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16 Jun 2006 : Column 1510W—continued
Road Safety
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on educating children in the safe use of bicycles on roads in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by Westminster constituency. [77326]
David Cairns: Education in the safe use of bicycles is included in school-based activities promoted and supported by the Department of the Environment's road safety education officers. Cycling proficiency training is the main focused safe cycling activity. The Department also provides funds to the Road Safety Council for cycling championships.
Information on expenditure is not held by Westminster constituency nor is grant broken down by area. The following table contains the expenditure on cycling proficiency from 2001-02 to 2005-06 by education and library board area and funding to the Road Safety Council for cycling championships from 2003-04 to 2005-06. It does not include costs for road safety education officers' time and travel.
| North Eastern Education and Library Board | Southern Education and Library Board | Western Education and Library Board | South Eastern Education and Library Board | Belfast Education and Library Board | RSC Cycling Grant | NI Total | |
Road Tax
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2006, Official Report, column 1647W, on road tax, if he will break down the figures for detections by the number of detections in each of the areas of detection. [77347]
David Cairns: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) treats Northern Ireland as one area for the detection of unlicensed vehicles and no geographical breakdown is recorded.
School Governors
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirement there is for members of the boards of governors of schools to undergo child protection training. [74624]
Maria Eagle: School governors are not required by law to take up child protection training.
However, it is a duty of the board of governors of a grant-aided school to safeguard and promote the welfare of its registered pupils and to determine measures to be taken at the school with a view to protecting pupils from abuse.
The education and library boards have a duty to provide training for school governors in their responsibilities and this includes child protection. In the interests of child protection the Department has decided that, from 1 September 2006, at least one governor on every school staff recruitment and selection interview panel should be trained in recruitment and selection including child protection issues. It is a matter for each board of governors to invite its members to self nominate for such training.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people from the business sector have applied to become school governors since May 2005. [77096]
Maria Eagle: Complete records of the occupations of those who applied for school governors posts since May 2005 are not readily available. However, the Department has actively encouraged people with management skills e.g. business, financial and personnel management expertise, including those from within the business sector, to come forward to volunteer as school governors.
School Performance
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will update the information in table 5.2 of the Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 2005 to show the figures for school performance in different parts of the United Kingdom in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06. [76746]
Maria Eagle: Figures for 2005-06 are not yet available. The requested information for 2004-05 is as follows:
School Suspensions/Expulsions
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children were (a) suspended and (b) expelled from a school in Northern Ireland in the past school term, broken down by education board. [77345]
Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not hold information on suspensions and expulsions for the past school term. The Department gathers statistics on suspensions and expulsions on an annual basis from each of the education and library boards.
The following table details the number of pupils suspended in each education and library board in the 2004-05 school year:
| Education and library board | Number of pupils suspended |
The following table details the number of pupils expelled in each education and library board in the 2004-05 school year.
| Education and library board | Number of pupils expelled |
Shadow Councils
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the level of remuneration will be announced for those persons returned to the shadow councils in Northern Ireland in 2008. [76368]
David Cairns: Decisions on remuneration for councillors elected in the 2008 local government elections will be made when there is a clearer picture of the responsibilities of the shadow councils and the governance arrangements under which they will operate.
However, I expect shortly to receive the report from the Councillors’ Remuneration Working Group which was established last year and this will inform decisions on the scheme of remuneration for councillors in the current and future systems of local government. It is too early to say when these decisions will be announced.
Smoking
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated percentage is of (a) under 16-year-olds, (b) 16 to 25-year-olds and (c) over 25-year-olds in Northern Ireland who are smokers, broken down by sex. [78173]
Paul Goggins: The information is not routinely available for the precise age bands requested. Information relating to the percentages of smokers by age and sex, in Northern Ireland, is presented in the table for the following age groups: under 16-years-old, 16 to 24-years-old and 25+.
| Age group | Percentage smokers |
| Sources: Young Persons Behaviour and attitude Survey 2003 (NISRA)—for those aged under 16. Continuous Household Survey 2004-05 (NISRA). CHS—for those aged 16+. | |
Sports Council for Northern Ireland
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Sports Council for Northern Ireland has received from (a) the Exchequer and (b) the Lottery in each of the last five years. [77354]
Maria Eagle: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland has received Exchequer and Lottery funding for the last five years as shown in the following table.
| Exchequer and lottery funding received by Sports Council for Northern Ireland | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
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