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School Admissions

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Department of Education does not supply additional response booklets to parent groups, schools and politicians as part of the consultation process in Northern Ireland's admissions arrangements for post primary schools; which policy directs civil servants to refuse such requests; and when the policy came into effect. [223949]

Mr. Gardiner: It is important that those responding do so after carefully considering the content of the consultation document itself. Issuing copies of the Response Booklet" in isolation could result in ill-informed comments and would not contribute to a fair and accurate reflection of opinion. The approach the Department is taking is established practice and is consistent with the approach used in other consultations.

This is an open consultation and anyone who wishes to respond can contact the Department by telephone, fax, e-mail or in writing and the Department will provide them with a copy of the consultation document and the Response Booklet". Over 17,000 copies of the documents have been issued to date. The Response Booklet" can also be downloaded from the Department's website.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average GCSE points score for post-primary integrated schools using academic selection as an admission criterion was in the periods immediately (a) before and (b) after the change to admission criteria was introduced. [223741]

Mr. Gardiner: Two post-primary integrated schools use academic selection as an admission criterion: Slemish College and Lagan College. Slemish College opened on 1 September 1996 and its pupils did not take GCSEs until 2000–01. GCSE point score information is unavailable for years prior to 1995–96.

Average GCSE point scores for the two schools are as follows:

	Slemish College	Lagan College
1995–96	n/a	33.0
1996–97	n/a	37.8
1997–98	n/a	35.6
1998–99	n/a	31.4
1999–2000	n/a	36.7
2000–01	30.1	34.3
2001–02	32.0	36.2
2002–03	32.4	37.6
2003–04	36.0	35.1

The change to admission criteria occurred on the following dates:

Lagan College—September 1996

Slemish College—September 2002.

 
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses have been received by the Department of Education on the consultation on admissions criteria to post-primary schools, broken down by those received by (a) post, (b) electronic submission and (c) other means. [223752]

Mr. Gardiner: To date, the Department has received 159 responses to the consultation on new admissions arrangements for post-primary schools. Of these, 93 responses have been received by post and 66 responses have been submitted electronically.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses have been received by the Department of Education on the consultation on admissions criteria to post-primary schools rejecting the proposals on the basis that no provision has been made for academic selection as a criteria; and if he will make a statement. [223753]

Mr. Gardiner: We are still in the early stages of this consultation exercise. The closing date for responses is 30 June 2005. Analysis of responses has not started.

All responses will be given careful consideration before decisions are taken and a summary of responses will be produced following the consultation.

School Closures

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what school closures are planned in Northern Ireland for each year in the period 2005 to 2012, broken down by (a) school type and (b) education board area. [223223]

Mr. Gardiner: All proposals for school closures are subject to the formal Development Proposal process which ensures that all interested parties are consulted and have an opportunity to comment.

There are currently three schools which are the subject of Development Proposals, two of which if approved would close in 2005 (ie Antiville and St. Mary's), with Tullymacarette Primary School scheduled to close in 2007.

Name of school	Type	Education and Library Board area
Antiville Primary School	Controlled primary	North Eastern
Tullymacarette Primary School	Controlled primary	Southern
St. Mary's Primary School	Maintained primary	Western

No decisions have yet been taken on any of these proposals.

There are 29 other schools which have already been approved for amalgamations which will result in 12 replacement schools. Unless indicated to the contrary, these involve amalgamations into one new replacement school as follows:

Name of schools	Type	Education and Library Board area	Estimated completion date
St. John's Primary School/St. Catherine's Primary School/St. Gall's Primary School Belfast	Maintained primary	Belfast	2005
Clough Primary School/Downshire Primary School	Controlled primary	South Eastern	2005
Hillsborough Primary School/Newport Primary School	Controlled primary	South Eastern	2005
Dervaghroy Primary School/Sixmilecross Primary School/The Hutton Primary School	Controlled primary	Western	2005
All Saints Primary School/St. Mary's Primary School/St. Joseph's Primary School/St. Louis Primary School Ballymena	Amalgamation into two maintained primary schools	North Eastern	2006
Charley Primary School/Lambeg Primary School/Drumbo Primary School/Hillhall Primary School	Controlled primary	South Eastern	2006
Annaghmore Primary School/Tullyroan Primary School	Controlled primary	Southern	2006
Burnfoot Primary School/Dungiven Primary School/Largy Primary School	Controlled primary	Western	2006
Coranny Primary School/Cornagague Primary School	Maintained primary	Western	2006
Limegrove Special School, Limavady/Glasvey Special School, Ballykelly	Controlled special	Western	2006
St. Patrick's Boys' Academy/St. Patrick's Girls' Academy, Dungannon	Voluntary grammar	Southern	2008

 
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School authorities are expected to plan for the future level of provision needed and further closures are likely to occur in the period to 2012 as relevant authorities bring forward Development Proposals for approval.

School Services

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on changes in services in schools to be provided in 2005–06 following his Department's recent budget discussions with the North Eastern Education and Library Board. [224082]

Mr. Gardiner: For 2005–06, I have made available some £954 million directly to schools, an increase of £79 million on the amount provided in 2004–05. More money is going into virtually every school at a time when pupil numbers are falling. Under the new common funding arrangements, schools across Northern Ireland are also having their budgets determined, for the first time, on a consistent and equitable basis.

I am conscious that the Education and Library Boards provide many important services directly to schools. Their centre budgets too have increased—by almost £20 million in overall terms and by almost £4 million in the case of the North Eastern Education and Library Board.

The children in our school system need to be at the centre of all that we do and I have made clear to all boards that I expect priority to be given to the needs of the classroom and to other key front-line services.

Smoking

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses he has received to his Department's consultation on smoking in enclosed public places in Northern Ireland as contained in question 5c of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety 20-year strategy, A Healthier Future; and how many of these responses were (a) in favour of a total ban, (b) against a total ban and (c) in favour of a partial ban. [223272]

Angela Smith: I will not be in a position to provide further information on the responses received until after the end of the consultation exercise.
 
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Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he has taken to publicise his Department's consultation on smoking in enclosed public places in Northern Ireland as contained in question 5c of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety 20-year strategy, 'A Healthier Future'. [223273]

Angela Smith: The consultation document 'A Healthier Future' was launched on 21 December 2004, a press release issued and media interviews were undertaken. The document was issued to a wide range of organisations and individuals. A week long advertising campaign ran from 24 February 2005 to 2 March 2005 in the main local Northern Ireland newspapers. This provided the public with the opportunity to respond by either replying to the adverts or sending their views online on the Department's website.

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