Friday 24 November 2000
Written Answers to Questions

OFFICE OF FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

North/South Meeting
(Enniskillen)

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to detail the official expenditure on the meeting that occurred in Enniskillen on Friday 3 November, at which the Health Minister and the Deputy First Minister were in attendance, and confirm which officials from these two Departments were in attendance.

(AQW 631/00)

Reply: The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister did not incur any expenses in relation to the event. The Deputy First Minister was accompanied to the event in Enniskillen by his private secretary, his principal information officer and a special adviser.

We understand that the expenses for the event were met by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Food Safety Promotion Board. The Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has received a similar question and will detail the officials attending and the cost falling to her Department in her response.

Mrs E Bell asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what steps are being taken to ensure that the Executive’s commitment to sustainable development in the draft Programme for Government will be delivered across all Government Departments.

(AQO 322/00)

Reply: The draft Programme for Government recognises the importance of sustainable development in environmental, economic and social terms, and the need to ensure that the principle of sustainability underpins the development of major policies and programmes.

The Minister of the Environment will bring forward for consultation early in the new year a draft sustainable development strategy. This will set out new arrangements to ensure that sustainable development objectives, including those highlighted in the draft Programme for Government, are reflected in the business plans, priorities and resource allocations of all Departments. It will also set out arrangements for ensuring high-level cross- departmental co-ordination of effort in this area.

Dr Birnie asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to make it policy to ensure the supply of adequate independent economic research analysis to the Assembly and the Economic Policy Unit.

(AQO 345/00)

Reply: It is our aim to ensure that there is adequate provision of independent economic advice and research to inform policy-making in Government in Northern Ireland. It was with this intention that the Executive recently agreed to a review of the Northern Ireland Economic Council and the provision of independent economic advice and research. The provision of independent economic advice and research is necessary to inform policy-making not only within the Economic Policy Unit but also across a range of Departments including Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Finance and Personnel, Education and Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment. It will also help inform the wider policy debate in the Assembly and elsewhere. That said, securing economic advice for the Assembly is ultimately the responsibility of the Assembly itself.

Mrs Carson asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to detail what progress has been achieved towards the establishment of an office in Brussels.

(AQO 342/00)

Reply: Following the agreement of the Executive Committee to the opening of an office of the Executive in Brussels, work has proceeded on establishing the office. A contracting agent in Belgium has been selected to manage the work of fitting out the premises, which are located next to the European Parliament. Consultations with him and with others, designed to ensure that all procedures are followed and all requirements met, are now virtually complete. Work on fitting out the office will begin shortly. We expect the office to be staffed and functioning by the beginning of March.

The Office of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee will provide early warning of policy developments relevant to Northern Ireland and will facilitate Ministers and their Departments in making European contacts. The staff of the office will be appointed by the Executive and will have diplomatic status as members of the UK permanent representation, giving them access to meetings and to a level of information that they would not otherwise have. At the same time, the separate premises will provide a focal point for Northern Ireland in Brussels, helping us to develop a distinct and positive profile within the EU.

Agriculture and Rural Development

Mr Dallat asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if, for the period since devolution, she will detail (a) the number of contracts for consultancy services that did not have to go out to public tender that have been awarded by her Department, (b) to whom these contracts have been awarded, (c) the number of contracts awarded on the basis of such consultancy advice, and (d) to whom these contracts were awarded.

(AQW 573/00)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): In the period since devolution, eight contracts for consultancy services have been awarded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development that did not have to go out to public tender.

These contracts were awarded to the following:

Dr J Kremer

BIC Systems

James Black Partnership

OMI Consultancy

Wade and Partners

Industrial Relations Personnel Consultants

Elm Farm Research

Lear Associates

No other contracts were awarded on the basis of this consultancy advice.

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will detail what specific programmes, funded by the Programme for Government and the Budget, will address the decline in farming incomes.

(AQW 598/00)

Ms Rodgers: As I said in my statement to the Agriculture Committee on the Budget, one of my key concerns is to assist the competitiveness of the agrifood industry. As a result of the Budget settlement, we will be able to introduce a new beef quality initiative in the coming year. The aim of this is to help processors compete in international markets, and thus to improve beef producers’ returns through improved breeding, production management and marketing. This will have an impact on incomes.

Another initiative in the Budget that supports the drive to enhance competitiveness is that related to education, training and business support services. Under this initiative, the portal set up earlier in the year under the Agenda for Government will be developed and maintained, and a contribution will be made to the cost of information and communication technology teaching suites for use by full- and part-time students at the agricultural colleges and by working farmers. In addition, farmers in less favoured areas will have particular education and training courses tailored to their needs.

The provision for an extra £3·6 million for less favoured area (LFA) payments will increase the incomes of beef and sheep farmers in the LFA. The extra money will enable us to provide safety net arrangements for farmers who would otherwise be disadvantaged by the change from the existing headage-based scheme to one based on area.

The various measures on animal health, including a scrapie eradication programme, and animal welfare could have an impact on farmers’ incomes in the medium to longer term.

The Budget also includes match funding for payments modulated from farmers’ subsidies. This reflects a ring- fenced allocation by Treasury to the block. Although it has not yet been allocated to specific initiatives, decisions on this will be made early next year, with consequent direct or indirect impacts on farming incomes.

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will detail the level of consultation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development about the threat of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contamination being transferred to sheep; and if she will make a statement.

(AQW 632/00)

Ms Rodgers: My Department is in regular and close contact with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on all aspects of BSE, including on contingency planning for the possible emergence of the disease in sheep.

The only evidence of BSE in sheep so far is where it has been deliberately transferred in the course of scientific experiment. However, as a prudent precaution, the UK Government are devising a strategy to reduce the risk of BSE in sheep. This includes an ongoing research programme, the development of rapid screening methods and a national plan to eliminate scrapie from the UK flock and remove potentially hazardous material from the food chain. The Government are drawing up contingency plans to cater for the situation where current experiments indicate that BSE might be present in the sheep population.

Scrapie is much less prevalent in Northern Ireland that in GB but, as a precaution, my Department is nonetheless following the UK line on the issue and has been fully involved in the construction of the contingency plans.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will outline her plans to change productivity in agriculture.

(AQW 642/00)

Ms Rodgers: Much of the work of the DARD Agrifood Development Service and the Department’s research and development programme are aimed ultimately at improvements in productivity. Indeed, some of the measures announced in the recent Budget statement — for example, the beef quality initiative — will have an impact on productivity.

In any case, productivity does not appear to be a problem for Northern Ireland agriculture. The long-term rate of increase in "total factor productivity", which takes account of all inputs, including labour, has been running at an average of 1·5% per annum over the past two decades. This compares very favourably with the rate for the UK as a whole of 1%.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what action she intends to take to encourage young people to go into the agriculture industry.

(AQW 643/00)

Ms Rodgers: In choosing a career, young people and their parents are very strongly influenced by future career opportunities and the image of the industry. A highly competitive and progressive industry which is perceived as having a sustainable and viable future will be much more successful in attracting young people to seek careers in that industry. It is for this reason that I believe that the current vision exercise is so important in providing a positive and proactive direction on which we can consult and build a programme for future industry development.

The availability of high-quality education courses and facilities is another vital factor in attracting young people of high calibre into the industry. The courses run by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development colleges are specifically targeted at ensuring that those entering the industry have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to contribute to the industry while enjoying a satisfying and fulfilling career. I am pleased to have been able, through the Programme for Government, to allocate additional funds to ensure that the computer suites at the colleges are maintained at the highest standard. Clearly, information and communication technology, as well as being a key skill for modern farming, is attractive to young people and encourages entry to the industry.

To ensure that young people of high calibre are attracted to the courses in agriculture and related subjects, my Department initiates direct contact with students and their parents by attending careers conventions and exhibiting at farming events such as Balmoral Show. This is supplemented by advertising in the press, on radio programmes and in cinemas. A pilot trial of TV advertising is currently being evaluated.

Steps are also taken to ensure that careers teachers and schools have a good understanding of the agrifood industry and career opportunities within it. DARD colleges hold regular events such as open days and seminars of relevance to schools throughout Northern Ireland.

As you will be aware, EU rural development regulations include provision for measures to encourage young people to take up farming. However, the Department has not included this within the Community Support Framework. The vision group, I understand, is looking at the whole area of restructuring. I await its report, which will help to inform my final decision.

Mrs Nelis asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will detail the river system and work carried out following the funding of £89,498 to Gilaroo Angles in relation to the salmonid enhancement scheme.

(AQW 646/00)

Ms Rodgers: Since the salmonid enhancement programme (SEP) was launched in December 1995 under the European Commission’s water-based tourism Peace I measure, Gilaroo Angles has been awarded funding of £89,498 to promote the tourism aspects of the measure. Under the programme, Gilaroo Angles has produced a guide to all the fisheries that received funding, an angling map of Lough Erne and promotional videos, and has arranged a series of angling press and media visits that have resulted in many press articles and radio coverage of fisheries improved through SEP.

Due to the continuing success and tourist demand for these publications, Gilaroo Angles has organised a reprint of the map and is presently arranging for an update of the day-ticket guide to include clubs awarded funding under the later stages of the programme.

The Gilaroo Angles application is quite different from the majority of the applications, which were for in-river works and angling development to improve salmonid stocks. It does, however, meet the needs of a key element of the measure in that it promotes tourism and provides publicity for the peace programme. The publicity generated by Gilaroo’s promotional material has encouraged tourists to come and use the enhanced facilities.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will outline her plans to address the problem of coastal erosion.

(AQW 650/00)

Ms Rodgers: Responsibility for coastal erosion does not reside within my Department except in very limited circumstances. The statutory remit of my Department’s Rivers Agency extends to maintenance of sea defences designated by the Drainage Council for Northern Ireland to alleviate the risk of flooding from the sea. The Rivers Agency has an ongoing programme of work to improve the standards of protection provided by designated sea defence structures, but my Department has no statutory responsibility for coastal erosion other than in circumstances where there is a flooding risk.

CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE

Digitised Maps

Ms McWilliams asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he will explain why United Kingdom Boundary Outline and Reference Database for Education and Research Study (UKBORDERS) supplies free digitised maps to the academic community for Britain only and what steps he is taking to rectify the matter so that digitised maps for Northern Ireland may be freely available to the academic community.

(AQW 615/00)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): Although digitised maps are provided free to the academic community, they are licensed by the data providers — the General Register Office for Scotland and the EDline consortium — to the Economical and Social Research Council/Joint Information Systems Committee (ESRC/JISC). ESRC/JISC pays a licence fee for this data on behalf of the academic community.

Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) is not part of the EDline consortium and was not included in the original agreement between the General Register Office for Scotland and the EDline consortium and ESRC/JISC. OSNI is in contact with Prof Phillip Rees of the ESRC/JISC 1991 census initiative to facilitate the inclusion of Northern Ireland boundary data in UKBORDERS in the near future.

Mr McGrady asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he will detail which district councils, bodies and individuals have been involved in the consultation on the review of regional museums in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 653/00)

Mr McGimpsey: The main consultation exercise for the local museum and heritage review, the remit of which includes regional museums, is due to take place early next year.

Some initial consultation, however, has already taken place as follows:

(a) the review has been overseen by a steering group, made up of representatives of key interest groups, and an advisory group

(b) a consultation workshop, attended by 61 participants nominated by stakeholder groups, took place at Craigavon Civic Centre on 18 April 2000

(c) consultants employed by the steering group consulted with organisations and individuals in writing and in interviews and meetings.

The names of all those consulted above are set out below.

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