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21 Jun 2006 : Column 1972W—continued
North Down and Ards Life Education Centre
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been made available by his Department for the work of the North Down and Ards Life Education Centre in each of the past five years; and what plans he has for future funding. [78267]
Paul Goggins:
The Comber Drugs Awareness Group (CODAG) has received fixed term funding in respect of
the North Down and Ards Life Education Centre from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety as follows:
| Financial Year | Amount (£) |
| (1) Figures for 2002-03 represent the six-month period from 1 October 2002 to 31 March 2003 when project commenced. (2) Figures for 2006-07 represent the six-month period from 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 when current funding stream ceases. | |
This funding was in support of the Drug and Alcohol strategies launched in 1999 and 2000 respectively. These strategies and their associated funding cease on 30 September 2006. On 1 October 2006 the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs 2006-11 (NSD) published on 8 May 2006 will begin its implementation. The local Drug and Alcohol Co-ordination Team (EDACT) has developed local outcomes in support of the NSD covering areas such as education and prevention.
Funding is available in support of the delivery of these local outcomes, and a tendering process is currently under way in respect of this; it will be completed by 28 June 2006 when decisions will have been made and organisations informed.
The South Eastern Education and Library Board provided £9,000 per annum from 2000-01 to 2002-03 and 20,000 per annum from 2003-04 to 2005-06 to assist with the running of the centres.
The South Eastern Education and Library Board is unable to provide funding for the Centres in 2006-07 due to financial constraints.
CODAG has also received funding from the Ards and North Down Community Safety Partnerships. In 2004-05 this was £6,120, with no funding in 2005-06. Indicative allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are £7,000 and £7,200.
Parenting
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Northern Ireland Department has lead responsibility for taking forward the Parenting and Family Support Strategy and Positive Parenting programmes and activities; and which programmes and activities promoting positive parenting are ongoing. [78884]
Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) has the lead responsibility for taking forward the Family and Parenting Strategy and Positive Parenting programmes and activities.
DHSSPS, in conjunction with the area child protection committees recently published and distributed the ‘Safe Parenting Handbook’ which provides information and signposting to parents on a range of issues, including positive parenting.
DHSSPS also encourages the ongoing promotion of positive parenting, through Sure Start projects, which offer training and information to parents and workers on alternatives to physical punishment, and through funding to organisations, particularly the Parent’s Advice Centre, which develops and runs parenting programmes that promote positive parenting.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Parenting and Family Support Strategy referred to in the consultation on a Draft Strategy for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland is expected to be published. [78885]
Paul Goggins: It is envisaged that the Family and Parenting Strategy will be ready for consultation by summer of this year.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department for Education plans to spend on the promotion of positive parenting over the next three years. [78886]
Maria Eagle: The Department of Education's earmarked budget for parenting initiatives is currently £250,000 per annum and is allocated entirely to the education and library boards. It is primarily a matter for each board to determine how these earmarked resources should be used.
There are no plans to increase the current level of earmarked funding which the Department of Education makes available to education and library boards for this purpose. However, boards are free to supplement this funding by allocating further resources from within their overall block grant.
Funding has recently been made available to 471 schools from the children and young people funding package for the extended schools programme. This will enable schools to develop, initiatives some of which may involve parents. In addition, a further £10 million has recently issued directly to all schools and it is open to schools to determine whether some of this additional funding should be used to support parenting initiatives.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures his Department has introduced for the promotion of positive parenting in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and at what cost in each year. [78887]
Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS), in conjunction with the area child protection committees recently published and distributed the ‘Safe Parenting Handbook’ which provides information and signposting to parents on a range of issues, including positive parenting.
DHSSPS is also encouraging the ongoing promotion of positive parenting, through Sure Start projects, which offer training and information to parents and workers on alternatives to physical punishment, and through funding to organisations, particularly the Parent’s Advice Centre, which develops and runs parenting programmes that promote positive parenting.
The cost of the ‘Safe Parenting Handbook’ was £67,570. However, it is not possible to break down the unit cost of each measure undertaken by the aforementioned projects and organisations and, for that reason, the cost of positive parenting could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Pharmaceuticals
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland suffered adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals in each of the last five years; and how many died as a result in each year. [78767]
Paul Goggins: Information on the number of people who suffered adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals is not available. Information is available on those who were admitted to hospital and had a diagnosis of an adverse reaction to drugs(1).
Table 1 details the number of admissions(2) to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of adverse reactions to drugs(1), for each year between 2000 and 2004 (the latest calendar year for which data is available). It should be noted that any individual could have been admitted to hospital more than once over the course of a year or over a number of years and would therefore be counted more than once in the table.
| Table 1 | |
| Admissions( 2) due to adverse reactions to drugs( 1) | |
| (1) Drugs refers to drugs, medicaments and biological substances causing adverse effects in therapeutic use. (2) Discharges and deaths are used as an approximation to admissions. Source: Hospital Inpatients System. | |
Table 2 details the number of people who have died as a result of adverse reactions to drugs(1), in each year between 2000 and 2004.
| Table 2: Deaths due to drugs, medicaments and biological substances causing adverse effects in therapeutic use | |
| Number of deaths | |
| Source: Demography and Methodology Branch, NISRA, DFP. | |
Police Bodies (Security Incident)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what security checks were carried out in respect of (a) Mr. Desmond Clayton and (b) Mr. Thomas Hale prior to their appointment as staff of the (i) Northern Ireland Police Fund and (ii) Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. [77634]
Paul Goggins: The appointment of members of staff to the Northern Ireland Police Fund and Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust is a matter for the fund and the trust respectively.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what references were taken up in respect of (a) Mr. Desmond Clayton and (b) Mr. Thomas Hale as part of the appointment process for their employment with (i) the Northern Ireland Police Fund and (ii) the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. [77635]
Paul Goggins: Appointment processes in the Northern Ireland Police Fund and Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust are matters for the board of directors of the fund and the trust respectively.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what names of previous employers (a) Mr. Desmond Clayton and (b) Mr. Thomas Hale submitted as part of the appointment process to (i) the Northern Ireland Police Fund and (ii) the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. [77636]
Paul Goggins: The appointment of members of staff to the Northern Ireland Police Fund and Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust is a matter for the board of directors of the fund and the trust respectively.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any civil actions have been started by staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund and Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. [77637]
Paul Goggins: Civil actions by members of staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund and Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust are matters for the board of directors of the fund and the trust respectively.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people had their details leaked to parliamentary organisations as a result of the breach of security in (a) the Northern Ireland Police Fund and (b) the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. [77638]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary, hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Woodward), on 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 370W, to the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr. Donaldson).
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date Mr. Thomas Hale was detained in connection with terrorist offences. [77639]
Paul Goggins: The operational detail of the investigation is a matter for the Chief Constable.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many official complaints have been made by (a) members of staff and (b) serving and former police personnel and their families about Mr. Colin Ashe’s role in the Northern Ireland Police Fund. [77645]
Paul Goggins: The employment of the acting chief executive of the Northern Ireland Police Fund is a matter for the directors of the Fund.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many (a) serving and former officers and family members and (b) members of staff at the Northern Ireland Police Fund were interviewed relating to the possible breach of security in the Northern Ireland Police Fund; [77646]
(2) how many (a) serving and former officers and family members and (b) members of staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund were asked if they would be willing to give evidence in any prosecutions stemming from a breach of security in the Northern Ireland Police Fund; and how many (i) refused and (ii) initially agreed but later withdrew their statement. [77647]
Paul Goggins: A full investigation has been carried out in relation to alleged breaches of security within the Northern Ireland Police Fund. This investigation has now been completed and involved a comprehensive programme of interviews. No persons have been prosecuted as a result of this investigation. It would not be appropriate to comment on the operational detail of the investigation as such issues are a matter for the Chief Constable.
Police
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many temporary advances issued to police officers in Northern Ireland (a) attending courses outside Northern Ireland and (b) performing operational duty outside Northern Ireland are outstanding; and what is the total cost. [77312]
Paul Goggins: It is not PSNI practice to provide advances of pay, and both police and civilian pay branches have confirmed that they currently have no outstanding temporary advances of pay.
In terms of other advances, PSNI currently have 311 advances with a total value of almost £84,000. It would require a manual search of files at disproportionate cost to determine the details of each advance.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers in Northern Ireland have been retired on medical grounds in each of the last five years. [77094]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the table.
| PSNI | PSNI FTR | |
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