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Peace Process

13. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the conditions which Sinn Fein must now meet before being allowed to enter the peace talks. [35395]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: Sinn Fein may participate in negotiations only after the unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire.

21. Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has to report on the peace process. [35405]

Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the Stormont talks. [35387]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) and my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes).

Terrorist Arms

14. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the decommissioning of terrorist arms. [35396]

Sir John Wheeler: We remain committed to the decommissioning of illegal arms, the need for which has been underlined by the Provisional IRA's continuing pursuit of violence, and which remains vital if there is to be sufficient confidence to ensure a successful outcome to political talks.

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 313

Bill of Rights

16. Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will bring forward a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. [35398]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: The framework documents published in February last year identified common ground on which agreement on the future protection of rights can be founded. The question of what specific rights require added protection, and the means of protection, is a matter for discussion within the multi-party talks which are currently under way.

Higher Education

17. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the number of applicants for higher education courses in 1996-97. [35400]

Mr. Ancram: There have been 21,200 applicants to Northern Ireland universities and 3,600 applicants to Northern Ireland colleges of education for entry in 1996-97. Information is not available on applicants to higher education courses at further education colleges.

Social Services Charges

18. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the charges made for (a) home help, (b) wardens, and (c) meals on wheels; and if he will make a statement. [35401]

Mr. Moss: The home help service is provided free to persons aged 75 and over. For others, the amount payable is determined in accordance with my Department's model scheme, introduced in 1980. Boards and trusts have some local discretion, and are required only to ensure that the charge does not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Depending on locality, the range of charges runs from £4.32 to £6 per hour. However most clients pay only a proportion of this, or nothing at all, following assessment of their financial circumstances.

There is no charge for wardens. The standard charge for meals on wheels is 85p per meal.

Radiation

19. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent (a) representations he has received and (b) consultations he has held about the extent, impact and source of radiation pollution in Northern Ireland and in the Irish sea. [35402]

Mr. Moss: I have received no representations and held no consultations about the extent, impact and source of radiation pollution in Northern Ireland and the Irish sea.

Terrorists (Remission of Sentences)

22. Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to review remission arrangements for prisoners convicted of terrorist activities. [35406]

Sir John Wheeler: The arrangements for the release of those persons convicted of serious scheduled offences will remain under review.

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 314

Employment Programmes

23. Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to ensure that the Northern Ireland Forum discusses positive action in employment programmes in Northern Ireland. [35407]

Mr. Ancram: The remit of the forum as provided by section 3(1) of the Northern Ireland (Entry to Negotiations, etc) Act 1996 is to discuss any issue which is relevant to promoting dialogue and understanding within Northern Ireland. It is a matter for the forum delegates to determine within that remit which issues they may wish to discuss.

Health Budget

24. Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the impact of changes in the level of expenditure in respect of the Northern Ireland health budget in the current financial year. [35408]

Mr. Moss: The Government's expenditure on health and personal social services in Northern Ireland in 1996-97 will increase by £54 million. This is a real-terms increase of 0.2 per cent. on estimated expenditure for 1995-96. In order to meet a range of pressures facing services, including a rising drugs bill and increases in emergency admissions to hospital, and to finance a small number of high priority service developments, spending on existing services has been reduced by 3 per cent. Half of this is being met by securing greater efficiency, including reductions in management costs, and half by selected reductions in services, principally non-urgent admissions to hospital and some elements of community services.

Home Help Provision

25. Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recent representations he has received concerning home help provision. [35409]

Mr. Moss: Since 1 January 1996 I have received 11 general inquiries about home help provision, and one concerning the circumstances of an individual case.

Elected Bodies (Women)

Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he will take to promote the role of women in elected bodies in Northern Ireland. [35403]

Mr. Ancram: Women have an important role to play in the political arena in Northern Ireland. Promoting the role of women in elected bodies in Northern Ireland is however a matter for the political parties involved in those bodies.

All-party Talks

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the salaries and terms and conditions relating to appointment as a chairman of each strand of the all-party talks. [35322]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: The three independent chairmen are not being paid a salary. They have been offered a per diem rate up to a maximum of £500 while they are engaged on talks-related business. The terms and

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 315

conditions attached to their appointment are determined by precedent and analogy to the arrangements for the chairmen of the 1992 talks, Sir Ninian Stephen.

Agriculture

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on comparative costing of (i) organic, (ii) bio-dynamic, (iii) permaculture and (iv) conventional intensive agricultural systems where the external costs have been internalised; and if he will make a statement. [36057]

Mr. Ancram: The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland funds research into the environmental aspects of conventional farming to support its aim of protecting and improving the environment through environmentally sensitive farming. This research includes a number of projects which take into account external costs and benefits for example, research on low input systems and their effect on the environment, and

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 316

containment of silage effluent. No research has been commissioned so far on the non-conventional types of farming listed in the question.

Cattle Remains

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantity of rendered remains of cattle aged 30 months or more are currently stored in (a) Belfast and (b) Liverpool. [36292]

Mr. Ancram: As of 7 July 1996 the quantities stored were:

(a) 4,720 tonnes--Belfast (meat and bonemeal);


(b) 1,920 tonnes--Liverpool (tallow).

Health Service Staff

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many whole-time equivalent (a) health visitors, (b) school nurses, (c) district nurses and (d) community psychiatric nurses were employed in each region in September of each year since 1990 broken down by (i) gender and (ii) ethnic origin. [36725]

Mr. Moss: The information requested is as follows:

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Nursing staff Northern Ireland

	Health visitors		School nurses		District nurses		Community psychiatric nurses
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
1990	3.00	492.52	0	75.40	2.0	496.59	35.0	51.0
1991	3.00	495.80	0	79.95	2.0	487.76	51.0	62.0
1992	4.00	504.36	0	81.97	2.0	445.75	56.0	68.0
1993	4.00	482.16	0	73.76	2.0	399.48	60.0	83.0
1994	4.50	456.27	0	81.61	2.0	369.95	62.0	84.0
1995	5.50	442.46	0	89.83	2.0	335.88	62.0	89.5

Information on ethnic origin is not held centrally.

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 315

11 Jul 1996 : Column: 315

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