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30 Jan 2004 : Column 555W—continued
Racism (Chinese Community)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many racist incidents involving victims from the Chinese community occurred in Northern Ireland in (a) each of the last three years and (b) the current year to date. [148257]
Mr. Spellar: I am sorry for the delay in replying.
| Financial year | Number of attacks |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 78 |
| 2001–02 | 33 |
| 2002–03 | 44 |
| 2003 to Present | 58 |
Security Passes
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) departmental agencies in the last 12 months. [147988]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Since January 2003 a total of 12 passes have been reported lost and two stolen by staff in my Department; and during the same period five were reported lost and two stolen by staff in departmental agencies. The likelihood of any increased threat to the Department or Agency as a result of the loss of a pass is assessed on each occasion and any appropriate action is taken.
This reply relates only to the Northern Ireland Office and does not cover the 11 departments of the Northern Ireland Administration.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in the last 12 months. [150403]
30 Jan 2004 : Column 556W
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Winchester (Question Ref. 147988).
Sign Language
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals in Northern Ireland are trained in sign language. [151220]
Angela Smith: There are 17,000 people in Northern Ireland who have severe or profound deafness. Approximately 4,500 of these people use sign language. Hearing people who associate with signers in business or personal life also use sign language. Statistics are not available on how many individuals are trained in sign language, however, there are currently only five fully qualified registered BSL interpreters in Northern Ireland and one ISL interpreter.
The Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) in Northern Ireland have provided details of the BSL and ISL training given at each level from 2000 to 2003.
| Sign Language | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1(5) | 456 | 592 | 522 | 386 |
| Level l(6) | 63 | 60 | 32 | 27 |
| Level 2(5) | 72 | 60 | 81 | 84 |
| Level 2(6) | 12 | 16 | 20 | 13 |
| Total | 603 | 728 | 655 | 510 |
(5) British
(6) Irish
Working Time Regulations
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants have applied under new Working Time Regulations to work from home, broken down by gender; and how many requests have been successful in each case. [149214]
Mr. Pearson: The number of applications to work from home made by civil servants employed in NI Departments and the Northern Ireland Office under the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (which came into effect on 6 April 2003), and the number of successful requests, are shown in the table.
The procedures and timescales to be followed are specified in the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
Also shown are the number of applications received since 6 April 2003 under existing work-life balance provisions, made outside the scope of the legislation, and the number of successful requests.
| Requests underlegislation | Requests madeoutside the scope ofthe legislation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requests for home-workingsince 6 April 2003 | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total |
| Applications | (7)3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | (7)3 | 6 |
| Successful applications | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
(7) One application currently under consideration.
30 Jan 2004 : Column 557W
HEALTH
Abortion Act
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the application of section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967 (as amended); [143172]
- (2) if he will make a statement on whether cleft palate or cleft lip are regarded as serious handicaps for the purpose of section 1(1)(d) if the Abortion Act 1967 (as amended). [143173]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Parliament decided in 1967 that a pregnancy could be terminated by a registered medical practitioner if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. The term "seriously handicapped" has not been interpreted by any court decisions.
Permission to proceed to a judicial review on these matters was granted on 1 December 2003 and will be considered by the courts at a hearing starting on 24 May 2004. The claimant is also seeking a declaration as to the incompatibility of section 1(1 )(d) of the Abortion Act 1967 with Articles 2, 3, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. A Minister of the Crown is entitled to join any proceedings where the Court is considering whether to make a declaration of incompatibility. The Secretary of State for Health has now given formal notice of his intention to join the proceedings to assist the court on these matters.
Cancer Research
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department plans to complete its evaluation of the SunSmart campaign; and when he will decide the amount of funds Cancer Research UK will receive to continue the campaign. [152010]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Evaluation of the SunSmart campaign is being undertaken on an on-going basis. Cancer Research UK is working on a plan for future activity on the basis of lessons learned from the underpinning qualitative research by the University of Strathclyde, which was completed in September 2003. Decisions on the funding of a future campaign will be taken in due course.
Civil Servants
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much space, expressed in square metres, the Department occupies for the offices of civil servants in (a) central London and (b) Greater London. [150286]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department and its Executive Agencies occupies 71,369 m 2 in Central London for the offices of civil servants and an additional 1,904 m 2 in Greater London.
30 Jan 2004 : Column 558W
Ectopic Pregnancy
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of deaths from ectopic pregnancy; and if he will make a statement. [150771]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department is currently preparing a national service framework for children, which will include standards for maternity care, including the management of problems in early pregnancy. It also currently provides Section 64 support for the organisation The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, which provides information, support and advice to those affected by ectopic pregnancy, and works to raise awareness. Details of the grants provided are shown in the following tables.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 20,000 |
| 2001–02 | 20,000 |
| 2002–03 | 10,00 |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 9,500 |
| 2002–03 | 9,500 |
| 2003–04 | 9,500 |
Food Supplements Directive
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the Minister for Public Health has set a date for his proposed meeting with Commissioner Byrne to discuss the interpretation of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive;. [144870]
- (2) if he will list the dates when he expects that Ministers from his Department will meet their counterparts in each of the Member and Candidate States of the European Union to discuss the interpretation of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive; which officials will accompany Ministers at each of those meetings; what main points he expects will be made; and if he will make a statement. [144871]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive lays out a framework for the future setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements, The European Commission has not yet made a proposal listing European Union maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements and we do not expect it to do so for another two to three years.
The United Kingdom continues to take every opportunity to press its view that maximum levels should be set on a safety basis. I am seeking to arrange a discussion with Commissioner Byrne at the earliest practical opportunity.
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