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Belfast Port
Mr. Maginnis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the application within Northern Ireland of the proceeds from the sale of the port of Belfast; and if he will make a statement. [109847]
Mr. Mandelson [holding answer 11 February 2000]: I have had no discussions with my right hon. Friend on this matter. The sale of the port of Belfast was a matter for the devolved administration and a paper outlining various options was submitted to the Regional Development Committee prior to the recent suspension of the institutions. The money from the sale of the port is intended to part finance a range of projects within the package of special measures for Northern Ireland announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in May 1998.
Rehoused Families
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many families have been rehoused in Northern Ireland to escape terrorist activities since the Good Friday Agreement. [110054]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 14 February 2000]: The Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has advised that from April 1998-February 2000 a total of 547 AI (intimidation) cases were housed. This includes those rehoused as a result of terrorist attack among others who were awarded AI(I).
An applicant will be entitled to AI(I)(intimidation status) where either
- (a) The applicant's home has been destroyed or seriously damaged (by fire, explosion or other means) as a result of terrorist or sectarian attack; or
- (b) The applicant cannot reasonably be expected to continue to live, or to resume living in, his/her home, because, if he or she were to do so, there would, in the opinion of the Executive, be a serious and imminent risk that the applicant or one or more of the applicants household, would be killed or seriously injured as a result of terrorist or sectarian attack.
Compensation
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors govern his consideration of compensation claims for loss of business under the
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emergency provisions; and what was the total compensation for loss of business awarded following (a) the Drumcree protests of (i) 1997, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 1999 and (b) the Omagh bombing. [110654]
Mr. Ingram: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Denis Stanley. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. A. Stanley to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 18 February 2000:
- The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency, to reply to your recent Question about claims for compensation under emergency provision legislation for loss of business.
- The emergency provisions scheme provides compensation to those who suffer loss or damage resulting from action taken under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996. Claims under this scheme are principally in respect of damage to property alleged to have been caused during operations by the security forces. In addition, the Agency administers the criminal damage compensation scheme which provides compensation for malicious damage to property in Northern Ireland caused by terrorism or unlawful assemblies of three or more persons; and for malicious damage to agricultural property. The governing legislation is The Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977. Under both compensation schemes claims are considered and resolved on their individual merits and in accordance with the relevant legislation and caselaw.
- The Agency is not required to establish a causal linkage between a claim for compensation and the motives of perpetrators and/or events in the wider community although, in some cases, these may become evident as a result of subsequent prosecutions. The Agency is therefore unable to compile reliable information concerning compensation paid for loss of business as a direct result of the Drumcree protests of 1997, 1998 and 1999 as there would have to be a high degree of subjective speculation by the Agency on many cases in which the perpetrators are unknown or where no prosecution has taken place. Claims for compensation under the criminal damage scheme in respect of the Omagh bombing of August 1998 are, however, readily identifiable. As at today's date, of the estimated £7.8 million worth of damage inflicted by the bomb, £3.5 million has, so far, been paid.
- I hope this is the information which you were seeking.
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Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide a breakdown of the compensation claims made under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996 for each of the last three years. [110956]
Mr. Ingram: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Denis Stanley. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. A. Stanley to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 18 February 2000:
- The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency, to reply to your recent Question about claims for compensation under the Emergency Provisions (Northern Ireland) Act in the last three years.
- The numbers of claims received by the Agency under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996 in each of the last three financial years were as follows:
| Numbers of claims | |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 2,208 |
| 1997-98 | 2,849 |
| 1998-99 | 3,395 |
Prison Service
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list each category of employee within the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the numbers employed in each category, broken down by (a) gender and (b) perceived community origin. [110656]
Mr. Ingram: The gender and perceived community background of those employed within the Northern Ireland Prison Service obtained for the purpose of monitoring under the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 at 1 January 2000 was as follows:
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There are strict requirements governing the confidentially and proper use of community background monitoring data and an disaggregation beyond that given could breach those requirements.
DEFENCE
Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty
5. Mr. Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the agreement of a new Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. [109398]
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Mr. Hoon: The question of any possible amendment to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty is a matter for the United States and Russia. The United Kingdom is not a party to that Treaty.
Heavy-lift Transport Aircraft
19. Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made in fulfilling the requirement of the Royal Air Force for heavy-lift transport aircraft. [109419]
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Mr. Hoon: We are continuing our technical and commercial assessment of potential solutions to the RAF's short and longer-term airlift requirements. I expect to receive advice soon. We aim to reach a decision in the early part of this year.
Iraq
20. Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are involved in patrolling the no-fly zones in Northern and Southern Iraq. [109420]
Mr. Hoon: As at 18 February we had some 987 Service personnel involved in or supporting operations in the Northern and Southern no fly zones. This is further supplemented by the HMS Illustrious Carrier Task Group that is currently operating in the region, which consists of 1,971 Service personnel.
Service Families Taskforce
22. Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress the Service Families Taskforce has made in improving Service families' access to health care. [109423]
Mr. Spellar: We have made good progress. The Service Families Task Force has addressed three healthcare issues raised by the Service Families Associations. Access to NHS dentists has been improved by 24 new incentive schemes for NHS dentists in areas of large numbers of Service families, certain drug therapies are being made available abroad and work continues with the NHS to strengthen their current guidance on taking into account time spent on a waiting list elsewhere following a move.
Major Milos Stankovic
23. Mr. Martin Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has made of the cost of the investigation by his Department and his Department's police into the case of Major Milos Stankovic of the Parachute Regiment; and if he will make a statement. [109424]
Mr. Spellar: The estimated additional cost of the Ministry of Defence Police investigation into allegations of offences against the Official Secrets Act by Major Stankovic is £266,000. Costs incurred by other areas of the Department in support of the investigation, were not routinely recorded but would not have been large. The Army investigation is still in progress.
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