Friday 30 June 2000
Written Answers to Questions

OFFICE OF FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

West Tyrone:
Development (Equality)

Mr Gibson asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what plans the Equality Unit has for testing the equality of provision in infrastructure to ensure that rural and industrial development in West Tyrone is not hindered, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 581/99)

Reply: The primary responsibility for such infrastructure provision lies with those Departments which deliver services relevant to rural and industrial development. These Departments have a statutory duty, in carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity in terms of a range of social categories. Relevant legislation does not refer to equality of opportunity between geographic areas, although the distribution of infrastucture can impact on equality of opportunity between some section 75 groups. Under the New Targeting Social Need policy, Departments should aim to focus available resources and efforts on areas, groups and people in the greatest social need. The Equality Unit provides central guidance, leadership and advice to Departments on the implementation of both the statutory equality of opportunity duty and New TSN, raising issues of concern, as necessary. It has no current plans to consider infrastructure provision in the West Tyrone area specifically.

Mr Bradley asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to confirm that the Civic Forum will include representatives drawn from the farming community at a level which will reflect the importance of the industry to Northern Ireland.

(AQW 642/99)

Reply: The two main representative bodies in farming in Northern Ireland — The Ulster Farmers Union and the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers’ Association — have been invited to develop a process to select the two nominations from the agricultural sector to the Civic Forum. The proposed process will be submitted to the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister for consideration.

Mr McGrady asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister if the Executive Committee will be represented at the OSPAR Commission in Copenhagen on Monday 26 June 2000, and to make a statement.

(AQW 666/99)

Reply: No representative from the Executive Committee attended the OSPAR Commission meeting in Copenhagen on Monday 26 June 2000. However, the Minister of the Environment and his officials have ongoing contacts with their counterparts in Whitehall on OSPAR matters. They are kept informed of developments and contribute to the consideration of relevant issues in so far as they apply to Northern Ireland.

Officials of the Department of the Environment are kept informed by counterparts in UK Government Departments on OSPAR matters.

Mr Gibson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development when the Department’s working party on the farming industry will report, how widely the report will be disseminated, and if she will make a statement.

(AQW 680/99)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): The steering group set up to develop a "vision" for the agri-food sector, and to develop a strategy for achieving that vision, has been asked to report by the Autumn. I do not want to put a precise deadline on the steering group’s work as it is more important to have a good-quality report than to have an artificially imposed deadline met.

As I indicated in my reply of 16 June to question AQW 560/99, the report will be made public.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what plans she has to implement a compensation scheme to alleviate the problems of local pig producers, similar to the current scheme in the Republic of Ireland.

(AQW 682/99)

Ms Rodgers: The aid scheme launched by the Republic of Ireland in January this year was aimed at pig producers in the border counties who had suffered financial difficulties as a direct result of the destruction by fire of the Lovell & Christmas pig slaughtering plant in Northern Ireland in June 1998. Approximately IR£1 million was made available as part of a debt restructuring/interest subsidy package operated through the commercial banking sector in the Irish Republic. Approximately 120 applicants have benefited from the scheme. The Government here had already responded to the adverse marketing effects of this fire by introducing the pig welfare slaughter compensation scheme in September 1998. Some 15,600 overweight and unmarketable pigs were purchased and disposed of at a cost of approximately £0.75 million.

However, in addition, one of the financial assistance measures announced at the Prime Minister’s agriculture summit meeting on 30 March 2000 was a three-year UK pig industry restructuring scheme. The Scheme is designed to improve the long-term viability of the UK pig industry. Since then my Department has been co-operating with the other UK agriculture Departments in planning the operational aspects of this scheme.

The scheme will be in two parts — (a) aid to outgoers who wish to leave pig farming and (b) a restructuring or ongoers element for those who wish to remain in pig farming but want to restructure their business to make it viable in the longer term. This second element will be similar to the Republic’s scheme referred to in the question.

The scheme must meet EU state aid rules, principal amongst which for this scheme is the need to permanently reduce UK capacity by at least 16% from that which existed in June 1998. An application has been made to the European Commission for approval of the scheme under state aid rules. EU Commission approval is still awaited, but as it is the type of scheme with which the Commission is familiar, the UK is reasonably optimistic that it will be approved. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

Proposals, although not final, suggest that the outgoers element will be run centrally for the whole of the UK, using a sealed-bidding system. The UK agriculture Departments are currently consulting their respective industry representative bodies on this element of the scheme.

The outgoers element will be introduced as soon as possible after Commission approval is received. The Commission has posed a number of questions in response to the state aid notification, and the timetable is, of course, subject to when Commission approval is given. It is nonetheless planned to close the application period for this element in October and have approvals issued within one month, actual decommissioning completed by 31 January and payments made by 31 March or as soon as possible thereafter.

The ongoers element cannot proceed until and unless the required reduction in UK capacity is achieved. The ongoers scheme will involve producers’ agreeing a loan to carry out a business plan with a bank or other lender institution and submitting an application for assistance based on that plan. The Government will pay the equivalent of a reduction of five percentage points on the interest charge over two years. We hope to reach the consultation stage on this element of the scheme by early autumn.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what plans he has to encourage local post-graduate trainee teachers to complete their studies in Northern Ireland, given the financial incentives currently available elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 586/99)

The Minister of Education (Mr M McGuinness): I am replying to your question because intakes to initial teacher training courses are the responsibility of my Department.

Training salaries are being introduced in England from September 2000 to boost recruitment to teaching by attracting more applications from graduates for initial teacher training. Applications to the NI Higher Education Institutions for the 2000-01 academic year, however, exceed by 5:1 the total number of teacher training places required to meet expected vacancy levels in schools. The indications at this stage are that all places will be filled in all subjects. It is therefore too early to draw firm conclusions on any local impact of the financial incentives available in England, but the position will be kept under close review.

In giving this response I have consulted my colleague Dr Sean Farren, whose responsibilities include the funding of initial teacher training and the administration of the two local colleges of education. In reviewing the position I shall ensure that there is close liaison between the two Departments.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail how the Department intends to involve the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council in addressing the strategic educational issues which confront schools.

(AQW 589/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The Department of Education has frequent contact, through consultation exercises, correspondence and meetings, with the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) on matters covering the full range of the Department’s functions. In addition, the Standing Conferences for Primary and Secondary Education enable representatives of the five member unions of the NITC to meet formally with the Department, the education and library boards and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools twice yearly, to discuss matters of interest and concern.

The Department also met last year with the NITC to discuss the development of the next strategic plan for education. In addition, INTO, NASUWT and UTU have commented on the consultation document ‘Learning for Tomorrow’s World’, which sets out the issues that the Department considers relevant to the preparation of the plan. The process of consultation on planning issues will continue when the Department seeks the views of NITC and others in the course of setting the objectives in its corporate plan for the next three years.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education to confirm that the current funding differential between the secondary and primary education sectors is not detrimental to the latter in its efforts to deliver the curriculum and maintain educational standards, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 590/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The differential in funding between the primary and secondary sectors arises mainly from the more subject-specific and differentiated curriculum in secondary schools. In the primary sector the arrangements provide for a pupil-centred approach to the curriculum, where pupils are taught normally in one class for all their subjects. In the secondary sector, pupils are taught normally by subject specialists, which increases the need for teachers and specialist facilities.

There is no evidence from inspection findings that schools in the primary sector are unable to deliver the curriculum or that educational standards are not being maintained.

The complex issue of funding differentials between the primary and secondary sectors will be considered in the context of ongoing work on the development of a common LMS (local management of schools) formula to replace the seven existing formulae used to fund schools. It is intended to issue a consultation document to schools and other interests towards the end of the year, and we will welcome comments on all aspects of the proposed formula at that stage.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what practical help and resources he intends to make available to school principals to enable them adequately to address the growing problem of bullying in schools, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 614/99)

Mr M McGuinness: Bullying behaviour is unacceptable, has no place in our schools and should be dealt with by a school within its discipline policy. Support in the development of a whole school discipline policy, which should address bullying, is available to schools through the behaviour support teams which are based in all education and library board areas. These teams were established as part of the strategy to promote and sustain good behaviour in schools, which was launched in February 1998, and additional resources of some £850,000 per annum have been made available to the boards to support this work. Advice and support for pupils who have been the victims of bullying and for their parents is available through the education welfare service. In addition, the Department and voluntary agencies regularly provide materials to schools, giving practical advice on how to tackle the problem, based on current best practice.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to ensure that financial resources are released directly to schools and not ring-fenced at Department and board levels, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 615/99)

Mr M McGuinness: It is departmental policy to maximise the delivery of resources to the classroom, and boards are advised each year that they must continue to give priority, within their annual block grant allocations, to the funding delegated to schools. However, elements of the general schools budget are more appropriately handled centrally by education and library boards and the Department of Education (for example, home-to-school transport; milk and meals; centrally funded teacher substitution costs). Resources secured for specific initiatives, which are additional to the main schools budget, are earmarked to ensure that they are used for the purpose for which they were obtained.

The funding delegated to schools is being reviewed as part of the development of a common LMS (local management of schools) funding formula.

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken before 30 June 2000 to ensure the continued employment of support staff in schools beyond the end of term, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 635/99)

Mr M McGuinness: This is a contractual matter for the education and library boards. I understand that negotiations between the parties are continuing and that the management side has made an offer to try to resolve the matter. This is a complex issue, but I am keen to see a resolution as soon as possible.

Mr Bradley asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to support youth clubs and their programmes throughout Northern Ireland, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 641/99)

Mr M McGuinness: My Department, in association with the education and library boards and the Youth Council for Northern Ireland, will continue to ensure that there is a fully developed system of support, training and development for all voluntary and statutory youth clubs which are registered with the boards.

I aim to ensure that the resources allocated to the Youth Service reflect the key contribution that it is making to the fundamental objective of helping young people to develop to their full potential. I will also actively pursue the implementation of key aspects of the major review of Youth Service policy, including the development of the Youth Service curriculum, the training of youth workers and the greater involvement of young people.

In addition to these areas, my Department is supporting the joined in equity, diversity and interdependence (JEDI) initiative, which brings together various parts of the youth sector in a creative partnership to promote change and development, and it is actively considering how the Youth Service can take advantage of the next round of EU structural funding.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what progress has been made in addressing issues of teacher welfare, particularly the problem of teacher stress, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 645/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The Department and the employing authorities recognise the importance of teacher welfare. In addition to the arrangements that employers have already put in place to give teachers access to welfare services, the Department has been seeking, through its bureaucratic burden initiative and dialogue with the teachers’ unions, to identify and, where possible, alleviate the key areas of stress in schools. The employing authorities and my Department are also in the process of drawing up a specification for research to identify the work pressures that give rise to stress and to recommend strategies to improve the welfare of teachers and create a healthy working environment. Representatives of the Northern Ireland Teachers Council will be involved in overseeing this work.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education what steps have been taken to address the problems of workload and bureaucracy for classroom teachers, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 646/99)

Mr M McGuinness: My aim is to reduce bureaucracy to the minimum, consistent with supporting effective teaching in the context of the effective implementation of my Department’s objectives. In 1998 my Department provided detailed advice and guidance to schools and partner bodies about reducing bureaucracy, and a working group is examining how the external demands on schools and teachers can be rationalised. A progress report was issued to schools on 18 January 2000. On 8 June my Department commissioned research about the impact of the 1998 advice and to seek teachers’ views about what more needs to be done to further reduce bureaucracy. The findings of the research should be available towards the end of the year.

My officials also recently met representatives of the Northern Ireland Teachers Council to discuss teacher workload issues, and further meetings will be arranged to discuss concerns about specific initiatives.

Mr Elduff asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to promote recognition and funding of independent Irish-language-medium schools and units, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 659/99)

Mr M McGuinness: A new body for the promotion of Irish-medium education — Comhairle Na Gaelscolaíochta — will be established in the near future and will be funded by the Department of Education.

The Department has a statutory duty to encourage and facilitate Irish-medium education. In fulfilling this duty the Department responds to parental demand, and funds Irish-medium schools which are robust do not involve unreasonable public expenditure and meet specified criteria. Where demand is insufficient for a new free-standing school an Irish-medium unit attached to and under the management of a host English-medium school can be established. A review of the viability criteria for new Irish-medium (and integrated) schools is currently under way.

Mr McElduff asked the Minister of Education to detail the form, process and timetable of the Department’s consultation on the future of the transfer procedure.

(AQW 660/99)

Mr M McGuinness: I refer the Member to the answer given to AQO 340/99 on Monday 26 June.

Mr Kennedy asked the Minister of Education to confirm that the Education Committee’s comments on the Department’s draft equality scheme have been taken into account in the scheme issued to the Equality Commission.

(AQW 661/99)

Mr M McGuinness: I am most grateful to the Education Committee for its helpful comments on my Department’s draft equality scheme. I can give an assurance that I have considered these carefully, and I can confirm that they will be reflected in the revised scheme, which I will be submitting to the Equality Commission shortly.

Mr Gibson asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to ensure that intake quotas allocated to grammar schools in West Tyrone will meet the demand from all pupils eligible for places in all areas of the constituency, and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 663/99)

Mr M McGuinness: No pupil is guaranteed a grammar school place. The number of pupils admitted to grammar schools depends on the physical capacity of school accommodation. I am satisfied that there are sufficient grammar school places for pupils from the West Tyrone constituency.

Mr Gibson asked the Minister of Education what steps have been taken to ensure that the school curriculum reflects the importance of technology and to make a statement.

(AQW 670/99)

Mr M McGuinness: I regard technology as a very important subject, seeking to enable young people to develop and apply a range of skills in the design and manufacture of products and providing a wealth of learning experiences with a direct application to the world of work.

Technology is a compulsory subject for all pupils up to the end of key stage 3 (age 14). In key stages 1 and 2 (the primary years) it forms part of the science curriculum, but in key stage 3 there is a separate programme of study for technology and design. This was revised last year to increase its practical element and make it more accessible and relevant to pupils of all abilities.

Technology and design remains an optional subject for pupils in key stage 4 (age 15-16), and since 1990 some 680 technology and design rooms, either new or refurbished, have been provided in secondary schools, with the result that our facilities for the delivery of the subject are among the best in the world. Almost 6,000 young people, annually, take a GCSE in the subject, reflecting its continued popularity.

The Northern Ireland Science and Technology Regional Organisation (NISTRO), which my Department core funds, also works closely with CCEA, the education and library boards and many major local and national companies to encourage children and young people to develop an interest in science, engineering and technology and to promote better understanding between schools and the world of work. This year NISTRO is working with some 15,000 young people in 625 schools.

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Education to detail for the period since devolution (i) the district councils he has visited; (ii) the dates of the visits; (iii) the subjects discussed.

(AQW 693/99)

Mr M McGuinness: I have not visited any District Councils.

Dr Adamson asked the Minister of Education to confirm that all children in Northern Ireland receive cultural and linguistic rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.[R]

(AQW 696/99)

Mr M McGuinness: One of the key principles underpinning education is that children shall be educated in accordance with their parents’ wishes, so far as this is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure. This right puts added onus on schools to comply with parents’ wishes as regards education in relation to their children’s cultural and linguistic background.

The statutory Northern Ireland curriculum also affords opportunities for schools to ensure that all children receive an education which complies with these rights, mainly through the compulsory cross-curricular educational themes of education for mutual understanding and cultural heritage.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment has also issued guidance on personal and social education to ensure that pupils have knowledge and understanding of their own and others’ beliefs, values and cultural traditions. The council is currently undertaking a review of the curriculum and will soon be developing work on a programme covering education for democracy and citizenship.

Mr Poots asked the Minister of Education what plans the Department has to make permanent classroom provision for Hillsborough Primary School.

(AQO 335/99)

Mr M McGuinness: Accommodation provision for Hillsborough Primary School is a matter for the South Eastern Education and Library Board. The board is currently carrying out an economic appraisal which considers options for addressing the school’s accommodation problems. Any proposed replacement of the existing accommodation will depend on the future availability of capital resources.

Mr McHugh asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to tackle bullying in schools, and if he will make a statement.

(AQO 343/99)

Mr M McGuinness: Bullying behaviour is unacceptable, has no place in our schools and as such should be dealt with by a school within its discipline policy. Support in the development of a whole school discipline policy, which should address bullying, is available to schools through the behaviour support teams which are based in each education and library board. These teams were established as part of the ‘Strategy to Promote and Sustain Good Behaviour in Schools’, launched in February 1998, and additional resources of some £850,000 per annum have been made available to the boards to support this work. Advice and support for pupils who have been the victims of bullying and for their parents is available through the Education Welfare Service. In addition, the Department and other voluntary agencies regularly provide materials to schools giving practical advice on how to tackle the problem, based on current best practice.

Mr Neeson asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to develop educational links with the United States following the recent visit of Mr Riley, the United States Education Secretary.

(AQO 347/99)

Mr M McGuinness: One key outcome of the links being established is access to expertise in the form of research reports, direct contact with US experts and access to major international conferences on major educational issues.

I am also considering the option of formalising our links with the United States through a memorandum of understanding similar to the one recently agreed between my counterpart in the South, Dr Woods, and Secretary Riley.

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Education to review funding arrangements for schools to reduce the number of teacher redundancies, and if he will make a statement.

(AQO 330/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The general uplift in recurrent spending on schools in 2000-01 is 4.6%, which I believe is sufficient to meet general pay and price increases. Decisions on redundancies are a matter for individual boards of governors in the light of their individual school circumstances, particularly changes in enrolment.

Ms Lewsley asked the Minister of Education what steps have been taken to raise public awareness and to make provision for the education of children regarding sexual abuse, and if he will make a statement.

(AQO 362/99)

Mr M McGuinness: In the education sector for which I am responsible a number of major steps have been taken recently by my Department to heighten awareness among school staff of child abuse and to provide comprehensive guidance to schools on child protection. These measures include:

• the issue in March 1999 of circular 1999/10 and a new booklet entitled ‘Pastoral Care in Schools — Child Protection’, which gave all schools comprehensive guidance on a wide range of child protection matters, including what to do if abuse is suspected;
• a major training programme for designated teachers, their deputies and school governors, which is nearing completion;
• the introduction of revised school inspection procedures on pastoral care and child protection; and
• the launch, earlier this month, of a child protection training pack, including a video, to help designated teachers responsible for child protection in schools to get across the child protection message to colleagues in their school.

While the issue of child protection, including protection against sexual abuse, is not a compulsory element of the curriculum, my Department’s guidance encourages schools that wish to do so to cover it within their sex education or personal and social education programmes, by means of personal protection programmes such as "Kidscape" and "Teenscape". New curricular guidance on relationships and sexuality education for all schools is due to be issued to all schools next term. This will cover issues such as relationships, behaviour and personal safety.

Finally, it is only right that I should also place on record the valuable child awareness initiatives being undertaken by voluntary organisations, such as the NSPCC through its "Full Stop" campaign, aimed at ending cruelty to children, and its "Take Care" resource pack, which has been produced for primary schools.

Mr Close asked the Minister of Education what consideration he has given to a review of education management structure and the relationship between the Department and the five education and library boards.

(AQO 349/99)

Mr M McGuinness: I have not reached any conclusion on this matter. It needs to be taken in the wider context of a review of local administrative structures, which the Executive Committee will consider in due course.

Mr S Wilson asked the Minister of Education whether the Department will have its equality scheme ready for presentation to the Equality Commission by 30 June 2000.

(AQO 324/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The revision of my Department’s equality scheme, in the light of comments received on the draft, which was published in April, is currently under way. Although this is a major task which we have to undertake in a very short timescale, I plan to submit the scheme to the Equality Commission on 30 June 2000.

Mr ONeill asked the Minister of Education how many mobile telephone masts there are on school property, what steps have been taken to relocate them, and if he will make a statement.

(AQO 321/99)

Mr M McGuinness: There are eight mobile telephone masts on school property, five of which are on premises owned by education and library boards. I understand that the boards and schools concerned are negotiating with the providers of the masts about their removal.

Mr Bradley asked the Minister of Education to finance a programme by youth club management committees to engage fully qualified tutors for courses deemed necessary by management committees and acceptable to the Department.

(AQO 331/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The Department of Education does not directly finance any specific programmes in youth clubs. Rather, finance is made available to the education and library boards, which have responsibility for funding controlled youth clubs and assisting voluntary youth organisations, and this would include provision for training and development of staff.

Mr Gallagher asked the Minister of Education what is the percentage of schoolchildren with free school meals entitlement in each of the five education board areas.

(AQO 341/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The information provided by the boards is as follows:

Belfast Education and Library Board 31.9%
Western Education and Library Board 31.0%
North Eastern Education and Library Board 17.2%
South Eastern Education and Library Board 17.6%
Southern Education and Library Board 23.2%
All boards 23.9%

Mr McCarthy asked the Minister of Education what steps will be taken to ensure that pupils who are excluded from school are given proper access to the Northern Ireland curriculum.

(AQO 348/99)

Mr M McGuinness: Pupils are only considered to be legally out of school if they have been suspended or expelled. Suspended pupils remain on the school roll, and during their period of suspension the school is normally responsible for ensuring that they receive a suitable education.

The education and library boards are responsible for making alternative education arrangements for pupils who are expelled from school. These include home or group tuition, a short-term placement in a pupil referral unit, or, for the most disruptive 14-16-year-olds, for whom mainstream education is not suitable, placement in alternative education provision.

Schools and education and library boards are expected to make every effort to offer as broad a curriculum as possible to suspended or expelled pupils, but it may not always be practicable, or indeed, appropriate to provide the full Northern Ireland curriculum.

Mr Benson asked the Minister of Education to confirm that plans for the Victoria Primary School, Newtownards recently announced include provision for nursery education.

(AQO 323/99)

Mr M McGuinness: The replacement school for Victoria Primary, Newtownards, does not include nursery provision. The need for additional pre-school provision in the Newtownards area will be kept under review by the Pre-school Education Advisory Group for the South Eastern Education and Library Board area.

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