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Departmental ICT

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what IT projects his Department is undertaking; and what estimate has been made of the cost of each such project. [234257]

Paul Goggins: The majority of IT projects are relatively small and are developed in-house with minimum cost.
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To compile information to support all projects would be at disproportionate cost. Therefore the information within the following table relates only to current approved IT projects which cost in excess of £1 million.

Project name Estimated cost (£ million)

Causeway Programme

61

Prisoner Record Information System (PRISM)—Technical Refresh

1.3


Departmental Internet

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits to his Department's website have been recorded from computers outside his Department and the parliamentary estate (a) since May 2007 and (b) in the last 12 months. [234250]

Mr. Woodward: From information available the total number of visitors who visited the Northern Ireland Office website (www.nio.gov.uk), excluding those from the Northern Ireland Office, the Northern Ireland civil service and the parliamentary estate is shown in the following table.

Number of visits

May 2007 to present

964,867

October 2007 to October 2008

634,617


Departmental Manpower

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of his Department's staff are seconded from other Government departments, broken down by department of origin. [234231]

Paul Goggins: The number of staff who are seconded from other Government Departments to the Northern Ireland Office is detailed in the following table.

Department Number of staff seconded

Home Office

2

Ministry of Defence

1

Ministry of Justice

1


Departmental Marketing

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) newspaper and (b) television advertisements his Department funded or part-funded in the last 12 months. [Official Report, 17 December 2008, Vol. 485, c. 8MC.] [234168]

Mr. Woodward: In the last 12 months, the Northern Ireland Office funded 46 newspaper advertisements and one television advertisement. It also part-funded a further two television advertisements during this period.

Departmental Press Releases

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press releases have been issued by his Department in the last 12 months. [234237]


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Mr. Woodward: During the last 12 months (1 November 2007 to 31 October 2008) my Department has issued 208 press releases.

Irish Government

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with officials of the Irish government in the last 12 months. [234252]

Mr. Woodward: In the course of my duties I am in regular meetings and maintain regular contact with Ministers and officials from the Irish Government.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly in the last 12 months. [234228]

Mr. Woodward: In the course of my duties I have regular meetings and maintain regular contact with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Official Visits

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many flights he has taken on official business in the last 12 months; and what steps he has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions of those flights. [234166]

Mr. Woodward: As the hon. Member will be aware, to fulfil my duties as Secretary of State in Northern Ireland and fulfil Cabinet obligations, including my role on the National Economic Council, it is necessary for me to travel to and from Northern Ireland regularly and frequently, and often at short notice.

Details of foreign visits by Cabinet Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. Copies are available in the Library.

Since April 2006 emissions from central Government ministerial and official air travel has been offset through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to the fund. The fund purchases certified emissions reduction credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much he has spent on each mode of transportation for official visits in the last 12 months. [234167]

Mr. Woodward: Details of foreign visits by Cabinet Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. Copies are available in the Library.

Expenditure on transport for each official visit within Great Britain and Northern Ireland cannot be separated from the overall costs for transport incurred in the course of my duties.


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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many official visits he has made to (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland in the last 12 months. [234171]

Mr. Woodward: As the hon. Member will be aware, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland my duties and meetings require me to be in Northern Ireland for a varying number of days each week. I travel to the Republic of Ireland to meet the Irish Government when necessary.

Police: Complaints

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints about Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter activity were recorded in each district command unit area in each of the last 12 months. [234764]

Paul Goggins: Dealing with such complaints is the operational responsibility of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. I have asked the chief executive to reply to the hon. Member directly, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.

Prisons: Construction

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what recent consultations he has had on building new prisons in Northern Ireland; [234172]

(2) what recent discussions he has had on building new prisons in Northern Ireland. [234299]

Paul Goggins: On 18 December 2007 I published the comprehensive options appraisal for the future development of the adult male estate in Northern Ireland. Since then there have been a range of contacts between the Prison Service and elected representatives. Formal consultation will take place in the next phase of the Magilligan Prison redevelopment programme.

Separately, I commissioned the development of an overall strategy for the management of women offenders and the options for the provision of a new women's custodial facility. In April a consultative conference was held at Hillsborough Castle over four days involving a wide range of providers from the statutory and voluntary sectors, principally on the overall strategy for managing women. Further discussions were also held with all female offenders, Prison Service staff and internal providers of services.

The Prison Service is currently preparing a strategic outline business case for a new women's prison. This work, in conjunction with the strategy for the management of women offenders, will be issued for public consultation shortly.

Recruitment: Religion

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has taken to recruit people from non-Christian backgrounds to his Department. [234637]


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Mr. Woodward: The Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP), which is responsible for recruitment to the Northern Ireland Civil Service, also facilitates the majority of recruitment to the Northern Ireland Office.

DFP has liaised with representatives from Northern Ireland’s ethnic communities to identify proactive measures to encourage more applications from these communities and remove barriers to their retention and progression within the civil service.

Religion

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with church leaders in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months, broken down by denomination. [234227]

Mr. Woodward: In the course of my duties I have regular contact with church leaders of all denominations in Northern Ireland.

Reoffenders

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of 16 to 25 year old ex-prisoners in Northern Ireland reoffended within (a) 12 months and (b) three years of release from custody in the latest period for which figures are available. [234178]

Paul Goggins: The information is as follows:

USA

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with officials of the US administration in the last 12 months. [234253]

Mr. Woodward: In the course of my duties I am in regular meetings and maintain regular contact with members of the US Administration.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many official visits he has made to the United States of America in the last 12 months. [234640]


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Mr. Woodward: The United States has played and continues to play a critical role in the political process, further progress towards the devolution of policing and justice and investment in Northern Ireland. Successive Secretaries of State have worked closely with the United States and have made regular visits to discuss policy. I continue this policy.

Details of all foreign visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers are published by the Cabinet Office annually. Copies are available in the Library.

Young Offender Institutions: Per Capita Costs

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average cost of providing a place in a young offender institution in Northern Ireland was in the latest year for which figures are available. [234410]

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service currently houses the young offender population together with the female population on a single site at Hydebank Wood. There are 261 young offender places and 74 female places. Costs are not captured below establishment level and so it would be difficult and unreliable to estimate the cost of providing a place for a single young offender. The delegated annual resource budget for Hydebank Wood is £23.95 million.

Communities and Local Government

Christmas

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Christmas functions (a) she, (b) officials from her Department and (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) hosted and (ii) attended in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was; and if she will make a statement. [226962]

Mr. Khan: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended five Christmas functions in 2007-08. She also hosted one Christmas function at a cost of £250. The other information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Contracts

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2008, Official Report, column 1139W, on departmental contracts, to which of her Department's programmes each contract relates. [233328]

Mr. Khan: Please see the following table. Not all of these contracts are related to programmes, some have been let for day to day business.


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Table of consultancy contracts let by programme—year to end September 2008
Vendor name Programme Contract value (£)

Acumen Consortium

Community Builders

84,640

Acumen Consortium

HSMOB—Homes

9,000

Addison & Associates Ltd.

Economic Development

42,678

Addison & Associates Ltd.

Planning Systems Improvement

56,048

Amqis Consortium

Admin

260,582

Brahm Ltd.

Admin

18,175

Business in the Community

Business in the Community

68,080

Certes Computing Ltd.

ePlanning Programme

101,375

Chartered Inst of Housing

Efficiency Improvements

86,400

Ciria

Planning Systems Improvement

49,964

Collective Enterprises Ltd.

Supporting People

2,999,648

Deloitte MCS Ltd.

Admin

30,000

Entec UK Ltd.

Fire Research

47,410

Ethnos Research & Consultancy

REACH

81,880

Europe Economics

Buildings Reg Research

154,030

Faith Matters

Faith Leaders

90,000

FDS International Ltd.

Fire Protection

47,303

Greenstreet Berman Ltd.

Fire Research

102,478

Greenstreet Berman Ltd.

Fire Prevention

72,837

Hays Personnel Services

Admin

93,000

Hays Personnel Services

Admin

93,000

Hays Personnel Services

HIP Programme

27,000

Health & Safety Laboratories

Resilience Research

99,000

Heriot-Watt University

Choice Based Lettings

88,012

Idenk Ltd.

Admin

50,000

IECR Ltd.

Small Area Data

73,370

Improvement & Development Agency

Local Partnerships & Delivery

89,000

Informed Solutions Ltd.

Information Management Programme

500,000

Intelligent Addressing Ltd.

Fire Control

20,300

Kent University

Statistics and Research Programme

88,820

Lambert Smith Hampton

Fire Control

11,300

Land Data CIC

Energy Performance Building Objective

50,000

Leeds Metropolitan University

Small Area Data

21,875

Market & Opinion Research Int. Ltd.

Small Area Data

66,510

Mott Macdonald Ltd.

Statistics Research

45,000

Nera Economic Consulting

New Dimension

73,849

Ove Arup & Partners

Planning Systems Improvement

53,575

Oxford Consult Social Inclusion Ltd.

Small Area Data

57,000

PA Consulting Services Limited

Admin

43,750

PA Consulting Services Limited

Energy Performance of Buildings Programme

127,305

PA Consulting Services Limited

Admin

82,750

Partnerships UK Plc

Homes

579,000

Progressive Recruitment Ltd.

Enhanced Local Government accrued reporting project

42,000

QI Consulting Ltd.

Firelink

107,400

Rocket Science UK Ltd.

Small Area Data

52,085

Roger Tym & Partners

Thames Gateway—Direct Funding

36,585

Scott Wilson Ltd.

Admin

78,705

Securetest Ltd.

Admin

14,000

Serco

Admin

40,814

Shared Intelligence Ltd.

Community Empowerment

23,960

Stanton Marris LLP

Admin

93,350

Sustrans

Thames Gateway—Direct Funding

39,997

Teg Kenyon Limited

ePlanning Programme

25,950

Veredus Interim Mgmt

IPC Contingency Fund

111,175

Xantura Limited

Small Area Data

89,800

Xantura Limited

Small Area Data

89,820


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