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11 Sept 2003 : Column 473W—continued
Insurance Premiums
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 710W, on insurance premiums, what steps his Department is taking to alleviate the effects of increases in business insurance premiums in Northern Ireland in the last three years. [125793]
Mr. Pearson: At national level Government are taking forward the recommendations of the review of Employers' Liability Insurance and my officials are closely involved in that work.
I have met recently with key stakeholders from NI industry and the local insurance industry. The Health and Safety Executive (NI) and Invest NI are providing practical support and advice to improve the insurability of NI businesses. Furthermore, I plan to meet shortly with a number of representatives from the GB insurance industry to discuss ways of increasing their engagement with the NI market.
Landfill Site, Mallusk
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set up a public inquiry into the proposed superdump landfill site at Mallusk. [127399]
Angela Smith: The planning application for the proposed landfill site at Cottonmount, Mallusk was received by the Department of the Environment's Planning Service in February 1995. Whilst a Public Inquiry was considered it was decided that there was sufficient information to reach a decision without the need for an Inquiry. In June 1997 Planning Service proceeded by way of Notice of Opinion in accordance with Article 31(3) of the Planning (Northern Ireland)
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1991. Having taken this route the only options now available to Planning Service are either to issue a Notice of Opinion to Approve or a Notice of Opinion to Refuse. The only available provision for a Public Hearing would be if the applicant appeals either a future Notice of Opinion to Approve or a Notice of Opinion to Refuse.
Languages
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding was provided for the promotion of the (a) Irish language and (b) Ulster-Scots language in each year since 1998. [126502]
Angela Smith: The promotion of the Irish and the Ulster-Scots languages is the responsibility of the North/South Language Body and its two Agencies Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish Language Agency) and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch (the Ulster-Scots Agency).
The North/South Language Body is jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA). The funding provided by the North/South Language Body for the promotion of the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages is shown as follows.
| Foras na Gaeilge—funding for Irish language promotion | Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch—fundingfor Ulster-Scots language promotion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Nil | Nil |
| 1999 | Nil | Nil |
| 2000 | 1,837,000.00 | 4,000.00 |
| 2001 | 2,000,000.00 | 3,000.00 |
| 2002 | 2,640,000.00 | 14,000.00 |
| 2003 to date | 1,405,000.00 | 24,000.00 |
Funding is available from departmental mainstream programmes for projects which may have an Irish or Ulster-Scots language dimension which cannot be separated from the primary funding objectives.
Murdered RUC Officers
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make further resources available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable to investigate the unsolved murders of RUC officers; and if he will make a statement. [124798]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I am very conscious of the feelings surrounding such an emotive issue as unsolved murders, and I have the deepest sympathy for the relatives of police officers who have suffered in this way.
Government has made available over £2.1 billion for policing over the next three years. It is for the Chief Constable to manage those considerable resources in the delivery of a day to day policing service including the conduct of criminal investigations. I know he is currently reviewing a variety of murder cases where there is a realistic prospect of securing a conviction.
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North-South Ministerial Council
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the North and South Ministerial Council have been held since the suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland. [125552]
Older People's Rights Commissioner
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on the establishment of an Older People's Rights Commissioner for Northern Ireland. [126497]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the honourable Gentleman to the previous answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 3 July 2003 (122352).
Parades Commission
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs have been associated with the operational running of the Parades Commission in each of the last three financial years. [122554]
Jane Kennedy: The breakdown of the Parades Commission's operating costs is available in its Annual Reports which are laid before Parliament.
Peace II Programme
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what impact the N+2 requirement of the funding process for the Peace II programme will have upon the allocation of the total funds made available under this programme; and if he will make a statement. [126119]
Mr. Pearson: For all Structural Funds Programmes the N+2 requirement means that any part of an annual commitment not properly claimed from the European Commission by the end of the second year following the year of commitment will automatically be withdrawn. For the PEACE II Programme monies committed for 2000 and 2001 must be spent and claimed from the European Commission by the end of 2003, otherwise the monies will be lost to the Peace II Programme.
As regards the current position the PEACE II Monitoring Committee on 24 June 2003 adopted a strategy to ensure that funds are fully utilised. This strategy has three key components. The first is to maximise spend up to 31 December 2003 and this can be achieved by all Implementing Bodies and project sponsors continuing to approve and implement projects on the ground in line with the Priorities and Measures specified in the Programme. The second component involves working closely with the SEUPB and the European Commission to ensure that the N+2 target for the Programme at the end of the year is set with due regard to the full and proper application of the various Regulatory provisions involved. I anticipate this work will involve a reduction in the expenditure targets for this year. However, while both the above are producing results, they alone will not be sufficient to avoid a loss of funding. Therefore the third component is to increase spend through the inclusion
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of projects which were not originally intended to be funded through the PEACE II Programme, but which nonetheless meet the distinctiveness and other requirements of the Programme. This will mean that some existing Departmental spend would be scored against the Programme in the remainder of this year.
However, since this will release the same quantum of resources from Departmental expenditure, I intend to use these resources to rebalance the Programme early in 2004 and thereby ensure that activities originally intended can go ahead as planned.
I have also commissioned a review of the PEACE II Programmes Implementing systems and processes.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long it has taken on average to process an application form and the issuing of payments in respect of the Peace II programme; and if he will make a statement. [126120]
Mr. Pearson: The average time to process an application form in respect of the Peace II Programme is 79 working days, including unsuccessful applications. In the vast majority of cases payments have been made to projects within 10 working days of receipt of a request for payment by the Special EU Programmes Body.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the projects funded under the Peace II European Initiative in North Belfast in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003. [125314]
Mr. Pearson: The information requested will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Personal Security
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been notified by the police in the past two years that private information about them had been found in the possession of republicans; and what the associated costs of upgrading their personal security was. [123699]
Mr. Paul Murphy: For the two year period to 30 June 2003, a total of 3,558 persons have been notified. These figures are not held centrally and so may be subject to adjustment.
There are a number of schemes to which individuals may apply to upgrade their personal security. Obtaining the relevant information would only be possible by searching on a case by case basis. Therefore the associated costs of upgrading the personal security of these individuals could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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