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 28 May 2010

Written Answers to Questions

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

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

People Over 65 Living in Poverty

Mr S Hamilton asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many people aged 65 and over are currently deemed to be living in poverty, broken down by religious background.

(AQW 5654/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness): The most recent figures available cover the 2007/08 financial year and are set out in the tables below. Table 1 details the composition of pensioners living in relative low income poverty whilst Table 2 details the relative low income poverty risk of pensioners. Estimates are not routinely available for those aged 65 years and over.

Table 1 Religious Composition of Pensioners Living in Relative Low Income Poverty

Religion	All Pensioners		Religious composition of pensioners living in relative low income poverty
			Before housing costs		After housing costs
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Protestant	165,200	60	46,300	61	36,300	62
Roman Catholic	93,600	34	26,200	35	18,700	32
Other religion/non determined	16,100	6	*	*	*	*
Total	274,900	100	74,800	100	58,100	100

Source Households Below Average Income (HBAI) NI, 2007/08, DSD (2009)

Notes to table 1

1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred, percentages to the nearest whole number.

2. *indicates estimate is based on a small sample size and is therefore not released.

3. As with any sample survey there is a degree of error associated with the estimates provided.

Table 2 Relative Low Income Poverty Rate for Pensioners by Religion

Religion	Relative low income poverty rate
	Before housing costs		After housing costs
	Number	Rate (%)	Number	Rate (%)
Protestant	46,300	28	36,300	22
Roman Catholic	26,200	28	18,700	20
Other religion/non determined	*	*	*	*
All pensioners	74,800	27		21

Source Households Below Average Income (HBAI) NI, 2007/08, DSD (2009)

Notes to table 2

1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred, percentages to the nearest whole number.

2. *indicates estimate is based on a small sample size and is therefore not released.

3. As with any sample survey there is a degree of error associated with the estimates provided.

Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests

Dr S Farry asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the level of equality or human rights screening in the current consultation on Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 6744/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The European Convention on Human Rights and Equality legislation were important considerations during the drafting phase of the report of the Working Group on Parades, on which the draft Bill is based. Compliance with Article 11 was of particular concern and it is our view that the proposals contained in the draft Bill have been screened to a level which has ensured that they are compliant with the Convention and will in no way unfairly restrict the right of individuals or groups to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Racial Equality Forum

Mrs D Kelly asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the status and work of the Racial Equality Forum.

(AQW 6820/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: With increasing inward migration and greater diversity of nationalities and backgrounds here, the Racial Equality Forum, in its previous incarnation under direct rule, had expanded to the point of being very unwieldy, over 50 people regularly attended – too many to allow it properly to fulfil its purpose. Accordingly, OFMDFM officials, in consultation with the forum, reviewed its remit and structures to assess whether it was fit for purpose under devolution and to consider its work programme.

The first meeting of the reconvened Forum took place in November 2009 and included a wide range or representatives from both the statutory and voluntary sector. This meeting agreed the proposals for the new structure. It was agreed that a Racial Equality Panel should be established to take forward the business of the wider Forum, with the Forum meeting once a year. Nominations for the Panel have now been received and the successful applicants have been informed. It is expected that the Panel will meet in early summer.

The Forum also agreed at its meeting on 24 November 2009 that a thematic sub-group should be established to consider immigration-related issues within the local context. This sub-group, chaired by the Law Centre (NI), had its first meeting on 23 March 2010. Further sub-groups, as agreed by the Panel and the Forum, may be established. Of course the Thematic Sub-Group on Migrant Workers, led by DEL, has continued its work.

The OFMDFM Junior Ministers have agreed to chair Forum meetings as appropriate.

Sexual Orientation Strategy

Mrs D Kelly asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the status of the Sexual Orientation Strategy.

(AQW 6873/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Considerable work has been done across government and public bodies to develop cross-departmental action plans to tackle identified inequalities and to deal with important problems such as homophobic crime. These have been kept under review, and there is a considerable body of recent research into the needs of the sector.

One of the outputs of the short-term funding package to the LGB sector, which has recently ended, was a needs analysis report. The needs analysis, which will help inform further work on the sexual orientation strategy, has yet to be submitted to OFMDFM.

St Patrick's Barracks Site in Ballymena

Mr D McKay asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister if housing at the St Patrick's barracks site in Ballymena will be given to the Executive; and to provide an update on this matter, including a likely time-scale for the handover.

(AQW 6876/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Under the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, St Patrick's Barracks in Ballymena is one of the former military sites that are to be gifted to the Executive. We can confirm our understanding that the gifting of the site will include the former military houses. Officials are in the early stages of discussion with the Ministry of Defence about the transfer of the site. Under the Agreement, it would be expected that disposal proceeds would be used to meet exceptional resource pressures.

Maze/Long Kesh Site

Mr T Lunn asked e First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 6704/10, for a breakdown of the £12.48m expenditure spent to date, including how much was spent on (i) demolition; (ii) site clearance; and (iii) decontamination.

(AQW 6878/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Please see attached table detailing the breakdown of the £12.48m spent during the seven year period that we have been responsible for Maze/Long Kesh.

More detailed information sought is not held in the format requested.

Site clearance costs are included in the figures shown for demolition and remediation costs.

EXPENDITURE AT MLK FOR PERIOD 2003 TO 30/04/10

Description	Detail	Amount £m
Site management	Security guard provisionGeneral maintenance Utilities – water, electricity etc.	1.07
Consultation & oversight	MLK consultation panelMLK monitoring group Associated events and meetings	0.14
Listed buildings	Built heritage assessmentMaintenance and upkeep of buildings including the hangers	0.56
Demolition and remediation	Demolition of an estimated 90% of the site including 200+ buildings and 8 h blocksMajor remediation and decontamination programme to ensure that contaminates such as lead shot; aviation, diesel and petrol fuel spills; hydrocarbons and asbestos are removed from the site in strict accordance with health and safety requirements and Environment Agency guidance – this is ongoing work. This figure includes necessary preparatory work, consultation and surveys	5.45
Programme development	This includes the costs of the MLK Programme Development Unit in directing the development of the site and its management; includes site feasibility, site condition and related studies and surveys; also includes programme management	0.63
Department of Finance and Personnel – Central Procurement Directorate charges	Professional fees for procurement and legal advice on procurement issues; supervision of works and general advice on construction; project management	1.30
Business cases	Preparation of the major business cases (ie economic appraisals) for the development of the site	0.74
Infrastructure design and development work *	Professional advice and detailed design work on site and access infrastructure, including adviceHighway and transportation design and specification Preparation of the Maze/Long Kesh area transportation study	1.98
2006 Masterplan	Preparation, consultation and publication of the masterplan.	0.58
Land assembly	Transfer of land to and from OFMDFM to clarifying the boundary of the site.Ordinance survey data provisionLegal advice related to this	0.03

Total		£12.48m
* involves skills that are not available in-house in the NICS

Victims and Survivors Service

Mr D Simpson asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the new funding arrangements for victims and survivors under the new Victims and Survivors Service.

(AQO 1271/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: In December 2009 we published a ten-year strategy in which we outlined how we intended to make a difference to the lives of victims and survivors.

Key to the strategy is the creation of a new Victims and Survivors Service.

In April, preparatory to that Service being established, we announced transitional funding arrangements which will make support available to groups working in the victims and survivors sector over the next two years. This move to longer term funding is of significant benefit to groups who can now plan further into the future and give staff security that their posts will remain.

The funding, which will run from April 2010 to March 2012 will ensure continuity of services for victims and survivors, access to the funding scheme for groups previously unable to apply for core funding, a development programme to assist groups address issues around capacity and governance, and a clear focus on delivery of services to individual victims and survivors.

These transitional arrangements include a merging of the Core and Development grant schemes and a re-opening of the new merged scheme for new applications from existing groups and those not currently funded. The Community Relations Council are meeting with groups to explain the implications of the changes.

In the meantime, all existing core funded groups have been issued with contracts for 2010/11. These contracts will be reviewed subject to the revised applications and work plans received from groups in the coming months.

Once the Service is established it is our intention to move from an annual round of funding towards a three-year cycle. We believe this will provide greater stability and continuity to the groups that deliver vital services to the sector.

The Comprehensive Needs Assessment being conducted by the Commission for Victims and Survivors will be used to create a sound basis for funding not only groups under the new Service, but individual victims and survivors.

The Service will introduce holistic assessment of individuals’ needs and funding will be targeted accordingly.

Child Poverty Commission

Mr P Doherty asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of the introduction of the Child Poverty Act, when a decision will be taken on a nomination to the Child Poverty Commission.

(AQO 1276/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Child Poverty Bill gained Royal Assent on 25 March 2010 and is now law.

The Child Poverty Act requires the lead department here, OFMDFM, to publish and lay a strategy before the Assembly by 25 March 2011. The strategy must set out the measures that all Departments here intend to take to help meet the targets set out in the Act.

The Act also provides for the creation of a Child Poverty Commission; one of the members to the Commission will be appointed by OFMDFM. We will be required to consult the Commission on our strategy and have regard to its advice.

Our officials are discussing with UK Government colleagues, timescales for appointments to the Commission and we hope to be able to provide further information shortly.

Corporation Tax

Mr T Elliott asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister if they have put forward any proposals to the new coalition Government on a reduced rate of corporation tax for Northern Ireland.

(AQO 1277/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We met with the Secretary of State Owen Paterson and Prime Minister David Cameron to share our views on the key priorities for the years ahead. We made clear that we understand the financial challenges that lie ahead for everyone.

The case for a reduced rate of corporation tax is an important cross cutting issue. Any formal approach to the UK Government would therefore require agreement by the Executive, including on how to fund such a proposal.

The recent Northern Ireland Economic Reform Group’s report on this issue set out a positive case for a reduced rate of corporation tax. Owen Paterson has indicated that he intends to publish a paper on how responsibility for corporation tax could be transferred to devolved areas.

While concerns exist on the public expenditure implications and deliverability of this proposal, we will liaise with the new Government on this issue. Additionally, the Executive sub-group established to consider a new economic strategy can consider this issue further.

Maze Site

Mr T Lunn asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on the establishment of a development corporation on the regeneration of the Maze site.

(AQO 1279/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We have made clear that the Maze/Long Kesh site is a site of regional significance and a unique resource that can help drive economic development and contribute to the social good.

We are seeking to maximise the economic, historical and reconciliation potential of the site and we will continue to work with all those bodies interested in contributing to the development of the site.

We have announced that this work would be taken forward by a development corporation, and we are currently considering the detail of this.

In the interim, the Maze/long Kesh Programme Delivery Unit continues to prepare the site for potential future redevelopment. This work involves both preparatory works necessary to support future initiatives on the site, and in parallel, the completion of a major programme of decontamination.

Block Grant

Dr A McDonnell asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on any discussions held with the new British Government and Treasury in relation to the future block grant

(AQO 1280/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We have met with Prime Minister David Cameron and the Secretary of State Owen Paterson to share our views on the key priorities for the years ahead. We made clear that we understood the financial challenges that lie ahead for everyone. The size of our block grant is a key issue and of fundamental importance to our ability to continue delivering public services and support to local business and people. We will pursue these issues in the weeks and months ahead.

Attorney General

Mrs M Bradley asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether an Attorney General has been appointed and for an assessment of the impact of any continued delay in an appointment to this post.

(AQO 1281/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: After consulting with the new Advocate General on our proposed appointment of an Attorney General, in accordance with paragraph 13 of Schedule 7 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, we have appointed John Larkin QC as Attorney General.

Public Expenditure

Mr W Irwin asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister if they have raised the issue of public expenditure cuts with the Prime Minister.

(AQO 1282/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We have met with Prime Minister David Cameron and the Secretary of State Owen Paterson to share our views on the key priorities in the years ahead. We made clear that we understood the financial challenges that lie ahead for everyone. The size of our block grant is a key issue and of fundamental importance to our ability to continue delivering public services and support to local business and people. We will pursue these issues in the weeks and months ahead.

Quangos

Lord Morrow asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many quangos have been earmarked for abolition in this financial year and to which Departments their functions and responsibilities will transfer.

(AQO 1283/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Eleven public bodies have been earmarked for abolition in the current financial year.

Within our own Department, arrangements are being made to wind up the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI). While no date has been set for the closure, the intention is that this will happen in the current financial year. Its functions and responsibilities will not transfer to any Department when ERINI closes and we are currently exploring a wide range of options regarding how this work might best be delivered in future.

As part of the Review of Public Administration, nine Department of Education public bodies will be abolished, namely: the five Education and Library Boards; the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools; the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment; the Youth Council; and the Staff Commission for Education and Library Boards. The functions of these bodies (other than where no longer required) will transfer to the Education and Skills Authority.

Within the Department for Social Development, the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board for Northern Ireland has been earmarked for abolition in this financial year. It is intended that the remit of the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board for Great Britain will be extended to include giving advice to DSD.

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Cafre Farm at Greenmount

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for a breakdown of the annual cost of running the Cafre Farm at Greenmount in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6795/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): The annual cost of running the CAFRE farm at Greenmount in each of the last 3 years is £346k (2009/10 – provisional figure), £402k (2008/09) and £353k (2007/08).

Chicken Litter Waste

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how much tonnage of chicken litter waste requires treatment each year.

(AQW 6880/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Approximately 200,000 tonnes of poultry litter is generated in the north of Ireland and requires treatment each year.

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Maintenance of Libraries

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how much his Department spent on the maintenance of each library in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6692/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland): The following table shows how much has been spent on the maintenance of each library in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area in the last five years. Since 1 April 2009 these libraries have been the responsibility of Libraries NI.

Library	2005/6	2006/7	2007/8	2008/9	2009/10
Ballynahinch	1,081	3,184	1,900	2,917	2,250
Bangor	2,532	2,535	18,880	1,470	4,904
Belvoir Park	805	672	1,364	1,229	238
Braniel	198	947	973	1,727	906
Carryduff	1,303	1,075	2,920	3,630	1,867
Castlewellan	3,256	3,775	3,933	10,913	8,184
Colin Glen	8,915	6,221	6,373	5,785	6,044
Comber	1,392	1,756	3,840	1,306	2,010
Cregagh	1,794	2,343	1,656	4,247	2,917
Donaghdee	2,673	954	1,103	1,773	1,996
Downpatrick	1,992	5,189	4,735	6,127	4,206
Dundonald	4,222	1,459	36,741	4,614	4,036
Dunmurry	1,489	66	54	161	0
Gilnahirk	1,709	805	614	738	415
Holywood	4,567	7,075	5,584	7,452	11,769
Killyleagh	2,112	844	2,024	2,483	4,799
Laurelhill**	2,249	-	37	-	-
Lisburn**	3,293	175	-	-	-
Lisburn City*	13	-	-	-	-
Moira	2,021	546	494	1,063	750
Newcastle	11,521	2,016	2,058	2,423	6,681
Newtownards	967	1,120	1,672	3,489	7,428
Newtownbreda	6,690	18	1,597	1,346	2,136
Poleglass**	100	-	-	-	-
Portaferry	5,643	756	4,320	3,860	321
Saintfield	2,398	1,857	4,714	2,312	2,663
Tullycarnet	7,438	4,484	4,843	18,690	9,610
Total	82,373	49,872	112,429	89,755	86,130

* Spend for Lisburn City is part of a PPP (Public Private Partnership) Scheme. Maintenance costs form part of the unitary charge and are not allocated to the general maintenance budget.

**These libraries were closed in 2005/06.

The Chief Executive of SEELB has advised me of the spend attributed to each branch library under his control as Accounting Officer in the period 2005/06 to 2008/09.

The Accounts for Libraries NI have not yet been finalised and audited. Therefore the 2009-10 figures are in draft and may be subject to adjustment.

Department of Education

Community Relations Funding

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the impact that the cuts to community relations funding in the education budget will have on the delivery of services to young people, particularly marginalised young people living in interface areas.

(AQW 6578/10)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane ):

(i) Caithfear mo chinneadh ar an bhuiséad um chaidreamh pobail a shocrú ag £1.1m sa bhliain 2010/11 a mheas laistigh de chomhthéacs an bhuiséid níos leithne oideachais agus laistigh de mo phleananna ar pholasaí um Chaidreamh Pobail, Comhionannas agus Ilchineálacht a thabhairt isteach.

(i) My decision to set the community relations budget at £1.1m in 2010/11 must be viewed within the context of the wider education budget and my plans to introduce a new Community Relations, Equality and Diversity policy.

In 2010/11 funding for education has been increased by 1.9% to just over £1.9billion, but faced with meeting efficiencies required by the Executive, it has been a difficult budget involving difficult decisions. In agreeing the 2010/11 education budget, my priority has been to protect frontline services and to ensure the needs of those most disadvantaged continue to be at the forefront.

I have had to balance a range of education priorities against the need to achieve efficiencies but in recognition of the continued need for good relations I have sought to retain a funding stream and have made provision of £1.1m for 2010/11.

I am looking to the Boards to ensure as far as possible that any reductions do not impact on core services for children and youth, particularly marginalised young people living at interface areas.

With this in mind, funding which I have made available for youth services is largely unchanged and I remain committed to the youth service and its role as an important part of the education system, one which helps all young people, in particular those who feel socially excluded, to develop their potential to the full.

I am committed to encompassing a wider approach to improving relations between communities by educating children and young people to develop self-respect and respect for others, where equality and inclusion are the cornerstones of an education system which enables every learner to fulfil his or her potential.

I am investing over £200m in other policies which contribute to this wider approach, such as Supporting Newcomer Pupils and SEN and I have also made available an additional £90 per primary pupil – an increase of 3.1% compared to last year.

I am, therefore, confident that the delivery of services to young people will not be adversely affected by my decisions in relation to the education budget for 2010/11.

(ii) I can confirm that Equality and Human Rights Screening was undertaken before any decision was taken to reduce the community relations budget. A cost benefit analysis was not completed.

(iii) While I have not had specific discussions with OFMDFM regarding the reduction of the community relations budget, I am working closely with the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) in the development of the programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration.

The Department of Education has developed a new Community Relations, Equality and Diversity policy which will focus on the wider concepts of diversity as well as those issues affecting the two main traditions. We live in a society today that is significantly more diverse than it was 20 years ago when the original Community Relations policy was developed. The original policy focused primarily upon bringing young people from our two main communities together, but in this new era of sharing, community relations must evolve in line with other educational developments and recognise the need for more meaningful engagement by supporting and encouraging mutual understanding and tolerance, promoting equality, working to eliminate discrimination and facilitating the recognition of, and respect for, cultural diversity. The new policy will enshrine equality and good relations as core principles, which the Department will seek to embed within the curriculum, and fully addresses Section 75 of the NI Act 1998. OFMDFM officials have been briefed in relation to the level of funding I have made available in support of the new policy.

It is for each individual Department to determine how to make best use of the funding available to ensure that all statutory obligations can be met. I have had to balance a range of education priorities against the need to achieve efficiencies while ensuring that all frontline services remain unaffected.

(iv) I fully support the current Programme for Government and have endeavoured to meet all of my commitments in relation to a shared and better future for all. I am also working closely with the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister on the programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration which is being developed.

We are in a new era of sharing and community relations work in schools must evolve in line with other developments and encompass a wider approach to contribute to addressing good relations. It is my assessment that the range of policies which I am bringing forward will make a significant contribution to developing a shared and better future for all.

Community Relations Funding

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education whether (i) an Equality Impact Assessment; and (ii) a cost-benefit analysis was undertaken on the decision to reduce the community relations funding by 70%.

(AQW 6579/10)

Minister of Education:

I am looking to the Boards to ensure as far as possible that any reductions do not impact on core services for children and youth, particularly marginalised young people living at interface areas.

I am, therefore, confident that the delivery of services to young people will not be adversely affected by my decisions in relation to the education budget for 2010/11.

(ii) I can confirm that Equality and Human Rights Screening was undertaken before any decision was taken to reduce the community relations budget. A cost benefit analysis was not completed.

Community Relations Funding

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education what discussions her Department has had with the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister in relation to the impact of funding cuts for community relations.

(AQW 6580/10)

Minister of Education:

I am looking to the Boards to ensure as far as possible that any reductions do not impact on core services for children and youth, particularly marginalised young people living at interface areas.

I am, therefore, confident that the delivery of services to young people will not be adversely affected by my decisions in relation to the education budget for 2010/11.

(ii) I can confirm that Equality and Human Rights Screening was undertaken before any decision was taken to reduce the community relations budget. A cost benefit analysis was not completed.

Community Relatiions Funding

Mrs N Long asked the Minister of Education to outline her plans for developing a shared and better future for all, in line with Executive commitments in the Programme for Government, and in light of the 70% funding cuts to community relations from the education budget.

(AQW 6581/10)

Minister of Education:

I am looking to the Boards to ensure as far as possible that any reductions do not impact on core services for children and youth, particularly marginalised young people living at interface areas.

I am, therefore, confident that the delivery of services to young people will not be adversely affected by my decisions in relation to the education budget for 2010/11.

(ii) I can confirm that Equality and Human Rights Screening was undertaken before any decision was taken to reduce the community relations budget. A cost benefit analysis was not completed.

Schools: Community Relations

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education for an update on Community Relations Programmes within schools.

(AQO 1149/10)

Minister of Education: The task for education is to prepare children and young people for living in a society that is increasingly diverse. I am committed to encompassing a wider approach to improving relations for everyone by educating children and young people to develop self-respect and respect for others, where equality, inclusion and rights are the cornerstones of an education system which enables every learner to fulfil their potential.

My priority is to protect front line services and to ensure the needs of those most disadvantaged continue to be at the forefront.

The existing Community Relations policy was developed over 20 years ago with the focus on contact between Catholic and Protestants. But much has changed, including the legislative and political environments, revised curriculum, and the wider diversity in our society.

For example, in the early 1990s we had 655 newcomer pupils where English was an additional language, but this has increased by more than 1000% to 7,532 pupils in 2009/10 and the number of non-white pupils has risen by 200% from around 2,500 to 7,500 in the same period.

Given our society is much more diverse, any policy needs to reflect all of the section 75 groups – those between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial groups, sexual orientation, gender, age, with and without a disability and those with or without dependants. For this reason I commissioned a fundamental review to ensure the policy remains fit for purpose and was broadened to cover all section 75 groups.

In preparation for the introduction of a new Community Relations, Equality and Diversity Policy, existing funding schemes were terminated on 31 March 2010.

To facilitate the winding up of existing schemes, short term allocations have been made to ELBs, Youth Council and 26 community relations organisations. The bulk of the funding for this year will be used in preparation for implementation of the new Community Relations, Equality and Diversity policy which I plan to implement in the current financial year.

Our schools have an important role to play in relation to community relations. Citizenship is integrated across the revised curriculum, with Personal Development and Mutual Understanding at primary level and Learning for Life and Work at post primary level providing additional opportunities to address equality and diversity issues and promote good relations.

Agus é a chur san áireamh, tá polasaithe tugtha ar aghaidh agam cheana féin, amhail Gach Scoil ina Scoil Mhaith: Ag Tacú le Daltaí ó Thíortha Eile agus tograí comhairliúcháin ar an Bealach chun Tosaigh do Riachtanais Oideachais Speisialta, agus cuireann siad go léir leis an chur chuige níos leithne atá riachtanach anois chun caidreamh a fheabhsú idir pobail. Cuireadh cistiú de bhreis ar £200m ar fáil chun tacú leis na cláir seo. Chuir mé £90 breise ar fáil do gach dalta bunscoile fosta- is é sin, méadú de 3.1% i gcomparáid leis an fhigiúr don bhliain a chuaigh thart.

With this in mind I have already brought forward policies, such as Every School a Good School: Supporting Newcomer Pupils and consultation proposals on the Way Forward for Special Educational Needs, all of which contribute to the broader approach which is now required to improving relations between communities. Funding in excess of £200m has been made available to support these programmes. I have also made available an additional £90 per primary pupil – an increase of 3.1% compared to last year.

Other work within the Education sector, such as INTO’s Race Relations Guide, UTU policies such as gender balance and cultural diversity and Amnesty International’s support for teachers on human rights also provides the context within which community relations in schools is delivered.

I am committed to encompassing a wider approach to improving relations to everyone by educating children and young people to develop self-respect and respect for others, where equality, inclusion and rights are the cornerstones of an education system which enables every learner to fulfil their potential.

Nursery School Places

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education (i) to list the numbers and locations of state funded nursery places available in each constituency for 2010/11; and (ii) to detail the total number of applications that were (a) received; and (b) rejected.

(AQW 6635/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne in iúl go bhfuil líon agus suíomhanna na n-áiteanna státchistithe naíscoile ar fáil i ngach toghcheantar don bhliain 2010/11 mar atá mionsonraithe sa tábla thíos. Is é líon na n-iarratas a fuarthas ná 24,064 agus is é líon na n-iarratasóirí nach raibh áit acu ag deireadh an phróisis iontrála, a cuireadh i gcrích ar 30 Aibreán 2010, ná 3,162. Tugtar faoi deara go bhfaighidh mórán páistí nach raibh áit acu tar éis an phróisis iontrála áit shaor naíscoile roimh thosach na scoilbhliana i mí Mheán Fómhair.

The Education and Library Boards have advised that the numbers and locations of state funded nursery places available in each constituency for 2010/11 are as detailed in the table below. The total number of applications received was 24,064 and the number of applicants unplaced at the end of the admissions process, which concluded on 30 April 2010, was 3,162. It should be noted that many children who were unplaced at the conclusion of the admissions process will secure a free nursery place before the start of the school year in September.

(i) Numbers and locations of state funded nursery places available in each constituency for 2010/11

Parliamentary Constituency	Location(Main postal area)	Number of State Funded Places
Belfast North	Belfast	868
	Newtownabbey	245
Belfast South	Belfast	874
Belfast West	Belfast	1324
East Antrim	Ballymena	61
	Carrickfergus	443
	Greenisland	15
	Larne	242
	Newtownabbey	168
East Derry	Castlerock	13
	Coleraine	475
	Feeny	16
	Limavady	242
	Derry	101
	Portrush	46
	Portstewart	50
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Ballygawley	31
	Belleek	17
	Brookeborough	15
	Caledon	24
	Clogher	25
	Derrymore	19
	Dungannon	374
	Enniskillen	619
	Fivemiletown	45
	Lisnaskea	34
	Newtownbutler	36
	Roslea	21
	Tempo	34
Foyle	Derry	1494
Lagan Valley	Belfast	175
	Craigavon	52
	Dromara	36
	Dromore	170
	Hillsborough	93
	Lisburn	596
	Moira	64
Mid Ulster	Ardboe	24
	Augher	9
	Coagh	16
	Coalisland	99
	Cookstown	291
	Dungannon	240
	Maghera	121
	Magherafelt	460
	Portglenone	29
Newry & Armagh	Ardglass	13
	Armagh	487
	Dungannon	26
	Loughgall	29
	Newry	792
	Tandragee	104
North Antrim	Ballycastle	115
	Ballymena	874
	Ballymoney	219
	Bushmills	26
	Portglenone	13
	Toomebridge	22
North Down	Bangor	656
	Donaghadee	63
	Holywood	111
	Newtownards	46
South Antrim	Antrim	430
	Ballyclare	226
	Crumlin	148
	Newtownabbey	440
	Templepatrick	20
	Toomebridge	21
South Down	Ardglass	31
	Ballycrossan	24
	Ballykinler	10
	Ballynahinch	110
	Banbridge	26
	Castlewellan	113
	Crossgar	26
	Downpatrick	316
	Kilkeel	54
	Killough	16
	Newcastle	142
	Newry	381
	Rostrevor	24
	Saintfield	52
	Warrenpoint	102
Strangford	Belfast	189
	Downpatrick	24
	Newtownards	710
	Saintfield	26
Upper Bann	Banbridge	276
	Craigavon	452
	Laurencetown	26
	Lurgan	458
	Portadown	254
West Tyrone	Castlederg	109
	Dromore	44
	Omagh	647
	Strabane	365
	Trillick	21

Nursery School Places

Lord Browne asked the Minister of Education how many nursery places are available in East Belfast for 2010/11; and how many applications have been received for these places.

(AQW 6688/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne Bhéal Feirste in iúl go bhfuil 932 áit naíscoile ar fáil i dtoghcheantar parlaiminte Oirthear Bhéal Feirste don bhliain 2010/11; agus go bhfuarthas 1,113 iarratas ar na háiteanna seo. Tugtar faoi deara go bhfaighidh mórán páistí nach raibh áit acu tar éis an phróisis iontrála áit shaor naíscoile roimh thosach na scoilbhliana i mí Mheán Fómhair.

The Belfast Education and Library Board has advised that there are 932 nursery places available in the East Belfast Parliamentary constituency for 2010/11; and 1,113 applications have been received for these places. It should be noted that many children who were unplaced at the conclusion of the admissions process will secure a free nursery place before the start of the school year in September.

Indeed, I can confirm that I have made available up to £1.3m to assist in meeting the unprecedented demand for funded pre-school places for those children in their immediate pre-school year in 2010/11.

Capital Builds

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Education how much her Department has spent on capital builds for (i) the controlled sector; (ii) the maintained sector; (iii) the integrated sector; (iv) the Irish-medium sector; and (v) any other schools, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6699/10)

Minister of Education: Achoimríonn na figiúirí sa tábla an caiteachas caipitil ar fhoirgneamh nua scoile a thógáil i ngach ceann de na trí bliana a chuaigh thart. Cuimsíonn na figiúirí neamhairgead ar chaiteachas an chláir chomhardaithe ar scéimeanna PPP a mheastar i gcoinne bhuiséad caipitil mo Roinne.

The figures in the table below summarise the capital expenditure on the construction of new school building in each of the last three years. The figures include non-cash, on-balance sheet spend on PPP schemes which are scored against my Department’s capital budget.

Sector	2007/08 (£000s)	2008/09 (£000s)	2009/10 (£000s)
Controlled	40,232	47,368	78,196
Maintained	20,287	44,634	5,529
Integrated	4,586	7,142	3,016
Irish Medium	685	1,338	72
Voluntary Grammar	27,963	27,420	37,385

School Maintenance

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Education to detail the level of funding for maintenance at each school in East Antrim (i) in 2009/10; and (ii) budgeted for 2010/11.

(AQW 6700/10)

Minister of Education: Tá caiteachas ar chothabháil áitreamh na scoileanna rialaithe agus na scoileanna faoi chothabháil in Oirthear Aontroma miondealaithe sa tábla thíos. Níl buiséid le haghaidh scoileanna aonair don bhliain 2010/11 ag Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne an Oirthuaiscirt atá freagach as cothabháil na scoileanna seo. Ní féidir, mar sin, buiséid chothabhála le haghaidh scoileanna in Oirthear Aontroma don bhliain 2010/11 a sholáthar.

Spending on the maintenance of controlled and maintained schools’ premises in East Antrim in 2009/10 is detailed in the table below. The North Eastern Education and Library Board, which is responsible for the maintenance of these schools, does not have budgets for individual schools in 20010/11. It is,

therefore, not possible to provide 2010/11 maintenance budgets for schools in East Antrim.

School	Expenditure 2009/10
Ballycarry Primary School	£2,963
Cairncastle Primary School	£5,295
Carnalbanagh Primary School	£7,672
Carnlough Controlled Integrated Primary School	£7,642
Carrickfergus Central Primary School	£3,966
Carrickfergus College	£35,466
Carrickfergus Grammar School	£35,123
Carrickfergus Model Primary School	£9,210
Downshire School	£59,346
Eden Primary School	£22,978
Glynn Primary School	£6,130
Greenisland Primary School	£6,123
Hollybank Primary School	£5,496
Jordanstown Special School	£9,490
Kilcoan Primary School	£22,532
King's Park Primary School	£14,738
Larne And Inver Primary School	£11,920
Larne High School	£21,411
Linn Primary School	£14,539
Lourdes Primary School	£42,683
Monkstown Community School	£76,204
Monkstown Nursery School	£1,331
Moyle Primary School	£6,151
Mullaghdubh Primary School	£4,430
Oakfield Primary School	£12,913
Olderfleet Primary School	£9,504
Roddens Vale Special School	£9,427
Rosstulla Special School	£37,211
Seaview Primary School	£32,762
Silverstream Primary School	£23,695
St Anthony's Nursery School	£14,307
St Anthony's Primary School	£13,571
St Comgall's High School	£8,250
St James' Primary School	£10,821
St John's Primary School	£8,337
St Macnissi's Primary School	£6,136
St Nicholas' Primary School	£10,859
Sunnylands Nursery School	£1,625
Sunnylands Primary School	£9,290
Thornfield Special School	£13,957
Toreagh Primary School	£5,337
Upper Ballyboley Primary School	£3,305
Victoria Primary School	£11,338
Whiteabbey Primary School	£29,348
Whitehead Primary School	£8,706
Woodburn Primary School	£12,923
Woodlawn Primary School	£9,556

Surplus School Places

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of surplus school places in each school in North Down, in the current academic year.

(AQW 6720/10)

Minister of Education: Is mar a mhionsonraítear sa tábla thíos atá líon na n-áiteanna barrachais scoile i ngach scoil i dtoghcheantar parlaiminteach an Dúin Thuaidh sa bhliain acadúil reatha.

The number of surplus school places in each school in the North Down parliamentary constituency in the current academic year is as detailed in the table below.

Name of School	Surplus Places
Ballyvester Primary School	45
Holywood Primary School	186
Crawfordsburn Primary School	6
Ballyholme Primary School	50
Donaghadee Primary School	110
Clandeboye Primary School	411
Millisle Primary School	107
Redburn Primary School	260
Bloomfield Primary School	159
Grange Park Primary School	7
Kilcooley Primary School	463
Rathmore Primary School	168
Towerview Primary School	20
Kilmaine Primary School	4
Ballymagee Primary School	5
St Patrick’s Primary School	109
St Anne’s Primary School	49
St Comgall’s Primary School	4
St Malachy’s Primary School	145
Bangor Central Primary School	0
Glencraig Integrated Primary School	40
Sullivan Upper School	9
Bangor Academy and 6^th Form College	63
St Columbanus’ College	0
Priory College	5
Glenlola Collegiate	36
Bangor Grammar School	19

Source: School Census 2009/Approved Enrolments

Nursery School Places

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of nursery school places available; and (ii) the number of applicants, in each constituency for the academic year 2010/11.

(AQW 6721/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne in iúl go bhfuil (i) líon na n-áiteanna réamhscoile atá ar fáil; agus (ii) líon na n-iarratasóirí, i ngach toghcheantar don bhliain acadúil 2010/11 mar atá mionsonraithe sa tábla thíos.

The Education and Library Boards have advised that (i) the number of nursery school places available; and (ii) the number of applicants, in each constituency for the academic year 2010/11 are as detailed in the table below.

Parliamentary Constituency	(i)Nursery School Places Available2010/11	(ii)Applications Received2010/11
Belfast East	338	405
Belfast North	546	705
Belfast South	156	217
Belfast West	832	967
East Antrim	234	252
East Derry	234	282
Fermanagh & SouthTyrone	156	211
Foyle	494	552
Lagan Valley	312	380
Mid Ulster	234	275
Newry & Armagh	312	388
North Antrim	260	264
North Down	182	244
South Antrim	598	732
South Down	286	331
Strangford	156	204
Upper Bann	390	514
West Tyrone	130	124

It should be noted that many children who were unplaced at the conclusion of the admissions process will secure a free nursery place before the start of the school year in September.

Nursery School Places

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Education how many nursery places are available in the South Antrim constituency for 2010/11; and how many places have been filled to date.

(AQW 6726/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne an Oirthuaiscirt in iúl go bhfuil 1,285 áit naíscoile ar fáil i dtoghcheantar Aontroma Theas don bhliain 2010/11 agus gur líonadh gach ceann de na háiteanna seo.

The North Eastern Education and Library Board has advised that there are 1,285 nursery places available in the South Antrim constituency for 2010/11 and that all of these places have been filled.

I am aware that there has been an unprecedented demand for funded pre-school places for those children in their immediate pre-school year. As such, I have made available up to £1.3m to assist in meeting this demand in 2010/11.

Nursery School Places

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Education, notwithstanding the appeal process, to detail the number of nursery school children, born before 1 July 2007, who (i) were not offered a nursery school place at any of their listed choices; (ii) have not been offered a nursery school place or; (iii) have been unable to accept a place outside their listed choices, broken down by those children whose parents (a) were; and (b) were not in receipt of qualifying benefits, in each constituency.

(AQW 6736/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlainne in iúl nach gcoinníonn siad eolas ar pháistí naíscoile nach bhfuil in ann glacadh le háit atá lasmuigh dá liosta roghanna. Ní choinnítear an chuid eile den eolas a iarradh san fhormáid a iarradh agus bheadh costas díréireach ag baint leis an eolas seo a fháil.

The Education and Library Boards have advised that they do not hold information on nursery school children who have been unable to accept a place outside their listed choices. The remainder of the information sought is not held in the format requested and could only be supplied at a disproportionate cost.

However, I am aware that there has been an unprecedented demand for funded pre-school places for those children in their immediate pre-school year. As such, I have made available up to £1.3m to assist in meeting this demand in 2010/11.

School Visits

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Education to list the schools she has visited since taking up office.

(AQW 6766/10)

Minister of Education: Liostaítear sa tábla thíos na scoileanna ar thug mé cuairt orthu ó chuaigh mé isteach i mbun oifige.

The table below lists the schools I have visited since taking up office

SCHOOL NAME	TOWN
Belfast Royal Academy	Belfast
Riverside Special School	Antrim
Hazelwood Integrated Primary	Newtownabbey
Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh	Belfast
St Mark's High	Warrenpoint
Edmund Rice College	Glengormley
St Patrick's Primary	Mayobridge
Priory College	Holywood
Immaculate Conception College	Derry
Limavady High	Limavady
St Louis School	Kilkeel
St Joseph's Primary	Belfast
St Paul's Junior High	Craigavon
Hazelwood College	Newtownabbey
New Lodge Irish Medium Nursery	Belfast
Ceara Special School	Lurgan
Lismore High	Craigavon
St Mary's High	Newry
Bunscoil an Iúir	Newry
St Joseph's Primary	Newry
St Mary's Primary	Banbridge
St Patrick's High School	Banbridge
Harberton Special	Belfast
Aquinas Grammar	Belfast
St Colman's Primary	Lambeg
Naíscoil Uí Chléirigh	Dungannon
Ballysally Primary	Coleraine
DH Christie Memorial Primary	Coleraine
Harpurs Hill Primary	Coleraine
Glen Road Christian Brothers'	Belfast
Bunscoil na Móna	Belfast
St Oliver Plunkett's	Newry
Jonesborough Primary	Newry
Dromintee Primary	Newry
St Mary's Primary	Mullaghbawn
Lismore Comprehensive	Craigavon
Girls' Model School	Belfast
St Mary's College	Derry
St Mary's Primary and Nursery	Newcastle
St Louise's College	Belfast
St Brigid's College	Derry
De La Salle High	Downpatrick
St Peter's High	Derry
Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir	Derry
Groarty CIP	Derry
Hazelwood Integrated Primary	Newtownabbey
Edenbrooke Primary	Belfast
St Joseph's College	Enniskillen
St Patrick's College	Dublin
All Children's Integrated Primary	Newcastle
St Mary's High	Downpatrick
Naíscoil Choin Rí Uladh	Ballymena
Dunfane School	Ballymena
St Brigid's Primary	Ballymena
St Colmcille's Primary	Ballymena
St John Bosco Primary	Ballymena
Leaney Primary	Ballymoney
Bunscoil an Chaistil	Ballycastle
Millburn Primary	Coleraine
St Joseph's	Crossmaglen
St Rose's High	Belfast
St Conor's Primary	Omagh
Corpus Christie High	Belfast
Belmont Primary	Belfast
Holy Children Primary	Derry
Anahorish Primary	Toomebridge
St Brigid's Primary	Newry
St Patrick's Primary	Saul
Primate Dixon School	Coalisland
St Patrick's High	Keady
St Catherine's College	Armagh
St Patrick's Primary	Hilltown
St Eugene's High	Castlederg
St Teresa's Primary	Sion Mills
Holy Cross College	Strabane
Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh	Strabane
Knockavoe Special School	Strabane
St Ciarain's High	Ballygawley
Ashfield Girls' School	Belfast
An Droichead	Belfast
Mencap Pre School Nursery	Belfast
Glenveagh Special	Belfast
St Patrick's Primary	Castlewellan
St Matthew's Primary	Belfast
St Francis de Sales Special	Belfast
Holy Family Primary	Belfast
Kindle Integrated Primary	Downpatrick
Castle Gardens Primary	Newtownards
Bangor Grammar	Bangor
St Columbanus College	Bangor
St Mary's Primary	Rathfriland
Carrick Primary	Warrenpoint
De La Salle Boys High	Downpatrick
Ballynahinch Primary	Ballynahinch
Ardstraw Primary	Newtownstewart
St Bronagh's PS	Rostrevor
St Malachy's Primary	Belfast
Mitchell House Special	Belfast
St Oliver Plunkett Primary	Belfast
Foyle View Special	Derry
Limavady High	Limavady
Rossmar Special	Limavady
St Paul's College	Coleraine
St Colman's Primary	Newry
St John the Baptist Boys and Girls Primary	Belfast
Coláiste Feirste	Belfast
De La Salle College	Belfast
Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin	Belfast
Coláiste Feirste	Belfast
Moy Regional Primary	Moy
Gaelscoil Éanna	Glengormley
St Mary's Primary	Belfast
Fleming Fulton Special	Belfast
St Therese Nursery	Belfast
Gaelscoil Ghleann Darach	Belfast
Bunscoil an Traonaigh	Lisnaskea
Our Lady's Nursery	Belfast
St MacNissius Primary	Antrim
St Benedict's College	Antrim
St Malachy's College	Belfast
St Malachy's High	Castlewellan
St Mary's Primary	Newry
St John's Primary	Newry
St Oliver Plunkett, Forkhill	Dundalk
Strandtown Primary	Belfast
Our Lady of Lourdes	Ballymoney
New Row Primary	Magherafelt
Anahorish Primary	Toomebridge
Dean Maguirc College	Omagh
Gaelscoil na gCrann	Omagh
Omagh Intregrated Primary	Omagh
McClintock Controlled Primary	Omagh
St Colman's Primary	Banbridge
St Mary's High	Newry
Newry High	Newry
St Colm's High	Draperstown
St Colman's College	Newry
Oakgrove Integrated College	Derry
Gaelscoil Uí Néill	Coalisland
Shimna College	Newcastle
St Malachy's Primary	Armagh
St Malachy's Primary	Camlough
Naíscoil na mBeann	Kilkeel
Blackwater Integrated College	Downpatrick
St Bernard's Primary	Belfast
St Dominic's Grammar	Belfast
St Marks High	Warrenpoint
Holy Cross College	Strabane
Woodburn Primary	Carrickfergus
Roddensvale Special	Larne
St Francis Primary	Banbridge
St Colms High	Dunmurray
Naíscoil na Deirge	Castlederg
St Colmans College	Newry
St Cecilias College	Derry
St Mary's College	Derry
Millennium Integrated Primary	Saintfield
Killean Primary	Newry
St Fancheas College	Enniskillen
St Malachy's Primary	Armagh
Lisneal College	Derry
Botanic Primary	Belfast
Sullivan Upper	Holywood
Fleming Fulton Special school	Belfast
St Patricks	Newry
St Clares Covent Primary	Newry
St Malachys Primary	Newry
St Malachys High	Castlewellan
St Louis	Kilkeel
St Malachys Primary	Castlewellan
St Patricks Grammar	Downpatrick
Our Lady and St Pat’s	Belfast
St Josephs Primary	Carryduff
St Colmans Primary	Kilkeel
Strangford Integrated College	Carrowdore
St Mary's Primary	Portglenone
Belmont House Special School	Derry
Rathore Special School	Newry
Whitehouse Primary	Belfast
St Marys Star of the Sea	Belfast
St Patricks College Bearnagheeha	Belfast
Shimna Integrated College	Newcastle
St Malachy's College	Castlewellan
St Pauls High	Newry
All Saints Primary	Omagh
St Marys High	Newry
Gilnahirk Primary	Belfast
St Malachys Primary	Kilkoo
St Brigids Primary	Magherafelt
Scoil an Droichead	Belfast
St Colmans College	Newry
Coláiste Feirste	Belfast
Lagan College	Belfast
Bunscoil Phobal Feirste	Belfast
Christian Brothers Primary	Armagh
St Therese of Liseux	Belfast
Ashfield Girls' School	Belfast
St Colmans College	Ballynahinch
St Patricks Primary	Crossmaglen
St Marys Primary	Rathlin
Carrick Primary	Warrenpoint
St Marys University	Belfast
Ballycastle Controlled Integrated Primary	Ballycastle
Garryduff Primary	Ballymoney
Holy Trinity College	Cookstown
Holy Trinity Nursery School	Lisburn
Friends School	Lisburn
Glencraig Integrated Primary	Holywood
St Josephs College	Belfast
Fleming Fulton Special	Belfast
Edenbrooke Primary	Belfast
St Patricks Bearnagheeha	Belfast
Naíscoil Éadain Mhóir	Belfast
Edenbrooke Primary	Belfast
Holy Cross Primary	Kilkeel
Corpus Christie College	Belfast
Coláiste Feirste	Belfast
St Louise’s College	Belfast
Gaelscoil na Móna	Belfast
Country Kids Nursery	Donaghadee

Nursery School Places

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Education (i) to outline her plans to address the acute shortage of nursery school provision in South Belfast; and (ii) whether she has any plans to increase the number of nursery school places available for the academic year 2010/11, in the South Belfast constituenc

(AQW 6768/10)

Minister of Education: Ní hé amháin go bhfuil áiteanna cistithe réamhscoile ar fáil in earnáil na naíscoileanna reachtúla, (is é sin, naíscoileanna agus aonaid naíscoile atá ceangailte le bunscoileanna), ach tá siad ar fáil san earnáil dheonach phríobháideach fosta – go deimhin, tá trian go neasach den soláthar cistithe réamhscoile san earnáil seo. Ag deireadh an phróisis um Iontráil Réamhscoile ar 30 Aibreán, níor tairgeadh áit chistithe réamhscoile do 33 páiste a raibh ina mbliain dheireanach in aon suíomh i dtoghcheantar Dheisceart Bhéal Feirste, agus tá 26 áit réamhscoile fós fágtha gan líonadh. Féadaim a dhearbhú go bhfuil suas le £1.3m curtha ar fáil agam chun líon na n-áiteanna cistithe réamhscoile a mhéadú chun cuidiú leis an éileamh ar áiteanna cistithe réamhscoile a bhaint amach do na páistí sin a bhfuil ina réamh-scoilbhliain láithreach sa bhliain 2010/11.

Funded pre-school places are available not only in the statutory nursery sector, (nursery schools and nursery units attached to primary schools), but also in settings in the private and voluntary sector - indeed approximately one third of funded pre-school provision is in this sector. At the end of the Pre-School Admissions process on 30 April, in the South Belfast Constituency, 33 children in their final pre-school year had not been offered a funded pre-school place in any setting and 26 funded pre-school places remained unfilled. I can confirm that I have made available up to £1.3m to increase the number of funded pre-school places in order to assist in meeting the demand for funded pre-school places for those children in their immediate pre-school year in 2010/11.

Pre-school education is a genuine partnership between the statutory and the voluntary and private sectors. My Department, together with the Education and Library Boards, will, of course, look at all avenues to address the current shortfall in places.

Funding per Pupil

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Education to detail the level of funding, per pupil, for (i) controlled schools; (ii) maintained schools; (iii) voluntary grammar schools; (iv) integrated schools; and (v) Irish-medium schools, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6787/10)

Minister of Education: Tá sonraí airgeadais soláthraithe do na blianta airgeadais 2007/08; 2008/09 agus 2009/10, ach tá na sonraí don bhliain 2009/10 ar choinníoll ag an am seo. Léirítear sa tábla thíos an méid cistithe tarmligthe agus neamhtharmligthe in aghaidh an dalta de réir gach catagóra a iarradh do na blianta airgeadais seo.

Financial data has been provided in respect of financial years 2007/08; 2008/09 and 2009/10, however, the 2009/10 data is provisional at this stage. The level of delegated and non-delegated funding per pupil by requested category for each of these financial years is shown in the table below.

ALL PHASES (NURSERY, PRIMARY & POST- PRIMARY)	Total Funding per pupil (£)
ALL PHASES (NURSERY, PRIMARY & POST- PRIMARY)	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Controlled Schools¹	3,993	4,222	4,801
Maintained Schools²	3,949	4,144	4,200
Irish Medium Schools³	4,020	4,232	4,134
Integrated Schools⁴	4,377	4,575	4,803
Voluntary Grammar Schools	4,186	4,362	4,419
Footnotes:
¹ Controlled Schools include Controlled Grammar schools and exclude Controlled Irish Medium Schools
² Maintained Schools exclude Irish Medium Schools
³ Irish Medium Schools include Controlled and Maintained Irish Medium schools
⁴ Integrated schools include Grant-Maintained Integrated and Controlled Integrated schools

St Paul's College, Kilrea

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Education what steps she has taken to ensure that parents who want to send their children to St Paul's College, Kilrea, are able to do so.

(AQW 6793/10)

Minister of Education: Dhíreoinn aird an chomhalta ar an fhreagra a thug mé cheana féin ar AQW 6364/2010.

I refer the member to my earlier response to AQW 6364/2010.

Community Relations Training

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education (i) whether community relations training is a mandatory component of teacher training courses at (a) Stranmillis University College; and (b) St Mary's University College; and (ii) how much of each course is dedicated to community relations training.

(AQW 6801/10)

Minister of Education: Dírítear i gcúrsaí oiliúna tosaigh do mhúinteoirí (COTM) ar ghairmithe ardinniúla múinteoireachta a fhorbairt agus a spreagadh a bhfuil feidhm mhorálta agus tiomantas acu d’fhorbairt iomlánaíoch a ndaltaí agus do leas na sochaí i gcoitinne.

Courses of initial teacher education (ITE) focus on developing and inspiring highly competent reflective teaching professionals with a sense of moral purpose and a commitment to the holistic development of their pupils and the betterment of society in general.

Community relations training is addressed primarily through each University College’s Diversity and Mutual Understanding programme, which forms an integral and significant element of all ITE courses in both St Mary’s and Stranmillis University Colleges. As a mandatory component, community relations issues and preparation are dealt with in a large number of contexts ranging from philosophical concepts within Education Studies, through curriculum implementation aspects in a variety of Curriculum Studies and Education Studies courses, to very practical issues within school-based work. Outside the modular degree structure there is a full course programme of events, jointly planned and organised between both Colleges, which focus on professional issues in this area. There are also many examples of optional experiences in this field undertaken by various groups of students within the Colleges and in collaboration with other partner institutions.

The teaching and learning aspects of community relations training within ITE courses are both discrete and embedded, and therefore it is not possible to readily identify the proportion of time spent on this area.

Review of Community Relations

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to detail the percentage of responses which indicated a need to address community relations in schools and youth services during her Department's pre-consultation on the review of community relations.

(AQW 6803/10)

Minister of Education:

D’aontaigh tromlach mór de na freagróirí (is é sin, 96.1% de cheannairí agus 98.4% de mhúinteoirí/ de chleactóirí luathbhlianta agus d’oibrithe don ógra) a d’fhreagair na ceistiúcháin réamhchomhairliúcháin go bhfuil obair shoiléir fós le déanamh ag an oideachas maidir le caidreamh pobail. Aibhsíodh an éagsúlacht atá ag méadú sa daonra i dtuaisceart na hÉireann agus an gá le grúpaí níos leithne Alt 75 mar fháthanna chun tacú leis an dearcadh seo.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (96.1% of leaders and 98.4% of teachers/early years practitioners and youth workers) who replied to the pre-consultation questionnaires agreed that there was still a need for explicit work for education to deliver on community relations. Reasons to support their view highlighted the growing diversity of the population in the north of Ireland and the need to consider the wider section 75 groups - those between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial groups, sexual orientation, gender, age, with and without a disability and those with or without dependants.
The main findings of the pre-consultation on the review of community relations identified the unnecessary complexity of five separate funding strands; the restrictive nature of funding criteria; the negative impact of annual funding which limited planning and did not encourage progression in community relations, inadequate monitoring and evaluation of the quality of community relations provision; insufficient in-service training for teachers and the lack of connections between community relations work and other education policies which has led to this work being seen as an add-on rather than integral to the curriculum.

In addition, the benefits of developing school links and sustained contact between schools and the benefits of mixing and meeting with others, particularly within the context of structured activities were identified.

Review of Community Relations

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to outline the findings of her Department's pre-consultation on the review of community relations.

(AQW 6804/10)

Minister of Education:

D’aontaigh tromlach mór de na freagróirí (is é sin, 96.1% de cheannairí agus 98.4% de mhúinteoirí/ de chleactóirí luathbhlianta agus d’oibrithe don ógra) a d’fhreagair na ceistiúcháin réamhchomhairliúcháin go bhfuil obair shoiléir fós le déanamh ag an oideachas maidir le caidreamh pobail. Aibhsíodh an éagsúlacht atá ag méadú sa daonra i dtuaisceart na hÉireann agus an gá le grúpaí níos leithne Alt 75 mar fháthanna chun tacú leis an dearcadh seo.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (96.1% of leaders and 98.4% of teachers/early years practitioners and youth workers) who replied to the pre-consultation questionnaires agreed that there was still a need for explicit work for education to deliver on community relations. Reasons to support their view highlighted the growing diversity of the population in the north of Ireland and the need to consider the wider section 75 groups - those between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial groups, sexual orientation, gender, age, with and without a disability and those with or without dependants.
The main findings of the pre-consultation on the review of community relations identified the unnecessary complexity of five separate funding strands; the restrictive nature of funding criteria; the negative impact of annual funding which limited planning and did not encourage progression in community relations, inadequate monitoring and evaluation of the quality of community relations provision; insufficient in-service training for teachers and the lack of connections between community relations work and other education policies which has led to this work being seen as an add-on rather than integral to the curriculum.

Criteria for Special Consideration in Exams

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education what measures she has put in place to ensure that pupils whose return to Northern Ireland is delayed as a result of the volcanic eruption are not penalised in examinations, coursework or internal assessment; and whether such delays meet the published criteria for special consideration.

(AQW 6813/10)

Minister of Education: Chuir an Chomhchomhairle um Cháilíochtaí (CUC), a sheasann do gach príomhsholáthróir cáilíochtaí i Sasana, sa Bhreatain Bheag, in Albain agus i dtuaisceart na hÉireann, lena n-áirítear an Chomhairle Churaclaim, Scrúduithe agus Measúnachta (CCSM) nósanna imeachta ar bun chun déileáil le cásanna ina bhfuil iarrthóirí mí-ábalta scrúduithe a ghlacadh.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents all of the main qualifications providers in England, Wales, Scotland and the north of Ireland, including the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), has established procedures for dealing with situations where candidates are unable to take examinations.

Under these procedures requests for Special Consideration may be made by their school where pupils have not been in attendance for an assessed element of a qualification. Each case will be considered on its merits, taking account of the particular circumstances involved.

I relation to coursework or internal assessment for CCEA examinations, marks for these have already been collected by CCEA and are therefore secure.

Glastry School, Ballyhalbert

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Education if she can confirm a start date for the new build for Glastry School, Ballyhalbert; and to detail the reasons for any delay.

(AQW 6891/10)

Minister of Education: Mar is eol duit, tá an t-athbhreithniú ar gach olltionscadal molta um oibreacha caipitil ar siúl faoi láthair agus tá m’fheidhmeannaigh ag obair chun an próiseas a chríochnú. Mar gheall ar thábhacht an taisc seo, áfach, tá sé ríthábhachtach go mbailítear fianaise láidir agus go dtugtar breithniú iomlán ar gach tionscadal sula ndéanfar aon chinneadh. Tá an Roinn ag amharc ar an Bhreithmheas athbhreithnithe Eacnamaíochta le haghaidh Glastry College, ach braithfidh dul chun cinn an tionscadail ar chonclúid a dhéanfaí amach san athbhreithniú. De bharr na n-imthosca seo, ní fhéadaim dátaí sonracha a thabhairt faoi láthair maidir le dul chun cinn aon scéime ar leith sa todhchaí.

As you will be aware, the review of all proposed major capital work projects is ongoing and my officials are working to complete the process. Given the importance of this task, it is essential that robust evidence is collated and that full consideration is given to each project before decisions are taken. A revised Economic Appraisal for Glastry College is with the Department, however, the progression of the project will be dependent on the conclusion of the review. Given these circumstances, I cannot at present give specific dates on the future progress of any particular scheme.

