| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jun 2003 : Column 97W—continued
Further Education
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Northern Ireland strategy for the further education sector will be published. [120940]
Jane Kennedy: The Department intends to publish the proposals for the strategy of further education in Autumn 2003.
Irish Language
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public expenditure has been awarded to groups and individuals involved in the Irish Language Medium in each of the last five years. [112351]
Angela Smith: There is no standard definition of groups and individuals involved in the Irish Language Medium. It is not always possible to identify separately the Irish language related element, if any, of funding. However, available information for Departmental Programme Expenditure on programmes with some Irish language dimension and for funding provided to the North/South Language Body for the promotion of the Irish Language, is shown in the table.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 3,950,006.00 |
| 1998–99 | 6,720,730.00 |
| 1999–2000 | 10,151,114.28 |
| 2000–01 | 7,444,440.22 |
| 2001/02 | 7,003,543.02 |
(20) Department of Education expenditure on Irish medium education is included in these amounts.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 1,803,000.00 |
| 2001–02 | 2,175,000.00 |
Irish/Ulster Scots Languages
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department on promoting (a) the Irish language and (b) the Ulster Scots language in the last 12 months for which records are available. [121085]
Angela Smith: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is the Department with lead responsibility for language policy in Northern Ireland. It had no direct expenditure on the promotion of either the Irish of Ulster-Scots language in 2002–03.
Juvenile Justice Centre, County Down
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Juvenile Justice Centre at Lisnevin, Millisle, County Down will close; why the closure has been delayed; how many admissions there have been to Lisnevin since November 2000; and if he will make a statement. [121587]
30 Jun 2003 : Column 98W
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Juvenile Justice Centre at Lisnevin, Millisle, County Down will close by the end of August 2003 following the transfer of the children during that month to the newly refurbished accommodation in Bangor. Ultimately, the closure of Lisnevin is dependent on ensuring the provision of safe and secure accommodation, and appropriate facilities and staffing levels at the centre in Bangor. While this has taken longer than originally anticipated because of the complexity of the refurbishment exercise, the additional time is being used to good effect in ensuring that these necessary arrangements are in place.
Since November 2000, there have been 695 admissions to Lisnevin.
A statement will be made announcing the opening of the refurbished centre and the closure of Lisnevin nearer the time.
Mental Health
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) staffing and (b) financial resources have been provided in order to execute the Mental Health Review; and if he will make a statement. [122349]
Angela Smith: The Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability in Northern Ireland is being supported by a team of five civil servants, all of whom are working on the project full-time. In the current financial year, some £250,000 is available to the Review, excluding the cost of these civil service staff.
MOT
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the failure rates at Vehicle Inspection centres were (a) before and (b) after the introduction of the new computerised testing system. [121613]
Angela Smith: The percentage of vehicles presented for a re-test in 2000–01, the last full year prior to the installation of the new computerised testing equipment was 20 per cent. With the installation of the new equipment now substantially completed, the re-test rate is 22 per cent.
The number of full tests and re-tests carried out by the by the Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency over the period in question is set out in the following table:
| Year | Number offull tests | Number ofre-tests | Percentage of re-tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 439,746 | 89,152 | 20 |
| 2001–02 | 463,386 | 95,015 | 21 |
| 2002–03 | 483,776 | 106,669 | 22 |
| 2003–04(21) | 81,248 | 18,171 | 22 |
(21) 1 April 2003 to 31 May 2003
Northern Ireland Youth Forum
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the basis of the decision to invite the Northern Ireland Youth Forum to
30 Jun 2003 : Column 99W
conduct an external study as part of the review into post-primary education in Northern Ireland; and whether the Youth Council was involved in the review. [120948]
Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education adopted a multi-stranded approach to the consultation on the Burns' Report to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to express their views, including commissioning the Northern Ireland Youth Forum to undertake qualitative research into the views of 14 to 19-year-olds through a series of focus groups broadly representative of the population. The Youth Council was not involved in the review.
Peace II Initiative
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those groups which have received funding under the Peace II initiative in (a) Belfast and (b) Northern Ireland. [120619]
Mr. Pearson: The number of fraud cases detected in EU Programmes and Initiatives where legal action has been taken against projects and the amount involved for each year is as follows:
| Number of fraud cases | Amount involved (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 | 1211.19 |
| 1998 | 3 | 12,139.63 |
| 1999 | 7 | 34,699.81 |
| 2000 | 11 | 34,883.08 |
| 2001 | 4 | 92,197.94 |
| 2002 | 4 | 22,800.21 |
| 2003 | 2 | 3,960.00 |
Portadown Parade
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of policing the Junior Orange parade in Portadown in (a) the morning and (b) the afternoon of Saturday 31 May; and how many personnel from (i) the Police Service of Northern Ireland, (ii) the Army and (iii) other agencies were involved in policing the event. [121533]
Jane Kennedy: At the Junior Order parade in Portadown on Saturday 31 May 2003, 159 police personnel were deployed for the morning parade and 205 for the evening parade. The total cost for policing the event on the day was £67,000. This figure does not include time spent in preparation and consultation.
There were approximately 250 Army personnel in support of the police.
Post Office Card Accounts
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received from postmasters in Northern Ireland regarding the introduction of Post Office card accounts. [120903]
Mr. Spellar: There have been no recent representations from postmasters in Northern Ireland, either individually or collectively, regarding this matter.
30 Jun 2003 : Column 100W
Presidential Visit
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs to the PSNI were of the security measures put in place for the visit of President Bush to Hillsborough, County Down. [120362]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The total cost to the PSNI concerning the visit of President Bush to Hillsborough, County Down was £368,749. There is no means to separate the costs in relation to security measures.
Primary/Secondary Transfer
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the composition of the working group established by the Department of Education to formulate proposals on the way forward for transfer procedure from primary to secondary education. [121453]
Jane Kennedy: The Group is chaired by Steve Costello who has broad experience in business and education and the members have been drawn from the main representative organisations and managing authorities that will be responsible for developing and implementing future arrangements: Education and Library Boards, Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, Governing Bodies Association of Voluntary Grammar Schools, Trustees of Catholic Voluntary Schools, Teachers' Unions, Transferor Representative's Council (representing the three main Protestant churches), the Integrated sector, the Irish-medium sector, Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment and the Further Education sector. Members were chosen because of the range and depth of their knowledge and experience of the education system in Northern Ireland and include four former or practising principals and a Deputy Director of a Further Education College.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |