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Christmas Expenditure
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department plans to spend on celebrating Christmas and the new year. [7578]
Sir John Wheeler [holding answer 6 December 1996]: The Northern Ireland Departments plan to spend £31,267 for the Christmas and new year festivities.
Within the Northern Ireland Office, there are a number of functions being hosted by my right hon. and learned Friend, ministerial colleagues and the office. The estimated costs are about £9,200. The cost of Christmas cards, including postage, is estimated at £2,250.
Life Sentence Prisoners
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) loyalist and (b) republican life sentence prisoners are currently conforming with prison regulations and have received release dates. [8722]
Sir John Wheeler: There are currently 12 loyalist and four republican life sentence prisoners with provisional release dates. Provisional in this context means that a prisoner is required satisfactorily to complete a pre-release programme lasting normally around nine months before the Secretary of State will decide whether to release the individual on life licence. Life sentence prisoners are released within 15 days of the Secretary of State's having signed the life licence.
Prisoners are not categorised into various groupings. However, the definitions requested in the question are recorded for purely management purposes and reflect the prisoners' perceived affiliations.
None of the 16 prisoners with a provisional date for release have had the date varied or withdrawn because of a breach of prison regulations.
Ms Mowlam:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many (a) 18 to 25-year-olds and (b) 25 to 60-year-olds long-term unemployed people have participated in the ACE scheme (i) in the current year and (ii) in each of the previous five years; [8709]
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(3) how many people are currently participating in (a) jobskills, (b) the ACE training scheme and (c) the community work programme; and how many places are available; [8711]
(4) what was the average wage of an ACE participant (a) in the present year and (b) in each of the previous five years; [8712]
(5) how many (a) people aged 40 years or above, (b) men, (c) women, (d) married men, (e) married women and (f) people aged 18 to 25 years have taken part in the ACE scheme in each of the last five years including the current year; and how many participants there were in total. [8714]
Mr. Ancram:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Ian Walters to Ms Majorie Mowlam, dated 16 December 1996:
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Information in respect of 1992 and 1991 is not available.
I am sorry I am unable to be more helpful in reply to some of your questions but I hope you find the information I have supplied useful.
Mr. Nigel Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements have been made in Northern Ireland for the payment of compensation for the slaughter of young bulls aged between 24 and 30 months. [9583]
Mr. Ancram:
A scheme was introduced to allow the eligible animals to be slaughtered. Parliamentary approval for this new service will be sought in a spring supplementary estimate for the Northern Ireland agriculture, fisheries and forestry services and support vote, class 1 vote 2. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure totalling £3.25 million has been met by the way of a repayable advance from the contingency fund.
Mr. Nigel Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further progress has been made to reduce delays in coming to trial in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [9582]
Sir Patrick Mayhew:
Hon. Members will know that a system of administrative time limits has been operating since 1992, aimed at reducing the time defendants spend in custody awaiting trial on indictment.
On 7 December last year, in another place, my noble Friend Baroness Denton in reply to a question from Lord Hylton, Official Report House of Lords, column 87, set out the results of the scheme's first three years. She also
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announced that the scheme would continue until at least 30 June 1996 and that from 1 November 1995 the overall target for cases to move from first remand to arraignment would be reduced from 11 months to 10 months.
I can now report on the scheme's first four years up to 30 June 1996. Over this period, 80 per cent. of defendants in custody awaiting trial for scheduled offences were arraigned within the set target. Over the past year, the average time to process such defendants has been maintained at 37 weeks. Ninety-five per cent. of non-scheduled defendants in custody also met the target, the average time again being maintained at 29 weeks. The latter is a particularly commendable achievement in the light of a substantial increase over the past year in the proportion of non-scheduled cases.
Worthwhile improvements have also been recorded in the period between arraignment and start of trial. Comparing 1993 with performance over the past year, the average wait for scheduled defendants has fallen from 28 weeks to 11 weeks and for non-scheduled defendants from 11 weeks to nine weeks.
