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John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the fast-tracking of asylum applications from Darfuri citizens. [15028]
Mr. McNulty: All asylum claims in the detained fast track (there is no other fast track as such) are considered, as all other asylum claims, on their individual merits. Any claim from any country may be fast-tracked where it appears after screening to be one that may be decided within the indicative process timescale.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the fast-tracking of asylum applications from torture victims. [15029]
Mr. McNulty: Where it becomes apparent that a decision cannot be taken within the relevant timescales (e.g. because issues arise which require further investigation which cannot be completed quickly) a case will be taken out of the (detained) fast track process. A person's physical and mental health will also be a relevant consideration in deciding whether the individual is suitable for detention. But, the fact that a person is or may have been a victim of torture does not necessarily mean that a decision cannot be made quickly on the individual's claim.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's procedure is for fast-tracking asylum applications from Darfuri citizens. [15030]
Mr. McNulty: All asylum claims in the detained fast track (there is no other fast track as such) are considered, as all other asylum claims, on their individual merits. Any claim from any country may be fast-tracked where it appears after screening to be one that may be decided within the indicative process timescale.
The Government are committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law. Asylum decision-makers carefully assess the protection needs of each asylum claimant against a comprehensive background of country information when making a decision on an asylum claim.
Every effort is made to establish each individual applicant's personal circumstances and full basis of claim before a final decision is made. All applications for asylum, including those from Sudanese nationals are considered on a case-by-case basis. Where it is found that a claimant is at risk of treatment amounting to persecution under the terms of the 1951 Convention, the grant of asylum is made. If a claimant's particular circumstances are found to engage the UK's obligations under the ECHR, then a form of subsidiary protection is granted.
Claimants who are found by the Home Office and the independent appeals process not to be in need of international protection are deemed to be safe from persecution and are liable for return to their country of origin. We fully recognise that the precarious conditions in Sudan for those of non-Arab ethnicity originating from Darfur are such that there are individuals who are able to demonstrate a need for international protection. We do not however consider that each and every Sudanese national from Darfur who applies for asylum is in need of international protection.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidences of bullying of children have been reported (a) at primary schools and (b) in post-primary education in the last three years, broken down by (i) board area and (ii) category of bullying; and whether the incident took place on public transport to or from school in each case. [12049]
Angela E. Smith: The Department of Education does not collect the information requested. General information about the scale and nature of bullying in Northern Ireland schools is contained in a bullying research report published in October 2002. A research briefing summary is available on the Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/facts_figures/researchb/rb2002/rb8_02.pdf.
The Department will be commissioning updated research into bullying, in all its forms, during the 2005/06 school year and the results will also be published in due course.
Mark Durkan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the
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funding for the children's and childcare sectors; and if he will take steps to assist with the funding difficulties on which he has received representations. [14488]
Angela E. Smith: Children and families continue to be a priority for Government. At a local level, the 200508 priorities and budget outcome provided a significant amount of funding for children's services, through a wide range of policies and programmes. In addition, and at national level, the significant expenditure through the social security and benefits systems contributes substantially to addressing the needs of children in the most vulnerable circumstances in Northern Ireland.
Ministers will continue to listen carefully to all representations made regarding funding difficulties.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants worked in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in each of the last 10 years. [12052]
Angela E. Smith: The number of civil servants (permanent and temporary) working in the 11 Departments of the NI Administration and the NIO, including agencies, at 1 January for each of the past 10 years was as follows:
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much will be raised per year via the levy on gas and electricity users in Northern Ireland in relation to the system value agreement related to the new Coolkeeragh Power Station; and for how long these payments are expected to continue; [11285]
(2) what account was taken of the intended export of output from Coolkeeragh Power Station in the Republic of Ireland when granting the Electricity Supply Board financial benefits to be paid through levies on gas and electricity users in Northern Ireland. [11290]
Angela E. Smith:
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is precluded, by virtue of Article 63(1) of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 (No. 419, N.I. 6), from disclosing information in relation to the system value agreement, without the consent of Coolkeeragh ESB Ltd. (the owner of Coolkeeragh Power Station) and SONI Ltd. (the transmission system operator in Northern Ireland) who are the parties to the agreement.
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The Department has asked the parties whether they would consent to the disclosure of the information sought, and I will write to the hon. Member in light of the outcome.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters to his Department from hon. Members in session (a) 200405 and (b) 200506 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (i) one month old, (ii) two months old, (iii)three months old, (iv) four months old and (v) over six months old. [13845]
Mr. Hain: No letters received from hon. Members in the 200405 session remain unanswered. In the current session, three letters, all in the category of one month old, have not yet received substantive replies.
The above information relates to the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration and the Northern Ireland Office.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is for dealing with correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic. [14701]
Mr. Hanson: Central guidance for Northern Ireland officials on meeting UK Government commitments in respect of Irish as set out in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been developed by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and agreed by all Northern Ireland Departments and other Government Departments operating in the Northern Ireland.
Guidance for use by officials from the NIO and NI Departments and associated public bodies on correspondence in Irish advises officials to reply, wherever possible, in Irish to correspondence received in that language.
There are no official obligations in Northern Ireland in respect of Welsh or Scots Gaelic, although, where practicable, Departments would endeavour to accommodate the needs of persons wishing to correspond in those languages.
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