Question - 10/06/08 

To ask the Minister for Social Development what types of gambling are classed as illegal gambling.
 
Answer

Gambling activities in Northern Ireland (other than the National Lottery) are regulated by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and its associated subordinate legislation.

The legal status of any gambling activity may only be authoritatively determined by a court.
 

Question - 05/06/08 

To ask the Minister for Social Development what financial assistance her Department gives to Age Concern to provide free rural transport.

Answer

My department does not give any assistance to Age Concern to provide free rural transport. The issue of rural transport in Northern Ireland is primarily a matter of concern for the Department for Regional Development. 

Question - 02/06/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development what financial help is available towards the cost of funeral payments, for people in receipt of (i) Income Support; (ii) Job Seeker's Allowance; (iii) Disability Living Allowance; and (iv) Incapacity Benefit.
 

Answer 

Funeral Payments are available under the Social Fund Scheme to help individuals who are on low income, have responsibility for arranging a funeral and have insufficient funds to meet the costs involved. An individual or their partner may be eligible for a Funeral Payment if they are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based), Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit or Pension Credit. The Funeral Payment is intended to meet the costs of a simple, respectful, low cost funeral and is recoverable from any money available from the deceased’s estate. Receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Incapacity Benefit alone does not meet the qualifying conditions for a Funeral Payment.

Question - 13/05/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development to provide a breakdown of the people entitled to winter fuel payments.

Answer
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Any person over the age of 60 in the qualifying week (which is usually the third week in September) and who is resident in Great Britain or Northern Ireland is entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment.

Question - 13/05/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development what financial help is available to people on (i) Income Support; (ii) Incapacity Benefit; and (iii) Disability Living Allowance, in relation to increasing fuel and food costs.

Answer
  
Social security benefits, including Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance, are normally up-rated in April of each year by the Retail Prices Index. The Retail Price Index takes account of changes in the costs of a wide range of goods and services, including food and fuel. Income Support is up-rated in line with an index based on the Retail Prices Index less housing costs known as the Rossi index. This index reflects the cost of living increases for income-related benefit recipients since housing costs are separately provided for under those benefits.

Other sources of help include:

 - The Warm Homes Scheme - a grant scheme which provides a package of energy efficiency and heating measures, up to the value of £850. The Scheme is aimed at householders in the private sector who fall within the eligible groups. The eligible groups include householders of any age who have a child under 16 and are in receipt of Income Support and householders of any age who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance.

 - Cold Weather Payments provide financial assistance with extra heating costs during spells when the average temperature is, or is forecast to be 0 degrees centigrade over seven consecutive days. Those in receipt of Income Support with a child under the age of 5 are eligible to receive these payments.

 - Winter Fuel Payments provide assistance for older people, who may be in receipt of Incapacity Benefit or Disability Living Allowance 

Question - 14/04/08 

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties in the Magherafelt District Council area, broken down by house type.
 

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive had the following stock in the Magherafelt District Council area at March 2008.

Question - 14/04/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties in the Cookstown District Council area, broken down by house type.

Answer 

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive had the following stock in the Cookstown District Council area at March 2008.

Question - 18/02/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the reasons for the withdrawal of planning application I/2007/0523/F, related to the erection of a new Jobs and Benefits office on Fairhill Road, Cookstown.

Answer
 

The Social Security Agency remains committed to the roll-out of a Jobs and Benefits service in Cookstown to ensure that clients benefit from the same enhanced work focused service which is available elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Whilst a planning application was submitted for a new office on the existing site at Fairhill Road, Cookstown, Roads Service raised a number of issues regarding the level of on-site car parking which could be provided. As these issues could not be resolved, a decision was taken to withdraw the planning application. A further planning application will be submitted once a way forward has been agreed

Question -  29/01/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development what plans she has to increase the social housing stock in the (i) Magherafelt District Council area; and (ii) Cookstown District Council area.
  

Answer 

The current Social Housing Development Programme makes provision for 83 homes for Magherafelt (16 homes in 2009/10, 52 in 2010/11 and 15 in 2011/12) and 34 homes for Cookstown (3 homes in 2007/08, 6 in 2101/11 and 25 in 2011/12).

Question - 29/01/08

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of people currently on the waiting list for Housing Executive properties in the (i) Cookstown District Council area; and (ii) Magerafelt District Council area.

Answer

At 31 December 2007 there were (i) 387 applicants on the waiting list for Cookstown and (ii) 488 applicants on the waiting list for Magherafelt.

Question - 20/11/07

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the current plans to upgrade the Social Security office in Cookstown to a Jobs and Benefits office.

Answer

The Social Security Agency remains committed to the roll-out of a Jobs & Benefits service in Cookstown to ensure that clients benefit from the same enhanced work focused service which is available elsewhere in Northern Ireland. However, the Agency is also carrying out a Strategic Business Review to examine how best to deliver services to the public in the future. The outcome of this Review will determine whether the Cookstown office will provide a Jobs and Benefits service only, or if it will also include a (back-office) benefits processing centre.

Question - 05/06/07 

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of Housing Executive properties in Cookstown and Magherafelt where asbestos has been identified.

Answer

The Housing Executive has commissioned surveys covering 294 of its dwellings in Cookstown, and 375 in Magherafelt to identify the presence of asbestos.
The surveys carried out to date have highlighted the presence of asbestos in 52 dwellings in the Coolnafranky Estate in Cookstown which requires remedial work to be carried out.
Preliminary results from survey reports for the Greenvale and Ratheen estates in Cookstown indicate that a further 38 dwellings will require similar remedial work.
No properties within the Magherafelt area have yet been found to require such remedial work.
A special scheme for asbestos remedial work to the affected dwellings in Coolnafranky Estate has been tendered. Work will commence in July 2007 and should be completed within three months.
Subsequently the Coolnafranky scheme will be extended to include any remedial work required to dwellings at Greenvale and Ratheen.

Question - 05/06/07 

To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail what plans she has to facilitate the removal of asbestos within Housing Executive properties in Cookstown and Magherafelt; and if she will give a timescale for the completion of this work.

Answer

The Housing Executive has commissioned surveys covering 294 of its dwellings in Cookstown, and 375 in Magherafelt to identify the presence of asbestos.
The surveys carried out to date have highlighted the presence of asbestos in 52 dwellings in the Coolnafranky Estate in Cookstown which requires remedial work to be carried out.
Preliminary results from survey reports for the Greenvale and Ratheen estates in Cookstown indicate that a further 38 dwellings will require similar remedial work.
No properties within the Magherafelt area have yet been found to require such remedial work.
A special scheme for asbestos remedial work to the affected dwellings in Coolnafranky Estate has been tendered. Work will commence in July 2007 and should be completed within three months.
Subsequently the Coolnafranky scheme will be extended to include any remedial work required to dwellings at Greenvale and Ratheen.