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31 Mar 2003 : Column 533W—continued
Murder Investigation
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that there is a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding the murder of the son of Mr. David Wright that is fully compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [106064]
Jane Kennedy: The government does not believe that there is a continuing obligation upon it to hold a new, article 2 compliant investigation into a past incident where there has already been an investigation. This position is presently being challenged in the courts, but no final judgment has been reached.
However, the government is determined to get to the bottom of allegations of collusion once and for all. That is why, in May 2002, the British and Irish governments appointed the Canadian Judge Peter Cory to look at allegations into six high profile cases, including that of Billy Wright, with a view to advising what more needs to be done to establish the truth.
31 Mar 2003 : Column 534W
If Justice Cory, an independent judge of international standing, recommends that a public inquiry needs to be established into any of those cases, then that is what the government will do.
NHS Patients (Treatment Arrangements)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many NHS patients from Northern Ireland have been sent outside the Province to (a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) Great Britain and (c) elsewhere over the past year; and what the total cost incurred has been as a result. [105190]
Mr. Browne: The information is as follows:
- (a) In the past year 199 patients from Northern Ireland have been sent to the Republic of Ireland for treatment.
(b) In the past year 1,074 patients from Northern Ireland have been sent to Great Britain for treatment.
(c) In the past year one patient from Northern Ireland was sent outside of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland for treatment.
North/South Implementation Bodies
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed in each of the North/South Implementation Bodies; and what the staff costs were in each year since the bodies were established. [100723]
Mr. Browne: Details of the staff employed in the North/South Implementation Bodies as at 28 February 2003 together with staff costs are provided as follows.
| Body | Permanent | Secondees | Temporary | Placements | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission | 32 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 37 |
| Waterways Ireland | 299 | 2 | 15 | — | 316 |
| The Trade and Business Development Body | 35.6 | 1 | — | — | 36.6 |
| The Special EU Programmes Body | 27 | 3 | — | — | 30 |
| The North/South Language Body | 36 | 2 | 2 | — | 40 |
| The Food Safety Promotion Board | 20 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 27 |
| Grand total | 486.6 |
| Body | 2000(15) | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission | 776,772 | 868,930 | 864,062 |
| Waterways Ireland | 3,600,000 | 5,600,000 | (16)5,600,000 |
| The Trade and Business Development Body | 479,134 | 906,028 | 1,123,446 |
| The Special EU Programmes Body | 433,409 | 587,574 | 942,418 |
| The North/South Language Body | 1,158,516 | 1,232,190 | 1,325,374 |
| The Food Safety Promotion Board | 139,000' | 319,000 | 471,000 |
(15) Costs relating to 2000 cover the period 3 December 1999 to 31 December 2000.
(16) Estimate.
Online Sales/Purchases
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by his Department in each of the last five years. [97445]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The following table sets out what products, goods were bought online by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years. There have been no services bought online and no online sales.
31 Mar 2003 : Column 535W
| Financial year | Products/goods |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | Specialist electronic components and IT equipment |
| 1999–2000 | Specialist electronic components and IT equipment |
| 2000–01 | Specialist electronic components and IT equipment |
| 2001–02 | Specialist electronic components and IT equipment |
| 2002–03(17) | Specialist electronic components and IT equipment |
(17) To date.
In addition, the Northern Ireland Office placed electronic orders via EROS (Electronic Requisitioning and Ordering System).
EROS is not internet based but is a method for sending electronic orders, via telephone lines to contracted suppliers.
The types of products ordered electronically on EROS over the last five years are as follows:
- Office equipment and machinery
PCs and printers
Miscellaneous computer equipment
Reprographics
Stationery, IT consumables, paper and printed material
Publications.
| Financial year | Products/goods | Services |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | IT software/hardware | — |
| 1999–2000 | IT software/hardware | — |
| 2000–01 | IT software/hardwareBooks Stationery | Flights |
| 2001–02 | IT software/hardwareBooksStationery | Flights |
| 2002–03(18) | IT software/hardwareBooksStationery | FlightsHotelAccommodation |
(18) To date
In addition, the Northern Ireland Administration placed electronic orders via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
EDI is not internet based but is a method for sending electronic orders via telephone lines to contracted suppliers.
The types of products ordered electronically on EDI over the last five years are as follows:
- Bitumen
Courier services
Miscellaneous computer equipment
Office equipment and machinery
Office machinery maintenance
Parcel distribution
PCs and printers
Postage services
Printing services
Publications
Reprographics
Road signs
Stationery, IT consumables, paper and printed material
31 Mar 2003 : Column 536W
Storage and distribution
Street lighting
Tools, equipment and building materials
Vehicle Maintenance.
Organic Farming
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards the target for the area of land converted to organic farming by 2006. [104795]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Rural Development Plan 2000–2006 included a target that, by 2006, 1,000 farmers would be managing 30,000 hectares organically. At present some 140 producers have 5,200 hectares under organic management.
Programme for International Student Assessment
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the objective is of the Programme for International Student Assessment; when it was authorised; and by whom. [104511]
Jane Kennedy: The international objective of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is to measure how well young people approaching the end of compulsory schooling are prepared to meet the challenges of today's knowledge societies. Through PISA, OECD member countries are collaborating to improve comparative indicators on the performance of education systems. Research and statistics provide the basis for sound, evidence-based policy making. The specific objective of Northern Ireland's participation, over and above enabling UK figures to be produced, is to build up a time series, independent of GCSE results and capable of international comparison, of data on how well pupils in Northern Ireland are performing in reading, maths and science.
Participation by Northern Ireland in PISA 2000 and PISA 2003 was respectively authorised by my predecessors: Tony Worthington in October 1997 and Martin McGuinness in September 2000.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which schools in Northern Ireland participated in the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA); on what basis these schools were selected; and what average length of time was taken for each school to complete the PISA. [104512]
Jane Kennedy: In keeping with the National Statistics Code of Practice, the identities of schools taking part in the PISA survey are confidential to the Office for National Statistics and the Central Survey Unit of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
Schools were selected at random in proportion to the number of their pupils born in 1987. The list of schools was first stratified according to the following:
- School type (secondary/grammar/independent)
Secondary and grammar schools were grouped further according to their GCSE results.
All the sub-groups thus produced were divided according to the five Education and Library Board areas.
31 Mar 2003 : Column 537W
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost is of the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment. [104513]
Jane Kennedy: The estimated financial cost to the Department of Education is £267,000.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether parents were informed of their child's participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment; and how parental consent was obtained. [104515]
Jane Kennedy: Each school that agreed to take part in the study nominated a 'School Co-ordinator' who was supplied with a 'School Co-ordinator's Manual' describing all the procedures associated with the study, from the build-up to the survey through to the administration of the test. The school co-ordinator was also provided with letters and leaflets for the parents of each child selected to take part in the survey. The letters were provided in unsealed envelopes, giving the school the option of adding a letter of their own or a reply slip. It was for the school to decide whether to send the letter and leaflet by post to the parents, or give them to the pupils to take home. The information for parents included a clear statement of what the survey was about, its voluntary nature, information for parents on how to withdraw their child from the survey, and information on what was involved and how long it would take.
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