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3 Mar 2005 : Column 1321W—continued

Education Funding

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills regarding funding formulas for schools. [218623]

Mr. Gardiner: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has not discussed the funding formulas for schools with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

Ferry Services

Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 566W, on ferry services, if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from his Department's Minister to the Ministers for Transport in the Scottish Executive. [212388]

Mr. Gardiner: This issue remains the subject of ongoing discussions. It is a policy matter and therefore it would not be appropriate to make available this piece of ministerial correspondence.
 
3 Mar 2005 : Column 1322W
 

Global Point International Business Park

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been invested in Global Point International Business Park at Corr's Corner, Newtownabbey; and over what period. [219685]

Mr. Gardiner: The total investment between 1971 and 2004, including land purchase, is £7.2 million.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the main strategic objective is of Global Point International Business Park. [219686]

Mr. Gardiner: The strategic objective for Global Point is to create a modern quality business park which would be attractive for both inward and indigenous investment.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many companies are in discussion with Invest Northern Ireland with a view to locating at Global Point International Business Park. [219687]

Mr. Gardiner: There are no live negotiations with companies at this time.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the first operational company is expected to be located at Global Point International Business Park. [219688]

Mr. Gardiner: The first operational company is not expected in Global Point International Business Park until the Public Inquiry into the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan is completed.

Hearing Screening Programme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety moratorium will affect the start date for the newborn hearing screening programme; when he expects the programme to commence; and if he will make a statement. [216253]

Angela Smith: The moratorium imposed in October 2004 on health and social services boards recruiting new staff was lifted in a letter dated 23 December 2004 from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to board chief executives.

Boards and trusts, which have not yet recruited screening and co-ordinator staff, are now in the process of doing so. As a result, the date for full implementation of the neonatal hearing-screening programme, which was 31 March 2005, has slipped to September 2005. However, screening has been introduced in a number of trusts with about one third of babies currently being screened.

Housing

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are in place to ensure that housing associations under the direction of the Housing Executive reinvest their operation profits back into the provision of housing. [219325]

 
3 Mar 2005 : Column 1323W
 

Mr. Spellar: Housing associations are not under the direction of the Housing Executive. They are regulated by the Department for Social Development. As such, they are restricted in their permissible purposes or objects by the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. They are not for profit organisations and generate reserves from their surpluses and all such reserves have to be employed in the business. Their boards of management are accountable for the stewardship of the reserves and are duty bound to use them effectively in the pursuit of the associations' objectives. Reserves are used to:

(i) subsidise the development of properties and diversified activities;

(ii) enable future major repairs requirements to be met;

(iii) satisfy the loan covenant requirements of lenders, (who often require surpluses to be generated to develop services to meet rising customer expectations); and

(iv) provide a cushion against uncertainty regarding assumptions in medium to longer term business plans.

Their expenditure is subject to scrutiny by internal and external auditors, the Department for Social Development and the Northern Ireland Audit Office to ensure that the association's behaviour is proper and regular.

Homelessness (Intimidation)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken by the Housing Executive to tackle homelessness caused by sectarian intimidation. [219327]

Mr. Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) assists those who have become homeless as a result of sectarian intimidation by providing temporary accommodation and arranging for storage of possessions, as necessary. If the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) can confirm that intimidation has taken place, the Housing Executive will award the applicant the highest level of priority for re-housing. Owner-occupiers who have become homeless as a result of intimidation have the facility to sell their homes under the Housing Executive's Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings and tenants of rented property are entitled to an emergency grant of £692 when they are re-housed.

While homelessness caused by sectarian intimidation is not a problem that can be tackled solely by the NIHE, the Housing Executive works, through its Community Cohesion Unit, to prevent such intimidation by promoting good relations between communities. The Housing Executive's strategic objective to promote good relations is linked to the following aims:

to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of people in danger as a result of community conflict;

to work in partnership with others to address the complex housing needs of a divided society;

to respect the rights of people who choose to live in single identity neighbourhoods, and

to facilitate and encourage integrated housing as far as this is practicable, desirable and safe.

 
3 Mar 2005 : Column 1324W
 

Interface Schools Initiative

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each school in North Belfast has received under the Interface Schools Initiative in each year since it was introduced. [218799]

Mr. Gardiner: Additional funds under Interface Programmes have been allocated to schools in North Belfast as follows:

Financial year/Schools	£
Recurrent funding
2001–02
Holy Cross Girls' Primary	75,000
Wheatfield Primary	46,000
(From December 2001)
Ballysillan Primary	5,000
Cliftonville Primary	5,000
Currie Primary	5,000
Grove Primary	5,000
Holy Cross Boys' Primary	5,000
Holy Family Primary	5,000
Lowood Primary	5,000
Mercy Primary	5,000
Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary	5,000
Sacred Heart Primary	5,000
St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary	5,000
St. Patrick's Primary	5,000
(From March 2002)
Ben Mhadagain Prep	5,000
Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain	5,000
Carr's Glen Primary	5,000
Cavehill Primary	5,000
Cedar Lodge Special Primary	5,000
Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary	5,000
Ligoniel Primary	5,000
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary	5,000
Seaview Primary	5,000
St. Gabriel's College	5,000
St. Therese of Lisieux Primary	5,000
St. Vincent de Paul Primary	5,000
Star of the Sea Girls' Primary	5,000
2002–03
Ballysilian Primary	20,000
Ben Mhadagain Prep	5,000
Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain	20,000
Carr's Glen Primary	20,000
Cavehill Primary	20,000
Cedar Lodge Special Primary	20,000
Cliftonville Primary	20,000
Currie Primary	20,000
Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary	20,000
Grove Primary	20,000
Holy Cross Boys' Primary	20,000
Holy Cross Girls' Primary	185,000
Holy Family Primary	20,000
Ligoniel Primary	20,000
Lowood Primary	20,000
Mercy Primary	20,000
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary	20,000
Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary	20,000
Sacred Heart Primary	20,000
St. Gabriel's College	5,000
St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary	20,000
St. Patrick's Primary	20,000
St. Therese of Lisieux Primary	20,000
St. Vincent de Paul Primary	20,000
Seaview Primary	20,000
Star of the Sea Girls' Primary	20,000
Wheatfield Primary	206,000
2003–04
Ballysilian Primary	5,000
Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain	5,000
Carr' s Glen Primary	5,000
Cavehill Primary	5,000
Cedar Lodge Special Primary	5,000
Cliftonville Primary	5,000
Currie Primary	27,850
Edmund Rice (Christian Bros) Primary	5,000
Grove Primary	5,000
Holy Cross Boys' Primary	5,000
Holy Cross Girls' Primary	127,010
Holy Family Primary	125,000
Ligoniel Primary School	5,000
Lowood Primary	5,000
Mercy Primary	5,000
Our Lady's Deanby Gardens Primary	5,000
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary	5,000
Sacred Heart Primary School	5,000
St. Mary's Star of the Sea Primary	5,000
St. Patrick's Primary	5,000
Sea view Primary	5,000
St. Therese of Lisieux Primary	5,000
St. Vincent de Paul Primary	5,000
Star of the Sea Girls' Primary	5,000
Wheatfield Primary	84,350
2004–05
Currie Primary	37,742
Holy Cross Girls' Primary	91,618
Holy Family Primary	106,083
Ligoniel Primary	10,000
Our Lady of Mercy Secondary	78,500
Wheatfield Primary	88,900
Capital funding
2002–03
Holy Cross Girls' PS—2 buses	120,000
Wheatfield Primary	100,000
2003–04
Currie Primary	37,000
Wheatfield Primary	45,000

 
3 Mar 2005 : Column 1325W
 

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