| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 Jun 2006 : Column 418W—continued
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) men and (b) women have died in Northern Ireland in the past three years as a direct result of domestic violence. [74240]
Mr. Hanson: Deaths as a result of domestic violence in the past three years are given in the following table.
| Deaths: | ||
| Year (April-March) | Male | Female |
| Source: Police Service of Northern Ireland | ||
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what facilities exist for men who present themselves as victims of domestic violence; and how many refuge centres exist in the Province. [74241]
Mr. Hanson: A strategy for addressing domestic violence in Northern Ireland, “Tackling Violence at Home”, was launched in October 2005. The strategy is aimed at providing protection and support to all victims of domestic violence, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. All victims can seek information and advice through the free-phone Domestic Violence Helpline and male victims are sign-posted to organisations that provide services for men, such as the Men’s Advisory Project, Men-to-Men or the Rainbow Project. Any victim of a domestic assault can seek protection from the police who will investigate, arrest the alleged abuser if power exists and prosecute where there is evidence of a crime. Alternatively a victim can engage a solicitor and apply to a court for a civil order (a non-molestation order and/or an occupation order) to prevent further abuse or exclude the abuser from the family home. There are 12 Women’s Aid Refuges for women and children fleeing domestic violence. There are no refuges in operation specifically for male victims of domestic violence given the small numbers involved but men may seek assistance from the Housing Executive who will offer the full range of homelessness services including supported or unsupported temporary accommodation.
Domiciliary Care Workers
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what rate per mile is paid for travel carried out by domiciliary care workers in each of the Northern Ireland health and social services trusts. [73544]
Paul Goggins: The actual rate of travel for HPSS employees is a matter for the employer to decide and up to date information on the rates in payment is not held centrally. It will take some time to collate this information and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available and place a copy in the Library.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the terms are of the increased offer of mileage rate to domiciliary care workers in each health and social services trust in Northern Ireland. [74275]
Paul Goggins: Discussions are currently underway with the relevant trade union but at this stage no offer has been made by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the business rate of mileage paid to domiciliary care workers will be when Agenda for Change is fully implemented by the health and social services trusts in Northern Ireland. [74276]
Paul Goggins: The responsibility for the payment of mileage to domiciliary care workers rests with HPSS employers. The level of mileage allowance applicable is determined by the circumstances of the individual and the organisation. Three categories are available:
| Engine capacity | |||
| Up to l000cc | 1001 to 1500cc | Over 1500cc | |
Public Transport mileage is payable at 23p per mile where the employer deems that standard or regular user rates do not apply.
Education and Library Boards
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what budget was allocated to each of the Education and Library Boards in Northern Ireland for (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07. [72713]
Maria Eagle: The following tables show the funding (recurrent and capital) allocated to each of the Education and Library Boards by the three funding Departments, Department of Education (DE), Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) in the last two financial years, ie 2005-06 and 2006-07. It should be noted that the 2005-06 figures relate to initial and final end-year allocations while the 2006-07 figures cover only the initial allocations provided at the start of the financial year. Further funding held by my Departments including end year flexibility allocations carried forward from 2005-06 and earmarked for ELBs have still to be allocated.
| 2005-06 (initial allocation) | |||
| £ million | |||
| Recurrent | Capital | Total | |
| 2005-06 (final allocation) | |||
| £ million | |||
| Recurrent | Capital | Total | |
| 2006-07 (initial allocation) | |||
| £ million | |||
| Recurrent | Capital | Total | |
| (1) In 2006-07, the amounts allocated by the Department of Education to BELB and SEELB were net of part-repayments of deficit by both Boards amounting to £3 million and £4.5 million respectively. | |||
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of how much has been spent over the last 10 years on job evaluations within education and library boards in the Province. [74651]
Maria Eagle: A total of £125 million has been allocated for the job evaluation exercise by the Department of Education and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure since 1995-96 for school-based staff, former-manual staff, classroom assistants and library staff. This figure includes the estimated cost for annual uplift of salaries until 2007-08. However, it does not include the costs for the job evaluations of former non-manual headquarters and out-centre staff that the education and library boards have had to absorb within their annual running costs. That information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding was provided to the education and library boards in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available; and whether this funding is ring fenced. [71342]
Maria Eagle: A total of £1,425.2 million (made up of £77.3 million capital and £1,347.9 million resource allocations) was provided to the education and library boards in Northern Ireland in 2005-06, the last year for which full year information is available. These allocations were made by the three funding departments:
Department of Education (DE);
Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL); and
Department for Employment and Learning (DEL).
The funding provided by each Department is ring fenced for use only on the functions that the boards provide for or on behalf of that Department. In all cases, capital funding cannot be transferred to resource budgets. In the case of the Department of Education, funding provided via Local Management of Schools for school budgets is also ring fenced for individual schools and funding for youth is ring fenced for youth service activities.
The allocations from each Department also include separate, smaller earmarked allocations to boards for specific activities and initiatives.
Fallen Stock
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fallen livestock have been recorded in the Strangford constituency over the past three years. [74729]
David Cairns: The information is not available in the format suggested. Data is available in relation to collections recorded for the National Fallen Stock Scheme in Northern Ireland from 22 November 2004, when the scheme was introduced, to 25 May 2006 (see table 1 following). Figures are not available for other legal means of disposal including independent collection through approved hunt kennels. The National Fallen Stock Scheme does not collect fallen bovines over 24 months old, for which the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development provides a free collection service for the purposes of BSE testing (refer to table 2).
| Table 1: National fallen stock scheme collections in Northern Ireland recorded from 22 November 2004 to 25 May 2006 | |
| Category | Number of collections |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |