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12 Nov 2003 : Column 372W—continued
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the results of the Department of Social Development study into whether a section of the community and voluntary sector in Northern Ireland requires an alternative to lottery-based funding will be published; and if he will make a statement. [137666]
Mr. Spellar: The Voluntary and Community Unit (VCU) within the Department for Social Development (DSD) commissioned research jointly with the Community Relations Council to assess the level of access to lottery funds by religious groups and the impact on groups with religious objections to applying for lottery funding. Work is under way to prepare a summary publication of the results of the research for general release. There is no specific date for publication but it is anticipated that this will take place in the new year.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has overall policy responsibility for lottery funding and officials from VCU will discuss the research findings with DCMS in due course.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the results of the review of the enriched curriculum trial in the Belfast Education and Library Board area will be made available. [137660]
Jane Kennedy: This is a four-year study and the results should be available around the autumn of 2004. Some interim results on pupils at the end of year 3 have been made available to individual schools in the Shankill area of Belfast for information.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications to the Disabled Grants Scheme are outstanding; and what plans he has to introduce targets to speed up the application process. [137664]
Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many GP practices within the Eastern Board are (a) accepting and (b) refusing to accept new patients onto their lists. [137807]
Angela Smith: There are 184 GP practices in the Eastern Board and according to the information currently held by the Central Services Agency (CSA) they are all accepting patients, and no GP has notified the CSA that they have closed their list.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) jobs have been lost and (b) new jobs have been created in Northern Ireland in the past year. [137804]
Mr. Pearson: Over the 12 months to 7 November 2003, there were 4,957 redundancies in Northern Ireland confirmed to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
Information on the number of jobs created is not available. However, figures from the NI Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) can be used to estimate the net change in employee jobs during the past year. Latest figures from the June 2003 QES showed that there were 667,610 employee jobs in Northern Ireland. This represented an increase of 5,650 (0.9 per cent.) from the figure for June 2002.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Government of the Republic of Ireland regarding the promotion of an integrated energy market on the island of Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [137669]
Mr. Pearson: I met Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in July 2003 to consider further cross-border cooperation on energy in the context of the planned European single market for electricity and gas by 2007.
The discussion covered cross-border electricity trading arrangements, electricity systems interconnection and integration, all-island gas network, regulatory collaboration, climate change, emissions and renewable energy, and energy efficiency polices. We agreed that both Governments have a shared interest in more open and competitive energy markets, reduced energy costs and improved reliability of supply; and that any integration of energy markets should be mutually beneficial.
A joint steering group of senior officials from the two lead departments (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources) and the two regulatory authorities has been established to oversee on-going work on cross-border energy issues.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been charged with (a) selling fireworks illegally and (b) other fireworks offences in 2003. [137798]
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Jane Kennedy: The Police Service of Northern Ireland, whose responsibility it is to enforce the fireworks regulations, do not centrally collate statistics on persons charged with selling fireworks illegally or other offences in respect of fireworks.
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what year the last annual report of the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland was published; when he expects to publish the outstanding annual reports; and what the reasons are for delays in publication. [135862]
Angela Smith: The Annual Report for the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland for the year ended 31 December 2001 was laid in the Northern Ireland Assembly in December 2002. Copies of the Board's Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2002 will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses, and in the Northern Ireland Assembly Library, at the end of November or early December 2003. There have been no significant delays in publishing the FCB Annual Reports.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many intensive care beds there are in Northern Ireland. [137812]
Angela Smith: The information is shown in the following table.
| Provider Trust | Acute | Mental Health |
|---|---|---|
| Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust | 7 | 0 |
| Mater Infirmorum HSS Trust | 3 | 0 |
| The Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust | 15 | 0 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust | 6 | 0 |
| Causeway HSS Trust | 6 | 0 |
| Homefirst Community HSS Trust | 0 | 18 |
| United Hospitals HSS Trust | 6 | 0 |
| Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust | 0 | 14 |
| Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust | 7 | 0 |
| Altnagelvin Area Hospitals HSS Trust | 5 | 0 |
| Foyle Community HSS Trust | 0 | 8 |
| Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust | 0 | 10 |
| Northern Ireland | 55 | 50 |
Source:Northern Ireland HPSS Trusts
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to protect medical staff in Northern Ireland from violent attacks. [137800]
Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is concerned about violent attacks against all staff working in the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) and regards such incidents as totally unacceptable.
Guidance, recommending the successful NHS initiative, "Zero Tolerance", was issued to Employing Authorities in the HPSS in February 2000 and the
12 Nov 2003 : Column 375W
Department set up a working group in February 2002 to examine the current arrangements for reducing the potential risks of violence against HPSS staff. The group reported in December 2002. After a period of consultation the Department issued further guidance and a final report to HPSS employers in September 2003. The Department has made the report available on the HPSS Extranet and has encouraged employers to share its contents widely with Professional Directors and those Directors responsible for programmes of care and facilities where staff may be exposed to risk with a view to reducing the risk of violence to all HPSS staff.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many in-patient beds there are for child and adolescent psychiatry in Northern Ireland. [137805]
Angela Smith: In 2002–03 there were, on average, 31 in-patient beds available for child and adolescent psychiatry.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many inpatient beds there are in Northern Ireland for addictions treatment. [137806]
Angela Smith: The information is shown in the table.
| Provider Trust | Number of beds in Northern Ireland, designated for the treatment of addictions |
|---|---|
| Down and Lisburn HSS Trust | 14 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust | 7 |
| Homefirst Community HSS Trust | 10 |
| United Hospitals HSS Trust | 6 |
| Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust | 10 |
| Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust | 7 |
| Northern Ireland | 54 |
Source:
Northern Ireland HPSS Trusts
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