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 15 October 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

Comprehensive Spending Review

Ms M Ritchie asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the nature of their discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review; and if they will make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 1114/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness): We would refer the Member to the answers given to AQO 242, 243 and 244 provided on Monday 11 October 2010.

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Farm Modernisation Programme

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many farmers to date have benefited from the Farm Modernisation Programme in the North Down area.

(AQW 715/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): To date, Letters of Offer with a total value of £25,650 have been issued to six farm businesses in the North Down Parliamentary constituency under the Farm Modernisation Programme (FMP). Three farm businesses received Letters of Offer with a total value of £30,000 under the Manure Efficiency Technology Sub Programme (METS).

Disallowance of Single Farm Payments

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for a breakdown of the meetings she has had with stakeholders in relation to the European Commission disallowance of Single Farm Payments.

(AQW 730/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Since the beginning of this year I have had constructive meetings with Ulster Farmers’ Union, the NI Agricultural Producers Association and our 3 MEPs at which the disallowance issue was discussed. I have also kept the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development regularly updated on the matter.

As my Department starts to roll out the new maps under the Land Parcel Identification System improvement exercise, I will engage further with the UFU and NIAPA.

Disallowance of Single Farm Payments

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for her assessment of the extent to which her Department's interpretation of the legislation impacted on the disallowance applied by the European Commission in relation to Single Farm Payments.

(AQW 756/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Following my statement on 27 September 2010, in answer to a question from Mr Irwin, I recognised that there was a difference in interpretation between what the Department understood the legislation to mean and the Commission’s view.

I explained that the Department was steering a difficult course between the criticism of Members of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development and other Members of being too heavy-handed on farmers and of adopting an attitude, during inspections, that was slightly onerous towards farmers.

I also explained that the Commission’s view is that we were not nearly heavy-handed enough and that areas of land that inspectors allowed to be constituted as eligible should not have been.

I explained that was one of the reasons we are dealing with disallowance issues.

I assured the House that ongoing training is available for inspectors and that much work is being done to ensure that we are fully aware of what the Commission wants, that inspectors have available the most up to date technology, and that we are carrying out inspections based on what constitutes eligible land.

I also said that further misunderstandings are likely, where farmers think that an area of land is eligible even though the Commission clearly believes that it is not, but our responsibility is to apply the Commission’s rules when paying out its money.

Disallowance of Single Farm Payments

Mr G Savage asked e Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, given the recent disallowance of Single Farm Payments, what she is doing to ensure a level playing field in terms of the interpretation, application and implementation of European legislation.

(AQW 758/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I already ensure there is a level playing field and will continue to do so. Every year as part of the Single Application process, my Department provides guidance to farmers on the eligibility rules surrounding the Single Farm Payment (SFP) scheme and advice on completing their Single Application form. This guidance reflects the current requirements of EU legislation. The guidance issued to my staff involved in processing applications or carrying out inspections mirrors the guidance that is issued to farmers for that scheme year. These measures are designed to ensure a consistent approach.

Laying Hens Welfare Legislation

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for an update on the implementation of the laying hens welfare legislation.

(AQW 759/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Council Directive 99/74/EC, which came into force in July 1999, laid down minimum welfare standards for the protection of laying hens. It banned the installation of new conventional or "battery" cages from January 2003, and the keeping of hens in existing conventional cages from January 2012.

The Council Directive was transposed into domestic legislation here in July 2002 through the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2002. These amended the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (NI) 2000 to prevent the building, or bringing into service for the first time, of any conventional cage system from 1 January 2003; and to prevent the keeping of laying hens in a conventional cage system from 1 January 2012. All producers must comply with the conventional cage ban from 1 January 2012, and indeed since 2003 all new installations of laying hen systems here must be of the enriched type of cage, free range, barn or organic. At present, conventional cages account for approximately 53% of the north’s total laying hen capacity.

I am very appreciative of the difficulties facing some in the egg laying sector in moving to alternative or enriched cage production systems and the poultry sector generally at this time. Following discussions with the industry last year, I looked widely at all options that would be available under the Rural Development Programme to support modernisation in the poultry sector. An existing support measure that can be accessed by the poultry industry generally is the Farm Modernisation Programme (FMP), which provides support for farm businesses to modernise their holdings and improve their production techniques by providing support for plant, machinery and equipment to be selected from a list of eligible items. Tranche 2 of the Farm Modernisation Programme will provide an opportunity for poultry producers to secure funding up to a maximum payment of £4k per successful applicant.

In order to protect producers from illegal production in other Member States after January 2012, I have urged Defra to press the Commission to take action to maintain a level playing field across the EU. The options may include an intra-Community trade ban on eggs produced in conventional cages and amendment of the Egg Marketing Regulations to enable enforcement authorities to identify eggs produced in conventional cages.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by her Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 780/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The DARD owned land and property which is currently declared surplus to requirements on the Department’s Asset Register is set out in the tables below, including the location and plans for disposal:

Land only

Description	Location	Plans for Disposal
1.73 Hectares	Galgorm Parks, Fenaghy Road, Galgorm, Ballymena, Co Antrim	Options for placing the land onto the open market are currently being investigated.
Tullyhogue Farm 20.23 Hectares	CAFRE Loughry Campus, Cookstown, Co Tyrone	Potential options for the disposal are currently being considered.

Property.

There is no separately listed property (buildings) deemed surplus to requirements but property, as well as land, is included in the Farm Disposals in the table below.

Description	Location	Plans for Disposal
Wilson’s Farm 14.57 Hectares	CAFRE Enniskillen Campus, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh	Currently on the market for sale.
Thornhill Farm31.17 Hectares	CAFRE Enniskillen Campus, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh	Sale being finalised.

Salmonella Outbreaks Linked to Duck Eggs

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what advice she has given to local duck flock owners in light of the confirmed reports in the Republic of Ireland linking salmonella outbreaks to the consumption of duck eggs.

(AQW 784/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I am aware that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland is investigating cases of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 linked to the consumption of duck eggs. My staff have been in close contact with their counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Dublin and the Food Standards Agency here in relation to this issue.

In the north of Ireland, all isolations of Salmonella in animals must be reported to a veterinary inspector of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Specific advice is issued to any producer who has, or is suspected to have, salmonella on their premises.

A booklet ‘Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Salmonella in Poultry Produced for Human Consumption’, which includes biosecurity advice to reduce the risk of infection to poultry, is issued to all affected flocks and is also available on the DARD website.

My Department has a long-standing commitment to promoting biosecurity messages. These take the form of leaflets, advertising, press articles, posters, DARD website updates, and meetings with farmers and with Private Veterinary Practitioners.

In 2004 the Department issued all livestock and poultry keepers with a copy of the ‘Biosecurity Code for NI Farms’, which also included guidance for official visitors and recreational users of farms. This is a voluntary code issued in conjunction with the north’s industry. The booklet is also available on request or from the DARD website.

Divisional Veterinary Office in Newry

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether any staff were dismissed during the period of the enquiry into staff morale in the Divisional Veterinary Office in Newry.

(AQW 785/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: During the period of the review of working relationships in the administration team in Glenree House Newry, one member of staff was dismissed from that office but these two matters are unrelated.

Land Parcel Identification System

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she appointed any farmers or landowners to the teams selected to carry out the mapping process associated with the Land Parcel Identification System.

(AQW 786/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: No. The maps will be improved by Land and Property Services (LPS). DARD staff are working very closely with LPS to ensure that they are fully aware of DARD’s rules regarding eligibility for area based schemes as well as EU mapping requirements.

As my Department starts to roll out the new maps under the Land Parcel Identification System improvement exercise, I will engage further with the UFU and NIAPA.

Department's Headquarters

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she will actively consider Omagh as a suitable location for her Department's headquarters.

(AQW 788/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The current DARD Headquarters building, Dundonald House, is nearing the end of its useful life and I anticipate that alternative accommodation will be required during the forthcoming Budget period. That presents an opportunity to consider the benefits of ensuring that public sector jobs are available in rural communities, outside central Belfast

It is too early in the process to identify a specific location for any new Headquarters. If funding is secured, full consideration will be given to a suitable location, and the costs and benefits as part of a formal business case.

Department Staff

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many permanent staff in her Department were based in Omagh in each of the last three years.

(AQW 790/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The total number of permanent staff employed by my Department and based in Omagh in each of the last 3 years is as follows:

April 2008 165

April 2009 173

April 2010 172

Sudden Oak Death

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to explain the Forestry Service's delay in felling trees in woodland areas infected by Sudden Oak Death.

(AQW 796/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: There has been no delay in Forest Service actions to manage the outbreak of Phytophthora Ramorum (Sudden Oak Death) in woodland in the north of Ireland, including tree felling operations.

P. Ramorum was confirmed for the first time in a plantation in the north, on the Antrim plateau on the 10 August 2010. Forest Service re-prioritised their harvesting operations and commenced felling on this site within a week of receiving confirmation.

Since 10 August actions taken have included defining areas of affected Japanese Larch Woodland, with areas being measured and divided into felling coupes to control the management of harvesting operations within the affected forests. As the total area to be felled extends to over 200 ha, which represents a very significant undertaking, detailed felling plans have been developed to ensure felling is completed as quickly as possible.

Felling is now being carried out at three confirmed Forest Service affected sites including both mature trees and juvenile crops.

Felling is being prioritised in areas of highest risk and this is monitored on a weekly basis. All work is being carried out in line with plant health measures that have been put in place on a risk based approach, taking account of the most up-to-date scientific advice.

Bio-security precautions are in place in the infected areas to prevent further spread. During the harvesting of infected areas of Japanese larch, further plant health control arrangements are followed by forest operators to minimise the risk of spreading the disease from infected sites on footwear, clothing, vehicles, tools and equipment.

I am content that this disease outbreak is being managed appropriately, in line with Departmental procedures, meeting all required plant health measures with a strong emphasis on prioritising the felling of trees in the highest risk areas.

Sudden Oak Death

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what extra resources she has sought and directed to the Forestry Service to curb the outbreak of Sudden Oak Death.

(AQW 797/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My Department has instigated a "Contingency Plan for Serious Pest/Plant Health Incidents" and regular Incident Management Team meetings have taken place. Although the situation is not currently classed as requiring a major emergency response, as a precautionary measure, and in line with the Major Emergency Response Plan, the gold/silver/bronze command structure has now been introduced to manage the outbreak. This includes the co-ordination of resources from across the Department.

Inspection and surveillance of all Forest Service larch sites have been increased, and since confirmation of the disease, Forest Service has inspected all of its woodlands across the north of Ireland, which include components of Japanese Larch.

Surveys have also been conducted within a 3km zone around the original confirmed sites. In addition to ground inspections, the Department has also conducted an aerial survey across its forest estate on 20 and 21 September. As a result of this targeted surveillance, a small number of additional sites are being investigated further.

Resources involved with the normal harvesting operations have also been re-prioritised to concentrate felling in affected areas as quickly as possible. Felling is now being carried out at three confirmed Forest Service affected sites including both mature trees and juvenile crops.

My officials organised two separate stakeholder meetings which provided an opportunity to brief key stakeholders of the Department’s approach to dealing with the disease outbreak as well as informing them of how they could assist in preventing spread of the disease. These meetings included a wide range of interests including representatives from trade organisations, timber processors, private woodland owners and environmental organisations.

My Department has utilised resources to remind all woodland owners and managers to remain vigilant for symptoms of the disease in Japanese Larch and report suspicious symptoms to Forest Service.

I am committed to staying on top of this developing situation and taking the necessary action to ensure that our woodlands are protected and can continue to provide the environmental, economic, and public access benefits that we all enjoy.

I am satisfied that appropriate resources are currently being deployed by the Department in managing this disease outbreak but I will continue to monitor the situation and utilise resources as necessary in line with any future developments.

Tractor Theft

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for her assessment of the current level of tractor theft.

(AQW 843/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I am aware that the instances of theft on farms are increasing with tractors, small and large items of equipment and livestock being stolen. This increase is causing concern amongst the farming community and I have met with the Justice Minister and the Chief Constable to discuss such thefts and other aspects of Rural Crime. I would also encourage farmers to ensure that they secure their properties and take steps to minimise the risk of theft from their farms.

Proposed Biomass Plant at Glenavy

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what representations her Department has made in relation to the planning application for the proposed biomass plant at Glenavy.

(AQW 844/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I wrote to the Minister for the Environment earlier this year to express my view that a public enquiry was the appropriate way forward on the planning application for the proposed biomass power plant at Glenavy.

My ministerial responsibilities span both poultry farmers who have poultry litter to dispose of and those who live in the rural community around Glenavy. I am eager that the views and concerns of farmers, local residents and all those potentially affected by the proposed plant are taken into consideration.

The poultry sector is a significant part of our local agriculture industry and it is important that we seek an agreed way to ensure its future sustainability and protect the interests of poultry farmers as well as the wider community.

As a consultee in the planning process, my Department has provided advice on its areas of expertise at the request of Planning Service.

Animal Neglect

Mr D McClarty asked e Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in light of the rescue of 70 horses near Mallusk by the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, what steps he is taking to ensure that the relevant local authorities have sufficient legal powers to prosecute for animal neglect, as is the case in the rest of the UK.

(AQW 854/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Under the existing Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 1972 it is an offence to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering. Inspectors from my Department enforce this legislation in respect of unnecessary suffering to livestock on agricultural land and the PSNI has responsibility for enforcement in respect of cruelty offences to horses and other animals not on agricultural land.

I am currently bringing forward a new Welfare of Animals Bill which will introduce a duty of care in respect of all protected animals, which are all animals under the control of man. The Bill will provide new enforcement powers to allow action to be taken to prevent animals from unnecessary suffering, as opposed to the current legislation which allows action to be taken only when the animal has actually suffered. The Bill will provide powers for either a Department or District Council inspector or constable who finds a protected animal that is suffering, or is likely to suffer if its circumstances do not change, to take immediate steps to alleviate the animal’s suffering.

The new Welfare of Animals Bill was introduced to the Assembly in June 2010 and is currently at Committee stage. Subject to the Bill completing the necessary legislative process, it is my intention to have the Bill enacted early next year.

The powers sought in the new Bill to prevent unnecessary suffering are similar to powers that exist in England and Wales under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and Scotland under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

Derry City of Culture 2013

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she has identified any funding from her Department's budget to be allocated to the City of Culture 2013 in Derry; and if so, how much and for what specific purpose, projects or programmes in the City of Culture is this money intended.

(AQW 857/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: No funding has been identified for allocation to the City of Culture 2013.

Ulster Camogie Council

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what action her Department has taken in respect of the review undertaken by the DARD Central Investigation Service into the financial affairs of the Ulster Camogie Council, as detailed in the NI Audit Office Report published on 7 July 2010.

(AQW 1075/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The involvement of DARD Central Investigation Service (CIS) in an issue relating to the Ulster Camogie Council has been on the basis of an agreed Service Level Agreement where the services and expertise of CIS are made available to DCAL for issues that may arise requiring investigative advice or action. Any investigation into allegations made about funding to UCC, the outcome of such an investigation, the detail of any report, outcomes, recommendations and lessons learned are a matter for the DCAL Minister.

Drainage in Burnview Terrace

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the reasons for the delay in the publication of the Rivers Agency report on the drainage in Burnview Terrace, Banbridge following the flooding incident in August 2008.

(AQW 1105/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Burnview Terrace, Banbridge was one of a number of areas affected by the August 2008 flood which was the largest event in decades. As a result Rivers Agency undertook a large number of studies to examine the options to reduce the risk of further flooding in the affected areas across the north. These studies have progressed as quickly as reasonably practicable.

In respect of Burnview Terrace I am pleased to advise that a draft report has been produced and my officials anticipate that they will be in a position to inform residents and their public representatives of the outcome of the study in November 2010.

Ulster Camogie Council

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the current status of the DARD Central Investigation Service investigation into the financial affairs of the Ulster Camogie Council.

(AQW 1112/11)

Weather-aid Payments to Farmers and Growers

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will re-submit a bid in the next monitoring round to secure funding to provide weather-aid payments to farmers and growers who lost livestock and crops as result of last winter’s adverse weather conditions.

(AQW 1158/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: I intend to resubmit the bid in the December monitoring round.

Unfortunately the bids I submitted in the June and September Monitoring rounds for £1.1 million, in respect of hardship payments for farmers who suffered crop and sheep losses as a consequence of this year’s severe weather, were unsuccessful.

In the current economic climate, DARD, along with other Government Departments will continue to face significant financial constraints. In these circumstances, future consideration by the Executive of hardship payment is unlikely.

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Rural Libraries

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to list all rural libraries currently in operation; and what he is doing to protect them from closure.

(AQW 731/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland): In acknowledging the absence of any generally accepted definition of ‘rural’ in Northern Ireland, an inter-departmental Urban/Rural Definition Group was established to identify and delineate settlements. This group recommended that settlements with a population of less than 4,500 should be regarded as ‘rural’.

In relation to this answer the settlements-based definition outlined above has been used and population figures, relating to each library area, were determined from the 2001 census.

The following is a list of rural libraries currently in operation

Broughshane	Dromore	Kells & Connor	Newtownstewart
Carnlough	Dungiven	Kilrea	Portaferry
Castlederg	Fintona	Killyleagh	Portglenone
Castlewellan	Fivemiletown	Lisnaskea	Rathfriland
Crumlin	Garvagh	Maghera	Richill
Crossmaglen	Gilford	Moira	Saintfield
Cushendall	Irvinestown	Moneymore	Tandragee
Draperstown	Keady	Moy	Whitehead

I am aware of the important contribution that the public library service makes to rural communities and I remain fully committed to the provision of a comprehensive rural library service throughout Northern Ireland. However, given the likelihood of projected budget reductions across Government Departments the Board and Senior Management Team of Libraries NI will have to consider how the library service to rural communities can be most effectively managed within available resources.

Rural Libraries

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for a breakdown of the investment that has been made in each rural library in each of the last three years.

(AQW 732/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: In acknowledging the absence of any generally accepted definition of ‘rural’ in Northern Ireland, an inter-departmental Urban/Rural Definition Group was established to identify and delineate settlements. This group recommended that settlements with a population of less than 4,500 should be regarded as ‘rural’.

In relation to this answer the settlements-based definition outlined above has been used and population figures, relating to each library area, were determined from the 2001 census.

The following table shows the recurrent and capital investment in each rural library in each of the last three years.

	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Broughshane	£338	£7,233	0
Carnlough	£5,376	£5,840	£4,865
Castlederg	£3,642	£1,302	0
Castlewellan	£4,015	£10,998	0
Crossmaglen	£62	£2,120	0
Crumlin	£102,705	£5,874	0
Cushendall	£487	£6,619	0
Draperstown	£673	£4,760	0
Dromore	£1,537	£19,836	0
Dungiven	£1,841	£87,686	£427,523
Fintona	£375	£4,793	£5,032
Fivemiletown	£4,699	£3,179	0
Garvagh	£1,300	£7,153	0
Gilford	£1,563	£4,818	£1,159
Irvinestown	£4,065	£1,611	£1,500
Keady	£1,253	£1,215	£106,496
Kells & Connor	£473	£5,358	0
Killyleagh	£2,024	£25,944	0
Kilrea	£423	£5,344	0
Lisnaskea	£3,835	£14,631	£2,100
Maghera	£1,961	£1,859	£500
Moira	£995	£1,514	0
Moneymore	£953	£3,690	£6,161
Moy	£1,471	£2,347	0
Newtownstewart	£43,144	£256,919	£307,328
Portaferry	£4,614	£4,327	£500
Portglenone	£40,308	£4,989	0
Rathfriland	£1,624	£1,000	£2,219
Richill	£1,798	£1,740	£3,756
Saintfield	£4,714	£2,312	0
Tandragee	£6,320	£3,805	£458
Whitehead	£6,517	£23,421	£355,721

There has also been £15,000 spent on mobile library provision in the last three years. Mobile libraries are vital in providing services to rural communities that have limited access to a static library.

Figures for 2009/10 were provided by Libraries NI and figures prior to 2009/10 were provided by the Education and Library Boards

Nelson McCausland MLA

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by his Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 778/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Currently DCAL has no property that is deemed surplus to requirements.

However it is expected that following the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland’s (PRONI) relocation in 2011 to new accommodation in the Titanic Quarter, Belfast, its Buildings & site at 66 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast will become surplus to requirements.

Commonwealth Games

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the cost of sending local athletes to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, including flight and accommodation costs.

(AQW 793/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) is responsible for meeting the costs of sending local athletes to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Sport Northern Ireland (SNI), however, which is responsible for the development of sport in Northern Ireland including the distribution of funding, has offered support to NICGC of up to £40,000 from its Athlete Support Programme (ASP) towards presenting the team in Delhi.

Derry City of Culture 2013

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether he has identified any funding from his Department's budget to be allocated to the City of Culture 2013 in Derry; and if so, how much and for what specific purpose, projects or programmes in the City of Culture is this money intended.

(AQW 858/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: No funding has been allocated to the City of Culture 2013 in Londonderry from my Department at this stage.

Bidding cities were made aware, through guidance provided by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, that no new government funding was available to cities through the programme.

A capital bid for £20.7m for an Art Gallery at the Ebrington site has been submitted as part of the Budget 2010 exercise.

Significant investment in the arts infrastructure in the North West has already been made by the Department through the North West Challenge Fund which delivered a number of key projects such as the refurbished Playhouse and Waterside Theatres and the new Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Irish Language Arts and Cultural Centre.

Museum Sector

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, given the contribution by the museum sector to the tourism product and to visitor numbers from outside Northern Ireland, to outline the level of funding allocated to the museum sector in the current financial year and the level of funding planned for the future.

(AQW 920/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The table below details the information requested for those areas of the museum sector funded by DCAL in the current financial year. The level of funding planned for the future will not be available until the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review is known.

	Resource (Cash)£000s	Resource (Non-Cash)£000s	Capital£000s
National Museums Northern Ireland	13,565	3,987	3,411
Northern Ireland Museums Council	279	NIL	NIL
Somme Museum	30	NIL	NIL

Total	13,874	3,987	3,411

Patrols Undertaken in Lough Neagh

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the number of (i) patrols undertaken in Lough Neagh; (ii) incidents in which netting has been recovered; and (iii) prosecutions that have resulted from these incidents, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 946/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The table below provides details of the number of boat patrols undertaken on Lough Neagh, the amount of netting recovered and the number of resultant prosecutions in each of the last five years:

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Boat Patrols	61	32	38	17	57
Total nets forfeited	17,300yds	10,250yds	3,770yds	330yds	10,100yds
Persons prosecuted	0	2	3	3	7

The Fisheries Conservancy Board was responsible for the enforcement of fisheries protection legislation until 1 June 2009, but it did not record details of every individual net seized due to the large numbers involved and the significant increase in the cost of obtaining destruction orders. Therefore the figure for total nets forfeited (seized and later subject to a destruction order) is provided.

River Warden and Bailiff Positions

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whethers she would consider opening up the positions of river warden and bailiff to trained volunteers.

(AQW 947/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: DCAL currently encourage angling clubs to appoint Private Water Bailiffs who are trained volunteers, in compliance with Section 170 (1) (b) of the Fisheries Act (NI) 1966 as amended.

Private Water Bailiffs Information Seminars for angling clubs were held by DCAL during 2010 with the support of the Ulster Angling Federation. The main aim of the seminars was to provide Private Water Bailiffs with information and guidance on how to carry out their duties under the 1966 Fisheries Act.

The seminars were well attended by the angling community. Each attendee was given a "Practical Guide to Water Bailiffing"

2010 Ryder Cup

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he intends to hold a reception for Northern Ireland's Ryder Cup winning golfers Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

(AQW 980/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I have already written to Northern Ireland’s Ryder Cup winning golfers Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy and also to Vice-Captain Darren Clarke to congratulate them following Europe’s tremendous victory in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, Wales. I have asked my officials to take forward the arrangement of a reception at the earliest possible date to celebrate this outstanding achievement.

2010 Ryder Cup

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what plans he has to recognise the achievements of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in the 2010 Ryder Cup.

(AQW 1016/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I have already written to Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell and also to Vice-Captain Darren Clarke to congratulate them for the roles they played in Europe’s tremendous victory in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, Wales. I have also asked my officials to take forward the arrangement of a reception at the earliest possible date to celebrate this outstanding achievement.

Shared Stadium for Association Football and Rugby

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) whether the option of a shared stadium for Association Football and Rugby was ever considered, as a part of the business planning process or separately, by consultants or other people involved in the process; (ii) if this option was assessed or costed; (iii) to detail the costings for all options of stadia, including the shared stadium option; and (iv) on what basis the shared option was not pursued or considered viable.

(AQW 1189/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I would refer the Member to the reply I gave to him on 4th October 2010 to AQW 739/11. For your convenience the answer is detailed below:

"As the draft Outline Business Case on regional stadium provision for football, rugby and Gaelic games is currently under consideration by my Department it would be inappropriate for me to provide any of the detail you have requested".

New International Stadium for Football

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken on the funding of a new international stadium for football, both in terms of gender and in relation to the significant and ongoing endowment that such public expenditure could bring to Linfield Football Club as the owners of the prospective stadium site.

(AQW 1251/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: An Equality Impact Assessment for capital projects is normally carried out following Outline Business Case approval when decisions on a way forward have been agreed and prior to the allocation of funding. The draft Outline Business Case on regional stadium provision for football, rugby and Gaelic games is still under consideration by my Department, consequently, no Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken.

Nevertheless, the situation relating to Linfield Football Club would not be considered as part of an Equality Impact Assessment, which assesses the likely impact of policy against the criteria within the Section 75 legislation.

Commemoration Events

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline any significant dates that will be marked as part of forthcoming commemoration events and what consultation his Department will carry out to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive approach to each event.

(AQO 275/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The Department does not commemorate historic events directly and has no specific budget for this activity.

In my discussions with Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) I have specified what I see as the key strategic themes for forthcoming commemorations in Northern Ireland namely Plantation, Titanic and 100^th anniversaries for the decade 1912-1922. I have encouraged the ALBs and PRONI to facilitate those in the community who are interested in organising events linked to the key themes in a way that delivers value for money, builds knowledge and understanding and contributes positively to a shared and better future.

DCAL Officials will be briefing the Culture Arts and Leisure Committee on this issue on 4 November 2010.

Irish language Legislation

Mr P Maskey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for his assessment of the correspondence from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission dated 17 August 2010, which states that failure to introduce Irish language legislation is 'not human rights compliant'.

(AQO 276/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I sought legal advice on this issue and have been advised that the judgement underlying the opinion put forward by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has no direct relevance to the introduction of an Irish Language Act in Northern Ireland.

As I understand it, the Barankevich case quoted by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is about freedom of religious assembly and so is not directly relevant to language rights.

Furthermore, it must be remembered that Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not give a right to a Language Act or even to the use of a language. It merely says that the enjoyment of the other rights and freedoms in the Convention shall be secured without discrimination on the ground of language.

I believe that the lack of consensus on the issue of legislation for the Irish language would be detrimental to the protection and promotion of the language in the context of a Shared Future, and I believe that the best way forward for both minority languages in Northern Ireland is through the Strategy for Regional or Minority Languages.

Ulster-Scots Academy Project

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

(AQO 277/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I recently set up an Ulster-Scots Project Steering Group to give new focus to the task of establishing an Ulster-Scots Academy.

A refresh of the existing business case for an academy will be completed shortly.

I see this project as a priority that must be implemented to ensure that the political commitment by HM Government is delivered and that the Ulster-Scots sector is given the same respect and recognition as the Irish language sector.

The project will have a strong cultural focus. It will have a substantial impact on the creative industries and cultural tourism produce in Northern Ireland. The importance of cultural tourism to the future of our economy and the potential untapped market that exists was evidenced during my recent trip to the United States.

World Police and Fire Games in 2013

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the preparations being made for the World Police and Fire Games in 2013.

(AQO 278/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I am delighted that the Northern Ireland Executive at its meeting on Thursday 9^th September 2010 agreed in principle to support the 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Northern Ireland up to the cost of £6.04m subject to the normal budgetary processes being followed. These Games are probably the most significant event ever to be hosted in Northern Ireland.

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 addition officials from my Department have also corresponded with DFP detailing the proposed structure and governance and accountability arrangements to be put in place in relation to the delivery vehicle.

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.

Community Arts Sector Jobs

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how he intends to protect jobs in the community arts sector in the current economic downturn.

(AQO 279/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Once the Northern Ireland Executive has announced the final allocations for all the Northern Ireland Departments, I will give due consideration to the allocations of funding to all spending areas falling within my Department’s remit. In doing so I will take account of the impact such allocations will have across the whole arts sector.

Windsor Park, Casement Park and Ravenhill

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what plans he has to upgrade Windsor Park, Casement Park and Ravenhill.

(AQO 280/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The provision of fit-for-purpose stadiums for Football, Rugby and Gaelic games is a priority for my department and one which I have publically endorsed.

Given the current condition of the existing stadiums it was considered vital that a cost-effective, sustainable, and affordable way of assisting the three sports develop solutions to their regional stadium needs was found. To address this deficit the Governing Bodies of Football, Rugby and Gaelic games were asked to provide their options on stadium provision to meet their long-term strategic needs.

Through Sport NI my department appointed consultants to undertake the Outline Business Case (OBC) to examine the sports’ preferred options, variations around those options and two-sport options. The OBC, having assessed the proposals, together with other options concluded that the most economically advantageous options for regional stadium development within each sport is:

Rugby: To redevelop the remaining three sides of Ravenhill to accommodate 15,000 spectators.

Gaelic games: Complete redevelopment of Casement Park to a maximum spectator capacity of 40,000. This will involve the demolishing the existing stadium and building new on site.

Football: Redevelop Windsor Park to accommodate 18,000 spectators through a significant refurbishment of the North Stand and West Stand and the redevelopment of the East and South stands.

The proposals meet the departmental/Ministerial and Executive aim of meeting the strategic stadium needs of the sports. In addition the consultants have looked at the Governing Bodies’ proposals in the context of wider government strategies in respect of health, infrastructure development, urban and neighbourhood renewal, social inclusion and cohesion and equality.

With regards to funding of the proposals, the consultant’s examination of the various stadium options was predicated on an indicative £110m being available to Government as its contribution toward the overall capital costs. This was the expenditure figure which the Executive Committee noted in June 2009 as being the level of funding required to progress the process in which my Department is currently embarked.

I am of course conscious of the impending outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review and, as for any of my department’s activities, funding will be subject to the normal budgetary and approval procedures. The proposals are currently the subject of consideration by DFP.

Ultimately, it will be an Executive decision as to whether the required funding can be found to enable the long-standing and much debated issue of stadium provision to be satisfactorily resolved. I am concerned about the upcoming budget particularly with regards the proposed reduction in capital spend. The Executive will have tough decisions to make and I recognise the challenges they face.

Funding for Stadia for Football, GAA and Rugby

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for an update on the funding for stadia for football, GAA and rugby.

(AQO 281/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The provision of fit-for-purpose stadiums for Football, Rugby and Gaelic games is a priority for my department and one which I have publically endorsed.

Rugby: To redevelop the remaining three sides of Ravenhill to accommodate 15,000 spectators.

Gaelic games: Complete redevelopment of Casement Park to a maximum spectator capacity of 40,000. This will involve the demolishing the existing stadium and building new on site.

Football: Redevelop Windsor Park to accommodate 18,000 spectators through a significant refurbishment of the North Stand and West Stand and the redevelopment of the East and South stands.

Stadium Provision for GAA, Ulster Rugby and the Irish Football Association

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure for an update on his Department's plans to assist the GAA, Ulster Rugby and the Irish Football Association in meeting their long-term strategic needs in relation to stadium provision.

(AQO 282/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The provision of fit-for-purpose stadiums for Football, Rugby and Gaelic games is a priority for my department and one which I have publically endorsed.

Rugby: To redevelop the remaining three sides of Ravenhill to accommodate 15,000 spectators.

Gaelic games: Complete redevelopment of Casement Park to a maximum spectator capacity of 40,000. This will involve the demolishing the existing stadium and building new on site.

Football: Redevelop Windsor Park to accommodate 18,000 spectators through a significant refurbishment of the North Stand and West Stand and the redevelopment of the East and South stands.

Department of Education

Annual Cost of Each Education Sector

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education to detail the annual cost of each education sector in each of the last ten years.

(AQW 799/11)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane ): Tá an méid iomlán de chaiteachas athfhillteach tarmligthe agus neamhtharmligthe i ngach ceann de na hearnálacha scoile i ngach bliain de na 10 mbliana airgeadais idir 2000/01 agus 2009/10 le fáil sa tábla thíos.

The total amount of delegated and non-delegated recurrent expenditure in each of the school sectors during each of the 10 financial years from 2000/01 to 2009/10 is shown in the table below.

TOTAL DELEGATED AND NON-DELEGATED RECURRENT EXPENDITURE £million
SECTOR	2000/01	2001/02	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Controlled Sector (Excluding Controlled Integrated and Controlled Grammar)	316.0	338.6	353.1	371.9	372.5	396.8	403.9	423.5	441.8	450.4
Integrated Sector (Grant- Maintained Integrated & Controlled Integrated)	40.5	44.4	48.8	55.2	59.8	66.7	72.7	79.1	86.7	89.8
Grammar Sector (Voluntary Grammar & Controlled Grammar)	184.9	202.3	208.4	223.8	232.8	249.2	257.1	269.1	280.6	286.7
Maintained Sector	330.0	358.2	373.4	389.8	397.5	427.8	434.1	455.9	473.1	490.1
Irish Medium Sector	3.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	6.3	7.8	8.4	9.6	10.9	11.4

Footnotes:

(i) Expenditure in relation to Grant-Maintained Integrated schools for 2009/10 financial year is still provisional pending validation by the Department.

(ii) Expenditure included for BELB and SEELB schools in respect of 2009/10 financial year is still provisional.

(iii) Expenditure in relation to Irish-medium Units, attached to English-medium host schools has not been provided within the Irish Medium sector data as it is not possible to disaggregate the expenditure of the Unit from the host school, for example, where shared services and resources are utilised.

(iv) In relation to the 2002/03 and 2003/04 financial years, it has not been possible to disaggregate amounts of capital expenditure paid across the sectors within Southern Education and Library Board (£453k and £75k respectively).

Free Bus Pass for Children

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Education (i) to outline the criteria used to determine whether a child is entitled to a free bus pass for travelling to school and whether eligibility is based on the child's home address or the nearest bus stop; and (ii) how many children currently hold a free bus pass.

(AQW 814/11)

Minister of Education: Tá na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann freagrach as an scéim iompair baile go scoil a riar.

(i) Tá páiste i dteideal cúnamh iompair mura bhfuil aon scoil fhóirsteanach suite laistigh den fhad cáilitheach nó má diúltaíodh áit i ngach scoil fhóirsteanach atá suite laistigh den fhad cáilitheach dó. Is é an fad cáilitheach do dhaltaí bunscoile ná 2 mhíle agus is é an fad do dhaltaí iarbhunscoile ná 3 mhíle.

The Education and Library Boards are responsible for administering the home to school transport scheme.

(i) A child is entitled to transport assistance if there is no suitable school within the qualifying distance of their home or they have been refused a place in all suitable schools within the qualifying distance. The qualifying distances are 2 miles for primary pupils and 3 miles for post-primary pupils.

A suitable school is defined solely as one in the recognised categories of controlled, integrated, Irish-medium, maintained, denominational or non-denominational grammar. The qualifying distance is measured from the permanent home address of the pupil, to the school and not from the bus stop.

(ii) Pupils that are eligible to travel on Education and Library Board buses are not issued with a bus pass. Only pupils entitled to assistance and travelling on Translink buses are issued with passes. The Education and Library Boards have confirmed that the total of all pupils eligible to travel on Board buses whether eligible under the criteria above or because of special educational needs is 25,024.

Free Bus Passes in the Crumlin and Glenavy Area

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 116/08, AQW 521/08, AQW 1242/08 and AQW 1470/08, (i) how many pupils were issued with free bus passes in the Crumlin and Glenavy area for the 2010/11 academic year; (ii) to list the schools these pupils are travelling to and the number attending each school; and (iii) the cost to her Department of issuing these free bus passes.

(AQW 820/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Oirthuaiscirt agus an Oirdheiscirt in iúl: (i) go n-eisíodh busphasanna saora chuig 1,382 dalta i limistéir Chromghlinn agus Lann Abhaigh don bhliain acadúil 2010/11; (ii) go bhfuil na scoileanna a dtaistealaíonn na daltaí chucu agus líon na ndaltaí a fhreastalaíonn ar gach scoil mar atá mionsonraithe sa tábla atá ceangailte; agus (iii) go raibh costas iomlán de £897,456.98 ar na busphasanna saora seo a eisiúint. Tá na figiúirí seo mar a bhí siad ar 4 Deireadh Fómhair 2010.

The North-Eastern and South-Eastern Education and Library Boards have advised that: (i) 1,382 pupils were issued with free bus passes in the Crumlin and Glenavy area for the 2010/11 academic year; (ii) the schools these pupils travel to and the number attending each school are as detailed in the attached table; and (iii) the total cost of issuing these free bus passes was £897,456.98.

These figures are as at 4 October 2010.

School	Number Attending
Antrim Grammar School	111
Aquinas Grammar School	29
Ballymacricket Primary School	13
Belfast Boys Model School	1
Belfast Girls Model School	2
Belfast Royal Academy	16
Brownlow Integrated College	1
Crumlin Primary School	110
Carrick Primary School	1
Cambridge House Grammar School	11
Christian Brothers’ Secondary School	4
Coláiste Feirste	2
Craigavon High School	2
Cranmore Integrated Primary School	1
Crumlin Integrated College	61
De La Salle High School	35
Dominican College, Fortwilliam	64
Dunmurry High School	1
Edmund Rice College	1
Fort Hill Integrated College	11
Friends’ School, Lisburn	18
Hazelwood College	3
Hunterhouse College	15
Laurelhill Community College	9
Little Flower Girls’ Secondary School	2
Lurgan College	1
Lurgan Junior High School	4
Malone Integrated College	11
Methodist College	9
Parkhall High School	29
Rathmore Grammar School	189
Slemish College	3
St Dominic’s High School	120
St Aloysius Primary School	1
St Genevieve’s High School	18
St Louise’s Comprehensive College	82
St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School	69
St Michael’s Grammar School	1
St Patrick’s Academy, Lisburn	135
St Rose’s High School	3
St Joseph’s Primary School	31
St Benedict’s College, Randalstown	2
St Louis’Grammar School, Ballymena	1
St Malachy’s College	97
St Mary’s High School, Lurgan	1
St Patrick’s College, Belfast	4
St Paul’s Junior High School	4
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution	11
Victoria College	6
Wallace High School, Lisburn	26

Transport to Mainstream Schools

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education how many children are currently transported to mainstream schools by (i) taxi; (ii) private hire buses; and (iii) buses owned by the Education and Library Board, in each Education and Library Board area; and to detail the total cost under each category for each of the past three years.

(AQW 868/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann (BOLanna) in iúl dom gur mar atá mionsonraithe sna táblaí thíos atá líon na bpáistí a iompraítear ar scoileanna príomhshrutha (i) i dtacsaithe; (ii) i mbusanna fruilithe príobháideacha; agus (iii) i mbusanna ar leis an BOL, i ngach limistéar BOL, iad agus an costas iomlán atá orthu faoi gach catagóir. Níl figiúirí don bhliain 2009/10 ar fáil go fóill.

I have been advised by the Education and Library Boards (ELBs) that the number of children transported to mainstream schools by (i) taxi; (ii) private hire buses; and (iii) buses owned by the ELB, in each ELB area, and the total cost under each category are as detailed in the tables below. Figures for 2009/10 are not yet available.

(i) Number of children transported to mainstream schools by taxi

	2006/07Number of Children	2007/08Number of Children	2008/09Number of Children
Belfast	193	129	152
North-Eastern	347	319	415
South-Eastern	543	460	382
Southern	879	820	813
Western	513	518	533
Total Cost	N/A^*1	N/A^*1	£5,334,475

(ii) Number of children transported to mainstream schools by private hire buses

	2006/07Number of Children	2007/08Number of Children	2008/09Number of Children
Belfast	38	53	57
North-Eastern	828	812	674
South-Eastern	132	114	102
Southern	3,956	3,646	3,500
Western	2,087	1,955	2,010
Total Cost	N/A^*1	N/A^*1	£4,478,621

(iii) Number of children transported to mainstream schools by buses owned by the Education and Library Board

	2006/07Number of Children	2007/08Number of Children	2008/09Number of Children
Belfast	141	154	130
North-Eastern	1,952	1,978	1,891
South-Eastern	1,957	1,976	1,939
Southern	8,983	9,045	8,434
Western	10,918	10,307	9,980
Total Cost	N/A^*1	N/A^*1	£17,273,509

^*1 Information is not held in a format which makes it possible to separate pupils with statements who travel to mainstream schools from those with statements travelling to special schools.

Integrated Schooling

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the statement by Oxford Economics that integrated schooling could help schools survive future funding cuts.

(AQW 888/11)

Minister of Education: Choimisiúnaigh an Ciste um Oideachas Comhtháite (COC) an staidreamh le Oxford Economics agus mionsonraíonn sé na buntáistí a bhaineann le ‘comhoideachas’ in ionad oideachas ‘comhtháite’. Níl oideachas comhtháite féin ach ina ghné amháin de Chomhoideachas. Is staidreamh scóipe í an tuairisc agus ní sholáthraíonn sí go leor sonra chun barúil dheifnídeach a fhorbairt ag an am seo.

The study by Oxford Economics was commissioned by the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and reports upon the positives of ‘shared’ rather than ‘integrated’ education. Integrated education by itself is only one aspect of Shared Education. The report is a scoping study and does not therefore provide sufficient detail to inform a definitive opinion at this time.

As a scoping study, the report has concluded that there are a number of factors which, when considered together, offer potential to make a case for shared education in light of the current economic climate (and recommends a more comprehensive study), but fails to take account of pertinent issues which would also need to be addressed such as parental choice, political impetus, community readiness and potential barriers. All of these issues are key factors in relation to shared education.

I am fully committed to encouraging schools from all sectors towards working together to ensure the best use of available resources at this difficult time.

Funding for Youth Work and Community Safety in North Belfast

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the level of funding by her Department for (a) youth work; and (b) community safety in North Belfast, including groups based in the city centre, in each of the last three years; (ii) to where this funding has been allocated; (iii) the amount allocated in each case; and (iv) the duration of this funding.

(AQW 898/11)

Minister of Education: Tá sé socraithe agam go gcuirfear an t-eolas a iarradh I Leabharlann an Tionóil.

I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the Assembly Library.

Telephone Contracts

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Education (i) to which company the (a) South Eastern Education and Library Board; and (b) Western Education and Library Board awarded their most recent telephone contract; (ii) when the contracts commenced; (iii) the cost of the contracts; (iv) the duration of the contracts; and (v) whether the contracts were put to tender.

(AQW 912/11)

Minister of Education: [(i) Bronnadh na conarthaí is déanaí teileafóin do Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Oirdheiscirt agus do Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Iarthair ar:

[(i) The most recent telephone contracts for the South Eastern Education and Library Board and the Western Education and Library Board were awarded to:

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Service Provider Awarded
South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB)	Cable & WirelessBTOrange
Western Education and Library Board (WELB)	BT

(ii) Contracts Commenced:

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Service Provider	Date Contract Commenced
South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB)	Cable & WirelessBTOrange	1^st January 2007 1^st March 2010 1^st March 2010
Western Education and Library Board (WELB)	BT	1^st September 2010

(iii) Cost of Contracts:

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Cost
South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB)	Cost of landline type telephony services – these costs are associated with ELB’s HQ and the provision of support services to schools such as CASS, transport, school kitchens etc. 2005-06 £209,904 2006-07 £178,850 2007-08 £136,943 2008-09 £124,073 2009-10 £95,164 The cost of the maintenance provision for the HQ Meridian Telephony System is £22.3k over the last 4 years.
Western Education and Library Board (WELB)	The contract is not for a fixed amount, however the discounts available to WELB under the contract is based upon a nominal committed spend of £200k per annum.

Education and Library Board (ELB)

Cost

South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB)

Cost of landline type telephony services – these costs are associated with ELB’s HQ and the provision of support services to schools such as CASS, transport, school kitchens etc.

2005-06 £209,904

2006-07 £178,850

2007-08 £136,943

2008-09 £124,073

2009-10 £95,164

The cost of the maintenance provision for the HQ Meridian Telephony System is £22.3k over the last 4 years.

Western Education and Library Board (WELB)

The contract is not for a fixed amount, however the discounts available to WELB under the contract is based upon a nominal committed spend of £200k per annum.

(iv) Duration of the contacts:

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Service Provider	Duration of Contract
South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB)	Cable & WirelessBTOrange	1 January 2007 – 31 December 20101^st March 2010 to 29February 20121^st March 2010 to 29February 2012
Western Education and Library Board (WELB)	BT	This contract is for a two year period expiring on 31 August 2012

(v) Whether the contracts were put to tender:

SEELB

The tender for the maintenance of Meridian Telephony Switch at SEELB HQ was administered by the SEELB’s Procurement Section and subsequently awarded to Cable and Wireless. For the other two telecoms contracts, SEELB used the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Pan Government Frameworks.

WELB

WELB secured the services of BT through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Pan Government Frameworks.

Youth Club for Autistic Children at Downshire High School

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister of Education why the Youth Club for autistic children at Downshire High School ceased at the end of June 2010.

(AQW 960/11)

Minister of Education: Tá Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Oirthuaiscirt (BOLOT) freagrach as soláthar seirbhísí don ógra i limistéar Charraig Fhearghais. Chuir Príomhfheidhmeannach an BOLOT le fios nach raibh aon chlub ar leith ag oibriú in Downshire School le haghaidh páistí uathacha. Bhí tionscadal píolótach comhtháthaithe, a raibh baint ag daoine óga uathacha ó chlub scoile Downshire leis, ag oibriú le linn na bliana acadúla a chuaigh thart, áfach. Cuireadh an tionscadal píolótach seo i gcrích i mí an Mheithimh 2010.

The North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) is responsible for youth service provision in the Carrickfergus area. The Chief Executive of the NEELB has advised that there has been no specific club for autistic children operating in Downshire School. There was, however, a pilot integration project running during the last academic year which involved autistic young people and young people from the Downshire school club. This pilot concluded in June 2010.

Following an evaluation of the pilot project, representatives from the NEELB Youth Service have met with Downshire School and agreed to start another phase of the pilot project in mid October 2010.

Pre- school Places

Mr P Givan asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of children who were unsuccessful in their applications for pre- school places for the 2010/11 academic year, broken down by constituency.

(AQW 987/11)

Minister of Education: Is é is aidhm don chlár um fhorleathnú oideachais réamhscoile ná áit shaor a sholáthar do gach páiste sa bhliain go díreach roimh an scoil. Mar sin de, ba cheart an t-eolas a bhaineann leis na páistí sin a sholáthar.

The pre-school education expansion programme aims to provide a free place for all children in their immediate pre-school year. Therefore, it is most appropriate to provide the information in relation to those children.

The Education and Library Boards have advised that they do not retain the information sought by constituency. However, they have provided, below, the number of children in their immediate pre-school year who were unsuccessful, at the end of the admissions processes which concluded on 30 April 2010, in their applications for pre-school places for the 2010/11 academic year, broken down by council.

Council	Unplaced
Antrim	29
Ards	38
Armagh	33
Ballymena	11
Ballymoney	32
Banbridge	37
Belfast	213
Carrickfergus	13
Castlereagh	73
Coleraine	24
Cookstown	9
Craigavon	108
Derry	90
Down	42
Dungannon and South Tyrone	39
Fermanagh	13
Larne	4
Limavady	15
Lisburn	104
Magherafelt	3
Moyle	6
Newry and Mourne	73
Newtownabbey	62
North Down	51
Omagh	29
Strabane	11
Outside north of Ireland	6

In order to ensure, as far as possible, that the needs of these children were met, I allocated up to £1.3 million to cover the cost of providing an extra 1200 pre-school places in the voluntary/private sector. Many children who were unplaced at the conclusion of the admissions process will have secured a pre-school place before the start of the school year in September.

School Enrolments in Lagan Valley

Mr P Givan asked the Minister of Education to detail for each of the last three years (i) the number of pupils enrolled in each (a) primary school; and (b) secondary school in the Lagan Valley constituency; and (ii) the capacity of each school.

(AQW 988/11)

Minister of Education: I ngach bliain de na trí bliana a chuaigh thart, tá (i) líon na ndaltaí atá rollaithe i ngach (a) bunscoil; agus (b) i ngach iarbhunscoil i dtoghcheantar Ghleann an Lagáin; agus (ii) acmhainn gach scoile, mar atá mionsonraithe sna táblaí faoi iamh.

In each of the last three years (i) the number of pupils enrolled in each (a) primary school; and (b) secondary school in the Lagan Valley constituency; and (ii) the capacity (ie approved enrolment) of each school is as detailed in the tables attached.

(a) Primary School	2007/08		2008/09		2009/10
(a) Primary School	(i) Actual Enrolment	(ii) Approved Enrolment	(i) Actual Enrolment	(ii) Approved Enrolment	(i) Actual Enrolment	(ii) Approved Enrolment
Anahilt Primary School	185	300	173	300	154	300
Ballinderry Primary School	171	200	170	200	160	200
Ballymacash Primary School	308	334	308	334	304	334
¹Brownlee Primary School	153	179	182	179	175	185
Carr Primary School	63	100	46	100	38	100
Derriaghy Primary School	39	125	47	125	38	125
Downshire Primary School, Hillsborough	476	500	492	515	499	535
Dromara Primary School	158	160	174	180	173	185
Dromore Central Primary School	645	668	658	668	665	673
Dunmurry Primary School	125	262	133	262	131	262
Fair Hill Primary School	208	210	211	232	225	232
Fort Hill Integrated Primary School	205	240	201	240	201	240
²Friend's Preparatory School	143	-	164	-	150	-
¹Harmony Hill Primary School	554	588	600	588	577	588
³Hilden Integrated Primary School	36	126	.	126	.	-
Killowen Primary School	314	420	326	420	342	420
Knockmore Primary School	104	212	94	212	94	212
Largymore Primary School	137	412	128	412	112	232
Lisburn Central Primary School	175	335	167	254	151	254
Maghaberry Primary School	210	227	198	227	191	227
Meadow Bridge Primary School	239	290	229	290	238	290
Moira Primary School	355	390	355	390	353	390
Oakwood Integrated Primary School	199	203	195	203	196	203
Old Warren Primary School	90	305	92	305	80	305
Pond Park Primary School	545	598	538	598	553	598
Riverdale Primary School	185	203	191	203	185	203
Rowandale Integrated Primary School	18	29	33	29	61	67
Seymour Hill Primary School	148	256	136	256	139	256
St Aloysius Primary School	255	490	255	490	272	490
St Colman's Primary School	271	436	277	436	287	436
St Colman's Primary School	88	145	83	145	85	145
⁴St Colman's Primary School Moira	17	87	2	87	.	-
St Joseph's Primary School	277	395	309	395	333	395
St Michael's Primary School (Finnis)	65	106	66	106	69	106
Tonagh Primary School	136	228	124	228	152	228
²Wallace High Preparatory School	142	-	125	-	106	-

Source: School Census / School Access Team

¹where the actual number enrolled exceeds the approved enrolment number the school has been granted a temporary variation.

²DE does not set enrolment numbers for preparatory schools

³School closed 30 November 2008

⁴School closed 30 June 2009

(b)Post-Primary School	2007/08		2008/09		2009/10
(b)Post-Primary School	(i)Actual Enrolment	(ii)Approved Enrolment	(i)Actual Enrolment	(ii)Approved Enrolment	(i)Actual Enrolment	(ii)Approved Enrolment
Dromore High School	741	750	746	750	741	750
Dunmurry High School	299	400	304	400	279	400
Fort Hill College	835	850	847	850	839	850
¹Friends' School	967	970	982	970	968	970
Laurelhill Community College	908	948	882	948	855	948
Lisnagarvey High School	259	500	297	500	355	500
St Patrick's High School	279	530	308	530	341	530
Wallace High School	1,156	1160	1,166	1160	1,160	1160

Source: School Census / School Access Team

¹Where the actual number enrolled exceeds the approved enrolment number the school has been granted a temporary variation.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Education to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by her Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 997/11)

Minister of Education: Tá Athnuachan Chomharsanachta de fhreagracht ar an Roinn Forbartha Sóisialta agus soláthraítear é trí Oifigí Forbartha Réigiúnaí.

Neighbourhood Renewal is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development delivered through the Regional Development Offices.

Education related projects, which are supported by the Department for Social Development (DSD) under the Neighbourhood Renewal programme are managed by the Department of Education (DE) through a technical transfer, with operational responsibility being undertaken through Education & Library Boards. However, these arrangements have not been adopted by DSD’s Belfast Regional Office. Currently, the Belfast Regional Office identifies, approves and manages Neighbourhood Renewal projects directly without any input from DE.

You may wish to seek further information directly from the Department for Social Development.

Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin in North Belfast

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Education what plans she has to progress Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin in North Belfast on to the list for new build schools.

