| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
23 Nov 2006 : Column 194W—continued
Compensation Claims
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was paid by (a) health boards, (b) health trusts and (c) other agencies in respect of legal fees and charges arising out of compensation claims in each of the last 10 years; and what legal firms were involved in each case. [101340]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information is available and place a copy in the Library.
Departmental Press/Public Relations
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by the Northern Ireland Department of Education on (a) press, (b) public relations and (c) communications work in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06; what the Department’s budget is for such work in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [100712]
Maria Eagle: The Department does not hold the information in the format requested. Listed is the Department’s expenditure on its Press Office and Desktop Publishing Unit, including staff and general administration costs, expenditure on activities such as printing and publication of departmental material, media monitoring, facilitation of media briefings and event management, production of the Department’s staff magazine, provision of photography of Government initiatives to media outlets, advertising and development of its website.
| Total (£) | |
| (1) Excludes possible expenditure on printing and advertising, as 2006-07 figures are not yet known. | |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on (a) press, (b) public relations and (c) communications work in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. [100713]
Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety’s Information Office has been funded for 11 staff in each of the last three years listed.
| Staff | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on press, public relations and communications work in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06; what the Department's budget is for such work in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [100714]
Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the format requested. The expenditure of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety’s Press Office is detailed in the table. This includes staff salaries, advertising, maintenance of website, publications, print and broadcast media monitoring, event management, production of the Department’s staff magazine and provision of photography of Government initiatives to media outlets.
| Information Office | |
| £ | |
Education Funding
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) annual budget and (b) annual administrative cost of (i) the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, (ii) the Regional Training Unit, (iii) the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, (iv) the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, (v) Comhairle na Gaelscolaiochta and (vi) each education and library board was in 2005-06. [100708]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is shown in the following table and includes funding provided by the Department of Education, the Department for Employment and Learning and the Department for Culture and Leisure:
| 2005-06 | ||
| £000 | ||
| Annual budget | Annual administrative cost | |
| (1) Balance in 2005-06 accounts includes £379,720 of deferred capital release. | ||
Equality Commission
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Equality Commission expects to publish the latest monitoring report into employment patterns in Northern Ireland. [101366]
Mr. Hanson: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland expects to publish the monitoring report by the beginning of December 2006.
Fire Services
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times the Lisburn Road Fire Station has been called upon to deal with (a) fires in wheelie or similar bins and (b) street rubbish fires in the (i) Lisburn Road, (ii) University and (iii) Holyland areas in the last 12 months. [101809]
Paul Goggins: The number of occasions on which the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has been called upon to deal with fires of a nature referred to in the question are set out in the table. Many of these incidents, including all those in the area known as the Holyland, are actually covered by Central Fire Station rather than Lisburn Road Fire Station.
| Area | General street rubbish fires | Fires in rubbish bins | Total |
I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to Lord Laird of 12 July 2006, Official Report, column WA124, which indicates the action being taken to reduce such incidents.
Heroin Addicts
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on making methadone available to heroin addicts in prisons in Northern Ireland. [100971]
Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has in place policies and protocols for treating prisoners who on committal state that they abuse substances, whether drugs or alcohol.
A prisoner who confirms that they are addicted to heroin or other illicit drugs, and that they are currently on a substitution programme receiving methadone or other similar medication, will be continued on that medication following confirmation of the medication and dosage from the consultant in charge of their treatment, or from an appropriate member of the community addiction healthcare team.
A prisoner who alleges that he or she is addicted to illicit substances but who is not on a community substitution programme will be offered appropriate treatment and support from healthcare professionals in line with the Prison Service detoxification protocol.
In addition to the treatment and support available to all prisoners from the prison healthcare centres, the prisoners can apply to community voluntary support groups working in each establishment to participate in the counselling support programmes that they provide.
Illegal Arms (Seizures)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many seizures of illegal arms believed to be in the possession of each of the paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland there have been in the last 12 months. [100819]
Paul Goggins: The following table details finds of illegal arms and ammunition recovered by the Police Service of Northern Ireland for the period 1 November 2005 to 31 October 2006. Attribution is problematic for illegal arms finds, and the PSNI does not collate these data by paramilitary group breakdown or by loyalist/republican breakdown.
| Security situation statistics finds of illegal arms and ammunition 1 November 2005 to 31 October 2006 | |
| Type | Total seized |
| Note: 2006 Statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment. Source: Central Statistics Unit, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Lisnasharragh | |
Intercept Evidence
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to make intercept evidence admissible in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland. [101105]
Paul Goggins: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Home Affairs is currently reviewing this issue. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will await the results of that review before deciding whether or not to make intercept evidence admissible in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland.
Magilligan Prison
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to be in a position to outline the future of Magilligan Prison, County Londonderry. [100818]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service in its long-term estate strategy has identified the need for a second adult male prison offering modern efficient dispersal facilities, better than those currently available at Magilligan, to supplement the present prison at Maghaberry. Much work is involved in assessing potential options; the availability of funding is also a relevant factor.
I hope to be in a position to make an announcement within the next few months.
Malone Conservation Area
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the additional design criteria applying to the Malone Conservation Area Policy BT024 will apply to the application for the proposed extension to Rushmere House, Cadogan Park. [101351]
David Cairns: The additional design criteria applying to the Malone Conservation Area and set out in the draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan policy BT024 cannot be applied to the application because they have been the subject of objections that will be considered at the forthcoming public inquiry.
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 will apply to the application for the proposed extension to Rushmere House, Cadogan Park. [101352]
David Cairns: My Department is legally required to apply Planning Policy Statement 6, ‘Planning Archaeology and Built Heritage’, to this application.
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many objections his Department has received to the proposed extension to Rushmere House, Cadogan Park within the Malone Conservation Area. [101353]
David Cairns: To date 110 individual objections and a petition of objection containing 40 names have been received.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |