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Easter Uprising

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is regarding returning original documents held by his office from the Easter uprising in Dublin in 1916 to (a) the nearest living relative and (b) the National Archives of Ireland. [162316]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office holds no such records on the Easter uprising in Dublin in 1916. Public release of records by the Northern Ireland Office is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Public Records Legislation.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason his Office retained original documents on the Easter uprising in Dublin in 1916. [162319]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office has not retained any original documents on the Easter uprising in Dublin in 1916.

Energy Costs

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funds he will make available to help reduce energy costs in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [162669]

Mr. Pearson: The 2003 Budget included a proposal to remove some of the excess costs inherited from privatisation and reduce electricity bills for Northern Ireland businesses by some £30 million per year. I hope that the result of this will be an average decrease in electricity prices across the business sector of 10 per cent. below the levels they would otherwise have been, taking effect from later this year.

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Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment officials are continuing to work with The Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation and Northern Ireland Electricity on the development of this proposed intervention. They are also working with the Department of Trade and Industry on the need to secure EU State Aid approval.

In addition I am, as part of the new strategic energy framework for Northern Ireland, considering other means of addressing the high energy costs here, including actions that can be taken to improve energy efficiency.

Fisheries

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what financial assistance is provided to fishermen in (a) Portavogie, (b) Ardglass and (c) Kilkeel who are involved in a tie-up-scheme to assist the Cod Recovery Programme; and if he will make a statement. [162918]

Mr. Pearson: A transitional aid scheme has been drawn up in consultation with the local industry and is currently under consideration by the European Commission.

My officials are pressing the Commission for their approval to detailed scheme proposals. Only when all essential approvals have been secured and the scheme has been launched will the figures of compensation paid to vessel owners by port be available.

Pay Dispute (Universities)

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding the pay dispute at universities in Northern Ireland. [162695]

Jane Kennedy: The Association of University Teachers (AUT) is taking industrial action in support of its pay claim. University staff pay is determined by central UK-wide negotiating machinery in which Government are not involved.

The Department for Employment and Learning provides funding towards the recurrent costs of the universities but is not the employer of AUT members and has no locus in the determination of their pay. They are directly employed by the universities, which are autonomous bodies responsible for setting their own salary levels.

Planning and Development

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much the establishment of the area planning and development partnerships is expected to cost; and what budget will be allocated to the area planning and development partnerships in each Education and Library Board area; [160987]

(2) how much the establishment of the Strategic Planning and Implementation Group is expected to cost; and what budget will be allocated to it. [160988]

Jane Kennedy: The arrangements for the establishment of the Strategic Planning and Implementation Group and the Area Planning and Development Partnerships are under consideration. The purpose of these groups is to

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provide a forum for key interests to work together. Costs have not yet been determined but are expected to be modest.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what steps have been taken to establish strategic planning and implementation groups; [160991]

(2) what steps have been taken (a) to establish area and development partnerships and (b) to appoint area planning and development partnership staff. [160992]

Jane Kennedy: The membership and functions of the Strategic Planning and Implementation Group are currently under consideration and I expect the Group to be established shortly. The Department of Education will take advice from the Group about the functions of Area Planning and Development Partnerships before they are established.

School Lockers

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of schools in Northern Ireland provide full locker facilities for all pupils attending school. [161291]

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Seamus Ludlow

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Director of Public Prosecutions received papers prepared by the Chief Constable arising from his investigation into the murder of Mr. Seamus Ludlow; and what actions have been taken in respect of prosecutions in this case. [161219]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland received the police investigation file in relation to the death of Seamus Ludlow on 23 October 1998.

On 15 October 1999 the direction for no prosecution was issued.

Southern Education and Library Board

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when annual funding to the Southern Education and Library Board will be made available; and if he will make a statement. [160333]

Jane Kennedy: I am pleased to say that all Education and Library Boards have now received details of their financial allocations for the 2004–05 financial year. These allocations reflect the Government's focus on improving the quality of service delivery in primary and post-primary education linked to a quality youth service.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have so far been recruited to (a) the armed forces and

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(b) the police force in Afghanistan; how many of these recruits to the Afghan armed forces and police force have been retained (i) during the training and (ii) after the training has been completed; and how he intends to improve the retention of new recruits to the Afghan armed forces and police force. [162939]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: A total of 13.656 personnel have so far been recruited to the Afghan National Army (ANA). 8,912 have completed training and are now serving with deployed units, 1,589 are currently in training and a further 1,240 are at the initial processing stage. A total of 20,000 personnel have been or are being trained for the Afghan National Police (ANP) force. We do not have exact figures for retention in the ANP but overall retention rates appear better than in the ANA. Both army and police training are being accelerated following a recent significant increase in resources from the US.

International assistance for Afghanistan on army and police training is led by the US and Germany respectively. The UK has provided substantial assistance in both fields, elements of which should directly support retention. Support for ANA development has included £830,000 for refurbishment of ANA barracks to provide decent living and working conditions. We are in the process of providing a further £10 million to develop ANA recruitment centres. The UK provided basic assistance to the ANP to help ensure the retention of national police deployed in Mazar-e Sharif (where our Provincial Reconstruction Team is located). In addition, the UK has provided nearly £1 million of support to German-led refurbishment of the Afghan Border Police Headquarters in Kabul.

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policies are in place to prevent violence targeted against humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan. [162968]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Officials from the FCO, DflD and the MoD regularly meet representatives of the British Afghanistan Agencies Group to discuss a range of issues including security.

We and our international partners are committed to helping the Afghan Government improve the security situation in Afghanistan. In October 2003, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force beyond Kabul. Work is in hand to expand the network of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) deployed across Afghanistan, including in the south and south-east. PRTs aim to support the authority of the Afghan Government, improve the security situation, facilitate development and reconstruction, and support Security Sector Reform. In the long-term Afghanistan must have an effective national army and police force. Work to recruit and train them has been under way for some time, with our active support and involvement. A wider programme of Security Sector Reform is also underway, including the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants.

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