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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 9 April 2003
NORTHERN IRELAND
Decommissioning
9. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made in decommissioning terrorist weapons. [107075]
Jane Kennedy: Currently no organisation is in contact with the IICD. I have reiterated on many occasions, and the position remains the same, it is imperative that both republican and loyalist paramilitary organisations complete the transition to exclusively peaceful means, real, total and permanent.
13. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on decommissioning. [107080]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor).
RUC Garden of Remembrance
10. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether representatives from every bereaved family have been invited to the official opening ceremony of the RUC Garden of Remembrance. [107076]
Jane Kennedy: No date has been set yet for the official opening of the Garden of Remembrance. The Trustees of the RUC GC Foundation have advised me that they intend to issue invitations to all the families of murdered officers to the opening ceremony and to special events following the official opening.
Devolution
11. Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent talks he has had with the political parties in Northern Ireland on the future of political institutions. [107078]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (John Robertson).
12. Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had on the prospects for re-establishing the Northern Ireland Assembly. [107079]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (John Robertson).
14. Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent talks he has had with Northern Ireland party leaders on the future of devolution in Northern Ireland. [107081]
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Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (John Robertson).
Coleraine Fire Station
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what dates in the past six months fire pumping appliances at Coleraine Fire Station have been found to be mechanically unsound and unsuitable for use in attending fire calls. [106999]
Mr. Browne: Over the past six months, the two fire appliances stationed at Coleraine Fire Station have been 'off run' due to mechanical defects on a total of five occasions. The longest of these was 37 days and a replacement vehicle was available for the period.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there has been a change in policy on response levels for the Fire Brigade; and whether response times were met at Coleraine Fire Station on (a) 4 March and (b) 7 March. [107000]
Mr. Browne: The Northern Ireland Fire Brigade applies nationally defined standards of fire cover, categorised as A, B, C & D, where A is the highest risk.
On 4 March 2003 fire appliances from Coleraine Fire Station were required to attend one Category C incident, which required an appliance to be at the scene within 8–10 minutes. On this occasion the response time was not met and the appliance arrived 13 minutes from the time of alert.
On the 7 March 2003 there were a total of four incidents, all Category C requiring attendance by appliances from Coleraine Fire Station. On each occasion the first appliance arrived within 8 minutes from the time of the alert.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what mechanical work has been undertaken to the fire pumping appliances located at Coleraine Fire Station in the six months to 7 March 2003. [107001]
Mr. Browne: Over the past six months to 7 March 2003, the following repairs were required to the two appliances stationed at Coleraine:
| Date | Repair |
|---|---|
| 10 September 2002 | Repairs to relay |
| 23 September 2002 | Air leak |
| 18 October 2002 | Air leak |
| 18 November 2002 | Brakes defective |
| 19 November 2002 | Service |
| 20 November 2002 | List from service |
| 21 January 2003 to 26 February 2003 | Accident damage repairs |
| 3 March 2003 | Wailer defective |
| 4 March 2003 | Fail to start |
| 7 March 2003 | Renew Wiring |
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Derryboy Primary School
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects work to commence on the installation of car-parking facilities adjacent to Derryboy Primary Schoool in the South Eastern Education and Library area. [106126]
Jane Kennedy: The South Eastern Education and Library Board are responsible for capital development at Derryboy Primary School. The Board has advised that additional land is required to enable the provision of car parking facilities at the school. The Board has identified a site and is awaiting a valuation from the Valuation and Lands Agency. When the valuation is available, the Board will be able to seek the approval of the Department of Education for the purchase of the site and to consider the project for inclusion in its minor works programme.
Hospitals
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many procedures were postponed at hospitals in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and how many of these postponements resulted from emergency pressures. [106617]
Mr. Browne: Information is not readily available in the form requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used to assess the level of activity at hospitals in Northern Ireland. [106618]
Mr. Browne: Activity levels are assessed in terms of the number of beds and their usage, the number of sessions held and the number of attendances. Detailed definitions of all of the specific measures can be found in the DHSSPS annual Hospital Statistics publication which is available in the Library and from our website http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/stats&research/order.html.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cancellations and postponements of appointments there were at Northern Ireland hospitals in each of the last three years. [106619]
Mr. Browne: Information is not available in the form requested.
Hyster (Craigavon)
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what grants and other financial assistance have been made available to Hyster for the expansion of manufacturing at its Craigavon plant; and what
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assessment has been made of the impact on other Hyster plants in the UK as a result of grants given to support the expansion of manufacturing at its Craigavon plant. [108117]
Mr. Pearson: My officials at Invest NI are in the process of finalising an agreement with NACCO Materials Handling Group, which manufactures a full range of forklift trucks under the Hyster and Yale brands. As that agreement has not yet been signed or approved by the Board of NACCO, I cannot provide you with specific financial information. I can, however, state that this project is not an expansion of current activities, but is aimed at securing and safeguarding current employment levels at Craigavon and an integral part of the appraisal process is to ensure that any proposed assistance does not disadvantage any other area of the UK.
Lisburn Peace and Reconciliation Partnership
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations and projects have received grants from the Lisburn Peace and Reconciliation Partnership in each year since its formation. [106869]
Mr. Pearson: The Lisburn Peace and Reconciliation Partnership was set up to administer a range of Measures under PEACE I and PEACE II Programmes. To date it has allocated funding of £4.47 million.
The attached Annexes details the organisations and amounts which received funding from the PEACE I (Annex A) and PEACE II (Annex B) Programmes. The detail for the PEACE I Programme is only available at organisation and amount awarded level.
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