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Schoolchildren (Sexual Assault)

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions there have been for sexual assault of pupils in each of the last 10 years by (a) primary school teachers, (b) secondary school teachers and (c) support staff in local authority schools. [73381]

Ms Estelle Morris: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested is not available. However, my Department's statistical record shows that the number of people barred from or restricted in their employment in the education service in each of the last 3 years as a result of a conviction or a caution for a sexual offence relating to children was:

1996: 99

1997: 71

1998: 52.

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 764

NORTHERN IRELAND

Teachers

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many (i) full and (ii) part-time teachers there were in (a) schools and (b) further education colleges in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and what percentage of each had a postgraduate certificate in education; [71410]

(2) how many (i) full and (ii) part-time teachers with no teaching qualifications there were in (a) schools and (b) further education colleges in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years. [71409]

Mr. McFall: The number of teachers holding the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) or with no qualifications is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The total number of full-time teachers in schools and full and part-time teachers in Further Education colleges is as follows:

	(a) Schools	(b) Further Education colleges
	(i) Full-time	(i) Full-time	(ii) Part-time
1994-95	19,730	2,171	3,205
1995-96	20,125	2,156	3,154
1996-97	20,642	2,144	2,780
1997-98	20,510	2,064	2,647
1998-99	(10)--	1,974	2,867

(10) Figures on school teachers for 1998-99 are not yet available

Pupil Funding

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been provided per pupil in each type of school in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and what the planned funding levels are for the next three years. [71411]

Mr. McFall: The table details the funding per pupil based on financial allocations made to schools under Local Management of Schools formula funding arrangements:

				£
	Nursery schools	Primary schools	Secondary schools	Controlled grammar (excluding prep depts)
1994-95	1,832	1,369	2,241	2,156
1995-96	1,888	1,407	2,281	2,192
1996-97	1,925	1,475	2,340	2,246
1997-98	2,026	1,519	2,381	2,286
1998-99	2,071	1,560	2,457	2,358

			£
	Grant maintained integrated primary schools	Grant maintained integrated secondary schools	Voluntary grammar schools (excluding prep depts)
1994-95	1,667	2,524	2,211
1995-96	1,683	2,772	2,323
1996-97	1,738	2,929	2,394
1997-98	1,700	2,856	2,437
1998-99	1,745	2,894	2,541

Detailed information on the planned funding levels for the next three years is not yet available.

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 765

Prisoner Early Releases

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons given early release from prison under the Good Friday Agreement have been arrested or had their licences revoked. [71556]

Mr. Ingram: One person released under the Sentences Act has been arrested and charges with an offence but not in breach of licence conditions. He is remanded in custody till 25 March 1999.

Educational and Library Boards (Funding)

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many education and library boards in Northern Ireland have (a) requested and (b) received additional funding in order to reduce class sizes to under 30 pupils in the past year. [71403]

Mr. McFall: (a) Requests for additional funding are initiated by individual schools.

(b) All 5 educational and library boards have received additional funding to enable them to respond to such requests.

Tourism and Commerce

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to promote Northern Ireland (a) tourism and (b) commerce through the Internet. [72955]

Mr. Ingram: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), the Industrial Development Board (IDB), the Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU) and the Industrial Research and Technology Unit (IRTU) all have a web sites on the internet designed to promote Northern Ireland tourism or commerce.

Tourism

NITB's web-site (www.ni.tourism.com) contains detailed regional and product information. NITB is also working with new regional tourist organisations in Northern Ireland to develop a coherent approach to the development of their web-sites.

Commerce

IDB's web-site (WWW.idbni.co.uk) promotes NI as a prime business location for new inward investment and covers all aspects of IDB's operations. IDB is currently in discussions with the 26 district councils in NI to provide a hyperlink from their sites to the IDB site to further enhance investment and trade opportunities.

IRTU's site on the NI Public Service Web (www.nics.gov.uk/irtu) provides information on the Unit's R&D support programmes.

LEDU also maintain a site (www.ict.co.uk) and plan to exploit to the full ICT (Integrated Computer Technologies) as a key source of competitive advantage to small firms in Northern Ireland, which will benefit them commercially. This would be beneficial by way of making it easier to enter new markets and competing internationally.

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 766

Digital Broadcasting

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schools in Northern Ireland currently have facilities for receiving digital broadcasting services; and what estimate she has made of how many will have that capability by the end of (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [72920]

Mr. McFall: Information on the amount of equipment capable of receiving digital broadcasting service which schools have brought, or plan to buy, within their delegated budgets is not available, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Drugs

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visitors to prisons in Northern Ireland were found to be in possession of illegal drugs in each of the last five years; and how many were referred to the police. [72913]

Mr. Ingram: Visitors can be refused access to prisons because of suspected possession of drugs. The information required is therefore not available in the exact format requested. The table shows the number refused access on suspicion of possession and those subsequently referred to the police. Central monitoring commenced on 1 April 1996.

Financial year	Visitors suspected of possession	Visitors referred to police
1996-97	18	10
1997-98	30	20
1998-99(11)	7	5

(11) to 31 December 1998

Education Action Zones

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to introduce education action zones in Northern Ireland. [72919]

Mr. McFall: I have no plans to introduce Education Action Zones in Northern Ireland. Alternative measures, including the School Support Programme, are already in place to help to raise standards in schools serving areas of social and economic deprivation. Following the Comprehensive Spending Review, additional resources are being made available to bring an additional 30 schools into the School Support Programme each year, and to provide extra support to other schools in socially disadvantaged areas.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Press Releases

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department how many press releases have been issued by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental bodies in each of the years 1990 to 1998. [71451]

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 767

Mr. Hoon [holding answer 16 February 1999]: The number of press releases issued by my Department its agencies and non-departmental bodies in the specified

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 768

period is as follows. Agencies and non-departmental bodies which have not issued press releases during this period are not listed.

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 767

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
Lord Chancellor's Department and Court Service	200	240	329	305	253	303	352	335	382
Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct (ACLEC)	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Children Act Advisory Committee	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0
Council on Tribunals	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	1
Judicial Studies Board	0	1	1	0	2	0	2	3	3
Land Registry	9	5	12	14	16	13	16	18	26
Law Commission	7	13	8	15	17	26	24	18	26
Legal Aid Board	12	15	4	6	6	3	8	9	10
Legal Services Ombudsman	0	0	2	1	2	0	0	1	2
Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate	0	0	0	0	4	18	27	33	16
Northern Ireland Court Service	0	0	0	0	0	5	12	20	24
Public Record Office	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	6	13

3 Mar 1999 : Column: 767

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