This publication contains the written answers to questions tabled by Members. The content of the responses is as received at the time from the relevant Minister or representative of the Assembly Commission and has not been subject to the official reporting process or changed in any way.

Friday 16 November 2007

Written Answers to Questions

Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
Agriculture and Rural Development
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Employment and Learning
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Environment
Finance and Personnel
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Regional Development
Social Development
CORRIGENDUM

Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister

Research into the Financial Cost of the Northern Ireland Divide

Dr S Farry asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to give a timescale within which the Deloitte report 'Research into the financial cost of the Northern Ireland divide' will be formally published, rather than released in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

(AQW 348/08)

The First Minister and deputy First Minister (Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness): The report was commissioned, conducted and finalised during direct rule. Copies of the report have already been placed in the Assembly library and made available to the OFMDFM Committee and to Members. Furthermore, if any person contacts the department for a copy of the report, it will be provided as quickly as possible. Given the wide accessibility of the report we have no plans for formal publication.

Support For Victims

Rt Hon J Donaldson asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to provide a breakdown of the department's expenditure on supporting victims and survivors in Northern Ireland; and to list the names of the groups supported and the amount received by each, for each of that last five years.

(AQW 526/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Records show that the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) has allocated funding, detailed in the table below, to groups, organisations and projects involved in providing support for victims and survivors between April 2002 and March 2007.

Amounts in £

Name of Organisation	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
A Peace Cantata				4,430	1,235
Aisling Centre		25,203	34,630	27,039	27,768
Ardoyne Commemoration Project			2,550
Armagh Voluntary Welfare Group		6,830	670	6,100	5,970
Ashton Community Trust	3,800	30,798	61,565	55,042	64,494
Ballymurphy Womens Centre	1,980	55,029	47,460	37,615	55,763
Bannside Community Group		5,000	2,844		4,150
Barnardos Parenting in a Divided Society	27,916	65,510	74,819	69,000	7,500
BBC Legacy Project					89,340
Belfast Cognitive Therapy Centre	8,400	12,280	740
Breaking The Silence		4,500
Calms	6,724	49,978	63,551	71,176	117,885
Care In Crisis					1,964
Cedar Foundation		51,684	63,837
Centre of Creative Energy		1,260	3,920	3,405	2,935
Cheshire Regimental Association		2,198		290
Churches Resource		18,710		27,455	19,741
Claudy Memorial Group		5,985	6,042

Cliftonville Community Regeneration Forum					2,590
Clonard Strategy Group		2,500
Coiste na n-larchimi					2,404
Colin Community Counselling				2,400	1,126
Columba Community			41,393	36,686	38,295
Commissioner for Victims & Survivors Recruitment					25,921
Community Foundation for NI	10,000	2,500
Community Relations Council		231,294	193,344	217,391	220,164
Comrade Support Group			2,272	2,340	2,420
CORI		577	183
Conflict Trauma Resource Centre		8,957	382	1,000	2,500
Contact Youth		42,002	39,127	40,403	31,929
Corpus Christi Services		45,354	43,672	48,143	57,019
Creative Writers Network				5,000
Crossfire Trust			31,626	9,670	7,544
Cruse Bereavement Care		8,227			3,400
Cunamh		80,816	58,703	73,966	74,424
Democratic Dialogue		4,985
Derry Well Women		38,376	31,884	42,298	60,428
Disabled Police Officers Association		3,000	538	7,585	2,200
Dr Dillenburger Research Project			55,000	18,550	55,650
East Belfast Mission			3,450	1,560
Edenbrooke Primary School					238
Eastern Health & Social Services Board (EHSSB)			144,500
EHSSB Trauma Advisory Panel	10,470	74,535	44,477	60,395	66,147
Ex Services Mental Welfare Society			40,820	49,777	48,304
Family Trauma Centre	4,062	4,762
Families of the Displaced, Dispersed and Disappeared (FODDD)		23,265	25,030	35,268	39,017
Families Achieving Change Together (FACT)		43,269	35,070	41,452	39,640
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR)		111,914	61,177	72,235	121,206
Falls Community Council		4,900
Fermanagh Voluntary Welfare Support Group				2,775	7,138
Firinne		44,908	39,048	44,154	45,492
HAVEN		33,986	36,463	31,894	36,417
Historic Enquiries Team Working Group					312
Holywell Trust	7,329
Holy Trinity Centre		9,210	13,295	6,900	3,000
Greater Shankill Forum					875
Homes United by Ruthless Terrorism (HURT)		11,600	48,660	59,432	70,268
Institute for Counselling & Personal Development		28,608	25,717	40,526	31,147
Innocence, Truth & Justice		980
Innocent Victims of the Conflict			2,100
Interim Commissioner for Victims & Survivors				76,426	296,978
Irish Peace Institute		2,500	5,000	4,100
Koram Centre		63,099	53,360	50,758	51,848
Ladies Friendship Group					4,075
Lenadoon Counselling Project		34,064	25,705	40,795	27,986
Lifeline		6,250	6,250	6,250	6,250
Lifeways Psychotherapy and Counselling Network		31,752	31,513	41,972	39,610
Lisburn Community Relations Network				1,200
Lisburn YMCA				1,200
Lurgan Welfare Support Group					4,216
MAGNI Conflict Exhibition		79,000
Make Your Mark		25,918	25,918	28,832	29,565
Mourne Action for Survivors of Terrorism (MAST)		27,414	27,404	44,248	37,303

New Life Counselling Service		20,440	23,965	30,227	82,111
Newforge Brunch Club			3,960	4,540	464
Newry & Mourne Voluntary Welfare Group		4,000	1,910	6,231	6,531
Nexus Institute		12,196	11,196	14,174	14,875
Northern Health & Social Services Board (NHSSB)			222,752	103,646
NHSSB Trauma Advisory Panel	10,630	44,689	53,658	62,173	63,529
NI & Stanford University Hope Project Group		500
NIACRO		4,000
NI Centre for Trauma & Transformation				4,660	500,000
NI Memorial Fund	260,000
NI Music Therapy Trust		76,123	14,642	31,749	33,936
NI Terrorist Victims Together (NITVT)		2,500			3,050
North & West Belfast Trust		161,413	183,735
North Ulster Victims Support Network				2,500	12,594
NOVA Barnardo’s NI		89,083	137,577	138,416	100,242
Omagh Support & Self Help Group		13,367	55,066	56,322	59,955
Pat Finucane Centre		9,882		3,255
Positive Action for Innocent Victims of North Down (PAIN)		110
Restorative Action Following on the Troubles (RAFT)		15,077	17,583	27,465	6,575
REACT			5,399
Regimental Association of the UDR Coleraine		31,847	32,626	31,837	32,051
Regimental Association of the UDR Castlederg					1,284
Relatives for Justice	5,625	97,404	98,723	92,959	107,833
Restorative Justice			1,000
Royal Artillery Association		410	800	600	2,465
RUC GC Association		2,500	2,125	3,950
RUC GC Association Armagh					850
RUC GC Association Banbridge					4,765
RUC GC Association Omagh					19,582
RUC George Cross Foundation					453
RUC Families			5,000	5,000	5,000
Rural Network	2,000
Rural Victim Survivor Network		4,930		25,140
South/North Armagh Victims Encouraging Recognition (SAVER/NAVER)	3,550	72,723	64,899	51,275	94,924
Seeds of Hope		1,000
Shankill Stress & Trauma Group		67,564	65,905	73,367	82,577
Sligo Presbyterian Church		7,500
Society of St Vincent de Paul		3,135
SOLAS Victim Support		1,780	6,725	8,056	2,066
South Down Action for Healing Wounds (SDAHW)		56,734	49,818	58,485	67,097
South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF)		64,077	56,078	75,003	100,867
SELB/WAVE/Queen's University		75,000	139,442	85,000
Southern Health & Social Services Board (SHSSB)		53,000	73,000
SHSSB Trauma Advisory Panel	38,939	58,945	64,929	58,412	80,555
South Derry Ex Prisoners Association					2,500
South Tyrone Voluntary Welfare Group				5,350	6,535
South West Community Victims Initiative		10,000
Sperrin Lakeland Trust	2,047	6,741	58,517	55,845	66,229
Springhill Community Group		30,788	30,788	39,073	52,648

STEER Mental Health	956
Stewartstown & District Support Group		925		300
Strategy Seminars & Victims Conference			16,700
Streetbeat	37,688	34,208	37,577	43,424
Survivors of Trauma	53,472	44,940	43,667	57,102
Tar Anall	1,585		2,000
Tara Centre	46,604	47,069	70,461	64,881
TEAR		1,476	6,680	4,899
The Cross Group	4,172	4,173	4,975	6,375
The Ely Centre	41,433	87,403	75,964	76,616
The Koram Centre		2,600		21,711
The Phoenix Group				35,447
The Wider Circle	33,647	30,998	47,815	53,601
Threshold	49,582
Tinderbox Theatre Company	20,000	44,150	30,200
Tollymore Mountain Centre	7,075	7,711
Top of the Rock		2,420	3,265
Training for Women Network	4,900
Trauma Advisory Panel Residential	3,750			1,587
Trauma Recovery Network			1,000	235
Tullycarnet Victims Support Group				5,400
UDR Association Enniskillen			3,650	800
UDR Association Fivemiletown			590	11,362
United Services Club	22,975	22,976	25,038	27,705
Ulster Special Constabulary Association			12,300	40,221
Victims And Survivors Trust (VAST)	63,067	63,514	52,429	56,758
Victims & Survivors Newsletter			710
Victims & Survivors (NI) Order 2006				2,820

Total	468,322	3,411,454	3,830,845	3,703,668	4,812,427
Victims Unit/Victims Liaison Unit Trauma Awareness Training				1,221
VOICE				4,298
WAVE Trauma Centre	15,115	290,059	223,832	338,969	370,009
West Tyrone Voice		66,294	59,775	69,286	66,081
Western Enterprise , Social, Legal and Educational Victim's Trust		2,147
Western Education & Library Board		27,500	35,000	11,500
Western Health & Social Services Board (WHSSB)				81,659
WHSSB Trauma Advisory Panel	49,735	69,603	70,736	57,421	126,465
Widow's Mite					4,840
Youth Action					65,208
Yarn & Darn			9,412	450	646

In addition, the table below shows OFMDFM’s contribution (25% of the total funding allocated) to the victims measure of the Peace II Programme. A year by year breakdown of these figures is not currently available.

