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Portadown Attack

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance was provided by (a) the Specialist Fingerprint Unit and (b) the Biology Section of the Northern Ireland Forensic Service to the Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation into the murder of Robert Hamill. [95363]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 26 October 1999]: The RUC have advised that no items seized by the police were suitable for examination by the Specialist Fingerprint Unit. Items of hair, blood and fibres were sent to the Biology Section for examination.

Paramilitary Violence

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) deaths, (b) shootings and (c) bombings have been attributed to (i) Loyalist and (ii) Republican paramilitary groups (A) since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and (B) during 1999. [95715]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 26 October 1999]: The table shows the deaths, shootings and bombings attributed to Loyalist and Republican groups:

	10 April 1998- 21 October 1999		1 January 1999- 21 October 1999
	Loyalist	Republican	Loyalist	Republican
Deaths	11	36	3	4
Shooting incidents	127	76	53	42
Bombing incidents	136	22	65	Nil

Human Rights Act

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those organisations and institutions identified as public bodies under the Human Rights Act 1998; if he will describe departmental preparations for implementation of the Act and if the Department has (a) created a timetable and action plan,

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(b) set up structural arrangements and performance management to oversee the preparation process, (c) undertaken a study of compatibility in primary legislation, (d) drawn up a risk management strategy, (e) developed a communication strategy to prepare subsidiary public authorities for changed responsibilities and (f) established steering groups on training that will identify and meet needs of particular sectors. [95369]

Mr. George Howarth [holding answer 27 October 1999]: There can be no definitive list of organisations and institutions which are public authorities under the Human Rights Act. It will be for the courts to decide in individual cases whether an organisation is a public authority for the purposes of the Act.

The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments are taking forward work in preparation for the implementation of the Act in October 2000. Public authorities for which the Northern Ireland Office is responsible have been alerted to the requirements of the Act. An inter-departmental working group (comprising the Northern Ireland Office, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Director for Public Prosecutions Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Court Service, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland, the Police Authority for Northern Ireland and the Army) has been meeting regularly to monitor progress being made by individual bodies in preparing for the Act and to identify any issues on which a joint approach would be most effective.

In June a major human rights seminar was held by the Northern Ireland Office. It involved the main criminal justice organisations and players in Northern Ireland, including non-statutory bodies. Its aim was to generate a heightened awareness of issues surrounding the Human Rights Act, contribute to a common understanding of the issues and provide an opportunity to discuss new concerns and to discern where a common approach is required.

The training of staff on the requirements of the Act has begun, and managers are continuing to assess their staff training requirements to determine what further training will be required.

Guidance on the Human Rights Act has been issued to all Northern Ireland Departments. Northern Ireland Departments are continuing to refine their Action Plans which outline the work which will be carried out in preparation for the implementation of the Act. Scrutiny exercises are under way in each Department to examine legislation and procedures to ensure that they are compatible with the Act. Northern Ireland Departments are also in close contact with their counterparts in Great Britain to ascertain what their scrutiny of similar legislation has revealed.

Departments have been in contact with the public bodies which they sponsor and are taking steps to ensure that these public bodies are aware of their duties under the Act.

Training for the staff of Northern Ireland Departments has been undertaken and is continuing. Training needs are being kept under review.

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Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those non-governmental organisations that have been consulted on preparations for implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 and outline his plans to involve NGOs in the future. [95370]

Mr. Mandelson [holding answer 27 October 1999]: The Northern Ireland Office receives advice on preparation for implementation of the Human Rights Act from the Human Rights Task Force.

The Human Rights Task Force was created by the Home Secretary and exists to bring together Government and human rights organisations in order to help public authorities prepare for the Human Rights Act. The Task Force maintains a dialogue between the Government and non-governmental organisations on the readiness of public authorities and the legal profession for implementation.

Professor Brice Dickson, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, attends Task Force meetings. We are discussing with the Commission the provision of training on the implementation of the Human Rights Act.

The Northern Ireland Office has engaged the services of Queens University Belfast (QUB) to deliver half-day awareness sessions to members of the Senior Civil Service. The Northern Ireland Civil Service Departmental Solicitors' Group are also working with QUB to provide more in-depth seminars to legal staff across the Northern Ireland Court Service. This includes legal staff in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland and the Crown Solicitor's Office.

There are no plans to involve other non-governmental organisations directly in the preparations for implementation in Northern Ireland of the Human Rights Act, but the Government will continue to follow the advice provided by the Human Rights Task Force.

Prisoner Releases

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners released under the accelerated prisoner release scheme in Northern Ireland have re-offended; what was the nature of those offences; if any have broken the terms of their licences; and if he will make a statement. [96607]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 November 1999]: Of the 299 prisoners who have been released to date under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998, six have been prosecuted for offences committed since the date of their release. The nature of the charges against three are of Assault on police officers and breach of the peace; Theft; Grievous bodily harm with intent; Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily harm; and Affray. A fourth was charged with handling stolen goods, the fifth with armed robbery and the sixth with possession with intent to supply controlled drugs. None of the six were charged with terrorist related offences and were not deemed to have broken their licence conditions.

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners released under the accelerated prisoner release scheme are awaiting trials for offences committed since the date of their release. [96606]

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Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 November 1999]: Of the 299 prisoners who have been released to date under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 five are currently awaiting trials for offences committed since the date of their release. None of the five have been charged with terrorist related offences.

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out the terms of the licence conditions of prisoners released under the accelerated release scheme in Northern Ireland who have subsequently re-offended. [96612]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 November 1999]: Of the six persons prosecuted for offences committed since the date of their release, five were determinate sentence prisoners and as such the terms of their release on licence under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 were conditional upon the following:

that they do not support a specified organisation (within the meaning of section 3 of the Act);

that they do not become concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland.

The remaining one was previously a life sentence prisoner and as such their release on licence under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 was conditional upon the following:

that they do not support a specified organisation (within the meaning of section 3 of the Act);

that they do not become concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland; and

that they do not become a danger to the public.

None of the six were prosecuted for offences which were terrorist related and were not deemed to have broken their licence conditions.

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