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13 Sep 2006 : Column 2392W—continued
Northern Ireland
Advertising Campaigns
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [87058]
Mr. Hain: Following are the details of advertising campaigns (excluding classified advertising for recruitment) which took place within the Northern Ireland Office between 2000 and June 2004, along with the date and cost of each.
Agency Staff
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what average hourly rate was paid by his Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06. [81492]
Mr. Hain: We cannot provide the information requested by the hon. Member. To do so would be at disproportionate cost. However, the total amount spent by the Northern Ireland office, excluding its Agencies and NDPBs, on staff employed through various employment agencies in the financial year 2005-06 was £213,227.
Arrest Warrants
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many arrest warrants have been issued in respect of individuals released from prison in the Irish Republic in the last five years. [74459]
Paul Goggins: The Police Service of Northern Ireland advises that the information sought by the hon. Gentleman would require an examination of all relevant warrants and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Automated Number Plate Readers
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many offenders were caught by automated number plate readers in Northern Ireland in the last year, broken down by area. [77365]
David Cairns: In the last year 16,973 offenders were caught by automated number plate readers for vehicle excise duty evasion in Northern Ireland. The figures are not broken down by area.
The PSNI has recently installed automated number plate readers in approximately 75 vehicles but at this stage it is too early to provide data on the number of detections.
Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent estimate he has made of the carbon emissions of his Department; what commitment he has made to reducing such emissions; and if he will make a statement. [81055]
Mr. Hain: The Northern Ireland Office has not made any recent estimate of its carbon emissions. However, the NIO is committed to promoting sustainable development and is working with the Northern Ireland Departments on developing strategies which will include reduction of carbon emissions. In addition the NIO is a participant in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund, which aims to offset all carbon emissions from ministerial and official air travel.
Child Arrests
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children have been arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland following attacks on schools and churches in each of the last three years, broken down by district command unit; and if he will make a statement. [87988]
Paul Goggins: The PSNI does not keep statistics on the number of arrests made and to obtain such information could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Children and Young People's Action Plan
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to involve children and young people in the development of the draft Children and Young People’s Action Plan. [88909]
Maria Eagle: It is intended to have a first draft of the action plan before autumn 2006. Consideration is currently being given to how we effectively involve children and young people in the first and future action planning processes. I also intend to seek the views of the all-party group on children and young people and other key stakeholders on how this can be effectively achieved.
Civil Servants
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants employed as civilian support staff in the Police Service Northern Ireland have transferred their status to direct employees (a) in total and (b) in each of the last five years; and how many have subsequently had their terms and conditions altered. [88255]
Paul Goggins: The following table shows the number of civil servants employed as civilian support staff in the Police Service of Northern Ireland that have transferred their status to direct employees from the start of the scheme in 2001.
The change in status can only be achieved by internal promotion. The only terms and conditions of employment that changed on transfer related to pay.
| Number of Staff | |
Computing Equipment
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks, (b) compact discs, (c) DVD-ROM discs, (d) laptop computers, (e) external computers hard drives, (f) internal computer hard drives and (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005. [88762]
Paul Goggins: The table relates to equipment ordered for the NIO core during the financial year 2005-06 and is the total under each heading. Production of this information on a monthly basis could be done at disproportionate cost.
The figures, in particular those relating to (a), (b) and (c) are approximate as there may be additional items purchased throughout the Department that we are not aware of.
| Item | Number purchase 2005-06 |
Crime Statistics
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) incidents of criminal damage, (b) domestic burglaries, (c) offences against a person, (d) sexual offences, (e) fraud and forgery crimes, (f) offences against the state and (g) violent crimes were recorded in each district command unit in Northern Ireland in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06, broken down by (A) urban and (B) rural area. [78725]
Paul Goggins: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Criminal Offences
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many criminal offences his Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997. [88469]
Mr. Hanson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Hospitality
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on entertainment by his Department in 2004-05; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation. [50894]
Mr. Hain: Due to an administrative error the answer to the hon. Member’s question was not submitted and I apologise for the late reply.
We cannot provide the information in the format requested by the hon. Member.
The information requested is captured under “hospitality”, which includes food, alcohol and other related costs. The amount spent on hospitality by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and NDPBs, in 2004-05 was £258,436.
All expenditure of official hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting. The level of hospitality must be defined, and a broad outline of cost and numbers attending must be provided on all occasions before authorisation. Expenditure should be kept as low as possible, compatible with the occasion and the standing of guests.
A necessary pre-condition for any entertainment or hospitality to be financed from NIO funds is that it will be in the direct interests of the Northern Ireland Office. While one cannot always guarantee that the benefit will be achieved, that must be both the intention and the reasonable expectation.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on hospitality in each year since 2003-04. [51049]
Mr. Hain: Due to an administrative error the answer to the hon. Member’s question was not submitted and I apologise for the late reply.
The amount spent on hospitality by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and NDPBs, in each year since 2003-04 was:
| £ | |
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department on refreshments in 2005. [78747]
Mr. Hain: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), excluding its agencies and NDPBs, is unable to provide an answer in the form requested by the hon. Member due to the NIO’s financial system being unable to distinguish between money spent on refreshments and other hospitality costs. The total spend on hospitality, which includes refreshments, in the financial year 2005-06 was £299,634.
To answer the hon. Member’s question would involve a manual trawl of files which could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of departmental hospitality was in each Department in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Department, in each of the last five years. [88256]
Mr. Hanson: The following table sets out the total cost of departmental hospitality in each Department in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Office, in each of the last five years.
| £ | |||||
| Department | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
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