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Child Abuse

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines are issued by education boards to assist teachers on how to prevent and report child abuse; and if he will make a statement. [22820]

Angela E. Smith: The Department's publication—1999/10 'Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection' contains comprehensive and wide-ranging advice and guidance for schools on all aspects of child protection, including the action to be taken to enable cases of suspected abuse to be properly considered and pursued. It was drawn up in conjunction with representatives from the Department, the five Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic and Maintained Schools and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment. Education and Library Boards base their child protection training of designated/deputy designated child protection teachers, new Principals/teachers and Boards of Governors on the advice contained in this publication which is available on the Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/teachers/circulars/dcl999–10–2.pdf.

Child Support

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of non-payment by parents of child support are pending adjudication in the Province; and if he will make a statement. [22676]

Mr. Hanson: There is no provision within child support legislation to allow cases of non-payment of child support to be subjected to any process of adjudication.
 
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many parents in the Province have been found to be avoiding paying the correct amount of child support since the establishment of the Child Support Agency. [22677]

Mr. Hanson: There is no mechanism within child support legislation to allow parents to be found innocent or guilty of avoiding paying the correct amount of child support maintenance.

Common Fisheries Policy

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Government's plans for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, with particular reference to the implications for Northern Ireland. [22648]

Angela E. Smith: The new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was introduced on 1 January 2003, following extensive consultation with stakeholders across Europe.

The Government's plans for further reform of the CFP are set out in Securing the Benefits", the joint UK response to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report on the future of the fishing industry in the UK. This sets out our priorities to:

Ensure effective integration of the new Regional Advisory Councils into the policy development and decision making process

Examine ways of improving the governance of the CFP

Improve and simplify the regulatory environment

Tackle the issue of discarding through pilot projects.

The North Western Waters Regional Advisory Council was launched on 30 September 2005. Northern Ireland stakeholders are represented on the Executive Committee and the Irish Sea sub-group.

A discussion of how to improve the annual fisheries decision making process was held at the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg on 24 October. This focused on possible changes to the fishing year to allow more time for consideration of Commission proposals for fishing quotas which are normally published in December, and on ways of bringing forward discussion on related issues. The Commission is working on an Action Plan for simplification of the CFP which is on the agenda for the December meeting of the Fisheries Council.

Northern Ireland officials and stakeholders have been involved in the various groups that played a key role in drawing up Securing the Benefits, and will be involved in on-going follow-up work, including simplification, regulation, and environmental issues.

Costello Working Group

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the reasons why the Department for Education and Skills believes that it would not be in the public interest to disclose the minutes and discussion papers of the Costello Working Group. [20890]

 
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Angela E. Smith: After consideration and discussion with the Information Commissioner, the minutes of the meetings of the Post-Primary Review Working Group were disclosed and are available on the Department's website (www.deni.gov.uk).

Elements of the papers prepared for discussion by the group were incorporated in the disclosed minutes. The Department of Education is currently considering whether the disclosure of the remaining elements of those papers would compromise members of future expert groups being able to have a free and frank exchange of views and provide advice to assist in the formulation of policy free from disclosure. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when that consideration has been completed.

Credit Union/Community Banking

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been undertaken to ensure best value in encouraging growth in the credit union and community banking sector in Northern Ireland. [22813]

Angela E. Smith: As part of its current three-year Corporate Plan, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is committed to exploring new ways to encourage the further development of the Credit Union sector in Northern Ireland.

Early in 2003, DETI initiated a major review of its policy on Credit Unions, including a conference involving key stakeholders in the sector in June 2003 and a number of workshops in 2004.

On the back of this, DETI expects to make new statutory rules later this year which will enable the credit union movement to develop its potential and play a fuller role in Northern Ireland's social economy.

They will:

raise the limit on deposit accounts for junior members of Credit Unions from £1,000 to £10,000;

extend the maximum repayment period for secured loans made by Credit Unions from 4 to 5 years;

raise the limit on individual members' savings to the greater of £15,000 or 1.5 per cent. of the Credit Union's total shareholding;

raise the limit on individual members' savings to the greater of £15,000 or 1.5 per cent. of the Credit Union's total shareholding; and

remove the limit on the number of people who may be members of a particular Credit Union.

Dairy Prices

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the dairy industry on pricing of dairy products in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [22651]

Angela E. Smith: I have not had any discussions with the dairy industry on the pricing of dairy products. This is a purely commercial matter in which Government cannot get involved, as long as competition rules are respected. However, following the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy it is vital that the Northern Ireland dairy industry embraces change. It is therefore encouraging to note that the industry is being proactive
 
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to the challenges which it faces, by seeking to improve efficiency and increase the production of high added-value products. This combined with collaboration between the various parts of the food chain is a good road map to ensure the future sustainability of the dairy industry.

Departmental Refurbishment

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects are planned by his Department in the (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07 financial years. [18232]

Angela E. Smith: A table providing details of building and refurbishment projects planned by NI Departments in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 financial years has been placed in the Library.

Disability Vehicles

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were in receipt of a disability vehicle due to receiving the high rate mobility disability living allowance in each of the last five years, broken down by district area. [22888]

Mr. Hanson: The Motability Scheme is administered by Motability, an independent UK-wide charity. The following table provides details of the number of people in Northern Ireland who obtained a motability vehicle in each of the last five years. It is not possible to provide such information by geographical area, as this information is held only on a Northern Ireland wide basis.

1 April to 31 March	Number of customers who availed of the Motability Scheme
2000–01	24,178
2001–02	23,435
2002–03	23,481
2003–04	23,608
2004–05	24,332

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