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NORTHERN IRELAND

Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many and what proportion of letters

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received by his Department between 20 June and 20 July were replied to (a) in under 15, (b) in under 20, (c) in under 30, (d) in under 40 and (e) in over 40 working days; [18587]

(2) how many, and what proportion of letters received by the Department from right hon. and hon. Members between 20 June and 20 July were replied to in (a) under 15, (b) under 20, (c) under 30, (d) under 40 and (e) over 40 working days. [22003]

Dr. John Reid: The information is as follows:

(a) in under 15 working days—21 letters—55 per cent.

(b) in under 20 working days—six letters—16 per cent.

(c) in under 30 working days—five letters—13 per cent.

(d) in under 40 working days—three letters—8 per cent.

(e) in over 40 working days—three letters—8 per cent.

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters his Department received from hon. and right hon. Members between 20 June and 20 July. [18567]

Dr. John Reid: I received 38 letters from Members of Parliament in this period.

Parliamentary Questions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of parliamentary questions replied to by his Department were the subject of a holding answer in the last three sessions of Parliament. [22021]

Dr. John Reid: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Police

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Police Reserve are stationed at each police station; and what percentage this represents of the total number of officers posted at these respective stations. [20373]

Jane Kennedy: Under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information it would be inappropriate to comment.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to introduce the Airwave system of communication to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [20368]

Jane Kennedy: There are no plans to introduce the Airwave system of communications to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. However, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is planning to procure its own digital trunked radio system in partnership with other emergency services in Northern Ireland.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many emblems were (a) produced and (b) published for consultation as the new badge for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [20269]

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Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State commissioned a number of designers to come forward with a range of proposals. The process involved the development of a number of design concepts and themes. In all about seven different themes were explored.

Seven illustrative designs were published to assist consultation on the draft Emblems and Flags Regulations.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will place the minutes of the Northern Ireland Police Authority in the public domain; what measures he has taken to ensure meetings of the PSNI Policing Board are open to the public; and how reports of Policing Board meetings will be published. [17759]

Jane Kennedy: Minutes of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland's meetings with the Chief Constable have been published since 1997 under the Authority's Code of Openness.

Paragraph 19 of Schedule 1 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act requires the Policing Board to hold at least 10 public meetings each year. The first public board meeting was held on 7 November at the board's headquarters in Belfast.

The board is currently establishing its committee structures and will formulate a policy on how reports of its meetings will be published.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average cost is per applicant to the new police service of Northern Ireland recruitment competition. [14048]

Jane Kennedy: The recruitment agent is contracted to run two recruitment competitions, with the costs spread across both competitions. It is not therefore possible to quantify the cost per applicant in the first competition alone.

Stamp Duty

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria were used to identify the wards in Northern Ireland in which stamp duty will no longer be paid on properties up to the value of £150,000. [20372]

Mr. Boateng: I have been asked to reply.

The qualifying areas were identified by reference to "Measures of Deprivation in Northern Ireland 2001".

Paramilitary Violence

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on present levels of (a) terrorist violence and (b) community unrest. [18881]

Jane Kennedy: We continue to monitor the activities of all paramilitary groups who are on ceasefire. The loyalist UDA/UFF, and the LVF, were specified on 23 October, and a threat remains from disaffected elements within loyalism who continue with their campaign to disrupt the peace process. The ceasefires of

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the main republican paramilitary groups are believed to be holding though there is a significant threat from dissident republicans. Community tensions remain high throughout Northern Ireland, but more particularly, within interface areas in north Belfast where there have been ongoing sectarian attacks carried out by rival factions on both sides of the community.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

UK Caribbean Overseas Territories (HIV/AIDS)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 776W, if she will outline the conclusions reached at the CARICOM meeting held in St. Lucia in November regarding future HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation programmes in (a) the Turks and Caicos, (b) the UK Virgin Islands, (c) Montserrat, (d) Anguilla and (e) US Virgin Islands of the Caribbean. [21390]

Clare Short: The CARICOM meeting held in St. Lucia last month focused on the revision of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS to take account of the outcome of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS and the Nassau Declaration of the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in July this year. It also discussed the need to develop an appropriate structure to co-ordinate the implementation of the Regional Strategic Plan. DFID has offered support to the CARICOM Secretariat in both of these areas. The St. Lucia meeting did not specifically discuss country level programmes.

We are currently funding a £516,000 project with the Caribbean Regional Epidemiological Centre (CAREC) to strengthen HIV/AIDS/STD case management, support the development of behavioural, communications and information interventions for vulnerable groups, strengthen the management of national AIDS programmes and improve epidemiological surveillance in the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories. Montserrat, Anguilla, the British Virgin Island and the Turks and Caicos Islands are the primary beneficiaries of this project. The CAREC programme forms a key component of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and a £1.7 million extension of our support, taking it to 2005, is currently being developed in collaboration with CAREC.

Zimbabwe (Malnutrition)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of deaths from malnutrition in Zimbabwe in 2001; and if she will make a statement. [21519]

Clare Short: According to a national survey carried out by the Ministry of Health in 2000, 29 per cent. of children aged six months to six years were chronically malnourished. However, the situation is deteriorating. A recent World Food Programme assessment concluded that due to the combined effects of the highest incidence rate of HIV/AIDS in the world (35 per cent. of the population are infected), the deteriorating economic situation and reduction in food production, approximately 35 per cent. of the population, or about 700,000 people, now have inadequate income to procure sufficient food to meet

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basic needs. The UK Government have committed £4 million to supplementary feeding programmes working through non-governmental channels.

Parliamentary Questions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of parliamentary questions replied to by her Department were the subject of a holding answer in the last three Sessions of Parliament. [22024]

Clare Short: Over the last three Sessions of Parliament 20 per cent. of parliamentary questions put down to my Department have been the subject of a holding reply.

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