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Blackwell Committee
Mr. Colman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the committee established by the Lord Chancellor to investigate non-legally qualified claims assessors and employment advisers (the Blackwell Committee) has completed its inquiries; and when it is intended to publish its report. [120091]
Mr. Lock: The Blackwell Committee has completed its investigations into the activities of non-legally qualified claims assessors and employment advisers. The Department has today published its report and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Websites
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his Department's policy is on (a) advertising and (b) acknowledging company sponsorship on the websites of his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies; which companies (i) have placed advertisements and (ii) are acknowledged as sponsors on those websites; how much revenue has been received for each financial year since 1997 from such advertisements and sponsorship; and if that revenue has been retained within the budget of his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. [119554]
Mr. Lock: Government sites are permitted to carry advertising, but at present there is no advertising or company sponsorship on any of the following websites:
- Lord Chancellor's Department HQ
- Court Service
- Northern Ireland Court Service
- HM Land Registry
- Public Record Office
- Public Trust Office
- Judicial Studies Board
- Legal Services Commission
- Just Ask (Community Legal Service).
NORTHERN IRELAND
National Security Certificate System
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to ensure the adherence of the national security certificate system to the quality scheme under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. [117361]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 3 April 2000]: The issue of national security certificates would fall with the Department's assessment of the extent to which each of its current functions, policies or duties has an impact on the promotion of equality of opportunity and the promotion of good relations within the terms of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. On 7 April, the Department published its draft Equality Scheme explaining how it intends to fulfil the duties imposed by section 75 of the 1998 Act.
Saville Inquiry
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of what the final cost will be of the Saville inquiry. [117572]
19 Apr 2000 : Column: 524W
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 6 April 2000]: The Inquiry currently estimates that the final costs will be in the order of £65 million. That estimate is subject to revision in the light, in particular, of the duration of the hearings and the final determination of those payments to lawyers which are currently being made on an interim basis. The largest single block of expenditure is the lawyers involved in the Inquiry: these are expected to account for about two thirds of the total costs.
Ambulance Bay (Armagh)
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the ambulance bay will be provided at Constabulary House, Russell Street, Armagh City; and if he will make a statement. [119022]
Mr. Ingram: Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from C. James to Mr. John. D. Taylor, dated 19 April 2000:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question about the provision of an ambulance bay at Constabulary House, Russell Street, Armagh.
Roads Service is currently progressing the statutory procedures required under Articles 10(4) and 13(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 to authorise that a section of road fronting Constabulary House, Armagh be used for the parking of ambulances. A notice outlining our intention in this respect will be published in the local press tomorrow, Thursday 20 April 2000.
Assuming there are no objections to our proposal, we anticipate that the parking bay should be operational by the middle of June.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Forest Service
Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for the Forest Service for the financial year 2000-01. [120235]
Mr. Ingram: The following key targets have been set for the Forest Service for 2000-01:
- Achieve 700 hectares of new planting in public and private sectors combined
Offer for sale 340,000
Achieve 440,000 paying visitors
Maintain the forest estate under sustainable management
Approve (or reject) 90 per cent. of applications under the Woodland Grant Scheme and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme within eight weeks of receipt of a properly completed application form
Following planting, pay 90 per cent. of grant claims within eight weeks of receipt of a properly completed claim form
Complete a strategic review of NI forestry policy by 31 March 2001
Achieve an outturn which meets the targeted net cost of the forestry programme
Achieve 3 per cent. efficiency gains
Control DRC and programme expenditure to within 1 per cent. of the final control totals.
19 Apr 2000 : Column: 525W
Inward Investment
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits sponsored by the Industrial Development Board of prospective (a) incoming and (b) United Kingdom investors there were to each council area in 1998-99; and what is his (i) latest estimate of the corresponding figures for 1999-2000 and (ii) estimate of the total number of visits to Northern Ireland by potential inward investors for 1999-2000, broken down by (1) first time and (2) repeat visits. [118520]
Mr. Ingram: The table provides details of visits by potential investors to Northern Ireland District Council areas arranged by the Industrial Development Board in 1998-99.
The details for 1999-2000 will be made available with the publication of the IDB Annual Report which is expected in the autumn.
Details of first and repeat visits to Northern Ireland in 1999-2000 will be made available with the publication of the IDB End of Year Statement which is due in mid-May.
| Potential investor company visits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Council area | Overseas companies | UK companies |
| Antrim | 37 | 7 |
| Ards | 3 | 1 |
| Armagh | 2 | 0 |
| Ballymena | 3 | 1 |
| Ballymoney | 1 | 1 |
| Banbridge | 1 | 0 |
| Belfast | 52 | 26 |
| Carrickfergus | 7 | 4 |
| Castlereagh | 4 | 3 |
| Coleraine | 3 | 0 |
| Cookstown | 3 | 0 |
| Craigavon | 11 | 0 |
| Derry | 25 | 4 |
| Down | 5 | 0 |
| Dungannon | 1 | 0 |
| Fermanagh | 2 | 0 |
| Larne | 7 | 3 |
| Limavady | 2 | 0 |
| Lisburn | 30 | 5 |
| Magherafelt | 1 | 0 |
| Moyle | 0 | 0 |
| Newry and Mourne | 7 | 0 |
| Newtownabbey | 11 | 7 |
| North Down | 6 | 1 |
| Omagh | 5 | 0 |
| Strabane | 6 | 1 |
| Total | 235 | 64 |
Notes:
1. Visit elements for other than inward investment purposes, such as visits to tourist attractions, are excluded.
2. General visits to Northern Ireland not including a specific council area are excluded.
3. Total District Council visits may exceed total visits to Northern Ireland as a company visit may cover more than one District Council area.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Debt Relief
Mr. John M. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 5 April 2000, Official Report, column 472W, on debt
19 Apr 2000 : Column: 526W
collection, if her policy on giving debt relief includes discrimination between good and bad stewardship by aid recipients. [118415]
Clare Short: The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative is an international agreement and so the conditions attached to the debt relief provided under the initiative must be agreed internationally. As my answer on 5 April made clear, I am pleased that the main criterion is that the debt relief benefits the poor, with governments of HIPC countries producing poverty reduction strategies to qualify for their relief.
The internationally agreed conditions for debt relief do not discriminate between good and bad stewardship of aid in the past. In many cases, the indebtedness will have arisen, in part, from bad stewardship of aid and other resources. Regardless of past performance, very poor, heavily indebted countries can qualify for the initiative. The key test is whether current governments have demonstrated a commitment to sound policies and poverty reduction, which will include the effective use of aid resources. The HIPC initiative requires a track record of three years before countries start getting their debt relief.
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