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Northern Ireland Assembly Commission

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) role, (b) composition and (c) budget of the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission has been since suspension. [156667]

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Mr. Paul Murphy: Although the membership of the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission remained unchanged following suspension, the provisions of paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the Northern Ireland Act 2000 prevent the Assembly Commission from meeting and transfer the Assembly Commission's functions to me, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Assembly Commission has therefore had no role or budget since suspension.

Northern Ireland Electricity

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria were used to decide whether to (a) purchase and (b) dispose of Northern Ireland Electricity lands at Camlough, Co.Armagh in relation to the aborted pump storage of electricity generation project. [157318]

Mr. Pearson: The lands were vested in the early 1970s to facilitate the intended development by the former Electricity Board for Northern Ireland of a pump storage electricity generation project. The compensation paid to the landowners was based on the assessed open market value of the lands at that time.

Since the project did not proceed, the lands are being disposed of by Northern Ireland Electricity plc in accordance with a Disposal Strategy drawn up by the company and approved by the then Electricity Regulator under the terms of a formal Consent in 1997. The lands have been offered back to their original owners or their successors in title at the prices originally paid.

Paramilitary Activities

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the involvement of the (a) Provisional IRA, (b) INLA, (c) Real IRA, (d) UDA, (e) UVF and (f) LVF in (i) punishment beatings, (ii) drug trafficking and dealing, (iii) intelligence gathering and (iv) violence. [156631]

Jane Kennedy: Both Loyalist and Republican paramilitary groups have been involved in paramilitary style attacks, intelligence gathering and violence. Paramilitaries have also been involved in drug trafficking and dealing. The Government do not comment on specific intelligence matters. It is now time for all paramilitary groupings to bring their activities to a complete and permanent end.

Police (North Belfast)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police vehicles were assigned for patrol in North Belfast in each year since 1996. [156627]

Jane Kennedy: The number of vehicles deployed on a daily basis within Northern Ireland (previously the three Sub-Divisions of Antrim Road/North Street/Tennent Street) over the years in question were:

	Number
1996	13 vehicles—10 Sub-Divisional Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
1997	13 vehicles—10 Sub-Divisional Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
1998	13 vehicles—10 Sub-Divisional Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
1999	13 vehicles—10 Sub-Divisional Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
2000	13 vehicles—10 Sub-Divisional Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
2001	11 vehicles—Eight District Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
2002	11 vehicles—Eight District Mobile Patrols and three Neighbourhood Patrols
2003	11 vehicles—Six Response Policing Patrols and five Sector Policing Patrols

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Police Ombudsman's Office

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what powers of arrest officers from the Police Ombudsman's Office of Northern Ireland have over civilians. [156689]

Jane Kennedy: The Police and Criminal Evidence (Application to Police Ombudsman) Order (Northern Ireland) 2000 provides that certain powers set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, including some general powers of arrest, will apply in relation to formal investigations by the Ombudsman under section 56 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. In addition, section 56(3) of that Act gives certain officers of the Ombudsman, for the purpose of conducting or assisting in the conduct of a formal investigation, the powers and privileges of a constable and these would include a power to arrest civilians.

Power Cuts

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unexpected power cuts there were in Northern Ireland in the last three years for which figures are available; what the cause was in each case; and what steps he is taking to secure the continuity of the power supply in Northern Ireland. [157656]

Mr. Pearson: The following table gives a breakdown of the unexpected power cuts recorded on the NIE network between 2001 and 2003. It does not distinguish between minor cuts of very short duration and more extensive power failures.

Unexpected power cuts recorded on the NIE network

Direct Cause of power cut	2001	2002	2003
Weather and environment	2,012	1,614	1,516
Ageing, wear and tear NIE equipment	2,001	2,072	1,753
Third party	1,439	1,387	1,213
Vandalism	118	112	120
Transient faults	2,601	2,526	2,078
Other faults (birds, animals, manufacturing faults etc.)	215	211	222
Total	8,386	7,922	6,902

I am satisfied that both the generation and supply of electricity in Northern Ireland are adequate to meet expected demand for at least the next five years.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) works closely with the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAER) and the industry to ensure continuity of supply through a variety of measures. These include extensive investment

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in the transmission and distribution network to ensure that there is minimum disruption of power supplies due to network related problems. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has invested some £418 million in the period 1998 to 2003 and this has contributed to a significant reduction in the incidence of power cuts related to network ageing, wear and tear, transient faults and to adverse weather conditions.

European Directive 2003/54/EC Schedule 4 requires member states to monitor security of supply issues, reporting every two years to the Commission on findings and measures taken to address problems. Such monitoring is currently the joint responsibility of DETI and the NIAER.

Safety Strategy (Older People)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the Community Safety Strategy for Older People. [156580]

Mr. Paul Murphy: A draft Community Safety Strategy for Older People is currently being completed and will be issued for consultation later this month.Community safety and the removal of the fear of crime from older people is a central issue within the Community Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland, and the focus of the strategy being drafted.

Following a period of consultation, the Strategy will begin to be implemented later this year.

Sign Language

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce interpreter training in Northern Ireland for those seeking to learn sign language. [157338]

Jane Kennedy: A programme to train Sign Language Interpreters was introduced in Northern Ireland in 1999 with funding from the European Social Fund and the Department for Employment and Learning. The programme—the Sign Language Interpreters Programme (SLIP)—was initiated by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). A number of Further Education Colleges also provide training in sign language, below interpreter level.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the case for providing signing to accommodate deaf people in any new Northern Ireland assembly. [157344]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Any assessment for the provision of facilities for any new Northern Ireland Assembly, including signing to accommodate deaf people, is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission upon restoration.

Sinn Fein

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1163W, what evidence he has collated on the involvement of Sinn Fein in criminal activity. [157757]

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Jane Kennedy: The investigation and collation of evidence is a matter for the Chief Constable in the first instance. He will pursue that evidence wherever it leads and will take action where there is a case to answer, through the judicial process.

Slow Driving

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been penalised for slow driving in each of the last five years. [157346]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The Chief Constable has advised me that there is no specific offence of slow driving. However, depending on the circumstances, the driver concerned may commit an offence of careless driving.

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