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17 Mar 2004 : Column 298W—continued
Dental Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to facilitate urgent dental procedures in children with special needs. [161686]
Angela Smith: The Department has been in discussion with the Belfast Dental Hospital (Royal Group of Hospitals Trust) and the Community Dental Service to urge identification of spare theatre capacity outside of the Royal site to facilitate treatment for children with special needs.
A working group has also been set up to look at the development and long-term planning for the delivery of dental treatment to children with special needs, and the issues of dental treatment for children and adults with special needs will be addressed within the new Oral Health Strategy which is currently under consideration.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure that young adults with complex medical needs have equality of access to dental care. [161688]
Angela Smith: The Chief Dental Officer has set up a working group to look at future development of dental services for young adults with complex medical needs. The group is chaired by the Dental Director of the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and draws together both medical and dental staff involved in the care of these people.
In addition the Chief Dental Officer is undertaking a new Oral Health Strategy (OHS) for Northern Ireland which will address the needs of the learning disabled and medically compromised children and adults.
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on availability of dental services for young people aged 14 years and above with complex medical needs. [161689]
Angela Smith: Dental services for young people over the age of 14 years who have complex medical needs are under considerable pressure at the moment. Currently there is only one consultant and one associate specialist in special needs at the Belfast Dental Hospital. They also provide services at outreach clinics throughout Northern Ireland. Most of these patients require their dental treatment carried out under general anaesthesia on an acute hospital site. A shortage of medical consultant anaesthetists and appropriate facilities have also increased the pressure on services over the past couple of years. Efforts are being made at present to address these difficulties.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the withdrawal of dental services for young people at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. [161690]
Angela Smith: There was a reduction of dental services for young people at Muckamore Abbey Hospital following a review of the use of general anaesthesia and conscious sedation in primary dental care by the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Dental Officer of the NHS in England.
The report and subsequent guidelines issued in July 2000 effectively limited the use of general anaesthesia to acute hospitals in the interests of patient safety. General anaesthetic sessions at Muckamore Abbey Hospital ceased in December 2000, although routine dental treatment continues to be provided there.
Disability Discrimination
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he plans to tackle discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of (a) transport and (b) access to public buildings. [159557]
Mr. Spellar: The information is as follows:
(a) A number of measures in relation to transport will extend protection for people with disabilities. The Department of the Environment intends to begin consultation in May 2004 on proposals to implement the UK Government's commitment on making (public
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hire) taxis accessible to people with disabilities. The Department also intends to extend provisions relating to the carrying of guide dogs, hearing dogs and other prescribed categories of dogs to licensed drivers of private hire vehicles in mid 2004.
The Northern Ireland Executive agreed in principle to proceed to the removal of the transport exemption from Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) in Northern Ireland. It is proposed to issue a Northern Ireland consultation document by May 2004 on the removal of the exemption based on the consultation by the Department for Transport in Great Britain. It is also planned to amend Part V of the DDA in respect of Northern Ireland by taking powers to amend the rail Vehicle Accessibility (NI) Regulations 2001.
(b) Additional duties on service providers will come into effect on 1 October 2004. This is the last of three stages placing duties on service providers to help eliminate discrimination in the area of access to services for disabled people and means that service providers may have to make other "reasonable adjustments" in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.
Drug Seizures
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantities of hard drugs were seized by (a) the police, (b) Customs and Excise and (c) other agencies in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [159553]
Jane Kennedy: The amounts of cocaine, heroin and ecstasy seized by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, and the Northern Ireland Prison Service are detailed in the following tables.
Customs efforts to protect Northern Ireland from drugs cannot be measured solely on results in Northern Ireland itself. In 2002–03, Customs took out 11,549 kilos of Class A drugs, targeted on the UK, some of which would have been destined for Northern Ireland. We are unable to supply data on drug seizures by Customs, prior to 1999 as to do so would require a substantial manual exercise and would incur disproportionate cost.
Data for drug finds in prison establishments prior to March 2001 was not collated centrally and is not available.
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| Cocaine (grams) | Heroin (grams) | Ecstasy (tablets) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 0 | 0 | 12,000 |
| 2000–01 | 0 | 0 | 118,000 |
| 2001–02 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 1,690 | 0 | 6 |
| Cocaine | Heroin | Ecstasy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grams | Tablets | Grams | Wraps | Tablets | |
| 2001–02 | 7.2 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 38.5 |
| 2002–03 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 11 |
| 2003–04(8) | 1 | 0 | 2.8 | 0 | 105 |
(8) Figures stated for 2003–04 are up to end of November 2003.
Equality Commission
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reports he has received from (a) consultants and (b) the Northern Ireland Audit Office on the outcome performance of the Equality Commission; and if he will place the reports in the Library. [160011]
Mr. Spellar: I have not received any reports from consultants relating to the overall outcome performance of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Audit Office carries out an annual audit of the Commission's Accounts. Its opinion is included within the Financial Statement section of the Commission's Annual Report which is laid in Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. A copy of the Audit Office Management Letter relating to the Annual Accounts is also provided to Office of the First and the deputy First Minister. The Commission's Corporate Plan has been approved by Ministers and its performance against this Plan and its annual Business Plan is subject to on-going monitoring.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Equality Commission's outcome performance in relation to equality of opportunity. [160012]
Mr. Spellar: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has a number of statutory duties. Among these are the duties to promote equality of opportunity and affirmative and positive action. It has a Corporate Plan and Annual Business Plan and its performance against these is monitored. The Commission reports on its performance against these within its Annual Report which is laid in both Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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