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NORTHERN IRELAND

Beta-interferon

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Beta-Interferon will be available for sufferers of multiple sclerosis in Northern Ireland. [95837]

Mr. Browne : I refer the hon. Lady to my answer of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 114W.

Corporal Punishment

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the office of Law Reform in the Department of Finance and Personnel to have completed its analysis of the responses to the public consultation on "Physical Punishment in the Home-Thinking about the Issues, Looking at the Evidence". [91351]

Mr. Pearson : I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 377W.

Departmental Underspending

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are being taken to deal with departmental underspends; and if he will make a statement. [95096]

Mr. Pearson: I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr. Donaldson) on 13 January 2003, Official Report, column 426W).

Dysphasia

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people have been diagnosed with dysphasia in the last five years in each of the Education and Library Board areas. [96662]

Mr. Browne: The information requested is not available.

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Fair Employment Tribunals

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been made to Fair Employment Tribunals in each of the past three years; and what percentage in each year were settled or withdrawn before the case reached tribunal hearing. [93932]

Jane Kennedy: The information for the last three years is set out in the following table.

Year	Total complaints	Percentage of which were withdrawn or settled before full tribunal hearing1
2000	561	30
2001	613	23
2002	481	6

⁽³¹⁾ The information relates to complaints withdrawn or settled before progressing to a full hearing. In a number of cases some preliminary hearings or hearings of directions will have taken place.

Giant's Causeway

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future development of the Giant's Causeway. [94452]

Angela Smith: The Giant's Causeway has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in recognition of its international importance to the conservation of geological features. It is one of only three natural World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom.

World Heritage Sites are places or buildings of outstanding heritage value and, accordingly, the Department of the Environment attaches great importance to their protection for the benefit of future generations as well as our own. Planning policies for the protection of World Heritage Sites applicable to the Giant's Causeway are set out in the Planning Policy Statement (PPS 6): Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage. I believe that these policies are proving effective in protecting the Causeway and its immediate vicinity. Development proposals affecting the Giant's Causeway and its setting are carefully scrutinised in order to determine the impact on critical views of and from the site, access and public approaches to the site, and its appreciation and enjoyment by visitors.

The Department is reviewing the planning policy framework for the Giant's Causeway and its setting. The Department's Environment and Heritage Service is preparing management plans for the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the World Heritage Site. The Planning Service is preparing a new statutory development plan for the Northern Area which involves the Giant's Causeway. The draft development plan will be published in the autumn of 2003.

I am of course aware that the Moyle District Council has recently resolved to proceed to rebuild that portion of the visitor centre that was destroyed by fire in 2000. My colleague, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Mr. Pearson) is currently engaged in

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a series of meetings with key interests in relation to the interpretation of the World Heritage Site. He and I are determined to find the best way to achieve this.

Health Care Staff (Impersonation)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents where individuals were discovered in hospitals in Northern Ireland pretending to be health care staff there have been in the last three years. [96571]

Mr. Browne: No such incidents have been reported.

Housing

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will amend the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum of the Draft Housing (NI) Order to reflect the concerns of the Northern Ireland Assembly's Social Development Committee in terms of (a) introductory tenancies, (b) large scale voluntary transfers, (c) homelessness, (d) new build and (e) anti-social behaviour; and if he will make a statement. [96392]

Mr. Browne: No. The purpose of the Explanatory Memorandum is to give a broad explanation of the provisions included in the Order and no amendment is required.

Maternity Provision (Belfast)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs were of publishing and posting the November 2002 consultation document, "A New Centralised Maternity Hospital for Belfast". [95836]

Mr. Browne: The cost of designing and printing the consultation document "A New Centralised Maternity Hospital for Belfast", published in November 2002, was £10,455.

The publication was posted to a wide range of organisations and individuals at a cost of £9,230. A number of copies were distributed by courier at a cost of £48.

Mental Health

Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in improving the treatment of mental health patients in each Board area. [95150]

Mr. Browne: This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in each Board area are suffering from mental health problems. [95156]

Mr. Browne: Information on the total number of people suffering from mental health problems is not available, as many people with such problems are not in contact with healthcare providers. However, at 31 March 2002 there were 12,605 people in the Mental Health Programme of Care who were in contact with Social Services. These people are likely to be those with the more severe forms of mental health problems. The

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breakdown by Health and Social Services Board area is shown in the following table. The figures refer to people with mental illness and exclude those with dementia or learning disability.

Health and Social Services Board	People in contact with Social Services
Eastern	4,857
Northern	3,192
Southern	2,199
Western	2,357
Northern Ireland	12,605

Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the mental health budget in each health board area is spent on (a) staff, (b) property and (c) care. [95157]

Mr. Browne: The Health and Social Services Boards reported expenditure in total of some £128 million in 2001–02 on the care of people with mental illness. This can be analysed by Health and Social Services Boards as follows:

£000s

Board	Total spend 2001–02
EHSSB	52.0
NHSSB	28.3
WHSSB	25.2
SHSSB	22.8
Total	128.3

No break down is available centrally of the amount spent specifically on staff, property and direct care within these overall totals.

Northern Ireland Cancer Plan

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on plans to bring forward a Northern Ireland Cancer Plan. [95969]

Mr. Browne: The Campbell Report "Cancer Services—Investing for the Future" provides the core plan for the development of cancer services in Northern Ireland. The Department's cancer strategy is underpinned by the wider public health strategy, including Investing for Health, the Palliative Care Report and separate initiatives on screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer.

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