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10 Nov 2005 : Column 757W—continued
Education Opt-outs
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) males and (b) females in the Province opted out of both education and training at 16 years of age in each of the last five years. [25772]
Angela E. Smith: The proportion of 16-year-olds not in education or training in Northern Ireland is set out as follows (N.I. census data 2001):
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Males | 9.6 |
| Female | 4.7 |
| Total | 7.2 |
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Housing
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) the Department and (b) the Housing Executive maintains a (i) mandatory and (ii)voluntary register of landlords of privately rented residential property in Northern Ireland. [25347]
Mr. Hanson: The Housing Executive maintains the rent register, which contains prescribed information in relation to registered tenancies under the Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and a register of the names and addresses of persons who are managers of houses in multiple occupation.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupancy to the whole of the private rented residential sector in Northern Ireland. [25348]
Mr. Hanson: There are no plans at this time to extend the current licensing system for houses in multiple occupancy (HMD's) to the rest of the private rented sector in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Housing Executive properties there are in each Northern Ireland housing district. [25151]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested, as at October 2005, is as follows:
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10 Nov 2005 : Column 760W
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Housing Executive properties have been sold to (a) tenants, (b) property developers and (c) others in each Northern Ireland housing district in each of the last 10 years. [25152]
Mr. Hanson: The information is not available in the format requested, However, the following table provides information at district council level, showing all sales of Housing Executive properties over the last 10 years.
Illegal Fuel
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been responsible for testing for illegal fuel in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and where they were based. [25222]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
In each of the last four financial years the total number of staff responsible for testing illegal fuel in Northern Ireland was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 116 |
| 2002–03 | (76)144 |
| 2003–04 | 126 |
| 2004–05 | 116 |
(76)Includes 18 fixed term contract staff and 10 strike force staff specifically used for oils work.
All of the above staff were based in Belfast and were deployed across Northern Ireland. In addition to these officers testing illegal fuel, officers were also deployed in intelligence, criminal investigation and assurance activity in relation to the supply and use of illegal fuel.
Justice (Northern Ireland) Act
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to amend section 57 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. [24408]
Mr. Hanson: Section 57 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 inserts provision for youth conferences and youth conference plans in the Criminal Justice (Children)(Northern Ireland) Order 1998.
I have no plans to amend this provision.
Property Valuations
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to conduct a new valuation of properties in Northern Ireland for (a) domestic local taxation purposes and (b) water rates. [24591]
Angela E. Smith:
A revaluation of domestic property in Northern Ireland on a capital value basis is currently under way. The capital values will be published in April 2006 and will be used to determine household rates bills and the variable element of water charges from April 2007.
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Race Crimes
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland will include in its annual report statistics on the number of (a) reported race crimes, (b) cases prosecuted, (c) cases securing convictions and (d) cases not prosecuted. [24735]
Mr. Hanson: The Government take racially motivated crime very seriously. The Racial Equality Strategy, published on 19 July 2005, sets a framework to allow the Government to tackle the issues of racial inequality in Northern Ireland and to eradicate racism and hate crime. In addition, The Criminal Justice (No.2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 made provisions for increased penalties for offences motivated by hostility towards a person's race.
The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS) is currently in the process of developing a recording and monitoring mechanism in cases where, in the judgment of a Public Prosecutor, there was a racial motivation behind offences. Statistics will however not be available for the 2005–06 PPS Annual Report.
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