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19 Jan 2005 : Column 974W—continued
Assets Recovery Agency
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Assets Recovery Agency has recovered from (a) Loyalist and (b) Republican sources in each year since its formation; and if he will make a statement. [209392]
Mr. Pearson: As at 10 January 2005, 15 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to loyalist groups and 12 cases relating to individuals believed to have links to republican groups have been referred to the Assets Recovery Agency. A further 25 cases relating to individuals from a general criminal or organised criminal background have also been referred.
Of those referrals, 39 cases are in assessment, under active investigation or under settlement and it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on ongoing investigations. Funds will be recovered when proceedings have successfully concluded and assets liquidated. The agency has frozen around £3.5 million of assets in a total of nine cases, including the Johnson case, which involves £1.25 million worth of assets, and is being liquidated.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been referred to the independent case examiner so far in 2004–05 in respect of (a) the Eastern Business Unit and (b) the Northern Ireland Operations of the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency. [208574]
Mr. Spellar: The Independent Case Examiner does not accept complaints where the agency has not previously had the opportunity to respond. During 2004–05, 579 complaints relating to Eastern Business Unit's cases were referred but 311 were not accepted. During 2004–05, 38 complaints were referred to the Independent Case Examiner regarding Northern Ireland cases. Of these, 17 were not accepted.
Community Relations
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on community relations by each Northern Ireland district council in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each district council area's total spending in each year these figures represent. [209204]
Angela Smith: The figures requested are available only for 2002–03 and 2003–04. Details of community relations expenditure, total gross expenditure and community relations expenditure expressed as a proportion of total gross expenditure for each of the 26 district councils are set out in the following table.
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Down District Council
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Roman Catholics and (b) Protestants constituted the workforce of Down district council in each of the past 10 years; how many (i) jobs were advertised and (ii) vacancies were filled by Protestants in each year. [200500]
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Angela Smith:
The information requested has been provided by Down district council but is available for the past seven years only. The detail is set out in the following table. A substantial number of the jobs advertised during 1997, 1998 and 1999 relate to temporary employment during the summer period (but are not included in the figures). From 2000 to date these
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temporary positions are filled through an agency arrangement and are not, therefore, advertised by the council.
| Protestants | Catholics | Jobs advertised | Vacancies filled by Protestants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 64 | 171 | 128 | 22 |
| 1998 | 73 | 174 | 128 | 27 |
| 1999 | 77 | 194 | 72 | 13 |
| 2000 | 74 | 189 | 20 | 3 |
| 2001 | 78 | 230 | 63 | 17 |
| 2002 | 76 | 219 | 36 | 11 |
| 2003 | 69 | 222 | 38 | 8 |
Economic Vision Document
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for the publication of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Economic Vision for Northern Ireland document; and what (a) internal and (b) external consultation will take place on this document. [209119]
Mr. Gardiner: The draft Economic Vision for Northern Ireland was published for consultation on 12 October 2004 alongside the draft Priorities and Budget 2005–08 and the Northern Ireland Civil Service reform document "Fit for Purpose". The consultation period ended on 7 December 2004 and it is anticipated that the final Vision document will be published in February 2005.
Ongoing internal consultation took place across all NI Departments both prior to and during the formal consultation period.
In terms of external consultation, the draft Economic Vision was sent to some 2,000 recipients as part of the wider Priorities and Budget 2005–08 formal consultation process and meetings were also held with a number of external stakeholders. In addition, I am arranging meetings to be held in the next few weeks with the economic spokespersons of the five main political parties and the Economic Development Forum to discuss the emerging Vision document and the way forward.
GCSEs
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average GCSE points scores for each school type in Northern Ireland, excluding GNVQ Part One qualifications and GCSE short courses, have been in each year since 2000. [208429]
Mr. Gardiner: The information requested is as follows:
Note:
Figures for 2003/04 are not yet available.
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