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19 Jan 2006 : Column 1587W—continued

Housing Benefit

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on housing benefit in Northern Ireland in respect of tenants in (a) Housing Executive property, (b) Housing Association property and (c) the Private Sector in 2005. [43056]

Mr. Hanson: £195 million was spent on housing benefit in Northern Ireland in respect of tenants in Housing Executive properties and £176.5 million in respect of Housing Association and Private Sector properties in the financial year 2004–05. Information with regard to this latter figure cannot be disaggregated further.

Independent Monitoring Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government expects the publication of the next report by the Independent Monitoring Commission. [42689]

Mr. Woodward: The next report of the Independent Monitoring Commission is expected at the end of January and will be published as soon as possible thereafter.

Joseph Rafferty

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has made to the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic about the murder of Joseph Rafferty on 12 April. [14894]

Mr. Woodward: There have been no representations made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic about the murder of Joseph Rafferty on 12 April.

Loyalist Paramilitary Disarmament

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will call for loyalist paramilitary disarmament in Northern Ireland. [43724]

Mr. Woodward: The Government's position is clear; there is no place for paramilitary and criminal activity in a democratically governed Northern Ireland. As with the IRA, we remain committed to seeing complete and verified decommissioning of weapons held by all loyalist groups.
 
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Male Prisoners (Nationality)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) female and (b) male prisoners in Northern Ireland are of foreign nationality; and what the nationalities concerned are in each case. [42720]

Mr. Woodward: As of 12 January 2006 the Northern Ireland Prison Service had: (a) 3.6 per cent. (1) of the total female population of 28 were foreign national prisoners and (b) 2.4 per cent. (31) of a total male prisoner population of 1,279 were foreign nationals. A breakdown by nationality is provided in the table.
NationalityNumber of female prisonersNumber of
male prisoners
Algerian1
Belgian1
Chinese4
East Timorese1
French1
German1
Italian2
Latvian2
Liberian1
Lithuanian10
Polish5
South African11
Spanish1
Total131
Percentage of total populations as at 12 January 2006
(28 and 1,279)
3.6%2.4%




Note:
These figures exclude immigration detainees as these persons are not prisoners under the terms of the Prison Service Act 1953.



Motoring Offences

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) women and (b) men were convicted of motoring offences in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [21633]

Mr. Woodward: The following table provides statistics, by gender, of persons convicted of motoring offences during the period 1999 to 2003 (2003 is the most up-to-date data currently available).
Persons convicted of motoring offences, by gender: 1999–2003

Convictions
MaleFemaleTotal
199913,8691,91315,782
200013,3442,04615,390
200112,4032,06314,466
200212,3302,01414,344
200314,0492,29316,342

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were stopped by police for suspected motoring offences in each of Northern Ireland's parliamentary constituencies in each of the last 24 months; and how many were subsequently prosecuted in each month. [41108]

Mr. Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not record statistics of the number of motorists stopped for motoring offences. The closest available information is detailed in the tables 1 to 4 and
 
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relates to road policing detections by District Officers and Road Policing Officers recorded by District Command Unit (DCU).

Statistics relating to convictions are also only available by District Command Unit. Tables 5 and 6 provide details of the number of prosecutions for motoring offences during the period 2002–03 (2003 being the most recent year for which statistics are available).

The tables have been placed in the Library.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were breathalysed in each of Northern Ireland's parliamentary constituencies in each of the last 24 months; and how many were subsequently prosecuted in each month. [41109]

Mr. Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not record statistics relating to the number of people breathalysed by parliamentary constituency but by District Command Unit. Tables detailing the number of preliminary breath tests conducted in each DCU by District Officers and Roads Policing Officers during the period 2004–05 have been placed in the Library.

Prosecution data relating to drink driving offences is also only available by District Command Unit. The statistics provided in tables 5 and 6 covers the period 2002–03 (2003 being the most recent year for which this data is available).

Paramilitary Arms

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the quantity of paramilitary arms at large in Northern Ireland. [19414]

Mr. Woodward: The decommissioning of paramilitary weapons is a vital element in the process of taking violence out of Northern Ireland permanently.

