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6 Jul 2004 : Column 680W—continued

Equal Opportunities

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Government have provided funding for research into measures to combat the unemployment differential between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland as outlined in the Joint Declaration. [180993]

Mr. Spellar: Labour Market Dynamics research has been commissioned in line with a Joint Declaration commitment. The research examines gender, religion and disability differentials in relation to employment, unemployment and non-employment, trends over time and the main factors driving change.

The specific objectives include:

providing a description and explanation of the trends over time in differentials in employment, unemployment and non-employment in relation to gender, religion and disability;

statistically modelling the trends and outcomes for the key groups identified; and

commenting on targets set within the Department of Employment and Learning's Report on the Taskforce on Employability and Long-Term Unemployment (2002), to reduce these differentials.

The research is currently under way and is expected to report by the end of the year.

Fair Employment

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many formal complaints have been lodged with the Fair Employment Tribunal in each of the last five years; how many complaints were (a) rejected initially, (b) settled, (c) heard and upheld and (d) heard and rejected. [182086]

Mr. Gardiner: The information is in the following table.
Fair employment tribunal: cases registered each year and their position at 31 March 2004

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total registrations	499	561	613	481	466
Allowed after full hearing	3	5	2	2	1
Dismissed after preliminary hearing	11	15	9	7	4
Dismissed after full hearing	27	26	21	4	0
Dismissed/struck out for want of prosecution	5	18	10	3	0
Withdrawn	288	244	279	144	54
Conciliated by LRA	53	58	48	23	3
Settled between the parties	88	108	67	14	3
Settled between the parties—terms attached	2	2	0	1	0
Stayed	12	5	10	2	1
Live cases	10	80	167	281	400

Health Service Finance

Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures are in place to ensure that nurses' salaries claimed by general practices are paid at the salary levels claimed from the health boards. [181573]

Angela Smith: With the implementation of the new GMS contract with effect from 1 April 2004, the funding to meet the costs of all staff employed by general practices, including nursing staff, is no longer claimed back from Health and Social Services Boards. Instead this is provided by way of a global sum direct to each practice and it is then a matter for the individual practices to decide how that funding should be spent on staffing. The amount allocated to each practice is calculated using a workload allocation formula which is based on the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative patient needs and other costs.
 
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Invest Northern Ireland

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken for an application for assistance to be processed by Invest Northern Ireland is. [180682]

Mr. Gardiner: The time taken to process applications for assistance varies across the range of Invest NI's programmes, with the length of the appraisal process being dictated by both the way each specific programme operates and the complexity of the project put forward by a client.

In terms of Invest NI's main programmes, the current processing target for larger business development projects is 60 days. The processing target for less complex development cases is 30 days. These timescales relate to "controllable" time i.e. periods when an application is being dealt with by Invest NI and not awaiting further information from a client.

The target timescales are being met in the majority of cases, although there are exceptions where, for example, the case is particularly complex or the negotiations prolonged.

Pat Finucane Centre

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether public funds have been used to support the Pat Finucane Centre. [178227]

Mr. Spellar: The Community Relations Council has provided public funds totalling £10,376 in the last five years to the Pat Finucane Centre in respect of a number of specific projects.

Police (Best Value Regime)

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to the Police Service of Northern Ireland of administering the Best Value regime is in this financial year. [181174]

Mr. Pearson: A budget totalling £663,616 has been set aside to cover the costs of Best Value reviews in 2004–05.

Social Housing (Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road)

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether an assessment will be made of the impact on biodiversity action plans and protected landscapes of the application for planning permission for social housing for lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114/F and S/2004/0116F); [180994]

(2) whether the application for planning permission for social housing on lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114/F and S/2004/0116F) complies with the planning policy statement of the Planning Service in respect of the protection and enhancement of open space; [180995]

(3) how and under what process the application for planning permission for social housing on lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114F and S/2004/0116F) lands were declared surplus to the Department of Environment's requirements; and
 
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under what process Habinteg Housing Association was selected as the potential developer of social housing on these sites; [180996]

(4) what provision has been made to ensure that the present wildlife areas are maintained and enhanced in line with Department of Environment policy with reference to application for planning permission for social housing on lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114F and S/2004/0116F); [180997]

(5) whether an assessment will be made on access to the Ulster Way of the application for planning permission for social housing on lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114F and S/2004/0116F); [180998]

(6) if he will outline the level of community consultation undertaken by the Department of the Environment to change the zoning of the lands in respect of the application for planning permission for social housing on lands at Upper Dunmurry Lane/Old Golf Course Road (Ref. S/2004/0114F and S/2004/0116F). [180999]

Angela Smith: The land referred to belongs to the Department of the Environment (DOE). It was purchased in 1987 to facilitate a Roads Scheme. On completion of the scheme a considerable area was undeveloped and surplus to requirements. The Belfast Regeneration Office (BRO) took the lands for a social development project, but their remit changed and the project did not proceed. At the time of devolution, it was agreed that DOE would retain the land and the Environment and Heritage Service was assigned responsibility for it while BRO continued to act for the Department in taking forward the disposal. In line with procedures for the disposal of surplus land, expressions of interest were sought. The application from Habinteg Housing Association, supported by the Department for Social Development, was accepted subject to planning permission being secured.

The proposal, comprising two planning applications that were both accompanied by an Environmental Statement, is still under consideration by Planning Service. The land in question is not classified as a protected landscape. It is currently identified as open space in Belfast Urban Area Plan (2001) and the Lisburn Area Plan (2001). However, although Planning Policy Statement 8 affords protection to existing or proposed open space, the policy does also allow for the loss of open space in specific circumstances. Issues such as open space, biodiversity, wildlife and the Ulster Way will all be carefully considered as part of the planning process, which includes consultation with relevant bodies.

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