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19 Apr 2006 : Column 727W—continued
Poverty
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) children and (b) adults were living in poverty in each (i) Westminster constituency and (ii) district council area in the Province in the latest period for which figures are available. [62467]
Angela E. Smith: This information has been placed in the Library.
Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current employer contribution rates to the Principal Civil Service pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts. [61994]
Mr. Hain:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1031W.
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Schools
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated for the development of curriculum materials for (a) Irish medium schools and (b) integrated schools by the Department of Education in each of the last 10 years. [54136]
Angela E. Smith [pursuant to the reply, 1 March 2006, Official Report, c. 784W]: I wish to clarify part of the answer.
I referred to a one-off allocation of £67,000 made by the Department in 2005–06 for Irish medium curriculum materials. This was in fact for Irish language materials for use in non-Irish medium schools.
Sentencing (Averages)
Sir Patrick Cormack: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average sentence passed for those convicted of offences connected with (a) extortion, (b) intellectual property crimes, (c) money laundering, (d) smuggling and (e) oils fraud in Northern Ireland was over the last five years. [63799]
Mr. Woodward: Table 1 provides the number sentenced to immediate custody for extortion, intellectual property offences, money laundering and smuggling and the average custodial sentence for each, for the calendar years 1999 to 2003. Convictions specifically for oils fraud cannot be separately identified but are incorporated within the smuggling category. There is no definitive list of offences falling within each of the groupings of interest, thus Table 1 has been footnoted to indicate the offences covered. Data beyond 2003 is currently not available. Figures are based on a principal offence rule.
(33) Includes Blackmail (Theft Act (NI) 1969) and contributions towards acts of terrorism (Terrorism Act 2000, section 15).
(34) Includes offences under section 107 of the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988, and sections 92 and 94 of the Trademarks Act 1994.
(35) Includes offences under Proceeds of Crime legislation.
(36) Includes offences under section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply (Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 section 5(3)).
(37) Average sentence lengths rounded to nearest whole number.
Source:
NIO, Statistics and Research Branch
Smart Passes
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many senior citizen smart passes have been issued in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [63269]
Mr. Woodward: Translink has advised that, between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 a total of 16,586 Senior SmartPasses were issued to senior citizens in Northern Ireland. Of these 11,530 were issued to first-time applicants and 5,056 replaced passes which were faulty, lost or stolen.
St. Patrick's Day
Mr. Gregory Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated total costs are of (a) travel, (b) accommodation and (c) other associated activity of those public representatives
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and officials from Northern Ireland travelling to the United States for events at the White House around 17 March. [59874]
Mr. Hain: The following costs relate to expenses incurred in respect of the Secretary of State and officials from the Northern Ireland Office and the Devolved Administration attending events during the week of St. Patrick's Day. This included the NI Bureau breakfast which showcases investment opportunities in Northern Ireland to US businesses.
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| Travel | 41,259.20 |
| Accommodation | 2,736.00 |
| Other (including car hire) | 1,765.00 |
Television Stand-by Switches
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been undertaken on provision in televisions of automatic time controlled stand-by switches which revert to off. [62844]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
Defra's Market Transformation Programme (MTP), which supports Government policy on sustainable products, is aware from discussions with industry that this functionality could be added to televisions (with the exception of IDTVs which require a degree of constant power) at a reasonable cost. However, there are currently no televisions available on the market which switch automatically from stand-by into off after a pre-set time.
The Government are committed to reducing the amount of power used by products when in stand-by mode. The new Eco-Design for Energy Using Products Framework Directive provides a route for setting mandatory standards for products and we are pressing for stand-by power to be a priority area for action. The MTP has also been working to promote other measures: for example, an EU-wide voluntary agreement means that the majority of new televisions sold in the UK now consume around 1 watt of power in stand-by mode rather than the 3–8 watts consumed by older models. Discussions are now under way to extend this agreement to cover other consumer electronics.
The Budget also announced a new initiative, in partnership with major retailers and the Energy Saving Trust, to introduce voluntary schemes in the retail sector which encourage the purchase of more energy efficient alternatives in consumer electronics.
World Heritage Sites
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Minister in his Department has responsibility for issues relating to World Heritage sites. [63476]
Angela E. Smith:
My right hon. Friend, Lord Rooker and I have responsibilities for different aspects relating to Northern Ireland's only World Heritage site.
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Lord Rooker, in his role as Minister of the Environment, has responsibility for management and conservation issues relating to the Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage site, which is the only such site, in Northern Ireland. In my role as Minister for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, I am responsible for the development of new visitor facilities at the Giant's Causeway.
HEALTH
"Every Child Matters"
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts about their responsibilities and priorities in implementing the Government's Every Child Matters policy; and if she will make a statement. [62688]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 April 2006]: The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme is a joint programme between the Department and the Department for Education and Skills, which sets out the national framework for local change programmes to build services around the needs for children and young people. Since the launch of the programme in 2004, a range of documents have been published to support local delivery.
These include the "National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services" (2004), "Every Child Matters: Change for Children in Health Services" (2004), the "Children Act 2004", which provides the statutory framework underpinning the Every Child Matters programme (including "Statutory guidance on inter-agency co-operation to improve the wellbeing of children: children's trusts" (2005) and "Making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children" (2005)). Other publications include "Health and the Whole Child: What Children's Trusts mean for Health Professionals" (2006), "Pathways to Success" (2006) and "Joint planning and commissioning framework for children, young people and maternity services" (2006).
A range of exemplars have also been published, including asthma, acquired brain injury, autism and complex disability. The good practice guide "Transition: Getting it Right for Young People", was published in March 2006.
Chief executives in primary care trusts are alerted to relevant guidance published under the Every Child Matters programme through the Chief Executive Bulletin.
All guidance issued under the Every Child Matters programme are available on its website at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk.
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