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19 Jun 2006 : Column 1644W—continued


Deprivation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the population in each Northern Ireland (a) constituency and (b) council area has been assessed as living in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland in each of the past five years. [77308]

Mr. Hanson: The Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005 reports detailed levels of deprivation in small areas throughout Northern Ireland. The following tables give the percentage of the population in each (a) parliamentary constituency and each (b) local government district who live in the most deprived small areas in Northern Ireland.

As these figures are derived from a specific research project, figures for previous years are not available


19 Jun 2006 : Column 1645W
Table 1: Percentage of population in each parliamentary constituency living in the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland
Parliamentary constituency Percentage

Belfast, West

79

Belfast, North

60

Foyle

46

West Tyrone

31

Belfast, East

23

Newry and Armagh

23

Belfast, South

19

Upper Bann

18

East Londonderry

13

East Antrim

8

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

8

North Antrim

8

Mid-Ulster

7

South Down

6

South Antrim

4

Lagan Valley

4

Strangford

4

North Down

2


Table 2: Percentage of population in each local government district living in the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland
Local government district Percentage

Strabane

54

Belfast

48

Derry

46

Newry and Mourne

25

Craigavon

23

Limavady

17

Lisburn

16

Newtownabbey

13

Omagh

13

Moyle

13

Cookstown

11

Coleraine

10

Ballymena

10

Dungannon

9

Fermanagh

9

Larne

8

Carrickfergus

8

Armagh

7

Antrim

6

Down

6

Castlereagh

5

Ards

3

North Down

3

Magherafelt

1

Ballymoney

1

Banbridge

0


Farming

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many farmers in Northern Ireland are registered as (a) dairy farmers, (b) beef farmers and (c) mixed farmers; and how many were registered in (i) 2003-04 and (ii) 2004-05. [78512]

David Cairns: Farmers are not registered in Northern Ireland by the type of farming they practise. Rather, farms are classified for statistical purposes as belonging to one of several standard types. Information on the number of farms in relevant categories, and for the most recent three-year period available, is presented in the following table:


19 Jun 2006 : Column 1646W
Farm type 2003 2004 2005

Dairy

4,425

4,201

4,058

LFA Cattle and Sheep

15,700

15,464

15,430

Lowland Cattle and Sheep

4,589

4,565

4,619

Mixed

1,058

1,034

944


Finucane Inquiry

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will establish a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane in line with the terms recommended by Judge Cory. [76620]

Mr. Hain: The Government announced in September 2004 that steps would be taken to facilitate the establishment of an inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane with all the powers and resources necessary to fulfil its task. The Government are clear that an inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005 meets the requirements set out by Judge Cory in his report into Patrick Finucane’s death.

Freedom of Information

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many (a) health Department and (b) NHS personnel in the Province are employed on processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [77240]

Paul Goggins: Four staff in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and 30 staff in health and personal social services bodies are involved in processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In addition, in order to respond to particular requests for information, these staff are assisted, as appropriate, by staff from across the Department or the health and personal social services bodies. Information is not available on the amount of time spent on processing freedom of information requests but it represents only a small proportion of the total working time of the staff involved.

Hillsborough Castle

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total budget has been for maintenance of the grounds and buildings of Hillsborough Castle in each year since 1998. [74688]

Mr. Hain: In addition to providing overnight accommodation for myself, the facilities at Hillsborough Castle are also used to provide official hospitality and overnight accommodation for members of the Royal Family, visiting dignitaries and diplomats. Other activities at the Castle include departmental meetings, the annual Garden Party and citizenship ceremonies. In addition to its use by the Northern Ireland Office and other Government Departments, charities and local community groups can request to use the facilities, generally for fundraising purposes, and the Castle and grounds are open at certain times of the year for guided tours. We are able to provide only figures for the last five financial years; these figures include the cost of gardening staff, and major and minor works projects, in addition to routine maintenance.


