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15 Mar 2006 : Column 2278W—continued
Roe Valley Country Park
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated cost is of the refurbishment works at the Roe Valley country park; and when they are expected to be complete. [57680]
Angela E. Smith: The current work on enlarging and refurbishing the cafe at the Dogleap Centre in the Roe Valley country park is expected to cost around £350,000 and to be completed by summer 2006, when the cafe will re-open. If additional resources can be secured, work on upgrading the rest of the building and providing new exhibitions in the country park will follow at an estimated cost of £300,000.
School Maintenance
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding has been spent on (a) maintenance and (b) repair of school property in each of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies in each of the last five years. [58121]
Angela E. Smith: Information on maintenance and repair spending in each constituency is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In addition, neither the Department of Education nor Education and Library Boards' records distinguish spending between maintenance and repairs. Total spending on the maintenance, including repairs, of school property in each Education and Library Board area in the past five years was as follows:
School Vandalism
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were convicted in connection with vandalism to schools in Northern Ireland in 2005. [57970]
Mr. Hanson: The data requested are not available. Court statistics relating to offences against property do not include detail relating to the type of property involved.
Smoking
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in Northern Ireland which were directly related to smoking in each of the last five years. [58145]
Angela E. Smith:
Smoking history is rarely recorded on death certificates. Estimates however have been made of the number of deaths attributable to smoking,
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by using information on the contribution that smoking makes to specific conditions recorded at death. The Health Development Agency 1 published the most recent estimates for Northern Ireland in 2004. This report estimated that over the period 1998–2002, an average of 2,300 deaths of people of all ages were caused by smoking each year in Northern Ireland.
1 Twigg, L., Moon, G., and Walker, S. The smoking epidemic in England, Health Development Agency, 2004 (http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=502811)
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Department of Education is taking to tackle smoking on buses transporting children to and from school. [58059]
Angela E. Smith: Smoking, whether by drivers, escorts, or pupils, is strictly forbidden on all forms of school transport provided by boards. All board tender documents for contract hire buses and taxis stipulate that pupils must travel in a smoke free environment.
If a smoking offence is reported on a board-funded service, then it is treated as serious misconduct. In the case of pupils smoking, the parents are advised of the misconduct in writing. Action is then taken according to the discipline policy of the school that the pupil attends, and according to board procedures. Any recurrence of serious misconduct may result in the withdrawal of the provision of assisted transport.
Parents and pupils are advised of this policy in the Safe School Travel booklet, which is produced jointly by boards and Translink. This booklet clearly indicates that suitable behaviour by pupils is central to the safety of everyone and specifically advises that a no smoking policy is in operation. In addition to the serious misconduct procedures, smoking on public transport services can be subject to a fine of up to £1,000, imposed by Translink.
Untaxed Spirits
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total value of untaxed spirits intercepted in Northern Ireland was in each of the last 10 years. [57619]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
HM Revenue and Customs do not record the value of all spirits intercepted. HMRC does estimate the value of each non-UK duty paid spirits seizure, however. The total estimated value of spirits seizures made in Northern Ireland by financial year is shown in the following table. There are no records for years prior to 2000–01.
| Financial year | Value of spirits seized (£) |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 229,043 |
| 2001–02 | 312,149 |
| 2002–03 | 85,695 |
| 2003–04 | 5,823 |
| 2004–05 | 74,363 |
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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Canals
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to upgrade the British canal network to enable the transport of more freight on a regular basis; and if she will make a statement. [57786]
Jim Knight: Most navigable canals in Britain are owned or managed by British Waterways. The Government's policy is to encourage British Waterways to facilitate waterway transport by encouraging the transfer of freight from roads to water where this is practical, economic and environmentally desirable.
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish her Department's response to the consultation by the Natural Environment Research Council on the proposed closure of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Laboratories; and if she will make a statement. [56578]
Margaret Beckett [holding answer 6 March 2006]: The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has already published its response to the Natural Environment Research Council consultation on the future for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on the Defra website.
It can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/news/default.htm
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to undertake a new review of local authority work on energy efficiency; and if she will make a statement [51176]
Margaret Beckett [holding answer 13 February 2006]: We currently have no plans to undertake a new review of local authority work on energy efficiency. We are looking at the scope for further contributions to emissions saving as part of the Climate Change Review. This includes a look at the public sector, including local authorities. The review will be published shortly.
Flood Prevention
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the tidal gauge opposite Orford Quay will be repaired. [56934]
Mr. Morley: I understand from the Environment Agency that the tide gauge at Orford Quay is scheduled for repair during the summer of 2006.
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will instruct the Environment Agency to ensure that accurate local tidal data is available to inform reviews of flood management strategies for the Suffolk coastal estuaries. [56937]
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Mr. Morley: I understand tide level information is used by the Environment Agency for a variety of purposes including flood warning and monitoring of long term trends and that every effort is made to ensure the data collected are accurate. Any faults with the Agency's tide sites are reported and rectified promptly. The Agency carries out quality assurance on the data that are provided. The Agency has gathered additional tide level information specifically for the estuary management strategies and these have been appropriately validated.
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