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Preparations
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the average (a) number of types and (b) quantity of preparations taken by people in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years broken down by (i) gender and (ii) age bands of 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [2886]
Mr. Moss: No estimate has been made.
Education and Library Boards
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to ensure that each compulsory competitive tendering contract involving the education and library boards in Northern Ireland adheres to policy appraisal and fair treatment guidelines. [2759]
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Mr. Ancram: The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 precludes education and library boards from taking account of non-commercial matters in conducting any contracting activities.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of the planning and preparation work he has proposed to be undertaken before 1 April 1998 for the introduction of his proposals to change the education and library boards. [3598]
Mr. Ancram: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 7 November 1996, Official Report, column 674.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resettlement grants staff affected by his proposals for changing education and library boards and the regionalisation of board services will be eligible for; and what estimate he has made of the costs of such grants. [3599]
Mr. Ancram: Under their terms and conditions of service, education and library board staff may be eligible for excess travel or removal expenses. It is not possible to estimate the cost involved in advance of detailed planning for the new structures and the identification of those individuals both affected by the reorganisation and eligible for such expenses.
Ex-offenders (Rehabilitation)
Ms Mowlem: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the rehabilitation programmes available in Northern Ireland for ex-offenders and the numbers of people who participated in them in each of the last five years. [2789]
Sir John Wheeler: Information is not available in the form requested. However, in addition to pre-release programmes within the prisons and a full range of public services which are open to all citizens, there is available within the community a wide spectrum of programmes specifically for ex-offenders and persons at risk of offending. These are operated either directly by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland or by voluntary and community bodies to which, in 1995-96, it paid grants totalling over £2 million. The board itself, as part of its on-going activities, runs programmes for its clients on a range of themes including cognitive skills, alcohol management, sexual abuse, domestic violence and other forms of violent behaviour.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision of the Royal Group of Hospitals announced on 30 October in relation to surgical operations on the waiting lists for various procedures for the Down Health and Social Services Lisburn trust area.[2760]
Mr. Moss: As a result of the budget savings which were required this year to meet priority developments, fewer elective surgical operations will take place and waiting lists and times will therefore increase to some extent. However, this must be judged in the context of the enormous inroads which have been made into waiting lists
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and waiting times since 1992. For example, in that year, about 3,000 patients were waiting two years or more for admission. In March this year, virtually nobody was waiting more than two years, while 800 were waiting more than 18 months. The number of patients treated has risen continually over the same period from a total of 330,000 ordinary admissions and day cases in 1991-92 to approximately 400,000 approximately in 1995-96.
School Leavers
Ms Mowlem: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of school leavers in Northern Ireland, who went into higher education, went to establishments in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Great Britain, (c) the Republic of Ireland and (d) elsewhere in each of the last five years. [2788]
Mr. Ancram: The percentage of school leavers in Northern Ireland who went to higher education in each of the last five years to establishments in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and elsewhere is as follows:
| Northern Ireland | Great Britain | Elsewhere | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 62.5 | 34.3 | 3.2 |
| 1991-92 | 59.0 | 36.8 | 4.2 |
| 1992-93 | 59.4 | 36.1 | 4.6 |
| 1993-94 | 57.4 | 35.5 | 7.0 |
| 1994-95 | 61.0 | 34.0 | 5.0 |
(31) Information on school leavers who went into higher education in the Republic of Ireland is not collected separately.
Drug Seizures
Ms Mowlem: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the seizures of drugs by (a) type and (b) quantity in Northern Ireland (i) at ports, (ii) at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and (iii) elsewhere in each of the last five years. [2790]
Sir John Wheeler: Details of drug seizures are held as a total, by type of drug, for each year; these figures are set out below. It is not possible to specify where seizures were made.
| Drugs seized | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis | |||||
| Resin (kgs) | 37.5 | 15.75 | 44.5 | 81.9 | 160.7 |
| Herbal (kgs) | 1.5 | -- | -- | 7.1 | 0.104 |
| Plants | 19 | -- | 419 | 66 | 634 |
| Oil (gms) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 130 |
| Cocaine | |||||
| (gms) | 88 | 77 | 19 | 1,092 | 322 |
| Wraps | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7 |
| Opiates (inc. Heroin) | |||||
| (gms) | -- | 20 | 363 | 34 | 8 |
| Tablets | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Twists | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Doses | 250 | 57 | -- | -- | -- |
| LSD | |||||
| Trips | 800 | 9,201 | 8,022 | 15,392 | 8,761 |
| Microdots | -- | -- | -- | 92 | -- |
| Fake | -- | -- | -- | 900 | -- |
| MDMA (Ecstasy) | |||||
| Tablets | 2,711 | 4,408 | 2,923 | 23,853 | 136,860 |
| Capsules | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Powder (gms) | -- | -- | -- | 168 | -- |
| Amphetamines | |||||
| Powder (gms) | 625 | 5,732 | -- | 7,700 | 6,138 |
| Tablets | 25 | -- | -- | 242 | 816 |
| Wraps | -- | -- | -- | 2,858 | 782 |
| Doses | -- | -- | 1,728 | -- | -- |
| Speedballs | -- | -- | -- | 200 | -- |
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 351
Planning Guidelines
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what evaluation his Department has made of the capacity of the planning system to absorb a new (a) low impact and (b) permaculture use class into existing guidelines; and what assessment he has made of the advantages of this policy. [3366]
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T.W. Stewart to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 13 November 1996:
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to review (a) PPG7 and (b) other planning guidance on agricultural and other dwellings in the countryside in order to give greater weight to environmental and social sustainability; and if he will make a statement. [3380]
Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your question about an evaluation of the capacity of the planning system to absorb (a) low impact and (b) permaculture use class into existing guidelines; and what assessment has been made of the advantages of this policy.
The Planning Service has made no such evaluation or assessment. We will, however, monitor the outcome of any evaluation undertaken in the rest of the United Kingdom, and assess what relevance, if any, it may have for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 13 November 1996:
14 Nov 1996 : Column: 352
Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your Question about a review of PPG 7 and other planning guidance on agricultural and other dwellings in the countryside in order to give greater weight to environmental and social sustainability.
PPG 7 does not extend to Northern Ireland. The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland's planning policy for rural areas is set out in the publication "A Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland", published in September 1993, which seeks to give effect to environmental and social sustainability principles, at the same time meeting the needs of a strong dispersed rural community. Copies of this publication are available in the Library. The Planning Service intends commencing a formal review of the Strategy in the year 2000, and in carrying out the review, will take into account guidance available elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research his Department has (a) planned, (b) commissioned and (c) evaluated into the advantages of establishing a permaculture use class within the planning system; and if he will make a statement. [3376]
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 13 November 1996:
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research his Department has (a) planned, (b) commissioned and (c) evaluated into establishing practical criteria for assessing sustainable and low-impact developments, with particular regard to rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [3267]
Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your Question about research into the advantages of establishing a permaculture use class within the planning system.
The Planning Service has neither (a) planned, (b) commissioned nor (c) evaluated any such research. We will, however, monitor the outcome of any research undertaken in the rest of the United, Kingdom, and assess what relevance, if any, it may have for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 13 November 1996:
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the advantages of giving additional weight to environmental impact in determining planning restrictions on agricultural buildings. [3362]
Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your Question about research into the advantages of establishing practical criteria for assessing sustainable and low impact developments, with particular regard for rural areas.
You will be interested to know that the Agency's corporate aim is "to plan and manage development in ways which will contribute to a quality environment and seek to meet the economic and social aspirations of the present and future generations". Sustainability is, therefore, a crucial factor in the determination of planning applications. In addition, in May 1994, the Agency issued detailed illustrated guidance on rural design, in the form of a publication entitled "A Design Guide for Rural Northern Ireland". Copies of this publication are available in the Library.
The Planning Service has neither (a) planned, (b) commissioned nor (c) evaluated any such research. We will, however, monitor the outcome of any research undertaken in the rest of the United Kingdom, and assess what relevance, if any, it may have for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Moss: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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