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3 Mar 2008 : Column 2074W—continued
All official travel is undertaken in accordance with departmental rules.
Departmental Written Questions
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of parliamentary questions for answer on a named day to his Department received a (a) holding and (b) substantive answer on the named day in each year since 2001. [190280]
Mr. Woodward: Electronic records are only available from 18 May 2005 onwards. To obtain the information requested prior to this date would involve an extensive manual trawl of records which could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
The following table provides the information that is available.
| Holding answers issued | Substantive answers issued | |||||
| Total number of PQs received( 1) | Total number of named day questions | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| (1) Inclusive of transfers and withdrawals. (2) Reduction in the overall number of PQs received due to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly (8 May 2007). | ||||||
Employment Agencies
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2008, Official Report, column 1145W, on employment agencies, which recruitment agencies his Department has used in each year since 1998; and how much each agency was paid in each year. [189361]
Mr. Woodward: The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office (excluding its Agencies, NDPBs and Public Inquiries) spent on recruitment agencies in each financial year since 1998-99. These figures include both the costs for appointing staff to the department and the salaries paid to these temporary staff members.
| Recruitment Agencies used | Recruitment Agencies costs (£) |
Inquiries
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs to date have been of the inquiries into (a) Bloody Sunday, (b) Robert Hamill death, (c) Rosemary Nelson’s death, (d) Pat Finucane’s death and (e) Billy Wright’s death. [187830]
Mr. Woodward: The costs to the end of January 2008 for the inquiries are as follows:
| Cost (£ million) | |
An inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane has not yet been established.
The Wright and Hamill inquiries are operating under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Nelson inquiry is operating under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. The Bloody Sunday inquiry is operating under the Tribunals Act 1921.
Prisoners: Education
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners detained in Northern Ireland have (a) applied for and (b) received student loans in each of the last five years. [189291]
Paul Goggins: I am advised that no prisoners have applied for student loans in the last five years.
Prostitution
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the level of the vice trade in Northern Ireland in the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [189827]
Paul Goggins: The true extent of the vice trade is very difficult to quantify, particularly as brothels tend to operate in one location for a short period of time before moving to avoid the attention of local police. The PSNI are taking part in Operation Pentameter 2, a UK-wide operation against human trafficking, which will improve our understanding of the scale of human trafficking and the illegal sex trade in Northern Ireland. In 2005 (the latest year for which data are available), three people were prosecuted and convicted in Northern Ireland for brothel-keeping.
As well as impacting on individuals, prostitution causes real problems for communities. In recent months, therefore, police have mounted three investigations where controlling prostitution was suspected. A file has been sent to the Public Prosecution Service, and €15,000 was seized under the proceeds of crime legislation.
In response to community concerns, I intend to include extension of the offence of kerb crawling to Northern Ireland, and a new offence relating to soliciting, in the draft Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order on which I have recently been consulting.
Terrorism
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the anti-terrorist operation against associates of the Real IRA in Vilnius, overseen by the Lithuanian authorities, Garda Siochana, PSNI, British Intelligence Agencies and Interpol, which resulted in the arrest of Michael Campbell. [189055]
Paul Goggins: It would not be appropriate to comment on anti-terrorist operations or who may be involved in them. The prosecution of the individual referred to is a matter for the prosecuting authorities in Lithuania.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to answer question (a) 181598 and (b) 181530, on departmental travel, tabled on 21 January 2008 by the hon. Member for Taunton; and what the reason for the time taken to respond is. [191243]
Mr. Woodward: Questions (a) 181598 and (b) 181530 were both answered today.
Each of these questions requested details of departmental travel including travel outside of the United Kingdom. To ensure accuracy in the answers, extensive cross-referencing was required between different parts of the Department, which proved to be more time consuming than originally expected.
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