/09	77%

* NOTE: In 2004/05, NIAS's target was to respond to 50% of all 999 calls in 8 minutes by Board area.

Generic Drugs

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if patients who cannot use generic drugs will be allowed to continue on their current branded medication at their GP's request.

(AQW 1608/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer Mr Easton to the answer to AQW 5736/09 on13 March 2009.

Ravara House Staff and Carers Christmas Party

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust has cancelled the Ravara House staff and carers Christmas party.

(AQW 1609/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The SEHSCT have not cancelled the Ravara House staff and Carers Christmas Party.

Ambulances

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he would consider the provision of an out-station for the Ards Peninsula to help ambulances meet response time targets.

(AQW 1618/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The location of ambulance service deployment points and the activation of emergency resources is entirely a matter for the ambulance service.

It should be noted that NIAS performance for the South Eastern Commissioning Group area which includes the Ards Peninsula was 71.7% against a target of 65% for week ended 11 October 2009. NIAS continues to work with local communities and commissioners to explore initiatives to improve Category A response within the area, such as deployment of rapid response vehicles and complementary response models such as first and co-response

Agency Nurses

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he is taking to ensure that the reduction in the use of agency nurses will not affect front-line services and patient care standards.

(AQW 1629/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: All HSC trusts are implementing initiatives to ensure the delivery of their required efficiency savings under CSR07. In several trusts these initiatives involve, in the short term, controls on the use of overtime and agency staff; however no trust has implemented a complete ban on the use of agency nursing staff.

All trusts must implement their efficiency savings whilst ensuring that they have the right number and skill levels of doctors, nurses, social workers and other professionals in place at the right time to provide the right service to all those who require health and social services. Approval of the trusts’ efficiency proposals was conditional on assurances that the quality of services for patients and clients will be maintained or improved.

Private or Independent Clinics

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many patients have been referred to private or independent clinics from each Health and Social Care Trust in the past twelve months.

(AQW 1631/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The number of patients that received either (i) inpatient treatment or (ii) a first outpatient appointment in the independent sector, following referral from each Health and Social Care Trust during 2008/09, is contained in the table below.

Health and Social Care Trust	Number of patients receiving inpatient treatment	Number of patients that attended a first outpatient appointment
Belfast	4,037	8,544
Northern	1,828	8,539
Southern	3,171	3,210
South Eastern	2,890	10,051
Western	5,086	8,509
Total Northern Ireland	17,012	38,853

Source: HSC Trusts

These figures may contain an element of multiple counting. For example, one patient may have received a first outpatient appointment, and then subsequent inpatient treatment, in the independent sector during 2008/09.

The requirement placed on Trusts to deliver against waiting times targets remains as does the option of engaging with the independent sector to help address any shortfalls in health service capacity which are identified.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Trust

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many administrative staff the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Trust has recruited in the last twelve months.

(AQW 1632/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) recruited 15 administrative staff in the last twelve months, including vacancies.

Rapid Response Vehicles and Ambulances

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to explain if separate control desks for rapid response vehicles and ambulances are a duplication.

(AQW 1633/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The activation and control of all medical emergency response vehicles is entirely the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. I have been assured that the present control arrangements, which have contributed significantly to improved emergency response times, is not a duplication and is consistent with best practice elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Report on Paediatric Services

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when will he release the report on paediatric services by Helen Cross.

(AQW 1634/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am not aware of the report referred to by Mr Easton. Professor Cross has not been commissioned by my Department to produce any such report.

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people have been diagnosed with (i) anorexia nervosa; and (ii) bulimia nervosa, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1636/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of people, who have been diagnosed with (i) anorexia nervosa; and (ii) bulimia nervosa, in each of the last three years is not available.

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what help his Department offers to (i) people diagnosed with (a) anorexia nervosa; and (b) bulimia nervosa; and (ii) their families.

(AQW 1638/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Regional Eating Disorders Service, based at Woodstock Lodge, in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust provides a Regional Eating Disorder Care Network across the whole of Northern Ireland. The service deals with the management of complex cases and specialised medical and dietetics support. Its Specialist Outpatient Service aims to make sure that people with eating disorders receive the most appropriate clinical help when they need it most.

My Department also provides funding of £25k per annum to the Eating Disorders Association Northern Ireland which provides further support to both the sufferers of these disorders, and their carers.

In addition, DHSSPS funding of £0.5m was made available from April 2007 to augment Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services with specialist Eating Disorder staff, in line with Bamford Review recommendations. These staff are in ongoing liaison with the Regional Adult Eating Disorder Service.

I am committed to the development of specialist eating disorder services and have secured an additional £1 million over the CSR period to enhance access to these services. I have also agreed to the development of in-patient capacity for those with complex needs. Inpatient care will be supported by specialist community based staff on an in-reach basis.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many new cases of (i) HIV; (ii) chlamydia; (iii) gonorrhoea; (iv) syphilis; (v) genital warts; (vi) genital herpes; and (vii) AIDS were diagnosed in people aged (a) 16 and under; (b) 17 to 19 years old; (c) 20 to 25 years old; and (d) over 25, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1639/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Data relating to the number of new cases identified can be found at the following links:

For HIV and AIDS cases: http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1204186174726

For the five main STI conditions: http://www.cdscni.org.uk/surveillance/STI/KC60.htm

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what estimate his Department has made of the number of unreported cases of sexually transmitted infections.

(AQW 1640/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the estimated number of unreported cases of sexually transmitted infections is not available

Healthcare Facilities

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans there are in his Department's Capital Development Programme to improve healthcare facilities in the Ballygowan, Killinchy and Comber areas.

(AQW 1645/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As I have stated previously I have been allocated less than £700m capital for the current CSR period against a need currently estimated at almost £1.1bn. The resources available to me have been further constrained by the unavoidable costs of dealing with the Swine Flu pandemic.

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust has not formally advised the Department of any plans to improve healthcare facilities in the Ballygowan, Killinchy or Comber areas.

Nurses

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many nurses are qualified to prescribe medicines independently in each Health and Social Care Trust area, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1646/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The following table sets out the number of nurse independent prescribers as provided by HSC Trusts.

Table 1: Qualified Nurse Independent Prescribers by HSC Trust.

	04/05	05/06	06/07	07/08	08/09	09/10
SHSCT	N/A	14	27	35	39	39
SEHSCT	11	23	31	37	45	45
NHSCT	N/A	8	17	25	34	43
BHSCT	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	33*
WHSCT	4	5	7	11	19	26

* Belfast Trust information does not include community nursing staff and data for previous years is not available.

Nursing Resource Requirements

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when he last met with representatives of the Nurse Agency sector or Recruitment Employers’ Confederation on nursing resource requirements; and to outline any issues discussed.

(AQW 1648/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have not met with the nurse agency sector or the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, who I understand are a representative body for the UK’s private recruitment and staffing industry. The employment of agency nurses is an operational matter for the Health and Social Care Trusts and my Department has no direct involvement in this.

Nursing Service Resource Support

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what role he envisages for the Nurse Agency sector in providing critical front line nursing service resource support.

(AQW 1652/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I recognise the role played by the nursing agency sector in supplementing the provision of front line nursing service support to meet short term capacity demands. Trusts have policies in place to govern the use of agency nursing staff and endeavour to use internal nurse bank arrangements when possible to ensure continuity of care.

Agency Nurses

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what guidance, if any, he has issued to Health and Social Care Trusts on using bank or agency nurses.

(AQW 1653/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have asked Trusts to examine Agency spend carefully and explore other measures to address the need to use agencies. All HSC Trusts have confirmed that nursing bank arrangements are in place, and that the use of bank staff is considered before engaging agency staff.

Agency Nurses

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to list the level of usage of bank and agency nurses by Health and Social Care Trusts for each of the last three years; and (ii) what assessment he has made of their impact on patient care and services.

(AQW 1655/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The following table sets out the level of usage of bank and agency nurses as a percentage of the total nursing spend by Trust. Information is not available as yet for 2008/2009.

	2006/2007	2007/2008
Trust	% of Total nursing staff costs	% of Total nursing staff costs
Belfast	5%	5%
Northern	1%	9%
Southern	2%	3%
South Eastern	3%	3%
Western	1%	1%
Total	3%	4%

I am assured that Trusts are committed to providing excellent service to all patients and clients within their catchment areas. There is a need to balance the provision of high quality services within tight financial constraints. During periods of temporary staff shortage it may be necessary to use agency staff to provide short term cover for essential services when there is no other viable alternative.

Trusts have been asked to examine reliance upon agency staff and the Department will continue to monitor expenditure closely.

Agency Nurses

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to detail the costs to Health and Social Care Trusts of using bank and agency nurses, and (ii) if he is satisfied that all overheads, on-costs and under-use are fully accounted for.

(AQW 1656/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the use of Agency staff is published on a bi-annual basis on the departmental website at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/hrd/wpu/wpu-monitoring.htm

Expenditure on bank staff for 2007/2008 was £9.3m and is collected annually through Trust financial returns.

The accounting for overheads, on-costs and under-use is determined by HSC Trusts, in accordance with guidance issued by the Department.

Food Standards Agency

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland is involved in the Food Standards Agency surveys on consumer attitudes to GM food; and, if so, who they propose to consult on this issue.

(AQW 1658/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In an effort to progress a number of related recommendations in the ‘Food Matters’ Strategy, the FSA agreed to lead a dialogue with the public on the subject of GM food. An independent steering group is currently being established to oversee the governance of this project.

Officials from the Food Standards Agency’s office in Belfast have indicated to me that they are willing to provide you with further information on this issue, or to meet with you to discuss this matter and other issues of mutual interest.

Ulster Hospital

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many elderly patients sustained injuries as a result of falls from beds at the Ulster Hospital in the last year; (ii) whether this represents an increase or decrease from the previous three years; and (iii) what measures are being taken to prevent these falls.

(AQW 1661/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In 2008/09 there were 16 falls from beds resulting in injury to elderly patients at the Ulster Hospital. This compares with 17 in 2007/08 and 16 in 2006/07. Information prior to April 2006 is not available.

The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust is developing a falls and osteoporosis strategy which will be implemented across the Trust. Work is ongoing with patients in hospital, in nursing homes and in the community aimed at the prevention of falls. The ‘Transforming Care at the Bedside’ (TCAB) programme aims to improve safety and quality, as well as person-centred practice. One aspect of TCAB in the Ulster Hospital has been to reduce falls through better risk assessment, closer observations, working with patients and families, educating staff and carefully assessing the environment.

Agency Nurses

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he is satisfied that front-line services will be protected without the use of agency nurses in Health and Social Care Trusts.

(AQW 1662/10)

Agency Nurses

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what role he envisages for the Nurse Agency sector in providing critical front-line nursing service resource support.

(AQW 1681/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the member to the response I gave to AQW 1652/10

Agency Nurses

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what guidance, if any, he has issued to Health and Social Care Trusts on using bank or agency nurses.

(AQW 1682/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the member to the answer I gave to AQW 1653/10.

Agency Nurses

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the cost, including staff, administrative and overhead costs, of using bank nurses compared to using full time nurses and agency nurses.

(AQW 1683/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Bank nurses are paid the same hourly rate under Agenda for Change as nursing staff working in substantive posts.

