| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
2 Jul 2003 : Column 331W—continued
Child Support Agency
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many complaints have been made against decisions of the Child Support Agency in the past three years. [122541]
Mr. Spellar: Parents have a right of appeal against the decisions of the Agency in respect of the amount of child maintenance to be paid and information about the numbers of these are shown in the following table. Details of complaints to the Child Support Agency more generally are included.
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appeal requests | 96 | 126 | 148 |
| Number of complaints | 175 | 205 | 173 |
Civil Service
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been ruled ineligible for reserved posts in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in each of the last five years on the grounds that they are Irish citizens. [120107]
Mr. Pearson: The number of candidates rejected because they were not UK citizens is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | 7 |
| 2000–01 | 8 |
| 2001–02 | 12 |
| 2002–03 | 8 |
Information on Irish citizens is not held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Commemorative Plaques
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what arrangements are in place to fund the erection of blue commemorative plaques in Northern Ireland; and how these arrangements differ from those in England; [111636]
2 Jul 2003 : Column 332W
- (2) what the policy and criteria are for the erection of blue plaques to commemorate distinguished citizens in their native localities; [111628]
(3) what the average cost was of erecting a blue commemorative plaque in the last 12 months; [111619]
(4) what plans he has to involve interested parties in developing the blue plaques scheme to mark the diversity of Northern Ireland's cultural heritage; [111634]
(5) how many blue commemorative plaques were erected in each of the last five years; and, for each year, what the cost was to public funds. [111622]
Angela Smith: There are currently no arrangements in place to fund the erection of blue commemorative plaques in Northern Ireland. The Government have no plans at present to introduce such a scheme.
I would also refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Mr. Pearson) (111635).
Concessionary Travel Passes
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have taken up the new senior citizen free travel passes in each local government area. [122365]
Mr. Spellar: The total number of Senior Smartpasses in circulation as of 23 June was 158,156, however to disaggregate this figure by local government areas could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Organised Crime
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of links between organised crime and the funding of terrorist groups; and if he will make a statement. [121136]
Jane Kennedy: The Organised Crime Task Force's most recent assessment is that two thirds of the organised crime groups known to the law enforcement agencies are either associated with or controlled by paramilitary organisations.
It is not always clear, however, what proportion of the illegal profits is passed on to their organisations or retained by themselves to fund a lucrative lifestyle.
That said, the law enforcement agencies represented on the Task Force do not tackle organised criminals or crime groups solely on the basis of their paramilitary affiliations but because of their involvement in criminal activities.
Over the past financial year, 64 organised crime networks have had members arrested for a wide range of serious offences and members of 35 groups were successfully prosecuted for crimes including attempted murder, blackmail, armed robbery, drugs offences and counterfeit goods. 75 networks were disrupted or dismantled during the year.
Crime Prevention
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to combat robberies in (a) Fountain Lane and (b) other areas of Belfast city centre. [111219]
2 Jul 2003 : Column 333W
Jane Kennedy: Crime in Belfast city centre, including Fountain Lane, has reduced over the last year. Incidents such as till snatches, and street thefts involving handbag and mobile phone snatches have been reduced by over 60 per cent. in the first three months of 2003 when compared with the same period in 2002.
The PSNI have identified crime "hotspot" locations and police resources are deployed accordingly. Since June 2002 a team of officers have been tasked with focusing on street gangs operating in the city centre. To date these officers have made 201 arrests for a variety of offences.
CCTV is of considerable assistance to police in the city centre in preventing and detecting crime and CCTV operators have been instrumental in initiating some 149 arrests this year to date for offences ranging from attempted murder to robbery, theft and disorder.
Community Beat Officers in the city centre continue to work in partnership with Belfast city centre management, Belfast Chamber of Trade and other partners to address community safety issues within the city centre. Police officers have met with traders, including those from Fountain Lane, and discussed their concerns with them. Traders in the city centre provided funding for two pedal cycles which are used regularly by officers in the city centre.
It is anticipated that it will be possible to increase the number of Community Beat Officers in the city centre as new recruits arrive in the District Command Unit.
Decommissioning
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the state of decommissioning is in the Province. [114871]
Jane Kennedy: The LVF engaged in an act of decommissioning in 1998 and the Provisional IRA engaged in two acts of decommissioning, one in 2001 and a second in 2002.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received on decommissioning in Northern Ireland. [114872]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 21 May 2003, Official Report, column 801W.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many weapons have been handed in by (a) the IRA and (b) other terrorist groups since the Good Friday Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the progress of disarming of all terrorist groups. [121138]
Jane Kennedy: In 1998 the LVF carried out an act of decommissioning and the items were listed. In 2001 PIRA put a quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives, which was regarded as significant, completely beyond use. In 2002 PIRA put a varied and substantial quantity of ammunition, arms and explosive material beyond use and the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning has undertaken to provide an inventory of the arms to the two Governments when its task is completed. Each act has been verified by the IICD in accordance with the
2 Jul 2003 : Column 334W
Governments' scheme and regulations. The Prime Minister has stated clearly that an undertaking is needed that all arms will be put beyond use through the IICD.
Demography
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by country of origin. [114596]
Mr. Pearson: Monthly estimates of the population of Northern Ireland broken down by country of origin are not produced. Quarterly figures from the Labour Force Survey relating to country of birth can only be made available at an aggregate level (i.e. constituent countries of the UK, Republic of Ireland and other (as a single category)). The most comprehensive figures available are those from the 2001 Census which are noted in the table.
Notes:
1. The European Union (EU) as defined on Census day (29 April 2001).
2. 'Other' consists of persons born at sea or in the air, or with country of birth not stated.
3. Persons born in Central America have been included in North America.
2 Jul 2003 : Column 335W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |