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22 Mar 2004 : Column 580W—continued
Sports (Honours)
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the membership of the advisory committee responsible for recommending the
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awarding of honours to persons involved in sport; what the background is of each member; how long each has served on the committee; what their sporting expertise is; and if she will make a statement. [161216]
Mr. Caborn: No. Information about advisory committees in the honours system and the advice they give is protected from disclosure under exemptions 2 and 8 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, and is not made public.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Alcohol Addiction
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were receiving treatment for alcohol addiction in Northern Ireland on 1March; what facilities are available in Northern Ireland for the treatment of alcoholics; and if he will make a statement. [161896]
Angela Smith: On 1 March there were approximately 2,966 persons receiving treatment for alcohol misuse. It is not possible to give an absolute figure because some individuals may have a co-morbid diagnosis of alcohol and drug dependence.
A range of treatment options is provided by the statutory and voluntary sector. These include community based detoxification, counselling, residential treatment and after care. A comprehensive Review of all Mental Health services is currently under way—part of this Review involves looking at those services specifically allocated to problem drug and alcohol users. Decisions about future services for such users will continue to be based on the assessment of clinical need mindful of current good practice and appropriate guidelines.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to minimise antisocial behaviour in (a) accident and emergency departments and (b) hospitals in general; and if he will make a statement. [161680]
Angela Smith: The Department is extremely concerned about violent attacks against any staff working in the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS), including attacks on staff in accident and emergency departments and in hospitals in general. The Department regards such attacks as totally unacceptable and will be launching a campaign shortly to raise public awareness that violent acts against staff working in the HPSS will not be tolerated, that violence against staff is a crime and that the perpetrators could face a prison sentence.
Cattle Tagging
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cattle in Northern Ireland have been re-tagged during the past two years owing to the animals losing their identification tags. [162801]
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Mr. Pearson: The number of animals re-tagged in Northern Ireland during the past two years are as shown in the following table:
| Number of cattle re-tagged | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 36,450 |
| 2003 | 19,787 |
Diabetes Services
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether the implementation team to produce the implementation plan for the Diabetes Service Framework in Northern Ireland has been established; and if he will make a statement; [162725]
- (2) what timescale has been set for the production of an implementation strategy for the Diabetes Service Framework in Northern Ireland. [162734]
Angela Smith: It has been decided that the Department will manage the implementation process for the Diabetes Service Framework through the local groups established by the four HSS Boards rather than add a further level of bureaucracy by establishing a Regional Implementation Team.
An additional £1 million has been made available to Boards in 2004–05 to begin the implementation process and the Department has requested that the local groups identify and take forward prioritised recommendations within a framework which is to be agreed with the Department by May 2004
Fair Employment Exemptions
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what exemptions are in place in Northern Ireland from equal fair employment laws; and whether these exemptions are from (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international law. [156671]
Mr. Spellar: The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 provides for the following exemptions:
- Employment or occupation as a clergyman or minister of religion;
- Employment where the essential nature of the job requires it to be done by a person holding/not holding a particular religious belief or political opinion ('genuine occupational requirement');
- Recruitment of schoolteachers;
- Selection of persons for appointment as police trainees or for certain posts in police support staff;
- Actions done in pursuance of affirmative action (e.g. training, selection for redundancy, encouragement of applications from under-represented communities, selection of unemployed persons;
- Religion specific training for non-employees;
- Conferring of benefits by a charity on persons of a particular religious belief or political opinion;
- Acts done in order to comply with existing legislation;
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- Provision of accommodation in, or disposal of shared small dwellings;
- Care provided in family home where persons are treated as family members;
- Goods, facilities or services provided by a religious denomination or political party to persons of a particular religion or political opinion (or none);
- Goods, facilities or services provided by schools, colleges of education or theological training colleges;
- Acts done for the purposes of safeguarding national security or protecting public safety or public order;
- Private sale of land or premises.
The Government is satisfied that these exemptions accord with UK law generally, with EU law and with the UK's international obligations.
Illiteracy
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest assessment is of the levels of illiteracy in Northern Ireland, broken down by age group. [161285]
Jane Kennedy: Research to date has focused on measuring levels of literacy and at present no data are available which specifically identifies the levels of illiteracy.
The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) which was conducted in 1996 indicated that 24 per cent. of the adult population in Northern Ireland performed at the lowest level of literacy, level 1.
Of those adults performing at the lowest level of literacy:
- 20 per cent. were aged between 16–25;
- 16 per cent. were aged between 26–35;
- 21 per cent. were aged between 36–45; and
- 43 per cent. were aged over 45.
IVF Treatment
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many couples received IVF treatment on the NHS in Northern Ireland in the last five years for which figures are available; what the average length of treatment was; and if he will make a statement on IVF provision in Northern Ireland. [161290]
Angela Smith: The interim sub-fertility service was established in December 2001, making specialist treatments such as IVF available for the first time in Northern Ireland as part of a publicly-funded fertility service. Prior to that date IVF treatment in Northern Ireland was available only on a private basis.
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It is not possible to provide precise data on the number of couples that have received IVF treatment as the data collected refers to treatment cycles provided rather than couples treated. The following table sets out the number of IVF treatment cycles commissioned since the establishment of the interim sub-fertility service.
| Number of IVF cycle commissioned | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 147 |
| 2002–03 | 131 |
| 2003–04 | 207 |
Data are not collected on the average length of treatment.
A consultation document and equality impact assessment on the future of sub-fertility services were issued for public consultation on 13 October 2003. In developing the paper, my Department worked closely with commissioners, providers and users of fertility services, to discuss issues and concerns. The consultation period closed on 30 January. The outcome of the consultation process will inform final decisions on the future provision of fertility services in Northern Ireland to be made later this year.
Key Stage 3
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what opportunity Key Stage 3 of the education curriculum will provide for all children to participate in physical activity. [161683]
Jane Kennedy: The current statutory curriculum at Key Stage 3 includes Physical Education as one of the compulsory subjects. Final decisions have not yet been made about the content of the revised curriculum. However, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has proposed that there will be a requirement for all children to undertake a programme of physical activity. It is also proposed that this will continue into Key Stage 4.
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