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13 Nov 2008 : Column 1317W—continued
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.
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) |
|
Prisoner Record Information System (PRISM)—Technical Refresh |
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 | |
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 |
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]
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.
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]
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:
(a) During the calendar year 2005, there were 376 prisoners released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland who were aged 16 to 25 on the date they were given a custodial sentence. During the 12 months following the date of their release, 194 of these ex-prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a one year reoffending rate of 51.6 per cent.
(b) During the calendar year 2003, there were 430 prisoners released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland who were aged 16 to 25 on the date they were given a custodial sentence. During the three years following the date of their release, 303 of these ex-prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a three year reoffending rate of 70.5 per cent.
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]
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.
| Table of consultancy contracts let by programme—year to end September 2008 | ||
| Vendor name | Programme | Contract value (£) |
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