Review of Capital Projects

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 6156/10, to detail the timescale she has set for officials to complete the review of capital projects.

(AQW 6908/10)

Minister of Education: Níor tháinig athrú ar bith ar mo sheasamh ó thug mé an freagra ar AQW 6156/10.

The position remains unchanged since my answer to AQW 6156/10.

Translation

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education how much her Department spent on translation and additional document production for (i) Irish; (ii) Ulster Scots; and (iii) Braille in (a) 2008/09; and (b) 2009/10.

(AQW 6917/10)

Minister of Education: Is mar seo a leanas a bhí caiteachas na Roinne Oideachais ar aistriúchán agus ar dhoiciméid a tháirgeadh sa Ghaeilge, in Albainis Uladh, agus i mBraille:

The Department of Education’s expenditure on translation and document production for Irish, Ulster Scots and Braille, was as follows:

Language	a) 2008/2009	b) 2009/2010
i) Irish (including production of bilingual Irish / English documents)	£67,340	£68,105
ii) Ulster Scots	£261	£35
iii) Braille	Nil	Nil

Many of the Department’s documents are produced in a bilingual format to include Irish and English. Where this applies, the total document production cost is given as the additional printing costs for the inclusion of Irish are not calculated.

In addition to the above, the Department of Education employs two Irish Language Staff Officers to facilitate its use of Irish. These officers undertake a range of duties, including urgent translation work. The costs incurred in carrying out specific tasks are not separately calculated. For information, the Staff Officer salary range is currently £24,089 - £30,520 per annum.

Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Programmes

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the organisations which receive funding from her Department for drug and alcohol awareness and prevention programmes in the Colin area of West Belfast; and (ii) how much funding each organisation has received in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6934/10)

Minister of Education: Ní mhaoiníonn mo Roinn eagraíochtaí aonair le haghaidh clár um fheasacht agus chosc drugaí agus alcóil go díreach. Féadfar cláir ar sheirbhísí don ógra agus ar sheirbhísí sínte a reáchtáil, áfach, ina dtugann eagraíochtaí seisiúin ina dtugtar fios do pháistí ar na contúirtí a bhaineann le mí-úsáid drugaí agus alcóil. Níl mé in ann aon sonraí faoi seo a sholáthar mar ní bhailítear eolas faoi.

My Department does not specifically fund individual organisations for drug and alcohol awareness and prevention programmes. However, there can be programmes run in youth and extended services which may involve organisations delivering sessions where children are made aware of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. I am not able to provide any detail on this as this information is not collected centrally.

Schools, as part of the Personal Development strand of the curriculum, provide opportunities for young people to develop knowledge, understanding and skills to deal with issues such as drugs and alcohol. It is a matter for the schools themselves, within their delegated budgets, to determine how they will support the delivery of elements of this strand of the curriculum and to engage external assistance as appropriate.

Applied Behaviour Analysis

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the conflicting evidence which indicates (i) that Applied Behaviour Analysis is a 'science of behaviour' with international standards of training and is therefore inappropriate as a treatment for autism; (ii) that there is no research to indicate an eclectic approach which is equal, or superior to, Applied Behaviour Analysis; and (iii) that there is extensive international research which supports Applied Behaviour Analysis as a treatment for autism.

(AQW 6939/10)

Minister of Education: Athraíonn riachtanais oideachais speisialta na bpáistí ó pháiste go páiste agus tá riachtanais na bpáistí ar speictream an uathachais go háirithe éagsúil.

The special educational needs of children differ from child to child and the needs of children on the autistic spectrum are particularly diverse.

Education and Library Boards (ELBs) have statutory responsibility for identifying, assessing and meeting the special educational needs of children including those with autism. ELBs do so taking into account the individual needs of each child and, therefore, there will be variations in the provision made, based on the assessed needs of the child. Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is one of many methods of intervention for autism. Currently all ELBs are providing a variety of ABA based programmes, including the provision of classroom assistants trained in ABA.

I am determined that all children with special education needs receive the very best start in life by ensuring that their education provision is tailored to their very different individual needs. Interventions for children with autism, in line with the recommendations of the Report of the Task Group on Autism, should be child-centred. The Task Group Report, launched in 2002, sets out very clear reasons why it would not be appropriate to advocate only one approach to meeting the needs of children with autism.

You will appreciate, therefore, that I cannot comment on the specific issues raised in your question regarding evidence and research relating to ABA.

Bus Transport for School Children in Rural Areas

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Education what consideration she has given to carrying out a review of bus transport for school children in rural areas, in light of the strategy to eradicate child poverty.

(AQW 6978/10)

Minister of Education: Soláthraítear iompar scoile, beag beann ar imthosca airgeadais, i gcásanna ina gcónaíonn páistí thar dhá mhíle (i gcás Bunscoileanna) nó thar trí mhíle (i gcás Iarbhunscoileanna) ón scoil is cóngaraí is oiriúnaí dóibh. Ó tharla go bhfuil cuid mhór scoileanna suite i gceantair uirbeacha nó i gceantair fho-uirbeacha, go háirithe in earnáil na hIarbhunscoile, tá sé níos dóchúla go gcáileoidh daltaí tuaithe do chúnamh iompair.

School transport is provided, regardless of financial circumstances, where a pupil lives beyond two miles (in the case of Primary schools) or three miles (in the case of post-Primary schools) from their nearest suitable school. Since many schools are located in urban or sub-urban areas, particularly in the post-Primary sector, rural pupils are already more likely to qualify for transport assistance.

At present, the Department of Education does not intend to review the transport policy until the outworkings of Transfer 2010 and area-based planning are known, since both have the potential to impact considerably on the policy. Thereafter, any proposed changes to the transport policy will be rural-proofed as this is the requirement of all policy development.

St Colman's Primary School Site

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Education for an update on the new build on the St Colman's Primary School site.

(AQW 7008/10)

Minister of Education: Mar is eol duit, tá an t-athbhreithniú ar gach olltionscadal molta um oibreacha caipitil ar siúl faoi láthair. Mar gheall ar thábhacht an taisc seo, tá sé ríthábhachtach go mbailítear fianaise láidir agus go dtugtar breithniú iomlán ar gach tionscadal sula ndéanfar aon chinneadh. Mar gheall air sin, ní fhéadaim dátaí sonracha a thabhairt faoi láthair maidir le dul chun cinn Bhunscoil Cholmáin nó dul chun cinn aon scéime nua eile sa todhchaí.

As you will be aware, the review of all proposed major capital works projects is ongoing. Given the importance of this task, it is essential that robust evidence is collated and that full consideration is given to each project before decisions are taken. Hence, I am unable at present to comment on the future progress of the proposed new school for St Colman’s or any other new build projects.

Review of Capital Projects

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education to outline the criteria used to assess and rank school building projects within the current departmental review of capital projects.

(AQW 7038/10)

Minister of Education:Coimisiúnaíodh m’athbhreithniú reatha ar gach tionscadal caipitil lena chinntiú go dtógtar an mhéid cheart scoile agus an cineál ceart scoile sa suíomh ceart. Is é is aidhm dó, fosta, ná a chinntiú go bhfuil gach tionscadal molta caipitil inbhuanaithe inmharthana san fhádtéarma agus go gcloíonn siad lenár ndualgais reachtúla um chomhionannas agus go ndíríonn muid ar bhonn riachtanas oibiachtúil. Léirigh mé go measfaí gach tionscadal tríd na sé chritéar atá leagtha amach sa Pholasaí um Scoileanna Inmharthana a úsáid agus trí staid na bhfoirgneamh scoile a mheas.

My current review of all capital projects has been commissioned to ensure that the right size and type of school is built in the right location. It is also to ensure that all proposed capital projects are viable and sustainable in the long term and adhere to our statutory duties in relation to equality and targeting on the basis of objective need. I have indicated that all projects will be considered in the context of the six criteria outlined in the Sustainable Schools Policy along side the condition of the schools buildings.

The rate at which the Department can build new schools is a separate issue and dependent on the level of resources made available by the Executive for school capital projects. As a result of the current constraints on the capital budget difficult decisions will have to be taken and not all projects will go ahead in the timeframe originally planned nor at a pace that we would like to achieve.

Review of Capital Projects

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education what efforts are being made to inform schools of the decision making process relating to the current departmental review of capital projects.

(AQW 7040/10)

Minister of Education: A luaithe is atá an t-athbhreithniú caipitil críochnaithe agus na torthaí cíortha agam, cuirfear an toradh in iúl do gach scoil agus d’údaráis bhainistíochta scoileanna.

When the capital review is completed and I have considered the findings all schools and school managing authorities will be informed of the outcome.

Department for Employment and Learning

Reviews

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail (i) the reviews currently taking place within his Department; (ii) the timelines for completion of each review; (iii) who is undertaking each review; and (iv) the estimated cost of each review.

(AQW 6690/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey):

The attached table sets out details of ongoing Departmental reviews which are not being undertaken by Departmental officials.

Review	Timeline for completion	Review undertaken by:	Estimated cost of review
Northern Ireland Higher Education Innovation Fund (Round 2). Jointly commissioned by Department for Employment and Learning and Invest Northern Ireland	Began October 2009; due to complete May 2010	FGS McClure Watters	Total cost will amount to £27,491, of which 75% will be met by the Department and 25% by Invest Northern Ireland.
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Jointly commissioned by Department for Employment and Learning and the Department of Education.	Began April 2010; final report due 29 October 2010.	PricewaterhouseCoopers	Estimated cost is £39,339.
Review of all funded initiatives for Widening Participation in Higher Education.	To be completed by end June 2010.	McClure Watters	Estimated cost is £19,500.
Evaluation of the Workable (NI) Programme.	Completion expected 31 May 2010.	KPMG is undertaking this review.	£28,000
Value for Money Review of the Labour Relations Agency	Completion expected end June 2010	KPMG	£21,000 excluding VAT

Review	Timeline for completion	Review undertaken by:	Estimated cost of review
Review of the progress2work (p2w) pilot programme.	Final report was received on 12 May 2010.	The main element of the review is being undertaken by Departmental staff.Deloitte MCS Limited engaged to carry out the ‘client survey’ and data analysis aspect of the review.	The cost for the survey element carried out by Deloitte MCS Limited is £14,285.

Academic Staff

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if a member of academic staff returns to work after a period of sickness and is not able to assume full-time hours, or has to reduce working hours on a temporary basis due to limited health capacity, whether it is policy that the employee should be paid on a pro-rata basis for the reduced hours.

(AQW 6722/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: All contractual issues relating to staff employed within Further Education Colleges are a matter for the College’s Governing Body.

Similarly, Universities are responsible for their own policies and procedures on implementing a phased return to work, following a period of sickness.

My Department has no role to play in these processes.

Merger of Further Education Colleges

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, following the merger of the 16 Further Education Colleges to 6 Regional Colleges in August 2007, whether the 6 new colleges are designated for the purpose of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act; and when they will be designated.

(AQW 6742/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: Under Article 7(6) of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 the liabilities of governing bodies affected by an amalgamation are transferred to the governing body of the new institution. Consequently, the six Further Education Colleges, whilst not individually named, have "inherited" designation as public authorities under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

The designation of public authorities is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

Academic Staff of Further and Higher Education Colleges

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, pursuant to AQW 6152/10, to detail (i) the percentage level of absence, due to sickness, amongst academic staff of Further and Higher Education Colleges; and (ii) the level of sickness cover provided within each of the six Regional Colleges, in each month since the merger in August 2007.

(AQW 6746/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

(i) The level of absence due to sickness amongst academic staff, as a percentage, in each month since August 2007, as advised by the six Further Education Colleges, is detailed in the table below:

2007

Month	BMC	NRC	NWRC	SERC	SRC	SWC
August 2007	3.7	1.2	1.6	1.9	0.9	Figure not available
September 2007	7.1	3.9	6.3	5.5	4.9	9.7
October 2007	11.3	7.7	8.8	9.5	8.0	17.1
November 2007	17.4	10.2	10.1	11.9	10.4	19.5
December 2007	12.5	7.0	8.2	12.8	6.2	14.6

2008

Month	BMC	NRC	NWRC	SERC	SRC	SWC
January 2008	15.5	9.0	12.3	8.7	8.8	17.5
February 2008	13.9	11.4	10.3	10.8	7.2	12.6
March 2008	11.0	7.6	5.3	8.3	3.2	11.0
April 2008	13.1	8.9	7.8	8.7	3.4	13.0
May 2008	7.1	4.7	4.3	3.5	3.9	8.1
June2008	8.3	3.7	2.9	3.2	2.2	5.3
July2008	2.1	1.3	2.1	0.8	1.1	3.2
August 2008	2.0	1.5	2.3	0.8	1.4	5.3
September 2008	7.9	3.9	5.9	3.0	4.6	9.7
October 2008	8.9	5.5	8.8	7.2	6.9	12.8
November 2008	14.4	7.6	11.1	8.7	8.9	15.1
December 2008	12.1	5.0	9.9	10.7	8.0	15.1

2009

Month	BMC	NRC	NWRC	SERC	SRC	SWC
January 2009	18.4	10.0	11.9	8.3	6.3	15.4
February 2009	12.5	7.8	8.2	5.3	5.3	11.4
March 2009	15.4	7.2	6.1	5.8	6.9	10.9
April 2009	9.8	4.9	5.9	5.2	4.5	5.5
May 2009	9.5	4.4	7.7	4.3	4.6	8.1
June 2009	8.0	2.5	4.2	4.4	2.8	7.2
July 2009	2.7	1.6	2.4	0.6	0.3	3.5
August 2009	3.3	1.2	2.6	2.2	0.4	2.2
September 2009	13.4	5.4	8.4	5.9	5.6	7.8
October 2009	16.0	10.5	9.9	11.9	8.4	13.2
November 2009	18.4	11.3	12.6	11.9	10.5	16.4
December 2009	12.2	8.5	9.6	7.5	8.7	8.4

2010

Month	BMC	NRC	NWRC	SERC	SRC	SWC
January 2010	16.2	11.8	10.3	8.2	8.9	13.7
February 2010	15.3	8.7	10.9	6.4	6.9	12.5
March 2010	12.5	10.0	8.0	2.6	Figures not yet available	9.9

(ii) The information requested is not readily available. I am advised that Further Education Colleges do not maintain records on the level of cover or methods used for covering periods of sickness.

Lecturers

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, pursuant to AQW 6154/10, in relation to the initiative to increase the contracted hours of associated lecturers within Further and Higher Education Colleges, to provide a breakdown by college of the curriculum area of those who were not successful.

(AQW 6748/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: All contractual matters relating to staff employed within Further Education Colleges are a matter for the College’s Governing Body.

The information requested by the member is outlined in the table below:

College	Curriculum area	No. of associate lecturers who were not successful
Belfast Metropolitan College	Information Technology Architecture & Construction	3 1
Northern Regional College	Art & Design Hospitality & Catering Social Care & Early Years Travel & Tourism Access & Special Needs	1 1 1 1 1
North West Regional College	Art & Design ComputerisedAccounts Business Basic ICT Essential Skills (inc ICT Essential Skills) Hairdressing Hospitality & Catering Health & Social Care Sport Travel & Tourism	4221714*311
South Eastern Regional College	N/A	N/A
Southern Regional College	N/A	N/A
South West College	N/A	N/A

* North West Regional College has subsequently approved applications from four Hospitality and Catering lecturers, who had initial requests turned down.

Travel Allowance for Job Seekers

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how she will redress the imbalance in relation to the £10 travel allowance for job seekers who are required to attend training centres, which causes hardship, particularly for job seekers living in rural areas.

(AQW 6759/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department does not have a specific £10 travel allowance in its main programmes for jobseekers.

My Department’s main adult return to work programme, Steps to Work, offers all unemployed and economically inactive adults the opportunity to help find and sustain work. While on the programme participants are entitled to either full or partial reimbursement of their travel costs. Where partial reimbursement is applicable all travel costs in excess of £4 per week are refunded. These arrangements apply irrespective of geographical area.

Northern Regional College

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Employment and Learning what changes are planned for (i) the Coleraine campus of the Northern Regional College; and (ii) the Limavady campus of the North West Regional College under the proposed Business Improvement Plan.

(AQW 6761/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning:

The Governing Body of Northern Regional College is currently consulting on proposals for the long term development of the College over the next 5 years. These include a strategic assessment of the College’s estates infrastructure. A Strategic Outline Case, prepared by the College, is currently being considered by the Department. It includes a proposal to build a new college in Coleraine which will replace the current Coleraine and Ballymoney campuses. More detailed business cases will be prepared for the proposed estates infrastructure solution if the Strategic Outline Case is approved.

(ii) The Limavady campus of the North West Regional College is not within the scope of the above Business Improvement Plan.

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

North West 200

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what was the estimated total number of spectators attending this year's North West 200; and how this compares to the previous three years.

(AQW 6783/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): The organisers estimate that between 120,000 -150,000 people were in attendance at the North West 200 in recent years.

This year a fuller and more accurate survey is underway but the information will not be available until early - mid June 2010.

Potential Inward Investors

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many potential inward investors visited (i) Coleraine; and (ii) Limavady in the last 12 months.

(AQW 6794/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: In the last 12 months, Invest NI facilitated 4 potential inward investor visits to the Coleraine District Council Area and 1 potential inward investor visit to the Limavady District Council Area. Invest NI remains in contact with the visitors in order to pursue any investment opportunities. However, Invest NI is conscious of the impact of the current economic conditions on investment decisions. Furthermore, securing an inward investment project is the end point of an extensive process which may span a considerable period, e.g. 18 to 24 months and involve a number of visits to Northern Ireland.

Invest NI’s role is to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive and viable location for new inward investment opportunities. Whilst Invest NI makes its best efforts to ensure a spread of investment across the region its role is to promote Northern Ireland as an entity. Ultimately, the final location decision rests with the investor. If the investor seeks information on specific areas within Northern Ireland then Invest NI will work with the local stakeholders to best promote the area.

Northern Ireland Tourist Board Information Pack

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, pursuant to AQW 4834/10, to outline the timeline for the production of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board information pack for the hotel sector on accessible accommodation.

(AQW 6861/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Disability Action in partnership with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has designed an Information Pack and Access Statement Template which will be available to NITB in prototype at the end of May 2010.

Disability Action are expected to make recommendations on the implementation of both the Information Pack and Template which NITB will review and take forward in association with partners in the hotel sector.

The ultimate aim is to provide visitors to Northern Ireland with information on accessible hotel accommodation. However, timelines will be dependent on the contents of the Information Pack and the recommendations on implementation of the Access Statement approach.

Regulatory Barriers to Cross-border Trade

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what steps she is taking to address the regulatory barriers to cross-border trade.

(AQW 7009/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department has the policy lead in relation to better regulation in Northern Ireland. During a review of the Northern Ireland Better Regulation Strategy in 2009, my officials met their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland to consider, amongst other things, issues relating to the effect of regulation on cross border trade. Both sets of officials will continue to liaise in relation to this and one of the action points arising from the review is to consider incorporating a cross border impact test as part of the wider regulatory impact assessment process.

