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23 Mar 2006 : Column 535W—continued
Small Firms
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition the Department uses of a small firm. [59289]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence does not use any single definition of a small firm with terms such as small firm" and SME" (Small and Medium sized Enterprise) being used interchangeably. In reporting data about business placed with SMEs we define an SME as a firm employing under 250 people.
Spitfire (70th Anniversary)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to commemorate the forthcoming 70th anniversary of the launch of the Spitfire. [59832]
Mr. Touhig: Yes. The RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Spitfire plans to participate, with other (non-RAF) Spitfire owners at three 70th anniversary themed events:
The BBMF website and 2006 brochure also have articles commemorating the 70th anniversary.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Child Sex Abuse
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1230–1231W, on child sex abuse, when a decision will be made on whether to move to the new database under consideration; what factors will be taken into account when deciding whether to move to a new database; how child sex abuse allegations will be tracked until a decision is made; and how the Police Service of Northern Ireland will collate clusters of allegations around particular individuals until a decision is made. [58277]
Mr. Woodward:
In addition to the three databases I referred to in my answer to the hon. Gentleman of 8 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1230–1231W, which already provide effective monitoring of sex offenders, the PSNI is monitoring the development of a system of tracking vulnerable children and case management for CARE Teams. This is being progressed
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by the UK's Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), and the timing of its introduction is outside PSNI control. In the interim PSNI is considering introducing a system called CATS—Case Administration and Tracking System, (a stand-alone computerised system developed by Capital One Bank), which is being used by approximately 13 other UK police forces. This system is still under evaluation.
Co-ownership Schemes
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that the co-ownership scheme that applies to first time house buyers has a maximum house valuation that is uniform across Northern Ireland. [59523]
Mr. Hanson: The value limits which apply to the co-ownership scheme are linked to average house prices in the various district council areas thus ensuring that the scheme can react to price variations across Northern Ireland. The introduction of a uniform price limit for the whole of Northern Ireland would disadvantage those wishing to purchase homes in district council areas where house prices are above average.
Data Sharing
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the extent is of data sharing on individuals between Government Departments and agencies in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. [57721]
Angela E. Smith: The Northern Ireland Office and the 11 NI Departments and their agencies within Northern Ireland share information with the Republic of Ireland. The nature of the information shared is largely on a case-by-case basis and covers a number of areas which I summarise as follows:
Driver record information relating to exchanges of NI driving licences in Ireland to local authorities in Ireland under the Road Traffic (NI) Order 1981.
Applicant, vessel and operation details on the allocation and management of Seed Mussel stocks, including individual holding licensed sites with the Seed Mussel Allocation Committee (SMAC).
Information in certain circumstances for the purposes of calculating social security benefit entitlement and the identification of benefit fraud.
Information with the Republic of Ireland for the purposes of aiding enforcement and prosecution action in either or both jurisdictions in respect of illegal manufacturing, sale or supply of medical products.
Occasionally as part of cross-border investigations, DNA profiles for the purpose of the detection of crime.
Early Release Scheme
Mr. Gregory Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether prisoners who participated in the early release scheme in 1998 were
23 Mar 2006 : Column 537W
given financial assistance or incentive from the public purse (a) at the time of and (b) subsequent to their release. [58065]
Mr. Woodward: At their time of release, prisoners were given a discharge grant in line with that given to all persons released from prison. There was no special provision for early release prisoners. Early release prisoners were also able to claim state benefits from their date of release.
In addition, funding was made available to ex-prisoner groups by various Northern Ireland departments and the Northern Ireland Office. This included Peace and Gap funding.
Education (Employees)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees there are in the (a) maintained, (b) controlled, (c) integrated and (d) Irish language sectors of education in Northern Ireland. [57972]
Angela E. Smith: The number of employees, including both teaching and non-teaching staff is as follows:
| Education sector | Employees |
|---|---|
| Maintained | 17,492 |
| Controlled | 20,950 |
| Integrated | 2,153 |
| Irish Language | 119 |
Fire Services (Hoax Calls)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hoax callouts of fire service personnel there were in Northern Ireland in 2005. [60834]
Mr. Woodward: The number of hoax calls responded to by the Northern Ireland fire and rescue service in 2005 was 1,358.
Omagh Bombing
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has commissioned a report on the 1998 Omagh bombing; and if he will make a statement. [59896]
Mr. Woodward: When the Prime Minister met the families of the Omagh Bombing victims in November last year, he assured them that the investigation into the atrocity was very much ongoing. This is still the case and the Government remain committed to ensuring that the truth is established.
Our priority is that those responsible should be brought to justice, and we must ensure that energy is applied to pursuing these criminal investigations.
The hon. Member will be aware that Sean Gerard Hoey was charged with the 29 murders on 4 May 2005. The case is expected to come to trial in September 2006.
While the Government do not rule in or out the possibility of a public inquiry, we should wait and see what the trials produce first.
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Prison Service (Expenditure)
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average daily sum spent by the Prison Service in Northern Ireland on feeding (a) adult prisoners and (b) young offenders was in the last year for which figures are available. [58135]
Mr. Woodward: The average daily sum spent during 2004–05 by the Northern Ireland Prison Service on feeding (a) adult prisoners was £2.43 and (b) young offenders was £2.21.
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