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North South Implementation Bodies

Volume 459: debated on Tuesday 17 April 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government signed off the financial memorandum relating to each cross-border body established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement. (130487)

The Financial Memoranda (FM) for each cross border body established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement were signed off by Government as shown in the following table.

Cross-border Body

Date FM signed off

Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)

December 1999

Language Body (Foras na Gaeilge/Ulster Scots Agency)

September 2000

Loughs Agency (FCILC)

April 2005 - draft in place from 2000

Food Safety Promotion Board (FSPB)

December 1999

Tourism Ireland Limited (TIL)

July 2001

Intertrade Ireland (ITI)

December 1999

Waterways Ireland

December 1999

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Government are satisfied with the financial and equality provisions in place in respect of cross-border bodies established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement; and whether these correspond with the requirements placed on non-cross-border public bodies within Northern Ireland. (130488)

I am satisfied with the arrangements relating to financial and equality provisions in place in respect of those cross-border bodies established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement and that they are comparable to those placed on other non-cross-border public bodies in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether employees from Northern Ireland working within the cross-border bodies, established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement are subject to the Government's public sector pay policy. (130489)

The cross-border bodies are accountable to the North/South Ministerial Council and are jointly funded by the Northern Ireland public expenditure system and the Irish Government. Northern Ireland staff employed in the cross-border bodies generally follow the NICS pay award and their pay growth is considered, with due regard to public sector pay policy, as part of the business planning process. For these reasons cross-border bodies are currently outside the formal HM Treasury pay remits process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what sub-groups operate (a) under and (b) within the cross-border bodies established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement. (130490)

Details of sub-groups operating (a) under and (b) within the cross-border bodies established in consequence of the Belfast Agreement are provided in the following table.

Name of Body

Sub-groups operating under the body

Sub-groups operating within the body

Waterways Ireland

Audit Committee

Directors Group

Marketing Advisory Group

Management Consultative Group

Regional Managers Forum

Health and Safety Committee

Regional Safety Committee

Organisational Review Steering Group

Policy Steering Group

Equality steering Group

Internal Equality Consultation Group

Industrial Relations Forum

Partnership Forum with following sub-groups: Customer Services sub-group; Merit Award sub-group; Time Banking sub-group; Review of Partnership sub-group.

NTSN Steering Group

Bye-Laws Working Group

Purchase Order Procedures Group

IT Steering Group

Assets Steering Group

Personal Injuries Assessment Board Group

Trade and Business Development Body—InterTrade Ireland

FUSION Steering Committee

Board Audit Committee

Equity Network Steering Committee

Board Equality Sub-Committee

Acumen Management Committee

Board Human Resources Sub-Committee

BioMed Ireland Steering Committee

Board Communications Sub-Committee

All Island Software Network Steering Committee

All Island Polymer and Plastics Steering Committee

All Island Learning Networks Steering Committee

MicroTrade Steering Group

FOCUS Steering Committee

INNOVA Steering Committee

Expertise Ireland Steering Group

The Food Safety Promotion Board

None

FSPB Advisory Board

FSPS Scientific Advisory Committee

Internal Audit Committee

Language Body—Ulster Scots Agency

Internal Audit Committee

Language Body—Foras na Gaeilge

Internal Audit Committee

Policy Committee

Grants Committee

Appeal Committee

Newspaper and Magazines Committee

Remuneration Committee

The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission

Loughs Agency

Marine Tourism Sub-Committee

Audit, Finance and Personnel Sub-Committee

Shellfish and Aquaculture Sub-Committee

Salmon and Inland Fisheries Sub-Committee

Advisory Forum

Marine Tourism including Water Based Leisure Focus Group

Shellfish and Aquaculture Focus Group

Environmental Focus Group

Salmon and Inland Fisheries Focus Group

Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries Bill

Consultation Focus Group

Tourism Ireland

Tourism Marketing Partnership

Risk Management Committee

Industry Steering Groups

Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Special EU Programmes Body

Antrim Local Strategy Partnership

Audit Committee

Ards Local Strategy Partnership

Armagh Local Strategy Partnership

Ballymena Local Strategy Partnership

Ballymoney Local Strategy Partnership

Banbridge Local Strategy Partnership

Belfast Local Strategy Partnership

Border Action

Carrickfergus Local Strategy Partnership

Castlereagh Local Strategy Partnership

Coleraine Local Strategy Partnership

COMET INTERREG IIIA Partnership

Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (CFNI)

Community Relations Council (CRC)

Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT)

Co-operation Ireland

Cookstown Local Strategy Partnership

Craigavon Local Strategy Partnership

Derry Local Strategy Partnership

Down District Local Strategy Partnership

East Border Region INTERREG IIIA Partnership

Educational Guidance Service for Adults (EGSA)

Fermanagh Local Strategy Partnership

Irish Central Area Border Network INTERREG IIIA Partnership

Larne Local Strategy Partnership

Limavady Local Strategy Partnership

Lisburn Local Strategy Partnership

Magherafelt Local Strategy Partnership

Moyle Local Strategy Partnership

Newry and Mourne Local Strategy Partnership

Newtownabbey Local Strategy Partnership

North Down Local Strategy Partnership

North East INTERREG IIIA Partnership

North West Region Cross Border INTERREG IIIA Partnership

NIPPA—the Early Years Organisation

Omagh Local Strategy Partnership

Playboard

PROTEUS

Rural Development Council (RDC)

South Tyrone Area Partnership

Strabane Local Strategy Partnership

Training for Women Network (TWN)

Youth Education Social Inclusion Partnership (YESIP)

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department on (a) the North/South Language Body and (b) the Ulster-Scots Agency in each year since its formation. (130492)

The amount of funding from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for the North/South Language Body and the Ulster-Scots Agency each year since its formation is shown in the following table.

£ million

North South language body

Ulster-Scots Agency

2000

2.303

0.5

2001

3.5

0.97

2002

3.71

1.07

2003

4.005

1.155

2004

4.561

1.337

2005

4.599

1.357

2006

5.095

1.61

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by the (a) North/South Language Body and (b) Ulster- Scots Agency; and what the source of the funding for these posts is. (130493)

The number of people employed by the North/South Language Body and the Ulster-Scots Agency and their source of funding is shown in the following table.

Number of staff

Funding source

North/South Language Body (Foras na Gaeilge and Ulster- Scots Agency)

54 (permanent)

Sponsoring Departments (Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in NI, and Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of Ireland)

2 (secondees)

4 (temporary)

3 (project)

Special European Union Programme Body

Total

63

Ulster-Scots Agency

11

Sponsoring Departments Fixed Term appointments

3

SEUPB project

Total

14

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget of the (a) North/South Language Body and (b) Ulster-Scots Agency was in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07. (130494)

The financial year for all the North-South implementation bodies is the calendar year. The budgets for the 2004, 2005 and 2006 years are shown in the following table.

£ million

2004

2005

2006

North/South Language Body

14.683

14.777

15. 837

Ulster-Scots Agency

1.784

1.809

2. 132