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 2 July 2010

Written Answers to Questions

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

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

Newtownards Castlebawn Development Project

Mr J Dallat asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to list the written representations received from elected representatives, in relation to the Newtownards Castlebawn development project, in the last four years, including the names of the representatives involved and the dates of any written representations made.

(AQW 7517/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness): Our records show that over the last 4 years we have received five written representations from elected representatives in relation to the Newtownards Castlebawn development project. Details of these are outlined in the Table below.

Date of Written Representation	Detail
26 January 2009	Letter registering concern about the DOE decision to take the project to Public Local Inquiry and delays encountered through the work of the Planning Appeals Commission.
27 May 2009	Letter seeking clarification on information contained in the response from First Minister and deputy First Minister to the letter of 26 January 2009.
30 July 2009	Letter requesting a meeting to discuss how to expedite the Castlebawn development application.
7 April 2009	Letter regarding the delay in the Public Inquiry.
20 October 2009	Letter seeking a start date for the Planning Appeals Commission Inquiry.

With regard to the identities of the elected representatives, we are seeking consent from the third parties concerned to disclose their personal information, in accordance with data protection principles. To disclose their identities without consent would represent unfair processing of their personal data, as they would have had no expectation that this information would be disclosed.

The Planning Appeals Commission is an independent tribunal Non-Departmental Public Body which operates at arms length from Government and exercises its functions independently and free from influence by the Department or any other body.

OFMDFM holds sponsorship responsibility for the Commission but has no locus in planning appeal matters or referred work and has no operational remit. Responses to the representations made reflect this position.

The Chief Commissioner of the Planning Appeals Commission is responsible for the financial, operational and administrative management of the Commission. In this capacity she may have received representations from elected representatives and consequently we have passed the detail of your question to the Chief Commissioner for her consideration and response to you.

Display of Flags in Public Areas

Mr J Dallat asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister when the review of the Joint Protocol in Relation to the Display of Flags in Public Areas will be published.

(AQO 1456/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The working group set up to look at the current Flags Protocol and to review it has so far met on two occasions on 7 October and 23 November 2009.

The Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) is currently being developed for consultation. When the consultation is completed and the CSI Programme launched then the Flags Protocol will be reviewed in the context of the new Programme.

Officials are still actively monitoring this issue of flags and research is continuing into the monitoring of a baseline report commenced in 2006.

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQW 7179/10, for a full breakdown of their Department's spending on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 7850/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The vast majority of spend on the Review of Public Administration related to Salary Costs and General Administrative Expenditure with a small amount over the period spent on consultancy. A breakdown is provided below.

Year	Salaries and General Administrative Expenditure £m	Consultancy £m	Total £m
2002/03	£0.60	£0.20	£0.80
2003/04	£0.86	£0.04	£0.90
2004/05	£0.88	£0.02	£0.90
2005/06	£1.10	£0.00	£1.10
2006/07	£0.50	£0.00	£0.50
2007/08	£0.35	£0.05	£0.40
2008/09	£0.40	£0.00	£0.40
2009/10	£0.20	£0.00	£0.20
Total	£4.89	£0.31	£5.20

Hillsborough Agreement: Reviews

Mr J O'Dowd asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on implementation of the programme of reviews covered in the Hillsborough Agreement.

(AQO 1444/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Under the terms of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement a commitment was made to establish three Working Groups.

The Working Group on Outstanding Executive Issues, which Junior Minister Kelly and Junior Minister Newton jointly chair, has met on 10 occasions since its inception and will meet again on 22 June.

As a result of the Working Group’s deliberations, there has been a significant reduction in the number of papers awaiting formal agreement by the Executive.

At the outset the Working Group identified 47 outstanding issues which required consideration. To date 30 of these have been cleared for inclusion on the agenda of an Executive meeting and have been agreed by the Executive. We continue to work towards a resolution of all outstanding issues.

The Working Group on Improving Executive Function and Delivery has completed its work and has submitted its report to us. We are currently considering this report and intend to write shortly to all Ministerial colleagues to seek their views on the report, before responding to its recommendations.

The third Working Group proposed under the Hillsborough Castle Agreement related to commitments made in the St Andrews Agreement. Following preliminary consultations with other parties in the Executive, we wrote to Party Leaders on 3 June enclosing a schedule of specific issues from the St Andrews Agreement which parties believe have not been faithfully fulfilled and remain outstanding.

They have proposed that this schedule should form the basis of the work to be taken forward by the St Andrews Agreement Working Group which the Executive agreed to establish on 11 February, with a remit to make recommendations on how progress can be made on these matters.

Once we receive final confirmation regarding nominations by the political parties to this Working Group, it is our intention that an early meeting of the Group will be convened under the Chairmanship of Junior Ministers.

Home Office and UK Border Agency

Ms A Lo asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what representations they have made to ensure that the Home Office and the UK Border Agency respond appropriately to elected representatives in Northern Ireland acting on behalf of constituents.

(AQO 1445/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Immigration is a matter reserved to the UK Government and Westminster Parliament. The new Coalition Government is still in its infancy and we are waiting to see if the policy of the Home Office and the UK Border Agency within the new Government on this matter differs from that of the previous Government. If the policy remains the same, we will write to the Home Secretary to ask him to consider alternative ways in which Members of the Legislative Assembly might be enabled to make representations on behalf of individual constituents, in recognition of their position as elected representatives. Constituents can of course continue to raise any concerns and have their cases represented by a Westminster MP.

The UK Border Agency has stated that it will work with MLAs on any general/policy issues which they raise.

Our officials have regularly raised this issue with officials in the UK Border Agency.

Attorney General: Executive

Mr P Doherty asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the roles and responsibilities of the Attorney General in relation to the Executive.

(AQO 1446/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We have agreed that the Attorney General should act as the chief legal adviser to the Executive.

He will be able to attend Executive meetings and pre-meetings, though it is not anticipated that it would be necessary for him to attend all meetings. Draft Executive papers will be copied to the Attorney General at the same time as they are circulated by the originating Minister to Ministerial colleagues for comment.

The advice of the Attorney General would be sought on the most important and complex legal matters facing the Executive and Ministers, including where there is disagreement between Departments on legal issues. It is expected that the Attorney General’s advice would normally be followed, without prejudice to the ultimate decision-making responsibilities of the Executive.

Although only a small number of matters on which legal advice is sought result in litigation, it has been agreed that litigation arising in matters on which the Attorney General’s Office had provided advice should be led by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Executive.

These roles and responsibilities are in line with the report by John Larkin QC and our response of March 2010, which have been placed in the Assembly Library. They have also been agreed by the Executive.

Assembly Members

Mr A Ross asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the number of Assembly Members for the electorate in Northern Ireland compared to Scotland and Wales.

(AQO 1447/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: In terms of numerical comparison, the people of Northern Ireland have, per capita, more MLAs than their counterparts in Scotland and Wales in respect of their equivalent institutions. Scotland, for example, with a population of just over 5 million, elects 129 members to the Scottish Parliament which, if translated to Northern Ireland, would suggest that the Assembly should have around 43 rather than 108 members. Using the Welsh example, the equivalent figure would be 35. Clearly, however, any future consideration of the optimum size of the Northern Ireland Assembly would require consideration of a wide range of issues other than numerical comparisons of this nature.

However, the United Kingdom Government has announced its intention to bring forward legislation to provide for a reduction in the number of seats in the House of Commons and more equally sized parliamentary constituencies; and that the Boundary Commission will be empowered to draw up the new constituencies during the current Parliament. As Section 33 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 provides for six members of the Assembly to be returned for the parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland, any reduction in the number of these constituencies would have a direct impact on the future size of the Assembly.

Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill: Code of Conduct

Ms M Ritchie asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the reasons for the delay in the publication of the statutory Code of Conduct which will underpin the Draft Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill and for their assessment of the likely impact of this delay.

(AQO 1448/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Code of Conduct was published for consultation on 23 June 2010.

Devolved Executives

Mr T Clarke asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to provide an update on relationships between the devolved Executives in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the UK Government.

(AQO 1449/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We believe that there is a shared recognition by the UK Government and all of the devolved administrations of the importance of co-operation and communication between us as we face many common issues and challenges, particularly in addressing the implications of a reduction in public expenditure.

The importance of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) as the framework within which this dialogue can take place has been given a renewed and stronger emphasis. A meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, in plenary format, took place on 8 June and all administrations have committed themselves to regular dialogue and a programme of further meetings during the rest of this year

A copy of the communiqué issued after the JMC Plenary meeting has been placed in the Library.

Commissioner for Older People Bill

Mr G Savage asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what substantive changes have been made to the Commissioner for Older People Bill since it was first mooted in 2006.

(AQO 1450/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Executive’s Programme for Government gave a commitment to provide a "strong independent voice" for older people and on 18 December 2007 the then First Minister and deputy First Minister announced their intention to appoint an Older People’s Commissioner.

Following considerable research and development work, a draft Bill and set of policy proposals were produced and subsequently issued for public consultation which ran from 1 October 2009 and concluded on 7 January 2010.

Substantive changes have been made to the Bill following the responses received to the consultation and these are:

• adding nursing and residential care homes in the private and voluntary sectors as "relevant authorities" in the Bill. This means that the Commissioner’s formal review and investigation powers will apply to all nursing and residential care homes, regardless of sector;
• inserting a new clause to give the Commissioner the power to procure conciliation services to provide an alternative to legal proceedings in disputes involving older people; and
• amending some of the clauses which limit the Commissioner from acting when another organisation has responsibility for a service, in order to give the Commissioner greater discretion to act if he or she considers it necessary.

The Bill is now at Committee Stage and the OFMDFM Committee will scrutinise it in detail and then issue a report to the Assembly.

We are committed to establishing a Commissioner for Older People within the lifetime of this Assembly and would once again affirm our commitment to delivering for older people and ensuring that they are given their rightful place as full and valued members of our community.

Legislative Programme 2009-2010

Mr D Kinahan asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the Executive's legislative programme for the remainder of the current 2009/10 session.

(AQO 1451/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Following the Introduction on 21 June 2010 of the Welfare of Animals, Tourism (Amendment), and Transport Bills, a further two Executive Bills are proposed for introduction by the relevant Ministers before the end of the current Assembly session: the Housing (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill. This would bring to 29 the total number of Executive Bills introduced during 2009/10. In addition, the Executive has supported the Caravans Bill promoted by Mr John McCallister MLA.

Private Sector

Mr R Beggs asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline any discussions they have had with the Prime Minister in relation to increasing the size of the private sector in Northern Ireland.

(AQO 1452/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: At our meeting with the Prime Minister, David Cameron, on 20 May we discussed a number of matters relating to the economy both on a global and local level, including the need to address the historic imbalance between the public and private sectors here, and the link between economic stability and continued political progress.

We also raised the issue of increasing the private sector here with the Prime Minister during a wider debate on the economy at the Joint Ministerial Committee Plenary meeting on 8 June. It is clearly an issue that he, and the Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, are committed to working on with the Executive in order to seek a long-term solution.

Efficiency Savings: Local Government and Education

Mrs M O'Neill asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister how the Executive will achieve the proposed efficiencies flowing from the review of Local Government and the review of the education system.

(AQO 1453/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Implementation of Review of Public Administration (RPA) has now been embedded within the business of respective Departments. There are no implementation decisions impacting on our department. Costs and required efficiencies in respect of the 2008-11 budget period have been fully integrated into departments’ budget settlements and are being managed in that context. The Department of Finance and Personnel monitors the achievement of Departments' Efficiency Delivery Plans, including RPA efficiencies that are included as part of the overall delivery of efficiencies.

Whilst there remains a number of cross departmental issues, the current protocol arrangements establish the lead Ministerial responsibility for bringing these RPA matters to the Executive.

Realising the full potential to raise educational standards and deliver efficiency savings is dependent on the establishment of the Education & Skills Authority (ESA). Until such time as the Education Bill to enable that to happen is enacted, arrangements have been made to provide for the convergence of education services across the existing organisations under the current legislation and structures. This is necessarily a sub-optimal position compared to the establishment of ESA. To help address the need to realise efficiencies through removal of duplication and streamlining of services, a Convergence Delivery Plan was published in March 2010. The convergence work is being led by the Chief Executive designate of the Education & Skills Authority, working with the five Education and Library Boards and the other education bodies.

The Executive have not yet reached agreement on an alternative delivery timetable for local government reform, but it remains committed to delivering its vision for local government. Central to that vision is the provision of high-quality; efficient services that respond to people’s needs and continuously improve over time. The Environment Minister will be bringing fresh proposals on a delivery timetable before the Executive over the summer, with a view to reaching agreement within the Executive and providing clarity on the timetable for all those affected by or with an interest in local government reform.

Staff Salaries

Mr S Gardiner asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many staff in their Department, and associated Quangos, are paid in excess of £100,000 pa in salary and/or remuneration packages.

(AQW 8042/10)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: Two members of staff in the Department and eight people in OFMDFM Arms Length Bodies are currently paid in excess of £100,000 per annum in salary.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Compensation for Potato Farmers

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what progress has been made in securing compensation for potato farmers who had crops destroyed by the harsh winter weather.

(AQW 7719/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): A funding bid for potato losses following the severe January 2010 frost and also for sheep losses due to the ice storm of 31 March was submitted as part of the June monitoring round. The outcome of this is still awaited.

Should funding be made available, an announcement about a scheme will be made in due course.

Down/Armagh Rural Transport

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (i) the funding provided to Down/Armagh Rural Transport (DART) in each of the last three years, including this financial year; and (ii) the services provided by DART.

(AQW 7781/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: As part of the package of actions to address rural poverty and social exclusion DARD, working through and in partnership with DRD, provided £1,321 to cover the 250 passenger journeys provided by DART between scheme commencement in Dec 2009 and March 2010. To date in 2010/11 £1,050 has been provided to cover 213 passenger journeys provided by DART. DARD also awarded DART with a letter of offer for £4,444 in 2009/10 under the ‘Local’ Rural Challenge Programme to provide disadvantaged or marginalised individuals or groups, based in rural areas, with a free and accessible community transport service to a range of cultural events across the north of Ireland. The "Arts Express" Project also aims to facilitate respite for carers and the associated costs with the provision of respite.

DART are one of the 16 Rural Community Transport Partnerships providing the Assisted Rural Travel Scheme service funded by DARD through DRD.

DRD would be better placed to advise on the wider range of services that DART provide for them.

Rivers Agency

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how often the Rivers Agency cleans designated watercourses.

(AQW 7810/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Rivers Agency operates a programme of cyclical inspection visits for designated watercourses. The frequency of inspection visits for each watercourse depends on the characteristics and flood risk associated with each watercourse. These timescales are usually not more than 6 years for rural watercourses and 1 year for urban watercourses. Works will be programmed, where inspections highlight the need for maintenance and these are subject to available resources and competing priorities

Designated Watercourses

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the criteria under which designated watercourses, that are not due for a clean-up, would be cleared.

(AQW 7812/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: When Rivers Agency officials become aware of a significant obstruction that is likely to impede the free flow of water and create an imminent flood risk, maintenance works can be carried out to remove the obstruction as soon as possible. There are no set criteria for determining when such emergency works are carried out. This process is managed by operational decisions being taken on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the risk of flooding, the availability of resources, and competing priorities.

Agricultural Courses

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many students are currently registered for agricultural courses, broken down by constituency.

(AQW 7813/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My Department does not record details of students registered on courses by constituency. Information is recorded on a County basis and for agricultural courses the current number of students per county is: -

• County Antrim - 167
• County Armagh - 66
• County Derry - 57
• County Down - 107
• County Fermanagh - 57
• County Tyrone - 130
• Belfast - 9.

Zip Wire Courses in Forests

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline any plans she has to attract outdoor pursuits companies to set-up zip wire courses in forests.

(AQW 7829/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Forest Service is currently seeking to finalise contractual arrangements with Go Ape, a High Trees Adventure company, who have been appointed as a preferred operating partner following a tender process.

Go Ape have secured planning permission in May 2010 to develop a High Trees Venture at Tollymore Forest, which includes zip wires activities.

Promoting the Sale and Consumption of Local Produce

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what financial assistance is available for developing farmer markets to promote the sale and consumption of local produce.

(AQW 7830/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has in the past provided financial support to a number of farmers’ markets under the Leader + and Peace II funding programmes, most notably in Derry, Ballymoney and Strabane.

Opportunities for future support for farmers’ markets may exist under the Axis 3 of the Rural Development Programme, although this is dependent upon the priorities set within the local development strategies by the Local Action Groups and Council clusters in each area.

Continental Market in Belfast

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she has had any contact with Market Place Europe, which organises the Continental Market in Belfast, regarding the inclusion of stalls at the Christmas and summer markets at Belfast City Hall that promote and sell local produce.

(AQW 7834/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I have not had contact with Market Place Europe in relation to the Markets you have mentioned although my Department has offered assistance through the Regional Food Programme to a project aimed at including local produce stalls at the Christmas Market. DARD have issued a Letter of Offer to an applicant under the 2010/11 Regional Food Programme which is the primary vehicle used by my Department to assist our agri-food industry to showcase the quality food that is available here.

Coppicing or Biomass Planting

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how much land has been used for coppicing or biomass planting in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7844/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: In the last three years, there were a total of 375 hectares of Short Rotation Coppice willow planted under the Short Rotation Coppice Scheme 2007 and its predecessor, the Short Rotation Coppice Challenge Fund.

Two hundred and seventy five hectares were planted in 2007/2008, sixty four hectares were planted in 2008/2009, and thirty six hectares were planted in 2009/2010.

Pork Imports

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, pursuant to AQW 7183/10, (i) if she has any plans to keep a record of pork imports from within the single European market; and (ii) to detail the number of live pigs imported from the Republic of Ireland in the last twelve months.

(AQW 7994/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I do not have any plans to keep a record of pork imports from within the Single European markets. Pork is permitted to move freely within the EU and there is no statutory requirement for DARD to record this information.

A total of 584,091 pigs were imported from the south of Ireland in the last twelve months, split as follows:

Breeding and Production	31,639
Direct Slaughter	552,452

European Fisheries Council Meeting in Luxembourg

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she will be representing the Executive at the European Fisheries Council meeting in Luxembourg on 29 June 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

(AQW 7996/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I will not be attending the Agri-fish Council in Luxembourg on the 29 June but I will be represented by a senior official from my Department. There are two substantive fisheries items on the Agenda. Council will discuss the Commission’s Policy Statement on Fishing Opportunities for 2011 which sets out its proposed approach to determining TACs and Quotas based on scientific advice from ICES, which will be available shortly. The other item is a presentation from the Commission on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

I have had an opportunity to discuss these issues with the Defra Minister, Richard Benyon MP and other Fisheries Ministers from the devolved administrations and we have an agreed position to take on these matters at Council.

Glenree House, Newry

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, pursuant to AQW 7391/10, (i) if she plans to undertake a survey in Glenree House, Newry to assess staff morale; (ii) when the survey will commence; and (iii) whether it will be carried out by a person, or persons, independent of her Department, the staff at Glenree House and their union NIPSA.

(AQW 8006/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: This issue is under active consideration. The Department has been working with NIPSA and a process for resolving the matter has been agreed.

European Fisheries Council Meeting

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues in Britain and the Republic of Ireland regarding the European Fisheries Council meeting on 29 June 2010.

(AQW 8054/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I had very useful discussions with ministerial colleagues from Britain on 23 June about the Agenda items for the Agri-fish Council on 29 June, and we agreed a position to take on those matters at Council. My officials have had discussions with their counterparts in the south and I am seeking an early meeting with the newly appointed Fisheries Minister Sean Connick TD.

Single Farm Payment

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, pursuant to AQW 7729/10, how monies held in the Single Farm Payment national reserve have been used to date.

(AQW 8106/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The national reserve was used in 2005 when Single Farm Payment was introduced to make awards to farmers in the following categories (as specified in the relevant EU Regulations);

• Farmers who made eligible investments by 15 May 2004
• New Entrants who commenced farming by 2 November 2004
• Dairy producers who leased out quota between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2005 for reasons of force majeure or exceptional circumstances
• Farmers who converted by 15 May 2004 from dairy to beef, sheep or arable enterprises
• Farmers who reduced production because of participation in Management of Sensitive Sites (MOSS) Scheme
• Farmers who under certain conditions received land which was leased to a third party during the reference period (2000 – 2002).
• Farmers who leased land between 1 January 2003 and 15 May 2004 for a period of six years or more where the lease conditions cannot be adjusted.
• Farmers who purchased land by 15 May 2004 under certain conditions which was under lease to a third party during the reference period (2000 – 2002).

In 2009, entitlements were allocated in respect of land used for orchard and nursery stock production as a result of reforms to the CAP fruit and vegetable regime. While these were not awards from the national reserve, the fact that monies were in the national reserve and could be used to fulfil these awards meant that no scaleback was required to existing SFP entitlements as a consequence of allocating these entitlements.

European Fisheries Fund

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will make a statement to the Assembly on the progress of the European Fisheries Fund.

(AQW 8124/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I do not intend to make a statement to the Assembly on this matter. The information set out below provides details on progress with the European Fisheries Fund to date.

Since August 2009, four European Fisheries Fund Measures have remained open for applications. These Measures are:-

• Productive investments in aquaculture
• Investments in processing and marketing
• Collective actions
• Fishing ports, landing sites and shelters

A fifth measure, to protect and develop aquatic fauna and flora, was opened for a short period during April 2010 and has since closed, with its budget fully committed.

Measure level business cases for two further measures, namely "Small scale coastal fishing" and "Investments on board fishing vessels and selectivity" have now been completed and my Department will open both Measures immediately upon receipt of DFP approval, which is currently being sought.

An evaluation of the South Down Fishing Taskforce investment is currently being undertaken. This independent evaluation will inform my Department of the potential for further socio-economic investment for the sustainable development of fisheries areas that may be available through Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund.

To date, my Department has received 41 applications for projects, seeking £6.155m of assistance. Of those applications 1 was withdrawn, 5 were rejected because they didn’t comply with EFF rules and decision on a further 4 has been deferred pending further information. £3.86m grant has been awarded to 30 successful applicants. One further project, seeking a total of £1.38m grant will be presented to the next Selection Panel for decision.

I propose to make an announcement on other Priority Axis 1 Measures shortly. In doing so I will take into account the recommendations on fleet adaption in the report of the Fisheries Forum.

European Fisheries Fund

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what assessment she has made of the modernisation and decommissioning issues of the European Fisheries Fund.

(AQW 8140/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My Department carried out a survey of the modernisation needs of the fishing fleet last year and also commissioned an update of the "Fleet Futures Economic Model" to assist the Fisheries Forum make recommendations to me on the future shape of the local fishing industry and the use of the EFF.

The modernisation survey has identified a need, and desire, to invest in our fleet across a range of themes, most notably safety, re-engining, catch quality, energy efficiency and crew facilities. These findings, together with the views of the Fisheries Forum, have been factored into the Business Case completed for a proposed vessel modernisation scheme for which we are now seeking DFP approval.

The updated "Fleet Futures" analysis is available from my Department’s internet site ( www.dardni.gov.uk/fisheries ). This is a complex piece of work which, using a methodology which linked together TAC, costs, projected prices size and the acceptable normal average profit per vessel, analysed the likely state of the fishing fleet in 2013 under a range of scenarios. The model also provided for an increasingly restrictive ‘Days at Sea’ effort control regime which was imposed in 2009 as a result of the Cod Recovery Plan affecting all vessels 10m or over in length catching cod in the Irish Sea. The Fleet Futures economic model would suggest that there is a significant mismatch between the size of the current fleet and the fishing opportunities available to it.

I am currently considering the Fisheries Forum Report which has made recommendations relating to the adaption of the fleet. I will make an announcement during July about the implementation of the report’s recommendations, after I have had the opportunity to reflect on any comments the ARD Committee may make following its consideration of the Report at its meeting on 29 June.

Sheep and Lamb Population

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the sheep and lamb population for each of the last three years.

(AQW 8180/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Sheep and lamb populations for the past three years are given below. This information is taken from the June Agricultural and Horticultural Survey. All figures are in thousands.

2007

Breeding Ewes - 957.3

Other Sheep - 39.5

Lambs - 1027.2

Total - 2024.0

2008

Breeding Ewes - 935.4

Other Sheep - 39.4

Lambs - 998.8

Total - 1973.6

2009

Breeding Ewes - 892.4

Other Sheep - 39.6

Lambs - 964.8

Total - 1896.7

Agriculture: Climate Change

Mr G Adams asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for her assessment of the likely impact of climate change on the agriculture sector.

(AQO 1497/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Climate change is likely to have a significant impact on the way we produce food in the future mainly because of the impact of changes in weather patterns and the need to take measures to mitigate and adapt to these changes.

Knowing and assessing the risks is vital to development of appropriate measures and my Department is working jointly with other regions to assess risks in agriculture, forestry, flooding and fisheries.

The climate change risk assessments, due by 2012, will ensure that a range of potential variations are considered, not just extremes. While risk assessments continue to assess the impact, we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are widely accepted as a major contributor to climate change.

With 21% of local emissions attributed to the agriculture sector, mainly from nitrous oxide and methane, the sector needs to make significant reductions alongside other sectors both to contribute to overall reduction targets and to respond to increasing commercial pressures. This can be achieved by changing farming practices to produce lower carbon food products.

However I want to ensure that while emission levels are lowered this does not lead to less production here and more imports. I want to ensure that jobs and production are kept here in the North while maintaining and increasing our exports, especially of meats and dairy products.

I am establishing a stakeholder group with the objective of developing a strategic approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the initial meeting of that group will take place shortly.

In Ireland we need to work together and I have discussed our respective approach to dealing with the impact of climate change with Minister Smith at the NSMC and we have agreed to continue to share information and collaborate in particular on research in this area.

The Executive has agreed to establish a cross Departmental working group to take forward the work necessary to ensure the achievement of the Programme for Government target of a 25% reduction in emissions by 2025 across all sectors. The agriculture sector will have to contribute to this target alongside other sectors.

LEADER Programme

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many new business ideas have been developed, with assistance from her Department, through the LEADER initiative, in the South Down constituency and across Northern Ireland.

(AQO 1502/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: In answering the members question I will confine my answer to projects assisted using the LEADER methodology under the LEADER plus programme and current Axis 3 programmes of the NIRDP. The focus of the LEADER plus programme in the North which ran from 2000 until 2006 was on supporting the development of new and existing small rural businesses and increasing their contribution to the local economy. Data was not collected on the basis of either the number of new business ideas developed or on a parliamentary constituency basis. I can advise however that during the life of the LEADER plus programme 69 projects were funded in county Down investing some £1.1 million in the area. The total investment for LEADER plus programme was £ 20 million across the North creating some 1,300 jobs.

Building on the success of this programme Axis 3 of the new Rural Development programme has at its core the development and creation of small businesses. These are being delivered under a number of measures but specifically 3.1 Farm Diversification, 3.2 Micro business creation and development and 3.3 Tourism. The South Down area is primarily covered by the Down Rural Area Partnership and to date under the new programme measures the group has received 192 applications, 37 of these worth almost £850,000 have been assessed and approved for funding. With 14 letters of offer issued and a further 17 letters of offer ready to issue. So far the job creation potential of these projects in this area stands at 65 full time equivalents, I think you will agree this is a great jobs boost during the current economic down turn.

It is encouraging to see that even in the current financial climate the latest call for applications in this area has resulted in some 74 requests for funding having been received.

The programme as a whole has now received 2,397 applications and the Joint Council Committees have issued letters of offer worth just over £ 9 million. Across the North the breakdown is as follows:-

GROW 29 letters of offer issued worth £750,000

North East Region 66 letters of offer issued worth £1.7 million

Lagan Rural Partnership 25 letters of offer issued worth £650,000

Down R Area Partnership 14 letters of offer issued worth £300,000

SOAR 30 letters of offer issued worth £725,000

ARC 58 letters of offer issued worth £1.7 million

SWARD 121 letters of offer issued worth £3,250,000

This is a significant investment in our rural communities.

Farm Identification Details

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether farm businesses can pass on a farm herd number and business identification details on the same farm unit to another farmer.

(AQO 1503/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: It is not possible to transfer the Department’s registration of one individual herd or flock keeper directly to another nor for business identification details to transfer from one farm business to another. Each farm business is allocated a unique identification number by my Department.

It remains possible for individuals to be added to an existing herd / flock-keeper registration (i.e. into joint names) as long as the original keeper remains alive.

Aquaculture

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for her assessment of the potential for an aquaculture industry in our coastal waters.

(AQO 1505/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The potential for sustainable aquaculture development in our coastal waters has already been realised to a certain extent. There are currently 48 sites licensed by my Department for the cultivation of shellfish, mainly the bottom culture of mussels. There is also one salmon farm with licensed marine sites in Glenarm and Red Bay. In 2008 these parts of the sector produced over 10,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish valued at just under £8.5m and employed 95 people.

There may be scope for further development in the aquaculture sector as a whole and, as cited in the recent Fisheries Forum Report, those involved in the sector consider that a doubling of production is potentially achievable.

There are some factors that may limit further development in coastal waters not least site suitability, competition for space with other water users and the current moratorium on the granting of new licences for the bottom culture of mussels. However, with my Department making £1.6m available under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) to support the development of the sector and a determination to establish aquaculture as a legitimate activity and an equal partner within the marine planning process, I believe that the aquaculture sector has a bright future.

Forest Service: Carrickfergus

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline any plans she has to develop the 835 hectares of land managed by the Forest Service in Carrickfergus.

(AQO 1507/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I presume the area you are referring to is Woodburn forest which is situated five miles to the west of Carrickfergus. NI Water own 743 hectares of the land at Woodburn forest and any developments outside current use are a matter for them to consider. Plans for the area under my Department’s management, focus on maintaining sustainable forest management practice.

Dog Control Legislation

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what progress has been made in strengthening the dog control legislation.

(AQO 1508/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I introduced the Dogs (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly on 24 May 2010 and it passed its Second Stage on 7 June. The Bill has now been referred to the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

The Bill will strengthen and improve the existing arrangements we have to tackle the issues of dog attacks, straying and unwanted dogs and it will promote responsible ownership.

The Bill will maintain the ban on types of dogs that have been bred for fighting, such as the pit bull terrier. I also intend to bring forward subordinate legislation to introduce further strict exemption conditions including a requirement that an exempted dog must be kept away from children when not muzzled and under control.

The Bill will introduce new powers for dog wardens to impose control conditions on problem dogs, whatever their breed. This approach is widely accepted as the way forward in dealing with dog control and dangerous dogs issues.

The Bill will introduce compulsory microchipping, and will make it an offence to allow a dog to attack and injure another person’s dog. Finally, the Bill increases the penalty for owners whose dogs attack and injure people at home, where many of the most serious recent attacks have taken place.

When the Bill is enacted I believe that it will, when taken in its entirety, make dog control legislation here the strongest in these islands.

I would like to thank Members for their contribution to the Second Stage debate on the Bill and for the many supportive comments. I look forward to working closely with the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee as they undertake their detailed and important scrutiny of the Bill.

Sheep: Electronic Identification

Mr J Wells asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for an update on the implementation of the electronic identification of sheep.

(AQO 1509/10)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: From 1 June all sheep moving off holdings have been identified with EID. Markets and Meat Plants acting as Central Points of Recording have been reading the tags and providing sheep farmers with lists of eartag numbers. This has reduced the impact of the new controls on the industry to a minimum, and ensured the free trade in livestock is maintained.

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE

Assistance for Angling Clubs or Societies

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what assistance is available from her Department for angling clubs or societies to help them restock fish in rivers.

(AQW 7687/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland): DCAL operates a Supportive Breeding Programme for salmon by assisting angling clubs to collect brood stock from their waters which are transferred to the Bush Salmon Station where eggs are stripped in the hatchery. The salmon fry are released back into the waters by the club with the aim of increasing the salmon numbers in these rivers. The Department also authorises the possession of fish for restocking purposes by angling clubs by granting permits, under Section 14 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.

The Department also regularly procures trout from the Marble Arch Hatchery in Fermanagh as part of a programme to rebuild the local trout strain in the Erne feeder tributaries

The Department also liaises with angling clubs to restock rivers when a successful prosecution has been taken in relation to a pollution incident and compensation has been awarded by the Court which can be used for restocking.

The Loughs Agency has responsibilities relating to rivers in the Foyle and Carlingford areas. The Agency does not usually directly support salmonid stocking programmes, but prefers to rely on habitat restorations to improve the survival of natural populations. The Agency has carried out in-stream habitat restoration works on a number of rivers, often in partnership with angling clubs. The Agency will also normally support or partner with angling clubs for similar works in civil compensation cases relating to fish kills.

The Loughs Agency is also in the process of developing an economic appraisal for a scheme that will enable clubs and societies to apply for small-scale financial assistance for carrying out works of this nature.

Public Museums and Art Galleries

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail for each of the last ten years (i) the total number of items from public museums and art galleries that were (a) lost or misplaced; and (b) stolen; (ii) the types of items missing; (iii) the length of time for which each item was missing; (iv) whether each item was found or is still missing; (v) the value of these items; and (vi) the costs incurred in replacing these items.

(AQW 7739/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The attached Appendix A contains the details in answer to the above question.

Annex A

Year 2010
	No. of items	Description	Time recorded as missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen	1	American Eight Day Gingerbread Clock	02.04.2009	No	£300
	1	Pair of wire rimmed spectacles	06.2009	No	£20
	1	Staffordshire earthenware ornament	04.06.2009	No	£500
Lost
Misplaced	1	species : Melitaea didyma	2010 Audit	No	£15
	1	species : Chesias rufata	2010 Audit	No	£10
	1	species : ICHNEUMON PHOTOGRAPH; Glass plate negative;	2010 Audit	No	£2.50
	1	species : Nymphaea alba	2010 Audit	No	£10
	1	Stamp from South Australia : 6 pence, surcharged 5 pence	2010 Audit	No	£3.75
	1	Fire Dog	2010 Audit	No	£70-£100
	1	Shoemaker’s knife	2010 Audit	No	£40
	1	Shop’s advertisement	2010 Audit	No	£40-£50
	1	Draw knife	2010 Audit	No	£40-£55
	1	Cardboard Tags	2010 Audit	No	£15
	1	School book	2010 Audit	No	£30-£40
	1	Doll	2010 Audit	No	£60-£125
	1	Handle	2010 Audit	No	£3
Year 2009
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced	1	Library Book- Edwardian Belfast: A Social Profile (Explorations in Irish History)	2009 Audit	No		£10
	1	Doll's Clothes	2009 Audit	No	£40-50
	1	Tea cosy cover	2009 Audit	No	£125
	1	Patchwork bedcover	2009 Audit	No	£300-£500
	3	Augers	2009 Audit	No	£40-£60
	1	Canal lock gate equipment	2009 Audit	No	£150
	1	Silversmith's sandbag	2009 Audit	No	£50-£80
	1	Mason's stone hammer	2009 Audit	No	£50-£80
	1	String holder	2009 Audit	No	£60-£80
	1	Basket makers cleaver or 'splitter'	2009 Audit	No	£60
	1	Green-glass hanging lamp	2009 Audit	No	£60
	1	Piece of bog butter	2009 Audit	No	n/a
	1	Crimping tongs	2009 Audit	No	£40
	3	Jelly moulds	2009 Audit	No	£60-£100
	1	Black leather pocket book	2009 Audit	No	£25
	1	Auger	2009 Audit	No	£20
	1	Weighing machine	2009 Audit	No	£200
	1	Bottle, medical	2009 Audit	No	£5
	1	Washing board	2009 Audit	No	£20
	1	Helmet; Civil defence	2009 Audit	No	£25
	1	Card Game	2009 Audit	No	£10
	1	C.D Brassard [Civil Defence Armband]	2009 Audit	No	£10
Year 2008
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced	1	turf barrow	2008 Audit	No	£400
	1	plane	2008 Audit	No	£20
	1	spectacles	2008 Audit	No	£40
	1	lamp	2008 Audit	No	£30
	1	bottle, ink	2008 Audit	Yes 2010	£10
	1	jam jar	2008 Audit	Yes 2010	£10
	1	Library Book- How it is Made c.1941	2008 Audit	No	£5
	1	Cassette	2008 Audit	No	£2
	1	Baby brush and comb set	2008 Audit	No	£70
	1	Fleece	2008 Audit	No	£80
	1	Overskirt	2008 Audit	No	£60-£100
	1	Sampler	2008 Audit	No	£250
	1	Blouse	2008 Audit	No	£100
	1	Scarf Lace	2008 Audit	No	£100
	1	Clerical Hat	2008 Audit	No	£200
	1	Doll	2008 Audit	No	£350
	1	Bedspread	2008 Audit	No	£300
	1	Baking board	2008 Audit	No	£60
	1	Tongs (broken)	2008 Audit	No	£15
	1	Round plane	2008 Audit	No	£60-£70
	1	Wheelwright’s hoop dog	2008 Audit	No	£100
	1	Object, Ballycastle glass	2008 Audit	No	£100
	1	Linen cart	2008 Audit	Yes 2008	£2000-£3000
	1	2 Horse reaper	2008 Audit	No	£700-£900
Year 2007
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced
Year 2006
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced	1	Disc, ground	2006	No	£10
	1	Pointed implement, double	2006	No	£100
	1	Axe	2006	No	£100
	1	Facetted hammer, round	2006	No	£50
	1	Rubber	2006	No	£100
	6	Photographic Prints	2006	No	£5 each
Year 2005
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen	1	Gilt Pocket Watch	20/11/2005	No	£70
	1	Decorative Watch Stand	21/11/2005	No	£30
	1	Nickel Plated Gents Pocket Watch	22/11/2005	No	£60
Lost
Misplaced
Year 2004
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced
Year 2003
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen	1	Large Wooden Beetle	September 2003	No	£70-£100
	1	Medium sized cast Iron Kettle	September 2003	No	£70-£125
	2	Metal milk / Billy cans, one without a lid	September 2003	No	£30
	1	Small American clock, in working condition	September 2003	No	£150-£200
	1	Small white enamel candleholder	September 2003	No	£20
	2	Pair of framed Prints (colour Portraits of King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra)	September 2003	No	£100-£250
	1	Small hand oil lamp, clear glass reservoir	September 2003	No	£60-£70
	1	Framed text ‘The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want’	September 2003	No	£70
Lost
Misplaced	1	PRINT; The Rialto Bridge from the West, Venice	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£50
	1	PRINT; David Hartley	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£250
	1	PRINT; Abstraction	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£75
	1	BROOCH; (copy of Tara brooch)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£400
	1	Brooch, gilt dragon	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£100
	1	Painting, James McQuitty, Esq. (1922)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£800
	1	Painting, Portrait of an Unknown Woman (1903?)	2003 Audit	No	£500
	1	Drawing, At Cushendall (1858)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£800
	1	Drawing, The land-rail or corn crake (Crex crex)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£4000
	1	Paten	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£5000
	1	COFFEE-POT; Coffee pot : Bateson	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£30000
	1	core : dual opposed	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£50
	1	BELT; Sam Brown Belt with frog	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	Belt	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£50
	1	COIN; halfpenny	2003 Audit	No	£1
	1	COIN; shilling ; forgery	2003 Audit	No	£1
	1	COIN; half mark	2003 Audit	No	£1
	1	COIN; two cash	2003 Audit	No	£2
	1	COIN; penny	2003 Audit	No	£12
	1	TOKEN; half penny	2003 Audit	No	£15
	1	photographic lantern slide	2003 Audit	No	£20
	1	photographic print	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	Photographic print	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	PHOTOGRAPH; Glass negative	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	PHOTOGRAPH; Glass negative	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	PHOTOGRAPH; Glass negative	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	Bookplate	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Tetraphis pellucida Hedw.	2003 Audit	No	£5
	1	species : Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid.	2003 Audit	No	£5
	1	species : Rubus wahlbergii Arrh.	2003 Audit	No	£10
	1	species : Gibbula pennanti (Philippi, 1846)	2003 Audit	No	£10
	1	species : Anomia ephippium Linne, 1758	2003 Audit	No	£10
	1	species : Delias doytes ssp. Doylei	2003 Audit	No	£15
	1	species : Hypopimnas missippus	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Anartia jatrophae L.	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Boloria selene (Dennis : Schiffermueller 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottenburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Euphydryas aurinia (Rottenburg 1775)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Pieris napi (Linnaeus 1758)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£257.50
	1	species : Euxoa tritici (Linnaeus 1761)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£5
	1	species : Pyrrhia umbra (Hufnagel 1766)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Lycia zonaria (Schiff)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Epirrata dilutata (Denis and Schiffermuller)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Erebia pandrose Borkhausen 1788	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£25
	1	species : Pyrgus alveus Huebner 1803	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£15
	1	species : Maculinea arion Linnaeus 1761	2003 Audit	No	£25
	1	species : Gastrophysa polygoni Linnaeus, 1758	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Notiophilus germinyi Fauvel, 1863	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Platyderus ruficollis (Marsham, 1802)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Megatoma undata (Linnaeus, 1758)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	WASP	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	FLY	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Adalia 7-punctata	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Adalia conglobata	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	HYMENOPTERA	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	HYMENOPTERA	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	PHOTOGRAPHS; Glass plate negative	2003 Audit	No	£10
	1	PHOTOGRAPHS; Glass plate negative	2003 Audit	No	£10
	1	species : Empis (Euempis) tessellata	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
	1	species : Empis (Euempis) tessellata Fabricius, 1794	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Bicellaria sulcata Zett., 1842	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Barylypa insidiator (Foerster)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Hilara brevistyla Collin, 1927	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Eristalis (S. G. Eoseristalis) intricarius (Linnaeus)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Bicellaria vana Collin, 1926	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Empis S. Anachrostichus verralli Collin, 1927	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Glypta bicornis Boie, 1850	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Cleorodes lichenaria (Hufnagel 1767)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Halictus S. Seladonia tumulorum (Linnaeus, 1758)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Leucozona lucorum (Linne)	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Xantholinus linearis	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Maculinea teleius Bergstrasser, 1779	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£20
1	species : Maculinea teleius Bergstrasser, 1779	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£20
1	species : Rhingia campestris Meigen	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	species : Zizeeria knysna Trimen	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£30
1	species : Glaucopsyche alexis Poda, 1761	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£20
1	species : Sphaerophonia menthrasti	2003 Audit	Yes 06 decant	£10
1	Sketch for Poster : Palm Trees	2003 Audit	No	£500
1	HYMENOPTERA	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	HYMENOPTERA	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	HYMENOPTERA	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Larentia flavicincta	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Eupithecia pulchellata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Eupithecia scabiosata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Xanthorhoe montanata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Xanthorhoe fluctuata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Eucosmia certata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Maniola jurtina	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Tachinus signatus	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Aloconota gregaria Erichson	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Tachyporus atriceps	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Hadena serena	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Procus faruncula	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Antitype chi	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Griposia aprilina	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Agrochola lota	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Scotopteryx luridata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Lithomoia solidaginis	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Pristiphora alnivora (Hartig, 1840)	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Melitaea didyma Esper, 1779	2003 Audit	No	£20
1	species : Mellicta parthenoides Keferstein, 1851	2003 Audit	No	£20
1	species : Meloboris ischnocera Thomson	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Lathrobium fennicum	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Pieris napi brittanica Verity, 1911	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Abrostula triplasia Linne	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Anticlea badiata	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	MOTH; Grey Pine Carpet	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	FLY	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	WASP	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Eudoria basistrigalis Knaggs, 1866	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Alucita hexadactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Euzophera pinguis (Haworth, 1811)	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Acleris hastiana (Linnaeus, 1758)	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Aethes nartmanniana (Clerck, 1759)	2003 Audit	No	£10
1	species : Drymus sylvaticus	2003 Audit	No	£10
Year 2002
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced
Year 2001
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced
Year 2000
	No. of items	Description	Length of time missing	Found	Estimated value	Cost of replacement
Stolen
Lost
Misplaced

Please note with the exception of a trial in 2003 at the Ulster Museum, formal physical verification exercises were not introduced until 2008 and now occur on an annual basis across all of National Museums (NMNI) sites i.e. Ulster Museum Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Ulster American Folk Park and Armagh County Museum. As illustrated, items classified as misplaced continue to be subsequently located as NMNI progresses it storage and documentation arrangements. In relation to costs incurred in replacement, as illustrated, to date they are modest and confined to one library book.   

With regard to art galleries The Arts Council is not a public museum or an art gallery.

Libraries

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether libraries can impose their own charges for hiring out rooms or other areas within their facilities; and if his Department has issued any guidance on this matter.

(AQW 7777/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Northern Ireland Library Authority, known as Libraries NI, is a statutory body set up under the Libraries Act (NI) 2008. It became responsible for the management and delivery of the public library service from 1 April 2009.

Chapter Eight, paragraph six, of the Libraries Act (NI) 2008 sets out the Authority’s duties in relation to agreeing charges for certain library services (including room hire):

‘Charges for certain library services

6.—(1) The Authority may not make any charges for any library services provided by it unless -

(a) The services in question are specified in a scheme of charges approved by the Department and published by the Authority; and

(b) The charges are made in accordance with that scheme.

(2) The scheme of charges may make different provision for different cases including different provision in relation to different persons, circumstances or localities.’

Ulster Scots Agency Offices in Belfast and Donegal

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how much money has been spent on (i) the Ulster-Scots Agency offices at 68-87 Great Victoria Street, Belfast; and (ii) the Ulster-Scots Agency offices at The Diamond, Raphoe, Donegal in each year since the leases for these premises were acquired; and to provide a breakdown of expenditure for each year.

(AQW 7789/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Ulster-Scots Agency acquired office accommodation at 68-72 Great Victoria Street Belfast from 1 July 2008. The cost of the premises for the ground and first floor accommodation was –

	Rent	Rates	Total
2008	£ 42,888	£ 7,894	£ 50,782
2009	£ 83,950	£ 15,790.29	£ 99,740.29

The Agency also spent £45,573 and £12,748 in 2008 and 2009 respectively fitting out the visitors centre located on the ground floor of the premises at Great Victoria Street Belfast.

The Ulster-Scots Language Society and The Ulster-Scots Community Network are also based in the Great Victoria Street premises on the second floor. The cost of their office accommodation equates to £25,850 per annum.

The office in Raphoe has been leased since 1 April 2002 and the amounts for rent and rates which are paid in Euros are shown in the table below.

Year	Rent	Rates	Total
2002	€9,144	--------	€9,144
2003	€12,192	--------	€12,192
2004	€12,192	€1,148	€13,340
2005	€12,192	€1,205.84	€13,397.84
2006	€12,192	€1,086.68	€13,278.68
2007	€13,563.60	€1,086.68	€14,650.28
2008	€14,020.80	€1,323.90	€15,3447
2009	€14,020.80	€1,323.90	€15,3447

Ulster Scots Agency Offices in Belfast and Donegal

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (i) the start date; and (ii) the end date of the leases for the Ulster Scots Agency offices in (a) Belfast; and (b) Donegal.

(AQW 7790/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The start dates for the leases for the Ulster-Scots Agency’s offices in Belfast and Donegal are 1 July 2008 and 1 April 2002 respectively.

The end dates for the leases are 30 June 2018 and 31 March 2012 respectively.

Ulster Scots Agency Offices in Belfast and Donegal

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether the Ulster Scots Agency offices in Belfast and Donegal are (i) fully staffed, functional and operational; and (ii) open to the public; and whether there are any plans to open these offices to the public.

(AQW 7792/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Ulster-Scots Agency is at present staffed to its agreed complement. The Agency’s offices in Belfast and Donegal are fully staffed, functional and operational. Both offices are opened to the general public during normal working hours 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday – Friday.

The Agency has a dedicated visitors centre based on the ground floor of the Great Victoria Street premises but due to staffing constraints the centre is not continually open. The Agency has used the space for several events, such as the "Burns Week" celebrations held in January this year.

Ulster Scots Magazine ‘Oot and Aboot’

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (i) the number of issues of the Ulster Scots magazine ‘Oot and Aboot’ that have been published to date; (ii) the dates of publication; and (iii) the (a) production; and (b) distribution costs associated with each issue of the magazine.

(AQW 7794/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Two issues of the Ulster-Scots magazine ‘Oot and Aboot’ have been published to date. The dates of publication were December 2008 and December 2009.

In 2008 the production costs were £13,755 and distribution costs were £1,989. In 2009 the production costs were £12,490 and distribution costs were £2,403.50.

Sport NI

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline any joint initiatives between Sport NI and its Scottish and Welsh equivalents aimed at benefiting sport in each jurisdiction.

(AQW 7871/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: In order to benefit sport in Northern Ireland and in Scotland and Wales, Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) works in collaboration with its equivalents, Sport Scotland and the Sports Council for Wales, across a number of areas relating to sports policy, strategy and practice. These include joint facilities initiatives, implementation of UK Coaching Framework, policy on recognition of sporting activities and governing bodies, equality and inclusion policy in sport and research and information sharing.

World Police and Fire Games

Mr F McCann asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what arrangements have been made to ensure that the 2013 World Police and Fire Games will be a success.

(AQO 1510/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: As you are aware the Games are now just over 3 years away (August 2013) and the matter of the funding for the Games and the establishment of a delivery vehicle becomes more pressing as each day passes.

I have prepared a draft Executive Paper which has been with the deputy First Minister since May of this year and I had hoped that I would have had agreement by now to this being placed on an agenda of a NI Executive meeting.

In addition a Business Case which includes a recommended delivery mechanism for implementing the 2013 World Police and Fire Games has been commissioned and referred to DFP for approval.

In the interim a 2013 Stakeholder Group, chaired by DCAL and incorporating key stakeholders from the Police Service for Northern Ireland, NI Prison Service, NI Fire and Rescue Service, Belfast City Council and Sport NI, is managing the 2013 World Police and Fire Games project until such times as a delivery vehicle is established.

The Stakeholder Group has identified and taken forward preparatory work on various workstreams including Volunteering, Tourism, Legacy, Transport and Logistics and Sport for the planning and organisation of the Games in conjunction with relevant external bodies.

My officials are also liaising with DFP in regard to the Business Case.

Chief Executives Salaries

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the annual salaries of, and expenses paid to, the Chief Executives of all arms length bodies and quangos associated with his Department, for the last available financial year.

(AQW 7913/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The annual salaries of, and expenses paid to, the Chief Executives of all DCAL’s arms length bodies in the year ended 31 March 2010 are listed below:

ALB & Quangoes	Salary £	Expenses £	Total £
ACNI	72,126.00	997.06	73,123.06
NI Screen	65,976.00	4,769.00	70,745.00
Armagh Observatory*	N/A	N/A	0.00
Armagh Planetarium*	N/A	N/A	0.00
NI Museums Council*	N/A	N/A	0.00
NMNI	119,745.64	1,738.53	121,484.17
Libraries NI	96,888.00	3,324.80	100,212.80
Sport NI	90,755.12	4,566.12	95,321.24
Language Body - Foras Na Gaelige (EURO)***	119,271.00	6,603.13	125,874.13
Language Body - Ulster Scots Agency***	50,224.50	0.00	50,224.50
FCB**	8,074.16	294.00	8,368.16
Waterways Ireland***	91,436.00	3,704.92	95,140.92

*Armagh Observatory, Armagh Planetarium and Northern Ireland Museums Council do not have Chief Executives.

**FCB was absorbed into the Department on 1^st June 2009, therefore salary and expenses figure provided above relates to April and May 2009 only.

***Waterways Ireland, Foras Na Gaelige and Ulster Scots Agency operate on a calendar month – January – December 2009.

I hope you find this information useful

Consultants

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what steps he is taking to review the use of consultants in his Department.

(AQW 7955/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: As Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure I am conscious of the need to control and manage the use of consultants in my Department. During 2009/10 I instigated procedures ensuring that I would review and approve all consultancy spend within my Department. In addition my Department makes an annual return to the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) on consultancy expenditure broken down by consultant and project. The return includes an estimate of spend for future financial years.  My Department also maintains an internal database which is reviewed on a quarterly basis and reconciled with consultancy spend recorded on Account NI.

UEFA Football Coaching Licence

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the total number of people who have obtained a UEFA football coaching licence in each of the last five years, broken down by licence type who were (i) registered professional footballers; (ii) registered semi-professional footballers; and (iii) not registered footballers.

(AQW 7984/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure nor Sport Northern Ireland holds this information. The Irish Football Association (IFA) is responsible for the implementation and management of the UEFA football coaching licensing scheme in Northern Ireland. The provision of information on the numbers and backgrounds of individuals who may have obtained different types of UEFA coaching licences in the last five years would therefore be a matter for the IFA.

UEFA Football Coaching Licence

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the financial assistance available to applicants for a UEFA football coaching licence from each local council, broken down by licence type; and to make a statement on the discrepancy in funding available from individual councils.

(AQW 7986/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Neither the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) nor Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) holds this information. I am, nevertheless, aware that some district councils may operate small grants programmes to provide individuals and sports clubs with financial assistance for local sporting development purposes. Such assistance may include funding to help individuals attain different types of sports’ coaching qualifications. The release of funding for these purposes is a matter for each district council. However, I understand that the level and type of support that each council may be willing to provide is based on a number of factors and that these can include local need, demand, available finance and the nature of their area’s sporting infrastructure.

Ulster Scots Academy Project

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for an update on the Ulster Scots Academy project.

(AQW 8050/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Work is currently being undertaken by the Department with the aim of giving new impetus to the Ulster-Scots Academy project. I recently established a Project Steering Group, chaired by a retired Civil Servant, to take forward the establishment of an Ulster-Scots Academy.

Ulster American Folk Park

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the number of recorded visitors to the Ulster American Folk park in each of the last ten years.

(AQW 8089/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The attached table details the number of recorded visitors to the Ulster American Folk Park in each of the last ten years.

UAFP 2000	120031
UAFP 2001	110533
UAFP 2002	126170
UAFP 2003	127652
UAFP 2004	124879
UAFP 2005	134452
UAFP 2006	146085
UAFP 2007	157325
UAFP 2008	152717
UAFP 2009	154471

Paddy Barnes

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he will consider organising a reception for Paddy Barnes who won a gold medal in the European Amateur Boxing Championship.

(AQW 8136/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I have already written to Paddy to congratulate him following his success in winning a gold medal at light-flyweight at the European Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow. In addition, I have asked my officials to include Paddy’s name on the list of invitees to my Department’s Annual Sporting Reception which acknowledges the outstanding achievements of Northern Ireland athletes throughout the year on the national and international stages.

Ulster Hall

Mr A Maginness asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for an update on the damp problem in the Ulster Hall.

(AQO 1514/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The damp on the interior walls of the Ulster Hall is due to underlying historical problems which were corrected during the recent refurbishment work.

Following investigative works and trial samples of painting, the Architects are content with the initial assessment of the situation, namely that the ingress of water from the exterior has been stopped and that the repair works carried out to the external envelope of the building are sound.

Redecoration works were carried out by the Main Contractor in May of this year and the salt staining visible on the walls following this work was greatly reduced.

A comprehensive redecoration of the affected areas of the hall will be carried out in July 2010 and it is anticipated that, given the recent spell of good weather, further drying out will have taken place and further improvements in the condition of the walls will be achieved.

Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how many copies of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report are available in public libraries, broken down by location.

(AQW 8182/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: There are currently 2 copies of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report available in public libraries. A copy is held in Londonderry Central Library and in Belfast Central Library.

Libraries NI has also ordered 20 copies of ‘The Principal Conclusions and Overall Assessment of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry’. House of Commons Papers 30 2010/11 by William Hoyt. This is a condensed version of the Bloody Sunday report which Libraries NI will provide in heritage collections, some larger libraries and local Londonderry branches.

All libraries provide free internet access so members of the public can access the report online.

Libraries: Closures

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the criteria used to select the ten public libraries which have been marked for closure.

(AQO 1524/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Libraries NI Review – "Meeting the Demands for a Modern Public Library Service within Northern Ireland – Stage 1 Greater Belfast" set out Libraries NI’s vision for the future of the Public Library Service.

This document also defined the criteria to assess individual libraries in the Greater Belfast area. These are:

1. Fit for purpose
2. Capable of delivering on the Libraries NI vision
3. In the right location
4. Sustainable

No single criterion was considered in isolation. All of these factors were taken into consideration in determining whether a library had the potential to positively contribute to the vision. Those libraries which failed to meet the criteria were considered for closure.

An extensive public consultation process was held to obtain evidence. As you will be aware this process shaped Libraries NI’s final decision to close ten rather than the fourteen libraries originally identified.

On the 27 May the Libraries NI Board agreed the final outcome of the review of libraries in the Greater Belfast Area. The Board includes elected Councillors from my own party, the SDLP, Sinn Fein and the UUP.

Libraries

Mr F Cobain asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether he will re-consider the decision to close some public libraries in light of the 84% to 90% satisfaction rate among library users in his Department’s recent survey 'Experience of Library Usage in Northern Ireland'.

(AQO 1511/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I am keenly aware of the importance of the public library service for everyone in Northern Ireland and welcome the high satisfaction rate amongst library users.

Libraries NI are improving library services across Greater Belfast by re-distributing resources towards front line services. They expect that the long term effect will be an increase in the numbers of people using libraries and even higher satisfaction rates.

Issues such as the relocation or closure of libraries are operational matters for Libraries NI. It is inappropriate for me to intervene unless, there was evidence of a significantly flawed consultation process or, if Libraries NI failed in their statutory duty to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient public library service’.

The Libraries NI Board includes elected Councillors from my own party, the SDLP, Sinn Fein and the UUP.

Spending Priorities

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how his Department prioritises its spending programmes.

(AQO 1515/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: My Department is committed to ensuring the delivery of it’s responsibilities under the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government. Spending priorities were previously identified as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. My officials are currently reviewing Departmental spending in the light of Budget 2010 and all areas of expenditure will be carefully examined. Programmes will be prioritised based on the extent to which they contribute to the Executive’s over-arching aim of building a peaceful, fair and prosperous society in Northern Ireland, with respect for the rule of law and where everyone can enjoy a better quality of life now and in years to come.

Twelfth of July

Mr J Bell asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for his assessment of the contribution of the Orange Order Twelfth of July festivities to leisure and cultural life.

(AQO 1521/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I believe that the Twelfth of July has enormous potential for the economic wellbeing of Northern Ireland. The Orange Institution works closely with the NITB and Tourism Ireland in relation to its flagship programme. In 2009, as part of a Tourism Initiative, the Order was represented at a delegation in New York which encouraged Americans to consider visiting Northern Ireland.

Current estimates suggest that over 20,000 people are directly engaged in flute, pipe, accordion and silver bands, representing the largest community arts sector in Northern Ireland.

Marching bands provide outlets for the provision of artistic and musical excellence as well as providing an opportunity for cultural expression for many thousands of people in Northern Ireland. They provide a means to develop skills and provide entertainment giving young people a chance to contribute, build personal skills and confidence and to cement their role in society.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

Mr B McCrea asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for his assessment of the findings of his Department's survey 'Views on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland' which found that only 9% of respondents had been to the Public Record Office and only 2% were aware of its new location.

(AQO 1522/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: This survey, ‘Views on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland’ was published in August 2009 and was a Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) Omnibus survey. Interviews commenced in April 2009, at least 5 months before it was announced that the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) was closing to the public in advance of the relocation to Titanic Quarter. The report predates recent work which has highlighted the move and therefore it is not surprising that only 2% of the public, at that stage, were aware of where PRONI was moving to. Of those who were aware that PRONI was moving, a high proportion knew that PRONI was re-locating to Titanic Quarter.

In the past year PRONI has taken the opportunity accorded by outreach events and on the PRONI website (www.proni.gov.uk) to actively promote the re-location of the Record Office to Titanic Quarter to potential users both at home and further afield. The PRONI website (www.proni.gov.uk) has received 1 million visits in 2009/10 and 83% of these were international visits.

The report does not indicate the age range and geographical location of those surveyed but the fact that 9% of people, across Northern Ireland, have visited PRONI, the national archive institution located in Belfast, is worthy of note. Of those surveyed 68% had heard of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, which is an impressive statistic, and of those who had ever visited PRONI just over a fifth had been in the last year. We would anticipate that many more people will visit the new premises in the future.

Football: Milk Cup

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how much funding his Department has provided to the Northern Ireland Milk Cup in the last two years.

(AQO 1523/10)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: In 2008/09 DCAL’s Events Unit made a capped shortfall award to the Milk Cup of £50,000 towards the organisation of the event. In 2009/10 the Unit made a further award of £65,000 towards participation costs, specifically travel and accommodation. In addition to this, Sport Northern Ireland, which is responsible for the development of sport in Northern Ireland including the distribution of funding, has had a sponsorship arrangement with the Milk Cup over the last three years worth £12,000 per year.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Capital Expenditure

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail the amount of capital expenditure in the Irish-medium sector, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7542/10)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane): Is mar seo a leanas a bhí caiteachas caipitil ar Ghaelscoileanna sna trí bliana a chuaigh thart:

Capital expenditure on Irish-medium schools in the last three years was as follows:

	£000s
2007/08	511
2008/09	841
2009/10	2,662

Costs to Schools to Supplement State Funding

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Education to detail the costs that grant maintained integrated schools are expected to pay to supplement state funding, compared to that of controlled schools in the 2010/11 financial year.

(AQW 7598/10)

Minister of Education: Is í Foirmle Cómhaoinithe (CFF) Bhainistíocht Áitiúil Scoileanna (LMS) an mheicníocht a úsáidtear chun leithdháiltí buiséid tharmligthe scoile aonair a chinneadh. Is í is aidhm léi ná leithdháileadh cothrom follasach an mhaoinithe atá ar fáil a bhaint amach thar gach scoil, de réir a leibhéil choibhneasta riachtanais féin.

The Local Management of Schools (LMS) Common Funding Formula (CFF) is the mechanism used to determine individual school delegated budget allocations. Its aim is to achieve an equitable and transparent distribution of available funding across all schools based on their relative level of need.

All schools are funded on a consistent and equitable basis, regardless of their geographical location, management type or sector. Schools covered by the common funding formula receive a fully delegated budget using common values and criteria; and under the arrangements set out in the Common Funding Scheme, schools have common access to centre support and services. The budget shares for each school are designed to meet the day to day running costs for every school, with schools funded on the basis of identified needs.

The Common Funding Formula, used to distribute delegated budgets to schools reflects any costs associated with the running of grant maintained integrated schools, which are otherwise met by Education & Library Boards for their controlled and maintained schools. Full details of the common funding arrangements for grant-aided schools are available on the Department of Education website: http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/schools_funding_pg/9_schoolfunding_commonfunding_pg/9_schoolfunding_thecommonfundingscheme_pg/9-commonfundingscheme201011-3.htm

All schools are able to seek voluntary contributions and may receive certain funds from external sources, within the financial guidance established by the relevant Funding Authority. However, no school is expected to supplement their grant-aided budget share.

Maximum Enrolment Capacity

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Education to list the maximum enrolment capacity of each post-primary school in the Mid-Ulster area, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7658/10)

Minister of Education: Is mar atá mionsonraithe sa tábla thíos atá an t-uastuilleadh rollaithe (ie an méid formheasta rollaithe) do gach iar-bhunscoil i limistéar Lár-Uladh, i ngach ceann de na cúig bliana a chuaigh thart.

The maximum enrolment capacity (ie approved enrolment number) of each post-primary school in the Mid-Ulster area, in each of the last five years, is as detailed in the table below.

	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
Magherafelt High School	580	580	540	520	560
St Colm's High School	340	340	340	340	340
St Mary's College	350	350	350	350	350
St Pius X College	850	850	850	850	850
St Patrick's Co-ed Comprehensive College	1,355	1,355	1,355	1,355	1,355
Sperrin Integrated College	400	450	500	500	500
Rainey Endowed School	700	700	700	700	700
St Mary's Grammar School	1,070	1,070	1,070	1,070	1,070
Cookstown High School	1,100	1,100	1,100	1,100	1,100
St Joseph's College	680	680	680	680	680
Holy Trinity College	960	800	725	710	710
St Joseph's Grammar School	500	500	500	500	500

Newly Qualified Teachers

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Education what steps her Department is taking to encourage primary schools to use newly qualified teachers, rather than retired teachers, when substitute teachers are required, to enable them to gain the experience necessary to apply for permanent teaching posts.

(AQW 7856/10)

Minister of Education: Tá mé fós buartha faoin nós a bhíonn ag fostóirí leanúint de mhúinteoirí scortha a athfhostú ar bhonn sealadach nó ionadaíoch a athfhostú. Ní fostóir na múinteoirí í an Roinn, áfach, agus is faoi na boird Ghobharnóirí atá an cinneadh ar cé a cheapfaidh siad ar aon phost múinteoireacht i scoileanna.

I remain concerned about the practice of employers continuing to re-employ retired teachers either on a temporary or substitute basis. However, the Department is not the employer of teachers, and the decision on whom to appoint to any teaching position in a school rests with the Board of Governors.

Over the years the Department has repeatedly exhorted employers to give preference to newly qualified teachers or experienced non-retired teachers seeking to return to employment when filling vacancies, including those of a temporary nature. The Department has also advised employers that retired teachers should only be re-employed to provide short-term cover where newly qualified teachers or experienced non-retired teachers are unavailable; and writes to employing authorities annually, urging them to draw to the attention of school principals the continuing level of re-employment of prematurely retired teachers

The Department has issued guidance to employing authorities and schools informing them that they must use the Substitute Teachers' Register (NISTR) when booking all qualified substitute teachers paid through the Departmental payroll. NISTR allows schools to identify younger teachers seeking employment as substitutes and allows employing authorities to monitor the availability of non-retired teachers. 

Where teacher substitution costs are paid from centre funds, this is limited to a maximum of point 4 on the teachers’ six-point main pay scale and any substitution costs in excess of this are charged to the school’s delegated budget. This provides an incentive to schools to employ newly or recently qualified teachers as substitutes.

In addition, the rules of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme militate against the employment of retired teachers, in that such teachers may suffer a reduction in pension as a result of earnings from employment as a teacher. The Department has strict controls in place to monitor such cases. 

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Education to provide a breakdown of her Department's total spending on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 7864/10)

Minister of Education: Dhíreoinn aird an Chomhalta ar an fhreagra a thug mé do Dawn Purvis (Oirthear Bhéal Feirste) ar AQW 6175/10 a foilsíodh sa Tuairisc Oifigiúil ar 14 Bealtaine 2010.

I refer the Member to my answer to AQW 6175/10 which I provided to Dawn Purvis (Belfast East) and was published in the Official Report on 14 May 2010.

Pre-school Places in the Foyle Constituency

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education what additional provision will be made to fund pre-school places in the Foyle constituency in 2010/11.

(AQW 7947/10)

Minister of Education: Ar 20 Bealtaine, d’fhógair mé go mbeadh mé ag tabhairt suas le £1.3m de chistiú breise chun déileáil leis an ghannchion áiteanna réamhscoile sa scoilbhliain 2010/11.

On 20 May I announced that I was committing up to £1.3m of further funding to address the shortfall in pre-school places in the 2010/11 school year.

This money will fund extra places in the voluntary/private sector and has already been allocated to each of the Education and Library Boards, based on the number of unplaced children in their respective areas.

I am advised by the WELB that, having liaised with pre-school providers, an additional 38 places have been allocated to settings in the Foyle constituency. This process of allocation is on-going and should ensure that, where possible, every child receives a funded pre-school place.

DEPARTMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT AND LEARNING

Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Mr P Butler asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many students, from disadvantaged backgrounds, have dropped out of degree courses at (i) Queen's University; (ii) Ulster University; (iii) St Mary's College; and (iv) Stranmillis College, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7860/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey): The Department considers students from Socio-Economic Classification groups 5 to 7 as being from a disadvantaged background. The latest information on the numbers dropping out for this group is only readily available for the two academic years 2006/07 and 2007/08.

The number of full-time first degree entrants from Socio-Economic Classification groups 5 to 7 dropping out of Higher Education after their first year are detailed in the table below for each Northern Ireland Higher Education Institution:

	2006/07 entrants	2007/08 entrants
Queen’s University	50	60
University of Ulster	125	145
St Mary’s	5	5
Stranmillis	0	0

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Notes:

(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, with 0, 1 and 2 rounded to 0.

(2) The latest available data are for 2007/08 entrants failing to continue in Higher Education in 2008/09. Information in relation to those dropping out is only collected for those first year entrants who do not return in the following academic year.

Belfast Metropolitan College

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning (i) for an update on the potential redundancies at the Belfast Metropolitan College; (ii) what discussions his Department has had with the Belfast Metropolitan College in relation to the potential redundancies; and (iii) to detail the outcome of these discussions.

(AQW 7878/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department is aware of the financial difficulties faced by Belfast Metropolitan College and that various efficiencies are being considered, including the possibility of redundancies. While the implementation of the efficiencies is a matter for the College Governing Body, my Department will continue to work with Belfast Metropolitan College to ensure that it is returned to financial stability and maintains the delivery of high quality further education.

Programme-led Apprenticeships

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the number of Programme-led Apprenticeships in each constituency, in the 2009/10 financial year.

(AQW 7909/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: Programme-Led Apprenticeships were introduced on 7th September 2009.

The attached table details the number of Programme-Led Apprentices in each constituency as of 4 June 2010. The table is based on analysis and cross referencing of participant postcodes with electoral constituencies.

ANNEX 1

Occupancy on PLA by Parliamentary Constituency on 4^th June 2010

Constituency	Occupancy on PLA
Belfast East	100
Belfast North	236
Belfast South	76
Belfast West	321
East Antrim	115
East Londonderry	147
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	98
Foyle	218
Lagan Valley	163
Mid Ulster	94
Newry & Armagh	145
North Antrim	121
North Down	69
South Antrim	90
South Down	205
Strangford	169
Upper Bann	130
West Tyrone	181
Not known as postcode is missing	24
Total	2702

Stranmillis College

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Employment and Learning why Stranmillis College failed to hold an election for a Board of Governors in May 2010.

(AQW 8058/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: In accordance with the Colleges of Education (NI) Order 2005 and the College’s Instrument of Government, only three members of the Stranmillis Governing Body are elected. The Principal is appointed by virtue of her office, while up to 10 members (including the Chair) are appointed following public competitions run in accordance with Commissioner for Public Appointments Northern Ireland (CPANI) guidelines. Of those elected:

• One is elected by students at the college from among their number. The current member’s term of office is not due to expire until 31 May 2011.
• One is elected by non-teaching staff at the college from among their number. The current member’s term of office is not due to expire until 31 January 2012.
• One is elected by teachers at the college from among their number. The current member’s term of office is due to expire on 31 August 2010. In anticipation of the vacancy, the College proceeded to hold an election for a replacement. A Notice of Election was published on 8 April 2010 with a closing date, for the receipt of nominations, of 28 April. Despite a reminder to the teaching staff on 27 April, no nominations were received and the teaching staff were advised of this outcome on 8 May 2010. The matter was formally reported at the next meeting of the Governing Body on 24 June when it was agreed that the election process would be re-run in September 2010.

Institute of Professional Legal Studies

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the level of bursary for students at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in each of the last five years.

(AQW 8079/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department has not provided any funding for bursaries for students at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in each of the last five years.

Departmental funding for Northern Ireland domiciled students pursuing postgraduate diplomas and certificates, including those for legal practice, in the United Kingdom has not been available since September 2005. At that time, my Department reviewed its priorities in light of the Government’s 2002 Science, Engineering and Technology Strategy "Investing in Innovation" and decided that its postgraduate support budget should be targeted at funding Masters and PhD courses at the higher levels recommended in that report.

Student Support Fund

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister for Employment and Learning if colleges which currently administer the Student Support Fund will continue to provide this fund in the 2010/11 academic year.

(AQW 8117/10)

Minister for Employment and Learning: My Department, working in conjunction with the Further Education sector, carried out a review of student support during 2009/10. It was agreed from the 2010/11 academic year the ‘Student Support Fund’ will be known as the Hardship Fund, which will continue to assist students, including those with physical or other disabilities, who for whatever reason face financial difficulties in meeting their cost of living and which may restrict their ability to attend their chosen course of study. All six FE Colleges will deliver the Hardship Fund from 2010/11.

DEPARTMENT OF ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Businesses Supported by Invest NI in Cookstown and Magherafelt

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the number of businesses supported by Invest NI in (a) the Cookstown District Council area; and (b) the Magherafelt District Council area in each of the last five years; and (ii) the amount of money invested in each business.

(AQW 7696/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): During the period 2005/06 to 2009/10, (a) 119 businesses in Cookstown and (b) 151 businesses in Magherafelt were offered financial support by Invest NI. Table 1 shows the number of businesses offered assistance and the amount of assistance offered by Invest NI to these businesses in each of the 5 years. The amount of investment planned by these businesses is also included. The Total Assistance Offered represents the value of support which is expected to be paid towards business-related investment during the life-time of assisted projects. Total Planned Investment represents the expected cost of the projects to these businesses and includes Invest NI’s financial support.

TABLE 1: Businesses Assisted by Invest NI in Cookstown & Magherafelt DCAs (2005/06 – 2009/10)

Financial Year	COOKSTOWN DCA			MAGHERAFELT DCA
	No of Businesses	Total Assistance Offered £m	Total Planned Investment £m	No of Businesses	Total Assistance Offered £m	Total Planned Investment £m
2005/06	39	1.04	6.91	50	0.96	7.07
2006/07	43	1.44	9.39	46	0.93	3.74
2007/08	53	2.53	21.89	53	2.37	13.08
2008/09	63	2.45	13.39	65	2.45	30.19
2009/10	65	6.57	44.29	81	3.09	12.51
Total	*119	14.03	95.86	*151	9.81	66.59

* Totals do not add because a business can be offered assistance in more than one year.

(ii) Table 2 provides details of individual offers over £50,000 highlighted in the table above (a list of offers below this amount is extremely long and not suitable for display). Under data protection legislation, offers to businesses registered as Sole Traders or Partnerships cannot be disclosed.

TABLE 2: Individual Details of Businesses Offered Over £50,000 by Invest NI in Cookstown & Magherafelt DCAs (2005/06 – 2009/10)

Year	Client Name	Total Assistance Offered £m	Total Planned Investment £m	DCA
2005/06	CDE IRELAND LTD	63,819	125,326	COOKSTOWN
2005/06	CENTRAL LAUNDRIES LTD	83,739	194,000	COOKSTOWN
2005/06	GRAMPIAN COUNTRY PORK LIMITED	211,251	4,249,124	COOKSTOWN
2005/06	KEYSTONE LINTELS LIMITED	137,114	457,048	COOKSTOWN
2005/06	BULRUSH HORTICULTURE LIMITED	96,769	416,768	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	COPPER INDUSTRIES (IRELAND) LIMITED	87,569	283,765	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	FOUR DEE (NI) LIMITED	51,286	152,750	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	MICRAN LIMITED	57,560	383,389	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	MOYOLA PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED	183,218	3,797,233	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	WILLIAM CLARK AND SONS LIMITED	120,605	437,509	MAGHERAFELT
2005/06	WINDELL LTD	114,000	745,000	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	BA KITCHEN COMPONENTS LTD	85,750	2,989,250	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	C N C COMPONENTS (UK) LTD	159,985	1,191,629	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	CDE IRELAND LTD	334,550	985,433	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	GRAMPIAN COUNTRY PORK LIMITED	60,769	189,064	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	MCQUAID ENGINEERING LTD	236,365	1,020,006	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	OAKLEAF CONTRACTS (EUROPE) LIMITED	150,000	843,171	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	TRADE MOULDINGS LTD	76,658	576,000	COOKSTOWN
2006/07	CREAGH CONCRETE PRODUCTS LTD	102,936	171,560	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	FOUR DEE (NI) LIMITED	79,127	378,196	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	KBB DOORS LTD	84,554	628,512	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	MACRETE IRELAND LTD	80,015	133,358	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	MAGHERA JOINERY WORKS LIMITED	80,000	264,000	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	MCERLAIN'S BAKERY (MAGHERAFELT) LIMITED	76,190	301,761	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	SPERRIN METAL PRODUCTS LTD	60,000	427,000	MAGHERAFELT
2006/07	THE SAVILE ROW HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED	107,912	283,281	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	BRIWAY TRACKS LTD	52,880	373,950	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	CDE IRELAND LTD	412,483	6,974,514	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	E P S ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED	90,215	325,872	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	FSL  ELECTRONICS LTD	120,809	294,560	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	GOOD4U FOOD AND DRINK COMPANY LIMITED	74,930	390,124	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	HILTON MEATS (COOKSTOWN) LTD	163,739	545,798	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	KEYLITE ROOF WINDOWS LIMITED	213,539	620,826	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	METEOR CONTROLS (INTERNATIONAL) LTD	808,277	10,432,262	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	MID ULSTER REPRODUCTIONS LIMITED	50,074	364,770	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	QUARRY-FIX LTD	83,411	154,673	COOKSTOWN
2007/08	C.M INTERIORS LTD	68,800	499,784	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	ESSENTIAL DESIGNS (NI) LTD	160,751	1,905,742	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	FIREGLASS DIRECT IRELAND LTD	87,628	740,305	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	MACRETE IRELAND LTD	200,326	500,814	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	MICRAN LIMITED	60,000	337,000	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	MOYOLA PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED	992,600	4,228,400	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	S D C TRAILERS LTD	94,952	169,920	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	SPECIALIST JOINERY FITTINGS LTD	69,195	227,695	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	THE SAVILE ROW HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED	110,000	2,069,000	MAGHERAFELT
2007/08	WILLIAM CLARK AND SONS LIMITED	85,031	260,705	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	BA KITCHEN COMPONENTS LTD	81,250	176,487	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	C N C COMPONENTS (UK) LTD	63,440	171,190	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	CDE IRELAND LTD	50,000	133,000	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	KEYLITE ROOF WINDOWS LIMITED	83,000	241,250	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	KEYSTONE LINTELS LIMITED	682,331	3,626,416	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	MCQUAID ENGINEERING LTD	60,400	189,200	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	PPI LTD	92,694	229,487	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	T E S (NI) LTD	366,550	4,521,325	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	TRADE MOULDINGS LTD	85,497	261,841	COOKSTOWN
2008/09	CENTRAL WELDING LTD	73,526	1,121,952	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	COPPER INDUSTRIES (IRELAND) LIMITED	60,136	159,671	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	F.P. MCCANN LIMITED	240,000	1,665,000	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	HOMESEAL (ENERGY SAVINGS) LIMITED	98,000	1,010,496	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	MOYOLA PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED	158,061	395,152	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	S D C TRAILERS LTD	725,000	21,204,000	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	SPECIALIST JOINERY FITTINGS LTD	70,538	138,995	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	TNR SYSTEMS LIMITED	84,000	1,416,655	MAGHERAFELT
2008/09	WINDELL LTD	200,920	566,629	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	ANACONDA EQUIPMENT INTERNATIONAL LTD	152,928	316,958	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	AXON POWER & CONTROL LTD	150,990	369,622	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	BA KITCHEN COMPONENTS LTD	256,591	1,031,992	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	CDE IRELAND LTD	403,683	1,103,651	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	DALE FARM LIMITED	4,000,000	36,050,000	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	FSL  ELECTRONICS LTD	51,566	101,616	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	GLENAVON HOUSE HOTEL (1982) LIMITED	63,645	94,230	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	GORTAVOY PLANT LTD	118,460	240,665	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	GRAMPIAN COUNTRY PORK LIMITED	52,465	140,931	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	KEYSTONE LINTELS LIMITED	255,000	1,228,000	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	PPI LTD	61,355	135,880	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	T E S (NI) LTD	141,893	432,558	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	TURKINGTON ENGINEERING LIMITED	56,350	256,350	COOKSTOWN
2009/10	ANDERSON INTERIORS LIMITED	97,750	510,250	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	BEAM VACUUM SYSTEMS LIMITED	59,569	336,215	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	CREAGH CONCRETE PRODUCTS LTD	208,619	545,576	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	DELWYN ENTERPRISES LTD	56,600	116,600	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	ELECTRO-TECH MACHINERY LIMITED	58,591	218,426	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	F.P. MCCANN LIMITED	207,095	549,615	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	FIREGLASS DIRECT IRELAND LTD	154,381	1,071,348	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	HUGHES FURNITURE LTD	52,137	125,303	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	MACRETE IRELAND LTD	57,894	127,004	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	MAGHERA JOINERY WORKS LIMITED	185,473	510,852	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	MCERLAIN'S BAKERY (MAGHERAFELT) LIMITED	179,446	1,578,677	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	MICRAN LIMITED	97,990	233,569	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	MOYOLA PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED	64,077	206,522	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	ROGERS FENCING SYSTEMS LTD	78,960	281,959	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	S D C TRAILERS LTD	385,369	998,746	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	SPECIALIST JOINERY FITTINGS LTD	123,834	304,729	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	THE SAVILE ROW HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED	320,694	2,271,506	MAGHERAFELT
2009/10	TOBERMORE CONCRETE PRODUCTS LIMITED	108,797	698,198	MAGHERAFELT

Notes:

1. Under Data Protection legislation Sole Traders and Partnerships have been removed from Table 2.
2. A business can be offered assistance in more than one year.

In addition, during the same period Invest NI also indirectly offered support to new business starts through the Enterprise Development Programme (formerly the Start a Business programme), delivered in conjunction with Enterprise Northern Ireland. Table 3 shows the number of offers made and the associated assistance offered to these projects.

TABLE 3: New Businesses Assisted Under the Enterprise Development Programme in Cookstown & Magherafelt DCAs (2005/06 – 2009/10)

Financial Year	Cookstown DCA		Magherafelt DCA
	Number of Offers	Assistance Offered (£)	Number of Offers	Assistance Offered (£)
2005/06	89	41,050	145	70,250
2006/07	92	32,400	102	37,200
2007/08	106	38,800	125	47,600
2008/09	71	24,000	68	10,800
2009/10	80	-	82	-
Total	438	136,250	522	165,850

Note: The new Enterprise Development Programme established in 2009 does not offer financial support to establish a business but provides training, advice and guidance.

Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (i) to detail the (a) GAA events; (b) soccer events; (c) motorcycling events; and (d) horse racing events promoted by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in each of the last five years; and the amount the Northern Ireland Tourist Board spent on promotion for each event.

(AQW 7746/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s (NITB) remit is to market Northern Ireland within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland markets. Events are used as a hook when and where appropriate. Tourism Ireland Ltd (TIL) is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland in Great Britain and overseas markets.

NITB’s role is not designed to promote specific individual sporting events or to support ongoing promotional activity for these events. However, as part of NITB’s activity over the last five years, events are regularly promoted in, for example, event press releases which are issued regularly; the Northern Ireland Visitor Guide which contains annual events and is distributed in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by NITB and internationally by TIL; and press trips which are brought to key events such as the North West 200.

All events of interest to visitors are featured on www.discovernorthernireland.com .

The events covered are provided by the local Tourist Information Centre network or are those which have been notified to NITB in advance. Organisers who wish for their events to be listed on the website should contact events@nitb.com .

Invest NI

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the running costs of Invest NI; (ii) the amount of financial assistance it has awarded to businesses; and (iii) the number of jobs created as a result of this investment, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7786/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) The Invest NI running costs for each of the last 3 years were as follows: -

2007/08 - £30,475,000

2008/09 - £31,804,000

2009/10 - £32,772,000

These figures relate to Staff Costs and 'Other Administrative Expenses' as published in the Invest NI Annual Report and Accounts, and include the occupation costs of the Invest NI headquarters building.

(ii) and (iii) Table 1 shows the amount of financial assistance that Invest NI offered to businesses in each of the 3 years between 2007/08 and 2009/10 and the number of jobs promoted and safeguarded as a result of this support.

The Total Assistance Offered represents the value of support which is expected to be paid towards business-related investment during the life-time of assisted projects. Only part of this assistance is employment related (52%) for the period under review.

In terms of relating this activity to actual job creation, it is too early to assess the job creation impact of these offers, as some projects can take up to 5 years to fully mature; however, recent research has shown that generally around 75% of jobs promoted will be created.

TABLE 1: Invest NI Assistance Offered & Jobs Promoted / Safeguarded

(2007/08 – 2009/10)

Year	New Jobs	Safe Jobs	Employment Related Assistance Offered (£m)	Total Assistance Offered (£m)
2007/08	4,767	2,207	62.5	115.2
2008/09	6,492	848	87.6	150.1
2009/10	4,307	2,264	82.4	182.1
Total	15,565	5,319	232.6	447.4

NOTES:

1. Total Assistance Offered includes Employment Related Assistance Offered.
2. Employment Related Assistance Offered is directly comparable to job numbers. Total Assistance Offered is not.
3. New Jobs represents the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
4. Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.
5. Figures may not add due to rounding.

In addition, during the same period Invest NI also indirectly offered support to 7,825 new business starts through the Enterprise Development Programme (formerly the Start a Business programme), delivered in conjunction with Enterprise Northern Ireland. Table 2 shows the number of offers made, the associated assistance offered to these projects, and the number of new jobs these offers are expected to create.

TABLE 2: New Businesses Assisted Under the Enterprise Development Programme (2007/08 – 2009/10)

Financial Year	Number of Offers	Assistance Offered (£)	New Jobs
2007/08	3,348	1,240,600	3,482
2008/09	2,328	557,800	2,421
2009/10	2,149	-	2,235
Total	7,825	1,798,400	8,138

Note: The new Enterprise Development Programme established in 2009 does not offer financial support to establish a business but provides training, advice and guidance.

Call Centres

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the number of call centres that have received financial assistance from (a) her Department; and (b) Invest NI in each of the last five years; and (ii) the number of jobs (a) created; and (b) lost in call centres in the same period.

(AQW 7787/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) In the five year period from 2005/06 until 2009/10, Invest NI made 117 offers of financial assistance to call centres promoting 5416 new jobs and safeguarding a further 868 jobs. Total assistance offered was just over £41.5million. Details for each of the five years can be found in the table below.

Year	No of Offers	New jobs	Safe Jobs	Total Assistance
2005/06	17	576	0	3,269,048
2006/07	28	2,009	109	16,038,089
2007/08	19	1,079	67	8,443,277
2008/09	20	1,567	0	9,372,718
2009/10	33	185	692	4,385,173

(ii) Over the 5 year period from 2002/03 to 2007/08 (latest available data), there were 9,555 job gains, and 154 job losses, in call centres supported by Invest NI, resulting in an overall increase in employment of 191%.

These figures are based on actual change in employment within client businesses, and do not directly relate to those projects assisted during the period, as referred to in (i).

The contact sector in Northern Ireland currently employs more than 14,000 people contributing significantly to the economic prosperity of Northern Ireland.

Assistance Granted to Export Companies

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the amount of financial assistance granted to export companies by (a) her Department; and (b) Invest NI; (ii) the number if jobs created in this industry; and (iii) the value of exports achieved, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7788/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: (i) (a) Invest NI is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and is responsible for the delivery of the Department's policies and strategies in relation to business support in Northern Ireland.

(b) Invest NI will work with any manufacturing and tradable services business that has export potential and the prospect of improving productivity by becoming more internationally competitive.

Therefore, the response to this question covers all companies offered assistance by Invest NI over the period 2005/06 to 2009/10.

Table 1 shows the amount of financial assistance that Invest NI offered to businesses in each of the 5 years between 2005/06 and 2009/10 and (ii) the number of jobs promoted and safeguarded as a result of this support.

The Total Assistance Offered represents the value of support which is expected to be paid towards business-related investment during the life-time of assisted projects. Only part of this assistance is employment related (55%) for the period under review.

TABLE 1: Invest NI Assistance Offered and Jobs Promoted / Safeguarded

(2005/06 – 2009/10)

Year	New jobs	Safe Jobs	Employment Related Assistance Offered (£m)	Assistance Offered (£m)
2005/06	5,352	3,844	90.2	133.7
2006/07	5,701	523	51.0	96.9
2007/08	4,767	2,207	62.5	115.2
2008/09	6,492	848	87.6	150.1
2009/10	4,307	2,264	82.4	182.1
Total	26,618	9,685	373.7	678.0

NOTES:

1. Total Assistance Offered includes Employment Related Assistance Offered.
2. Employment Related Assistance Offered is directly comparable to job numbers. Total Assistance Offered is not.
3. New Jobs represents the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
4. Safe Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.

(iii) Table 2 shows the value of exports generated by Invest NI clients between 2004/05 and 2008/09.

TABLE 2: Invest NI Clients’ Exports (2004/05 – 2008/09)

Year	Exports (£billion)
2004/05	4.9
2005/06	5.2
2006/07	5.6
2007/08	6.0
2008/09	5.9

NOTES:

1. Due to data collection methodologies, this information is not directly comparable to that set out at points (i) and (ii) above.
2. For comparative purposes values are expressed in 2008/09 prices.
3. 2008/09 figures are provisional and subject to change.

Invest NI Offices Located Abroad

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail (i) the number and location of Invest NI offices located abroad; and (ii) the value of inward investment from each location, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7791/10)

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

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

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

(ii) Inward investment is the culmination of a process involving the participation of many Invest NI teams, often from across different offices. As such, it is not possible to align each investment with a particular office. The tables below detail the number of jobs promoted and planned investment in the last three financial years by source region.

2007-08
	Offers	New Jobs Promoted	Safeguarded Jobs	Planned Investment £'m
Continental Europe	3	298	276	35.70
Great Britain	7	308	67	12.32
North America	14	422	1,102	119.56
Republic of Ireland	7	324	30	41.09
India	2	834	0	19.96
Asia Pacific	2	552	0	27.50
Total	35	2,738	1,475	256.13
2008-09
	Offers	New Jobs Promoted	Safeguarded Jobs	Planned Investment £'m
Continental Europe	6	775	2	85.67
Great Britain	12	262	3	17.02
North America	11	1,667	0	574.81
Republic of Ireland	13	1,345	152	107.38
India	0	0	0	0
Asia Pacific	1	6	0	0.39
Total	43	4,055	157	785.27
2009-10
	Offers	New Jobs Promoted	Safeguarded Jobs	Planned Investment £'m
Continental Europe	8	339	53	22.59
Great Britain	17	445	1,001	40.75
North America	17	868	0	112.34
Republic of Ireland	10	76	58	13.84
India	2	86	0	6.06
Asia Pacific	2	1	16	0.28
Total	56	1,875	1,128	195.87
TOTAL
	Offers	New Jobs Promoted	Safeguarded Jobs	Planned Investment £'m
Continental Europe	17	1,472	331	143.96
Great Britain	36	1,015	1,071	70.09
North America	42	2,957	1,102	806.72
Republic of Ireland	30	1,745	240	162.32
India	4	920	0	26.02
Asia Pacific	5	559	16	28.16
Total	134	8,668	2,760	1,237.27

Notes:

1. Figures include offers of assistance towards both first-time inward investments and reinvestments by existing externally-owned clients.
2. Table totals may not add due to rounding.
3. New Jobs Promoted represent the number of jobs expected to be promoted by the project.
4. Safeguarded Jobs represent the number jobs that would have been lost if the project was not supported.
5. Total Planned Investment includes planned investment by the client and Total Assistance Offered by Invest NI.

Bio-gas Industry

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment whether the bio-gas industry has the potential to meet renewable energy targets; and what plans her Department has to develop this industry.

(AQW 7858/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: While onshore wind will continue to be Northern Ireland’s main renewable resource – it is the most readily available and currently least expensive – it is important to broaden our renewable energy mix. The DETI-led Bioenergy Inter Departmental Working Group’s (IDG) draft Action Plan noted that bioenergy, including biogas, has the potential to make a modest contribution to Northern Ireland’s renewable energy targets. The IDG is currently revising the draft Plan in light of consultation responses.

DETI has recently completed a Call for Evidence on the costs associated with installing and operating Anaerobic Digestion (biogas) plants in Northern Ireland to determine if the current number of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) offered under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) should be increased from the current two ROCs per megawatt hour of electricity generated. The findings from the Call for Evidence will be included in the public consultation on proposed changes to the NIRO in 2011, which will issue in late July 2010.

Opportunities for Local Businesses in the Emerging Market of Cuba

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for her assessment of the potential opportunities for local businesses in the emerging market of Cuba, particularly in light of any future lifting of the U.S embargo.

(AQW 7866/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Invest NI is in continual contact with UK Trade and Investment and the Foreign Office on opportunities for Northern Ireland companies in emerging markets throughout the world, including Cuba. Invest NI will continue to monitor the situation in Cuba in light of any future lifting of the US Economic Embargo, and will assist any Northern Ireland company wishing to maximise new export opportunities when they are identified.

Currently there is limited trade between Northern Ireland and Cuba. In 2009 exports from the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, decreased by 36% on 2008 figures and amounted to £8.9 million.

Micro-business

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what information and advice is available for people who want to set up a micro-business from home.

(AQW 7925/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Invest Northern Ireland’s Go For It programme is targeted at early stage entrepreneurs and start up businesses. It offers individuals a bespoke package of training and support with participants receiving advice on finance, marketing, sales and other fundamentals which are likely to give their business the best possible chance of success.

The programme is delivered by Enterprise Northern Ireland through Local Enterprise Agencies across Northern Ireland.

Advice is also available on the nibusinessinfo.co.uk website which provides online business advice.

Renewables Market

Mr A Maginness asked e Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what plans she has to develop the renewables market at a small scale installer base in terms of (i) financial incentives to homeowners similar to the Renewable Heat Incentive initiative in Great Briatin; and (ii) loans or tax credits to homeowners for changing to renewables, following the withdrawal of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme grant aid in May 2010.

(AQW 7949/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My Department is nearing completion of a study to investigate the potential for developing renewable heat in Northern Ireland and as part of this is considering the most appropriate way of incentivising renewable heat in Northern Ireland in the longer term. This will, of course, have to be addressed in the context of the current fiscal position and agreed by the Executive. In the wider context, the funding mechanism for the proposed GB scheme is far from clear at present. However, my officials are in discussions with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to ensure that Northern Ireland could benefit from any UK wide funding mechanism that may be introduced.

Following the closure of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, my Department is considering if any short term support will be necessary to ensure that the market in Northern Ireland is not unduly disadvantaged. This will, however, be dependent on the availability of funding. As tax credits are a reserved matter, I have no plans to develop tax credits for homeowners changing to renewables.

Renewable Energy Targets

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for her assessment of whether the hydro-power industry has the potential to meet renewable energy targets; and what plans her Department has to develop this sector.

(AQW 8003/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: While onshore wind will continue to be Northern Ireland’s main renewable resource – it is the most readily available and currently least expensive – it is important to broaden our renewable energy mix.

A study commissioned by the Department has shown a maximum resource of 32MW installed capacity, and other studies have suggested a practicable resource of around 8MW, primarily from small-scale installations. This would indicate that hydro-electricity has the potential to make a modest contribution to Northern Ireland’s renewable energy targets.

DETI has increased the amount of subsidy available under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation to hydroelectric installations up to 1MW capacity accredited after 1 April 2010.

Strategic Energy Framework Policy

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for an update on her Department's discussions with the Small Wind Energy Group in relation to the Strategic Energy Framework policy.

(AQW 8004/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: There have been no discussions with the Small Wind Energy Group (SWEG) in relation to the Strategic Energy Framework. In fulfilment of my commitment given to the Assembly at its debate on the Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010, discussions have taken place regarding SWEG’s concerns that existing renewable electricity generators accredited under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation before 1 April 2010 do not benefit from the increased Renewables Obligation Certificates introduced for new generators accredited from this date.

Staff Salaries

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many staff in her Department, and associated quangos, are paid in excess of £100,000 pa in salary and/or remuneration packages.

(AQW 8044/10)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Two staff members are paid in excess of £100,000 pa.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Consultants and External Investigators used in Relation to Staff Grievances

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment, in relation to Craigavon Borough Council, to detail the cost of (i) consultants and external investigators used in relation to staff grievances, and where possible to list the names of individuals or organisations involved in each case; (ii) industrial tribunals including, payment of claims and legal costs and expenses; and (iii) payments made to interim staff, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7798/10)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): This information is not held by my Department. These matters are the responsibility of Craigavon Borough Council. My Department has no power to intervene in personnel issues within district councils.

Craigavon Borough Council

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment to outline the current circumstances in Craigavon Borough Council which have allowed the council to use measures, other than vacancy control measures, to appoint senior posts.

(AQW 7802/10)

Minister of the Environment: Appointments to senior posts are a matter for Craigavon Borough Council in consultation with the Local Government Staff Commission. My Department has no power to intervene in personnel issues within district councils.

Allotments

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment what action is being taken to increase the number of allotments.

(AQW 7814/10)

Minister of the Environment: District councils have a discretionary power under the Allotments Act (Northern Ireland) 1932 to provide allotments for use by residents in their districts. District Councils are independent statutory bodies responsible for conducting their own affairs and it would not be appropriate for me or my Department to interfere in such internal matters. If you have an interest in a particular area you may wish to contact the appropriate council directly to ask what they are doing to promote this activity.

Reform of the Planning Service

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the cost to date of the reform of the Planning Service.

(AQW 7827/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency has chaired a working party that includes representatives of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rivers Agency, the former Water Service, now Northern Ireland Water and Roads Service, agencies of the Department for Regional Development, to develop a strategy to promote the wider use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

The working party has met 10 times since 2006. It produced a strategy document that was approved by the Assembly Environment Committee on 7 January 2010.

In addition, SuDS are also discussed between Departments at meetings of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Stakeholder Forum, the WFD Implementation Working Group and the WFD Interdepartmental Board as the wider use of SUDS is an action set out in the recently published WFD River Basin Management Plans.

Agencies and Bodies Funded by the Department

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to AQW 7160/10, to detail the level of funding to all non-government organisations listed in each of the last two years; and the funding planned for this year.

(AQW 7832/10)

Minister of the Environment: The table below provides funding details for my Department for non - government organisations (NGOs) for the last two years 2008-09 and 2009 -10 and funding planned for this year. An additional small number of NGOs have been identified which were not included in my response to AQW 7160/10. The funding relates to 5 groups within conservation areas under the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) Scheme as well as PLACE (an organisation which examines issues relating to Planning, Landscape, Architecture, Community and Environment) and West Belfast Partnership.

Non - Government Organisations Funding	2008- 09 Expenditure £	2009-10 Expenditure £	2010-11 (Planned Funding) £
Architectural Heritage Fund	160,000	305,228	20,000
Alliance Youth Works	0	0	22,000
An Creaghan	0	0	29,000
Arena Network	0	0	22,000
Association of Prevention Trusts	0	15,075	0
Baglady Productions	0	0	0
Belfast Hills Partnership	84,872	89,560	75,000
Bryson House	102,858	58,196	0
Butterfly Conservation NI	50,084	48,486	59,000
Carntogher Community Association	0	0	0
Carren Conservation Group	0	0	0
Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Society	149,771	154,849	160,000
Conservation Volunteers NI	363,129	303,100	180,000
Copeland Bird Observatory	15,432	8,553	8,000
Countryside Recreation Network	323,097	266,850	170,000
Creggan Education Research	0	0	0
Derg Valley Care	19,650	37,460	0
Earth Science 2000	0	5,000	0
East Belfast Mission	170,793	51,037	0
Eco Seeds Ltd	0	0	0
Envirocentre	42,063	0	0
Environmental Campaigns	0	0	0
Fermanagh Local Strategy	0	0	0
Friends of Somerset Ponds	0	0	0
Groundwork NI	0	0	0
Killesher Community Development Association	3,000	0	0
Landscape Institute NI	0	0	0
Limavady Community Development Initiative	65,933	14,606	0
Lough Neagh Advisory Committee	0	0	25,000
Marine Conservation Society Ltd	3,890	19,283	18,000
Mid Ulster Enterprises	0	0	0
Mourne Heritage Trust	231,124	301,860	290,000
NI Environment Link	249,960	181,541	210,000
NI Raptor Study Group	0	0	10,000
Quarry Products Association	4,690	2,100	13,000
Regeneration of South Armagh	0	0	0
Share Centre	0	0	0
Shopmobility Belfast	19,488	49,475	0
South Lough Neagh Regeneration	0	0	0
Speedwell Project	42,729	64,029	65,000
Sperrin Tourism Ltd	0	0	0
Sustainable NI	0	0	0
Talnotry Avian Care Trust	6,244	48,208	32,000
The Mammal Society	0	0	0
The National Trust	732,151	262,241	117,000
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds	404,665	190,643	227,000
The Ulster Wildlife Trust	199,021	318,402	220,000
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust	83,771	107,400	32,000
The Woodlands Trust	476,993	125,064	102,000
Tidy Northern Ireland	117,964	123,929	127,000
Tourism and Transport Consult	0	0	0
Ulster Architectural Heritage Society	52,633	43,027	40,000
Various Churches	696,730	476,814	639,000
Voluntary Services Lisburn	163,564	8,155	0
WWF	0	0	0
Disability Action	185,000	182,000	Not finalised
Community Place	177,000	177,000	Not finalised
THI - Lisburn City Centre Management Ltd	20,000	5,000	Not finalised
Bushmills THI Partnership	8,805	0	Not finalised
THI - Walled City Partnership Ltd	32,793	71,428	Not finalised
THI - Lurgan Forward	38,500	10,786	Not finalised
THI - Canal Street Heritage Initiative	23,304	0	Not finalised
PLACE	0	9,649	Not finalised
West Belfast Partnership Board	0	13,386	Not finalised
Total	5,521,701	4,149,420	2,912,000

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to AQW 6992/10, to provide a full breakdown of his Department's spending on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 7862/10)

Minister of the Environment: Pursuant to AQW 6992/10 my Department’s spending to the end of May 2010 on local government reform under RPA, is set out in the table below.

Departmental Administration Costs	£4.256k
Strategic Leadership Board/Policy Development Panel/Taskforce Costs	£0.422k
Support Funding for NILGA specific to Reform Programme	£1.106k
Support for Modernisation Projects	£0.102k
Transition Committee Costs	£1.729k
Consultants’ Fees	£0.691k
Local Government Boundaries Commissioner	£1.259k
TOTAL	£9.565k

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of the Environment if any discussion has taken place between his Department, or its agencies and the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department for Regional Development, or their agencies, in relation to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems; and to outline how many meetings have taken place and the outcome of these meetings.

(AQW 7934/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency has chaired a working party that includes representatives of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rivers Agency, the former Water Service, now Northern Ireland Water and Roads Service, agencies of the Department for Regional Development, to develop a strategy to promote the wider use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

The working party has met 10 times since 2006. It produced a strategy document that was approved by the Assembly Environment Committee on 7 January 2010.

In addition, SuDS are also discussed between Departments at meetings of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Stakeholder Forum, the WFD Implementation Working Group and the WFD Interdepartmental Board as the wider use of SUDS is an action set out in the recently published WFD River Basin Management Plans.

River Pollution

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of the Environment how many fish have been killed, as a result of river pollution, in Upper Bann rivers, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7936/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is responsible for investigating reports of water pollution affecting ground or surface waters and for instigating enforcement action, where necessary, under the terms of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Investigations of fish kills’ are undertaken by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) Inland Fisheries in conjunction with Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The numbers of fish killed in Upper Bann rivers in each of the last three years are contained in Table A in the answer. The numbers contained in the table are estimates only as some fish may have been killed, but not observed, due to predation, being washed downstream or turbidity.

Table A

Year	Estimated number of fish killed
2007	None
2008	580
2009	30

River Pollution

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of the Environment how many fish have been killed, as a result of river pollution, in North Antrim rivers, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7945/10)

Minister of the Environment: Investigations of fish kills are undertaken by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) Inland Fisheries in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The information presented in the table below is taken from the NIEA pollution incident database which records pollution incidents on a river catchment basis. The following catchments are considered to represent North Antrim Rivers:- Lower Bann, Glens and Rathlin, Bush and the Braid and Maine.

The numbers of fish killed listed are estimates as more fish may have been killed but not observed due to predation, being washed downstream or not being observed due to turbidity.

Year	Estimated number of fish killed
2007	10
2008	550
2009	80

Pollution Incidents in the Three Mile Water River

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment to detail (i) the number of reported pollution incidents in the Three Mile Water river and its tributaries, in each of the last five years; (ii) what type of pollution was identified; (iii) where the sources of pollution were located; (iv) how many polluters have been identified and brought before the courts; and (v) what fines and costs were imposed on these polluters in each case.

(AQW 7948/10)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is responsible for investigating reports of water pollution affecting ground or surface waters and for instigating enforcement action, where necessary, under the terms of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

In response to each of your questions:

(i) Details in relation to the number of confirmed reports of water pollution incidents in the Three Mile Water and its tributaries in each of the past five years are detailed in Table A below.

Table A

YEAR	Total number of confirmed water pollution incidents	Low Severity	Medium Severity	High Severity
2005	15	11	4	0
2006	10	7	3	0
2007	10	10	0	0
2008	6	6	0	0
2009	3	2	1	0

(ii) Details in relation to the type of pollution identified for the confirmed water pollution incidents which occurred in the Three Mile Water and its tributaries in each of the past five years are detailed in Table B below.

Table B

YEAR	Sewage	Agriculture	Non Agricultural Waste Discharge	Other	Oil
2005	5	1	2	2	5
2006	5	0	2	1	2
2007	7	0	1	1	1
2008	4	0	1	1	0
2009	0	0	2	1	0
Total	21	1	8	6	8

(iii) The sources of the pollution for the confirmed water pollution incidents occurring in the Three Mile Water and its tributaries in each of the past five years are detailed in Table C below.

Table C

YEAR	Industry	Domestic	Farm	NIW/Water Service	Other	Transport
2005	5	2	1	4	3	0
2006	4	2	0	3	1	0
2007	1	2	0	5	2	0
2008	0	5	0	1	0	0
2009	1	0	0	0	2	0
Total	11	11	1	13	8	0

(iv) It is NIEA policy that enforcement will be considered for all medium and high severity pollution incidents, unless there are compelling mitigating circumstances. Enforcement action can include prosecution, the issue of a warning letter or the issue of a legally binding notice. Of the 44 water pollution incidents which occurred over this period, 36 were found to be low severity, 8 incidents of medium severity and no high severity incidents. 31 polluters were identified, 4 formal warning letters issued and one case file is being prepared for submission to the Public Prosecution Service for consideration for prosecution. In the three remaining medium severity pollution incidents there were mitigating circumstances which rendered enforcement inappropriate.

(v) No prosecution cases have yet come to court for water pollution incidents which occurred in this catchment over this time period, therefore, no court fines have been imposed to date.

Pollution Incidents in the Three Mile Water River

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment (i) how much his Department has spent, in each of the last five years on (a) dealing with the impact of pollution incidents in the Three Mile Water river and its tributaries; and (b) preparing casework to identify polluters before the courts; and (iii) how much was reimbursed to his Department by (a) polluters; and (b) the courts to cover the costs of these incidents.

(AQW 7950/10)

Minister of the Environment: In response to each of your questions: (i)(a) The costs to the Department in each of the past five years of dealing with the impact of water pollution incidents in the Three Mile Water and its tributaries are detailed in Table A below.

Table A

Year	Total Cost
2005	£1,580
2006	£1,081
2007	£832
2008	£499
2009	£333

(i)(b) The majority of the water pollution incidents which occurred in the Three Mile Water and its tributaries over this five year period were of low severity, therefore, in line with NIEA policy prosecution is not appropriate. In one case of water pollution, which occurred in this catchment in this period, a file is being prepared for submission to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for consideration for prosecution. As this case is still being prepared for PPS by NIEA, it is not possible to give an actual figure for the final costs of preparing this case at this time.

(ii)(a) From 1 April 2008, NIEA policy has been to recover costs from all polluters who cause high or medium severity pollution incidents, in addition to issuing warning letters or prosecution. As a result of this revised cost recovery policy, £166.32 was recovered from a polluter for one medium severity incident which occurred in the catchment during 2009.

(ii)(b) As no prosecution cases have taken place during this period no costs have been recovered through the courts in this period for pollution incidents in this catchment.

Demand for Local Landfill Capacity

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment what steps he intends to take to reassess the demand for local landfill capacity; and how he intends to ensure that 'waste stays local'.

(AQW 7981/10)

Minister of the Environment: Waste Management planning is a function of local government, and District Councils are responsible for deciding what arrangements are appropriate for the management of waste within their area. In doing so consideration is given by Councils to the need for, the capacity, and location of landfill sites and the resultant proposals form part of the waste management plans prepared by the three regional waste management planning partnerships.

These plans, which are subject to full public consultation and Departmental approval, were last approved in 2006. The Waste Management Groups are due to submit new waste management plans in 2011 and this will provide a further opportunity to consider proposed arrangements.

Pollution in the Lismore Stream

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to AQW 7509/10, to detail the length of time between each incident of pollution in the Lismore Stream being reported and an inspection being carried out.

(AQW 7989/10)

Minister of the Environment: Pursuant to AQW 7509/10, the table below sets out the date and time each incident was reported to Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the date and time the Investigating Officer commenced the investigation on site.

Date incident reported	Time incident reported	Date incident investigated	Time incident investigated	Incident Severity
11 April 2007	15:30	11 April 2007	18:30	Low
20 April 2008	16:00	20 April 2008	17:10	Low
3 May 2008	19:02	3 May 2008	19:50	Low
1 July 2009	15:00	2 July 2009	09:00	Low

High Hedges Bill

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of the Environment for an update on the High Hedges Bill.

(AQW 8036/10)

Minister of the Environment: The High Hedges Bill is currently at Committee Stage which has been extended until 17 December 2010.

The aim is to have the legislation enacted by March 2011 or earlier if possible.

Alleged Fraud within Craigavon Borough Council

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment, in relation to the Local Government Auditor's report in which he refers to the alleged fraud within Craigavon Borough Council (i) whether this alleged fraud involved (a) a council officer in the consideration and award of a tender; (b) a tendering firm; or (c) the installation or supply of boilers; (ii) how this fraud went undetected for so long; and (iii) for his assessment of whether any council officer has been neglectful in their duties in overseeing this.

(AQW 8103/10)

Minister of the Environment: This matter has been referred to the police for investigation. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL

Vacant Posts in the Civil Service

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many funded vacant posts currently exist in the Civil Service; and at what grades.

(AQW 6921/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): The number and grades of funded vacant posts which currently exist in the Civil Service are set out in the attached table.

The number of funded vacant posts which currently exist in the Civil Service at 21 May 2010

GRADE	TOTAL	GRADE	TOTAL
Administrative Assistant	27	Grade 7 - Human Rights Adviser	1
Administrative Officer	57.7	Grade 7 - Office of Social Services	3
Assistant Information Officer	1	Grade 7 - Principal Legal Officer	5
Assistant Scientific Officer	1	Grade 7 - Statistician	1
Careers Advisor	7	Grade 7 - Veterinary Officer	1
Compliance Officer	1	Grade 7 - Veterinary Officer Testing	1
Conservator E	1	Higher Psychologist	1
Curatorial C	1	Higher Professional & Technical Officer Ferry Manager	1
Deputy Principal	30	Higher Professional & Technical Officer Quantity Surveyor	2
Deputy Principal Accountant	2	Information Communication Technology (ICT) Level 2	9
Deputy Principal Auditor	1	Information Communication Technology (ICT) Level 3	3
Executive Officer 1	52.7*	Information Communication Technology (ICT) Level 4	2
Executive Officer 2	49	Information Communication Technology (ICT) Level 5	1
Fisheries Officer 1	2	Industrial Staff	3
Forest Officer III	1	Inspector Grade III	2
Grade 3 - Senior Civil Service	3	Inspector Group 1	3
Grade 5 - Chief Social Services Officer	1	Inspector Group 2	5
Grade 5 - Legislation Counsel	1	Inspector Group 4	1
Grade 5 - Senior Civil Service	5	Labourer	2
Grade 5 - Senior Medical Officer	1	Librarian	1
Grade 5 – Solicitor	3	Nurse	1
Grade 6 – General Service	4	Personal Secretary	1
Grade 6 Economist	1	Physiotherapist	1
Grade 6 Senior Human Rights Adviser	1	Plant / Fitter Mechanic	1
Grade 6 Senior Principal Legal Officer	1	Professional & Technical Officer	15
Grade 7 – General Service	17	Professional & Technical Officer Marine Maintenance Supervisor	1
Grade 7 - Health Professional Officer	1	Purser	2
Scientific Officer	1	Specialist Grade A	2
Semi-Skilled Grade G	2	Senior Professional and Technical Officer	3
Senior Fisheries Officer	1	Supervising Examiner	2
Senior Purser	3	Supervisor 1	2
Senior Scientific Officer	7	Supervisor Grade B	1
Senior Traffic Examiner	2	Technical Grade 1	4
Senior Valuer	1	Technical Grade 2	1
Support Grade Band 2	8	Trading Standards Service Inspector	3
Staff Officer	30.6	Typist	2
Staff Officer Accountant	5

TOTAL: 424

* Department of Justice Grade C vacancies shown as Executive Officer I, pending review of those posts which span both NICS grades Executive Officer 1 & Executive Officer 2

Note: The number of vacancies can fluctuate as posts are filled or new vacancies are created due to internal moves or natural staff turnover.

Civil Service Computer Systems

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much has been spent on (i) updating; and (ii) maintaining software systems for the Civil Service computer systems in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7578/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The requested information is contained in the attached Annex.

Spend on (i) updating; and (ii) maintaining software systems for the Civil Service computer systems in each of the last three years is as follows:

(i) updating software systems

2007-2008 *	2008-2009*	2009-2010
£31,051,057	£18,358,270	£17,406,103

(ii) maintaining software systems

2007-2008 *	2008-2009*	2009-2010
£14,203,501	£14,949,918	£17,235,224

*excludes DEL as all their Information Technology Services were hosted and managed under a Public Finance Initiative contract.

In addition, the following table shows the spend on updating and maintaining software systems where a breakdown into (i) and (ii) has not been provided:

2007-2008	2008-2009	2009-2010
£10,142,195	£8,050,827	£6,829,930

All the above figures exclude DOJ which advised that the provision of this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Pool Cars

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many pool cars are available for use by Government Departments and their agencies to transport Ministers and senior civil servants; and to detail (i) the mileage covered by pool cars; and (ii) the total running costs, including drivers' wages, for each of the last three years.

(AQW 7721/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: There are 17 cars available for use by Government Departments and their agencies to transport Ministers and senior civil servants.

The mileage covered by pool cars and the total running costs, including drivers’ wages, for each of the last three years are listed in the attached table:

YEAR	TOTAL MILEAGE	TOTAL RUNNING COSTS (salary costs, fuel costs and car maintenance)
2007-2008	348,443	£404k
2008-2009	404,102	£433k
2009-2010	355,339	£441k

Civil Servants Absent from Work

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of civil servants, who were absent from work for any length of time, who had the validity or authenticity of their sick notes queried in each of the last five years, broken down by Department.

(AQW 7743/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Vacant Posts in the Civil Service

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the average number of vacant posts in the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7750/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The average number of vacant posts in each of the last five years is set out in the attached table.

AVERAGE NUMBER OF VACANCIES IN EACH OF THE LAST 5 YEARS

YEAR	AVERAGE NUMBER OF VACANCIES
1/4/2006 (1) (2)	1559
2006/07 (2)	1808
2007/08	2061
2008/09 (3)	1941
2009/10	1114

Average vacancy information obtained from data provided by Departments on a quarterly basis at 1 July, 1 October, 1 January and 1 April each financial year.

⁽¹⁾ Figure only held for one date in 2005/2006 ie 1 April 2006.

⁽²⁾ Excludes Water Service, as the function transferred out of the Northern Ireland Civil Service on 1 April 2008 and vacancy levels were not monitored.

⁽³⁾ Data in relation to 2008/09 are based on the average of 2 quarters’ figures as validated staff in post data from the new HR data system were unavailable in January and April 2009.

Retired Civil Servants

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many people have retired from the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7752/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel:

Year:	No. of Members Retiring:
2005/2006	901
2006/2007	934
2007/2008	967
2008/2009	779
2009/20101	954

Detail regarding movement of all Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme (Northern Ireland) members, whether active or retired, is published on the Department of Finance and Personnel website in the annual DFP Superannuation and Other Allowances Resource Accounts.

¹All figures provided are final with the exception of those in respect of 2009/2010 which are still in draft form but which will form part of the final Resource Accounts report.

