1 Feb 2000 : Column: 485W

Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 1 February 2000

NORTHERN IRELAND

Police

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will take measures to ensure that the composition of the staff of the proposed Policing Board, Northern Ireland Office Police Division and Office of Police Ombudsman are broadly reflective of the population of Northern Ireland as a whole; [107814]

Mr. Ingram: The Secretary of State made a statement in the House on 19 January 2000, Official Report, columns 845-48, setting out the Government's response to the Patten Report. The Government are considering a number of detailed issues in relation to the Report and will make its decisions clear in due course.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that the proposed policing board will possess the power to call upon the chief constable to retire in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness, subject to the approval of the secretary of state. [107805]

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Mr. Ingram: The Government accept the recommendations of the Patten report that the Policing Board should, with the Secretary of State's approval, be able to call upon the chief constable to retire in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness.

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met members of the Northern Ireland Police Federation to discuss his plans to reform the Royal Ulster Constabulary. [107614]

Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last met with members of the Northern Ireland Police Federation on Tuesday 11 January 2000 to discuss the Patten report.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will establish a public register of interests and associations for the police in Northern Ireland which will include currently serving officers. [107816]

Mr. Ingram: No. The Patten report does not recommend a public register.

Departmental Smoking Policy

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to reduce smoking in his Department. [105796]

Mr. Mandelson: NIO has a well established policy on smoking in the workplace which was first introduced in 1991 and a complete ban on smoking, apart from designated smoking rooms, has been in operation in all NIO premises since 1995. The policy has been supported through participation in the annual no-smoking day campaign and various health awareness events where professional and medical advice and information has been made available to encourage staff who smoke to give it up. The Department also intends to participate in the Quit Year 2000 initiative which has just been launched by the Ulster Cancer Foundation.

The Department is currently participating in a detailed Health Survey of all its staff which will identify the mental and physical health of our staff including basic data on smoking habits which will be used to plan future employee well-being activity.

Firearms

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many crimes were committed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years in which legally-held (a) shotguns, (b) .22 rifles, (c) .22 handguns, (d) fullbore handguns and (e) fullbore rifles were used by (i) their legal owners and (ii) others. [106065]

Mr. Ingram: The Chief Constable has advised me that the information about the ownership of the firearms used in criminal activity is not readily available and obtaining it would incur disproportionate cost. The table, however, shows the number of offences involving the use of firearms, and the type of firearm used over the last 10 years.

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YearHandgunShotgunAir weaponRifleMachine gunOtherImitation/replica firearms
1989-9077290171422823158
1990-917971078122388651
1991-928611058169286044
1992-931,03512615148281257
1993-949058610166393167
1994-95570801473413453
1995-964386028114757
1996-974759239236950
1997-98610726517103556
1998-99(1) (old rules)50687692322345
1998-99(1) (new rules)510922112324447

(1) On 1 April 1998 the Home Office introduced a new counting system under which crime is recorded. The new rules figures can not be directly compared to previous years.


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Intelligence Activity

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what plans he had to draw up a code of practice on covert law enforcement techniques and other intelligence activity overseen by a complaints tribunal; [107804]

Mr. Ingram: The recommendations about covert law enforcement made by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland will be implemented by forthcoming legislation. The legislation will require the publication of Codes of Practice on covert law enforcement techniques which will apply on a UK-wide basis.

Union Flag

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will review the existing practice on the display of the Union Flag from (a) police premises and (b) other public buildings. [107817]

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Mr. Ingram: Regarding the first part of my hon. Friend's question, I refer him to the answer I gave him earlier today on questions regarding this subject. On the second part, I will not be reviewing the flying of flags on public buildings in Northern Ireland under my authority. Other public buildings in Northern Ireland, following devolution on 2 December 1999, now fall within the responsibility of the devolved administration.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Specialist Schools

Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the value of additional private sector money levered in for educational use through the specialist school regime since May 1997. [106994]

Ms Estelle Morris: The value of additional private sector money raised through the Specialist Schools programme since May 1997 is approximately £25,000,000.

Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the schools given specialist status since May 1997, and the parliamentary constituencies in which they are located. [106995]

Ms Estelle Morris: The information requested is provided in the following table.

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Schools given specialist status since May 1997

SchoolParliamentary constituency
Arts Colleges
Bishopshalt School Uxbridge
Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form CollegeHove
Brentwood Ursuline Convent SchoolBrentwood and Ongar
Bridgewater County High SchoolWarrington South
Bridgewater Hall SchoolNorth East Milton Keynes
Castle Hills Community SchoolGainsborough
Charles Edward Brooke High SchoolVauxhall
Chestnut Grove SchoolTooting
Churchfields SchoolSouth Swindon
Cotham Grammar SchoolBristol West
Egerton Park High SchoolDenton and Reddish
Egglescliffe SchoolStockton South
English Martyrs School and Sixth Form CollegeHartlepool
Estover Community College(2)Plymouth Devonport
Lipson Community College(2)Plymouth Sutton
Fox Hollies School(2)Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath
Queensbridge School(2)Birmingham Selly Oak
Fred Longworth High SchoolWorsley
Greenfield Comprehensive SchoolSedgefield
Greenlands High SchoolBlackpool North and Fleetwood
Guthlaxton CollegeHarborough
Heathfield Community School Taunton
Icknield High SchoolLuton North
Intake High SchoolLeeds West
John Masefield High SchoolLeominster
Kidbrooke School(2)Greenwich and Woolwich
Thomas Tallis School(2)Greenwich and Woolwich
Kings School, TheWolverhampton South West
Lindsey School, TheCleethorpes
Lord Lawson of Beamish SchoolBlaydon
Newall Green High SchoolWythenshawe and Sale East
North Kesteven SchoolSleaford and North Hykeham
North Leamington School Warwick and Leamington
Rawlins Community CollegeLoughborough
Sharnbrook Upper School and Community CollegeNorth East Bedfordshire
Sir William Ramsey SchoolChesham and Amersham
Somervale SchoolWansdyke
South Axholme SchoolBrigg and Goole
Springwood High SchoolNorth West Norfolk
St. John Fisher Catholic High SchoolHarrogate and Knaresborough
St. Laurence SchoolWestbury
St. Marylebone School (The)Cities of London and Westminster
St. Paul's Way Community SchoolPoplar and Canning Town
St. Peter's SchoolBournemouth East
Thomas Tallis SchoolGreenwich and Woolwich
Thornden SchoolRomsey
Wheatley Park SchoolHenley
Language Colleges
Ashcombe SchoolMole Valley
Clevedon Community SchoolWoodspring
Colfox SchoolWest Dorset
Didcot Girls' High SchoolWantage
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson SchoolIslington South and Finsbury
FitzWimarc School, TheRayleigh
Harwich School, TheHarwich
Haydon SchoolRuislip--Northwood
Hele's SchoolSouth West Devon
Highcliffe SchoolChristchurch
Hockerill Anglo European SchoolHertford and Stortford
Holt School, TheWokingham
Holy Family RC School, TheSunderland South
Hummersknott SchoolDarlington
Ian Ramsey CE SchoolStockton South
Imberhorne SchoolMid Sussex
Impington Village CollegeSouth East Cambridgeshire
Judgemeadow Community CollegeLeicester East
King Edward VII SchoolSheffield Hallam
Kingsthorpe Upper SchoolNorthampton North
Little Lever SchoolBolton South East
Lord Grey SchoolMilton Keynes South West
Montsaye SchoolKettering
Mountbatten School, The(2)Romsey
Romsey School, The(2)Romsey
Northgate High SchoolIpswich
Notre Dame High SchoolNorwich South
Oulder Hill Community SchoolRochdale
Our Lady's Convent High SchoolHackney North and Stoke Newington
Park View Community SchoolNorth Durham
Penrice SchoolTruro and St. Austell
Prince Henry's Grammar SchoolLeeds North West
Ryton Comprehensive SchoolBlaydon
Saint George's CofE SchoolGravesham
Shireland High SchoolWarley
Sir Thomas Rich's SchoolGloucester
St. Bede's RC Comprehensive SchoolNorth West Durham
St. Clement Danes SchoolChesham and Amersham
St. Mary's RC High SchoolChesterfield
St. Wilfrid's RC High School and VI Form CollegeHemsworth
Tile Hill Wood SchoolCoventry North West
Trinity SchoolCarlisle
Weald of Kent Grammar SchoolTonbridge and Malling
Wirrall Grammar School for GirlsWirral South
Sports Colleges
Abraham Guest High SchoolMakerfield
Angley SchoolMaidstone and The Weald
Angmering SchoolArundel and the South Downs
Arrow Vale High SchoolRedditch
Ashton on Mersey SchoolAltrincham and Sale West
Benfield SchoolNewcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Biddick SchoolGateshead East and Washington West
Bishop Challoner RC SchoolBirmingham Selly Oak
Boston Spa Comprehensive SchoolElmet
Brookfield High SchoolKnowsley North and Sefton East
Callington SchoolSouth East Cornwall
Chesterfield High SchoolCrosby
Colne SchoolNorth Essex
Davenant Foundation SchoolEpping Forest
Deanes School (The)Castle Point
Droitwich Spa SchoolMid Worcestershire
Durham GilesgateCity of Durham
Ernest Bevin SchoolTooting
Failsworth SchoolAshton under Lyne
Featherstone High SchoolEaling Southall
Hailsham Community CollegeWealden
Haydon Bridge High SchoolHexham
Ivybridge Community CollegeSouth West Devon
King Alfred's SchoolWantage
King Edward VII High SchoolNorth West Norfolk
Kingdown Community SchoolWestbury
Lancaster SchoolLeicester South
Langdon SchoolEast Ham
Leon SchoolMilton Keynes South West
Manor School (The)Mansfield
Newsome High SchoolHuddersfield
Northfield SchoolStockton North
Oldfield SchoolBath
Park House SchoolNewbury
Penryn Community SchoolFalmouth and Camborne
Poltair Community SchoolTruro and St. Austell
Priory SchoolBarnsley Central
Rawmarch Comprehensive SchoolWentworth
Roade SchoolNorthampton South
Shaftesbury SchoolNorth Dorset
Southfields Community CollegePutney
St. Benedict's Catholic High SchoolCheltenham
St. Edmund's Girls' SchoolSalisbury
St. Joseph's RC High SchoolBolton West
St. Mary's Comprehensive SchoolPudsey
Thorpe St. Andrew SchoolNorwich North
Walford High SchoolEaling North
Westcroft Special SchoolWolverhampton North East
Whickham Comprehensive SchoolBlaydon
Whitefield SchoolFinchley and Golders Green
William Parker SchoolHastings and Rye
Wood Green High SchoolWest Bromwich West
Write Robinson SchoolManchester Gorton
Wye Valley School (The)Beaconsfield
Technology Colleges
Abbey Hill School(2)Stockton North
Beaumont Hill School(2)Darlington
Ailwyn Community School(2)North West Cambridgeshire
Ramsey Abbey School(2)North West Cambridgeshire
Alcester High SchoolStratford-on-Avon
Allertonshire School(2)Richmond (Yorks)
Northallerton College(2)Richmond (Yorks)
Ashby Grammar SchoolNorth West Leicestershire
Ashfield SchoolAshfield
Aston Manor School(2)Birmingham Ladywood
Heartlands High Secondary School(2)Birmingham Ladywood
Babington Community CollegeLeicester West
Balcarras SchoolCheltenham
Bedlingtonshire Community High SchoolWansbeck
Benjamin Britten High SchoolWaveney
Beverley High SchoolBeverley and Holderness
Bicester Community CollegeBanbury
Birchwood High SchoolHertford and Stortford
Bishop Hereford's Bluecoat SchoolHereford
Bishop Luffa SchoolChichester
Brine Leas County High SchoolCrewe and Nantwich
Broughton Hall High SchoolLiverpool Wavertree
Bury St. Edmunds County Upper SchoolBury St. Edmunds
Castleford High SchoolPontefract Castleford
Chase High School, TheWest Worcestershire
Clapton School for GirlsHackney North and Stoke Newington
Cleeve SchoolTewkesbury
Clough Hall Technology SchoolStaffordshire Moorlands
Cockshut Hill SchoolBirmingham Yardley
Court Fields Community SchoolTaunton
Crispin SchoolWells
Crosshill Special School(2)Blackburn
Queen's Park High School(2)Blackburn
Davison CoE High SchoolEast Worthing and Shoreham
Dene Magna Community SchoolForest of Dean
Dorcan Comprehensive SchoolNorth Swindon
Downend Comprehensive SchoolKingswood
Duchess's Community High School, TheBerwick-upon-Tweed
Edenham High SchoolCroydon Central
Fakenham High School and CollegeNorth Norfolk
Foxhills SchoolScunthorpe
George Farmer School, TheSouth Holland and the Deepings
Gordano SchoolWoodspring
Grangefield SchoolStockton South
Great Cornard Upper SchoolSouth Suffolk
Great Yarmouth High SchoolGreat Yarmouth
Guilsborough SchoolKettering
Haggerston SchoolHackney South and Shoreditch
Hampstead SchoolHampstead and Highgate
Hartsdown SchoolNorth Thanet
Hayesfield SchoolBath
Hazelwick SchoolCrawley
Heaton Manor SchoolNewcastle upon Tyne East
Henbury High SchoolMacclesfield
Hereford School, The (2)Great Grimsby
Western School(2)Great Grimsby
Highams Park SchoolChingford and Woodford Green
John F. Kennedy RC SchoolHemel Hempstead
Joseph Leckie SchoolWalsall South
Joseph Rowntree SchoolVale of York
King Edward VII Upper SchoolRutland and Melton
King James's SchoolHarrogate and Knaresborough
Kirk Hallam Community Technology CollegeErewash
Ladymead Community SchoolTaunton
Launceston CollegeNorth Cornwall
Longbenton Community CollegeNorth Tyneside
Lutterworth Grammar SchoolBlaby
Lytham St. Annes SchoolFylde
Manor College of TechnologyHartlepool
Millom SchoolCopeland
Moor End Technology CollegeColne Valley
Norton Hill SchoolWansdyke
Parkside Comprehensive School(2)Plymouth Devonport
Tamarside Community College(2)Plymouth Devonport
Parliament Hill SchoolHampstead and Highgate
Parmiter's SchoolWatford
Plessington Catholic High SchoolBirkenhead
Priory Community School A Technology CollegeWeston-super-Mare
Queen Elizabeth's Community CollegeTiverton and Honiton
Queensmead SchoolRuislip-Northwood
Rainford High SchoolSt. Helens North
Reepham High SchoolMid Norfolk
Ribblesdale County High SchoolRibble Valley
Richard Lander SchoolTruro and St. Austell
Ridings High SchoolNorthavon
Ripon CollegeSkipton and Ripon
Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolChorley
Robert Manning School, TheGrantham and Stamford
Robert Smyth SchoolHarborough
Shoeburyness Community High SchoolRochford and Southend East
South Bromsgrove High SchoolBromsgrove
Southam SchoolStratford-on-Avon
Southfield Technology CollegeWorkington
Southlands High SchoolChorley
Spennymoor School(2)Bishop Auckland
Tudhoe Grange Comprehensive(2)Bishop Auckland
Speedwell SchoolKingswood
Sponne SchoolDaventry
St. Ambrose Barlow RC High SchoolEccles
St. Augustine's Catholic CollegeWestbury
St. Birinus SchoolWantage
St. John's School and Community CollegeDevizes
St. Leonard's RC Comprehensive SchoolCity of Durham
St. Marks's Catholic SchoolBrentford and Isleworth
St. Matthews RC High SchoolManchester Blackley
St. Anthony's Girls' SchoolSunderland South
Stanley SchoolNorth Durham
Steyning Grammar SchoolArundel and South Downs
Tewkesbury SchoolTewkesbury
Thomas Alleyne's SchoolBurton
Trinity School, TheWarwick and Leamington
Varndean SchoolBrighton Pavilion
Wade Deacon High SchoolHalton
Walker SchoolNewcastle upon Tyne East
Warwick School, TheReigate
Washington SchoolHoughton and Washington East
Washwood Heath SchoolBirmingham Hodge Hill
Weald School, TheHorsham
West Craven High SchoolPendle
Westfield SchoolSouth Dorset
Westleigh High SchoolLeigh
Whitstone Community SchoolWells
Winifred Holtby SchoolKingston upon Hull East
Woodham Comprehensive SchoolSedgefield
Woolwich Polytechnic Boys SchoolGreenwich and Woolwich
Wyvern Community School, TheEastleigh

(2) Joint designations


1 Feb 2000 : Column: 495W

1 Feb 2000 : Column: 495W


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