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13 Mar 2006 : Column 2038W—continued
Lisanelly Barracks
Mark Durkan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to maximise the
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potential social and economic opportunities for the community presented by the release of the Lisanelly Barracks site in Omagh. [56352]
Mr. Hanson: 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.
Arrangements are in place to establish if any Northern Ireland Department has an interest in acquiring the site. If an interest is established, sites are offered at market value to the interested Department. Failing this, the site will be offered for sale to the wider public sector through a process run by the Valuation and Lands Agency, again at market value.
If no interest is expressed through these routes, the site may, depending on circumstances, be offered to the former owner. Only after that process would the site be advertised and sold on the open market.
Long-term Unemployment Levels
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people are long-term unemployed in each of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies [58170]
Angela E. Smith: Long-term unemployment levels from the Claimant Count in each of the Northern Ireland parliamentary constituencies at January 2006 are provided in the following table.
Message in a Bottle Scheme
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated to community safety partnerships to enable the extension of the Message in a Bottle scheme throughout Northern Ireland. [57298]
Mr. Hanson:
The first Message in a Bottle Scheme was launched in Antrim on 2 December 2005 for which the local Community Safety Partnership provided £1,500 part-funding. A number of other Community Safety Partnerships are considering introducing the
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scheme within their areas. Discussions are ongoing between the Community Safety Unit, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other potential partner organisations to explore how the scheme could be funded for extension across Northern Ireland.
Nurse Training
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the attrition rates were for nurse training courses in Northern Ireland in each year since 2001. [57053]
Mr. Woodward: There are approximately 2,349 full-time undergraduate nursing students in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety currently commissions 750 student nurse places annually between Queen's University Belfast, (QUB) and the University of Ulster, (UU). The duration of the pre-registration studentship is three years. The attrition rates for pre-registration nurse training from academic year 2001–02 until 2004–05 are as follows:
| Academic year | Queen's University Belfast | University of Ulster |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 8 | 12 |
| 2002–03 | 11.9 | 16 |
| 2003–04 | 14.7 | 10 |
| 2004–05 | 7.1 | 8 |
Source:
Queen's University Belfast and University of Ulster
PGCE Students (Financial Assistance)
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to reduce the difference in the levels of financial assistance available to Postgraduate Certificate in Education students in Northern Ireland and England and Wales. [57084]
Angela E. Smith: The Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) underpin the financial support arrangements for Northern Ireland domiciled students in higher education, including students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses. They broadly replicate provisions in the corresponding GB Regulations which apply to English and Welsh domiciled students.
There are no compelling reasons to offer financial incentives similar to those available to teacher training students in England and Wales, including NI domiciled students, to encourage recruitment to or retain teachers within the profession here, as this is not a pressing problem in NI. Applications to teacher training courses in Northern Ireland currently exceed by 8 to 1 the number of places available. Moreover, there is no evidence that the existence of incentives elsewhere is diverting applicants away from the NI institutions. The position, however, is kept under close review.
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Police Service
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been made available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland unit established to tackle the targeting of elderly people by criminal gangs. [54596]
Mr. Woodward: I am advised by the Chief Constable that funding for this initiative is from within existing resources.
Policing Accountability Report
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of the Policing, Accountability and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community Report published by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. [57631]
Mr. Woodward: The Policing Accountability and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community in Northern Ireland Report was jointly commissioned by the Police Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Policing Board. The total cost of the report was £20,650. The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland paid £6,884 and the Northern Ireland Policing Board paid £13,766.
Primary Schools
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils were enrolled in Northern Ireland at (a) controlled, (b) maintained and (c) integrated primary schools as at December 2005. [56357]
Angela E. Smith: The annual school census gathers enrolment data at October each year. Enrolments in primary schools in Northern Ireland at October 2005 were as follows:
| Enrolments | |
|---|---|
| Controlled schools | 80,508 |
| Maintained schools | 79,859 |
| Integrated schools | 7,045 |
Notes:
1. The figures provided include pupils in nursery, reception and Year 1 to Year 7 classes, where applicable.
2. The figures exclude preparatory departments of grammar schools.
3. The figure for Controlled schools excludes Controlled Integrated schools; these are included in the figure for integrated schools.
Recycling (Domestic Waste)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of domestic waste each council in Northern Ireland recycled in each of the last three years, listed in descending order. [57092]
Angela E. Smith:
The following tables set out total household waste recycled and composted as a percentage of total household waste arisings for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004–05 (in descending order). The
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apparent inconsistencies in the data arise because some data were submitted on a calendar year. Since mid-2003, district councils have submitted data on a quarterly basis. It has been decided that financial years will be reported in future.
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Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set for recycling domestic waste in each council area in Northern Ireland by 2010. [57093]
Angela E. Smith: The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy 2000 sets an overall requirement for district councils to recover 25 per cent. of household waste by March 2006, and to recover 40 per cent. of household waste by 2010, of which 25 per cent. should be by recycling or composting.
The new Waste Management Strategy, scheduled to be published at the end of March 2006, will build on the targets set in 2000.
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