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Police Authority
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total work force of the Police Authority, including staff seconded from the Civil Service; and what is their gender and perceived religious/community origin. [13074]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 6 November 1997]: The Police Authority for Northern Ireland provides an annual monitoring return to the Fair Employment Commission in respect of the gender and perceived religious affiliation of its work force.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Total number of employees | 3,489 |
| (a) Gender | |
| Male | 1,242 |
| Female | 2,247 |
| (b) Perceived religious affiliation | |
| Protestant | 2,885 |
| Roman Catholic | 414 |
| Not determined | 190 |
Robert Hamill
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what inquiries are presently under way into the circumstances of the death of Robert Hamill in
27 Nov 1997 : Column: 634
Portadown town centre on 27 April; and what assurances she has given the nationalist community that the RUC will protect the right to life of all citizens without prejudice. [13064]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 6 November 1997]: Inquiries into the death of Robert Hamill are on-going and papers have been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary has given and will continue to give all the citizens the full protection of the law without prejudice.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the result of the police investigation into the hoax bomb alert in Markethill on 27 September; and what action the Director of Public Prosecutions intends to take. [15900]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 18 November 1997]: The Police have conducted a thorough enquiry into the events in Markethill on 27 September 1997.
The file is now with the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration.
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the names of the members of the Southern Area Health and Social Services Board. [17022]
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Mr. Worthington:
The membership of the Southern Health and Social Services Board is:
Mr. John D. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the proposed Orange telephone mast at Portavogie has received planning permission; if the Ards Borough Council was consulted; what representations she received in connection with this mast; and if she will make a statement. [17433]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 26 November 1997:
Rev. Martin Smyth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will refer the rationalisation of the Royal Victoria and City Hospital to the National Audit Office to examine the reasons for proposed capital expenditure at a time when beds are vacant. [17768]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 25 November 1997]: No. The Eastern Health and Social Services Board with the Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospitals Health and Social Services Trust and the Belfast City Hospital Health and Social Services Trust, as part of the on-going process of rationalisation, are currently considering a range of options for the utilisation of capacity being freed up at Belfast City Hospital.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at what (i) age and, (ii) mileage an ambulance is expected to have reached the end of its normal working life; how many and what percentage of
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ambulances are beyond that normal span (a) in Northern Ireland and (b) in each health and social services board area. [17357]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 25 November 1997]: DHSS Guidelines for the replacement of accident and emergency ambulances stipulate that those vehicles should be replaced after they have reached seven years of age or whenever they have covered 140,000 miles, whichever is the sooner. For non-emergency ambulances this is five years or 70,000 miles.
In Northern Ireland, 22 representing 17 per cent. of Accident and Emergency Ambulances are beyond the normal span of age and mileage. Seventy-four non-emergency ambulances representing 88 per cent. are beyond the normal span of age and mileage.
The position in each Board area is given in the following table.
Mr. W. F. Gillespie--Chairman
Non-Executive members
Mr. J. Brown
Mrs. M. K. P. Hagan
Mr. S. T. Hogan
Mrs. S. G. Ingram
Mrs. J. Power
Mr. D. J. Ryan
Executive members
Mr. B. Cunningham--Chief Executive
Dr. A. Telford--Director of Public Health
Mrs. S. Reid--Director of Commissioning and Planning
Mr. S. McKeever--Director of Finance
Mr. R. Blair--Director of Social Services
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the proposed Orange telephone mast at Portavogie.
The mast in question has planning permission as it is permitted development by virtue of Article 3 and Part 17 of Schedule 1 to the Planning (General Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 1993. Ards Borough Council was not consulted on the proposal, and no written representations have been received by Planning Service in connection with this mast.
I do hope this clarifies the position.
| Number in Board area | North | South | East | West | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number in board area | 37 | 30 | 39 | 27 | 133 |
| Exceed on both | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
| Age and mileage (per cent.) | 38 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 17 |
| North | South | East | West | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number in board area | 16 | 14 | 38 | 16 | 84 |
| Exceed on both | 16 | 13 | 30 | 15 | 74 |
| Age and mileage (per cent.) | 100 | 92 | 79 | 93 | 88 |
Health Expenditure
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will estimate the total real level of her Department's planned expenditure on health in 1995-96 prices in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-9; and what such figures were for (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 1998-99, following the November 1996 budget on the basis of the estimates of the GDP deflator contained in that Budget. [17566]
Mr. Worthington [holding answer 25 November 1997]: The figures requested are as follows: (a) £1,565 million, (b) £1,544 million, (i) £1,576 million and (ii) £1,570 million. The figure for (b) reflects the spending plans of the previous Government as 1998-99 public expenditure reallocations for the individual Northern Ireland programmes will not be announced until early December.
Jubilee Maternity Hospital
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many job losses the proposed transfer of the Jubilee Maternity Hospital will entail. [17767]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 25 November 1997]: I have asked the Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospitals HSS Trust and the Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust to work closely together to take forward the arrangements for the transfer of services from the Jubilee. There are no indications of job losses at this early stage of the process.
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Rev. Martin Smyth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the proposed cancer centre at the Belfast City Hospital will be operational. [17764]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 25 November 1997]: The time scale for the establishment of a regional cancer centre will be considered when consultation on the future location of radiotherapy services has been completed and a detailed business case agreed for the capital investment required.
Rev. Martin Smyth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the funding provided for updating Belvoir Park Hospital will result in increased funds for treatment of cancer patients. [17766]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 25 November 1997]: No specific funding has been identified for updating Belvoir Park Hospital. Bids essential for the maintenance of a quality service at Belvoir will, however, be considered sympathetically.
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