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15 Mar 2006 : Column 2271W—continued
Landfill
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to ensure that landfill tax changes are revenue neutral to businesses in Northern Ireland. [56398]
Angela E. Smith: In the course of the 2004 Spending Review, Northern Ireland received Barnett consequentials for 2006–07 and 2007–08 of £4 million and £7 million respectively, arising from allocations to DEFRA and local government financed by increases in the standard rate of landfill tax.
As is the case with any and all such consequentials arising from allocations to Whitehall spending programmes, the amounts are not hypothecated to similar services here, but are subject to allocation in the context of local needs and priorities.
The recently published research report by the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI), entitled Measurement and Benchmarking of Competitiveness—The Cost of Doing Business in Northern Ireland concludes that, on balance, business costs in NI are relatively competitive when compared to GB and the ROI.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hazardous waste landfill sites are available for use in Northern Ireland. [58407]
Angela E. Smith:
There are currently no hazardous waste landfill sites in Northern Ireland. However there is a non-hazardous waste landfill site located in Lisbane, Tandragee (Co. Armagh) which has a separate, dedicated cell for the acceptance of asbestos waste only.
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2272W
Manufacturing
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many manufacturing jobs have been (a) created and (b) lost in the last 12 months in each of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies. [58114]
Angela E. Smith: Information on the number of jobs created and lost is not available.
However, figures from the Census of Employment can be used to estimate the net change in employee jobs between censuses and the most up to date figures relate to September 2003. The number of jobs in manufacturing at September 2001 and September 2003 and the change over this two year period for each parliamentary constituency area is shown in table 1.
The number of redundancies confirmed to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the manufacturing sector in each constituency over the last 12 months is shown in table 2.
Source:
Census of Employment, DETI
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2273W
Message in a Bottle Scheme
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the Message in a Bottle Scheme. [57285]
Mr. Hanson: The first Message in a Bottle Scheme in Northern Ireland was launched in Antrim on 2 December 2005. The promoters of the scheme are currently considering how its impact could be monitored and evaluated. However, similar schemes operational in GB have demonstrated positive benefits particularly to the most vulnerable within communities.
MOT Testing
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time was at MOT centres in each of the testing centres in Northern Ireland during January. [57968]
Angela E. Smith: The following table shows the average waiting time for MOT inspection at each test centre in Northern Ireland in January 2006.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to bring MOT testing in Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK. [57626]
Angela E. Smith: The Government have no plans at present to bring MOT testing in NI into line with the rest of the UK.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will allow vehicle testing centres to carry out minor repairs on site. [57627]
Angela E. Smith: The Government have no plans to allow the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency to carry out minor repairs on site.
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland are serving on three or more non-departmental public bodies. [58071]
Angela E. Smith:
Sixteen people in Northern Ireland are currently serving on three or more non-departmental public bodies.
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2274W
New Earnings Survey
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the latest Northern Ireland New Earning Survey was carried out; and when the next one is scheduled. [57971]
Angela E. Smith: The New Earnings Survey (NES) was replaced by the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) in October 2004.
The latest ASHE was carried out in April 2005, and results for Northern Ireland were published on the DETI website on 10 November 2005. The next ASHE will be carried out in April 2006 and results are scheduled for publication in October 2006.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what cross-referencing was carried out to the most recent Northern Ireland New Earnings Survey to ensure its accuracy. [58063]
Angela E. Smith: The New Earnings Survey was replaced by the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) in October 2004 in line with recommendations made in the National Statistics Quality Review of Distribution of Earnings Statistics (DOER). Improvements include extending the coverage of the sample to include employees in businesses outside of the PAYE system and calibrating the survey responses to totals from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) by occupation, gender, region and age.
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the role of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education in the future governance of education in Northern Ireland. [57313]
Angela E. Smith: As part of the Review of Public Administration, responsibility for front-line support and related functions currently performed by NICIE will transfer to the new Education and Skills body.
NICIE will be represented on the new Education Advisory Forum which will be established to provide advice to the Department.
We will be working closely with NICIE to ensure the interests of the integrated sector are fully addressed under the new arrangements.
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