(AQO 15/02)

Reply: No meeting with the new Chief Constable has yet been scheduled in our diaries.

(AQO 42/02)

Reply: At the Plenary meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council on 28 June, the Council considered a paper by the Joint Steering Group on the Study of Obstacles to Cross-Border Mobility on the island of Ireland. The paper was drawn up following a widespread consultation exercise involving Government Departments, North and South and, on non-devolved matters, with the responsible Department in London, and with individuals. It summarised and evaluated each of the Consultants’ fifty recommendations and placed them into five categories.

Recommendation 5 stated that UK authorities should consider introducing tax relief for NI residents who are frontier workers. This issue is the responsibility of the Inland Revenue which put forward the view that the proposal went beyond removing obstacles to mobility and proposed a tax subsidy to residents of Northern Ireland to work in the Republic. The Council agreed at its previous Plenary in November 2001 that in considering proposals, care should be taken to avoid creating unjustified advantage for cross-border workers beyond that available in the respective jurisdiction. Given these factors the Steering Group placed recommendation 5 in Category 5 – proposing that no further action be taken at this time.

The Council agreed the Steering Group’s evaluation and work is now proceeding at official level on those recommendations contained in Categories Two, Three and Four. The member will wish to note that that work incorporates a number of recommendations related to the provision of information on the actual personal tax position in Northern Ireland and the Republic and the development of guidelines to minimise the impact of differences in North/South tax years. It is hoped that details of the Double Taxation Agreement between the UK and the Republic, which may give rise to adverse implications for some NI residents working in the Republic, can also be made more generally available as part of the implementation of these recommendations.

(AQO 45/02)

Reply: Work on the Executive’s Response to the Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) Report on Travellers is at an advanced stage. Members of the PSI Working Group have been kept informed of progress.

We are aiming to publish the Executive’s Response to the PSI Report on Travelling People in the Autumn of 2002.

(AQO 51/02)

Reply: Six Needs and Effectiveness Evaluations were launched last year. As the Programme for Government and the Executive’s Position Report advised there were also major studies underway in other policy and programme areas, including Agriculture.

The Executive has not yet considered the extension of the programme of needs and effectiveness evaluations. Ministers will wish to take stock of the work to date and learn from the experience of the first six studies. We also need to take into consideration the other major policy reviews which have been underway.

In the case of agriculture and rural development, we will want to consider the impact of reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy as well as the work to implement the Vision report , the response to the O’Hare Report, and the DARD modernisation programme before deciding how best to proceed.

(AQO 16/02)

Reply: Progress on the Re-Investment and Reform Initiative (RRI) has been made on several fronts:

We announced on 2 July 2002 a package of short term financial allocations to tackle the infrastructure deficit that will see £270m spent across Northern Ireland on 29 significant projects over the next two years. Several key infrastructure projects have already been agreed including a new Cancer Centre; strategic road improvement and structural maintenance, including the widening of the M1 approaching Belfast; capital investment in water and sewerage and; the replacement of 20% of mobile classrooms across Northern Ireland with permanent accommodation.

The Project Board met several times during the summer months and brought forward initial proposals to the Executive on 23 July 2002. The Executive agreed that further work should be done to develop these proposals.

Over the past weeks we have been taking forward intensive work on preparation of draft legislation to implement the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative, which is due to be discussed by the Executive shortly. The RRI Project Board has continued to meet and consider the detailed remit of the strategic investment body and has visited the security sites being transferred to the Executive under the initiative.

The Partnership and Regeneration Panel (PRP) for the Ebrington Barracks site has been established to bring forward proposals for the Executive’s consideration on: -

(i) the potential role of the Ebrington Barracks within the wider strategic development of the North West and

(ii) the most appropriate vehicle to take this forward

During the summer the PRP established offices in the Waterside area, near to Ebrington Barracks, and had its first meeting on 2 September 2002. The Panel, which includes local representatives from central and local government, community and business sectors, has been consulting and involving local community and business groups in developing ideas. It has also established linkages and developed relationships with other initiatives in the North West.

We expect the PRP’s recommendations to be delivered to the Executive during December 2002.

(AQO 52/02)

Reply: The aim of the Executive was to have a strong independent panel with a broad range of skills and backgrounds. Specifically we sought to appoint recognised experts in governance and organizational change, and also wanted some current international expertise in those fields.

We believe we have managed to appoint a well balanced panel of very high caliber experts, and are confident they will make a valuable contribution throughout the Review process.

(AQO 32/02)

Reply: As of 2 September 2002 the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister has 49 staff working on equality issues including a legal assistant. The divisions are supported by the Departmental Solicitor’s Office. In Great Britain the work is spread across 4 Departments which have approximately 212 staff with comparable responsibilities who are supported by legal teams in each Department.

(AQO 50/02)

Reply: We jointly met with the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, during his visit to Belfast on 27 August. We discussed a range of European Union policy matters including the Convention on the Future of Europe, enlargement and the Northern Ireland Executive’s interaction with the United Kingdom Government.

(AQO 43/02)

Reply: A consultation paper covering a wide range of community relations issues is at an advanced stage of drafting. It is anticipated that this will be submitted to the Executive for consideration in the near future and, following Executive approval, it will be published. Respondents will have a period of two months in which to communicate their views to our department.

(AQW 35/02)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): My Department is working on a range of initiatives to help the industry cope with the effects of the unprecedented weather conditions experienced for much of this year’s growing season. Advisory staff have been very active over the summer months, providing advice and information through direct contacts, mailings and the media. As we now head into the autumn, my Department has developed a comprehensive Winter Management Options programme to provide further targeted assistance. The programme comprises a series of local events aimed at providing farmers and growers with research and technical information to help them cope with potential fodder shortages and poor fodder quality this coming winter. The programme will also include workshops for arable producers, addressing issues such as possible storage problems which may arise as a consequence of wet harvesting conditions and crop diseases.

The Winter Management Options programme will commence with Open Days at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland on the 25 and 26 September and will roll out to other venues thereafter.

Apart from helping farmers address the practical problems being experienced or which are likely to arise, I am also exploring what adjustments can be made to EU support mechanisms to ease the situation. Last month, we were successful in securing a relaxation from the EU Commission of the grazing restrictions on set-aside land and last week, DEFRA made a formal request on our behalf to the EU Beef Management Committee seeking an increase in the level of advance cattle premia payments in order to assist the cash flow position of livestock farmers. Last month, I also announced a relaxation of the restrictions on the import of unprocessed hay and straw from GB into Northern Ireland as a further measure to help the local industry.

Weather aid is another option which I am exploring. However, any case that we might make to Brussels seeking State Aid approval to provide weather aid must be based on concrete evidence of the losses incurred. State Aid Guidelines lay down strict criteria in this respect which must be met before any proposed assistance can even be considered for approval by the EU Commission. Obviously, we can not make an assessment of these losses until after the end of the growing season. We would then have to build our case and take it through the EU State Aid approval process. My officials have arranged to meet key Commission personnel in the autumn to explore what may be possible under State Aid rules in light of the available evidence at that point.

Apart from the necessary approval process, there is also the issue of identifying the necessary resources to fund such a measure. There are no central EU funds against which we could bid for this purpose. Therefore, we would have to find the money from within Northern Ireland and, as you will appreciate, there are many competing demands from other areas. I have already alerted the Minister of Finance and Personnel and my other Executive colleagues of the difficulties in the industry and will keep them informed of the developing situation.

(AQW 52/02)

Ms Rodgers: My Department has drawn up outline plans for the repair and any necessary re-construction of the Glenariff Forest Park Waterfall Walkway, part of which was closed in autumn 2001 for health and safety reasons. Funding amounting to £300k was allocated at the end of June 2002. My officials are in discussion with Construction Service on the most effective use of the funds. The Forest Service plans to re-establish reasonable and suitable access to the main waterfall feature from the main Glenariff Forest car park by Easter 2003. Work is expected to commence in early October.

(AQW 67/02)

Ms Rodgers: The earliest that 2002 Sheep Annual Premium payments can be made under EC Regulations is from the start of the new FEOGA year, on 16 October. The Department therefore plans to commence payment from that date. Allowing for the time required for the payments to clear through the Department’s accounting system and to be transferred into producers’ bank accounts or to arrive by post, they should be received from 24 October onwards. If there is any change in the start date of the new FEOGA year, the start of payments will be adjusted accordingly.

Payments will include the basic premium, the Sheep National Envelope funding which is being paid as a top-up to the basic premium and the Rural World Supplement. Together these will be worth £19.4million to the industry. It is anticipated that all eligible producers (circa 8500) will have received their payments by the end of October.

(AQW 71/02)

Ms Rodgers: Under Article 67 of the European Commission’s proposals all veterinary medicines for use in food-producing animals would require a veterinary prescription. A prescription would also be required for any product containing an active substance authorised for less than 7 years. The UK government supports amendments to Article 67 tabled by members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. These would enable a flexible approach to the distribution of veterinary medicinal products that takes advantage of existing national practices so long as consumer protection and animal welfare can be demonstrably assured. Officials from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, acting on behalf of the UK Health and Agriculture Ministers, are participating in Council Working Group negotiations and have given presentations and provided information to UK and other MEPs to ensure that they are fully aware of the UK’s views and to seek their support in discussions in the European Parliament.

(AQW 101/02)

Ms Rodgers: I am pleased to say that the inter-Agency approach between my Department’s Rivers Agency and DRD Water and Road Services to flooding, established in 1999, is proving productive in not only improving the response but also tackling the causes. To this end Rivers Agency intends to initiate a debrief of the flooding event of 21 June.

Rivers Agency, in conjunction with other Agencies, has investigated that incident. All Agencies identified that the unexpected intensity and severity of the rainfall was a major factor in the flooding. As a matter of course Rivers Agency is reviewing those flooding incidents which fall within its remit. In addition, in recognition of the inter-related causes of flooding at Whiteabbey village and Carrickfergus DRD Road Service, Water Service and DARD Rivers Agency are jointly commissioning a study of drainage infrastructure in these areas. This study will be led by Rivers Agency who are in the process of engaging a Consulting Engineer. This joined-up approach should result in recommendations for improvement of the drainage infrastructure to alleviate the risk of future flooding.

(AQW 2/02)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): As the Fisheries Conservancy Board does not issue separate fishing rod licences to anglers for the special sections of the River Bush, there is no such information available. However, my Department issues day tickets to anglers for fishing on the river. The number of day tickets sold, and the income received, for each of the stretches in the last three years, is set out in the following table. The income is rounded to the nearest pound sterling.

(AQW 177/02)

Mr McGimpsey: The barrier to which you refer is the means by which salmon are diverted into trapping facilities. The ability to trap and thereby monitor the salmon stock is fundamental to the internationally regarded research work carried out at the salmon station.

I am aware that some anglers contend that this arrangement is harmful to fish and/or affects their ability to ascend the river system to spawn.

No evidence has ever been presented to substantiate this claim. Should such evidence be available I shall of course review the current arrangements.

(AQW 26/02)

The Minister of Education (Mr M McGuinness): Yes, the research contract was subject to an open tendering process. An advertisement seeking expressions of interest appeared in the Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and News Letter on 6 January 1998.

(AQW 33/02)

Mr M McGuinness: The operation of the home to school transport arrangements in this case is a matter for the Southern Education and Library Board. Pupils living on Lairds Road who travel to St Colman’s Primary School, Annaclone do not attend their nearest suitable school. Under current arrangements they are therefore not entitled to transport assistance. In these circumstances responsibility for the safety of the pupils rests with the parents.

(AQW 10/02)

The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Sir Reg Empey): Pricing for mobile calls is a market issue. Introduction of pricing controls would be a regulatory matter and the responsibility of OFTEL. However, because of problems in border regions resulting in international roaming charges for mobile users, my officials have already impressed on both OFTEL and DTI the importance of an early resolution of this matter. There have been a number of studies on this issue, including work undertaken by the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee on Telecommunications (NIACT), the Northern Ireland Centre for Cross Border Studies, and a joint study in April 2002 by OFTEL and the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR) in Dublin on consumer awareness of mobile roaming. In January 2002 Europe’s Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti, announced a comprehensive investigation into the price of international roaming of mobile calls. My officials will be monitoring progress of this important Commission investigation to ensure that it addresses the need to source a resolution to this international disparity.

(AQW 23/02)

Sir Reg Empey: Based on computer records held, the amount of the selective financial assistance offered by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to develop accommodation, amenity and visitor attractions and events support in each constituency for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2002 is as follows:

(1) Some events support offered between 1997-1999 not included because data not held on a constituency basis.

(2) A further £261,107 was offered to projects which were not constituency specific.

In addition an amount totalling £4,390,271 was offered to marketing projects in Northern Ireland during the period in question. Information on these projects is not available on a constituency basis.

(AQW 36/02)

Sir Reg Empey: Entry costs to the guesthouse/bed and breakfast sector are generally low, and new developments may therefore only be considered in the following specific circumstances:

• High quality country house accommodation in existing properties offering typically 6-10 bedrooms with good cuisine.

• Guest inns, typically 6-12 good bedrooms attached to existing well-run pubs or restaurants in areas where hotel accommodation is scarce or commercially non-viable.