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European Parliamentary Elections

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many voters were turned away from polling stations in Northern Ireland at the recent European parliamentary elections for not having valid photographic identification. [179494]

 
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Mr. Spellar: 2,622 electors were originally turned away having arrived at a polling station without valid photographic identification. 1,123 of those electors subsequently returned before the close of poll with an alternative, correct form of ID and were able to cast their vote. The remainder of this total—1,499 electors—were unable to vote because of a failure to produce valid identification.

The totals recorded are as follows.

Constituency	Number originally turned away for invalid ID	Number of these not returning
Belfast East	106	69
Belfast North	113	68
Belfast South	92	46
Belfast West	157	82
East Antrim	96	57
East Londonderry	143	86
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	200	108
Foyle	218	114
Lagan Valley	93	55
Mid Ulster	233	138
Newry and Armagh	200	108
North Antrim	224	134
North Down	81	54
South Antrim	124	74
South Down	145	86
Strangford	103	58
Upper Bann	151	71
West Tyrone	143	91
Total	2,622	1,499

Harassment

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what precise conduct of the employee of the Department of Education in Northern Ireland found guilty in May 2001 of harassing a colleague, was deemed by the Department to have constituted the harassment; and whether this information was made known to the employee at the time the charge was levelled. [185152]

Mr. Gardiner: Following a thorough and impartial investigation the individual to whom the hon. Member's question refers was found to have acted in an inappropriate manner during a meeting with a colleague that caused the individual to feel upset and intimidated.

The specific actions that were deemed to be inappropriate conduct were:

(a) To ignore a member of staff in a distressed condition, and

(b) To continue with a particular line of questioning and critical personal observations.

The person to whom the hon. Member's question refers was informed of the charge on 21 May 2001, when a formal written statement defining the disciplinary charge was issued, and subsequently on 24 February 2003 in a written response to correspondence from a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland.
 
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Housing Executive Properties

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what proportion of former Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties that are retained by the initial owner but are now privately rented were rented within (a) three years, (b) five years, (c) seven years and (d) 10 years of the purchase; [183507]

(2) what proportion of former Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties are retained by the initial owner but are now privately rented. [183512]

Mr. Spellar: The Housing Executive is unable to provide the information. The consultation document launched on 18 May 2004 proposing amendments to the House Sales Scheme and the extension of the statutory Right to Buy Scheme to Housing Associations tenants sets out a range of measures to encourage the retention of properties in the social rented sector.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many former Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties bought initially with a discount have been resold; and of these, what proportion were resold within (a) three, (b) five, (c) seven and (d) 10 years. [183511]

Mr. Spellar: The information is not readily available. The issue of discounts is covered in the consultation document launched on 18 May 2004 proposing amendments to the House Sales Scheme and extending the statutory Right to Buy Scheme to Housing Associations tenants.

Job Losses (Civil Servants)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants in Northern Ireland, broken down by Department, he anticipates will lose their jobs as a consequence of the Comprehensive Spending Review; and how he expects frontline services will be affected. [185084]

Mr. Pearson: I am committed to delivering efficiency gains for public services that at least match the 2.5 per cent. a year figure announced by the Chancellor in the SR2004 Spending Review outcome. All the money released through greater efficiency will be retained in Northern Ireland for reinvestment in priority front line services to the public. There is scope in Northern Ireland, as elsewhere, to reduce the number of posts involved in back office and related areas, so that more people and money can be reallocated to front line services.

The detailed implications for Northern Ireland are being considered as part of our own efficiency review which is ongoing. The conclusions of this work, together with the implications for civil service posts, will be contained in our Draft Priorities and Budget, to be published in September 2004.

Lance Bombadier Restorick

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what advice about IRA operations was given by the RUC's Tasking Control Group (South) to members of the security forces before Lance Bombadier Restorick's death in January 1997; [183674]
 
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(2) what measures were taken by the security forces once it became known that an IRA operation was likely in the Bessbrook area in January 1997; [183675]

(3) what knowledge the RUC had of future IRA operations in the Bessbrook area before the death of Lance Bombadier Restorick in January 1997. [183676]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has agreed to investigate the issues surrounding the allegations, therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

Public Transport (Disabled People)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of providing free public transport for the disabled in Northern Ireland. [184062]

Mr. Spellar: Free travel on scheduled public transport is available to people who are registered blind and to people in receipt of a War Disablement Pension who have been assessed as being more than 20 per cent. disabled. During the financial year 2004–05 it is estimated that the cost of providing such concessions will amount to £320,000.

In addition, free travel is available to all Northern Ireland residents aged over 65 years of age, 57 per cent. of whom consider themselves to have a limiting long-term illness. During the financial year 2004–05, I estimate that the cost of providing free travel to that proportion of older people will be around £7.8 million.

Since 1 April 2004, half fare concessions have been available under the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme to people who:

are in receipt of either mobility component of Disability Living Allowance;

have had a driving licence refused or revoked for medical reasons;

are registered with a Health and Social Services Trust as being partially sighted;

are known to a Health and Social Services Trust as having a learning disability.

The Department for Regional Development has estimated that the operating costs for these four groups of people for the financial year 2004–05 will be £205,000, at current fare levels. The estimated cost of changing the Concessionary Fares Scheme to provide free-fare travel, rather than half fare concessions, to these groups would be likely to cost around £500,000 per annum in addition to set-up costs.

I therefore estimate that the cost of providing free travel on scheduled public transport to people with disabilities would be in the region of £8.62 million in the current financial year. However, there are currently no plans to further extend the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme to provide free public transport for the four groups of people who have received half fare concessions since April 2004.
 
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