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24 Oct 2006 : Column 1786W—continued
Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency new vehicle test reminder service. [96307]
David Cairns: The introduction of the reminder service has not been formally reviewed since its introduction in 2005, but indications are that the service has contributed positively to an improvement in customer satisfaction, an increase in the usage of the telephone booking service, and an improvement in the level of MOT compliance.
Ferry Services
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he plans to take to increase the speed of freight and private car sea crossing between Northern Ireland and England. [95744]
David Cairns: None. Development and operation of seaborne transport links is a matter for commercial decisions by transport operators and the Northern Ireland ports.
Hospital Waiting Times
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients were waiting more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation in each month since November 2005 at a hospital in Northern Ireland. [96831]
Paul Goggins: Official waiting lists are produced on a quarterly basis. Information on the number of patients waiting more than six months for in-patient treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals is provided in the following table for the quarters ending December 2005, March 2006 and June 2006.
| Quarter ending | Number of patients waiting six months and over |
| Source: Departmental Information return CH1 | |
There is a ministerial commitment that by March 2007 no one will have to wait more than six months for in-patient or day case treatment.
Infrastructure Investment
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what new initiatives came out of the Strategic Investment Board Ltd seminar on infrastructure investment in Northern Ireland held on 14 September 2005. [96136]
Mr. Hanson: The Strategic Investment Board Ltd (SIB) organised a round table discussion on 14 September 2005 at the Verbal Arts Centre, Londonderry. The objective of the event was to engage in a structured manner some key stakeholders on a number of issues related to the development of the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland. A summary of the event prepared by the SIB has been placed in the Library of the House.
Muslim Council of Britain
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much (a) financial support and (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies have given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997. [96284]
Mr. Hain: The Northern Ireland Office has provided no financial assistance or support in kind to the Muslim Council of Britain.
Northern Ireland Police Fund
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2006, Official Report, column 1269W, on the Northern Ireland Police Fund, if he will place in the Library copies of minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund between September 2003 until December 2005. [96707]
Paul Goggins: Given the status of the Northern Ireland Police Fund as a company limited by guarantee it would not be appropriate to place copies of the minutes of its board meetings in the Library.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2006, Official Report, column 1269W, on the Northern Ireland Police Fund, for what purpose copies of minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund are forwarded to his Department. [96708]
Paul Goggins: The Department receives copies of the minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund as part of standard corporate governance arrangements.
David Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether meetings held by (a) him and (b) his Department with (i) the Chairman of the Northern Ireland Police Fund, (ii) the acting Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Police Fund and (iii)
members of the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund, are minuted. [96711]
Paul Goggins: The Department in accordance with standard corporate governance arrangements maintains a record of the regular meetings held with the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Police Fund and departmental officials.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 333W, on Police Service of Northern Ireland, to whom (a) Ms A. Paisley, (b) Mrs F. Reid, (c) Lord Rogan, (d) Mr R. Wilson and (e) Sir John Semple tendered their resignations as directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund. [95066]
Paul Goggins: The resignations of Sir John Semple and Mrs. F Reid were tendered to the Northern Ireland Office. Records indicate that Lord Rogan, Ms. Paisley and Mr. Wilson submitted their resignations as Directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund to the Fund.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 334-5W, on the Police Service of Northern Ireland, within which standard corporate governance arrangements and practices the Northern Ireland Police Fund routinely seeks advice and reports to the Department. [95094]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Police Fund operates within standard Government and companies corporate governance arrangements.
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the number of (a) serving and (b) retired police officers in Northern Ireland who claim to have post traumatic stress disorder. [92991]
Paul Goggins: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised that 5,500 PSNI officers were reported to have joined a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder class action of which 3,500 are now retired.
Psychiatric Care
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff have been seriously injured in psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [94116]
Paul Goggins: The total figures recorded for staff seriously injured in psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years are as follows:
| Total | |
Within the HPSS ‘serious injury’ is where staff attend A and E Units for treatment immediately or are absent from work for three days or more following the incident.
