House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 9 Jan 2006 (pt 79)

9 Jan 2006 : Column 312W—continued

Ambulance Service

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to move the non-emergency Northern Ireland Ambulance Service control centre at Altnagelvin hospital to another site. [39268]

Mr. Woodward: There are no plans to move the non-emergency Northern Ireland Ambulance Service control centre at Altnagelvin hospital to another site.

9 Jan 2006 : Column 313W

Bovine TB

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2091W, on bovine tuberculosis, what role culling of badgers has played in the control strategy; and how many badgers have been despatched in each year for which figures are available. [39669]

Angela E. Smith: The existing control programme in Northern Ireland in relation to bovine tuberculosis is based on measures to limit cattle-to-cattle transmission of the disease. The culling of badgers does not play a role in the existing control programme and no badgers have been despatched.

Bullying

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on anti-bullying initiatives in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary and grammar schools in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness. [39646]

Angela E. Smith: Anti-bullying became a separate area of work for the Department of Education in 2000–01 with the commissioning of the research into the scale and nature of bullying in schools. The following table details specific expenditure by the Department of Education for the last five years and planned expenditure in 2005–06. The heading 'All schools/pupils' covers expenditure which cannot be ascribed to a particular sector.
£

Primary schools Post primary schools All schools/pupils Total

2000–01 15,000 15,000 60,000 90,000

2001–02 17,500 30,000 3,000 50,500

2002–03 18,000 23,000 1,000 42,000

2003–04 10,000 10,000 5,000 25,000

2004–05 — — 8,000 8,000

2005–06⁽⁵⁶⁾ — — 80,000 80,000

⁽⁵⁶⁾ Planned

	Primary schools	Post primary schools	All schools/pupils	Total
2000–01	15,000	15,000	60,000	90,000
2001–02	17,500	30,000	3,000	50,500
2002–03	18,000	23,000	1,000	42,000
2003–04	10,000	10,000	5,000	25,000
2004–05	—	—	8,000	8,000
2005–06⁽⁵⁶⁾	—	—	80,000	80,000

Expenditure covered research, the production of materials for schools, an information leaflet for parents and a pilot programme of peer mediation in 10 schools. All of this work was pursued in partnership with the education and library boards and voluntary sector organisations with a keen interest in tackling bullying. Feedback on the materials has been positive. The peer mediation pilot was evaluated by ETI and while found to be beneficial could not be sustained by schools without sustained external support.

The Department does not have information about the resources which schools devote to anti-bullying initiatives from their own budgets. Across the education and library boards at least £200,000 per annum is allocated to specific anti-bullying activity.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils in Northern Ireland have been absent from school through sickness as a result of bullying in each of the last 10 years. [39648]

9 Jan 2006 : Column 314W

Angela E. Smith: The Department of Education does not collect the requested information from schools. Basic statistical information about attendance is collected and from this the Department can determine levels of overall absence. Following recommendations contained in a Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report, 'Improving Pupil Attendance at School' published in November 2004, the Department is currently in the process of putting in place arrangements for gathering more detailed statistical information on pupil absences from 2006–07 school year. While information about the type of absence will be collected, including illness, it will not provide details on the type or reason for illness.

Child Protection

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the Northern Ireland draft budget will be allocated to child protection services in 2006–08; and what his funding priorities are in this area. [25303]

Mr. Woodward: Children and families remain a priority for Government. The budget for Health and Personal Social Services includes an additional £2 million in 2006–07 and 2007–08 set aside to support statutory requirements in respect of child protection. This money will be made available subject to agreement between the boards and the Department on the purposes for which it will be used and the specific outcomes to be achieved.

DHSSPS is committed to improving core children's services and this was reflected in the Budget 2006–08 settlement. As a result of the Budget we are able to invest:

an additional £2 million from 2006–07 in children's residential Care, opening new facilities and improving existing facilities,

an additional £4 million/£2 million in foster care;

an additional £0.5 million/£0.5 million for children leaving care.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated for child protection arrangements in the Province over the next three years. [38616]

Expenditure planning figures for 2008–09 will be arrived at as a result of the national 2007 spending review.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time staff are employed by the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland. [38956]

9 Jan 2006 : Column 315W

Mr. Hanson: As at 20 December 2005 there are 1,578 full-time staff employed by the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1247–48W, on the Child Support Agency, what the problems are with the new system; what steps have been taken to solve them; and how effective these measures have been. [39273]

Mr. Hanson: The agency recognises that there are ongoing problems with the service it delivers to its customers via the new Child Support computer system. I am, however, continuing to work closely with our colleagues in Great Britain and the system provider, EDS, to resolve the remaining functionality defects with the new system. In addition to the functionality problems there were issues with technical stability, which have now been addressed.

A forward programme of enhancements has been agreed with the system provider. This will resolve all current defects and provide the specification that will enable the conversion of old scheme cases onto the new scheme. The terms of the recent commercial settlement with EDS means that the enhancements will be completed without further cost. A proportion of payments due to the provider are however being retained, conditional upon timely completion of the programme of work to the required standards.

Governance arrangements are also in place to assess the performance of EDS against acceptance criteria and ensure the satisfactory delivery of all system improvements.

Monitoring has identified that recent technical enhancements to the system have improved performance against agreed service standards. Monitoring will continue as the programme is implemented. When Ministers are satisfied that the new system and arrangements are working well, a decision to convert all old scheme cases to the new system will be taken.

Churches/Orange Halls (Attacks)

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many places of worship have come under attack in each of the last 10 years, broken down by denomination. [18240]

Mr. Woodward: The following table from PSNI records details the number of attacks on church property over the last 10 years correct to 30 June 2005.

Number of attacks on church property

1995 52

1996 52

1997 41

1998 42

1999 15

2000 31

2001 30

2002 35

2003 59

2004 32

2005⁽⁵⁷⁾ 36

⁽⁵⁷⁾ To 30 June
Notes:
1. 2005 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
2. Includes incidents such as stones thrown, petrol bombs thrown, shots fired, malicious fires, etc.
3. PSNI does not record the denomination of the place of worship.

9 Jan 2006 : Column 316W

	Number of attacks on church property
1995	52
1996	52
1997	41
1998	42
1999	15
2000	31
2001	30
2002	35
2003	59
2004	32
2005⁽⁵⁷⁾	36

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Orange Halls have come under attack in each of the last 10 years. [18241]

Mr. Woodward: The following table from PSNI records details the number of attacks on Orange Halls / Apprentice Boys Halls over the last 10 years correct to 30 June 2005.

Number of attacks on Orange Halls / Apprentice Boys Halls

1995 42

1996 38

1997 41

1998 29

1999 26

2000 26

2001 16

2002 4

2003 19

2004 6

2005⁽⁵⁸⁾ 8

⁽⁵⁸⁾ To 30 June.
Note:
1. 2005 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
2. Includes incidents such as stones thrown, petrol bombs thrown, shots fired, malicious fires, etc.

	Number of attacks on Orange Halls / Apprentice Boys Halls
1995	42
1996	38
1997	41
1998	29
1999	26
2000	26
2001	16
2002	4
2003	19
2004	6
2005⁽⁵⁸⁾	8

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