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24 Mar 2003 : Column 51W—continued
Student Debt
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on levels of student debt in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [103630]
Jane Kennedy: The current average annual amount of student loan borrowed by Northern Ireland students is £2,784. The introduction of non-repayable bursaries of up to £1,500 a year for students from low-income families from September 2002, with a commensurate reduction in the student loan is aimed at reducing the amount of debt which students would accumulate. The maximum bursary is to be increased to £2,000 from September 2003.
Terrorism
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the nature and level of the present threat from dissident republican terrorists in border regions of Northern Ireland; and what criteria are employed when (a) closing military bases and (b) ceasing military operations in those areas. [103416]
Jane Kennedy: Dissident republicans currently remain a threat to the peace process although most of their activities have been thwarted, intercepted or nullified by the security forces. Dissidents have been
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responsible for two attacks in border areas this year. Their latest attack was on 10 February when a device exploded outside Enniskillen Town Hall. Any decisions on adjustments to the security profile are taken on the advice of the Chief Constable in consultation with the GOC.
Vehicle Fleets
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the annual rate is at which his Department renews its vehicle fleet, by (a) volume and percentage for each category of vehicle, (b) type of power unit and (c) type of fuel, and what progress has been made in replacing vehicles on a lower emissions basis in each of the last three years. [96552]
Mr. Paul Murphy: For the Northern Ireland Office the information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the number of vehicles disposed of or purchased by the Northern Ireland Office during the 2001–02 financial year by category. Figures for Agencies and NDPBs are not included as these are not held centrally.
| Cars | Other vehicles | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of vehicles at 31 March 2001 | 17 | 4 |
| Petrol | 16 | |
| Diesel | 1 | 4 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
| Total number disposed in 2001–02 | 10 | 1 |
| Petrol | 9 | |
| Diesel | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
| Total number purchased in 2002–03 | 1 | 1 |
| Petrol | 1 | 1 |
| Diesel | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
| Total number leased at 31 March 2001 | 9 | 0 |
| Petrol | 8 | 0 |
| Diesel | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
Vehicles are selected and purchased on their ability to meet particular needs.
Consideration will be given to leasing lower emission vehicles for despatch services when they next fall to be changed.
Within the Northern Ireland Administration the information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows information on the number of vehicles disposed of or purchased by the Northern Ireland Administration during the 2001–02 financial year by category. Figures for Agencies and NDPBs are not included as these are not held centrally.
Although the Northern Ireland Administration has no central policy on the replacement of vehicles on a lower emission basis, lowering the level of emissions is an important consideration when replacing the cars.
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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Child Obesity
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department is taking to reduce the incidence of clinical obesity in children, broken down by type of obesity; and how much her Department has spent on such measures in the last five years. [103854]
Mr. Caborn: The Government's Game Plan report recommends that participation needs to rise across the population and targets young people as a priority group. The Government plan to invest £459 million over the next three years in PE and sport in schools to increase youth participation and help combat obesity. Over the last five years £150,624,745 has been distributed by Sport England in community revenue Lottery awards targeted at young people. Initiatives to increase physical activity are not broken down by impact on type of obesity.
National Lottery
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants have been given to Chorley constituency in each of the last five years; and for what purpose. [104072]
Mr. Caborn: The Department does not make grants directly and we do not hold central information on other grants given by our non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
According to the information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, there have been the following awards to the Chorley constituency:
| Calendar Year | Amount (£) | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 41,445.00 | 8 |
| 1998 | 694,695.00 | 6 |
| 1999 | 519,928.00 | 22 |
| 2000 | 655,272.00 | 35 |
| 2001 | 2,825,727.00 | 35 |
The grants are used to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, and to champion the creative and leisure industries.
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Youth Sports
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many youth sports teams there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age group of team members and (b) sport. [103852]
Mr. Caborn: This information is not collected centrally.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on support for youth sports (a) teams, (b) training and (c) organisations; and what other expenditure her Department has made on support for youth sports in the last 10 years. [103853]
Mr. Caborn: The information is not available in the form requested.
The Government announced in October 2002 that it was investing £459 million in physical education, school sport and club links in the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 as follows:
- £115 million to maintain and expand the network of specialist sports colleges.
£224 million to expand the network of school sport co-ordinators (plus £20 million in 2001–02 and 2002–03).
£12 million to expand the Step into Sport programme (£3 million in 2002–03).
£60 million for the Community Club Development programme.
£10 million for Sporting Playgrounds.
£28 million for coaching.
£10 million for club and talent development.
- £75.5 million for Active Sports Programme.
£24 million for School Sport Co-ordinators.
£23 million for Awards for All
TRANSPORT
Radars
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the two new radars for the London zone. [104341]
Mr. Jamieson: The additional funding secured earlier this week will allow National Air Traffic Services Ltd. to carry through a major 10-year investment programme that will include the renewal and upgrading of all NATS' radar facilities in the UK.
Air Safety
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Civil Aviation Authority have taken to ensure that (a) aerodrome operators and (b) air traffic service providers have the required expertise and resources to undertake (i) aerodrome safeguarding and (ii) design of instrument approach procedures. [103994]
Mr. Jamieson: In preparation for the transfer of responsibility for aerodrome safeguarding, the Civil Aviation Authority has run training and refresher
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courses for airport operators and their air traffic control providers, and has encouraged them to build up their expertise through active involvement in the safeguarding process. It has published new safeguarding maps, a guidance document, technical advice notes and an information leaflet, and has made its database of safeguarding cases available to the operators. As part of its regulatory function it will conduct periodic audits of the safeguarding procedures and cases at individual airports.
Air traffic services providers have always performed the safeguarding of facilities and services within their interest (i.e. technical sites) and continue to do so.
To date the CAA has not taken any formal action to transfer responsibility for the design of instrument approach procedures, other than initiating consultation on a proposal. The recently issued "Regulatory Impact Assessment For The Purpose To Amend The Air Navigation Order 2000 To Permit The Transfer Of Instrument Flight Procedure Design To Industry" outlines a list of potential requirements for third party designers against which the CAA would assess an individual's or an organisation's competence to engage in the task of instrument approach procedure design.
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