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Child Care
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contributions he is seeking from the European Union for the extension of pre-five child care in Northern Ireland. [15458]
Mr. Moss: The Government are not currently seeking funding from the European Union for the extension of pre-five child care in Northern Ireland. There is, however, scope under several of the European structural funds programmes already approved for Northern Ireland to support the extension of pre-five child care, most notably measure 2 of sub-programme 4 of the European Union special support programme for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. This measure aims to prevent the future social and labour market exclusion of children and young people by funding, for example, pre-school child care and education projects. The total European fund available under this measure is about £7 million over the period 1996 to 1999.
Rate Collection Agency
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been contracted out to (a) public and (b) private sector employers by the Rate Collection Agency offices; what assessment he has made of the cost of contracting out; and if he will make a statement. [15710]
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Rate Collection Agency under its chief executive, Mr. D. W. Gallagher. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. W. Gallagher to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 16 February 1996:
21 Feb 1996 : Column: 170
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about contracting out of work by the Rate Collection Agency.
The Agency contracts out all printing work, together with the handling procedures required to issue communications to ratepayers. There are 2 elements to this: the annual billing exercise and the daily round of revised rate accounts, refunds, Housing Benefit information, instalment reminders, etc.
The annual billing exercise involves the issue of around 450,000 accounts at 1 April each year. It would be neither cost effective nor practicable for the RCA to be resourced in terms of staff and equipment to handle work volumes of this magnitude on a once a year basis. The task must of necessity be contracted out. After an open competition conducted under EC regulations, open to both public and private sectors, a 3 year contract has recently been awarded to a private sector firm. Costs are commercial in confidence, but I can assure you that value for money was an important factor in deciding the successful bidder.
Handling the daily round of output from the RCA requires sophisticated printing, collating, and enveloping machinery. Although the RCA could do this work internally, at roughly the same cost as the private sector, transfer of the risk associated with back up for the machinery, staffing, etc, swung the balance in favour of contracting out. This contract was also awarded through competition where value for money was a key factor. Again, costs are commercial in confidence. To date the contractors have proved more than satisfactory in service delivery.
Like many businesses, the Agency has to deal with peaks and troughs of work. Recently, it was decided to seek outside help in opening 7,600 replies from ratepayers received as a result of a special exercise. As this proved cost-effective and allowed staff to concentrate on other duties the Agency will continue to examine how this sort of approach might be used to manage future workload peaks.
The Rate Collection Agency is conscious that the cost of collecting the rates is ultimately borne by the ratepayers of Northern Ireland and will continue to seek the most cost effective means of carrying out its functions while at the same time providing a good quality service to its ratepayer customers.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of expenditure on all forms of hospitality and entertainment by (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, for (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1989-90, (iii) 1991-92, (iv) 1993-94, (v) 1994-95, (vi) 1995-96 and (vii) 1996-97. [11423]
Sir John Wheeler [holding answer 30 January 1996]: The information is as follows:
| Year | NI Departments and NI Office | Agencies |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | (7)11 | -- |
| 1989-90 | (8)35 | -- |
| 1991-92 | 476 | 27 |
| 1993-94 | 512 | (10)44 |
| 1994-95 | 461 | 38 |
| 1995-96(6) | 515 | 59 |
| 1996-97(6) | (9)337 | (11)22 |
(6) Estimated.
(7) Figures available for DHSS and DENI only.
(8) Figures not available for DFP.
(9) Budgets not yet decided in DED, DOE and DHSS.
(10) Figures not available for Valuation and Lands Agency.
(11) Figures available for VLA and NI Prison Service only.
Information on non-departmental public bodies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Housing Rents
Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average rent for (a) privately rented, (b) council and (c) housing association housing in Belfast. [15578]
Mr. Moss:
The present average rent paid by Northern Ireland Housing Executive tenants in Belfast is £30.64 per week. Statistics on rental levels in the private housing sector are not collected. Statistics on rental levels in the housing associations are collected by each individual association but are not available by location.
21 Feb 1996 : Column: 171
Demonstration Sites
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she list the sites managed by her Department which she has permitted to be used for demonstrations and events for each of the last five years, together with the dates and the organisations involved.[14655]
Mr. Sproat: I am able to provide information for the last three years. The following demonstrations and events were held in Trafalgar Square:
21 Feb 1996 : Column: 174
The following major rallies and events were held on sites managed by the Royal Parks agency:
| Date | Organisation |
|---|---|
| 26/11/95 | London Grand Christmas Parade |
| 5/11/95 | RAC Veteran Car Run |
| 30/09/95 | Fight Against Education Cuts |
| 19-20/08/95 | VJ Day Event |
| 06/08/95 | Bosnia Solidarity Campaign |
| 05/08/95 | Justice for Joy Gardner Campaign |
| 29/07/95 | UNISON Health Care |
| 23/07/95 | National Federation of Cypriots in GB |
| 15/07/95 | Challenge Anneka |
| 24/07/95 | Lesbian and Gay Pride |
| 06,07,08/05/95 | VE Day Event |
| 23/03/95 | Fight Against Education Cuts |
| 18/03/95 | Coalition Against Animal Exports |
| 23/03/95 | The Muslim Parliament of GB |
| 27/11/94 | Grand Christmas Parade |
| 09/11/94 | National Union of Students |
| 06/11/94 | RAC Veteran Car Run |
| 05/11/94 | Network Against Child Support |
| 09/10/94 | Coalition Against Criminal Justice Bill |
| 28/08/94 | Network Against Child Support |
| 13/08/94 | 25th Anniversary Committee--Troops Out |
| 06/08/94 | National Anti Hunt Campaign |
| 24/07/94 | Coalition Against Criminal Justice Bill |
| 17/07/94 | Cadbury's Strollerthon |
| 17/07/94 | National Federation of Cypriots |
| 25/06/94 | March for Jesus |
| 18/06/94 | Lesbian and Gay Pride |
| 4-5/06/94 | Names Project Quilt |
| 24/05/94 | Pensioners' Rights Campaign |
| 23/04/94 | National Anti-Vivisection Society |
| 17/04/94 | London Marathon |
| 13/04/94 | D Day Event--Grosvenor Square |
| 20-28/03/94 | Marble Arch Competition Exhibition |
| 29/01/94 | Committee for British Withdrawal |
| 07/11/93 | RAC Veteran Car Run |
| 10/10/93 | Crusaid Sponsored Walk |
| 26/09/93 | The National Fun Run |
| 04/09/93 | Scotland in Hyde Park |
| 18/07/93 | National Federation of Cypriots |
| 11/07/93 | Cadbury's Strollerthon |
| 20/06/93 | Anti-Apartheid Movement |
| 19/06/93 | Lesbian and Gay Pride |
| 23/05/93 | Muslim Solidarity Committee |
| 24/04/93 | National Anti-Vivisection Society |
| 18/04/93 | London Marathon |
There are, in addition many minor events held in the royal parks on a regular basis.
21 Feb 1996 : Column: 175
The following major events were held at the sites managed by the Historic Royal Palaces agency:
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Each year: | |
| April | London Marathon (Tower of London) |
| June | IMG Music Festival (Hampton Court) |
| July | Hampton Court Flower Show |
| One-off events: | |
| August 1995 | VJ Day Event (Tower of London) |
| 1994 | National Lottery Launch (Tower of London) |
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