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International Fund for Ireland

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the projects funded by the International Fund for Ireland for the Killyleagh area of Down district council; and what the total amount awarded per project has been. [179663]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I have asked the Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland to respond to the hon. Lady directly.

Invest Northern Ireland

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken by Invest Northern Ireland to simplify their procedures and application processes to encourage businesses to use their services. [180681]

Mr. Gardiner: Invest NI has recently rationalised its product range, moving to a smaller number of broader, more flexible Business Support Solutions. The rationalisation exercise has reduced the number of programmes on offer from 184 to 86. In an effort to minimise any confusion among clients applying for support, Invest NI's new Business Solutions portfolio was communicated to the Northern Ireland business community during January and early February 2004.

Invest NI has adopted a sectoral approach to its client portfolio, concentrating its knowledge of particular industrial and commercial areas in discrete client groups
 
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within the organisation. Clients of Invest NI are allocated a Client Executive to co-ordinate their interactions with various parts of the organisation.

Every effort is made to clearly communicate the application process, offer practical advice and to process applications as promptly as possible. Invest NI is however responsible for the management of public funds and must therefore have in place rigorous and defensible appraisal procedures.

Literacy

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the projects which have been designed and implemented to raise literacy levels in Northern Ireland schools and post-16 institutions since 1996; what research has been conducted into the effectiveness of such projects; and when the next literacy levels research will be carried out. [180967]

Mr. Gardiner: A wide ranging strategy to raise literacy standards has been in operation since 1996. The strategy includes:

strengthened Education and Library Board structures to support schools;

target setting at school level (including a requirement on schools to set their own targets), as well as at overall level;

early intervention programmes for pupils struggling with reading;

a major programme of training for key teachers; and

the provision of summer literacy (and numeracy) schemes.

The strategy has been regularly evaluated, and revised as appropriate, by the Literacy Strategy Steering Group; the Reading Recovery and Summer Schemes elements have also been evaluated externally. The need for future research will be assessed, taking account of developments in the curriculum such as the Enriched Curriculum.

In 1996 Northern Ireland participated in the international Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The survey, published in 1998, indicated that 24 per cent. of those aged between 16 and 65 in Northern Ireland performed at the lowest level of literacy, level 1. In October 2002, the Department for Employment and Learning launched the Essential Skills for Living Strategy and Action Plan in response to this survey.

To date, the Department has supported 14,500 adult learners and aims to encourage a further 10,500 into learning during 2004–05. As the Essential Skills for Living Strategy and Action plan has been in place for less than two years, the Department has not yet conducted any research to determine the effectiveness of the Strategy. However an evaluation plan is being put in place; the next International survey of adult literacy is currently being planned for 2010.

Mr. Robert Jameson

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers are involved in the investigation of the murder of Mr. Robert Jameson at Trillick, County Tyrone, on 17 January 1974. [180924]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Service of Northern Ireland is presently conducting an assessment of the information available in respect of the murder of Mr. Jameson in
 
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order to identify any investigative opportunities. The actual number of officers deployed at any given time varies according to the most efficient use of resources within the Crime Operation Department.

Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the two areas chosen under the Department of Social Developments Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy that have developed their strategies will have to wait until the other nine areas are at the same level. [181000]

Mr. Spellar: I intend to make an announcement shortly on the final selection of Neighbourhood Renewal areas. The selected areas will be supported in establishing Neighbourhood Partnership Boards and creating Neighbourhood Action Plans. As individual Action Plans are completed and approved, the Department for Social Development will release resources into the area to support the implementation of a range of social, economic, environmental and community capacity improvements. Partnerships that are able to use existing plans as starting points are likely to move to implementation more quickly.

Obesity

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to promote physical activity as a means of tackling obesity in Northern Ireland. [179859]

Angela Smith: It is widely recognised that the fundamental causes of obesity are physical inactivity and poor diet. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety allocated £500,000 for the promotion of physical activity in 2004–05 and is also working with other Departments and key personnel to develop revised strategies and action plans on both physical activity and food and nutrition.

A new Physical Activity Strategy and Action Plan will be issued for public consultation early in July and one on food and nutrition is expected to be ready by the end of the year. Following publication of the definitive strategies, structures will be put in place to take forward the agreed actions.

A task force on obesity in children and young people is also being established under the auspices of the Ministerial Group on Public Health.

The Sports Council for Northern Ireland, through its contribution to the Strategy for the Development of Sport, promotes physical activity as a valuable and demonstrable contributor to quality of life in terms of social, economic and health benefits. For example, the Youth Sport Programme promotes the development of physical activity in primary schools. The Community Sport Programme has been designed to increase physical activity among those in Northern Ireland's most deprived areas.

Police (Civilianised Posts)

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police posts in Northern Ireland were civilianised in 2003–04. [181178]

 
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Mr. Pearson: Records held by the Police Service of Northern Ireland indicate that 112 police posts were civilianised during 2003–04.

Post Office Card Accounts

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many post office card accounts were receiving payments of State Pension and Pension Credit at Northern Ireland's Post Offices by the end of 2003. [180974]

Mr. Spellar: At 28 December 2003 17,705 customers in receipt of Retirement Pension and State Pension Credit were receiving their benefit into Post Office card accounts.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the June 2003 Crest Guidelines on the Management of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Adults. [179655]

Angela Smith: The Crest Guidelines on the Management of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Adults were launched in June 2003 at a major conference attended by over 250 delegates. The guidelines have been endorsed by the four Health and Social Services Boards, which commission services, and are being used by statutory and voluntary sector service provides to inform service development. The therapies recommended in the guidelines are used in the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation in Omagh, and at the Family Trauma Centre, Belfast.

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