HC Deb 27 February 1998 vol 307 cc414-6W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) Catholic and (b) Protestant children are currently in each training school; and what were the figures in each of the previous five years. [31641]

Mr. Ingram

The following is the information:

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will identify the(a) qualifications, (b) gender and (c) perceived religious composition of staff at each grade in each training school. [31624]

>Religion Gender
Protestant R/Catholic None Male Female
Rathgael:
Managers, Administration, Professional, Technical 53 8 10 45 26
Clerical, Support, Others 28 9 11 14 34
St. Patrick's:
Managers, Administration, Professional, Technical 2 36 0 29 9
Clerical, Support, Others 0 18 0 5 13
St. Joseph's:
Managers, Administration, Professional, Technical 1 3 0 0 4
Clerical, Support, Others 0.5 0.2 0 0.2 0.5
Lisnevin:
Managers, Administration, Professional, Technical 41 21 3 45 20
Clerical, Support, Others 36 3 0 13 26

Notes:

1. Training School staff hold qualifications in social work, child care, youth and community and/or teaching.

2. To give fuller details would allow individuals to be identified.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on how the open training schools are classified for use for certain religious groups and the date on which such classifications or changes in classifications were made under the Children and Young Persons (Northern Ireland) Act 1986. [31625]

Mr. Ingram

As St. Patrick's, St. Joseph's and Rathgael (formerly Malone and Whiteabbey) Training Schools were approved before the Children and Young Persons (Northern Ireland) Act was commenced, it was not necessary to classify them under section 137 of that Act. However St. Patrick's Training School is regarded as providing accommodation primarily for Catholic boys while Middletown Justice Centre is classified for use primarily by Catholic girls. Rathgael is not classified by religious denomination, but as most Catholic boys and girls in the open system are accommodated at St. Patrick's and Middletown Catholic Training Schools, in practice most of the children referred to it are Protestant.

Mr. Ingram

The following is the information:

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been undertaken by her Department into bullying,(a) sectarian and (b) other, in training schools.[31627]

Mr. Ingram

Bullying in Training Schools has not been identified as a persistent problem and no research has been carried out.