Friday 29 September 2000
Written Answers to Questions (Continued)

New Deal Programme

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment to confirm how many candidates, (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of all those on the Programme, have gone on to employment following their participation in the New Deal programme in each of the last three years.

(AQW 90/00)

The Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment (Dr Farren): Moves from New Deal to employment will be a key measure of the success of the New Deal programme.

Information on the post New Deal activity of participants is recorded by the Training and Employment Agency. At the moment, detailed analysis of the data held by the Agency on New Deal has been affected by the introduction of a new computer system earlier this year and the transfer of data from the old system to the new. Work to resolve this issue is progressing well and as a matter of urgency. However, it is not yet possible to have the level of confidence we need in the data to release information in the way requested. Work in my Department is underway to resolve all of the issues pertaining to the publication of data.

Early survey work on participants on the New Deal for 18-to-24-year-olds, carried out independently from the Department, showed that 49% of those who left the programme in the first six months went directly into employment. At the time that participants were interviewed – which was at least eight months after leaving New Deal – 50% of all leavers reported being in employment.

My Department intends to carry out further survey work with New Deal participants to supplement data collected within the Department. A considerable evaluation programme is also in place to assess the impact of New Deal. One of the key questions that the evaluation will answer is the incidence of post-programme employment of participants, and also the sustainability of such employment.

Department: Draft Equality Scheme

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment if he will outline the consultation process carried out by him on the Department’s draft equality scheme: (a) how the consultation was carried out, (b) who was consulted, (c) how the responses received will be written into the final schemes to be submitted to the Equality Commission and (d) how the consultation process will be taken forward.

(AQW 170/00)

Dr Farren: I attach for your information a copy of the Equality Scheme which DHFETE submitted to the Equality Commission for approval on 30 June 2000.

Regarding parts (a) and (b) of your question, I would refer you to Annex C of the scheme. The draft Equality Scheme which was published for consultation on 7 April was also considered by the Assembly HFETE Committee. Its views are reflected in the revised scheme, and I responded in detail to the Committee.

Regarding part (c) of your question, please see the appendix of the scheme (Volume 2), which sets out who responded to the draft scheme, the points which they raised and the Department’s responses to these points. You will see that the Department gave careful consideration to all the points raised in relation to the draft DHFETE scheme, and to the Equality Commission’s response to the NI Civil Service draft schemes in general.

Regarding part (d) of your question, I would refer you in particular to volume 1 paragraphs 4.1.7 – 4.1.13 and annexes B and E.

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Silent Valley: Sheep Grazing

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Minister for Regional Development to explain why the decision was taken to prevent sheep from grazing on Water Service-owned land in the Silent Valley area.

(AQW 57/00)

The Minister for Regional Development (Mr Campbell): In my statement to the Assembly on 11 September 2000 on the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in the Lisburn area, I explained that, following UK outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis associated with public water supplies, the Government had appointed a group of experts to report on measures to mitigate the risk of cryptosporidium in the public water supply.

One of the recommendations of the group was that water utilities carry out risk assessments on all their supplies. Early in 1999, Water Service assessed the risk of contamination at all of its sources. The methodology used was based on models used in England, Wales and Scotland and developed in consultation with the Northern Ireland Drinking Water Inspector.

This assessment identified the Silent Valley as the only source with a risk factor that indicated the need for continuous sampling and analysis during the spring, which is the period of highest risk. The associated testing regimes are based on national guidelines and are fully in line with those required by regulation in England and Wales and by Direction in Scotland. The Drinking Water Inspector and the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland are closely involved in the development and monitoring of these arrangements.

The link between the grazing of sheep and the risk of cryptosporidium appearing in water supplies is well established. Consequently in the spring of this year Water Service took the decision to temporarily exclude sheep from the Silent Valley catchment area to protect the quality of water entering the public supply from this source. The temporary exclusion period was subsequently extended.

Water Service employed consultants to advise on the management of the Silent Valley catchment, and their report identified a number of issues to be considered in conjunction with other Departments and agencies. Following these considerations, I concluded that the sheep should continue to be excluded from the Silent Valley catchment.

