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10 Nov 2004 : Column 799W—continued
Organised Crime
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on organised crime in Northern Ireland. [196181]
Mr. Pearson: The levels of organised criminality remain unacceptably high in Northern Ireland. The Organised Crime Task Force Threat Assessment, which was published on 11 May 2004, indicated that approximately 235 organised criminal gangs operate in Northern Ireland.
The partner agencies of the task force continue to have significant success against organised criminal gangs. Every seizure, arrest and conviction further disrupts and frustrates the efforts of organised criminal gangs and I pay tribute to PSNI, Customs and the Assets Recovery Agency for their on-going effectiveness and commitment to tackle this problem.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding the Northern Ireland Organised Crime Task Force. [196179]
Mr. Pearson: The Organised Crime Task Force provides the strategic framework for the law enforcement agencies to share views on intelligence flows and operational details, and to agree priorities for tackling organised crime in Northern Ireland.
The task force is actively engaged with over 40 agencies and has formed significant links with the private sector to develop new initiatives in response to specific crime types. This is a clear example of effective partnership working at a local level.
Planning Service
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time planning service employees there have been in each of the last 15 years. [196284]
Angela Smith: The information in relation to full time employees is only available for the period from 1996 when the Planning Service became an Agency of the Department of the Environment. It is set out as follows.
| Financial year | Number of full-time staff in Planning Service |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 366 |
| 1997–98 | 363 |
| 1998–99 | 364 |
| 1999–2000 | 376 |
| 2000–01 | 420 |
| 2001–02 | 474 |
| 2002–03 | 524 |
| 2003–04 | 583 |
| 2004–05 | 645 |
10 Nov 2004 : Column 800W
Parades
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next intends to carry out a review of the regulatory framework for parades. [196180]
Mr. Pearson: The Government are currently reviewing the existing regulatory framework and will publish proposals shortly.
Psychiatric Beds
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1072W, on psychiatric beds, in what periods, since the number of child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient beds has been increased to its present level, it was not possible to operate on full bed occupancy as the result of insufficient staff being available. [196282]
Angela Smith: Since the number of adolescent psychiatric beds was increased in August 2002, the period in which it has not been possible to operate on full bed occupancy as the result of insufficient staff being available is from August 2004 to the present.
Smoking
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recent representations he has received from groups and individuals seeking a ban on smoking in public places; who they were from; and in what form they were received. [196251]
Angela Smith: Since 1 January 2004, 17 representations have been received in support of a ban on smoking in public places, all in written form. A breakdown of the source of the representations is shown in the following table.
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Political representatives | 4 |
| Health professionals | 2 |
| Local councils | 4 |
| Voluntary organisations | 3 |
| Statutory consultative bodies | 1 |
| General public | 3 |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research he has evaluated into a putative link between passive smoking and cot death. [196253]
Angela Smith: United Kingdom and international research in this area links both prenatal maternal smoking and children's exposure to second-hand smoke (passive smoking) to a range of conditions including sudden infant death syndrome. However, the relative impact on the foetus of maternal smoking in pregnancy, and the infant through subsequent exposure to second-hand smoke remains unclear.