(AQW 3178/01)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure released notification of two rounds of non- Lottery funding for the Golden Jubilee celebrations in November last. This information was circulated to community groups, schools, churches and network organisations, offering a small grant of £500 to £5,000 to groups organising events to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.

The first round had a closing date of November, and the second a closing date of February. Over 600 application forms were requested for both rounds, with a total of 274 returned. The total amount of funding which was granted through the Golden Jubilee Non-Lottery Scheme was £366, 834.80, spread over 199 groups.

These figures only relate to the Golden Jubilee Non-Lottery Scheme operated through the Department. Funding for Jubilee events is still available through Awards for All, the Lottery distributors’ small grants scheme and through some district councils.

The important feature of this occasion, as I stated in the Assembly on 19 February, is that it is not about money. People want to celebrate, whether they get a grant or not and they will do so. The Jubilee is about small events, people coming together and celebrating, and a sense of community. The grants scheme in itself will not be an indicator of how many events take place. Ultimately there will be far more events than awards, because of the enthusiasm that exists in the province.

(AQW 3234/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The Special stretch of the River Bush is a common term used for three individual stretches of water namely the Leap, New and Town stretches.

The statistics requested in respect of the above stretches are as follows:

The number of salmon caught on the Special stretch in 2001 was 174 (116 Town, 34 New and 24 Leap).

The number of salmon daily permits issued in 2001 was 392 (212 Town, 103 New and 77 Leap).

The figures for the previous five years were:

Both the number of salmon caught and day tickets issued in 2001 were below the six-year average but this can be attributed largely to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which curtailed angling.

(AQW 3268/01)

Mr McGimpsey: A total of seven responses were received as follows:

• Marketing Solutions

• Antrim Borough Council

• Lisburn Borough Council

• Fermanagh District Council

• Down District Council

• Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee, Northern Ireland Assembly

• Rev Dr William McCrea, MLA

(AQW 3269/01)

Mr McGimpsey: No decisions on the appointment of a development officer for two and four-wheel motor sports have yet been made. The strategic plan for the sport is still under consideration following the recently completed consultation exercise. I expect, however, to receive the final version shortly when the way forward will be considered in consultation with the governing bodies of the sport.

(AQW 3293/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The figures on the attached table include actual expenditure by my core Department, Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) for each of the last three years, and a breakdown of where the consultants and consultancy firms used are located.

(AQW 3316/01)

Mr McGimpsey: My Department will continue to provide policy advice, support and guidance to Ministers, officials in the Northern Ireland Civil Service and others on linguistic diversity, which includes Irish. DCAL chairs the Interdepartmental Charter Group which was set up to advise on implementing and reporting on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. My Department, on behalf of the Charter Group, has drawn up draft policy guidance on meeting UK Government commitments in respect of Irish in the European Charter. DCAL is currently considering the issue of language training and awareness seminars and will put proposals to the Charter Group for consideration in due course. My Department is also leading a project to put in place a central translation service for Irish and has set up an expert advisory group to develop a house style for use in public sector Irish translations in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 3384/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland has statutory responsibility for the development of sport within Northern Ireland, and this includes the allocation of funding. Funding is allocated through the appropriate governing body for each sport.

The Sports Council for Northern Ireland does not provide financial support to rugby league as there is no formal rugby league structure or governing body in Northern Ireland. A number of approaches have been made to the Sports Council in recent years but there is no formal pattern emerging to suggest the imminent emergence of a robust and active governing body for rugby league in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 3402/01)

Mr McGimpsey: My Department has no powers to designate halls as community centres in the manner that you suggest, nor does it have the resources to fund their development in this way.

There is, however, nothing to prevent the Orange Order taking action on its own to make its halls available for cultural activities. Indeed, it is for the Order alone to determine the usage of its halls.

(AQW 3423/01)

Mr McGimpsey: It is not a matter for me to provide charitable status to community amateur sports clubs. Clubs seeking charitable status must make application through the Inland Revenue, which, in turn, bases its decisions on charity law. I understand that, in making decisions on the charitable status of an organisation, the Inland Revenue refers to the guidelines of the Charity Commission and the decisions of the courts in England.

(AQW 3424/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I fully recognise Killyleagh Youth Club’s outstanding achievement in reaching the semi-final of this year’s Irish Cup, and I would be grateful if you would convey my warmest congratulations to the club. I am sure you will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to provide a memento to mark this success. This would be a matter for the Irish Football Association as the governing body for football.

(AQW 3241/01)

The Minister of Education (Mr M McGuinness): Teaching has been an excepted employment since 1976, first under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act, and now under the current legislation, Article 71 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. The exemption derives from the largely denominationally segregated types of education here, and a recognition that the majority of parents wish their children to be taught in schools where full regard is given to their religious denomination. It does not apply to non-teaching employees. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which has powers to re-examine the position, now has a review of the teaching exemption underway.

(AQW 3251/01)

Mr M McGuinness: The Member may be aware that the report of the Northern Ireland Task Group on Autism was launched on 7 May 2002. A copy has been sent to all Assembly Members.

The report makes recommendations on educational provision for young people with autism. Chapter 3 examines a range of therapies available, including ABA. The report does not find a preference for any single approach and emphasises that intervention programmes should address the unique needs of the child. I understand that, where it has been the wish of the parents that children with autism remain at home and undergo an ABA programme, the ELBs have, on occasion, made a contribution to the cost.

I will wish to consider the recommendations of the Task Group carefully, in order to determine the most effective educational interventions, which can be made to support the needs of these pupils. To assist this, the report will be circulated widely and I shall convene a conference in the autumn to discuss the way forward.

I do not propose, at this time, to make any statement on the number of cost benefit analyses undertaken in the UK and USA.

(AQW 3282/01)

Mr M McGuinness: A full economic appraisal, which presented a range of options, accompanied the proposal made to the Executive Programme Funds for the establishment of the Centre on a North-South basis. The favoured option was for the purchase of the former St Joseph’s Adolescent Centre, Middletown, in line with a valuation provided by the Valuation and Lands Agency. The economic appraisal was scrutinised and endorsed by the Department of Finance and Personnel. This did not identify any other existing premises as an option. Since the Centre will be acquired by the purchase of existing premises, a tendering process was not appropriate.

The criteria used to locate the Centre were that:

• the services provided should be cost effective;

• it should be situated within a reasonable distance of both jurisdictions, North and South;

• it should be accessible to the main centres of population in the area;

• it should be able to provide a mix of residential, non-residential, long term and short term placements for children with ASD; and

• it should enable the development of professional expertise in the area of ASD among educationalists.

The cost of purchasing the centre to my Department is £1.5M which is, of course, subject to contract. Details of the full running costs of the centre are in the process of development.

(AQW 3294/01)

Mr M McGuinness: All schools, having concern about any type of special educational need which a pupil may have, operate the five stage approach as outlined in the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs. At Stage 3 the school may seek external support from the appropriate Education and Library Board’s Educational Psychology Service which, if dyspraxic tendencies are suspected, will make a referral to the Community Paediatrician and may also involve an Occupational Therapist. The various professionals involved with a pupil would then give the school advice and guidelines on how best to support the pupil.

In addition all Boards offer school training on dyspraxia and refer to the excellent publications and websites on dyspraxia.

(AQW 3331/01)

Mr M McGuinness: I want post-primary arrangements which will achieve equality, access, choice and excellence for all pupils. I will carefully consider the financial implications of any new arrangements before final decisions are taken.

(AQW 3332/01)

Mr M McGuinness: I have invited comments on the Burns proposals; suggestions for modifications or for alternative arrangements. Decisions on new arrangements will not be taken until I have considered the responses. I cannot comment about piloting any new arrangements before decisions are taken on the form they will take.

(AQW 3335/01)

Mr McGuinness: All of my Department’s Circulars on child protection have made it quite clear to schools that they should have a child protection policy. A survey of schools in 1997 asked if they had a policy and those schools which did not or failed to reply were followed up to ensure compliance. The inspection of pastoral care arrangements in schools provides a further monitoring mechanism, as does the annual updating of designated child protection personnel in schools by the Education and Library Boards.

(AQW 3336/01)

Mr McGuinness: The Education and Training Inspectorate is currently undertaking a review of the counselling support which is available to pupils. The report will be published in late Autumn and will inform a strategy for the improvement and expansion of provision as resources permit. A limited expansion of provision, under the aegis of the Education and Library Boards, will take place over the next two years with resources which have been made available from the Executive Programme Children’s Fund.

(AQW 3337/01)

Mr M McGuinness: Peanut allergy is a medical condition and as such teachers are dependant on medical professionals for identification and diagnosis.

Once a school has been made aware of a pupil with this condition, the school’s medical support team is contacted and medical staff give training for individual teachers where it is deemed appropriate.

In addition the Education and Library Boards and Health and Social Services Trusts circulate advice and guidance to schools.

Early in the next school year, the Department of Education will be issuing guidance to schools on how to support pupils with medical needs

(AQW 3365/01)

Mr M McGuinness: Epilepsy is a medical condition and as such teachers are dependent on medical professionals for identification and diagnosis.

Once a school has been made aware of a pupil with this condition, the school’s medical support team is contacted and medical staff give training for individual teachers, where it is deemed appropriate. This will include training in the monitoring and administration of medication to control the condition and the steps to take, should an attack occur.

In addition the Education and Library Boards and Health and Social Services Trusts circulate advice and guidance to schools.

Early in the next school year, the Department of Education will be issuing guidance to schools on how to support pupils with medical needs

(AQW 3373/01)

Mr M McGuinness: Since taking office I have visited the following schools in response to invitations which they have extended to me:

(AQW 3396/01)

Mr M McGuinness: The funding allocated to the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) by the Department of Education since 1999 is as follows:

NICIE has 23 staff of which 6 are part-time. The Department of Education provides funding for 11.5 full time equivalent posts in the current financial year.

(AQW 3397/01)

(a) Irish-medium schools may either receive grant aid for both recurrent and capital costs or recurrent costs alone. The number of Irish-medium schools receiving 100% grant aid is as follows:

(b) There are currently 9 Irish-medium primary schools registered with the Department that do not receive funding.

(c) There are at present 2,223 pupils being educated in the Irish-medium of which 1,828 attend primary and 395 secondary schools.

(d) 92% are educated in schools that are receiving 100% grant aid for at least recurrent costs.

(AQW 3398/01)

(a) Integrated schools may receive either grant aid for both recurrent and capital costs or recurrent costs alone. The number of Integrated schools receiving 100% grant aid is as follows:

(b) All Integrated schools are receiving grant-aid.

(c) There are at present 14,626 pupils being educated in Integrated schools of which 5,379 attend primary and 9,247 secondary schools.

(d) 100% are educated in schools that are receiving 100% grant aid for at least recurrent costs.

(AQW 3409/01)

(a) The Irish-medium Promotional Body was established in August 2000 and has received funding as follows:

(b) The Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta currently employs five full-time members of staff.

(c) Irish is offered in all secondary schools under Catholic management and also at some integrated schools. The number of pupils studying Irish is not available. In 2000/01 some 2,407 Year 12 pupils in English medium schools entered for GCSE Irish.

(d) It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure associated with a single subject area.

(AQW 3410/01)

(a) The Department does collect information about suspensions notified to the ELBs and about expulsions. To date this information has been about the numbers of pupils involved, not about the reasons. However, a set of standard definitions for reasons for suspensions has recently been agreed with ELBs and CCMs and work is in hand to encourage schools to use them from the beginning of the 2002/03 school year.

Information about any representation, by letter or in meetings, over the last 10 years, on this issue could only be provided at a disproportionate cost, as it would involve a physical search of all Departmental records relating to that period.

Data on the number of teachers on sick leave due to violent or abusive behaviour by pupils is not available as the Department records sick leave according to the nature of the illness rather than the cause.

(AQW 3411/01)

Mr M McGuinness: I have invited comments on the Burns proposals, suggestions for modifications or for alternative arrangements. Decisions on new arrangements will not be taken until I have considered the responses. I cannot comment on the detailed implications of introducing any new arrangements before decisions are taken on the form they will take.

(AQW 3493/01)

Mr M McGuinness: Events to celebrate the Golden Jubilee are being promoted by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. I have no plans to initiate any other activities. The staff of the Department of Education, in common with Civil Servants in other Departments, are receiving one additional day’s holiday on 4 June to mark the occasion.