Public representatives, local farmers and farming representative bodies were notified of my decision on 14 and 15 September 2000. My Department’s officials have been liasing with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish what measures can be taken to assist the farmers.

The position will be reviewed when a new water treatment works is provided for the Silent Valley water supply. The new works, which will provide a barrier to prevent cryptosporidium entering the distribution system, is programmed for completion in 2003/2004 at a cost of £35 million.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Occupational Therapy

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to state when the present review of occupational therapy services to Northern Ireland Housing Executive tenants is due for completion and when the recommendations of the review might be implemented.

(AQW 59/00)

The Minister for Social Development (Mr Morrow): I am not able to provide a firm date for the publication of the preliminary report. However, I can tell you that the steering group hopes to agree its report in early October and intends that recommendations together with an implementation plan will be available shortly after that meeting.

It is envisaged that some recommendations can be implemented immediately, with others phased in over time.

Child Support

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development if he has considered increasing the ceiling on occupational pension which Child Support Agency claimants are presently allowed to receive.

(AQW 60/00)

Mr Morrow: In assessing liability for child support, the full amount of the net weekly income that a non-resident parent receives is taken into account, including any amount received in respect of occupational pensions.

Introducing a disregard on occupational pensions would be inconsistent with the treatment of other forms of income in the Child Support scheme. It would mean, for example, that two non-resident parents with the same overall amount of income could pay different amounts in the same family circumstances because one had income from an occupational pension and the other from earnings. This would be difficult to justify.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development if he has considered amending the relevant legislation to ensure that overtime is not included by the Child Support Agency when drawing up figures of weekly wage for employees.

(AQW 61/00)

Mr Morrow: The principle of taking account of overtime in calculating earnings is important, as for many employees overtime is a regular part of earnings. Children living with their parents will normally benefit from any regular additional income brought into the home, and it is right that a child of a non-resident parent should similarly benefit. It would be unfair if someone with basic pay and overtime paid less Child Support than someone whose pay is the same or even a lesser overall amount.

I intend shortly to bring before the Assembly the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill which provides for major reform of the child support scheme. While the principle of taking account of overtime will remain, under the reforms the Child Support Agency will consider whether pay in the weeks leading up to the calculation is representative of normal earnings. Where irregular payments of overtime form part of the non-resident parent’s income the agency may look at a different period if this gives a more accurate picture. This should reduce or eliminate the effect of occasional overtime on the amount of child support liability.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development if he would consider reducing the change of assessment figure by the Child Support Agency to £5.

(AQW 62/00)

Mr Morrow: I intend shortly to bring before the Assembly the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill which provides for major reform of the Child Support scheme. The main part of the reform is the introduction of a new, simpler formula based on deductions from net earnings of 15%, 20% and 25% for one, two or three or more children. Under the reformed scheme, Child Support liability will only be reassessed where changes to a non-resident parent’s income are at least 5% higher or lower than the figure used in the original assessment. Non-resident parents will be told how much this 5% tolerance means in practice for them when they are notified of their Child Support liability.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development if he has considered amending the relevant legislation to ensure that Child Support Agency mileage allowance is calculated via local bus routes, in line with other Departments, and not on a straight-line basis as at present.

(AQW 63/00)

Mr Morrow: The long distance travel to work allowance permitted under the current child support scheme is designed to be straightforward to administer. However, any parent who believes that the allowance is inadequate may seek an allowance which is more representative of the actual costs incurred by applying for a departure from the normal rules for calculating liability. Under the departures system account is taken of the actual distance travelled between the parent’s home and place of work.

I intend shortly to bring before the Assembly the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill which provides for major reform of the child support scheme. The main part of the proposed reform is the introduction of a new simpler formula based on deductions from net earnings of 15%, 20% and 25% for one, two or three or more children. The new formula is designed to avoid the complexities associated with the current formula.

