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IRA

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with former IRA members to help prevent future terrorist attacks. [67059]

 
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Mr. Woodward: The Government remain committed to ending all violence and criminality in Northern Ireland and continues to engage with those who are committed to making the transition to the political path and to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means.

Irish Speakers

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland speak Irish, according to the latest census data. [66137]

Angela E. Smith: A total of 115,731 people (7.15 per cent. of those aged three and over) indicated through the 2001 Census that they could speak Irish.

Local Government Auditor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Department of the Northern Ireland Administration is responsible for accountability and oversight arrangements in relation to the Northern Ireland Local Government Auditor. [28210]

Angela E. Smith: In Northern Ireland, Local Government Auditors are designated by the Department of the Environment under Article 4 of the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. Article 4 provides that the Department may, with the consent of the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, designate persons who are members of the staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office as local government auditors.

The Northern Ireland Audit Office is statutorily independent of Government.

MI5

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the Patten Report of the transfer of lead responsibility on national security in Northern Ireland to MI5; and if he will make a statement. [66535]

Mr. Woodward: The transfer of lead responsibility for national security intelligence work in Northern Ireland is entirely consistent with the Patten Report paragraph 6.15 and Recommendation 20. Paragraph 6.15 says, inter alia:

'We recommend that responsibility for policing be devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive as soon as possible, except for matters of national security. '

It is also wholly consistent with the current position in the rest of the United Kingdom and with the comments at paragraph 6.22:

'As in the rest of the United Kingdom (including Scotland under the new devolved arrangements there),- the Chief Constable remains fully accountable for the involvement of police in matters involving national security, even though his or her main accountability in such matters is to the Secretary of State rather than to the Policing Board.'

Mortality Statistics

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the five most common causes of death from preventable diseases were among (a) men and (b) women in Northern Ireland in 2005. [67547]

 
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Mr. Woodward: The public health strategy Investing for Health recognised that a large proportion of early death and disease is preventable. However, the questions of which illnesses may be considered preventable, and at what age a death may be regarded as too young, are not straightforward.

Although much work has been done nationally and internationally in recent decades to measure levels of avoidable or premature mortality within populations, there has been a lack of consensus on how these deaths should be defined.

At present work is under way to define preventable causes of death. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently consulting on the development of indicators for use in measuring avoidable and premature mortality.

Motoring Offences

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists in Northern Ireland convicted of speeding offences during 2005 were recorded as having exceeded 100 mph. [65342]

Mr. Hanson: Convictions data sources do not collate information on the actual speed in relation to speeding offences. In 2003, the latest year for which data is available, there were 3,144 convictions for excess speed in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists in Northern Ireland convicted of drink driving offences during 2005 were recorded as having an alcohol content of more than 4 times the legal limit. [65343]

Mr. Hanson: Based on information provided by the Police Service of Northern Ireland relating to drivers breathalysed, in 2005 29 motorists had a reading of exceeding the legal limit by 4 times. One person registered as being 5 times over the legal limit. It should be noted that these figures exclude cases where alcohol levels have been forensically obtained from blood/urine samples.

In 2003, and excluding offences relating to failure to provide a sample, there were 2,283 convictions for drink driving. Convictions datasets do not, however, hold any additional information relating to the alcohol levels involved. Convictions data beyond 2003 are currently not available.

Newborn Screening Programme

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what medical conditions are screened for in the Newborn Screening programme in Northern Ireland. [66615]

Mr. Woodward: Screening is routinely offered to parents of newborn babies for a range of medical conditions. A physical examination is carried out on all babies with a particular focus on screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip, congenital heart disease, congenital cataract and cryptorchidism (descent of the testes in boys). A sample of the baby's blood taken from a heel prick is screened for phenylketonuria,
 
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congenital hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis, tyrosinaemia and homocystinuria. Their hearing is also tested through the newborn hearing screening programme.

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria the UK Screening Committee uses when determining for which conditions to screen. [66619]

Mr. Woodward: The NSC assesses proposed new screening programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria including the epidemiology of the condition, the screening test, any treatment options and the acceptability of the screening programme.

Northern Ireland Parades Commission

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any breaches of security have occurred in the Northern Ireland Parades Commission since its establishment. [65336]

Mr. Woodward: On one occasion, in response to a request from a local councillor for a faxed list of band names, the commission inadvertently attached details of a list of band organisers, appearing on the same page. The commission then immediately disclosed this fact to the PSNI. The commission considered the circumstances of this administrative error in order to ensure no recurrence, and responded accordingly.

Aside from this incident, the commission is not aware of any breaches of security having occurred since its establishment.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the Northern Ireland Parades Commission has investigated allegations that personal details of members of the public which it held had been leaked; and how many members of staff in the commission have been (a) interviewed and (b) disciplined as a result of investigations into the leaking of information. [65337]

Mr. Woodward: The commission has never investigated any allegation that personal details of members of the public which it held have been leaked.

On one occasion, in response to a request from a local councillor for a faxed list of band names, the commission inadvertently attached details of a list of band organisers, appearing on the same page. The commission then immediately disclosed this fact to the PSNI. The commission considered the circumstances of this administrative error in order to ensure no recurrence, and responded accordingly.

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