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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Airport
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the amount spent on (a) accountants, (b) consultants, (c) lawyers and (d) other professionals in relation to the privatisation of Belfast airport. [1867]
Mr. Moss: The Department spent a total of £3.426 million on privatisation costs. It is not the practice to disclose the remuneration for individual consultancies.
Timber (Construction Use)
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to promote the greater use of timber in the construction industry; and if he will make a statement. [1760]
Mr. Moss: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.
Nursery Vouchers
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what administrative action he has taken to assist the introduction of the nursery education voucher programme. [1689]
Mr. Ancram: Action has been taken on a number of fronts as follows:
- 1. A consultation document on the proposed operation of the nursery voucher scheme in Northern Ireland was issued in April 1996.
- 2. The Department of Education has been involved in the tendering process to select the company to administer the voucher scheme nationally. Discussions are taking place with
7 Nov 1996 : Column: 676
- education and library boards about funding mechanisms, and arrangements are being made for the inspection and registration of providers. General publicity about the scheme is planned for early 1997.
- 3. The Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment has prepared a pre-school curriculum for Northern Ireland.
- 4. An Order in Council to provide the powers necessary to implement the voucher scheme is expected to be laid before Parliament during November.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the per capita expenditure on the administration of the nursery education voucher programme. [1690]
Mr. Ancram: The estimated per capita expenditure on the administration of the nursery education voucher programme in Northern Ireland is £9.17.
General National Vocational Qualifications
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number, percentage and type of schools involved in the development of GNVQ programmes in secondary education in Northern Ireland and the range of subject areas involved. [1691]
Mr. Ancram: The number and percentage of schools involved in the delivery of full GNVQs in Northern Ireland were as follows:
- 1992-93: 6 (2.5 per cent.)
- 1993-94: 65 (28 per cent.)
- 1994-95: 86 (36.6 per cent.)
- 1995-96: Not available
- 1996-97: Not available.
The number of schools involved in piloting part 1 GNVQ were:
The range of subject areas offered for full GNVQs are:
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the capital expenditure on (a) nursery, (b) primary, (c) secondary and (d) further education in each of the past five years. [1692]
Mr. Ancram:
Capital expenditure by education and library boards on controlled schools and further education colleges, and grants paid by the Department of Education on approved capital expenditure incurred by voluntary and grant-maintained integrated schools for each of the financial years 1990-91 to 1994-95 is set out in the following table.
7 Nov 1996 : Column: 677
1995-96: 9 (3.9 per cent.)
1996-97: 15 (6.4 per cent.)
Art and Design 1
Built Environment
Business 2
Health and Social Care 2
Hospitality and Catering
Information Technology 1
Leisure and Tourism 1
Manufacturing Science 2
1 Also offered as part I from September 1995.
2 Also offered as part I from September 1996.
| £ million | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nursery schools | Primary schools | Secondary schools (including grammar) | Further education colleges |
| 1990-91 | 0.426 | 11.263 | 41.317 | 7.598 |
| 1991-92 | 0.428 | 11.106 | 44.043 | 5.553 |
| 1992-93 | 0.475 | 15.160 | 45.754 | 8.524 |
| 1993-94 | 0.788 | 16.797 | 42.786 | 7.393 |
| 1994-95 | 0.855 | 18.442 | 43.548 | 7.956 |
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what projects have been committed under the private finance initiative to date; and what projects are under consideration. [1693]
Sir John Wheeler: Projects committed under the private finance initiative to date include a contract energy services scheme at Holywell hospital, car parking facilities at the Royal group of hospitals, and leasing of medical and other equipment. Details of PFI projects currently under consideration are given in the table:
| Project | |
|---|---|
| Bangor and Kinnegar sewerage treatment works | Design, build, finance and operate |
| Hydro-electric project | Hydro Electric Scheme |
| Westlink urban motorway | Design, build, finance and operate |
| Motorway emergency telephone system | Replace and operate system |
| Strangford ferry | Replace ferry |
| Holywood road, social security office | Government office accommodation |
| Hydebank | Government Office Accommodation |
| Driver and Vehicle Testing Agencies vehicle testing project | Vehicle testing and IT |
| Land Registry IT system | Computerisation |
| Planning Service IT system | Computerisation |
| Antrim bus station library | Bus station library |
| Ulsterbus/ Citybus | Bus replacement |
| Northern Ireland Railways | Class 80 R stock replacement |
| Ulster folk and transport museum | Visitor centre |
| North-West institute of further and higher education | Add. Teaching Accom. |
| Belfast institute of further and higher education | Add. Teaching Accom. |
| St. Genevieve's High school | New accommodation |
| Drumglass high school | New accommodation |
| Wellington college | Refurbishment |
| Balmoral high school | Refurbishment |
| Ulster hospital | Extension/ Refurbishment |
| Downe hospital | New block/ Refurbishment |
| Belfast city hospital | New renal dialysis facs |
| Belfast city hospital | Car park facilities/site |
| Causeway hospital | Contract energy services |
| Daisy hill hospital | Renal dialysis facilities. |
| Craigavon area hospital | Contract energy services |
The Department of Education is also undertaking a market sounding study of its schools estate in order to assess the wider potential for PFI in respect of over 100 high-priority schools projects.
7 Nov 1996 : Column: 678
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the national targets for education and training for the year 2000; and what has been the Northern Ireland achievement against those targets in each of the past five years. [1694]
Mr. Ancram:
The following national targets for education and training for the year 2000 apply in Northern Ireland:
The information available about progress in Northern Ireland towards those targets is as follows:
Foundation Learning
(1) By age 19, 85 per cent. of young people to achieve five GCSEs at grade C or above, an intermediate GNVQ or an NVQ level 2.
(2) By age 19, 75 per cent. of young people to achieve level 2 competence in communication, numeracy and information technology; and 35 per cent. to achieve level 3 competence in these skills by age 21.
(3) By age 21, 60 per cent. of young people to achieve two A-levels, and advanced GNVQ or an NVQ level 3.
Lifetime Learning
(1) 60 per cent. of the work force to be qualified to NVQ level 3 advanced GNVQ or two A-level standard.
(2) 30 per cent. of the work force to have a vocational, professional, management or academic qualification at NVQ level 4 or above.
(3) 70 per cent. of all organisations employing 200 or more employees, and 35 per cent. of those employing 50 or more, to be recognised as investors in people.
| Percentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | |
| Foundation target 1 | 56.4 | 63.2 | 64.5 | n/a |
| Foundation target 3 | 41.0 | 43.0 | 42.5 | n/a |
n/a = not available.
| Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |
| Lifetime target 1 | 34 | 36 | 37 |
| Lifetime target 2 | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| Lifetime target 3 | |||
| percentage of organisations with 200 or more employees recognised as investors | 0 | 1 | |
| percentage of organisations with 50 or more employees recognised as investors | 0.5 | 1 |
Note:
There is currently no measure for foundation target 2.
Source:
(31) Labour Force Survey (Spring).
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