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15 May 2006 : Column 689W—continued
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2005/july/tradoc_ 111588.pdf
Northern Ireland
Advertising Review
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of27 March 2006, Official Report, column 699W, on recruitment advertising, when he expects the Government advertising review to be published. [71125]
Mr. Hanson: The final report on the review of Government advertising in Northern Ireland was published on 14 April this year. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.
Ambulances
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the (a) facilities and (b) extent of cover planned for the new ambulance station on the west bank of the Foyle in Derry; and if he will make a statement. [69686]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (MAS) currently operates from 32 locations throughout Northern Ireland but has identified additional sites from which to deploy ambulances to improve response times for life threatening emergency calls. One of the first of those sites is shared with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Station at Northland Road on the Foyle West Bank and became operational earlier this month.
Initially, one ambulance from Altnagelvin Station will be assigned to Northland Road during daytime hours seven days per week and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. In addition, when Altnagelvin has more than one ambulance available and the Northland Road location requires cover, the additional vehiclewill be dynamically deployed there. The effectivenessof these arrangements will be reviewed after one month's operation and regularly thereafter. However, preliminary information suggests that ambulance response times have improved in the West of Derry City since the Northland Road site became operational.
Arterial Routes (South Down)
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to improve the main arterial routes from the constituency of South Down to the Belfast/Dublin corridor. [68251]
David Cairns: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 12 May 2006:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about steps to improve the main arterial routes from the constituency of South Down to the Belfast/Dublin corridor.
I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
You may recall that in my letter to you dated 19 December 2005, I advised that these routes are assessed to be the A50 through Katesbridge, the A25 through Rathfriland, the A25/B8 through Hilltown and the A2 through Kilkeel, Rostrevor and Warrenpoint.
The information I provided then of the improvement works currently planned with the estimated costs has been updated as follows:-
A50—road realignment at Corbet Lough in 2006/07 and 2007/08 at a cost of £375,000;
A25—the junction improvements scheme at Burrenreagh Road, Castlewellan due in 2005/067 at a cost of £40,000 has been delayed until 2006/07 due to difficulties with land acquisition;
A25—road realignment and visibility improvement at Burrenbridge Road, Castlewellan in 2006/07 at a cost of £100,000;
A25—the resurfacing at Windsor Hill, Newry in 2006/07 at a cost of £65,000 has been delayed due to ongoing work by utilities;
A25—junction improvements at Moneygore Road, Rathfriland in 2007/08 at a cost of £20,000;
B8—road realignment and visibility improvement at Crobane on Hilltown Road, Newry, in 2006/07 at a cost of £400,000;
B8—a resurfacing scheme in 2006/07 at Castlewellan Road, Hilltown at a cost of £160,000; and
A2—the junction signals scheme at Moor Road, Kilkeel due in 2005/06 at a cost of £90,000 has been delayed until 2006/07 due to difficulties with land acquisition.
The routes A2, A25, and B2 will also benefit from junction improvements as a result of the Al Beech Hill to Cloghogue, Newry dualling scheme. This work is currently scheduled to start in 2007.
Business Improvements Districts
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce legislation to enable the introduction of business improvements districts in Northern Ireland. [69677]
Mr. Hanson: Given the changes expected to arise from the Review of Public Administration (RPA) and the likelihood of a number of regeneration functions transferring to local government, the Government consider that it would not be appropriate to proceed with legislation to introduce BIDs in Northern Ireland at this time. In addition, the legislative time scale for bringing forward proposals for RPA preclude the opportunity to bring forward BIDs legislation for some time yet.
Code of Sustainable Building
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government plans to implement the Code of Sustainable Building in Northern Ireland. [64600]
Mr. Hanson: The implementation of the voluntary “Code for Sustainable Homes” in Northern Ireland will be informed by the implementation plans for the Sustainable Development Strategy for NI which was launched by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 9 May; revisions planned for the code following the consultation exercise which was completed in England in March 2006; and following limited consultation with the local construction industry and other stakeholders, which is scheduled to commence at the next meeting of the Construction Industry Forum for Northern Ireland in June 2006.
Communications
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the percentage of communications between the general public and the Department for the Environment for Northern Ireland made (a) by post, (b) by telephone, (c) in person and (d) by e-mail during 2005. [69268]
David Cairns: It is not possible to provide the hon. Member with the answer in the format he has requested.
I am advised that of the 633 pieces of correspondence received in the Minister of the Environment's Private Office during 2005 nearly 97 per cent. was in the form of a letter and just over 3 per cent. was by e-mail. No records are kept of the contact made either in-person or by telephone.
Community Differentials
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set for reducing the community differentials between Catholics and Protestants in relation to (a) economic inactivity, (b) unemployment and (c) housing allocation. [66373]
Mr. Hanson: The report of the task force on employability and long-term unemployment included a number of performance indicators and targets relating to employment and economic activity. A progress report was published in December 2004. There are no targets for reducing differentials between Catholics and Protestants in respect of housing allocation. All social housing is allocated on the basis of need.
We remain committed to eliminating the differentials in unemployment rates between the two communities and will take into account recent information and research. Government continue to direct resources and effort of those in greatest need in a way that will reduce social economic differentials between different sectors of society, and will monitor progress. I have arranged for copies of the documents to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Consumer Advice Handbook
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many copies of the Consumer Advice Handbook have been produced by the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland in 2006. [70425]
Maria Eagle: 10,000 copies were produced in 2006.
Counterfeit Money
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many convictions have been secured in Northern Ireland against people involved in (a) handling and (b) producing counterfeit money in the last five years. [69191]
Mr. Hanson: The number of convictions for handling and producing counterfeit money are included in Table 1 and cover the calendar years 1999 to 2003. Data beyond 2003 are not yet available. Figures are based on the principal offence rule, thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
| Table 1: Number of convictions for handling and producing counterfeit money 1999-2003 | |||
| Handling( 1) | Producing( 2) | Total convictions for counterfeiting offences | |
| (1) Convictions include the offences of “tendering counterfeit currency”, “possessing counterfeit currency with intent to use” and “possessing counterfeit currency”. (2) Convictions include the offences of “counterfeiting” and “counterfeiting with intent to use”. |
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of staff in each department in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Office, is (a) male, (b) female, (c) Protestant, (d) Roman Catholic and (e) disabled, broken down by grade. [69236]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is set out in the following tables and includes staff in the NI Departments and Agencies and the Northern Ireland Office (including members of the Home Civil Service). This reflects the position at 1 January 2006.
| Analysis of permanent NICS staff in each of the 11 ministerial departments and NIO, as at 1 January 2006 by gender and grade level | ||||||||
| Percentage | ||||||||
| Grade | ||||||||
| Department | Gender | G7 + | DP | SO | EOI and EOII | AO | AA | Industrial |
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