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1 Mar 2004 : Column 693W—continued
Work Standards
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1045W, on work strands, what the aspects of (a) military capability and (b) associated overheads in each of the 16 work strands are; and what the overall financial saving targets for the 16 work strands are. [156792]
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Mr. Ingram [holding answer 27 February 2004]: The work strands are looking at a range of areas relating to how our armed forces are organised and equipped in line with the policy set out in the Defence White Paper. They will look for opportunities to bear down on all associated overheads. An overall financial savings target has not been set for the work strands. As the Secretary of State for Defence said to the House on 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 1209, our aim is to direct resources at those capabilities that are best able to deliver the range of military effects required.
Afghanistan
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on UK troop levels in Afghanistan. [156737]
Mr. Hoon: We currently have around 490 members of the armed forces deployed in Afghanistan, mostly serving with either the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, or with our Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e Sharif.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients were waiting for more than two hours on trolleys in accident and emergency departments of hospitals in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [156581]
Angela Smith: The number of hospital trolley waits waiting two hours or more is reported to the Department by Trusts on a quarterly basis.
| Financial year | Trolley waits waitingmore than two hours |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,335 |
| 1998–99 | 3,943 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,040 |
| 2000–01 | 10,346 |
| 2001–02 | 15,041 |
| 2002–03 | 25,131 |
Note:
In a small number of cases Trusts have returned data for a representative sample of trolley waits.
Source:
Departmental Information Return CH10
After-school Clubs
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are applied in relation to access by children with special needs to after-school clubs in Northern Ireland. [156584]
Jane Kennedy: It is a matter for schools to determine the range of activities to be offered, having regard to the needs and abilities of their pupils, and to decide whether individual pupils will take benefit from these activities.
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Automated Credit Transfer
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the implementation of automated credit transfer for benefit and pension payments in Northern Ireland. [156582]
Mr. Spellar: At 13 February 2004, the Social Security Agency has invited 536,234 benefits and pensions customers to convert to Direct Payment. Of these, 273,045, or 50.9 per cent. have already provided their account details.
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Benefit Fraud
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department have been (a) suspended, (b) dismissed, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted for involvement in benefit fraud in each of the last six years; and what the amounts involved were in each of the cases listed. [154544]
Mr. Pearson: The information on staff members involved in benefit fraud is as follows:
| Suspended | Cases | Dismissed | Cases | Prosecuted | Cases | Convicted | Cases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | A, B, C | 3 | C, E,G | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | — | 1 | B | 2 | B, C | 2 | B, C |
| 2000 | 2 | F, H | 2 | D, I | 1 | F | 1 | F |
| 2001 | — | — | — | — | 1 | D | 1 | D |
| 2002 | — | — | 2 | A, K | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 1 | J | — | — | 1 | E | 1 | E |
Information on the amounts of benefit fraud in each case is as follows:
| Case | Amount Involved |
|---|---|
| A | n/a |
| B | 9,000 |
| C | 32,000 |
| D | 190,000 |
| E | 147,000 |
| F | 700 |
| G | 12,000 |
| H | n/a |
| I | 851 |
| J | 6,000 |
| K | 1,231 |
Budget (Northern Ireland) Order
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the sums are which are referred to under the reference Consultants and Other Fees in the Budget (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 in schedule 1 under the heading Department of Regional Development, broken down by contract. [156470]
Mr. Spellar: I have agreed to place the information requested in the House of Commons Library.
Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the merits of extending the provisions of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [156938]
Angela Smith: The Carers and Direct Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 introduces provisions broadly in line with this Bill in relation to the provision of information, provision of services to carers and the right of a carer to an assessment in his/her own right.
Additionally carers were identified as a priority group under the former Executive's Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) programme. An inter-Departmental group has been established to address the range of issues affecting carers, including training, education and employment. That group will report in April 2004.
Civil Servants (Salaries)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in relation to the dispute over salaries of civil servants in Northern Ireland. [156118]
Mr. Pearson: Extensive negotiations over several months did not result in an agreed pay deal for the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration this year. Management Side presented an offer worth 3.67 per cent. on 5 November. As this could not be agreed, and Trade Union Side declined to negotiate within the 3.67 per cent. envelope, we took the decision to proceed to pay the award and communicated this to staff and Trade Union Side on 27 November. I have made clear to Trade Union Side that the 3.67 per cent. deal is the maximum that can be paid. We are however open to exploring other reasonable means of resolving the dispute. The latest meeting of the Central Whitley Council between Trade Union and Management Sides took place on Thursday, 19 February, and we have agreed to hold further negotiations as a matter of urgency.
Members of the NI Civil Service working in the Northern Ireland Office are subject to separate pay negotiations involving three unions: NIPS A, PCS and the PDA. A formal offer of 3 per cent. was made to the Unions but was rejected. NIO are proceeding with payment of the award in March.
Coroners
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress towards setting up an inquiry into coroners' matters; and when he expects the inquiry to commence. [154623]
Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
A fundamental review of Death Certification and Investigation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was established by the Home Secretary in July 2001 and reported in June 2003.
