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25 Jun 2003 : Column 848W—continued
Irish-medium Schools
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children attend Northern Ireland's Irish medium schools; how many attended in each of the
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last five years; and what the estimated number of children expected to attend is for each of the next ten years, including annual percentage changes. [120941]
Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of children expected to attend Irish Medium schools in the next 10 years is not available. Information for this year and the past five years is as follows:
| Number | Change from previous year (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,375 | +18.7 |
| 1998–99 | 1,512 | +9.6 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,657 | +9.6 |
| 2000–01 | 1,846 | +11.4 |
| 2001–02 | 1,971 | +6.8 |
| 2002–03 | 2,019 | +2.4 |
Nuts
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to ban the sale of products containing nuts in hospitals in Northern Ireland. [120893]
Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has no formal policy about the sale of nuts within the hospital environment. I have no plans at present, therefore, to ban the sale of nuts in hospitals here.
Police Ombudsman
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been made against the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's investigators; what the nature of each complaint was; and what action has been taken in respect of each complaint. [120365]
Jane Kennedy: The Police Ombudsman has advised that, to date, 22 formal complaints have been made against her investigators, three from members of the public and 19 from police officers. It is not the policy for the Police Ombudsman to comment on the details of each complaint. However complaints concern issues such as: the length and nature of the investigation process, the outcome of the process not meeting expectations, and other administrative issues. The action taken in response to a complaint can range from amendments to procedures, through to disciplinary action against staff under the Police Ombudsman's internal disciplinary policy.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland have been dismissed; and what the reasons were. [120366]
Jane Kennedy: The Police Ombudsman has advised that, to date, two members of staff have been dismissed following internal disciplinary investigations. Due to legal and confidential reasons, the Police Ombudsman does not comment on the specific details of each case.
Primary and Post-primary Education
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teachers are expected to be employed
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in (a) primary and (b) post-primary schools in Northern Ireland in each of the next 10 years, including annual percentage changes in each school sector. [120942]
Jane Kennedy: The Department does not project pupil teacher ratios. Accordingly figures on the number of teachers expected to be employed in each of the next 10 years are not available.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are expected to attend (a) primary and (b) post-primary schools in Northern Ireland for each of the next 10 years, including annual percentage changes in each school sector. [120949]
Jane Kennedy: Projected figures are available only up to 2008–09. These are as follows:
| Post-primary schools | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary schools | Grammar | Secondary | |
| 2003–04 | 171,500 | 63,000 | 89,900 |
| Change(21) | -1.5 | -0.2 | -3.0 |
| 2004–05 | 169,100 | 63,000 | 87,600 |
| Change(21) | -1.4 | 0 | -2.6 |
| 2005–06 | 166,400 | 63,000 | 85,600 |
| Change(21) | -1.6 | 0 | -2.3 |
| 2006–07 | 163,000 | 62,900 | 83,500 |
| Change(21) | -1.6 | -0.2 | -2.5 |
| 2007–08 | 161,500 | 63,000 | 81,000 |
| Change(21) | -1.4 | 0.2 | -3 |
| 2008–09 | 158,200 | 63,000 | 79,700 |
| Change(21) | -2 | 0 | -1.6 |
(21) Percentage from previous year
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason parents are not represented on the Costello working group on post-primary education; and if he will make a statement. [120946]
Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education gathered parents' views on the Burns' Report through response forms issued to every household in Northern Ireland and further consulted parents on the way forward through a series of focus groups. The clear message from the focus groups was that parents were satisfied that extensive consultation had taken place and the Department should proceed with developing proposals based on the emerging consensus. The Working Group comprises the main representative organisations and managing authorities that will be responsible for developing and implementing future arrangements and has been charged with taking account of the responses to the consultation on the Burns' Report and providing advice on options for future arrangements for post-primary education.
School Buses
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to tackle overcrowding on school buses in Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to make the wearing of seatbelts compulsory on these buses. [120904]
Jane Kennedy: Safety issues relating to school buses were the subject of an extensive inquiry instigated by the Northern Ireland Assembly's Environment Committee. The Department of the Environment is at present engaged in the early stages of a Regulatory Impact
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Assessment on the recommendations made by the Committee, including the wearing of seatbelts and issues related to overcrowding. The way forward will be considered in light of the findings arising from this exercise.
Water Fluoridation
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the use of fluoride in the water supply in Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to extend such use. [121084]
Angela Smith: Fluoridation is recognised as a safe and effective means of preventing dental decay. Under the Water (Fluoridation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, Health and Social Services Boards can decide whether or not to apply to the Department of Regional Development for the introduction of fluoridation schemes following local consultation and approval from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. There are, however, no schemes here at present and I am not aware of current plans in any Board area to apply for a scheme.
Water Meters
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money was raised in the last financial year in Northern Ireland through water meters. [120622]
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated cost is of installing water meters into each residential home in Northern Ireland; and how long it would take. [120623]
Mr. Spellar: It is estimated that it would cost in the region of £120 million, and take at least some five to 10 years, to install water meters in all domestic properties in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) residential properties and (b) commercial properties have water meters installed in Northern Ireland. [120624]
Mr. Spellar: The information requested is as follows.
Water meters are not installed in properties in Northern Ireland, which are used exclusively for domestic purposes. However around 32,000 properties, which have a mixture of domestic and business use, are metered.
Around 72,000T properties are metered in Northern Ireland. Almost 7,300 of these would be classified as commercial. The remainder are mainly agricultural, industrial, and public sector.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Audit Commission
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many conferences were organised by the Audit Commission in each of the last five years; and what the cost of each was. [113554]
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Yvette Cooper: The information requested is tabled as follows:
| Number of conferences held by the Commission | Total net cost of conferences (at constant 2001–02 prices) (£) | Average cost of each conference (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 21 | 171,800 | 8,180 |
| 1998–99 | 22 | 184,300 | 8,380 |
| 1999–2000 | 50 | 269,100 | 5,380 |
| 2000–01 | 22 | 94,100 | 4,280 |
| 2001–02 | 23 | 137,000 | 5,960 |
The majority of conferences arranged by the Audit Commission are self-financed from fees paid by delegates. The Commission also however arranges a number of free conferences and seminars with the aim of disseminating the findings of their work to target audiences or to consult relevant stakeholders.
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