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18 Oct 2004 : Column 511W—continued

Housing Executive

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes were in the ownership of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive at the end of 1998. [192150]

Mr. Spellar: At the end of the financial year 1998 to 31 March 1999 the number was 134,288.

Illegal Drugs

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total amount of illegal drugs seized by the authorities in Northern Ireland was in each year since 2001; and what the estimated street value was. [189965]

Mr. Pearson: The amounts and estimated street values of illicit drugs seized by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are detailed in the following tables. The quantity of drugs seized by the Northern Ireland Prison Service are also outlined however the value of drugs seized within Northern Ireland Prison establishments is not calculated.

Customs efforts to protect Northern Ireland from drugs cannot be measured solely on results in Northern Ireland itself. In the years 2001–02 and 2002–03, Customs took out 20,556 kilos of class A drugs and 126,095 of cannabis, targeted on the UK, some of which would have been destined for Northern Ireland.
Seizures by Police Service of Northern Ireland

Drugs Seized		2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Cocaine	Powder (gms)	3,399.9	3,023.87	11,470.91
	Wraps	4	12	6
Crack cocaine	(gms)	66.5	50	9.2
Ecstasy	Tablets	127,368	605,188	222,888
	Powder (gms)	232.81	1.1	72.1
	Capsules	2	25	20
LSD	Doses	122	4	0
	Microdots	0	1	6
Opiates	Powder (gms)	102.1	346	189.9
	Tablets	51	41	3
	Ampoules	4	1	20
	Mls	366	428.5	163.6
	Wraps	69	1	2
Cannabis	Resin (kgs)	417.2	709.5	2,204.2
	Herbal (kgs)	49	27.7	32.8
	Plants	141	202	1,173
	Joints	273	169	212
Amphetamine	Powder (kgs)	8.8	27.6	17.3
	Wraps	26	24	35
	Tablets	118	11	58
Street value of drugs seized		6,559,700	11,082,910	15,108,410

 
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Seizures by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise

Drugs seized		2001–02	2002–03
Cocaine	Grams	0	1,690
Heroin	Grams	0	0
Ecstasy tablets	—	0	6
Cannabis	Grams	13,000	20,186
Street value of drugs seized		130,000	337,120

Seizures by Northern Ireland Prison Service

		March to February
		2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Cocaine	Grams	7.2	0.5	1
	Tablets	7	0	0
Heroin	Grams	0	0.3	2.8
	Wraps	8	0	0
Ecstasy tablets	—	38.5	15	176
Cannabis	Grams	432.5	645.98	952
Amphetamine	Grams	40.1	10.4	1
	Mls	80	0	0
	Tablets	41	105	455
Barbiturates	Grams	0	1.8	5.2
	Tablets	1	20	15

Parades

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total policing cost of parades was from 1 April to 14 August; and what the figure was for the same period last year. [187889]

Mr. Pearson: The information requested by the hon. Gentleman is taking some time to collate. I will respond in due course when the information is available.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2004, Official Report, column 1135W, on parades, what the police estimate is from written reports and CCTV records of the number of additional bands participating in the 1 July Parade organised by the Ballymacarrett Loyal Orange Lodge District No 6; and what steps were made by the police to verify this list. [189094]

Mr. Pearson: PSNI have confirmed that two bands, additional to those included on the notification, participated in the parade.

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the Parades Commission were held between 7 and 13 July; who was in attendance; and how long the meetings lasted. [189901]

Mr. Pearson: During the period from 7 July to 13 July 2004, members of the Parades Commission were extensively involved in Commission business on an on-going basis. The Parades Commission held a formal meeting on 8 July 2004 at which six Commissioners were present, supported by staff from the Commission Secretariat. One Commissioner was absent for personal reasons but was fully consulted about Commission business during the course of the meeting. The meeting lasted for approximately five hours.
 
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Police Ombudsman

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to increase the confidence of members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the systems in operation at the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. [186487]

Mr. Spellar: The Ombudsman advises that her office and the staff associations have set up a joint committee to address all issues of concern highlighted in the recent police officers attitude survey and she has agreed to undertake a range of information sharing events across the Police Service of Northern Ireland (the PSNI) with officers at all grades. Other confidence building measures include:

regular meetings with all staff associations, and special police committees;

seminars with district commanders;

continued involvement in police training;

extensive work on protocols on communication and understanding;

a significant agreement on the publication of reports; and

distribution of leaflets throughout the PSNI explaining the work of the Ombudsman.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many arrests of (a) police officers and (b) civilians have been made in response to investigations carried out by the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland in each year since its creation. [188641]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised the following information in relation to arrests of (a) police officers and (b) civilians in each year in response to investigations by that office:

	Police	Civilians
2001	3	1
2002	6	0
2003	5	0
2004	2	0

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has been in each year since its establishment. [188645]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised that the total cost of the office in each year since its establishment is as follows:

	£
6 November 2000 to 31 March 2002	(22)7,821,378
1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003	6,848,512
1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004	6,822,381

⁽²²⁾ Covering 17-month period.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed (a) part-time and (b) full-time in the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. [188646]

 
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Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised that there are 116 full-time and two part-time staff employed in her office (as at 31 August 2004).

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of (a) salaries and (b) travel expenses for those employed in the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has been in each year since its establishment. [188647]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised that the total costs of (a) salaries and (b) travel expenses for each year since its establishment are as follows:
(a) Salaries

	£
6 November 2000 to 31 March 2002	(23)4,275,716
1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003	3,966,011
1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004	4,104,370

(b) Travel costs

	£
6 November 2000 to 31 March 2002	(23)388,071.27
1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003	338,230.37
1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004	297,709.35

⁽²³⁾ Covering 17-month period.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) complaints have been received and (b) investigations have been carried out by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland since its establishment. [188648]

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised that since the establishment of the Office (a) a total of 12,723 complaints have been received and (b) a total of 8,365 investigations have been carried out by the Office.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly by the Police Ombudsman's office

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman's office has advised that of the 118 staff employed at 1 August 2004, (a) 101 are recruited directly and (b) 17 are recruited indirectly.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious breakdown is of staff employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly by the police

Mr. Pearson: The Police Ombudsman has advised the following religious breakdown of staff employed directly and indirectly in her office:
Percentage

	(a) Directly employed	(b) Indirectly employed
Protestant	47	55
Catholic	37	42
Non-determined	16	3

 
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