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3 Nov 2003 : Column 401W—continued

Vehicle Licensing

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are in place at the DVLA to stop documents being stolen when they are being returned to the DVLA because the addressees have moved. [135119]

Mr. Jamieson: DVLA expects to issue approximately 16 million vehicle registration documents and over six million driving licences this year. On past experience, less than half of 1 per cent. of this (around 110,000 items) mail will be found by Royal Mail to be undeliverable and will be returned to the Agency.

Undelivered mail is opened under secure conditions at DVLA and the contents dealt with according to strict handling procedures. A check of DVLA records is made to compare the name and address shown with that provided by the customer. If a contact telephone number is present, the customer is contacted. Where discrepancies are identified, the problem is corrected and documents re-sent. If no error has been made, the documents are held securely for a time to allow the customer to contact the Agency. Where no further contact is received, the documents are destroyed under secure conditions.

Undelivered identity documents, e.g. passports and birth certificates, are collected by staff from a specific team. Where no address discrepancies are present, these documents are also held securely pending contact from the customer. Where no contact is forthcoming, documents are returned to their issuing authorities, the relevant embassies or to the Home Office as appropriate.

West Coast Main Line

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects modernisation of the West Coast main line (a) to commence and (b) to be completed. [134588]

Mr. McNulty: Work to upgrade the West Coast Main Line is already under way. Completion is currently projected by 2007–08.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Delayed Discharges

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 to

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Northern Ireland; what steps he is taking to tackle the issue of delayed discharges from hospitals in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [134831]

Angela Smith: I am not planning to extend the provisions of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 to Northern Ireland or to introduce equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has made it a requirement on Health and Social Services Boards to invest part of the annual additional allocations for community care services to ensure timely discharge from acute care in hospital. Furthermore the Secretary of State's Draft Priorities and Budget paper, which is currently out for consultation, proposes a new target for the Health and Personal Social Services designed to reduce the maximum waiting time for community care services for people who are medically fit for discharge so that by March 2006 no assessed person should wait for more than eight weeks in an acute hospital, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Loyalist Decommissioning

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made in decommissioning arms held by Loyalist terrorists. [134962]

Jane Kennedy: In 2003 the Loyalist Commission, along with the UDA representatives, met the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. The Prime Minister has stated clearly that the IICD will resolutely continue to pursue complete decommissioning by all paramilitary organisations, helping to bring about a permanent end to paramilitary activity in all its forms.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the amount of arms and ammunition held by Loyalist terrorists. [134975]

Jane Kennedy: Under Part II, Paragraph la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information "Information whose disclosure would harm national security or defence", it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment as the information requested by the hon. Member is only available from intelligence sources.

The Government and the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning will resolutely continue to pursue complete decommissioning by all paramilitary organisations in order to bring a complete and permanent end to paramilitary activity in all its forms.

Police (Northern Ireland) Act

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost has been of changes brought about by the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [134820]

Jane Kennedy: The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 provides the legislative framework for the implementation of the changes recommended in the report of the Independent Commission on Policing. These include the creation of the Policing Board, the setting up of District Policing Partnerships, changes to

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the planning arrangements, provisions relating to recruitment and severance, and the legal basis for both the Oversight Commissioner and the RUC GC Foundation. Given the range of direct and indirect costs, it would not be practical to place a specific figure on the total amount incurred as a result of the legislation.

Police Ombudsman

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on the Police Ombudsman's office in Northern Ireland since 6th November. [136072]

Jane Kennedy: The Police Ombudsman reports the cost of running her office in each financial year since its formation is as follows:

	£
2002–02	(4)7,821,378
2003–03	6,858,897

The Police Ombudsman advises that from 1 April to 30 September 2003 the cost of running the office has been £3,104,907.

¹ This figure represents expenditure by Police Ombudsman's Office from its establishment on 6 November 2000 until 31 March 2002.

Provisional IRA

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the Provisional IRA's capacity to carry out (a) targeting, (b) intimidation and (c) racketeering activities in Northern Ireland. [134633]

Jane Kennedy: Under Part II, Paragraph 1a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Information whose disclosure would harm national security or defence), it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment as the information requested by the hon. Gentleman is only available from intelligence sources.

We now call on all paramilitary organisations to bring a complete and permanent end to paramilitary activity in all its forms.

Research and Development

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications were received for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Research and Development programmes in each of the last three years; and what the total amount was of funding allocated for research and development programmes. [133869]

Mr. Pearson: Since 1 April 2000 the Innovation, Research and Technology Division of Invest Northern Ireland (and the predecessor agency, the Industrial Research and Technology Unit), supported 1,038 applications and rejected 143 applications for research and development activities. A total of £77,524,907 in grants was offered to successful applicants. Details are provided in the following table.

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	Successful applications	Rejected applications
2000–01	304	83
2001–02	293	86
2002–03	310	47
2003–04	131	25
Total	1,038	143

⁽⁴⁾ As of 21 October 2003

Road Gritting

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will change the decision to reduce the gritting of roads and streets in North Belfast. [134634]

Mr. Spellar: I have asked the Chief Executive of Roads Service to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in stamp duty land tax on economic regeneration policies in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [135611]

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.

The Government has introduced disadvantaged areas relief which provides an exemption from stamp duty land tax for transactions in non-residential land in Enterprise Areas. There are 237 wards in Northern Ireland which qualify for this relief, representing the bottom 42 per cent. of areas in the national index of deprivation. The measure provides a major boost to businesses investing in commercial premises in Northern Ireland.

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