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10 July 2006 : Column 1501W—continued
EU Membership
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effects on Northern Ireland of UK membership of the EU since 1997. [64599]
Mr. Hanson: The EU has had a positive benefit for Northern Ireland since 1997. I have placed in the Library an overview of the main effects of membership of the European Union across the wide range of Northern Ireland’s main sectoral policy areas. However, it is apparent that the social, economic and environmental fabric of the region has clearly benefited from EU legislation, EU funds and the Internal Market.
For example, NI exports to EU countries accounted for 54.2 per cent. of all manufacturing exports in 2004-05. Over the period 1997-98 to 2004-05, manufacturing exports to the European Union as a proportion of total manufacturing sales increased from 17 per cent. to 18.3 per cent.
From 1997-98 to 2003-04, NI manufacturing companies’ export sales in constant prices to the European Union were estimated to have increased by 32 per cent. from £1.7 billion to £2.3 billion. In 2004-05, following the accession of 10 candidate countries, export sales to the European Union rose to £2.4 billion. NI exports to the new member countries were estimated to be worth £54.3 million in 2004-05.
In addition approximately £1.821 billion in Structural Funds between 1997 and 2006 has co-financed large-scale infrastructure projects such as the North-West gas pipeline, significant investments in roads and rail services, support for business creation and development, training and education measures, promotion of tourism and cultural heritage, urban and rural development, information technology infrastructure, as well as support for the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
While the provision of £775 million up to 2006 under the PEACE programme has enabled many thousands of economic and community-based social inclusion projects to directly address the legacy of the conflict and to take the opportunities arising from peace.
Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in each Northern Ireland Department, including the Northern Ireland Office, stayed overnight in (i) five star, (ii) four star and (iii) three star hotels in each of the last three years. [69230]
Mr. Hanson: Departments use a hotel booking agent to book hotel accommodation for civil servants and special advisers. The information held does not identify the rating of the hotel. Information in relation to 2003-04 is not available however, the average cost of an overnight stay over the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2006 was:
| Average rate per night (£) | |
Procurement
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take social considerations into account in procurements by his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. [80986]
Mr. Hanson: Northern Ireland Procurement Policy applies to all Government Departments, their agencies, non-departmental public bodies and public corporations.
The procurement process is governed by 12 guiding principles, one of which requires procurement policy to pay due regard to economic and social policies, rather than cut across them.
The Central Procurement Directorate issued procurement guidance, in 2004, approved by the Procurement Board, which outlines the range of possibilities for integrating social considerations into public procurement in Northern Ireland under the existing procurement rules.
School Staff
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees of education and library boards in Northern Ireland have had their employment (a) terminated and (b) altered as a result of investigations into school staff who may pose a risk to children in each of the last three years. [83755]
Maria Eagle: The number of employees of education and library boards in Northern Ireland who have had their employment (a) terminated or (b) altered as a result of investigations into schools staff who may pose a risk to children in each of the last three years is detailed as follows:
| Education and library boards | ||
| Terminated | Altered | |
| Note: School staff covers teaching and non-teaching staff. | ||
School Violence
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2006, Official Report, column 1986W, on school violence, if he will break down by education board area the number of school pupils in the Province who have been suspended for (a) attacks on teachers and (b) bullying in each of the last three years; and how many such pupils were expelled in each case. [83690]
Maria Eagle: From the 2002-03 school year, statistics on the reasons for suspension have been gathered annually from each education and library board and relate to the number of individual suspensions not to the number of pupils suspended.
Table 1 details the number of individual suspensions(1) for physical attacks on staff, in each education and library board, for the 2002-03 to 2004-05 school years:
| Table 1: Physical attacks on staff | |||
| Education and Library Board | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
Table 2 details the number of individual suspensions(1) for bullying other pupils, in each education and library board, for the 2002-03 to 2004-05 school years:
| Table 2: Bullying other pupils | |||
| Education and Library Board | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
The reasons for expulsion were first collected in 2003-04. The numbers involved are relatively small and are not disaggregated between education and library boards because of the risk that a school/pupil may be identifiable.
Table 3 shows the total number of pupils expelled for physical attacks on staff and bullying other pupils, for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years:
| Table 3 | ||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | |
(1) The count of occasions is based on each incidence of suspension, where an incident is defined as a count from the first day a pupil was suspended until the last day suspended. In previous years, the count of occasions was based on each record of suspension identified by the education and library boards, where in some instances, longer periods of suspension may have had more than one record. This change is due to an improvement in the data collection systems for suspensions in the education and library boards which has enabled better analysis of the data. As a result, the number of occasions pupils were suspended in 2004-05 has decreased from previous years. However, care should be taken when comparing the number of occasions in 2004-05 with the number of occasions in previous years.
Sex Offenders Register
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons on the Sex Offenders Register in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted for failing to comply with notification of change in address requirements; and if he will make a statement. [81818]
Mr. Hanson: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires an offender to notify the police of a change of their notified details (such as name or address) within three days of the change taking place. Breach of the requirements is an arrestable offence and may result in a term of imprisonment of up to five years.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed that one person was reported for prosecution in 2005-06 for failing to notify the police of a change in address. There were no prosecutions in the previous three years. This low figure is largely a result of an overall high compliance rate with the requirements, however the PSNI pursue a policy of actively seeking to trace offenders who fail to comply.
Sexual Health
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the incidence was of sexually transmitted diseases among (a) under and (b) over 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland in each year since 1995. [83753]
Paul Goggins: The information in the table gives details for the total number of episodes (for selected diagnoses of sexually transmitted infection), seen for care at GUM clinics, in Northern Ireland since 1995. This is available by age group and is shown in the following table .
| (a) Number of sexually transmitted infections in under 16 year olds | (b) Number of sexually transmitted infections in over 16 year olds | |
| (1) Incomplete data Notes: 1. Figures represent new treatment episodes of sexually transmitted infections occurring in the specified age groups, and not individual people. An individual may have contributed more than one episode of a particular diagnosis and to more than one diagnosis. 2. Selected diagnoses for 1995 are: Postpubertal uncomplicated Chlamydia; Postpubertal uncomplicated gonorrhoea; Infectious syphilis; Anogenital herpes simplex (first attack) and Anogenital warts (first attack). 3. Selected diagnoses and codes for 1998 and onwards are: Uncomplicated genital Chlamydia; uncomplicated gonorrhoea; primary and secondary infectious syphilis; Anogenital herpes simplex (first attack) and Anogenital warts (first attack). Source: KC60 return, genito-urinary medicine clinics. | ||
Sexual Orientation Strategy
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the draft Sexual Orientation Strategy will be published; and what the reasons were for the delay in publication. [81817]
Mr. Hanson: The draft Sexual Orientation Strategy is to be published following close working with and the involvement of the lesbian, gay and bisexual sector. It is our intention to publish the draft strategy for consultation in the autumn.
Students with Learning Disabilities
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students with a learning disability within each of Northern Ireland's hospital trust areas will (a) transfer at age 19 years in the current academic year from Education Service responsibility to Health and Social Service responsibility and (b) will be offered full adult day care provision by the Department of Health and Social Services as befits their needs; what processes exist within the Department of Health and Social Services to ensure adequate forward planning to meet the needs of those clients in transition from the education sector; and if he will make a statement on the level of provision for such clients within the health and social services sector. [81814]
Paul Goggins: The information required to answer parts (a) and (b) of this question is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information becomes available and place a copy in the Library.
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