QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
ON WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2008
Questions to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
Questions to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Questions to the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Questions to the Minister of Education
Questions to the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Questions to the Minister of the Environment
Questions to the Minister of Finance and Personnel
Questions to the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Questions to the Minister for Regional Development
Questions to the Minister for Social Development
Questions to the Assembly Commission
Questions to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
1. Mr McGlone(Mid Ulster):
To ask the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister what representation has been made to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in relation to the proposed downsizing and relocation of jobs from their offices in Craigavon, Newry and Banbridge.
(AQW 8801/08)
2. Mr Moutray(Upper Bann):
To ask the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many complaints it has received in relation to the possible adverse effect on community relations of Halloween bonfires in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8807/08)
3. Mr Storey(North Antrim):
To ask the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, pursuant to his answer to AQO 4118/08, if it will consider amending all existing equality legislation to include guaranteeing the right to religious expression.
(AQW 8823/08)
4. Mr Weir(North Down):
To ask the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister how many cases were submitted to the Planning Appeals Commission on the grounds of non-determination in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8828/08)
Questions to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
1. Mr Shannon(Strangford):
To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what discussions she has had with Farmers' Unions to improve safety on farms.
(AQW 8827/08)
Questions to the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure
1. Mr Moutray(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how many complaints his Department has received in relation to Halloween bonfires in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8808/08)
Questions to the Minister of Education
1. Mr Simpson(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to her answer to AQW 7869/08, to confirm that under devolution she has no power to unilaterally abolish (i) academic selection; and (ii) the Dickson Plan for education.
(AQW 8811/08)
2. Mr Storey(North Antrim):
To ask the Minister of Education how many surplus school places there are (i) in total; and (ii) as a percentage of the total number of places, in each sector.
(AQW 8826/08)
3. Mr Weir(North Down):
To ask the Minister of Education how many nursery schools in the North Down constituency applied for additional places for the (i) 2008-09; and (ii) 2009-10, academic years; and to detail (a) the nursery schools that were refused additional places, and (b) the reasons for refusal.
(AQW 8825/08)
4. Mr Weir(North Down):
To ask the Minister of Education what schools in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area have mobile classrooms; and how many there are in each school.
(AQW 8832/08)
5. Mr Weir(North Down):
To ask the Minister of Education what action she is taking to replace mobile classrooms in schools.
(AQW 8833/08)
Questions to the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
1. Mr Savage(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment if cross border illegal trade and smuggling will be addressed in the next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council, given the potential of such activities to undercut the work that has been achieved with InterTrade Ireland.
(AQW 8794/08)
Questions to the Minister of the Environment
1. Mr I McCrea(Mid Ulster):
To ask the Minister of the Environment what legal fees have been incurred for each area plan over the last five years.
(AQW 8836/08)
2. Mr Moutray(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister of the Environment how many complaints his Department has received in relation to the possible adverse environmental effect of Halloween bonfires in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8806/08)
Questions to the Minister of Finance and Personnel
1. Mr Shannon(Strangford):
To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel what action his Department is taking to re-locate single mothers within the civil service, who take a career break due to the birth of a child, to positions that are closer to their home.
(AQW 8829/08)
Questions to the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
1. Mr Burns(South Antrim):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail all dental services available in Randalstown; and to state which dentists provide Health Service treatment.
(AQW 8842/08)
2. Mr Burns(South Antrim):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the availability of treatment for patients with Parkinson’s Disease and to provide a comparison of available resources, including beds and nurse to patient ratios, between Northern Ireland and other regions of the UK.
(AQW 8844/08)
3. Mr Burns(South Antrim):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans he has to direct additional resources towards treating Parkinson’s disease.
(AQW 8845/08)
4. Mr McCarthy(Strangford):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when a final decision must be made on the number of Health and Social Care councils.
(AQW 8813/08)
5. Mr I McCrea(Mid Ulster):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if his target date of 30 June for Health and Social Care Employers to have all staff on ‘agency for change’ rates of pay has been met.
(AQW 8837/08)
6. Mr Moutray(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many complaints his Department has received in relation to the possible damage to public health caused by Halloween bonfires in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8805/08)
Questions to the Minister for Regional Development
1. Mr Burns(South Antrim):
To ask the Minister for Regional Development what work is scheduled to be undertaken in Crumlin, Glenavy, Toome, Randalstown and Mallusk by NI Water and the Roads Service in July and August.
(AQW 8846/08)
2. Dr Farry(North Down):
To ask the Minister for Regional Development what representations his Department made in the consultation process leading to the UK Government White Paper 'The Future of Air Transport' 2003.
(AQW 8817/08)
3. Mr McGlone(Mid Ulster):
To ask the Minister for Regional Development what steps have been taken to ensure that the Smart Pass allowing free travel for pensioners is being recognised in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
(AQW 8800/08)
Questions to the Minister for Social Development
1. Mr Burns(South Antrim):
To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail any major initiatives being undertaken by her Department in the South Antrim constituency in the next 6 months.
(AQW 8843/08)
2. Dr Farry(North Down):
To ask the Minister for Social Development for her assessment of the desire for mixed, shared or integrated housing.
(AQW 8814/08)
3. Dr Farry(North Down):
To ask the Minister for Social Development for her assessment of the problems encountered in providing suitable public housing for persons in mixed marriages or relationships within a segregated system.
(AQW 8815/08)
4. Dr Farry(North Down):
To ask the Minister for Social Development, based on figures from the 2001 census, to give the number of people living in segregated areas (i.e. areas in which more than 90% of people come from a particular community background), broken down by community background.
(AQW 8816/08)
5. Dr Farry(North Down):
To ask the Minister for Social Development for her assessment of public views on her Department's performance in the delivery of mixed housing, based upon the Northern Ireland Life and Times Surveys and other reports.
(AQW 8818/08)
6. Mr Shannon(Strangford):
To ask the Minister for Social Development what steps she is taking to encourage those people over 60 years of age and in receipt of benefits to have their homes upgraded under the Warm Homes Scheme.
(AQW 8834/08)
7. Mr Simpson(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister for Social Development how many people are classed as being homeless for more than six months (i) in total; and (ii) broken down by district council area.
(AQW 8809/08)
8. Mr Simpson(Upper Bann):
To ask the Minister for Social Development how many people are classed as being homeless (i) in total; and (ii) broken down by district council area.
(AQW 8810/08)
9. Mr Storey(North Antrim):
To ask the Minister for Social Development how many people were in receipt of Disability Living Allowance in total, in each of the last 3 years, broken down by (i) parliamentary constituency; (ii) District Council area; and (iii) Social Security Office.
(AQW 8820/08)
10. Mr Storey(North Antrim):
To ask the Minister for Social Development how many people were in receipt of Incapacity Benefit in total, in each of the last 3 years, broken down by (i) parliamentary constituency; (ii) District Council area; and (iii) Social Security Office.
(AQW 8821/08)
11. Mr Storey(North Antrim):
To ask the Minister for Social Development how many complaints the Housing Executive has received about (i) damp; and (ii) condensation problems, in each of the last 3 years, broken down by District Office.
(AQW 8822/08)
Questions to the Assembly Commission
1. Mr Weir(North Down):
To ask the Assembly Commission how many away days and team-building exercises have been organised by the Commission for Assembly staff in each of the last five years.
(AQW 8824/08)