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Police Ombudsman

11. Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met the police ombudsman to discuss complaints. [125486]

Mr. Ingram: The ombudsman has not met directly with the Secretary of State to discuss complaints.

Paramilitary Violence

12. Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the IRA and Sinn Fein concerning the use of violence against Northern Ireland citizens. [125487]

Mr. Ingram: Ministers meet regularly with representatives of all the political parties in Northern Ireland where a range of issues including paramilitary assaults are discussed. We have consistently called upon those with influence over the paramilitary groups to call a complete cessation to these barbaric acts.

13. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent of (a) punishment beatings and (b) other terrorist activities by Republican paramilitaries since 22 May. [125488]

Mr. Ingram: From 22 May to 11 June this year there were two deaths, two bombings and 12 shooting incidents. In addition there were seven casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks (three by Loyalists and four by Republicans).

23. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment beatings have taken place in the last month. [125500]

Mr. Ingram: During the month of May the number of casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks were 14 shootings (nine by Loyalists and five by Republicans) and 14 assaults (six by Loyalists and eight by Republicans).

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Job Creation

14. Mr. Savidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs have been created in the last six months in Northern Ireland. [125489]

Mr. Mandelson: Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Civic Forum

17. Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when a civic forum is to be established in Northern Ireland. [125492]

Mr. Mandelson: Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Military Structures and Installations

18. Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received concerning the dismantling of military and related structures and installations. [125493]

Mr. Ingram: The Government have received one recent written representation concerning the dismantling of military structures, which are the operational responsibility of the Chief Constable. All decisions with regard to normalisation of security are taken by the Chief Constable in the light of the current threat level.

Young Offenders

19. Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the range of schemes available to deal with young offenders. [125494]

Mr. Ingram: The Criminal Justice Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 was introduced in January 1999 and brought in a new juvenile justice centre order of between six months and two years, half of which is spent in custody and half under close supervision in the community. The community element of the sentence is delivered by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.

A range of programmes for young people, both in custody and in the community have been developed. Programmes such as cognitive behaviour training to tackle offending and the associated causes and problems such as drugs and alcohol misuse, car crime, aggressive behaviour and sex offending, have been developed on a multi- agency basis.

Peace Process

20. Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process. [125495]

Mr. Mandelson: The last few weeks have seen significant progress in the peace progress. On 27 May I signed an order restoring devolution to Northern Ireland with effect from midnight on 29 May. Northern Ireland

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now has a second opportunity for locally accountable government to take responsibility for building stability and prosperity for all the people of Northern Ireland.

Election Fraud and Malpractice

21. Mr. Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking, with what time scale, to prevent fraud and malpractice in elections in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [125497]

Mr. George Howarth: The Government have already introduced legislation to extend the time available to the Chief Electoral Officer to scrutinise absent vote applications, one of the main areas where it is thought that abuse of the system takes place. The provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000 which makes provision for rolling registration will also be extended to Northern Ireland and hence will make the electoral register more accurate. The staffing and other resources of the Chief Electoral Officer are also kept under constant review to ensure they meet changing needs and circumstances. In addition, the Government intend to bring forward other measures which will require legislation by Bill. As already confirmed elsewhere, we hope to find parliamentary time for this before the General Election but the timing will of course depend on the timing of that election.

Police Service

26. Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of the police service in Northern Ireland. [125503]

Mr. Ingram: The Police (Northern Ireland) Bill lays the foundations for a new beginning for policing in Northern Ireland including a widely acceptable, effective and representative police service.

British-Irish Council

27. Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress being made on the British-Irish Council. [125504]

Mr. George Howarth: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe) and for Leeds, Central (Mr. Benn), Official Report, column 327.

Criminal Justice

28. Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress that has been made with the consultation phase of the review of the criminal justice system. [125505]

Mr. Ingram: We have received 60 written responses to the report of the review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland from members of the public. A number of seminars have been organised by the Government Department to facilitate consultation and we are aware that a number of other organisations plan to hold conferences to consider the report's recommendations before the consultation period ends on 29 September 2000.

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Downpatrick Police Station

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the removal of the security fortifications at the Police Station in Downpatrick; and if he will make a statement. [125499]

Mr. Ingram: The security levels which exist at Downpatrick Royal Ulster Constabulary station are currently under review and any action recommended will be taken after this review is completed.

CABINET OFFICE

Pesticides Tax

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what (a) representations her office has received and (b) meetings she has held on the topic of the proposed pesticides tax with (i) the British Agrochemicals Association, (ii) UKASTA, (iii) NOAH, (iv) the National Farmers' Union, (v) the Country Landowners' Association and (vi) agrochemical companies, giving the name of each company, including the dates and duration of the meetings. [126899]

Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.

Ministers and officials have had numerous meetings with representatives of the agrochemicals industry, agriculture and environmental non-governmental organisations, and received a number of representations on a possible pesticides tax and on a voluntary package of measures to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides use.

The Government are currently consulting on a formal set of voluntary proposals which have been published by the British Agrochemicals Association. The Government welcome the views of all interested parties on these proposals and their effectiveness in tackling the environmental impacts of pesticide use.

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