Tuesday 25 January 2000
Written Answers to Questions

Culture, Arts and Leisure
Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment

Culture, Arts and Leisure

Irish-Language Groups: Funding

Mr Weir

asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what has been the total public funding to Irish-language groups for each of the last five years.

(AQW 98/99)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): There is no standard definition of "Irish-language group". The term can encompass groups which have the promotion of the Irish language as their primary objective, groups with a variety of objectives whose membership is Irish-speaking and groups which may include an element of Irish-medium activity within a much wider remit.

It is not always possible to identify separately the Irish-language-related element, if any, of funding.

Community or voluntary sector groups with some Irish-language connection received funding from programmes with a variety of objectives, including promotion of community relations, economic and social development, training, arts and culture. Also included in the total public funding amounts shown below is the Department of Education expenditure on Irish-medium education.

Ulster-Scots Language Groups

Mr Weir

asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what has been the total public funding to Ulster-Scots Language groups for each of the last five years.

(AQW 99/99)

Mr McGimpsey:

Public funding in support of the Ulster-Scots language has been made available to community or voluntary groups involved in promoting Ulster-Scots or Ulster-Scots cultural issues. Funding as follows has come from programmes with objectives covering promotion of community relations, rural development, arts and culture. It is not possible to identify separately the language-related element. The amounts shown below include European programme funding.

Disabled Anglers:
Concessionary Rate

Mr Paisley Jnr

asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail when the Fisheries Act 1966 and the Foyle Fisheries Act 1952 will be amended to permit Northern Ireland’s disabled anglers to receive a concessionary rate to our rivers.

(AQW 121/99)

Mr McGimpsey:

It is intended that a Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2000, which will amend the Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952 and the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, will be in the legislative programme for the current session of the Assembly. Provided that it passes through all the stages required by the legislative process, it should be made and come into operation in May 2000. This would enable the Fisheries Conservancy Board and the Foyle, Carlingford and the Irish Lights Commission, which are the licensing authorities, to prescribe licence charges at concessionary rates for the 2001 angling season, provided that the board and the commission considered it appropriate to introduce concessions.

Higher and Further Education,
Training and Employment

Student Loans/Grants

Mr Paisley Jnr

asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment if he holds to the SDLP policy to phase out the system of loans and to return to a form of grants.

(AQW 116/99)

The Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment (Dr Farren): The underlying objective of the SDLP’s policy on student funding is to ensure that students are adequately supported during the course of their studies. I am committed to ensuring that this objective is upheld, and I have indicated that a review of student financial support should be undertaken. Details as to how that review will be conducted are being finalised and will be announced in the near future.

Unionist Students
(Great Britain Universities)

Mr Paisley Jnr

asked the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Training and Employment if he agrees that there is a chill factor in our local universities which has forced many Unionist students to attend university on the mainland to get an education.

(AQW 117/99)

Dr Farren:

The Department does not collect data on the political affiliations of Northern-Ireland-domiciled students. There are many different reasons why individual students might choose to study outside Northern Ireland.

Mr Paisley Jnr

asked the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Training and Employment to explain what he intends to do to provide a parity service to students who study elsewhere in the UK rather than Northern Ireland and to halt the brain drain of Unionist students.

(AQW 118/99)

Dr Farren:

Student support and other services are provided to students on broadly the same basis across the United Kingdom. You will be aware, of course, that my authority outside Northern Ireland extends only to student support. All Northern-Ireland-domiciled students are assessed against the same criteria, regardless of where they study in the United Kingdom.

Colleges of Further Education:
Links with Business and Industry

Mr Paisley Jnr

asked the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Training and Employment what he intends to do to encourage the growth of links between colleges of further education and the world of business and industry.

(AQW 119/99)

Dr Farren:

I fully recognise the importance of the further education sector to the world of business and industry. The further education sector is the main provider of vocational education and training, with some 80,000 enrolments. It is also a major provider for the Training and Employment Agency’s Jobskills programme, with some 6,000 trainees. In addition, there are a number of current policies and initiatives which aim to enhance and develop links between the further education sector and the world of business and industry:

a) under the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 it is a statutory requirement that at least half of the members of the governing body of a college must be drawn from the business and industry community;

b) a collaboration fund has been established to facilitate colleges in establishing partnerships and links with, amongst others, local business and industry;

c) recent expansion within the further education sector and at both higher and further education levels has focused on meeting the needs of the Northern Ireland economy in identified areas of skills needs, such as computing and engineering, through an incentive fund and the distribution of 600 additional full-time higher education places;

d) a programme has been established to provide further education lecturers with placements in industry.

The Further Education Consultative Committee has also been considering how the further education sector might better support the Northern Ireland economy and the needs of local business and industry. The Committee is due to report shortly. The colleges of further and higher education already have many strong links with industry and commerce, and much work is already being undertaken to strengthen and enhance those links. This is, however, a very important area and one which I will keep under review to see how the links might be improved and built upon.