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Prisoners (Parole)
Mr. Hunter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what financial grant was made available to prisoners who were subject to release under the early release scheme when they were granted parole over Christmas and the New Year. [115378]
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Mr. Ingram:
Each prisoner was paid a home leave allowance of £3 per day for every day he was on home leave. He also received a £1 subsistence allowance irrespective of the number of days out on home leave.
All prisoners granted Christmas Home Leave received the same financial allowances.
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Mr. Robert McCartney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the remuneration and expenses due to board members of the cross-border implementation bodies continue to be paid since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 11 February; and which members of the boards of the cross-border implementation bodies have declined to accept (i) remuneration and (ii) expenses since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 11 February. [115336]
Mr. Mandelson:
None of the members of the boards of the North/South Implementation Bodies has yet been paid any of the remuneration due to them since the bodies were established on 2 December 1999.
Since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, only members of the Board of the North/South Language Body have received reimbursement of expenses. These were in respect of a meeting that took place prior to suspension.
No members of the Boards have declined to accept remuneration or expenses since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 124W, on RUC (Compensation Claims), what procedures are in operation recording expenses arising from compensation claims against the RUC; and for how long such records have been kept. [115799]
Mr. Ingram:
From April 1998, following the introduction of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act, details of compensation claims against the Royal Ulster Constabulary are maintained under new claims; claims disposed of; damages paid; Plaintiff's solicitors costs; Crown Solicitors costs and Crown Solicitors outlay.
It is not possible to quantify other costs/expenses associated with compensation claims as work is carried out by many different branches within the RUC as a part of their overall responsibilities.
Mr. Hilary Benn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason the decision was taken to discontinue funding awards for students from Northern Ireland to undertake courses at residential institutions for adult education in Great Britain from the beginning of the 1999-2000 academic year; and if he will make a statement. [115911]
Mr. Ingram:
The Comprehensive Spending Review, which set public expenditure priorities for Government Departments in 1999-2000 and beyond, provided additional funding in education to develop Government policy of Lifelong Learning in a number of directions such as:
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In light of this it was decided not to continue to fund the very small number of awards usually made available to Northern Ireland students wishing to undertake courses at residential institutions for adult education in Great Britain from 1999-2000 academic year.
Nevertheless, support has been sustained for adult education access courses to higher education in Northern Ireland, both through continuing bursaries available at Magee College, University of Ulster and, more importantly, through funding of higher education access courses provided by the Further Education and Higher Education Colleges in conjunction with the local universities. These provide a very important domestic route to higher education for mature students in Northern Ireland who would otherwise be unable to enter higher education through conventional academic channels.
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dwellings are proposed in Planning Application No. X/2000/0001/0 for a residential development known as Camperdown Garden Village; what proposals there are for a foul sewage system for this development; how many new primary school places will be required for this development; what proposals there are to improve the existing road system at the site; and if he will make a statement. [116085]
Mr. George Howarth:
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Planning Service under its chief executive, Mr. H. S. Mckay. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from H. S. McKay to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 28 March 2000:
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Dr. Ladyman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the EU flight ban against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was suspended. [116741]
Mr. Hain:
I refer to the written answer given by the Minister for Europe to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 142W. The EC Regulation required to give effect to Common Position 2000/176/CFSP suspending the flight ban against the FRY was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 20 March 2000. EC Regulation 607/2000 came into force on 22 March and, in addition to suspending EC Regulation 2151/1999 imposing the flight ban until 28 August 2000, permits, in relation to the suspension of the flight ban, specific exemptions from Regulation 1294/1999 concerning a freeze of funds and a ban on investment, and from Regulation 2111/1999 prohibiting the sale and supply of petroleum products to certain parts of the FRY.
Dr. Ladyman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for April together with the major European Union events for the next six months. [116742]
Mr. Vaz:
The answer is as follows:
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Increasing places in further and higher education;
establishing the University for Industry and Individual Learning Accounts in Northern Ireland, and
Inevitably, however, reductions had to be made in a number of student support programmes to allow priorities to be clearly targeted and, as a consequence, some difficult decisions had to be made. Underpinning these decisions was the objective of concentrating available resources on those students awards which support domestic provision and which have the most economic relevance to Northern Ireland, such as research studentships.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the proposed residential development known as Camperdown Garden Village.
A planning application received in December 1999 indicated a total of 2500 dwellings at the site.
There is no suitable foul sewage system to serve the proposed development and if permitted substantial infrastructure will be needed.
If the development were to be approved, additional education provision for about 665 children of primary school age would be required. A site for a new primary school is indicated on the sketch scheme submitted with the application.
Vehicular access to the site is via four junctions from existing roads; two are on the Comber Road and two are on the Ballyrainey Road, which is improved and re-aligned. The dedicated bus lane in the old railway line is served by a park and ride facility. The E-Way study, commissioned by the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Co. examines alternative public transport options for re-using the old railway line to Comber.
The application is currently under consideration and comments are awaited in relation to the application and the environmental statement. Following the receipt and consideration of these comments a decision will be taken on how best to progress the application.
I do hope you find this helpful.
Monthly forecast of EU business: April 2000
This calendar is primarily concerned with European Union matters, but certain other relevant events are also included. Events and dates quoted are based on the information available on the date of issue.
April:
3-4 April--Cairo EU--Africa Summit
Socio-economic Issues
Prospects for Regional Integration
Integrating Africa into the world economy, including trade, investment, transfer of technology and debt.
Political Issues
Human rights, democratic principles and institutions, good governance and rule of law, including empowering the civil society, terrorism, migration issues and xenophobia.
Peace building, conflict prevention, management and resolution, including refugees and illegal arms trafficking.
Development Issues
Challenges to sustainable development in Africa, including poverty eradication, investment in human resources, education, health and environment
4 April--Brussels Intergovernmental Conference (Preparatory Group)
No agenda available
7-8 April--ECOFIN Council (Informal)
No formal agenda
10-11 April--Luxembourg General Affairs Council
No agenda yet available
11 April--Luxembourg EU/Turkey Association Council
Agenda not yet finalised
10-14 April--Strasbourg European Parliament Plenary
No agenda yet available
13 April--Luxembourg Consumer Affairs Council
No agenda yet available
14-16 April--Oporto Environment Council (Informal)
No formal agenda
17-18 April--Luxembourg Agriculture Council
No agenda yet available
European calendar: April--September 2000
This calendar is primarily concerned with European Union matters, but certain other relevant events are also included. Events and dates quoted are based on the information available on the date of issue.
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