---

17 Nov 2005 : Column 1497W—continued

Parades Commission

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that parades for which no proper
 
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1498W
 
application has been submitted to the Parades Commission can be regulated by the Parades Commission. [558]

Mr. Hain: The current legal position in respect of giving advance notice of parades is set out in section 6 of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. A person who organises or takes part in a parade in respect of which the requirements of section 6 as to notice have not been satisfied is guilty of an offence. The investigation and prosecution of such offences is a matter for the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service. The Government have no plans to change the legal framework regarding this matter.

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he plans to announce the appointment of the new Chairman and Members of the Parades Commission in Northern Ireland. [25494]

Mr. Woodward: The Government are committed to ensuring, so far as is practicable, that the Parades Commission is representative of the people of Northern Ireland. The current appointments expire on 31 December. A reappointments process began on 25 July and is on schedule for the new Commission to start on 1 January 2006.

We have received 94 applications for membership of the Parades Commission and 49 applications for the position of Chair. We are pleased with the volume and quality of applications received from both sides of the community.

The process is being run in close co-operation with the Office of the. Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). An OCPA independent assessor is one of three panel members sifting and interviewing applicants for both Chair and membership.

Pensioners Parliament

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what public funding has been provided to Northern Ireland groups dealing with senior citizens' issues in Northern Ireland to attend a Pensioners Parliament in the United Kingdom in the last five years. [4887]

Angela E. Smith: I understand that Departments provide funding for some age sector organisations. However, I am not aware of any Departments having received requests for funding for individuals to attend the Pensioners Parliament.
 
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1499W
 

Post Offices

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the proposed closure of Crown post offices in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [28983]

Angela E. Smith: Representations have been made by the Communication Workers Union about the future of Crown post offices in Northern Ireland, Two parliamentary questions have also been answered on matters relating to the closure of post offices and the transfer of Crown post offices to private franchise in Northern Ireland. I would refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr. McCrea) dated 10 October 2005, Official Report, columns 269W-70W and 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 1025W.
 
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1500W
 

The Post Office, posts and the regulation of postal services are reserved matters. Decisions on individual closures and conversions of directly managed Crown post offices are operational and commercial matters for Post Office Ltd.

Post-16 Education

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20 and (f) 21-year-olds were in further education in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [28863]

Angela E. Smith: The following table details the number of young people (aged 16–21) who attended a further education college in NI over the 10 year period 1995–96 to 2004–05.
Students⁽³⁸⁾ in Further Education in Northern Ireland aged between 16 and 21 years, 1995–96 to 2004–05

	Age(39)
Academic year	16	17	18	19	20	21	Total 16 to 21-year-olds
2004–05	9,764	9,306	7,139	4.689	3,147	2,630	36,675
2003–04	10,392	9.344	6,884	4,544	3,372	2,594	37,130
2002–03	9,657	10,036	6,728	4,341	2,759	2,095	35,616
2001–02	10,257	10,198	7,051	4,203	2.736	2,176	36,621
2000–01	10,475	10,139	7.083	4,263	2,828	2,040	36,828
1999–2000	10.673	10,302	7,548	4,526	2,893	2,072	38,014
1998–99	10.286	10,068	7,697	4,469	2,729	2,019	37,268
1997–98	10,419	10,656	7,687	4,429	2,761	2,095	38,047
1996–97	11,118	10,346	7,618	4.216	2,684	2.070	38,052
1995–96	10,417	10,137	7,177	4,086	2,648	2,028	36,493

⁽³⁸⁾ Data relates to a snapshot of students on 1 November of the relevant academic year.
⁽³⁹⁾ Age is at 1 July at the beginning of the relevant academic year.
Source:
FESR snapshot

Punishment Beatings

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list (a) dissident Republican and (b) Loyalist groups which have been linked to punishment beatings since July; [24767]

(2) when he intends to answer question 24767 tabled by the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre on 2 November. [29683]

Mr. Woodward: PSNI statistics for the period in question confirm that Loyalist paramilitaries carried out 13 assaults while dissident" Republicans were responsible for one assault.

It should be noted that PSNI do not record attribution by specific loyalist faction, In many cases victims and witnesses to paramilitary assaults are unwilling or unable to provide the police with information that could assist in identifying such groups.

Race Crimes

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many race crimes have been referred by the Police Service for Northern Ireland to the Public Prosecution Service over the past three years; how many prosecutions were brought; and how many convictions were secured. [24734]

Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (David Hanson) on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 110W).

Statistics relating to prosecutions for racially motivated crimes are not currently available. The table outlines the number of racially motivated crimes cleared by the police in 2004–05 (the first financial year for which data is available). A breakdown by clearance type is provided which includes the number of crimes cleared by way of a charge or summons.

Crime clearance method	1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005
Charge / Summons	59
Caution / informal warning (including juvenile)	11
No further police action (40)	31
Total crimes cleared	101

⁽⁴⁰⁾ Includes cases where the complainant declined to prosecute, and where the suspected offender is under the age of criminal responsibility or has died.

Retail Market

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the extent of competition in the Northern Ireland retail market; and if he will make a statement. [28908]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.

The Department has not undertaken any research into this market. Competition in the supermarket and grocery sectors is a matter for the independent competition authorities, in this instance the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
 
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1501W
 

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been undertaken by his Department into the market share of each of the four largest multiple retail chains in Northern Ireland. [28909]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.

The Department has not undertaken any research into this market. Competition in the supermarket and grocery sectors is a matter for the independent competition authorities, in this instance the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

---