Public Sector Posts in East Antrim

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what steps he is taking to address the lack of public sector posts in East Antrim.

(AQW 7828/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: There is no centrally directed programme for determining the location of public sector posts. Decisions on the location or relocation of public sector posts are for the Ministers and public bodies responsible for those posts, taking account of business need, value for money and affordability as appropriate.

Pool Cars

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel (i) what log record is kept of civil servants’ use of pool cars; (ii) how many civil servants, in each Department, used pool cars in each of the last three years; and (iii) what mileage they covered.

(AQW 7835/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Log sheets are maintained to record individual journeys made by civil servants using pool cars.

The attached table shows the number of journeys made in pool cars by civil servants broken down by department by year for each of the last three years.

Information on mileage is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
DOE	143	321	154
DARD	281	177	102
DCAL	45	9	15
DETI	165	120	360
DFP	441	466	378
DHSSPS	373	379	266
DRD	76	137	115
DSD	216	246	201
DE	332	166	70
OFM/DFM	825	640	524
DEL	378	306	274
Total by year	3,275	2,967	2,459

First Trust Bank

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of the impact of the decision to sell the First Trust Bank.

(AQW 7845/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The implications of this decision will depend on whether the sale goes ahead and who might buy it. The concerns that I have relate to the competitiveness of our local banking sector and the possible direct impact for some of the 1,500 people employed by First Trust Bank. The loss of any significant number of these jobs would be very disappointing.

It is crucial that, as we emerge from the recession, we retain a competitive banking sector capable of supporting business growth by lending at reasonable terms. In that respect the sale of First Trust Bank may not harm the local economy if it is taken over by a strong bank that injects a new level of competition – however that is by no means guaranteed.

I have already met with the Irish Banking Officials Organisation to discuss this issue and subsequently raised the issue with the Irish Minister of State, Dr Mansergh. I also intend to raise the issue with Minister Lenihan at the earliest possible opportunity.

NICS Equal Pay

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the progress in the implementation of the NICS equal pay settlement.

(AQW 7893/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The implementation process is well underway, with around 12,000 staff affected by the equal pay settlement now moved to the new pay scales and paid the associated arrears of pay. The next steps in the process have commenced, which involve staff being advised of their individual lump sum payments and being asked to sign agreements to accept the terms of the settlement.  Preparatory work on the final step in implementation, a comprehensive pay and grading review, is underway.

Consultants

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what steps he is taking to review the use of consultants in his Department.

(AQW 7956/10)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: During 2009/10, my Department spent £1.1m on external consultancy. This figure, which is provisional and is subject to the finalisation of the Department’s 2009/10 accounts, represents a reduction of more than 75% on the 2008/09 expenditure.

The Department issued revised guidance on the engagement of external consultants in April 2009, and has and continues to take steps to minimise the reliance on the use of external consultants, including an increased focus on the use of internal resources to undertake work, for example the use of internal consultants from the Department’s Delivery and Innovation Division, and continued downward pressure and monitoring of external consultancy costs by the Departmental Board.

The majority of external consultancy expenditure in previous years related to supporting the development and implementation of the NICS reform programme. Given that these key reform projects have moved from implementation to service delivery, external consultancy costs are expected to reduce further during 2010/11.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Bank Staff

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost of using bank staff in each Health and Social Care Trust, in the last financial year.

(AQW 1146/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): Information on the cost of bank staff is not held centrally and has been supplied by individual Health and Social Care Trusts.

HSC Trust	Cost of bank staff 2008/09 (£)
Northern	4,488,890
Belfast	7,007,000
Southern	3,420,072
South Eastern	2,382,536
Western	3,680,916
NI Total	20,979,414

It should be noted there is a reducing reliance on banking staff due to cuts in the health budget.

GP Out of Hours Surgery

Mr T Gallagher asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 3313/10, to provide a breakdown of the costs for each out of hours base for 2007/08, to cover costs associated with doctors, nurses, secretarial staff and taxi services.

(AQW 3616/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The breakdown of operational costs of each Out of Hours base for 2007/08 is detailed in the attached table.

Belfast HSC Trust	North & West	South & East
Medical Staff	£1,188,756	£1,176,384
Admin Staff	£366,303	£362,118
No nurses work in GP Out-of-Hours in Belfast Trust. Fleet cars are used but the costs were not available within the timeframe to respond to this AQ.

 

Dalriada Urgent Care
GP costs	£3,000,000	All costs including employer superannuation
Nursing Costs	£395,000	All costs inc employer superannuation, NIC
Fleet	£60,000	Lease and maintenance costs, fuel, insurance
Salaries/Wages	£891,000	Operational staff (supervisors, call handlers, drivers), mgt, admin

 

South Eastern HSC Trust	Newtownards	Downpatrick	Lisburn
GP Costs	£1,128,737	£432,264	£1,213,413
Nursing costs	£0	£0	£0	No nurses worked in GP Out-of-Hours in South Eastern Trust in 2007/08.
Fleet	£6,753	£866	£14,564
Salaries / Wages	£267,263	£98,502	£328,615

 

Southern HSC Trust
GP Costs	£2,785,078.30
Nursing costs	£0	No nurses worked in GP Out-of-Hours in Southern Trust in 2007/08.
Fleet	£17,769.59
Salaries / Wages (except GPs and admin)	£806,192.24

 

Western Urgent Care	L’Derry	Limavady	Strabane	Omagh	Enniskillen	Total
GP Costs	£850,782	£567,188	£567,188	£779,883	£779,883	£3,544,923
Nursing Costs	£91,062	£54,534	£74,590	£94,413	£76,259	£390,857
Fleet cost	£46,248
Admin Costs	£122,384	£68,282	£65,110	£69,861	£76,624	£402,261

Source: Health and Social Care Board

Regional Health Board: Press Officers

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many press officers work for the Regional Health Board.

(AQW 3896/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The number of press officers that work for the Regional Health Board is 8 headcount 7.23 whole-time equivalent*.

The Board has advised that communications functions include all media relations (including 24 hr on call service); all internal communications for Trust staff; strategic communications for issues such as public consultations; management of Assembly questions; all publications, print and design; public affairs; website / intranet content and enquiries; events / conferences, photography and support in responding to Freedom of Information requests.

*Source: Health & Social Care Board

Cost of Maintaining Unused and Empty Buildings

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety the cost to the Health Service of maintaining unused and empty buildings.

(AQW 3949/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The total annual maintenance cost to the Health Service for unused and empty buildings is approximately £247,262.00.

Health Estates have been liaising with Land and Property Services on the sale of vacant properties.

Storing Medical Records at Mallusk

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety the annual cost to the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust of storing medical records at Mallusk.

(AQW 3950/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: For the financial year 2008-09 South Eastern HSC Trust spent a total of £150k on the storage of medical records at Mallusk.

The Business Services Organisation is currently pursuing options to eliminate paper records.

Flights Booked for Civil Servants

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of flights booked for Civil Servants in his Department which were paid for wholly, or in part, but never used; and (ii) the costs and loss of revenue incurred booking these flights, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 4041/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information in respect of the Department is provided below:

Year	Number of flights paid for but not used	Costs incurred
2005-06	61	£12,139
2006-07	44	£9,780
2007-08	63	£15,370
2008-09	49	£10,482
2009-10 (to 31 December 2009)	28	£4,916

Reports

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number and full title of any 'value for money' and/or 'efficiency' reports commissioned by his Department in each of the last three years; and (ii) the cost of completing these reports.

(AQW 4479/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Value for Money (VFM) audit is an essential and regular management tool employed by the Department in discharging its statutory responsibility to ensure that VFM is provided in the use of resources.

The following table sets out the title and cost of each of the value for money audits commissioned over the last three years by the Department.

Title of VFM Audit	Total Cost for Audit
Social Services Workforce	£50,000.00
Use of Temporary Staff	£35,000.00
Allied Health Professionals (Podiatrists, Dietetics & Orthoptics)	£30,000.00
Staff Travel & Subsistence – October 2009	£65,702.00
Staff Absence – November 2008	£68,000.00
Allied Health Professionals (Speech & Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists & Physiotherapists) – July 2008	£108,551.00
Support Services for Carers – June 2008	£99,425.56
Staff Training – February 2008	£179,336.25
Day Services – September 2007	£126,519.19
A & E Activity – September 2007	£99,801.00

The purpose of the Departments VFM audit stagey is to provide independent assurance to the Accounting Officer and also identify potential improvements to the value for money provided by all HSC bodies.

Discharge from Hospital

Mr J Wells asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many patients in the last 12 months have had their discharge from hospital delayed because a care package was not available.

(AQW 4743/10)

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

Children Treated in Adult Mental Health Wards

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many children have stayed, or been treated, in adult mental health wards or units in each of the last five years.

(AQW 5682/10)

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

2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09
25	38	41	44

*Figures for 2009/10 are not available.

Such admissions occur only when there is a clinical need for urgent admission and an age appropriate bed is unavailable. In the majority of cases admissions are of children of 16 plus years of age.

The Department has issued guidance on the steps that should be taken to ensure the safety and proper treatment of any young people placed in such facilities.

Western Health and Social Care Trust: Domiciliary Health Care Workers

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his Department's policy on the retention of domiciliary health care workers in the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 6398/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The recruitment and retention of domiciliary care workers is a matter for each HSC Trust. The Western Trust has advised that it has not encountered any retention difficulties regarding domiciliary care workers and this remains the position.

The Trust has also advised that it currently employs 910 domiciliary care staff, a reduction of 114 since 2007. This reduction involved home help workers, who provided low level practical support, while the Trust has focussed resources on supporting service users with the most complex needs. As well as directly employing these staff, the Trust has contracts with 17 independent sector providers for domiciliary care.

Western Health and Social Care Trust: Domiciliary Health Care Workers

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail any reduction in the number of domiciliary health care workers in the Western Health and Social Care Trust since May 2007.

(AQW 6399/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The recruitment and retention of domiciliary care workers is a matter for each HSC Trust. The Western Trust has advised that it has not encountered any retention difficulties regarding domiciliary care workers and this remains the position.

The Trust has also advised that it currently employs 910 domiciliary care staff, a reduction of 114 since 2007. This reduction involved home help workers, who provided low level practical support, while the Trust has focussed resources on supporting service users with the most complex needs. As well as directly employing these staff, the Trust has contracts with 17 independent sector providers for domiciliary care.

Ketogenic Diet

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what is the average waiting time for children with intractable epilepsy to gain access and commence the ketogenic diet.

(AQW 6549/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no children waiting for specialist dietetic assessment to consider their suitability for commencement on the ketogenic diet.

Northern Ireland Eating Disorders Services

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much funding has been allocated to, but not yet spent by, the Northern Ireland Eating Disorders Services from (i) his Department; (ii) the Health and Social Care Board; and (iii) the Health and Social Care Trusts, in (a) the last five financial years; and (b) this financial year to date.

(AQW 6554/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Funding for Eating Disorders Services is allocated by my Department to the Health and Social Care Board. The Board then allocates this funding to the relevant Trusts on a capitation basis. Each Trust has provided details of funding allocated but not spent, which is set out in the table below.

Year	Dep’t Allocated	Belfast Trust *	Southern Trust	Western Trust	Northern Trust
		Unspent	Unspent	Unspent	Unspent
2005/06	£1m	£0	£0	£0	£0
2006/07	£1m	£0	£9k	£0	£0
2007/08	£1.5m	£0	£67k	£0	£7k
2008/09	£2m	£190k	£3k	£0	£0
2009/10	£2.5m	£0	£2k	£0	£33k

* Belfast Trust also provides the Eating Disorders Service on behalf of the South Eastern Trust.

Belfast and Southern Trusts have indicated that underspends in 2007/08 and 2008/09 were due to recruitment difficulties following the allocation of additional funding for new posts.

No figures are yet available for the current financial year.

Ketogenic Diet

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many children are on the waiting list for the ketogenic diet.

(AQW 6576/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are currently no children waiting for specialist dietetic assessment to consider their suitability for commencement on the ketogenic diet. 10 children are on the ketogenic diet in Northern Ireland and a further 6 children assessed as suitable have been given a treatment commencement date.

Royal Victoria Hospital Dentistry Department

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what is the current waiting time for an appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital dentistry department; and under what circumstances is a patient deemed to be high priority.

(AQW 6596/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety:

1. The current waiting time for a first outpatient appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital dentistry department is up to 26 weeks for non-urgent patients.
2. The classification of referrals as either urgent or routine is carried out by a consultant within the specialty of referral.

Pest Control

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much each Health and Social Care Trust spent on pest control in each of the last three years.

(AQW 6650/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The table below sets out the costs of pest control by Health and Social Care Trusts for 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10.

Year	Belfast Health & Social Care Trust £k	Northern Health & Social Care Trust £k	South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust £k	Southern Health & Social Care Trust £k	Western Health & Social Care Trust £k
2007/08	42,861	28,275	6,939	16,437	30,603*
2008/09	37,026	38,642	21,979	16,541	9,140
2009/10	23,932	20,740	32,321	17,461	13,379

The above amounts spent on pest control must be seen relative to the large size of the Health Service Estate. There are 1,600 blocks of buildings including major hospital complexes, local hospitals, residential accommodation, day centres, health clinics and administrative buildings and a property estate of some 1.2 million hectares of land. All this has an estimated replacement value of at least 10 billion pounds.

There is continuing significant new investment in capital buildings with £600m of funding in the current CSR period for facilities in the acute, primary & community and mental health and learning disability sectors.

AQW 5140/10

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) when he expects to be in a position to respond to AQW 5140/10, which was due for answer on 11 March 2010; (ii) to detail the reason for the delay in answering this question; and (iii) if he can confirm that he has returned a draft answer to his officials for amendment.

(AQW 6767/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: An answer has now been provided to this Assembly Question.

Patient Safety

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether he can override a decision of a Health and Social Care Trust in the interests of patient safety.

(AQW 6841/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Yes, however patient safety will always be the paramount consideration for any Health and Social Care Trust.

Serious Clinical Incidents in Hospitals

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of serious clinical incidents in each hospital in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 6850/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The requested information, which has been supplied by the Northern HSC Trust, is set out in the table below. Figures for 2005/06 relate to legacy Trusts and are not available.

Clinical incidents were categorised as ‘serious’ if they met one of more of the following criteria;

1. the incident warranted regional action or learning to improve safety or care;
2. the incident was of public concern; or
3. the incident required an independent review.

Northern HSC Trust

	Antrim Area	Causeway	Mid Ulster	Whiteabbey	Braid Valley
2005/06	-	-	-	-	-
2006/07	2	0	0	0	0
2007/08	5	1	0	0	0
2008/09	9	2	1	0	1
2009/10	9	1	2	2	0

Doctors

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of doctors currently working at (i) Altnagelvin Hospital; (ii) the Royal Hospital; (iii) Craigavon Hospital; (iv) the Mater Hospital; (v) Antrim Area Hospital; and (vi) the Mid-Ulster Hospital, broken down by grades of (a) Foundation; (b) Registrar; (c) Senior Registrar; (d) Consultant; and (e) other grades.

(AQW 6911/10)

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

Medical Staff employed in selected Hospitals by Grade at 31 March 2010

	Foundation / Senior House Officer		Specialty Registrar		Staff Grade / Associate Specialist		Consultant		Other Grades		Total
	HC	WTE	HC	WTE	HC	WTE	HC	WTE	HC	WTE	HC	WTE
Altnagelvin Hospital	41	41.0	111	110.5	22	19.6	121	118.0	12	4.6	307	293.7
Royal Group of Hospitals	88	88.0	352	345.0	43	35.8	276	265.1	5	0.9	764	734.8
Craigavon Area Hospital	41	41.0	114	111.7	35	31.2	115	111.5	4	2.6	309	298.0
Mater Hospital	31	31.0	45	45.0	9	7.8	48	43.7	2	0.2	135	127.7
Antrim Area Hospital	58	57.8	93	91.4	12	11.3	95	90.9	4	1.5	262	252.9
Mid-Ulster Hospital	4	4.0	6	6.0	2	2.0	10	10.0	0	0.0	22	22.0

Source: Human Resources Management System

Notes:

1. HC = Headcount, WTE = Whole-Time Equivalent
2. Figures exclude staff on career breaks and staff with a whole-time equivalent of less than or equal to 0.03.
3. Royal Group of Hospitals includes Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital and Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
4. The figures include some staff who are based on the Hospital Sites, but who do not directly support Hospital activity.
5. There is no seniority system within the Registrar grade.

Health Service Staff Employed on Contracts

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail, for each of the last five years (i) the number of health service staff employed on contracts whose contracts were terminated early; (ii) the amount of compensation paid out because of the early termination of these contracts .

(AQW 6947/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is only available from April 2007 when the current Health and Social Care Trusts were set up.

(i) In this period the number of permanent employment contracts terminated in all Health and Social Care organisations on the grounds of ill health was 258 in the 2007/08 year; 287 in the 2008/09 year and 261 in the 2007/08 year. Contracts terminated on disciplinary grounds were 84 in the 2007/08 year; 69 in the 2008/09 year and 53 in the 2007/08 year.

(ii) In four cases, two ill health and two disciplinary contract terminations, compensation payments ranging from £1,700 to £35,000, and totalling £79,200, were made as a result of successful claims for unfair dismissal.

Patient Safety

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether he can override a decision of (i) a local commissioning group; or (ii) the Health and Social Care Board in the interests of patient safety.

(AQW 6997/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Yes, however patient safety will always be the paramount consideration for the Health and Social Care Board and any local commissioning group.

Media Campaigns

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much his Department and other bodies under his remit have spent on media campaigns in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7115/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department and other organisations under my remit have spent the following amounts on media campaigns in each of the last three years:

Spend on Media Campaigns 2007-10

2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
£2,558,368	£3,623,167	£2,589,052.32 (approximate total)

This money has been spent on important campaigns relating to domestic violence, sexual violence and abuse; swine flu; promotion of the lifeline helpline; appeals for blood donation; alcohol and drug misuse and a number of fire safety campaigns including the importance of home smoke alarms. In addition the Fire Service has a statutory responsibility to promote fire safety and to provide information, publicity and encouragement in respect of the steps to be taken to prevent fires and death or injury by fires.

External Contracts for Press, Media or Communications

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the external contracts for press, media or communications entered into by each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last five years; and (ii) the individual and total costs of these contracts.

(AQW 7206/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on individual contracts is treated as commercial in confidence. The total value of those contracts across Health and Social Care Trusts is £107,912.77.

Doctor and Consultant Posts Advertised for the Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of doctor and consultant posts advertised for the Mid-Ulster Hospital, including the date of each advertisement in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7503/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The employment of staff is the responsibility of each individual Trust.

The Northern Trust has confirmed that the following doctor and consultant posts have been advertised for the Mid-Ulster Hospital in the last three years:

2007

Title of Post:	Speciality:	Location:	Date Advertised:
Consultant Anaesthetist	Anaesthetics	Mid-Ulster Hospital	15.01.07
Locum Appointment for Training:	General Medicine	Antrim/Mid-Ulster Hospital	07.09.07
Trust Physician	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	23.10.07

2008

Title of Post:	Speciality:	Location:	Date Advertised:
Trust Physician 4 posts	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	08.01.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 2 Level)	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	08.01.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 1 Level)	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	08.01.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 2 Level)	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	15.02.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 2 Level)	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	19.02.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 1 Level)	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	19.02.08
Trust Physician	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	26.02.08
Temp Locum Consultant Surgeon	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	27.04.08
Trust Physician	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	20.05.08
Trust Physician	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	11.07.08
Trust Physician	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	15.07.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 2 Level)	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	13.08.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 3 Level)	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	19.08.08
Locum Appointment for Training (ST 2 Level )	General Medicine	Mid-Ulster Hospital	30.09.08
Trust Grade 2 posts	A&E	Mid-Ulster Hospital	28.10.08

2009

Title of Post:	Speciality:	Location:	Date Advertised:
Locum Foundation Year 1	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	13.02.09
CT 2	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	13.02.09
Locum Appointment for Training	Surgery	Causeway/Antrim/ Mid-Ulster Hospitals	16.03.09
Temporary Locum Consultant Surgeon	Surgery	Mid-Ulster Hospital	27.04.09
Speciality Doctor 9 posts	General Medicine	Whiteabbey/ Mid-Ulster Hospitals	18.05.09
Locum Doctor foundation year 1		Trustwide	01.12.09
Locum Doctor foundation year 2		Trustwide	01.12.09

Local Enhanced Hospital in Omagh

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why a Private Finance Initiative is no longer a viable option for the financing of the new local enhanced hospital in Omagh.

(AQW 7559/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The final decision on the preferred method of procurement will not be decided until final approval of the business case, which is currently being assessed by my officials.

As I have previously advised you, the Omagh Hospital project has been and remains a key priority of mine since I took up office.

The Western Local Commissioning Group received a copy of the business case for Omagh Hospital from the Western Trust on 22 March 2010. The response will be made to the Trust before final submission of the business case to my Department.

New Local Enhanced Hospital in Omagh

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety where the new local enhanced hospital in Omagh is placed on his priority list of capital builds.

(AQW 7560/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The final decision on the preferred method of procurement will not be decided until final approval of the business case, which is currently being assessed by my officials.

As I have previously advised you, the Omagh Hospital project has been and remains a key priority of mine since I took up office.

The Western Local Commissioning Group received a copy of the business case for Omagh Hospital from the Western Trust on 22 March 2010. The response will be made to the Trust before final submission of the business case to my Department.

New Local Enhanced Hospital in Omagh

Mr T Buchanan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on what date the business case for the revenue costings for the new local enhanced hospital in Omagh was submitted to the Health Board Commissioning Group; and when he expects a response.

(AQW 7561/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The final decision on the preferred method of procurement will not be decided until final approval of the business case, which is currently being assessed by my officials.

As I have previously advised you, the Omagh Hospital project has been and remains a key priority of mine since I took up office.

The Western Local Commissioning Group received a copy of the business case for Omagh Hospital from the Western Trust on 22 March 2010. The response will be made to the Trust before final submission of the business case to my Department.

Compensation Claims for Medical Negligence

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of compensation claims for medical negligence, against Health Boards and the Health and Social Care Trusts, which have not been settled or closed after (i) 5 years; (ii) 10 years; and (iii) 15 years of going through the legal process.

(AQW 7595/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested has been set out in the table below. The figures include claims relating to the legacy health and social care organisations, which existed prior to the Review of Public Administration.

	No. of Claims not settled or closed that have been going through the legal process for:
	5-10 years	11-15 years	15+ years
HSC Board	56	34	56
Northern HSC Trust	64	10	0
Southern HSC Trust	45	17	1
Belfast HSC Trust	227	54	8
South Eastern HSC Trust	85	20	0
NI Ambulance HSC Trust	2	0	0
Western HSC Trust	83	7	0

Out-of-hours GP Services

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to 6998/10, to detail the criteria used to differentiate calls to an out-of -hours GP services as (i) emergency; or (ii) urgent.

(AQW 7623/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The criteria for Emergency and Urgent calls are set out in the Regional Out-of-Hours Guidance Manual; the relevant extract is attached.

Extract from Regional Out-of-Hours Guidance Manual

Emergency Calls

The following constitute Emergency Calls:

• Sudden collapse associated with patient being unresponsive
• Sudden collapse associated with patient not breathing
• Choking episode followed by collapse
• Heavy blood loss sufficient to cause loss of consciousness
• Collapse preceded by facial swelling and wheeze (probable anaphylactic shock).

Urgent Calls

The following constitute urgent calls.

• Floppy baby
• Baby with a tense or bulging fontanelle (soft spot on head)
• Child with shortness of breath and recent onset of excessive drooling
• Fit or seizure
• Any loss of consciousness other than faints
• Collapse but patient responsive/breathing
• Shortness of breath such that the patient cannot talk in sentences (all causes including asthma)
• Diabetic with loss of consciousness/hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar)
• Chest pain with a history of heart disease
• Chest pain associated with arm, throat/neck or jaw pain
• Chest pain of more than 20 minutes but less than 24hrs duration
• Palpitations associated with either chest pain or feeling faint
• Upper abdominal pain in patient with recent history of heart disease
• Abdominal pain associated with light-headedness / feeling faint on trying to stand
• Overdose
• Lip or tongue swelling
• Exposure to an allergen in a patient who previously suffered an anaphylactic reaction
• High temperature associated with any of the following
• Headache
• Neck stiffness
• Unable to tolerate light
• Rash which doesn't fade on performing the glass test
• Vomiting of fresh (red) blood
• Blood loss from any source which is described as heavy
• Patient who cannot get up following a fall.

Staff in the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Antrim Area Hospital

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what assessment has been made of the increasing pressure on staff in the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Antrim Area Hospital, following the closure of accident and emergency services at Whiteabbey and Mid-Ulster hospitals.

(AQW 7643/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Staffing and patient flow are continually monitored and assessed within the Accident and Emergency Department at the Antrim Area Hospital. Since the implementation of the changes on 24 May, performance has been steadily improving. This is as a consequence of the changes the Trust has made to the physical layout of the A&E Department, the additional 21 beds opened to support the changes and the larger team of doctors and nurses now available to provide care.

Since 24 May just over 4000 patients have attended the A&E department in Antrim Area hospital. Performance against the 4 hour target for discharge or admission from A&E has steadily improved since the change to service which indicates the effectiveness of the arrangements put in place by the Trust to manage demand.

Travel and Allowances for Staff

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much his Department spent on travel and allowances for staff in the (i) 2005/06; (ii) 2006/07; (iii) 2007/08; (iv) 2008/09; and (v) 2009/10 financial year.

(AQW 7644/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The total Administration expenditure on travel and allowances for staff over the last five years is set out in the following table

Financial Year	Expenditure
2005/06	711,640
2006/07	658,658
2007/08	664,256
2008/09	536,514
2009/10	506,746

The costs include mileage allowances, airfares, public transport costs, subsistence/allowances and car parking.

I have asked my department to continue to exercise constraint in relation to expenditure in this area. Travel will only be undertaken for essential business purposes.

Administrative Staff Employed by the Northern Health and Social Services Trust

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of administrative staff employed by the Northern Health and Social Services Trust at 1 April 2010, broken down by (i) gender; and (ii) religion.

(AQW 7645/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There were 2,142 administrative staff employed by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust on 15 June 2010. (i) 211 of these are male and 1,931 female. (ii) The community background recorded under the requirements of the Fair Employment legislation shows that 1,406 of these administrative staff are from the Protestant community, 633 from the Roman Catholic community and 103 from neither.

Travel and Allowances for Staff

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how much the Northern Health and Social Services Trust spent on travel and allowances for staff in the (i) 2005/06; (ii) 2006/07; (iii) 2007/08; (iv) 2008/09; and (v) 2009/10 financial year.

(AQW 7646/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Details of payments to staff for travel connected to their work are only available from 1 April 2007 when the Northern Health and Social Care Trust came into operation. These are as follows: (iii) 2007/08 year, £9.611m; (iv) 2008/09 year, £10.32m and (v) 2009/10 year, £10.39m.

These payments mainly reflect the cost of reimbursements to staff for using their own car to undertake travel connected to their work. The geographical area covered by the Trust and the policy of increased care in the community are major factors which give rise to this level of expenditure. You will wish to note that the national mileage rates were increased in July 2008 by 10% and despite this the Trust has managed to contain increased expenditure between 2007 and 2008 to 7.4%; this was achieved by restricting travel to all but necessary travel within the Trust area.

GUM Clinics

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what steps he intends to take to ensure that services provided by a GP and a GUM clinic are joined-up in order to improve co-operation and services for patients, given that a GP cannot currently refer a patient to a GUM clinic for a check-up.

(AQW 7652/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics are generally run on a self referral and walk in basis for first appointments as this is preferred by patients who may not wish to approach their own GP. GP’s can provide assessment and care for routine conditions and can also refer patients to the GUM clinic if necessary. This referral may involve attendance at a walk in clinic with a referral letter or, in non-routine cases, the GP can write directly to the Consultant and a fixed appointment time can be issued.

GUM Clinics

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he is aware that GUM clinic phones lines are frequently unanswered due to the pressure of work on staff; and what steps he plans to take to address this.

(AQW 7653/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The only Trust which has indicated a problem in this area is the Belfast HSCT where the current phone system requires updating in order to handle the volume of calls. The Trust has made a bid for capital monies to upgrade the phone system which will improve access for patients. The new system will allow patients to access clinical staff directly instead of all calls going through receptionists.

GUM Clinics

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many times in the last year a patient has been turned away from a GUM clinic, and asked to return another day, due to the long queues.

(AQW 7654/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Belfast HSCT – the Trust currently turns away on average ten patients per day who are asked to return another day - an audit of patient access to the GUM clinics showed that 70% of patients were seen within 48 hours.

Northern HSCT - During holiday periods, the Northern Trust may have reduced capacity and reduced number of patient slots at a clinic. If a walk- in patient cannot be fitted into a clinic on such an occasion he/she is offered an alternative appointment within 48 hours. This would be an infrequent occurrence.

Southern HSCT - The GUM Service for the Southern Trust in Daisy Hill Hospital operates an appointment system where all patients are triaged and offered appointments accordingly. All walk-in patients during clinic hours are triaged to ensure that emergency cases are seen.

Western HSCT – The Western Trust does not as yet operate a walk-in clinic thus all appointments are scheduled. The Trust is currently in the midst of a redesign process where they will be considering the potential for drop in clinics.

Children with Downs Syndrome

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the personal needs provision, such as incontinence pads, that are available for children with Downs Syndrome, in each Health and Social Care Trust area.

(AQW 7666/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Health and Social Care Services are provided on the basis of individually assessed need, not on the basis of a diagnosis. The full range of children’s Health and Social Care Services, including learning disability services, are therefore available to children with Down’s Syndrome and are provided in accordance with their individual assessment.

Services Available for Children with a Disability

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the (i) specific services; (ii) after-school services; and (iii) respite services available for children with a disability, in each Health and Social Care Trust area.

(AQW 7667/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Details of the services requested, within each Health and Social Care Trust area, are outlined in the attached table.

Health and Social Care Trust	Specific Services	After School Services	Respite Services
South Eastern Trust	Direct Payments, Domiciliary Service, Social Work Service, Psychology, Psychiatry, learning disability nursing, community children’s nursing, cedar foundation support service	Sponsored childminding, Positive Futures, Footprints, PHAB, Direct Payments, Angel Eyes (visual impairment) NI Deaf Youth Organisation (hearing impairment)	Lindsay House, Forest Lodge, Beechfield, Hospice, Barnardos, Fostering
Northern Trust	Child Development Clinic, Multi Disciplinary Assessment, Paediatrics, Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Community Nursing, Social Work, Community Based Services and Hospital Based Services	No specific Afterschool services but possible to participate in general afterschool activity alone or with support	Family based respite, Direct Payments, Residential Respite, social and leisure opportunities by means of Service Level Agreements,
Belfast Trust	Residential care, community nursing service, Group/recreational activities, Domiciliary care, Overnight at home(All of these services also provide respite for parents)	Trust funds after school places with some voluntary/community organisations ie Artability, Ardmonagh and SENSE. The Trust has Day Care Schemes within Children’s Services but this is not a dedicated disability service.	Residential Care in Forest Lodge and Lindsay House, Short Breaks, both day time and overnight provided by the Trustand Barnardo’s, Community respite e.g. Cedar Foundation, Crossroads and Autism Initiatives, Direct Payments.
Southern Trust	Community children’s nursing service, Specialist Nurses for Children, Children’s Epilepsy Nurse, Children’s Learning Disability Nurses, ADHD Specialist nurse, Child Development Nurse Liaison Nurse, Child Development Centre, Community Child Health Clinics, Special Schools and Support Centres, Learning Support Centres, Language Units, Education Centres for Physically disabled children, Community (Domiciliary) AHP Services, Autism Specialist Services, ACE Team, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Surestart Programmes, Social Work, Community Access, Transition Service and Family Support Services.	Summer Schemes (including SHINE, Chips and Creative 1), Funzone, Respite to Children within their own home	ACE Team, Residential Respite, Orana Respite Centre, Oaklands Respite Centre, Family Based Care, Foster Placements, Saturday Link Scheme, Overnight respite in the Child’s own home, Sponsored Child Minding, Day Care Placements, Playgroup placements, community respite, Enable NI, Cedar Outlook Flexible Respite Scheme, Direct Payments, Summer Schemes, Horizon House, Community Care Teams, Hospice at Home, Support Services such as Autism NI, Homestart etc, Sixth Sense, The Parent’s Council and Wraparound
Western Trust	Host care and family aide, summer schemes, direct payments, cash grants, social outreach programmes, hospice at home service, family support through the Family Support Panel	The Trust is not commissioned to provide after-school services to children with a disability.	Shepherd’s Way Respite, Beltany House, Summer Schemes, Hospice at Home, Direct Payments, Social Outreach Programmes, Family Aide Services, Family Support Workers

Ambulance Call-out Time

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why it took an ambulance 30 minutes to attend a call-out in Mount Eagles on Tuesday 2 June 2010.

(AQW 7668/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has advised me that it has no record of an emergency response to the Mount Eagles residential area on 2 June 2010 which took over 30 minutes. However, the management of emergency response is an operational matter for which the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is responsible and the Member may wish to contact NIAS directly about this specific query.

People with Ataxia

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people have Ataxia, broken down by age group.

(AQW 7670/10)

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

Patients with Ataxia

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost of sending patients with Ataxia for treatment in London in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7671/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: During the last three years only one patient with Friedreich's Ataxia was transferred for treatment to London. This occurred in the 2009/10 financial year.

The HSC Board has not yet received an invoice for the treatment of this patient. The nature of the condition means that a multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted treatment regime is anticipated and it is not possible to estimate a cost at this time.

£201 was spent on the travel costs associated with the treatment to date.

Directly Enhanced Services

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether he is aware that (i) Directly Enhanced Services are optional for GPs participation and offer a financial incentive; (ii) GPs can fulfil the requirements of DES without having to see the patient and send Personalised Asthma Action Plans to patients in the post to fulfil DES requirements; and (iii) for his assessment of PAAPS being of limited assistance to patients as they are not discussed face-to-face or reviewed and therefore have limited assistance in helping patients manage their Asthma.

(AQW 7673/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) Directed Enhanced Services (DESs) are indeed voluntary for GP practices and there is a financial incentive for practices to provide them. However, the HSC Board has an obligation to secure provision of the service to all patients and hence if a practice does not sign up to take part in any DES, the Board must provide the DES to that practice’s patients from another provider.

(ii) The approved procedures for this DES do not require a face to face consultation between the GP and the patient. However, as part of the service description, a GP has to provide each patient aged 15 or over with step 2 asthma and above, on discussion with a health professional, a written self-management plan and a patient held action plan on an annual basis. Patients ideally should contribute to their own written plans over time.

(iii) In order for a GP practice to receive an achievement payment they are required to provide information to the HSC Board on the number of patients for whom they have completed a written self-management plan. The Board carry out verification checks and if a GP practice has not provided correct information the Board can withhold all or some of the achievement payment.

Out-of-hours Services by the General Medical Services

Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) if he is aware that out-of-hours services provided by the General Medical Services contract only respond to emergency calls and do not provide primary care services; (ii) why patient's own GPs do not provide this service, given the lack of patient information locum out-of -hours doctors hold; and (iii) for his assessment of whether 24 hour access to primary care should offer a range of services, including (a) additional services in GPs surgeries during out-of-hours; (b) access to urgent care services; (c) rapid response on-line self-management facilities; and (d) telemedicine.

(AQW 7675/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) Emergency calls are those that are deemed to be immediately life threatening; these calls are passed to 999 and on to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. GP Out of Hours (OOHs) services provide medical cover for urgent conditions that cannot wait until a patient’s own GP practice next opens.

(ii) Prior to the introduction of the GMS Contract in April 2004, GPs were required to provide 24 hour care for their patients. Under the new contract this obligation transferred to the Boards and practitioners were able to opt out of providing OOHs care. I recently launched the regional roll-out of the Emergency Care Summary Record which, with patients’ consent, will provide key information on current medication and allergies to treating clinicians in OOH services and A&E Departments.

(iii) I do not at this stage intend extending services normally provided during in-hours to the OOHs services as there is no perceived need: some 86% of patients are content with their GP practice opening hours. Moreover, any such proposal would require renegotiation of the present GMS contract and given the pressures on my budget would be unaffordable.

Hospital Acquired Infections

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in light of the high standard of hygiene measures used in infection control wards in Health and Social Care Trusts, whether he would consider implementing the same measures in all wards in order to reduce hospital acquired infections.

(AQW 7695/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Health and Social Care Trusts do not have wards designated as infection control wards.

Ambulances Covering the Mid-Ulster Area

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number and type of ambulances currently covering the Mid-Ulster area.

(AQW 7697/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Ambulance services in the Mid-Ulster area are generally provided from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) ambulance stations at Magherafelt and Cookstown. The current fleet profile at those stations is shown in the following table:

Magherafelt Ambulance Station
A&E ambulances	2
Rapid Response Vehicle	1
Patient Care Services vehicles	2
Cookstown Ambulance Station
A&E ambulances	4
Intermediate Care Vehicles	2

It should be noted that NIAS deploys its emergency response fleet on the basis of a tactical deployment plan which means that the nearest available resource will be dispatched to an incident. It is, therefore, quite possible that the response to an emergency incident in the Mid-Ulster area could be provided by an ambulance based at another station.

Birth Defects Associated with Valproic Acid

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an estimate of the number of people who have been affected by birth defects associated with valproic acid.

(AQW 7713/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information relating to the number of people who have been affected by birth defects associated with valproic acid is not available.

Provision of Health Care for Prisoners in Maghaberry Prison

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the funding allocated by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust for the provision of health care for prisoners in Maghaberry Prison, in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 7714/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I will answer questions AQW7714/10, 7715/10 and 7716/10 together. The provision of services to the prison community across Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the South Eastern Trust. In the last three financial years funding has been split across the sites as follows.

Financial Year	Magaberry Prison £m	Magilligan Prison £m	Hydebank Prison £m
2008/2009	3.4	1.3	1.3
2009/2010	3.8	1.3	1.4
2010/2011	3.6	1.3	1.3

Costs associated with Prison Dental Services and management at the South Eastern Trust have been apportioned across sites.

Provision of Health Care for Prisoners in Magilligan Prison

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the funding allocated by the Western Health and Social Care Trust for the provision of health care for prisoners in Magilligan Prison, in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 7715/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I will answer questions AQW7714/10, 7715/10 and 7716/10 together. The provision of services to the prison community across Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the South Eastern Trust. In the last three financial years funding has been split across the sites as follows.

Financial Year	Magaberry Prison £m	Magilligan Prison £m	Hydebank Prison £m
2008/2009	3.4	1.3	1.3
2009/2010	3.8	1.3	1.4
2010/2011	3.6	1.3	1.3

Costs associated with Prison Dental Services and management at the South Eastern Trust have been apportioned across sites.

Provision of Health Care for Prisoners in Hydebank Wood Prison and Young Offenders Centre

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the funding allocated by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust for the provision of health care for prisoners in Hydebank Wood Prison and Young Offenders Centre, in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 7716/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I will answer questions AQW7714/10, 7715/10 and 7716/10 together. The provision of services to the prison community across Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the South Eastern Trust. In the last three financial years funding has been split across the sites as follows.

Financial Year	Magaberry Prison £m	Magilligan Prison £m	Hydebank Prison £m
2008/2009	3.4	1.3	1.3
2009/2010	3.8	1.3	1.4
2010/2011	3.6	1.3	1.3

Costs associated with Prison Dental Services and management at the South Eastern Trust have been apportioned across sites.

Deafblind Children and Adults

Mr G Adams asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if and when statutory guidelines for deafblind children and adults will be issued to local authorities.

(AQW 7726/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are no plans to issue such guidelines. However, a wealth of existing legislation already ensures that Health and Social Care Trusts identify and assess the individual needs of all service users with a disability, including those with dual sensory loss. In addition, my Department is currently developing a draft Disability Strategy, which will focus on a "person-centred" approach to treatment, care, and support for all those with a long term disability or sensory impairment, including those who are DeafBlind.

Deafblind Children and Adults

Mr G Adams asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of deafblind children and adults.

(AQW 7727/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information provided by the five Health and Social Care Trusts is detailed below:

Number of deafblind children and adults, by HSC Trust ¹

HSC Trust	Number of deafblind children	Number of deafblind adults
Belfast	102	5
Northern	*	4
South Eastern	1	6
Southern	18	121
Western	0	7

¹ The information recorded by HSC Trusts is not a register of all deafblind people as some may refuse to have their names added to relevant HSC Trust records.

* The NHSCT does not routinely collate this information however they suggested that the number would be relatively small.

Legislation

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether his Department has any plans to bring forward legislation similar to the Alcohol Bill introduced in Scotland.

(AQW 7744/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Young People’s Drinking Action Plan which I launched last year highlights the issue of the supply of alcohol, including price, promotions and advertising. A small subgroup of my Department and the Department for Social Development, which has responsibility for alcohol licensing, has been established to look at these issues in more detail. This is a complex area - there may also be issues in relation to EU Legislation and Competition Laws, and the ongoing progress of the Alcohol Bill in Scotland is therefore being closely monitored by my Department.

Deafblind Children and Adults

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) when updated guidelines for deafblind children and adults will be issued to local authorities; and (ii) to detail the number of deafblind children and adults.

(AQW 7747/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the member to my answers to AQW 7726/10 and AQW 7727/10 on 29 June 2010.

Forum for Action on Substance Abuse Facility in Bangor

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on funding for the Forum for Action on Substance Abuse facility in Bangor.

(AQW 7748/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Forum for Action on Substance Abuse / Forum for Action on Suicide Awareness (FASA) is currently operating the "one-stop-shop" pilot in the Bangor area. The PHA has informed me that it will continue to fund all the pilots until March 2011. Subsequently, subject to positive evaluation, it is anticipated that this initiative will be rolled out across Northern Ireland.

Press, Media or Communication Staff in the Health and Social Care Trust

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of press, media or communication staff employed in each Health and Social Care Trust; and the annual cost of employing these staff.

(AQW 7756/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Health & Social Care Trust Staff in Press or Communications offices at June 2010

TRUST	NUMBER IN POST		COST (including employers cost)
	Headcount	WTE
BELFAST	16	15.95	£593,872
NORTHERN	8	8.00	£306,816
SOUTH EASTERN	5	4.55	£182,303
SOUTHERN	7	6.27	£272,962
WESTERN	7	6.50	£241,636

Source: Health & Social Care Trusts

Notes: 1. WTE = Whole-Time equivalent

Trusts have stated that their communications function covers all media enquiries, Assembly/Health Committee business, MLA/local government enquiries, Freedom of Information requests, all Private Office Business. Also, internally this function covers all corporate communication with the Trust’s staff and all external communication including consultations, Departmental meeting, official visits, events/conferences, public meetings, website content and e-communications. In some Trusts this function covers publications and printing.

Compensation Claims for Medical Negligence

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of (i) successful; and (ii) unsuccessful compensation claims for medical negligence made against each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7765/10)

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

Ambulance Response Times

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what assessment has been made of the changes in ambulance response times in the (i) Carrickfergus; (ii) Larne; and (iii) Newtownabbey areas, following the centralisation of accident and emergency services at the Antrim Area Hospital.

(AQW 7779/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the Member to the answer I gave to AQW 7072/10 on 9 June 2010.

Waiting Times in the Accident and Emergency Unit at Antrim Area Hospital

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the performance figures for waiting times in the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Antrim Area Hospital since the reconfiguration of accident and emergency services in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 7780/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: This information is published in the monthly ‘Emergency Care Waiting Times’ bulletin, and is available online at:

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

Whiteabbey Minor Injury Unit

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of patients treated at the Whiteabbey Minor Injury Unit; (ii) how this figure compares with estimated levels of treatment; and (iii) the waiting times experienced by patients, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7782/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) Information on the number of patients treated at the Whiteabbey Minor Injury Unit, in each of the last three years, is available online at:

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

(ii) Information on how the number of patients treated at the Whiteabbey Minor Injury Unit compares with estimated levels of treatment is not available.

(iii) Information on the waiting times experienced by patients, in each of the last three years, is available online at:

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

Emergency Contraceptive Pills

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 7156/10, to detail the number of emergency contraceptive pills supplied to patients without a prescription from (i) Accident and Emergency Units; (ii) family planning clinics; and (c) pharmacies, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7797/10)

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

GPs Available 'Out-of-hours'

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of GPs available 'out-of-hours' in each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7804/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The ‘out-of-hours’ period in Northern Ireland is defined as being from 6.30pm until 8.00am on weekdays and all day on weekends and public holidays. The number of GPs available varies according to the rotas developed by the out-of-hours providers in response to changes in demand at different times of the day. Typically there are more GPs available at peak times such as midday on Saturdays and Sundays, and fewer GPs available during the midnight to 8.00 am shift. The maximum and minimum number of GPs available ‘out-of-hours’ in each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last five years, is shown in the table below. The figures do not include additional GPs ‘on call ’ and do not account for the numbers of other out of hours staff such as triage nurses.

Table 1: Number of GPs available out-of-hours by Health and Social Care Trust.

		2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Belfast HSC Trust	Min	3	2	2	2	2
	Max	11	12	12	12	12
South Eastern HSC Trust	Min	3	3	3	3	3
	Max	8	8	8	9	9
Northern HSC Trust	Min	4	4	4	2	2
	Max	11	11	11	11	11
Southern HSC Trust	Min	3	3	3	3	3
	Max	11	16	16	16	13
Western HSC Trust	Min	5	5	3	3	3
	Max	14	14	13	13	13

Figures were provided by the Health and Social Care Board.

Missed Hospital Appointments

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of missed hospital appointments in each of the last 12 months; and (ii) an estimate of the costs.

(AQW 7805/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Outpatient activity performed in HSC hospitals in Northern Ireland during 2009/10 will be published in ‘Northern Ireland Outpatient Statistics 2009/10’ in August 2010. This publication will contain data relating to new and review outpatient appointments, as well as DNAs and cancelled appointments.

The cost of patients failing to attend is not available centrally.

Northern Health and Social Care Trust: Adults with Learning Disabilities

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many contracts with independent providers have been commissioned by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust for daytime provision for adults with learning disabilities; and (ii) how many residential placements for adults with learning disabilities, both long-term and respite, are provided by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

(AQW 7806/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Northern Health and Social Care Trust (the Trust) has commissioned –

1. 9 contracts with independent providers for daytime provision for adults with learning disabilities; and

   The Trust currently provides residential placements for adults with a learning disability, both long-term and respite, as follows –

2. family based respite –

• Positive Futures - 34 placement providers offering respite to 45 families,
• Share the Care - 28 small homes providing short-term respite for 144 clients and 56 residential placements,
• Registered Beds (residential and nursing) - 19 beds dedicated to respite provision across the Trust,
• Permanent Care Places - nursing 232 and residential 235,
• Adult Placement Care 12,
• Supported Living 211 people in supported living

Northern Health and Social Care Trust: Adults with Learning Disabilities

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to list the companies and organisations in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust which facilitate day-care placements for adults with learning disabilities.

(AQW 7807/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust the companies and organisations listed below facilitate day-care placements for adults with learning disabilities:

• InVOLve
• Greenlight Gateway
• Mencap
• Triangle
• Magherafelt and Cookstown Volunteer Centre
• Compass Advocacy
• Accept Care
• Bridge Association
• Kilcreggan Homes
• Northern Regional College

Northern Health and Social Care Trust: Adults with Learning Disabilities

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the (i) day time; and (ii) evening provision of services for adults with learning disabilities by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust itself.

(AQW 7808/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) Day Time service provision for adults with learning disabilities in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust includes -

• Adult Centres across 11 locations,
• Maghera Day Centre,
• 3 Changing Needs Group.
• Base Drop In Provision across 8 sites to facilitate leisure and friendships,
• Supported Employment Provision (Trust wide),
• Social Enterprise Provision across 6 sites,
• Accredited Independent travel training (Trust wide),
• Accredited vocational training (Trust wide),
• Volunteering (Trust wide).

(ii) Evening service provision for adults with learning disabilities in the Trust includes -

• Supported Employment and Volunteering (Trust wide),
• Base Drop In Provision (across 6 sites),
• A wide range of leisure and social activities is provided as part of individual programmes in residential, nursing care and supported living facilities,
• A wide range of voluntary sector groups e.g. Gateway and Special Olympics are also available to people with a learning disability.

Northern Health and Social Care Trust's Day Opportunities Programme

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the tendering process used for the production of the 'Get on Track' DVD as part of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's Day Opportunities programme.

(AQW 7809/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: 'Get On Track' is a CD Rom that provides clients and their carers with accessible information on the options available to them through the full range of daytime opportunity services. Quotations were not sought for the service as it was produced by people with a learning disability through the non-profit making Alternative Angles social enterprise provision.

Northern Health and Social Care Trust's Day Opportunities Programme

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (i) how many (a) day; and (b) evening placements are available under the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's Day Opportunities programme; (ii) to list the organisations providing the placements and the percentage of the overall placements provided by each; (iii) how many of these placements are provided by the matched funded schemes for adults with learning difficulties; and (iv) how many of these placements were being used by adults with learning difficulties on 1 April 2010.

(AQW 7811/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: (i) Day and evening placements

(a) There are 453 adults in receipt of 1232 different community-based day opportunities per week.

(b) Detailed data is not available on evening placements but around 60- 70 adults are in receipt of evening-based provision.

(ii) Organisations providing the placements and the percentage of the overall placements provided

Organisation providing placement	% of overall placement provided by each organisation
InVOLve – 22 clients	2.88%
Greenlight Gateway – 13 clients	1.70%
Mencap – 16 clients	2.09%
Triangle – 357 clients	46.67%
Magherafelt and Cookstown Volunteer Centre – 48 clients	6.27%
Compass Advocacy – 47 clients	6.14%
Accept Care – 14 clients	1.83%
Bridge – 24 clients	3.14%
Kilcreggan Homes – 30 clients	3.92%
Northern Regional College (DEL) - 112 clients	14.64%
South West College (DEL) – 22 clients	2.88%
Volunteer Centres (DSD) – 60 clients	7.84%

Each client could be with 2/3 providers a week in a package

Official Notifications for People with Visual Impairments

Mr D McClarty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what discussions his officials have had with representatives of people with visual impairments in relation to ensuring that official notification of appointments, test results and diet sheets are issued in a format which is user friendly and which respects the privacy and dignity of the recipient.

(AQW 7816/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Each Health and Social Care Trust has their own procedures for communicating hospital appointments, test results etc, in the most accessible and suitable way to meet the individual needs and preferences of patients who are blind or partially sighted.

The NI Vision Strategy Implementation Group is considering a range of issues emanating form the UK Vision Strategy including ensuring that all written materials are presented in an accessible format.

In addition to the above, my Department is developing a new Disability Strategy for Northern Ireland. Officials are currently engaged in a pre-consultation process and have held ‘listening and consultation’ events with representatives from the Royal National Institute for Blind People and people with sight loss in Belfast, Cookstown and Omagh. Departmental officials have also held a pre-consultation event Angel Eyes, a group representing parents of children and young people with visual impairments. Feedback from attendees at these pre-consultation events has identified the need for some HSC Trusts to review and update the process for notification of appointments and test results, in some instances, for people with sight loss.

International Patients at the Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of international patients treated in the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Mid-Ulster Hospital, each year between 2005-2010; (ii) the number of these nationals classed as tourists; and (iii) to list the type of injuries that were treated.

(AQW 7819/10)

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

Antrim Area Hospital

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail any risk assessments that have been carried out at the Antrim Area Hospital in relation to the ability of the hospital to absorb an extra 60,000 plus patients each year, following the centralisation of accident and emergency services.

(AQW 7820/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A risk assessment regarding the implementation of DBS in 2005, gave a clear message that the maintenance of A&E units within Antrim, Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey Hospitals as they then stood was not sustainable.

The changes that took place on 24th May have enabled the Trust to make some interim changes to improve that situation. With greater physical capacity, additional beds and a larger team of doctors and nurses on site at Antrim A&E and a nurse led Minor Injuries Unit at Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals the Trust is now in a position to provide more effective A&E care and help sustain high quality, safe services across the Trust. Moreover the Minor Injuries Units at the Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals will continue to meet the needs of around 70% of patients who attended the A&E units there.

Since the reconfiguration, performance at Antrim’s A&E department continues to improve. This improvement is evidence that the acute reform has indeed lowered risks associated with patient care.

Antrim Area Hospital

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether any health and safety measures have been put in place at the Antrim Area Hospital, following the centralisation of accident and emergency services, considering that the hospital was initially built to cater for 35,000 patients each year.

(AQW 7821/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A risk assessment regarding the implementation of DBS in 2005, gave a clear message that the maintenance of A&E units within Antrim, Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey Hospitals as they then stood was not sustainable.

The changes that took place on 24th May have enabled the Trust to make some interim changes to improve that situation. With greater physical capacity, additional beds and a larger team of doctors and nurses on site at Antrim A&E and a nurse led Minor Injuries Unit at Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals the Trust is now in a position to provide more effective A&E care and help sustain high quality, safe services across the Trust. Moreover the Minor Injuries Units at the Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals will continue to meet the needs of around 70% of patients who attended the A&E units there.

Since the reconfiguration, performance at Antrim’s A&E department continues to improve. This improvement is evidence that the acute reform has indeed lowered risks associated with patient care.

Savings Made by Downgrading Accident and Emergency Units at Whiteabbey Hospital and the Mid-Ulster Hospital to Minor Injury Units

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail how much will be saved by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust as a result of downgrading Accident and Emergency Units at Whiteabbey Hospital and the Mid-Ulster Hospital to Minor Injury Units.

(AQW 7822/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The conversion of Accident and Emergency services at Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey hospitals to Minor Injuries Units.

This is expected to deliver overall efficiencies in the region of £3.7 million subject to the confirmation of bed numbers and service models retained at the two sites.

Waiting List for Day Opportunities Placements

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many adults with learning difficulties are on the waiting list for a Day Opportunities placement in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area; and to detail the reasons why they have not been allocated a placement.

(AQW 7839/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are currently approximately 50 clients known to the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, with learning disabilities, who have been identified for, and have the potential to move to, day opportunities; these clients are awaiting assessment by day opportunities staff.

Day Opportunities Programme

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many adults with learning difficulties have been deemed ineligible for the Day Opportunities programme in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust area; and to detail the reasons for this decision in each case.

(AQW 7840/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information is not available in the format requested and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Training Programmes for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) what current training programmes the Northern Health and Social Care Trusts matched funded organisations provide for adults with learning disabilities; and (ii) the level of accreditation that can be achieved in each programme.

(AQW 7841/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety:

1. The Northern Trust has training programmes on a match-funded basis with European Social Fund and the Department of Employment and Learning through Mencap, Triangle and the Bridge Association; and
2. Accredited outcome is part of the delivery with the Bridge Association, which offers the Certificate in Skills for Work Life at entry levels 2 and 3, and Triangle, which offers Open College Network accreditation.

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 7182/10, to detail the number of (i) redundancies; and (ii) retirements as a result of the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 7861/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: 727 staff have left the HSC under the Review of Public Administration Voluntary Redundancy/Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme. All of these staff have volunteered for redundancy or early retirement and have been entitled to payments in line with statutory and contractual entitlements.

Review of Public Administration

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 7182/10, to provide a full breakdown of his Department's spending on the Review of Public Administration.

(AQW 7863/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: To date, the Department has spent £81.34m on the Review of Public Administration. Of that, £70.33m has been spent on voluntary early redundancy/early retirement for HSC staff affected and £11.01m designing and implementing the structural change. These are one off costs but new simplified and focussed structures introduced by the Review of Public Administration will deliver £53 million annually in savings that can be directed back into front line services.

Vandalism of Public Art

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail (i) the number of recorded incidents of vandalism of public art owned or paid for, in full or in part, by his Department in each of the last five years; and (ii) the cost of repairing this damage.

(AQW 7865/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Art within the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) is paid for by the Department of Finance and Personnel so DHSSPS itself does not own art and has not paid for any.

Response Times for Emergency Ambulance Calls

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the target response times for emergency ambulance calls, in light of the death of a person in the Foyle constituency on 20 June 2010, when an ambulance took 16 minutes to arrive; and whether he plans to investigate the circumstances of this case.

(AQW 7904/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am concerned to learn of the incident you describe, a fast response to the most urgent life threatening calls remains the highest priority of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS). NIAS has in place well established arrangements to fully investigate concerns of this nature and in the first instance it is for the ambulance service to take this investigation forward. The Member may wish to contact NIAS directly to give fuller details of the incident to which this question refers.

AQW 6596/10

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when he expects to be in a position to respond to AQW 6596/10, which was due for answer on 19 May 2010.

(AQW 7965/10)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: An answer has now been provided to this Assembly Question.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

District Policing Partnerships

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice to outline the timescale for the completion of the review of new structures for District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships.

(AQW 7481/10)

Minister of Justice (Mr D Ford): The consultation period on the future of local partnership working on policing and community safety closed on 3 June 2010. I have been extremely encouraged by the response rate which has exceeded 70. I am currently considering the responses with a view to finalizing policy. I shall engage further with stakeholders over the coming weeks on the way forward. It is my intention to include provision for new arrangements in the forthcoming Justice Bill, for introduction in the Autumn.

Ratio of Prison Officers to Prisoners

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Justice to detail the ratio of prison officers to prisoners in each detention facility.

(AQW 7554/10)

Minister of Justice: Operational prison officers are made up of a number of grades, from governor grades to Operational Support Grades including Night Custody Officers. The figures shown in the table below include all of those grades. As the prisoner population can fluctuate quite significantly, the ratio varies over time.

On Monday 14 June the ratio was:

CNA	Maghaberry	Magilligan	Hydebank Wood
Staff	903.5	424	339
Prisoners	786	468	230
Ratio	1.15:1	0.91:1	1.47:1

Offences Relating to Prostitution or Soliciting

Mr T Burns asked Minister of Justice (i) how many offences relating to prostitution or soliciting, or other similar offences, were recorded in each of the last five years, broken down by the gender of the offender; (ii) for a breakdown of the specific types of offences; (iii) the number of cases which resulted in a conviction; (iv) the sum total of any fines which were imposed; and (v) for a summary of any other sanctions which were imposed.

(AQW 7705/10)

Minister of Justice: During the five-year period 2005/06 to 2009/10 there were 15 offences recorded by PSNI of ‘exercising control over prostitute’, ‘controlling prostitution for gain’ and ‘paying for sexual services of a child’. Of the 15 offences recorded during this time period, 8 offences have since been cleared by means of charge or summons.  Eleven persons were identified as being involved in these 8 offences and have been charged or summonsed. Four of these 11 persons were male and seven were female. 

In terms of convictions, the table below documents the disposals given to those convicted at court and the total sum of any fines imposed for ‘prostitute – soliciting’ and ‘brothel keeping’ – the offences for which there were convictions during the five years assessed. Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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. All of those offenders convicted were female.

It is not possible to reconcile PSNI data on the number of offences recorded directly with conviction data, as the former are offence-based whereas conviction data are offender-based. In addition, PSNI denote the offence as it has been initially recorded and for which an individual will be initially charged or summonsed; this may differ from the offence for which a suspect (or suspects) is subsequently proceeded against.

Disposals given to those convicted of the offences ‘prostitute – soliciting’ and ‘brothel keeping’ and the total sum (£) of fines imposed 2002-2006

Year	Number convicted	Disposals
		Conditional discharge	Fine	Total sum (£) of fines imposed
20021	1	1	-	-
2003	0	-	-	-
20042	2	0	2	350
20053	3	0	3	1500
2006	0	-	-	-

1. One conviction was for ‘prostitute – soliciting’.

2. One conviction was for ‘prostitute – soliciting’ and one was for ‘brothel keeping’.

3. The three convictions were for ‘brothel keeping’.

Lateral Entry into the PSNI from an Garda Siochana

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Justice what action he will take to resolve the ongoing difficulties regarding lateral entry into the PSNI from an Garda Siochana.

(AQW 7730/10)

Minister of Justice: Legislation exists to facilitate lateral entry, underpinned by the Inter Governmental Agreement on Police Cooperation signed in April 2002. The key outstanding barrier allowing further development of lateral entry is the differences in public sector pension terms, and the non-portability of accrued pension between the two jurisdictions. A Working Group is considering lateral transfers between the police services, and a broad-based Working Group set up by the NSMC is considering superannuation and pension transfer issues across the public sectors.

Access NI

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Justice for his assessment of the performance of Access NI against its objectives.

(AQW 7733/10)

Minister of Justice: AccessNI met all of its published service standards for the delivery of certificates in 2009/10, as per the table below. This was a significant improvement over 2008/09.

Type of Disclosure	Published Service Standard	Achieved
Basic	To deliver 90% within 2 weeks of receipt	96.88% delivered within 2 weeks
Standard	To deliver 90% within 2 weeks of receipt (3 weeks between April 2009 and January 2010)	98.77% delivered within 2/3 weeks
Enhanced	To deliver 90% within 4 weeks of receipt	95.74% delivered within 4 weeks

Service Standards have also been fully met during April 2010, the last month for which figures are available.

A customer survey in 2009/10 indicated that 87% of all customers were satisfied with the service provided, with only 3% expressing dissatisfaction.

Domestic Abuse

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Justice how many incidents of domestic abuse, involving an ex-partner of the victim, were recorded in (i) H District; and (ii) Northern Ireland, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7735/10)

Minister of Justice: The recording of incidents of domestic abuse is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Dublin Government’s Justice Minister

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Justice what work he plans to undertake in conjunction with the Dublin Government’s Justice Minister.

(AQW 7757/10)

Minister of Justice: An Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation on Criminal Justice Matters provides for regular meetings with the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, as well as a Working Group of officials that identifies areas in which criminal justice cooperation could be enhanced or initiated, as appropriate. The Working Group is currently preparing a future work programme which Dermot Ahern and I will consider. The programme will build on the existing areas of cooperation including support for victims, public protection, management of sex offenders, youth justice, forensic science services and social diversity within the criminal justice system.

The Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) and DoJLR will jointly host the annual Cross Border Organised Crime Seminar later this year, providing an opportunity further to strengthen partnerships between law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border by evaluating current strategies and seeking areas for improvement.

The two departments will jointly produce the Bi-Annual Cross Border Organised Crime Assessment this year outlining serious and organised crime in both jurisdictions. Work will also continue between the OCTF, DOJLR and law enforcement agencies in relation to cross border issues such as drugs, fuel fraud, human trafficking, illegal dumping and money laundering.

Close Protection Unit Protection

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice how many people were offered Close Protection Unit protection in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7762/10)

Minister of Justice: The provision of protective security measures to individuals living in Northern Ireland is an excepted matter. Decisions in relation to the provision of PSNI Close Protection are a matter for the Northern Ireland Committee for Protection, a body established by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Any further queries in relation to this matter should be directed to the Secretary of State.

New Police Station in Cookstown

Mr I McCrea asked e Minister of Justice when work will commence on the new police station in Cookstown.

(AQW 7766/10)

Minister of Justice: Management of the Police estate is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

New Training College for the Police, Prison and the Fire and Rescue Services at Desertcreat, Cookstown

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Justice for an update on the proposed start date for the new training college for the Police, Prison and the Fire and Rescue Services at Desertcreat, Cookstown.

(AQW 7769/10)

Minister of Justice: Plans are at an advanced stage 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 site is prepared and all survey work has been carried out. A business case review is being carried out jointly by the DOJ and the DHSSPS.

No opening or start date has been determined.

Burglaries in H District

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Justice to detail the number of (i) recorded incidents of; and (ii) convictions for, burglary in (a) business; and (b) domestic premises in H District, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7773/10)

Minister of Justice: For the purpose of recording statistics in relation to the type of premises attacked, the Police Service of Northern Ireland maintains records of recorded burglary incidents in two primary categories. The first is domestic burglary, which relates solely to premises used as a dwelling. The second category is non domestic burglary, which encompasses all other premises. This includes, but is not restricted to, commercial premises; it also includes premises such as garden sheds or detached garages. Table 1 below gives the number of recorded offences for non domestic and domestic burglary in H District for the financial years 2005/06 to 2009/10.

In terms of convictions, I regret the information is not available in the format requested. Some burglary offences identify a dwelling or non-dwelling in their offence definition, however, other burglary offences do not. While convictions for these offences may relate to domestic burglary it is not possible to determine the number of such convictions as court conviction data do not contain background information in relation to offences committed.

Table 2, therefore, gives the number in H District convicted of burglary in a non-dwelling, burglary in a dwelling and other burglary offences which do not specify either. Convictions for going equipped offences are also included for information.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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.

It is not possible to reconcile PSNI data on the number of offences recorded directly with conviction data, as the former are offence-based whereas conviction data are offender-based. In addition, PSNI denote the offence as it has been initially recorded and this may differ from the offence for which a suspect (or suspects) is subsequently proceeded against.

Table 1: Number of recorded offences of non domestic and domestic burglary – H District¹ 2005/06-2009/10

	Non-domestic	Domestic
2005/06	714	517
2006/07	614	544
2007/08	511	546
2008/09	624	617
2009/10	623	612

Source: PSNI

1. Based on the district in which the offence was recorded.

Table 2: Number convicted of burglary in a non-dwelling, burglary in a dwelling, going equipped and other burglary offences - H District¹ 2002-2006

	Non-dwelling	Dwelling	Going equipped	Other burglary offences
2002	32	23	5	2
2003	28	23	4	2
2004	24	25	6	3
2005	23	23	2	3
2006	22	16	0	4

Source: Department of Justice

1. Based on the district in which the offender’s address falls.

Domestic Abuse Prevention Initiatives

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Justice how much funding was allocated to domestic abuse prevention initiatives in (i) H District; and (ii) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7776/10)

Minister of Justice: "Tackling Violence at Home" launched in October 2005, is a cross Departmental Strategy which aims to tackle domestic abuse and violence by addressing the three key strands of Prevention, Protection and Justice and Support and a fourth strand focusing on other priorities.

Policy lead currently rests with the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety and the Department of Justice. The table below shows the monies allocated by DHSSPS and NIO to address Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland from the launch of the Strategy until March 2010. Column 2 provides the funding across all strands with column 3 detailing monies allocated to initiatives solely within the prevention strand.

DHSSPS:

Year	Total Funding	Funding dedicated to prevention initiatives*
06-07	£491,000	£150,000
07-08	£714,000	£153,000
08-09	£1,001,993	£110,000
09-10	£1,262,868	£113,000

* DHSSPS funding for prevention initiatives relates to media advertising and training initiatives

NIO:

Year	Total Funding	Funding dedicated to prevention initiatives**
06-07	£303,000	£53,193
07-08	£350,000	£228,000
08-09	£390,000	£4,717
09-10	£310,000	NIL

** NIO funding for prevention initiatives relates to media advertising and the production and distribution of information leaflets explaining how the civil and criminal law systems can help victims of Domestic violence.

The four strands of the strategy are very much interlinked. In the Department of Justice while the majority of monies are allocated to key actions under the Protection and Justice strand of the Strategy there is often an overlap with the prevention initiatives. For example, the Department allocated £95,115 to Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferencing (MARAC). MARAC is an initiative under the Protection and Justice strand but is very much a preventative measure as it is aimed at reducing the risk of serious harm or homicide for those victims of domestic abuse who are at highest risk.

While it is not possible for Departments (DHSSPS & DOJ) to extrapolate monies dedicated to domestic abuse solely for H District the PSNI can confirm the amount of funding that has been allocated from the Policing with the Community (PWC) fund for H district. Figures, however, are not available prior to the launch of the "Tackling Violence at Home" strategy".

In addition to the Departmental funding and up until 31 March 2010 a total of £321,419 has been allocated from the Policing with the Community Fund (PWC) to initiatives relating to victims of domestic abuse across Northern Ireland, £74,400 of this was allocated to H District.

In addition to PWC funding, Community Safety Branch of the Police Service for Northern Ireland spent the following amounts for initiatives relating to Domestic Abuse across Northern Ireland:

06 - 07 £32,376.40

07- 08 £137,080.49

Figures for 08-09 and 09-10 are not yet available.

Small Claims Court

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Justice to detail the number of cases (i) lodged; (ii) contested; and (iii) settled without being heard, in the small claims court in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7800/10)

Minister of Justice: The table below sets out the information sought in respect of small claims cases for each of the last five years.

Year	Cases lodged	Cases contested	Settled without being heard1
2005	12,619	1,614	9,061
2006	11,711	1,731	8,158
2007	12,938	2,241	8,972
2008	13,409	1,873	8,995
20092	13,839	1,962	10,142

1. Small claims that are settled without being heard include default judgments, office disposals and withdrawn cases.
2. Data for 2009 is provisional.

Criminal Cases

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice how many criminal cases were (i) contested; (ii) pleaded to without a contest; and (iii) withdrawn in magistrates' courts in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7801/10)

Minister of Justice: Full year data on the information sought are only available for 2008 and 2009. The tables below contain details of all criminal cases in the Magistrates’ Courts and Youth Courts.

Table 1: Adult Cases

	2008	20091
Contested cases (Defendants who pleaded not guilty to at least one charge)	18,899	18,832
Pleaded guilty (with no listing for contest or prior to contest)	17,507	18,413
Pleaded guilty (listed for contest, but pleaded guilty on day of, or after, start of contest)	1,281	1,280
Withdrawn	10,563	11,447
Other2	3,135	3,018
Total number of defendants	51,385	52,990

¹ Data for 2009 is provisional

² Includes cases withdrawn on committal to the Crown Court and fixed penalty defaults

Table 2: Youth Cases

	2008	20091
Contested cases (Defendants who pleaded not guilty to at least one charge)	855	808
Pleaded guilty (with no listing for contest or prior to contest)	1,100	1,154
Pleaded guilty (listed for contest, but pleaded guilty on day or after start of contest)	108	85
Withdrawn	949	1,015
Other2	79	67
Total number of defendants	3,091	3,129

¹ Data for 2009 is provisional

² Includes cases withdrawn on committal to the Crown Court and fixed penalty defaults

Non-molestation Orders

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Justice for his assessment of the operation of non-molestation orders.

(AQW 7824/10)

Minister of Justice: The Northern Ireland Office launched the ‘Tackling Violence at Home Strategy’ in October 2005. In February 2006 a publicity campaign was undertaken to inform the public that the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 enabled victims of domestic violence to apply to the court for protective civil orders; i.e. non-molestation orders and occupation orders, and to clarify the process to be followed in order to obtain such orders.

The Northern Ireland Courts Service has provided the following statistics which detail the number of applications made and orders being granted for the years 2007 and 2008 (latest year for which statistics are available):

Non –Molestation Orders: Applications and Orders made

Year	Number of Applications	Number of Orders made	% of applications for which an Order was made
2007	2,505	1,253	50.02
2008	4,601	2,856	62.07

The Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) has also provided the following details on the recorded number of breaches of non-molestation Orders including details on the number of breaches of non molestation orders that PSNI cleared with a charge or summons:

Non –Molestation Orders: Recorded breaches and charges

Year	Number of breaches recorded by PSNI	Number of breaches cleared by PSNI with a charge or summons	% of recorded breaches cleared by PSNI with a charge or summons
2007	1026	725	70.66
2008	1182	719	60.83
2009	1074	723	67.32

In general the main reason given by PSNI for non clearance is that the evidence cannot overcome the "reasonable excuse" element under Article 25 of the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 which states that for an offence to be committed the person must not have a reasonable excuse. Another reason may be that the alleged perpetrator cannot be located. Work is ongoing between the PSNI and PPS to address the non clearance percentage.

Public Order Offences

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Justice how many people have been convicted of public order offences in relation to parades through Stoneyford village in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7847/10)

Minister of Justice: I regret the information requested is not available. Court conviction data do not contain background information in relation to offences committed, and it is therefore not possible to determine the number of convictions for public order offences that related to parades through Stoneyford village.

PSNI Officers

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Justice how many PSNI officers in the (i) West Belfast; and (ii) Lisburn District Command Units have been disciplined in each of the last five years; and to outline the disciplinary measures they received,

(AQW 7849/10)

Minister of Justice: The conduct and discipline of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable who will respond to you directly.

Offences Relating to People Trafficking

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice to detail (i) how many offences relating to people trafficking, or other similar offences, were recorded in each of the last five years, broken down by the gender of the offender; (ii) the specific types of offences; (iii) the number of cases which resulted in a conviction; (iv) the sum total of any fines which were imposed; and (v) any other sanctions which were imposed.

(AQW 7854/10)

Minister of Justice: People trafficking is a serious crime which is the subject of concerted action by law enforcement agencies. The 2010 Organised Crime Task Force report published on 24 June 2010 summarises the successful detection, disruption and charging of individuals not just in Northern Ireland but in Great Britain also.

In relation to the specific points raised, during the five year period 2005/06 to 2009/10 there were 6 offences recorded by PSNI involving trafficking for sexual exploitation and one conviction, although the conviction was subsequently over-turned on appeal.

In addition to the information recorded by PSNI a further two people have since been charged with this offence. In relation to convictions, I am informed that these cases have not yet concluded the court process.

Prostitution

Mr T Burns asked e Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 7705/10, how many of these people were foreign nationals.

(AQW 7855/10)

Minister of Justice: Further to AQW 7705/10, eight of the eleven persons identified as being charged or summonsed for the prostitution related offences have a nationality given as UK. The remaining three have a nationality given as non-UK.

Of the six persons identified in AQW 7705/10 as convicted for the offences of ‘prostitute – soliciting’ or ‘brothel keeping’, four have a nationality given as UK and two have a nationality given as Non-UK

Drugs Related Offences

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice how many people have been convicted of drugs related offences in North Down in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7872/10)

Minister of Justice: The table below gives the number in North Down constituency convicted of a drug related offence.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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.

Number convicted of a drug related offence – North Down¹

2002-2006

Year	Number convicted
2002	15
2003	28
2004	27
2005	39
2006	26

1. Based on the constituency in which the offender’s address falls.

Youth Conferencing with the Youth Justice Agency

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice how many young people are currently engaged in youth conferencing with the Youth Justice Agency in the (i) Larne; (ii) Carrickfergus; and (iii) Newtownabbey areas.

(AQW 7874/10)

Minister of Justice: At the end of May 2010 (i) 3 young people in the Carrickfergus area, (ii) 15 young people in the Newtownabbey area and (iii) 12 young people in the Larne area were engaged in youth conferencing with the Youth Justice Agency. Each of these young people have met their victims at a youth conference and having agreed a reparative action plan are subject to youth conference orders/ plans.

Drink Driving Offences

Mr D Hilditch asked e Minister of Justice how many drink driving offences have been recorded in East Antrim in each of the last two years.

(AQW 7876/10)

Minister of Justice: The number of drink driving offences recorded is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Breathalyser Checks

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Justice to detail the average number of times per month that the PSNI set up breathalyser checks in East Antrim.

(AQW 7877/10)

Minister of Justice: The use of preliminary breath checks is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

People Trafficking

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice for his assessment of the seriousness of the people trafficking-problem.

(AQW 7888/10)

Minister of Justice: The secret and hidden nature of this crime makes it difficult to assess accurately, however, reported figures for the last year do give some indication of the scale of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. During 2009/2010 the PSNI identified 25 victims of Human Trafficking. Of the victims identified, 5 were trafficked for the purpose of Forced Labour, 17 were trafficked for Sexual Exploitation, and one was trafficked for Domestic Servitude exploitation. The remaining two victims absconded prior to being interviewed.

Marriages Annulled

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice how many marriages have been annulled in each of the last five years; and to provide a summary of the reasons for the annulments.

(AQW 7891/10)

Minister of Justice: The tables below detail the numbers of Decree Absolute (Nullity) granted in the High Court and County Court for each of the last five years.

Table 1: Decrees Absolute (Nullity) – High Court

Year	Number	Grounds
2005	4	3 non-consummation 1 bigamy
2006	5	4 non-consummation 1 person under 16
2007	4	3 non-consummation 1 bigamy
2008	4	4 non-consummation
2009	2	2 non-consummation

Table 2: Decrees Absolute (Nullity) – County Court

	Number	Grounds
2005	1	non-consummation
2006	1	non-consummation
2007	2	2 non-consummation
2008	3	3 non-consummation
2009	0

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Mr T Clarke asked e Minister of Justice how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7896/10)

Minister of Justice: The Department of Justice has been notified by the relevant authorities that there were the following numbers of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued in each of the last five calendar years:

2005: 9

2006: 32

2007: 24

2008: 32

2009: 25

These statistics record the year in which the ASBO was first issued.

Notes

The Anti-social Behaviour (NI) Order 2004 defines relevant authority as district councils, PSNI or Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

Solicitors, Solicitor Advocates and Barristers

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice how many (i) solicitors; (ii) solicitor advocates; and (iii) barristers currently practice in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 7897/10)

Minister of Justice:

(i) There are 2,436 practising solicitors in Northern Ireland.

(ii) All solicitors can act as an advocate in the lower courts, tribunals and the Crown Court. Approximately 240 have an advanced advocacy qualification.

I intend, subject to Executive Committee agreement, to include provision in the Justice Bill which will extend, to solicitors who are qualified as solicitor advocates, additional rights of audience in the High Court and Court of Appeal. It is not yet known how many solicitors will wish to qualify as solicitor advocates.

(iii) There are 606 practising barristers in Northern Ireland.

Solicitor Advocate

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice to detail the training necessary to qualify as a solicitor advocate.

(AQW 7898/10)

Minister of Justice: A solicitor can act as an advocate in the Magistrates’ Courts, County Courts, tribunals and in the Crown Court upon qualification as a solicitor and enrolment on the Roll of Solicitors.

I intend, subject to Executive Committee agreement, to include provision in the Justice Bill which will extend, to solicitors who are qualified as solicitor advocates, additional rights of audience in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The education and training required to qualify as a solicitor advocate will be a matter for the Law Society to prescribe in Regulations.

Solicitor Advocate

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice how long after qualifying as a solicitor a person can take exams to become a solicitor advocate.

(AQW 7899/10)

Minister of Justice: A solicitor can act as an advocate in the Magistrates’ Courts, County Courts, tribunals and the Crown Court upon qualification as a solicitor and enrolment on the Roll of Solicitors.

I intend, subject to Executive Committee agreement, to include provision in the Justice Bill which will extend, to solicitors who are qualified as solicitor advocates, additional rights of audience in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The education and training required to qualify as a solicitor advocate will be a matter for the Law Society to prescribe in Regulations. Until the Regulations are in place it is not possible to say how long the process will take or whether it will require taking an exam.

Solicitor Advocate

Mr A Ross asked e Minister of Justice whether a solicitor advocate is paid more, less or the same as a barrister for court appearances.

(AQW 7902/10)

Minister of Justice: The remuneration of solicitors and barristers, in civil proceedings in the County Court is prescribed in the County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981. Under those Rules a solicitor who conducts a hearing without the use of counsel is entitled (in addition to the solicitor’s fee) to fifty per cent of the fee to which counsel would have been entitled.

The remuneration of solicitors and barristers in legally aided Crown Court cases is prescribed in the Legal Aid for Crown Court Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2005. Under those Rules a solicitor who acts as an advocate is paid at the same rate as a junior counsel conducting a case without other counsel.

The remuneration of solicitors and barristers in legally aided criminal cases in the Magistrates Courts and County Courts is prescribed in the Magistrates’ Courts and County Court Appeals (Criminal Legal Aid) (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2009). There is no specific provision for solicitor advocacy under those Rules. The amounts payable depends on a number of variables including the nature and complexity of the case. This may result in a solicitor being paid more or less than Counsel including in a case where he or she has acted as an advocate.

Currently solicitors have very limited rights of audience in the High Court or Court of Appeal so no comparison at those court tiers is possible.

Restraining Orders

Mr T Burns asked e Minister of Justice to detail the total number of restraining orders issued by the courts in each of the last 5 years, broken down by the gender of the individual on whom the order was imposed; and for a summary of the reasons for these orders.

(AQW 7912/10)

Minister of Justice: The tables below detail the number of restraining orders made in the Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Court broken down by gender. The information is only available in this format from 2007.

Restraining orders are issued for the protection of victims from harassment or fear of violence.

Table 1: Restraining orders in magistrates’ courts 2007-09¹

Year	Male	Female	Total
2007	4	0	4
2008	13	2	15
2009	13	1	14

1 Data for 2009 is provisional.

Table 2: Restraining orders in the Crown Court 2007-09¹

Year	Male	Female	Total
2007	0	0	0
2008	2	0	2
2009	4	0	4

1 Data for 2009 is provisional.

People-Trafficking

Mr D Simpson asked e Minister of Justice for his assessment of the level of people-trafficking into Northern Ireland.

(AQW 7920/10)

Minister of Justice: The secret and hidden nature of this crime makes it difficult to assess accurately, however, reported figures for the last year do give some indication of the scale of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. During 2009/2010 the PSNI identified 25 victims of Human Trafficking. Of the victims identified, 5 were trafficked for the purpose of Forced Labour, 17 were trafficked for Sexual Exploitation, and one was trafficked for Domestic Servitude exploitation. The remaining two victims absconded prior to being interviewed.

It is often the case that the victims themselves, for a variety of reasons, are unable to identify details of their journey to Northern Ireland.

Drugs Related Offences

Mr M Storey asked e Minister of Justice how many people have been convicted of drugs related offences in North Antrim in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7921/10)

Minister of Justice: The table below gives the number in North Antrim constituency convicted of a drug related offence.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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.

Number convicted of a drug related offence – North Antrim¹

2002-2006

Year	Number convicted
2002	37
2003	30
2004	42
2005	37
2006	38

1. Based on the constituency in which the offender’s address falls.

People-Trafficking

Mr D Simpson asked Minister of Justice for his assessment of the level of people-trafficking into Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland.

(AQW 7922/10)

Minister of Justice: The secret and hidden nature of this crime makes it difficult to assess accurately, however, reported figures for the last year do give some indication of the scale of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. During 2009/2010 the PSNI identified 25 victims of Human Trafficking. Of the victims identified, 5 were trafficked for the purpose of Forced Labour, 17 were trafficked for Sexual Exploitation, and one was trafficked for Domestic Servitude exploitation. The remaining two victims absconded prior to being interviewed.

It is assessed that a small number of the 25 victims entered Northern Ireland through the Republic of Ireland. It is often the case that the victims themselves, for a variety of reasons, are unable to identify details or their journey to Northern Ireland.

Discussions with Counterpart in the Republic of Ireland

Mr D Simpson asked the Minister of Justice what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland since coming to office.

(AQW 7924/10)

Minister of Justice: I met with Dermot Ahern during my first week of office and discussed a range of issues including cross border security and co-operation in the fight against organised crime.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to receive a briefing on the extent of progress on work streams being taken forward on public protection, management of sex offenders, youth justice and forensic science.

Drugs Related Offences

Mr S Moutray asked Minister of Justice how many people have been convicted of drugs related offences in Upper Bann in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7926/10)

Minister of Justice: The table below gives the number in Upper Bann constituency convicted of a drug related offence.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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.

Number convicted of a drug related offence – Upper Bann¹

2002-2006

Year	Number convicted
2002	19
2003	26
2004	32
2005	28
2006	49

1. Based on the constituency in which the offender’s address falls.

Firearms Offences

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Justice how many people have been convicted of firearms offences in Upper Bann in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7928/10)

Minister of Justice: The table below gives the number in Upper Bann constituency convicted of a firearms offence.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 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.

Number convicted of a firearms offence¹ – Upper Bann²

2002-2006

Year	Number convicted
2002	3
2003	10
2004	5
2005	3
2006	2

1. Includes offences related to possessing firearm(s)/ammunition with intent to endanger life or property; possessing firearm/ammunition in suspicious circumstances; possessing handgun/ammunition without certificate; possessing prohibited weapons/ammunition; and possessing firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

2. Based on the constituency in which the offender’s address falls.

Counterfeiting Operation in the Republic of Ireland

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister of Justice whether he has had, or intends to have, any discussions with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland regarding (i) the recent uncovering of a counterfeiting operation in the Republic of Ireland and its implications for crime levels in Northern Ireland; and (ii) the people whom he believes are behind the operation.

(AQW 7966/10)

Minister of Justice: I will be meeting with Minister Ahern in July 2010 to discuss a range of issues including a number of organised crime related matters. I understand that the incident referred to is currently under investigation by An Garda Síochána.

Attacks on GAA Premises, Orange Halls and Masonic Halls

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice to detail the total number of (i) arson attacks; and (ii) vandalism attacks on (a) GAA premises; (b) Orange Halls; and (c) Masonic Halls, in each of the last 10 years.

(AQW 7980/10)

Minister of Justice: The provision of statistical information in relation to attacks on GAA premises, Orange Halls and Masonic Halls is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Cost of Food for Prisoners

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice what is the average amount of money spent, per day, on food for a prisoner.

(AQW 8051/10)

Minister of Justice: The average amount of money spent, per day in 2009/10, on food for a prisoner is £2.95.

Review of the Conditions of Detention, Management and Oversight of Prisons

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Justice for a detailed breakdown of the budget required for the review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of prisons.

(AQW 8063/10)

Minister of Justice: Officials are still working through the details and the budget has not yet been agreed as the level of the work required to meet the terms of reference for the review has still to be finalised. Further information will be provided when it is available.

Speeding Tickets

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice how many speeding tickets were issued in each of the last five years to drivers who exceeded the speed limit by (a) 1mph; (b) 2mph; (c) 3mph; (d) 4mph; (e) 5mph; (f) 6-10mph; (g) 11-15mph; (h) 16-20mph; (i) 21-30mph; and (j) more than 31mph.

(AQW 8100/10)

Minister of Justice: The detection and processing of speeding offences is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Policing the Twelfth of July Bonfires

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice to outline the cost of policing the Twelfth of July bonfires in each of the last five years.

(AQW 8114/10)

Minister of Justice: I would refer the Member to the previous reply that I gave to him in response to AQW 7837/10 which was for answer on 2 July 2010.

PSNI Officers Trained in Tactical Support

Lord Morrow asked e Minister of Justice (i) how many PSNI Officers are currently trained in tactical support; (ii) whether these officers will be taken from other duties to assist in the event of disturbances or unrest; and (iii) for his assessment of the adequacy of the tactical support provision available to ensure public safety and welfare.

(AQW 8141/10)

Minister of Justice: The allocation of policing resources is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Security for Visiting Dignitaries

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the total number of visits by dignitaries where security was provided by the PSNI in each of the last five years; (ii) who the visiting dignitaries were; (iii) when the visits took place; (iv) the duration of each visit; (iv) and the cost of providing this security.

(AQW 8142/10)

Minister of Justice: The provision and cost of security by the PSNI to visiting dignitaries is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board, and I have forwarded this Question to the Chief Constable, who will respond directly.

Special Domestic Violence Courts

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Justice if he has any plans to introduce special domestic violence courts; and whether his Department has given any consideration to the benefits and cost implications of such a programme.

(AQW 8179/10)

Minister of Justice: My officials in the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service are currently considering the feasibility of introducing a Specialist Domestic Violence Court. They will work with the Public Prosecution Service, other Departments and voluntary sector partners on the Domestic Violence Regional Steering Group to explore the potential scope, costs and benefits for such an initiative with a view, if justifiable, to establishing a pilot by March 2011.

Maghaberry Prison: Ombudsman’s Report

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Justice what action the Prison Service is taking on recommendations in the latest report by the Prison Ombudsman into a complaint by a prisoner in Roe House at Maghaberry Prison.

(AQO 1490/10)

Minister of Justice: The management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service has accepted the Ombudsman’s evidence-based report which describes the position at Roe House where separated republican prisoners are located, the sequence of events leading up to it and the 16 recommendations made therein.

These challenging recommendations include:

• a review of regime restrictions;

• operating current controlled movement levels to the full;

• separated conditions being included in the forthcoming prison review;

• a change in dining arrangements for separated prisoners;

• an independent review of full search procedures;

• a system of random selection of prisoners to receive a full body search;

• a 3 month pilot of a revised search methodology; and

• a line being drawn on all outstanding charges relating to Roe House for the period 4 April to 11 June on the basis that, in effect, the prisoners have served the punishments that would be awarded.

The Prison Service has published an Action Plan, which also applies to loyalist separated prisoners located in Bush House, detailing its response to the Report, the actions to be undertaken to implement each of the recommendations, the allocation of particular tasks to individuals and specific target dates for completion of the actions.

Work is already underway to implement all the recommendations accepting that some of these are predicated on the fact that there must be a return to normal regime, following a return to normal discipline, and others will fall to be considered as part of the wide-ranging review of the conditions of detention, management and oversight of prisons, on which I made a Ministerial Statement on 21 June.

In particular a system has been developed whereby the identities of prisoners to be full searched on any given day are generated at random by a computerised prisoner records system and this will be in place by 30 June.

Work has also begun to enhance the facilities in the dining halls in both of the separated houses and will be completed by 11 July. This will enable prisoners to eat their meals together in their respective houses and provide more association.

The Ombudsman’s report provides a basis for moving forward and I can assure you that the Service is determined to move actively to ensure full implementation of all the recommendations. The Service and I recognise that it is important that the present difficulties are put behind us and I very much hope that the other parties will work with us to effect that.

Offenders: Literacy and Numeracy

Rev Dr R Coulter asked the Minister of Justice what discussions he has had with the Minister of Education about addressing low literacy and numeracy levels among offenders in order to reduce re-offending.

(AQO 1491/10)

Minister of Justice: I am totally committed to reducing reoffending by working in partnership with other departments. Reducing offending is a key objective for the Executive in both the Programme for Government and a Shared Future. Making our communities safe requires a joined-up approach. I want to see closer cooperation between departments and partner bodies to address reoffending. I wrote to Executive colleagues on 8 June 2010, proposing a series of bilateral meetings to identify how we can work collaboratively in this area.

My Department has been liaising with the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning through a cross-departmental Learning and Skills Forum. The Forum is considering how we can work more closely together in terms of addressing prisoners’ educational deficits. I met with Sir Reg Empey on 19 April 2010, to discuss how Executive colleagues might work together on issues of cross-departmental interest and look forward to further developing effective working arrangements across the Executive on areas of joint interest.

Education, training and employment are recognised as a key Pathway to preventing reoffending. The prison population has a disproportionate level of essential skills deficits in literacy, numeracy and ICT skills and a sharper focus on these needs will help us more effectively address some of the causes of reoffending. The Prison Service Learning and Skills Strategic Plan 2010-13 rightly focuses on addressing essential skills deficits and on providing prisoners with externally accredited education and training courses that increase employment potential and ability to participate fully in a range of offending behaviour programmes.

I recognise that there is only so much that the criminal justice system can do unilaterally to further reduce offending behaviour. Reducing crime is not a matter solely for the criminal justice system and the research indicates that early and appropriate intervention is essential to success in preventing offending. Reducing offending is a complex issue but there are real benefits to building closer working partnerships.

The true cost of crime to our economy greatly exceeds the cost of the criminal justice system and is estimated at around £2.9bn. There are cheaper and more effective ways to prevent and reduce offending than sending people to prison. It is estimated that approximately 70% of offenders in custody have an essential skills literacy deficit. This is considerably higher that the general population where it is suggested that approximately 24% would be at a similar level. Dyslexia screening at Hydebank Wood Prison indicates that almost 30% of young offenders and juveniles demonstrate some Dyslexic tendencies compared with a general population rate of approximately 10%. Many offenders have dropped out of school and have reading and numeracy levels assessed below Entry level and many have no or limited experience of employment. Tackling these fundamental issues demands closer partnerships across departments to target young people at risk of offending.

Legal Aid

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister of Justice what steps he is taking to ensure prompt payment to people who are entitled to legal aid.

(AQO 1492/10)

Minister of Justice: The legal representatives acting for individuals in receipt of legal aid are paid directly by the Legal Services Commission for the services provided.

The Commission has a range of performance targets covering payments in respect of all areas of work. These are monitored on a monthly basis and formally reported on a quarterly basis.

If the services provided by legal representatives are covered by standard fees the Commission processes and pays these fees very promptly.

If, however, the fees have to be assessed as to the work undertaken then this necessarily takes longer to complete before payments can be made.

The Commission’s approach to setting fees is to increase the number of areas covered by standard fees to streamline the administrative processes and ensure prompt payment to legal representatives.

Programme for Government: Addendum

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Justice for an update on the development of an addendum to the Programme for Government.

(AQO 1493/10)

Minister of Justice: Good progress has been made on the development of an addendum. Officials have in recent weeks consulted counterparts in other Departments, and the Justice Committee discussed a draft last week. Having provided further briefing to them and reflected on their views, I intend to seek the approval of the Executive before presenting the addendum formally to the Assembly as soon as possible.

The addendum reflects the areas identified in the Hillsborough Castle Agreement as well as other priorities, covering reducing offending and dealing with its consequences (particularly the consequences for victims); building safer communities; ensuring access to justice; justice’s role in building a shared future; and ensuring efficient and effective use of resources.

I am determined that it should provide the Department and the justice system with a challenging agenda which will make a real difference in areas like reducing offending, speeding up justice, improving services for victims, reforming publicly-funded legal services, and building confidence, including in sentencing.

Women’s Prison

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Justice to give his assessment of the need for a purpose built women's prison to ensure better care for female prisoners and to outline any plans for such a facility.

(AQO 1494/10)

Minister of Justice: As Minister I am committed, as is the Northern Ireland Prison Service, to ensuring that women prisoners are treated and managed in a women’s prison which is fit for purpose and indeed meets all international obligations and best practice.

The Prison Service has accepted that Ash House is not a suitable long term solution and to that end has prepared a Strategic Outline Business Case to look at the options for a new facility.

I should add that I intend to release later this year the final Strategy on the management of Women Offenders and our responses on the consultation on Gender-specific Standards for working with Women Prisoners in conjunction with the standards, and a guide for staff.

DEPARTMENT FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Churchfields in Rasharkin

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Regional Development why Churchfields in Rasharkin has not been adopted by Roads Service.

(AQW 7751/10)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the streets in Churchfields, Rasharkin, are not yet to a standard suitable for adoption by Roads Service. The most recent inspection has identified a number of defects, including road surfacing, kerbing and drainage issues. Inspections are also required to check the water, sewage and street lighting installations.

I understand that bonds of surety have been secured to cover these streets. However, as the developer is still active on the site, Roads Service has not yet initiated any enforcement action. Roads Service will continue to meet with the developer to discuss progress on the outstanding issues.

Vandalism Against Roads Service Equipment

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of recorded incidents of vandalism against Roads Service equipment and the costs incurred by his Department, broken down by type of vandalism, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7755/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that it does not maintain details of any incidents of vandalism against Roads Service equipment. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the Member.

Misuse of Disabled Parking Bays

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of tickets issued for the misuse of disabled parking bays in the (i) Donaghadee; (ii) Millisle; (iii) Bangor; and (iv) Hollywood area in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7838/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that the number of Penalty Charge Notices issued to vehicles parked illegally in disabled parking bays in Donaghadee, Millisle, Bangor and Holywood, in each of the last three years, are detailed in the table below:-

	Donaghadee	Millisle	Bangor	Holywood
2007/08	9	1	172	14
2008/09	8	0	236	28
2009/10	5	0	261	30

Park and Ride Scheme for Residents in South Belfast

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister for Regional Development what plans he has to introduce a park and ride scheme for residents in South Belfast.

(AQW 7842/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Park and Ride provides a more sustainable alternative for part of the journey into urban areas for those commuters who do not have ideal public transport access from their journey origin. In line with that Park and Ride locations are typically located on the urban fringe with the aim of reducing traffic moving into the urban area and the associated demand for more central parking provision. The provision of park and ride within urban areas is not recommended as it may encourage car use for part of the journey at the expense of existing public transport provision and more sustainable alternatives such as walking and cycling. In line with that, at present there are no plans for Park and Ride facilities for residents in urban areas as the focus of policy in those areas is the provision of a high quality public transport service.

In recognition of the important role of Park and Ride in promoting sustainable transport and to inform the review of the Regional Transportation Strategy, my Department is presently carrying out a strategic review of Park and Ride facilities, taking account of progress to date in delivery, best practice, and the implications of current and future traffic flows.

Translink

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the income generated by Translink from marketing and advertising in each of the last five years, including details of how the income was generated.

(AQW 7889/10)

Minister for Regional Development: Translink/NITHC receive a substantial level of income (£1M+) each from non fare-box revenue generation activities such as third party advertising on fixed site property and on buses both internally and externally.

Translink/NITHC procure the services of a specialist company in order to capitalise on the available opportunities through these channels. The engagement of the specialist company is undertaken through an open tender process.

Under the Advertising Agreement with the specialist company there is a clause in the contract that states that each party shall treat as strictly confidential all commercial information. It is, therefore, not possible to release the revenue amounts generated through third party advertising activity.

Translink/NITHC’s group turnover for the last five years is as follows:

Year	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Turnover (£m)	155	168	175	183	186

It is not possible to calculate how much of this income was generated by Translink’s own advertising and marketing campaigns.

Irish Language Courses

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Regional Development how much his Department has spent on Irish language courses since he came to office; and whether a business case has been produced in relation to these courses.

(AQW 7905/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I have spent £1,500 on beginner and refresher Irish language classes for my staff. The training was arranged in accordance with departmental guidelines for the procurement of supplies and services. The skills acquired by staff have helped the Department to provide services to Irish language speakers and fulfil its commitments under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Southwell Road in Bangor

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the parking restrictions his Department intends to introduce to aid the residents of Southwell Road in Bangor, prior to the introduction of residents only parking schemes.

(AQW 7911/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that it considers the provision of parking restrictions at those locations where there are consistent traffic progression problems or road safety concerns. With limited exceptions, methods to restrict parking, such as by the use of single or double yellow lines, restrict available parking for all, including residents, and can therefore be contentious within residential areas.

Roads Service is not aware of any particular traffic progression difficulties at Southwell Road, Bangor, and has not identified any road safety concerns at that location. There are no plans to provide additional waiting restrictions in advance of any potential residents’ parking scheme.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development if any discussion has taken place between his Department, or its agencies and the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of the Environment, or their agencies, in relation to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems; and to outline how many meetings have taken place and the outcome of these meetings.

(AQW 7935/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it was involved in discussions about Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) as part of a Steering Group chaired by the NI Environment Agency of the Department of the Environment. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was also represented on the Steering Group, which met on a regular basis during 2008 and 2009. The Group produced a draft SuDS Policy, which was later issued for public consultation and to all relevant agencies and bodies.

Sewage Pollution

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister for Regional Development have many incidents of sewage pollution have occurred in Upper Bann rivers, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7937/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water that pollution incidents attributed to sewage pollution are classified by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as high, medium or low according to the severity of the incident.

The table below indicates the number of incidents in Upper Bann rivers over the past three years.

Year	High	Medium	Low	Total
1 Apr 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	0	4	10	14
1 Apr 2008 – 31 Mar 2009	0	2	5	7
1 Apr 2009 – 31 Mar 2010	0	2	7	9

Translink

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Regional Development what Translink intends to do with the 80 trains once they are replaced with new trains.

(AQW 7940/10)

Minister for Regional Development: In answering this question Translink have assumed that you are referring to the Class 80 trains rather than the number of trains.

Translink have informed me that Class 80 trains will be removed from passenger service as soon as NI Railways new Class 4000 trains are commissioned into service. On removal from service, passenger carriages will be scrapped as they will be life expired. However, a number of Class 80 power cars are likely to be retained for use by Translink for non-passenger duties.

Sewage Pollution in North Antrim Rivers

Mr M Storey asked the Minister for Regional Development have many incidents of sewage pollution have occurred in North Antrim rivers, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 7941/10)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water that pollution incidents attributed to sewage pollution are classified by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as high, medium or low according to the severity of the incident.

The table below indicates the number of incidents in North Antrim rivers over the past three years.

Year	High	Medium	Low	Total
1 Apr 2007 – 31 Mar 2008	0	1	8	9
1 Apr 2008 – 31 Mar 2009	0	0	14	14
1 Apr 2009 – 31 Mar 2010	0	2	15	17

Backlog in Disabled Parking Bay Provision

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the backlog in disabled parking bay provision, broken down by Roads Service division; and what action he is taking to address the backlog.

(AQW 8034/10)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that disabled parking bays are authorised by means of a Statutory Rule and over a number of months, it has experienced some difficulties in securing clearance of the draft Statutory Rules from the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Departmental Solicitor’s Office.

However, this issue has now been addressed and in future the process will be more expeditious. Regrettably, there remains a considerable backlog of such cases, which Roads Service officials are seeking to clear as quickly as possible.

I can advise that part of Roads Service’s response to this issue has been to consolidate five proposed Disabled Bay Orders into one draft Order. The statutory notice, in respect of this Order, was published on 23 June 2010. If no objections, or representations, are made within the statutory period, the Order can be made and will create 146 new disabled parking bays, as detailed in the following table:

Division	No of Disabled Parking Bays
Northern Division	26
Eastern Division	44
Southern Division	50
Western Division	26

DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Social Housing Waiting List

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development how many people aged 55 years and over are currently on the social housing waiting list; and what this figure was for each of the last five years.

(AQW 7634/10)

Minister for Social Development (Mr A Attwood): There were 9149 applicants aged 55 years and over on the social housing waiting list at 31 March 2010, which is the latest information available. The figures are not available for the last five years as the Housing Executive only holds statistical data about this for the last four years. The details are shown in the table below:-

Position at:-	Applicants 55 and over*
31 March 2010	9149
31 March 2009	9330
31 March 2008	9596
31 March 2007	8792

*The figures represent the number of applicants as head of households and therefore include a range of household types.

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the up-take of the Warm Homes Scheme in the East Antrim constituency in each of the last 24 months; and how this compares with the other constituencies.

(AQW 7763/10)

Minister for Social Development: The new Warm Homes Scheme commenced on 1 July 2009. Prior to that, the scheme was delivered by EAGA plc. When their contract for Warm Homes ended, EAGA handed over to my Department all the records they held relating to the scheme. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, as Scheme Administrator, holds those records on behalf of the Department. It is not possible to analyse those records in the manner requested. In any event, the new Warm Homes Scheme is a different scheme, with different eligibility criteria and a different targeting focus and comparisons with the previous scheme are misleading.

I have provided the numbers of eligible referrals received and the number of completed installations. An eligible referral is an application from a client who appears to be eligible for the scheme, on the basis of the information they have provided, prior to that information being verified by the Scheme Manager.

The Warm Homes Scheme is a demand led scheme. However, East Antrim has been identified by the relevant Contract Scheme Manager as an area of low uptake compared with other parts of this contract area. The Scheme Manager has actively targeted the area since January 2010 with the help of the local MP, community workers and other local representatives to encourage uptake. The attached figures indicate that the increased marketing activity in the area is beginning to have a positive impact on uptake in the area.

The table details Warm Homes Scheme uptake in East Antrim since 1 July 2009.

Completed Installations *
Month	Eligible Referrals	Insulation Only	Heating Only	Combined Heating & Insulation	Total
July 09	3	0	0	0	0
August 09	36	3	0	0	3
September 09	11	24	0	0	24
October 09	56	15	0	2	17
November 09	19	39	0	3	42
December 09	15	16	0	1	17
January 10	70	43	1	3	47
February 10	107	51	0	2	53
March 10	118	103	1	8	112
April 10	77	89	2	12	103
May 10	49	50	1	2	53
Total	561	433	5	33	471

* The completed installations each month do not necessarily relate to the Eligible Referrals received in that month.

Small Pockets of Deprivation Programme in the Rathgill Estate, Bangor

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development what his plans are for the continuation of funding for the Small Pockets of Deprivation programme in the Rathgill Estate, Bangor, in the 2011/12 financial year.

(AQW 7884/10)

Minister for Social Development: The outcome of the Spending Review 2010 exercise will not be known until December 2010. Plans and priorities for the 2011/12 financial year will then be established and agreed. At present I am unable to commit to an extension of this programme and a decision will only be taken when budgets and priorities are agreed.

Benefit Fraud Unit

Mr J Craig asked Minister for Social Development, pursuant to AQW 7487/10, (i) whether the Benefit Fraud Unit is responsible for collecting money lost due to staff error in the administration of benefits; (ii) how much money has been lost due to staff error in each of the last five years; and (iii) how much of this has been recovered.

(AQW 7895/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Agency's Benefit Fraud Unit is responsible for investigating fraud and does not collect money lost due to staff error.

The Agency estimates the value of incorrect benefit payments arising from fraud, customer error and official error. Estimates of the value of all error are based on the results of a sample of cases extrapolated across the benefit caseload. Figures for the amount of money lost due to official error for the last five years are shown in the table below together with their value as a percentage of benefit expenditure.

Delivery Year	Value	Percentage of Benefit Expenditure
2005	£23.4m	0.69%
2006	£27.9m	0.80%
2007	£23.9m	0.70%
2008	£18.4m	0.50%
*2009	£16.7m	0.40%

The Agency carries out a range of activities to prevent, detect and correct official and customer error in the caseload. The Agency cannot extract those benefit adjustments arising from activities which relate solely to official error.

* Final 2009 figures are not yet available. Quoted above is an early indicative figure.

Use of Consultants

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Social Development what steps he is taking to review the use of consultants in his Department.

(AQW 7958/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department reviews the use of consultant’s on an ongoing basis and currently only makes use of external consultant’s in areas where expertise is not available in-house, but is critical to the successful delivery of projects. Procurement of consultancy for time limited assignments is carried out in accordance with strict guidelines, that apply to all Northern Ireland Civil Service departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other sponsored bodies in order to ensure greatest value for money. The need for external consultancy is reviewed regularly in all business cases on an individual basis.

Maximum Value of a One Off Payment

Mr A McQuillan asked the Minister for Social Development what is the maximum value of any one off payment, that can be issued as a single giro payment, from his Department to an individual; and for what should that payment be used.

(AQW 7974/10)

Minister for Social Development: The maximum value for which a cheque can be issued is £4,999.99. Cheques of this size must be lodged to an appropriate Bank or Building Society account. Payments of this magnitude are rare and are made on the basis of a customer’s entitlement to a specific benefit, pension or allowance. The Social Security Agency’s normal method of payment is by Direct Credit to a bank, building society or Post Office card account 97% of payments are made via this method. High value cheques are only issued on an exceptional basis and usually at the customer’s request.

Housing Executive Employees

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Social Development, pursuant to AQW 7510/10, to detail the (i) number; and (ii) percentage of (a) Protestant; (b) Roman Catholic; and (c) non-determined people who began employment with the Housing Executive in each calendar year since 2004.

(AQW 7991/10)

Minister for Social Development: The table below provides the information requested regarding new entrant staff employed by the Housing Executive during each calendar year since 2004:-

Year	Protestant		Roman Catholic		Non Determined
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
2004	117	36.6	168	52.5	35	10.9
2005	101	41.2	120	49.0	24	9.8
2006	82	33.7	138	56.8	23	9.5
2007	101	34.3	164	55.8	29	9.9
2008	52	40.9	51	40.2	24	18.9
2009	60	33.7	95	53.4	23	12.9

Note: Figures include permanent and temporary appointments

People who Default on their Mortgages

Mr J Bell asked the Minister for Social Development if he has had any discussions with the judiciary regarding the guidance of the Lord Chief Justice on a sympathetic approach to people who default on their mortgages.

(AQW 7992/10)

Minister for Social Development: The Pre-Action Protocols, introduced last year by the Lord Chief Justice, are a much needed boost for those people who at present get into mortgage difficulties and then suffer the shock of a repossession order landing on their doormat. The Courts should be very much a last resort for lenders to seek repossession and I welcome that these protocols are in place. Neither myself or my officials have sought to influence the judicial process.

Helping those in genuine mortgage debt is a priority for me. That is why the money available for Housing Rights Service has been increased significantly to ensure they have advisers who specialise in helping those in mortgage debt.

Community Worker Position for Kilcooley Estate, Bangor

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on funding for the community worker position for Kilcooley Estate, Bangor for the 2011-12 financial year.

(AQW 8019/10)

Minister for Social Development: The position on the funding of these posts beyond 31 March 2011 will not be known until the outcome of the 2010 Spending Review is determined.

New Homes for Ballymacash in Lisburn

Mr P Givan asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the proposed housing scheme to provide 150 new homes for Ballymacash in Lisburn.

(AQW 8020/10)

Minister for Social Development: Ulidia Housing Association has submitted an Economic Appraisal detailing proposals that have the potential to deliver 146 new homes at Ballymacoss in Lisburn. That Economic Appraisal has already been assessed within my Department and is now being considered by DFP.

I will be happy to advise the Member once that is complete.

Redevelopment of Curran Street in Portadown

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the current status of the proposed redevelopment of Curran Street in Portadown.

(AQW 8073/10)

Minister for Social Development: My Department is currently in the process of obtaining full planning permission for the redevelopment of the Curran Street Site. An application was submitted to Planning Service in December 2009 and I anticipate that a decision will be made in the near future. The process to appoint a developer to acquire the site and deliver the scheme formally commenced in June 2010 with an advertisement placed in the Official Journal of the European Union. A short-list of interested developers will be drawn up and each will be asked to submit bids to purchase and develop the site. This process will take a number of months; however, I am hopeful that a Preferred Developer will be appointed by the beginning of 2011.

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Ormiston House

Mr P Butler asked the Assembly Commission to provide a breakdown of the costs of maintaining Ormiston House in each of the last five years.

(AQW 7740/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): The following is a breakdown of costs attributable to maintaining Ormiston House in each of the last five years:

YEAR	MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS	PROFESSIONAL FEES
2005-2006	£5,482.22	£1,788.40
2006-2007	£30,341.04	£5,728.80
2007-2008	£16,073.50	£1,503.50
2008-2009	£20,419.58	£16,398.25
2009-2010	£45,973.36	£4,630.50
TOTAL	£118,289.70	£30,049.45

Union Jack at Parliament Buildings

Mr D McKay asked the Assembly Commission whether it has carried out any research into the impact, on people from the nationalist community visiting the Assembly, of flying the Union Jack at Parliament Buildings.

(AQW 7785/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): The Assembly Commission is designated as a public authority under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, 1998 and its Equality Scheme was approved by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission on 27 February 2008. Under Section 75(2) of the legislation the Commission has a statutory duty to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

In order to progress this area of work the Assembly Commission approved a Good Relations Action Plan and consultation arrangements on 21 January 2010. Public consultation ended on 4 June 2010.

This plan also contributes to the corporate objective ‘to promote good relations’ as stated in the Commission’s 2008-2011 (Revised 2009) Secretariat Corporate Plan.

Aim 1, under the plan sets out how the Commission will "promote equality of opportunity and good relations in all aspects of its work by ensuring that all its services are delivered impartially and effectively."

In order to achieve this outcome a range of contributory actions were approved by the Commission. The first of these actions is to conduct an internal good relations audit amongst Secretariat staff and Members to identify all good relations issues to be addressed by the Commission and through this to design an implementation plan for the mainstreaming of good relations.

Following a procurement exercise Holywell Consulting Limited were appointed in June 2010 to conduct the internal good relations audit.

The Assembly Commission, through the Good Relations Action Plan also wishes to, through the completion of an external good relations audit, and consultation with relevant groups, identify if barriers exist, or have been encountered in accessing services. Through this action the Commission wish to identify issues and approaches to actively remove or reduce barriers if these are apparent. A procurement exercise in relation to this action is due to commence in August 2010.

Laptops in Committee Meetings

Mr A Ross asked the Assembly Commission whether any consideration has been given to allowing Members to use laptops in committee meetings.

(AQW 7793/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): As Committee rooms are refurbished, infrastructure is being upgraded to facilitate the future use of technology within Committee rooms. However, the use of current laptops is constrained by a number of practical and technical issues. Difficulties include access to power supplies and interference with the functioning of the audio recording systems when the computers are in use, as microphone switching is triggered automatically by speech or equipment noise, including keyboard typing. It will also be necessary to develop appropriate protocols on the use of technology during committee meetings.

The IS Office is aware of lessons learnt by other legislatures in supplying and supporting such facilities during committee meetings and is examining ways to facilitate the use of computer equipment in Committee meeting rooms. Potential options to facilitate the use of appropriate technology in Committee rooms will be presented to the Chairpersons’ Liaison Group in the Autumn.

Use of Consultants

Mr D Kinahan asked the Assembly Commission what steps it is taking to review the use of consultants in the Assembly.

(AQW 8070/10)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): The Assembly Commission reviews its use of consultants on an ongoing basis. Requests for consultancy support are subject to justification via a business case. In addition, those of an expected value greater than £50,000 are notified to the Assembly Commission.

Detailed internal guidance on the use of consultants is presently being reviewed. The major thrust of this guidance is to ensure that there is a real and valid need to use consultants and, secondly, to ensure that consultants continue to be engaged in a wholly transparent manner.

REVISED WRITTEN ANSWERS

Friday 2 July 2010

(AQW 4943/10)

We are writing to correct an error contained in our answer issued on the 26^th February to an Assembly question which you tabled in relation to the measures used to define child poverty, namely AQW 4943/10. Our response referred to an estimate of absolute income poverty for children in 2007/08 of 15%. However, this was a typographical error. The actual figure is 16%.

For ease of reference, attached to this letter are the estimates of child poverty across the three measures, relative income poverty, absolute low income poverty and mixed low income and material deprivation for all years in which data are available

Please accept our apologies for this error.

We are copying this letter to the Editor of Debates and the Business Office.

Table 1 Child Poverty Rates and Numbers

Year	Relative income poverty		Absolute income poverty		Material deprivation and income poverty
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1998/99	135,000	29	135,000	29	-	-
2002/03	108,300	25	83,000	19	-	-
2003/04	111,600	26	71,200	16	-	-
2004/05	106,600	25	74,800	17	89,100	21
2005/06	108,400	25	70,000	16	87,100	19
2006/07	96,000	22	52,600	12	76,500	18
2007/08	102600	24	69600	16	84700	20

Source 1.1998/99 figures "Rebasing Child Poverty Estimates for NI" OFMDFM (2007)

2. Households Below Average Income NI

Notes 1. Numbers rounded to the nearest hundred and percentages to the nearest whole number.

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

(AQW 7144/10)

We are writing to correct an error contained in our answer of 2 June 2010 to an Assembly question which you tabled in relation to the running costs of agencies and bodies associated with and funded by our Department, namely AQW 7144/10.

Our response represented the overall total of monies expended by our arms length bodies and included, in addition to running costs, programme costs and grants paid out by several of our arms length bodies. This latter information should not have been included nor should information on the District Council community relations programme which is a single funding stream going to all 26 councils for good relations work. The bodies principally affected are the Community Relations Council, the Strategic Investment Board, ILEX and the Commissioner for Children and Young People. In addition running costs for the Equality Commission have risen slightly to reflect income from other sources.

A revised table with corrected information on running costs is attached. Please accept our apologies for this error.

We are copying this letter to the Editor of Debates and the Business Office.

AQW 7144/10 REVISED

(i) All the agencies and bodies funded by, and associated with OFMDFM	(ii) The total running costs of each agency or body for each of the last five years
	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
NI Civic Forum*	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland	7.065m	6.984m	7.037m	7.260m	7.360m
Community Relations Council	0.772m	0.788m	0.873m	1.040m	1.179m
Commission for Victims and Survivors	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.574m	1.069m
Children and Young Peoples Commissioner	1.487m	1.463m	1.468m	1.445m	1.514m
Economic Research Institute of NI	1.144m	0.84m	0.92m	0.924m	0.993m
Ilex Urban Regeneration Company	0.410m	0.482m	0.454m	0.712	0.832m
Planning and Water Appeals Commissions	1.905m	1.858m	1.914m	2.347m	2.642m
Commissioner for Public Appointments	0.116m	0.117m	0.138m	0.189m	0.250m
Strategic Investment Board	3.753m	4.240m	4.210m	3.870m	3.478m
Older People’s Advocate	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.150m**
Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Attorney General for Northern Ireland	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

* NI Civic Forum last sat in 2002. A Review of the Civic Forum commenced in May 2008. Options and recommendations are under consideration by the Review Project Board prior to final submission to Ministers.

** the Advocate was appointed in December 2008 but figures for the period from December 2008 to March 2009 cannot be disaggregated.