§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons he has not included in the Northern Ireland road safety plan the Local Authority Association's recommendation contained in its road safety code of practice, of a ratio of one road safety education officer per 50,000 of population; and how many road safety education officers there would be in Northern Ireland if this ratio were adopted. [18228]
107W
§ Mr. MossNorthern Ireland's road safety education officer service is a part of an integrated effort involving education, engineering and enforcement. Resources devoted to this effort are being increased considerably year-on-year.
Road safety instruction in schools in Northern Ireland is carried out by schools' own teaching staff, with the advice and guidance of road safety education officers, rather than directly by road safety education officers—as has been the practice throughout most of Great Britain. This substantially increases the effective output of road safety education in Northern Ireland. In view of the different arrangements for the delivery of road safety education, it was decided that this recommendation from the code of good practice was not appropriate.
Were the ratio advocated in the code to be adopted, 31 road safety education officers would be required.
§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the reasons for the reduction in the complement of road safety education officers from 1 April. [18227]
§ Mr. MossFunding for the road safety education officers service has been critically examined in the light of competing demands for resources throughout the
Population aged 16 years and over, born in the Republic of Ireland, in employment in Northern Ireland, by sex, by sector of the economy. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Production Construction Services Total Place of employment Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females Antrim 15 2 15 15 3 2 82 110 115 129 Ards 21 1 17 17 4 2 62 120 104 140 Armagh 25 1 18 16 9 3 142 193 194 213 Ballymena 9 — 18 12 6 2 62 84 95 98 Ballymoney 1 1 2 2 3 — 17 26 23 29 Banbridge 2 3 10 2 2 2 27 36 41 43 Belfast — 1 99 42 29 7 863 1,180 991 1,230 Carrickfergus — 1 9 3 1 1 19 44 29 49 Castlereagh 2 1 25 7 2 3 73 177 102 188 Coleraine 8 2 7 14 2 1 100 120 117 137 Cookstown 3 2 7 4 2 — 26 26 38 32 Craigavon 5 1 67 43 4 2 134 198 210 244 Derry 17 5 141 87 37 4 367 624 562 720 Down 5 3 12 7 3 1 90 126 110 137 Dungannon 21 3 30 14 6 1 76 121 133 139 Fermanagh 111 13 66 54 9 1 240 357 426 425 Larne — 1 14 2 — — 22 35 36 38 Limavady 5 1 7 5 1 — 33 47 46 53 Lisburn 13 1 22 10 10 5 124 161 169 177 Magherafelt 2 2 5 9 5 — 28 34 40 45 Moyle 3 2 2 4 1 — 10 24 16 30 Newry and Mourne 26 7 43 29 19 2 192 349 280 387 Newtownabbey 1 1 27 9 4 3 84 113 116 126 North Down 2 — 17 7 6 2 85 158 110 167 Omagh 38 7 15 12 9 — 109 191 171 210 Strabane 32 5 37 49 12 — 110 105 191 159