(AQW 1825/01)

The Minister for Regional Development (Mr P Robinson): My Department has consulted widely throughout the development of the proposed Regional Transportation Strategy. It would be impractical to list all of the individuals and groups that have been consulted. However, all elected representatives in Northern Ireland as well as interested groups and parties have been, and continue to be, afforded the opportunity to participate in the development of the strategy. Those consulted include the organisations listed in my Department’s published Equality Scheme.

The consultation to date has included:

• An initial paper on the development of the strategy issued to over 700 stakeholders in January 2001. Around 140 written responses were received and 77 meetings were held with representative groups and interested parties.

• A survey of 2,000 households was conducted and 12 focus group meetings held across the region;

• Over 200 stakeholders participated in the Regional Transportation Strategy working conference in September 2001.

• The Proposed Strategy has issued to over 1,000 stakeholders since its launch on 4 February 2002.

Lists of participants in the previous strands of consultation, who have given permission for their details to be made available, is also available on the Regional Transportation Strategy website at www.drdni.gov.uk/rts. I will make a copy of that list available in the Assembly Library.

(AQW 1826/01)

Mr P Robinson: Under the Rural Transport fund my Department currently supports 16 Rural Community Transport Partnerships who provide transport services in the rural community. The table below details the vehicles available to each partnership and the Assembly constituencies that equate in the main with their areas of operation.

(AQW 1888/01)

Mr P Robinson: Subsequent to your earlier Written Assembly Question (AQW 54/01) which my predecessor answered on 27 September 2001, I can advise that:

• work on the Newtownstewart Bypass scheme (estimated cost £8 million) is progressing in line with programme and it is anticipated that the new road will be open to traffic in early 2003;

• work on the Strabane Bypass scheme (estimated cost £4.2 million) commenced in January 2002 and is expected to take 15 months to complete;

• progress continues to be made on the statutory procedures for the Omagh Throughpass scheme (estimated cost £5 million) and it is expected that these could be completed by 2003. Further advancement of the scheme to the construction programme will be dependent on the availability of funds at that time; and

• a number of other major works schemes in West Tyrone are currently being considered for possible inclusion in the Roads Service 10-Year Forward Planning Schedule which I hope to publish later this year.

As regards minor works schemes, good progress is being made in implementing a package of works (now estimated to cost £700,000) in the current year. In particular, the following works are underway:

• an improvement scheme on the A32 at Tummery, Lettergash; and

• the construction of an additional lane to provide improved overtaking opportunities on the A5 at Tattykeel.

You will also be aware that my Department has recently published a Proposed Regional Transportation Strategy which considers strategic transportation priorities over the next 10 years.

(AQW 1852/01)

The Minister for Social Development (Mr Dodds): There were no Closing Orders made on Housing Executive dwellings during the period in question, however, I have set out below the Closing Orders made in relation to all properties.

(AQW 1870/01)

Mr Dodds: Details of the overall Community Care Grants budget for Northern Ireland are placed in the Assembly Library at the beginning of the financial year. There are no plans to increase the current year’s budget.

(AQW 1871/01)

Mr Dodds: The formula used to distribute the Community Care Grant budget in Northern Ireland is similar to Great Britain and is based on a number of factors including historical data on levels of expenditure, type of client groups and levels of unmet demand for Community Care Grants. Details of each district’s allocation were placed in the assembly library at the start of the financial year.

(AQW 1872/01)

Mr Dodds: Figures on the level of funding and uptake are not available on an Assembly constituency basis. The Northern Ireland Community Care Grants budget for the current financial year is £10.26 million and to date just over 43,000 applications have been received.

(AQW 1876/01)

Mr Dodds: I regard the current level of social security fraud as totally unacceptable, and I am determined to tackle this abuse with vigour. The Social Security Agency has developed a comprehensive strategy that aims to tackle fraud across all fronts. Stretching reduction targets have been set to focus effort on reducing both the levels of fraud and error within the benefit systems and limit the amount of public money lost. The agency also aims to increase the level of prosecutions for social security fraud and this is being achieved.

(AQW 1879/01)

Mr Dodds: The number of people receiving Disability Living Allowance is 143,731, and is detailed by Parliamentary Constituency in the table below.

