| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Oct 2003 : Column 428W—continued
Manufacturing Exports
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of export sales growth in Northern Ireland's manufacturing companies in each of the next three years. [133340]
Mr. Pearson: There are no forecasts of Northern Ireland manufacturing export sales. However, between 1996–97 and 2001–02, manufacturing export sales increased by 45 per cent. in real terms. The Invest NI Corporate Plan and "Building on Progress—Priorities and Plans 2003–06" includes a target for the growth of export sales. The current target is for manufacturing export sales to increase by 10 per cent. each year in real terms between April 2002 and March 2005.
I am confident that a sustained global economic recovery will lead to an improvement in Northern Ireland's manufacturing performance. In that context, these challenging targets remain firm.
20 Oct 2003 : Column 429W
Northern Ireland Mother andBaby Association
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what public funding has been received in the last year by the Northern Ireland Mother and Baby Association (NIMBA). [132465]
Angela Smith: A total of £41,000 from public funds was provided to NIMBA to support its activities, in the last financial year.
Planning (Ravenblack)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when a decision will be made on the planning application submitted by Ravenblack in November 2000 for a development in the Gocean area of Killyleagh; and if he will make a statement. [133236]
Angela Smith: In August 2003, I met with locally elected representatives and facilitated a further meeting with representatives at their request to discuss this proposal. I agreed that further consideration would be given to some of the issues raised, and further consultation was subsequently carried out with key organisations. Some of these responses are still outstanding. Once received and considered, the application will be processed to determination as expeditiously as possible.
Police Leisure Facilities
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been received by the PSNI since 1 January from (a) former and (b) retired police officers for permission to use police leisure facilities; how many of those applications have been processed; and how many applicants have been informed that permission has been granted. [132078]
Jane Kennedy: The Chief Constable has advised me that to date 54 retired and former officers have applied for permission to use police leisure facilities. Some 33 applications have been processed and approved with the remainder being considered by PSNI Security Branch. No retired officers have been refused permission to use police leisure facilities and it remains the Chief Constable's policy to encourage retired officers to avail of the health and fitness facilities available.
Prison Budgets
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what budget was allocated to each prison in Northern Ireland between 1 April and 31 August. [132219]
Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Prison Service receives an annual budget allocation from the Northern Ireland Office through the spending review process. The 2003–04 allocation to the Service is as follows:
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| Operating costs | 116,895 |
| Capital costs | 12,195 |
The Director General has delegated authority to manage the Service's allocation in an effective, efficient and economic manner. The Service is managed as a whole. Budget allocations are made to budget holders throughout the Service and not on an establishment by establishment basis.
20 Oct 2003 : Column 430W
Queen's University
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members there are of the Senate of Queen's University; and how many of them completed undergraduate degrees at the University. [131923]
Jane Kennedy: There are 32 members of the Senate of Queen's University and 16 of those have completed undergraduate degrees at the University.
Road Deaths
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were killed on the roads in Northern Ireland in (a) 1973, (b) 1983 and (c) 1993. [132096]
Jane Kennedy: The information is set out in the following table.
| Year | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| 1973 | 335 |
| 1983 | 173 |
| 1993 | 143 |
Security Measures (Health Service)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each health trust in Northern Ireland spent on security measures in the last 12 months. [132471]
Angela Smith: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Sports Funding
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding from Her Majesty's Government has been received by (a) the Gaelic Athletic Association, (b) the Irish Football Association and (c) the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ulster Branch, in each year since 1998. [132829]
Angela Smith: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland is responsible for the development of Sport in Northern Ireland including the distribution of Government Exchequer funding to governing bodies of Sport including the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Ulster Branch. The following table provides information detailing the Exchequer funding distributed by the Sports Council NI in each year from 1998–99 to 2002–03 to the GAA, IFA and Ulster Branch of the IRFU:
20 Oct 2003 : Column 431W
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 165,000 |
| IFA | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 59,000 | 52,500 | 261,500 |
| IRFU, Ulster Branch | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 45,000 | 109,000 |
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
University Applications
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on levels of applications to universities in the last three years from (a) international students, (b) UK students and (c) students from the West Midlands. [131452]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 14 October 2003]: The latest available information from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) covers applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK and is shown in the table. Comparable data for 2003 entry will not be published until January 2004, but the latest data for 2003 shows that, by early October, overall applicants were up by 3 per cent. This continued increase demonstrates that students realise that higher education can bring them better opportunities and are willing to make the investment.
| Year of entry | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Applicant domicile | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Overseas(6) | 52,937 | 54,188 | 59,511 |
| UK | 389,091 | 399,645 | 401,854 |
| West Midlands | 32,717 | 34,459 | 33,999 |
(6) Includes EU and non-EU students
Dyslexia
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the delivery of the Raising the Achievement of Dyslexia Pupils: Dyslexia Teaching project that was funded in 2002–03. [132204]
Margaret Hodge: The Raising the Achievement of Dyslexia Pupils: Dyslexia Friendly Teaching project was one of 16 projects in receipt of grant under the Department's Special Educational Needs (SEN) Training and Development Fund 2002–03. The fund was established to provide one-off pump priming support to aid the creation of new, or extended, in-service training and development opportunities for teachers and other staff, both in mainstream and special schools. The aim was to help improve and reinforce skills in the area of SEN and disabilities.
This particular project is being delivered by the Institute of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), working in collaboration with the British Dyslexia Association. It involves a validated module, targeted at new or recently qualified teachers and learning support assistants, and includes the creation of course materials and video case studies of successful practice in schools and classes. This material has now been completed and is in the process of being edited and transferred to a DVD format for the classroom and a CD-ROM covering the teaching
20 Oct 2003 : Column 432W
methods and philosophies of the teachers involved. It is proposed that the material will be available via the MMU website.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |