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RUC Reserve
8. Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable about the future of the full-time RUC Reserve. [10855]
Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with the Chief Constable on all manner of policing and security-related matters.
Peace Process
10. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for moving the peace process forward; and if he will make a statement. [10857]
20. Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process. [10868]
Dr. John Reid: In the light of the considerable progress that has been made in recent weeks on decommissioning and in the operation of the devolved institutions, the Government will now work with the parties and with the Irish Government to move quickly ahead with the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement and also to pursue the measures set out in the Weston Park package of proposals.
22. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next expects to meet representatives of republican groups to discuss the peace process. [10870]
Dr. John Reid: I talk to and meet with representatives of all the democratically elected parties in Northern Ireland on a regular basis to discuss and make progress on the peace process.
7 Nov 2001 : Column: 276W
Policing
12. Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the policing of groups and individuals who are not part of a ceasefire. [10859]
Jane Kennedy: The police continue to monitor the activities of such groups and individuals and, where warranted, make them amenable to the law.
Violent Crime
13. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of violent crime in Northern Ireland. [10860]
Jane Kennedy: The term "violent crime" covers offences against the person, sexual offences and robbery. During the year 2000–01 a total of 24,323 violent crimes were recorded in Northern Ireland, an increase of 0.7 per cent. on 1999–2000. Overall, violent crime accounted for 20.3 per cent. of all recorded offences during 2000–01, an increase of 7.9 per cent. on the previous year. A rise in the number of robberies was the main reason for this increase, although on a positive front, there was an 11.8 per cent. decrease in recorded sexual offences. Actual figures for the current year are not yet available.
The Northern Ireland policing plan 2001–02 contains nine objectives for policing. In particular, the specific target relating to the detection rate for violent crime has been increased to 65 per cent. from the 50 per cent. target set for 2000–01. The Government are confident that the Chief Constable is doing everything possible within the resources available to him to reduce and deal with incidents of violent crime in Northern Ireland.
Parades Commission
14. Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress with the review of the Parades Commission. [10861]
Jane Kennedy: As part of the package following the Weston Park talks and the IRA's recent decommissioning of weapons, the Government have confirmed the time is right to proceed with a review of the way in which the Parades Commission operates. We plan to announce the details shortly.
Terrorist and Criminal Violence
16. David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the level of terrorist and criminal violence in Northern Ireland over the last three months. [10864]
Jane Kennedy: Terrorist violence over the last three months has remained at a significant level. The table gives a breakdown of that violence from 1 July 2001 to 26 October 2001. Statistics for criminal violence over the last three months are not readily available.
(4) To 26 October
Note:
Statistics relating to 2001–02 financial year are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
7 Nov 2001 : Column: 277W
Paramilitaries
18. Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made on the disarming of paramilitaries. [10866]
Jane Kennedy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland gave the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner), at column 273W.
21. Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents of violence attributed to (a) republican paramilitaries and (b) loyalist paramilitaries there have been since 1 January. [10869]
Jane Kennedy: The following table provides a breakdown of security situation statistics from 1 January 2001 to 26 October 2001.
| Attribution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalist | Republican | N/K | Total | |
| Number of deaths | 10 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Number of shooting incidents | 190 | 82 | 18 | 290 |
| Number of bombing incidents | 246 | 34 | 15 | 195 |
| Paramilitary style attacks: | ||||
| Casualties as a result of shootings | 99 | 60 | 0 | 159 |
| Casualties as a result of assaults | 75 | 46 | 0 | 121 |
Note:
Statistics relating to the 2001–02 financial year are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
29. Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the position of paramilitary organisations who are not committed to a ceasefire. [10877]
Dr. John Reid: The initial list of specified organisations was made on 30 July 1998. The current list comprises of the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA, the Red Hand Defenders and the Orange Volunteers. On 12 October, it was also necessary for the Secretary of State to add the UDA, UFF and the LVF.
This means that, among other restrictions, early released prisoners associated with those organisations can have their licences suspended and be returned to jail if they continue to engage in paramilitary activity in support of their organisations. Also, under the Terrorism Act 2000, provision relating to charges of membership will also apply.
Electoral Fraud
19. Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he anticipates the new measures to combat electoral fraud will come into force. [10867]
7 Nov 2001 : Column: 278W
Mr. Browne: It is our intention that all the measures proposed by the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Bill, which will provide the chief electoral officer for Northern Ireland with additional functions to address the problem of electoral fraud there, will be in force by May 2003.
Northern Ireland Executive
24. Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to the funding of the Northern Ireland Executive. [10872]
Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has had no recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on overall funding for the Northern Ireland Executive. He is, however, in regular contact with Treasury and Executive Ministers on a range of financial issues relating to Northern Ireland.
IRA Weapons
26. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the number of weapons remaining in the hands of the IRA. [10874]
Jane Kennedy: For obvious reasons, it is not our practice to disclose such intelligence matters. I can, however, say that substantial amounts of illegal firearms, munitions and explosives are held by various paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. That is why we continue to press all groups to decommission their arms.
Organised Crime Taskforce
28. Mr. Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the organised crime taskforce in Northern Ireland. [10876]
Jane Kennedy: The Government remain committed to tackling the organised crime problem in Northern Ireland. The organised crime taskforce and the agencies in Nl are achieving good results.
This week has seen a number of successes against the organised crime gangs who operate in Northern Ireland. In the past two weeks, in two separate raids, £700,00 of drugs were seized and £80,000 of counterfeit goods were confiscated. Last week, a Customs and police operation seized 600,000 duty-free cigarettes, 150 kilos of tobacco, 6,000 litres of alcohol and a huge quantity of illegal fireworks, CDs, videos and counterfeit clothing.
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