Trusts have contracts with agencies on a regional basis and follow the Trust protocol for employing agency nurses.

Agency hourly rates vary between agencies, and also differ according to nursing qualification (eg nurse, specialist nurse, midwife) and hours worked (eg day, night, and weekend).

Agency Nurses

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has undertaken any review of the costs of hiring bank and agency nurses; and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

(AQW 1685/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As part of an ongoing programme of Value for Money audits, I have commissioned a review of the Use of Temporary Staff in the HSC to be undertaken during 2009/10.

Nursing Banks

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the role of nursing banks; (ii) how bank staff nurses are recruited, inducted, trained, allocated and developed; (iii) how many nursing banks are in operation in each Health and Social Care Trust; (iv) how many qualified staff nurses are on each bank database; and (v) if there is any overlap.

(AQW 1686/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The management of nursing banks is a matter for Health and Social Care Trusts individually, therefore the information requested is not held centrally

Staff, Bank and Agency Nurses

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to outline, with respect to full-time, bank and agency nurses, workforce requirements for each of the Health and Social Care Trusts for the next twelve months ; and (ii) if he will review the cost modelling deployed by the Health and Social Care Trusts in respect of staff, bank and agency nurses.

(AQW 1687/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As bank and agency staff are used primarily to provide flexibility in the workforce to cover short-term vacancies which can occur as a result of illness, maternity leave, or for key posts during the recruitment process, it is not possible to detail the annual workforce requirements.

Trusts are currently reducing their dependence on agency staff by developing "in-house" nurse banks and reducing vacancy levels.

Agency Nurses

Mr I Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has consulted with HM Revenue and Customs on the legalities of agencies serving the Health and Social Care Trusts using ‘Mobile Workers’ for agency nurses.

(AQW 1689/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have not consulted with HM Revenue and Customs on this matter.

Unused Medication

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost of unused medication across Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1690/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not collected routinely.

Reducing Waste in Drug Costs

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment on the effectiveness of his Department's initiatives in reducing waste in drug costs.

(AQW 1691/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department has carried out an assessment on the effectiveness of its initiatives, particularly through the Pharmaceutical Clinical Effectiveness Programme. As a result, it is estimated that since 2005 it has realised the £55 million savings as identified in the Appleby report, and continues to generate further efficiencies

Publishing in Ulster-Scots and Irish

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost to his Department of translating and publishing all material in both Ulster-Scots and Irish, in each of the last ten years.

(AQW 1694/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The figures below record the costs for Ulster-Scots and Irish translations of publications, press releases, speeches and advertisements.

YEAR	ULSTER-SCOTS	IRISH
2000-01	NIL	£61,261
2001-02	NIL	£119,823
2002-03	£3,475	£89,153
2003-04	NIL	£29,306
2004-05	NIL	£9,592
2005-06	NIL	£8,974
2006-07	NIL	£14,092
2007-08	£49	£3,678
2008-09	£467	£894
2009-10	NIL	NIL

Cardiovascular Health and Wellbeing

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) for an update on the service framework for Cardiovascular Health and Wellbeing published in June 2009 and; (ii) to outline a time frame for the review of this framework.

(AQW 1695/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Service Framework for Cardiovascular Health and Wellbeing was published for implementation in June 2009.

A review of the Cardiovascular Service Framework is expected to be undertaken in 2012/13.

Family Members of Sudden Cardiac Death Specialist Assessment

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) the average waiting time for family members of the victims of Sudden Cardiac Death to be referred for specialist assessment; and (ii) how many family members of victims were referred for these tests in each of the trust areas in (a)2007; (b) 2008; and (c) 2009.

(AQW 1697/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The assessment of family members of the victims of Sudden Cardiac Death is provided on a regional basis at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The average waiting time for family members of the victims of Sudden Cardiac Death that were referred for specialist assessment is not available.

2007	2008	2009¹
52	67	52

HPV vaccine

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many girls have received the HPV vaccine since it's introdution; and how many have refused it.

(AQW 1700/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Data are not yet available for the routine programme or catch-up programme that started this year. For the first year of the routine HPV immunisation programme, latest figures available show how many 12-13 year old girls received or refused the vaccine by the end of June 2009.

Number of girls who received or refused HPV vaccination in 2008-2009

Programme	No. eligible	Received			Refused
Programme	No. eligible	Dose 1	Dose 2	Dose 3	Dose 1	Dose 2	Dose 3
Routine (12-13-year-olds)	11,413	10,157	10,075	9,904	754	766	775
Extension *(17-18-year-olds)	12,646	6,834	6,130	4,457	Data cannot be captured.

*These figures show the number of doses for which the Child Health System received a return. It cannot be guaranteed that this accounts for every girl in this cohort who received the vaccine as some forms may not have been returned.

For the HPV programme for 17-18 year olds, girls were encouraged to make an appointment with their GP if they wished to be vaccinated. Reliable information on refusals does not exist.

Agency and Bank Nursing Staff

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has any plans to conduct a comparison of the costs of employing agency and bank nursing staff.

(AQW 1702/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As part of an ongoing programme of Value for Money audits, I have commissioned a review of the Use of Temporary Staff in the HSC.

Pharmaceutical List

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety the average time-scale from application until a decision is made re inclusion on the pharmaceutical list.

(AQW 1704/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The average time taken for an application to join the pharmaceutical list, from the point at which the application is submitted to the Board until a decision is reached by the Board is 4 months.

This time period will change where the decision is appealed.

Community Pharmacies

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when the new contract for community pharmacies will be completed.

(AQW 1705/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: It was agreed that the new pharmacy contract would be implemented on a phased basis, and that position remains. Whilst I am keen to see rapid progress made, I am committed to ensuring patients get the best pharmaceutical service possible. It would be premature to set timescales for completion.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many specialist nurses are trained in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

(AQW 1706/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There is one (0.33 WTE) specialist nurse based in the Northern Trust that is employed specifically to deal with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and this nurse also facilitates a patient forum for IBD.

Many nurses have received training as part of a wider course, such as Stoma Therapy or would have undertaken a specialist IBD course.

Ards Hospital

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline any plans he has to further develop services at Ards Hospital.

(AQW 1712/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust are currently undertaking a high level planning exercise to consider the options available for the redevelopment of the Ards Hospital site, including provision of a new health and care centre.

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were anticipated in pre-agreed contracts for the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (c) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1721/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were conducted in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1722/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what was the anticipated contracted cost for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only), in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1723/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what was the actual contractual spend for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only), in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1724/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

September Monitoring Round

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail what bids his Department made in the September Monitoring Round.

(AQW 1739/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department made the following bids in the September Monitoring Round:

No.	Description	Revenue	Capital
1	First Call on Available Resources	20.0
2	Pandemic Flu	51.3	6.5
3	Regional Decontamination Strategy		1.3
TOTAL DHSSPS		71.3	7.8

Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many staff are currently employed by the Regulatory and Quality Improvement Authority.

(AQW 1742/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: At 30 September 2009,135 staff were employed by, RQIA with a WTE (Whole Time Equivalent) of 129.10.

Ravara House

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if Ravara House residential home in Bangor is accepting new residents.

(AQW 1744/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Ravara House continues to accept clients who require respite or intermediate care.

Asthma

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people are currently diagnosed with asthma.

(AQW 1751/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The total number of GP-registered patients recorded on the asthma disease register of the Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the General Medical Services contract, as at 31 March 2009 is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of patients on the asthma disease register.

	Number of patients on Asthma Register ¹
As at 31 March 2009	104,527

Source: Payment Calculation and Analysis System (PCAS).

¹The QOF asthma register is defined as those patients with asthma, excluding patients with asthma who have been prescribed no asthma-related drugs in the previous 12 months.

Asthma

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many asthma clinics currently operate in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1752/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of asthma clinics currently operating in Northern Ireland is not available.

Asthma

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people diagnosed with asthma currently attend an asthma clinic.

(AQW 1753/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of people diagnosed with asthma that currently attend an asthma clinic is not available.

Press Officers

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many press officers are currently employed in his Department.

(AQW 1754/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are currently six Information Officers employed within the Department. There are also two Assistant Information Officers.

Information Officer staff are on loan from the OFMDFM Executive Information Service to the Department.

Administrative Staff in Trusts

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of administrative staff currently employed in each Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 1757/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested can be found on the DHSSPS website at http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/work_force/stats-research.htm

Medical Staff in Trusts

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of medical staff currently employed in each Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 1758/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested can be found on the DHSSPS website at http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/work_force/stats-research.htm

DATIX System

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 964/2010, to list of all types of incidents recorded by the DATIX system.

(AQW 1768/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The main categories under which data is recorded by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) in the Datix Common Classification System for Incidents in Healthcare are shown in the table below.

Type	Explanation
STAFF	Staff Incident
THIRD	Third Party Incident
CLINIC	Clinical Incident
SERVIC	Service Disruption
ASSET	Asset-Vehicle-Equipment
ENVIRN	Environmental Incident

A number of sub-categories is then used to more accurately describe a particular incident as follows:

Type	Nature	Explanation
COSHH	BACTER	Bacterial
COSHH	BIOLOG	Biological
VEHICL	BREAK	Breakdown
DRUG	BROKE	Unused -damaged/broken
COSHH	CHEMIC	Chemical including Drugs
VEHICL	CLEAN	Cleaning
ORGAN	COMMUN	Communications problem
TREAT	DAE	Delay at A&E
ASSET BUILD	DAMAGE	Damage
VEHICL	DRIVO	Driving Offence
CONTCT	ELECT	Electricity
DRUG	EXPIRE	Unsealed-Expired
BUILD VEHICL	FIRE	Fire (actual)
BUILD	FIREFA	Fire (false alarm)
ASSET	FRAUD	Fraud or Theft
SLIP	HEIGHT	From Height
CONTCT	HOT	Hot or Cold Surface
DRUG	INAPP	Inappropriate Use
EQUIP	INCORR	Incorrect Item Used
EQUIP	INCUSE	Item Incorrectly Used
ASSET	LOSS	Loss
EQUIP	MALFUN	Equipment malfunctioning or damaged
MANUAL	MHOTH	Handling of equipment, supplies etc
MANUAL	MHPAT	Moving a patient using a handling aid
MANUAL	MHPATN	Moving a patient without a handling aid
CONTCT	MOVING	Falling or Moving Object
SHARP	NEEDLE	Needle Stick
SHARP	NONNEE	Non-needle Stick
TREAT	NOTRET	No Treatment Given
ASAULT	PHYS	Physical Assault without a weapon
ASAULT	PHYSWW	Physical Assault with a weapon
HARRAS	RACIAL	Racial
COSHH	RADIA	Radiation
HARRAS	RELIG	Religious or Political
VEHICL	RTC	Road Traffic Collision
SLIP	SAMLVL	Same Level
ORGAN	SECUR	Security Problem
HARRAS	SEXUAL	Sexual
ORGAN	STAFF	Staffing Problem
CONTCT	STATOB	Stationary Object
EQUIP DRUG	UNAVAL	Item Unavailable
BUILD VEHICL	VANDAL	Vandalism
ASAULT	VERB	Verbal Assault
TREAT	WRDEL	Wrong Delivery Method
TREAT	WRDOSE	Wrong Dose Given
TREAT	WRDRUG	Wrong Drug Given
ERGO	WSETUP	Workstation Set Up

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service does not use the Datix system.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what was the actual contractual spend for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only) in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1789/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were anticipated in pre-agreed contracts for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (c) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1790/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many (i) clinical chemistry; and (ii) immunoassay tests were conducted in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1791/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is not available.

Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Tests

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what was the anticipated contracted cost for (i) clinical chemistry tests (analysers and consumables only); and (ii) immunoassay tests (analysers and consumables only) in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in (a) 2004/5; (b) 2005/6; (c) 2006/7; (d) 2007/8; and (e) 2008/9.

(AQW 1792/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is not available.

Staff Uniforms

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what policies he has put in place to ensure that staff change out of their uniforms before leaving hospital sites.

(AQW 1798/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There is clear guidance for staff who are waiting access to new changing facilities and for staff who are required to wear a uniform as part of their role, that they should have it covered completely when travelling.

Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to provide an update on implementation of the 53 recommendations made by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority in August 2008.

(AQW 1799/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Health and Social Care Trusts have lead responsibility for implementing 30 of the 53 recommendations. All Trusts have included actions to address the RQIA recommendations in their corporate action plans to reduce the risks of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). The other 23 recommendations that require a regional approach are being taken forward by my Department and the region-wide Health and Social Care organisations. 11 of these recommendations have now been implemented and work on implementation of the other recommendations is continuing.

Limavady Ambulance Station

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if Limavady Ambulance station has only one emergency ambulance on station at any given time.

(AQW 1849/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) currently has one 24/7 emergency ambulance deployed at Limavady ambulance station. However, it is important to realise that NIAS deploys its emergency response resources using a dynamic tactical deployment plan to ensure that the nearest resource responds to any emergency call. This means that the response to an emergency call in the Limavady area might not necessarily be provided by the A&E ambulance crew based in Limavady.

Business Services Organisation

Mr D Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in relation to the creation of the Business Services Organisation (BSO), (i) to outline the rationale behind the decision to relocate Belfast jobs to Armagh, and Armagh jobs to Belfast; (ii) to explain why staff are being told they will have to move to Belfast when they were originally informed that the BSO would be located outside Belfast; and (iii) if any analysis has been carried out to determine the financial impact that relocation will have on staff in terms of additional child care, travel, and parking costs.

(AQW 1918/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: No decision has been taken on the re-location of jobs within the BSO.

Swine Flu

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the procedure for informing schools of swine flu incidents; and to explain there was a failure to notify Foyle View Special School in Londonderry.

(AQW 1945/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: On 2^nd July we moved from active containment of swine flu to treatment of cases. Since then the procedure for informing schools of swine flu incidents is that the GP or hospital doctor who makes a diagnosis of swine flu, either clinically on basis of symptoms or confirmed on the results of a swab, informs the patient.

Parents of children in special schools have been advised to tell the school if their child has been diagnosed with swine flu.The Department of Education and the Public Health Agency have issued guidance on what to do if children develop swine flu.There was no failure to notify Foyle View Special School. The parents of a child from Foyle View Special School who was recently admitted to Altnagelvin with swine flu informed the school of the diagnosis promptly. The school contacted the Public Health Agency early on Monday 12^th October and within 3 hours appropriate public health action had been taken.

All pupils received letters that day to take to their GPs to receive antiviral prophylaxis. In addition, all pupils were given information about the signs and symptoms of swine flu and parents advised to contact their GP and keep their child off school if symptomatic.I have apologised to the parents of the child who died first for the delay in informing them that she had confirmed swine flu. As the appropriate public health actions had already been taken in Foyle View, earlier notification to the school of this case would not have changed the management. I have asked the Chief Medical Officer to determine what happened and to learn lessons for the future. A number of urgent actions have already been taken including the issuing of further guidance to health care professionals on the follow-up and communication of positive swine flu results to patients.

NICE Guidelines

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to outline his Department's policy on the application of NICE guidelines; and (ii) if they apply in all situations or if clinicians are permitted to use their expertise when making a decision on the prescribing of an individual drug.

(AQW 1993/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: NICE guidance does not automatically apply in Northern Ireland. My Department established links with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) whereby all guidance published by the Institute from 1 July 2006 is reviewed locally for its applicability to Northern Ireland and, where appropriate, is endorsed by the Department for implementation in Northern Ireland.

There are several different types of NICE guidance. Technology appraisals typically assess new drug therapies for their cost effectiveness. The Health and Social Care service providers are generally expected to put plans in place within three months to facilitate the implementation of these guidelines once endorsed by my Department. NICE clinical guidelines and public health guidelines, on the other hand, are typically advisory good practice documents covering a wide range of issues relating to the management of a disease or medical condition.

They are regarded as developmental standards designed to encourage and support moves to better practice that HSC organisations are expected to achieve over time.NICE guidance does not override or replace the individual responsibility of health professionals in making decisions and determining the appropriateness of the guidance in specific or individual circumstances.

Business Services Organisation

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what assurances he can give that no realignment of the Business Services Organisation, based at Tower Hill in Armagh, will be implemented until a public consultation is carried out on the proposals.

(AQW 2133/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The BSO has recently submitted to the Department a draft consultation paper on the proposed realignment and location of those legacy Board functions which became part of its organisation on 1 April 2009. I have now agreed that the BSO can proceed to consult on the proposals outlined in this paper.

DEPARTMENT FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Translink

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister for Regional Development if his Department has issued any guidance to Translink bus drivers to encourage them to switch off engines when buses are idle.

(AQW 1604/10)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): This is an operational matter for Translink. However, I have been advised that each Translink driver is issued with instructions that state:"Running of Engines – Unless instructed otherwise, engines must be switched off at bus stands, in bus stations, when stopped in built up areas, at turning points and in open parking areas, so that nuisance is minimised. Unnecessary revving of engines must similarly be avoided"

Bus Drivers

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) what ongoing training bus drivers receive to maintain standards, safety and customer focus; and for each area of trainng, is it (a) mandatory; or (b) optional; (ii) how often the training is offered; and (iii) the percentage of bus drivers who have completed training in the last 12 months.

(AQW 1628/10)

Minister for Regional Development: A Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) was introduced for bus and coach drivers, who wish to drive in a professional capacity, on 10 September 2008. It has been developed as a requirement of the EU Directive 2003/59, which is designed to confirm and expand on the existing knowledge and skills of each driver.

From the date of introduction new drivers, who wish to drive professionally, must undertake and successfully complete the Initial Driver CPC Qualification i.e. four module tests made up of theory, case study, practical and demonstration type tests. Drivers who held a full bus, coach or lorry licence prior to the introduction of Driver CPC must undertake 35 hours training every five years if they want to continue driving professionally.This training will ensure that drivers continue to operate in a safe, courteous and fuel efficient manner and will also enable drivers to keep up-to-date with ever changing regulations and benefit from training throughout their whole career.

Management of this scheme is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment.In relation to Translink I can confirm that all Translink drivers receive a minimum of one day’s vocational training per year. This training is compulsory and focuses on areas such as equality awareness, safe and economic driving, and disability awareness. 98.5% of staff completed this training in the last 12 months.In addition, between June 2008 and June 2009 almost 100% of bus drivers and inspectors received training on improving customer service.

Review of Public Administration

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Regional Development what steps he is taking, as part of the Review of Public Administration, to ensure there is an adequately resourced and joined-up system in place between his Department, the NI Housing Executive and Councils for the mowing of urban lawns, lanes, roads and pavements.

(AQW 1641/10)

Minister for Regional Development: As this issue falls mainly within the Department for Regional Development’s responsibility, it has been passed to me to reply.I should explain that the objective of my Department’s Roads Service, in grass cutting operations, is to prevent overgrowth onto carriageways and footway surfaces, and the obstruction of sightlines and traffic signs. Grass cutting is carried out for road safety reasons, and not for cosmetic or amenity purposes.

In March 2008, the Executive announced that a number of public realm functions would transfer to the new Councils in May 2011, as part of the Review of Public Administration. The list of 11 functions identified for transfer included grass cutting/weed spraying.However, following a period of discussions with officials from Roads Service and Local Government, Local Government recommended that responsibility for grass cutting and weed spraying should be retained within my Department’s Roads Service. In making their decision not to accept the function, Local Government recognised that grass cutting schedules are intrinsically linked to road safety and, therefore, should remain integral to that process within Roads Service.

It was also recognised that Councils would still have the ability to enhance grass cutting and weed spraying schedules to improve the amenity of the area, should they so desire. Local Government appreciated that weed spraying is also important in protecting the fabric of the road structure, and that it should, therefore, rest with whoever is responsible for road maintenance.

The decision to retain responsibility for weed spraying and grass cutting within Roads Service was endorsed by the Executive Sub-Committee in September 2009.Edwin Poots MLA, Minister of the Environment has advised that in relation to the local government reform programme, Transition Committees have been established to plan and prepare key activities to ensure that the 11 new Councils will be in a position to take full executive responsibility for services from the changeover date in 2011.Part of the Transition Committees’ role is to recommend how the existing systems and activities currently delivered by Councils will move forward. This will include providing for continuity of service delivery throughout the transition period.

Sustrans Route in Templepatrick

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Regional Development how many complaints his Department received in relation to the planned Sustrans route in Templepatrick; and for his assessment of the decision to abandon the project.

(AQW 1642/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Templepatrick Primary School was one of 18 schools selected for funding by a Department of Agriculture and Rural Development initiative, to improve routes to rural schools. The initiative, administered by Sustrans and supported by Roads Service, included engineering measures to improve infrastructure near the schools.

Proposals for Templepatrick included upgrading footways and introducing traffic calming measures on the Lylehill Road. Local consultation, on two occasions, resulted in 2 objections each time, from different members of the community. A number of factors, including objections received, reluctance of objectors to withdraw, lack of commitment from some of the main stakeholders, and time constraints on the delivery of the overall project, led to the traffic calming element of the scheme being withdrawn and work being focussed on improving footway links.

The school has subsequently been selected as one of three pilot sites for mandatory 20mph speed limits during periods when pupils are going to and from school. Outside these times, signs, which have been recently become operational, react to the approach speed of vehicles to give an additional warning message to drivers exceeding the normal speed limit.

Pay and Display

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Regional Development how much revenue was raised from the St Bride's Street car park, Carrickfergus through 'Pay and Display' during each of the last five years.

(AQW 1651/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the current parking enforcement and car park management contract with NSL Services Group (formerly NCP) commenced at the end of October 2006. In the period since then, to 30 September 2009, the amount of revenue from the Pay and Display machines in the St Brides Street car-park in Carrickfergus is as follows:-

Year	Amount
November 2006-March 2007	£12,300
April 2007-March 2008	£34,300
April 2008-March 2009	£33,200
April 2009-September 2009	£16,800

I should explain that Value Added Tax is payable but has not been deducted from these amounts.

Prior to the parking enforcement and car park management contract with NSL the amount of revenue from the Pay and Display machines in the St Brides Street car park in Carrickfergus was as follows:-

Year	Amount
April 2004-March 2005	£66,371
April 2005-March 2006	£48,649
April 2006-end of October 2006	£10,725

I should explain that Value Added Tax has been deducted from these amounts.

All revenue generated from car parking charges, along with income from parking penalty charge notices, is used to supplement the overall financing of Roads Service by Central Government. I would point out that the cost of managing our off-street car parks and enforcing the on-street parking restrictions exceeds the total revenue received.

A2 Road Widening Scheme

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Regional Development how much funding has been allocated to the Greenisland A2 road widening scheme for each of the next three years.

(AQW 1654/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that development of the A2 Shore Road, Greenisland scheme is progressing, however, it is not possible, at this time, to make scheme specific financial allocations for the next three years.

As I am sure you are aware, the current Budget period extends to March 2010, and I am not in a position to set detailed spending plans in advance of my Departmental budget for 2010/11 being confirmed and the publication of my Business Plan for that year.

Roads Service and NI Water

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development what work is planned by Roads Service and NI Water, in the South Antrim constituency, in October 2009.

(AQW 1660/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service does not hold information on schemes on a constituency basis. However, information on completed and proposed schemes can be found in the Roads Service’s 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. Roads Service is currently compiling their Autumn Reports to Councils.Northern Ireland Water (NIW) has advised it plans to carry out the following capital works in the South Antrim Constituency during October 2009:-

Bellahill, Ballycarry – Replacement of watermain;
Whiteabbey Lower – Replacement of watermain;
Moyra Road, Brookfield, Doagh – Foul sewer extension;
Joymount Drainage Area Plan - Replacement of existing Shaftesbury Pumping Station with combined storage pump. New and upgraded storm pipework and desilting work;
Newtownabbey, Manse Road, Camross Park – Combined Sewer Overflow cleaning and repairs to storm system; and
Various Locations - Upgrading of small Wastewater Treatment Works.

This work is in addition to the day-to-day maintenance and repair required to the water and sewerage network.

Road Resurfacing Schemes

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail any road resurfacing schemes scheduled for the Strangford constituency in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

(AQW 1674/10)

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. Roads Service is currently compiling their Autumn Reports to Councils.

Public Transport

Mr M Storey asked the Minister for Regional Development what action his Department has taken to meet the public transport needs of residents in North Antrim in each year since devolution was restored.

(AQW 1677/10)

Minister for Regional Development: It is not possible to provide the information requested on a year by year basis. However, following a review of Ulsterbus services in 2007, Translink have introduced a number of changes and improvements in the North Antrim area. These include:

a revised network with enhanced frequencies and extended operating hours in Ballymena,
service improvements on key routes,
improvements to passenger waiting facilities,
the introduction of modern, informative bus stops and increased the provision of timetable information along the main network corridors and in urban centres.

Additionally, since May 2007, my Department has provided capital funding of almost £76m towards the purchase of new buses and the upgrade of bus stations, workshops and garages. This investment will benefit passengers across the region, including those in North Antrim.In relation to rail services, I would point out that when I came into office in May 2007, I lifted the restrictions on investment in the railway line north of Ballymena and this has resulted in a number of projects being carried out to improve railway services in the North Antrim area. The projects include:

The Ballymena to Coleraine Tracklife Extension project. Work on this started in November 2008 and most of it has now been completed in Autumn 2009 with costs of just over £12m.
Renewal of Killagan Passing Loop located on the line between Ballymena and Ballymoney. Work started in March 2009 and was completed by July 2009 with costs of £317,000.
Bridge replacement, refurbishment and waterproofing work on the line between Antrim and Coleraine. These projects cost £1.6m and were completed in July 09.
The roof at Ballymoney station was replaced in June 2009 at a cost of £408,000.
During 2008, work was carried out at all the stations and halts in North Antrim as part of a £17 million investment package to upgrade stations and halts across the rail network, in order to deliver a better rail service and comply with disability legislation. There will also be additional work carried out at Ballymena between November and December 2009 to the subway at the railway station.

In March 2009 I signed a contract for £105m for the purchase of 20 new trains, two of which will be used to increase frequency of services on the Belfast to Derry line. The first of the new trains will enter passenger service in 2011.The investment in the railway network has greatly improved services on the Belfast to Derry line and helped to meet the transport needs of the residents of North Antrim.Furthermore, my Department has, through the Rural Transport Fund, provided financial support to Translink to enable it to provide services on seven rural bus routes which are deemed uneconomic but socially necessary in the North Antrim area The Rural Transport Fund has also provided financial support to North Antrim Community Transport based in Ballycastle and Causeway Area Rural Transport based in Coleraine to provide transport services for rural dwellers in the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Moyle and Coleraine District Council areas.

In addition, Door-to-Door transport services for people who find it difficult or impossible to use conventional public transport have been introduced in the Ballymena and Ballymoney.Finally, the award of the contract to Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd to provide the Rathlin Island Ferry Service (from July 2008) has seen the introduction of a second passenger only vessel on the route. In conjunction with an enhanced timetable the service now offers earlier, faster and more frequent sailings enhancing access to and from Rathlin.

Bus Services

Mr M Storey asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent by his Department in each year since devolution was restored on (i) improving bus services; (ii) providing, improving or maintaining bus lay-bys and shelters; (iii) establishing new conventional bus services linking isolated communities to villages and towns; and (iv) developing innovative demand response services for residents in (a) Ballymena; (b) Ballymoney; and (c) Moyle District Council areas.

(AQW 1684/10)

Minister for Regional Development: It is not possible to provide all of the information in the format requested.

(i) Improving bus services

Since I came into office in May 2007, my Department has provided capital funding of almost £76m towards the purchase of new buses and the upgrade of bus stations, workshops and garages. This investment will benefit passengers across the region, including those in Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle Districts.

(ii) Providing, improving or maintaining bus lay-bys and shelters

In relation to the amount spent by my Department’s Roads Service on providing, improving or maintaining bus lay-bys, in Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle District Council areas, the table below details such expenditure in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years.

Bus Lay-Bys
Year	Ballymena	Ballymoney	Moyle
2007/08	£13,330	£16,060	£2,800
2008/09	£1,440	£13,020	Nil
Total	£14,770	£29,080	£2,800

With regard to the provision of bus shelters, in January 2001, Roads Service and most District Councils, entered into a 15-year contract with Adshel (the bus shelter provider) for the provision of approximately 1500 bus shelters throughout various council areas across the North, including Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle District Councils. The provision and the maintenance of these shelters are funded by Adshel through advertising revenue and at no cost to Roads Service. The contract covers the vast majority of bus shelters in the North, however, Roads Service has no information on the costs incurred by Adshel in carrying out their contractual commitments.

(iii) Establishing new conventional bus services linking isolated communities to villages and towns

My Department under the auspices of the Rural Transport Fund (RTF) has provided financial support to Translink to enable it to provide services on seven new routes in the North Antrim area, which includes Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle Districts. The amount of support from 2007 to March 2009 has been £329,565

The RTF has also provided financial support to North Antrim Community Transport based in Ballycastle and Causeway Area Rural Transport based in Coleraine to provide services in the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Moyle and Coleraine District Council areas. They provide services in response to the needs of both their individual and group members in these areas. The total amount of support they have received from April 2007 to March 2009 has been £522,640 (iv) Developing innovative demand responsive services for residents

My Department supports the delivery of Door-to-Door transport services in all urban areas with a population of more than ten thousand people. These services provide accessible local transport for those people who find it difficult or impossible to use mainstream public transport. Door-to-Door Transport was introduced in Ballymena and Ballymoney in April 2007 and since then, until March 2009, the amount of funding provided has been £542,206.15. There are no urban areas within the Moyle District Council area with a population in excess of ten thousand.

Narrow Water Bridge Project

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister for Regional Development if he will inform the Irish Government of his intention to commit to the Narrow Water Bridge project, if and when his co-operation is sought.

(AQW 1688/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I would advise the Member that Narrow Water Bridge proposal is being taken forward by Louth County Council and my Department has no direct involvement in this project, nor has been asked for any commitment to contribute funds to this scheme.I would, nevertheless, assure the Member that, when requested, I and my officials will continue to co-operate with our counterparts in the South, as they continue to develop and take forward this project.

Traffic Calming Measures

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development if he has any future plans to install traffic calming measures in the Strangford constituency.

(AQW 1707/10)

Roads Service is currently compiling their Autumn Reports to Councils.

NI Water

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) NI Water's annual budget; and (ii) a breakdown of expenditure since its inception on 01 April 2007.

(AQW 1709/10)

Minister for Regional Development: The annually approved revenue and capital expenditure budgets for Northern Ireland Water (NIW) since its inception on 1 April 2007 are detailed below in Table 1. The breakdown of its actual revenue and capital expenditure costs for the same period are detailed below in Table 2:

TABLE 1 - Annual Expenditure Budget

Revenue Budget
	2007/08 (£000’s)	2008/09 (£000’s)	2009/10 (£000’s)
Income Budget	303,432	339,504	364,309
Operating Expenditure Budget	298,177	340,310	364,104
Net Revenue Budget	5,254	(806)	205
Capital Expenditure Budget	270,076	279,970	252,552

TABLE 2 - Breakdown of Expenditure (to 31 August 2009)

Revenue costs
	2007/08 (£000’s)	2008/09 (£000’s)	5 months to 31 August 09 (£000’s)
Staff Costs	57,055	61,980	24,558
Operating costs	129,102	148,540	62,763
Depreciation and amortisation	47,674	51,648	24,968
Interest	7,085	20,119	10,202
Deferred Tax	15,756	13,762	7,504
Dividend	33,956	35,006	15,012
Total Operating Expenditure	290,628	331,055	145,007
Total Capital Expenditure	252,246	276,215	91,408

Please note the following;

The figures relating to the breakdown of expenditure shown in Table 2 above are extracted from:-

2007/08 - NIW Statutory Accounts, which have been subject to external audit. 2008/09 - NIW Statutory Accounts (except for the dividend which was not included in the Statutory Accounts as it was not proposed before the year end) which have been subject to external audit.
5 months to 31 August 2009 - unaudited management accounts.

Consultancy

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development in relation to Roads Service's spending on consultancy firms and individual consultants, to detail (i) how much has been spent; (ii) all consultancy firms and individual consultants used; and (iii) how much each received in payment, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1710/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Expenditure by my Department’s Roads Service’s on consultancy firms and individual consultants in each financial year from 2004/2005 is set out in the table below. The information relates to external consultants as defined in the Department of Finance and Personnel’s guidance on the Use of Consultants.

Roads Service Expenditure on External Consultants (£)
Consultancy Firm / Consultants Name	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
AV Brown	0	0	37,000	0	0
Buchanans	0	0	19,599	0	0
Carplus	0	0	6,477	0	0
Colin Buchanan & Partners	276,360	62,080	42,040	23,829	15,393
Denton Wilde Sapte	492,820	680,323	310,109	513,054	72,259
Guy Spencer	0	7,525	2,475	0	0
Helm	0	22,000	0	0	0
Helm/WRC	30,953	0	0	0	0
Ian Brown	0	0	20,519	10,115	0
Jacobs Babtie	630,282	455,193	164,420	22,497	119,078
KPMG	294,721	342,519	229,343	172,098	33,312
Lloyds	11,400	4,749	1,918	5,234	0
MVA Consulting	1,760	2,000	0	2,000	0
MWM Associates	19,300	0	0	0	0
PWC	11,310	0	0	0	0
SGS UK	0	0	0	4,178	6,592
Stuart Read – SPA	41,000	43,190	22,036	0	0
Sustrans	25,000	25,000	0	0	0
Tribal Consulting	26,350	38,250	0	0	0
Willis	9,850	11,225	8,945	4,363	1,665
Total	1,871,106	1,694,054	864,881	757,368	248,299

Consultancy

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development in relation to his Department's spending on consultancy firms and individual consultants, to detail (i) how much has been spent; (ii) all consultancy firms and individual consultants used; and (iii) how much each received in payment, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1711/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s expenditure on consultancy firms and individual consultants is set out in the table below. The information provided, excludes Roads Service which will be addressed in the response to AQW 1710/10, and relates to external consultants as defined in the Department of Finance and Personnel’s guidance on the Use of Consultants.

DRD Expenditure on External Consultants (excluding Roads Service) £
Consultancy Firm / Consultant Name	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
About Face		38,030
Adjust Procurement Solutions		19,119	11,594
Advance Coaching					1,800
Anderson Spratt Group			2,750
Ashburn Consulting	23,702	15,025
Atkins			67,000	340,205	12,964
AVIA Solutions	34,430
Babtie Group Ltd	37,341	4,000
BDO		2,000	101,834
Bickerdike Allen			10,280
Bill Morrison					3,431
Black & Veatch		11,000	10,798
Blythe Bridges Marine Consultants Ltd					3,456
Booz Allen Hamilton Ltd			38,950
BRC Partnership					1,323
Brian Acheson			3,000
Bunnyfoot University		2,875
CAL		5,455
Capita			30,897
Capita Resourcing Ltd			48,472
Capita/Veredus/C. Brown	76,111
Carson McDowell	25,412
CEC Europe Resourcing			10,120
Clas Consultants		45,000
CLN Solutions		15,560
Colin Brown			5,351
Community Technical Aid			13,825
Consortium - Engineering Consultants			519,032
Construction Cons Services			11,000
CPCR Ltd					15,899
Database Audit			2,150
Deloitte	68,225	19,780	2,495,425	489,611	10,808
DLA Piper Ruddick Gray Cary UK LLP		285,500	30,857
DS&A		17,000
Dundas & Wilson			387,282
E-Change Training		6,428	11,264
Entec (UK) Ltd					33,514
Ernst & Young			79,838
Experian Ltd					44,834
Ferguson & McIlveen		80,000
FGS McClure Watters					81,500
Fujitsu		7,000	36,288
Furlong			73,450
GAD		2,218	224,947
George Alexander			27,846
Goldblatt McGuigan				7,100
Goodchild Associates			4,982
Government Actuarys Department			648
Halcrow	2,381		197,164
Hedra Consortium		65,424	132,838
Helm	137,000	575,000	91,388
Herbert Smith	1,327,349	944,366	1,639,450	148,928	9,883
HMRI	13,950	3,320
Hugh Russell Associates			15,000
ICS Computing			2,300
ICS Consultancy		14,000	37,746
Infre		32,000
Interim Management/Goodchild Associates	11,163
J. Barnett		210
Jacobs Babtie		20,838	105,814
John Comber	27,073
John Fauell			8,390
John Hunter					1,800
John Smith			15,254
K2i		26,700
KPMG	2,000	12,400	21,960	5,000	13,384
Libby Gawith		7,236
Lyle Bailie			598,128
Margaret Elliott		2,310
McAdam Design		10,000	35,436
McGrigor Donald	41,985	64,592	64,392	48,878	59,661
MDS Transmodal (appointed by OFMDFM)	9,240
Mercer		17,819
Metering Technology			1,082
Microsoft	9,000	60,000	29,710
Mott MCDonald		69,000
Mouchel Parkman	580,000
Mulholland and Doherty			28,748
MVA Consultancy			913
Nera UK Ltd		8,959
Neueda					20,000
Newell & Budge			4,550	22,800
NICS Consortium (MS/BIC/HP)	195,000
Northgate Information Solutions		3,300
OFWAT		3,931	1,767
Oxford Economics Ltd					43,773
PDQ Solutions				1,674
Peter Fleming					3,978
Professor Brian Graham	291
Professor Callum Thomas		7,869	4,035
Professor Julian Hine		766
Promise			10,000
PWC	2,509,323	4,152,066	7,275,822	5,475	49,220
PWC, Capita			155,196
Roger Tyms & Partners			28,179
Rowsell Wright Ltd					19,110
RP and DJ Cleland		9,000
S Hazelett	26,205
Sacker & Partners		21,321
Saltire Management	1,462	3,243	7,511	12,039	4,000
Sopra Group Limited					54,250
South Staffordshire Water		10,000	7,200
Stakeholder Communications			9,840
TAS Partnership Ltd		8,885	24,970		31,564
Trinity Horne			30,000
TTC			12,550
UBS Consortium	410,000	63,311
Veredus Executive Resourcing		106,958
Veredus Interrim Management		3,280
Weber Shandwick			177,775
Wilfred Hamilton					12,993
Wragge & Co		3,389	11,787
WRC			26,707
WS Atkins		11,000
Total	5,568,643	6,918,483	15,073,482	1,081,710	533,145

Review of Structural Maintenance Funding

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Regional Development how much the Review of Structural Maintenance Funding has cost his Department to date.

(AQW 1716/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Departments Roads Service has advised that the costs associated with the Review of Structural Maintenance Funding are expected to be approximately £4,500. This figure includes Professor Snaith's fee, expenses and some nominal printing costs, however, it excludes staff costs associated in providing Professor Snaith with the necessary data.

Tenders

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Regional Development to list the names of businesses who recently tendered for (i) Fuel Installation, inspection and Maintenance – Lot 1 Bus; and (ii) Fuel Installation, Inspection and Maintenance – Lot 2 Rail at Translink, broken down by the lowest to the highest tender value.

(AQW 1720/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Translink is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and the procurement of fuel is an operational matter for them. Translink has stated that the businesses who recently tendered were as follows

(i) Fuel Installation, inspection and Maintenance – Lot 1 Bus

(1)Pumps and Fuel Installations Limited (Successful Bidder)
(2)Tokheim UK Limited(3)MM Building Services Limited

(ii) Fuel Installation, Inspection and Maintenance – Lot 2 Rail

(1)Pumps and Fuel Installations Limited (Successful Bidder)
(2)Tokheim UK Limited
(3)MM Building Services Limited

Translink has said that tenderers were requested to provide a breakdown of costs and rates, and consider that tender values which incorporates the bidder’s technical solution to the contract is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential.

Roads Service

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Regional Development what work Roads Service has planned for the Glenravel area in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

(AQW 1747/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I refer the member to my Department’s Roads Service’s Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils where information on completed and proposed roads schemes can be found. 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

Roads Service is currently compiling their Autumn Reports to Councils.

Roads Service

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail (i) what work Roads Service has completed; and (ii) how much his Department has spent on work, in the Glenravel area since devolution.

(AQW 1748/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I refer the member to my Department’s Roads Service’s Spring and Autumn Reports to Councils where information and costs on completed and proposed roads schemes can be found.

Current and previous reports can be accessed from the Roads Service and Department for Regional Development’s internet sites at the following web addresses:
http://www.roadsni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-council_reports.htm
http://www.drdni.gov.uk/index/publications/publications-searchall.htm

Roads Service is currently compiling their Autumn Reports to Councils.

Cullybackey Road

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Regional Development if Roads Service intends to upgrade the footpath on the Cullybackey Road in Ballymena, before leaving the 30mph zone, to ensure that it is a suitable width for all users.

(AQW 1750/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that local officials plan to carry out an assessment of the existing footpath, located on the Cullybackey Road, Ballymena between the 30mph signs and the Woodtown Road junction. I have asked the Divisional Roads Manager, Mr Jim Beattie, to write to you when the results of this assessment become available.

Metro Bus Services

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development for an update on the extension of Metro bus services in the Mallusk area as part of the wider Mayfield development plan.

(AQW 1786/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Translink have advised me that Metro services were extended on 5 October 2009 to the Blackrock Development via Mayfield Link in accordance with the Concept Masterplan for the overall Mayfield Development.

Translink

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) how many requests for refunds were made to Translink for weekly and monthly tickets for Enterprise train journeys following the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct; (ii) how Translink handled these requests; and (iii) what compensation commuters were offered.

(AQW 2150/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Translink have informed me that following the collapse of the Malahide bridge, only one passenger with a monthly ticket and no passengers with weekly tickets requested refunds. In addition Translink have received 36 return tickets and 60 web-based ticket cancellation requests. Refunds were issued in accordance with the Passenger’s Charter. All tickets were fully refunded but no additional compensation was paid.

DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Joint Carers Review

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister for Social Development when the Joint Carers Review between her Department and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, will be published.

(AQW 1441/10)

Minister for Social Development (Ms M Ritchie): The report on the joint review with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety of support for carers is expected to be published shortly.

NIHE Waiting List

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of people in the Antrim Borough Council area on the NI Housing Executive waiting list for housing, in each month since September 2008.

(AQW 1453/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the Housing Executive publishes social housing waiting list information on a quarterly basis. The number of people on the waiting list in Antrim Borough Council area since September 2008 is as follows:-

- September 2008 - 1051
- December 2008 - 1004
- March 2009 - 991
- June 2009 - 997

Figures for September 2009 are not available at present.

NIHE Waiting List

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of people in the Newtownabbey Borough Council area on the NI Housing Executive waiting list for housing, in each month since September 2008.

(AQW 1456/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the Housing Executive publishes social housing waiting list information on a quarterly basis. The number of people on the waiting list in Newtownabbey Borough Council area since September 2008 is as follows:-

- September 2008 - 1808
- December 2008 - 1785
- March 2009 - 1726
- June 2009 - 1703

Figures for September 2009 are not available at present.

NIHE Waiting List

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of people on the NI Housing Executive waiting list who are deemed to be in housing stress, broken down by religious background, in each of the last 5 years

(AQW 1501/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below details the number of people on the Housing Executive’s waiting list who are deemed to be in housing stress, broken down by religious background, as at 31 March in each of the last five years.

TOTAL	15,519	17,218	19,702	21,358	20,478
	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Catholic	6,885	7,693	8,693	9,204	8,631
Other	796	921	1,033	1,303	1,580
Protestant	6,490	7,445	8,559	8,918	7,662
Undisclosed	1,348	1,159	1,417	1,933	2,605

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development how many people in total have (i) applied to; and (ii) been rejected for, the Warm Homes Scheme for (a) heating; (b) insulation; and (c) both heating and insulation.

(AQW 1503/10)

Minister for Social Development: Since the beginning of the new Warm Homes Scheme on 1 July 2009, there have been 10,398 initial contacts with the scheme managers. Approximately 6,800 people have made contact with the two scheme managers and have been deemed ineligible for help under the scheme.

It is not possible to characterise these unsuccessful enquiries as applications for insulation, heating or combined measures.

NIHE Waiting List

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development how many people from (i) a Protestant; and (ii) a Roman Catholic background are currently on the NI Housing Executive housing waiting list.

(AQW 1513/10)

Minister for Social Development: At the 30 June 2009 there were 15,260 people from a Protestant background and 14,671 people from a Catholic background on the Housing Executive’s waiting list.

Homeless People

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are registered as homeless with the NI Housing Executive in Carrickfergus.

(AQW 1519/10)

Minister for Social Development: During the first six months of this year 99 households were registered as homeless with the NI Housing Executive in Carrickfergus.

NI Housing Executive

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many homes the NI Housing Executive has sold in each year since 2005.

(AQW 1556/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of house sales to Housing Executive tenants through its House Sales Scheme since 2005 were as follows:-

- 2005/06 2522
- 2006/07 2201
- 2007/08 808
- 2008/09 54

NI Housing Executive Houses

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive houses have been vacant for more than (i) one year; and (ii) six months.

(AQW 1583/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of Housing Executive houses that have been vacant for more than one year is 820 and the number vacant for more than six months is 256.

NI Housing Executive

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive houses have been vacant in each District Electoral Area within the Lisburn Council area, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1584/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. The table below details the number of Housing Executive houses that have been vacant in each of the last five years within the Lisburn District offices that cover the Lisburn Council area.

Antrim Street Office

Year	Total
2004/05	205
2005/06	158
2006/07	96
2007/08	70
2008/09	81

Dairyfarm Office

Year	Total
2004/05	35
2005/06	26
2006/07	24
2007/08	11
2008/09	24

Community and Voluntary Groups

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development to detail all funding planned for community and voluntary groups in the Lagan Valley constituency over the next year.

(AQW 1601/10)

Minister for Social Development: Details of funding planned for community and voluntary groups in the Lagan Valley constituency over the next year are as follows:

TOTAL	1,701,616
	2009-2010
Community Investment Fund	144,998
Community Support Programme	393,574
Local Community Fund	30,872
NIHE Community Funding	40,293
Neighbourhood Renewal Funding¹	677,173
Volunteer Bureau Initiative	188,391
Women’s Centres Childcare Fund	157,429
Areas at Risk Programme	68,886

¹ The services/facilities provided through these projects are within the Colin Neighbourhood Renewal Area which includes the Poleglass, Twinbrook, Kilwee and Lagmore estates. Part of the Lagmore estate is within the Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency whilst the remaining estates are within the West Belfast Parliamentary Constituency. As the projects target the whole of the Colin area it is not possible, nor appropriate, to aggregate out projects that solely target the Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency area of the Lagmore estate.

Community and Voluntary Groups

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development to detail all funding given by her Department to community and voluntary groups in the Lagan Valley constituency in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1602/10)

Minister for Social Development: Details of funding given to community and voluntary groups in the Lagan Valley constituency, in each of the last three years, are as follows:

TOTAL	1,276,730	2,147,203	2,691,630
	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Community Investment Fund	103,762	158,357	159,016
Community Support Programme	328,254	449,696	458,334
Local Community Fund	59,788	62,526	62,526
NIHE Community Funding	0	24,500	44,302
Neighbourhood Renewal Funding¹	592,225	1,141,287	1,667,403
Volunteer Bureau Initiative	161,851	166,145	164,135
Children & Young Peoples Fund	30,850	0	0
Women’s Centres Childcare Fund	0	144,692	135,914

¹ The services/facilities provided through these projects are within the Colin Neighbourhood Renewal Area wich includes the Poleglass, Twinbrook, Kilwee and Lagmore estates. Part of the Lagmore estate is within the Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency whilst the remaining estates are within the West Belfast Parliamentary Constituency. As the projects target the whole of the Colin area it is not possible, nor appropriate, to aggregate out projects that solely target the Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency area of the Lagmore estate.

NI Executive's European Office in Brussels

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development how many times her Department has been in contact with the NI Executive's European Office in Brussels in the past two years; and to detail the reasons for this contact.

(AQW 1619/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department is in regular contact with the NI Executive’s European Office in Brussels in order to keep updated with EU Policies/Guidance and on various issues relating to former, current and future EU Programmes. Contact is either by telephone, email, letter, or in person. It is not possible to provide details of each and every contact during the past two years.

NI Housing Executive

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many houses have been allocated by the NI Housing Executive in the North Down area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1625/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive is unable to provide a breakdown by house type.The number of dwellings allocated by the Housing Executive in the North Down area in each of the last three years is as follows:-

2007 - 160
2008 - 158
2009 - 187

Housing Associations

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many houses have been allocated by housing associations in the North Down area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1626/10)

Minister for Social Development: Housing Associations allocate houses using the Housing Executive Common Waiting List. The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations records Housing Associations’ allocations by postcode and these are shown in the table below for the last three years. All the postcodes in the table include the North Down area, but the postcodes do not correlate exactly to Parliamentary Constituencies or District Council areas, and these figures include data for other areas.

Postcode	06/07	07/08	08/09 (Provisional)
BT18	0	0	0
BT19	2	4	11
BT20	0	2	1
BT21	0	0	2
BT22	7	16	5

'Multi-Element Improvement' Work

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive properties have been identified as requiring 'Multi-Element Improvement' work in each district office area.

(AQW 1643/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below details the number of Housing Executive properties requiring multi element improvements by District Office area.

District Office	Dwellings
East Belfast	28
North Belfast	111
Shankill	13
South Belfast	222
West Belfast	145
Antrim	210
Ballycastle	16
Ballymena	497
Ballymoney	28
Carrickfergus	114
Coleraine	423
Larne	147
Newtownabbey 1	404
Newtownabbey 2	115
North East Region	26
Armagh	112
Banbridge	41
Dungannon	63
Lurgan/Brownlow	136
Newry	184
Portadown	64
Bangor	224
Castlereagh	141
Lisburn Antrim Street	160
Newtownards	250
Collon Terrace	176
Cookstown	34
Limavady	253
Magherafelt	36
Omagh	35
Strabane	83
Waterloo Place	198
Waterside	65

Housing Executive Properties

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive properties require asbestos removal in each district office area.

(AQW 1644/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive asbestos management strategy includes a five year plan for the survey of its properties to identify the presence of Asbestos Containing Materials and the production and implementation of plans to manage this. The Housing Executive is currently unable to confirm the numbers of its properties which require asbestos removal as their survey is still ongoing. However, up to May 2009 approximately 2,000 properties had asbestos removed.

NI Housing Executive

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the schemes to be delivered by the NI Housing Executive in the Newtownabbey area in (i) 2009/10; and (ii) 2010/11.

(AQW 1647/10)

Minister for Social Development: In relation to (i) Table 1 details those schemes within the Housing Executive’s programme of planned improvement and maintenance works which are currently onsite and Table 2 details the Social Housing Development Programme for 2009/10. A further External Cyclical Maintenance scheme is planned for this financial year at Abbeyville/ Rathfern/Glenville to include works to 227 dwellings at a cost of some £585k.

Table 1 –Improvement and Maintenance Schemes Currently Onsite in Newtownabbey area

Scheme	Units	£k
Monkstown/Glenvarna External Cyclical Maintenance	354	656
Rathcoole/Avonlea Kitchen Replacement	61	179
Glencoole House Multi Element improvement	72	2674
Ballyclare Kitchen Replacement	77	295
Rathcoole Close Kitchen Replacement (completed)	44	188

Table 2 - Newtownabbey Borough Council Social Housing Development Programme 2009/10

Association	Scheme Name	Dwellings	Client Group
Fold	Dunanney Avenue, Rathcoole	37	General Needs
SHAC	466 Shore Road, Newtownabbey	10	General Needs

In relation to (ii) funding for the Housing Executive’s programmes of activity has reduced significantly as a consequence of the economic downturn. Currently the Housing Executive is unable to confirm details of its programmes beyond 2009/10. The Housing Executive will review its programmes of activity when the budgets have been confirmed, as the delivery of these is dependent on the availability of funding in any given year.

The Decent Homes Standard

Mr F McCann asked the Minister for Social Development how many (i) private; and (ii) social houses in rural areas do not meet the decent homes standard, in each parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 1673/10)

Minister for Social Development: In relation to (i) the information for private housing is not available in the format requested. In relation to (ii) the table below details the number of social houses in rural areas that do not meet the decent homes standard, by parliamentary constituency.

Parliamentary Constituency	Dwellings
East Antrim	85
East Londonderry	250
Fermanagh And South Tyrone	235
Foyle	82
Lagan Valley	181
Mid Ulster	394
Newry And Armagh	321
North Antrim	488
North Down	53
South Antrim	47
South Down	389
Strangford	309
Upper Bann	173
West Tyrone	454

NI Housing Executive Properties

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development how many NI Housing Executive properties in (i) Larne; (ii) Carrickfergus; and (iii) Newtownabbey, are currently awaiting renovation or modernisation before being allocated to tenants.

(AQW 1675/10)

Minister for Social Development: Properties in Carrickfergus, Larne, and Newtownabbey which are awaiting renovation or modernisation before being allocated to tenants are shown below by Housing Executive District Office

.Carrickfergus - 20
Larne - 0
Newtownabbey 1 - 41
Newtownabbey 2 - 14

June Monitoring Round

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to detail how the additional £20m received from the June Monitoring Round has been used.

(AQW 1701/10)

Minister for Social Development: The additional £20 million received in the June Monitoring Round was required to meet existing commitments in relation to Private Sector Grants. £15 million was allocated to Private Sector Grants and £5 million to Disabled Adaptations. The additional funding allocated will only allow the Housing Executive to meet commitments for Private Sector Grant applications that have already received formal approval and to fund the statutory grant approvals this year. Therefore new non mandatory grant applications are not being accepted at this time.

The mandatory grants - Disabled Facilities Grants, which provide adaptations to enable disabled people to remain in their homes; and Repairs Grants, approved on foot of Statutory Notices, will continue to operate normally.

Housing Benefit Transactions

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development (i) to detail the number of Housing Benefit transactions broken down by new claims and claimants who have had a change of circumstances, for each month to date in 2009/10; and (ii) how these figures compares with the same period in 2008/09.

(AQW 1719/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below provides the information about Housing Benefit new claims and changes of circumstances for the periods April – September 2008 and April – September 2009.

	2008	2009	2008	2009
	New Claims		Changes of Circumstances
April	2854	4535	14073	12380
May	3439	6162	11315	14319
June	3471	5585	12588	15822
July	2977	5598	11645	13497
August	3065	4720	7476	13422
September	3650	4744	13035	16626
Total	19456	31344	70132	86066

Dunclug Action Plan

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the targets or objectives of the Dunclug Action Plan that are yet to be realised.

(AQW 1732/10)

Minister for Social Development: There are twenty two actions within the Dunclug Action Plan. Seven actions have been completed and a further eleven are currently being implemented. Progress on two projects has been delayed. These are the NIHE estate strategy and the upgrading of street lighting and footways. It is hoped that funding will be available to complete NIHE environmental works within this financial year. The street lighting and footways project will be completed in conjunction with the NIHE environmental works. Two actions have not commenced. These are: the piloting of Police Community Support Officers, which can not be delivered due to a shortfall within PSNI budget and the implementation of CCTV within the estate which the Partnership has decided to review at a later date.

Disabled Facilities for NI Housing Executive Tenants

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development (i) how many applications have there been for disabled facilities for NI Housing Executive tenants; and (ii) how much money was allocated for this purpose, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1764/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of adaptations for disabled facilities for Housing Executive tenants and the amount of expenditure for these adaptations in each of the last three years is as follows:

2006/07 –

Number of adaptations 7498
Total expenditure £14m

2007/08 -

Number of adaptations 6416
Total expenditure £16.4m

2008/09 -

Number of adaptations 5602
Total expenditure £16.9m

The Housing Executive allocates resources for disabled facilities in response to demand and in line with need.

NI Housing Executive

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development how much money has been allocated for disbled facilities for NI Housing Executive tenants in the Ards area for the current financial year; and how this compares to the previous two years.

(AQW 1765/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive’s disabled facilities grants are demand led and available resources are allocated on an area basis in line with need. The amount of expenditure on disabled facilities grants for Housing Executive tenants in the Ards Council area for the current financial year is £565k up to 30 September 2009.

The amount of expenditure in the previous two years was as follows:-

2007/08 £946k
2008/09 £845k

Multi Element Improvement Scheme

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the Multi Element Improvement Scheme in the Rinmore area of Derry; and when a final decision is likely to be made.

(AQW 1770/10)

Minister for Social Development: There are currently 55 homes in Rinmore that have not been renovated by the Housing Executive due to the funding shortfall caused by the collapse of the land and property market.

Given the uncertainty over when resources may become available to fund the improvement of these remaining homes, my officials have been working closely with the local community to identify other options that may facilitate the completion of this renovation scheme.

The potential for a stock transfer to a local housing association is currently being considered and a report into this has just been received from Savils, a leading consultancy firm, which has expertise of stock transfers in Great Britain. Detailed proposals will be put to the residents in the coming weeks and I will be happy to share those with you at that time.

Job Seeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been switched from Job Seeker's Allowance to Incapacity Benefit in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1784/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is not available. Entitlement to specific benefit is dependent on the individual’s circumstances and the Agency does not switch customers from Jobseekers Allowance to Incapacity Benefit.

Private Grant Cases

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development to provide a breakdown , by constituency, of the 124 Private Grant cases put before the Exceptional Circumstances Committee of the Housing Executive.

(AQW 1795/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. A breakdown of the 124 cases is difficult to provide as it relates to the number of cases at an earlier date. The table below provides updated details as at 16 October 2009 of the grant cases referred to the Housing Executive’s Exceptional Circumstances Committee by Grants Office.

Grants Office	Referrals
Ballyclare	14
Ballymena	27
Belfast	36
Craigavon	33
Derry	18
Dundonald	11
Fermanagh	59
Lisburn	16
Newry	36
Omagh	15
Total	265

Exceptional Circumstances Committee of the NI Housing Executive

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development to provide a breakdown, by constituency, of the 96 Private Grant cases approved by the Exceptional Circumstances Committee of the NI Housing Executive; and to outline why these cases were approved.

(AQW 1796/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. A breakdown of the 96 cases is difficult to provide as it relates to the number of cases at an earlier date. The table below provides updated details as at 16 October 2009 of the grant cases approved by the Housing Executive’s Exceptional Circumstances Committee by Grants Office.

Grants Office	Grant aid approved
Ballyclare	10
Ballymena	16
Belfast	12
Craigavon	23
Derry	8
Dundonald	5
Fermanagh	28
Lisburn	5
Newry	17
Omagh	11
Total	135

These cases were approved as the grant applicant has submitted all the documentation necessary to comply with Article 36 of the Housing (N.I.) Order 2003 (documents complete stage) and they were considered by the Exceptional Circumstances Committee to meet one or more of the following criteria:

Is the application for a discretionary grant (Renovation or Home Repairs Assistance) being processed simultaneously with an application for a Disabled Facilities Grant and are the works under the Renovation/Home Repairs application necessary to enable the adaptation works to proceed?
Is there an imminent and significant health and safety risk?
Is there a serious risk from the structural stability of the property?
Any there any other circumstances which the Grants Manager considers to be exceptional?

On Street Drinking

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been prosecuted for 'on street drinking' in Donaghadee in the last year.

(AQW 1800/10)

Minister for Social Development: While my Department is responsible for confirming bye laws made by councils prohibiting the consumption of intoxicating liquor in designated streets and public places, prosecution of offenders is a matter for the relevant district council. My Department does not hold records of prosecutions; the relevant information may be obtained from North Down Borough Council.

On Street Drinking

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been prosecuted for 'on street drinking' in Millisle in the last year.

(AQW 1801/10)

On Street Drinking

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been prosecuted for 'on street drinking' in Holywood in the last year.

(AQW 1802/10)

On Street Drinking

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been prosecuted for 'on street drinking' in Bangor in the last year.

(AQW 1803/10)

Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Social Development to list projects that received funding from the Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme in the East Antrim constituency, in each year since the introduction of the programme.

(AQW 1811/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive delivers neighbourhood renewal funding through the DSD Small Pockets of Deprivation programme to three areas in the East Antrim constituency – Greenisland estate, Sunnylands estate in Carrickfergus, and Larne town centre area. The programme started in 2006/07 and continues into the 2009/10 financial year. Please see the funded project details below.

2006/07

Larne

Dixon Park Residents Association £33,987
Riverdale Residents Association £1,400
Larne Borough Council £77,723

Sunnylands

Sunnylands Nursery School £1,305
Carrickfergus Community Forum £5650

Greenisland

Greenisland Youth Club £2,084
Greenisland Library £2,249
Carrickfergus Borough Council £14,890
Greenisland Community Council £27,270

2007/08

Larne

Riverdale and District Community Association £1,348
Tullygarley Community Development Group £335
Larne Borough Council £10,000

Sunnylands

NORSUN £13,006
Carrickfergus Community Forum £1,200
Carrickfergus Community Forum £2,955

Greenisland

Alphabet Playgroup, Greenisland £10,285
Alphabet Playgroup, Greenisland £1,840
Greenisland Scouts £31,186
Greenisland Cultural Society £2,555
Greenisland Community Council £3,901

2008/09

Larne

Riverdale and District Community Association £1,140

Sunnylands

Carrickfergus Borough Council £75,000
Carrickfergus Community Forum £3,500

Greenisland

Carrickfergus Community Forum £14,999

2009/10

Larne

No project applications this year.

Sunnylands

Carrickfergus YMCA £26,312
Carrickfergus Community Forum £5,000
Carrickfergus Boxing Club `£4,990
Carrickfergus Community Forum £28,695
GreenislandGreenisland Youth Club £1,200

Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister for Social Development what budget has been set aside for the Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme for 2009/10; and what plans she has for the future of the programme.

(AQW 1812/10)

Minister for Social Development: Funding of the Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme will continue until 31 March 2010 with funding of £640,000 allocated for 2009/10. 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.

Staff Travel Claims

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development the cost to her Department of staff travel claims in the last financial year.

(AQW 1825/10)

Minister for Social Development: As reported in the Resource Account for the year ended 31 March 2009, the total cost to my Department for staff travel claims in the financial year 2008-2009 was £2.539m.

Charity Commission

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development for her assessment of the work carried out to date by the Charity Commission.

(AQW 1840/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) was established on 1 June 2009 and I have been pleased with the progress made to date in preparing for the establishment of a new regulatory framework for local charities. The Board has held four meetings to date and minutes of these meetings are available on the CCNI interim website (www.charitycommissionni.org.uk)

The primary legislation in the Charities Act will be enacted in a phased approach through a series of Commencement Orders. Two such Orders have been made to establish the Commission, to allow for consultation on public benefit and to enable the establishment of a Charity Tribunal. Two further Commencement Orders are planned before the end of 2010. These will provide for the introduction of a register of charities, introduce a designated religious status for faith-based charities, allow the Commission to use its investigatory powers and introduce the requirement for charity accounts, reports and returns.

The Commission has launched consultation on its draft public benefit guidance. This guidance is essential to allow charity trustees to prepare for registration and application of the public benefit test in 2010. The Commission has held six public road show events across Northern Ireland and a further event is planned for Belfast in early November. These events have provided a useful opportunity to discuss the public benefit requirements and to raise awareness of the wider regulatory requirements. The consultation will run to 27 November 2009.

Whilst the Commission is staffed by a Secretariat on loan from DSD, it has been working with the Department to initiate its own staff recruitment process. It is envisaged that a Chief Executive will be appointed by Spring 2010 with other key staff appointments to follow.

Social Housing

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in each constituency.

(AQW 1888/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the table below details the Social Housing Waiting List by Housing Executive District Office at 30^th September 2009.

District	Housing Applicants
Antrim	976
Armagh	728
Ballycastle	353
Ballymena	1486
Ballymoney	448
Banbridge	664
Bangor	1926
Belfast East	2229
Belfast North	2417
Belfast South	2007
Belfast West	2361
Carrickfergus	1007
Castlereagh	1373
Coleraine	1203
Cookstown	399
Waterloo Place	870
Waterside	859
Collon Tce	784
Downpatrick	1273
Dungannon	909
Fermanagh	845
Larne	523
Limavady	502
Lisburn	1933
Dairy Farm	629
Lurgan	1107
Magherafelt	471
Newry	1856
Newtownabbey 1	790
Newtownabbey 2	902
Newtownards	1652
Omagh	589
Portadown	683
Shankill	863
Strabane	479

NI Housing Executive

Mr F McCann asked the Minister for Social Development to expalin what will happen to the 170 major extensions and replacements such as showers, heating and lifts which were to be under taken on NI Housing Executive homes under the Disability Living Adaptations and which have now been suspended.

(AQW 1889/10)

Minister for Social Development: No adaptations have been suspended and the Housing Executive is expecting to deliver its programme of proposed schemes. Some restriction was placed on the provision of extensions at the start of this year, but additional funding has been provided and the Housing Executive anticipates that 170 extensions will start in 2009/10.

Homeless People

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister for Social Development how many applicants were accepted as statutorily homeless by the NI Housing Executive in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1906/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below details the numbers of applicants accepted by the Housing Executive as statutorily homeless in each financial year during the period 2004/05 – 2008/09.

Year	Accepted asstatutorily Homeless
2004/2005	8470
2005/2006	9749
2006/2007	9744
2007/2008	9234
2008/2009	8934

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Social Development if she will review the current Warm Homes Scheme with a view to expanding the areas of work that can be undertaken in any replacement or new scheme.

(AQW 1940/10)

Minister for Social Development: Following the publication of a Northern Ireland Audit Office report on the Warm Homes Scheme in June 2008 and a subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearing, a number of changes were made to the scheme. The new Warm Homes Scheme became operational on 1 July and reflects the comments made by the Northern Ireland Audit Office. With the award of any new contract there is inevitably a settling in period and a review of the scheme will be undertaken after one year to ensure that it is fulfilling its objectives.

Disability Living Allowance

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Social Development how many people currently in receipt of Disability Living Allowance are (i) alcohol dependent; and (ii) drug addicted, in each constituency.