Name of Organisation	Amount
Voices Women's Group	4,264
Relatives for Justice	66,316
Families Achieving Change Together (FACT)	47,701
South/North Armagh Victims Encouraging Recognition (SAVER/NAVER)	58,302
STEER Mental Health	33,986
West Tyrone Voice	39,678
WAVE Trauma Centre	354,431
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR)	44,493
Institute for Counselling and Personal Development	26,201
Survivors of Trauma	57,118
Lisburn Prisoners Support Project	33,356
123 House	31,939
Tar Isteach	39,992
Community Action for Locally Managed Stress (CALMS)	39,857
Shankill Stress & Trauma Group	37,860
Corpus Christi Services	26,177
Ballymurphy Women's Centre	31,513
Sub Committee for Victims	36,447
NOVA Barnardo’s NI	21,838
Sub Committee for Victims	25,000
Columba Community	27,486
Springhill Community House	31,649
Trauma Recovery Network	23,551
Tar Anall	24,450
New Life Counselling Service	33,872
Springvale Training	22,950
CUNAMH	47,203
Disabled Police Officers Association	24,893
Ashton Centre	29,578
Royal National Institute for Deaf People	22,310
Tara Centre	28,579
Fermanagh College	17,400
Firinne	25,438
Victims and Survivors Trust (VAST)	17,759
The Koram Centre	30,395
Holy Trinity Centre	13,062
Dairy Farm Jobclub	27,848
Corpus Christi Services	5,667
The Ely Centre	16,499
Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health	17,815
Royal National Institute for Deaf People	14,337
Survivors of Trauma	14,976
Conflict Trauma Resource Centre	15,423
Prison Service Trust	16,009
Lifeways Psychotherapy & Counselling Centre	15,608
Mourne Action for Survivors of Terrorism (MAST)	4,999
The Wider Circle	1,565
Community Action for Locally Managed Stress (CALMS)	4,721
South Tyrone Empowerment Programme	2,499
Lifespring Health and Healing	2,500
Total	1,637,510

Pay Disparity In All-Ireland Implementation Bodies

Mr W Clarke asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what action he is taking to address the issue of pay disparity between staff from the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Civil Service in the Republic of Ireland, who are employed by some of the all-Ireland implementation bodies, such as Waterways Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge.

(AQO 588/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The Chief Executive Officers of the North/South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland have raised concerns about disparities in pay, between their staff employed in Northern Ireland, whose pay is linked to the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and their staff employed in Ireland, whose pay is linked to the Irish Civil Service.

When the Bodies were established there was relative parity between the levels of civil service pay in Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, in recent years pay awards in the Irish Civil Service have been significantly higher than those in the Northern Ireland Civil Service resulting in pay disparities in the North/South Bodies.

In a joint paper submitted to the NSMC Secretariat, the Chief Executives have said that operational effectiveness has been diminished because of pay disparities and specifically that the recruitment, retention and motivation of personnel were all affected. At the recent NSMC meeting in Institutional Format, it was agreed that officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of Finance would advise their Ministers of the issues and consider the CEO Pay Paper together with additional information provided by the Bodies in the context of relevant national pay policies. Conclusions will be reported to a future NSMC meeting.

Executive Committee Accountability

Mr D McNarry asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what measures the Executive is considering in order to increase the accountability of the Executive Committee, and individual Ministers, to the Assembly.

(AQO 735/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: All Ministers are already accountable to the Assembly through a range of mechanisms. There are the scheduled question times for each Minister and the normal procedures for answering Written questions; Ministerial statements and their subsequent questions sessions; the statements presented to the House following each North South Ministerial Council and British Irish Council meeting; and of course each Minister’s interaction with their Departmental Committee.

As co-chairs of the Executive, we ensure that all relevant Executive decisions are shared with the Assembly immediately after the Executive meeting in which they are taken.

In addition, we have given Junior Ministers responsibility for co-ordinating all Executive business in the Assembly and have asked the Assembly to consider allowing written Ministerial statements, a step which would facilitate the timely reporting of all Ministerial and Executive business.

We consider that collectively these processes provide a robust mechanism by which Ministers can be held to account. We do not believe it necessary to consider any further measures at this time.

Children and Young People

Mr F Molloy asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what steps it is taking to promote children and young people's issues.

(AQO 780/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The Junior Ministers have been given special responsibility for the co-ordination of policy and the promotion of the rights and needs of children and young people.

They have had a series of engagements with the voluntary sector recently, including a meeting with a large group of non-governmental organisations at the office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People to listen to what they considered to be priority issues for children and young people.

The Junior Ministers also recently launched the participation network, which will support statutory agencies and government to engage with children and young people in public decision making. This initiative was started, and has been partly funded by our department.

The Junior Ministers will also take the lead in reviewing and revising as necessary the 10-year strategy for children and young people. A revised action plan for the next 3 years will be developed to show how we plan to address specific issues.

In addition, they will bring forward the implementation of the play policy for 0-18 year olds.

We also propose to provide support for anumber of model projects for children and young people.

Commissioner for Older People

Mr J Spratt asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the progress made towards providing an older persons' commissioner.

(AQO 779/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: We are currently reviewing the case for an Older People’s Commissioner. This will be informed by work to be undertaken by an independent party which will focus, among other things, on potential roles and responsibilities for such an office.

The Central Procurement Directorate has recently invited tenders from organisations wishing to undertake the work.

It is anticipated that the contract will be awarded later this week. The work will include consultation with the Departmental Committee and age sector representative groups and is expected to be completed by the end of November. We will then consider the findings before making a decision.

Programme for Government

Mr R Newton asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail what priority will be given to the economy, within the forthcoming Programme for Government.

(AQO 757/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The Executive launched its draft Programme for Government for public consultation on 25 October. The Programme for Government is framed around five priorities which are focused on addressing the key challenges we face.

Growing a Dynamic and Innovative Economy is our top priority and this has been warmly welcomed by the business community here. Sustainable economic growth and prosperity are vital if we are to provide the opportunities and the means through which we can enhance quality of life, reduce poverty and disadvantage, increase health and well being and build stronger more sustainable and empowered communities. We recognise, however, that each of the priority areas is interconnected and we cannot grow the economy in isolation from determined efforts to transform our society and enhance our environment.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr L Cree asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what is its assessment of the success of Public Private Partnerships, under the terms of its economic policy remit.

(AQO 746/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: In taking forward the Investment Strategy, our priority must be the delivery of high quality, well maintained assets and facilities which can provide effective services for the public, support positive social change and enhance our environment. People using our services must be our priority and understandably they want the timely delivery of investment projects at the least overall cost to the taxpayer. Public Private Partnerships offer one route to deliver these benefits and will only be considered when this is found to be the most appropriate solution, following a rigorous assessment of the costs and benefits.

