House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 06 July 2006 (pt 0027)

6 July 2006 : Column 1361W—continued

Northern Ireland

Bonfires

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many communal and commemorative bonfires are estimated to have been organised in Northern Ireland during July and August in (a) 1995 and (b) 2005. [81669]

David Cairns: The information requested is not held centrally, however, an Interagency Working Group was set up in November 2003 to compile a report on bonfires in Northern Ireland. Information provided by
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the Northern Ireland Housing Executive indicated that there were 1203 bonfires in 2003 on their property. Information was also received from 23 of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland. They indicated that they were only aware of 431 bonfires in 2003. This figure would include some of the bonfires on Housing Executive property. The Group was only in existence during the time required for completion of the report. There has been no update since then.

Child Care

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategy the Department for Education has in place to support and facilitate child care through the women’s community sector. [82004]

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not have a remit to support and facilitate child care through the women’s community sector. On 6 March my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced £14.6 million to help support voluntary and community groups in their work with disadvantaged children: through the Department for Social Development the women’s community sector received £1.6 million of this, to support 14 women’s centres in providing child care until the end of March 2008.

Child Sex Offenders

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hostels are used by the Probation Board of Northern Ireland for housing known child sex offenders; where the hostels are; and how many sex offenders reside in these hostels. [80959]

Mr. Hanson: There are five hostels approved by the Probation Board which accommodate child sex offenders. For reasons of public safety it is not in the public interest to provide detailed information about the whereabouts of sex offenders. Effective public protection can best be provided by the relevant agencies through monitoring and supervision of such offenders in a regulated and stable environment.

Departmental Correspondence

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) letters from members of the public, (b) letters from hon. Members and (c) parliamentary questions from (i) hon. Members and (ii) Members of the House of Lords the Departments under his authority dealt with in each of the last five years. [78877]

Mr. Hain: The Northern Ireland Office received the following parliamentary questions in each of the last five calendar years. It is not possible to provide separate figures for hon. Members and Members of the House of Lords.

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	Number
2002	1,729
2003	2,908
2004	4,137
2005	4,476
2006	⁽¹⁾3,155
⁽¹⁾ Up to 21 June 2006.

Information regarding correspondence is below. It is listed by Department as each private office records correspondence to their respective Minister individually. As a result of this, the information is recorded in different ways by different offices. Therefore some have been unable to break down the figures to the extent requested by the hon. Gentleman.

	NIO^{( 1)}	DHSSPS^{( 1)}	OFMDFM^{( 2)}		DRD
	Total	Total	MP	Public	MP^{( 3)}	Public
2002⁽⁴⁾	⁽⁵⁾906	372	—	—	26	113
2003	2,842	1,244	—	—	152	408
2004	2,224	1,419	—	—	127	592
2005	2,356	1,750	^{( 2)}58	^{( 2)}466	121	456
2006⁽⁶⁾	1,342	1,159	^{( 2)}	^{( 2)}	54	162

	DE		DEL
	MP	Public	MP	Public
2002⁽⁴⁾	22	51	21	105
2003	80	127	39	45
2004	138	287	43	56
2005	153	461	47	58
2006⁽⁶⁾	27	194	20	27

	DCAL		DSD		DETI
	MP	Public	MP	Public	MP	Public
2002⁽⁴⁾	27	98	54	42	14	38
2003	52	195	132	227	39	128
2004	69	387	111	246	74	61
2005	51	323	123	186	27	41
2006⁽⁶⁾	27	162	76	81	19	20

	DoE		DARD
	MP^{( 3)}	Public	MP	Public
2002⁽⁴⁾	16	172	⁽⁷⁾25	⁽⁶⁾9
2003	145	894	90	9
2004	156	846	97	53
2005	177	922	101	77
2006⁽⁶⁾	115	341	31	37
⁽¹⁾ NIO and DHSSPS correspondence data are not held in a way that makes it possible to separate out correspondence from MPs and from others. ⁽²⁾ OFMDFM correspondence data are only available from 18 May 2005 to date, and it is not possible to break them down by year. ⁽³⁾ Includes only MPs with Northern Ireland constituencies. ⁽⁴⁾ From 1 October 2002, unless otherwise indicated. ⁽⁵⁾ From 1 January 2002. ^{(6 )}Figure to June 2006. ⁽⁷⁾ From 15 October 2002. Note: Information is recorded in different ways by different Departments. The figures include some instances of double-counting, for example, where a letter is transferred between Departments or where input is required from more than one Department.

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Departmental Publications

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his practice is regarding meeting, discussions with and taking into account the views and opinions of (a) private individuals and (b) representatives of organisations when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [81637]

Mr. Hain: The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments seek a range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. Consultation is a key part of the policy-making process, both informal and formal. Each department holds regular meetings with its principal stakeholder groups and with relevant experts. Organisations and individuals can also contribute to the Departments’ formal consultations which abide by the code of conduct on consultation. Known stakeholders are alerted to the fact that a formal consultation is taking place. As required by the code, the relevant Department then gives feedback on the responses received.

Environment and Renewable Energy Funding

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will review the eligibility criteria for the Environment and Renewable Energy Funding package to take account of recent representations he has received on their appropriateness. [82018]

Maria Eagle: The Environment and Renewable Energy Fund’s aim of making Northern Ireland an exemplar region in the use of renewable energy is still on course and no considered review of the eligibility criteria is necessary at this time.

Finucane Inquiry

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many judges he has appointed for the inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane; and if he will instead hold an independent public inquiry into the murder. [80972]

Mr. Hain: The Government are currently taking steps to facilitate the establishment of an inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane under the Inquiries Act 2005. No appointments have yet been made. The Government are clear that an inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005 will be fully independent and will also be public to the extent possible.

Foreign Nationals

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign nationals have set up residence in Northern Ireland in the last two years, broken down by country of origin. [80108]

Mr. Hain: This information is not held. However, the 2001 census provides figures on the country of birth of residents in Northern Ireland. This can be accessed at www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census/excel/ks05dc.xls
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