Friday 19 January 2001
Written Answers to Questions (Continued)

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Translink Services

Mr Fee asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail: (a) what proportion of Translink services have run on time since January 1999; (b) how many trains have been more than 15 minutes late in each month since January 1999; (c) how many timetabled services have not run at all in each month since January 1999; and (d) his plans to improve the reliability of the timetable.

(AQW 1023/00)

The Minister for Regional Development (Mr Campbell):

(a) Translink measures delays of over five minutes on the Larne, Bangor and Portadown lines and delays of over 10 minutes on the Londonderry and Dublin lines. Translink has advised that from January 1999 to November 2000, 94% of services were punctual to within five minutes on the Larne, Bangor and Portadown lines, and 93% were punctual to within 10 minutes on the Londonderry and Dublin lines.

(b) Translink does not retain figures on an absolute basis and has not been able to supply information about the number of trains that have been late each month since January 1999. However, it has been able to supply figures for each month from January 1999 to November 2000, the latest month for which figures are available, for delays over five minutes on the Larne, Bangor and Portadown lines and delays over 10 minutes on the Londonderry and Dublin lines. Translink does not measure delays of over 15 minutes.

NIR PUNCTUALITY RESULTS 1999

NIR PUNCTUALITY RESULTS 2000 (to November 2000)

(c) Translink does not retain figures on an absolute basis and it has not been able to supply information about the number of trains that have not run at all for each month since January 1999. However, it has been able to supply figures for each month from January 1999 to November 2000, the latest month for which figures are available.

NIR RELIABILITY RESULTS 1999

NIR RELIABILITY RESULTS 2000 (to November 2000)

Translink advises that its plans to improve timetable reliability relate primarily to improving punctuality. It considers that punctuality problems are caused almost exclusively by the condition of the current rolling stock. The £19·6 million additional resources for railways approved by the Assembly on 18 December will allow Translink to initiate an investment programme to replace outdated rolling stock with new trains, which should provide more reliable and more comfortable services.

Urban and Rural

Mr Hussey asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the definition of the words urban and rural as used in his Department.

(AQW 1054/00)

Mr Campbell: There is no standard definition of the words urban and rural. For the purposes of strategic regional planning the Department for Regional Development considers rural Northern Ireland to include all towns, villages, small settlements and open countryside outside the main urban areas of Belfast and Londonderry. This is consistent with the comments made by the independent panel that conducted the public examination into the draft regional strategic framework in November 1999. The framework will ensure that there is an integrated approach to dealing with rural development issues. It also reflects the fact that the region is predominantly rural. It has a dispersed population, living mainly in a variety of settlement types served by the main market towns, which are the hubs of employment, services and key amenities.

Mossley West Rail Station

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to confirm that the Mossley West train station has not been included in the latest timetable for services between Londonderry and Belfast and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 1155/00)

Mr Campbell: Translink has advised that Mossley West train station is not expected to be operational when the Antrim to Bleach Green line is opened and has not been included in the timetable that Translink intend to operate initially on that line.

Mossley West Rail Station

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister for Regional Development to ensure that Mossley West Rail Station will be included in the new timetable of services.

(AQW 1172/00)

Mr Campbell: Translink has confirmed that it intends to use the Mossley West station as soon as possible. I understand that Translink is currently consulting interested parties with a view to ensuring safe access to the station so that an outstanding planning consideration can be resolved as soon as possible.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Housing Bill

Mr Shannon asked the Minister for Social Development to outline when the Housing Bill will be brought to the Assembly for consideration.

(AQW 988/00)

The Minister for Social Development (Mr Morrow): I am awaiting a formal response from the Executive Committee to the policy proposals I submitted to it in October 2000 in connection with the proposed Housing Bill. Discussions have taken place with the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister about the proposals in the meantime. Until the Executive Committee’s approval is forthcoming, I will not be in a position to progress the Bill further. In the circumstances, it is not possible to predict precisely when the Bill will be brought to the Assembly for consideration although I still hope that it will be introduced before the summer recess.

Housing Executive Rents

Mr Close asked the Minister for Social Development if he will use the additional money made available from increased housing sales to ensure that Housing Executive rents are not increased by a rate above that of inflation.

(AQW 1007/00)

Mr Morrow: On 22 December 2000 I announced that Housing Executive rents were to rise by 3% from April 2001. This is below the current rate of inflation and means that Housing Executive tenants in Northern Ireland will be better off than those in England and Wales where rents will rise by 4·5%. For the average tenant this will mean an increase of £1·17 per week.

It is not possible to use additional capital receipts from house sales to offset a rent increase. There are two reasons for this. First, house sales are classified as capital, whereas rental income is revenue. Treasury rules prohibit the transfer of funds from one to the other. Secondly, the Housing Executive’s accounting arrangements, which are similar to all other non-departmental public bodies and departmental agencies, mean that additional receipts over and above those included in approved and published estimates cannot be carried over from one year to another. Again, in accordance with Treasury rules they must be surrendered to the Department of Finance and Personnel and are at the disposal of the Executive Committee.

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development if, in relation to antisocial behaviour in Housing Executive property, he will detail the number of tenants that the executive has taken action against in each of the past two years in the Carrickfergus area and what the outcome of these actions has been.

(AQW 1032/00)

Mr Morrow: All Housing Executive district offices have been required to collect and report on incidences of antisocial behaviour since October 2000. Although detailed information for the past two years is not available, there would be approximately 100 reports of antisocial behaviour in the Carrickfergus district per year. These include nuisance neighbours, bonfires, children playing, boundary disputes and abandoned properties.

The Housing Executive acts on all complaints. The issue of letters from the district office, follow-up visits, and interviews resolve many cases. The volunteer mediation service has also dealt with a number of cases of antisocial behaviour in the district.

There have been no evictions of Housing Executive tenants on the grounds of antisocial behaviour in the Carrickfergus district during the last two years.

You may also be interested to know that the Housing Executive has set up a central antisocial behaviour unit, including an officer seconded from the RUC, which will help district offices deal with the worst cases.

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development to detail current Housing Executive procedures to combat antisocial behaviour in their properties.

(AQW 1048/00)

Mr Morrow: The Housing Executive normally attempts to deal with antisocial behaviour through mediation using its neighbourhood dispute system. However, the Executive has a range of options available where mediation does not produce the desired result.

Housing Executive tenancies are normally "secure" tenancies, which means that the tenancy can only be brought to an end by a court order. While eviction is very much a last resort, the executive can seek an order for possession — eviction — against one of its tenants where the tenant’s behaviour provides grounds for the court to make such an order. The grounds for possession, which are set out in legislation, include certain forms of antisocial behaviour such as causing nuisance or annoyance to neighbours and using a house for illegal or immoral purposes.

The Housing Executive can also seek an injunction against one of its own tenants, where the tenant has breached, or threatens to breach, his tenancy agreement — such a breach could include antisocial behaviour such as causing nuisance to neighbours. Where the court has granted such an injunction and the tenant breaches, or continues to breach, the tenancy agreement, the tenant can be held to be in contempt of court.

The Housing Executive is developing a wider approach to the problems of antisocial behaviour in the context of community safety. Initiatives include setting up a specialised unit to deal with the worst cases; developing seminars with staff from other bodies to promote closer working relationships; the introduction of neighbourhood wardens; and the imposition of sanctions against those on the waiting lists who have a history of antisocial behaviour.

Urban and Rural

Mr Hussey asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the definition of the words urban and rural used in his Department.

(AQW 1055/00)

Mr Morrow: There are no definitions of the words urban and rural used by my Department. We use the definition of cities, towns and villages as delineated by the area plans that have been drawn up by planning service in the Department of the Environment.

Reducing Child Poverty

Ms McWilliams asked the Minister for Social Development to outline the target for reducing child poverty in Northern Ireland as part of the UK Government’s policy of abolishing child poverty in 20 years.

(AQW 1085/00)

Mr Morrow: The commitment to eradicate child poverty in 20 years and halving it in 10 years covers a range of initiatives that seek to address the multi-dimensional problems associated with child poverty.

Ensuring that children get the best start in life requires improvements in a number of key areas, for example, improvement in family income through tax and benefit reform and through increasing opportunities for parents to work.

Progress towards achieving the objective will be monitored using key headline indicators such as:

i. a reduction in the proportion of children living in low income households;

ii. a reduction in the proportion of children living in households where nobody is in work; and

iii. a reduction in the number of households with children living in housing that falls below the set standard of decency.

Refurbishment Schemes

Mr Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development what steps he is taking to minimise disruption and inconvenience to homeowners during planned refurbishment schemes on Housing Executive estates.

(AQW 1097/00)

Mr Morrow: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive whose chief executive advises that it has established a set of consultation standards specific to homeowners affected by scheme related activity to ensure disruption and inconvenience are kept to a minimum. Action ranges from written notification, advising homeowners of scheme work that is to be undertaken, to detailed consultation where work is required to adjoining properties.

Voluntary Activity Unit

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the level of expenditure by the voluntary activity unit (VAU) to the voluntary and community sector for each district council, council ward and parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 1123/00)

Mr Morrow: The VAU administers a number of grant-making programmes including the district councils’ community services programme. Details of the unit’s allocation to each of the 26 district councils under the community services programme are given below.

The remainder of the information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs. Many organisations are funded directly and indirectly through VAU — estimated to be in the region of 4,000 — and the activities of many of these organisations span several of the boundaries identified in the question. Compounding the difficulty is the unit’s use of managing agents, the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust and the Volunteer Development Agency, to administer certain EU and volunteer funding programmes.

DSD COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMME GRANTS TO DISTRICT COUNCILS 2000-2001

* Inclusive of grant for advice services

Regenerating Town Centres

Mr Hilditch asked the Minister for Social Development to detail his plans to regenerate town centres outside designated targeting social need areas.

(AQW 1158/00)

Mr Morrow: It is too early to detail plans to regenerate any of our town centres. Officials from my Department are working with representatives from other Departments to draw up a strategy for the regeneration of town centres that will need to be considered by relevant Ministers. However, we shall be examining the various proposals with a view to establishing a policy framework for reinvigorating town centres inside and outside designated targeting social need areas.

Town centres should be safe, attractive and vibrant places, which provide services and employment opportunities to their catchment populations.

Housing Selection Scheme

Mr Fee asked the Minister for Social Development if he has plans to revise the new Housing Executive housing selection scheme to take account of applicants with mental health problems.

(AQW 1170/00)

Mr Morrow: Following a comprehensive consultation exercise, a common selection scheme for the allocation of tenancies by the Housing Executive and registered housing associations was introduced on 6 November 2000.

The design of the new common selection scheme takes account of the need to match applicants with mental health or other medical problems to appropriate accommodation. The scheme aims to assess a person’s ability to function within his existing accommodation and how re-housing might improve that level of functional ability. The scheme does not focus on particular medical conditions, and there is no automatic entitlement to points for mental health problems. However, points are awarded for circumstances such as "health and social well being" and an applicant’s mental health would be an important factor in this regard. The scheme also takes account of an applicant’s support and/or supervision needs.

When the common selection scheme has been in operation for a sufficient time it will be evaluated to indicate the effectiveness of the new allocation policies.

Domestic Energy Efficiency Scheme

Mr Maskey asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of households in West Belfast which have received insulation measures under the domestic energy efficiency scheme (DEES) in each of the last three financial years and to detail how this compares with other constituencies.

(AQW 1205/00)

Mr Morrow: The number of households in West Belfast which have received DEES insulation measures in each of the last three financial years compared with other constituencies is as follows:

Energy Action Grant Agency Partnership

Mr Maskey asked the Minister for Social Development to outline when he last met representatives of the energy action grant agency partnership to discuss the operation and further development of the domestic energy efficiency scheme (DEES) and if he will make a statement.

(AQW 1232/00)

Mr Morrow: The energy action grant agency, now known as the EAGA partnership, is the manager of the current domestic energy efficiency scheme and my officials meet with the company regularly to discuss performance and operational issues. The last meeting was held on 11 January 2001. As regards the development of the new DEES programme, meetings took place with representatives of the EAGA partnership in May and November 2000.

Housing Executive: House Sales

Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail: (a) the total sum of money passed to the Department of Finance and Personnel in respect of house sales by the Housing Executive in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and (b) the current shortfall in the housing budget.

(AQW 1257/00)

Mr Morrow: The following table shows the total capital receipts surrendered to the Department of Finance and Personnel in each of the last three years:

Capital Receipts Surrendered In-year

The Housing Executive’s accounting arrangements, which are similar to all other non-departmental public bodies, are subject to Treasury rules. These rules prohibit additional receipts over and above those included in approved and published estimates being held in-year, by the Housing Executive. Again, in accordance with Treasury rules, they must be surrendered to the Department of Finance and Personnel and are at the disposal of the Executive Committee.

There is no shortfall in the housing budget for the current financial year. In fact I have been able to secure additional in-year resources of just under £13 million — mainly for SPED, handicapped adaptations, loss of rental income and the loyalist feud on the Shankill — bringing the gross resources available in 2000-01 to £606 million.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Mr Gibson asked the Minister for Social Development if, following the recent advertising campaign, he will outline the current take-up of the minimum income guarantee.

(AQW 1289/00)

Mr Morrow: Since the take-up campaign in May 2000 just over 6,500 pensioners have applied for minimum income guarantee. Over 3,300 claims have been successful, with average additional payments of £25.00 per week.

The agency will continue to further promote minimum income guarantee in close partnership with the voluntary sector.

Social Fund Report

Mr Carrick asked the Minister for Social Development to outline when he intends to publish his annual report on the social fund for 1999-2000 and the social fund commissioner’s annual report

(AQW 1379/00)

Mr Morrow: The Department’s annual report on the social fund for 1999-2000 was published on 17 January and has been laid before the Assembly.

The report records that gross expenditure in the year was £47·6 million, with additional expenditure of £19 million on winter fuel payments. There were 219,000 non-repayable grants, 1,956,000 interest free loans, 216,000 funeral and maternity payments, and 246,000 pensioners received winter fuel payments.

The social fund commissioner’s annual report was also published on 17 January, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Sign Language Interpreters

Mr Ford asked the Assembly Commission if it has any plans to introduce sign language interpreters in the Assembly to assist the deaf and hard of hearing.

(AQW 1008/00)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission: At this stage the Commission has no plans to introduce sign language interpreters in the Assembly. However the Commission is willing to cater for any special requirements to visitors if the Assembly’s Public Events Office receives prior notice.

To this end, the Commission has already arranged for the installation of an induction loop system in the Assembly Chamber to assist the deaf and hard of hearing in the interpretation of proceedings.

The Commission is aware of its responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1999 and is currently considering a number of substantive reports on the provision of disabled access and other facilities throughout Parliament Buildings.

"Fair Trade" Requirements

Mr Ford asked the Assembly Commission if it will require tea and coffee supplied within Parliament Buildings to comply with "Fair Trade" requirements.

(AQW 1026/00)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission: The Commission has been considering this issue for some time and is aware that many Members have received information from War on Want (NI) on the "Fair Trade" campaign. The Commission has recently agreed to include a specific clause in new contractual arrangements with Mount Charles that will require the contractor to comply with "Fair Trade" policies when purchasing goods.

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