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22 Mar 2004 : Column 584W—continued
Killyleagh Development
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Northern Ireland departments intend to invest in Killyleagh in the next year. [158532]
Mr. Pearson: Details of the amounts that departments in the Northern Ireland administration (including Agencies and non-departmental public bodies) intend to invest in Killyleagh in the next financial year are shown as follows.
| Details | £000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers Agency | Replacement of culvert in Shrigley, Killyleagh. | 5 |
| Roads Service | Footpath from the Comber Road Estate to St. Mary's School. | 10 |
| Surface dressing for the Innishbeg and Kerrywynn Estates. | 10 | |
| Surface dressing on the A22 Comber Road, from River Bridge to Comber Road Estate. | 5 | |
| Housing Association Grant | Over the next three years, a grant of 341,000 will be provided for a new build housing scheme of four units for general needs accommodation. Clanmil Housing Association will provide these units at Frederick Street, Killyleagh. | 137 |
| Housing Executive | Variety of projects including improvements, repairs, adaptations and maintenance. | 510 |
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Libraries
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) public libraries and (b) mobile library units there were within each Education and Library Board district in Northern Ireland in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement on public library usage in Northern Ireland. [161287]
Angela Smith: The following table sets out details of public libraries and mobile library units in each
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Education and Library Board area since 2000. We can be justifiably proud of our public library service that is regularly used by people of all ages and social classes. While the trend in traditional library usage has been declining in recent years, the most recent published figures show that in 2001–02 approximately 7 million visits were made to public libraries in Northern Ireland. Since the installation of the Peoples Network during 2002–03, indications are that membership of public libraries has been increasing but as yet official figures are not available.
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branches | Mobiles | Branches | Mobiles | Branches | Mobiles | |
| Belfast | 21 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 3 |
| North Eastern | 36 | 8 | 37 | 8 | 37 | 8 |
| South Eastern | 26 | 5 | 26 | 5 | 26 | 5 |
| Southern | 23 | 7 | 23 | 7 | 23 | 7 |
| Western | 16 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 16 | 9 |
| Total | 122 | 32 | 123 | 32 | 123 | 32 |
This table excludes the Irish Studies Centre, Coleraine, the Local Studies Unit, Ballymena and the Irish Studies Centre in Armagh.
Multiple Sclerosis
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase provision for multiple sclerosis sufferers in (a) North Down and (b) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [161888]
Angela Smith: Over 500 patients in Northern Ireland are receiving beta interferon treatment and there are around 65 on the waiting list. These figures include 198 patients receiving beta interferon in the Eastern Health and Social Services Board area, with funding available for a further 12 patients.
Additional £100,000 recurrent funding was provided last year to boost the Northern Ireland infrastructure for the delivery of these medicines, including the appointment of additional pharmacists, technician support and specialist nurses who are now in post. Additional consultants have been appointed and Regional joint medical/nursing clinics are also being set up. The Ulster Hospital, covering the North Down area, is working with the Royal Victoria Hospital to develop a joint plan for a shared additional consultant neurologist post. A consultation service for multiple sclerosis patients is expected to be up and running there within the next 12 months.
Rail Services
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with what frequency safety inspections are carried out on Translink rolling stock, broken down by type. [161893]
Mr. Spellar: I have been advised by Translink that:
- (a) bogey inspections are carried out on all rolling stock every 48 hours;
- (b) 450 and 80 Class rolling stock and ex-Gatwick Express carriages are inspected every 5,000 miles;
- (c) Enterprise carriages are inspected every 24 hours and a weekly examination is also carried out; and
- (d) locomotives are inspected every three months.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisation is responsible for the (a) inspection and (b) maintenance of railway lines in Northern Ireland; how often safety inspections are carried out on railway lines in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [161894]
Mr. Spellar: Northern Ireland Railways is responsible for the inspection and maintenance of railway lines in Northern Ireland. Primarily Northern Ireland Railway's own labour force carries out maintenance, with input from specialist contractors as required for technical or volume reasons. I have been advised by Translink that the inspection regime is as follows:
- Track
- Jointed track is visually inspected every other day, Monday-Friday.
- Continually welded track is inspected weekly.
- Supervisory inspections are carried out at least half yearly.
- Technical condition of track is recorded twice yearly.
- Structures
- Sea defences are inspected annually.
- Rock slopes are inspected monthly.
- Bridges are inspected visually during track walks and structurally on an annual basis.
- Signalling equipment
- All signalling equipment is inspected four times per year.
Additional inspections are carried out after incidents such as severe weather and where impact damage has occurred.
Civil Servants
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 1996–97, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department. [158185]
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Mr. Pearson: Most recruitment to the Northern Ireland Civil Service, including NICS staff seconded to Northern Ireland Office is carried out by the Department of Finance and Personnel. Expenditure by the Department on recruitment services is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 3.5 |
| 2002–03 | 1.5 |
| 2003–04 | 1.4 |
Information on expenditure before 2001–02 and on expenditure by other Departments is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Smacking
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses to the Office of Law Reform's consultation Physical Punishment in the Home supported (a) the law as it stands, (b) a change in the law to restrict smacking by parents and (c) a change in the law to completely ban smacking by parents. [161892]
Mr. Pearson: "The Office of Law Reform's Consultation Paper—"Physical Punishment in the Home—Thinking about the Issues, Looking at the Evidence" generated a huge amount of interest and attracted almost 1,700 responses.
Officials have now completed an analysis of those responses and are aiming to publish that analysis, which contains the information requested, in the next few weeks. A copy of the analysis will be placed on the Office of Law Reform's website and I will arrange for a hard copy to be forwarded on as soon as it becomes available."
Speed Cameras
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many speeding detections were made by (a) hand held and (b) permanent cameras between March 2003 and February 2004, broken down by (A) parliamentary constituency and (B) council area; and how many convictions resulted in each case. [160320]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Chief Constable has advised me that speed cameras are not located as a result of parliamentary constituency or council area. They are used to enforce speed restrictions in all areas of the Province where there is a history of road traffic collisions resulting in fatalities and serious injuries or where there is evidence of speeding.
The number of speeding detections made in 2003 are:
- Hand held devices=23,840
- Permanent (fixed) cameras=5,772
The detections broken down by police districts are:
22 Mar 2004 : Column 588W
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the location of each permanent speed camera in Northern Ireland was between March 2003 and February 2004; how many detections were made by each camera; how many convictions were made as a result; and how much money was generated through speeding fines from each camera. [160321]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Chief Constable has advised me that the information is not available in the format requested however, the locations of the four fixed speed cameras and the number of detections in 2003 are:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Saintfield Road, Belfast | 3,509 |
| Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast | 1,656 |
| Antrim Road, Belfast | 445 |
| Springfield Road | 162 |
It is not possible to say how many convictions resulted as the disposal of detections is accomplished in different ways.
From July 2003 to January 2004 a total of £461,753 has been collected.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many speed cameras were operated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland between March 2003 and February 2004, broken down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) council area. [160323]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Chief Constable has advised me that speed cameras are not located by parliamentary constituency or council area but are located to enforce speed restrictions in all areas of the Province where there is a history of road traffic collisions resulting in fatalities and serious injuries or where there is evidence of speeding.
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The number of fixed speed cameras in operation by the Police Service is as follows:
| Fixed cameras location | Police DCU |
|---|---|
| Saintfield Road, Belfast | Castlereagh area |
| Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast | East Belfast area |
| Antrim Road, Belfast | North Belfast area |
| Springfield Road, Belfast | West Belfast area |
In addition there are eight mobile speed cameras, which operate across all of Northern Ireland.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fixed speed cameras are in operation in Northern Ireland; how many new cameras are planned; how many drivers were caught speeding in each of the last five years; what revenue was raised as a result; where that revenue went; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which these cameras have contributed to a reduction in occurrence of road accidents caused by speeding. [156100]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Four fixed site safety cameras came into operation in Northern Ireland on 1 July 2003 and installation of a further six to 10 fixed cameras is planned in the next six months. A total of 461,753 has been collected and so far all receipts have been passed to the UK Consolidated Fund.
Over the last five years 138,044 motorists have been detected by all forms of speed detection equipment for excess speed as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 24,696 |
| 2000 | 25,222 |
| 2001 | 28,659 |
| 2002 | 29,855 |
| 2003 | 29,612 |
It is too early to evaluate the effect of the safety camera scheme in terms of the Government's road casualty reduction targets but indications are that there has been a considerable reduction in speeds at a fixed camera location.
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