§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) individuals of (i) Chinese and (ii) Asian ethnicity and (b) members of the travelling community he estimates live in Northern Ireland. [13835]
§ Mr. AncramNo official estimates have been made of the size of the Chinese and Asian communities in Northern Ireland. In 1996 the university of Ulster carried out research, commissioned by the Government's central community relations unit and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, which estimated between 3,125 and 5,125 members of the Chinese community, 1,050 members of the Indian community and 641 members of the Pakistani community.
501WA Government survey in March 1993 estimated that there were 1,115 members of the Irish traveller community in Northern Ireland. The 1996 university of Ulster study gave an estimate of 1,366.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of(a) assault, (b) damage to property and (c) verbal racial abuse towards members of ethnic minority communities were reported in 1996 in Norther Ireland. [13836]
§ Sir John WheelerFigures for 1996 are not yet available for publication.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents assessed by the RUC to be racially motivated have been reported in each of the last five years. [13837]
§ Sir John WheelerFigures for the past five years are not available.
In 1995, without a legislation framework, the Royal Ulster Constabulary voluntarily undertook the monitoring of racial incidents among the ethnic minorities using the Association of Chief Police Officers guidelines for England and Wales.
A total of 66 racial incidents were reported to the police in 1995; the nature of the incident reported is shown:
- Assault: 10
- Damage to properly: 27
- Verbal abuse: 20
- Intimidation (phone call): 1
- Other: 8
It is felt that the number of incidents reported is less than the actual number that occurred. Through building a network of contacts with representative groups, and the provision of advice and support to victims, the RUC hopes to encourage victims to report every incident.