The figures provided are the most recent available and are for November 2001.

1. In producing this analysis, individual records were attributed to wards on the basis of their postcode.

2. Not all records can be correctly allocated to a ward using this method, and some cannot be allocated at all.

3. Past investigation has demonstrated that misallocations and non-allocations do not necessarily occur randomly between areas, and at ward level, the proportion of records misallocated or unallocated can be substantial.

4. At present, it seems likely that a higher than average proportion of the records that cannot be attributed to a ward are in the following areas: Fermanagh District Council, Derry District Council and parts of Belfast City Council.

(AQW 1889/01)

Mr Dodds: The New Deal for 25+ is part of the Government’s Welfare to Work programme and targets people aged 25 and over who have been unemployed for 18 months or more. In Northern Ireland, the lead responsibility for this initiative is with the Department for Employment and Learning. The Department for Social Development assists the Department for Employment and Learning with the identification of those jobseekers that are eligible for New Deal 25+.

The Social Security Agency and Department for Employment & Learning are working together to deliver a joined-up benefit and job broking service for all jobseekers, including the long-term unemployed. Under the new arrangements jobseekers will be offered help to search for job vacancies when they visit the new co-located offices each fortnight to claim benefit.

In order to deliver the new service, the Social Security Office and the Jobcentre need to be co-located in the same building, mostly in Social Security Offices. Starting later this month, the new service will begin rolling out, with all offices due to be implemented by around mid-2004. It is expected that the new service for jobseekers will be implemented in Omagh in early 2003 and in Strabane by Spring 2004.

(AQW 1915/01)

Mr Dodds: After six weeks in hospital, a person with a standard basic rate pension receives £58 a week, or £44.20 if he has no dependants. Housing Benefit, if entitlement exists, remains in payment for a person on Income Support, for others it is reassessed.

Community Care Grants may be available to help with fares for other members of a patient’s family to enable them to visit him in hospital.

(AQW 1918/01)

Mr Dodds: Students who are sick for more than 28 weeks may be entitled to Income Support if they satisfy the incapacity test. Students who have suspended their studies because of illness, and who are required to wait for a period until they are permitted to rejoin their course, can claim Jobseeker’s Allowance and Housing Benefit from the date when they recover from illness.

There are no plans to change these rules.

(AQW 1920/01)

Mr Dodds: From 6 April 2002, State Second Pension reforms the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme and will allow qualifying carers to build up an additional pension for the first time. Qualifying carers who look after a young child or a sick or disabled person at home will be treated for additional pension purposes as if they had annual earnings of £10,800. This figure will be reviewed annually in line with the general level of earnings.

(AQW 1921/01)

Mr Dodds: My Department is committed to encouraging private saving, by those who can afford to do so, to meet the long-term challenges of an ageing population. Stakeholder pensions have been introduced as a secure and value-for-money vehicle to enable more people to take out a private pension. My Department is also taking part in the UK-wide simplification review which aims to reduce the layers of regulation which increase the costs of private pensions while still safeguarding members’ pensions. The proposed State Pension Credit will ensure that pensioners with modest savings or other income, for example, from a private pension will be rewarded for their prudence. The ongoing pensions education campaign is driving home the message that saving now is the best way to guarantee financial security in the future

(AQW 1924/01)

Mr Dodds: The criteria used to decide Community Care Grants is the same throughout Northern Ireland. Decision-makers in determining an award take into account a range of factors including qualifying conditions, levels of priority that an application merits and the funds available at the time.

(AQW 2015/01)

Mr Dodds: My officials have been in contact with the chief executive and representatives of the Anglo- North Irish Fish Producers Organisation, and have given them assurances that all practical help will be provided by the Social Security Agency. Assistance will be available to those directly affected by the Cod Recovery Plan and claims to benefit will be given the appropriate priority.

(AQW 2161/01)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mrs E Bell): It is unclear whether your request for information on expenditure by the Assembly Commission relates to elected Members and/or Assembly Officials. Notwithstanding that, the Assembly Secretariat does not hold this information centrally and it is the Commission’s view that the cost of collating such information is disproportionate.

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