House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Apr 2006 (pt 27)

Public Bodies (Membership)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the membership of the (a) Eastern Border Counties Region, (b) Irish Cross Border Area Network and (c) North West Regional Cross Border Group, broken down by (i) nominating council and (ii) political affiliation. [64358]

Angela E. Smith: The cross border organisations to which the hon. Member refers were all formed by local councils. Those councils are solely responsible for

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nominating members to both the organisations and to their boards and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on their composition.

Pupil Exclusions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the exclusion rates were for the 100 (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Northern Ireland with the (i) highest and (ii) lowest percentage of children receiving free school meals in each the last three years. [65993]

Angela E. Smith: The Department of Education does not collect all the requested information.

The following table details the number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils, in the 100 primary and post primary schools with the highest percentage of free school meals entitlement.

Number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils

Primary schools Post primary schools

2002–03 54 522

2003–04 53 559

2004–05 59 540

	Number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils
	Primary schools	Post primary schools
2002–03	54	522
2003–04	53	559
2004–05	59	540

The following table details the number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils, in the 100 primary and post primary schools with the lowest percentage of free school meals entitlement.

Number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils

Primary schools Post primary schools

2002–03 3 155

2003–04 5 158

2004–05 2 156

Note:
Figures relate to pupils in post primary schools and in year 1 to year 7 in primary schools.

	Number of pupils suspended per 10,000 pupils
	Primary schools	Post primary schools
2002–03	3	155
2003–04	5	158
2004–05	2	156

Schools (Assaults)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the incidence of reported violence towards (a) staff and (b) pupils was in the 100 (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Northern Ireland with the (A) highest and (B) lowest percentage of children receiving free school meals in each of the last three years. [66088]

Angela E. Smith: The Department of Education does not collect all the information requested.

Statistics on the reasons for suspensions (fixed term exclusions) have been gathered annually, since the 2002–03 school year, from each Education and Library Board.

	Primary schools	Post primary schools
	Physical attack on staff	Physical attack on pupils	Physical attack on staff	Physical attack on pupils
2002–03⁽³³⁾	31	49	190	1,028
2003–04⁽³³⁾	27	45	159	1,193
2004–05⁽³⁴⁾	24	57	117	983

The following table details the number of occasions where pupils were suspended for physical attacks on (a) staff and (b) pupils, in the 100 primary and post primary schools with the lowest percentage of free school meals entitlement:
Number of occasions

Primary schools ⁽³⁵⁾
Post primary schools

Physical attack on staff Physical attack on pupils Physical attack on staff Physical attack on pupils

2002–03⁽³³⁾ 0 <5 38 335

2003–04⁽³³⁾ 0 <5 31 344

2004–05⁽³⁴⁾ <5 <5 29 358

⁽³³⁾ The count of occasions is based on each record of suspension identified by the ELB. In some instances, longer periods of suspension may have more than one record.
⁽³⁴⁾ The count of occasions is based on each incidence of suspension, where an incident is defined as a count from the first day a pupil is suspended until the last day suspended.
⁽³⁵⁾ To be consistent with the National Statistics Code of Practice (Protocol on Data Access and Confidentiality), and in accordance with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency's compliance statement on Confidentiality and Access, a statistical disclosure technique has been employed to meet the confidentiality guarantee. Small cell sizes (counts of 1–4 pupils) have been denoted as <5 rather than state the precise number.

	Primary schools ⁽³⁵⁾	Post primary schools
	Physical attack on staff	Physical attack on pupils	Physical attack on staff	Physical attack on pupils
2002–03⁽³³⁾	0	<5	38	335
2003–04⁽³³⁾	0	<5	31	344
2004–05⁽³⁴⁾	<5	<5	29	358

Stillbirths

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many babies have been stillborn in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what percentage of the total this figure represents. [65346]

Angela E. Smith: The following table gives the number of stillbirths registered in Northern Ireland and the percentage of all live births and stillbirths this represents (2001–5):

Registration year
Stillbirths (number) Percentage of all live births and stillbirths

2001 112 0.5

2002 122 0.6

2003 108 0.5

2004 113 0.5

2005 (Provisional) 90 0.4

Registration year	Stillbirths (number)	Percentage of all live births and stillbirths
2001	112	0.5
2002	122	0.6
2003	108	0.5
2004	113	0.5
2005 (Provisional)	90	0.4

Teacher Training

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people qualified from teacher training in Northern Ireland in each year between 1995 and 2005. [65344]

Angela E. Smith: Students gaining initial teacher training qualifications at NI higher education institutions 1994–95 to 2004–05 are as follows:

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Number of qualifications obtained

1994–95 751

1995–96 774

1996–97 753

1997–98 644

1998–99 649

1999–2000 635

2000–01 700

2001–02 716

2002–03 772

2003–04 779

2004–05 804

Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency.

	Number of qualifications obtained
1994–95	751
1995–96	774
1996–97	753
1997–98	644
1998–99	649
1999–2000	635
2000–01	700
2001–02	716
2002–03	772
2003–04	779
2004–05	804

Unemployment Statistics

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change was in the number of people unemployed in East Londonderry constituency between March 2001 and March 2006. [65341]

Angela E. Smith: The change in the number of people unemployed in East Londonderry constituency between March 2001 and March 2006 was a decrease of 714 persons, equivalent to a 29.9 per cent. decrease. The corresponding levels are provided in the table as follows.

Claimant count

East Londonderry PCA Number Percentage

March 2001 2,386 —

March 2006 1,672 —

Change 2001 to 2006 -714 -29. 9

	Claimant count
East Londonderry PCA	Number	Percentage
March 2001	2,386	—
March 2006	1,672	—
Change 2001 to 2006	-714	-29. 9

Vehicle Excise Duty

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the rates of vehicle excise duty evasion were in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency in each year between 2000 and 2005. [65310]

Angela E. Smith: Roadside surveys of evasion of vehicle excise duty are carried out across the UK by the Department of Transport, which has responsibility for the registration and licensing of vehicles. No surveys were undertaken in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Surveys were carried out in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Figures are produced for the whole of Northern Ireland only; figures are not available for individual parliamentary constituencies.

The rate of evasion of vehicle excise duty by vehicles in traffic in each survey is set out in the following table.

Year of survey Rate of evasion in traffic (Percentage)

2002 8.2

2004 7.2

2005 5.4

Year of survey	Rate of evasion in traffic (Percentage)
2002	8.2
2004	7.2
2005	5.4

Waterways (Pollution)

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were prosecuted in Northern Ireland between 2000 and 2005 for offences connected with pollution of waterways. [65864]

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Angela E. Smith: The number of prosecutions for water pollution offences which occurred during each of the years 2000–05 are as shown.

Because it can take over a year for a case to come to court, a number of prosecution cases from 2005 and some from 2004 are still pending a verdict in court. These pending prosecutions are included in the figures provided.

Year in which pollution offence occurred Number of prosecutions

2000 83

2001 109

2002 101

2003 123

2004 ⁽³⁶⁾63

2005 ⁽³⁷⁾9

⁽³⁶⁾ Plus 17 cases pending.
⁽³⁷⁾ Plus 51 cases pending.

Year in which pollution offence occurred	Number of prosecutions
2000	83
2001	109
2002	101
2003	123
2004	⁽³⁶⁾63
2005	⁽³⁷⁾9

It should be noted that, between 1996 and 2005 there was a reduction in the number of water pollution incidents from 2,055 to 1,175, a reduction of some 43 per cent.

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