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21 Nov 2005 : Column 1649W—continued
Smoking
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the ban on smoking in public places in Northern Ireland in the first five years of operation. [29886]
Mr. Woodward:
The introduction of smoke-free legislation will protect children, employees and the public in general from the increased health risks associated with exposure to second hand smoke such as lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, asthma and
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other circulatory and respiratory diseases. Experience elsewhere suggests that comprehensive controls also help reduce smoking prevalence.
The draft smoke-free legislation will be issued for public consultation early in the new year and will be accompanied by a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will address both the health and economic implications of tobacco control measures.
Special Advisers
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the special advisers in post in his Department, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06. [29406]
Mr. Woodward: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 21 July 2005, Official Report, columns 158–62WS.
Information on the numbers of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.
Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.
Speed Detection Devices
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the (a) Operational Command Unit and (b) District Command Unit have used speed detection devices on the Upper Newtownards Road in each of the last six months. [28868]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not recorded.
Staff Discipline
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees have been dismissed by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [29131]
Mr. Woodward:
The following table sets out the number of employees who have been dismissed by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years.
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| Date dismissed | Reason for dismissal | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 6 October 2000 | Misconduct | 1 |
| 27 August 2004 | Inefficiency—poor performance | 1 |
| 27 August 2004 | Misconduct | 1 |
Stinger Devices
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 120W, on stinger devices, how many stinger type devices there are in each police district in Northern Ireland. [28878]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is provided in the table as follows:
Tax Credits (Helpline)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will re-introduce an intermediary telephone helpline for recognised advisory services to contact the Regional Inland Revenue Office in Belfast in relation to tax credit inquiries from Northern Ireland. [17125]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
HM Revenue and Customs' Tax Credit Office continues to maintain a telephone helpline service for recognised advisory services in Northern Ireland.
Under-age Drinking
Mr. Peter Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many cases of under-age
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drinking the Police Service of Northern Ireland have brought to local councils in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years; [28858]
(2) how many times the Police Service of Northern Ireland have brought cases regarding the breach of drinking by-laws to each of the local government authorities in each of the last five years. [28864]
Mr. Hain: The Chief Constable has advised me that to obtain such information would require a manual trawl of records in each of the 29 District Command Units and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Vehicle and Pedestrian Attacks
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many attacks were recorded on the stretch of road from Newtownards Road, Bridge End area to Westbourne Church (a) on vehicles and (b) on pedestrians in each of the past 12 months; and what the perceived (i) religious and (ii) political affiliations were of (A) the victims and (B) the attackers; [28188]
(2) how many attacks have been recorded on the stretch of road from Mount Pottinger Corner to Central Station in Belfast (a) on vehicles and (b) on pedestrians in each of the past 12 months; and what the perceived (i) religious and (ii) political affiliations were of (A) the victims and (B) the attackers. [28189]
Mr. Woodward: The PSNI does not record the religious or political affiliation of perpetrators and victims of crimes.
To ascertain the number vehicles subject to criminal damage and persons subject to assault in tightly defined geographical areas such as those listed in the questions would require the services of a police analyst. To have an analyst undertake this research would extract them from their prioritised work in East Belfast DCU, incurring disproportionate cost to answer the question.
The DCU Commander in East Belfast suggests that it may help for the Sector Commander responsible for that area to meet with Lady Hermon or other UUP representative to discuss the matter further.
Waiting Lists/Times
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time was in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005 for people in Northern Ireland who required an MRI scan. [29881]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not collected centrally.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Chorley Magistrates Court
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how many court sessions took place at Chorley magistrates court in each of the last three years; [29491]
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(2) what plans she has to increase the number of court sessions in magistrates courts to reduce the time from arrest to trial; [29492]
(3) how many magistrates operate from Chorley court; and if she will make a statement; [29493]
(4) what plans there are to increase the number of magistrates in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire; [29494]
(5) if she will make a statement on the future of Chorley magistrates court. [29510]
Ms Harman: The number of half day sittings at Chorley magistrates court for the last three years are (a) 998 for 2002 (b) 852 for 2003 and (c) 621 for 2004.
The Government established the new organisation of Her Majesty's Courts Service on 1 April 2005 to administer all Magistrates, County and Crown Courts. This will allow increased flexibility of sitting across all courts. Under this Government targets have been established to bring more offenders to justice and a Criminal Case Management Framework has been introduced to ensure cases are properly prepared and to reduce unnecessary delay.
The number of magistrates sitting at Chorley magistrates court is 74. The average number of sittings was 32.16 (during the period 1 January 2004 until 31 December 2004) the weighted caseload was 18,324.25.
The Advisory Committee for this area will meet on 12 December 2005, to discuss the likely requirements in 2006–07 for Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble Local Justice Areas. A major press and radio campaign was launched on 12 September 2005. Out of a total of 108 completed application forms received to date nine are for Chorley.
There has been significant investment in Chorley magistrates court in the last two years and it forms an integral part of the future plans for the area. Her Majesty's Court Service Area Director for Lancashire is consulting on a possible merger of the three local benches but has confirmed that this would not affect the future of any of the courts at Chorley, Leyland, or Ormskirk under present business needs.
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