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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1664W—continued
Prison Statistics
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each of the detention centres and prisons (a) how many places there were, (b) how many prisoners are occupying them and (c) how many prisoners share cells. [159958]
Jane Kennedy: As of 4 March 2004, the number of places available and the number of prisoners occupying them is as shown in the following table. The number of prisoners who share cells is difficult to establish as that figure changes on a daily basis and therefore the figures shown represent the approximate number of cells currently capable of being shared.
| Maghaberry | Magilligan | Hydebank Wood | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cells available | 753 | 352 | 212 |
| Number of prisoners occupying cells | 716 | 348 | 196 |
| Approximate number of cells currently capable of being shared | 129 | 12 | (18)0 |
(18) In Hydebank Wood, no cells are capable of being shared although dormitories can accommodate a number of inmates.
Punishment Beatings
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment beatings have been reported in the past two months, broken down by constituency; and how many there were in the same period in 2003. [158636]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is as follows.
Note:
2004 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
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Ulster Scots
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what criteria he uses to measure demand for the Ulster Scots language to be a subject option on the education curriculum; [159538]
- (2) what he considers to be an appropriate level of demand to merit the inclusion of the Ulster Scots language in the curriculum; [159562]
(3) if the system used by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland for measuring demand for Ulster Scots is scientifically based and quality assured; [159540]
(4) what steps the Department of Education has taken to seek the views of the public on the issue of demand for Ulster Scots language; [159541]
(5) what criteria he uses to measure demand for the Ulster Scots language to be a subject option on the education curriculum; whether the system used to measure demand is (a) scientifically based and (b) quality assured; what margin of error there is in the measurements of demand; what steps he has taken to seek the views of the public on such demand; and if he will publish the results of (i) surveys and (ii) measurements of demand for the Ulster Scots language in Northern Ireland; [159560]
(6) what equality impact assessment he has carried out on his policy on the inclusion of the (a) Irish and (b) Ulster Scots languages in the school curriculum. [159563]
Jane Kennedy: To merit consideration of the inclusion of the Ulster Scots language in the curriculum would require a demand from a significant number of schools. As part of a recent widespread public consultation on the proposals for a revised statutory curriculum all consultees had the opportunity to comment on the content of the proposed curriculum and the potential equality impact of the detailed proposals. No such demand was evident during the consultation.
Unionist Paramilitary Groups
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on recent meetings with Unionist parties which discussed methods of curbing the activities of Unionist paramilitary groups. [158778]
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Mr. Paul Murphy: In our discussions with all political parties, including those involved in the review of the operation of the Belfast Agreement, we have emphasised the need for an end to paramilitary activity, as set out in paragraph 13 of the Joint Declaration. We believe all parties must use any influence they have in order to bring this about.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Benefits Appeals
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful appeals were made against decisions on (i) disability and (ii) sickness benefits in each year since 1997 in Greater London. [158460]
Maria Eagle: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 11 March 2004:
- The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the number of successful and unsuccessful appeals against decisions on disability and sickness benefits since 1997 in Greater London.
- The information is not available for Greater London. However the available information is outlined in the table. The Appeals Service regional sites based at Nottingham, Sutton, and Birmingham deal with parts of Greater London.
- I hope this reply is helpful.
Appeals figures notes:
Sickness Benefits means—Severe Disablement Allowance; Personal Capability Assessment (non IB); Incapacity Benefit
Disability Benefits means—Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit; Disability Working Allowance; Disability Living Allowance; Disabled Persons Tax Credit; Attendance Allowance
Figures for 1997 have not been included, as they are not available for the full year and as result would be inconsistent with other years.
All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.
Figures for the latest months may rise significantly as information feeds through to the Appeals Service.
Figures are rounded to the nearest five except for the National Live Load, which is rounded to the nearest hundred.
'—' denotes data equal to nil or negligible.
Incapacity Benefit data is not available before 2000 due to a change in methodology. The live load figures for Sickness Benefits and Disability Benefits as at August 2003 were 2,715,800 and 4,228,100 respectively. These figures cannot be broken down to those for Appeals Service regional office areas to give the number of appeals cleared as a percentage of the live load.
Source:
100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.
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