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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 12 November 1992
NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Language
Dr. Hendron : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to promote the Irish language in education, including nursery, primary, secondary and university levels.
Mr. Hanley : Government do not directly promote the teaching of the Irish language but has, through the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989, provided a statutory curriculum for grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland within which any school may offer teaching of the Irish language if it so chooses.
The Department of Education also grant-aids two voluntary maintained primary schools in Belfast in which teaching is conducted through the medium of Irish. There is also an Irish-medium unit at Steeltown primary school, Londonderry.
The Department has not funded the provision of Irish-medium nursery schools, in the light of the financial priority which has had to be accorded to nursery education in general and the number of outstanding proposals for nursery schools.
In addition, the Department of Education has :
introduced a prescribed programme of study for Irish for pupils receiving their primary education through the medium of Irish ; provided for the development by the Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council of assessment materials in Irish for pupils receiving their primary education through the medium of Irish ; and
provided for the development by the Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council of a special Irish GCSE examination for pupils who have received their primary education through the medium of Irish.
Universities are autonomous and independent institutions and are, as such, entirely responsible for both the range and the content of courses provided by them including those involving Irish language.
Council of Ministers
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the Council of Ministers he has attended during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Council of Ministers.
Public Record Office
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many papers his Department has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office ; if he will list their titles ; and when he estimates that they will be returned.
Mr. Mates : None. The Northern Ireland Office has been creating records only since 1972--hence no papers
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have been transferred to the Public Records Office. The Northern Ireland Departments transfer their records to the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.SCOTLAND
Council of Ministers
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings of the Council of Ministers he has attended during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Council of Ministers.
Mr. Allan Stewart : My right hon. Friend has not attended any meetings of the Council of Ministers but my hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland has attended two Councils ; the Fisheries Council on 19 October as head of the United Kingdom delegation ; and the Agriculture Council on 26 October. On the occasions where Scottish Office Ministers do not personally attend they are represented at all EC Council meetings by senior officials or by their colleagues in the United Kingdom Government.
Domestic Water Supply
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many domestic water disconnections have taken place in Scotland in each of the past 20 years ;
(2) if he will specify the authority under which water authorities in Scotland are empowered to seek domestic disconnections.
Sir Hector Monro : Scottish water authorities have no statutory authority to seek permanent domestic disconnections. Water supplies to domestic consumers may be disconnected only for short term operational reasons, for example to undertake repairs, make connections or plumbing alterations. Information on the number of such disconnections is not held centrally.
Ernst and Young
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what tendering procedures were carried out by Highlands and Islands Enterprise prior to the awarding of a contract to Ernst and Young, to perform the former functions of Highlands and Islands Enterprise's management unit.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Highlands and Islands Enterprise carefully considered the experience of locally established firms and concluded that negotiations concentrating on value for money would be more appropriate than tendering. Discussions with Ernst and Young were conducted on this basis.
Road Accidents
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, broken down by road user group and age category, the numbers of people (a) slightly injured, (b) seriously injured and (c) killed on(i) motorways, (ii) built up roads and (iii) non-built up roads in each local authority area in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested amounts to 220 pages and I am therefore arranging that it be lodged in the House of Commons Library.
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Warrant Sales
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many warrant sales have been conducted in Scotland, in each of the past five years by sheriffdom.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Provisional figures for numbers of warrant sales reported to the Sheriff Courts from 1987 to 1991 are set out by sheriffdom in the table :
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