---

9 Feb 2004 : Column 1163W—continued

Sinn Fein

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the recent comments by the Justice Minister of the Republic of Ireland that Sinn Fein benefits from criminal activity. [152359]

Jane Kennedy: I am aware of the recent comments by the Irish Government, and we maintain close contact with them. Investigation of specific allegations of criminal activity is a matter for the Chief Constable. More generally, PIRA and other paramilitary involvement in criminal activity is well documented, as is the range of action being taken against it.

9 Feb 2004 : Column 1164W

Speed Limits

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the tolerance levels permitted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland are for motorists exceeding the speed limit and who have been detected using (a) fixed cameras, (b) mobile cameras and (c) other detection devices; and how long these tolerance levels have been in force. [152847]

Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Safety Camera Scheme was launched on 1 July 2003, comprising four fixed sites and over 70 mobile enforcement sites. To date a total of 10,321 motorists have been detected through the scheme.

The PSNI do not think that it would be appropriate to disclose the threshold they operate to in respect of speeding offences as this may lead motorists to make an assumption that it is safe to travel at this speed without fear of detection, thus contributing to an increase in the overall average speed of vehicles on our roads.

The purpose of a threshold is to allow for inaccuracies in the target vehicle's speedometer and to provide a consistency in police enforcement. The threshold does not vary according to the type of enforcement being conducted, however should there be extenuating circumstances, for example, children entering and leaving school, the threshold may be lowered in order to deal with offending motorists.

The thresholds have been in place since October 2001.

St. Cecilia's College

Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what assessment has been made of the (a) size and (b) physical condition of the buildings at St. Cecilia's College, Derry, for the purposes of delivering the Northern Ireland curriculum; and what the time scale is for replacement of the school buildings; [151573]

(2) what assessment he has made of whether the (a) size and (b) physical condition of the buildings of St. Cecilia's College, Derry, are sufficient for the purposes of delivering the Northern Ireland Curriculum; and what his Department's plans are for the timing of replacement school buildings. [149654]

Jane Kennedy: St. Cecilia's College suffers from a number of serious deficiencies in the level of permanent accommodation. A major capital works scheme to address these deficiencies was announced in March 2001 and a project board has been established to take forward the scheme through a public private partnership arrangement. It is anticipated that, subject to securing a successful outcome from current discussions on the site issues affecting the school, it should be possible for the scheme for a new school to progress shortly to public advertisement. I would hope that the scheme could be completed within about 2½ years following the advertisement.

Surgery (Gall Stones and Kidney Stones)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland

9 Feb 2004 : Column 1165W

have required surgery for the treatment of (a) gall stones and (b) kidney stones, in each of the past five years. [152922]

Angela Smith: The information is as follows:

(a) The following table shows the total number of patients in Northern Ireland who had surgery for gall stones in each of the last five financial years.

	NI total
1998–99	1,781
1999–2000	1,798
2000–01	1,829
2001–02	1,834
2002–03	2,119

(b) The following table shows the total number of patients in Northern Ireland who had surgery for kidney stones in each of the last five financial years.

	NI total
1998–99	191
1999–2000	216
2000–01	213
2001–02	199
2002–03	360

Source:

Hospital Inpatients System.

Teacher Vacancies

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teacher vacancies there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and what steps he is taking to reduce such figures. [151321]

Jane Kennedy: Information on teaching vacancies is not held by the Department of Education nor collated by the relevant employing authorities as figures change very frequently due to workforce mobility. However, a survey into possible teacher shortages in the post-primary sector, carried out by researchers from Stranmillis University College in June 2003, indicated 86 vacancies out of a total teaching force of over 10,000 in that sector.

TREASURY

Immigration

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to change his estimate of immigration in the (a) short, (b) medium and (c) long terms to take account of likely numbers of immigrants from Eastern European countries which will accede to the EU this year. [153094]

Ruth Kelly: The latest (2002-based) official population projections for the United Kingdom were published by the Government Actuary's Department in December 2003. At present, the precise impact of enlargement of the European Union cannot be predicted. However, recent Home Office research has concluded that the effect on the UK is likely to be fairly small.

9 Feb 2004 : Column 1166W

National population projections are normally carried out biennially and the next set is scheduled for publication in 2005. As usual, there will be a full review of migration assumptions for these projections. The need for an additional allowance for the effects of EU enlargement will be reviewed at the time.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many community amateur sports clubs he estimates will benefit from 80 per cent. mandatory rate relief in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley. [153123]

John Healey: It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 clubs in the UK might be eligible to apply for registration as a community amateur sports club (CASC). Details of clubs by town or county are not held centrally.

All eligible clubs in England and Wales will be able to receive mandatory rates relief of 80 per cent. from April 2004. Local authorities can increase this relief to 100 per cent. at their own discretion.

Economic Inactivity

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were economically inactive and what the economic inactivity rate was for each quarter since Quarter 1 1997, broken down by (a) qualification level, (b) income bracket, (c) former profession where applicable, (d) age group and (e) sex, in each (i) constituency and (ii) region. [152932]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. George Osborne, dated 9 February 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. (152932)

I regret that this information could only be provided in full at disproportionate cost. However, some of the higher-level information requested is published on the ONS website, or on the Nomis( database, both of which are available via the House of Commons Library.

Information about economic inactivity levels by age and sex in each region is published in Table 10 of the Labour Market Statistics Regional First Releases, which can be accessed from the following page on the ONS website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/press release/Archive.asp. These estimates, from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), are subject to revisions. LFS estimates published in the Regional First Releases prior to 13 November 2003 are not directly comparable with current data. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.

ONS does not publish estimates of economic inactivity rates by age and sex for each region. However, these can be calculated by subtracting the economic activity rate (published in Table 9 of the Regional First Releases) from 100 per cent.

For Parliamentary Constituency areas, ONS produces information about economic inactivity rates, but not levels, by age and sex. This information is available on a yearly basis and can be obtained from the Nomis( database.

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) benefits and (b) tax credits are available to people who are economically inactive. [152933]

9 Feb 2004 : Column 1167W

Dawn Primarolo: Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Income Support and Housing and Council Tax Benefit are the principal benefits available to working age people who are economically inactive. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of (a) benefits and (b) tax credits paid to people who were economically inactive in each year since 1997. [152934]

Dawn Primarolo: Information on expenditure on benefits which are primarily paid to economically inactive people of working age is published in the Benefit Expenditure Tables on the Department of Work and Pensions' Website at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp. The Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credits were only paid to households with one or more working adults. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of (a) educational attainment, (b) skills gaps and (c) language barriers as causes of economic inactivity. [152937]

Ruth Kelly: The Government have published an analysis of the extent and causes of inactivity and unemployment, and of the policies in place to address them, in "Full employment in every region" (HM Treasury/Department for Work and Pensions, December 2003), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

The Government's strategy to raise skill levels in the UK is set out in the White Paper "21st Century Skills—Realising our Potential" in July 2003 (Cm 5810).

---