Nigel Dodds: Hear, hear.
Nigel Dodds: What was the result?
Nigel Dodds: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am delighted that the newly installed Minister is taking so much time to recall, and to remind the House of, the Democratic Unionist Party victories chalked up by Dr Paisley. I hope that he will continue in that vein by mentioning other European election results and the results of the recent Westminster elections. The motion deals with Sinn Féin’s being...
Nigel Dodds: I have listened carefully to the various contributions made in this short debate. Some points were relevant to the motion; many were not. Interestingly, proponents of the motion seemed to spend little time on the motion and veered to wider issues, whereas those opposing it actually dealt with the issues. That may reflect that fact that — as several Members pointed out — the motion as...
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to issue his response to the report of the House of Lords Committee inquiry into the Chinook helicopter crash in 1994.
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents of criminal damage against (a) police stations and (b) police vehicles in Northern Ireland were reported in 2000.
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents of criminal assault were recorded in each year since 1997 in Northern Ireland relating to the use of fireworks.
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of people promoted in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years had served at their previous grade for more than one year.
Nigel Dodds: In the current financial year, 55% of appeals against decisions to disallow disability living allowance were successful. However, 25% of all appeals against disability living allowance decisions, including those in dispute of awards at lower than the maximum rate, were successful.
Nigel Dodds: That is a cause for concern. However, the latest figures show that on average it takes 72 days to prepare each appeal and to pass it to the appeals service. There have been 615 appeals this year, in comparison with the 1,219 appeals that awaited referral to the appeals service at this time last year. The situation is improving, but I would be happy to examine any specific cases that the...
Nigel Dodds: It is impossible to give guarantees on anything in life, particularly when it comes to the Assembly. However, if we proceed to consultation in the near future, I have no doubt that we will be able to get this legislation on to the statute book well before the deadline for next year’s Assembly elections. However, if there is further slippage and the Bill does not come out of OFMDFM, where it...
Nigel Dodds: The Committee has had, and will continue to have, a very legitimate role in the consultation process on the Bill. Mr Hamilton is aware that the Committee recently brought forward a report that was debated in the House and was broadly in line with the provisions in the Bill. There is sometimes a tendency when a Bill comes forward to look, not so much at what is in it, but at what else could be...
Nigel Dodds: The Housing Executive proposes to carry out multi-element improvements to 47 dwellings in Rathfriland at an estimated cost of more than £1 million. That scheme is programmed to start on site in the 2003-04 financial year, subject to the availability of finance at that time.
Nigel Dodds: The Member will know that the Housing Executive, as in other areas, has a planned programme of work that depends on its assessment of need. At present, the Housing Executive does not envisage that the Rathfriland scheme can be started earlier than planned. The Member asks whether there is any possibility that the scheme can be brought forward. If the Assembly were to make additional funding...
Nigel Dodds: No costs were incurred in 1999-2000. In 2000-01, the cost was £7,753. To date, the cost for this year has been £20,992. Those figures do not include time spent by staff in producing the documents, as separate records for such costs are not maintained.
Nigel Dodds: I recognise that question, as I was present for the earlier set of questions. The Member has evidently decided that he will not spend too much time thinking up new or tricky questions. As a Minister, one issue about which I hear all the time is the need for consultation. Members of the House, its Committees and other people continually ask me whether there has been consultation. If I were to...
Nigel Dodds: If the Member looks at the cost of each of the questions that he has tabled on the matter, he would have had at least another £520, perhaps, to spend on hip replacements, rather than being here today.
Nigel Dodds: The expenditure incurred by the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is a matter for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Members will raise the issue of wastage, as they have in the past. Consultation is important, and the Department for Social Development does not pay lip service to it. We take people’s views into consideration. The areas for which...
Nigel Dodds: I attended the launch of the report into lifetime homes, and I welcomed its publication. In 1997, the then Department of the Environment adopted lifetime homes principles for the social housing programme in Northern Ireland. In 1998, the housing association grant payable to registered housing associations for social housing schemes was adjusted to provide additional funding to support this...
Nigel Dodds: The costs associated with providing a house to lifetime homes standards is an issue for builders and contractors. However, implementing it would be a saving to the public purse for many years. The additional cost depends on the size, layout, design and specification of the home. The report on lifetime homes estimates the additional cost to be between £165 and £545. However, the overall...