(AQW 1035/11)

Minister of Education: Féadaim a dhearbhú duit gur mhaith liom infheistiú i scoileanna i dTuaisceart Bhéal Feirste agus i gceantair eile ina bhfuil ardleibhéil díothachta sóisialta, ach de dheasca na srianta reatha atá ar mo bhuiséad caipitil agus mar gheall ar an neamhchinnteacht a bhaineann leis an leibhéal sócmhainní atá ar fáil le haghaidh forbartha sa todhchaí, ní féidir tiomantas a thabhairt maidir leis an bhealach chun tosaigh do thionscadail ionchasacha, amhail an tionscadal le haghaidh Bhunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin.

I can assure you that I want to invest in schools in North Belfast and other areas with high levels of social deprivation, but due to current constraints on my capital budget and the uncertainty over the level of resources available for future development, it is not possible to provide a commitment regarding the way forward for potential projects, such as that for Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin.

There has been historic failure to invest sufficiently in our schools’ estate and I will continue to ask my Executive colleagues for their support in securing additional funds in order to address this underinvestment.

Funding of Childcare Provision

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) her Department's criteria for any funding of childcare provision; and (ii) how much her Department has invested in childcare provision in each of the last three years, including Sure Start programmes.

(AQW 1083/11)

Minister of Education: (i) Ní mhaoiníonn an RO cúram leanaí go díreach. Tairgeann an Roinn réimse soláthair i luathbhlianta, chun oideachas agus forbairt na bpáistí atá idir 0-4 bliain d’aois, roimh an aois éigeantach scoile, a chur chun cinn . Cé gurb eol dúinn go gcuireann tuismitheoirí soláthar réamhscoile san áireamh agus iad ag déanamh socruithe um chúram leanaí, níl an soláthar seo ceaptha go príomha le haghaidh bearta cúram leanaí.

(i) DE does not fund childcare directly. The Department offers a range of early years provision, to promote the education and development of children aged 0-4 before compulsory school age. While we are aware that parents take account of pre-school provision when they are making childcare arrangements, this provision is not intended primarily as a childcare measure.

(ii) Sure Start works with parents and children, from birth to age 4, to promote the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of pre-school children.

Funding for the Sure Start Programme for the past 3 years is listed in the tables below. In addition, the Early Years Development Fund provides for the core operating costs of the 4 Childcare Partnerships in the Health and Social Care Board, which play a key role in the management and development of Sure Start. A pilot capital programme (to invest in the physical infrastructure of early years services) also made funding available to Sure Start :

Sure StartFunding	No. of projects	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
TOTAL	34 projects	14,789,676	17,194,973	18,810,362

Early Years Development Fund	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
TOTAL	1,335,455	1,368,322	1,553,987

Sure Start(Pilot Capital Funding)	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
TOTAL	0	233	555,028

Rationalisation of the School System

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of whether the rationalisation of the school system can only be achieved within the context of an approach based on inter-school and cross-sectoral co-operation.

(AQW 1092/11)

Minister of Education: Tá sé de dhualgas ar an údarás ábhartha oideachais, sa chéad ásc, inmharthanacht a scoileanna sa todhchaí a mheas. Ní mór do na húdaráis scoile pleananna ar chuíchóiriú eastát na scoileanna a spíonadh i gcomhthéacs Pholasaí na Roinne ar Scoileanna Inbhuanaithe, rud a aithníonn an tábhacht a bhaineann le comhoibriú idir scoileanna. Is lárnach de m’aisling le haghaidh oideachais atá scoileanna inbhuanaithe láidre a sholáthraíonn oideachas den scoth agus rochtain ar an churaclam iomlán.

It is a matter for the relevant education authority, in the first instance, to consider the future viability of their schools. Plans for rationalisation of the schools’ estate must be considered by the school authorities in the context of the Department’s Sustainable Schools Policy which recognises the importance of collaboration between schools. Strong, sustainable schools providing quality education and access to the full curriculum are central to my vision for education.

The Education and Skills Authority, when established, will have overall responsibility for bringing forward area plans within the policy framework set by DE. This will involve area planning groups, which will include representatives of sectoral support bodies, exploring opportunities for sharing and collaboration within and across sectors to ensure that we make best use of resources to provide a high quality education.

Department for Employment and Learning

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked e Minister for Employment and Learning to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by his Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 828/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey): The only land or property owned by DEL is Felden House, Newtownabbey, which is being used by the Northern Regional College until new accommodation has been constructed at its main campus. The new premises are complete, and the college will be vacating Felden on 31 December 2010, at which time it will become surplus. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive expressed a social housing interest in the site some time ago. A Public Sector Trawl will issue shortly to all NICS Departments, giving them an opportunity to declare an interest in the property. If no interest is declared, DEL will work with Land and Property Services to determine the best strategy for disposal on the open market.

Stuart Report

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning why the Stuart Report has not yet been published; and when he expects it to be published.

(AQW 842/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The report of the independent review of tuition fees and student finance arrangements in Northern Ireland, which was submitted to me earlier this year by Joanne Stuart, the Review Chairperson, was published on 12 October. This was to coincide with publication of the findings of the Browne review of higher education and student support in England and to ensure all interested parties have the opportunity to consider both reviews together. The Stuart report recognised that the findings of the Browne review would need to be taken into account when assessing the position in Northern Ireland and indeed Joanne has agreed to update her report in light of Browne and the new context in which the higher education debate is now taking place. I intend launching a public consultation in early 2011, on these issues, the timing of which allows me to also consider the findings of the Browne review.

Holylands Action Plan

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for an update on the Holylands Action Plan and what preparations are being made in advance of the Halloween festivities.

(AQW 866/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: You may be aware that Belfast City Council’s Holyland InterAgency Group has taken on a more strategic role in progressing the actions outlined in the Action Plan developed by my Department, which has been incorporated into the InterAgency Group’s Holyland Implementation Plan.

The Group has been working closely with key stakeholders, including government departments and agencies, in progressing a number of the key actions. Some of the agreed actions have already been addressed and others will be progressed in the coming months.

Progressed actions include:

The introduction of CCTV into the Holyland area;
An increase in the number of Community Safety Wardens;
An increased police presence at key times of year;
Deployment of student liaison officers at key times of the year;
The launch of the ‘Respect’ campaign; and
Enforcement of alcohol bye-laws.

A Halloween planning group, including the Belfast City Council, Queen’s University, University of Ulster and the PSNI, met on 6 October at Queen’s University to discuss preparations for the Halloween period. It is intended that similar plans will be adopted to those developed for Freshers’ Week and last St. Patrick’s Day.

You will wish to note that I intend to host a further Holyland Stakeholder Forum on 27 October 2010, and will, once again, be inviting key stakeholders along to the event to provide an update on progress.

Equality Commission Report

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for his assessment of the Equality Commission report which states that the recession is having a particular impact on young men, with 20.4 per cent of 18-24 year old men unemployed; and what steps he is taking to address this.

(AQW 889/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: I am aware of the Equality Commission’s Report which confirms what I have known for some time that young men have been particularly hard hit by the recent recession. We have in place measures to address the issue. A comprehensive range of services is available through my Department’s Jobs and Benefits offices and JobCentres and through contracted Providers to help all unemployed people, including young men, find work.

Steps to Work (StW) is the Department’s main adult return to work programme. The programme is available to anyone who is aged 18 years old or over and who is unemployed or economically inactive, irrespective of whether or not they are in receipt of benefit.

The Department has a range of provision within the Pathways to Work initiative called the choices menu. The Choices menu is targeted at people in receipt of Incapacity Benefit/Employment & Support Allowance. The choices menu consists of; the Condition Management Programme, the Work Preparation Programme, Return to Work Credit and New Deal for Disabled People.

The Department also provides a range of provision to assist disabled young people find and keep suitable employment, this provision includes: the Job Introduction Scheme, Access to Work (NI) and Workable (NI).

The Local Employment Intermediary Service (LEMIS) is available in Belfast, Londonderry and Strabane and complements, but is independent of, the statutory employment services. The service is available to, amongst others, those who are returning to the labour market and those who are not claiming benefits.

In addition, specific measures have been taken to address the impact of the current economic downturn, some of which are targeted at young people. These include -

Those who have lost their jobs, including those from within the construction industry which has been particularly badly hit by the recession, may immediately avail of any Step One provision, such as up-dating their Curriculum Vitae or improving interview / jobsearch skills.
Participants who have been out of the labour market for 13 weeks or more may avail of Step 2 provision, such as undertaking a new qualification provision or retrain in a new occupational area. The participant may enter at an earlier stage, at the Adviser’s discretion, for example if there is a positive prospect of a job outcome.
Construction Apprentices, who have lost their jobs due to the downturn, can complete the NVQ element of an Apprenticeship Framework with Steps providers.
From 6 April 2009, the upper limit for short-term training costs under Steps provision has been raised to £2000 from the previous level of £300. This allows access to be provided to a range of appropriate short training courses which will address the needs of a changing client base.
Introducing a Waged Stand within the Steps to Work programme aimed at a specific, identified target group (JSA, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit/ Employment and Support Allowance) who have not worked for 30 months or more and will provide up to 26 weeks employment with voluntary/community sector organisations.
Piloting a temporary employment programme for long-term unemployed young people (18 to 24 year olds).
Piloting an Internship Scheme for unemployed graduates.

You will appreciate that my ability to introduce additional measures will be influenced by the resources made available through the 2010 Budget process.

Education Centre at the Northside Village Centre in Derry

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for an update on the future of the North West Regional College's education centre at the Northside Village Centre in Derry.

(AQW 959/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The North West Regional College has advised that it rents 1100 square metres of classroom accommodation in a retail commercial centre in Shantallow. It provides a range of classroom and computer laboratories offering outreach provision. The lease on the premises expired in September 2010 and has been extended for one year. The retention of the facility is reviewed annually based on enrolments. No decision has been made by the college to close the facility.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by his Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 1001/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The Department for Employment and Learning does not fund any services, either fully or partly, under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency. It does, however, deliver a range of programmes related to employment and skills which aim to address disadvantage and are targeted at the needs of individuals, many of whom live in Neighbourhood Renewal areas.

Full-time Distance Learning Students

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, pursuant to AQW 558/11, how many full-time distance learning students in higher education have (i) applied for; and (ii) been awarded (a) a fee grant; and (b) a course grant, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1005/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The table below details the number of Northern Ireland domiciled students undertaking a full-time distance learning higher education course who have (i) applied for; and (ii) been awarded (a) a fee grant; and (b) a course grant, in each of the last five academic years.

Academic Year	(i) No of Applications	(ii)(a) No of awards for Fee Grant	(ii)(b) No of awards for Course Grant
2006/07	45	37	44
2007/08	48	41	45
2008/09	48	43	46
2009/10	24	22	23
2010/11*	8	4	4

*Figures as at 6 October 2010

Education Maintenance Allowance

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Employment and Learning (i) why the Education Maintenance Allowance is removed from students who turn 19 years of age during an academic year; and (ii) why entitlement is not determined by the age of a student when enrolling on a course.

(AQW 1014/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: (i) I can advise that Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) would only be removed from an eligible EMA student during an academic year if they reach their maximum entitlement to EMA. All eligible students are entitled to receive a maximum of 117 weeks of EMA payments based on attendance and the course lasting for 39 weeks each academic year for 3 years.

(ii) EMA entitlement is determined by the age of a student when enrolling on a course. In order to receive an EMA for the 2010/11 academic year, eligible students must have attained their 16^th, 17^th, 18^th or 19^th birthdays between 2 July 2009 and 1 July 2010.

The age criterion of the Northern Ireland EMA scheme is in line with current Department of Education legislation (Article 46 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986, as substituted by Article 156 of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989) which states that pupils who reach the age of 16 between 2 July and 31 August in any one year are not deemed to have attained the upper limit of compulsory school age until 30 June of the following year.

Translation of Departmental Papers

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how much his Department spent on the translation of departmental papers into (i) Irish; and (ii) Ulster-Scots in (a) 2007/08; (b) 2008/09; and (c) 2009/10.

(AQW 1128/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The Department for Employment and Learning’s spend on the translation of departmental papers into Irish and Ulster Scots for the years 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 is as follows.

	Irish	Ulster Scots
2007/08	£494.10	£69.95
2008/09	£6,270.00	£370.69
2009/10	£4,793.85	nil

Redundancies at Regional Colleges

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many redundancies are planned at each regional college.

(AQO 258/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: Colleges must operate within their allocated budgets. Given the Sector’s major contribution to workforce and economic development, I will do all in my power to minimise the impact of CSR on frontline Further Education services, subject to the constraints presented but the Colleges will need to plan actively for a number of scenarios arising from the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), including the possibility of reduced funding. As staff salaries form a significant element of colleges’ expenditure, this may involve redundancies.

Southern Regional College Campuses

Mr C Boylan asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for an update on any proposal to merge the campuses of the Southern Regional College onto one site.

(AQO 259/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: A Strategic Outline Case, presented to my Department by the Southern Regional College, includes proposals to replace the existing outdated accommodation at Armagh, Banbridge, Lurgan and Portadown. The Outline Case has considered the possibility of rationalisation of campuses, but no decisions will be made until a more comprehensive business case examines all of the value for money options.

Survey of Core Gateway

Mr P Frew asked the Minister for Employment and Learning, in relation to the recent survey of Core Gateway undertaken across six Jobs and Benefits office areas, how many of the 85 per cent of participants interviewed were graduates.

(AQO 260/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: The survey did not segment customers so it is not known how many were graduates. The survey was carried out to establish customer views on the efficacy of Core Gateway as part of the Employment Service Improvement Project. Findings from the survey were that 85% of clients who attend Core Gateway find it beneficial.

Apprenticeships

Mr A Maskey asked the Minister for Employment and Learning whether he has had any recent discussions with his Ministerial colleagues about securing apprenticeship places within their Departments.

(AQO 263/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: On 4^th August 2009, I wrote to Ministerial colleagues advising them of the Department's Programme-Led Apprenticeship programme, seeking their support in the provision of placements within the public sector.

Following this, at a debate in the Assembly on 8^th June 2010, I was called upon to further explore the roll out of placements within the public sector.

My officials have recently written to Training Suppliers encouraging them to contact local public bodies, such as District Councils and HSS Trusts, with the aim of widening the occupational areas on offer.

Proposed Merger of Stranmillis College and Queen's University

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for his assessment of the responses to the public consultation on the Equality Impact Assessment undertaken by Stranmillis College in relation to the proposed merger with Queen's University.

(AQO 264/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: As members will know, the College launched its public consultation in June and the closure date was Friday 1 October. The consultation document was sent to 109 consultee organisations, it was widely publicised in the press and was made publicly available on the College’s website. The College is currently preparing a summary of the consultation submissions it has received and will share with my Department when it is complete.

Training for Success and Apprenticeship NI programmes

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Employment and Learning how many school leavers in the Coleraine Borough Council area enrolled on Training for Success and Apprenticeship NI programmes over the last five years and how many obtained an NVQ or accredited vocational qualification.

(AQO 265/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning:Since Training for Success was introduced in September 2007, 587 individuals from the Coleraine Borough Council area have participated or are participating on both this programme and ApprenticeshipsNI.

It is important to note that Training for Success is a non-NVQ programme. In addition, since an apprenticeship can take between two to four years to complete, consequently it is too early to report on qualification outcomes for a significant number of these apprentices.

However to date 62 have achieved a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) outcome, 15 have achieved a Vocationally Relevant Qualification (VRQ) and 47 have achieved a Technical Certificate.

Essential Skills Courses

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for his assessment of the uptake of Essential Skills courses by school leavers.

(AQO 266/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: Sixty percent (60%) of the 168,177 Essential Skills enrolments² have been within the 16-19 ageband. In the most recent academic year 2009/10, 64% of the 41,005 Essential Skills enrolments in that year are in respect of those aged 16-19. These figures demonstrate the persistence of unacceptably high levels of educational underachievement in Northern Ireland and the pressing economic and social case for addressing this issue.

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Broadband, North Down

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for an update on the delivery of next generation broadband for the North Down constituency.

(AQW 704/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): In North Down next generation broadband is delivered by wire line operators and cable TV companies. I understand that investments are being made by these companies on an ongoing and business as usual basis.

Specifically under the contract DETI has with BT, broadband upgrades are planned for 32 designated areas in the North Down constituency. By the end of August 2010, 23 areas had been upgraded which is 72% of the total for the constituency. Across all of Northern Ireland 40% of all designated areas have been upgraded. By May 2011 all designated areas are expected to be upgraded.

Broadband Speed in North Antrim

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the average broadband speed in rural areas of North Antrim compared with urban areas such as Belfast; and what advances can be expected in order to improve the speeds of each communication services to rural consumers in North Antrim.

(AQW 849/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Broadband speeds depend on a wide range of factors but speeds comparable to those available in Belfast are widely available across rural areas of North Antrim. DETI has provided funding for projects bringing direct international connectivity to the area, as well as next generation broadband services, wireless broadband services and remote broadband services.

Regarding advances consumers can expect, under the Next Generation Broadband Project, broadband upgrades are planned for 39 designated areas in the North Antrim constituency. By the end of August 2010, 12 areas had been upgraded and by May 2011 all designated areas are expected to be upgraded. Whilst this project is primarily directed at businesses, there will be spill-over benefits for other consumers.

Promotion of Hurling

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has done to promote hurling as one of the tourist attractions in North Antrim.

(AQW 852/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has been supporting the development of the Economusee concept in Northern Ireland. The Economusee concept is based around the idea of safeguarding and developing local craft skills and at the same time, creating a new tourism product by developing a series of craft workshops with open access to the public.

Scullion Hurls based in Loughgiel, Co Antrim has just been approved for development as the second business in Northern Ireland to meet the criteria to be an Economusee.

Scullion Hurls is a traditional craft with strong roots in the local area of North Antrim, manufacturing ash hurleys for individuals and clubs across Ireland and further afield. The current business employs two brothers who promote their product within their retail unit and on-line.

NITB promotes major national and international sporting events through its website www.discovernorthernireland.com and literature, but is not designed to promote specific individual sports. Responsibility for promoting Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) events rests with the GAA however NITB does make specific reference to Casement Park as a venue for hurling.

The sporting traditions of Northern Ireland are represented prominently in Tourism Ireland’s global marketing communications suite of 41 websites in 22 markets, market literature and in promotional and publicity campaigns. It is recognised that their portrayal can play an increasingly important role in helping potential visitors to envisage some of the unique and compelling aspects of a holiday in Northern Ireland.

2012 Olympic Bids

Mr A Maginness asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how many local firms have been successful in bids for contracts relating to the 2012 Olympics.

(AQO 268/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Invest NI is aware of 20 companies and organisations who have been successful in winning contracts relating to the London 2012 Games. However, there are likely to be other companies who have also won business but have signed the "No marketing rights protocol for suppliers, consultants and contractors" drawn up by the Olympic Development Authority and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. This contract means that local companies cannot publicise their success unless they gain prior approval from the Olympic authorities.

Legal Services

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment how much her Department and its agencies paid for legal services in each of the last five years, including details of the firms engaged.

(AQW 1116/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment avails of legal services from a number of firms/organisations. The Department paid the following for legal services in each of the last five financial years:

2005/06* £85,057

Crown Solicitors
Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) **
McCartan Turkington & Breen
Millar McCall Wylie

2006/07* £116,493

Crown Solicitors
Fitzsimons,Kinney Mallon
Blair & Hanna
DFP

2007/08* £174,192

Crown Solicitors
Martin Wolfe
DFP

2008/09 £458,662

Crown Solicitors
DFP
Land & Property Service
Denton Wilde Sapte
King & Gowdy
McCambridge Duffy
Simmons & Simmons
DMD Consultants
Hewitt & Gilpin
Arthur Boyd & Company
Liz McKeown
Martin Wolfe
Grant Thornton
Harbinson Mulholland
Moore Stephens

2009/10 £852,068

Crown Solicitors
DFP
Land & Property Services
Denton Wilde Sapte
CMG Solicitors
Fitzsimons Kinney & Mallon
Hewitt & Gilpin Solicitors
Keenan Solicitors
Moore Stephens
McClure Watters
Liz McKeown
Arthur Cox NI
Arthur Boyd & Company
John Owens
Martin Wolfe
Companies House
Lynchehaun Associates Ltd

Notes:

* The figures for the years 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 reflect DETI’s legal costs associated with its Companies Registry and Departmental Personnel functions. These were the only legal costs that were separately identifiable in the previous accounting system. There may be other legal costs associated with the operation of departmental programmes which are not readily accessible for these financial years.

** Legal costs include payments made to the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). In these cases, DFP acts as an agent in making payments to other providers of legal services.

Department of the Environment

Plastic Bags

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of the Environment if he has any plans to reduce the amount of plastic bags polluting landfill sites.

(AQW 815/11)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): I am keen to encourage everyone to acquire re-usable shopping bags and to get into the habit of using them when shopping. Our plastic bags ‘consumption’ is decreasing and I will therefore continue to encourage everyone to keep up their efforts in that direction. In my opinion, encouraging behaviour change is the best means of reducing the number of plastic bags that go to landfill sites, and reducing waste generally. It is my intention to tackle waste prevention behavioural change through the Rethink Waste campaign and to continue to work with supermarkets, through the Waste Resources Action Programme, to monitor and reduce plastic bag consumption. Plastic bags must, however, be seen as one important issue amongst a much broader range of challenges relating to waste prevention, since plastic bags represent less than one percent of the total waste that goes to landfill.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of the Environment to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by his Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 827/11)

Minister of the Environment: The information you have requested is provided in the table below.

Location	Type	Area (Ha)	Disposal Plans
Upper Dunmurry Lane and Creighton Road, Dunmurry	Land: Undeveloped former golf course in two plots divided by road.	9.0	Transfer to DSD for disposal to a housing association for social housing (dependent on re-zoning for housing under BMAP). 0.03ha being sold to local resident to rationalise irregular boundary.
Crawfordsburn Country Park, Helen’s Bay	Land:Two small boundary plots	0.14	To be sold to local residents to rationalise irregular boundary.

Planning Applications for Waste Disposal in Coleraine

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of live planning applications for waste disposal in the Ringsend and Mascoquin areas of Coleraine currently with the Planning Service; and whether any of these applications have the support of the North-West Waste Management Group.

(AQW 862/11)

Minister of the Environment: There are three live planning applications for waste disposal in the Ringside and Macosquin areas of Coleraine. The sites are located at Cam Road, Belraugh Road and Craigmore Road.

B Mullan and Sons Ltd. submitted a full planning application, accompanied by an environmental statement, on 19 March 2009 for a site at Cam Road. The application seeks permission for the development of a non-hazardous landfill.

During the processing of the planning application for non-hazardous waste at Cam Road, the Northern West Waste Management Group was consulted by Planning Service on the 7 December 2009. The consultation reply was received by Planning Service on the 4 January 2010.

Waste management planning is a function of local government. In the consultation response from the Northern West Waste Management Group, they identified the need to make provision for its further landfill requirements and accordantly initiated a procurement process within which material considerations included, inter alia, the Public Procurement Regulations and the North West Regional Waste Management Plan. The procurement process resulted in B Mullan & Sons, promoters of the proposed Cam Road Landfill site, being appointed preferred bidder subject to their proposed site receiving planning permission and other statutory consents necessary to operate, Northern West Waste Management Group have identified that the proposed site at Cam Road is needed and will form part of the sub-regional Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) if brought into operation.

T O'Connell and Sons submitted a full planning application on 5 August 2010 for a site at Belraugh Road. The application seeks permission for the importation and placing of inert waste generated from public sector infrastructure projects to improve poorly drained forestry plantation land and the provision of temporary infrastructure. The determination of the planning application for the site at Belraugh Road is ongoing. The Northern West Waste Management Group has not been consulted during the processing of this planning application.

Coleraine Skip Hire & Recycling Ltd submitted a planning application on 23 November 2009 to vary a planning condition of planning permission C/2005/1380/F to allow additional non-hazardous waste types to be deposited at Craigmore Landfill, Craigmore Road. The determination of the planning application for a site at Craigmore Road is ongoing. The Northern West Waste Management Group has not been consulted during the processing of this planning application to vary a planning condition.

The site at Cam Road has the support of the Northern West Waste Management Group. The current planning applications will be determined taking into account the relevant plan and policy provisions and all other material considerations.

Dikerogammarus Villosus

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of the Environment what steps her Department is taking to prevent the shrimp Dikerogammarus Villosus from entering our waterways.

(AQW 879/11)

Minister of the Environment: It is widely recognised that invasive alien species are the second biggest threat to biodiversity loss worldwide.

In response to such threats officials in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) work closely with the GB Non-native Species Programme Board. Following on from the discovery of the ‘Killer Shrimp’ (Dikerogammarus villosus), at Grafham Water in England, my officials were notified and will continue to be kept informed of any developments by their counterparts in GB.

This East-West liaison is matched with North-South communication on invasive species with regular contact taking place with officials in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Dublin, through a contract known as the ‘Invasive Species in Ireland Project’.

Key aspects of this project have included the development of Codes of Good Practice for sectors considered to be at a high risk of introducing, or further spreading, invasive alien species. As such Codes of Good Practice have been developed for recreational water users and marina managers. My officials in NIEA have also provided training to several organisations and fishing clubs on invasive alien species identification and control.

In response to this notification my officials in NIEA issued a species alert and identification sheet around several Government Departments and other organisations. A species alert and ID sheet was also placed on the Invasive Species in Ireland website. In addition a press release was issued by my Department on 29 September 2010 warning of the threat of the ‘Killer Shrimp’. This press release outlined the need for water users to clean their boats and equipment before moving to another water body.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment what discussions his Department has had with dog organisations in relation to the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill; and if he can offer any assurances on the issues raised.

(AQW 895/11)

Minister of the Environment: On 14 September 2010, I met with representatives of the Kennel Club, who were seeking some clarification concerning the new system of dog control orders proposed under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill. During the meeting the Kennel Club was reassured that the Department was proposing to introduce a system of dog control orders corresponding to that currently in operation in England and Wales. The Kennel Club was also reassured that the Department would be consulting with it and other key interests on future draft subordinate legislation on dog control orders and associated detailed guidance.

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of the Environment how many inspections have been carried out by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency on farms in each constituency in each of the last three years.

(AQW 905/11)

Minister of the Environment: The locations of farms inspected are recorded against the postcode of the registered address of the farm by Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). This is not necessarily the location of the land to which the inspection applies. They are not recorded on a Local Council, Northern Ireland Assembly or Westminister constituency basis. Therefore this information cannot be broken down by constituency.

There are two methods of selection for inspection visits. 25% are randomly selected from a list of all Single Farm Payment claimants. The remaining 75% are selected through a risk-based approach based on a number of parameters and on previous compliance records.

The table below gives a break down of NIEA scheduled Cross Compliance inspections by county, from recorded farm postcode, which may be helpful:-

Year	Antrim	Armagh	Derry/ Londonderry	Down	Fermanagh	Tyrone	Total inspections
2007	76	92	26	124	7	76	401
2008	50	14	71	89	12	142	378
2009	119	30	55	72	14	79	369
Total	245	136	152	285	33	297	1148

Northern Ireland Environment Agency: Glenavy

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of the Environment (i) if he can confirm whether (a) the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has received in excess of 200 complaints, annually, in relation to nuisance odours, since records began; and (b) residents in proximity to the proposed incinerator in Glenavy provided a dossier to the Minister, the CEO of the Planning Service and the CEO of Invest NI in relation to the NIEA records of pollution at this site; (ii) for his assessment of whether Ulster Farm By Products a subsidiary of Rose Energy's partner Glenfarm, has an unacceptable environmental track record in relation to water pollution and nuisance odours; and (iii) what weight he and his Department have given to evidence of ongoing problems with Glenfarm, in light of almost 7000 objections lodged against the proposed incinerator at Glenavy.

(AQW 966/11)

Minister of the Environment:

(a) NIEA has received the following numbers of complaints relating to odour in the area around Ulster Farm By Products facility since it was first permitted in November 2005. Prior to that Lisburn City Council was responsible for regulation of the Company.

Year	No. of Complaints
Nov – Dec 2005	18
Jan – Dec 2006	229
Jan – Dec 2007	187
Jan – Dec 2008	258
Jan – Dec 2009	131
Jan – Sept 2010	106

(i) (b) A dossier of information entitled ‘Ulster Farm By-products Ltd: Record of Environmental Issues Arising at the site 2003 -2009’ was submitted to me by representatives of Communities Against Lough Neagh Incinerator (CALNI) during a meeting that I facilitated with them on 23 November 2009.

The same dossier of information was submitted to the Planning Service on 8 October 2009 by representatives of CALNI.

My executive colleague, Minister Arlene Foster has confirmed that, the Chief Executive of Invest Northern Ireland received a dossier containing a Record of Environmental Issues Arising at the Ulster Farm By Products Site in Glenavy from 2003 – 2009 as part of a presentation from the Communities Against Lough Neagh Incinerator (CALNI).

(ii) NIEA has taken enforcement action against Ulster Farm By-Products in relation to its effluent discharge to the Glenavy River and for other aspects of the operation which may have contributed to odour. The company has been prosecuted on eight occasions over the period 2002 – 2008 for offences concerning the effluent discharge, but to NIEA’s knowledge no further breaches have occurred since October 2008. Four enforcement notices were issued during 2006 - 2008 for other aspects of the operation. NIEA will continue to work with the company to achieve consistent compliance with all legal requirements and to take appropriate enforcement action as required.

(iii) 6782 letters of objection and 1 objection petition have been received by Planning Service in relation to the two Rose Energy planning applications. I can confirm that all objection issues have been fully considered by Planning Service in their determination of the two planning applications. The issues contained within the dossier of information regarding the adjacent Ulster Farm By-Products facility have been given appropriate weight by the Department in the determination of the Rose Energy proposal.

Planning Applications

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of the Environment, in light of his recent statements on the surplus of Planning Service staff, how many planning applications are currently waiting to be assigned to a case officer.

(AQW 994/11)

Minister of the Environment: At 6 October 2010 the numbers of planning applications awaiting assignment to a case officer in each Divisional Office were as follows:

Divisional Office	Number of applications awaiting assignment
Ballymena	27
Belfast	82
Headquarters	6
Craigavon	71
Downpatrick	49
Coleraine and Londonderry	35
Omagh and Enniskillen	81
Total	351

These figures are subject to change on a daily basis as new applications are received. In addition, the recent introduction of a new computer system in Belfast, Craigavon and Headquarters is skewing the figures in those Divisions as new processes are introduced and the systems are embedded.

It should be noted that these figures have been extracted from a live dataset which is continuously updated and validated. They should therefore be regarded as indicative only at this point in time and should not be compared with any previous figures published by the Agency.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by his Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 999/11)

Minister of the Environment: My Department does not fund services under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

Public Hire Taxi Vehicles

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of the Environment what is the average age of public hire taxi vehicles currently operating.

(AQW 1017/11)

Minister of the Environment: The average age of public hire taxi vehicles operating in Northern Ireland is seven years.

Traffic Collisions on the Seven Mile Straight

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of (i) recorded traffic collisions; and (ii) fatal traffic collisions on the Seven Mile Straight in (a) 1990; and (b) each year since 2000.

(AQW 1047/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Police Service of Northern Ireland collates statistics on road traffic collisions on public roads where persons are injured. My Department has no role in this matter and therefore does not hold the information requested.

I would recommend that you address your question to the Chief Constable as this is a PSNI operational matter.

Complaints in Relation to Air and Water Pollution

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the total number of complaints which have been made in relation to (i) air pollution; and (ii) water pollution against (a) Foyle Proteins; (b) Dungannon Meats; and (c) Ulster Farm By-Products in each of the last five years.

(AQW 1050/11)

Minister of the Environment:

Dunbia Dungannon (previously Dungannon Meats) and Linden Foods operate beef and lamb slaughtering facilities located in the Granville Industrial Estate, Dungannon. NIEA also regulates Linergy (a rendering operation serving Dunbia and Linden Foods in the same area) which can give rise to odour complaints.

The Foyle Food Group operates a slaughtering facility (Foyle Meats) and a rendering plant (Foyle Proteins) at Lisahally, Campsie. Both facilities are regulated under a single permit. Any complaints received are attributed to the Group and not the individual operation.

Information on complaints about releases to air, including odour, allegedly from these sites has been included in Table 1 below along with the dates that the sites were permitted under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (NI) 2003.

TABLE 1 – Air Pollution Complaints

Dunbia Dungannon Linden Foods Linergy Foyle Proteins/ Meats Ulster Farm By Products

Date permitted
October 2006 June 2005 July 2007 August 2006 November 2005

Year No. of Complaints (air)

2005 0 0 0 0 18

2006 0 0 0 0 229

2007 0 0 0 110 187

2008 1 1 23 145 258

2009 2 0 15 116 131

Jan – Sept 2010 2 2 18 156 106

The numbers of complaints of suspected water pollution in relation to these sites are set out in Table 2 below. Ulster Farm By Products is the only company that discharges treated effluent into a watercourse. Rain water run off from all sites enters the local river network.

	Dunbia Dungannon	Linden Foods	Linergy	Foyle Proteins/ Meats	Ulster Farm By Products
Date permitted	October 2006	June 2005	July 2007	August 2006	November 2005
Year	No. of Complaints (air)
2005	0	0	0	0	18
2006	0	0	0	0	229
2007	0	0	0	110	187
2008	1	1	23	145	258
2009	2	0	15	116	131
Jan – Sept 2010	2	2	18	156	106

TABLE 2 – Water Pollution Complaints

Dunbia Dungannon Linden Foods Linergy Foyle Proteins/ Meats Ulster Farm By Products

Year No. of Complaints (water)

2005 0 0 0 0 5

2006 0 0 0 0 1

2007 1 0 0 0 1

2008 0 0 0 0 7

2009 1 0 0 0 2

Jan – Sept 2010 0 0 0 0 0

Ulster Farm By-Products site in Glenavy

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of the Environment whether the Ulster Farm By-Products site in Glenavy is fit for purpose; and whether it is meeting the terms and conditions of its operating licence.

(AQW 1051/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Ulster Farm By-Products facility at Glenavy is permitted under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (NI) 2003. The permit contains conditions reflecting NIEA’s view of ‘Best Available Techniques’ for control of emissions from the installation. The techniques employed on the site, including those for odour abatement are in line with those used on similar plants in the rest of Northern Ireland and throughout the UK. A proposal to install a higher exhaust stack to improve dispersion is currently awaiting planning permission.

NIEA has taken enforcement action against Ulster Farm By-Products for failing to comply with permit conditions. The company was prosecuted on eight occasions over the period 2002–2008 for offences concerning the effluent discharge, but to NIEA’s knowledge no further breaches have occurred since October 2008. Four enforcement notices were issued during 2006 - 2008 for other aspects of the operation. NIEA will continue to assess the company’s compliance with its permit and take appropriate enforcement action where necessary.

Translation of Departmental Papers

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of the Environment how much his Department spent on the translation of departmental papers into (i) Irish; and (ii) Ulster-Scots in (a) 2007/08; (b) 2008/09; and (c) 2009/10.

(AQW 1089/11)

Minister of the Environment: The table below outlines the costs incurred by my Department on the translation of departmental papers into Irish and Ulster–Scots between 2007/08 and 2009/10.

Total	£1,588.49	£5,996.95	£230.00
	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Irish	£1,313.32	£5,626.95	£230.00
Ulster-Scots	£275.17	£370.00	-

Probabtionary Period for Approved Driving Instructors

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister of the Environment how long is the probabtionary period for Approved Driving Instructors in Northern ireland compared to the rest of the UK.

(AQW 1130/11)

Minister of the Environment: In Northern Ireland the Driver & Vehicle Agency administers the register of approved driving instructors on behalf of the Department of the Environment under the provisions of The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007. The Driving Standards Agency carries out the same function for the Department for Transport in Great Britain.

There is no probationary period for approved driving instructors in either NI or GB. However, all trainee driving instructors must take and pass the three parts of a qualifying examination, ie, theory, practical and instructional ability tests, within two years of passing the theory test.

Air Pollution Incident

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to AQW 970/11, to explain why a similar air pollution incident appears to have occurred in the vicinity of Ulster Farm By-Products' premises in Glenavy on 8 October 2010,

(AQW 1171/11)

Minister of the Environment: Pursuant to AQW 970/11, there was a further period of operation with cooker gas by-passing the plant condensers, which gave rise to a steamy plume. This mode of operation commenced due to an ongoing problem with the effluent treatment plant. This mode of operation is in line with the original plant designs and is likely to continue until the effluent treatment plant problems are resolved. NIEA officials are liaising with the company to seek resolution of the problem.

Houses in Multiple Occupation

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to AQW 737/11, if he can confirm that the statistics requested are identical to those statistics requested and confirmed in AQW 7400/09.

(AQW 1305/11)

Minister of the Environment: I can confirm that the statistics requested are identical to those statistics requested and confirmed in AQW 7400/09. The statistics represent the best information currently available and are provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).

NIHE is currently involved in the major task of re surveying areas of Belfast as part of the Statutory Registration Scheme. Eventually the survey work will allow both Planning Service and NIHE to update the statistics.

The HMO sector is dynamic and the number of HMO properties will change over time as some properties become vacant or are demolished. Recent planning applications would suggest that others will, eventually, cease to be HMOs when development or improvements works are undertaken. Planning Service is also aware of a limited number of new HMOs which are operating without planning approval and enforcement action is being considered in such instances. The indications are that the total number of HMOs will fall.

Department of Finance and Personnel

Civil Service Staff Subject to Disciplinary Action

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many Civil Service staff in each Department have been (i) dismissed; (ii) suspended; and (iii) subject to disciplinary action in each of the last 5 years, broken down by the nature of the offence for which they were disciplined.

(AQW 470/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): The information requested is provided in the attached tables. The information has not been broken down by Department as individuals may be identifiable and this information is protected by Data Protection legislation. The data sourced is for each financial year and include both industrial and non-industrial staff for the period.

(i) Civil Service Staff dismissed

	2005/2006	2006/2007	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010	Total
Total	94	105	79	86	84	448

(ii) Civil Service Staff suspended

	2005/2006	2006/2007	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010	Total
Total	28	30	15	10	13	96

(iii) Civil Service Staff subject to disciplinary action

	2005/2006	2006/2007	2007/2008	2008/2009	2009/2010	Total
Total	115	245	186	117	117	780

Departmental Private Secretaries

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel why some Departmental Private Secretaries are remaining in post longer than the two year period that was intended.

(AQW 631/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Each Department is responsible for the management of its Private Secretary appointments. The length of these appointments will be dependant on the business requirements of the employing Department. Appointments to Private Secretary posts are made via trawls or interest circulars. An elective transfer is not an appropriate means of filling a Private Secretary post.

Embargo on Promotion within the Civil Service

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, given that there is currently an embargo on promotion within the Civil Service, why Staff Officers are not being afforded the opportunity of an elective transfer in to Departmental Private Secretary posts, which provide developmental opportunities and to which the appointment is for a two year period only.

(AQW 632/11)

Rate Exclusions

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, pursuant to AQW 391/11, what rate exclusions will apply to properties that are vacant due to probate.

(AQW 942/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: As the central finance department, the Department of Finance and Personnel does not have responsibility for funding childcare provision. DFP has not provided funding for childcare provision in the last three years.

Urban Regeneration Programme

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, pursuant to AQW 361/11, to detail the 64 currently unfunded commitments relating to the Urban Regeneration Programme, including the location and cost of each unfunded commitment.

(AQW 1034/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information you request was supplied to me by the Minster for Social Development in the context of evidence to support an In-year Monitoring bid. As I am sure you will appreciate, it would be inappropriate for me to provide information at that level of detail without recourse to the DSD Minister. I suggest that you should approach the DSD Minster directly for the required information.

Preparation for Migration to Account NI

Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much his Department spent on (i) consultancy; (ii) contract costs; (iii) staff costs; and (iv) other costs in preparation for migration to Account NI.

(AQW 1052/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: It is not possible to separately identify costs which are purely associated with preparation for migration to Account NI.

The costs provided in the attached table include expenditure incurred by Account NI during the implementation phase from 1 April 2006 to 30 October 2009. This includes maintenance and decommissioning of the legacy systems; the design, build, test and delivery of the Account NI solution to 11 departments through to stabilisation, as well as the day-to-day transaction processing service and associated managed service costs incurred in this period.

Costs	April 06 - Oct 09£000
Consultancy	8,204
Contract costs	34,738
Staff costs	13,760
Other costs	2,732
Total Implementation costs	59,434

Comprehensive Spending Review

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of whether any financial support package is expected, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, in addition to the Barnett Formula derived Block Grant, to recognise the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1062/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Along with the First Minister and deputy First Minister I will continue to make representations to Treasury ministers on the need to deliver a Spending Review outcome that addresses the needs of the Northern Ireland economy.

However, at the moment I am not aware of any support package being constructed outside of the Barnett formula.

Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast Constituency

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by his Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 1064/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel:My Department does not currently fund any services under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

Projects Undertaken by Groups for People with Disabilities

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Finance and Personnel what grants or funding schemes are available from his Department, or its arms-length bodies, to assist with projects undertaken by (i) groups for people with disabilities; or (ii) residential care facilities which cater for people with disabilities.

(AQW 1080/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel:My department and the Special EU Programmes Body, for which DFP is the sponsor department, do not make any specific funding available for (i) groups for people with disabilities; or (ii) residential care facilities which cater for people with disabilities. However, the department through the Special EU Programmes Body is responsible for a number of schemes to which these groups can apply if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Legal Fees

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 39/11, to detail the amount of legal fees paid out by the legacy Craigavon Area Hospital Trust, prior to the establishment of the Directorate of Legal Services in 2008, to private legal practitioners in regard to outstanding medical negligence cases (i) between 5-10 years old; and (ii) over 10 years old.

(AQW 677/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): I am advised by the Southern HSC Trust that the legacy Craigavon Area Hospital HSS Trust made the following payments to a private legal practice for handling medical negligence claims on their behalf:

Time ongoing

No of cases

Amount paid

5-10 years
17

£32,253

Over 10 years
4

£6,047

Time ongoing	No of cases	Amount paid
5-10 years	17	£32,253
Over 10 years	4	£6,047

Compensation Payments for Clinical Negligence

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many of the recommendations of the Audit Office report, 'Compensation Payments for Clinical Negligence' published in July 2002, have been implemented by his Department to date; and to outline how each recommendation has been implemented.

(AQW 678/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department has taken action to implement all the recommendations made in the 2002 NI Audit Office report ‘Compensation Payments for Clinical Negligence’.

Following publication of the Audit Office report, my Department issued a guidance circular in 2002 to HSC organisations advising on action to be taken to address the recommendations in the report, and to improve processes for handling clinical negligence claims.

My Department subsequently reviewed this circular, along with all other existing guidance on clinical negligence. As a result of this, a revised guidance circular issued in 2010, which is now the single point of reference for HSC organisations in the management of claims.

The circular introduced improved arrangements for maintaining information on claims, and for submitting regular reports on this to my Department. HSC organisations are required to maintain a database of information on all claims against their organisation, and to submit a summary of this information to my Department regularly. This information will be used to improve monitoring on progress of cases, to identify any trends emerging and any lessons which may be learnt.

The circular also requires that HSC organisations provide my Department with assurance that they have effective governance arrangements in place to deal with clinical negligence issues, that they review open cases annually, and comply with the clinical negligence pre-action protocol.

A single model of risk management has been introduced across the HSC, and in 2007/08 my Department completed the roll out of the Controls Assurance Standards. Substantive compliance with the core standards of risk management, governance and financial management was achieved by all 17 of my Department’s Arms Length Bodies in 2009/10.

My Department considered in 2009 the adequacy of the existing financial management arrangements for clinical negligence, and concluded that introducing a risk pooling arrangement might add to the financial risk while RPA structures were being implemented. A further review is planned for 2011/12.

Key recommendations from Best Practice-Best Care have been implemented. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) was established in 2005. A Clinical and Social Care Governance Support Team was established to help develop clinical and social care governance arrangements, including audit in the HSC, and has since been replaced by the NI Safety Forum.

Quality Standards for the HSC were issued in March 2006 to provide a standardised approach to clinical/social care governance and a number of care standards have been developed for regulated services – both have been used by RQIA to inspect the quality of services being provided by the HSC and the independent sector. Formal links have been established with national standard-setting bodies to ensure the HSC has access to national best practice advice and guidance.

Appraisal for all doctors is now in place and is a contractual obligation. My Department is working closely with the General Medical Council towards implementation of medical revalidation which will require doctors to demonstrate every five years that their knowledge and skills are up to date and they remain fit to practice.

My Department established a process for reporting serious adverse incidents in 2004. Findings from analysis of reported incidents and lessons learned have been disseminated on a regular basis to the HSC. Following a review of these arrangements in 2008, a new Regional Adverse Incident and Learning System is currently being developed which will encompass learning arising from complaints, clinical negligence claims and adverse incidents.

Good Management Good Records (GMGR) was published by my Department in 2004 to provide guidance which includes the minimum retention periods for HSC records. GMGR is currently being reviewed and the revised version is expected in early 2011. A records management controls assurance standard was introduced in 2005 and organisations are required to assess themselves annually against this standard.

A circular on Confidentiality clauses in settlement of compensation claims issued in June 2003, and a revised circular issued in October of the same year.

Revised valuation methodology, incorporating contingent liabilities, was introduced for 2002/03 accounts and in 2008/09 valuations were further reduced to bring them into line with historical trends. Work is ongoing to further refine valuations.

Comparisons have been made between costs associated with clinical negligence in Northern Ireland and other UK jurisdictions. However it has proven difficult to make meaningful comparisons, as statistics from the other jurisdictions do not include expenditure on personal social services claims, costs associated with large single claims can significantly distort the position in individual years, and this information has not been readily available from other jurisdictions. Further discussions may take place in the future.

Medical Negligence Cases

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in light of his announcement to the Assembly on 21 September 2010 that 23 medical negligence cases over ten years old have now been closed, to detail the amount paid out in legal fees in these cases; and how long each case had been outstanding.

(AQW 679/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: As a result of a recent review of medical negligence cases open for more than ten years, 23 cases have now been closed. A total of £14,616.76 was incurred in legal costs by the Directorate of Legal Services in respect of these cases since time-recording for individual cases began at the end of 1996. Details on the duration and legal costs of each of these are set out in the table below.

DURATION OF CASE	LEGAL COSTS INCURRED*
12 years, 10 months	£474.73
15 years, 1 month	£728.90
11 years, 6 months	£1,361.88
10 years, 3 months	£474.43
17 years, 3 months	£298.00
15 years, 7 months	£870.28
14 years, 5 months	£438.23
11 years, 9 months	£1,270.69
15 years, 1 month	£812.52
12 years, 1 month	£238.44
11 years	£262.06
12 years, 6 months	£485.36
12 years	£1,321.25
18 years	£281.23
18 years, 6 months	£245.81
17 years, 6 months	£243.71
15 years, 6 months	£333.69
12 years, 9 months	£806.35
12 years, 3 months	£1660.79
15 years	£568.58
14 years, 3 months	£982.26
19 years, 8 months	£191.61
16 years, 9 months	£265.96

*Legal costs incurred by DLS from the end of 1996 when DLS commenced time-recording for individual cases.

Childcare

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how his Department is contributing to the provision of childcare and a Childcare Strategy.

(AQW 694/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department contributes to the provision of childcare through the Regulation and Inspection of child minding and childcare as set out in Part XI of the Children’s (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, the statutory functions of which are delegated through the Health and Social Care Board to the Health and Social Care Trusts.

With regard to a Childcare strategy, my Department is represented on the cross-departmental steering group overseeing the economic and policy appraisal on a Childcare Strategy, established under the Ministerial Sub-Committee on Children and Young People and will continue to engage in this process.

Out-of-Hours GP Services

Mr G Robinson asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether an equality impact assessment was carried out on the changes currently being made to Out-of-Hours GP services and to outline any concerns identified as a result of the assessment.

(AQW 696/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: An equality impact assessment was not carried out because there will be no change to the way patients access out-of-hours services.

Speech and Language Therapists

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many Speech and Language Therapist positions are currently funded by the South Eastern Trust in Tor Bank School in Dundonald.

(AQW 707/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust does not fund any such posts in Tor Bank School. Belfast Health and Social Care Trust provides funding for 1.2 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) Speech and Language Therapists and 0.85 WTE Speech and Language Therapy Assistants at the school.

Occupational Health Therapists

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many Occupational Health Therapist positions are currently funded by the South Eastern Trust in Tor Bank School in Dundonald.

(AQW 708/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust does not fund any such posts in Tor Bank School. Belfast Health and Social Care Trust provide funding for 1.32 Whole Time Equivalent Occupational Therapist posts at the school.

GUM services

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he would consider allowing Family Planning Clinics or GPs to provide genito-urinary medicine (GUM) services, given the difficulty in accessing GUM services at the GUM clinic in the Royal Victoria Hospital.

(AQW 721/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Sexual Health Promotion Strategy aims to improve, protect and promote the sexual health and well-being of the population in Northern Ireland. Recognising the role of GPs and community services in support of the implementation of the Strategy, the multi-agency Sexual Health Improvement Network is establishing a sub-group to explore how sexual health services are currently delivered in primary care with a view to improving access including community based programs.

McDermott Brothers Case

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether Western Health and Social Care Trust staff explored or put forward a Least Restrictive Option in relation to James & Owen Roe McDermott.

(AQW 727/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am not at liberty to discuss individual cases. However, in such cases the Trust would be expected to offer its view as to the suitability of each of the options available to the court under the Mental Health Order (NI) 1986.

Health Service

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline what measures are currently in place to reduce (i) drug abuse; (ii) alcohol abuse; (iii) smoking; and (iv) obesity, in order to reduce the financial strain on the Health Service.

(AQW 733/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department continues to lead on the development of a number of cross-sectoral, inter-departmental health promotion strategies that seek to improve the health of the population, address inequalities in health, and therefore reduce the burden these issues and related health conditions place on the Health and Social Care System. These include:

(i)/(ii) the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs – which seeks to reduce the harm related to alcohol and drug misuse in Northern Ireland;

(iii) the Tobacco Control Strategy – which will set out my Department’s plans for reducing smoking prevalence in Northern Ireland over the next ten years; and

(iv) Fit Futures – which seeks to address childhood obesity – and the forthcoming Fitter Futures for All – which will address obesity across the lifecourse.

Implementation of policy in these areas is led by the Public Health Agency, working in partnership with key stakeholders such as local government, Education and Library Boards, Neighbourhood Renewal Partnerships, the voluntary and community sector, etc.

Smoking Related Diseases

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the cost to the Health Service of smoking related diseases in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 734/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the cost to the Health Service of smoking related diseases for each of the last three financial years is not available.

McDermott Brothers Case

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether any additional payments were made to staff employed by his Department who provided reports into the James and Owen Roe McDermott case for Court purposes; and if so, to whom these payments were made and the total cost of the payments.

(AQW 743/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am advised that the Western Trust did not make any additional payments to their staff who either provided reports or gave evidence in this court case. The payment of witness expenses is a matter for those who brought the witness to court.

Neurological Services

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he intends to take to protect specialised neurological services.

(AQW 744/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Health and Social Care Board is responsible for the commissioning of services to meet the needs of the population, including specialised neurological services. The Board will therefore consider any proposed changes to the provision of these services in that context.

Physiotherapists

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he is taking to secure the employment of more physiotherapists in clinics and hospitals.

(AQW 745/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The recruitment and selection of staff and associated employment opportunities is a matter for HSC Trusts, based on service needs and available resources. My Department carries out regional workforce planning to help ensure that suitable qualified staff are available to meet the needs of the Health Service. Workforce forecasts are regularly reviewed and corrective action is taken where necessary.

Fireworks Related Injuries

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many incidents of fireworks related injuries were recorded in each Health and Social Care Trust in each of the last five years.

(AQW 763/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of patients reporting to A&E Departments and Minor Injuries Units with injuries from fireworks, over a selected four week period covering the end of October and start of November (Halloween period) in each of the last 5 years is published annually and is available from:

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

Services Provided by Craigavon Area Hospital and Lurgan Hospital

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to list all the services currently provided by (i) Craigavon Area Hospital; and (ii) Lurgan Hospital.

(AQW 764/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Southern Health and Social Care Trust provides information about its hospital services on the Trust’s website. Information about Craigavon and Lurgan Hospitals may be found at www.southerntrust.hscni.net/services/cahgt%20services/index.html#P-1_0

Doctors Bonuses

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline his Department's policy on the payment of bonuses to doctors.

(AQW 765/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Doctors do not receive bonus payments.

Efficiencies

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail any efficiencies he has identified that could be implemented by his Department over the next three years; and the total estimated savings these efficiencies would bring.

(AQW 766/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Speculation on how savings will be delivered over the next three years is something that I will not be drawn into. It is impossible to make a full and considered assessment without knowledge of the level of funding that will be made available to my Department over CSR 2010.

However it must be recognised that the scope for delivering efficiencies in the years ahead will be limited by the Department’s achievements to date. The HSC has already delivered considerable savings as part of the Review of Public Administration with around 1,700 posts being removed. In total HSC Organisations will deliver £700m of efficiency savings by the end of 2010/11 as the result of improvements in pharmacy, productivity and RPA .

Causeway Hospital

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to list any services that have been withdrawn from the Causeway Hospital since it was opened.

(AQW 767/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While the delivery of services at the Causeway Hospital is a matter for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust as the service provider, I can advise that no services have been withdrawn from the hospital and the Trust continues to deliver a comprehensive range of services to its local population including 24/7 A&E, paediatrics, day surgery services, outpatients and diagnostics including radiology and laboratory tests.

