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12 Mar 2003 : Column 311W—continued
Devolved Institutions
12. Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his most recent discussions in respect of the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland. [101450]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).
Sports Funding
13. Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals in Northern Ireland are in receipt of funding to help them prepare for the next two Olympic Games. [101451]
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Angela Smith: Eighteen athletes are in receipt of funding that will assist in their preparation for the Olympic Games in 2004. These are:
- Athletics: 3
Equestrian: 2
Swimming: 2
Ladies hockey: 11
Peace Process
Kevin Brennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress towards acts of completion. [101453]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).
Blue Card Emergency Payments
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for assessment and treatment of blue card emergency patients was in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [102311]
Mr. Browne: All Blue Card emergency patients have already been assessed within the Neurosurgery specialty. The Blue Card system is a method of prioritising the most urgent Neurosurgery patients. Figures are not available for the length of time between assessment and treatment. Patients on the Blue Card list are treated as soon as a bed becomes available.
At the end of December 2002 there were 302 persons waiting for their first outpatient appointment the Neurosurgery specialty. More than half of all persons waiting for their first outpatient appointment had been waiting less than three months.
The number of persons waiting in the Neurosurgery specialty for inpatient admission was 733. More than half of these were waiting in excess of 18 months.
Departmental Annual Report
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much producing his Department's latest annual report cost; how many copies were printed; how many copies of it were sold at its cover price; to whom copies of the report have been provided free of charge; and how many copies were provided free of charge. [100817]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office Departmental Report 2002 was produced by The Stationery Office (TSO). Costs of printing and publication are met directly by TSO and do not fall to Government. My Department was invoiced only for the 200 copies it requested.
600 copies were printed and TSO's records show that 382 copies have been sold at its cover price of £25.
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Copies of the Report were provided free of charge to 156 interested parties. A table of those interested parties follows.
| Recipient | Number of copies |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State, Ministers, Senior NIO Officials | 18 |
| Heads of NIO Agencies and Legal Offices | 5 |
| Parliament House of Commons Library | 12 |
| NIO Information Offices Belfast and London | 9 |
| HM Treasury | 3 |
| First Minister, Deputy First Minister, NI Assembly and OFM/DFM | 25 |
| Scottish and Welsh Offices | 2 |
| Head of NICS & NI Permanent Secretaries | 11 |
| NI MP's | 18 |
| Other interested MP's | 3 |
| 1MEP | 1 |
| Members of the House of Lords with an interest in NI | 25 |
| Treasury Select Committee | 14 |
| NI Select Committee | 14 |
| TOTAL | 156 |
In the Northern Ireland Administration five departments to date have produced Annual Reports or Annual Report and Accounts for the financial year 2001–02. Details of the cost of producing these reports could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A total of 4,050 copies have been printed, of which 656 have been sold at their cover price and approximately 2,000 copies have been provided free of charge to a range of bodies.
Neurosurgery
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nurses have been recruited to work in neurosurgery in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [102305]
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Mr. Browne: The Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust is the only trust in Northern Ireland that employs nurses to work in neurosurgery. The figures are detailed in the table:
| Year | Non-bank/headcount | Non-bank WTE(19) | Bank headcount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 4 | 2.86 | 3 |
| 1998 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0.64 | 2 |
| 2000 | 5 | 4.84 | 5 |
| 2001 | 7 | 6.36 | 1 |
| 2002 | 5 | 4.25 | 1 |
(18) Bank staff cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating work loads in order to maintain service delivery
(19) Whole time equivalent
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the waiting list for neurosurgery is at the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast. [102314]
Mr. Browne: The latest figures available (end of December 2002) indicate that there are 733 in-patients awaiting admission in the neurosurgery specialty. A further 302 out-patients are waiting for a first appointment.
Treatment Referrals
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people from Northern Ireland have been referred for treatment in hospital in (a) the Irish Republic, (b) Scotland, (c) England and (d) Wales in each year since 1997. [102306]
Mr. Browne: Details of the number of people from Northern Ireland who have been referred for treatment in hospitals in the Irish Republic, Scotland, England and Wales in each year since 2000–01 are given in the following table. Data before 2000–01 could not be obtained from all Health Boards.
| Year | Republic of Ireland | Scotland | England | Wales | GB (if regional breakdown not available) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 125 | 140 | 822 | 1 | 143 | 1,231 |
| 2001–02 | 29 | 211 | 873 | 0 | 21 | 1,134 |
| 2002-March 2003 | 186 | 101 | 791 | 0 | 27 | 1,105 |
Notes:
1. Data shown includes extra contractual referrals, out of area treatments and transfers as part of waiting list initiatives.
2. Northern Health and Social Services Board were unable to provide out of area treatment figures for 2001–02 or 2002–03 to date, as the UK NHS providers have not given details of NHSSB patients treated under out of area treatments since 2000–01.
3. Western Health and Social Services Board provided data on extra contractual referrals and transfers due to waiting list initiatives for all years, however they were unable to provide out of area treatment figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 to date.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Welsh Language
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government provided to support the production of television programmes in the Welsh language in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002. [100992]
Dr. Howells: The Welsh Fourth Channel Authority, S4C, received grant in aid of £72.223 million in 1997 and £81.468 million in 2002, under its statutory funding formula. Under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1990 the authority also receives programmes provided by the BBC free of charge. These were valued at £16.7 million in the financial year 1997–98 and £16.4 million in 2001–02.
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Administrative Costs
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative costs were for the (a) Designated Museums Challenge Fund grants, (b) Wolfson Public Libraries Fund grants and (c) Spaces for Sport and Art grants in the last financial year. [101481]
Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 3 December 2002, Official Report, columns 782–83W, which stated that the administration of the specified grant programmes is carried out by a number of different units within the department and relevant NDPBs, to which a range of staff make a contribution. It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of these costs centrally.
Deaf People (Television Programmes)
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on promoting television programmes for the deaf; and how much money the Government gave to support television programmes for (a) deaf people and (b) people with a disability in each year since 1997. [100623]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 4 March 2003]: The Government have not provided funding to support television programmes for disabled people. The Government's role is to set the legislative framework within which subtitling and other services for people with disabilities can be provided.
The Broadcasting Act 1996 requires the ITC to draw up a code promoting the understanding and enjoyment of programmes by viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing and blind or partially sighted. The Act also set targets for subtitling, signing and audio description services on digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The Communications Bill will transfer the ITC's responsibilities to the new regulator, Ofcom, and will extend the requirements on DTT services to digital cable and digital satellite services.
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