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NORTHERN IRELAND

Ambulance Service

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he plans to take to improve morale among members of the Ambulance Service of Northern Ireland. [115963]

Mr. Browne: I am not aware of any specific problems concerning morale in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. However, I am alert to the potential impact on morale that violence against ambulance staff might have. The Ambulance Service has undertaken a wide range of initiatives to address this problem including staff training, the review of its violence to staff policy; better reporting mechanisms, public outreach work, enhanced security measures and increased local and regional liaison with PSNI. The Trust also extensively lobbies public representatives to use their influence to support and assist NIAS and works with local community groups and schools to try and raise awareness and prevent attacks from occurring.

Consultants

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vacant consultant posts there are in Northern Ireland; in which trusts they are; and how many have been vacant for more than (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) 12 months. [116974]

Mr. Browne: Information for this question can be found in the following table:

Number of vacant consultant posts (WTE⁽⁴⁾) in Northern Ireland by trust and duration

Health and Social Services (HSS) Trust	Number of vacant consultant posts as at 3l March 2003	Number vacant more thanthree months	Number vacant more thansix months	Number vacant more than12 months
Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust	7.5	5.0	5.0	2.0
Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust	11. 0	8.0	4.0	1.0
Causeway HSS Trust	3.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust	2.0	2.0	1.0	1.0
Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Down Lisburn HSS Trust	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Foyle Community HSS Trust	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Homefirst Community HSS Trust	2.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.0
Newry and Mourne HSS Trust	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
North and West Belfast HSS Trust	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
South and East Belfast HSS Trust	0.8	0.8	0.0	0.0
Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust	6.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
United Hospitals Group HSS Trust	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.0
Total	46.8	34.3	28.5	18.5

⁽⁴⁾ Whole time equivalent

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Cultural Diversity

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in promoting cultural diversity since the suspension of the Assembly. [118623]

Angela Smith: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in pursuing its vision of "a confident, creative, informed and prosperous society" is committed both to promoting a greater respect and understanding of the richness of our cultural and linguistic diversity and to celebrating this diversity. In progressing this objective the Department supported Diversity 21 as a means of examining cultural diversity with a view to promoting deeper understanding and to represent this diversity as a sign of strength in our society. Diversity 21 provided the means of promoting cultural diversity work already happening; identifying and delivery of new projects aimed at stimulating the imagination and exploring diversity in an open, creative and accessible way; and providing a cultural diversity grant funding scheme. In this way the Department supported a schedule of exhibitions on language, faith and history in Northern Ireland and the wider Commonwealth, to a number of organisations and community groups throughout the Province; a programme of workshops on the different drums of Northern Ireland and various projects aimed at progressing the cultural diversity agenda. In addition the Department under the Diversity 21 funding programme supported a range of community based projects.

Since the suspension of the Assembly the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has fulfilled its commitments within the Diversity 21 programme and funding scheme. In the interests of ensuring the optimum approach to cultural diversity within the DCAL remit, the Department has also evaluated the Diversity 21 Programme and is currently considering a policy framework which will enable it to take forward the cultural diversity agenda in a structured and comprehensive way.

Departmental Advertising

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total expenditure on advertising by the Department was in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and what the level of planned expenditure is for (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [114428]

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Mr. Paul Murphy: The total expenditure on advertising by the Northern Ireland Office, including its Agencies, for the period 2001–02 to 2003–04 is set out in the table. Advertising budgets have not yet been agreed for 2004–05.

£000

	Total expenditure on advertising
2001–02 (Actual)	1,223.5
2002–03 (Actual)	941.4
2003–04 (Planned)	752.7
2004–05 (Planned)	733

The total expenditure on advertising by 11 departments within the Northern Ireland Administration, excluding its Agencies, for the period 2001–02 to 2003–04 is set out in the table. Advertising budgets have not yet been agreed for 2004–05.

£ million

	Total expenditure on advertising
2001–02 (Actual Outturn)	3.1
2002–03 (Provisional Outturn)	2.6
2003–04 (Planned)	2.6

The figure for 2001–02 excludes advertising expenditure of £0.9 million by the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland (IDE), a core part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, whose activities, since 1 April 2002, have been undertaken by Invest Northern Ireland (an NDPB and thus outside the scope of the later figurework).

GPs

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the pressures general practitioners in Northern Ireland experience in dealing with their workload. [116990]

Mr. Browne: I am aware of the concerns of general practitioners about increasing workloads. If accepted by the profession, the proposed new General Medical Services Contract will offer GPs the means to better control their work, for example allowing practices to opt out of providing certain services, including out-of-hours care. It will also provide for the development of GP

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careers and promote the concept of partnership working at practice level and a range of demand management initiatives.

International Independent Commissionon Decommissioning

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid to date to each member of the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning. [113870]

Jane Kennedy: The Government do not hold the information in the form requested. However, copies of the audited accounts of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning have been placed in the Library. The 2002 accounts will be available following the audit which will be carried out at the end of 2003.

Neurosurgery

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients from Northern Ireland have received neurosurgery outside the Province in the last five years. [116983]

Mr. Browne: The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the longest time a patient awaiting neurosurgery admission, and deemed an emergency case, has waited in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [115957]

Mr. Browne: The information requested is not available.

Oversight Commissioner

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been spent to date in respect of (a) secretarial support, (b) research and (c) other staff for the Oversight Commissioner on Policing. [117740]

Jane Kennedy: Since May 2000 until 31 May 2003 the money spent is:

Expenses for Oversight Commissioner on Policing £

	Costs
Secretarial Support	72,636
Research	1,509
Other Staff	416,398

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown was of the budget for (a) the PSNI conference on ethnic minorities in October 2002 and (b) the PSNI conference on young people held in March 2003; and how many people attended each event. [114147]

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Jane Kennedy: The PSNI conference, "New Directions; a Human Rights and Racial Equality Focus on Policing with Ethnic Minority Communities" held on 21 and 22 October 2002 was attended by approximately 230 delegates on both days.

The PSNI conference on Young People and the Police, "Always Seen, Rarely Heard" took place on 25 and 26 March 2003 and was attended by 253 and 234 people respectively over the two days.

The following table shows the breakdown of costs for these conferences.

PSNI conference on young people in March 2003£

Breakdown of costs	PSNI conference on ethnic minorities in October 2002	PSNI conference on young people in March 2003
Conference launch	—	2,000
Hire of services	6,607	4,277
Professional services	19,133	6,462
Conference packs	1,771	3,338
Flights	6,381	—
Video	—	17,625
Hotel	27,633	18,869

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