In addition the Trust has also made significant developments in some services such as urology; stroke and nurse led cardiac services.

Causeway Hospital

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to list any services that have been added to the Causeway Hospital in the last five years.

(AQW 768/11)

In addition the Trust has also made significant developments in some services such as urology; stroke and nurse led cardiac services.

Accident and Emergency Provision at the Causeway Hospital

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what discussions he has had with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in relation to Accident and Emergency provision at the Causeway Area Hospital.

(AQW 769/11)

In addition the Trust has also made significant developments in some services such as urology; stroke and nurse led cardiac services.

Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ballymoney

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the current level of service provision at Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ballymoney.

(AQW 770/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: While the delivery of services at the Robinson Memorial Hospital is a matter for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust as the service provider, I can advise that the Robinson Hospital is a 25 bed intermediate care unit supported by a multi-disciplinary team and palliative care consultant. The profile of services includes general rehabilitation, orthopaedic and intermediate level palliative care.

Proposed Provision of a New Fire Brigade Area Command in Ballymena

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on the proposed provision of a new fire brigade area command in Ballymena.

(AQW 771/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I understand from the Northern Ireland Fire and Recue Service that it has identified a potential site for a new Fire Station and Area Headquarters and that a feasibility study has recently been completed.

European Centre for Connected Health

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 185/11, how much funding his Department has provided to the European Centre for Connected Health in each year since it was established.

(AQW 783/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The European Centre for Connected Health was established in 2008. The table below shows the funding that my Department has made available to the organisation.

Year	Funding
2008/09	£901,000
2009/10	£827,000
2010/11	£550,000

Causeway Hospital

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to list the services currently provided by the Causeway Hospital.

(AQW 791/11)

In addition the Trust has also made significant developments in some services such as urology; stroke and nurse led cardiac services.

Free Prescriptions

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost to the Health Service of free prescriptions in the first five months of this financial year compared to the same period last year when a £3 prescription charge was in operation.

(AQW 801/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Cost information is not available for the first five months of 2010-11.

Ulster Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many patients have had to wait on hospital trolleys in the Ulster Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit in each of the last four weeks.

(AQW 805/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of patients who have waited on trolleys in the Ulster Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit in each of the last four weeks is not available.

Hospital Trolleys

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many patients in each Accident and Emergency unit have had to wait on hospital trolleys in each of the last six months.

(AQW 806/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on the number of patients in each Accident and Emergency unit who have waited on trolleys in each of the last six months is not available.

Direct Payments

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what information is collected on the number of people in each Health and Social Care Trust area who avail of direct payments.

(AQW 807/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Information on direct payments paid during the quarter is presented by Health and Social Care Trust at:

http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-cib-3/statistics_and_research-cib-guide/statistics_and_research-cib-direct-payment.htm

Accident and Emergency Unit at the Lagan Valley Hospital

Mr P Givan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what steps have been taken to ensure that the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Lagan Valley Hospital has the full complement of staff necessary to provide 24 hour acute services.

(AQW 809/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The recruitment and employment of appropriate staff to deliver services is primarily the responsibility of Health and Social Care Trusts. The South Eastern HSC Trust has advised that it has taken a number of steps to maintain the emergency department service at Lagan Valley Hospital including working with the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency in respect of junior doctor placements, contacting local and UK-wide agencies for temporary locums, advertising for locums, asking staff to do extra shifts and consultants to cover night duties in the hospital rather than on call. The Trust continues to monitor the situation on a daily basis.

Advertising Campaigns on the Dangers of Sunbeds and Skin Cancer

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for a breakdown of the total money spent on the recent advertising campaigns regarding the dangers of sunbeds and skin cancer.

(AQW 818/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The total costs of the Public Health Agency’s sunbeds awareness campaign are £94,603. This total comprises £56,183 for television advertising; £20,540 for outdoor advertising; £10,929 for online advertising and £6,951 for the printing and distribution of leaflets and posters and for the campaign launch.

Mental Health Services at the Ulster Hospital

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why Mental Health services are being moved from the Ulster Hospital to Lagan Valley Hospital.

(AQW 834/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Trust’s proposals to modernise its mental health services would enable the Trust to provide a Centre of Excellence for those requiring hospital admission while at the same time ensuring the enhancement of alternative community services.

Mental Health Service Provision at the Newtownards and Ulster Hospital Sites

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans he has for Mental Health service provision at the Newtownards and Ulster Hospital sites over the next three years.

(AQW 835/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Trust has invested very significantly in developing community Mental Health resources in the North Down and Ards area over this last year.

Additional resources invested in community services have provided a new Crisis House, additional community staff focusing on Home Treatment, psychological therapies and eating disorder services.

The focus in mental health service provision is on treating more people with mental illness in their own homes. This will lead to better patient outcomes, and will also reduce the need for many people to be admitted to hospital or reduce actual length of hospital stay for the patient.

Youth Provision Mental Health Beds

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many youth provision Mental Health beds are there currently in the South Eastern Trust.

(AQW 836/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In-patient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are provided to the South Eastern Trust by the Belfast Trust. The South Eastern Trust has access to CAMHS beds at Beechgrove, the regional Child and Adolescent Unit, at which there are 18 beds for adolescents (14 – 17 years) and 15 beds at the Child and Family Centre for those under age 14.

Mental Health Beds at the Ulster Hospital

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many many Mental Health beds are being moved from the Ulster Hospital to the Lagan Valley Hospital.

(AQW 839/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The South Eastern Trusts consultation on its ‘Strategic Direction for Mental Health Services in South Eastern Trust’ closed in September 2010. It would be inappropriate for me to comment until all the responses have been considered.

Youth Provision Mental Health Beds

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many Youth Provision Mental Health beds there are currently in all Health and Social Care Trusts.

(AQW 840/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: In-patient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are provided regionally by the Belfast Trust. Each Trust has access to CAMHS beds at Beechgrove, the regional Child and Adolescent Unit, at which there are 18 beds for adolescents (14 – 17 years) and 15 beds at the Child and Family Centre for those under age 14.

Displays of Tobacco Products

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what evidence, from United Kingdom research, his Department has that point of sale displays of tobacco products encourages purchases by customers; and whether any of this evidence dates from after the ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings.

(AQW 850/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My main aim in introducing this new legislation is to prevent our children and young people from taking up the smoking habit. Research, undertaken by Cancer Research UK, has shown that point of sale displays increase young people’s awareness of tobacco brands and that this in turn can increase a young person’s intention to smoke by 35 per cent. The Cancer Research UK report also found that tobacco point of sale stimulates impulse purchases amongst established smokers and undermines efforts to quit.

This report is referenced in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which accompanies the draft Northern Ireland tobacco control regulations currently out for public consultation.

The Cancer Research UK report was published in August 2008 and was the result of a longitudinal research study based on nearly 4,500 UK teenagers over seven years. This bulk of evidence contained in this report would therefore predate the ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings.

McDermott Brothers Case

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when his Department first became aware of the findings of the McDermott sexual abuse case which was published on 24 July 2010; and when he was made aware of these findings.

(AQW 860/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department became aware of concerns in relation to this case on 25 June and I was informed on the same day.

Guidance on the Use of Pharmaceuticals

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how guidance on the use of pharmaceuticals is issued to GPs, particularly in relation to any detrimental side effects.

(AQW 869/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: GPs receive information and guidance about the use and safety of medicines from a number of sources during the marketed life of a product, including: the British National Formulary (BNF), the Monthly Index of Medical Specialties (MIMS), guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Effectiveness (NICE) and information from the pharmaceutical industry.

In respect of side effects, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) communicates with health professionals, including GPs, both to warn about adverse effects and to provide feedback of information, through:

Updated Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) and Summaries of Product Characteristics (SPCs) for medicines when new safety issues are identified;
Letters sent to all doctors and pharmacists by post or electronic cascade through DHSSPS, highlighting urgent warnings about drug hazards;
Publication of safety information in the drug safety bulletin ‘Drug Safety Update’;
Fact sheets on major safety issues, which are produced for both healthcare professionals and patients; and
Safety alerts published on the MHRA website.

GPs working in the UK are required by their professional regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), to keep their professional knowledge and skills up to date, which would include being familiar with current information and guidelines on the use of pharmaceuticals.

New Nursing Staff Uniforms

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to explain the rationale for changing the nursing staff uniform; and to detail the expected cost of this change.

(AQW 1057/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Patient safety is central to all decisions I take and the introduction of standardised HSC uniforms is no different. Changes to nursing uniforms are part of the drive to control and prevent the spread of health care associated infections.

Standardising uniforms has the added benefits of making staff easily recognisable to patients and aiding security. It also strengthens staff morale and professionalism across the sector.

Nursing uniforms are part of a regional contract to provide uniforms for all HSC staff. This has been awarded to a local supplier and is worth around £3.5m over the next five years. It will deliver savings of approximately 50% across the HSC due to the savings that can be achieved from having one supplier.

Value for Money Audit on Staff Travel and Subsistence

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 4479/10, when the Value for Money Audit on staff travel and subsistence of October 2009 will be available to the general public.

(AQW 1133/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The report will be published on the Departmental Extranet shortly

Cataract Surgeries at the Downe Hospital

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many cataract surgeries have been held at the Downe Hospital since it opened in June 2009; and how many cataract removal surgeries have been transferred from the Downe Hospital to other hospitals.

(AQW 1188/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: From June 2009 to 31^st March 2010, (the most recent period for which information is available), there were 111 cataract surgeries carried out in Downe Hospital.

Information is not collected centrally on the number of cataract removal surgeries which have been transferred from the Downe Hospital to other hospitals.

Elliot Dynes Rehabilitation Unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital

Ms S Ramsey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, pursuant to AQW 614/11, if Health Trust procedure was followed when some members of staff in the Elliot Dynes Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital accepted an offer of voluntary redundancy only to have the offer withdrawn.

(AQW 1215/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am on record as saying that I need to retain the professionally qualified staff if the Health and Social Care is to continue to deliver the ever increasing demand for services.

The use of public money to fund the considerable cost of voluntary redundancy cannot be justified at a time when the service needs to retain particular skills. The Trust has followed the correct procedure by not allowing individuals to leave the HSC while there is a need for their skill; in this case valuable nursing skills.

Budget

Mr D McClarty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the reasons why his Department's budget should be ring-fenced in the forthcoming spending review.

(AQO 285/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are many reasons why my Department needs to be exempt from cuts:

All DHSSPS functions - health, social care, fire - have a history of underfunding relative to other UK nations. Northern Ireland is underfunded by £640m compared when to England in respect of health and social care.
England and Scotland are ring fencing health
Last year we had the fastest growing population in the UK
We are projected to have the fastest growing elderly population up to 2020
NHS Pay deals are negotiated for the whole of the UK
Demand will continue to grow
As we get better at saving people from diseases that kill - diseases like cancer - we will have ongoing costs of care.
Officials tell me we will need £5.4bn by 2014/15. If current cuts assumptions are applied equally to all Departments, I’m advised that I will end up with just £3.9bn.

NHS: Sign Language

Mr P Butler asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans he has to increase the number of sign-language interpreters in Health Trusts.

(AQO 290/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Health and Social Care Trusts do not directly employ sign language interpreters; they are in fact service users through contracting out arrangements. A key objective of the ongoing work led by DCAL through the interdepartmental, multi-agency, Sign Language Partnership Group is to increase the numbers of Sign Language interpreters and tutors through projects supported by DCAL investment. Funding provided by DEL will also enhance course provision to increase the supply of qualified sign language interpreters in Northern Ireland.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Mr S Gibson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the treatment currently offered to people with Trigeminal Neuralgia.

(AQO 291/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Trigeminal Neuralgia is rare and affects around 70 people each year in Northern Ireland. Medication is the first line of treatment but for patients whose condition does not respond to medication, surgery may be an option. It is for clinicians to decide on the most appropriate treatment for patients including whether a referral for specialist surgery may be appropriate.

Antrim Area Hospital

Mr P Girvan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what additional resources are available for the Antrim Area Hospital to cope with the increasing number of patients following the closure of the Accident and Emergency Unit at Whiteabbey Hospital.

(AQO 292/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I want people to attend A&E when they have a condition which needs immediate acute care – if it is a minor ailment they should continue to attend Whiteabbey Hospital where around 70% of patients will continue to be treated.

The reconfiguration of emergency care services includes the redesigning of the A&E treatment areas at Antrim Area hospital to develop a minor injuries area and the establishment of a ward to facilitate a10 bed Clinical Decision Unit. This, together with an additional 11 inpatient beds, will ensure that patients are quickly triaged, resulting in a streamlined patient flow. These changes are also being supported by the availability of additional staff and the provision of increased ambulance cover in the Northern Trust area.

Rare Diseases

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans his Department has to develop a rare diseases strategy.

(AQO 293/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The European Union defines a disease as rare if it affects fewer than 5 in every 10,000 people. In 2009 the European Council (EC) issued a Recommendation that member states should develop rare disease strategies to improve access to appropriate specialist care for patients with rare illnesses. My Department is fully engaged with all UK health departments in developing a national response to the EC Recommendation.

That response will include a UK national rare disease strategy which will bring together research, prevention, diagnosis, best practice in treatment and awareness to secure the best possible outcome for all UK patients.

NHS: Correspondence with Blind or Partially Sighted People

Mr J Wells asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the steps taken by his Department to ensure that any correspondence with blind or partially-sighted people in relation to appointments is formatted to suit their needs.

(AQO 294/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Health and Social Care Trusts employ the most accessible and suitable means of communication to meet the individual needs and preferences of patients who are known to be visually impaired. This can include the use of large print, Braille or Moon; the transcription of appointments, letters, and other documents onto audio CD or cassette; and the use of email. Furthermore, my Department will soon publish, for consultation, a draft Physical and Sensory Disability Strategy, which will provide regional strategic direction on this issue.

Respite Care

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the development of respite care facilities since May 2007.

(AQO 295/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Since May 2007 my Department has funded a number of projects that incorporate respite care facilities including:

Child & Family Unit at Foster Green site (£6.5m total cost) completed mid-2010;
Beltany Children’s Home (£1.6m total cost) – scheduled for completion late 2010;
Dungannon Respite Unit (£1.3m total cost) – completed in 2008/09;
Conicar at Iveagh (£4m total cost) – completed July 2010;
Newry Children’s Home (£2.6m total cost) – completed Summer 2010;
Forest Lodge (£2.1m total cost) – completed in 2008/09.

I have also invested additional resources in Learning Disability, Physical and Sensory Disability and Dementia respite services over the current CSR period. This will provide an additional 125 packages, 110 packages and 1200 places, respectively, in each of these programmes of care. Each package will benefit at least 4 families.

GP Visits

Mr A Maginness asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether his Department has approved a proposal to introduce charges for GP visits and whether such a proposal has been passed to the Executive for consideration.

(AQO 296/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have approved no such proposal.

Department of Justice

Work Carried Out by Prisoners

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the average hours, per week, a sentenced prisoner works; and (ii) the average weekly remuneration paid to prisoners in each of the last five years.

(AQW 691/11)

Minister of Justice (Mr D Ford):

(i) The Northern Ireland Prison Service records constructive activity hours which include offender behaviour programmes, education, work and attendance at the gymnasium. It is not possible to isolate the figures which relate exclusively to work activities.

Financial Year	Average constructive activity hours per week a sentenced prisoner works
05/06	20.3
06/07	20.9
07/08	19.7
08/09	20
09/10	20.6

(ii) The average weekly remuneration paid to each prisoner is tabled below.

Financial Year	Maghaberry	Magilligan	Hydebank Wood	Average NIPS weekly Remuneration
05/06	£8.14	£15.87	£10.66	£10.80
06/07	£7.79	£14.67	£12.21	£10.40
07/08	£8.40	£14.43	£15.10	£11.17
08/09	£8.97	£14.24	£14.69	£11.41
09/10	£9.98	£14.58	£14.46	£12.00

Prison Tuck Shops

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 7908/10, to list the current inventory or menu of items available for purchase in the prison tuck shop in each prison, including the cost of each item.

(AQW 881/11)

Minister of Justice :

(i) Each individual prison establishment has a considerable range of items which are sold to prisoners through ‘tuck shops’. These include, but are not limited to, groceries, sweets, stationery, tobacco, electrical & audio items and toiletries.

Copies of the tuck shop price lists which detail the menu of items for sale at each establishment have been deposited in the Assembly library.

882/11 (ii) The following table shows the total spend at each establishment’s tuck shop over the last five years:

	TOTAL SALES £’s
Financial Year	Hydebank Wood	Maghaberry	Magilligan
05 – 06	190,013.84	607,697.14	289,363.49
06 – 07	198,286.72	677,340.74	324,799.56
07 – 08	201,082.74	731,831.18	322,663.31
08 – 09	202,899.20	720,007.53	369,132.73
09 – 10	207,264.55	738,061.11	359,387.54

Prison Tuck Shops

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 7908/10, to detail (i) the items sold to prisoners at each tuck shop; and (ii) how much prisoners spent in total at each tuck shop in each prison, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 882/11)

Minister of Justice :

Copies of the tuck shop price lists which detail the menu of items for sale at each establishment have been deposited in the Assembly library.

882/11 (ii) The following table shows the total spend at each establishment’s tuck shop over the last five years:

	TOTAL SALES£’s
Financial Year	Hydebank Wood	Maghaberry	Magilligan
05 – 06	190,013.84	607,697.14	289,363.49
06 – 07	198,286.72	677,340.74	324,799.56
07 – 08	201,082.74	731,831.18	322,663.31
08 – 09	202,899.20	720,007.53	369,132.73
09 – 10	207,264.55	738,061.11	359,387.54

Prison Tuck Shops

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 7908/10, to detail the number of (i) recorded incidents of theft; and (ii items recorded as lost or misplaced from tuck shops in each prison, in each of the last five years, including a list of these items and their value.

(AQW 885/11)

Minister of Justice : I am advised that there have been no recorded incidents of theft and no items recorded as lost or misplaced from any of the prison tuck shops.

Community Safety in North Belfast

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the level of funding by his Department for community safety in North Belfast, including groups based in the city centre, in each of the last three years; (ii) to where this funding has been allocated; (iii) the amount allocated in each case; and (iv) the duration of this funding.

(AQW 896/11)

Minister of Justice : The Department of Justice came into existence on 12 April 2010. Details of funding prior to that date are a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

The budget allocated to Belfast Community Safety Partnership (CSP) for programme delivery throughout the council area for the 2010/2011 financial year is £398,884. I have detailed below those initiatives being delivered from this funding specifically in North Belfast and also those projects being delivered on a city wide basis. It is not however possible to accurately pinpoint the costs directly attributed to each area of the city for these wider initiatives and therefore the total costs have been provided. I have also listed a project directly funded by the Department, rather than by the CSP.

Area	Group	Funding Awarded
North Belfast	Tigers Bay Concerned Residents Group	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Glencairn Residents Group	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Artillery Youth Centre	£1,000.00
North Belfast	First Step Centre	£1,000.00
North Belfast	North Belfast Interface Network	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Holy Family Youth Centre	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Tigers Bay Mens Group	£925.00
North Belfast	North Belfast Alternatives	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Ballysillan Youth For Christ Community Drop In Centre	£1,000.00
North Belfast	New Life Counselling	£1,000.00
North Belfast	Jennymount Community Association	£840.95
North Belfast	Greater Shankill Community Safety Network	£3,000
North Belfast	Ardoyne Fleadh	£5,000
North Belfast	Friends of the Waterworks	£500
North Belfast	Ligoniel Improvement Association	£500
North Belfast	Midland Tigers Bay Boxing Club	£500
North Belfast	Wolfhill Centre	£500
North Belfast	Fortwilliam Youth Club	£500
North Belfast	North Belfast Area Partnership Board	£1,400
North Belfast	Greater Shankill Area Partnership Board	£1,400

Area	Initiative	Funding Allocated
City wide	Anti-social Behaviour Fora	£5,000
City wide	Youth Outreach	£30,000
City wide	Youth Inclusion	£30,000
City wide	Off Licence Work	£10,000
Area	Initiative	Funding Allocated
City wide	Belfast Nite Zones	£20,000
City wide	Joint Enforcement	£10,000
City wide	Vintners Work	£2,500
City wide	Get Home Safe Campaign	£30,000
City wide	Parental Awareness Campaign	£10,000
City wide	Belfast Against Night Time Disorder	£5,000
City wide	Tension Monitoring	£40,000
City wide	Hate Crime Awareness Campaign	£15,500
City wide	Hate Crime Training & Engagement Programme	£20,000
City wide	Hate Crime Convention	£1,000
City wide	Information & Communication Officer	£42,000
City wide	Youth Awards	£17,500
City wide	Community Safety Good Practice Events	£10,000
City wide	Belfast Good Morning Project	£10,000
City wide	Intergenerational Project	£5,000
City wide	Safer Belfast Tasking	£35,384

Area	Initiative	Funding Allocated
North Belfast & City Centre	Drug Arrest Referral Scheme*	£216,000

*Project directly funded by Department of Justice through Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

The Compensation Agency

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of Justice to detail the number of claims for injuries, related to the conflict, that were processed by the Compensation Agency since its inception in 1992; and the total amount paid out for these claims.

(AQW 996/11)

Minister of Justice : I am unable to provide the information you have requested as the Compensation Agency does not hold compensation details for injuries relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland separate from other criminal injury claims.

Damage Caused to Vehicles as a Result of Rioting

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Justice for an estimate of the cost of the damage caused to vehicles as a result of rioting in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1010/11)

Minister of Justice : I am unable to provide the information requested as the Compensation Agency cannot differentiate compensation paid for damage to vehicles as a result of rioting as opposed to other vehicle damage claims.

Hate Crime

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister of Justice to outline how 'perception' in relation to hate crime is evaluated and whether it is based upon fact.

(AQW 1013/11)

Minister of Justice : A hate crime is any incident, which constitutes a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.

This definition was adopted by the Association of Chief Police Officers following a key recommendation of the MacPherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The perception-based model has been accepted and adopted by Criminal Justice Agencies in Northern Ireland, as the definition helps raise awareness of the racial, religious, sexual orientation or disability element in any offence from the point of reporting, through investigation and up to prosecution.

When an incident or crime has been reported to police by the victim or any other person that they perceive as being motivated by prejudice or hate, it will always be recorded and investigated as a hate incident or crime in accordance with the PSNI Hate Crime Policy.

It is therefore not appropriate to seek to evaluate an individual’s perception; to do so would undermine the basis on which this definition has been adopted by Criminal Justice Agencies.

Separated Prisoners

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 689/11, why 4 of the 21 separated prisoners did not sign a compact which was instead endorsed by the Prison Governor; and whether this is classed as a sufficient acceptance of the terms of the compact by these 4 prisoners.

(AQW 1015/11)

Minister of Justice : All prisoners who apply for entry into separated accommodation are provided with a copy of the Compact at the point of application and a Prison Governor will explain to them that the terms of the Compact, Prison Rules and the rule of law will apply. Every applicant must sign the application form and in the small minority of cases where the Compact itself has not been signed, the Northern Ireland Prison Service is satisfied that the prisoner has been made fully aware of the terms of compact.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service is satisfied that this process, which is always witnessed by an additional officer, demonstrates sufficient acceptance of the terms of the Compact.

Prisoners Released Accidentally

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Justice how many prisoners have been accidentally released in each of the last six years.

(AQW 1019/11)

Minister of Justice : I am advised that the Northern Ireland Prison Service has no record of any prisoner being accidentally released in the last six years other than the two cases reported in the last week – Devidas Paliutis from Maghaberry and Connelly James Cummins from Downpatrick Crown Court.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms J McCann asked the Minister of Justice to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by his Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 1073/11)

Minister of Justice : The Department of Justice does not fund any services under Neighbourhood Renewal.

Custody Suites

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice to detail the (i) number; and (ii) location of existing custody suites, broken down by policing district.

(AQW 1120/11)

Minister of Justice : Issues pertaining to the number and location of PSNI custody suites are matters 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.

You may therefore wish to direct your question to the PSNI.

Department for Regional Development

NI Water

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development if NI Water will only accept bids from suppliers whose staff are direct employees of the tendering company and that no bids will be accepted from suppliers who employ agency staff.

(AQW 649/11)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water that it will accept tender bids from any supplier that meets the requirements of a particular tender, regardless of how its staff are provided.

NI Water

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development what NI Water's contingency plan is should (i) no company or supplier submit a bid for NI Water Tender C398 - Provision of Technical Support Staff in the Area of Mechanical and Engineering Services; and (ii) none of the bids submitted for this tender comply with the tender specifications.

(AQW 651/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it is considered inappropriate to disclose details of any contingency plan associated with either (i) or (ii) above as this is deemed commercially sensitive information and disclosure would be likely to impact upon both the ongoing tender process associated with C398 and upon the implementation of any such contingency plan.

NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development whether he, or his special adviser, have received requests for a meeting from any of the dismissed non-executive directors of NI Water; and what responses have been given.

(AQW 662/11)

Minister for Regional Development: One of the former non-executive directors wrote to me on two occasions requesting meetings to discuss the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Board of NI Water. I declined both requests.

The Blue Badge Scheme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the number of (i) successful; and (ii) unsuccessful applications for the Blue Badge Scheme in the North Down constituency, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 684/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I can advise that the database maintained by the Blue Badge Unit within my Department’s Roads Service, does not store information on the number of Blue Badges issued on a constituency basis. Although the database is able to provide details of Blue Badges issued within the North Down area by postcode, the system does not have the facility to report on the number of Blue Badges issued by postcode in any given year. However, it is able to provide the number of current valid Blue Badges issued within the North Down area by postcode and this information is detailed in the table below.

Postcode	Individual	Support Organisation
BT16	982	74
BT18	775	4
BT19	2,267	6
BT20	1,616	11
BT21	590	0
BT22	1,605	7
BT23	3,112	1

With regard to successful and unsuccessful applications, unfortunately the database only holds this information, for the whole of the North, for the last three years. The available information is detailed below:

Financial Year	Valid applications	Successful	Unsuccessful
2007/2008	32,557	31,802	755
2008/2009	35,190	34,353	837
2009/2010	35,663	34,610	1,053

Larne to Craigyhill Bus Route

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Regional Development how many passengers used the Larne to Craigyhill bus route in each of the last 24 months.

(AQW 687/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I am unable to provide the information in the format requested as Translink records the number of passenger journeys rather than the actual number of passengers. The information provided to me by Translink is set out in the table below.

