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13 July 2009 : Column 39W—continued
Departmental Pay
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on salaries and pensions for Ministers in his Department since 2005. [284858]
Paul Goggins: Ministers' salaries and pensions are set out in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. Details of salary and pension contributions for Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office for the years 2005 to 2008 may be found in Northern Ireland Office Resource Accounts and can be accessed by using the following link:
http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/niopublication/niopubssearch results.htm?category=&keyword=resource+accounts&order=date
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the staffing costs of his Department were in (a) April 2008 and (b) April 2009. [285412]
Paul Goggins: The staffing costs for the Northern Ireland Office, including the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland, and excluding its agencies and NDPBs in (a) April 2008 and (b) April 2009 were:
| April | £ |
Departmental Secondment
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees of his Department have been posted to work in offices of hon. Members of each political party in each of the last five years. [284888]
Paul Goggins: Civil servants are required to act in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code.
Civil servants may shadow MPs as part of a programme run by the Industry and Parliament Trust. In the last five years seven civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office have taken part in the programme, two in 2004-05, one in 2005-06, three in 2006-07, one in 2007-08 and one in 2008-09.
Fines: Defaulters
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of all prison receptions in Northern Ireland have been of fine defaulters in each of the last three years. [286312]
Paul Goggins: The following table gives the number and percentage of prison receptions in Northern Ireland for fine default as compared with all prison receptions. Data cover the calendar years 2006 to 2008.
| Percentage of all prison receptions for fine default in Northern Ireland 2006-08 | |||
| Fine defaulter receptions | Total receptions | Percentage of fine defaulter | |
Offensive Weapons
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for crimes involving an offensive weapon in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [285965]
Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the format requested as it is not possible to separately identify the number of prosecutions and convictions for certain offences, for example murder, in which an offensive weapon was involved. It is only possible to provide prosecution and conviction statistics, documented in the following table, for those offences which, in their definition, relate to offensive weapons. These include: possession of offensive weapons; possession of articles with blades, points or other instruments with intent on committing an offence; and firearm offences.
Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 2006 (the latest year available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
| Number of prosecutions and convictions for offensive weapon offences 2002-06 | ||
| Prosecutions | Convictions | |
Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases the Prisoner Ombudsman in Northern Ireland has investigated in each of the last three years. [285507]
Paul Goggins: This is an operational matter for the Prisoner Ombudsman's Office, which operates independently of Government. I would encourage the hon. Member to write directly to the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Mrs. Pauline McCabe.
Robert Hamill Inquiry
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Robert Hamill inquiry has cost to date. [285188]
Paul Goggins: The cost of the Robert Hamill inquiry to the end of May 2009 is £26.8 million.
Rosemary Nelson Inquiry
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Rosemary Nelson inquiry has cost to date. [285187]
Paul Goggins: The cost of the Rosemary Nelson inquiry to the end of May 2009 is £41.1 million.
Security Guards: Licensing
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many licence applications to the Security Industry Authority have been made in Northern Ireland to date. [286313]
Paul Goggins: To the end of June 2009, 1,864 licence applications had been received by the Security Industry Authority.
Special Purchase Evacuated Dwellings Scheme
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) serving and (b) former security officers have been moved under the Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings in each of the last three years. [285991]
Paul Goggins: The issue of certificates under the Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Young Offenders
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people aged between 10 and 17 years and resident in Northern Ireland were convicted of an offence in each of the last five years. [286314]
Paul Goggins: The following table gives the number of 10 to 17-year-olds resident in Northern Ireland who were convicted of an offence.
Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 2006 (the latest year available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
| 10 to 17-year-olds resident in Northern Ireland who were convicted of an offence 2002-06 | |
| Number | |
Children, Schools and Families
Asbestos: Documents
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2009, Official Report, column 553W, on asbestos: documents, (1) how many asbestos health-related files have been retained since 1984; [285246]
(2) how many and what percentage of electronic files have been retained since 1984 after the seven year review held in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive's document retention policy; [285247]
(3) how many and what percentage of paper files have been retained since 1984 after the nine year review held in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive's document retention policy. [285248]
Mr. Coaker: Under the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983 only HSE are required to collect documents. Therefore my Department does not do so.
The Department retains a number of files and other documents relating to asbestos in schools. Our asbestos related paper files are classified as long-term storage and are reviewed after 10 years.
DCSF electronic files related to asbestos are reviewed every five years. Other less important documents are held in temporary storage and will need to be reviewed if they are to be retained.
Children: Day Care
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of nursery settings which are charging top-up fees (a) on the free entitlement hours and (b) outside the free entitlement hours in order to subsidise the provision of the free entitlement. [286021]
Dawn Primarolo: The code of practice on delivery of the free early education entitlement is clear that the free entitlement should be free at the point of delivery and that charging of top-up fees for free entitlement hours is unacceptable. Where there is evidence that providers are charging top-up fees, we expect local authorities to ensure that parents are able to access a completely free place.
Providers are free to agree with parents charges for additional services outside the free entitlement hours-that is a private matter between the parent and the provider.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many nurseries have closed in each year from 2006. [286022]
Dawn Primarolo: The latest available information on the number of nurseries opening and closing is shown in the table.
| Number of full day care settings that have opened and closed, as at 31 March each year, England 2006-08 | ||
| Opened | Closed | |
| Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: Ofsted. | ||
Ofsted data on closures include registered places in settings which are transferring ownership, and in settings
which move from one Ofsted category to another, not just in those which are ceasing trading. For example, if a full daycare provider moved to offering sessional provision, this would be recorded as a 'closed' full daycare setting and an 'opened' sessional daycare setting. The Ofsted data therefore exaggerate the true extent of turnover.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make interim arrangements to assist nurseries experiencing short-term financial difficulties before the implementation of the single local funding formula in April 2010. [286333]
Dawn Primarolo: Local authorities have a range of tools they can use to support nurseries and other early years providers to ensure their sustainability. For the funding period 2008-11, the Department has allocated £378 million of revenue funding and £642 million of capital funding to local authorities to support the sufficiency of and access to child care, part of the Sure Start early years and child care grant.
All local authorities will implement a single local funding formula from April 2010 to address any inconsistencies in funding that may exist and to ensure that the funding for all providers is based on the same principles.
Extra-curricular Activities: North East
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was allocated for the provision of extra-curricular activities in schools in (a) the North East, (b) Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997. [285327]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to every school providing access to a core offer of extended services, including a varied menu of extra curricular activities from 8 am to 6 pm, by 2010. To support this, the DCSF has provided significant funding to support the delivery of extended services, including committing over £1 billion in the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The table sets out the extended services funding allocated from 2003-04, the start of the Full Service Extended School pilot, to 2010-11 for every local authority in the Government office North East region, including local authorities in the Tees Valley and Middlesbrough local authority.
This funding is passed to local authorities to support the development of the core extended services offer in every school. The exact amount of funding spent on extra curricular activities as part of supporting delivery of the broader extended services core offer is a matter for local decision making by local authorities and schools.
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