A number of major projects are planned to be taken forward as Public Private Partnerships under the Investment Strategy published for consultation on 25 October.

Review of Government Departments

Mr A Attwood asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to provide an update on its proposed review of the number of Government departments; to detail the timescale for the review; and to give its assessment of whether or not the number of departments should be significantly reduced.

(AQO 745/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: ‘Building a Better Future’, the draft Programme for Government 2008-2011, contains a commitment to review the overall number of government departments by 2011. We are currently considering the appropriate mechanism for taking forward such a review and will inform the Assembly of our proposals in due course. At this stage, it would be inappropriate to speculate as to the outcome of the review.

Public Appointment Procedures

Mr T Gallagher asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail what public appointment procedures, other than that for the Victims' Commissioner, were initiated prior to devolution, but completed post-devolution; what impact devolution has had on such appointments; and if none, why these public appointment procedures have been treated differently from the Victims' Commissioner appointment process.

(AQO 756/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Eleven public appointment competitions were initiated prior to devolution but completed post-devolution. These competitions involved appointments to the following public bodies:

The Agricultural Wages Board;
The Livestock and Meat Commission;
The Arts Council;
The Architecture and Built Environment Ministerial Advisory Group;
Sport NI;
The Ambulance Service Health and Social Services Trust;
The Blood Transfusion Service Agency;
The Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee;
The Strategic Investment Board;
The Planning Appeals Commission; and
The Water Appeals Commission.

Four of these competitions were directly affected by devolution:

In the case of appointments to the Arts Council and Sport NI, the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure concluded that the pool of successful candidates was not sufficiently large enough from which to make a choice and the competitions were extended and re-advertised.

In the case of the Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee, the proposed appointments were subject to the proposed introduction of legislation, the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2007. However, the Assembly annulled these proposed regulations on 1 October 2007 and as a result the Minister of the Environment was unable to proceed with the appointment process.

In the case of the Strategic Investment Board we decided not to make any appointments from this competition.

Policy Making

Mr S Gardiner asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail whether or not it has carried out an evaluation of the standard of policy making within Northern Ireland Government departments, under its excellence in policy and legislation making remit.

(AQO 778/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: In August 2004, the Policy Innovation Unit in OFMDFM was commissioned to undertake an internal audit of policy-making and legislative capacity across the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The audit sought to establish the degree to which departments were equipped with the particular skills necessary for good policy and legislation making. It also sought to establish the impact of training and improvement initiatives undertaken in these fields across the NICS.

The audit was finalised in November 2005 and work is ongoing, in line with its recommendations, to improve policy and legislation making capacity across departments.

Racial Equality Strategy

Ms C Hanna asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister if it will confirm that it will not adopt the former direct rule Minister's efficiency-saving proposal to scrap ethnic minority funding; and to outline how the department plans to meet its commitment in the Racial Equality Strategy to build capacity in the minority ethnic community.

(AQO 752/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: While Ministers are committed to the delivery of the efficiency targets set out in the Draft Budget 07 document, Ministers have not come to final decisions regarding the package of efficiency measures to be pursued during the Budget period. The proposals put forward by Direct Rule Ministers are currently under review.

It has been widely acknowledged that existing funding has enabled minority ethnic organisations to build capacity and allowed members of the sector to become fully involved in public, economic, social and cultural life here. The exact details of any future funding to support the commitments in the Racial Equality Strategy are still being considered in light of the Budget process, and within the framework of the draft Programme for Government.

Civic Forum

Mr P McGlone asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister if it will provide an update on the timescale for reporting on the future of the Civic Forum; and what action it has taken to progress this issue.

(AQO 754/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: At the Executive meeting on 18 th October 2007, Ministers agreed the Terms of Reference and methodology for a comprehensive review of the structure, membership and role of the Civic Forum.

The review will be progressed quickly but it is not possible at this stage to provide a detailed timetable as we need to appoint an independent facilitator to advise the review team and we intend the review team to canvass views as widely as possible from key stakeholders.

When the review has been completed we will present our proposals to the Executive and to the Assembly.

Engagement with the UK Government

Mr K Robinson asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the general agenda topics raised in its ongoing engagement with the United Kingdom Government.

(AQO 727/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: Engagement with Ministers of the United Kingdom Government normally takes place in the context of the inter-governmental machinery established for that purpose or on matters of interest or concern at a particular time. In this context, our Junior Ministers attend meetings of Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe) chaired by the Foreign Secretary and which considers European Union matters which impinge on devolved responsibilities. In July we hosted the summit meeting of the British Irish Council (BIC) at which discussion took place on the future development of the Council’s work programme. We also met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 2 October for discussion on a range of issues principally relating to reserved and excepted matters of interest to the Executive. Ongoing engagement also takes place at official level in response to business need relating to matters in which OFMDFM and relevant Departments in Whitehall have a common interest.

Commissioner for Older People

Mr P J Bradley asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what plans it has to make the appointment of the Commissioner for Older People a priority in the new financial year.

(AQO 747/08)

The Central Procurement Directorate have recently invited tenders from organisations wishing to undertake the work.

As outlined in “Building a Better Future” the Draft Budget 2008 – 2011, OFMDFM want to give older people a strong independent voice and is committed to ensuring an enhancement of rights for older people and to making a real difference to their day-to-day lives. The work of the review is being taken forward as a matter of urgency and a decision on the issue will be given priority in the coming weeks.

Executive and Assembly Cooperation

Mr S Hamilton asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what action it has taken to increase communication and co-operation between the Executive and the Assembly.

(AQO 772/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: We are committed to building a strong and effective relationship between the Ministers and the Assembly at all levels. We believe that the quality of this relationship provides an important barometer of healthy and effective devolution.

To this end, we have sought to increase the level of communication and co-operation between the Executive and the Assembly by giving responsibility to our Junior Ministers to co-ordinate all Executive business within the Assembly.

In discharging this role, they now routinely attend the meetings of the Assembly Business Committee to assist in the timely and efficient scheduling of Executive Business. They have also been active in encouraging Ministers to make more statements to the Assembly and in seeking to improve the process for notification of Ministerial visits to MLA constituencies.

We remain open however to any other improvements which could be made and would welcome suggestions which any Members may wish to bring forward.

Programme for Government

Mr W Clarke asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the next steps in bringing forward the Programme for Government.

(AQO 788/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The draft Programme for Government 2008-11, draft Investment Strategy 2008-18 and draft Budget 2008-11 documents were launched for public consultation in the Assembly on the 25 th of October 2007. The consultation period on all three documents will last until the 4 th of January 2008.

During this time, officials from OFMDFM, supported by DFP and SIB officials, will hold a small number of public consultation events across Northern Ireland. In addition to these they will meet key stakeholder groups. The Assembly Committees will have an important role to play in considering the documents and we understand that the OFMDFM committee has tabled a ‘take note’ debate on the PfG and the Investment Strategy in the Assembly in mid-November. This will provide an opportunity for us to hear the views of all MLAs, including any major concerns that they may have, at an early stage.

Following the close of the consultation exercise, all the responses that we have received will be carefully considered and revisions made to the draft Programme for Government, draft Investment Strategy and draft Budget as necessary. We will also be reviewing and finalising the Public Service Agreements. The final documents will then need to be agreed by the Executive.

We plan to present the Programme for Government to the Assembly for agreement before the end of January 2008. We would intend to co-ordinate this event with the Investment Strategy and the Budget. Agreement by the end of January is necessary to allow Departments sufficient time to carry out detailed work on their financial allocations and to plan effectively for the new financial year.

Victims' Commissioner

Mr T Elliott asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of the extension given to the process of appointing a Victims' Commissioner and its subsequent delay, to outline what current plans are in place to progress the recommendations of the Interim Victims' Commissioner.

(AQO 739/08)

Rt Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: We are currently considering a draft strategy for victims and survivors which will set out the way forward for policy in this area over the coming years. The recommendations in Bertha McDougall’s report will help both to inform the emerging policy and the work of the Commissioner when appointed. We hope to be in a position to discuss our detailed proposals with the Committee soon.

Agriculture and Rural Development

Tree Felling Licences

Mr J Wells asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what plans she has to introduce tree felling licences in Northern Ireland, similar to those in place in the rest of the United Kingdom.

(AQW 1374/08)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): My Department has completed an extensive review of forestry policy which resulted in the publication of Northern Ireland Forestry: A Strategy for Sustainability and Growth in March 2006 and which confirmed future forest policy and produced a strategy for its delivery.

A key recommendation is to regulate the felling of trees so that woodland owners will be compelled to manage their woods with greater consideration to sustainability, including the timing and extent of felling and the composition of regenerating woodlands.

It will be necessary to amend the Forestry Act (NI) 1953 to give effect to the proposed regulation and I am currently considering this and other amendments to the Act. Once drafted, there will be a formal 13 week consultation period when interested parties will be given the opportunity to comment on the changes and the Bill will also be considered within the Assembly.

Flash Floods

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the criteria used for the recruitment of outside firms to deal with the aftermath of the flash floods on 12 June 2007.

(AQW 1386/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Maintenance and clear up operations following the floods of 12 June 2007 were carried out by DARD Rivers Agency’s own Direct Labour Organisation. No outside firms were employed.

For investigations during and post-flood, the Agency used its Framework Consultants who are procured in accordance with Government procurement procedures. These consultants were already engaged on flood investigation projects in Belfast and were supported by the Agency’s own engineers.

Single Farm Payments

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the numbers of (i) farms that submitted a Single Farm Payment application in 2007; (ii) inspections carried out at 31 October 2007; and (iii) inspections that will be carried out in relation to applications for the 2007 year.

(AQW 1387/08)

Ms M Gildernew: (i) A total of 38,970 applications have been received in respect of the 2007 Single Farm Payment Scheme.

(ii) and (iii) The following tables provide details of the number of applicants selected for inspection in respect of their Single Farm Payment application in 2007 and the number of inspections completed at 31 October 2007.

2007 Single Farm Payment Eligibility Inspections

Eligibility Inspection Authority.	Number of Applicants Selected for Eligibility Inspection in 2007	Number of Eligibility Inspections Completed at 31 October 2007
DARD (Service Delivery Group	1953	1470

2007 Single Farm Payment Cross-Compliance Inspections

Cross-Compliance Competent Control Authority	Number of Applicants Selected for Cross-Compliance Inspection in 2007	Number of Cross-Compliance Inspections Completed at 31 October 2007
DARD (Service Delivery Group	392	GAEC Inspections - 317 Food and Feed Law Inspections – 267
DARD (Veterinary Service	390	299
Environment and Heritage Service	408	252
Health and Safety Executive	390	383

Note:
(i) Each of the 4 Cross-Compliance Competent Control Authorities selects and inspects 1% of applicants for their elements of Cross-Compliance.
(ii) GAEC inspections are carried out during eligibility inspection visits.
(iii) Environment and Heritage Service and Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland figures have been supplied by the relevant Departments.

All-Ireland Animal Health Vetinary Regime

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline her department's policy with regard to the establishment of an all-Ireland animal health vetinary regime.

(AQW 1399/08)

Ms M Gildernew: As I have already announced, the All-island Animal Health and Welfare Strategy is one of my key priorities. I believe that fu ll co-operation on animal health and welfare issues on the island of Ireland has the potential to help reduce and prevent animal disease spread, to facilitate trade in livestock and to improve the sustainability of farming in the North.

Ireland is effectively a single epidemiological unit for disease control purposes. Both parts of the Island therefore have a common interest in preventing the introduction of disease or eradicating it where it occurs. While i t is possible for the Veterinary Services in both jurisdictions to have different approaches to control of disease which reflect our respective structures and industries, we already work closely in a number of areas of veterinary health. These include co-operation on testing regimes for TB and Brucellosis, especially in border areas, and we already have broad alignment of border control policies in order to prevent the introduction of animal disease.

I had very productive discussions on the Strategy with my Ministerial colleague in Dublin, Mary Coughlan TD, at a recent North South Ministerial Council Agricultural Sector meeting. The Strategy that we noted sets out further areas where we can co-operate closely on veterinary matters and where we can seek closer alignment of policy.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Ms A Lo asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail her department's bids in relation to the Comprehensive Spending Review; and to report on what degree of funding has been allocated against them in the draft Budget 2008/11.

(AQW 1444/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The total bids in respect of Current expenditure (i.e. Resource) submitted to DFP by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in relation to the Comprehensive Spending Review, together with Draft Budget allocations, are set out in the table below.

	08/09 £m	09/10 £m	10/11 £m
Total Resource bids	31.91	36.02	41.26
Draft Budget allocations	14.60	25.00	37.70

The total bids for capital expenditure (after deducting capital receipts) and the Draft Budget allocations (net of receipts) are set out in the table below.

	08/09 £m	09/10 £m	10/11 £m
Capital bids	134.86	72.82	69.13
Capital allocations	83.60	28.60	-171.00

The Draft Budget Capital allocation in 2010/11 is based upon a receipt of £200m from the sale of land at Crossnacreevy.

Source of Products

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what consideration she will give to the introduction of legislation requiring restaurants and other eating establishments to display the source of the products being sold.

(AQW 1527/08)

Ms M Gildernew: My Department has responsibility for the labelling of beef, responsibility for the labelling of other food products rests with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) under the Food Labelling Regulations (NI) 1996. DARD inspectors, along with local authority Environmental Health Officers, ensure that all beef on sale, down to retail level but excluding the food service sector, is correctly labelled with origin and traceability information. I have met with representatives of the food service sector as well as other stakeholders and can advise that a voluntary pilot scheme is currently being developed involving origin labelling of beef in a number of local restaurants. This study will provide valuable information on consumer attitudes and preferences and will inform future policy decisions about origin labelling of beef in the food service sector.

Under the FSA’s current legislation, food products do not have to be labelled with origin information, unless failure to do so would mislead the consumer. The FSA is currently consulting with industry on its revised country of origin labelling guidance which is aimed at helping manufacturers, producers, retailers and caterers to comply with the law and to encourage them to give more voluntary origin information in a helpful and informative way.

Local Produce

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what steps she will take to ensure that her colleagues in the Executive source local produce when entering into public procurement arrangements in relation to catering.

(AQW 1528/08)

Ms M Gildernew: EU legislation means that the procurement of food by public sector bodies cannot be solely based on local supply. My Department is actively engaged with the Central Procurement Directorate’s work on the development of a Sustainable Procurement Action Plan for the NI public Sector. Staff from DARD can also assist suppliers to compete more successfully by providing technical support and advice.

My Department has contributed to the success of the RAFAEL project in the North West, which focused on encouraging local food producers to develop and successfully compete for new markets in the public sector, specifically in hospitals and schools. I have written to my Ministerial colleagues in the Departments of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and in Education to see how this type of initiative could be rolled out to other parts of the North, and officials have met to progress. I also intend to write to public procurement bodies in the North reminding them of the high animal welfare and productivity standards of locally produced food.

As a public authority, DARD has a statutory duty under Section 75 of the NI Act 1998 to carry out equality screening. We are fully committed to our meeting equality obligations and screen all of our emerging policies.

DARD will rigorously equality screen all its future public procurement policies relating to Departmental spend, and where significant equality impacts are identified, will also carry out a full Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA).

Rural Development Programme

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what is her assessment of the progress of new delivery mechanisms for the Rural Development Programme.

(AQO 802/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Delivery of the Rural Development Programme is still at an early stage but I am pleased with the progress that has been so far. Under Axis 1 the Short Rotation Coppice programme and the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowances Schemes are open. Under Axis 2 the First Afforestation and Forest Environments measures have continued from the 2001 – 2006 programmes.

Much of the new programme requires that Economic appraisals and statutory regulations are introduced before the programme can put money on the ground. Work is well advanced on these. Statutory Rules are already in place for the new Adding Value to Agricultural and Forestry Product Measure and Improving Marketing Capability Measure and I expect that the Marketing Grant Scheme will be open before the end of the year.

Axis 3 is to be delivered through self defined cluster groups of three or more councils bringing significant benefits for rural dwellers. It will decrease the number of Partnerships that the general public have to deal with, and provide advantages from improved Corporate Governance and financial management. It will also provide for economies of scale and efficiencies particularly in the use of administration funds. In addition councils have a responsibility for many other strategies which lever money into the countryside and I am keen that the Rural Development money can work to add value to these.

Presently my Department is engaged with representatives of councils to brief them on the tasks that now need to be completed both for the formation of Cluster groups and for the competitive selection of Local Action Groups. Indeed I can report today that my officials have received written confirmation of the formation of the first cluster. Another has been approved by councils and we awaited written confirmation. A further three are taking proposals to cluster to council. The remaining two are in consultation. Funding is also being made available to Joint Clusters for these express purposes and for development of Local Development Strategies. This work is continuing at pace and I expect that the Axis 3 measures will be open in Spring next year.

DARD Direct Service

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what is her assessment of the DARD Direct Service pilot programme; and to detail how this will be rolled out.

(AQO 801/08)

Ms M Gildernew: DARD Direct is my Department’s new service delivery approach which is designed to provide a ‘one stop shop’ service to our customers. This ‘one stop shop’ model was piloted at Inishkeen House in Enniskillen and was formally evaluated by Deloitte MCS Ltd. This independent evaluation confirmed that DARD Direct is a more effective and efficient way for my Department to deliver its services to our customers and that DARD should actively consider rolling it out across the North.

I am fully committed to improving customer service and DARD Direct will provide a better service to our customers. I plan to carry out an EQIA on the proposal of a network of 10 DARD Direct offices across the North.

I will make decisions on where DARD Direct ‘one stop shop’ offices will be located following this consultation process. The roll out of DARD Direct will be phased and I expect it to be completed by 2011.

Balmoral Show

Mr D Burnside asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what plans she has to support the future location of the Balmoral Show at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society Show Grounds.

(AQO 725/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The only plans currently in place are those for the NI Government Departments’ exhibition at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society’s 2008 Balmoral Show. My officials have initiated the planning process for this exhibition, which will involve several government departments and extend to some 1000 square meters.

Article 4 and Article 10 Inspections

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the number of article 4 and article 10 inspections that have been carried out on Leader groups; and to detail how this compares with other programme monitoring that falls under her remit.

(AQO 792/08)

Ms M Gildernew: My Department is required by EU Regulation No 438/2001 to carry out Article 4 inspections on all funded projects, and Article 10 inspections on at least 5% of the programme expenditure. To date my department has carried out 589 Leader plus Article 4 inspections representing 52% of the total number required, to ensure compliance with the regulation. A total of 23 Article 10 inspections covering 3.2% of Leader plus programme expenditure have also been conducted.

In comparison with the other EU programmes for which I am responsible, 1294 Article 4 inspections have been completed which is 80% of the total required and 5.7% of all other Programme expenditure has been monitored for compliance with Article 10. This means that the proportion of checks completed for the Leader plus programme is currently less than the number completed for the other DARD EU programmes.

I can confirm that my Department conducts both the Article 4 and 10 inspections in accordance with the guidance issued by the Department of Finance and Personnel and in the same format and frequency as those conducted by other Departments within the North and the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

Rural Development Programme

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the purpose behind the clustering of district council areas in groups of three, in order to administer Rural Development Programme funds; and to detail how this will benefit its development.

(AQO 774/08)

Fish Stocks

Mr W Clarke asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, following the publication of fish stock advice by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, what action she is taking to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the December Council.

(AQO 800/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Last month I met with my English, Scottish and Welsh counterparts in Peterhead to discuss our priorities and to ensure that these are taken up in Brussels in December. I also put our position to the Fisheries Commissioner when I recently met him with Johnathan Shaw and Richard Lochead, and I also met with industry representatives to hear their views and discuss our approach. I am meeting with the industry again in early December and in the meantime we are working hard with the English and Scottish administrations to develop the scientific and economic arguments that will support our case to the Commission.

Local Produce

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what steps she is taking to progress Government procurement of local produce, in order to assist agricultural industries.

(AQO 799/08)

Ms M Gildernew: EU legislation means that the procurement of food by public sector bodies cannot be solely based on local supply. The challenge therefore is to work with suppliers to help them compete more successfully. In tandem my Department is actively engaged with the Central Procurement Directorate’s work on the development of a Sustainable Procurement Action Plan for the NI public Sector.

DARD staff continue to provide technical support and advice to individual farmers or processors, producer groups or co-operatives, large and small to help them engage in public sector contracts.

Staff from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Loughry Campus have supported the Central Procurement Directorate by providing advice on the specifications for public food contracts. In addition they have had an input to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, “Fit for Future” initiative, which aims to improve the nutritional quality of food in hospitals.

The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise provides a comprehensive range of education and training programmes for producers and processors that develop technical and business management skills. College staff can assist with product specification, product development and the adoption of new technology. In addition, the College benchmarking programmes can be used to monitor and identify opportunities for improved efficiency and competitiveness in production systems.

DARD staff have been closely involved with the Rafael (Renaissance of Atlantic Food Authenticity and Economic Links) project, funded by INTERREG which is aimed at encouraging local “authentic” food producers to develop new markets.

The main focus of the project, centred in the North West, is to encourage and support local food producers and processors to develop and successfully compete for business in the public sector, specifically in hospitals and schools.

I have written to my Ministerial colleagues in the Departments of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and Education to see how this type of initiative could be rolled out in the future.

Bluetongue Disease

Mr K McCarthy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide an update on her plans to combat bluetongue disease.

(AQO 762/08)

Ms M Gildernew: There are two main potential routes by which the disease could enter the North of Ireland : by an infected animal; or through an infected midge in a vehicle or wind blown from an affected area. Our veterinary risk assessment is that the main risk to the North at the moment is through the importation of infected animals.

Until 1 November we had banned the importation of live susceptible animals from affected areas in Northern Europe. Animals and their vehicles that travel across the restricted areas were sprayed with insecticide. We carried out post import testing of imported cattle and sheep from continental Europe. We also advised potential importers to request that animals are pre-import tested as an additional precaution.

Due to the Foot and Mouth Disease preventive measures that were reintroduced here on 12 September 2007, ports currently remain closed to the import of live animals from anywhere in Britain, including the bluetongue restricted areas in England.

