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24 May 2004 : Column 1335W—continued
Trafficked Children
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what conclusions he has reached about services for trafficked children following Operation Paladin. [173797]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 19 May 2004]: I welcome the findings of the Paladin report which was published on Monday. Operation Paladin has been a valuable exercise in determining the nature of child migration to the UK. We will work with the Home Office and other organisations in considering the report and its recommendations.
It is of course for local authorities to decide how best to provide support and services for children in need in its area, including those who are the victims of trafficking. When a child enters the country alone and claims asylum or there are concerns that he or she may have been
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trafficked, the immigration service should immediately refer the child to the relevant local authority's social services department. The social services department will undertake a needs assessment and will provide services in the light of the outcome of that assessment. These services should be tailored to the individual needs of the child, just as they should be for any child in need.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Airports (Aid)
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which airports in Northern Ireland receive financial aid from (a) Her Majesty's Government, (b) the European Union and (c) other public sources; what the total cost of that support was during the most recent financial year for which information is available; and how much that support represented per passenger. [174199]
Mr. Spellar:
During the most recent financial year for which information is available, April 2003 to March 2004, no financial aid was provided from Her Majesty's Government, the European Union or other public sources, for which the Government have responsibility, to airports in Northern Ireland.
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Armagh College
Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) A5 and (b) A2 students were enrolled by Armagh College of Further and Higher Education to study (i) French, (ii) chemistry, (iii) art, (iv) physics and (v) economics in (A) 2001–02, (B) 2002–03 and (C) 2003–04. [174044]
Mr. Gardiner: The following table contains the requested information.
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject area | AS | A2 | AS | A2 | AS | A2 |
| French | 15 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| Chemistry | 25 | 21 | 30 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Art | 23 | 5 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 3 |
| Physics | 31 | 11 | 18 | 22 | 4 | 12 |
| Economics | 27 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 11 |
| Total | 121 | 66 | 85 | 77 | 50 | 50 |
Source:
Armagh College (data are provisional).
Arts Funding
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what conditions of (a) copyright and (b) royalty payments are attached to grant aid awarded by the (i) Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (ii) Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and (iii) Ulster-Scots Agency. [173188]
Angela Smith: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland does not attach conditions relating to (a) copyright or (b) royalty payments to any award. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure does not award grant aid for the publication of creative writing in Ulster-Scots. Government support for the arts in Northern Ireland is disbursed chiefly through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
The Ulster-Scots Agency has stipulated conditions relating to copyright and "royalty" payments in the letters of offer it issues on grant applications. With regard to copyright the Agency has attempted to ensure that it can use material it has grant aided, for example in promotions or on the Agency website. With regard to royalty payments the Agency has attempted to ensure that grants it has made which have a commercial aspect (such as to publishers who will sell books printed with Agency assistance) contain a 'claw back' clause, whereby a percentage of the income from such sales is returned to the Agency. Both of these practices are currently under review.
Corporation Tax
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact the low corporation tax rates in operation in the Republic of Ireland has on manufacturing industries in Northern Ireland. [174198]
Mr. Gardiner:
No formal assessment has been made as to the impact that the low corporation tax rate in operation in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) has had on manufacturing industries in Northern Ireland.
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Although the RoI can offer a lower rate of corporation tax, in recent years, Invest NI has successfully secured new investment from the RoI by promoting Northern Ireland as a region where companies can reap the benefits of the greater competitiveness of the Northern Ireland economy. In practice, it has been found that the more competitive cost base in Northern Ireland often outweighs the corporate taxation differential between Northern Ireland and the RoI.
Indeed, a recent report, commissioned by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, into the cost of operating business in Northern Ireland concluded that lower labour and property costs, which represent a significant component of the cost base of many firms, places Northern Ireland businesses at a competitive advantage vis-a-vis Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
Creative Writing
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total amount of public money granted by the (a) Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (b) Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and (c) Ulster-Scots Agency was towards the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language in Northern Ireland in each year since 1999. [173187]
Angela Smith: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has not made funding available specifically for the publication of writing in the Ulster-Scots language. However, in the 1998–99 financial year, the Arts Council made a grant of £7,500 to the Ulster-Scots Language Society for the publication of a book by Philip Robinson. Since then the Arts Council has received no applications for publications in the Ulster-Scots language.
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's funds in support of the arts in Northern Ireland are disbursed chiefly through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department has not made any funding directly available for the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language.
The amount of funding granted by the Ulster-Scots Agency towards the publication of creative writing in the Ulster-Scots language in Northern Ireland since 1999 is detailed in the following table.
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | — |
| 2000 | — |
| 2001 | — |
| 2002 | 6,280.00 |
| 2003 | — |
| 2004 | (24)21,855.00 |
(24) Projected.
Electricity Tariffs
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the application to the European Commission for clearance for a scheme to reduce electricity tariffs in Northern Ireland. [173409]
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Mr. Gardiner: A paper has been submitted to the European Commission outlining the Government's proposal to make an intervention aimed at bringing about a 10 per cent. decrease in electricity prices for non-domestic consumers below the level they would otherwise have been.
It is hoped that a meeting to discuss the matter with Commission officials will be held shortly.
Government Investment
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of financial support to business from (a) the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland, (b) the Local Enterprise Development Unit and (c) Invest Northern Ireland was represented by (i) capital grants, (ii) grants for research and development, (iii) grants for training, (iv) grants for marketing, (v) loans and (vi) investment in equity in each of the last five years. [173651]
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Mr. Gardiner: The following table shows the percentage of financial support to business by category in each of the last five years offered by Invest NI and its predecessors. Although the question does not specifically mention the Industrial Research and Technology Unit, as this agency was responsible for providing research and development support prior to Invest NI being set up, it has also been included in the table. Information relating to training support under the Company Development Programme (CDP) as administered by the Business Support Division of DETI has also been incorporated, as this function is now included within Invest NI's remit. In all cases the figures shown relate to offers of assistance made by the organisations concerned.
It has not been possible to provide detailed information on levels of marketing support as a marketing grant is a form of revenue grant and cannot easily be separated from other revenue grants.
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 (Provisional) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Grant | 28 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 9 |
| Research and Development | 8 | 9 | 13 | 29 | 18 |
| Training (CDP) | 7 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 12 |
| Loans | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Equity | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Revenue Grant(25) | 43 | 47 | 37 | 28 | 33 |
| Other Assistance(26) | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
(25) Revenue Grants include a range of grants such as marketing grant, employment grant, management salary grant and operating grant.
(26) Other Assistance includes consultancy grants, incentive grants, quality grants, trade missions, business improvement services, tourism development as well as assistance to third party organisations.
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