| Home | Committees | Membership | Publications | Legislation | Chronology | Commission | Tour | Search |
|
Friday 26 April 2002 Agriculture and Rural Development Agriculture and Rural Development Taste of Ulster Mr Danny Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the support that she has given to the 'Taste of Ulster' initiative in the last 12 months. (AQW 2811/01) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): My Department’s financial contribution to the Taste of Ulster in the last 12 months amounted to £3,787, paid in September 2001, in respect of the Taste of Ulster’s participation at the Congress of European Agriculture, Waterfront Hall. Taste of Ulster Mr Danny Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail those events her Department will work with the 'Taste of Ulster' initiative in the next 12 months. (AQW 2862/01) Ms Rodgers: There are no requests from Taste of Ulster for my Department’s participation in any initiative Taste of Ulster may be planning. My Department has no plans at present to participate in events in association with the Taste of Ulster. However should an appropriate opportunity arise in the future the expertise and potential contributions of Taste of Ulster will be considered. Cull Scheme for Restricted Dairy Herds Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what plans she has to introduce a cull scheme to address the financial burden imposed on the owners of restricted dairy herds who are forced to rear livestock of no current or subsequent value; and to make a statement. (AQW 2888/01) Ms Rodgers: I have no plans to introduce a cull scheme for restricted dairy herds. Under current Tuberculosis legislation the Department can only pay compensation in respect of animals slaughtered by the Department because of the disease. The Government’s position in relation to any other losses is that there is no provision or precedent for any such payments. Review of Brucellosis Eradication Policy Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development when will the review of Brucellosis eradication policy be published. (AQW 2889/01) Ms Rodgers: The review team has just completed its draft report which is currently being considered by senior officials in the Department and elsewhere. I will then consider the final report before presenting it to the Assembly. I would hope to have this completed by the Summer but as you will appreciate some parts of the process are outwith my control. Taste of Ulster Mrs Joan Carson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what interim funding arrangements have been made for the 'Taste of Ulster' initiative pending the outcome of the 'Vision' report. (AQW 2946/01) Ms Rodgers: My Department’s interim arrangement for funding in respect of Taste of Ulster is on the basis of a pre-agreed fee for commissioned projects. The Royal Show 2002 Mrs Joan Carson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (a) her Department's budget in relation to 'The Royal Show 2002'; and (b) how this money will be used to promote Northern Ireland at this show. (AQW 2948/01) Ms Rodgers: My Department does not intend to incur any expenditure in respect of this show. Royal Show 2002 Mrs Joan Carson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (a) her plans for the representation of Northern Ireland at the 'Royal Show 2002'; and (b) the promotional arrangements her Department has set in place for this important event. (AQW 2949/01) Ms Rodgers: There are no plans to facilitate representation of Northern Ireland at the Royal Show 2002; and promotional arrangements have been suspended for this event. I will keep the position of my Department’s involvement at the Royal Show in future years under review. IFEX 2002 Mrs Joan Carson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (a) her Department's financial contribution to IFEX 2002; and (b) what other support has been given to this event. (AQW 2950/01) Ms Rodgers: My Department is providing (a) a contribution of £3,000 to the inaugural IFEX Food Conference to be held on the occasion of IFEX 2002; and (b) an exhibit within IFEX 2002 at standard commercial rates and a contribution of a selection of local food produce to the IFEX Salon Culinaire at a cost not exceeding £250. Credit Cards Mr John Dallat asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (a) the number of credit cards in use in (i) her Department; (ii) Executive Agencies of her Department; (iii) NDPBs of her Department; and (iv) any other bodies funded by her Department; and (b) how much has been spent on each card in the financial year ended 31 March 2002. (AQW 2982/01) Ms Rodgers: Number of Credit Cards in use Department - Office Services 3 cards - Travel Claims Branch 3 cards - Private Office 2 cards Executive Agencies No cards NDPBs - ARINI 1 card - Livestock & Meat Commission 4 cards North-South Implementation Body Loughs Agency of the FCILC 1 card Spend FYE 31st March 2002 (i) Office Services - Card 1 £476,110 - Card 2 £ 30,260 - Card 3 £ 9,234 Travel Claims Branch - Cards 1,2 & 3 £ nil Private Office - Cards 1 & 2 £ nil (ii) Executive Agencies £ nil (iii) NDPBs - ARINI Card 1 £ 1,331 Livestock & Meat Commission Card 1 £ 3,623 Card 2 £ 6,295 Card 3 £ 7,429 Card 4 £ 14,140 (iv) North-South Implementation Body Loughs Agency of the FCILC Card 1 £7,252** ** FYE Jan. to Dec. 2001 Equality Scheme Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what is the criteria used to determine which groups or individuals are consulted as part of the equality impact assessment of any new proposals. (AQW 3044/01) Ms Rodgers: Under the terms of DARD’s Equality Scheme my Department is obliged to consult the full range of organisations representing those covered by Section 75. I appreciate that many of these groups may not be affected by many of my Department’s policy proposals and I have asked my officials to explore with the Equality Commission better targeted consultation in order to reduce the burden on consultees. Athletes with Disabilities : Funding Mr Derek Hussey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, pursuant to AQW 2491/01, to detail assistance, financial or other, offered to 'athletes with disabilities' who are not classified as 'talented' by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. (AQW 2775/01) The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): As I explained in my response to AQW 2776/01, the Sports Council affords a higher priority to applications for funding for projects which significantly increase participation for people with disabilities. It has been a condition of award for all Capital projects undertaken since 1995 (amounting to some £45m) that access for people with disabilities is included. In addition, in 2001/02, the Council provided support for disabled athletes who have not been accepted on to the Lottery Sports Fund’s Talented Athlete programme, as follows:
(a) the Northern Ireland Paraplegic Association team to go to the World Boxing Championships in Spain; (b) the Irish Disabled Fly-fishing Association to go to the World disabled Fly-fishing championships in Wales; (c) the Ulster Deaf Sports Council to go to the International Deaf Sports Association World Soccer Championships in Spain; (d) training sessions for the Northern Ireland Blind Sports Association in bowling, cycling, sailing, sea angling, ten pin bowling, athletics, soccer and golf; and (e) competitions for the Northern Ireland Blind Sports Association in bowling, athletics, sailing, sea angling and ten pin bowling.
(a) database development; (b) a Disability Sports Information Factsheet; (c) club promotional fliers for each DSNI member club; (d) production of a DSNI newsletter (e) development of a DSNI website; (f) production of a calendar of events. A further dimension of the Sports Council’s assistance to sportsmen and women with disabilities is through the work of mainstream sports which have integrated disability sections, e.g. wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. Disability Related Groups : Funding Mr Derek Hussey asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, pursuant to AQW 2491/01, to detail funding by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland for 'talented athletes with disabilities' over the last 5 years. (AQW 2777/01) Mr McGimpsey: Talented athletes with disabilities are required to compete, on an equal basis, with the able bodied for funding under the Sports Lottery Talented Athlete Programmes, which exist to assist Northern Ireland’s leading sports people to compete successfully at international level. Details of awards to talented athletes with disabilities over the past 5 years are as follows:
The Sports Council encourages all talented athletes, including those with disabilities, to apply for funding under the Talented Athlete programmes. I would emphasise, however, that funding under these programmes is for performance at the highest level, and is only one of the sources of funding available from the Sports Council to disabled athletes. Details of additional funding opportunities for people with disabilities who do not come under the remit of the talented athlete programmes are included in my response to AQW 2775. Public Libraries Mrs Iris Robinson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to (a) define the concept of electronic public libraries; and (b) outline any action he has taken to provide such services across each respective Education and Library Board. (AQW 2804/01) Mr McGimpsey: (a) A public library provides access to knowledge, information and works of the imagination through a range of resources and services and is equally available to all members of the community regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, language, disability, economic and employment status and educational attainment. Electronic libraries will extend the range of services on offer and will combat the digital divide between information-rich and information-poor and extend lifelong learning opportunities to disadvantaged sectors society. It will also enable other traditional library services such as enquiries and inter-library loans to be developed electronically. (b) The Electronic Libraries Project for Northern Ireland aims to create within Northern Ireland a modernised public library service that will deliver cost-effective services to the community to meet present and future needs. It will link all public libraries to the National Grid for Learning (NGFL) and through that to Learn Direct. The contract between the service provider and the five education and library boards was signed in January 2002. Implementation of the new services is expected to start next month with all libraries and mobile libraries live by July 2003. The project will provide personal computers for public use in all branch libraries; a computerised library management system to operate in all libraries including mobile libraries; an electronic libraries portal or gateway to a wide range of quality-assured information sources; modern IT systems for use by the staff in libraries; and a range of associated services, e.g. fax services. Library users will have access to the same range of library services in every public library in Northern Ireland, regardless of size or location, including the ability to request books held by any branch and have them delivered to their local library. They will have access to the world wide web and information on CD ROMs and have the use of office software such as word processing. Targeting Social Need Mr Sammy Wilson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail, in each of the past 5 years, (a) the percentage of his budget relating to Targeting Social Need; (b) the actual spend for TSN; (c) the number of people employed relating to TSN; (d) the number of people who benefited from these programmes; (e) the actual and practical benefits as a result of his TSN programmes; and (f) the tasks specifically undertaken and completed. (AQW 2896/01) Mr McGimpsey: New TSN was initially developed under Direct Rule, reflecting Government priorities at that time. Following Devolution, the Northern Ireland Executive adopted New Targeting Social Need as its main policy for addressing social deprivation and it has been integrated into the Programme for Government. New TSN is a long-term approach to addressing problems of people in greatest social need. Its emphasis is on tackling unemployment and increasing employability, tackling inequalities in areas such as health, education and housing and the problems of disadvantaged areas and promoting social inclusion. The policy commits each Department to develop New TSN Action Plans. I attach a copy of a recent publication which sets out this Department’s Action Plan for the period 2001 – 2003 as well as those actions achieved prior to March 2001. New TSN is not a policy with its own budget, rather it is a theme which applies across all relevant spending programmes and seeks to maximise the impact of existing spending programmes in support of those who are in greatest social need. A research report on the public expenditure implications commissioned by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister entitled "Public Expenditure and New Targeting Social Need" was published in November 2001. This can be accessed on the internet at www.research.ofmdfmni.gov.uk. The main references to this Department are contained in pages 13 and 14 and I have attached copies of these for ease of reference. Many of the Department’s business areas contribute to TSN objectives, particularly in relation to providing access to facilities and services by disadvantaged groups, increasing job opportunities in disadvantaged areas and promoting social inclusion. The Public Library Service contributes to New TSN objectives through ensuring access to disadvantaged people to education and learning facilities with a view to improving employability and increasing social and economic participation. The Department estimates that about 5% (£970k) of public library resources have been "skewed" to areas of social disadvantage. Each of the education and library board areas has opened a centre of excellence providing adaptive technology for the disabled and visually impaired people to enable access to the internet and world wide web. Also in the area of education the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, as part of its outreach and learning strategy, is opening up contact with schools in areas of social disadvantage. The Department is also researching the demand for Irish and Ulster-Scots child care and pre-school education and minority ethnic language issues. Investment in the performing and creative arts also contributes to New TSN objectives, although the precise allocation of resources is difficult to quantify. The Arts Council has estimated that it spent in the region of £900k (13% of grant-in-aid) in 2000/2001 on TSN objectives and this figure rose to £1.3m (or 16% of grant-in-aid) in 2001/2002. In addition to this some 32% of spend on the Awards for All scheme administered by the Community Fund in the period April 2001 – December 2001 was directed at the most disadvantaged local authority areas. The nature of the benefits derived from these programmes include increased levels of participation in the arts by communities in areas of social and economic deprivation, the development of arts skills in these communities and increased involvement of young people. Many of the projects are still ongoing but those completed include: Elmgrove Primary School, Beersbridge Road, Belfast NIHE – Art and Housing Research The Wedding Community Play project Compantas Amharcclianne Aisling Gear, Falls Road, Belfast. Of the £450k budget for the Creativity Seed Fund in 2001/2002, around £70k was directed to pilot projects that are designed to impact on marginalised young people – Northern Visions £30k, Synergy E Media £25k and Children’s Express £15k. Of the £412k grant-in-aid to the Northern Ireland Film Commission for 2001/2002, £110k was directed to organisations (the Nerve Centre £80k and Northern Visions £30k) with a track record in working with people from disadvantaged groups/areas. The Department has an ongoing commitment to invest at least 60% of its water recreation budget in disadvantaged areas. This investment is in public facilities designed to promote the recreational potential of inland waterways. Five projects were funded in disadvantaged areas in 2000/2001 and eight in 2001/2002. Furthermore the Department has recently been allocated £5m under the Water-Based Tourism Measure of Peace II for an Angling Development programme and a Water Recreation programme. The Department is committed to allocating at least 60% of the funding from these programmes to areas of social need. These programmes should help to attract tourists and stimulate economic investment in waterway corridors. The Department has no data on the number of beneficiaries or the numbers of people employed as a result of these programmes. Research work has been carried out to establish baseline data for future TSN monitoring purposes. Safety Conditions at Road Racing Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what funding was awarded to improve safety conditions at road-racing in 2001-2002. (AQW 2900/01) Mr McGimpsey: My Department made available £100k as a contribution towards the implementation of a programme of safety improvements in accordance with the recommendations made within the Road Race Task Force Report of December 2000.
To date my Department has paid £98.5K to the Motor Cycle Union and the other partners involved in the improvement programme i.e. Department of Regional Development, British Telecom and Northern Ireland Electricity. In addition the Sports Council for Northern Ireland have also made a contribution to enhancing road race safety, through the Sports Lottery Fund, of £13,250 for medical equipment and £10,250 for protective safety equipment. Expenditure per Secondary School Pupil Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Education to detail the net expenditure per secondary school pupil by Education and Library Board area for (a) the Controlled Sector; and (b) the Maintained Sector in each of the last 5 years. (AQW 2389/01) The Minister of Education (Mr McGuinness): [supplementary answer]: In my answer to the above Assembly Question on 15th March 2002, I supplied you with information, provided by Education and Library Boards, on the net expenditure per pupil, by Board area, for controlled and maintained primary and secondary schools for each of the past five years. A detailed check of the information against that contained in the corresponding tables contained in Section 8 of the recent report published by the Northern Ireland Audit Office "Indicators of Education Performance and Provision" has revealed a number of discrepancies in the two sets of figures for the 1998/99 financial year. These differences arose from different interpretations by Boards of exactly what was required and also from slight variations in accounting practices. My officials have liased closely with the Audit Office and the Education and Library Boards to resolve these issues and I attach tables containing revised information for AQW2389/01 and AQW2390/01, which can be fully reconciled with the revised figures in the Audit Office report. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this late change to the figures. However I am sure that you will agree that it is essential that the two sets of figures are fully reconciled and have been compiled by the Boards on a completely consistent basis. The revised figures have also been adjusted for inflation, on a consistent basis with the NIAO figures to make comparison between different years easier. The figures below have been provided by the Education and Library Boards and set out the net expenditure per primary school pupil over the last 5 years at 2000/01 prices.
The figures below have been provided by the Education and Library Boards and set out the net expenditure per secondary school pupil over the last 5 years at 2000/01 prices.
Expenditure per Primary School Pupil Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Education to detail the net expenditure per primary school pupil by Education and Library Board area for (a) the Controlled Sector; and (b) the Maintained Sector, in each of the last 5 years. (AQW 2390/01) Mr McGuinness: [supplementary answer]: In my answer to the above Assembly Question on 15th March 2002, I supplied you with information, provided by Education and Library Boards, on the net expenditure per pupil, by Board area, for controlled and maintained primary and secondary schools for each of the past five years. A detailed check of the information against that contained in the corresponding tables contained in Section 8 of the recent report published by the Northern Ireland Audit Office "Indicators of Education Performance and Provision" has revealed a number of discrepancies in the two sets of figures for the 1998/99 financial year. These differences arose from different interpretations by Boards of exactly what was required and also from slight variations in accounting practices. My officials have liased closely with the Audit Office and the Education and Library Boards to resolve these issues and I attach tables containing revised information for AQW2389/01 and AQW2390/01, which can be fully reconciled with the revised figures in the Audit Office report. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this late change to the figures. However I am sure that you will agree that it is essential that the two sets of figures are fully reconciled and have been compiled by the Boards on a completely consistent basis. The revised figures have also been adjusted for inflation, on a consistent basis with the NIAO figures to make comparison between different years easier. The figures below have been provided by the Education and Library Boards and set out the net expenditure per primary school pupil over the last 5 years at 2000/01 prices.
The figures below have been provided by the Education and Library Boards and set out the net expenditure per secondary school pupil over the last 5 years at 2000/01 prices.