Year	Month	Passenger Journeys
August 2008 - August 2010

2008	August	14093
	September	16831
	October	16605
	November	15523
	December	14864
2009	January	13257
	February	13009
	March	15690
	April	13925
	May	13564
	June	13575
	July	12191
	August	12624
	September	14090
	October	13425
	November	12255
	December	12251
2010	January	12065
	February	10821
	March	13957
	April	11462
	May	11785
	June	13244
	July	10373
	August	11349

Uniformity of Speed Limits

Mr P Ramsey asked the Minister for Regional Development what consideration he has given to introducing speed limits in kilometres per hour to ensure uniformity across the island of Ireland.

(AQW 746/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has no plans to introduce road signs displaying distances in kilometres.

The legislative position with regard to the metrication of road signs is articulated within ‘The Units of Measurement Regulations 1995’, which state that miles, yards and feet should be used for road traffic signs, distance and speed measurement.

In addition, I should advise that the Northern Ireland Act 1998, ‘Units of Measurement and United Kingdom Primary Standards’ are reserved matters and can therefore only be devolved with the consent of the Secretary of State.

I am further advised that the conversion from miles to kilometres of all road signs in the North would incur a significant capital cost, as all existing signs would need to be retrofitted or replaced. These costs would be disproportionate to any overall benefit derived from the change and, given the current budgetary pressures on the Department, would be difficult to justify.

Blue and Orange Badge Holders

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister for Regional Development what plans he has to re-examine the six months processing period that blue and orange badge holders have to wait before obtaining a designated parking bay.

(AQW 760/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I should firstly explain that the Blue Badge Scheme was introduced on 1 April 2000 to replace the orange badges and that the latter ceased to be valid with effect from 1 April 2003.

Disabled parking bays are authorised by means of a statutory rule (SR). Normally, successful applications from across the North are batched on a two monthly basis and incorporated into a single draft SR. There are a number of steps involved in making an SR, including clearing the proposal with the Regional Development Committee and publishing a notice of the Department’s intention to make the SR in the local press. My Department is then required to wait for a period of 22 days from the date of publication of the notice, to give interested parties an opportunity to object, or make representations. If no objections are received, the Department is then in a position to make the SR. If objections are received, my Department must consider the objections and this can add considerably to the processing time.

I can further advise that until recently, the process had included clearing the draft SR with the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Departmental Solicitor’s Office (DSO). However, over the past 12 months, problems arose in getting the draft SRs cleared by the DSO and this added significantly to the overall processing time. To counteract this, new procedures were introduced in June of this year so that SRs of this type no longer need to be referred to the DSO. This action should help to speed up the processing time, therefore I do not intend to further re-examine the procedures at this time.

Uniformity of Speed Limits

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister for Regional Development if he has any plans to introduce speed limits in kilometres per hour to ensure uniformity with traffic controls in the Republic of Ireland and other EU countries.

(AQW 789/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has no plans to introduce road signs displaying distances in kilometres.

School Signs

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister for Regional Development under what circumstances a school can erect a sign for its school on a public highway.

(AQW 819/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that there are two types of traffic signs that can be used for schools, namely warning signs and direction signs.

Warning signs, which show children inside a red triangle, are used on the approaches to schools to warn of the likelihood of encountering children in the road ahead. Roads Service normally provides these signs at schools on request.

Direction signs are used to locate destinations on the road network. Again, these signs are requested by the school and Roads Service would consider a number of issues when assessing such requests.

I am advised that direction signing will not normally be permitted to any premises located on urban distributor roads or on rural A or B class roads, as these buildings will generally be easy to locate. However, any school may be signed where there is a clear road safety need or where Roads Service is satisfied that there is an obvious difficulty in finding the school due to its location or remoteness from the main road network. In addition, should such a school be regularly made available to the wider community for purposes beyond normal school usage, this factor will also be taken into consideration.

Where approval for this type of sign is given, Roads Service would normally arrange for the design and erection of the signing, with the cost being recovered from the school.

Railway Bridges

Mr T Burns asked the Minister for Regional Development, following the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct, to detail (ii) how many railway bridges had checks carried out; (ii) which railway bridges were checked; (ii) what repairs were carried out as a result of any checks; and (iii) the cost of any checks or repairs.

(AQW 821/11)

Minister for Regional Development:

Translink advise that 157 rail bridges on the NIR network were involved in a desk study following the collapse of the Malahide railway viaduct. Of these, 39 major structures had received underwater inspections by external specialists during the summer of 2008 prior to the Malahide incident and twenty-five other structures had previously been inspected and repair works identified. Seventy-two minor structures had inspections completed by NIR. Twenty-one inspections for scour were not required (as the bridges spanned minor water courses only).
The table below details all the bridges that were checked: -

Nr	Bridge Type	Location	Bridge Over	Nr of Spans
1	UB	Border to Meigh	Stream	1
2	C	Border to Meigh	Stream	1
3	UB	Meigh to Newry	River	1
4	C	Meigh to Newry	Stream	1
5	UB	Newry to Knockarney	Land & Stream	18
6	UB	Newry to Knockarney	Stream	1
7	UB	Newry to Knockarney	Stream	1
8	UB	Knockarney to Poyntzpass	Canal & Accomm. Road	1
9	UB	Knockarney to Poyntzpass	River	1
10	UB	Knockarney to Poyntzpass	Stream	1
11	UB	Knockarney to Poyntzpass	Canal & Public Road	1
12	UB	Poyntzpass	Stream	3
13	UB	Poyntzpass to Scarva	Stream	2
14	UB	Poyntzpass to Scarva	Stream	1
15	UB	Scarva to Portadown	Stream	1
16	UB	Scarva to Portadown	Stream	2
17	UB	Scarva to Portadown	River	5
18	UB	Scarva to Portadown	River	2
19	UB	Scarva to Portadown	River	1
20	UB	Portadown to Lurgan	River	3
21	UB	Portadown to Lurgan	Water Channel	1
22	UB	Bell's Row to Drumbane	Stream	1
23	UB	Bell's Row to Drumbane	Stream	1
24	UB	Drumbane to Moira	Lagan Navigational Canal	1
25	UB	Moira to Trummery	Culvert Canal Feeder	1
26	UB	Moira to Trummery	Culvert Canal Feeder	1
27	UB	Damhead to Maze	Farm track & culvert	1
28	UB	Damhead to Maze	Stream	1
29	UB	Lissue to Knockmore	Stream	1
30	UB	Derriaghy to Dunmurry	River	1
31	UB	Derriaghy to Dunmurry	River	1
32	UB	Belfast Central to Lagan Jct.	River	5
33	UB	Dargan Viaduct	River and Public Roads	3
34	UB	Dargan Viaduct	River and Public Roads	3
35	UB	Victoria Park to Sydenham	River	5
36	UB	Sydenham to Holywood	Tidal Stream	1
37	UB	Craigavad to Rockport	Stream	1
38	UB	Craigavad to Seahill	Stream	1
39	C	Seahill to Helen's Bay	Stream	1
40	UB	Helen's Bay to Crawfordsburn	Stream	1
41	UB	Helen's Bay to Crawfordsburn	Valley & Stream	5
42	UB	Bangor West to Bangor	Stream	1
43	UB	York Rd. to Whiteabbey	Stream	2
44	UB	York Rd. to Whiteabbey	Stream & Public Road	2
45	UB	Whiteabbey to Bleach Green	Stream	1
46	UB	Bleach Green Junction	Watercourse	1
47	UB	Bleach Green Jct. to Monkstown	River Valley, Larne Line	13
48	UB	Monkstown to Kingsbog Crossing	Watercourse	1
49	UB	Monkstown to Kingsbog Crossing	Stream	1
50	UB	Monkstown to Kingsbog Crossing	Stream	1
51	UB	Monkstown to Kingsbog Crossing	Stream	1
52	UB	Monkstown to Kingsbog Crossing	Stream	1
53	UB	Kingsbog Crossing to Doagh	Stream	1
54	UB	Kingsbog Crossing to Doagh	Stream	1
55	UB	Kingsbog Crossing to Doagh	Stream	1
56	UB	Doagh to Ballymartin	Stream	1
57	UB	Doagh to Ballymartin	Stream	1
58	UB	Doagh to Ballymartin	Stream	1
59	UB	Ballymartin to Templepatrick	River	1
60	UB	Kilmakee to Muckamore	Public Road & River	4
61	UB	Kilmakee to Muckamore	Stream	1
62	UB	Kilmakee to Muckamore	Stream	1
63	UB	Bleach Green to Jordanstown	River	2
64	UB	Bleach Green to Jordanstown	River Valley	7
65	UB	Trooperslane to Clipperstown	Stream	1
66	UB	Trooperslane to Clipperstown	River	2
67	UB	Carrickfergus to Downshire	Stream	1
68	UB	Carrickfergus to Downshire	Stream	1
69	UB	Downshire to Kilroot	Stream & Footpath	1
70	UB	Downshire to Kilroot	Stream	1
71	UB	Downshire to Kilroot	Stream	1
72	UB	Downshire to Kilroot	River	3
73	UB	Ballycarry to Magheramorne	Tidal Watercourse	1
74	UB	Magheramorne to Glynn	Stream	1
75	UB	Glynn	River	3
76	UB	Glynn to Larne	Stream	1
77	UB	Glynn to Larne	Tidal Watercourse	1
78	UB	Glynn to Larne	River	1
79	C	Larne to Larne Harbour	Culvert	2
80	UB	Antrim to Springfarm	Stream	1

81	UB	Niblock to Carngranny	Stream	1
82	UB	Niblock to Carngranny	Stream	1
83	UB	Carngranny to Kellswater	Stream	2
84	UB	Carngranny to Kellswater	Stream	1
85	UB	Carngranny to Kellswater	Stream	1
86	UB	Carngranny to Kellswater	Stream	1
87	UB	Kellswater North to Slaght	River	5
88	UB	Kellswater North to Slaght	Field Access/Stream	2
89	UB	Kellswater North to Slaght	Stream	1
90	UB	Slaght to Ballymena	Accommodation Road/Stream	1
91	UB	Slaght to Ballymena	Deerfin Burn	1
92	UB	Slaght to Ballymena	Public Road & River	4
93	UB	Slaght to Ballymena	Stream	1
94	UB	Ballymena to Cullybackey	Stream	1
95	UB	Broughdone to Glarryford	Stream	1
96	UB	Broughdone to Glarryford	Stream	1
97	UB	Broughdone to Glarryford	River	4
98	UB	Glarryford to Killagan	Stream	1
99	UB	Killagan to Dunloy	Stream	1
100	UB	Killagan to Dunloy	Stream	1
101	C	Dunloy to Galdanagh	Stream	1
102	C	Galdanagh	Stream	1
103	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
104	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
105	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
106	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
107	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
108	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	Stream	1
109	UB	Galdanagh to Ballyboyland	River	1
110	UB	Ballyboyland to Ballymone	River	1
111	UB	Ballyboyland to Ballymoney	Stream	1
112	UB	Ballyboyland to Ballymoney	Stream	1
113	UB	Ballyboyland to Ballymoney	River	1
114	UB	Ballymoney to Coldagh	Stream	2
115	UB	Ballymoney to Coldagh	Stream	2
116	UB	Damhead to Coleraine	Stream	1
117	UB	Damhead to Coleraine	Stream	1
118	UB	Damhead to Coleraine	Stream	1
119	UB	Coleraine	Stream	1
120	UB	University to Cromore	Stream	1
121	UB	University to Cromore	Stream	1
122	UB	Cromore to Dhu Varren	Stream	1
123	UB	Dhu Varren to Portrush	Stream	1
124	UB	Coleraine to Castlerock	River	10
125	UB	Coleraine to Castlerock	River	3
126	UB	Coleraine to Castlerock	Stream	1
127	UB	Castlerock to Downhill	Stream & Road	3
128	UB	Downhill to Umbra	Stream	1
129	UB	Downhill to Umbra	Stream	1
130	UB	Umbra to Magilligan	Stream	3
131	C	Umbra to Magilligan	Stream	1
132	C	Umbra to Magilligan	Stream	1
133	UB	Umbra to Magilligan	Stream	1
134	UB	Umbra to Magilligan	Stream	1
135	UB	Bellarena to Carrowreagh	River	15
136	UB	Limavady Junct. to Ballykelly	River & Canal	4
137	UB	Limavady Junct. to Ballykelly	Stream	1
138	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	River	1
139	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	Stream	1
140	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	Stream	1
141	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	Stream	1
142	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	Stream	1
143	UB	Ballykelly to Eglington	Stream	2
144	UB	Eglinton to Lisahally	River	11
145	UB	Knockmore to Ballinderry	Stream	1
146	UB	Knockmore to Ballinderry	Stream	1
147	UB	Knockmore to Ballinderry	Stream	1
148	UB	Knockmore to Ballinderry	Public Road & River	1
149	UB	Ballinderry to Glenavy	Stream	1
150	UB	Ballinderry to Glenavy	Stream	1
151	UB	Glenavy to Crumlin	River	1
152	UB	Crumlin to Antrim	Public Road & River	1
153	UB	Crumlin to Antrim	Stream	1
154	UB	Crumlin to Antrim	River	1
155	UB	Crumlin to Antrim	River & Canal	2
156	UB	Crumlin to Antrim	Stream	1
157	UB	Bleach Green Jct. to Monkstown	Stream	1

Note:UB represents under-bridge

C represents culvert

(iii) A range of minor remedial measures were completed ranging from scour protection to in situ concrete bagging.(iv) Checks and repairs following the Malahide incident cost approximately £15,000 for inspections and approximately £110,000 for repair works.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked e Minister for Regional Development to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by his Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 832/11)

Minister for Regional Development: The following table sets out the relevant land and property details for my Department.

ROADS SERVICE DIVISION	HOUSE NO	STREET	TOWN	PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
EASTERN	29	ARDMORE PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	31	ARDMORE PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	33	ARDMORE PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	7	HUMBER STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	1	REDBURN SQUARE	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	322	COMBER ROAD - CARR	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	4	FULMAR AVENUE (PRINCE WILLIAM ROAD)	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	6	FULMAR AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	2	FULMAR AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	12	FULMAR AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	25 - 35	THORNLEIGH DRIVE / PRINCE WILLIAM ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	M1 MOTORWAY	MOIRA	LAND
EASTERN	BALLYNAHINCH ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	1	REDBURN SQUARE	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	M2 MOTORWAY	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	3	BELFAST ROAD	BALLYNURE	PROPERTY
EASTERN	9	BELFAST ROAD	BALLYNURE	PROPERTY
EASTERN	11	BELFAST ROAD	BALLYNURE	PROPERTY
EASTERN	87	ABBEY PARK	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	17	BARNETTS CRESCENT	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	21	BARNETTS ROAD	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	1	KENBELLA PARADE	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	271	SHORE ROAD	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	147	MANSE ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	208	BANGOR ROAD	HOLYWOOD	PROPERTY
EASTERN	211	SHORE ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	PROPERTY
EASTERN	72	KINGSDALE PARK	DUNDONALD, CO DOWN	PROPERTY
EASTERN	43-65	BELFAST ROAD	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	PRINCE WILLIAM ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	THE CRESCENT	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	34	CARNREAGH	HILLSBOROUGH	LAND
EASTERN	MOIRA ROAD/ OLD ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	DUNLADY ROAD/DUNLADY MANOR	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	BEVERLEY ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	FAIRHILL CRES & BALLYDUFF ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	PRINCE WILLIAM ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	GLENAVY ROAD - LAY-BY(ROUTE A26)	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	BLANCHFLOWER PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	LURGAN ROAD / CHAPEL ROAD	GLENAVY	LAND
EASTERN	MOIRA RD/ FURZE ROAD	GLENAVY	LAND
EASTERN	155	BALLYNAHINCH ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	HOLYWOOD ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	SCRABO STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	FORTWILLIAM INTERCHANGE M2 (STH)	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	QUEENS ROAD / NEW STREET	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	SPRUCEFIELD ROUNDABOUT	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	A2 DUAL CARRAIGEWAY	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	M1 / STOCKMANS WAY	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	STEWARTSTOWN ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	QUEENS ROAD / SEYMOUR STREET	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	BENTRIM ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	OLD COACH LANE / UPPER MALONE ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	4	GRAHAMSBRIDGE ROAD	DUNDONALD	LAND
EASTERN	NELSON STREET / LITTLE PATRICK STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	A8 (M)	GLENGORMLEY	LAND
EASTERN	297	WHITEWELL ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	16	BERKLEY ROAD/BEECHILL ROAD	CASTLEREAGH	LAND
EASTERN	132	RAVENSWOOD PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	FLUSH ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	LOWER NEWTOWNARDS ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	PARKWAY / BELMONT ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	STEWARTSTOWN ROAD/ LINDEN HILL	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	ARGYLE STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	278	COMBER ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	276A	COMBER ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	CASTLE GARDENS - QUEENS ROAD CAR PARK	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	183	SAINTFIELD ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	LANDS ADJACENT TO M1 AT DUNMURRY	DUNMURRY	LAND
EASTERN	LINENHALL STREET	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	87-89	OLD HOLYWOOD ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	PLANTATION AVE/SAINTFIELD ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	OLD LARNE ROAD (LAND ADJACENT TO NO.10)	BALLYNURE	LAND
EASTERN	LANDS AT MACEDON/HAZELBANK ROUNDABOUT	LAND
EASTERN	265	OLD BELFAST ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	GRANSHA ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	MILLBROOK ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	188-190	ANDERSONSTOWN ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	130	DROMORE ROAD	HILLSBOROUGH	PROPERTY
EASTERN	61	BALLYMACONNELL ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	1&7 & 159/163	HUMBER STREET & DEE STREET	BELFAST
EASTERN	5	FERNDALE AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	LAND AT REAR OF COLLINBRIDGE CLOSE & CT AND M2	GLENGORMLEY	LAND
EASTERN	131	BALLYNAHINCH ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	STATION ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	68	LOWER BRANIEL ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	108	HALFTOWN ROAD	LISBURN	DWELLING - OCCUPIED
EASTERN	MANSE ROAD / PRINCE CHARLES WAY JUNCTION	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	519-529	ORMEAU ROAD (ROSETTA COTTAGES)	BELFAST	PROPERTY
EASTERN	2	GREEN LANE	CONLIG	LAND
EASTERN	49	BANGOR ROAD	CONLIG	LAND
EASTERN	HILL STREET	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	238	STEWARTSTOWN ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	25A	MILLVALE ROAD	HILLSBOROUGH	LAND
EASTERN	DONEGALL QUAY & ANNE STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	UPPER DUNMURRY LANE	DUNMURRY	LAND
EASTERN	WHITLA STREET / YORK STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	9	STRATHALLAN PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	15	SCRABO STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	2	RAVENSCROFT AVENUE	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	SIX ROAD ENDS, UPPER GRANSHA ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	ADJACENT TO 32	FARMLEY ROAD	GLENGORMLEY	LAND
EASTERN	9C	THORNLEIGH PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	189 CARNMONEY ROAD SIDE AND REAR OF	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	25	GLEBE ROAD EAST	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	BALLYNAHINCH/HOWE/MAGHERACONLUCE ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	92	TAYLORS AVENUE	CARRICKFERGUS	LAND
EASTERN	24	BERNICE ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	12	OLD CARRICK ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	SEYMOUR STREET / QUEENS ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	MAYFIELD LINK	MALLUSK	LAND
EASTERN	HAMILTONS ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	81	HIGH STREET	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	14	BALLYLENAGHAN ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	93	OLD HOLYWOOD ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	20A	BALLYCRAIGY ROAD	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	11	GLEBE GARDENS	NEWTOWNABBEY	LAND
EASTERN	91	OLD HOLYWOOD ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	88	SHORE ROAD	GREENISLAND	PROPERTY
EASTERN	1A	STATION ROAD	GREENISLAND	PROPERTY
EASTERN	27	VIEWFORT PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	DISTILLERY STREET/WESTLINK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	5	STATION ROAD	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	26	CHURCH HILL	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	6	UPPER ROAD	CARRICKFERGUS	LAND
EASTERN	KILWARLIN ROAD/M1	HILLSBOROUGH	LAND
EASTERN	49	BELFAST ROAD	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	GLENMACHAN PLACE	LAND
EASTERN	48	UPPER ROAD	GREENISLAND	LAND
EASTERN	BELMONT PARK	PARKWAY	LAND
EASTERN	CHURCH ROAD	MONEYREAGH	LAND
EASTERN	CAR PARK AT GIANTS RING / BALLYNAHATTY ROAD	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	88	SHORE ROAD	GREENISLAND	PROPERTY
EASTERN	OLD GOLF COURSE ROAD	DUNMURRY	LAND
EASTERN	167	FINAGHY ROAD SOUTH	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	17	SEAHILL DRIVE	HOLYWOOD	LAND
EASTERN	67	SCHOMBERG AVENUE	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	3	FERNDALE AVENUE	LISBURN	PROPERTY
EASTERN	7	FERNDALE AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	11	FERNDALE AVENUE	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	MADISON AVENUE EAST	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	7	STRATHALLAN PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	VICTORIA STREET ROAD SERVICE DEPOT	CARRICKFERGUS
EASTERN	100	HIGH STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	WESTMINSTER AVENUE	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	FREDERICK STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	55 & 57	GREAT PATRICK STREET	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	LINENHALL STREET	LISBURN	LAND
EASTERN	57	BALLYMACONNELL ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	57A	BALLYMACONNELL ROAD	BANGOR	LAND
EASTERN	28	WILLIAM ALEXANDER PARK	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	SHORE ROAD/SKEGONEILL AVENUE	BELFAST	LAND
EASTERN	5	BELFAST ROAD	GLENAVY	LAND
NORTHERN	12	CARNVIEW PARK	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	112	TOBERDONEY ROAD	DERVOCK	LAND
NORTHERN	27	BROWNING DRIVE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	29	BROWNING DRIVE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	26	BROWNING DRIVE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	31	CAW PARK	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	24	BROWNING DRIVE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	GLENSHANE ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	CUMBER ROAD	CLAUDY	LAND
NORTHERN	LISNEVENAGH ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	AIRPORT ROAD	MUCKAMORE	LAND
NORTHERN	AIRPORT ROAD	MUCKAMORE	LAND
NORTHERN	TULLY ROAD	CRUMLIN	LAND
NORTHERN	TULLY ROAD	CRUMLIN	LAND
NORTHERN	TULLY ROAD	NUTTS CORNER	LAND
NORTHERN	39	CARNANREAGH ROAD PARK	CLAUDY	LAND
NORTHERN	CROMKILL ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	CASTLE ROAD	RANDALSTOWN	LAND
NORTHERN	16	BALLYBEG ROAD	AHOGHILL	VACANT COMMERCIAL PROPERTY AND LAND
NORTHERN	GLENSHANE ROAD	DUNGIVEN	LAND
NORTHERN	2	BALLYSTRUDDER ROAD	BALLYSTRUDDER	LAND
NORTHERN	3	THE POPLARS	RANDALSTOWN	LAND
NORTHERN	SEA ROAD	CASTLEROCK	LAND
NORTHERN	LOWER MAIN STREET	LIMAVADY	LAND
NORTHERN	MILL ROAD	PORTSTEWART	LAND
NORTHERN	AIRFIELD ROAD	EGLINTON	LAND AND ROADBED
NORTHERN	VALLEY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	1	HIGH ROAD	PORTSTEWART	LAND
NORTHERN	CASTLEWAY	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	LISNEVENAGH ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	81	BALLYMONEY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	MACFIN	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	MILL PATH	EGLINGTON	LAND
NORTHERN	21	DEANFIELD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	52	MOVILLA ROAD	PORTSTEWART	LAND
NORTHERN	RAILWAY STREET	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	68	CULMORE ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	CASTLE ROAD	RANDALSTOWN	LAND
NORTHERN	HOLLY BANK ROAD	BALLYCLARE	LAND
NORTHERN	FRY'S ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	POINT ROAD	MAGILLGAN	LAND
NORTHERN	OLDPARK ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	HIGH STREET	PORTSTEWART	LAND
NORTHERN	CARNINY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	90	CARNINY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	101	LARGY ROAD	PORTGLENONE	LAND
NORTHERN	BUSH ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	PLOT 1 FAIRHILL CAR PARK	LARNE	LAND
NORTHERN	HOLLYBANK ROAD	BALLYCLARE	LAND
NORTHERN	LIMAVADY BYPASS	LIMAVADY	LAND
NORTHERN	ADJACENT TO 33	BELFAST ROAD	LARNE	LAND
NORTHERN	MAIN STREET	AHOGHILL	LAND
NORTHERN	MOUNT STREET/THOMAS STREET	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	BONDS HILL	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	GREENAN ROAD	RANDALSTOWN	LAND
NORTHERN	VOW ROAD	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	GREENAN ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	81	LISNEVENAGH ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	39	COLLINWOOD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	VICTORIA MARKET (8 STRAND ROAD)	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	OLD SCHOOL LANE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	MOIRA ROAD	CRUMLIN	LAND
NORTHERN	95	MACFIN ROAD	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	16	MONEYBRANNON ROAD	AGHADOWEY	LAND
NORTHERN	KIRK ROAD	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	71	DOURY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	OLDSTONE ROAD	MUCKAMORE	LAND
NORTHERN	BUSH ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	CULMORE ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	8	BLIGHS LANE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	CARMAVY ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	TOOME BY-PASS	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	40	BUSH ROAD	BUSHMILLS	LAND
NORTHERN	TULLY ROAD	ANTRIM EASTERN BY-PASS	LAND
NORTHERN	DRUMCROONE ROAD	COLERAINE	LAND
NORTHERN	74	CARHILL ROAD	GARVAGH	LAND
NORTHERN	BALLYMONEY BY-PASS	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	FRYS HOLLOW	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	181	AIRPORT ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	7-11	LOUGH ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	51/53	QUEEN STREET	BALLYMONEY	LAND
NORTHERN	VICTORIA ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	412	BALLYQUIN ROAD	LIMAVADY	LAND
NORTHERN	38	CHAPEL ROAD	DUNGIVEN	LAND
NORTHERN	BALLYROBIN ROAD	ANTRIM	LAND
NORTHERN	LISNAGROT	KILREA	LAND
NORTHERN	1A	TAYLOR PARK	LIMAVADY	LAND
NORTHERN	FRYS ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	2	NORBURGH PARK	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	119	OLD TULLYGARLEY ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	FOREGLEN ROAD	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	36	CHAPEL ROAD	DUNGIVEN	LAND
NORTHERN	34	CHAPEL ROAD	DUNGIVEN	LAND
NORTHERN	FAIRHILL CAR PARK PLOT 2	LARNE	LAND
NORTHERN	PLOT 3 FAIRHILL CAR PARK	LARNE	LAND
NORTHERN	126 - 130	CRAIGMORE ROAD	RINGSEND	LAND
NORTHERN	126	CRAIGMORE ROAD	RINGSEND	LAND
NORTHERN	CRAIGMORE	RINGSEND	LAND
NORTHERN	CRAIGMORE	RINGSEND	LAND
NORTHERN	CRAIGMORE	RINGSEND	LAND
NORTHERN	8	BLIGHS LANE	DERRY	LAND
NORTHERN	DRUMAGROVE ROAD	CLOUGH	LAND
NORTHERN	89	DRUMCROON ROAD	COLERAINE	LAND
NORTHERN	DRUMCROON ROAD	COLERAINE	LAND
NORTHERN	49	BROUGH ROAD	CASTLEDAWSON	DWELLING - VACANT
NORTHERN	DRUMCROON ROAD	COLERAINE	LAND
NORTHERN	WOODSIDE ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
NORTHERN	FOYLE DRIVE	BALLYKELLY	LAND
NORTHERN	41	GALGORM ROAD	BALLYMENA	LAND
WESTERN	20	LETTICE STREET	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	2A	MILL STREET	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	346 I	BOA ISLAND ROAD	BELLEEK		LAND
WESTERN	4B	WESTLAND ROAD SOUTH	COOKSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	184A	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	3A	CLABBY ROAD	FIVEMILETOWN		LAND
WESTERN	515	KILLADEAS ROAD	KESH		LAND
WESTERN	111	MANOO ROAD	KESH		LAND
WESTERN	3	SNOWHILL ROAD	LISBELLAW		LAND
WESTERN	74	KILLYCLOGHER ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	1A	SPERRIN PARK	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	51A	DOCK STREET	STRABANE		LAND (CONTAINED WITHIN CARPARK)
WESTERN	22A	THE SQUARE	STEWARTSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	31C	KILLYCLOGHER ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	54A	MARKET STREET	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	2	SPERRIN PARK	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	5	SPERRIN PARK	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	22 PLOT C	DEVERNEY ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	81	GALBALLY ROAD	DROMORE		LAND USED AS SCREENING DEPOT
WESTERN	9A	TOBERMORE ROAD	DRAPERSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	1A	KING STREET	MAGHERAFELT		LAND
WESTERN	187A	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	187B	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	187C	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	187D	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	191	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	191A	TAMNAMORE ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	ADJACENT TO 5 PLOT C1	CALEDON ROAD	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	184	TAMNAMORE ROAD MULLENAKILL SOUTH / DERRYHUBBERT NORTH DUNGANNON	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	14C	BALLINTARSON LANE	LISBELLAW		LAND
WESTERN	346 J	BOA ISLAND ROAD	BELLEEK		LAND
WESTERN	435A	BOA ISLAND ROAD	BELLEEK		LAND
WESTERN	3C	COOLEBROOKE PARK ROAD	BROOKEBOROUGH		LAND
WESTERN	PLOT 1	MILL STREET	IRVINESTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	28D	MILL STREET	IRVINESTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	136	C452 DRUMEER ROAD	MAGUIRESBRIDGE		LAND
WESTERN	PLOT 1 & 2	DERRYARDY LANE	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	14A	DUNGANNON ROAD	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	3A	COOLEBROOKE PARK ROAD	BROOKEBOROUGH		LAND
WESTERN	PLOT C2	CALEDON ROAD	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	12A	DUNGANNON ROAD	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	10A	DUNGANNON ROAD	AUGHNACLOY		LAND
WESTERN	CLABBY ROAD	FIVEMILETOWN		LAND
WESTERN	1A	DUNNABRAGGY ROAD	MONEYMORE		LAND
WESTERN	70	KILLYMEAL ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	36	TREWMOUNT ROAD	KILLYMAN		LAND
WESTERN	TEMPO ROAD	ENNISKILLEN		LAND
WESTERN	14A	MOTALEE ROAD	MAGHERAFELT		LAND
WESTERN	21B	MONEYSALLIN ROAD	KILREA		LAND
WESTERN	BRADLEY WAY	STRABANE		LAND
WESTERN	FAIR GREEN	CAMDERRY ROAD CAR PARK	DROMORE		CARPARK
WESTERN	EDFIELD WAY CAR PARK	FIVEMILETOWN		LAND WITHIN CARPARK
WESTERN	50	AUGHER ROAD	CLOGHER		LAND
WESTERN	PLOT2&3	MILL STREET	IRVINESTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	29	ORRITOR ROAD	COOKSTOWN		LAND - PART OF CAR PARK
WESTERN	A29	STATION ROAD	MONEYMORE		LAND
WESTERN	PLOT3&4	DRAPERSTOWN ROAD	DESERTMARTIN		LAND
WESTERN	11	MULLAGHDUN LANE	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	MOUNTSTEWART ROAD	FINTONA		LAND
WESTERN	RACOLPA ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	TEMPO ROAD	ENNISKILLEN		LAND
WESTERN	19A	DESERTMARTIN ROAD	TOBERMORE		LAND
WESTERN	19A	DESERTMARTIN ROAD	TOBERMORE		LAND
WESTERN	19A	DESERTMARTIN ROAD	TOBERMORE		LAND
WESTERN	19A	DESERTMARTIN ROAD	TOBERMORE		LAND
WESTERN	DESERTMARTIN ROAD	MONEYMORE		LAND
WESTERN	ADJACENT TO 30	CLANABOGAN ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	65 WESTLAND ROAD	COOKSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	ADJACENT TO 45	OLD ROSSORY ROAD	ENNISKILLEN		LAND
WESTERN	TUMMERY ROAD	DROMORE		LAND
WESTERN	30	JOHNSTON PARK	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	25	ENNISKILLEN ROAD	LISBELLAW		LAND
WESTERN	5 MULLAGH ROAD	MAGHERA		LAND
WESTERN	ROSHURE ROAD	MAGHERAFELT		LAND
WESTERN	MULLAGH CLOSE	MAGHERAFELT		LAND
WESTERN	LISNAHALL ROAD	COOKSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	MONEYGRAN ROAD	MAGHERAFELT		LAND
WESTERN	ANNAGHER ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	23	CIRCULAR ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	MAIN ROAD MOYGASHEL	DUNGANNON
WESTERN	5	MURLEY ROAD	FIVEMILETOWN, DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	1	RAILWAY VIEW	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	GLENSHANE ROAD	MAGHERA		LAND
WESTERN	ALTAVEEDAN ROAD	FIVEMILETOWN		LAND
WESTERN	HOGS-HEAD CAR PARK	MC CONNELL PLACE	OMAGH		LAND
WESTERN	MONEYMORE ROAD	COOKSTOWN		LAND
WESTERN	EDFIELD WAY	FIVEMILETOWN		LAND
WESTERN	B49 BERRYHILL ROAD / BIRCH ROAD	BALLYMAGORRY		LAND
WESTERN	KILLYMAN ROAD	DUNGANNON		LAND
WESTERN	TAMLAGHT ROAD	OMAGH		LAND
SOUTHERN	HILLSBOROUGH ROAD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	PORTADOWN ROAD, KILLUNEY	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	90	CORNAKINEGAR ROAD	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	TOBERHEWNEY LANE LOWER	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MARTINS LANE	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	FARLOUGH ROAD, THE BIRCHES	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MEADOW LANE	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	COMBER ROAD	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	REAR OF HOUSES IN LYNDEN GATE-OFF BALLYHANNON RD	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	CARNBANE WAY	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	OLD ARMAGH ROAD	MOY	LAND
SOUTHERN	LINENHALL STREET	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	SCOTCH STREET/THOMAS STREET	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	REAR OF 3 & 15	OAKRIDGE	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	REAR OF 40 - 44	UNION STREET	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	CARN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE	CRAIGAVON	LAND
SOUTHERN	CORDRAIN	TANDRAGEE	LAND
SOUTHERN	REAR OF 14	FRANCIS STREET	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	CLOUGHANRAMER	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	CASTLE STREET	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	B30 NEWRY ROAD	CROSSMAGLEN	LAND
SOUTHERN	23	ROSS ROAD	ARDGLASS	LAND
SOUTHERN	MILLVALE ROAD	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	CHURCH STREET	DOWNPATRICK	LAND
SOUTHERN	CHURCH STREET	DOWNPATRICK	LAND
SOUTHERN	JUBILEE ROAD	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	DONAGHADEE ROAD	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	CHURCH STREET	DOWNPATRICK	LAND
SOUTHERN	CHURCH STREET	DOWNPATRICK	LAND
SOUTHERN	ARDGLASS ROAD	DOWNPATRICK	LAND
SOUTHERN	NEWTOWN GARDENS	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	81-83	LAKE STREET	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	TOBERHEWNEY LANE	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	TULLYNACREE ROAD	ANNACLOY	LAND
SOUTHERN	104	MAIN STREET	BALLYWALTER	LAND
SOUTHERN	REAR OF 37 & 39	TRASNA WAY (MILLENIUM WAY)	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	ARDRESS ROAD	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	BANBRIDGE BYPASS/ OLD MANSE GREEN	BANBRIDGE	LAND
SOUTHERN	MOSS ROAD	MILLISLE	LAND
SOUTHERN	ADJACENT TO 4	GREENPARK TERRACE	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	19	FORTFIELD	DROMORE / A1	LAND
SOUTHERN	CASCUM ROAD	BANBRIDGE	LAND
SOUTHERN	HILLSBOROUGH ROAD (ADJACENT TO NO 53)	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	CASTLE HILL	GILFORD, CRAIGAVON	LAND
SOUTHERN	SILVERWOOD ROAD	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	GLASSDRUMMAN ROAD	CROSSMAGLEN	LAND
SOUTHERN	8	ALEXANDRA AVENUE	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	12	PARKSIDE	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	10	CHESTERBROOK CRESENT	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	A1 NEWRY ROAD	LOUGHBRICKLAND	LAND
SOUTHERN	92	MARKETHILL ROAD	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	CALEDON ROAD	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	49	HILLSBOROUGH ROAD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	BUS LOOP AT REAR OF RUSHMERE SHOPPING CENTRE, LAKE ROAD	CRAIGAVON	LAND
SOUTHERN	NEWRY STREET	CROSSMAGLEN	LAND
SOUTHERN	CLONMAKATE ROAD	BIRCHES, PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	CASCUM LANE/A1	BANBRIDGE	LAND
SOUTHERN	60	PORTMORE STREET	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MOVILLA ROAD	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	11	BRIDGE ROAD	MOIRA	LAND
SOUTHERN	168	DUBLIN ROAD	BANBRIDGE	DWELLING - VACANT
SOUTHERN	GILPINSTOWN ROAD/CARRIGART MANOR	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MARKETHILL ROAD	ARMAGH	LAND
SOUTHERN	OLD MANSE/CASTLEWELLAN ROAD	BANBRIDGE	LAND
SOUTHERN	LAND TO REAR OF	DERRYBEG VILLAS	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	38	CLONCORE ROAD	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	BALLYMORE ROAD	TANDRAGEE	LAND
SOUTHERN	24-26	MAHON ROAD	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	BALLYCLOUGHAN ROAD	SAINTFIELD	LAND
SOUTHERN	1	ST PATRICKS AVENUE	AGHAGALLON	LAND
SOUTHERN	CRUSHER/GLENANNE ROAD	LOUGHGILLY	LAND
SOUTHERN	22	FORTFIELD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	23	FORTFIELD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	LAND AT WATER SUB STATION	FORTFIELD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	36	FORTFIELD	DROMORE	LAND
SOUTHERN	MILLENNIUM WAY	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MILLENNIUM WAY	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MILLENNIUM WAY	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MAYNOOTH HEIGHTS	RICHHILL	LAND
SOUTHERN	8	NEWRY ROAD	CROSSMAGLEN	LAND
SOUTHERN	122	NEWRY ROAD	CROSSMAGLEN	LAND
SOUTHERN	BRIDGE ROAD	MOIRA	LAND
SOUTHERN	UPPER DROMORE ROAD	WARRENPOINT	LAND
SOUTHERN	A3 BELFAST ROAD	DOLLINGSTOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	MILLENNIUM WAY	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	ANNESBOROUGH ROAD/KINNEGOE EMBANKMENT	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	ADJACENT TO M12	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	3 ANNESBOROUGH INDUSTRIAL ESTATE/LOUGH ROAD	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	TOBERHEWNEY LANE LOWER	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	CHARLESTOWN ROAD	PORTADOWN	LAND
SOUTHERN	FLAGSTAFF ROAD	NEWRY	LAND
SOUTHERN	FREDERICK STREET / CORPORATION STREET LINK ROAD	NEWTOWNARDS	LAND
SOUTHERN	BALLYNMONY LANE	LURGAN	LAND
SOUTHERN	DUBLIN ROAD	LOUGHBRICKLAND	LAND
SOUTHERN	LAKEVIEW ROAD/BALTEAGH ROAD	CRAIGAVON	LAND
SOUTHERN	253	ARMAGH ROAD	NEWRY	LAND

Plans for disposal are currently being considered in accordance with the Department of Finance & Personnel’s "Disposal of Surplus Public Sector Property in Northern Ireland – March 2010".

NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the additional audit support services provided to his Department, in relation to NI Water, or to NI Water in each of the last five financial years, giving the company providing the services; and the contractual arrangements of those services.

(AQW 847/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by NI Water (NIW) that additional audit support services provided to NIW since it was established on 1 April 2007 have been as follows:External Audit ServicesThe following contracts cover the audit of the statutory accounts, the regulatory accounts, the whole of government accounts, and parts of the NI Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR) Annual Information Return as specified by NIAUR and the Interim Principal Statement.1. A contract was awarded to KPMG through open competition from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2010.2. Subsequent to this, a contract was awarded through open competition to KPMG from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2013 with an option to extend for a further two years.Prior to 1 April 2010, the external audit service for Water Service was carried out under the direction of the NI Audit Office with no additional support.Internal Audit Services

A contract was awarded through open competition to Ernst & Young LLP for the provision of internal audit services. The contract was for 2 years from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2009, with an option to extend for a further year to 31 March 2010.
During the transitional period when NIW was seeking to establish its own internal audit function, the following staff substitution services were engaged:

ASM Horwath – engagement of a staff substitute for a period of 8 weeks from September 2008 to October 2008. This engagement was on the basis of quotations as the total contract value fell below the competitive tendering threshold; FGS McClure Watters – engagement of a staff substitute for a period of 8 weeks from August 2008 to September 2008. This engagement was on the basis of quotations as the total contract value fell below the competitive tendering threshold; and
Deloitte – engagement of a staff substitute for a period of 12 weeks from January 2009 to March 2009. This engagement was awarded under the C328 Professional Services Framework Contract. The C328 contract was established in October 2008 following a full competitive tendering exercise.

3. Following the full establishment of its own internal audit function from 1 April 2010, NIW co-sourced from Deloitte - engagement of IT Audit support staff on a staff substitution basis for a total of 8 days between August and October 2010. This engagement was awarded under the C328 Professional Services Framework Contract.

Prior to 1 April 2010, the internal audit service for Water Service was carried out under the direction of DRD Internal Audit function with no additional support.

Portstewart Promenade

Mr D McClarty asked the Minister for Regional Development whether he would consider introducing designated marked out parking bays along Portstewart Promenade in order to ensure vehicles are properly parked and not causing an obstruction.

(AQW 853/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that new waiting restrictions were recently introduced on Portstewart Promenade under the ‘Parking Places, Loading Bay and Waiting Restrictions (Portstewart) Order (Northern Ireland), which came into force on 14 August 2010. This Order designated the parking places on the Promenade as lengths of road rather than individual parking spaces.At this early stage, it is difficult to say whether lengths of road or individual bays will be more efficient, as this will depend on individual driver behaviour. However, I should advise that individual parking bays can only be enforced in charged parking zones.As the new regulations have only just been introduced, Roads Service will be monitoring the parking situation on the Promenade, particularly over the next summer season, before considering any changes to the legislation. As part of this process, consideration will be given to the introduction of individual bays.

NI Water

Mr J Dallat asked e Minister for Regional Development to detail the volume and value of stocks of materials transferred from NI Water depots to private utility contractors' premises; and the reasons for the disposals.

(AQW 864/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it is not aware of any disposal of materials from its depots to contractors’ premises. However, it does, on a controlled basis, supply its approved contractors with specialist equipment such as water meters which are stored at its depots.

Water Supply at Milltown Road in Antrim

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister for Regional Development how many times there has been an interruption to the water supply at the Milltown Road in Antrim within the last 18 months; and how much it has cost to repair each time.

(AQW 867/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water that there were 7 unplanned interruptions to the water supply in the vicinity of Milltown Road, Antrim in the past 18 months. The date of the interruptions and estimated cost of repairs on each occasion is detailed in the table below.

Date	Cost
24 June 2009	£500
16 July 2009	£500
17 August 2010	£800
26 August 2010	£800
7 September 2010	£500
9 September 2010	£500
27 September 2010	£800
Total	£4,400

Overflowing Sewage in Benmore Drive and Hillmount Gardens, South Belfast

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Regional Development what measures NI Water has taken to resolve the problem of overflowing sewage in Benmore Drive and Hillmount Gardens, south Belfast over the last two years.

(AQW 870/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that it has undertaken a number of investigations on the sewerage system as a result of out-of-sewer flooding problems in Benmore Drive and Hillmount Gardens during the past two years. On most occasions a blockage was found and cleared and a CCTV survey of the sewers in the area found no defects. During these investigations a connection was discovered between the sewer network serving the Hillmount/Benmore area and the network serving the Finaghy Road South area, but this was initially thought not to have contributed to the flooding. Further investigation on 27 and 28 September 2010 identified this connection as a contributory factor to the flooding and work to remove it will be completed on 17 October 2010. NIW is satisfied that this work will reduce the risk of further flooding in the area.

Maintenance of Street Lighting

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Regional Development what contingency plans the Roads Service has in place to cover the maintenance of street lighting in the eastern division, given the difficulty in employing a new contractor for this work.

(AQW 871/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that there were legal contractual issues which prevented the award of the new street lighting contract. During this period, contingency measures were put in place to deal with emergency situations. I can advise that the legal contractual issues have now been resolved and the new contractor has commenced work. There is a substantial backlog of repairs to street lighting, but it is expected that this should be cleared in the near future.

Independent Review Team

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 255/11, in relation to the full conflict of interest checks carried out on members of the Independent Review Team, to detail (i) the date checks were completed for (a) Jackie Henry; (b) Peter Dixon; and (c) Glenn Thompson; (ii) who was responsible for carrying out these checks; (iii) who advised his Department on the outcome; and (iv) who made the decision that there were no conflicts of interest.

(AQW 876/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I would refer my Assembly colleague to the answer I gave to AQW 255/11 on 28 September 2010. No conflict of interest checks were carried out by DRD, but Deloitte, as part of the normal engagement process, completed a full conflict check on engagements with DRD and NI Water in the context of Jackie Henry, as an individual, joining the review team. The outcome of this was advised to and discussed with DRD and as a result the Department did not consider that there were any conflicts of interest.

Audio Equipment on Buses

Lord Morrow asked the Minister for Regional Development when he plans to install audio equipment on buses, similar to that on trains, to assist blind and partially-sighted passengers.

(AQW 877/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department is currently working with stakeholders to develop a pilot audio and visual (A/V) scheme on buses which will run in the Belfast area over the winter months and be completed by March 2011. I hope to be in a position to report the results of the pilot exercise in April 2011. In anticipation of a successful conclusion to this pilot, a bid for resources to roll out the system has been made as part of the spending review. The outcome of the spending review will be known before the end of the pilot and will be factored into the pilot’s final report.

Alley-gating Scheme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Regional Development for an estimate of the average cost of an alley-gating scheme for a street.

(AQW 891/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department does not fund alleygating schemes or monitor the costs involved. Schemes of this type are funded by individual promoters, for example, Belfast City Council, who would be best placed to provide such an estimate.

IT System Contract Extension

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, pursuant to AQW 417/11, to outline the current status of the IT system contract extension, the cost of the extended contract and when the contract commenced.

(AQW 924/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that work is ongoing to confirm the position with regard to its specialised IT systems, which assist in the delivery of the Agency’s core business. As such the information requested is not available at this time.

Bangor to Belfast Railway Line

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Regional Development if he has any future plans to upgrade the Bangor to Belfast railway line.

(AQW 989/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department provided funding to Translink to upgrade the Belfast to Bangor railway line in 2001. Translink have no further plans to upgrade the line again in the immediate future.

Door-to-Door Service

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister for Regional Development how many passengers used the Door-to-Door service in the Mid-Ulster area, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 1037/11)

Minister for Regional Development: The information requested is not available. However I can confirm that there are currently 116 members of the Urban Door-to-Door Transport Scheme resident in Cookstown and that the total number of trips taken by members of the scheme resident in Cookstown and permitted companions in each of the last three years was as follows:

Year	Number
September 2007-August 2008	2,233
September 2008-August 2009	2,581
September 2009-August 2010	3,078
Total	7,892

Disabled Adaptations

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Regional Development whether he will exempt people with a disability from paying application fees for disabled adaptations when the building work is over or near a sewer.

(AQW 1129/11)

Minister for Regional Development: Northern Ireland Water (NIW) has a duty to protect the integrity of the public sewerage system and under current legislation it is an offence to build over or near a public sewer without its consent. The fees associated with ‘build over a sewer’ applications are set out in sections 12.24 and 12.25 of the Northern Ireland Water Scheme of Charges 2010/11 (page 49) and are currently paid by all applicants. The Charges Scheme is approved by the Utility Regulator. Fees cover, for example cost of assessment and approval & inspection (including a closed circuit television inspection of the sewers). I have recently advised Disability Action that my officials have now commenced a review of this aspect of NIW’s charging policy and will consider all available evidence.

Department for Social Development

External Media Services

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development how much his Department has spent on accessing external media services, such as PR companies, media training, photographers and event managers, in each of the last three financial years.

(AQW 589/11)

Minister for Social Development (Mr A Attwood): The information on consultancy and event organiser costs for the last 3 years is set out in the table below.With regards to photography, the figures reflect much more community engagement by the Minister for Social Development after the introduction of devolution. I have now initiated steps to reduce the cost, and in-house staff will take many photographs at public engagements. This has already made a difference, for example, in the first three months of this year, compared to last year, the cost has fallen from £9,920 to £6,846. I have instructed my officials to reduce the cost this year by a third.I have also scaled back media training of staff and can confirm no intention to hire external PR companies. Our in-house staff will continue to perform the role of event organisation and I am pleased to report savings of £77,000 to the public purse in the last two years as a result of this.

PR Companies£Media Training£ Photographers£ Event Organisers£

2007-2008 -1,128 11,233* 1,575

2008-2009 -4,005 29,057 -

2009-2010 -1,500 36,292 -

* Photography expenditure figures available for 6 months only from Oct-March 2007/08

Contractors for Housing Executive Projects

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the procedures followed by the Housing Executive when selecting contractors for Housing Executive projects; and if he will make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 640/11)

Minister for Social Development: When selecting contractors for Housing Executive projects the Housing Executive advertises its selection and award criteria. Following submission of tenders an Evaluation Committee will assess both selection and award criteria and will appoint the most appropriate tenderer(s), based on quality and price to take forward the project(s). The letting and award of any contract by the Housing Executive is undertaken by it in accordance with, current relevant procurement law. You will be aware that I announced on 11 October that I have initiated a fundamental review of the Housing Executive and audit of practice over the short-term. Should these identify any issues surrounding the selection of contractors, I will revisit this issue.

Tendering Processes

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development what checks and balances his Department has in place to monitor the tendering processes carried out by the Department or any of its arms-length bodies or agencies.

(AQW 680/11)

Minister for Social Development: A centralised professional service is provided to the Northern Ireland Public Sector by the Central Procurement Directorate, a Centre of Procurement Expertise supporting the Procurement Board which is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of the Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy which applies to the Department, Agency, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and all other sponsored bodies. Central Procurement Directorate is also responsible for developing best practice guidance in association with the Procurement Practitioners’ Group. The Department fully complies with these policies and guidance. In addition, seven Centres, the Housing Executive being one, have been granted the status of Centre of Procurement Expertise and also provide a procurement service to public bodies. Overall compliance with procurement procedures is subject to examination by internal and external audit.By complying with procurement procedures and guidelines the Department hopes to ensure that proper checks and balances are in place to monitor the procurement tendering process. I have been meeting with Department for Social Development and Central Procurement Directorate officials in relation to a number of procurement policies and issues.

Use of Blown Fibre in Cavity Wall Insulation

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister for Social Development (i) why the Housing Executive held an investigation which led to a temporary halt in the use of blown fibre in cavity wall insulation; (ii) to outline the details and results of this investigation; and (iii) if similar concerns have been raised over the use of bead insulation,

(AQW 688/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive became aware that a BBC Wales television investigation had identified possible problems with the use of blown fibre in cavity wall insulation installations. The specific concern raised was that blown fibre can, in some cases, become damp where driving rain penetrates the outer leaf of the cavity wall. This can in turn lead to the damp fibre sinking to the bottom of the cavity creating a bridge across the cavity. The concerns about blown fibre were referred to the Housing Executive’s Policy and Standards Manager who was asked to contact BRE*(trading name of Building Research Establishment Limited), to provide an independent objective assessment of the claims made. They reported back that no specific verifiable problems with the use of blown fibre could be found. The Housing Executive has no knowledge of any similar concerns being raised about the use of bead insulation.*BRE is used by the Housing Executive for independent advice. BRE offers expert advice, research and knowledge for the built environment sector.

Social Security Agency: Fraud Investigations

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development how many pro-active fraud investigation initiatives have been undertaken by the Social Security Agency in the last two years.

(AQW 711/11)

Minister for Social Development: Pro-active initiatives are defined as exercises undertaken in response to emerging risks of fraud and are in addition to the bulk of Agency’s work on reactive investigations carried out in respect of individual cases. The total number of pro-active fraud initiatives undertaken by Benefit Investigation Service in the last two years is 17. As pro-active initiatives can span more than one year, the reply captures initiatives that have been started or concluded in the last two financial years.

Housing Executive Rent Arrears

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the amount owed in rent arrears to the Housing Executive at the end of each of the last three financial years, broken down by district.

(AQW 740/11)

Minister for Social Development: The table attached provides details of rents arrears by Housing Executive district office area for each of the last three financial years.

Table: Details of rent arrears at financial year end for years 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10

Housing Executive District	Rent arrears at financial year end
	2007/08 £	2008/09 £	2009/10 £
West Belfast	806,306	758,090	701,576
East Belfast	822,724	802,335	768,609
North Belfast	1,517,085	1,502,671	1,379,594
Shankill	734,744	711,248	697,977
South Belfast	857,596	823,547	784,237
Bangor	542,695	545,007	573,847
Newtownards	574,297	601,884	595,915
Castlereagh	756,883	819,863	800,551
Lisburn Antrim Street	661,003	635,611	594,557
Lisburn Dairy Farm	463,962	439,159	406,529
Downpatrick	383,829	396,365	351,557
Banbridge	193,870	178,107	171,523
Newry	350,214	322,372	242,626
Armagh	171,722	167,893	157,449
Lurgan/Brownlow	264,024	249,855	236,327
Portadown	253,534	227,674	186,884
Dungannon	209,028	201,140	174,241
Fermanagh	187,555	174,024	173,092
Ballymena	230,649	244,992	287,042
Antrim	236,318	248,901	267,303
Newtownabbey 1	309,236	306,782	318,215
Newtownabbey 2	260,376	280,133	335,223
Carrickfergus	247,066	256,940	310,687
Larne	193,243	198,075	203,296
Ballycastle	78,359	66,165	75,059
Ballymoney	103,817	102,380	118,927
Coleraine	407,109	393,109	383,931
Waterloo Place	172,947	196,494	168,800
Waterside	623,487	614,137	555,504
Collon Terrrace	346,504	385,093	362,198
Limavady	219,779	256,005	238,451
Magherafelt	190,089	192,228	165,784
Strabane	306,578	317,153	271,589
Omagh	199,892	175,462	139,911
Cookstown	127,630	131,847	112,463

People in Housing Stress or Homelessness

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many people in the North Down constituency are currently classified as (i) homeless; and (ii) being in housing stress.

(AQW 773/11)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the format requested as the Housing Executive does not collate information by Parliamentary constituency. However, in relation to (i) in the Bangor and Newtownards District Office areas for the period between April and August 2010, 183 and 166 households respectively were awarded Full Duty Applicant status. In relation to (ii) the social housing waiting list at the end of June 2010 showed that 942 applicants were in housing stress in Bangor District Office area and 1,033 in Newtownards District Office area.

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development, pursuant to AQO 150/11, how many people who applied for the Warm Homes Scheme in each of the last five years were in receipt of rates relief and how many of these applications were refused.

(AQW 781/11)

Minister for Social Development: Rates Relief is not a qualifying benefit for the Warm Homes Scheme and never has been a qualifying benefit for the Scheme. In order to qualify for assistance from the Warm Homes Scheme an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. Housing Benefit, which can include an element for rates relief, is a qualifying benefit for the Warm Homes Scheme. Applicants who are in receipt of rate relief but not housing benefit cannot satisfy the scheme criterion on that basis. The Department holds information relating to successful applications to the Scheme, the Department does not hold any information regarding why applications were not successful.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister for Social Development how many people are currently within each category of Disability Living Allowance awards at the (i) higher rate; and (ii) lower rate.

(AQW 800/11)

Minister for Social Development: Disability Living Allowance consists of a care component which can be awarded at higher rate, middle rate or lower rate and a mobility component which can be awarded at higher rate or lower rate. Some people will be entitled to receive just one component; others may get both depending on how the disability affects them.

The table below shows the numbers of people within each category of Disability Living Allowance award components at May 2010.

Category of Disability Living Allowance Award	Numbers of People
Higher rate care only	2,456
Middle rate care only	10,533
Lower rate care only	11,777
Higher rate mobility only	8,761
Lower rate mobility only	3,078
Higher rate care and higher rate mobility	32,436
Higher rate care and lower rate mobility	15,862
Middle rate care and higher rate mobility	39,025
Middle rate care and lower rate mobility	41,122
Lower rate care and higher rate mobility	15,606
Lower rate care and lower rate mobility	4,268

Pensioners' Bungalows in the Bloomfield Estate, Bangor

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development if he would consider selling land in the North Down area to cover the cost of work required on the pensioners' bungalows in the Bloomfield Estate, Bangor.

(AQW 813/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive sells part of its assets each year including houses and land which generate income to help fund programmes. However, as a result of the significant downturn in the housing and property market there has been a dramatic reduction in such income to fund programmes. The proposed Multi-Element Improvement scheme for the Bloomfield Estate cannot proceed as the significant resources need to take it forward are no longer available. However, a Maintenance Investment Strategy review is underway which the Housing Executive anticipates will be completed by the end of the year. The review is considering the stock investment priorities for the Housing Executive over the next five year period, bearing in mind competing priorities for finance. This process will help inform how to address the problems in properties such as these bungalows in the Bloomfield Estate.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister for Social Development what he is doing to achieve a retention of more than 84 days of Disability Living Allowance for families who have a sick child in hospital.

(AQW 855/11)

Minister for Social Development: Payment of disability living allowance is usually withdrawn after 28 days in hospital. The period is extended to 84 days in hospital for children under 16 years of age in recognition of the additional special needs they may have for support from their parents whilst they are adjusting to hospital life. Disability living allowance is paid as a contribution towards the extra costs arising from a person’s care and mobility needs as a result of severe disability. These needs are met free of charge during a period of treatment in hospital. To leave benefit in payment indefinitely would mean that there was double provision from public funds for the same need.

Children with a Long-term Illness

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister for Social Development what financial support is put in place to assist families who have a child with a long-term illness or disability confined to hospital for more than 84 days.

(AQW 856/11)

Minister for Social Development: There is a range of help available for families on low incomes within the benefits system, including community care grants to cover travelling expenses to visit a sick child in hospital. Disability living allowance is usually withdrawn after 28 days in hospital because the person’s care and mobility needs are being met by the hospital, however, this is extended to 84 days in hospital in respect of children under 16 in recognition of the additional special needs they may have for support from their parents whilst they are adjusting to hospital life.

Employment Support Allowance Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the time taken for an appeal to be processed by Employment Support Allowance branch to the Appeals Service; (ii) the number of people affected by this delay; and (iii) what action he is taking to resolve this issue.

(AQW 897/11)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is set out below:(i) The target for the Employment and Support (ESA) Centre to process an appeal to The Appeals Service (TAS) is 45 days. During September, the average actual clearance time (AACT) was 42.5 days, and year to date the AACT is 40.3 days.(ii) There are occasions when the processing of an appeal takes longer than 45 days due to an individual’s circumstances and the complexity of the benefit. 327 appeals are currently outside the 45 day target. (iii) The ESA Centre has a range of checks in place on appeals, including specific checks on appeals outside the 45 day target. Managers monitor these appeals to ensure that any outstanding information is quickly obtained and cases are promptly referred to TAS.

Employment and Support Allowance Branch

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Social Development (i) to detail the delays caused by the Employment and Support Allowance Branch in processing appeals; (ii) how many customers are affected; and (iii) what action is being taken to resolve the delays.

(AQW 903/11)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is set out below:(i) The Employment and Support Allowance Centre is meeting the 45 day average clearance time target for processing appeals. However, there are occasions when an appeal may miss the 45 day target. These delays are often due to the need to obtain further evidence and the processing of more complex cases. (ii) To date, the Centre has received 8,208 appeals, and currently has 951 appeals outstanding, well within the acceptable outstanding level. Of the 951 appeals outstanding, 327 are outside the 45 day target. A majority of these (179) have been delayed due to a legal loophole that resulted in continuous appeal cycles for the same customers. However this has been revoked by a legislative change introduced on 28 June and work is well underway to prepare and send these appeals to The Appeals Service (TAS).(iii) The ESA Centre has a range of checks in place on appeals, including specific checks on appeals outside the 45 day target. Managers monitor these appeals to ensure that any outstanding information is quickly obtained and cases are promptly referred to TAS.

Homelessness in Carrickfergus

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development how many people in Carrickfergus are currently considered homeless.

(AQW 943/11)

Minister for Social Development: 112 households were awarded Full Duty Applicant status within the Housing Executive’s Carrickfergus District Office area for the period April and August 2010.

Warm Homes Scheme

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development how many homes in Carrickfergus have availed of the Warm Homes Scheme in each of the last three years.

(AQW 954/11)

Minister for Social Development: The current Warm Homes Scheme delivered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive 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 all the records they held relating to the scheme to the Department for Social Development. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive holds those records on behalf of the Department. It is not possible to analyse those records in the manner requested. However, since the start of the new Warm Homes Scheme on 1 July 2009, 298 homes in Carrickfergus have benefitted from the scheme (July 2009 to march 2010) and to date in 2010/2011 a further 117 homes have benefitted from the scheme.

Irresponsible Drinks Promotions

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the progress of his proposals to control irresponsible drinks promotions by pubs, clubs, supermarkets and other outlets.

(AQW 976/11)

Minister for Social Development: I have received Executive approval to consult on the inclusion of a power to prohibit or restrict irresponsible alcohol promotions in pubs, clubs, supermarkets and other outlets. A consultation process will now be undertaken, responses to which will be requested by early December 2010. Subject to the results of the consultation, it is intended to table an amendment to the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill, to enable my officials to prepare regulations on alcohol promotions. It is intended the ban on irresponsible alcohol promotions will be in place by summer 2011.

Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Social Development if he intends to amend the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill to reduce the proposed 150% increase in late night openings for clubs in line with public opinion.

(AQW 978/11)

Minister for Social Development: The draft Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill will allow registered clubs to apply to PSNI for up to 120 late bars to 1.00am each year instead of the existing 52. The Bill is currently in its Committee stage and I believe that representations to the Committee will indicate that opinion is divided on this matter. I will await the Committee’s Report which is due in November before I consider any amendments to the Bill.

Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Social Development if he has consulted the Minister of Justice on the removal of the ‘imminent disorder’ and ‘noise nuisance’ grounds in the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill, under which a single licensed premises can be directed to close.

(AQW 979/11)

Minister for Social Development: Most of the consultation on this issue took place prior to the transfer of policing and justice in April. The Northern Ireland Office and PSNI were fully aware of these proposed amendments and the Minister for Justice, David Ford MLA, attended the Executive Committee meeting which approved the introduction of the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill to the Assembly.

Housing Executive's Special Circumstances Committee

Mr M Brady asked the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the number of cases considered by the Housing Executive's Special Circumstances Committee in each of the last five years; and (ii) the number of these applications that were successful, broken down by local Council area.

(AQW 1011/11)

Minister for Social Development: I assume the Member is referring to the Housing Executive’s Exceptional Circumstances Committee which was formed in April 2009. The information is not available in the format requested as that Committee has not been in place for the last five years and the information is only held by Housing Executive Grant Office area. However, the tables below detail the cases reviewed by the Exceptional Circumstances Committee by Housing Executive Grants Office administrative area for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11 to date, as well as the grants offered on completion of the review by the Committee.

Table 1 detailing the cases reviewed by Exceptional Circumstances Committee in 2009/10 and 2010/201:-

Grants Office	Cases Reviewed
Grants Office	2009/10	2010/11 to date
Ballyclare	16	6
Ballymena	35	0
Belfast	54	11
Craigavon	41	0
Derry	21	4
Dundonald	13	0
Fermanagh	72	3
Lisburn	29	12
Newry	41	9
Omagh	19	0

Table 2 detailing the grants offered after review by Exceptional Circumstances Committee in 2009/10 and 2010/11

Grants Office	Grants Offered
Grants Office	2009/10	2010/11 to date
Ballyclare	15	1
Ballymena	31	0
Belfast	38	7
Craigavon	36	0
Derry	19	1
Dundonald	10	0
Fermanagh	45	2
Lisburn	17	4
Newry	28	3
Omagh	18	0

Community Care Grants

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Social Development the average time taken to process Community Care grants in the (i) South Belfast; and (ii) Lagan Valley constituencies.

(AQW 1046/11)

Minister for Social Development: The information is not available in the form requested. Performance data on Social Fund applications (including Community Care Grants) is not maintained by the Social Security Agency at individual Parliamentary constituency level. The average time taken by the Agency (year to date August 2010) to process Community Care Grants was 12.1 days against a target of 12.0 days.

Homelessness in Carrickfergus

Mr D Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development how many people under 18 years old in Carrickfergus are considered homeless,

(AQW 1058/11)

Minister for Social Development: Five people under 18 years old presented as homeless in Carrickfergus between April and September 2010. None were accepted as Full Duty Applicant status.

Communities at Risk Project in the Beechfield Estate in Donaghadee

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the Communities at Risk project in the Beechfield Estate in Donaghadee.

(AQW 1068/11)

Minister for Social Development: The ‘Areas at Risk’ Project has been progressing well within the Beechfield estate. As you are aware, given your active involvement in the estate, I was able to fund some small programme and developmental work from May through until December 2010 to build on the work undertaken to date. A draft Areas at Risk proposal seeking funding for a two year development programme is now being finalised by Ards Development Bureau and Community Network in conjunction with the Beechfield Residents Association. The proposal will then be submitted to my Department’s Voluntary and Community Unit for appraisal. If agreed it is anticipated that this programme will begin in January 2010.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Ms J McCann asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the services currently funded, fully or partly, by his Department under Neighbourhood Renewal in the West Belfast constituency.

(AQW 1111/11)

Minister for Social Development: The West Belfast constituency covers six Neighbourhood Renewal areas; Colin, Lenadoon, Andersonstown, Upper Springfield/Whiterock, Greater Falls, and Shankill. Services funded by the Department under Neighbourhood Renewal are delivered by a variety of community based organisations within these areas. These services include: health, education, employment and learning, childcare, community development and relations, crime prevention and victim support, environment, economic development, housing, welfare and benefit support, and youth related matters. A list of the organisations by Neighbourhood Renewal area in receipt of funding for the delivery of these services will be placed in the NI Assembly library.

Northern Ireland Assembly Commission

The Balmoral Show 2010

Miss M McIlveen asked the Assembly Commission (i) to detail the cost to the Assembly of attendance at the 2010 Balmoral Show; (ii) the number of people who visited the Assembly marquee; and (iii) for an assessment of the value for money of participation in this event.

(AQW 690/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr P Weir):

The overall cost to the Assembly for attendance at the Balmoral Show was £15,462.59. A more detailed breakdown of the costs is enclosed in Appendix A.

Value for money was a driving force in the planning of this event with costs minimised by sourcing equipment from Parliament Buildings to furnish the marquee. Alternative catering, provided by our contract partners, was also explored but set aside due to health and safety considerations.

3,112 people went inside the marquee and took part in Assembly activities.

Other Assembly activities that took place outside the marquee on the first day drew an additional estimated 2,000 people.

The aim of the Northern Ireland Assembly attending the Balmoral Show was to make it easier for people to come along and meet their MLAs, and to promote the work of Assembly Committees in the context of rural affairs. This objective was achieved in that seven Committees participated in the event, with one formal Committee meeting, as well as events for the Northern Ireland Assembly & Business Trust and the Assembly Youth Panel. The Balmoral Show is Northern Ireland’s largest agricultural event and attracts over 70,000 people over the course of three days. Participation in the Show represented a unique opportunity to capitalise on the high number of visitors to the Show and represented value for money in terms of using an existing event with high footfall rather than initiating such an event from scratch, which would entail significant costs.

Examples of the different and diverse range of events located at the marquee were:

Seven separate Assembly committees - the Agriculture Committee, the Public Accounts Committee, Employment and Learning Committee, Regional Development Committee and Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee and Environment Committee and the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment attended the event, attracting significant visitors. For example, approximately 250 people attended the formal meeting of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development which is the largest attendance at any single Committee meeting. 976 people also attended the Q&A session with the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development. The Assembly Youth Panel engaged with a range of rural stakeholders during a workshop.

The Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust hosted a ‘Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs’ event with MEPs, as well as a business lunch on ‘Looking to Europe’.

Appendix A

Net Cost	VAT	Gross Cost
Rented Space	3216.08	562.82	3822.9
Tickets	2166.8	380.75	2547.55
Technical services	2228.08	390.92	2619
Catering	2131.89	373.08	2504.97
Printed services	2,886.63	363.29	3,249.92
Misc	677.04	41.21	718.25
Totals	£15,462.59

NI Assembly: IT System

Mr B McElduff asked the Assembly Commission what measures it is taking to address the current internet problems within the Assembly's IT system, given that regular lack of access to the internet and emails has a disruptive effect on the work output of Members and staff.

(AQW 736/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Rev Dr R Coulter): The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission provides a fully featured, internally based, email system for use by Members, Party Support staff and Secretariat staff on Assembly business. This system has been designed with a high degree of availability.The Assembly Commission also operates a "Shared Service" arrangement with the Northern Ireland Civil Service to ensure a secure connection to internet based resources. There has been an increasing demand for a large number of feature rich websites from all users of the internet connection within Parliament Buildings including;

Members, Members’ staff, Party support staff, Party staff, Secretariat staff,
Guests to the building including journalists, NICS staff and visitors.

To counteract the demand for live video streaming and playback of Assembly related material from external websites such as Democracy Live and the Assembly’s own website, the new TV distribution system streams video to PC equipment connected to the main Assembly network and to TVs. It features audio and video recordings of Plenary, Committee meetings, local news programmes and current affairs programmes. The internal network is designed to handle this traffic and further use of this facility should reduce demand on the internet connection.The Assembly has restricted access by Secretariat staff to a number of non essential websites and is now investigating how to prioritise all traffic to ensure that external email sites such as Hotmail, Yahoo and Google Mail are accessible during busy periods.In addition, a number of technical measures are used to reduce the pressure on the internet connection by storing frequently requested web pages and files locally for use when another user requests the same page or file. At present these system are able to provide 50% of requested pages and files.The Assembly Commission recognises that these represent short term measures and a project has been initiated to seek to obtain a replacement secure internet service for the Assembly’s exclusive use.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked e Assembly Commission to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by the Commission which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 838/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): The Assembly Commission has deemed the Ormiston House site to be surplus to requirements and, following an unsuccessful attempt to offer the property to other government bodies, approval has been granted to place the property on the open market.In parallel with this, planning approval will be sought for limited development of the site to try to make the purchase of the site attractive to a wider range of buyers.Ormiston House is located at 48 Hawthornden Road, Knock, Belfast.The Commission has no other land or property that is currently deemed surplus to requirements.

Historically Significant Items

Mr A McQuillan asked the Assembly Commission to provide an inventory of all historically significant items held by the Commission within Parliament Buildings (i) between 1921 and 1972; and (ii) currently.

(AQW 955/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr S Neeson): As requested, please find enclosed an inventory of artefacts currently held by the Assembly.

Unfortunately we do not have a record of historically significant items held by the Commission within Parliament Buildings between 1921 and 1972.

Description	Location
Artwork
Portrait of Rt. Hon JM Andrews by F McKelvey	In storage
Portrait of Rt. Hon, Sir Basil Brooke Bart Prime Minister for N.I 1943-63	On long term loan to Viscount Brookeborough
Portrait of Viscount Craigavon by N Becher	In storage
Portrait of Sir Henry Wilson by HW Gates	In storage
Portrait of Lord Armaghdale by Riviere	In storage
Portrait of Frederick Temple by C Williams	In storage
Portrait of HM the Queen Lydia de Burgh	On loan to Hillsborough Castle
State opening of N.I Parliament small version by William Conor	Room 41
State opening of NI. Parliament large version by William Conor	Senate
William III, The Duke of Schomberg and the Pope by Pieter Van der Meulen	Room 40
Oil painting, an Obelisk at the Boyne by J Tudor	In storage
Print of Sydenham Belmont & surrounding area	In storage
Print showing service for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee	In storage
Photograph of Queen Victoria	In storage
Print of Irish House of Commons	Room 40
Large framed display of Historic Parliamentary Occasions 1945	In storage
Collection of framed photographs of former Speakers of the NI House of Commons	In storage and Room 41
Framed sealed indenture of Stormont Estate	In storage
Collection of miscellaneous photographs of Parliament Buildings and historic events therein	In storage
Portrait of Mr Seamus Mallon MP by Rita Duffy unveiled 25 March 2003	On display on the 1^st Floor
"The Assembly in Session" by Noel Murphy February 2003	Room 41
"The House will divide" by Noel Murphy unveiled 10th February 2003	Senate
Portrait of Lord Alderdice by Carol Graham unveiled on 11 March 2005	This painting will be displayed on the ground floor
Portrait of The Lord Bannside by David Nolan unveiled 28^th June 2010	On display on the 1^st Floor
46 Rowel Friers drawings of Members of the Northern Ireland Parliament 1972	Members coffee lounge
Framed letter from HRH Duke of Edinburgh	In storage
Collection of framed photographs of former speakers of the NI House of Commons	In storage
La Baie by Brigitte Coté Canadian Landscape Limited Edition print No 62/80	Room 41
Clothing
Speakers state robes x 2 (both were fire damaged 1 has been restored) and Speakers full bottomed wig in carry caseCollection of clerks’ uniforms and wigsBlack rod’s uniform and sword	In storage
Ceremonial Tabard of Ulster King of Arms	On loan to Hillsborough castle
Miscellaneous
Coronation vase decorated with the Queen’s beasts	Room 3
Japanese officer’s sword and covering letter from Earl Mountbatten of Burma	FMs Office
Bronze bust of Sir Frederick Temple	In storage
Ships bell HMS Ulster in ornamental stand	FMs Office
Mantle clock by Evill of Bath	In storage
Model of Thiepval memorial tower	In storage
French clock with bronze statue of nobleman	In storage
Red leather dispatch boxes embossed with Royal Arms of Ulster	Senate
Black leather dispatch boxes with Royal Arms of Ulster and cypher of George V	Room 41
2 Jardinaires reputedly made from the timbers of the "Mountjoy" which breached the boom on the river Foyle during the siege of Derry 1689	1 in storage and 1 is on loan.
Gilded throne	In storage
"Act of union" table	In storage
Maori inkstand	In storage
Books containing the names of the civilian war dead	In storage
Bronze relief map set in mahogany table	In storage
Miscellaneous collection of souvenirs from meetings of the commonwealth Parliamentary Association (located in the library)	In storage
Cigar lighter presented by the Royal College of Nursing, founders day 1960	In storage
Egg timer silver with crest of NI. Presented by Rt Hon Thomas Moles (first chairman of ways and means) to the House of Commons	In storage
3 x bibles	In storage
Memorial gift a union flag, a picture of Jesus Christ and a picture of "roaring meg" with accompanying letters. Given to the NI Parliament in memory of Senator James Bailie.	In storage
A minton gold crown crested plate. Two coins in presentation frame, commemorating the opening of the NI Parliament, June 1921. Collection of a bottle, goblets and saucers in blue pottery.A boxed camera and case and various military items.	In storage
Selection of fire damaged items recovered from the Parliament Buildings fire January 1995 and a set of photographs showing fire damage and repair work in progress	In storage
Silver	In storage
Black Rod’s Ward of Office ebony with silver gilt mounts with ceremonial lion and bulbous gold scrolling. Presented by the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, First Speaker of the Senate in Northern Ireland	In storage
The Parliament golf handicap challenge cup 1927 silver two-handled trophy dated 1926 and other silver ware	In storage
2 sterling silver maces	Room 41
Items of Silver Diner Service	In storage

REVISED WRITTEN ANSWERS

Friday 15 October 2010

(AQW 748/11)(AQW 749/11)

The Planning Service has referred a number of major planning applications to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) with a request that they hold public local inquiries. In addition, the PAC has received requests from individual applicants to conduct a hearing into Notices of Opinion that the Department has issued, under the Article 31 procedures.A list of the current cases referred to the PAC is attached and lists the priority order that the Department considers should be afforded to the individual cases.The final decision on the scheduling of the inquiry or hearing and the timescale for reporting back to the Minister is a matter for the PAC. TABLE 1: LIST OF ARTICLE 31 CASES CURRENTLY WITH THE PLANNING APPEALS COMMISSION.

PUBLIC INQUIRIES

Priority Order	Appl No	Applicant Name	Proposal	Referral to PAC	Comments
1	S/2009/1045/F	Sprucefield Centre Ltd	Phase 2 of Sprucefield Park comprising 49,434 sq m gross retail floorspace 1,580sq m for restaurant use with associated car parking, ancillary infrastructure, landscaping and site works.	December 2009.	Hearing rescheduled to commence on 5 October 2010.
2	Z/2008/2306	Belfast City Airport Ltd.	Proposed runway extension by 590m at North-East end of existing runway and retraction by 120m at South-West end of existing runway, associated landing lights and ancillary works	March 2010	Documents delivered to PAC 21/04/10
3Con-joined Inquiry	X/2004/1800(2008/C004)	Belfast Office Properties Ltd	Extension to Ards Shopping Centre for an additional 293,342 sq.ft. gross floorspace with a multi storey car park, service areas, access and landscaping.	6/11/2008	Documents delivered to PAC : 11/02/2009
3Con-joined Inquiry	X/2005/0653(2008/C005)	Castlebawn Ltd	Shopping Centre and associated multi storey car park & landscaping.	6/11/08	Documents delivered to PAC: 11/02/2009
4	O/2009/0792	NIE	North – South Interconnector and new sub-station.	Minister has announced intention to hold a Public Inquiry.	To be referred on resolution of a number of technical issues.
ARTICLE 31 HEARINGS
5	T/2007/0656	Rathbeg Estates Ltd	Distribution warehouse with associated car parking and landscaping.	Applicant requested hearing : 28/7/2009	Documents forwarded to PAC: 20/8/2009
6	S/2004/1757	Castle Glen	Retail Development McKinstry Road Lisburn	Applicant requested hearing: 8/8/2009	Documents forwarded to PAC: 8 /10/2009.
7	A/2004/1251	Mc Cormick Properties Plc	Six storey building for office and ancillary uses. River Foyle Londonderry.	Applicant requested hearing: 10/9/2009	Documents forwarded to PAC: 2/10/2009
8	Z/2006/2018	Santon Group Developments	Superstore, carparking, access and servicing arrangements, landscaping and associated development worksCastlereagh Road.	Applicant requested hearing 05/01/2010	Documents Forwarded to PAC: 08/04/2010
9	S/2009/0627	Wildrose (Magheralave) Ltd	Food SuperstoreMagheralave Roa	Applicant requested hearing 13/04/2010	Documents to be forwarded in due course.
F/1999/0465	Larne Marina	Waterfront leisure development: 200 berth marina, hotel, restaurant and associated facilities, 112 residential apartments, car parking and realignment of public promenade and landscaping.	Applicant requested Hearing: 12/12/2007	Documents not yet forwarded.
J/2005/0125	Heron Bros Strabane	Retail Development Strabane	Applicant requested hearing : 4/11/2008	Documents forwarded to PAC: 17/2/2009.
A/2004/0976	Tesco Stores	Proposed foodstore, car parking, landscaping, and access. Buncrana Road Londonderry	Applicant requested hearing: 18/7/2008.	Documents forwarded to PAC: 16/9/2008.
Z/2003/0437	Brunswick (Cathedral Way) Ltd	Mixed-used development comprising retail units, offices, apartments a multi-storey carpark and underground servicing	Applicant requested hearing 19/04/10
N/1996/0138	Vico Properties	Superstore, retail warehousing, PFS, drive-in restaurant, associated road works and car parking.	Hearing requested 3/7/1998. Agreed to withdraw request if JR of N/2005/0288 is unsuccessful.	Papers assumed to have been sent at time of request as was procedure at that time.

PR Companies£Media Training£	Photographers£	Event Organisers£
2007-2008	-1,128	11,233*	1,575
2008-2009	-4,005	29,057	-
2009-2010	-1,500	36,292	-