(AQW 3/02)

The Minister for Employment and Learning (Ms Hanna): Officials are currently examining the evaluation reports of the pilots, which have been running in England and Scotland. I will, in conjunction with the Minister of Education, consider the options which best suit Northern Ireland and will bring forward joint proposals to the Executive, including proposals for funding, in due course.

(AQW 27/02)

Ms Hanna: The information requested is not available. My Department’s grants for research in higher education are made to institutions, not to geographical areas. We therefore do not allocate funding, and do not hold any information on research expenditure in different Northern Ireland constituencies.

(AQW 28/02)

Ms Hanna: The information requested is not available. My Department does not allocate funding for education and training on the basis of geographical areas. We therefore do not allocate funding, and do not hold any information on education and training in different Northern Ireland constituencies or areas within constituencies.

(AQW 60/02)

Ms Hanna: Officials are currently examining the evaluation reports of the pilots, which have been running in England and Scotland. I will, in conjunction with the Minister of Education, consider the options which best suit Northern Ireland and will bring forward joint proposals to the Executive in due course.

(AQW 51/02)

The Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Sir Reg Empey): Information is only available for wind generators supplying their output via the transmission and distribution system in Northern Ireland as follows:

(AQW 111/02)

Sir Reg Empey: Invest NI’s innovation research and technology division administers a number of programmes that provides financial assistance for research and development and the Northern Ireland aerospace industry has made extensive use of this support. The programmes aim to help Northern Ireland companies become more internationally competitive by providing financial assistance to help the companies develop or acquire new technology and knowledge through research and then commercially exploit this new technology and knowledge by developing new products and processes.

Since 1997, £4·1 million of financial support has been provided to 24 reseach and development projects in the aerospace sector against total project costs of £12·4 million.

(AQW 116/02)

Sir Reg Empey: The figures contained in the needs section of the needs and effectiveness review relate solely to comparative figures between Northern Ireland and England. The budget levels set by the Executive go beyond straight line comparison and take account of a wide range of factors. Allocations for Budget 2002 have not yet been set. The Department will continue to seek additional resources via the Executive programme funds and monitoring rounds as appropriate.

(AQW 138/02)

Sir Reg Empey: I have worked very closely with Bombardier since last October when they announced up to 2,000 redundancies by the end of this year. Some 996 jobs went earlier this year and a further 461 redundancies are due to happen over the next three months. The company informs me that the recent situation has arisen due to the continued softening of the regional and business jet markets and the general slowdown in the global economy. My Department continues to work closely with Bombardier to help them to consolidate and strengthen their operations in Northern Ireland, in spite of the present downturn in the aerospace sector.

There is no provision for my Department to offer financial assistance in a situation where job losses result from purely commercial decisions. However, officials from my Department have been liaising with officials in the Department of Employment and Learning, to help ensure that the fullest possible effort is made to assist all of the Bombardier employees who are to be laid off in the coming months, both in terms of training to complete applications for other jobs and in retraining them to be able to undertake alternative forms of work.

(AQW 139/02)

Sir Reg Empey: Bombardier and I have maintained close communication over the proposed redundancies. Indeed I have worked closely with the company since last October when up to 2,000 redundancies were announced. Bombardier informs me that the recent situation has arisen due to the continued softening of the regional and business jet market and the general slowdown in the global economy.

I and my Department will continue to work closely with Bombardier to help it through the current downturn in the aerospace sector.

(AQW 30/02)

The Minister of the Environment (Mr Nesbitt): The new equipment was first installed in a new extension at Cookstown in October 2001. It is already in operation at Armagh and Enniskillen centres.

Craigavon will be using the new equipment from January 2003, Londonderry from February 2003 and Omagh from June 2003. The remaining test lanes at Cookstown will be completed in September 2003.

Information about centre closures is readily available to the public on the agency’s telephone help line on 0845 601 4094.

(AQW 66/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency had raised a number of concerns about the council’s proposal to site the recycling facilities on its premises. Nevertheless, the council proceeded to place the receptacles at the Newry centre. Having subsequently apologised to the agency for siting the receptacles without permission, the council moved them to another council-owned site a short distance away.

Whilst the agency is committed to providing and supporting a number of other recycling activities it is not convinced that the entrance to its test centre at Newry is the most suitable location for this particular facility and could have an adverse effect on its driver and vehicle testing operations in several areas.

(AQW 68/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The infraction proceedings initiated by the European Commission against the United Kingdom covered both the article 5 targets and the regulatory aspects of the Landfill Directive.

Article 5 sets three mandatory targets (to be met in 2010, 2013 and 2020) for the reduction in biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill. These targets are reflected in the Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland, published in March 2000. Giving statutory effect to the targets in order to deal with this part of the infraction will require UK primary legislation and this will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time is available.

Legislation to cover the regulatory aspects has been put in place in England and Wales since the initiation of the infraction proceedings. Scotland is currently consulting on similar legislation. The legislation to be introduced in Northern Ireland will build on the operational structures to be put in place by new legislation to be introduced in the course of 2003 on waste management licensing and integrated pollution prevention and control. It will be necessary therefore to await the introduction of this legislation before introducing the regulations to transpose the requirements of the Landfill Directive later in 2003.

(AQW 87/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The initial waste management grant scheme was to assist councils implement their waste management plans and did not provide for funding for waste fridges and freezers.

Following end of year monitoring I was able to make available a sum of £230,000 from Environment and Heritage Service programme money to provide assistance to councils for the period January to March 2002. This money was specifically for the storage of waste fridges and was additional to, and allocated through, the waste management grant scheme.

In agreeing budgets for the current financial year, I have identified a further £250,000 to assist councils with the additional costs associated with waste refrigeration equipment.

(AQW 162/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The disposal of waste domestic fridges and freezers remains the responsibility of the district councils under the provisions of the Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997.

The inclusion of waste domestic fridges and freezers within EC Regulation 2037/2000 on ozone depleting substances (ODS) prevented councils from disposing of them without removing all the ODS. In recognition of this difficulty I sought to assist councils by contributing to the additional costs of storage pending a solution to the problem of removal of ODS from the foam. For the period from January to March 2002 I was able to make available £230,000 for this purpose and in agreeing the budget for the current financial year I have included a further £250,000 to assist with the costs of dealing with waste fridges and freezers.

Officials from the Department have been working with representatives from the councils to establish a contract for dealing with waste refrigeration equipment and the procurement process is now underway.

A decision on the amount of future funding will be taken when the contract rate and more accurate figures on the number of units are known.

(AQW 175/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The consultation paper, ‘Managing Radioactive Waste Safely, Proposals for developing a policy for managing solid radioactive waste in the UK’, was launched by the Government and the devolved Administrations in September 2001.

A summary of the consultation responses is available in the Assembly Library, and also in the Environment and Heritage Service, Calvert House, 23 Castle Place, Belfast.

The consultation ended on 12 March 2002. It is now proposed to appoint an independent body to review the available options and bring forward recommendations.

The clear objective is to create a waste management system, which will manage radioactive waste safely and achieve long-term protection for people and the environment.

The new body will be in place by the end of the year. Its members will be appointed jointly by Ministers of the UK Government and the devolved Administrations. The new body will ensure that the review of options is carried out in an open, transparent and inclusive public manner.

The consultation exercise was the first stage in the process of managing radioactive waste safely. The appointment of the independent body will signal the beginning of stage two, which will also include the process of assessing options and the publication of the final decision.

The third stage, which is scheduled for 2006 will be a public debate on how any recommendation made by the independent body should be implemented, including any site criteria.

The fourth stage, scheduled for 2007 will be the start of the implementation process, including any necessary legislation.

Our priority is to reach a decision, which achieves long-term protection of people and the environment, which inspires public confidence and which is practicable.

(AQW 198/02)

Mr Nesbitt: Formal designation cannot take place until a member state’s list of candidate special areas of conservation (SACs) has been accepted by the European Commission and, to date, this process of acceptance is not yet complete. Consequently, no SACs have been designated under the Habitats Directive by any member state. Following a meeting between the Commission and a number of member states, in June 2002, to assess the lists already submitted, the UK was asked to consider additional candidate SACs for a small number of conservation features. My Department is currently considering the submission of additional sites for raised bog habitat and the marsh fritillary butterfly, and the River Foyle system together with its principal tributaries for salmon. I anticipate that this work will be completed early next year.

(AQW 199/02)

Mr Nesbitt: Responsibility for the imposition of penalties for failure to designate SACs ultimately rests with the European Court of Justice. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to speculate on what the penalties might be should the Commission progress with infraction proceedings against the UK.

I understand, however, that it is highly unlikely that the Commission would take such punitive action against a member state at this stage in the SAC designation process.

(AQW 217/02)

Mr Nesbitt: The type of stolen vehicle check when a vehicle is being re-registered in Northern Ireland depends on the availability of data, the means of accessing that data and volume of vehicles.

For all vehicles the documents presented at re-registration in Northern Ireland are returned to the country of origin so that the appropriate checks can be made and the vehicle removed from that country’s current vehicle database.

In addition:

• all vehicles imported from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg and Latvia are checked on the EUCARIS computer which allows access to the vehicles databases of authorities in Europe.

• All vehicles imported from Japan are checked through the police Interpol system.

• For vehicles brought in from GB a percentage check is undertaken along with targeted checks based on information provided by the Criminal Intelligence Service.