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3 May 2006 : Column 1640W—continued
Government Taskforce on Needs
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which areas are being targeted by the Government taskforce established to assess the needs of those areas; and which civil and elected representatives have been consulted by the taskforce in each of these areas. [64357]
Mr. Hanson: The Taskforce to Address the Needs of Protestant Working Class Communities did not target any specific areas but rather Protestant communities across Northern Ireland as a whole. The Taskforce Report was published on 4 April 2006 and is available at www.dsdni.gov.uk.
The Taskforce met with representatives of:
A number of individual community activists also met the Taskforce.
As Minister with responsibility for Social Development I undertook a series of consultations on the Taskforce Report and have completed fifty meetings with civic and elected representatives of the Protestant community as part of this process.
Greyhound Racing
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what legislation applies to the use of greyhounds in greyhound racing in Northern Ireland. [66102]
Angela E. Smith: Under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 all animals are protected from unnecessary cruelty or suffering, though there are no specific provisions on the welfare of racing greyhounds.
Housing
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average housing price in Northern Ireland has been in each of the last 10 years. [67061]
Angela E. Smith: The Valuation and Lands Agency maintains a database of house sales, which covers the period from mid-2002 to present. Prior to mid-2002 this data was not recorded in a way that permits statistical analysis, except at disproportionate cost.
The average house price in Northern Ireland for each year in which data is available is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002 (2nd half) | 97,067 |
| 2003 | 105,558 |
| 2004 | 110,760 |
| 2005 | 116,914 |
Housing Benefits
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many households in Northern Ireland he estimates will be entitled to housing benefit in 2006–07. [68102]
Mr. Hanson:
It is estimated that there will be a total of 183,500 households entitled to housing benefit in 2006–07.
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Inflation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the rate of inflation was in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [67063]
Angela E. Smith: Statistics have not yet been developed to enable the production of reliable regional inflation rates within the UK. However, research by the Office of National Statistics indicated that the cost of living in Northern Ireland, during 2004, was approximately three to five per cent. below the UK average.
InterTradeIreland
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the (a) quality and (b) performance of InterTradeIreland. [64617]
Angela E. Smith: InterTradeIreland's business plan is subject to scrutiny by the two Sponsor Departments (North and South) on an annual basis; and its annual accounts are examined separately and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland and the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Body's activities are also subject to regular monitoring by the two Sponsor Departments, who are satisfied with the overall quality and performance since its inception.
Invest Northern Ireland
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much land held by Invest Northern Ireland is available for industrial use in each of Northern Ireland's constituencies. [66403]
Angela E. Smith: The amount of land held by Invest Northern Ireland which is available for industrial use in each of Northern Ireland's constituencies is as follows. These figures do not include 1,885 acres (763 ha) of land held by Invest NI that is currently in industrial use.
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Legal Advice
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to ensure a panel of barristers is available to the Northern Ireland Administration to provide legal advice. [66508]
Angela E. Smith: Three panels of junior counsel and one of senior counsel were appointed by the Attorney General in April 2004 after consultation with the Secretary of State to support the work of Senior and Junior Crown Counsel in providing advice to and representation for both the Northern Ireland departments and the Whitehall departments operating in Northern Ireland. The appointments were made following an open competition and selection by a board comprising representatives of the devolved and Westminster administrations, with two independent members.
Measuring Public Opinion
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations or companies have been employed by his Department on measuring public opinion in each of the last three years; and how much has been spent in each case. [44742]
Mr. Hanson:
The following organisations and companies have been employed on measuring public opinion during the last three years; the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency; Queen's University Belfast; University of Central Lancashire & University
3 May 2006 : Column 1644W
of Manchester; Independent Research Solutions; Gallup Europe; Anderson Spratt Group; A V Browne; and Millward Brown.
The total amount paid in each of the last three years to these organisations and companies for projects in which public opinion was measured is provided in the following table.
It is not possible to distinguish between the amount spent on measuring public opinion and other activities within the same project.
To disclose the amount paid to individual private sector companies would be prejudicial to commercial interests.
| Total spent (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 145,777 |
| 2003–04 | 416,113 |
| 2004–05 | 233,063 |
Planning
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many planning refusal notices have been issued in each district council area in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; [25778]
(2) how many planning approval decisions have been issued in each of the last five years in each district council area in Northern Ireland. [25779]
Angela E. Smith: Details of how many applications were refused or approved since 2000 are set out in the following tables.
3 May 2006 : Column 1645W
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many valid planning applications have been received by the divisional planning office in (a) Downpatrick and (b) Craigavon in each of the last five years. [67620]
Angela E. Smith: The total number of valid planning applications received in the Craigavon and Downpatrick divisional planning offices between 2001 and 2005 are as follows:
| Craigavon | Downpatrick | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5,084 | 4,204 |
| 2002 | 5,578 | 4,721 |
| 2003 | 6,714 | 4,796 |
| 2004 | 7,289 | 5,942 |
| 2005 | 6,455 | 4,811 |
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning approvals have been received by the Divisional Planning Office in (a) Downpatrick and (b) Craigavon in each of the last five years. [67621]
Angela E. Smith: The total number of planning approvals issued by the Craigavon and Downpatrick Divisional Planning Offices between 2001 and 2005 are as follows:
| Craigavon | Downpatrick | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4303 | 3223 |
| 2002 | 4486 | 3822 |
| 2003 | 4538 | 3706 |
| 2004 | 4100 | 4256 |
| 2005 | 4563 | 3696 |
3 May 2006 : Column 1646W
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken to process a planning application from application to approval is in the (a) Downpatrick and (b) Craigavon Divisional Planning Office. [67622]
Angela E. Smith: In 2005 the average time taken to process a planning application to approval was 36.39 weeks in the Downpatrick Divisional Planning Office (DPO) and 26.84 weeks in the Craigavon DPO.
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