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24 Apr 2006 : Column 884W—continued
Historical Enquiries Team
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unsolved murders from each year since 1969 will be reviewed by the Historical Enquiries Team. [63614]
Mr. Woodward: I am advised that the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) intends to re-examine all deaths attributable to the security situation between 1968 and 10 April 1998—some 3,268 deaths.
The HET aims to review 400 cases per year for the first two years of the review and 600 cases each for years, three, four, five and six. The PSNI has designed an analytical database to capture all this information in a victim-centred way. Families will sit at the very heart of their investigations. The primary objective will be to work with them to achieve a measure of resolution in these difficult cases.
InterTradeIreland
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious composition is of the senior management in InterTradeIreland. [58933]
Angela E. Smith: The community background of the four members of the senior management of InterTradeIreland has been identified as Roman Catholic.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff members in InterTradeIreland are from (a) Northern Ireland, (b) the Irish Republic and (c) neither Northern Ireland nor the Irish Republic. [58934]
Angela E. Smith: At 1 March 2006, InterTradeIreland employed 38 permanent staff. 35 staff have home addresses in Northern Ireland and three in the Republic of Ireland.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the value for money provided by InterTradeIreland. [58935]
Angela E. Smith:
Although InterTradeIreland has produced a number of well regarded, innovative all-island trade and business initiatives, there has been no recent value for money assessment of its performance. InterTradeIreland is however required to operate in accordance with a set of procedures contained in a Financial Memorandum approved by its Sponsor Departments and the Finance Departments North and South. Its business plan and associated costs are subject to scrutiny and approval on an annual basis and its annual accounts are examined and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland and the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General.
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Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the community background is of the workforce of InterTradeIreland. [59112]
Angela E. Smith: At 1 March 2006, InterTradeIreland employed 38 permanent staff. The community backgrounds of these staff have been identified as follows:
| Number | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 31 | 81 |
| Protestant | 6 | 16 |
| Non-determined | 1 | 3 |
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the community background is of the senior management team of InterTradeIreland. [59113]
Angela E. Smith: The community background of the four members of the senior management of InterTradeIreland has been identified as Roman Catholic.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees of InterTradeIreland are citizens of the Republic of Ireland. [59114]
Angela E. Smith: Information on the citizenship of its employees is not held by InterTradeIreland. However, three staff have home addresses in the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the value of contracts awarded by InterTradeIreland to PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been since the establishment of the body. [59115]
Angela E. Smith: Since the establishment of the body in 1999 InterTradeIreland has awarded contracts to PriceWaterhouseCoopers to the value of £1.054 million.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many years InterTradeIreland has spent less than its budgetary allocation from the Exchequer. [59116]
Angela E. Smith: InterTradeIreland has spent less than its initial budgetary allocation in each year since its formation. The level of underspend has decreased year-on-year.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the ratio between overheads expenditure and project spending was in InterTradeIreland in the last financial year for which figures are available. [59117]
Angela E. Smith: The ratio between overheads expenditure and programme spending by InterTradeIreland in 2005 was 1 to 2.3. Expenditure details have been taken from the 2005 draft accounts.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the rate of usage by businesses of InterTradeIreland's Information Resource Centre. [59118]
Angela E. Smith: Since 2003 InterTradeIreland's Information Resource Centre has handled almost 800 inquiries from businesses, business organisations, researchers and academia.
24 Apr 2006 : Column 886W
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total expenditure of InterTradeIreland on events was in each of the last five years. [59119]
Angela E. Smith: The total expenditure by InterTradeIreland on events in each of the last five years is as follows:
| Expenditure (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 82,837 |
| 2002 | 679,520 |
| 2003 | 755,351 |
| 2004 | 984,812 |
| 2005(22) | 629,443 |
(22)Provisional figures from 2005 draft accounts.
Metro Bus Service (Belfast)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints were received during the first month of operation of the Metro bus service in Belfast. [64912]
Mr. Woodward: The information in the form requested is not readily available. However, Translink has informed me that in the first five weeks of operation (7 February 2005 to 14 March 2005) it received a total of 404 complaints relating to Metro.
Nursing Training
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students (a) entered nursing training and (b) successfully completed nursing training in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those subsequently entered the professional register. [64351]
Mr. Woodward: The number of students who commenced pre-registration nurse training and successfully completed this training in each of the last 10 years is detailed as follows. Information on the number of nurses entering the professional register each year is not held in the Department, this is the responsibility of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
24 Apr 2006 : Column 887W
PEACE Funding
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of jobs likely to be affected by the end of PEACE funding; and what steps each Department is taking to ensure that work and services provided through PEACE funding can be sustained in the long-term. [63122]
Angela E. Smith: Many projects will end naturally in line with original plans. For all projects it was a condition of their assistance that they would sustain their activities when PEACE funding ended.
The European Council agreed in December 2005 to allocate a further 200 million to the EU PEACE Programme for 2007 to 2013 and the funding would not end until that time. For Northern Ireland the annual amount available will, however, be approximately half current levels. How this will be allocated will only be determined after a consultation process later this year and it is not yet possible to say what activities will not continue and to estimate precisely the impact.
The primary purpose of PEACE funding is to promote peace and reconciliation outcomes and not solely the creation or maintenance of job opportunities where different sectors will be affected differently by any reductions in expenditure levels. Employment in successful private sector and social economy enterprises will continue. For the voluntary and community sector it is estimated that EU funding currently supports an estimated 1,500 jobs and at half annual funding levels this would suggest that up to 750 of these could be at potential risk. Any expenditure areas that are brought within mainstream expenditure will mitigate this. For example employment in children's projects is, following the recent announcement of the Children's and Young Peoples funding package, ensured until March 2008.
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