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19 May 2003 : Column 594W—continued

Oversight Commissioner

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days the Oversight Commissioner for Policy in Northern Ireland has spent in Northern Ireland in each year since his appointment; and what the total amount paid to him has been to date. [113871]

Jane Kennedy: I assume the hon. Gentleman is referring to the Oversight Commissioner for Policing.

Since his appointment, in May 2000, to the post of the Oversight Commissioner, Mr. Constantine has spent 99 days in Northern Ireland.

The breakdown of these days is as follows:

2000: 27 days


2001: 35 days


2002: 28 days


2003: 9 days (to 7 May)

In addition, he has been engaged in Commission duties in the US, for example in the preparation of his reports. The total number of days, including days spent in Northern Ireland, is 309.

The Oversight Commissioner's total remuneration to date is £191,981.13.

19 May 2003 : Column 595W

Personal Security

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria he uses to determine who shall be given personal protection in Northern Ireland. [112903]

Jane Kennedy: The provision of personal protection by police officers in Northern Ireland is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

Police Ombudsman

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings he has had with the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman during the last six months. [109046]

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with the Police Ombudsman during the last six months. However, I met with the Ombudsman on 26 November 2002, 19 February 2003 and 20 March 2003, and regular contact with the Ombudsman's office is maintained through officials of the Northern Ireland Office.

Post Mortems

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) organs, (b) blocks and (c) slides from hospital post mortems are kept separate from coroners' post mortems. [113371]

Mr. Browne: Organs, blocks and slides retained following hospital post mortems are archived with those retained following coroners' post mortems performed by hospital pathologists. Measures are in place to ensure that the origin of each organ, block or slide is easily identifiable. The State Pathologist holds a separate archive of organs, blocks and slides relating to coroners' post mortems.

Prisons (Self-Harm)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many self-harm incidents were recorded in Northern Ireland Prison Service accommodation in each establishment in each of the last five years. [110452]

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is set out in the following tables.

Hydebank Wood

	Number of self-inflicted injuries
1998–99	23
1999–2000	7
2000–01	8
2001–02	26
2002–03	69

19 May 2003 : Column 596W

Maghaberry

	Number of self-inflicted injuries
1998–99	66
1999–2000	55
2000–01	60
2001–02	62
2002–03	72

Magilligan

	Number of self-inflicted injuries
1998–99	8
1999–2000	22
2000–01	10
2001–02	5
2002–03	n/a

Research and Development

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Government funding has been provided for research and development spending in the private sector in each Northern Ireland constituency over the last five years. [112352]

Mr. Pearson: Government funding in Northern Ireland to the private sector for research and development is channelled mainly through Invest NI. Since 1998–99, some £37,757,019 has been provided by Invest NI (and prior to its formation in 2002 by its predecessor bodies) to support research and development activities in the private sector. This is detailed by constituency in the following table. This funding has been made available against total commitments over the period by Invest NI (and its predecessor bodies) of some £62,735,441, and has primarily been aimed at supporting commercially focussed research projects and the development of an improved research infrastructure.

£

	Total Spend
Parliamentary Constituency	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	Grand Total
Belfast East	726,529	667,998	1,250,079	266,595	426,242	3,337,443
Belfast North	302,446	209,063	156,582	417,696	586,620	1,672,407
Belfast South	623,456	1,688,742	692,583	366,786	947,995	4,319,562
Belfast West	176,054	183,668	181,855	376,509	438,974	1,357,060
East Antrim	1,634,546	347,051	276,004	188,856	923,755	3,370,212
East Londonderry	1,342,260	171,422	28,766	138,612	(25)285,669	1,966,729
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	305,648	313,033	432,731	279,156	228,980	1,559,548
Foyle	866,844	594,642	127,167	345,264	214,547	2,148,464
Lagan Valley	2,098,708	281,168	332,491	325,900	326,973	3,365,240
Mid Ulster	356,232	333,077	342,743	562,050	392,521	1,986,623
Newry and Armagh	290,622	278,699	156,836	469,398	300,559	1,496,114
North Antrim	299,697	138,549	148,838	321,172	246,212	1,154,468
North Down	168,899	136,485	74,491	14,561	43,371	437,807
South Antrim	2,487,334	885,523	378,983	1,339,077	708,793	5,799,710
South Down	51,093	31,406	59,503	5,058	9,874	156,934
Strangford	204,558	158,440	144,923	129,206	195,920	833,047
Upper Bann	574,328	303,860	199,979	71,070	474,919	1,624,156
West Tyrone	184,034	320,035	240,697	160,208	289,521	1,194,495
Grand Total	12,693,288	7,042,861	5,225,251	5,777,174	7,041,445	(25)37,780,019

⁽²⁵⁾ Includes £23,000 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure funding

19 May 2003 : Column 597W

Royal Irish Regiment

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with Sinn Fein on the future use of the home battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment in security duties in Northern Ireland. [110789]

Jane Kennedy: I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings under exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Security Situation (North Belfast)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in North Belfast. [112613]

Jane Kennedy: The Government condemns the recent attack by dissident republicans on the constituency office of the hon. Gentleman. The police are continuing to investigate this incident to bring those responsible to justice. Such an attack is an attack on the political process.

Loyalist paramilitary attacks in the area have reduced significantly since the UDA announced an end to their internal feud. Increased co-operation between the police and local community representatives in the area has assisted in the easing of tensions at interfaces.

Special Advisers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the salary bill was for special advisers in his Department in 2002–03; and what it is expected to be in 2003–04. [108509]

Mr. Paul Murphy: In 2002–03 the estimated total expenditure on salaries in the Northern Ireland Office for the two special advisers was £90,068.

As there is currently one special adviser to the Secretary of State, we would expect the salary bill in 2003–04 to be approximately half that of the previous year.

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed by his Department. [106283]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The following number of staff were employed within the Northern Ireland Office and its Agencies and NDPBs, as at 1 January 2003.

19 May 2003 : Column 598W

Full-time equivalent numbers

1,449 Northern Ireland Civil Servants


174 Home Civil Servants


1,764 Prison Grades


1 special adviser

Actual staff numbers

1,525 Northern Ireland Civil Servants


185 Home Civil Servants


1,764 Prison Grades


1 special adviser

Within the Northern Ireland Administration on 1 January 2003 there were 9,848 staff (full-time equivalents) employed. This figure excludes staff employed in Agencies.

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