In Northern Ireland we are also working to ensure that all regulations that affect business on this side of the border are accessible through one route –www.NIBusinessInfo.co.uk.

Furthermore, InterTradeIreland published a report in July 2009 on the regulatory barriers to cross border trade and business. This highlighted the importance of ensuring that users can easily get access to meaningful and useful information. InterTradeIreland has therefore established a ‘first stop shop’ for businesses on both sides of the border to provide guidance on regulations which affect companies wishing to undertake cross border business. InterTradeIreland is now undertaking an additional study concentrating on environmental regulations and their impact on cross border business.

Department of the Environment

Handover of Planning Powers

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment to detail his Department's estimates of any costs for local government in relation to the handover of planning powers.

(AQW 6687/10)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): A fundamental principle of the Review of Public Administration is that the transfer of functions from departments to local government should have no additional cost for the ratepayer at the point of transfer and I will ensure that this is the case when the planning function transfers to local government.

Planning Service Staff

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment to outline the timescale for the redeployment of Planning Service staff.

(AQW 6707/10)

Minister of the Environment: A special Regrading Scheme has been developed to provide professional and technical (P&T) graded Planning Service staff with the option to voluntarily re-grade to the General Service discipline. Re-grading is expected to open up more redeployment opportunities for individuals identified as surplus.

Additionally a Redeployment Scheme has also been created to provide a mechanism for non-P&T staff in the Planning Service who are identified as surplus to be moved to other vacancies in DOE and in the wider Northern Ireland Civil Service.

It is necessary to complete consultation with staff representatives before implementing these schemes, and at this point it is not possible to provide a timescale for redeployment.

My officials are pushing forward on this work as quickly as possible.

Economic Development

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment how much each of the 26 local councils spent on economic development in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6719/10)

Minister of the Environment: The gross expenditure on economic development by the 26 district councils in each of the last five financial years for which information is available is detailed in the table below

COUNCIL	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Antrim	892,245	477,497	416,380	475,730	473,593
Ards	486,267	473,367	867,970	598,435	811,593
Armagh	572,808	506,043	481,038	776,300	741,725
Ballymena	699,758	750,739	728,374	546,934	694,407
Ballymoney	313,818	350,817	276,045	312,589	196,788
Banbridge	702,068	583,029	640,946	715,828	603,385
Belfast	4,547,412	5,103,699	6,710,346	7,638,524	9,248,448
Carrickfergus	349,913	289,091	293,764	374,999	241,024
Castlereagh	214,312	227,412	178,652	197,554	251,269
Coleraine	528,352	614,373	569,570	674,023	648,337
Cookstown	312,486	441,526	506,088	539,253	736,070
Craigavon	943,150	1,016,069	1,053,062	1,284,704	1,133,746
Derry	1,378,035	2,058,095	3,897,071	3,157,519	4,661,984
Down	712,088	525,835	556,154	597,916	522,074
Dungannon	968,509	1,384,453	1,226,874	1,377,777	1,035,040
Fermanagh	528,029	493,374	453,732	601,934	291,627
Larne	208,468	188,461	180,845	245,466	261,879
Limavady	460,961	467,125	242,512	419,636	314,816
Lisburn	1,002,970	833,160	1,067,552	951,195	1,186,798
Magherafelt	171,169	243,984	394,489	309,936	334,304
Moyle	328,413	267,836	314,990	307,135	312,314
Newry & Mourne	715,911	647,847	517,529	643,012	568,369
Newtownabbey	783,192	543,382	652,713	676,801	556,803
North Down	1,007,096	849,987	867,988	949,781	1,686,066
Omagh	2,163,708	1,548,228	1,300,063	1,130,912	1,335,038
Strabane	247,129	342,503	320,284	879,373	927,846
TOTAL	21,238,267	21,227,932	24,715,031	26,383,266	29,775,343

Practices of Driving Instructors

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment what consideration is being given to reviewing the practices of driving instructors, as part of the review of the Road Safety Strategy.

(AQW 6762/10)

Minister of the Environment: The draft Northern Ireland Road Safety Strategy includes commitments to fundamentally review the way that people learn to drive and to implementing the ‘Learning to Drive’ programme. The ‘Learning to Drive’ programme includes improvements to the driving test, improved learning processes, improved training of driving instructors, and better information about instructors. Based on responses received to the ‘Learning to Drive’ consultation, my officials will consult later this year in further detail on a fundamental review of the driving instruction industry.

The Road Safety Strategy also includes a commitment to introduce an Approved Motorcycle Instructor Register; it is proposed to introduce this register in October 2010.

Electronic Planning Information for Citizens System

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of the Environment whether he can confirm that the purchase of the Electronic Planning Information for Citizens system has been value for money; and whether the system is being used for the purposes for which it was purchased.

(AQW 6771/10)

Minister of the Environment: The business cases for ePIC have provided economic justification for the investment in the project. A revised business case approved in 2009 subjected ePIC to repeat rigorous economic appraisals in line with the guidance set out in the Northern Ireland Practical Guide to the Green Book published in 2003. This included a number of non-monetary and financial benefits which will accrue as a result of the system implementation. On completion of full roll-out of ePIC to all Divisional Planning Offices, planned November 2010, and following a period of operational service, a formal Post Project Evaluation will be undertaken to assess the benefits achieved.

Upon live implementation, ePIC will be the system through which all planning applications will be processed, and the means by which the public will have access to a range of information and services relating to planning.

Illegal Dumping

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of the Environment how many people were prosecuted for illegal dumping in each of the last five years; and the total amount of the fines imposed each year.

(AQW 6810/10)

Minister of the Environment: The table below sets out the 356 successful prosecutions overseen by NIEA’s Environmental Crime Unit between 2005 and 2009, and their associated fines of £1.02M. NIEA does not record the number of people prosecuted, as cases can involve a number of individuals, or can be directed towards a company. Neither are waste offences necessarily just confined to illegal deposit or "dumping". The majority of convictions are made up of a number of elements of unlicensed activity, namely transporting, treating or storing, and depositing the waste, and causing harm to human health or the environment.

Year	No. of illegal waste prosecutions	Value of fines (£)
2009	39	149,500
2008	73	177,350
2007	68	276,050
2006	116	305,650
2005	60	111,670

Disposal of Slurry

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment how many farmers (i) applied for derogation; and (ii) used other methods to dispose of slurry and therefore did not apply for derogation, in each of the last three years and broken down by constituency.

(AQW 6818/10)

Minister of the Environment: (i) In 2008 there were 322 applications for derogation and in 2009 175 applications were made.

In 2008 and 2009 respectively, 110 and 32 of the applicants provided information to NIEA which demonstrated that they no longer needed to avail of the derogation and withdrew. This resulted in 212 applicants in 2008 and 143 applicants in 2009 who availed of the derogation.

In 2010, there were 149 applications for derogation, with only 1 farm subsequently withdrawing as they have demonstrated that they no longer needed to avail of the derogation.

The locations of derogated farms is recorded against the postcode of the registered address of the farm which is not necessarily the location of the land to which the derogation applies. They are not recorded on a Local Council, NI Assembly or Westminister constituency basis. Therefore this information cannot be broken down by constituency

(ii) The Agency does not hold information about farmers who use alternative methods to dispose of slurry, and therefore statistics for farmers who used methods other than derogation, are not available.

Wildlife Bill

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment if he will consult the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Countryside Alliance before adding the names of any birds or plants to the Wildlife Bill.

(AQW 6829/10)

Minister of the Environment: My officials have consulted regularly with these two organisations throughout the development of the Bill and I have no plans for further consultation.

Volunteer Clean-up in the Strangford Lough Area

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment whether his Department can offer any assistance to the annual volunteer clean-up by wildfowling clubs in the Strangford Lough area.

(AQW 6830/10)

Minister of the Environment: My Department already supports the National Trust Strangford Lough Wildlife Scheme under which the Trust issues favourably priced permits to members of wildfowling clubs in the Strangford Lough area on the understanding that members undertake conservation work such as the annual clean-up. The Trust supplies gloves, litter-picking devices and bags for the clean-up and collects the bagged litter for disposal. My Department is not in a position to offer any assistance beyond that already provided through the National Trust.

Rose Energy incinerator at Glenavy

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of the Environment (i) if any environmentally friendly alternatives to the proposed Rose Energy incinerator at Glenavy have been considered by his Department; and (ii) in relation to the alternative proposals, to detail (a) how many planning applications have been received, including the locations; (b) how many of these applications have been approved or are in the approval process; and (c) how many of these applications propose to treat chicken litter waste.

(AQW 6839/10)

Minister of the Environment: In April 2009, at the request of Planning Service, the Agri Food Bio Sciences Institute (AFBI) provided a detailed scientific assessment of potential technologies to dispose of poultry litter. The report’s findings were that many of the alternative technologies were at development stage and suitable outlets for the end products of the process had not yet been identified.

In December 2009, at the request of Planning Service, the DARD Departmental Scientific Adviser provided a research update on alternative technologies. The paper confirmed the conclusions of the earlier AFBI report namely that, whilst development has taken place in a number of alternative technologies in recent years, none of these technologies, with the exception of combustion, has yet been integrated into commercial poultry production.

The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development is keen that all policy options in relation to utilizing poultry litter are kept under review. DARD continues to monitor developments in alternative technologies and their potential to deal with the disposal of poultry litter.

In the determination of the Rose Energy planning applications, my Department will carefully consider the expert advice provided by AFBI and DARD regarding alternative solutions to the disposal of poultry litter.

To-date, no planning application has been received by my Department that indicates that it is an alternative to the Rose Energy proposal, nor has any planning application been received that proposes to treat chicken litter waste.

Councils Allotments

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment to detail how many councils own allotments; and the number of allotments in each council area.

(AQW 6840/10)

Minister of the Environment: A total of 8 district councils own allotments. The number of allotments in each council area is set out in table below.

DISTRICT COUNCIL	NO OF ALLOTMENTS
Belfast	167
Carrickfergus	189
Castlereagh	6
Derry	31
Larne	8
Lisburn	53
Newtownabbey	25
North Down	18
TOTAL	497

Bird Survival Rates

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment if his Department has carried out or is aware of any surveys in relation to bird survival rates during the severe weather last winter.

(AQW 6894/10)

Minister of the Environment: Northern Ireland’s bird populations are routinely monitored through a number of survey programmes.

Our main wetlands are surveyed through the UK-wide Wetland Birds Survey. These surveys are undertaken to assess non-breeding wetland bird populations. Our breeding bird populations are mainly assessed through the Breeding Bird Survey, targeting our commoner birds.

The wetland surveys will provide information on any waterbird population changes (which will be mainly due to bird migration) resulting from the cold conditions. The Breeding Bird Survey results will provide similar information on changes in wider bird populations.

Northern Ireland Environment Agency relies on the results of these surveys to show if populations of particular species are changing significantly.

The results of the relevant waterbird surveys will be available early next year. Those from the current Breeding Bird Survey will not be available until later next year.

No specific surveys were undertaken by NIEA to assess bird survival rates last winter. However, there is anecdotal information suggesting that some song bird populations have declined.

During the extended cold period NIEA liaised regularly with other relevant conservation and shooting bodies, recognising the vulnerability of waterbird populations. A temporary suspension of wildfowl shooting was brought in to help minimise disturbance and stress on these populations.

Supplementary Planning Guidance for PPS18

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of the Environment when the Supplementary Planning Guidance for PPS18 will be brought before the Executive for approval.

(AQW 6897/10)

Minister of the Environment: I plan to circulate the revised Supplementary Planning Guidance to my Executive colleagues shortly.

Department of Finance and Personnel

Construction Projects

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many construction projects, in each Department, have been cancelled or postponed due to efficiency savings and what is the total savings in cash terms.

(AQW 6632/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): No construction projects have been cancelled or postponed due to efficiency savings.

As part of the 2008-11 Budget process the Executive agreed that NI Departments should work to deliver cumulative efficiency gains of 3% a year over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. All of the efficiency savings made over this period were to be resource releasing and hence redeployed to enhance the provision of public services. In total, NI departments were required to deliver some £790 million efficiency gains by 2010-11.

Ground Rents

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many people have bought out their ground rents in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6717/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The number of people who bought out their ground rent in each of the last five years is set out below:

1^st January 2005 to 31^st December 2005 410 people
1^st January 2006 to 31^st December 2006 321 people
1^st January 2007 to 31^st December 2007 367 people
1^st January 2008 to 31^st December 2008 392 people
1^st January 2009 to 31^st December 2009 275 people

Civil Service Staff Standing for Election

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline the parameters under which staff in (i) Government Departments; (ii) Executive Agencies; and (iii) Non-Departmental Public Bodies, are able to stand for election to (a) Westminster; (b) the Assembly; and (c) Local Government.

(AQW 6747/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: All Northern Ireland civil servants are disqualified from election to Westminster, the Assembly and Local Government and must resign from the Northern Ireland Civil Service before standing for election. This applies also to civil servants on secondment to outside organisations including Non-Departmental Public Bodies.

Civil Service Equal Pay Settlement

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline the terms and conditions required to qualify for the Civil Service Equal Pay settlement; and what provision is in place for retired Civil Servants.

(AQW 6835/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The terms of the equal pay settlement, including eligibility criteria for current and former staff, can be found on the NICS pay website at http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/pay

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Outreach Respite Centre in Omagh

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) if he can provide a commitment that the new outreach respite centre in Omagh for children with autism and learning disabilities will open in early 2011; and (ii) that the necessary funding will be available so that the centre can operate to its maximum capacity.

(AQW 6201/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey):

I should first explain that the new facility is planned as an 8 bedded residential respite facility with some incorporated outreach services. The provision of this service is the responsibility of the Health and Social Care Trust.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust advises that it expects to open the centre as planned in February 2011;
Funding allocations for 2010/11 are currently being considered by my Department.

Lisburn Health Centre

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what additional car parking will be made available given the proposal to relocate Lisburn Health Centre to the Lagan Valley Hospital.

(AQW 6637/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust is currently considering proposals for the redevelopment of the Lagan Valley Hospital site which will include a health and care centre. As part of the business case process, the Trust will take into account the provision of car parking on the site and the number of spaces to be made available will be agreed before plans are finalised.

Specialist Epilepsy Services

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much funding will be provided for specialist epilepsy services in the 2010/11 financial year.

(AQW 6651/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While I provide considerable funding for specialist epilepsy services each year, data on total planned spending is only collected by medical specialty, in this case Neurology. For that reason the information requested is not available.

Swine Flu

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many cases of Swine Flu have been confirmed by laboratory tests to date.

(AQW 6654/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There have been 1369 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic (H1N1) in Northern Ireland as of 5^th May 2010.

Nursing Staff in the Causeway Hospital

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many full-time equivalent nursing staff, on average, were employed in the Causeway Hospital in (i) 2008; and (ii) 2009.

(AQW 6655/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The number of qualified full-time equivalent nursing staff working in Causeway Hospital was 402.99 as at September 2008 and 393.94 as at September 2009.

This information was extracted from the Human Resource Management System as at September 2008 and September 2009.

Managerial Positions in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many personnel were employed in managerial positions within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in (i) 2008; and (ii) 2009.

(AQW 6656/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Health & Social Care Trust advises that the information requested is not available retrospectively.

Physiotherapists

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many qualified physiotherapists are currently available for patients at the Causeway Hospital.

(AQW 6657/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety:The number of qualified physiotherapists at Causeway Hospital as at March 2010 was 10 (headcount) 9.05 (WTE).

This information was extracted from the Human Resources Management System as at March 2010.

Childhood Obesity

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the proposals currently (i) being implemented; and (ii) under consideration to counter increasing childhood obesity.

(AQW 6658/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Significant progress has been made by a range of stakeholders at both the regional and local level in support of the delivery of Fit Futures (a strategy to address childhood obesity), and work in relation to physical activity and food and nutrition.

Initiatives are in place which targets various population groups and settings. These include the development of public information campaigns; delivery of training and support; development of nutritional guidelines for schools meals; community based initiatives on food and physical activity; support for professionals; improved interventions, including physical activity referrals; strengthened code for advertising high fat, sugar, or salt foods to children; and work with food industry, including progress on reformulation and improved labelling.

My Department is leading the development of a cross-sectoral Obesity Prevention Framework which I anticipate will go out for public consultation later this year. The Framework, which builds on Fit Futures to address obesity across all age groups, contains outcomes to be achieved by a wide variety of delivery partners under life course themes, including Ante-natal, Maternal & Early Years and Children & Young People.

Occupational Therapist Visits

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if, when a nurse is attending a patient at home and the patient requires aids or equipment, whether a system can be set up so that the nurse can contact the occupational therapist to visit the patient.

(AQW 6674/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: When nurses working within the community assess that a patient requires aids or equipment to be provided through occupational therapy services, a referral is made through a formal system of referral which has been in place for some time. This system is used by all community nurses including health visitors, community mental health, children’s, learning disability and district nurses and is the source through which the majority of OT referrals are received. Should the nurse consider the case to be very urgent the referrer follows up the initial referral with a phone call to the OT Department.

M.E.

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 1059/10, to detail the 'quality standards' and which body is responsible for ensuring that these are met.

(AQW 6686/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Quality Standards for the Out of Hours Services are set out in the Service Specification for the provision of Urgent Primary Care Out-of-Hours in Northern Ireland. These can be access at:

http://www.gpoutofhours.hscni.net/performance/standards.html#TopOfPage

The Health and Social Care Board has responsibility for monitoring the out of hours services ensuring that the Northern Ireland Quality Standards are met.

Respite Care in the Lagan Valley Hospital

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many beds were available for respite care in the Lagan Valley Hospital for the 2009/10 financial year; and how many are currently available.

(AQW 6698/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In 2009/10 and at present there are no beds specifically dedicated to respite care in the Lagan Valley Hospital.

Mother and Baby Services in Crumlin and Glenavy

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) if he is aware that, from the end of June 2010, the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust will no longer provide vital Health Visitor led mother and baby services in the Crumlin and Glenavy districts and that the resources to maintain these services have not been forthcoming from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust; (ii) whether he can reassure families that this service will continue; and (iii) if he will make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 6734/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety:

(i)There are ongoing discussions and negotiations between the South Eastern and Northern Trusts regarding the transfer of responsibility for Health Visiting Services from the South Eastern Trust to the Northern Trust.

A joint meeting will be convened by both Trusts in mid June 2010 to agree the details of the new arrangement which will include timescales for the transfer of responsibility of these services

(ii) The Northern Trust advise that as part of the transfer arrangements they will wish to consider and ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and that services meet the needs of the local population.

(iii) It is not appropriate for Minister to make a statement on this matter as plans have not been finalised at this stage.

Health Posts at County Hall, Ballymena

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in relation to the relocation of health posts to Belfast from County Hall, Ballymena (i) if he can confirm that draft staffing structures have been issued; and (ii) as outlined in his letter of 4 April 2009, whether he can provide an assurance that over 80% of staff and over one third of tier 3 posts will not be relocated.