Under the new formula there is no specific provision for long distance travel-to-work expenses. The new standard rates will take account of the fact that non-resident parents have many other calls on their resources and they will normally be left with at least 75 % of their disposable income out of which to meet travel- to-work and other expenses.

Springvale Development Scheme

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the level of public expenditure on the Springvale development scheme in respect of capital funding, site clearance, consultation, promotion, job creation and construction.

(AQW 81/00)

Mr Morrow: It is not possible to supply figures under all the headings specified. However, details are available as follows. These include moneys expended by DHFTE and DETI.

Capital Funding

This includes expenditure on land acquisition, site clearance and construction. Public expenditure on capital funding of the Springvale Development Scheme has amounted to £36·8m. This figure includes £1·9m spent by my Department on land acquisition and site clearance, £8·3m spent by IDB on land acquisition and estate development at Springvale Business Park and a further £675k spent by IDB on land acquisition, estate development and landscaping at Glenbank Industrial Estate, which is incorporated in the Springvale Development Scheme. Also included in the £36·8m, is £4·3m which my Department has spent on construction, £7·6m which IDB has spent on factory building within the Springvale Business Park, £5·8m spent by the former Department of Economic Development on construction of the Springvale Training Centre and £6·9m expended by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in providing 170 housing units.

Consultancy Fees, Community Consultation and Promotional Costs

Expenditure on non-capital items, such as consultancy fees, community consultation and promotional costs, has amounted to £30·4m. This figure includes expenditure attributable to the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment in respect of the Springvale Educational Village project, which will occupy part of the overall development scheme site. The figure also includes costs of approximately £20k which IDB has incurred in promoting the Call Centre building within Springvale Business Park as part of IDB’s overall Call Centre initiatives. The £30·4m also includes £27m Selective financial assistance offered by IDB between June 1996 and September 2000 towards total company investment of over £54m by F G Wilson/Caterpillar, Andor Technology, Fujitsu and Insurance Advisory Services at Springvale Business Park.

Job Creation

A total of 1,163 jobs were created. The projects in Springvale Business Park involve 1,106 new jobs. There are 57 people permanently employed within the Springvale Training Centre. There are no exact figures for construction jobs, but using a very general rule of thumb, it is estimated, on the basis of the public and private expenditure on capital works, that the scheme is likely to have generated in the region of 2,500 man years of construction employment.

Laganside Corporation

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the level of public expenditure on the Laganside Corporation in terms of capital funding, site clearance, consultation, promotion, job creation and construction.

(AQW 82/00)

Mr Morrow: It is not possible to provide this information with a reasonable degree of accuracy, exactly in relation to the indicated categories, mainly for reasons of disproportionate cost.

For the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 2000 expenditure by the Laganside Corporation in the categories specified was as follows:

The corporation’s policies, programmes and projects are subject to consultation, the costs of which are either borne within specific project budgets or generally within running costs, and therefore the public expenditure costs of consultations is not available.

Much of the corporation’s expenditure is incurred in order to provide the conditions for creating employment opportunities. The cumulative number of permanent jobs created in its designated area at 31 March 2000 was 5,620. In the same period the number of construction jobs generated by the corporation, and through third party investment, was 10,700.

The figure for site and general infrastructure costs includes construction costs.

Further information on expenditure by Laganside Corporation, by category, is available at page 8 of its Annual Report 1999-2000, which may be obtained from the Library.

ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Statutory Committees

Rev Dr Ian Paisley asked the Assembly Commission to confirm the number of meetings of each of the Statutory Committees and give a breakdown of those that took place in public session and the number in closed session; and to detail the total number of hours each Committee has been in session.

(AQW 58/00)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission: I am responding to you on behalf of the Assembly Commission.

The attached table details the number of meetings of each of the Statutory Committees of the Assembly during the period 2 December 1999 to 8 September 2000. The table shows the number of meetings that took place in public session, the number in closed session and the number of hours each Committee has been in session.

The table also shows the number of Statutory Committee meetings that are classified as closed/public — these typically involved Committees having a short "closed" meeting immediately followed by a meeting that was open to the public.

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