Nursery Schools Mr Sammy Wilson asked the Minister of Education to list, by Board area, (a) the number of nursery schools; (b) the name of these schools; (c) the number of places available in each of these schools; and (d) the number of applications received for each of these schools in each of the last 5 years. (AQW 2805/01) Mr McGuinness: The number of nursery schools in each Board is as follows:
The data requested is only available for the period since the statutory open enrolment arrangements in nursery schools were introduced in the 1999/2000 school year. As the information requested is extensive, I will arrange to have it placed in the Assembly Library. I enclose a copy for your personal use. The figures include multiple applications from parents applying to more than one nursery school and therefore do not correlate directly to the number of children seeking a nursery school place. School Capital Building Programme Mr Duncan Shipley Dalton asked the Minister of Education to detail the implementation plans for the 4 South Antrim schools included in the recently announced school capital building programme; and to make a statement. (AQW 2840/01) Mr McGuinness: The North-Eastern Education and Library Board is taking forward the planning of the three controlled schools with a view to work starting at Loanends Primary School in March 2003, Crumlin High School in July 2002, and Hillcroft Special School in September 2003. The planning of Millquarter Primary School is being taken forward by the school trustees with a view to work starting in March 2003. Speech or Language Difficulties Mrs Iris Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of primary school-age children who have a primary speech or language difficulty. (AQW 2890/01) Mr McGuinness: It is not possible from the data available to identify pupils’ primary disability but the number of primary school-age children who have a statement of special educational needs relating to speech or language difficulties is as follows:
Targeting Social Need Mr Sammy Wilson asked the Minister of Education to detail, in each of the past 5 years, (a) the percentage of his budget relating to Targeting Social Need; (b) the actual spend for TSN; (c) the number of people employed relating to TSN; (d) the number of people who benefited from these programmes; (e) the actual and practical benefits as a result of his TSN programmes; and (f) the tasks specifically undertaken and completed. (AQW 2892/01) Mr McGuinness: My Department in its current form came into being in December 1999, and the Executive adopted New TSN in June 2000, so I am answering this question in respect of New TSN and the years 2000/01 and 2001/02. (a)-(b) New TSN is not a policy with its own budget, but a theme which runs through spending programmes. Table 3 of the report Public Expenditure and New Targeting Social Need (OFMDFM), January 2002) gives a breakdown of the DE 2001/02 budget, which indicates that most of this budget is relevant to New TSN to a greater or lesser degree. (This was also the position in 2000/01.) Table 14 of that report provides an analysis of skewing actions under New TSN. (c) My Department in January 2001 set up an Equality Rights and Social Inclusion Unit to take a more focussed approach at a strategic level to the promotion of Equality and NTSN. There are currently 8 staff within this Unit. However, NTSN Objectives are distributed throughout the Department’s core business areas and as such all staff in the Department have an impact on progressing NTSN. (d) It is not possible to identify all the direct beneficiaries of highly-New-TSN-relevant expenditure or skewing, and even where it is there would be double-counting between programmes. (e)-(f) I am satisfied that the skewing of resources under New TSN has contributed to an improvement in educational standards. The New TSN Annual Report 2001 (OFMDFM) highlights specific examples of progress with actions taken during the period January 2000- March 2001. In addition, an initial evaluation of New TSN is to be conducted later this year, and will include an assessment of the resultant benefits. Speech or Language Difficulties Mrs Iris Robinson asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of children entering primary school education who have speech and language delays. (AQW 2893/01) Mr McGuinness: The number of 4 year olds with a statement of special educational needs relating to speech or language difficulties is as follows:
Jaffe Centre, Belfast Mr Billy Hutchinson asked the Minister of Education what are his plans for dealing with pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, in light of the closure of the Jaffe Centre in Belfast. (AQW 2897/01) Mr McGuinness: Since the closure of the Jaffe Centre as a school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (it is now known as the Loughshore Educational Resource Centre), the Belfast Education and Library Board has based there some 20 teachers who operate its Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) provision. This aims to meet the needs of these, and other, children with behavioural and other difficulties in a more meaningful and flexible manner. From the Centre approximately 190 children are supported under EOTAS, 20-25 of whom are under the DISC (Dolphin Initiative for Secondary Children) scheme and 12-18 of whom are under the STEP project. Six children are currently educated in the Centre on full-time EOTAS provision, with a further two groups of 6 receiving education in specific subject areas such as Science, Home Economics and IT. The remaining children are educated in small local groups, in libraries, youth centres etc. Alternative Education Provision Mr Billy Hutchinson asked the Minister of Education what plans he has to support the development of community-based alternative education projects. (AQW 2898/01) Mr McGuinness: All resources to support alternative education provision are allocated to the Education and Library Boards who determine how these resources will be used to meet the needs of young people in their areas. This can include the purchase of places in community based alternative education projects on an agreed basis. An additional 100 places have been funded since September 2001 with resources allocated from the Executive Programme Children’s Fund. Additional Resources : North and West Belfast Mr Billy Hutchinson asked the Minister of Education if he has any plans to offer extra resources to schools in North and West Belfast to assist in dealing with (i) behavioural problems; (ii) truancy; (iii) school refusal; and (iv) pupil counselling. (AQW 2899/01) Mr McGuinness: Additional resources have been allocated to schools in North and West Belfast as part of the North Belfast Support Package last December. The education element of this Package has made some £2.9m available for improved physical security at schools, counselling for staff and pupils and additional youth provision, and this includes an additional £250,000 to the Belfast Education and Library Board’s Behaviour Support team to provide an additional 3 teachers for the remainder of this academic year and two further academic years to address the needs in North Belfast. This is in addition to the resources which have been allocated to the Belfast Board (and the other Boards) under the Behaviour Strategy, the Children Order or the EPF Children’s Fund to address poor behaviour, non attendance and pupils’ counselling support; in general, it is for the Boards to determine how these specific resources should be targeted. In addition some 11 schools in the area also receive extra funding and professional support through the Schools Support Programme. Use of Credit Cards Mr John Dallat asked the Minister of Education to detail (a) the number of credit cards in use in (i) his Department; (ii) Executive Agencies of his Department; (iii) NDPBs of his Department; and (iv) any other bodies funded by his Department; and (b) how much has been spent on each card in the financial year ended 31 March 2002. (AQW 2953/01) Mr McGuinness: My Department currently has 2 Corporate Credit Cards in operation. Several NPDBs/sponsored bodies are also presently using Corporate Credit Cards. Details of the number of cards used and expenditure incurred in the financial year ended 31 March 2002 are set out below. Department Of Education
NDPBs/Sponsored Bodies
In addition, my Department has put into effect, from 15 April 2002, use of the Government Procurement Card for the purchases of stationery supplies. To date, no costs have been incurred. Low Income Families Mr Sammy Wilson asked the Minister of Education to detail (a) the origin of the statement '8% of pupils in grammar schools are from low income families' [press release of 26 March 2002]; and (b) the research upon which this figure is based. (AQW 2954/01) Mr McGuinness: The 8% figure refers to the proportion of children enrolled at grammar schools who are entitled to free school meals. The source of the figure is the 2000/01 school census. Teacher's Salaries Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Education to detail, by Board area, the average salary for teachers employed in the (a) Nursery School sector; (b) Primary School sector; (c) Secondary School sector; and (d) Grammar School sector. (AQW 2968/01) Mr McGuinness: The average salaries (excluding employers’ costs) that were paid to teachers in the sectors requested during September 2001 were as follows:
As Voluntary Grammar Schools are responsible for their own payrolls, only Controlled Grammar Schools are included in row (d). The higher average salary costs in the nursery school sector result from the fact that these schools generally have small numbers of teaching staff and are headed by a principal. These average salary figures are based on the September 2001 payroll and do not take account of arrears of salary increases resulting from the threshold assessment process which were paid to the relevant teachers in the period between October 2001 to 31 March 2002, as these would artificially increase the figures. Department's Estate Mr Derek Hussey asked the Minister of Education to detail those parts of his Department's estate not used for departmental or related ancillary purposes. (AQW 2996/01) Mr McGuinness: My Department’s estate does not extend beyond the General Office Estate which is the responsibility of the Department of Finance and Personnel. Special Educational Needs Mr Mark Robinson asked the Minister of Education how he plans to improve the assessment and provision of education services for young people with special educational needs. (AQW 3015/01) Mr McGuinness: I am planning to make a number of improvements for the assessment and provision for services for children with Special Educational Needs. My plans include:
External Link Disclaimer: The Northern Ireland Assembly does not exercise any editorial control over the websites listed above and therefore cannot be held responsible for the information, products or services contained therein. |