| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Carrowdore Village
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what residential developments have been approved for Carrowdore village; how many homes are planned for each development; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the footways to support these developments; what proposals there are to provide increased accommodation at Carrowdore primary school; and if he will make a statement about the future growth of Carrowdore village. [3909]
Mr. Ancram: The South-Eastern education and library board has no plans to provide additional accommodation at Carrowdore primary school.
Responsibility for the planning matters raised have 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 to these points.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 18 November 1996:
A monitoring survey carried out in July of this year indicated that to date, 47 of these houses have been built. The adequacy of the footways to support these developments was taken into account in determining the planning applications for these proposals.
20 Nov 1996 : Column: 607
Mr. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when Main street in Carrowdore village was last resurfaced; when it is proposed next to resurface the street; and if he will make a statement; [3911]
Mr. Moss:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. G. P. Fraser. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from G. P. Fraser to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 15 November 1996:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked the Chief Executive to reply to your questions about the resurfacing of Main Street, Carrowdore and the provision of a footway from the Manse Court junction with Ballyblack Road to the existing footway at Main Street, Carrowdore. In his absence I am replying on his behalf.
Ms Mowlam:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs have been created in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [3938]
Mr. Ancram:
The creation of jobs over the past 10 years is demonstrated by the rise in the number in employment. The position for each of the last 10 years is set out in the table:
Mr. Moss has asked me to reply to your recent question about the future development of Carrowdore Village.
In the last 9 years, a total of 7 residential developments, comprising 121 new houses, have been approved within the development limited of Carrowdore village as follows:
Location Units Date approved Church Walk 10 23 June 1987
Main Street 22 18 January 1988
Manse Road 22 4 April 1990
New Road 13 9 April 1991
Castle Place 5 22 April 1992
Church Road 7 14 September 1995
Main Street 42 13 February 1996
The North Down and Ards Area Plan 1984-1995, which remains the statutory development plan for the area, identifies a development limit for Carrowdore village. Within that development limit, there is scope for further housing other than for that for which planning approval has already been granted. The future growth of the village will be considered when the Area Plan is reviewed.
(2) what proposals he has to provide a footway from the Manse Court junction with Ballyblack road east to the existing footway at Main street, Carrowdore; and if he will make a statement. [3910]
We have no records to indicate the last time Main Street, Carrowdore was resurfaced and can only confirm that it was prior to 1973. Roads Service intends to surface dress the carriageway next summer following the completion of Water Service work in the area.
We have no proposals to construct a footway at the location in question.
| Year | Employers in employment | Self employed | Civil employed | Change in civil employed over year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 501,400 | 75,700 | 577,100 | -- |
| 1987 | 504,100 | 83,200 | 587,300 | +10,200 |
| 1988 | 517,200 | 87,000 | 604,200 | +16,900 |
| 1989 | 525,600 | 85,100 | 611,700 | +7,600 |
| 1990 | 533,200 | 90,300 | 628,500 | +16,700 |
| 1991 | 542,100 | 92,200 | 634,300 | +5,800 |
| 1992 | 543,600 | 83,300 | 626,900 | -7,400 |
| 1993 | 545,400 | 80,700 | 627,100 | +200 |
| 1994 | 557,800 | 82,200 | 640,000 | +12,900 |
| 1995 | 573,000 | 82,800 | 655,800 | +15,800 |
| 1996 | 573,100 | 82,800 | 655,900 | +100 |
Figures rounded to the nearest 100 and may not sum due to rounding. Self-employed estimates for 1996 are currently not available. In accordance with practice the estimate is held constant at the level of the previous year.
20 Nov 1996 : Column: 608
Low Pay
Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland currently earn less than £2.50 per hour. [3937]
Mr. Ancram: Information on hourly earnings in Northern Ireland is available from the "New Earnings Survey" and relates to the proportion of employees within the earnings band specified. The latest figures available are for April 1995 when 0.9 per cent. of full-time male employees and 1.3 per cent. of full-time female employees earned less than £2.50 per hour. Source: New Earnings Survey, April 1995.
Benefits Expenditure
Ms. Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the expenditure on benefits paid in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [3943]
Mr. Moss: The information requested is given in the table.
| Year | Benefit spend (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1985-86 | 1,230.7 |
| 1986-87 | 1,335.5 |
| 1987-88 | 1,403.6 |
| 1988-89 | 1,465.6 |
| 1989-90 | 1,557.1 |
| 1990-91 | 1,707.7 |
| 1991-92 | 1,951.1 |
| 1992-93 | 2,211.5 |
| 1993-94 | 2,469.7 |
| 1994-95 | 2,648.2 |
| 1995-96(25) | 2,833.1 |
(25) Estimated figures.
Alcohol
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) people and (b) children under the age of 18 years have been diagnosed as alcoholics in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [4410]
Mr. Moss: The information available is given in the table. The Department of Health and Social Services intends next year to commission a review of its strategy on alcohol misuse.
| In-patients diagnosed | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | 856 | 922 | 921 |
| Aged under 18 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Figures are based on code 303 of the 9th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, alcohol dependence syndrome.
Anti-social Tenants
Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to review
20 Nov 1996 : Column: 609
the Northern Ireland Housing Executive allocation policy to ensure that anti-social tenants can be transferred to new accommodation under a negative points system. [4458]
Mr. Moss: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and the chief executive has advised me that the transfer of any tenant, including those deemed guilty of anti-social behaviour, is governed by the executive's transfer policy and not its allocation policy. The executive has no powers compulsorily to transfer a secure tenant. A transfer takes place on the basis of a request from, and agreement with, an individual tenant. There are no plans to change this policy.
In cases where tenants are deemed guilty of anti-social behaviour, the executive, under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, has powers through the courts, to seek repossession of its property. However, before taking such action, the executive will invoke its neighbourhood complaints procedure in an attempt to settle any disputes. For the future, it is envisaged that a draft Northern Ireland Housing Order 1997 will contain provisions strengthening the grounds for repossession where a tenant is guilty of anti-social behaviour, and provide for injunctions, backed by a power of arrest, to be granted in such cases. These provisions are similar to those contained in the Housing Act 1996.
District Council Client Officers
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the district councils in Northern ireland have their chief officers designated as (a) town clerk, (b) chief executive, (c) town clerk and chief executive and (d) other designation. [4396]
Mr. Moss: None of the 26 district councils uses the designation town clerk. Seven councils refer to their chief officer as chief executive, 12 refer to the post-holder as town clerk and chief executive and seven refer to the post-holder as clerk and chief executive.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |