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Sewage Disposal
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she will update her assessment of the unit cost per household in Northern Ireland for the provision of sewage disposal facilities. [85623]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Water Service under its chief executive, Mr. Robert C. Martin. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Robert C. Martin to Mr. Roy Beggs, dated 2 June 1999:
You recently asked the Secretary of State a Parliamentary Question about when the unit cost per household in Northern Ireland for the provision of sewage disposal facilities will be updated. I have been asked to respond as Chief Executive of Water Service with operational responsibility for the provision of sewerage services.
When Water Service's Director of Finance, Mr D Carson, wrote to you on 2 March 1999 about this issue he referred to a Departmental review of the unit cost issue. The current position is that the review of this complex policy matter is being actively progressed. As soon as the outcome of the review is known I will arrange for you to be informed.
Paramilitary Violence
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if she will list for the week ended
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Saturday 22 May the number of (a) punishment beatings and (b) punishment shootings which took place in Northern Ireland indicating how many in each category were committed by (i) Loyalist and (ii) Republican groups; [85622]
Mr. Ingram:
The number of security incidents during the period 16-22 May 1999 are shown:
(2) if she will list for the week ended Saturday 22 May the number of violent incidents involving paramilitary groups which took place in Northern Ireland, indicating how many involved (a) Loyalist and (b) Republican groups. [85621]
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 0 |
| Shooting incidents | 3 |
| Bombing incidents | 2 |
The number of casualties as a result of paramilitary-style attacks during the period are as follows:
| Loyalist | Republican | |
|---|---|---|
| Assaults | 1 | 0 |
| Shootings | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 1 |
Notes:
1. Figures may be subject to minor amendment.
2. The shooting incident cannot as yet be firmly attributed to a grouping.
Over-30 Months Scheme
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the possibility of utilising the spare capacity at the incinerator at Duncrue in Belfast for the incineration of meat and bone meal and tallow required under the Over Thirty Month Scheme arising out of the BSE crisis. [85957]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Department of the Environment Water Service incinerator at Duncrue, Belfast, has a capacity of three tonnes dry solids per hour and is currently operating at this throughput. There is therefore no spare capacity in the incinerator to accommodate the incineration of meat and bone meal and tallow from the Over Thirty Months Scheme.
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the total sums which her Department has spent on the present inquiry into the events on Sunday 30 January 1972, up to 31 May 1999; under what headings those sums were disbursed; and what are the sums under each heading. [85909]
Marjorie Mowlam: The total costs up to 31 March this year are £6,644,008.
Patient Discharges
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hospital patients there are in
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each health and social services trust who require discharge to (a) a residential home (b) a nursing home and (c) domiciliary care. [85857]
Mr. McFall:
This information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, a special survey was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Services on 26 February 1999. The attached table shows the number of patients within each Trust and Board area who were ready for discharge on that date, and where lack of funding for appropriate community care services was said to be the reason for their remaining in hospital.
| Trust | Number |
|---|---|
| Royal Group | 7 |
| Belfast City | 4 |
| Green Park | 5 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals | 0 |
| Down Lisburn | 10 |
| Mater | 0 |
| Eastern HSSB Total | 26 |
| Armagh and Bungannon | 5 |
| Newry and Mourne | 0 |
| Craigavon Area Hospital Group | 25 |
| Southern HSSB Total | 30 |
| Causeway | 21 |
| Homefirst | 44 |
| Northern HSSB Total | 65 |
| Foyle | 0 |
| Sperrin Lakeland | 1 |
| Western HSSB Total | 1 |
| N. I. Grand Total | 122 |
Coroners Inquests
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to review the legislation governing coroners' inquests in Northern Ireland. [86271]
Mr. Vaz: I have been asked to reply.
Neither I nor the Lord Chancellor has any immediate plans to review the legislation governing coroners' inquests in Northern Ireland. However, this is a matter which will be kept under review in consultation with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Child Support Agency
Ms Jenny Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made with the plans to reform the Child Support Agency; and when he expects to announce his proposals. [85540]
Mr. John M. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Child Support Agency White Paper is due to be published. [85624]
Angela Eagle:
Final proposals for reform of the child support system will be announced shortly.
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Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May 1999, Official Report, column 47, on housing benefit, what charges are made by the Post Office for not redirecting benefit-related mail in a local authority's area. [86066]
Angela Eagle:
Further to my written answer on 24 May 1999, Official Report, column 47, in which I stated that 56 local authorities are now operating the do not redirect service, I am pleased to confirm that this number has now increased to 64 local authorities. The Post Office does not make any charges to individual local authorities for not redirecting benefit-related post. However, the Department has agreed an annual fee with the Post Office for the national operation of this service. For the first year's operation of the do not redirect service this fee is set at £366,266.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families with children who applied for asylum at a port of entry to Britain in the last financial year have been in receipt of income support. [85562]
Angela Eagle:
Figures for the last financial year are not yet available. However, in 1998 the number of new port asylum seeker and other urgent payment cases in receipt of Income Support who have children was 5,000.
Notes:
1. Figure relates to Great Britain.
2. Figure will include a number of non-asylum seekers which receive Urgent Case Payments for other reasons.
3. Figure has been rounded to the nearest thousand cases, and will therefore be subject to a degree of sampling error.
4. Children are defined as age 0-15 years.
5. Sample size 5 per cent.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiries, February to November 1998.
Income Support
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 25 January 1999, Official Report, column 49, regarding publication of take-up estimates, (a) when he now expects to publish such estimates and (b) for what reason there has been a further delay in publication. [85637]
Angela Eagle:
The Department's statisticians expect to publish revised figures for 1996-97 and new figures for 1997-98 as a single document in the late summer, probably early September.
It has taken longer than expected to complete extensive investigation and testing of the routines used in calculating take-up to ensure the quality of take-up estimates. This phase is now complete and production of estimates is under way.
We have taken the opportunity to look again at the possibility of publishing 1996-97 estimates of take-up for Job Seekers Allowance (income based JSA). Informed judgments on this and the other benefits are assisted by considering 1996-97 and 1997-98 data in parallel.
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Statisticians therefore judge that the early production of quality-assured estimates is best served by publishing 1996-97 and 1997-98 statistics together.
Statisticians advise that they expect the final estimate, of the average number of pensioners entitled to but not receiving Income Support in 1996-97, to be close to the provisional revised estimate of 400,000-700,000 given in DSS Press notice 98/300 of 11 December, a copy of which is in the Library.
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