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Written Answers
Monday, 2nd June 2003.
Ballymena to Londonderry Railway Line
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What capital projects and track maintenance have taken place on the Northern Ireland Railway Companies line between Ballymena and Londonderry since 1 January 1997; and what new capital and maintenance work is proposed for this line in the next two years.[HL2634]
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): Translink has advised that since 1 January 1997 the following capital projects have been carried out on the line between Ballymena and Londonderry:
- at Ballymena, Coleraine and Castlerock stations there has been excavation and replacement of spent ballast, removal and renewal of bull-head rail on timber sleepers with new concrete sleepers and rail used as necessary;
- continuous welded rail has been installed on the line adjacent to City of Derry airport and half a mile west of Downhill;
- work has been carried out on rail bridges and footbridges at various locations including Ballymoney, Cullybackey, Coleraine, Bellarena, Londonderry and Greysteel;
- approximately 70 metres of sea defences at Enagh, south west of Lisnahally, have been repaired.
In relation to proposed work over the next two years, the Government's policy is to proceed with the implementation of the consolidation option in the Railways Task Force report as developed by the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2002–12, the strategic direction and underlying principles of which were agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 3 July 2003. In accordance with this policy, the Department for Regional Development has offered Translink grant aid to undertake the following minor works on the line: remedial action on an embankment at Galdanagh; installation of strail crossings at four level crossings north of Ballymena; points and crossings at Coleraine; demolition of an accommodation overbridge at Coleraine.
Further projects may be approved within the next two years.
Waterways Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 30 April (WA 102), what are the details of the professional fees of £173,000 for Waterways Ireland; who were the consultants in receipt of these fees; how they were appointed; for what tasks; and how much did each task cost.[HL2715]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The breakdown of £173,000 is as follows:
| Consultants | Fees | Project | Appointed |
| PWC recruitment consultancy | £66,300 | Executive resourcing assignment in connection with the recruitment of the chief executive. | Appointed under the terms of the human resources recruitment contract for all cross-Border bodies. |
| PWC Consultancy (IT) | £100,000 | IT Consultancy to provide expert advice in preparation for major financial and Human Resources contracts etc. | Contract awarded as an extension of an existing contract for similar work already commissioned by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (including the Waterways Division of that department). |
| OMI Equality Consultation | £6,700 | Equality. | Selected off an approved list of consultants capable of providing equality training. |
Northern Ireland: Hospital Waiting Times
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the average waiting time between an appointment with a general practitioner and a hospital appointment and between a hospital appointment and surgery in Northern Ireland for hip replacements, heart surgery and general surgery; and how the waiting times compare with the average in the rest of the United Kingdom.[HL2776]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Information on the average waiting time between an appointment with a
general practitioner and a hospital appointment is not available.Information on the average waiting time between a hospital appointment and surgery for patients admitted to hospital during 2001–02 is shown in the table below.
| Procedure | Hip Replacement | Cardiac Surgery | General Surgery |
| Number of Days | 213 | 157 | 94 |
Source:
Hospital Inpatients System
Information for the rest of the United Kingdom could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The provision of smoking chambers was discussed by the trust's health and safety team, the trust's operational group and health estates staff.
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Garda Sochana (Police Co-operation) Bill 2003 currently before the Oireachtas disapplies for secondees from the Police Service of Northern Ireland Section 11 of the Police Forces Amalgamation Act 1925 which contains the oath for Garda Sochana members.
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Members of the Garda Sochana who are on secondment with police powers to the Police Service of Northern Ireland will take the attestation as set out in Section 38 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Good progress is being made throughout the public sector to prepare for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The publication scheme provisions of the Act are now in force for all central
In order to prepare public authorities for the coming into force of the right of access in January 2005, substantial work is being done to train officials across the public sector. Officials in my department are currently engaged in a series of regional training seminars for public authorities across the country. Specific areas of the public sector, including the NHS and police, have established training programmes with which officials from my department have been involved. The work to train staff in public authorities will continue over the next 18 months.
A summary of the progress which has been made by public authorities is contained in the Lord Chancellor's second statutory report on implementation, copies of which are in the House Library.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The timetable for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act was announced to Parliament by the Lord Chancellor on 13 November 2001. The publication scheme provisions are currently being implemented across the public sector according to this timetable and the individual right of access will come into force in January 2005, 11 months before the timetable set out in the Act itself.
The implementation timetable is aligned with completion of the Government's project on electronic records management, and the extensive training and associated programmes required to ensure public authorities are prepared by the time the Act comes fully into force. There are no plans to accelerate the timetable.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The imposition of any sentence in any individual case is a matter for the trial judge, acting within the statutory framework which Parliament has laid down and observing any relevant
Sentencing policy more generally is a matter on which the Government is entitled to take and express a view, and on which Parliament may legislate if it thinks fit.
Further to the written answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 14 May (WA 35) concerning smoking chambers in the Royal Victoria Hospital, which were the interested parties within the trust which were consulted.[HL2924]
What are the terms of the oath which members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland will take when they serve in the Police Service in the Republic of Ireland.[HL3030]
What are the terms of the oath which members of the Police Service in the Republic of Ireland will take when they serve in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.[HL3031]
What progress has been made and what remains still to be done to prepare Ministers of the Crown and their departments as well as other public authorities for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.[HL2833]
Whether they will consider it is feasible to accelerate the timetable for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.[HL2834]
Whether they consider that, as a matter of constitutional principle, it is within the exclusive province of the judiciary, free of interference by the executive, to interpret prescribed sentencing guidelines and apply them to the circumstances of the individual case so as to ensure the proportionality of the sentence to those circumstances.[HL2835]
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