| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
29 Jan 2004 : Column 454W—continued
Doctors (Working Hours)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of (a) junior house officers, (b) senior house officers and (c) other doctors have weekly workloads in breach of the EU working time directives. [151210]
Angela Smith: From the latest monitoring of New Deal compliance, 91 per cent. of junior doctors (this includes Pre-Registration House Officers, Senior House Officers and Specialist Registrars) are already working and being trained in less than 56 hours per week and are thus meeting the requirements of the European Working Time Directive which will come into effect in August 2004. It is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to disaggregate the figures in the form requested.
The new consultant contract, which is being introduced from April 2004, aims to cap the average working week for consultants at 48 hours to ensure compliance with the Directive.
Drownings
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many drownings there were in Northern Ireland in 2003. [148838]
Mr. Pearson: Mortality statistics for 2003 have not been fully collated and therefore the latest available data relate to 2002. There were 28 deaths caused by drowning 1 registered in Northern Ireland in 2002.
- 1 Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T75.1.
Elective Surgery
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on protected elective surgery centres in Northern Ireland. [151217]
Angela Smith: A number of protected elective facilities have been established, at Altnagelvin, Causeway, Erne, Lagan Valley and Mater hospitals. The unit at Altnagelvin hospital opened in 2001 and currently treats approximately 1,100 patients per year. The protected elective centre at Causeway hospital opened in November 2003 and is projected to provide 920 surgical procedures per annum. The unit at Lagan Valley hospital was opened in February 2003 and treats around 850 patients a year. The Mater hospital's protected facility opened in January 2003 and is anticipated to treat 1,100 patients per year. In addition, a new day procedures unit opened at Erne hospital in December 2003 and it will provide for an additional 300 day cases per annum.
Work is also currently being undertaken to establish a protected elective centre at South Tyrone hospital.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 455W
Game Licences
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many game licences were issued in Northern Ireland in (a) 1985, (b) 1990, (c) 1995, (d) 2000 and (e) in each year since 2001. [150680]
Mr. Spellar: The number of game licences issued in Northern Ireland were:
| Year | Number of Licences |
|---|---|
| 1985 | (2)2,000 |
| 1990 | 1,722 |
| 1995 | (2)1,000 |
| 2000 | 958 |
| 2001 | 983 |
| 2002 | 1,018 |
| 2003 | 1,251 |
(2) This is an estimation based on the value of licences sold.
GM Crops
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what applications to grow GM crops have been made in Northern Ireland. [151339]
Angela Smith: There has only ever been one application to grow GM crops in Northern Ireland. This was made in 1996 by the Department of Agriculture to carry out a small field-trial on potatoes. This application was dealt with through the regulatory process established under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 1994. Papers are available for viewing by the public on a statutory Public Register at the Department of the Environment's Environmental Policy Division, River House, 48 High Street, Belfast, BT1 2AW. Telephone 028 90257362.
High Hedges
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will include measures to deal with high hedges in his consultation on tackling anti-social behaviour in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [150683]
Angela Smith: The current consultation on anti-social behaviour measures is focused on such behaviour linked to criminality. Therefore, it does not cover hedges between neighbours.
GP Vacancies
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many general practitioner vacancies there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and what steps he is taking to reduce such figures. [151322]
Angela Smith: There is generally no problem filling practice vacancies in Northern Ireland. The Central Services Agency (CSA) only hold information on GP vacancies where they were required to intervene to fill the vacancy. This typically occurs if the vacancy has arisen in what was previously a single-handed GP Practice. Otherwise the remaining GPs within the practice, as independent contractors, advertise and fill the position independently.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 456W
The number of vacancies notified to, and filled by, CSA are shown in the table.
| Year | Vacancies reported to Central Services Agency | Vacancies filled by Central Services Agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3 | 3 |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | 3 | 3 |
Hare Coursing
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer given by the hon. Member for Basildon (Angela Smith), on 11 December 2003, Official Report, columns 577–78W, on hare coursing, what sources other than the principal sources cited in his answer he used to reach his decision to refuse a licence to a coursing club to net hares. [150049]
Angela Smith: In addition to the two principal sources of information referred to in my previous answer of 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 578W, an unpublished research thesis by Karina Dingerkus, completed in 1997, provided contextual data reporting a decline in the population of the Irish hare in Northern Ireland over the preceding years. Her thesis, entitled "The Distribution and Ecology of the Irish Hare Lepus timidus hibernicus in Northern Ireland", is lodged in the Science Library of the Queen's University of Belfast. Her findings were summarised and discussed in the report of the 2002 Survey carried out by Dr. Jane Preston and others.
Hospital Doctors
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which grades of hospital doctors will be required to undergo an appraisal process in 2004 in Northern Ireland. [150756]
Angela Smith: All consultant medical staff (including consultants in public health medicine and consultant clinical academic staff) and non-consultant career grade doctors (including Staff Grade doctors and Associate Specialists) will be required to undergo an appraisal in 2004.
Arrangements for the appraisal of doctors in the training grades are currently being developed, and it is anticipated that all such doctors will also be appraised in 2004.
Integrated Schools
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pupils in education in Northern Ireland are being educated at integrated schools; and what the percentage was in each of the last five academic years. [148766]
Jane Kennedy: Information for the 2003–04 school year is not yet available. The percentages for the last five academic years are as follows.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 457W
| Academic year | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 3.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 3.7 |
| 2000–01 | 4.0 |
| 2001–02 | 4.3 |
| 2002–03 | 4.6 |
Maghaberry Prison
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the recent disorder at HM Prison Maghaberry. [150684]
Jane Kennedy: I utterly condemn the serious rioting and wanton destruction of prison property that took place in Maghaberry on 14 to 15 January. It is to the great credit of prison staff that the incident was brought to a conclusion without serious injury to staff or prisoners.
Charges under prison rules have been laid against all those involved who are still in custody.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the financial costs resulting from overnight disturbance by prisoners at Maghaberry Prison on 14 to 15 January. [150733]
Jane Kennedy: The estimated cost of the damage caused during the disturbance on 14 to 15 January is £100,000 to £150,000.
Maze Prison (Redevelopment)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the redevelopment of the former HM Prison Maze site; and if he will make a statement on progress. [150668]
Mr. Pearson: The Government's aim is to regenerate this key strategic site to bring the maximum possible social and economic benefit to Northern Ireland. A consultation panel has been established to provide advice on the best way forward. The panel is currently engaged in a public consultation process to generate ideas for the redevelopment of the site. The consultation will end on 29 February, and the panel is expected to submit its final report in May.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |