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Delegated Legislation

Mr. Hutton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the powers to make statutory instruments exercisable by the Secretary of State under primary legislation enacted since 1979 are subject to (a) the negative and (b) the affirmative resolution procedure. [9595]

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Mr. Soames: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ukrainian Personnel

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the arrangements that have been made to assist the retraining of Ukrainian military personnel; and if he will make a statement; [9407]

Mr. Soames: In the course of an increasingly warm bilateral relationship with Ukraine, representatives of the Ukrainian MOD, the defence and security committee of the Supreme Council and the ex-servicemen's committee have been briefed on the UK system for retraining and resettling retired military personnel. These discussions are expected to continue. I also understand that assistance in this area has been provided by the FCO's know-how fund, by the European Union technical aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States--TACIS--programme, by the Soros Foundation's international renaissance foundation and by the German Government.

Married Quarters (Longhoughton)

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the sale of surplus married quarters in Longhoughton, Northumberland, to a housing association was completed; and if he will name the housing association involved. [7706]

Mr. Soames [holding answer Tuesday 9 January 1996]: The 21 surplus married quarters at Longhoughton, Northumberland were offered for sale by limited tender to four housing associations in December 1995. No acceptable offer was received and it has therefore been decided to include these properties in those being offered for transfer to the private sector.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Greenpark Hospital Trust

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the exact amount of debt accrued by the Green Park Hospital HSS Healthcare trust as of 12 December 1995 to its creditors; and if he will list the creditors indicating the amounts owing to each. [8225]

Mr. Moss: The information is not available in the exact form requested. As at 31 December 1995, the Green Park Hospital HSS Healthcare trust had trade creditors of £1.9 million. This total comprises individual amounts in respect of some 600 creditors. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it is not appropriate to list amounts owed to individual creditors.

Mr. Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what amount of debt a self-regulatory trust is allowed to accrue at any stage during its fiscal year; and if he will indicate the figure in respect of Green Park Hospital HCC Healthcare trust. [8226]

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Mr. Moss: A health and social services trust has three key financial duties. These are (1) to break even taking one year with another; (2) to make a 6 per cent. return on its relevant net assets; (3) to operate within its existing external financing limit. A trust is required to operate sound financial systems to control its income and expenditure and satisfy the duties set out in points (1) to (3). The EFL limits a trust's access to all sources of external finance, including the accumulation of trade creditors. For the year 1995-96, the Green Park Hospital HSS Healthcare trust's current EFL is £1,676,000. It should be noted that the EFL is a composite figure which takes account of the overall financial position of trust including debtor, creditor, stock and cash balances. The Green Park Hospital HSS Healthcare trust forecasts to stay within its EFL in 1995-96.

Colleges of Nursing

Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many colleges of nursing there are in Northern Ireland; how many students attend each college of nursing (a) in total and (b) from the Republic of Ireland; what is the value of the bursary paid to a student from the Republic of Ireland; to what extent this bursary is means-tested; and what is the estimated cost to public funds for the annual expenditure for Republic of Ireland students. [8227]

Mr. Moss: The information is as follows:

There are six Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery in Northern Ireland

Training InstitutionNumber of students in trainingNumber of students from ROI(6)
Eastern Area College--Northside42982
Eastern Area College--Southside39746
Northern Area College of Nursing37126
Southern Area College of Nursing25763
Western Area College of Nursing23289
NI College of Midwifery546
Totals1,740312

Figures as at 31 December 1995.

(6) Republic of Ireland.

The amount of bursary payable to students is not dependent on their Country of Origin and information on bursaries in payment is therefore not held by Country of Origin.

Bursaries are not means tested.


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Mr. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland applicants were refused places in 1995 in the colleges of nursing; and what priority is accorded to students from the Republic of Ireland over students from Northern Ireland in the provision of places. [8228]

Mr. Moss: Experience has shown that, on average, there are approximately 10 applicants for each student place.

No priority is accorded to students from the Republic of Ireland as all places are awarded on a merit basis.

Royal Ulster Constabulary (Expenditure)

Mr. Clifford Forsythe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the projected expenditure for RUC operational policing in 1996; [8472]

Sir John Wheeler: The information is not held in the form requested; police budgets are calculated by financial, not calendar, year. The approved police authority grant for the 1996-97 financial year will be £584 million.

The projected expenditure--the approved grant to the Police Authority for Northern Ireland for the 1995-96 financial year--was £609.2 million. I will write to the hon. Member once the actual expenditure for 1995-96 is known in April 1996. In both cases, the provision covers all RUC and PANI costs.

Fair Employment Acts (Education)

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were (a) the total number and (b) the annual salary payments of staff in the category of school teachers exempted from the anti-discrimination rules of the fair employment Acts; and if he will break down the figures by education board or council for Catholic maintained schools, and by controlled or maintained schools. [8495]

Mr. Ancram: The information requested is as follows:

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Controlled/non-Catholic maintained Catholic maintained Total
Numbers£ millionNumbers£ millionNumbers£ million
Belfast Education and Library Board1,38233.31,57337.32,95570.6
North Eastern Education and Library Board2,59360.61,12227.43,71588.0
South Eastern Education and Library Board2,24154.791422.03,15576.7
Southern Education and Library Board1,64638.52,15350.43,79988.9
Western Education and Library Board1,13027.62,03848.13,16875.7
Voluntary grammar/grant-maintained integrated--------3,29072.2

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Grant Aid

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much grant aid, and from which sources, has been allocated to each of the four Belfast constituencies in the past 10 years. [8010]

Mr. Ancram: The following grant aid has been committed by the Industrial Development Board under selective financial assistance to client companies in each of the four Belfast constituencies in the last 10 years.


Information on schemes operated by IDB trade and export division is not recorded in a way in which it could be broken down into constituencies. The information is not therefore available.

The Local Enterprise Development Unit has committed the following grant aid in the period from 1 April 1988. Information prior to this date would be available only at disproportionate cost.



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