On 26 September 2005, the IICD determined that the IRA had met its commitment to put all its arms beyond use in a manner called for by the legislation and that it remained for them to address the arms of all loyalist paramilitary groups, as well as other paramilitary organisations. The IICD has confirmed that it has an inventory of decommissioned IRA weapons. The IICD will, however, retain possession of this inventory until its mandate is complete and will, along with the Government, continue to work tirelessly in the pursuit of complete decommissioning by all paramilitary organisations both republican and loyalist.

Police Numbers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of police officers on out-of-station duty each day was in each district command unit in the Province in each of the last five years. [17534]

Mr. Woodward: The PSNI Human Resource Department do not hold data in relation to the average number of police officers out-of-station duty" on each day in each DCU for the last five years.
 
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However, since the inception of the Human Resource Planning Strategy under the objective of Improving Organisational Performance through efficient and effective deployment practices, the PSNI has committed to increasing the percentage of officer time spent on front line policing to 72 per cent. by 2007–08.

The Front Line Policing Measure for the PSNI currently stands at 56.6 per cent. for 2004–05 and they are currently on target to achieve the 2005–06 target of 60 per cent.. This figure cannot be fully calculated until the completion of activity sampling towards the end of the financial year.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many regular Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) full-time reserve and (b) part-time reserve officers are on (i) long-term sick leave and (ii) short-term sick leave within Castlereagh. [19574]

Mr. Woodward: As of the 19 October 2005, Castlereagh DCU recorded the following sick absence details for regular, full-time reserve and part-time reserve officers:

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what ballistic and armouring tests are carried out on (a) patrol cars, (b) armoured land rovers and (c) VIP cars in the Police Service of Northern Ireland fleet; and to what standard such testing is conducted; [27303]

(2) what (a) standards and (b) procedures are used by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in relation to the procurement and use of ballistic steel for armouring purposes; [27304]

(3) in what posts (a) Mr. David Graham, (b) Mr. John Wilson, (c) Mr. Nigel Booth, (d) Mr. Gerry Murray and (e) Mr. Dave Bradley have served with (i)the Police Authority of Northern Ireland and (ii) the Police Service of Northern Ireland; what the duration of their service was in each case; what experience each has in (A) ballistic engineering and (B) vehicle armoury; and what professional qualifications each has. [27464]

Mr. Woodward: These questions deal with issues that are currently subject to an ongoing criminal investigation and no further information can be made available at this stage.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines apply to the suspension of Police Service of Northern Ireland officers and staff pending the formal investigation of irregularities; and in what circumstances staff are suspended. [27367]


 
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Mr. Woodward: There are two distinct sets of guidelines which cover police officers and police staff. These are as follows:

1.Police Staff are covered by NICS code paragraph 1084, which states:

2. Police Officers

Appendix 9(9)—Suspension: Substantive Considerations— (See RUC Code Section 9, paragraph 25)

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Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's arrangements for (a) tendering, (b) ordering,
 
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(c) delivery, (d) invoicing and (e) payment for goods and services in relation to vehicle transactions; and if he will make a statement. [27465]

Mr. Woodward: A Project Board, chaired by a non-executive director, comprising members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Audit and Risk Committee and the Policing Board's Audit and Best Value Committee has been established to oversee a review of policies, procedures and responsibilities for (a) tendering, (b) ordering, (c) delivering, (d) invoicing and (e) payment for goods and services.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what assessment he has made of the level of (a) technical qualifications and (b) expertise in relation to ballistic and armouring protection matters of (i) managers and (ii) staff in the Police Service of Northern Ireland Transport Services Department; [27466]

(2) who took the decision to contest the civil proceedings brought by Northern Ireland Sheet Metal Works Ltd. in respect of steel contracts; what criteria were used to decide that the case should proceed; and who gave authority to settle the case; [27467]

(3) if he will list (a) corporate entertaining and (b) receipt of gifts declared by (i) Mr. David Graham and (ii) Mr. Joe Stewart of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; [27468]

(4) on whose authority Mr. David Graham declined to give evidence at the recent court proceedings involving Northern Ireland Sheet Metal Works Ltd. and the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding contracts to supply steel; and for what reasons the decision was taken. [27469]

Mr. Woodward: These are management issues for the Chief Constable and the Northern Ireland Policing Board. The Chief Constable will write to the hon. Member. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.


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