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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 8 February 2000
NORTHERN IRELAND
Police Authority
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the official visits made by executive and non-executive members of the Northern Ireland Police Authority outside Northern Ireland in the past three years, indicating in each case (a) who authorised the visit, (b) the cost of the visit to public funds and (c) if non-members' costs were borne by the taxpayer. [103566]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 20 December 1999]: During the three years referred to in the question, the number of executive members of the Police Authority have averaged around 3,300, many of whom will have subsequently retired, resigned or been transferred to other Government Departments. Information on official visits made by executive members outside Northern Ireland is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
| Location | Number of individual visits | Total cost (£) |
|---|---|---|
| England | 44 | 15,647 |
| Scotland | 1 | 540 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1 | 116 |
| Europe | 3 | 4,298 |
| USA | 5 | 20,994 |
| Canada | 2 | 6,300 |
| Australia | 2 | 6,835 |
Terrorism Legislation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's response to the White Paper, "Legislation Against Terrorism". [108530]
Mr. Ingram: A consultation paper "Legislation Against Terrorism" (Cm 4178) was published by the Government in December 1998 and was followed by a period of consultation. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission responded in April 1999. In all, the Government received a total of 80 responses from interested groups, practitioners and members of the public.
The Human Rights Commission's response was considered closely as were all the responses to the White paper and an analysis of the responses was set out in a
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brief summary compiled by the Home Office, excluding 29 respondees whose representations were to remain confidential. The previous Secretary of State also met Professor Dickson, Chief Commissioner, in July 1999 to discuss their response and particularly their proposed approach to counter-terrorist legislation.
The Government published the Terrorism Bill on 2 December 1999. In preparing this it drew on the advice Lord Lloyd of Berwick gave in his report on the future of Counter-Terrorism Legislation published in December 1996, and took into account the views expressed by those who responded to the consultation paper. My officials and legal advisers have also met with the Human Rights Commission following introduction of the Bill to discuss the new legislation in detail and address any ECHR compatibility issues they have raised.
In parallel with the passage of the Terrorism Bill, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has commissioned a review of the Diplock Court system. This was announced during the Bill's Second Reading on 14 December 1999. The Diplock Review Group has invited comment from legal and human rights bodies and I have written to Northern Ireland political parties for their views. Any responses will be considered by the Group in preparing its report for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters he has received since 1 May 1997 on (a) constituency matters and (b) other matters of Government policy from each of those Members of the House who have not taken the oath of allegiance. [108406]
Mr. Mandelson
[holding answer 3 February 2000]: I am unable to provide this information on the basis that correspondence, including the number of letters sent, between Members of the House and Government Departments is a confidential matter.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in each of the past five years he has received written representations from each of the three sections of the Police Association. [108488]
Mr. Ingram:
This information is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Darvill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he has given the Disability Rights Commission on discharging its functions. [109354]
Ms Hodge:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to Bert Massie, the Chair of the Disability Rights Commission, to offer broad guidance on how we see the body discharging its functions and priorities and the tasks to which the Government attaches particular importance in its first year of operation. We will look to the Commission to ensure that its first set of strategic
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priorities, and subsequently, its first corporate plan, reflect the guidance in the letter. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Terry Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the time currently taken, in the context of pensions mis-selling, for the Teachers Pensions Agency to complete the reinstatement process once the Agency has been notified; and if he will make a statement. [109223]
Mr. Wicks:
The average time taken to complete a re-instatement case is 14 weeks, measured from the time Teachers' Pensions are notified that mis-selling has taken place. Cases which take longer than the average are frequently the result of the personal pensions provider failing to act on the re-instatement quotation within the three month period for which the quotation is guaranteed. Some 25 per cent. of restoration quotations have to be re-calculated for this reason.
Mr. Terry Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps are being taken to reduce the time taken to rectify pensions mis-selling to teachers in England and Wales. [109222]
Mr. Wicks:
A number of initiatives have been introduced by Teachers' Pensions to streamline the reinstatement processes. These include improvements to their computer systems; the introduction of a dedicated e-mail address; regular contact between Teachers' Pensions staff and personal pension providers; and monthly productivity targets.
Mr. Terry Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many staff have been allocated by (a) the Teachers Pensions Agency and (b) the Government Actuary's Department solely to rectify the mis-selling of pensions to teachers. [109224]
Mr. Wicks:
The administration of the teachers' pension scheme is undertaken under contract by Teachers' Pensions, part of Capita Business Services Ltd. Sixteen staff within Teachers' Pensions work exclusively on the restoration of pension benefits of those teachers who have been mis-sold a personal pension. The Government Actuary's Department does not have any staff dedicated solely to this work. Advice on mis-selling cases is provided by staff who carry out a range of functions on behalf of this Department.
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the annual cost of the Quality Assurance Agency Subject Review for Universities. [109207]
Mr. Wicks:
The Higher Education Funding Council for England has a statutory duty to make provision for assessing the quality of education provided in institutions for whose activities it provides financial support. It currently contracts with the Quality Assurance Agency to carry out subject reviews on its behalf. In 1998-99 QAA carried out 233 subject reviews in England at a cost of £4.2 million. For 1999-2000 QAA is contracted to carry out 375 subject reviews in England at a cost of £5.6 million.
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Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is the total number of person hours that the Quality Assurance Agency Subject Review assessors spent away from their own universities and colleges on work for the review in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [109204]
Mr. Wicks:
The information is not held in the form requested.
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the (a) names, (b) departments and (c) educational establishments of the assessors employed by the Quality Assurance Agency for its subject review for universities. [109206]
Mr. Wicks:
The information is not available in the form requested.
(2) what was the total number of person hours spent by Quality Assurance Agency Subject Review assessors on work for the Review in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [109205]
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