(AQW 1960/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. Data is published on a Northern Ireland wide basis on what is known as the main disabling conditions for DLA recipients at http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/publications/dla.htm. However, it cannot be deduced from these figures how many customers are in receipt of DLA due to dependency upon alcohol or addiction to drugs. Entitlement to this benefit is not dependent on a diagnosis or medical condition but relies instead on the care and/or mobility needs arising.

Homeless People

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are registered as homeless with the NI Housing Executive in (i) the Lisburn office region; and (ii) the Dairy Farm office area.

(AQW 1983/10)

Minister for Social Development: From April 2009 to September 2009 319 households were registered as homeless with the Housing Executive’s Lisburn District Office and 129 with the Dairyfarm District Office.

On Street Drinking

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have been prosecuted for 'on street drinking' in (i) Lisburn; (ii) Dunmurry; (iii) Moira; (iv) Hillsborough; and (v) Dromore, in the last year.

(AQW 1992/10)

Houses of Multiple Occupation

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Social Development (i) how many houses of multiple occupation are there in (a) Fermanagh; and (b) south Tyrone; (ii) how many people are estimated to live in these houses; and (iii) how many of these houses do not meet required standards.

(AQW 1994/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested. However, in the Fermanagh District Council area there are currently 57 Houses of Multiple Occupation on the Housing Executive’s database, with an estimated number of occupants of 220. Thirteen of these properties are recorded as being compliant with the required standards. The remaining 44 properties have yet to be inspected.

In the Dungannon and South Tyrone District Council area there are currently 102 Houses of Multiple Occupation on the Housing Executive’s database with an estimated number of occupants of 400. Thirty-eight properties are recorded as being compliant with the required standards. The remaining 64 properties have yet to be inspected.

Appeal Tribunals

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the process for appointment to the list of GPs, Legally Qualified Members, and Occupational Therapists for Appeal Tribunals.

(AQW 2069/10)

Minister for Social Development: Appeal tribunals are independent judicial bodies composed of members taken from a panel appointed by the Lord Chancellor. In the circumstances, the Member may wish to write directly to the President of Appeal Tribunals at 6^th floor, Cleaver House, 3 Donegall Square North, Belfast, BT1 5GA for a response.

Appeal Tribunal

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development how much each (i) GP; (ii) Occupational Therapist; (iii) Legally Qualified Member; and (iv) Chairperson, is paid per day for attending an Appeal Tribunal.

(AQW 2073/10)

Minister for Social Development: The current fees payable to tribunal members is detailed below

	Fee per day
Legal Member	407
Medical Member	302
Member with experience of disability	192

The Legally Qualified Member will take the role of Chairperson where there is more than one member on the panel. No additional fees is payable for this role.

Cost of Appeals

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the average cost of an appeal, from the appeal being launched to being concluded, for (i) Disability Living Allowance; (ii) Employment and Support Allowance; and (iii) Incapacity Benefit.

(AQW 2075/10)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is provided in the table below

	Disability Living Allowance	Employment and Support Allowance	Incapacity Benefit
Average cost of an Appeal	£554	£553	£517

Appeals Tribunal

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development for the average cost of holding an Appeals Tribunal; and if the cost varies in different constituencies.

(AQW 2078/10)

Minister for Social Development: In 2008/09 the average cost of a hearing including all administrative expenses was £283. Costs do not vary in different constituencies.

Lone Parent Regulations

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister for Social Development if there will be an evaluation or review of the impact to date of the Lone Parent Regulations before the next phase, affecting lone parents whose youngest child is 10, is implemented.

(AQW 2081/10)

Minister for Social Development: I do not have any plans to carry out an evaluation of the impact of the Lone Parents regulations in Northern Ireland before the next Phase is implemented. This is due to happen from 26 October 2009.

Lone Parent Regulations

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister for Social Development, since the introduction of the Lone Parent Regulations in October 2008, how many (i) lone parents have been transferred to Jobseekers Allowance; and (ii) lone parents in total are now in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance as a result of the legislation.

(AQW 2083/10)

Minister for Social Development: It is estimated that 1,098 lone parents, with a youngest child aged 12 or over, have ceased claiming Income Support and subsequently claimed Jobseekers Allowance. It is not possible to identify how many lone parents in total are currently in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance as a direct result of the new legislation.

Lone Parent Regulations

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister for Social Development how many lone parents have secured employment since the Lone Parent Regulations were introduced by (i) transferring from Job Seekers Allowance to work; and (ii) transferring from Income Support to work.

(AQW 2084/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department does not record the information requested.

Benefit Disallowance

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development (i) how many appeals relating to benefit disallowance have been lodged to date in 2009; (ii) how many of these appeals have been heard and a decision reached; and (iii) how many have been successful.

(AQW 2100/10)

Minister for Social Development: (i) There have been 9,651 appeals received by The Appeals Service during the period 1 January 2009 to 21 October 2009;

(ii) a Tribunal has heard and reached a decision on 5,228 of these appeals; and (iii) of the appeals determined at hearing 1,608 have been successful.

Small Pockets of Deprivation (SPOD) Programme

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development (i) to explain the decision to inform Small Pockets of Deprivation (SPOD) programme areas in Newtownards that there will be no funding for new projects; (ii) if this decision affects all other SPOD areas; and (iii) how it affects funding for exiting and ongoing projects.

(AQW 2106/10)

Minister for Social Development: There is currently a deadline of 30 September for the submission of project funding applications with regards to the Small Pockets of Deprivation (SPOD) programme. This was in place this year (and last year) and had to be implemented to allow appropriate time for consideration and processing of the submissions and to ensure the most effective use of the available funding for proposed regeneration projects.This deadline applies across all of the areas included within the Small Pockets of Deprivation (SPOD) Programme (including Newtownards) and does not affect projects that have already been approved for funding.

Lone Parent Regulations

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister for Social Development how many lone parents claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (i) have had their benefits sanctioned; (ii) by how much; and (iii) for how long, since the introduction of the Lone Parent Regulations in October 2008.

(AQW 2107/10)

Minister for Social Development: No benefit sanctions have been imposed on Lone Parents since the new Lone Parent Regulations were introduced.

NI Housing Executive

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development how many people in the North Down area are currently on the NI Housing Executive waiting list.

(AQW 2149/10)

Minister for Social Development: At 30 September 2009 there were 1926 applicants on the social housing waiting list for the Housing Executive’s Bangor District Office which covers the North Down Borough Council area.

Harassment or Bullying

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development how many allegations of harassment or bullying have been reported by staff in her Department in each of the last five years.

(AQW 2174/10)

Minister for Social Development: Details of allegations of harassment or bullying that have been reported by staff within the
Department are outlined below.

Year	No of Harassment Complaints	No of Bullying Complaints	Total
2004	21	14	35
2005	9	34	43
2006	14	37	51
2007	9	25	34
2008	8	13	21
Total	61	123	184

West Green Flats, Holywood

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development if she has received an evaluation of the future of the West Green flats in Hollywood, and if so, when.

(AQW 2207/10)

Minister for Social Development: Following a meeting between my officials and their counterparts from the Housing Executive in August, the issue of the West Green flats in Holywood continues to be the subject of wider consideration.

The flats themselves, if demolished, are in an area of open space that could pave the way for a much larger re-development scheme than originally envisaged. However, this would be dependent on planning approval, given the potential loss of open space in the area. The future of the flats will therefore be determined by the ability to develop in the vicinity and I expect more detail on this potential in the next 6 to 8 weeks.

Our plans, whilst still under consideration, are quite innovative and go much further than the demolition of the flats themselves and I would be happy to have my officials discuss this thinking with you to assure you of our progress and plans for the redevelopment of the wider area.

Statutory Retirement Age

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister for Social Development to list all the statistics she has available in her Department in relation to the employment of persons over statutory retirement age.

(AQW 2216/10)

Minister for Social Development: The latest available Households below average income publication, for 2006/07, includes the numbers of pensioners where one or more within the family/household unit are working. The figure published for the number of pensioners working is 37,900.

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Assembly Roadshows

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission what is the anticipated budget for the establishment and running of a Northern Ireland Youth Assembly.

(AQW 1836/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Moutray): The Assembly Commission is in the process of considering options for the establishment of a Northern Ireland Youth Assembly. This process is due to be completed by the end of this calendar year, and the Commission will subsequently announce its plans and associated budget.

Assembly Roadshows

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission what is the total cost to date of the 2009 Assembly Roadshows.

(AQW 1839/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Moutray): The total cost to date of the 2009 Assembly Roadshows is £39,243.98. This figure includes the total print costs and advertising costs.

Assembly Roadshows

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission how many (i) MLAs; (ii) Assembly staff; and (iii) members of the public have attended each of the 2009 Assembly Roadshows.

(AQW 1841/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Moutray): In total 458 members of the public have attended the Assembly Roadshows between September 2009 and 21 October 2009.

The average number of staff attending on any one night is 10. Staff perform a number of important duties including conference set up and dismantle, assisting the public and panel members, press and photography and supporting the Q and A session. A number of these staff attended in their own time and at no additional cost to the Assembly.

With the exception of East Belfast, each roadshow has comprised a panel of 5 MLAs. In Portadown, 1 MLA from the area attended as a member of the audience. In Bangor 2 MLAs from the local area attended as members of the audience.

A more detailed breakdown of attendance at each roadshow is contained in the table below.

Attendance at Autumn Assembly Roadshow 2009

Constituency	Location	Dates	Public	Staff	MLAs	Total
East Belfast	The Park Avenue Hotel	Tues 22 Sept	90	10	1	101
South Belfast	Chinese Welfare Centre	Wed 23 Sept	89	10	5	104
North Belfast	NICVA	Thurs 30 Sept	31	9	5	45
West Belfast	Farset International	Tues 1 Oct	30	9	5	44
Upper Bann	Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown	Tues 6 Oct	61	10	6	77
Mid Ulster	Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre, Cookstown	Wed 14 Oct	32	10	5	47
North Down	The Marine Court, Bangor	Thurs 15 Oct	106	10	7	123
East Antrim	Clarion Hotel, Carrickfergus	Wed 21 Oct	24	9	5	33

Assembly Roadshows

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission how much has been paid for the compere at each of the 2009 Assembly Roadshows.

(AQW 1842/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Moutray): The fee to compere the Autumn Roadshows is £200 per night plus expenses.

REVISED WRITTEN ANSWERS

Friday 30 October 2009

(AQW 335/10)

This question refers to the Housing Executive’s total budget for Travelling and Subsistence. Please note that the previous figure of £2.461m provided in AQW 7298/09 did not include associated subsistence and Learning & Development related travel and an amendment notice has been sent to Martina Anderson MLA, who tabled the original Question. The revised figure is £3,292,174 as detailed below.

It is not feasible to provide a breakdown of the expenditure in the full manner requested, as individual journey details are not held in the Housing Executive’s Finance System. Extracting the information would involve manual examination of some 18,000 travel claims which would incur disproportionate cost.

A general breakdown of the above figure is as follows:

Nature of cost	£
Airfares	71,967
Trains	6,146
Bus/Rail/Taxi Fares	41,130
Car Parking	23,828
Mileage /Car	2,370,580
Secondment/ Relocation Mileage	426,694
Overnight Allowance	39,648
Subsistence	310,732
Other	1,449
Total	3,292,174