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4 Mar 2003 : Column 924W—continued

NORTHERN IRELAND

Aggregates Tax

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has put in place to assess the impact of the aggregates tax on companies in Northern Ireland. [97013]

Mr. Pearson: Officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel are passing information to HM Customs and Excise on the prevailing conditions within the aggregates industry since the introduction of the Tax. However, responsibility for policy regarding the Aggregates Tax rests with HM Treasury/Customs and Excise.

Areas of Special Scientific Interest

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the European-recognised Area of Special Scientific Interest sites in Northern Ireland. [97942]

Angela Smith: There are two classes of site recognised for their scientific interest at the European level: Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the Habitats Directive (1992); and Special Protection Areas (SPA) under the Birds Directive (1979).

Final agreement on the UK list of candidate SAC has not yet been reached with the European Commission. Among those proposed for the UK, the following sites are in Northern Ireland.










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The sites classified as SPAs are:













Banking

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons banking institutions in Northern Ireland were excluded from examination

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and control by the Director General of Fair Trading, with particular reference to excessive charging for current accounts; and if he will make a statement. [96746]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.

The Competition Commission, in its report on the supply of banking services to SMEs, made an adverse public interest finding in relation to the charging of excessive prices and therefore the making of excessive profits by the largest four clearing groups operating in England and Wales. These were HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and RBSG. The Fair Trading Act 1973 does not empower the Secretary of State to impose remedies on a company in the absence of an adverse finding. The Director General of Fair Trading was therefore required to seek undertakings in relation to interest on current accounts in surplus, or provision of free money transmission services, from these four banks only in respect of their operations in England and Wales. The conclusions of the Commission's reasoning is reported at paragraphs 2.418 to 2.431 and 2.490 to 2.495 of its report.

Belfast City Airport

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether public consultation will take place prior to the proposed increase in flights into and out of Belfast City Airport. [99412]

Angela Smith: The Department of the Environment's Planning Service and Belfast City Airport have a planning agreement, signed in January 1997, under Article 40 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. This agreement includes controls on operating hours to restrict scheduled flights to between 06.30 hours and 21.30 hours. The agreement makes provision for delayed flights to arrive between 21.30 hours and 23.59 hours.

To date, no formal approach has been made to Planning Service seeking provision to be made for later flights. Upon receipt of an application to amend the present planning agreement governing the operation of Belfast City Airport, the Department of the Environment would examine the application on its merits. In particular, this would involve considering whether a new planning agreement was required and the most appropriate method of dealing with the application, including the possibility of holding a Public Inquiry.

Competition Commission

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the recommendations of the Competition Commission in respect of the eight clearing banking institutions in the United Kingdom will apply to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [96747]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.

The Competition Commission made adverse public interest findings about eight leading clearing banks in respect of their operations in the UK. These banks have provided my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer with behavioural undertakings to remedy the adverse effects. Ministers

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announced on 31 October that they had accepted these undertakings, which apply to their operations throughout the United Kingdom.

Diabetes

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of diabetes and its associated complications to the health service in Northern Ireland. [98311]

Mr. Browne: The information on which to base such an estimate is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to tackle domestic violence in Northern Ireland. [97743]

Mr. Browne: The regional forum on domestic violence provides the focal point for taking forward issues on domestic violence in Northern Ireland. Much of the work of the forum is carried out by working groups on inter-agency co-operation; criminal justice; education and training; research and information; work with churches and most recently, child protection issues. Local inter-agency groups are also established in all eleven Health and Social Services Community Trusts.

The Northern Ireland Office also is currently co-ordinating, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Departments, the development of a strategy to tackle violence against women inNorthern Ireland. The strategy is due for publication in Spring 2003 and will look at a range of crimes, including domestic violence, where women are predominately the victim.

In addition, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's homelessness Strategy and Services Review has been developed in acknowledgment of the need to help prevent homelessness resulting from domestic violence, help victims escape such situations through the delivery of adequate accommodation and support services and help support victims upon being re-housed.

Education Strategy

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions have occurred between the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Learning regarding development of a strategy on educational provision for 14 to 19-year-olds. [100066]

Jane Kennedy: A series of discussions has taken place between the two Departments to define the issues in the 14–19 phase of education and, to consider a conjoint approach to future provision.

Energy Contracts

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce provisions to enable the buyout of long-term energy contracts through (a) a bond mechanism, (b) low-cost loans and (c) another mechanism; and if he will make a statement. [97894]

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Mr. Pearson: I am fully committed to pursuing and evaluating options and mechanisms for reducing energy costs in Northern Ireland. This process is not solely or specifically focused on buying out long-term contracts and includes a thorough examination of views and proposals on more efficient means of financing energy assets and contracts, many of which are already financed by bond arrangements. I have allocated a high priority to this exercise and my officials are working closely with the Regulator in defining possible mechanisms.

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