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2 Mar 2004 : Column 866W—continued
Residential Disabled Parking
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used in the allocation of residential disabled car parking spaces in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [157562]
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.
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Smuggling
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on smuggling by paramilitary organisations. [146308]
Jane Kennedy: There is no doubt that paramilitary organisations continue to engage in organised criminality including smuggling.
While cross-border co-operation between law enforcement agencies is already very good, the Government are fully committed to working with the Government in the Irish Republic to further improve that collaboration by developing strategies and structures to enable law enforcement agencies to maximise their effectiveness against the organised criminals who use the border to smuggle.
I pay tribute to the activity of law enforcement agencies against the smugglers, which has resulted in unprecedented successes against illegal drug importation and a second year of growth in the levels of legitimate deliveries of road fuel oils into Northern Ireland, after five years of decline.
Translink
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average age of rolling stock in service with Translink is; and what progress has been made with the introduction of new rolling stock to the railway network in Northern Ireland. [157671]
Mr. Spellar: The following table gives a breakdown by type for the different locomotives and carriages used on the Northern Ireland Railways network. This information was supplied by Translink.
| Age (years) | |
|---|---|
| Two GM locomotives | 8 |
| 14 De Dietrich carriages | 7 |
| Three GM locomotives | 22 |
| 11 ex-Gatwick carriages | 31 |
| 80 class: | |
| 20 power cars | 26 |
| 19 driving trailers | 28 |
| 17 intermediate trailers | 29 |
| 450 class: | |
| Nine power cars | 17 |
| Nine driving trailers | 17 |
| Nine intermediate trailers | 17 |
Translink also advise that the first of the 23 new trains is scheduled to be delivered in April 2004 with the
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remainder being delivered progressively through the rest of 2004 and the first part of 2005. Translink expect that all the trains will be in service by the Autumn of 2005.
Social Deprivation
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what wards are in the top (a) 15 per cent., (b) 20 per cent. and (c) 25 per cent. of wards in Northern Ireland ranked by social deprivation according to the Noble Index. [156623]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measures (commonly referred to as the Noble measures of deprivation) were published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency in July 2001. I have placed details of those wards in the top 15 per cent., 20 per cent. and 25 per cent. as ranked by multiple deprivation measure score, in the Library.
Unemployment
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely trends in unemployment in Northern Ireland in 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [157275]
Mr. Pearson: The Government does not produce forecasts for unemployment. The Northern Ireland economy has benefited from the stability generated by the UK's strong macroeconomic framework while the performance of the labour market in particular has proved resilient in the face of global economic uncertainty.
Current Labour Market Statistics show that employment is at record levels and claimant unemployment is at its lowest rates since the mid 1970s. According to the Labour Force Survey, however, figures for the period October to December 2003 show a rise in the rate to 6.3 per cent. (48,000 people) from 5.6 per cent. a year earlier. This is still 1.7 percentage points lower than the EU15 average.
Unused Medications
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the cost of unused medications in the last 12 months. [157343]
Angela Smith: The cost of unused medicines in Northern Ireland is estimated at approximately £2 million per year. Further information is contained in "Making it Better—A Strategy for Pharmacy in the Community", which can be viewed on the Department's website at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/publications/2004/makingitbetter.html.
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PRIME MINISTER
Electoral Registration
Mark Tami: To ask the Prime Minister what guidance he provides to local authorities on voter registration. [156550]
Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
My Department provides regular guidance and information to local electoral registration officers (EROs) on policy issues and legislative changes relating to voter registration arrangements. Separately, the independent Electoral Commission is responsible for offering advice and guidance to EROs on the detailed requirements of these and other voter registration matters.
Parliamentary Questions
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will assess his answering practices in relation to parliamentary questions against the (a) Open Government Code of Conduct and (b) Freedom of Information Act 2000. [157922]
The Prime Minister: Section 1 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance to ministers on answering Parliamentary Questions which takes account of the requirements of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The Freedom of Information legislation takes effect in January 2005.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Adoption Orders
Tim Loughton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many adoption orders have been set aside in each of the last 10 years. [156526]
Mr. Lammy: This information is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
An adoption order can only be set aside in wholly exceptional circumstances. Section 52 of the Adoption Act 1976 provides for the revocation of an adoption order where a person adopted by his father or mother alone subsequently becomes legitimate on the marriage of his parents. Section 53 provides for the annulment of overseas and Hague Convention adoptions on grounds of public policy. There is no other statutory basis for revoking a validly made adoption order.
Child Custody
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications for orders relating to child custody were heard at each (a) Crown Court centre and (b) magistrates' court area in England in the last year for which information is available; what proportion were granted; how many were ex-parte applications; and what proportion of ex-parte applications were granted. [157609]
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Mr. Leslie: Applications for child custody are made in the county courts and family proceedings courts and not the Crown Court. Figures showing the number of applications for a residence order and the number of orders made in the county courts and family proceedings courts in England for the year 2002 are provided in the table. No information is held centrally concerning those applications that were made ex-parte and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Note:
The orders made do not necessarily relate to the applications made due to the period between application and order. The figures contain imputed data.
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