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14 Jan 2004 : Column 740W—continued

NORTHERN IRELAND

National Sports Stadium

5. Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Sports Council about a new national sports stadium for Northern Ireland. [146810]

Angela Smith: Support remains in principle for a national stadium but this must be assessed on the grounds of need, sustainability and on the involvement of a number of sports. I am able to confirm that there are on-going discussions with the Sports Council of Northern Ireland about a new national sports stadium. The sports council is also in touch with the governing bodies of the main sports to assess their willingness to use a national stadium bearing in mind that these sports are at various stages in planning for their future facility needs.

Infrastructure Investment

6. Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase investment in infrastructure in Northern Ireland. [146811]

Mr. Pearson: Yesterday I launched the Northern Ireland Priorities and Budget 2004–06, copies of which have been placed in the Library. This Document shows planned expenditure on capital investment will rise by 40 per cent. over the next two years.

Educational Attainment

7. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve educational attainment in disadvantaged communities in Northern Ireland. [146812]

Jane Kennedy: The Government has instituted a wide range of measures to improve educational outcomes among children, young people and adults in disadvantaged areas. These include the School Support Programme, Group 1 schools, curriculum flexibility for work-related learning at Key Stage 4, and a number of Further Education initiatives.

I have also recently announced the creation of Education Action Zones aimed at tackling the root causes of educational failure within communities. All these initiatives contribute to the overarching policy of Targeting Social Need.

Skills Base

8. Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on Government action to develop essential skills in Northern Ireland. [146813]

Jane Kennedy: The Essential Skills for Living Strategy and Action Plan was launched in October 2002. Our aim is to support 25,000 adults in Northern Ireland to improve their literacy and numeracy skills by 2005. In the first year 6,500 learners were supported and we are on track to meet our target of supporting a further 8,000 learners by March 2004.

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Good Friday Agreement

9. Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the review of the Good Friday Agreement will commence. [146814]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

Older People (Security)

10. John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on measures to improve the security of older people in Northern Ireland. [146815]

Mr. Spellar: The Government is committed to improving security for older people in Northern Ireland. A community safety strategy for older people will be issued for consultation in February 2004 supplemented by practical action through the Stay safe Stay secure campaign launched October 2003 and work in other agencies including the police.

Devolved Government

11. John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress is being made towards the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland. [146816]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

12. Mr. Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress had been made since the November elections to create a working Northern Ireland Executive. [146817]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

Peace Process

13. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress of the peace process following the elections of the November 2003. [146818]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

Broadband

14. Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase investment in the broadband infrastructure in Northern Ireland. [146819]

Mr. Pearson: The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is actively pursuing 100 per cent. broadband coverage across Northern Ireland by December 2005 through the award of a major contract for the provision of broadband services.

Tenders are at the final evaluation stage and an announcement on the award of the contract is planned for early this year.

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Drug Smuggling

15. Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the success of measures to interdict the smuggling of drugs into Northern Ireland. [146820]

Jane Kennedy: The PSNI has had unprecedented success this year in preventing the importation of drugs into Northern Ireland. Drugs Squad officers have had their most successful year to date and I congratulate them for their work.

Some of the recent successes include the seizure of some £1 million worth of cocaine in Northern Ireland in October that led directly to the seizure of over £7 million in ecstasy tablets in Amsterdam by Dutch police. £2 million of cannabis was seized in August—the largest ever seizure of the drug in Northern Ireland and in September police officers seized cannabis resin with an estimated street value of £250,000 in Belfast.

This high level of seizures and arrests demonstrates the PSNI's and the Organised Crime Task Force's ongoing commitment and effectiveness in tackling this problem.

TRANSPORT

Airports (Scotland)

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the timescale for the construction of rail links to (a) Glasgow and (b) Edinburgh airports. [147689]

Mr. McNulty: The Department has held extensive discussions with the Scottish Executive on both proposals and has been kept informed of progress on the ongoing feasibility work.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from environmental groups on the proposed expansion of Scottish airports. [147687]

Mr. McNulty: Environmental groups submitted 8 responses to the consultation document "The Future Development of Air Transport in the UK: Scotland". Since the consultation ended on 30 June 2003, we have received no further representations from such groups on the proposed expansion of Scottish airports.

British Charter Airlines (Kazakhstan)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the reasons for the banning of British charter airlines from operating in Kazakhstan; what representations he has made on their behalf to the Kazakh Government; and if he will make a statement. [146828]

Mr. McNulty: Until December 2003, two UK registered airlines were operating one charter service per week to Atyrau and Uralsk in Western Kazakhstan on contract to oil and gas companies active in the region.

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In early December 2003 that permission was revoked. The Kazakh authorities subsequently explained that they will no longer grant permission for these services because the new Kazakh airline, Air Astana, has now started services from Uralsk and Atyrau to Western Europe.

We are concerned that permission for these flights was terminated without due process and at very short notice, with great inconvenience to passengers and to the financial detriment of UK airlines. We are also concerned that UK airlines are being denied the opportunity to offer a competing service. We will pursue this issue further with the Kazakh authorities.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has made to the Kazakhstan Government regarding the prevention of UK charter flights from landing in Uralsk and Atyrau. [147537]

Mr. McNulty: Until December 2003, two UK registered airlines were operating one charter service per week to Atyrau and Uralsk in Western Kazakhstan on contract to oil and gas companies active in the region.

In early December 2003 that permission was revoked. The Kazakh authorities subsequently explained that they will no longer grant permission for these services because the new Kazakh airline, Air Astana, has now started services from Uralsk and Atyrau to Western Europe.

We are concerned that permission for these flights was terminated without due process and at very short notice, with great inconvenience to passengers and to the financial detriment of UK airlines. We are also concerned that UK airlines are being denied the opportunity to offer a competing service. We will pursue this issue further with the Kazakh authorities.

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