The criminal justice agencies' efforts remain effective, whilst they also continue to explore other means of streamlining and accelerating procedures. In highlighting their effective progress in the operation of the scheme, I have decided to extend it until at least the end of June 1997.
Dr. Hendron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently living at the travelling community site (a) on the Glen road and (b) at the Monagh bypass, in Belfast, West. [8891]
Mr. Moss:
I am informed by Belfast city council, which has responsibility for the provision of sites for travellers, that the number of people currently living at the travellers' community sites (a) on the Glen road and (b) at the Monagh bypass, in Belfast, West are:
(2) how many participants in the ACE scheme are working part-time; and what is the average number of hours per week they work; [8710]
Parliamentary Questions Nos. 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2032
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency (T&EA), to reply to your questions about the Action for Community Employment (ACE) scheme, Jobskills and the Community Work Programme (CWP).
Parliamentary Question 2027 (Ref: 8709)
The ACE scheme is targeted at the long term unemployed in the 18-64 year old age group. I regret that I am unable to provide you with a detailed breakdown of the two age groupings requested. The information is not readily available and could not be provided other than at a wholly disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Question 2028 (Ref: 8710)
On 27 September 1996, the latest date for which comprehensive information is available, there was 2510 part-time participants on the ACE scheme.
The information you requested regarding the average number of hours worked by part-time workers is not available. Part-time workers are employed by sponsoring organisations and the T&EA does not collect information on average hours worked from them. However, sponsoring organisations are required to employ part-time workers for a minimum of 16 hours and maximum of 30 hours per week.
Parliamentary Question 2079 (Ref: 8711)
The number of participants on the dates indicated is as follows:
A. Jobskills--at 8 November 1996: Training for 16,881 young people and adults is supported through the Jobskills programme, with a further 2,606 trainees similarly supported in the Agency's own Training Centres. All 16 and 17 year olds are guaranteed a training place but adult training numbers were capped when Jobskills reached full capacity in September 1996.
B. ACE--at 29 November 1996: 8040 places were available of which 7228 were filled;
C. CWEP--at 6 December 1996: 1190 places were available of which 1020 were filled.
Parliamentary Question 2030 (Ref: 8713)
The T&EA does not record information on the actual wage rates paid to ACE employees. Sponsoring organisations are paid £93 per week for each ACE worker employed. Of this up to £11 can be used to defray overhead expenses. The balance must be used as a contribution towards paying the local rate for the job being undertaken by the ACE employee. Any shortfall between Agency's funding and the local rate is met by the sponsors pay well in excess of the shortfall.
Parliamentary Question 2032 (Ref: 8714)
Much of the information you are seeking is not readily available and could only be provided immediately at a disproportionate cost. The following information is available:
Year Male Female Total
1996 3,700 4,005 7,705
1995 5,117 5,027 10,144
1994 4,894 4,582 9,476
1993 n/a n/a 9,690
| Number of people | |
|---|---|
| (a) Glen road | 227 |
| (b) Monagh bypass | 74 |
Dr. Hendron: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the planned completion date of the Monagh woods site for the travelling community, in Belfast, West. [8892]
Mr. Moss: The provision of accommodation sites for travellers in Belfast is a matter for Belfast city council. I understand that Belfast city council is carrying out an economic appraisal of the various options available to provide accommodation for the travellers currently on the Monagh bypass site.
Dr. Hendron: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children (a) under 11 and (b) under 16 years, are currently living in the travelling community sites (i) on the Glen road and (ii) at the Monagh bypass. [8893]
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Mr. Moss: I am informed by Belfast city council, which has responsibility for the provision of sites for travellers, that the number of children (a) under 11 and (b) under 16 years of age currently living at the travellers' community sites (i) on the Glen road and (ii) at the Monagh bypass are:
| (a) Under 11 | (b) Under 16 (including under 11s | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Glen road | 86 | 112 |
| (b) Monagh by-pass | 21 | 40 |
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