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29 Jan 2004 : Column 457W—continued
Minority Ethnic Groups (Harassment/Bullying)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reports he has received of bullying and harassment experienced by members of minority ethnic groups who are pupils, students and staff at schools and educational establishments in Northern Ireland; and what actions have been taken as a result. [149246]
Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education does not collect information about bullying or harassment of pupils who are members of minority ethnic groups at schools in Northern Ireland. However, the Department recognises that bullying in whatever form and for whatever reason has no place in schools. The Department has issued comprehensive guidance to all schools about how to tackle bullying. Further, the Education and Libraries (NI Order 2003), which came into operation on 1 April 2003, places a duty on all
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grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland to have a specific anti-bullying policy and to draw up measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.
The Department of Education has received no reports of bullying or harassment of staff at schools in Northern Ireland who are members of minority ethnic groups. Schools have a Code of Practice on Harassment which would be applied should any such case arise.
The Department for Employment and Learning has received no reports of bullying and harassment experienced by members of minority ethnic groups who are students and staff at the universities, teacher training colleges and further education colleges in Northern Ireland.
Mobile Phone Masts
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is on the construction and location of mobile phone masts in Northern Ireland. [151338]
Angela Smith: The Department of the Environment's prevailing policy guidance for the development of telecommunication masts is set out in Planning Policy Statement 10 "Telecommunications", published in April 2002. This statement is available on the Planning Service website at: http: www.planningni.gov.uk/AreaPlans Policy/PPS/PPS.htm and a copy has been placed in the Library.
NHS
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many health care professionals from outside the United Kingdom were recruited to work in the NHS in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; what positions they held; and what their nationality was. [150670]
Angela Smith: Information on the total numbers of non-UK health care professionals recruited into the NHS could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information is available, however, on the numbers of staff that were recruited from outside the UK as part of specific recruitment drives since 2000; No medical or professional and technical staff were recruited in this way during this period . The number of nursing staff, their grade and nationality are shown in Tables 1 and 2 as follows.
(3) Health and Social Services
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| Year | Nationality | Number recruited by HSS(4) Trusts |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Australian | 8 |
| Total | 8 | |
| 2001 | Australian | 23 |
| Philippine | 104 | |
| Total | 127 | |
| 2002 | Philippine | 211 |
| Indian | 36 | |
| Chinese | 1 | |
| Other country | 24 | |
| Total | 272 | |
| 2003 | Indian | 98 |
| Philippine | 177 | |
| Total | 275 |
(4) Health and Social Services
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Night-time Flying
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many flights (a) arriving and (b) departing (i) Belfast City Airport, (ii) Belfast International Airport and (iii) City of Derry Airport were in breach of the night-time flying curfew in the last year for which figures are available. [151334]
Mr. Spellar: Belfast City Airport operates under a planning agreement, which governs operations, including flight hours, at the airport. The main elements controlling flight hours are: "permitted hours" between 6.30 am and 9.30 pm for normal scheduled operations; "extended hours" between 9.30 pm and 11.59 pm for delayed scheduled operations; and, "prohibited hours" between 9.30 pm and 6.30 am, which prohibits scheduled operations. During the calendar year 2003, six scheduled flights, four arrivals and two departures, used the airport between 12 midnight and 12.30 am during the "prohibited hours".
Belfast International Airport and City of Derry Airport have no night-time operating restrictions placed upon them.
Nursing Vacancies
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing vacancies there are in the province; and if he will make a statement. [150743]
Angela Smith: The number of vacancies as at 30 September 2002 and 30 September 2003 are given in the table.
| Trust | WTE(5) vacancies as at 30 September 2002 | WTE(5) vacancies as at 30 September 2003 |
|---|---|---|
| Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust | 80.3 | 33.7 |
| Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust | 8.8 | 4.0 |
| Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust | 67.5 | 17,3 |
| Causeway HSS Trust | 15.0 | 33.0 |
| Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust | 8.7 | 2.0 |
| Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust | 35.1 | 15.6 |
| Down Lisburn HSS Trust | n/a | 13.9 |
| Foyle Community HSS Trust | 29.0 | 13.0 |
| Greenpark Healthcare HSS Trust | 41.0 | 45.8 |
| Homefirst Community HSS Trust | 30.0 | n/a |
| Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust | 46.0 | 71.7 |
| Newry and Mourne HSS Trust | 5.0 | 8.2 |
| North and West Belfast HSS Trust | 26.3 | 8.4 |
| Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust | 257.6 | 96.5 |
| South and East Belfast HSS Trust | 29.5 | 34.2 |
| Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust | 26.0 | 16.0 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust | 47.5 | 23.6 |
| United Hospitals Group HSS Trust | 59.0 | 23.5 |
| Total | 812.3(does not include figure for Down Lisburn) | 460.4(does not include figure for Homefirst) |
(5) Whole-time equivalent.
As can be seen from the table, the vacancy situation has slightly unproved between 30 September 2002 and 30 September 2003. A review of the Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Review was carried in late 2001/early 2002 and a report was issued in March 2002. It is proposed to carry out another detailed review of the Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting workforce in 2004.
Overseas Nurses
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas nurses are employed in Northern Ireland. [150744]
Angela Smith: Overseas nurses are employed both within the private sector and the HPSS in Northern Ireland but information is only held in respect of HPSS employees. As at 31 December 2003, the total number of
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overseas nurses employed within Health and Social Services Trusts in Northern Ireland was 709. Figures are detailed by Trust as follows.
| HSS(6) Trust | Number |
|---|---|
| Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust | 24 |
| Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust | 0 |
| Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust | 55 |
| Causeway HSS Trust | 14 |
| Craigavon and Banbridge Comm. HSS Trust | 0 |
| Craigavon Area Hospital HSS Trust | 50 |
| Down Lisburn HSS Trust | 42 |
| Foyle Community HSS Trust | 0 |
| Greenpark Healthcare HSS Trust | 47 |
| Homefirst Community HSS Trust | 20 |
| Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust | 24 |
| Newry and Mourne HSS Trust | 5 |
| North and West Belfast HSS Trust | 0 |
| Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust | 239 |
| South and East Belfast HSS Trust | 0 |
| Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust | 40 |
| Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust | 102 |
| United Hospitals Group HSS Trust | 47 |
| Total | 709 |
(6) Health and Social Services
Physiotherapists
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what restrictions there are on the number of domiciliary visits by physiotherapists to a particular patient. [150735]
Angela Smith: Domiciliary visits are determined by clinical need. While there is no arbitrary limit placed on such visits, service provision is managed to balance total local need with available resources.
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