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Rural White Paper
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to produce a rural White Paper for Northern Ireland. [17106]
Mr. Moss: There are no plans at present to produce a rural White Paper for Northern Ireland. Apart from the range of Government policies covering Northern Ireland as a whole, rural areas are specifically addressed by some 16 existing and policy statements. In addition, there is a series of financial programmes targeted at the economic and social revitalisation of the most disadvantaged rural areas in Northern Ireland through community projects and partnerships with local people. A recently published report commissioned by the Department of Agriculture highlighted the considerable success of the rural development programme since its launch in 1991 and it continues to serve as an effective instrument in tackling the needs of rural areas in Northern Ireland.
Existing Government policies and programmes for rural areas of Northern Ireland therefore compare very favourably with those in other parts of the UK. My Department will continue to keep abreast of policy developments affecting rural areas on the mainland and, where appropriate, will consider their adoption in Northern Ireland.
Department of Health and Social Security Services (Maladministration)
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding the DHSS arrangements for considering financial redress where maladministration has occurred. [17107]
Mr. Moss:
The Department of Health and Social Services is committed to making its services more responsive to the needs of its customers, operating financial redress where appropriate. Since 1977, the Department has operated arrangements whereby financial redress can be made to a customer who has suffered a financial loss through maladministration. These arrangements mirror those operated by the Department of Social Security. While the arrangements have been updated periodically since then, a major review, covering
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the whole of the United Kingdom, has recently been completed. The review, which took account of the principles contained in the Office of Public Service and Treasury guidance and concerns raised by the GB Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the parliamentary ombudsman for Northern Ireland, has resulted in the production of a revised set of arrangements.
The revised arrangements provide the basis for a consistent approach to complaints across agencies and offer a more sympathetic attitude to cases where official error has occurred, but no financial loss has been experienced. They also ensure more equitable treatment in the consideration of compensation payments when moneys due are unnecessarily delayed. In line with the remainder of the United Kingdom, the revised arrangements are effective from 1 January 1997. A copy of "Financial Redress for Maladministration",--DHSS(NI), which provides detailed guidance will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Brazier:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set for the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency during 1997-98. [17108]
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WALES
Mentally Ill People
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of cases of abuse of mentally ill people in community care in Wales which (a) are currently under investigation and (b) have been reported in each of the last five years; of those investigated, how many and what percentage have resulted in (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction; and if he will make a statement. [12951]
Mr. Jonathan Evans [holding answer 27 January 1997]: The Welsh Office has made no such estimate.
Hospital Beds
Mrs. Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each year since 1979 the numbers of (a) registered beds and (b) occupied beds in (i) registered private hospitals or clinics, (ii) registered private nursing homes and (iii) all registered establishments in Wales, showing separately those which were for (1) acute specialties, (2) mental illness, (3) people with learning difficulties, (4) people with physical disabilities, (5) maternity and (6) other purposes. [14545]
Mr. Gwilym Jones:
The information on registered beds is given in the following table. Information on occupied beds is not collected centrally and no information on bed numbers is available before 1982.
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(41) Includes other general beds.
(42) General elderly beds not classified as acute.
(43) Terminal illness.
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Mr. Alan W. Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) farmers' incomes and (b) the economy of Wales of the European ban on UK beef exports. [15479]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
Total income from farming in Wales is estimated to have fallen by 4.4 per cent. in 1996. This is due to a range of factors, including BSE. Output from the cattle sector in Wales is estimated to have fallen by just under 23 per cent. in 1996. However, this reduction in output is largely offset by compensation and support measures put in place by the Government. The Department is co-sponsoring an independent study to provide a comprehensive assessment of the economic impact of BSE.
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