David Cairns (Inverclyde, Labour)

The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.

Letter from Katharine Bryan, dated 23 January 2007: You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about what change in operating costs he expects for Northern Ireland Water Limited as a result of the Draft Street Works (Amendment) Order over the next five years (110849).

I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service. Proposed legislation has not yet been introduced and therefore implications of such cannot be fully determined at this time. However, a provisional high level cost estimate developed within Water Service in 2005, determined a cost of approximately £16 million per annum. The greater proportion of the costs, 94 per cent., is attributable to engineering costs towards the requirement for full/half carriageway reinstatement and lane rental. The remainder of the costs included an allowance for permits, direction making powers, programme overrun penalties and administration.

I trust you find this satisfactory.

David Cairns (Inverclyde, Labour) 

 The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.

Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 26 January 2007: You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland five Parliamentary Questions: -

(i) what the value is of the contract with National Car Parks (NCP) to manage parking enforcement throughout Northern Ireland; (ii) how the revenue generated by parking enforcement tickets under the new traffic attendant system will be used; (iii) how much revenue has been generated since the new traffic attendant system managed by NCP came into operation; and how much revenue was generated in the last comparable period under the previous parking enforcement system; (iv) how many people are employed under the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland; and (v) whether the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland provides for performance bonuses for the (a) chief executive and (b) traffic wardens.

I have been asked to reply as the issues raised fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service. For ease of reference, I will reply in the order listed above. (i) National Car Parks contract value. As you may be aware our contract with NCP includes for the management of Roads Service's off-street charged car parks as well as the enforcement of on-street parking and waiting restrictions. If NCP provides the appropriate level of service, as measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) under the terms of the contract, a performance related payment, over and above the actual costs to NCP, will be made each month. I must stress that these KPIs do not relate to the number of tickets issued by Traffic Attendants. Under the terms of the contract the maximum annual amount payable to NCP will be £8,848,698.38. This sum includes the maximum performance related payment.

(ii) How the revenue from parking charge notices will be used. The revenue generated by the payment of penalty charge notices is used, along with income from car parking and other charges, to supplement the overall financing of Roads Service by Central Government. Based on current levels of tickets issued and payment rates, income from penalty charges will not cover the total cost of the NCP contract.

(iii) Value of revenue generated since the introduction of the new Traffic attendant system compared with the same period last year. Since the introduction of the new Traffic Attendant system managed by NCP, £614,700 has been paid so far to Roads Service as a result of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) (both on-street and off-street) during the period 13 November 2006 to 22 January 2007. With regard to the second part of your question, we do not have the figures for the equivalent period last year as on-street parking was managed by the PSNI. However, I can give you an indication of the number of on-street PCNs being issued under the new system compared to parking tickets issued under the old system. Since the introduction of the new system some 25,551 on-street PCNs have been issued. This equates to an annual figure of approximately 133,000 PCNs compared to an annual average of 66,000 on-street parking tickets issued by PSNI.

(iv) The number of people employed by NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland. I have been advised that NCP currently employ 371 staff in Northern Ireland to manage parking enforcement and operate the contract with Roads Service.

(v) Performance bonuses. I can advise that the contract Roads Service has with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland does not provide for bonuses to any NCP staff members, including their Chief Executive or Traffic Attendants.

David Hanson (Delyn, Labour)

Owner occupiers who are awarded housing benefit by the Rate Collection Agency receive a credit to their rate account rather than a payment. Currently 6,500 awards of housing benefit to rate accounts are outstanding. Work to resolve the issue is ongoing.

Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe & Sale East, Labour)

Mental Health in-patient services for adolescents are provided in only one trust in Northern Ireland, that being South and East Belfast HSS trust. There are insufficient beds at present to meet demand.

Only five beds are currently open in the interim inpatient unit at Knockbracken (South and East Belfast HSS trust) due to staffing difficulties, although the unit has capacity for eight beds with the potential to eventually move to 12 beds. The situation is kept under active review with the aim of increasing the number of beds as soon as possible.

There are plans to build a new 18 bed mental health adolescent inpatient unit to replace the existing inpatient facilities at Knockbracken. This is due to be completed in 2008-09. This unit will help alleviate the current problem of insufficient provision of in-patient beds for this service.