On 26 October the Commission published a new EU Regulation to come into effect on 1 November 2007. The new Regulation prevents us banning imports from Bluetongue zones and I have therefore asked my staff to extend post import testing to live susceptible animals imported to the North from all parts of continental Europe. My Department will also be issuing revised advice to all importers.

In relation to the possibility of midge transmission, DARD is working with the Met Office to seek advice on the pattern of air movements that may carry midges here. The potential for spread will be lessened by the onset of winter as midges cannot survive in very cold conditions. We have also started surveillance of the midge population in the North.

We are continuing to work closely with Defra and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Dublin to monitor developments. We will continue to liaise very closely with DAFF in Dublin to co-ordinate our preventive actions to protect the whole island from Bluetongue. The Department has also been working in partnership with key stakeholders here on preparedness to deal with the threat of disease, and will continue to do so.

Farm Nutrients Management Scheme

Mr G McHugh asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the uptake of the Farm Nutrients Management Scheme since funding was secured; and to give her assessment of whether or not the scheme will be completed on target, in December 2008.

(AQO 798/08)

Ms M Gildernew: Since June, the Department has made good progress in undertaking pre approval inspections with over 2,900 such visits completed. 2,200 approvals have been issued. Against that, there are indications in some instances that farmers are delaying decisions as long as possible and in others, that work on the ground has been slower over the summer than we would have liked. I have discussed progress with farmers’ representatives and asked them to encourage farmers to provide relevant information as soon as possible so that approvals can be issued. I have also asked them to encourage their members, who have had approval, to proceed with work as quickly as possible. Completing work by December 2008 will be very challenging but to help the individual farmer I have agreed that the end date for submitting a claim, as indicated in approvals, will be extended to December 2008 for all.

Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will make a statement on the current situation regarding bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis.

(AQO 761/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The TB programme here is based on the detection of diseased or high risk animals, the compulsory removal of these animals from their herd of origin to slaughter, and the restriction of movements of cattle from infected herds until they are tested clear. Generally individual animals which test positive are removed rather than the whole herd.

Since 2002, there has been clear evidence of a significant decline in the incidence of TB. The herd incidence peaked in 2002 at 9.93% and has dropped to 5.23% at the end of September 2007. The herd incidence is currently at a similar rate here and in the South.

The brucellosis control programme is based on the detection of diseased or high risk animals. It involves compulsory removal of these animals for slaughter, removal of all in-contact animals, which includes group or whole herd depopulation, and immediate restriction of all movements from or to infected herds until they are depopulated or tested clear. Generally whole herds are depopulated when infected animals are detected.

Over the last few years, there has been clear evidence of significant decline in the incidence of brucellosis from its peak at the start of 2002 when the herd incidence reached 1.43%. Overall, the trend remained downwards until 2006-07 when specific localised disease clusters halted the decline. This recent rise peaked in October 2006 at 0.6% but has since levelled off. Most recent figures show that the annual herd incidence at the end of September 2007 is at 0.52%.

Retailers and Farm Producers

Mr D Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of times she has met with large retailers to discuss their relationship with farm producers.

(AQO 751/08)

Ms M Gildernew: I have met with large retailers on 4 occasions recently to discuss their relationship with farm producers. In June I met with senior headquarters staff from Sainsbury and Tesco in London, and more recently with local senior staff from Tesco and ASDA in the North. In addition, I have had a telephone conversation with Justin King (CEO Sainsbury’s) and an informal meeting with Sir Terry Leahy (CEO Tesco).

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr L Cree asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what steps she is taking to ensure that any changes introduced as a result of the European Commission's 2008 review of the Common Agricultural Policy will benefit agriculture in Northern Ireland.

(AQO 773/08)

Ms M Gildernew: My Department has taken a number of steps to ensure the best possible outcome for the local agricultural industry arising from the European Commission’s review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or CAP Health Check.

In order to inform our position, we have commissioned research on the possible impact on the local agricultural industry of the abolition of milk quotas and increased EU compulsory modulation, which are likely to form the key elements of the Heath Check proposals. The research was conducted by Queen’s University Belfast and the Agri–Food Biosciences Institute in conjunction with the Food, Agricultural and Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri. A report of the findings from this research was published in February 2007.

In conjunction with the agriculture departments in England Scotland and Wales, we are also contributing to ongoing research on the impact at local, UK and EU levels of the abolition of milk quotas.

My officials have taken part in numerous meetings with their counterparts across the UK in order to influence the Commission’s thinking before it publishes its preliminary proposals later this year. The Health Check was discussed at a meeting of UK Agriculture Ministers, which I attended on 19 June, and also at the recent meeting of the North South Ministerial Council held on 9 November.

The Health Check proposals are expected to be published on 20 November 2007 and my Department will be conducting a full public consultation with stakeholders in order to establish our position with respect to the upcoming EU negotiations on the issue.

Removal of Staff and Equipment from Livestock Markets

Mr T Elliott asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development if she will make a statement on her decision to remove her departmental staff and equipment from livestock markets; and to detail the response she received from the Ulster Farmers' Union and the Livestock Auctioneers Association in relation to this issue.

(AQO 769/08)

Ms M Gildernew: The proposal to remove Departmental staff from markets and meat plants has been discussed with the industry for over 3 years. This is absolutely necessary because:-

herd-keepers are legally responsibility for recording movements into and out of holdings and intervention by DARD staff leads to confusion;
DARD needs to make use of its limited staff resource to deal with other priorities. These include action to reduce the prevalence of cattle tuberculosis and brucellosis and continuing threats of exotic diseases such as Avian Influenza, Foot and Mouth Disease and, most recently, Bluetongue.

Shaun Irvine, Chairman of NI Livestock and Auctioneers Association (NILAA) wrote to me on 28 September about the proposal to withdraw DARD staff from markets. Mr Irvine feels that until electronic identification is made available a