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Northern Ireland Office: Staff
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were employed in the press office of the Northern Ireland Office on 1 January in each year since 1998. [HL4675]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Information Service (NIIS) conducts all press office work on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office. In addition, it has since 1999 provided an in-house media monitoring service for Ministers, senior officials in the Northern Ireland Civil Service and a range of external stakeholders.
Over this period, staff within the service have also had responsibility for any premises-related issues that concern Block B, Castle Buildings.
Details of staffing levels within NIIS on 1 January of each year since 1998 are listed in the following table.
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| Year | NIIS staff |
Northern Ireland: Weapons
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the recent decommissioning of weapons by loyalist groups in Northern Ireland is assisting progress towards the devolution of criminal justice and penal administration. [HL4694]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Government welcome the confirmation by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning of a major decommissioning event by the UVF/Red Hand Commandos and a significant move on decommissioning by the UDA/UFF in Northern Ireland. While a decision on the timing of the devolution of policing and justice remains for the Assembly to make, such steps send a clear signal that all sides of the community in Northern Ireland are committed to the political process.
Police: Northern Ireland
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in providing a new police college in Northern Ireland; where it is to be located; at what stage it is in the planning process; when tenders will be invited; what is the expected date for beginning construction; and whether a budget has been agreed. [HL4836]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The design for the new combined police, fire and prison service college has commenced and is presently at concept design stage. The design and business case are due to be completed in autumn 2009.
The college will be located at Desertcreat in Cookstown. A full planning application is due to be submitted in November 2009. The tendering process is due to take place in mid to late 2010. Construction is planned to commence by end 2010 and completed by end 2012 or early 2013. The cost of the project is estimated at £150 million.
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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland will provide e-mail addresses which the public can use to contact the service when seeking information about particular incidents. [HL4972]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: That is an operational matter for the chief constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the noble Lord, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Schools: Specialist Services
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children and young people are able to access school-based specialist or targeted services without it being recorded on ContactPoint. [HL4630]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): ContactPoint is a tool to help to improve the well-being of all children, help to keep them safe and ensure that no child slips through the net of support services. It provides a quick way for authorised practitioners in different services to find out who else is working with the same child, which will enable them to work together and provide faster, more co-ordinated support to meet a child's needs. ContactPoint will contain basic identifying information about all children and young people in England up to their 18th birthday and contact details for their parents/carers and for services working with the child or young person-nothing more.
In order to provide the service for which it is designed, it will be important that ContactPoint contains contact details of practitioners, in schools and elsewhere, who work with a child in order to offer them additional services. The department has worked with partners to determine what constitutes an involvement that should be recorded on ContactPoint as a specialist or targeted service. ContactPoint guidance offers examples of when it is appropriate for a practitioner to record their contact details on a child's record. It is not our intention to capture every minor interaction with a school pupil. Accordingly, membership of a music, chess or running club, for example, would not warrant the inclusion of practitioner contact details on ContactPoint. Schools will need to exercise some discretion and professional judgment.
Sport: Swimming
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 19 June (WA 238), how they will ensure that all relevant persons or bodies, including schools, swimming pools managed or owned by independent (non-local
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The Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting (Lord Carter of Barnes): This is a matter for the Amateur Swimming Association, which is responsible for the management of the capital funding allocation.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 19 June (WA 238), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the recently revised criteria for the capital funding of swimming pools. [HL4678]
Lord Carter of Barnes: The recently revised copy of the Amateur Swimming Association's capital funding of swimming pools has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 19 June (WA 238), whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the conditions of Sport England's funding agreement and Sport England's guidance to national governing bodies on managing their capital funding. [HL4679]
Lord Carter of Barnes: The 2009-13 National Governing Body Funding Memorandum of Agreement for Capital Build has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 19 June (WA 238), whether the previous requirement in Sport England's Whole Sports Plan 2009-13 Capital Fund for swimming pool facility funding, which stated that to fit the selection criteria for the fund swimming pools were required to "buy and utilise ASA products and services", constituted a breach of the conditions of Sport England's funding agreement or Sport England's guidance to national governing bodies on managing their capital funding. [HL4680]
Lord Carter of Barnes: Sport England has been informed that the ASA has withdrawn this requirement from its criteria for capital guidance.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 19 June (WA 238), what procedures are in place to monitor whether the conditions of Sport England's funding agreement and Sport England's guidance to national governing bodies on managing their
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Lord Carter of Barnes: Sport England has advised that the 2009-13 National Governing Body Funding Memorandum of Agreement for Capital Build sets
13 July 2009 : Column WA192
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