(AQW 6735/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The new HSC organisations have all commenced early work to examine in particular, the realignment and location of legacy HSS Board functions, with the HSC Board, Public Health Agency and the Business Services Organisation all having issued draft staffing structures.

This work is still under consideration and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the numbers of posts at any location until such times as this process is complete. I remain committed however to ensuring, that a strong local presence continues to be a feature of our health and social care system.

Health Posts at County Hall, Ballymena

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in relation to the relocation of health posts to Belfast from County Hall, Ballymena, to detail (i) the number of Northern Health and Social Services Board staff who will remain in County Hall; and (ii) the number of staff who have been relocated since 1 April 2009 from County Hall to Belfast, broken down by post and grade.

(AQW 6760/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The new HSC organisations have all commenced work to examine in particular, the realignment and location of legacy HSS Board functions. This work is still under consideration and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the numbers of posts remaining at any location until such times as this process is complete. I remain committed however to ensuring, that a strong local presence continues to be a feature of our health and social care system.

The number of staff who have been relocated since 1 April 2009 from County Hall, Ballymena to Belfast is four - one Band 8a within the Business Services Organisation; and three who have been temporarily relocated within the Public Health Agency (1 Band 8a and 2 Band 6). To date no HSC Board staff have been relocated.

Closure of Accident and Emergency Units

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) to outline the reasons for the closure of (a) the Accident and Emergency units at the Mid-Ulster Hospital and Whiteabbey Hospital; and (b) the High Dependency unit at the Mid-Ulster Hospital; and (ii) when the Minister was notified of these closures.

(AQW 6846/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The fundamental reason for these changes is the need to ensure patient safety. The change in service configuration from accident and emergency to minor injuries services at the Whiteabbey and Mid Ulster hospitals has become necessary as it is simply not possible to maintain the medical staffing needed to ensure safe services for patients attending A&E.

In order to ensure that those patients who require hospital admission have access to the level of support and care they require the remaining acute medical beds from Whiteabbey and the high dependency beds from Mid-Ulster will transfer over the next few months. The remaining medical beds will move from the Mid-Ulster by mid 2011.

I was informed of the pressing need for these actions at a meeting with the Chief Executive of the Northern Trust and Trust’s Clinical Director for Unscheduled Care on 26^th April 2010.

Antrim Area Hospital

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many additional (i) nurses; (ii) doctors; (iii) consultants; and (iv) anaesthetists will be put in place at the Antrim Area Hospital to cope with patients who would previously have been seen at the Mid-Ulster and Whiteabbey Accident and Emergency departments if the closure of these departments goes ahead.

(AQW 6859/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Trust has advised that following the service changes at Mid-Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals on 24 May the following additional staff will be available at Antrim Area Hospital;

	Additional staff at Antrim Area Hospital from 24 May 2010
Nurses	28
Healthcare assistants	4
Doctors	2 specialty grades3 trainee5 locum medium grades
Consultants	2
Anaesthetists	0
TOTAL	44

Mother and Baby Clinic in Crumlin

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the annual running costs of the Mother and Baby Clinic in Crumlin; and the current funding status of this facility

(AQW 6867/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The annual running costs for the Mother and Baby Clinic in Crumlin are £8846. This includes the costs of 2 staff working for 3 hours per week and the rental of the hall.

The service is currently being funded by the South Eastern Trust.

Knockbracken Healthcare Park

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if his Department plans to close any wards or reduce services at Knockbracken Healthcare Park, including the Rathlin ward.

(AQW 6885/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Belfast Trust has advised that it is committed to progressing the resettlement of patients from hospital continuing care to supported community placements and this will entail the transfer of resources presently used for hospital care into the strengthening of community services. The number of beds to be retained will be kept under review as patients move from hospital to community settings.

Belfast Trust has consulted on a new model of acute psychiatric inpatient care and developed a business case for a single inpatient unit to meet the needs of the population of Belfast.

Rathlin Unit provides acute psychiatric inpatient care and there are no plans to change the use of Rathlin Unit in advance of a new inpatient unit becoming available.

Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Programmes

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the organisations which receive funding from his Department for drug and alcohol awareness and prevention programmes in the Colin area of West Belfast; and (ii) how much funding each organisation has received in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6898/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Through my Department’s New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs, funding has been allocated via the Public Health Agency/the legacy Eastern Health and Social Services Board to a range of community and voluntary sector organisations across Belfast to raise awareness, and to prevent and address alcohol and drug related harm.

All the services outlined below operate across the whole of the Belfast/South Eastern Trust Areas unless otherwise stated. However, priority is given to areas that have significant problems in relation to drug and alcohol use, this includes Neighbourhood Renewal Areas such as the Colin area.

Education and Prevention

Community Drug and Alcohol Awareness training programmes for local community workers. These are targeted on a locality basis.
Targeted Education Programmes are provided for young people at risk.
Alcohol Education Project is delivered in the majority of post-primary schools across the Belfast and South Eastern Education and Library Boards.

Service	Organisation	2007/08	2008/2009	2009/10
Education and prevention
Targeted Education Programmes	FASA/Falls Community Council/ASCERT	£133,350	£136,576	N/A
Community Drug Awareness training	FASA/Falls Community Council/ASCERT	£69,810	£71,499	84,998
Targeted Education Programmes	ASCERT /Opportunity Youth	N/A	N/A	£155,629
Alcohol Education Project in post primary schools	Lisburn YMCA	£109,652	£112,306	£89,967

Treatment and Support

Personal Development Programmes for young people who are identified as beginning to use drugs and alcohol on an occasional or regular basis.

Youth Treatment and Support Service

Service	Organisation	2007/08	2008/2009	2009/10
Youth treatment and support programmes
Youth Treatment Service	Contact Youth/Opportunity Youth	£222,975	£228,371	N/A
Youth Treatment Service	ASCERT /Opportunity Youth	N/A	N/A	£411,198
Personal development programmes	ASCERT	£175,584	£176,760	N/A

Community Support

Community Support Worker for Down and Lisburn.
Colin area was identified as an intensive support area during 2007/2008.

PHA staff and the Community Worker are represented on the Down and Colin Drug and Alcohol forum which is a sub-group of the Colin Neighbourhood Partnership. The partnership has undertaken a range of drug awareness initiatives over the past number of years.

Service	Organisation	2007/08	2008/2009	2009/10
Community Support Services
Community Support Service for South Eastern Trust Area	ASCERT	£81,650	£93,202	£78,125

Out-of-hours GP Service

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the estimated percentage saving to the Western Health and Social Care Trust as a result of the reconfiguration of the out-of-hours GP service.

(AQW 7015/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: It is anticipated that the reconfiguration of the out-of-hours service in the western area will result in annual savings of 10.6% on the overall running costs incurred for out-of-hours services.

Acute Services in the Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for how long Acute Services in the Mid-Ulster Hospital have relied on locum cover.

(AQW 7058/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Trust has advised that locum cover is required on a regular basis across the Trust to cover various situations including leave. However the Accident and Emergency Department at the Mid-Ulster hospital has been totally reliant on locum cover over the past six months in order to maintain the service.

Mother and Baby Clinic in Crumlin

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 6867/10, (i) whether any plans are in place to terminate this service in June; (ii) whether the Northern Health and Social Care Trust intend to fund, or part fund, this service in the future; and (iii) for how long.

(AQW 7078/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no plans to terminate this service in June. A meeting is taking place on 14 June to discuss the transfer of the service from the South Eastern to Northern HSC Trust. Until this takes place I am unable to confirm future funding arrangements.

Department of Justice

Legislation

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice to outline the timescale for any legislation planned by his Department for 2010/11.

(AQW 6685/10)

Minister of Justice (Mr D Ford): We plan to introduce a Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill into the Assembly in September 2010. Future legislative requirements are under consideration and will be notified as required to the Assembly in due course.

Juveniles in Prison

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice what was the average number of juveniles in prison at any one time over the last twelve months.

(AQW 6691/10)

Minister of Justice : During the period from April 2009 until March 2010, the average daily juvenile population was 16.

Sex Offenders

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice to outline the difference in the three categories of sex offenders; and for the current number of offenders in each category.

(AQW 6708/10)

Minister of Justice : Guidance issued by the Secretary State in October 2008, under the Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2008, set out arrangements through which agencies can work together and share information with the aim of discharging their statutory responsibilities to protect the public from offenders in the community in the most effective way. These arrangements, referred to as the public protection arrangements in Northern Ireland, require the agencies to assess the risks posed by certain offenders. The guidance provides a description of the categories of risk as follows:

Category 1: Someone whose previous offending, current behaviour and current circumstances present little evidence that they will cause serious harm through carrying out a contact sexual or violent offence.

Category 2: Someone whose previous offending, current behaviour and current circumstances present clear and identifiable evidence that they could cause serious harm through carrying out a contact sexual or violent offence.

Category 3: Someone whose previous offending, current behaviour and current circumstances present compelling evidence that they are highly likely to cause serious harm through carrying out a contact sexual or violent offence.

The following table sets out the number of sexual offenders in the community by assessed category of risk of serious harm on 17 May 2010. Only categories 2 and 3 are assessed as posing a risk serious enough to require multi agency risk management.

Category of risk	Offenders
Category 3	8
Category 2	131
Category 1	921

Police Overtime

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice to detail the amount spent on police overtime in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6711/10)

Minister of Justice : The amount of spend on police overtime from 2005/6 to 2009/10 is as follows:

Financial Year

Total Overtime Spend£’000’s

2005/06

57,173

2006/07

50,646

2007/08

46,152

2008/09

41,198

2009/10

43,650

Financial Year	Total Overtime Spend£’000’s
2005/06	57,173
2006/07	50,646
2007/08	46,152
2008/09	41,198
2009/10	43,650

Small Claims Court

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Justice if he will consider increasing the limit in the Small Claims Court from £2000 to at least £5000.

(AQW 6822/10)

Minister of Justice : The jurisdiction of the small claims court is currently the subject of public consultation. A decision will be taken once responses to the consultation have been considered.

Access NI and Independent Safeguarding Authority Checks

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Justice why volunteers in the statutory and voluntary sector are not offered free Access NI and Independent Safeguarding Authority checks.

(AQW 6824/10)

Minister of Justice : AccessNI provides free disclosures to all volunteers except where the volunteering is for a statutory organisation or funding has been obtained from Government for the cost of disclosures. It is our intention to replicate this arrangement under the planned Independent Safeguarding Authority arrangements.

Driving Without Insurance

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice how many cases of driving without insurance in each court division have resulted in (i) a suspended sentence; and (ii) a prison sentence in each of the last two years.

(AQW 6826/10)

Minister of Justice : The tables below give the number convicted for the offence ‘no insurance’ and the number given a suspended sentence or immediate custody by court division. The majority of offenders convicted of this offence are given a fine. Figures for fines, along with statistics for other disposals, have also been included for information.

Data cover the calendar years 2005 and 2006 (the latest year for which figures are currently available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence for which an offender is convicted is included.

Disposals given to those convicted of the offence ‘no insurance’ by court division 2005^1,2

Court division	Immediate custody	Suspended custody	Fine	Other disposal³	Total
Belfast	0	1	1068	22	1091
Antrim	0	0	417	9	426
Ards	1	0	442	13	456
Armagh & South Down	0	1	481	43	525
Craigavon	0	0	411	17	428
Fermanagh & Tyrone	0	0	424	9	433
Londonderry	0	0	506	19	525
Total	1	2	3749	132	3884

Disposals given to those convicted of the offence ‘no insurance’ by court division 2006^1,2

Court division	Suspended custody	Fine	Other disposal³	Total
Belfast	2	842	17	861
Antrim	0	467	7	474
Ards	0	466	3	469
Armagh & South Down	0	453	17	470
Craigavon	0	389	6	395
Fermanagh & Tyrone	0	766	9	775
Londonderry	0	415	9	424
Total	2	3798	68	3868

1. Includes the offence ‘causing no insurance’.

2. It is not possible to determine from the court conviction datasets if the offence related to no insurance for a car or another type of vehicle.

3. Includes supervision in the community and conditional discharge.

Driving Without Insurance

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice how many motorists have been convicted for having no car insurance in each of the last two years broken down by court division.

(AQW 6831/10)

Disposals given to those convicted of the offence ‘no insurance’ by court division 2005^1,2

Court division	Immediate custody	Suspended custody	Fine	Other disposal³	Total
Belfast	0	1	1068	22	1091
Antrim	0	0	417	9	426
Ards	1	0	442	13	456
Armagh & South Down	0	1	481	43	525
Craigavon	0	0	411	17	428
Fermanagh & Tyrone	0	0	424	9	433
Londonderry	0	0	506	19	525
Total	1	2	3749	132	3884

Disposals given to those convicted of the offence ‘no insurance’ by court division 2006^1,2

Court division	Suspended custody	Fine	Other disposal³	Total
Belfast	2	842	17	861
Antrim	0	467	7	474
Ards	0	466	3	469
Armagh & South Down	0	453	17	470
Craigavon	0	389	6	395
Fermanagh & Tyrone	0	766	9	775
Londonderry	0	415	9	424
Total	2	3798	68	3868

1. Includes the offence ‘causing no insurance’.

2. It is not possible to determine from the court conviction datasets if the offence related to no insurance for a car or another type of vehicle.

3. Includes supervision in the community and conditional discharge.

Access NI

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice how many vetting applications Access NI has processed in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6888/10)

Minister of Justice : The number of applications for disclosure received by AccessNI since 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2010 is as set out below;

Year	Basic	Standard	Enhanced	Total
2008/09	15,561	3,207	102,194	120,962
2009/10	17,464	9,784	120,140	147,388

AccessNI was not established until 1 April 2008 and therefore no figures are available for before that time

Non-molestation Orders

Lord Morrow asked e Minister of Justice how many non-molestation orders have been granted in each court division in each of the last two years.

(AQW 6995/10)

Minister of Justice : The table below includes the number of non-molestation orders granted in the High Court, and in each County Court Division (each County Court Division comprises both County Courts and Magistrates’ Courts) in 2008 and 2009.

Number of Non-molestation orders made

	2008	2009 ^[1]
High Court	272	249
County Court
Antrim	1189	1425
Ards	1129	1050
Armagh& South Down	947	956
Belfast	1742	1374
Craigavon	603	538
Fermanagh & Tyrone	464	487
Londonderry	1413	1292
Total	7759	7371

NB. Includes interim and final orders

[1] 2009 data is provisional

Public Prosecution Service

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Justice, in light of recent public concern regarding the Public Prosecution Service, whether he intends to discuss this issue with the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(AQO 1304/10)

Minister of Justice : My first concerns are with Thomas Devlin’s family, and I want to join publicly with all those who have expressed horror at Thomas’s murder and sympathy to Penny Holloway and Jim Devlin. This was a brutal murder of a popular teenager which shocked people across Northern Ireland and beyond, and I hope that the recent sentencing brought some comfort to the family.

Members should be aware that the Public Prosecution Service is not accountable to me as Justice Minister. Prosecutorial decisions and policy are matters for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will have an important consultative relationship with the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

That said, I of course take an interest in any matters affecting the justice system. I had an initial meeting with the Director and Deputy Director of the PPS in my first weeks in office, and intend to meet them on a regular basis.

I recognize, while this case has given rise to particular concerns, there is a wider debate about whether the arrangements and relationships we have inherited from Westminster legislation passed in 2002 are the right ones in 2010. This was an issue that arose during last week’s debate on Robberies, when I indicated that the Attorney General would be accountable to the Assembly for the operation of the Public Prosecution Service. This was not strictly correct, though the exact nature of the relationship has not yet been determined.

I will be discussing this and other matters with the Attorney General, with whom I had an initial meeting following his appointment yesterday, and will welcome the views of members.

Legal Aid

Mr S Neeson asked the Minister of Justice for an update on the reform of legal aid.

(AQO 1306/10)

Minister of Justice : Reforming legal aid is a very important matter as we are currently spending too much money on legal aid in Northern Ireland. What we have to do is to cut spending by 25% and yet ensure that we continue to provide access to justice for all our citizens who need legal help.

I have asked my officials in the Courts and Tribunals Service to take forward a comprehensive programme of legal aid reform. Last September the rates of remuneration paid in ‘very high cost criminal cases’ in the Crown Court were reduced to the levels paid in England and Wales. Proposals for further reform have been published to bring ‘standard’ fee levels in the Crown Court here into line with England and Wales and to tighten the criteria applied by the court when assigning two counsel in a case. I will be seeking the Assembly’s support for legislation on these proposals in due course.

In addition, I propose to introduce a Justice Bill shortly which will include further initiatives to bring greater control to legal aid spending. The Bill will facilitate the introduction of means testing, initially in the magistrates’ court, and allow the recovery of legal aid funds from defendants with sufficient means who have been convicted in the Crown Court.

Looking further ahead, I am giving consideration to establishing a fundamental review of the Northern Ireland legal aid scheme. A review of this nature would provide the opportunity to reposition public funded services here in a way which better meets the requirements of devolution.

District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships

Mrs N Long asked e Minister of Justice to outline his proposals for the restructuring of District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships.

(AQO 1307/10)

Minister of Justice :It is my intention to bring District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships together through legislation contained in the forthcoming Justice Bill. Amalgamating the roles and functions of DPPs and CSPs will build on the strengths of both partnerships, and bringing them together will align more effectively their main functions of engagement, accountability and delivery.

This matter is currently out to public consultation and I am very interested to hear the views and ideas of everyone. I am aiming to engage further with political parties, Councils, the Policing Board and other stakeholders over the coming weeks to take on board their views and listen to any concerns and issues that exist.

Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Justice what discussions he has had with his Executive colleagues concerning the publication of a Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy

(AQO 1308/10)

Minister of Justice : I have met Gerry Kelly and Robin Newton to discuss aspects of the Shared Future agenda which affect both OFMDFM and the Department of Justice. In relation to the publication of the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy, my Department has offered comments on the draft and I look forward to a full Executive discussion in due course.

The Department of Justice has an important part to play in the delivery of any meaningful shared future strategy and I am committed to ensuring the justice aspects are as full and effective as possible to move this agenda forward. As the Department can only deliver effectively in a number of areas by working in partnership with other Departments, I will be engaging colleagues in the weeks ahead to ensure a concerted approach is adopted.

Public Prosecution Service: Thomas Devlin

Mr P J Bradley asked e Minister of Justice what action he is able to take regarding the concerns raised over the handling of the Thomas Devlin case by the Public Prosecution Service.

(AQO 1309/10)

I should clarify that the Public Prosecution Service is not accountable to me as Justice Minister. Prosecutorial decisions and policy are matters for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will have an important consultative relationship with the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The Attorney General will be able to answer questions in this Assembly in regard to the system of prosecutions, with the necessary changes in standing orders.

I recognize, while this case has given rise to particular concerns, there is a wider debate about whether the arrangements and relationships we have inherited from Westminster legislation passed in 2002 are the right ones in 2010. I am seeking an early meeting with the Attorney General on this and other matters, and welcome the views of members.

PSNI College

Mr P Weir asked Minister of Justice what discussions he has had with the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety regarding the potential involvement of the Fire and Rescue Service in the proposed police college at Desertcreat, Cookstown.

(AQO 1310/10)

Minister of Justice : Plans are well underway for a public services training college for the police, fire and rescue, and prison services that will ensure that they can provide the highest level of service to the public. The Fire and Rescue Service has been fully involved in the Desertcreat College Programme since 2007.

I met with the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 20 April 2010 and discussed a range of matters including the proposed college at Desertcreat. If there is delay in approving the business case for the college I shall be seeking a further meeting with him and the Finance Minister.

PSNI and Prison Service: Risk

Mr J Bell asked the Minister of Justice to outline the current risk assessment of the police and prison services.

(AQO 1311/10)

Minister of Justice : Whilst it is not appropriate to comment on the detailed threat assessments applying to individual groups, it is clear that a threat exists to police and prison officers as they carry out their duties on our behalf.

Those who target such public servants fail to understand that the devolution of policing and justice means that we have ownership as a community for our justice system. These attempts to target public servants are an attempt to divide the community from those responsible for the maintenance of law and order. Those responsible do so for their own selfish ends.

This society has moved on and we are not going to allow them to turn the clock back by targeting those who play such an important role in different ways to help keep us safe.

Mephedrone: East Antrim

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Justice how many seizures and arrests have been made for the possession or supply of mephedrone in East Antrim since the drug was made illegal.

(AQO 1312/10)

Minister of Justice : I welcome the decision to make mephedrone a Class B illegal drug from 16 April 2010 and know that the PSNI will actively pursue anyone involved in the supply or possession of the drug. While arrests and seizures are operational matters, as at 16 May the PSNI inform me that they have not made any arrests or seizures for possession or supply of mephedrone in East Antrim.

My Department is keeping in close contact with the Home Office in relation to any other so-called "legal high" substances which may be considered for banning in future.

Maghaberry Prison: Review Panel

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister of Justice, in light of his announcement of a review of Maghaberry prison, whether he can name the review panel members and outline the terms of reference.

(AQO 1313/10)

Minister of Justice : I regret that I am not yet in a position to announce the full details of the review, but I can confirm that it will be in line with the commitment in the Hillsborough Agreement of 5 February.

I have in mind a balanced review team, led by an expert in the field, consisting of practitioners and others from academic and relevant areas. I am looking to appoint a blend of experience from within Northern Ireland and outside this jurisdiction.

As I explained to the Justice Committee, I have in mind a rolling review encompassing the three establishments and the Service more widely. It may be valuable to report in two stages and be completed by early in the New Year.

The review is to be informed by recent reports, including the current review of the Prison Service’s governance being conducted by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland.

I hope to announce the full details very shortly.

Department for Regional Development

Minor Roads Network

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Regional Development how much was spent on maintenance and improvement of the minor roads network in (i) the Limavady Borough Council area; and (ii) the Coleraine Borough Council area, in each of the last two years.

(AQW 6662/10)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): My Department’s Roads Service does not maintain specific details of its expenditure on the minor roads network. However, it does maintain details of actual total expenditure on Operation and Maintenance activities and Capital during the preceding financial year in each Council area.

Roads Service’s total expenditure on operation and maintenance, includes Structural Maintenance, Routine Maintenance, Traffic Maintenance, Winter Maintenance, Street Lighting Maintenance, and Car Parking Maintenance.

It’s total expenditure on Capital, includes spend on Major Capital, Minor Capital, Street Lighting Renewal and Other Capital activities. The figure provided in the following table refers to Minor Capital schemes, as these would predominately be on the minor road network.

The following table also includes details of expenditure on operation and maintenance in the Limavady and Coleraine Council areas, during the last two years.

District Council	Operation and Maintenance		Minor Capital Spend
District Council	07-08	08-09	07-08	08-09
Limavady	£3,573,000	£2,830,000	£581,000	£702,000
Coleraine	£4,449,000	£4,275,000	£1,289,000	£315,000
Total	£8,022,000	£7,105,000	£1,870,000	£1,017,000

Road Repairs

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development how much money has been spent on road repairs in each council area, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6682/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service does not maintain specific details of its expenditure on a road repairs only basis. However, it does maintain details of actual total expenditure on Operation and Maintenance activities for the proceeding years in each Council area.

The following table details expenditure in each Council area, during the last five years:-

District Council	Operation and Maintenance 04/05	Operation and Maintenance 05/06	Operation and Maintenance 06/07	Operation and Maintenance 07/08	Operation and Maintenance 08/09
Antrim	£3,913,000	£4,218,000	£3,251,000	£3,494,000	£3,507,000
Coleraine	£3,960,000	£3,960,000	£4,139,000	£4,449,000	£4,275,000
Limavady	£3,156,000	£3,327,000	£2,737,000	£3,573,000	£2,830,000
Moyle	£1,835,000	£2,111,000	£1,860,000	£2,093,000	£1,674,000
Ballymoney	£2,442,000	£2,410,000	£2,283,000	£2,430,000	£2,395,000
L'derry	£5,655,000	£5,324,000	£5,281,000	£5,828,000	£5,876,000
Ballymena	£5,020,000	£5,493,000	£4,432,000	£4,537,000	£5,168,000
Larne	£2,316,000	£2,632,000	£2,754,000	£2,546,000	£2,238,000
Belfast	£15,123,000	£15,576,000	£13,730,000	£16,990,000	£13,976,000
Castlereagh	£2,179,000	£3,149,000	£3,029,000	£3,552,000	£3,429,000
Newtownabbey	£3,676,000	£2,418,000	£3,189,000	£4,576,000	£3,388,000
Carrickfergus	£1,325,000	£1,296,000	£1,764,000	£1,971,000	£1,642,000
North Down	£2,409,000	£4,160,000	£3,640,000	£3,974,000	£2,962,000
Lisburn	£7,369,000	£6,245,000	£5,695,000	£4,948,000	£7,704,000
Ards	£3,661,000	£3,706,000	£3,468,000	£5,014,000	£3,394,000
Armagh	£5,863,000	£6,011,000	£5,477,000	£7,539,000	£7,013,000
Newry and Mourne	£7,567,000	£6,839,000	£5,843,000	£6,212,000	£5,372,000
Banbridge	£3,690,000	£3,702,000	£3,841,000	£3,996,000	£3,404,000
Craigavon	£5,380,000	£5,241,000	£5,217,000	£5,478,000	£4,219,000
Down	£5,042,000	£4,914,000	£4,503,000	£4,262,000	£5,813,000
Magherafelt	£3,029,000	£3,242,000	£2,612,000	£3,834,000	£3,239,000
Omagh	£6,173,000	£6,004,000	£5,587,000	£6,487,000	£5,699,000
Strabane	£5,312,000	£4,758,000	£4,746,000	£5,258,000	£5,068,000
Cookstown	£3,026,000	£2,605,000	£2,857,000	£2,759,000	£2,739,000
Fermanagh	£6,809,000	£6,142,000	£6,737,000	£6,598,000	£7,036,000
Dungannon	£5,397,000	£5,395,000	£5,477,000	£5,781,000	£5,391,000
Total	£121,327,000	£120,878,000	£114,149,000	£128,179,000	£119,451,000

Water and Sewerage Infrastructure

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development what plans NI Water has for water and sewerage infrastructure in the North Down constituency, in each of the next three years.

(AQW 6718/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it is awaiting the outcome of the price control review before finalising its capital programme for the next 3 years. However, funding arrangements are currently in place for 2010/11 and although NIW does not hold details of capital infrastructure projects broken down by parliamentary constituency, the table below lists the projects that are believed to cover the North Down constituency.

Project Name	Expenditure in 2010/11£000s	Expenditure in 2011/12£000s	Expenditure in 2012/13£000s
Crawfordsburn Road, Bangor - Storm and Foul Sewer Extensions	34	0	0
Gransha Road, Bangor - Trunk Sewer Replacement.	70	0	0
Craigdarragh Road to Seahill Road Sewer Replacement	70	0	0
Morston Park, Bangor - Flood Alleviation Scheme	150	0	0
Ballyholme (Bangor) Drainage Area Plan	257	0	0
Lukes Point (Bangor) Drainage Area Plan	612	0	0
Gransha Road, Bangor - Wastewater Pumping Station Refurbishment	222	0	0
Millisle Drainage Area Plan Stage 2	500	750	0
Bangor Drainage Area Plan Stage 1	210	2,500	2,290

Flooding Problems at Crossgar

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister for Regional Development if he is aware of the flooding problems at Crossgar; and what action has he taken to address this issue.

(AQW 6728/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department is aware of flooding problems at Crossgar, in particular at the Downpatrick Street area close to the Post Office. This flooding occurs during periods of prolonged and heavy rainfall.

With regard to the most recent significant flooding event that occurred in June 2007, my Department’s Roads Service has advised that, while the road drainage system remained fully operational throughout this period, it did not have sufficient capacity to deal with the vast quantities of water that flowed off private property onto the public roads.

Roads Service ensures that the road drainage system in the area is regularly inspected and cleaned if necessary, in line with road maintenance guidelines, which are applied equally to all Council areas. In addition, when Roads Service receives an advanced warning of the possibility of flooding, the area is inspected to ensure that the drainage system is operational.

Northern Ireland Water has advised that it proposes to undertake a scheme at Downpatrick Street to extend the storm sewer to serve a new housing development. This extended sewer can also be utilised to remove surface runoff storm water, and thereby relieve the loading on the combined sewerage system in the centre of Crossgar. It is estimated the scheme will commence in spring 2011, subject to the progress of the new housing development.

Road Repairs

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent on (i) resurfacing entire roads; and (ii) filling in potholes and maintenance work on roads, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6764/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service does not maintain figures in relation to the resurfacing of entire roads, nor does it maintain figures solely in relation to the repair of potholes. However, the table below details Roads Service’s total expenditure on carriageway resurfacing, carriageway patching and structural maintenance over the last five financial years from 2004/05 to 2008/09.

	04/05	05/06	06/07	07/08	08/09
Carriageway Resurfacing	37,000,000	32,700,000	28,700,000	38,300,000	24,400,000
Carriageway Patching	15,600,000	15,800,000	16,300,000	17,300,000	19,000,000
Total Structural Maintenance	73,800,000	70,500,000	65,500,000	77,300,000	62,900,000

TABLE NOTES:

The Total Structural Maintenance figures include the amounts given for resurfacing and patching.
The Total Structural Maintenance figures include resurfacing and patching of footways, surface dressing and structural drainage
The Carriageway Resurfacing figures include parts of roads, as well as whole roads.
The Carriageway Patching figures relate to the repair of all surface defects, including potholes on carriageways, lay-bys and hard shoulders.

Roads in North Down

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development how much has been spent on (i) resurfacing entire roads; and (ii) general maintenance work on roads, in the North Down area, compared to all other constituencies, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6765/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service does not record details of its spend on a parliamentary constituency basis. However, it does keep details of its actual spend on Operation and Maintenance activities and Structural Maintenance, for the preceding years, in each Council area.

Roads Service total expenditure on operation and maintenance, includes Structural Maintenance, Routine Maintenance, Traffic Maintenance, Winter Maintenance, Street Lighting Maintenance, and Car Parking Maintenance.

Details of actual spend on Operation and Maintenance activities, for each of the last three years, is shown in the table below:

District Council	Operation & Maintenance Spend
District Council	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Antrim	£3,251,000	£3,494,000	£3,507,000
Coleraine	£4,139,000	£4,449,000	£4,275,000
Limavady	£2,737,000	£3,573,000	£2,830,000
Moyle	£1,860,000	£2,093,000	£1,674,000
Ballymoney	£2,283,000	£2,430,000	£2,395,000
Derry	£5,281,000	£5,828,000	£5,876,000
Ballymena	£4,432,000	£4,537,000	£5,168,000
Larne	£2,754,000	£2,546,000	£2,238,000
Belfast	£13,730,000	£16,990,000	£13,976,000
Castlereagh	£3,029,000	£3,552,000	£3,429,000
Newtownabbey	£3,189,000	£4,576,000	£3,388,000
Carrickfergus	£1,764,000	£1,971,000	£1,642,000
North Down	£3,640,000	£3,974,000	£2,962,000
Lisburn	£5,695,000	£4,948,000	£7,704,000
Ards	£3,468,000	£5,014,000	£3,394,000
Armagh	£5,477,000	£7,539,000	£7,013,000
Newry & Mourne	£5,843,000	£6,212,000	£5,372,000
Banbridge	£3,841,000	£3,996,000	£3,404,000
Craigavon	£5,217,000	£5,478,000	£4,219,000
Down	£4,503,000	£4,262,000	£5,813,000
Magherafelt	£2,612,000	£3,834,000	£3,239,000
Omagh	£5,587,000	£6,487,000	£5,699,000
Strabane	£4,746,000	£5,258,000	£5,068,000
Cookstown	£2,857,000	£2,759,000	£2,739,000
Fermanagh	£6,737,000	£6,598,000	£7,036,000
Dungannon	£5,477,000	£5,781,000	£5,391,000
Totals	£114,149,000	£128,179,000	£119,451,000

Structural Maintenance includes Resurfacing, Surface Dressing and Structural Drainage, and details of actual spend on this, for each of the last three years, is shown in the table below:

District Council	Structural Maintenance Spend
District Council	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
Antrim	£1,740,000	£2,096,000	£1,742,000
Coleraine	£2,317,000	£2,597,000	£1,862,000
Limavady	£1,561,000	£2,391,000	£1,558,000
Moyle	£1,187,000	£1,340,000	£993,000
Ballymoney	£1,433,000	£1,648,000	£1,463,000
Derry	£2,510,000	£2,998,000	£2,673,000
Ballymena	£2,471,000	£2,749,000	£2,654,000
Larne	£1,280,000	£1,273,000	£1,116,000
Belfast	£4,946,000	£6,009,000	£4,063,000
Castlereagh	£1,842,000	£2,165,000	£1,623,000
Newtownabbey	£1,869,000	£2,846,000	£1,860,000
Carrickfergus	£934,000	£1,186,000	£783,000
North Down	£2,368,000	£2,465,000	£1,462,000
Lisburn	£3,077,000	£3,066,000	£4,364,000
Ards	£2,118,000	£3,335,000	£1,726,000
Armagh	£3,661,000	£4,907,000	£4,439,000
Newry & Mourne	£3,634,000	£3,944,000	£2,700,000
Banbridge	£2,222,000	£2,734,000	£1,880,000
Craigavon	£2,948,000	£3,614,000	£2,231,000
Down	£2,794,000	£2,552,000	£3,336,000
Magherafelt	£1,755,000	£2,771,000	£2,107,000
Omagh	£3,458,000	£4,424,000	£2,971,000
Strabane	£3,056,000	£3,617,000	£3,028,000
Cookstown	£1,980,000	£1,976,000	£1,738,000
Fermanagh	£4,522,000	£4,578,000	£4,638,000
Dungannon	£3,911,000	£4,051,000	£3,410,000
Totals	£65,594,000	£77,332,000	£62,986,000

Flags

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister for Regional Development what steps he has taken to address the issue of flags which are flown throughout the summer, particularly in mixed areas and on arterial routes.

(AQW 6772/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service is signed up to the multi-agency Protocol on the Display of Flags in Public Areas. Under this protocol, Roads Service will provide support facilities, such as tower wagons, to take down unwanted flags where there is agreement within the local community to do so, but removal has not taken place.

Pay and Display Car Parking

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the revenue raised from the Pay and Display car parks in Perry Street East and Perry Street West, Dungannon, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6781/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the amount of revenue raised from Perry Street East car park for the last three financial years is detailed in the table below:-

Revenue Raised From Perry Street East Car Park
Year	Amount
2007/08	£25,572.99
2008/09	£22,405.65
2009/10*	£12,977.85

* For 2009/10 there was a reduction in the number of charged spaces in the car park.

VAT is payable on the revenue raised, but has not been deducted from these figures.

The Perry Street West car park is not a charged car park.

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. The cost of managing off-street car parks, and enforcing the on-street parking restrictions, exceeds the total revenue received.

Pay and Display Car Parking

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Regional Development to outline the criteria used to determine whether Pay and Display car parking is introduced in our cities and towns.

(AQW 6784/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the provision of convenient short stay parking, close to a town or city centre, is a recommendation within all local transport plans.

Short stay parking is recommended in order to provide a turnover of parking spaces, and consequentially customers, for the benefit of shops and other businesses in the area.

Roads Service generally controls on-street short stay parking by using either a limited waiting regime or a Ticket Zone ‘pay and display’ parking operation. While it could be argued that both achieve the same overall goal, ticketed parking is more efficient in terms of both the usage of the space, as people will only stay for the length of time paid for, and the management of enforcement. Paid parking also contributes to the cost of the enforcement operation.

There are no set criteria for the introduction of Ticket Zone on-street parking, although it is generally recommended as the preferred option. However, to date Roads Service has only introduced ticketed on-street parking where the local Council is fully supportive of it.

In terms of off-street parking, Roads Service operates its car parks on the same general basis. The charged car parks use ‘pay and display’, a manned kiosk or an automatic barrier type operation. However, some are free and this will depend on local circumstances, such as, the distance from the main shopping area or the proximity of other ‘free’ parking.

Volcanic Ash Cloud

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to make a statement on the increased number of passengers using ferry services to travel to and from Northern Ireland due to the volcanic ash cloud.

(AQW 6870/10)

Minister for Regional Development: The ferry ports have observed a significant increase in passenger numbers using ferry services during the recent period of disruption of air travel due to volcanic ash. The various ferry companies can accommodate up to 20,000 passengers each day on their services.

Latest reports indicate a near cessation of volcanic eruption. However, should disruption in air travel reoccur, the ferry companies have arrangements in place to allocate additional staff to assist travellers with booking services. Belfast and Larne Ports have the capacity to accommodate any additional sailings.

Translink can operate additional bus and rail services to help cope with the increase in foot passengers. Additional cross channel coach services would be operated in conjunction with Scottish City Link, National Express and Euro Lines.

Travel updates and advice for stranded passengers are available through the NIDirect website with links to all of the key government and transport provider websites.

Given the possibility of future intermittent disruption to air travel my officials will continue to monitor the situation and to work closely with transport providers and the Consumer Council.

Double Yellow Lines

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) to define what constitutes an 'official' double yellow line on a public highway; (ii) if the Department knows how many 'unofficial' double yellow lines, not placed by the Roads Service currently exist; and (iii) whether anyone has been penalised for using an unofficial double yellow line.

(AQW 6886/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that an official double yellow line is classified as a traffic sign of the size, colour and type prescribed in diagram 1018.1 of Schedule 6 to the Traffic Signs Regulations (NI) 1997, that has been lawfully placed on a road.

Roads Service does not hold information on the number of unofficial double yellow lines within the public road network. However, where Roads Service becomes aware of lines that have been placed unlawfully, and are presenting a misleading message to the public, arrangements are made to have them removed.

Roads Service does not keep a record of Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) that may have issued to a vehicle parked on an unofficial yellow line. Traffic Attendants would most likely assume that all double yellow lines are official. However, the PCN could be challenged if this proved not to be the case.

Public Service Agreement 13

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister for Regional Development how many million passengers journies have been achieved and maintained across all bus, rail and public transport, in accordance with objective 3 of Public Service Agreement 13, in 2009/10.

(AQW 6902/10)

Minister for Regional Development: The total number of bus and rail passenger journeys delivered by Translink in 2009/10 was 78.2 million. This compares against the Public Service Agreement target of 77 million passenger journeys by March 2011.

Public Service Agreement 15

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the mean zonal compliance in water quality achieved by the water industry, in accordance with objective 3, Public Service Agreement 15, at March 2010.

(AQW 6904/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Water quality is higher than it has ever been with a mean zonal compliance of 99.74% achieved for 2009. Provisional figures for the first three months of 2010 indicate further improved compliance but these are only projections at this stage. Through my Social & Environmental Guidance I expect the industry to maintain these high water quality levels over the next 3 years.

Accidents on Public Footpaths

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Regional Development how much was paid out in compensation claims to members of the public who had met with an accident on public footpaths in (i) 2008; and (ii) 2009.

(AQW 7087/10)

Minister for Regional Development: The compensation payments made in respect of concluded footpath accident claims in the 2008 and 2009 calendar years are, as follows:

2008 - 149 claims £875,690.29

2009 - 131 claims £830,159.51

Department for Social Development

Social Security Benefits

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister for Social Development whether any social security benefit exists to assist people who are forced to take time off work to care for a relative; and whether she would consider lobbying the Minister for Work and Pensions to introduce a payment to assist people in such circumstances.

(AQW 6675/10)

Minister for Social Development (Ms M Ritchie): Subject to certain conditions Income Support may be awarded to a person who is temporarily looking after a member of their family who is ill or who is substantially caring for a disabled person. Carer’s Allowance also provides a measure of financial support for people who have given up the opportunity to work full-time to care for a severely disabled person.

The introduction of a National Insurance credit for carers from April 2010 also ensures that carers have improved opportunities to build up State Pension entitlement and entitlement to certain Bereavement Benefits, by crediting a carer with Class 3 contributions for each week they spend caring.

Trees and Hedges

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the Housing Executive's policy on the facing or cutting of trees and hedges that are extending onto Housing Executive property from private dwellings or properties.

(AQW 6706/10)

Minister for Social Development: A tree or hedge on private land is the responsibility of the owner. By law the owner has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent or minimise the risk of injury or damage that could be caused by their trees and hedges. Where trees or hedges are close enough to Housing Executive property to potentially cause problems, the Housing Executive carries out an initial inspection and then recommends that the owner arranges for a detailed inspection to be carried out and that any necessary work is undertaken.

Ballynahinch Town Centre

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development what plans are in place for the regeneration of Ballynahinch town centre.

(AQW 6752/10)

Minister for Social Development: I recently accepted an invitation from Down District Council to visit Ballynahinch to see the potential for public realm works in the town. The Department considers that there is a need for public realm works and the visit will allow me to see at first hand possible regeneration plans for the town centre. Approval of funding for any scheme will of course depend on the amount of capital funding for urban regeneration which can be secured by the Department and on the outcome of an appraisal of any proposed scheme.

Anti-social Behaviour

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development how many instances of anti-social behaviour have been registered by the Housing Executive in each of the last 5 years, broken down by district office.

(AQW 6753/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below details anti-social behaviour complaints by Housing Executive District Office for each of the last five years:-

2005/2006

2006/2007

2007/2008

2008/2009

2009/2010

Belfast East
72

80

48

51

52

Belfast West
170

316

283

340

373

Belfast North
102

71

110

182

189

Shankill
21

11

15

30

41

Belfast South
72

55

37

88

104

Bangor
411

204

230

201

225

Newtownards
182

147

226

160

173

Castlereagh
93

121

191

139

137

Lisburn
444

508

423

463

261

Dairyfarm
181

84

169

99

137

Downpatrick
77

47

81

142

218

Banbridge
92

64

118

132

112

Newry
352

314

252

286

301

Armagh
68

75

73

92

58

Lurgan
53

57

83

90

140

Portadown
87

63

64

113

134

Dungannon
114

73

53

67

103

Fermanagh
223

208

147

127

186

Ballymena
215

307

233

112

75

Antrim
256

215

306

348

252

Newtownabbey 1
158

79

132

67

104

Newtownabbey 2
38

40

34

64

170

Carrickfergus
67

60

49

62

135

Larne
95

64

64

78

69

Ballycastle
7

28

42

32

26

Ballymoney
113

106

91

89

87

Coleraine
193

153

115

81

81

Waterloo
18

26

18

32

54

Waterside
140

76

85

96

113

Collon Terrace
160

158

166

209

192

Limavady
41

45

31

64

98

Magherafelt
88

24

46

50

65

Strabane
114

93

47

79

93

Omagh
88

54

99

72

76

Cookstown
27

32

28

53

50

Renovation of Housing Executive Properties

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the budget available in the 2010/11 financial year for the renovation of Housing Executive properties in (i) Limavady; and (ii) Coleraine.

(AQW 6755/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below details the proposed works and associated costs planned in 2010/11 for Housing Executive properties in Limavady and Coleraine:-

Scheme

Dwellings

Work Type

Cost

Limavady

Kennaught Terrace / Church Street

33

External Cyclical Maintenance

£92,400

Greysteel / Ballykelly

63

Revenue Replacement

£299,250

Roe Mills Gardens

50

Heating Installation

£300,000

Coleraine

The Heights

395

External Cyclical Maintenance

£750,500

Ballysally Area Phase 1

82

Revenue Replacement

£360,800

Benefit Fraud

Mr J Craig asked e Minister for Social Development (i) how many staff are employed by her Department to deal with benefit fraud, including their grades and pay scales; (ii) the total amount spent on employing these staff; and (iii) the total budget in each of the last three financial years to deal with benefit fraud.

(AQW 6857/10)

Minister for Social Development: (i) The number of staff employed by the Department for Social Development to deal with benefit fraud, including their grades and pay scales, is set out in Table 1.

Table 1

Grade
Number Minimum of pay scale *for the grade Maximum of pay Scale * for the grade

Grade 7
1

£39,823

£50,796

Deputy Principal
2

£30,142

£38,893

Staff Officer
12

£24,089

£30,520

Executive Officer 1
19

£20,801

£26,086

Executive Officer 2
110

£19,450

£23,250

Administrative Officer
32

£15,277

£22,180

Administrative Assistant
9

£13,280

£17,533

Typists
6

£13,280

£17,533

Total
191

Grade	Number	Minimum of pay scale *for the grade	Maximum of pay Scale * for the grade
Grade 7	1	£39,823	£50,796
Deputy Principal	2	£30,142	£38,893
Staff Officer	12	£24,089	£30,520
Executive Officer 1	19	£20,801	£26,086
Executive Officer 2	110	£19,450	£23,250
Administrative Officer	32	£15,277	£22,180
Administrative Assistant	9	£13,280	£17,533
Typists	6	£13,280	£17,533
Total	191

Figures have been rounded to show Whole Time Equivalent staff in post.

* The pay scales shown are the pay scales currently applicable, following the implementation of the pay award and Equal Pay settlement from August 2008 and February 2009 respectively. An increase to rates is due in respect of an outstanding pay award from August 2009 or February 2010, depending on the grade involved.

** The figures show the number of posts funded at the 31 March 2010 and do not reflect variations or vacancies in staffing that may have occurred throughout the year.

(ii) The total amount spent employing the benefit fraud staff detailed in Table 1 during the 2009/10 year was £4.94m.

(iii) The total budget in each of the last three financial years to deal with benefit fraud is detailed in Table 2.

Table 2

Financial Year

Total Budget

2007/08

£5.43m

2008/09

£5.45m

2009/10

£5.50m

Benefit Fraud

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many convictions there have been for benefit fraud as a result of investigations by her Department; and how much money has been saved as a result of these convictions in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6862/10)

Minister for Social Development: The number of benefit fraud convictions and the overpayments identified as a result in each of the last three years is set out in the table below.

Financial Year Number of Convictions Overpayments

2007/2008
393

£2,875,054

2008/2009

530

£3,726,625

2009/2010

455

£3,295,204

Financial Year	Number of Convictions	Overpayments
2007/2008	393	£2,875,054
2008/2009	530	£3,726,625
2009/2010	455	£3,295,204

Maintenance Schemes for Kilcooley and Rathgill Estates

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on this financial year's maintenance schemes for the (i) Kilcooley; and (ii) Rathgill estates in Bangor.

(AQW 6945/10)

Minister for Social Development: One heating scheme for 55 dwellings is planned for Kilcooley estate this year at an estimated cost of £242,000. There are currently no schemes planned for Rathgill estate in 2010/11.

Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Programmes

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the organisations which receive funding from her Department for drug and alcohol awareness and prevention programmes in the Colin area of West Belfast; and (ii) how much funding each organisation has received in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6975/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department does not directly fund any organisation in respect of drug and alcohol awareness programmes within the Colin Neighbourhood Area. The Belfast Regeneration Office does, however, provide funding to a number of organisations where functions carried out involve drug and alcohol awareness activities.

The Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, Cloona Oasis Centre, Footprints Women’s Centre and Youth Initiatives have or are receiving Neighbourhood Renewal funding and deliver drug and alcohol awareness activities. It is not possible however to disaggregate out those parts of the funding which might support drug and alcohol awareness services in the Colin Area.

Work for Your Benefit Scheme

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Social Development for an assessment of the potential benefits to long-term unemployed people of the Work For Your Benefit scheme proposed under the Welfare Reform Bill.

(AQO 1289/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Work for Your Benefit scheme will be designed to move long term jobseekers closer to and help them find sustained work in the open labour market. The programme will ensure jobseekers continue to receive support and benefit from the opportunity to develop work habits and routines that they may not have experienced for some time. This is because long term jobseekers still on benefit are likely to face particular barriers, for example loss of skills, due to the length of time they have been away from employment. Evidence shows that the closer work-experience is to real work the greater the chance of participants finding work. Work is of course, considered the best route out of poverty.

Work for Your Benefit builds on existing welfare reforms and represents an excellent chance for long term unemployed people to re-engage with the labour market.

Urban Regeneration: Derry

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the Department's urban regeneration work in the Derry City Council area.

(AQO 1290/10)

Minister for Social Development: Since 2007 my Department has invested close to £24m in Urban Regeneration work in the Derry City Council area.

Currently my Department is progressing work on a number of projects, including the multi million Public Realm Scheme at Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place, due for completion in July, redevelopment of the Clondermot school site, a £1m Environmental Improvement Scheme at Victoria Road, of which phase 1 is complete, the development of nearly two miles of pedestrian and cycle pathway at Clooney Greenway and a new shared space at Foyle Street.

Work is also well advanced by Ilex, the Urban Regeneration Company sponsored by my Department and OFMDFM, on a regeneration plan, which will include development of Fort George. Ilex is also taking forward the Peace Bridge, a £13million project which my Department is contributing too. The Bridge should be complete early next year.

Furthermore in 2009/10, my Department invested over £5.8 million of Neighbourhood Renewal funding in Derry. This is the highest amount of Neighbourhood Renewal investment in Derry since the programme commenced.

Town Centre Regeneration: Carrickfergus and Larne

Mr S Neeson asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the Department's plans to regenerate Carrickfergus and Larne town centres.

(AQO 1291/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department has funded the preparation of masterplans for both Carrickfergus and Larne town centres. These masterplans will be published by the end of June this year. They will set the strategic direction for the regeneration of both towns and identify regeneration activities and supporting projects which may be taken forward by central Government Departments, local authorities, statutory agencies and the private sector over the next 10 to 15 years.

My Department is currently working up plans to implement some of the projects identified in the masterplans, including a proposal for a public realm scheme for Carrickfergus Town Centre and some shopfront and streetscape improvements through a ReStore programme in Larne town centre. These projects are at the initial preparation stage and still have to go through the necessary appraisal and approval stages. The implementation of these and any other projects identified in the masterplans is dependent on sufficient resources for urban regeneration being provided for my Department’s budget in the current and future financial years.

Social Housing: East Londonderry

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister for Social Development how many new build social housing units are proposed for East Londonderry in this year's social housing development programme.

(AQO 1292/10)

Minister for Social Development: I am pleased to report that following on from a year in which we built the largest number of new homes in one year for over a decade; we are continuing to build on that success. In this financial year we have proposed six housing schemes and a total of 60 homes for the East Londonderry Parliamentary Constituency with the total over the next three years being nine schemes and 87 homes.

Of course the Social Housing Development Programme is just one way that we meet housing need in any given location or constituency. The re letting of existing homes in the public sector is another way we can help to put more people into homes with more and more people turning to the Private Rented Sector to address their own housing need.

Mortgage Reserve Scheme

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development if a mortgage relief scheme will be introduced to help people who are at risk of losing their homes as a result of the economic crisis.

(AQO 1293/10)

Minister for Social Development: I do not have the money to launch the full scheme. In the absence of a commitment for sufficient funds as other jurisdictions have provided, I am not prepared to raise expectations that cannot be fulfilled. In May 2009 the Mortgage Debt Advice Service was launched. This specialised service is preventing where at all possible, people here from becoming homeless as a consequence of housing related debt. An evaluation of the service is due to be completed over the summer.

Social Housing: Newbuilds

Mr B Leonard asked the Minister for Social Development if the Department will give responsibility for new build social housing back to the Housing Executive.

(AQO 1294/10)

Minister for Social Development: Responsibility for delivery of the Social Housing Development Programme transferred to the Housing Executive from my Department in 2007. In effect the Housing Executive are now responsible for assessing housing need, identifying areas where new housing should be delivered and then appointing Housing Associations to take forward development activity to meet that identified need.

Due to existing Treasury Rules regarding Public Sector Borrowing, the Housing Executive themselves are not able to borrow privately to complement the funding my Department already makes available for new build development. This is because as a Non Departmental Public Body any borrowing secured by them counts as public expenditure and would therefore score against the Departmental Expenditure Limit and adds nothing extra to the housing budget. That is why Housing Associations are now best placed to deliver new social housing as they can access private finance in a way the Housing Executive can not. In the last year alone this private borrowing amounted to nearly £75m and contributed significantly to the delivery of 1,838 new homes, the largest for a decade.

Benefit Take-up: West Tyrone

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister for Social Development what action the Department is taking to encourage the maximum uptake of benefits in the West Tyrone constituency.

(AQO 1295/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department provides a range of services to make people aware of their entitlements; including outreach services, participation in local promotional activity, the production of specific publications, some in minority ethnic languages, DSD and NIHE websites and a new online Benefits Adviser Service. Furthermore, on top of the general assistance provided through our local and centralised offices to clients seeking a specific benefit, where appropriate, staff also highlight other benefits to which they may be entitled.

In addition to these general services, a targeted approach to benefit uptake was introduced in 2005. Specific exercises, targeting people with potential benefit entitlement, were undertaken. These exercises included people living in the West Tyrone constituency. By June 2009 this work had generated an additional £27 million of annual benefit and arrears.

Social Housing: Private Developers

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Development how much has been spent since May 2007 on purchasing apartments from private developers for social housing and how many required additional work to bring them up to a livable standard.

(AQO 1296/10)

Minister for Social Development: Acquiring what we refer to as "off the shelf" housing can very often represent good value for money and bring much needed units of housing into the market more quickly than through the traditional acquisition and new build route. However any new homes acquired like this must still in effect be the right homes, in the right location, at the right price. This sort of acquisition is only approved after the Housing Association has confirmed that they meet the necessary standards and as such there is usually no further expense associated with bringing them up to a "liveable standard".

The average unit cost in terms of grant paid for this sort of acquisition in 2007/08 was £133,260, in 2008/09 it reduced to £112,984 per unit and in 2009/10 it further reduced to £81,795. It is not possible to provide a figure for apartments only.

In terms of representing value for money, acquiring these sort of homes last year was on average £14,000 cheaper when compared to a more traditional method of acquiring land and procuring work to build out the scheme. Whilst the majority of the programme is focussed on a more traditional method of development, "off the shelf" housing has an important role to play in meeting housing need and when it continues to represent such good value for money it will continue to do so.

Town Centre Regeneration: Limavady

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development, following confirmation of investment in a masterplan for the project, whether the regeneration of Limavady town centre will be given priority when funding is available.

(AQO 1297/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Limavady Masterplanning commenced on 10 May and the final report is due in January 2011.Further progress, following on from the completion of the Limavady Masterplan, will be dependent on the availability of funding. And whilst there are many competing priorities for the budget, my Department will seek to bring forward projects which will most benefit Limavady as a result of this exercise.

Benefit Fraud

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the cost to the Department of benefit fraud in the 2009/10 financial year.

(AQO 1298/10)

Minister for Social Development: The estimated cost to the Department of benefit fraud in 2009/2010 will not be published until later this year.

	2005/2006	2006/2007	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010
Belfast East	72	80	48	51	52
Belfast West	170	316	283	340	373
Belfast North	102	71	110	182	189
Shankill	21	11	15	30	41
Belfast South	72	55	37	88	104
Bangor	411	204	230	201	225
Newtownards	182	147	226	160	173
Castlereagh	93	121	191	139	137
Lisburn	444	508	423	463	261
Dairyfarm	181	84	169	99	137
Downpatrick	77	47	81	142	218
Banbridge	92	64	118	132	112
Newry	352	314	252	286	301
Armagh	68	75	73	92	58
Lurgan	53	57	83	90	140
Portadown	87	63	64	113	134
Dungannon	114	73	53	67	103
Fermanagh	223	208	147	127	186
Ballymena	215	307	233	112	75
Antrim	256	215	306	348	252
Newtownabbey 1	158	79	132	67	104
Newtownabbey 2	38	40	34	64	170
Carrickfergus	67	60	49	62	135
Larne	95	64	64	78	69
Ballycastle	7	28	42	32	26
Ballymoney	113	106	91	89	87
Coleraine	193	153	115	81	81
Waterloo	18	26	18	32	54
Waterside	140	76	85	96	113
Collon Terrace	160	158	166	209	192
Limavady	41	45	31	64	98
Magherafelt	88	24	46	50	65
Strabane	114	93	47	79	93
Omagh	88	54	99	72	76
Cookstown	27	32	28	53	50

Scheme	Dwellings	Work Type	Cost
Limavady
Kennaught Terrace / Church Street	33	External Cyclical Maintenance	£92,400
Greysteel / Ballykelly	63	Revenue Replacement	£299,250
Roe Mills Gardens	50	Heating Installation	£300,000
Coleraine
The Heights	395	External Cyclical Maintenance	£750,500
Ballysally Area Phase 1	82	Revenue Replacement	£360,800

Financial Year	Total Budget
2007/08	£5.43m
2008/09	£5.45m
2009/10	£5.50m