| Home | Committees | Membership | Publications | Legislation | Chronology | Commission | Tour | Search |
|
Friday 15 February 2002 Office of the First Minister and
Deputy First Minister
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Review of Public Administration Mr Weir asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister if the proposed terms for the Review of Public Administration will include an indicative timetable for the progress of that review. (AQW 1178/01) Reply: The Review of Public Administration will be a very complex task and will need to be tackled in stages. The first stage is likely to last between 12 and 18 months. Once details of the Review have been finalised by the Executive, including an indicative timetable, they will be made available to the Assembly. Review of Public Administration Mr Weir asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister what proposed budget they intend to allocate to the Review of Public Administration. (AQW 1181/01) Reply: The Executive have agreed that resources for the Review of Public Administration will be made available though in-year monitoring. Budget estimates for the Review will be completed once the other details of the Review have been finalised. Details about the Review, including the proposed budget, will be made available to the Assembly once they have been finalised. Links with European Union and the USA Mr Cobain asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister how it intends to strengthen links with the European Union and the USA. (AQO 641/01) Reply: The Executive will shortly be considering a draft framework to improve our effectiveness, to strengthen our links with the European Union and create a common strategy for the Administration. The Strategic Framework will set out a number of action points aimed at developing closer links both with Whitehall Departments on EU matters, with EU institutions and with the Irish Government on EU issues. This will include work which will lead to the identification of specific regions in Europe with which to develop mutually beneficial links. Our effectiveness in operating within the EU has, of course, been greatly assisted by the establishment of the Office of the Executive in Brussels. We have already taken a number of steps to raise Northern Ireland’s profile in the USA by developing the role of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington. Last summer the Bureau moved to its own suite of offices in downtown Washington. We have also strengthened the resources of the Bureau by engaging an additional member of staff to act as liaison officer with the US Administration and the media. The Bureau continues to develop and reinforce relationships with key contacts in Congress, the Administration and members of the Irish American community in the US through a series of outreach programmes. Treatment of Ex-Prisoners Mrs E Bell asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister what progress has been made, in conjunction with the NIO, regarding the treatment of ex-prisoners and their families. (AQW 1606/01) Reply: The Programme for Government acknowledges that ex-prisoners may face particular difficulties re-integrating fully into society and commits the Executive to considering what more might be done to help ex-prisoners overcome barriers to integration. Some of the issues concerning ex-prisoners are within the scope of the devolved Administration and some rest with the Northern Ireland Office, which has responsibility for legislation on the rehabilitation of offenders. Officials are currently in discussion about how work on ex- prisoner issues might be taken forward. North/South Ministerial Council Mr Campbell asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to detail the number of meetings and the subject matters under discussion at North/South Ministerial Council meetings in their various formats, over the past three years. (AQW 1737/01) Reply: The North/South Ministerial Council has met on 50 occasions since December 1999. There have been three plenary meetings, 46 sectoral meetings and one meeting in institutional format. The joint communiqués of the meetings, which set out the subject matters under discussion, have been placed in the Assembly Library. Civic Forum Mr Weir asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to detail the work of the Civic Forum in the last 12 months. (AQW 1751/01) Reply: During the last 12 months the Civic Forum has responded to the Executive’s progress report on the first Programme for Government and has submitted a comprehensive response to the draft Programme for Government published in September last year. The Forum has also responded to a number of consultation papers issued by Northern Ireland Departments including:
It has made submissions to the Independent Review Body on Post Primary Education and the draft Bill of Rights published by the Human Rights Commission. The Civic Forum is currently developing contributions on four key areas; Lifelong Learning, Combating Poverty, Building a Plural Society and Creating a More Sustainable Northern Ireland. The Office of the Northern Ireland Mr Poots asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister what are the rental costs for the Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels. (AQO 763/01) Reply: The annual rental for the ground floor premises of the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive is 110,705.40 euros, which equates to £68,548 at the current exchange rates. Working Group on Social Exclusion Mr McMenamin asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what measures it intends to take to ensure the social inclusion of older people. (AQO 742/01) Reply: By December we will set up a working group that will include appropriate Departments, statutory agencies and representatives of the voluntary sector to consider factors that cause older people to be at risk of social exclusion and develop a co-ordinated strategy through which Departments and others can work together to tackle the problems faced by older people. Review of Flags, Emblems and Graffiti Mr McCarthy asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister if it will give an update on the work of the Interdepartmental Working Group on the removal of flags, emblems and graffiti. (AQO 730/01) Reply: At present there is no Interdepartmental Working Group. In the draft Programme for Government, we are committed to support local communities in dealing with matters of dispute and division, including the proliferation of sectarian graffiti, unauthorised flag flying, the erection of memorials and other issues that can lead to community tensions. Proposals to implement this commitment will be considered in the context of the review of community relations policy. Programme for Government Mr Close asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what percentage of targets in this year’s Programme for Government will be met by the end of March 2002. (AQO 732/01) Reply: The Executive’s first Programme for Government covers the years from April 2001, with a particular focus on the current financial year. It includes 256 specific actions spanning a period of five years. At the end of December 2001, 24% of the 256 actions had already been achieved and a further 50% were in line for achievement within the timescales published in the Programme for Government. Where progress has been slower than anticipated, the Executive will be looking at the reasons for this and at the remedial action that might be taken. Promoting Community Relations Mr Gibson asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister what partnership initiatives are available to the Unionist community in West Tyrone to promote community relations. (AQO 729/01) Reply: The Peace II programme makes provision for distinctive approaches to meeting local needs through locally based regeneration strategies which are sensitive to local needs. In Northern Ireland these strategies will be developed and implemented by the new Local Strategy Partnerships being established in each of the 26 district council areas. The objective is to ensure a more integrated and sustainable approach to planning and managing the use of resources available at the local level. In Northern Ireland the new Partnerships will be responsible for implementing two Measures under Priority 3 of the Peace Programme: Measure 1 – "Local Economic Initiatives for Developing the Social Economy"; and Measure 2 – "Locally-based Human Resource, Training and Development Strategies". The first Measure has a financial allocation of £38·548m, while the second has an allocation of £35·471m. This makes a total allocation of £74·019m available for distribution among the 26 Local Strategy Partnerships. The proposed allocations to Omagh and Strabane Local Strategy Partnerships total over £4 million. Issues such as localised sectarian tensions are a particular focus for the Peace II programme. One of the Measures which is entitled "Reconciliation for Sustainable Peace" will be administered by the Community Relations Council, which is sponsored by our Department. While Partnerships do not have direct financial responsibility for these Measures, they can and should play a key role in influencing decisions on the allocation of funding to address such problems in their local area. Late Answers Mr Ford asked the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, pursuant to AQO 730/01 and AQO 732/01, to explain why written answers have yet to be provided to the Members concerned, and what percentage of answers have been outside the specified period in this session. (AQW 1996/01) Reply: Written answers to AQO730/01 and AQO 732/01 were provided on 14 and 13 February 2002 respectively. Figures provided by the Business Office indicate that some 50% of written answers from our Department have been provided outside the specified period this session. Steps are being taken to improve the situation. Agriculture and Rural Development Government Subsidies for Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what criteria will be used to enable farmers to qualify for Government subsidies under environmental schemes. (AQW 1741/01) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): The three Northern Ireland agri- environment schemes are the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Scheme, Countryside Management Scheme (CMS) and Organic Farming Scheme (OFS). Entry to all three schemes is voluntary. Application to the ESA scheme is open to all farmers with land in one of the five designated Environmentally Sensitive Areas (the Mournes and Slieve Croob; Antrim Glens and Rathlin; Sperrins; Fermanagh Lakeland and Slieve Gullion). The five ESAs cover approximately 20% of Northern Ireland’s total land area. Application to the CMS is open to all farmers with land outside the designated Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Only those farms offering the greatest environmental benefits can be admitted into the scheme, and a ranking and scoring system is applied to each application. As with the ESA scheme, CMS applicants must also be able to satisfy scheme requirements on the management of habitats and features on the farm and pollution control. Application to the OFS is open to all farmers wishing to convert from conventional to organic production methods. However, applicants must first register their farm with a recognised organic sector body. Rural Development Programme Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what financial assistance is available to promote rural tourism and what funding has been paid to date. (AQW 1743/01) Ms Rodgers: Within my Department the financial assistance to promote rural tourism is offered through the Rural Development Programme. Under the new Rural Development Programme we anticipate tourism projects to feature in all elements of the Programme. Similarly each element of the Rural Development Programme, which ran from 1994 to 1999, supported some activity which had a direct or indirect impact on tourism. Rural Development Programme 2001-06 The main tourism measure under the new Programme is the Natural Resource Rural Tourism Initiative which is being developed in conjunction with the Environment and Heritage Service and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. This Peace II measure will support tourism projects that utilise the natural resources of Northern Ireland’s rural areas. The Initiative is worth approximately £15 million. The Rural Development Programme will also deliver a tourism-related Peace II measure that will assist rural communities to promote local identity, culture and heritage, with an emphasis on peace and reconciliation. The Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity will also have a tourism-related measure which will support local, area-based or sectoral projects and programmes to develop a quality tourism product in rural areas. The LEADER+ element of the Programme also has scope to support small scale innovative tourism initiatives. Eight of the recently appointed Local Action Groups which will deliver LEADER+ have included tourism- related themes in their development strategies. Under INTERREG III, a proposed Rural Initiative will also offer opportunities for cross-border tourism. However, this measure is still under negotiation. No funding has yet been paid under the new Rural Development Programme. Rural Development Programme 1994-99 The following are a few examples of the type of projects which were funded under the 1994-99 Rural Development Programme, and the level of support offered. Single Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development Ardglass Boat Park £350,975 Portneal Fishing Lodge £18,400 An Creagan Visitor Centre £49,500 Ti Chullain Cultural Centre £377,000 Fishing Villages Programme £20,000 Slieve Gullion Courtyard Tourism Facility £49,543 Ring of Gullion Equestrian Tourism Centre £269,500 Sion Mills river amenity £45,000 A range of tourist accommodation, eg in the Glenelly, Kilkeel and Owenkillew areas. LEADER II Programme Over £2.5 million of LEADER II funds were spent on tourism related projects, examples are as follows: Activity holidays in the Sperrins £18,319 Camping Barns in North Antrim £46,000 Kinallen Craft Centre £6,000 Regional Tourism training Rural Cottage Holidays £200,000 INTERREG III Sliabh Beagh Walking Trails £40,000 Kesh Millennium Boat Park £356,000 Lough Erne Wildfowl Reserve £245,000 Tully Mill, Florence Court £233,750 Rural Craft Centre, Ballycastle £139,400 Drumaheglis Marina and Caravan Park £270,000 Derrygonnelly Field Study Centre £356,000 Attical Tourist Hostel Accommodation £225,000 PESCA Tidewater tourist facility, Ardglass £11,000 Ardglass Viking tourism project £10,678 I understand from colleagues in the Northern Ireland Tourist Board that it has responsibility for delivering the Marketing the Region as a Tourism Destination measure of the Peace II Programme. This measure is targeted at marketing Northern Ireland’s natural and cultural resources and at investing in indigenous tourism events and visitor management. This measure is worth approx £10 million and is intended to complement DARD’s NRRT Initiative. To date the NITB has committed £1,018,029 under the Peace II Programme. Belfast Festival at Queen’s: Funding Mr Weir asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how much funding he has awarded to the Belfast Festival at Queen’s in each of the last three years. (AQW 1693/01) The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): Government funding in support of the arts in Northern Ireland, including Belfast Festival at Queen’s is mainly distributed through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. In this instance my Department also provided additional funding to the Belfast Festival at Queen's through the Northern Ireland Events Company. The figures are as follows:
* (Agreed subject to successful completion of application process) Irish Football Association Mr Hilditch asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the cost of youth development to the Irish Football Association in each of the last 10 years. (AQW 1695/01) Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the governing body for soccer, and you may wish to approach the Irish Football Association directly for this information. You may wish to note that the annual Sports Council grant to the IFA for youth development has been £50,000 in each of the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, and 2001-02. No figures are available prior to 1996-97. You may also wish to note that youth development was one of the key issues identified as being central to the development of a soccer strategy in Northern Ireland. I would refer you to chapter 4 of the report ‘Creating a Soccer Strategy for Northern Ireland’. I hope to publish a draft strategy as soon as possible. Milk Cup Tournament Mr Hilditch asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to give his assessment of the withdrawal of £5,000 grant aid towards the Milk Cup by the Irish Football Association. (AQW 1696/01) Mr McGimpsey: The decision to withdraw £5,000 from the Milk Cup Tournament is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the governing body for soccer and you may wish to approach the Irish Football Association directly about this matter. I can, however, say that I regard the Milk Cup Tournament as a prestigious event, and you may wish to note that the Northern Ireland Events Company provided funding of £90,000 towards the 2001 Milk Cup Tournament and is considering funding the 2002 Tournament. Irish Football Association Mr Hilditch asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the amount of public money, including Sports Council funding, given to the Irish Football Association in each of the last 10 years. (AQW 1697/01) Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the governing body for soccer. You may therefore wish to approach the Irish Football Association directly for this information. You may wish to note that the funding provided by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland is as detailed on the attached annex. IRISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION – SPORTS COUNCIL FUNDING (AQW 1697/01)
No figures are available prior to 95/96 Irish Football Association’s Youth Development Programme Mr Hilditch asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to give his assessment of the Irish Football Association’s Youth Development Programme. (AQW 1698/01) Mr McGimpsey: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland, which provides funding towards the Irish Football Association Youth Development Programme, considers that the programme is effective in delivering a learning environment, which is fun-filled, challenging and which promotes fair play and sportsmanship. I can also inform you that youth development was one of the key issues identified as being central to the development of a soccer strategy in Northern Ireland. I would refer you to chapter 4 of the report ‘Creating a Soccer Strategy for Northern Ireland’. I hope to be in a position to publish a draft strategy as soon as possible. Heritage Lottery Fund: Mr McClarty asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the allocation and distribution of Heritage Lottery Fund monies including the Townscape Heritage Initiative, to grant-aid work to listed buildings and conservation areas, in each of the last five years. (AQW 1705/01) Mr McGimpsey: During the last five financial years, 123 grants were awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in Northern Ireland to grant-aid work to listed buildings and conservation areas, including the Townscape Heritage Initiative, totalling £30,199,094. A breakdown of the awards is attached. Details of all Lottery Awards made by all National Lottery
Distributing Bodies across the UK can be accessed through the Awards
Search on the Web Site of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
at 1997/98
1998/99
1999/2000
2000/2001
2001/2002
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||