Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether employees working in Northern Ireland in cross-border implementation bodies are required to register their membership of the Knights of Saint Columbanus; and, if so, how many have done so. [HL5689]
Lord Rooker: Northern Ireland-based employees of the north/south implementation bodies are not required to register their membership of the Knights of Saint Columbanus.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Rooker: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has in the past provided support for work to develop new governance and management arrangements for the children's hospice and continues to support this charity with an annual grant of approximately £100,000.
5 Jun 2006 : Column WA159
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps the quartet intends to take to prevent the possible collapse of the Palestinian banking system, on which the private sector of the economy relies. [HL5947]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) is following the economic and humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories closely. The banking system is one area of particular concern. The Government are following the issue closely and officials are in touch with the banks themselves and with the Palestinian Monetary Authority. We will continue to work with quartet partners to monitor and improve the economic situation in the Occupied Territories.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 9 May (WA 120), where the information is held as to occasions since 1997 when the Environment Agency has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman; and how members of the public may have access to that information; and [HL5782]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 9 May (WA 120), whether the Environment Agency will in future hold information about its compliance with the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendations in a way which permits public access to that information. [HL5783]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Environment Agency has confirmed that it will, in future, include a summary of compliance with the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendations on its website.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 18 April (WA 197) concerning the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland's refusal to grant funding to Altnaveigh House on the grounds of reconciliation criteria, what is the foundation's definition of reconciliation; who drew up the definition; and how is its application judged; and [HL5336]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 19 April (WA 197) concerning funding for Altnaveigh House, in what way the application did not meet the reconciliation criteria. [HL5237]
Lord Rooker: The application from Altnaveigh House was assessed as not meeting the reconciliation criteria under the Peace II Programme as it was not perceived as contributing to building positive relationships with other communities. This application is currently going through a review process and it would be inappropriate to comment on the outcome of the application until that review process is complete. I will write to the noble Lord regarding the outcome of the application once the process is complete, which is expected to be in late May.
I can advise that further to my Answers of 18 April (WA 197) the definition of reconciliation used by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is as stated in the Peace II Programme Guidance and is based on Brandon Hamber and Grainne Kelly's 2004 publication A Working Definition of Reconciliation. This has five strands:
building positive relationships;
acknowledging and dealing with the past;
developing a shared vision of an interdependent and fair society;
Each application is judged by a selection panel and if the eligibility criteria are met, it will then be scored against the standard scoring matrix. On the reconciliation criterion, each application must satisfy the first strand and at least two further strands contained in the definition.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 17 May (WA 46) concerning Peace II funding, which organisations and which projects were refused funding because they did not meet the reconciliation criteria; and what are those criteria. [HL5939]
Lord Rooker: The Peace II distinctiveness and reconciliation criteria ensure that only projects which pave the way to reconciliation and address the legacy of conflict or take the opportunities arising from peace are supported under the programme. To meet the distinctiveness criteria, an application must demonstrate sufficient targeting towards groups, geographical areas, and sectors/activities adversely affected by the conflict.
A total of 962 applications to Peace II and 341 to the Peace II extension in Northern Ireland have been unsuccessful due to failure to meet the distinctiveness and/or reconciliation criteria. A list of these has been placed in the Library of the House.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many harbour and airport police there are in Northern Ireland; and in what areas they operate. [HL5399]
Lord Rooker: There are currently 25 harbour police who operate within the Belfast Harbour estate. Six harbour police operate in Larne Harbour. The jurisdiction of harbour police extends to one mile beyond the boundaries of the harbour estates.
There are currently 26 airport police employed at Belfast international airport and they operate within the boundaries of Belfast international airport.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the per capita cost of (a) recruitment and (b) training recruits during the last year of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. [HL5888]
Lord Rooker: I am advised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that there was no recruitment in the last year of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The final competition was administered in 1998 and as the recruitment exercise was managed "in-house", it was unable to provide per capita costs.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the per capita cost of (a) recruitment and (b) training recruits during the past 12 months of the Police Service for Northern Ireland. [HL5889]
Lord Rooker: I am advised that the recruiting costs for year 2005-06 are still being processed, therefore an accurate figure cannot be presented at this time. In addition, statistics on financial spending are calculated on a financial-year basis; that is, 1 April to 31 March.
The per capita cost of (a) recruiting trainees for the financial year 2004-05 was £9,551.77. There were 531 police officers recruited out of a total of 11,801 applicants.
The per capita cost of (b) training recruits for the financial year 2005-06 was £7,525.18. There were 10 training courses with a total cost of £3,311,081.15. Each course had 44 students with a course duration of 105 days.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much has been spent on training part-time police officers in Northern Ireland over the past 12 months. [HL5891]
Lord Rooker: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised me that the estimated costs incurred in training part-time police officers from April 2005 to March 2006 were £558,633.
The training was completed by year-end.
Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |