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18 Oct 2004 : Column 515W—continued
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Government Department is responsible for the funding of (a) building, (b) maintenance and (c) refurbishment of Police Service of Northern Ireland property. [189771]
Mr. Pearson: Under section 6 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 the Northern Ireland Policing Board is empowered to provide and maintain buildings and equipment for police purposes. The Chief Constable exercises these powers on behalf of the Policing Board. Each financial year the Secretary of State makes a grant available to the Policing Board for police purposes.
Police
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of police stations' security is carried out by (a) independent security firms and (b) police service of Northern Ireland full-time reserve members in the Province; and what the cost was in each case in each month of the last year for which figures are available. [188140]
Mr. Pearson: There are currently 155 police stations, of which 114 are externally guarded. Of these, 76 are guarded by FTR officers (67 per cent.), six are guarded by independent security firms (5 per cent.) and the remaining 32 (28 per cent.) by a combination of independent security firms and FTR officers.
The total cost of FTR officers employed on police station security for the financial year 2003–04 was £25.9 million.
The total cost of civilian guards employed on police station security for the financial year 2003–04 was £3.42 million.
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police stations are externally guarded by unarmed independent security firms in the Province. [188141]
Mr. Pearson: There are six police stations externally guarded by unarmed independent security firms.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the funding provision for the maintenance and upgrading of Police Service of Northern Ireland police stations is for 2004–05. [189773]
Mr. Pearson:
The funding available for the maintenance and upgrading of the police estate for 2004–05 is £8 million.
18 Oct 2004 : Column 516W
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of policing and security for the visit of former President Clinton to the Province in August. [188143]
Mr. Pearson: The cost for policing and security for the visit of former President Clinton in August 2004 was £31,469.00.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the Northern Ireland Policing Board have taken place in each year since its formation. [190067]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Policing Board was established on 4 November 2001. It held its first meeting on 7 November 2001. The 35th meeting was held on 9 September 2004.
Listed as follows are meetings that have taken place since the formation of the board. This information was supplied by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
| Number of meetings | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2002 | 13 |
| 2003 | 10 |
| 2004 (to 21 September) | 9 |
| Total | 35 |
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the attendance record is of each member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board at full board meetings in each year since the board's formation. [190068]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Policing Board was established on 4 November 2001. It held its first meeting on 7 November 2001. The 35th meeting was held on 9 September 2004.
Two Ulster Unionist Party political members, Mr. Ivan Davis and Mr. James Leslie left the board on 19 February 2002 and were replaced by Mr. Sam Foster and Mr. Alan McFarland on 20 February 2002.
The total number of board meetings that it would have been possible for each member to attend is shown in brackets.
Listed as follows is a record of each member's attendance since the board's formation (attendance at part of a meeting is counted as full attendance).
This information was supplied by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
18 Oct 2004 : Column 517W
Prison Service
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when, on the basis of current recruitment levels, he expects the composition of the Prison Service of Northern Ireland will reflect the wider population of Northern Ireland. [186370]
Mr. Pearson: Over recent years the Northern Ireland Prison Service has gone through a period of reduction in staffing levels as a result of the closure of HMP Belfast and HMP Maze. As a result there have been no major recruitment campaigns which could significantly affect the composition of the service.
However, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has recently held two recruitment competitions namely, for night patrol officer and prison custody officer. In an attempt to encourage under-represented groups to join the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the welcome statements in the job advertisements specifically encouraged Roman Catholics and women to apply.
Given the small number of staff currently being recruited it is impossible to determine when the composition of the Northern Ireland Prison Service will reflect the wider population of Northern Ireland.
Public Administration
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposed Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland on the local government elections scheduled to be held in May 2005. [189767]
Mr. Pearson: There are no plans to alter the scheduling of next year's Northern Ireland Local Government Elections as a result of the Review of Public Administration.
Public Order
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of public order offences arising out of disturbances in North Belfast on (a) 12 July 2003 and (b) 12 July 2004. [189665]
Mr. Pearson:
Statistics for prosecution and sentencing are currently only available up to the year 2002. The statistics for 2003 will be available within the next few months.
18 Oct 2004 : Column 518W
Queen's University Belfast
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees of Queen's University Belfast Students' Union are (i) Protestants and (ii) Roman Catholics. [191275]
Mr. Gardiner: The Department of Employment and Learning does not hold information on the break down of the community background of staff employed by Queen's University Student's Union.
Radiography Training
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what incentives are in place to encourage radiographer helpers in the Province to train to become assistant practitioners. [190577]
Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety supports the training of Radiographer Helpers by funding the provision of training to obtain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3. Participation in such training and any further training is a matter for individual HSS employers, based on the identified need within their area. Additional pay points are available for Radiographer Helpers with the relevant NVQ.
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