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Post-primary Education

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met representatives from the (a) Primary Principals Association of Northern Ireland and (b) Grammar School Principals; and what plans he has to meet each group in the future. [125536]

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and his Ministers have not met with representatives from the Primary Principals Association of Northern Ireland or with Grammar School Principals.

However, officials from the Department of Education last met with representatives from the Primary Principals Association of Northern Ireland on 25 March 2003. Although there is no officially recognized grouping of Grammar School Principals, the Minister and officials meet regularly with individual principals from grammar schools and with organisations, which include principals of grammar schools such as the Secondary Heads Association.

There are no plans at present for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to meet with representatives from the Primary Principals Association of Northern Ireland or with Grammar School Principals.

Recycling

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been taken to introduce a   doorstep recycling service for every household in Northern Ireland. [125548]

Angela Smith: The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy, published by the Department of the Environment in March 2000, provides a framework for developing waste management practices to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. A key element of the Strategy is the preparation of Waste Management Plans by district councils, as required by Article 23 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

Waste Management Plans covering all of Northern Ireland are now in place, and are currently being implemented. The plans were adopted following extensive public consultation throughout each district council area; they set out the full range of activities and facilities to be put in place to provide a recycling service to the people of Northern Ireland, taking account of the needs and circumstances of individual district councils.
 
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The activities and facilities to be put in place include a mix of kerbside collection for individual households and home composting schemes, and the development of new and enhanced civic amenity sites and recycling centres. The plans are geared towards achieving the primary target set out in the Waste Management Strategy of recovering 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005.

Smoking

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to ban smoking in public places in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [125946]

Angela Smith: A Five-Year Tobacco Action Plan for Northern Ireland was published on 8 July 2003. The Plan does not propose an outright ban on smoking in public places; rather it stresses the importance of building on changes in public attitudes towards tobacco use, if the overall aim of creating a tobacco-free society is to be met. With this in mind, the Plan includes a series of actions designed to promote the provision of smoke-free premises and facilities.

A copy of the Plan has been placed in the House Library.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many responses he has received to the Five-Year Tobacco Action Plan consultation document; and if he will make a statement on the responses received. [126075]

Angela Smith: Ninety-three responses were received. Overall there was broad support for the content of the Plan. A   summary of the responses is available on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's website at: www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/publications/2003/tobaccoplanresponses.pdf

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to accelerate the introduction of the tobacco strategy for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [126078]

Angela Smith: The Five-Year Tobacco Action Plan contains 24 separate action points, complete with details of the key organisations responsible for their implementation. Each action point incorporates a target date and an Implementation Group will be established shortly to take forward the actions within the specified timescales.

HEALTH

Notifiable Diseases

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has commissioned into the effectiveness of legislation covering notifiable diseases; what plans he has to propose changes to this legislation; and if he will make a statement. [124792]

Miss Melanie Johnson: We announced in "Getting Ahead of the Curve", the strategy for health protection published by the Chief Medical Officer in January 2002, that we intend to carry out a review of the infectious disease law.
 
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Old People's Homes

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many state-run old people's homes there are in   England; what funding they receive; and what contributions pensioners are expected to make. [124054]

Dr. Ladyman: At 31 March 2001 there were 1,190 council-run homes for older people in England. This figure includes council-run homes for older mentally ill people.

Councils do not receive direct funding for care homes that they run themselves. Councils are given a financial provision for the social services they provide or commission through the Formula Spending Share (FSS) and grants. Generally, it is for councils to decide how much of that provision to spend on care homes.

The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 sets out how residents' contributions to their cost of their care should be determined. The Regulations apply to adults of all ages. Councils will need to establish in each case what income, savings and capital should be taken into account. Residents with assets in excess on £19,500 should fund their own care costs. Where residents has assets between £19,500 and £12,000 councils provide increasing support until the lower capital limit is reached, at which point councils provide full support. With regard to residents' income, all or most of it is taken into account although each resident should be left with at least a personal expenses allowance of £17.50.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in appraising the drug Memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement. [124980]

Dr. Ladyman: The anticipated publication date of   guidance by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is May 2005. Details of the anticipated publication date of all NICE guidance can be found on the NICE web site at: www.nice.org.uk

In the meantime, guidance issued in August 1999 to all National Health Service bodies asked them to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from NICE is not available at the time the technology first became available.These arrangements should involve an assessment of all the relevant factors including the available evidence on the clinical effectiveness of the treatment.

Bush Meat

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the organisms which are known to exist in imported bushmeat; and what the consequences are of infection in humans. [125188]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Like any raw meat, there is a risk that raw bushmeat may be contaminated with food poisoning micro-organisms, such as E. coli 0157, Campylobacter and Salmonella. Other contaminants of bushmeat: could include parasites, viruses and the bacteria that can cause anthrax, tuberculosis and
 
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brucellosis. Although these organisms have the potential to cause human infection, United Kingdom public health bodies involved in the investigation of outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease have not traced any outbreaks of human disease in the UK to the illegal importation of meat. Where local authorities identify bushmeat that has been illegally imported, it must be destroyed.

Cancer Patient Survey

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to repeat the national cancer patient survey which was published in 2002; and what the planned timetable is. [126159]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The responsibility for carrying out future patient surveys now rests with the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI). CHI is looking at a number of factors before deciding when the next cancer patient survey will take place. Further analysis is also being carried out on the last cancer survey data to identify variations within and between trusts on various cancer types. Results of this, along with the analysis commissioned by the Department of Health, will be used to inform plans for a future survey.

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