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29 Apr 2004 : Column 1233W—continued
Vacant/Derelict Land
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much previously developed land was (a) vacant and (b) derelict in England in each year since 1997. [169493]
Keith Hill: The available estimates are from the National Land Use Database of Previously Developed Land surveys of 1998, 2001 and 2002:
| Vacant | Derelict hectares | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 19,170 | 19,340 |
| 2001 | 19,720 | 21,410 |
| 2002 | 20,750 | 19,960 |
Results for 2003 will be published in the summer.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Autism
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on provision for those with autism in Northern Ireland. [168826]
Angela Smith: Provision for people with autism is the responsibility of a number of Government Departments and statutory bodies and a wide range of provision is available to help and support sufferers and their families.
The Department of Education has taken a proactive stance in supporting positive interventions for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and has allocated funding for ASD training for people in the range of pre-school settings and for the establishment of an Interboard ASD Training Group, which will develop training needs and support measures in this area. It is also planning the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in the education of children with ASD on an all Ireland basis. Complementary parent and teacher videos and CD-ROMs, along with guidance material on autism have been produced and an "ASD Guide to Classroom Practice" has been issued to all schools as an aid to teachers and classroom assistants.
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Health and Social Services Boards provide a range of mainstream and specialist healthcare services for children and adults with autism, including diagnostic and assessment services, family support services, respite services, day care services, befriending schemes, mental health services, learning disability services, training for parents and staff and collaboration with specialist voluntary organisations such as PAPA (Parents and Professionals and Autism) and PEAT (Parents' Education as Autism Therapists). The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's Priorities for Action 2004–05 includes action to enhance diagnostic, assessment and early intervention services for children with autism. An additional £0.5 million has been allocated for this purpose.
Other assistance is available through the Disablement Advisory Service and Jobskills programme of the Department of Employment and Learning and through Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance provided by the Social Security Agency.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were diagnosed as autistic in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [168827]
Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.
Core Gateway Costs
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Core Gateway costs are for a two-week course at the East Antrim Institute in Northern Ireland. [168623]
Mr. Gardiner: The Core Gateway cost for a two-week course at East Antrim Institute in Northern Ireland is £400 per participant. This is in line with payments made to all Providers of Core Gateway based on a rate of £40 per day for full attendance.
Inward Investment
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs were created (a) by inward investment projects and (b) through business associated with agreed inward investment projects, for each year from 1998 and expressed as a percentage of the figure for the UK as a whole. [168213]
Mr. Gardiner: The information is as follows:
(a) Table 1 details the number of jobs created by inward investment projects assisted during the five year period commencing 1995–96. While the question asks for each year from 1998, it should be recognised that since assisted projects take some time to reach maturity, it has not been practice to produce job creation figures until four years subsequent to the offers of assistance being made. Therefore, this answer covers only two of the years requested but has been expanded to include the previous three years.
| Financial Year | Job creation up to March 2003 |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 5,284 |
| 1998–99 | 2,856 |
| 1997–98 | 4,187 |
| 1996–97 | 4,426 |
| 1995–96 | 2,979 |
| Total | 19,732 |
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To provide a more up to date picture of inward investment activity Table 2 presents the number of jobs promoted by inward investment projects during the five year period from 1998–99.
| Financial Year | Jobs Promoted |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 1,033 |
| 2001–02 | 2,526 |
| 2000–01 | 5,506 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,584 |
| 1998–99 | 4,162 |
| Grand Total | 19,811 |
Previous evidence provided by the Industrial Development Board (IDE) to the Northern Ireland Audit Office showed that approximately 70 per cent. of jobs promoted were created and a similar proportion of grant offered was actually paid.
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(b) No estimates are available concerning the secondary impacts associated with inward investment projects.
At present Invest NI has no statistically robust method of producing comparative figures regarding job promotion/creation figures achieved by the UK as a whole. Invest NI intends over the coming year to engage with UK Trade and Investment to develop an approach which will enable such comparisons to be made on a consistent basis. Nevertheless, Invest NI, and previously the IDB has indicative evidence to suggest that Northern Ireland's share of new contestable UK Foreign Direct Investment from the manufacturing and international tradeable service industry sectors is in the region of 10 per cent.
Legal Aid
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people (a) applied for and (b) received legal aid in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how many people had an application rejected. [168195]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
The Legal Services Commission records the number of applications for assistance rather than the number of clients assisted. The following table sets out details of legal aid applications for the period 1998–99 to 2002–03.
| Legal advice and assistance (LAA) | Advice by way of representation (ABWOR) | Children Order | Civil | Criminal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claims | Applications | Applications | Applications | Applications | |
| 1998–99 | |||||
| Received | 57,969 | 5,633 | 5,506 | 15,813 | 19,729 |
| Granted | 5,121 | 4,600 | 6,713 | 19,190 | |
| Refused | 79 | 71 | 2,358 | 539 | |
| 1999–2000 | |||||
| Received | 45,292 | 5,798 | 5,198 | 14,109 | 20,063 |
| Granted | 5,285 | 4,950 | 12,586 | 19,394 | |
| Refused | 408 | 244 | 4,439 | 669 | |
| 2000–01 | |||||
| Received | 46,656 | 5,622 | 5,133 | 14,097 | 19,344 |
| Granted | 5,157 | 4,824 | 11,480 | 18,681 | |
| Refused | 177 | 123 | 2,847 | 663 | |
| 2001–02 | |||||
| Received | 41,949 | 5,797 | 5,708 | 14,997 | 17,820 |
| Granted | 5,440 | 5,403 | 9,011 | 17,303 | |
| Refused | 235 | 181 | 2038 | 517 | |
| 2002–03 | |||||
| Received | 55,292 | 5,745 | 5,999 | 13,569 | 21,732 |
| Granted | 5,351 | 5,656 | 11,102 | 20,941 | |
| Refused | 316 | 252 | 3,167 | 791 |
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of legal aid was in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [168196]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
The following table sets out the total cost of legal aid in Northern Ireland from 1998–99 to 2002–03:
| Criminal | Civil | Sub total | Administration | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 15.93 | 14.16 | 30.09 | 2.58 | 32.67 |
| 1999–2000 | 23.25 | 11.40 | 34.65 | 2.69 | 37.34 |
| 2000–01 | 21.88 | 15.82 | 37.70 | 2.87 | 40.57 |
| 2001–02 | 24.57 | 16.96 | 41.53 | 3.26 | 44.79 |
| 2002–03 | 26.77 | 18.21 | 44.98 | 3.58 | 48.56 |
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