Public Assets (Capital Charges)
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what total capital charges on public assets in Northern Ireland were in 2005-06; and whether income received was (a) retained within the Northern Ireland Office and (b) returned to the Consolidated Fund. [96075]
Mr. Hanson: The Government as a whole incur an interest cost for borrowing to finance investments by Departments. To ensure that the full cost of services is reflected in departmental accounts and budgets, this interest cost is devolved to Departments as a cost of capital charge. This is a non-cash cost and thus there is no associated income or cashflow.
The following table, based on provisional outturn, sets out current expenditure and cost of capital charges within each relevant departmental expenditure limit for 2005-06:
| Departmental expenditure limit: current expenditure and capital charges for 2005-06 | ||
| £ million | ||
| Department | Current expenditure | of which: Cost of capital charges |
Racial Equality Strategy
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with the implementation of the Racial Equality Strategy. [96137]
Mr. Hanson: The First Annual Implementation Action Plan for the Strategy was published on 27 April 2006, alongside the Triennial Action Plan to implement "A Shared Future: Policy and Strategic Framework for Good Relations in Northern Ireland". The Action Plan was drawn up in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Racial Equality Forum and contains a wide range of commitments from each of the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office. The First Implementation Action Plan was placed in the Libraries of the Houses of Parliament in May 2006, as was the Triennial Action Plan for "A Shared Future".
There will be an annual report to Ministers and the Northern Ireland Assembly or, in the absence of devolution, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on progress towards implementation of both the Racial Equality Strategy and "A Shared Future".
Racially Motivated Crime
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been the victim of racially motivated attacks in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) district command unit and (b) council district. [95013]
Paul Goggins: The answer to this question is available in the Police Service of Northern Ireland Statistical Report 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 and I have arranged for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library.
Statistics are available for the last two financial years (2004-05 and 2005-06) only as the process for recording such incidents and crimes changed in April 2004. Crime figures produced prior to this date were not collated in the same manner and are therefore not comparable with these statistics.
Railway Barrier (Lurgan)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the economy of Lurgan of the frequent closure of the railway barrier; and what steps he has taken to reduce the period of time for which the barrier is closed on a daily basis. [95084]
David Cairns: No assessment has been made of the impact on the economy of Lurgan of the closure of the railway barrier.
Roads Service has considered an underpass to separate the railway line and William Street. This option is very expensive with significant environmental consequences at construction stage and did not perform well under economic appraisal.
The Department is giving further consideration to representations from Craigavon borough council (seeking provision of an underpass) prior to publication of the sub-regional transport plan.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what additional funding will be made available to implement the safeguarding vulnerable groups legislation in Northern Ireland; what the time scale is for the implementation of the legislation in Northern Ireland; which (a) Departments and (b) agencies will be leading implementation; if he will establish a cross-Department working group on the legislation; and if he will make a statement. [96474]
Paul Goggins: Introduction of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill is being taken forward on a UK-wide basis in response to recommendations arising from the Bichard Inquiry.
The Bichard Project Board is addressing the issue of funding and work is ongoing to determine the way forward. Northern Ireland is participating fully in these discussions and is represented by the Northern Ireland Office on the UK wide group established to oversee development and implementation of the legislation. The issue of funding will need to be resolved before Primary legislation by Order in Council can be taken forward within Northern Ireland.
The key Northern Ireland Departments involved in implementation of the legislation will be the Northern Ireland Office; the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety; the Department of Education; and the Department for Employment and Learning. Access Northern Ireland will be the main Agency which will have a key role. The new vetting and barring scheme will however have a wider impact affecting the business of most other NI Departments to some extent.
Discussions are ongoing between Departments on the establishment of a cross departmental approach in taking the legislation forward. I am committed to these new vetting and barring arrangements being extended to NI at the earliest possible date.
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