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Local Learning Partnerships
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for involving students as members of local learning partnerships. [94682]
21 Oct 1999 : Column: 639
Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 19 October 1999]: The White Paper "Learning to Succeed" both endorses the current remit of Learning Partnerships and proposes strengthening their role in reflecting the needs of the community. They are being actively encouraged to involve partners who represent the wider interests of the community, including students and other learners.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if multinational and multi-site companies will be able to bypass the local learning and skills councils and deal directly at national level in connection with training and qualifications issues. [94741]
Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 19 October 1999]: It will be important for the Learning and Skills Council at national and local levels to engage employers of all sizes in workforce development which will benefit individuals, improve business competitiveness and strengthen the economy. There are large national companies which find it difficult to work effectively within the current system; and the Learning and Skills Council will be able to develop arrangements which make it easier to provide a national link to such companies. The precise arrangements will be developed in coming months.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what money has been received by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council from the New Deal programme and how this money has been spent. [94594]
Ms Jowell:
This information is a commercially confidential matter between the Employment Service and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and cannot therefore be released.
Carbon Dioxide (Emissions Reduction)
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions reduction needed for a 20 per cent. reduction from the UK's 1990 levels by 2010 he expects to be delivered in Northern Ireland. [93867]
Mr. George Howarth: Following Kyoto in 1997, the UK has a legally binding target to cut emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels over the period 2008-2012. The UK Government also have a domestic goal to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010.
The Government are currently developing a draft climate change programme which will set out how the UK will deliver its Kyoto target and move towards its domestic goal. We are aiming to publish the draft programme for further consultation towards the end of 1999.
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Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the paramilitary affiliation of the prison wings in which the six persons charged in May 1997 with the murder of Robert Hamill were imprisoned. [94361]
Mr. Ingram:
Five of the six persons charged were held within the UVF wings and one was held within the LVF wing in HMP Maze.
Mr. McGrady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many enforcement officers currently operate within the Department of the Environment; and what were the comparable figures for 1992 to 1998. [94450]
Mr. George Howarth:
At 1 October 1999 there were 13 enforcement officers attached to the Department's Transport Licensing and Enforcement Branch. The comparable figures for 1992 to 1998 are:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 14 |
| 1993 | 17 |
| 1994 | 15 |
| 1995 | 15 |
| 1996 | 15 |
| 1997 | 14 |
| 1998 | 13 |
Irish-medium Schools
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Irish Government about joint funding of Irish-medium post primary schools in the border region; and if he will make a statement. [94766]
Mr. McFall [holding answer 19 October 1999]: I have regular discussions with the Irish Minister for Education and Science on topics of mutual interest, including Irish-medium education. Those discussions have not yet involved joint funding of schools, though there is joint funding through the European Peace and Reconciliation Package of teaching materials for Irish-medium primary schools.
Debris
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date bomb debris from the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan explosions arrived in Northern Ireland; what was the recorded weight of debris received; if a continuous chain of custody for the debris can be established whilst it remained in Northern Ireland; what happened to the debris after the Belfast forensic scientist Dr. Hall carried out his examination; and where and in whose custody the debris is today. [93526]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 19 October 1999]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Forensic Science Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. R. W. Adams. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from R. W. Adams to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 19 October 1999:
Mr. Peter Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of children from Catholic homes who have been placed with Protestant foster-parents and the number of children from Protestant homes who have been placed with Catholic foster-parents for each of the areas within the South and East Belfast Trust. [94524]
Mr. George Howarth:
At present, two Catholic children are placed with Protestant foster carers and one Protestant child with Catholic carers in long-term fostering placements. In addition, nine Catholic children are placed with Protestant carers and four Protestant children with Catholic carers in short-term, temporary arrangements. Each of these placements has been made with the consent of the child's parents.
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many car parks are provided by (1) the Department of the Environment, (2) the private sector and (3) district councils in the urban areas of (a) Dungannon, (b) Portadown, (c) Armagh City and (d) Newry; what is the total number of (i) paid for spaces and (ii) free spaces in each of these urban areas; and what proposals there are to provide additional parking spaces in each of these urban areas. [94625]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. Colin James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
I am writing in response to your question regarding debris received at this laboratory in connection with bombings in Monaghan and Dublin in 1974.
Items relating to the above incidents were received from the Garda Siochana at the laboratory in Belfast on 28 May 1974. No weight was recorded for them.
There are no records available in the laboratory in relation to the internal continuity of the items or to their ultimate fate. The presumption is that they were returned to the Garda in line with normal practice for items received from the police.
(7) Following a review of car parking at Perry Street 40 paid spaces will become free spaces later this year, i.e., there will be 322 paid spaces and 258 free spaces.
Roads Service has no proposals at present to provide additional car parking spaces in any of the above-mentioned urban areas.
I hope you find this information helpful.
21 Oct 1999 : Column: 642
General Social Care Council
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the proposed General Social Care Council will operate in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [94542]
Mr. George Howarth: The publication of a fundamental review of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) was announced in the House on 22 December 1997, Official Report, column 553. The Secretary of State for Health announced his intention then to establish mechanisms for regulating the personal social services workforce in England and to hand over CCETSW's functions for social services training to the new body.
I have given careful thought to the best arrangements for regulating the social services workforce in Northern Ireland, consistent with the Government's plans as outlined in the Social Services White Papers for England, Scotland and Wales. I have taken into account that there are to be separate regulatory bodies for England, Scotland and Wales.
I have concluded that there should be a separate body for the regulation of the social services workforce in Northern Ireland and that it should, as in England, Scotland and Wales, assume responsibility for CCETSW's training functions. However, the Northern Ireland body must have the closest possible alignment with similar machinery in the other countries of the UK, and officials will be working to ensure that effective links of this kind are put in place.
We also need to have coherent overall arrangements for developing and enforcing high standards of conduct and practice, and for ensuring that workforce and training strategies are directed towards the same standards. I have, therefore, also asked officials to ensure that we bring together the work of the regulatory body and the work in Northern Ireland of any future National Training Organisation for the personal social services.
Children and adults who use the social services in Northern Ireland should be able to rely on a workforce that is properly trained, appropriately qualified and effectively regulated. We will be bringing forward more detailed proposals for the new regulatory body in a social services paper to be published shortly. It is our intention to ensure that the new arrangements in Northern Ireland are available at the same time as in other parts of the United Kingdom.
21 Oct 1999 : Column: 643
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