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The Northern Ireland Court Service issued a consultation paper on proposals for administrative redesign of the Coroners Service in Northern Ireland on 13 February 2004 inviting comments on a range of proposals to improve and modernise the coroners service.
Enriched Curriculum Programme
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the extra £1.6 million given to education in the Budget will go to the Enriched Curriculum programme. [156166]
Jane Kennedy: The £1.6 million allocated to the Department of Education in Budget 2003 will be used to take forward on-going work to support implementation of revised post-primary arrangements. Pilot work on the Enriched Curriculum Programme continues with the support of mainstream budgets.
Health Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of procedures contracted out by the NHS to the private sector was in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [156320]
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Angela Smith: The information requested is not available centrally.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statistics his Department collects regarding requests for (a) radiological and (b) radiography investigations in Northern Ireland. [156323]
Angela Smith: My Department collects the number of requests received for radiological and isotope procedures in radiology, nuclear medicine and medical physics departments in each hospital on a quarterly basis.
Information on the request category is also collected and is derived from data concerning the type of request, the category of patient and the type of location from which the request emanates.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nurses are employed in Northern Ireland, broken down by age group. [156325]
Angela Smith: Figures for nurses employed within HPSS organisations as at 31 December 2003 are given in the following table.
| Qualified nurses(7) | Unqualified nurses | Bank nurses(8) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | Headcount | WTE(9) | Headcount | WTE | Headcount | WTE |
| <25 | 823 | 792.7 | 401 | 379.8 | 373 | n/a |
| 25–29 | 1,684 | 1,603.6 | 422 | 368.3 | 471 | n/a |
| 30–34 | 2,188 | 1,900.4 | 603 | 523.7 | 527 | n/a |
| 35–39 | 2,689 | 2,184.5 | 728 | 607.4 | 670 | n/a |
| 40–44 | 3,109 | 2,541.2 | 747 | 637.7 | 678 | n/a |
| 45–49 | 2,301 | 1,925.8 | 652 | 559.3 | 422 | n/a |
| 50–54 | 1,436 | 1,212.1 | 460 | 394.7 | 235 | n/a |
| 55–59 | 866 | 713.8 | 384 | 321.0 | 140 | n/a |
| 60–64 | 214 | 170.4 | 143 | 114.3 | 84 | n/a |
| 65+ | 11 | 8.1 | 1 | 0.7 | 12 | n/a |
| Total | 15,321 | 13,052.5 | 4,541 | 3,906.9 | 3,612 | n/a |
(7) Figures for qualified nurses include health visitors, district nurses, midwives, school nurses, community psychiatric nurses, student health visitors, student midwives and other qualified nurses
(8) Bank nurses maintain service delivery by covering staffing shortfalls and fluctuating workloads. Due to the variable nature of their employment it is not possible to obtain accurate whole time equivalent data with which to measure their input to the service. Some nurses, midwives and health visitors employed in HPSS organisations may also work in nurse banks—there could therefore be some double counting.
(9) Whole Time Equivalent
Source:
Human Resource Management System
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of medical negligence in Northern Ireland in 2003–04. [156326]
Angela Smith: The 2003–04 budget for Health and Personal Social Services includes £11 million towards the settlement of medical negligence claims.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vacancies there are for speech therapists in Northern Ireland. [156381]
Angela Smith: The information requested is in the table.
(10) Whole time equivalent.
(11) Figure does not include Homefirst Community HSS Trust.
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding was provided in each of the last three years for people in Northern Ireland with (a) severe and (b) moderate learning disabilities. [156383]
Angela Smith: Funding for Learning Disability services in each of the last three years is detailed as follows.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 100,514,349 |
| 2001–02 | 102,507,948 |
| 2002–3 | 136,357,436 |
It is not possible to disaggregate expenditure for people with severe or moderate learning disabilities.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was provided in each of the last three years for people in Northern Ireland with autistic spectrum disorders. [156384]
Angela Smith: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested. Funding for autistic spectrum disorders falls within the learning disability programme of care.
Funding for the last three years is detailed in the table.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 100,514,349 |
| 2001–02 | 102,507,948 |
| 2002–03 | 136,357,436 |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 4 February, Official Report, column 944W, on the new maternity hospital, what factors underlie the slippage in the expected dates for (a) presentation of a business case and (b) commencement of building of the new regional maternity hospital. [156440]
Angela Smith: The original project was a stand alone maternity hospital on the Royal Group of Hospitals site. Since the original announcement, in order to ensure the delivery of the best possible facilities, work has been undertaken to explore opportunities for the development of an integrated mother and child hospital with a single entrance. The development of this integrated model has resulted in an extension of the initial planning time required.
The new regional maternity hospital remains to be completed by 2010. The delay in initiating construction is due to this additional planning, including the need for a complex series of construction, decant, and demolition
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projects across the entire strategic redevelopment programme which is designed to ensure that disruption to services across the Trust is kept to a minimum.
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