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3 Feb 2004 : Column 864W—continued

Estate Wardens

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many estate wardens have been appointed by the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland to date; and for which areas. [152595]

Mr. Spellar: There are 21 staff in post, including one agency worker and there are two vacant posts distributed as follows:

Area	Number
Antrim	1
Armagh	(37)2
Banbridge	1
Ballymena	3
Carrickfergus	1
Coleraine	1
Dungannon	2
Enniskillen (Fermanagh District Office)	1
Larne	1
Lurgan/Brownlow	(37)1
Newry	1
Newtownabbey Office 1 and 2	4
Portadown	2

⁽³⁷⁾ Plus one vacancy

Film Making

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) financial and (b) other assistance has been provided towards film making in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [151184]

Angela Smith: The information is as follows:

(a) In the years in question the following financial assistance was provided towards film making in Northern Ireland.

3 Feb 2004 : Column 865W

£

	DCAL	DETI
1998–99	965,850	412,384
1999–2000	1,006,335	571,106
2000–01	816,081	491,855
2001–02	739,911	363,000
2002–03	1,097,324	300,000
2003–04	1,038,459	—
TOTAL	5,663,960	2,138,345

(b) In terms of other assistance, the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission, which comes under the remit of DCAL, promotes awareness of Northern Ireland locations, crews and facilities to producers nationally and internationally, and promotes films produced in Northern Ireland. It also supports the development and production of films in Northern Ireland and encourages private sector investment in the industry. The Commission provides free advice to film-makers on all aspects of the business, including locations, casting, crews, facilities, safety, finance and trainees.

No other non-financial assistance has been provided to the industry from DETI or Invest NI.

Fly-tipping

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what studies have been conducted into the extent of fly-tipping in Northern Ireland. [151187]

Angela Smith: Environmental Campaigns Limited (ENCAMS) produced a Fly-Tipping Study in 2003 to establish the extent of fly-tipping in the UK during 200–02. This study gave details of trends from 1994 to 2002 including Northern Ireland. ENCAMS (an environmental charity, which runs the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign and has a regional office in Belfast) has also produced a guide for the public entitled "Fly-Tipping and the Law". Both publications are available on their website www.encams.org/publications and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library.

The Environment and Heritage Service of the Department of the Environment and District Councils are working together to design a code of practice for dealing with the issue of fly-tipping.

Government Solicitors

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether solicitors have been retained to draft legislation in respect of water charging. [152213]

Mr. Spellar: No. Assembly Bills introduced by the Northern Ireland Executive during devolution and Orders in Council made under the Northern Ireland Act 2000 while the Assembly is suspended are drafted by the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

However, the Department for Regional Development has appointed legal advisers to provide specialist expertise on the water industry regulatory, consumer protection and environmental issues to be addressed in the legislation which will be necessary to give effect to the wide-ranging Water Reform agenda.

3 Feb 2004 : Column 866W

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money was paid to solicitors employed by the Government in the drafting of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03, broken down by firm. [152214]

Mr. Spellar: The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 was drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. Costs were therefore met within existing Government resources. No payment was made to any private firm of solicitors.

Higher Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of school leavers in Northern Ireland went on into higher education in each year since 1997; what steps he is taking to increase these figures; and if he will make a statement. [150675]

Jane Kennedy: Information for the 2002–03 school year is not yet available. The percentages of school leavers entering institutions of higher education are as follows:

	Percentage
1997–98	28.6
1998–99	30.0
1999–2000	30.5
2000–01	32.9
2001–02	35.0

I have no policy to increase, overall, the number of school leavers progressing into higher education. I am, however, keen to increase the number of students progressing from those groups that are currently underrepresented in HE. In particular students from disadvantaged backgrounds and students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Widening participation in HE by students from these groups is one of the Department for Employment and Learning's key strategic goals. The Department is addressing the issue of widening access to higher education through a number of broad policy directions and through a range of specific actions.

These include an increase in domestic HE provision between 1999–2000 and 2004–05; the introduction of Foundation Degrees; the introduction of a package of student support measures to assist students from low income families; widening participation premia for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and students with learning difficulties and disabilities and special initiative funding to develop partnerships between the universities and schools with traditionally low levels of participation in HE.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of school leavers in each of the past five years went on to attend a university in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [150679]

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the requested format.

3 Feb 2004 : Column 867W

(a) –(c) The percentages of school leavers who went on to attend institutions of higher education in Great Britain are as follows:

	Percentage
1997–98	9.3
1998–99	8.6
1999–2000	7.7
2000–01	8.5
2001–02	9.0

(d) The percentages of school leavers who went on to attend institutions of higher education in Northern Ireland are as follows:

	Percentage
1997–98	18.4
1998–99	20.6
1999–2000	22.0
2000–01	23.5
2001–02	25.0

The following table provides information on the number of 18 and 19-year-olds who enter university for a full-time undergraduate course. Not all of these students will have progressed direct from school to university. Some, for example, will have left school at an earlier age and qualified for university entry through further education.

Northern Ireland domiciled first year full-time undergraduate students aged 18 and 19 entering HE institutions in the UK by country of study 1997–98 to 2001–02

	Percentage	Total number of students
2001–02
Northern Irish Institution	73
English Institution	15
Scottish Institution	12
Welsh Institution	1
Total	100	9,311
2000–01
Northern Irish Institution	72
English Institution	16
Scottish Institution	12
Welsh Institution	1
Total	100	8,933
1999–2000
Northern Irish Institution	69
English Institution	17
Scottish Institution	14
Welsh Institution	1
Total	100	8,643
1998–99
Northern Irish Institution	65
English Institution	18
Scottish Institution	16
Welsh Institution	1
Total	100	8,577
1997–98
Northern Irish Institution	64
English Institution	19
Scottish Institution	16
Welsh Institution	1
Total	100	8,592

Notes:

1. Source of data—Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

2. The latest year of information on enrolments is 2001–02

3. Entrants to HE are based on students on their first year of a course

4. Age as at 31 August

5. Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding

6. Information from HESA does not enable the identification of school leavers. For example, some of these students may have progressed to HE via the FE route.

3 Feb 2004 : Column 868W

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