| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Oct 2005 : Column 646W—continued
Electoral Fraud
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many successful prosecutions were made against heads of household for electoral fraud in each of the past 20 years. [20148]
Ms Harman: I have been asked to reply
Information on heads of household is not available. However, information on various electoral fraud offences from 1994 to 2003 (the most recent year for which figures are available) is set out in the following table. In addition we are aware of the following prosecutions which relate to electoral matters even though they were made under other provisions, such as forgery or conspiracy to defraud. The cases include; Hackney where two councillors were imprisoned in 2001 for three years each for registering electors falsely. In Blackburn, a Labour councillor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the returning officer. He was sentenced to three years and seven months on 8 April 2005. In Guildford, a former Conservative councillor was jailed for four months in April 2004 for forging ballot papers in a local election. Data on whether any of those individuals prosecuted were heads of households is not collected.
(18)These data are on the principal offence basis.
(19)Convictions do not necessarily occur in the same year that proceedings are initiated.
(20)Tampering with nomination and ballot papers etc, making false declarations as to election expenses, bribery, treating, undue influence and personation offences.
(21)Excluding any cases in Staffordshire.
Fire Fatalities
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fatalities in Northern Ireland have been attributed to fires in each of the past five years. [21616]
Mr. Woodward: The number of accidental fire deaths in each of the last five years is as follows:
| From 1 April to 31 March each year | Number of persons |
|---|---|
| 2001–01 | 10 |
| 2001–02 | 14 |
| 2002–03 | 10 |
| 2003–04 | 10 |
| 2004–05 | 8 |
28 Oct 2005 : Column 647W
Football Banning Orders
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many football supporters in Northern Ireland are subject to football banning orderspreventing travel to football matches outside the UK. [20529]
Mr. Hanson: Football banning orders are not available to the courts in Northern Ireland, though I am currently considering their adoption in this jurisdiction.
Global Point
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the first buildings to be erected at Global Point, Newtownabbey. [21362]
Angela E. Smith: Further development at Global Point, including erection of the first buildings, is not expected until after the public inquiry into the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan is completed.
Green Ministers
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what (a) work his Department's Green Minister has undertaken in the last three months and (b) meetings the Green Minister has attended in thelast 12 months in his official capacity within that role; [18441]
(2) if he will list the meetings his officials have attended concerning the delivery of sustainable development across Government as co-ordinated by the Ministerial Sub-committee of Green Ministers. [18442]
Angela E. Smith: The Minister of State (Lord Rooker) became a member of the Ministerial Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development in Government (EE (SD)) in June 2005.
Although the Government publish the title, membership and terms of reference of cabinet committees, it has been the practice of successive governments not to disclose details of their proceedings.
Over the last three months the Minister has presided over the development of the emerging NI sustainable development strategy. He has attended many meetings and events where he has been pro-active in making the linkages to and promoting the principles of sustainable development.
For example, he hosted a reception for NI environmental NGO's where the issue of sustainable development was a key feature of his speech, he spoke at the Goldin Waste Fair to promote business opportunities in the recycling sector, and last month, when he was unable to attend a Consumer Council event on sustainable consumerism, he recorded a DVD to be used as an introduction to the conference.
Because of its cross-cutting nature, sustainable development is a consideration in most meetings attended by DOE officials. Officials have been engaging with key stakeholders in the business, community and voluntary sectors along with central and local government colleagues in progressing the forthcoming strategy due for launch on 13 December 2005.
28 Oct 2005 : Column 648W
Health Expenditure
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the health expenditure per head of population in Northern Ireland has been in each year since 2000. [21628]
Mr. Woodward: The public expenditure on health per head of population in the province for the last five financial years was as follows:
| Expenditure per head of population | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 1,030 |
| 2001–02 | 1,109 |
| 2002–03 | 1,231 |
| 2003–04 | 1,367 |
| 2004–05 | 1,447 |
Household Insurance
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of households in each region were without household insurance in the most recent year for which figures are available ranked in descending order. [21182]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested is not available.
Illegal Waste
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of illegal cross-border waste disposal have been identified in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [21738]
Angela E. Smith: Since the Department of the Environment's Environment and Heritage Service took on responsibility for the regulation of illegal waste activity in October 2002, approximately 53 illegal waste disposal sites containing waste from the Republic of Ireland have been detected in Northern Ireland and investigated by the Environment and Heritage Service. There was one site detected in 2002, 32 sites in 2003, 17sites in 2004 and three in 2005. There are no records for 2001.
The Environment and Heritage Service will continue to search for other sites concealed in remote locations and rigorously apply the law.
Incapacity Benefit
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland claimed incapacity benefits in each of the last five years. [21642]
Mr. Hanson: The figures requested are shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Claims |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 40,681 |
| 2001–02 | 39,675 |
| 2002–03 | 38,716 |
| 2003–04 | 35,967 |
| 2004–05 | 33,973 |
28 Oct 2005 : Column 649W
Looked After Children
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children were in public care in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by age and sex. [21170]
Mr. Woodward: The DHSSPS collects information annually on the numbers of children looked after by Health and Social Services Trusts in Northern Ireland at 31 March.
For the last five years for which information is
28 Oct 2005 : Column 650W
available, the numbers of children looked after in Northern Ireland is detailed in Table 1, and by age and sex in Table 2.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,422 |
| 2001 | 2,414 |
| 2002 | 2,453 |
| 2003 | 2,446 |
| 2004 | 2,510 |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |