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30 Jan 2006 : Column 130W—continued
Incapacity Benefit
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incapacity benefit recipients there have been in Northern Ireland in each of the last eight years. [46330]
Mr. Hanson:
The figures requested are shown as follows.
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| Number of people | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 74,870 |
| 1999 | 71,053 |
| 2000 | 70,176 |
| 2001 | 71,333 |
| 2002 | 71,252 |
| 2003 | 72,208 |
| 2004 | 70,608 |
| 2005 | 69,682 |
Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Review
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timescale is for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Review; what the estimated cost is; and how much has been spent to date. [45787]
Mr. Woodward:
I understand that the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability aims to complete its task by summer 2006. The estimated cost of the review is around £1.2 million. To date, just over £1 million has been spent.
30 Jan 2006 : Column 132W
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Review sub-groups which have completed reports; and when he expects the remainder to complete reports. [45788]
Mr. Woodward: To date, the review has published two reports: from its Adult Mental Health Services Working Committee, and from its Learning Disability Working Committee. I understand that the remaining reports should be completed by summer 2006.
Office Equipment
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) personal computers, (b) laptops, (c) servers, (d) printers, (e) scanners, (f) photocopiers and (g) fax machines (i) his Department, (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which his Department is responsible in (1) each English region and (2) Northern Ireland owned in (x) 2003–04 and (y) 2004–05. [40148]
Mr. Hain: Information from Department records indicate that number of personal computers, laptops, servers, printers and scanners are as shown in the following table:
(27) The Northern Ireland Office's four Executive agencies are the Compensation Agency for Northern Ireland, Forensic Science for Northern Ireland, The Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Youth Justice Agency. It is not possible to isolate the number of pieces of equipment each agency owned except at disproportionate cost.
Photocopiers are leased and not owned. Information on small items such as fax machines is not held centrally and could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
Information in respect of each non-departmental public body could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
Police
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Garda Siochana have been (a) seconded and (b) transferred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each year since the implementation of the Patten report. [44748]
Mr. Woodward: I am advised by the PSNI that since the signing of relevant protocols, one member of the Garda Siochana has taken part in a mutual personnel exchange (without policing powers) with the PSNI.
Prisons (Drug Finds)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many drug finds there have been in Northern Ireland's prisons in each of the last three years; and of what quantities. [46650]
Mr. Woodward: The following table details all drugs found within Northern Ireland prisons in the last three years (January 2003 to December 2005) and the quantities and type of each substance:
30 Jan 2006 : Column 133W
Public Body Vacancies
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidance Northern Ireland departments give to public bodies on the handling of senior post vacancies and recruitment pending implementation of the Review of Public Administration; and whether (a) Equality Commission and (b) legal advice is sought on such guidance. [45187]
Angela E. Smith: The standard guidance issued to the Northern Ireland departments is detailed in the Cabinet Office publication 'non-departmental public bodies: A Guide for Departments.' That guidance states:
'A non-departmental public body's ability to employ and manage staff is an important element of its relative independence from Ministers. While the sponsor department must be careful not to detract from a non-departmental public body's independence, it does have a responsibility to assist a new non-departmental public body in making a sound start in its management policies. The sponsor department should encourage non-departmental public bodies to adopt Human Resource management practices which meet at least the minimum standards expected of public service employers.'
The Department of Finance and Personnel also issued 'Guidance on Codes of Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies' in March 1997. That stated that departments should ensure that executive non-departmental public bodies adopt new or revised codes based on the new guidance.
'The board should ensure that the body's rules for the recruitment and management of staff provide for appointment and advancement on merit on the basis of equal opportunity for all applicants and staff. In filling senior staff appointments, the board should satisfy itself that an adequate field of qualified candidates is considered, and should always consider the merits of full and open competition. In recruiting external candidates, this should normally be used'.
No guidance has been issued which makes particular reference to the implementation of the Review of Public Administration and no further legal advice or advice from the Equality Commission has been sought.
Schools (Employment of Offenders)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether anyone with a conviction for a sexual offence is working in a school in Northern Ireland; [43555]
(2) how many teachers in Northern Ireland have (a) convictions, including spent convictions, and (b) police cautions; how many such convictions and cautions were in respect of sexual offences; and if he will make a statement. [43557]
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Angela E. Smith: On 13 January I asked the employing authorities (that is the Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, and schools which employ their staff directly) to check their records and inform me whether there is any person currently in employment in any capacity in a grant-aided school who is required to notify their details to the Police Service as a sex offender, or who has a history of sex offending. They have confirmed that that there are three persons, none of them teaching staff, with a conviction for a sexual offence who are currently working in schools; none of these persons is on a sex offenders register as all the offences were committed over 15 years ago. In one case the offence was against a minor and involved a girl who was just under age; in the other two cases the offences were against adult females. In each case the employing authority knew of the conviction through the pre-employment check and took professional advice. The advice was, in each case, that the person was not a risk to children, and so employment was offered. The employing authorities remain satisfied that these persons do not pose a risk to children.
I have also asked for similar information from Independent schools and await their replies.
Vetting against all sources is done by a single agency, the PSNI Criminal Records Office (CRO). The CRO checks individuals who apply to work with children, either as employees or those engaged as volunteers, against both List 99 and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's list of people who are disqualified from working with children, as well as carrying out a full criminal background check. Employers are informed of all convictions, spent and unspent, including cautions and bind-over orders, no matter when the offence was committed, and non-conviction information which CRO considers to be reliable. These are all made available to the employing authority and are taken into account in the decision on whether to offer employment. The CRO has also confirmed, however, that their pre-employment checks on persons applying to work in schools have not identified any individual on a sex offenders register since the introduction of registration in 1997.
I am unable to confirm the number of teachers who have other types of offences (and this would include, for example, driving offences) as employers' records will show only those who had these convictions at the point at which they were vetted.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people (a) convicted of and (b) having received a caution regarding sexual involvement with children have been employed in schools in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years. [43620]
Angela E. Smith:
On 13 January I asked the employing authorities (that is the Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, and schools which employ their staff directly) to check their records and inform me whether there is any person currently in employment in any capacity in a grant-aided school who is required to notify their details to the Police Service as a sex offender, or who has a history of sex offending. They have confirmed that that there are three persons, none of them teaching staff, with
30 Jan 2006 : Column 135W
a conviction for a sexual offence who are currently working in schools; none of these persons is on a sex offenders register as all the offences were committed over 15 years ago. In one case the offence was against a minor and involved a girl who was just under age; in the other two cases the offence was against an adult female. In each case the employing authority knew of the conviction through the pre-employment check and took professional advice. The advice was, in each case, that the person was not a risk to children, and so employment was offered. The employing authorities remain satisfied that these persons do not pose a risk to children.
I have also asked for similar information from independent schools and await their replies.
In Northern Ireland vetting against all sources is done by a single agency, the PSNI Criminal Records Office (CRO). The CRO checks individuals who apply to work with children, either as employees or those engaged as volunteers, against both List 99 and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's list of people who are disqualified from working with children, as well as carrying out a full criminal background check. Employers are informed of all convictions, including cautions and bind-over orders, no matter when the offence was committed, and non-conviction information which CRO considers to be reliable. The CRO has also confirmed that their pre-employment checks on persons applying to work in schools have not identified any individual on a sex offenders register since the introduction of registration in 1997.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) teachers and (b) auxiliary staff who are on the Sex Offenders Register are employed in schools in Northern Ireland. [45026]
Angela E. Smith: The employing authorities for teaching and non-teaching staff in the grant-aided sector have confirmed to me that there is no-one currently in employment in any capacity in a grant-aided school who is required to notify their details to the Police Service under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
My Department has also written to schools in the independent sector asking for confirmation of their position as regards the employment of persons who are registered sex offenders or who have a history of sex offending.
I will write to the hon. Gentleman with this information.
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