§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits and of what length the Chairman of the Parades Commission has made to Northern Ireland since the inception of the Parades Commission. [79178]
§ Mr. IngramThe Chairman of the Parades Commission has paid 100 visits to Northern Ireland, 69 of which have involved one or more overnight stays.
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§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many authorised officers of the Parades Commission have been remunerated over the past 12 months; how they are appointed; and under what terms. [79177]
§ Mr. IngramSince 1 April 1998, a total of 13 persons have been remunerated as Authorised Officers of the Parades Commission. The Authorised Officers are contracted to the Parades Commission by the Mediation Network for Northern Ireland, which is responsible for their appointment and terms of employment.
§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Parades Commission has budgeted for in the coming year for(a) Chairman and Parades Commissioner remuneration, (b) the costs for civil servants seconded to the Parades Commission,(c) the remuneration of authorised officers of the Parades Commission, (d) travelling expenses and (e) office rent. [79173]
§ Mr. IngramThe answers are as follows:
- (a) £180,000 (£30,000 pay costs for Chairman + 6 x £25,000 for Members)
- (b) £254,000 (pay costs for civil servants)
- (c) £84,000 (pay costs for Authorised Officers)
- (d) £35,000 (travelling expenses for Chairman, Members and Secretariat)
- (e) £64,000 (office rent).
§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Parades Commission has(a) spent to date on and (b) budgeted for consultancy, broken down by spending on (i) training of monitors, (ii) monitoring of parades, (iii) opinion surveys, (iv) project planning, (v) recruitment campaigns, (vi) media advice and (vii) legal costs in the coming 12 months. [79172]
§ Mr. Ingram(a) I would refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride) on 17 March 1999, Official Report, columns 697–98. Unfortunately the figure given in my reply was incorrect. The total amount paid for consultancy and related services since the inception of the Parades Commission is £267,000. A breakdown of the expenditure is given here.
£ Training for Stewards/Monitors 42,000 Monitoring research 20,000 Opinion surveys 4,000 Project planning 2,000 Recruitment campaign 10,000 Media and publicity advice and services 122,000 Legal Advice and services 6,000 Surveys, research, other training etc. 31000 Associated costs (advertising, printing etc.) 30,000 (b) The budgeted figure for Consultancy and related services in 1999–2000 is £230,000. This budget is not broken down at this stage into the lower level detail outlined for expenditure to date.
§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will break down the(a) running costs and (b) programme expenditure of the Parades Commission for the coming year by main spending items. [79171]
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§ Mr. IngramThe information is as follows:
- (a) Running costs—£329,000: £254,000 pay and £75,000 general administrative expenditure (travel and subsistence, office equipment, telecommunications etc.).
- (b) Programme cost—£818,000: £64,000 rent, £20,000 publications/printing; £246,000 Mediation Network for Northern Ireland charges, including Authorised Officer costs and related expenditure; £229,000 Commission Members' and Chairman's total costs; £160,000 professional advisers' costs; £50,000 education and monitoring costs; and £49,000 telecommunications, courier charges etc.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she expects to publish the Parades Commission's Annual report. [79176]
§ Mr. IngramThe Parades Commission expects to publish its Annual Report towards the end of April 1999.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will place in the Library a copy of the Parades Commission's consultation document on its proposed changes to its Procedural Rules, the Code of Conduct and Guidelines. [79175]
§ Mr. IngramCopies of the consultation document containing proposed changes to the Code of Conduct, Procedural Rules and Guidelines were placed in the Library of the House on 26 March 1999.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the(a) persons and (b) organisations to whom the Parades Commission has issued for consultation its proposed changes to its Procedural Rules, the Code of Conduct and Guidelines; and if she will (i) provide a list of those who have responded formally to the Parades Commission's consultation document and (ii) make a statement on the further consultation the Parades Commission is undertaking. [79174]
§ Mr. IngramThe Parades Commission has consulted a wide range of individuals and organisations about the proposed changes to its statutory documents. These include loyal orders, residents and community groups, business organisations, churches, academics, voluntary bodies, and political representatives. In addition, the Commission placed public notices in the daily newspapers drawing attention to the consultative process, and posted full details on the Commission's website. Respondents to the consultation have not been advised that their response or identity could be made public. It would therefore be inappropriate to list their names here.
The Commission is considering carefully the responses it has received in relation to the draft statutory documents.