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Home Start

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 900W, on Home Start, whether indicative funding allocations to the Home Start project for the 2005–06 financial year are available. [54616]

Mr. Woodward: DHSSPS has allocated approximately £45,000 funding for Home Start in Northern Ireland to assist its administration for the 2005–06 financial year. The Home Start programme is mainly delivered in Northern Ireland through HSS Trusts and Surestart. The total funding allocation for 2005–06 will not be available until the end of the financial year. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information as soon as it is available and place a copy in the Library.
 
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Industrial De-rating

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the change in net revenue following the termination of industrial de-rating in Northern Ireland. [54546]

Angela E. Smith: The removal of industrial de-rating commenced on 1 April 2005 and will be phased out over seven years.

The following table displays the percentage of rate liability and the estimated regional revenue, using the announced 3.3 per cent. increases in the non-domestic regional rates.

	Rate liability (percentage)	Estimated regional revenue (£ million)
2005–06	15	6
2006–07	25	10
2007–08	35	15

These figures will be revised as properties, occupiers and associated valuations change.

Beyond 2007–08 revenues will be determined by the non-domestic rate increases established by priorities and budget.

District rate revenue can only be estimated for 2005–06 as future years depend on district rate increases decided annually. The estimated district rate revenue for 2005–06 is £4 million.

Invoices (Non-payment)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total amount of credit lost to each Department in Northern Ireland through failure to pay invoices within the stated deadline was in each of the last 10 years. [53187]

Angela E. Smith: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Knife Amnesty

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce in Northern Ireland a knives amnesty along the lines of that operating in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [53169]

Mr. Hanson: As I indicated in my public statement on 9 February I am currently looking at a scheme that will allow the public to surrender knives in Northern Ireland. In particular I am considering together with the relevant agencies, the legal ramifications of such a scheme and wish to take advice before making any further public announcement.

The Government are committed to tackling knife crime in Northern Ireland. We are working very closely with the police and other agencies to put in place a comprehensive programme to deal with this serious issue. In addition changes will be made to the legislation governing the sale of knives through the violent Crime Reduction Bill.
 
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Knife Crimes

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what discussions he has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling knife crimes; and what steps he is taking to tackle knife crime; [54129]

(2) whether he plans to introduce a knives amnesty for Northern Ireland. [54130]

Mr. Hanson: As I indicated in my public statement on 9 February I am currently working in partnership with the police to devise a comprehensive strategy to tackle knife crime. In addition to changes in the legislation governing the sale of knives through the Violent Crime Reduction Bill, we are considering an education package for young people and a public information campaign. The police will also take forward an enhanced enforcement strategy for dealing with knife crime.

I am also considering a scheme that will allow the public to surrender knives in Northern Ireland. In particular I am considering together with the relevant agencies, the legal ramifications of such a scheme and wish to take advice before making any further public announcement.

Lisanelly Barracks

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he made of the merits of including the Lisanelly barracks site in Omagh in the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative; and if he will make a statement on the proposals for the site. [53248]

Angela E. Smith: The Reinvestment and Reform Initiative (RRI) announced in May 2002 included an arrangement whereby some former security sites transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive free of charge for economic and social regeneration. There is no scope to include sites that are additional to requirements under this RRI arrangement as the Ministry of Defence's policy is to dispose of such sites at market value.

Lisanelly barracks is owned by the Ministry of Defence and any proposals for the site are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence. Officials in Defence Estates, a division within MOD with responsibility for the disposal of the Lisanelly barracks, are currently considering arrangements for the disposal of the site.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when each of the multiple sclerosis patients waiting to commence (a) beta interferon and (b) glatiramer in the Southern Health Board area was placed to the waiting list. [55888]

Mr. Woodward: Personal patient information such as the date an individual is placed on a waiting list cannot be provided without a patient's consent. However, the
 
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number of Southern Health and Social Services Board patients waiting for disease modifying treatment for MS and the time band within which they were placed on the waiting list is detailed in the table. The decision as to which disease modifying product a patient receives is not determined at the time they are placed on the list.

Dates	Number of patients(20)
1 August-31 October 2004	2
1 November 2004–31 January 2005	2
1 February-3 April 2005	3
1 May-31 July 2005	2
1 August-31 October 2005	6
1 November 2005–31 January 2006	2

⁽²⁰⁾ Information at 31 January 2006

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many multiple sclerosis patients have commenced beta interferon or glatiramer treatment in the Southern Health Board area in each of the last five years. [55889]

Mr. Woodward: The number of patients, resident in the Southern Board area that have commenced beta interferon or glatiramer treatment in each of the last five years is shown in the table:

	Number of patients commencing beta interferon/glatiramer treatment in Southern Board area
2001	16
2002	12
2003	25
2004	13
2005	6

Source:
Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust

Post-primary Education Consultation

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Government will extend the final submission date for the public consultation on post-primary education to take account of the recent postal strike in Belfast. [55103]

Angela E. Smith: I have looked at this very carefully to ensure that no-one will be disadvantaged.

Parts of Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland were unaffected by the recent postal dispute. I understand that, following the end of the dispute, post is being delivered as normal, alongside the work to clear the backlog. If the backlog is not cleared by the closing date of 7 March, the Department of Education will accept postal responses received after that date until the backlog is cleared. The situation is being kept under review.

During the dispute the Department of Education issued a number of response booklets to members of the public with addresses in the affected areas. As they were
 
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unlikely to have been delivered, the Department issued duplicates after the dispute ended so that those involved could return them by 7 March.

I would encourage all who wish to respond to the consultation to submit their comments by the closing date.

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