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Nursery Vouchers

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated cost will be for each of the next five years for administration of nursery vouchers for Northern Ireland. [1180]

Mr. Ancram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 1 November 1996, Official Report, column 282.

GCSE Passes

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pupils in Northern Ireland achieved passes in GCSE mathematics in each of the last five years. [1178]

Mr. Ancram: Information is not available in the form requested. The percentage of pupils entered for the GCSE mathematics examinations of the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and

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Assessment and its predecessor bodies, and achieving grades A* to G (A to G in 1992 and 1993), in each of the last five years, are:

1992: 93.8
1993: 92.7
1994: 94.5
1995: 98.2 ¹ ; 96.4
1996: 98.1 ² ; 95.1 ^2
1 Syllabus A
² Syllabus B

Belfast Airport (Sale)

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on whose advice and by what criteria the price of Belfast international airport at Aldergrove was set when originally sold; and by what actual and percentage amount that price was bettered when the airport was subsequently sold. [1202]

Mr. Moss: The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland engaged the services of consultants for the privatisation process. Details of the appointment remain commercial in confidence. The valuation exercise formed part of that process. The criteria used to value the airport were those applicable to a transaction of this type.

The airport was sold by means of a trade sale in a competitive bidding situation which generated a considerable degree of price tension. The purchase price was £32.75 million and the Government withdrew a further £15.51 million in cash from the former company, giving a total return on the transaction of £47.9 million.

We understand that in August 1996 TBI plc acquired the shares in Belfast International Airport Holdings Ltd.--BIAHL--for £72.4 million. In addition, BIAHL paid a dividend of £4.5 million to shareholders. As part of the deal, TBI repaid £28 million of BIAHL's bank borrowings and transaction costs of £2 million. This resulted in a total purchase consideration of £106.9 million.

This figure represents an increase of £59 million on the amount received by Government from the sale of Northern Ireland Airports Ltd. In percentage terms, the increase is equivalent to 123 per cent.

Area Plans

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if the reviews of the area plans in respect of the Down and Newry and Mourne district council areas will be included in the Planning Agency's business case for the financial year 1997-98; [2384]

(2) what is the time scale for the commencement and execution of the work required in respect of the Down and Newry and Mourne area plans; [2402]

(3) what factors led to the exclusion of the area plans for the Down and Newry and Mourne district council areas form the Planning Agency's business case for the financial year 1996-97; [2383]

(4) when he expects the reviews of the area plans in respect of Down and Newry and Mourne district councils to take place; [2417]

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(5) if he will make a statement on the adequacy of resources for the (a) review and (b) preparation of the area plans for the Down and Newry and Mourne districts. [2418]

Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to a Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 5 November 1996:

Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your questions about the Down and Newry and Mourne Area Plans.
Only Development Plans which were to be adopted in 1996/97 were included in the Agency's Business Plan for that year. The position will be the same for the 1997/98 Business Plan. When drawing up the development plan programme for 1997/98 and future years, the programming of work on both plans will be taken into account. The work programme will be established in accordance with competing priorities and the available resources.
Although the notional end date for the Down Area Plan is late 1997 and for the Newry and Mourne Area Plan late 1999, they will remain material planning considerations in the determination of any planning applications submitted after those dates.

Tuberculosis Vaccination

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of school leavers in Northern Ireland have been vaccinated against tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement. [1627]

Mr. Moss: The information is not available in the form requested; however, I would refer the hon. Member to the statistical information contained in the publication "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics 1 April 199--31 March 1994" issued by the Department of Health and Social Services which is available in the Library. The Government recommend that BCG vaccine to protect against tuberculosis should be routinely offered to all school children between the ages of 10 and 14 years.

Prisoners (Terrorist Offences)

Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is his policy in relation to the (a) release, (b) transfer, and (c) repatriation of prisoners detained in Northern Ireland and convicted of terrorist offences; and if he will make a statement; [2051]

(2) how many prisoners detained in Northern Ireland and convicted of terrorist offences have been (a) released, (b) transferred, (c) notified of their release by the end of 1996 and (d) repatriated to prisons in the Republic of Ireland since August 1994; [2143]

(3) in what way the criteria for approving applications by prisoners convicted of terrorist offences and detained in Northern Ireland for (a) release, (b) transfer and (c) repatriation to the Republic of Ireland differ from those applied in other parts of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [2144]

Sir John Wheeler: Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. Alan Shannon. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

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Letter from Alan Shannon to Mr. Max Madden, dated 5 November 1996:

The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to the 3 Parliamentary Questions you tabled about policies with regard to the release, transfer and repatriation of prisoners detained in Northern Ireland, who have been convicted of terrorist offences.
Determinate sentence prisoners in Northern Ireland are released automatically once their full sentences, with the appropriate period of remission, have been served. A prisoner may only be released earlier in exceptional circumstances where the Royal Prerogative of Mercy is exercised. The statistical information you are seeking on releases since 1 August 1994 and prospective releases by 31 December 1996 is not readily available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However I can confirm that since 17 November 1995, 160 scheduled offenders have been released on licence, between the half way and two thirds part of sentence, as a result of the changes in remission rules brought in by the Northern Ireland (Remission of Sentence) Act 1995.
The release on licence of life sentence prisoners is at the discretion of the Secretary of State who is advised by the Life Sentence Review Board. Since 1 August 1994 58 life sentence prisoners convicted of terrorist related offences have been released on licence and a further 4 prisoners with provisional release dates are expected to be released by 31 December 1996.
The transfer of prisoners between the 3 UK jurisdictions on either a permanent or temporary basis is governed by the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1961 and administered according to criteria announced in Parliament in 1992. Since 1 August 1994 2 prisoners convicted of terrorist offences in Northern Ireland have transferred to England & Wales; one permanently and the other on a temporary basis.
The repatriation of prisoners from or to Northern Ireland is governed by the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984. Repatriation may be considered where the country to which application is being made is a signatory to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons or to the Commonwealth Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders or has a separate bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom. No prisoners convicted in Northern Ireland have been repatriated to the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Prison Service is not in receipt of any applications from prisoners seeking repatriation. However one prisoner who was convicted in England, but detained temporarily in Northern Ireland on an intra-UK transfer, was subsequently repatriated to the Republic of Ireland on the authority of the Home Secretary.
You have asked in what way the criteria for approving applications for release, transfer and repatriation differs from those applied in other parts of the United Kingdom. Intra-UK transfers and repatriations are governed by the same legislation and criteria in all 3 UK jurisdictions.
On the question of release each jurisdiction has separate legislation and powers. In Northern Ireland there is no system of parole or discretionary release for determinate sentence prisoners who are released automatically at the completion of their sentences with remission. The procedure for reviewing the sentences of life

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sentence prisoners also differs from that in other jurisdictions and I attach an explanatory memorandum which illustrates in detail the life sentence review process in Northern Ireland.

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