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1 Mar 2004 : Column 703W—continued
Special Needs Education
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Department of Education's policy is on support and funding for the special needs education of young people who have been statemented. [156167]
Jane Kennedy: The Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, issued by the Department in 1998, gives detailed practical guidance to schools and Education and Library Boards (ELBs) on how to identify, assess and, where appropriate, statement children with special educational needs.
Each Education and Library Board is responsible for Statements of Special Educational Needs for pupils resident in its area. The Board will meet the costs associated with the educational provision in Statements for pupils in maintained and controlled (including controlled integrated) schools. The cost of educational provision outlined in Statements for children in grant—maintained integrated (GMI) schools and voluntary grammar schools is met by the Department, because it has direct funding responsibility for these schools.
State Benefits
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were in receipt of state benefits in Northern Ireland at 1 February, broken down by benefit. [156941]
Mr. Spellar: The information requested for 1 February 2004 is not available. The most up to date information is shown in the following table.
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| Benefit type | Date | Number of recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Income Support | August 2003 | 181,580 |
| Job Seeker's Allowance | August 2003 | 33,795 |
| Incapacity Benefit | August 2003 | 72,208 |
| Attendance Allowance | November 2003 | 65,404 |
| Disability Living Allowance | November 2003 | 155,295 |
| Carers Allowance | November 2003 | 38,967 |
| Carers Allowance | November 2003 | 38,967 |
| Housing Benefit | August 2003 | 126,814 |
| Retirement Pension | March 2003 | 248,564 |
| Widow's Benefit | March 2003 | 6,003 |
| Bereavement Benefit | March 2003 | 1,350 |
Vehicle Certificates
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of vehicles being used on roads in Northern Ireland do not have a valid test certificate; and if he will make a statement. [156524]
Angela Smith: The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency carried out a survey in May 2003 using data from the 2002 analysis of vehicle excise duty evasion. The survey indicated that 28.4 per cent. of eligible vehicles did not have valid MOT certificates at the date of sighting. It was estimated that this equated to 150,000 vehicles.
The Agency is developing a range of measures to increase MOT compliance. These include the implementation in January 2004 of a new telephone booking service, to make it easier for customers to book and pay for tests; the introduction from March 2004 of MOT reminders; the introduction of internet booking by December 2004; and the use of MOT discs, which are now being issued to motorists for display on car windscreens and which will become mandatory in 2005.
Vehicle Testing
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of the vehicle testing service in Northern Ireland was in the last year for which figures are available; and how much of the cost was offset by the receipt of fees. [156530]
Angela Smith: The cost of providing the vehicle testing service in Northern Ireland in the 2002–03 financial year was £13.4 million. These costs were offset in full from test fee income.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for an appointment for a vehicle test in Northern Ireland was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [156531]
Angela Smith: The average waiting time for an appointment in 2002–03, the last full year for which figures are available, was 20 days against a target of 21 days.
The average waiting time is currently 18 days, against the same target. However, the average waiting time for the current year to date is 30 days. This reflects the fact that the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency experienced a period of high demand earlier in the year, caused
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partly by measures aimed at reducing the level of motor tax evasion, at a time when it was undergoing a rolling programme of test centre closures for the installation of new equipment.
It is unlikely that that waiting time target for the year as a whole will be met. However, waiting times are now well within target and I expect this positive position to be maintained.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will privatise vehicle testing in Northern Ireland in line with the practice elsewhere in the United Kingdom. [156532]
Angela Smith: Vehicle tests are carried out exclusively in Northern Ireland by the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency of the Department of the Environment. There are no arrangements to allow private garages in Northern Ireland to carry out MOT tests on private cars, as is the practice in Great Britain.
Following the recent programme to refurbish and re-equip the Agency's 15 test centres, under a private finance initiative contract, and completion of a project to introduce telephone booking, the Agency has restored its previously high levels of performance and customer service.
I believe these arrangements best suit the circumstances in Northern Ireland and at present I have no plans to review them.
Waste Paper Recycling
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether all Government Departments in Northern Ireland are contributing to the waste paper recycling contract with SCL Waste Services Ltd.; and how much paper was recycled under this contract in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [156164]
Mr. Pearson: All Government Departments utilise the current waste paper disposal contract with SCL Waste Services Ltd. The term "waste paper" covers all paper products including newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and file covers. The volumes of waste paper recycled under this contract were:
| Tonnes | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1,076 |
| 2002–03 | 1,143 |
TREASURY
Compliance Performance Targets
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 110W, on compliance performance targets, how much of the £4.25 billion to £4.75 billion compliance forecast for the Inland Revenue for 1998–99 referred to in the Inland Revenue Annual Report for that year was founded upon the anticipated performance of (a) the Large Business Office and (b) International Division; and what the equivalent planning figures were for each year since 1997–98. [156617]
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Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Cancer
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cancer deaths there were (a) in 2003 and (b) in 1974 from (i) breast cancer, (ii) testicular cancer, (iii) bowel cancer, (iv) Hodgkin's disease and (v) all cancers. [157383]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 1 March 2004:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many cancer deaths there were in (a) 2003 and (b) 1974 from (i) breast cancer, (ii) testicular cancer, (iii) bowel cancer, (iv) Hodgkin's disease and (v) all cancers. (157383)
- The latest year for which data are available is 2002. The figures requested are shown in the table below for 1974 and 2002.
| 1974 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|
| Breast cancer | 11,319 | 11,557 |
| Testicular cancer | 239 | 60 |
| Bowel cancer | 16,678 | 14,544 |
| Hodgkin's disease | 748 | 251 |
| All cancer | 121,397 | 136,777 |
(16) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) for 1974, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-l0) for 2002. The codes used are listed below:
Breast cancer: ICD-8 174; ICD-10 C50
Testicular cancer: ICD-8 186; ICD-10 C62
Bowel cancer: ICD-8 152–154; ICD-10 C17-C21
Hodgkin's disease: ICD-8 201; ICD-10 C81
All cancer—ICD-8 140–207; ICD-10 C00-C97.
Figures coded to different revisions of the ICD are not completely comparable.
(17) Figures are based on deaths registered in 1974 and deaths occurring in 2002.
Cancer trends in Northern Ireland are monitored by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry whose website address is: http://www.qub.ac.uk/nicr/intro.htm
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