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17 Sept 2003 : Column 813W—continued
NORTHERN IRELAND
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidance he gives on the extent to which pre-school children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can benefit from appropriate pre-school education; whether the current main-stream nursery education classes are resourced to deal with children with ASD; and if he will make a statement about plans to provide specialist pre-school education for children with ASD. [118759]
Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education's Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (SEN) gives clear guidance to Education and Library Boards (ELBs) and schools
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(including mainstream nursery schools) on meeting the needs of children with special educational needs, including Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
The ELBs are resourced to support children with ASD in mainstream nursery schools in a variety of ways. Provision may include classroom assistance, or support from ASD Advisory Officers or peripatetic teachers. The boards also provide training in aspects of Special Educational Needs, including ASD.
The Northern Task Group Report on Autism endorsed early intervention for children with ASD. The Department of Education is working closely with the ELBs and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to prioritise the recommendations of the report, with a view to improving collaborative working and available provision.
Through existing Special Needs legislation ELBs have a qualified duty to secure education for children with SEN in a mainstream placement. The proposed Special Educational Needs and Disability legislation will strengthen the presumption to inclusion. However, the level and type of provision is assessed by the boards on an individual basis and ELBs continue to make specialist provision for children with ASD based on identified needs. The Department of Education and the ELBs are taking work forward to consider how best to enhance SEN provision in the pre-school sector.
Belfast Regeneration Office
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on an Action Plan round for the Belfast Regeneration Office in the financial year 2004–05. [130211]
Mr. Spellar: With the launch of the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy Government has begun to explore the possibility of reallocating Action Plan moneys towards neighbourhood renewal as Action Plan has suffered from sizeable under-spends in recent years. Until decisions have been taken on this issue however it is not clear whether there will be future calls for applications under the Action Plan.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Belfast Regeneration Office teams have issued letters indicating that they are now closed for applications; which teams issued such letters; and when they were issued. [130212]
Mr. Spellar: The four Belfast Regeneration Office Area Teams, including Inner West, Outer West, North and South & East Teams issued a letter on 29 July 2003, to all community groups on the BRO database. This letter indicated that each BRO Team would not be open to new applications from 1 August 2003, as Area Team budgets would shortly be fully committed for the 2003–04 financial year.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget for each of the Belfast Regeneration Office teams is in the current financial year; and how much of each team's budget (a) was spent, (b) was committed and (c) remained uncommitted when they closed for applications. [130213]
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Mr. Spellar: The table shows the budget for each Belfast Regeneration Office (BRO) Team for 2003–04, in addition to (a) amount spent, (b) amount committed and (c) amount uncommitted at 29 July 2003, when the Teams indicated that they were closing to applications.
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It should be noted that although each Team had moneys uncommitted at 29 July, there existed applications in the system which had not yet been processed. Column (d) on the table shows the potential value of the applications currently under assessment.
| (a) | (b) | (c) | (d) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRO team | Team budget 2003–04 (b+c) | Amountspent | Amountcommitted | Amountuncommitted | Potential value of applications currently under assessment |
| Inner West | 1,284,500.00 | 253,456.79 | 801,175.68 | 483,324.32 | 1,171,202.25 |
| Outer West | 1,045,500.00 | 128,529.99 | 300,554.22 | 744,945.78 | 1,560,711.35 |
| South & East | 978,500.00 | 166,922.56 | 501,222.46 | 477,277.54 | 942,216.38 |
| North | 1,207,000.00 | 116,252.00 | 356,833.00 | 850,166.00 | 1,400,000.00 |
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Belfast Regeneration Office Strategy will be launched. [130220]
Mr. Spellar: The Government's Strategy for the regeneration of Belfast will be articulated in two documents, namely:
- The Neighbourhood Renewal Implementation Plan for Belfast which will be published in April 2004. This will follow consultation on the draft implementation plan which we will issue shortly.
The Belfast City Centre Policy Framework document which was the subject of consultation ending on 12 September 2003.
Belfast/London Flights
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the number of flights between Belfast and London. [124363]
Mr. Spellar: None. I understand any such representations have mainly been directed towards the airline operators.
Cross-border Health Care
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of providing health care within Northern Ireland for residents of the Republic of Ireland was over the last 12 months. [124693]
Angela Smith: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Budgets
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the complete needs and effectiveness evaluations in respect of departmental budgetary matters. [123960]
Mr. Pearson: The Northern Ireland Executive initiated work on the needs and effectiveness evaluations in 2001. The main findings from the effectiveness report on financial assistance to industry have already been released on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's website. Further release of the effectiveness studies will be made subject to agreement with appropriate Ministers. As far as needs assessment is concerned the Government have no plans to review the Barnett formula.
Departmental Reform Plans
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reform plans have been produced by each Government Department; what assessment he has made of those plans; what Departments have not produced such plans; and if he will make a statement. [123959]
Mr. Pearson: All Departments have produced reform plans as part of their service delivery agreements (SDAs) which are available on departmental websites and can be accessed through the Northern Ireland administration website, www.northernireland.gov.uk. In addition, copies of each SDA have been placed in the Library. The reform plans constitute initial departmental responses to the Reform Agenda and reflect the importance of reform of public services to the work of both this Administration and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Departmental Under Spending
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to address the underspending of Government Departments through more co-ordinated financial planning; and if he will make a statement. [123958]
Mr. Pearson: On the basis of underspends in previous years an action plan to address this issue was set out in a Statement to the Assembly on 1 July 2002 by the then Minister of Finance and Personnel. This included setting spending plans at a level which exceeded the actual spending power available by building in underspend assumptions, and the revised spending plans for 2003–04 to 2005–06, announced on 11 December 2002, built on that approach. Full details are set out in Section 2 of the Budget Document ("Building on Progress: Budget 2003–2006").
Disabled Housing Adaptations
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the waiting time for an assessment by an occupational therapist in respect of disabled housing adaptations is; and if he will make a statement. [126052]
Angela Smith: Information is not available on the current waiting time for an assessment by an occupational therapist in respect of disabled housing adaptations, as an assessment for housing adaptation can only be designated as such when the assessment is completed. In addition, waiting time varies according to
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the complexity of the case and the availability of resources to carry out the assessment. The amount of time waited for assessment to commence is, however, recorded in respect of all persons assessed by community occupational therapists, according to time band. Figures for priority and non-priority cases are shown in the table and refer to assessments which commenced in the quarter ending 31 March 2003, the latest date for which such information is available.
| Time waited | Number |
|---|---|
| (a) Priority cases | |
| Under 2 weeks | 3,758 |
| 2 weeks—under 1 month | 774 |
| 1 month and over | 982 |
| Total assessments commenced | 5,514 |
| (b) Non-priority cases | |
| Under 3 months | 2,850 |
| 3—under 6 months | 505 |
| 6 months and over | 1,431 |
| Total assessments commenced | 4,786 |
Implementation of the recommendations of the joint Housing Executive/Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety review of the housing adaptations service, carried out in 2000–01, together with the additional 20 occupational therapy posts funded by the Department in 2001–02, is improving the efficiency of the service. Health and Social Services Trusts continue to strive to further improve the service.
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