19 Jun 2006 : Column 1647W
Costs (£)

2005-06

675,883.37

2004-05

455,229.05

2003-04

286,461.28

2002-03

363,196.87

2001-02

307,779.74


ICT Sector

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department for Employment and Learning has spent on training in information and communication technology (ICT) skills in each of the past five years; what measures the Government are taking to encourage graduates to work in the ICT sector; and if he will establish a dedicated fund to encourage growth in the ICT sector. [76221]

Maria Eagle: The Department for Employment and Learning spent the following on training on information and communication technology skills in the past five years:

Total ICT funding
Amount (£)

2004-05

17,122,478

2003-04

21,154,350

2002-03

19,613,027

2001-02

9,509,116

2000-01

9,881,950

Total

77,280,921


The vast majority of the funds spent (£70,337,817 from the academic year 2000/01 to 2004/05) is in respect of further education. The remainder comprises Management Development (£6,669,954) and Sectoral Development (£273,150). These figures exclude funding to universities for ICT courses. The Department provides a recurrent grant but it is the institutions themselves which allocate funding to subject areas.

The Department funds foundation degrees and other higher education courses delivered in the further education sector in order to encourage students to enter the ICT sector at intermediate level.

In implementing its Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland, the Department places importance on determining the skills needs of each sector. E-Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the IT industry, has carried out research into employer needs, supply and demand and emerging gaps and this analysis of skills gaps has been published. The Department has also commissioned E-Skills to carry out an additional specialist project which specifically focuses on the demand for graduates in the industry. Also Invest Northern Ireland has been jointly involved with the Department in providing projections of the number of graduates likely to be needed for forthcoming emerging employment opportunities.

Alongside this research, the Department in co-operation with the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges and local employers, is developing a short-term course for graduates from a variety of disciplines to enable them to avail themselves of increasing employment opportunities in the ICT sector. This will
19 Jun 2006 : Column 1648W
provide an immediate response to the ICT sector employers’ concerns, while longer term need is determined.

There are no plans to establish a dedicated fund to encourage growth in the ICT sector. Invest Northern Ireland already encourages the growth of the sector through a programme of support for indigenous companies and through foreign direct investment. In addition to this individual company support, Invest Northern Ireland also undertakes a number of sector specific initiatives to ensure the continued development of the ICT sector in Northern Ireland.

Local Community Funding

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which areas of Northern Ireland will receive local community funding during 2006-07; and how much each area has been awarded. [78561]

Mr. Hanson: I recently announced that the local community fund was to be relaunched. The fund will spend £4 million over the next two years in the 11 per cent.-20 per cent. most disadvantaged communities as measured by the Noble Index 2005. The Department for Social Development is currently finalising the targeted areas and allocations for 2006-08 and hopes to be able to make a further announcement in July.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much general grant was received by each local authority in Northern Ireland in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07. [77220]

David Cairns: The information requested is set out in the following table.


19 Jun 2006 : Column 1649W
General grant payments: 2005-06
£
District Council Derating Resources Total

Antrim

932,068

0

932,068

Ards

793,767

1,255,948

2,049,715

Armagh

661,165

1,783,504

2,444,669

Ballymena

1,127,190

0

1,127,190

Ballymoney

336,514

1,052,084

1,388,598

Banbridge

473,803

953,758

1,427,561

Belfast

6,409,131

0

6,409,131

Carrickfergus

563,951

264,650

828,601

Castlereagh

700,433

0

700,433

Coleraine

518,886

0

518,886

Cookstown

688,837

972,907

1,661,744

Craigavon

2,337,536

0

2,337,536

Derry

1,315,836

1,276,683

2,592,519

Down

457,780

1,683,189

2,140,969

Dungannon

1,379,379

930,916

2,310,295

Fermanagh

776,276

1,437,935

2,214,211

Larne

481,641

24,202

505,843

Limavady

206,182

1,308,476

1,514,658

Lisburn

1,742,336

0

1,742,336

Magherafelt

611,462

1,466,528

2,077,990

Moyle

158,900

585,645

744,545

Newry and Mourne

1,094,799

2,043,239

3,138,038

Newtownabbey

1,534,687

0

1,534,687

North Down

476,077

0

476,077

Omagh

528,960

1,407,084

1,936,044

Strabane

344,959

2,050,252

2,395,211

Total(1)

26,652,555

20,497,000

47,149,555

(1) In addition to the above figure shown for Newtownabbey borough council, an amount of £29,108 was paid by way of a finalisation payment for the 1999-2000 financial year.

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