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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what plans he has to provide a specialist paediatric epilepsy nurse in the Province; [164913]
(2) if he will make a statement on the provision of paediatric nurse specialists for the NHS. [164923]
Angela Smith: The Department has invested over a number of years in the provision of paediatric nursing in the community. The aim of community paediatric nursing service is to provide a range of professional skills to meet the needs of children, e.g. asthma/respiratory care, diabetes, behaviour management, epilepsy, pain management, nutrition and constipation and palliative care. The service is aimed at those children with disability, chronic and life limiting illness.
Traditionally, access to a specialist epilepsy nurse was through a regional service, but the increasing prevalence of this condition has required Boards to commission a
19 Apr 2004 : Column 284W
more locally based service from within the community paediatric service. The development of this service means that only in exceptional circumstances should a child have to attend the regional service, thereby not interrupting school and normal activities of living.
Boards are continuing to review and invest in paediatric community services.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Housing Executive single homes in Northern Ireland have been adapted for disability use in each of the last five years. [165735]
Mr. Spellar: The Housing Executive carries out both major and minor adaptations for its tenants. Information relating to dwellings occupied by single persons, which have been adapted for disability use, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However the following tables show the numbers of completed adaptations in individual properties for each of the five years from 199899 to 200203 and the year 200304, to the end of February 2004.
Major works | Minor works | |
---|---|---|
199899 | 2,006 | 8,243 |
19992000 | 2,297 | 8,060 |
200001 | 2,548 | 6,855 |
200102 | 3,981 | 8,543 |
200203 | 4,053 | 8,049 |
200304 | 3,174 | 7,527 |
Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage unemployment level is in (a) Coleraine, (b) Derry (city), (c) Strabane, (d) Omagh, (e) Dungannon, (f) Cookstown, (g) Eniskillen, (h) Armagh (city), (i) Portadown, (j) Newry and (k) Lisburn. [165344]
Mr. Gardiner: Claimant Count unemployment rates are not available at a town or city level, but can be provided at District Council Area level. The Claimant Count rates at February 2004 for the District Council Areas which contain the specified towns and cities are provided in the table below.
District Council Area | Percentage Rate |
---|---|
Coleraine | 3.4 |
Derry | 5.7 |
Strabane | 5.5 |
Omagh | 3.3 |
Dungannon | 2.1 |
Cookstown | 1.9 |
Fermanagh | 4.0 |
Armagh | 2.4 |
Craigavon | 2.8 |
Newry and Mourne | 3.2 |
Lisburn | 2.2 |
Northern Ireland | 3.2 |
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what amount of industrial and commercial waste was sent to landfill in 2003, expressed as a percentage of the 1998 level. [165948]
Angela Smith: The most recent survey figures available relate to the 2002 Survey "Industrial and Commercial Waste Production in Northern Ireland" commissioned by the Department of the Environment's Environment and Heritage Service. This survey reported that approximately 635,000 tonnes of industrial and commercial waste were generated, of which 40 per cent. (252,000 tonnes) went to landfill.
The 1998 survey "Development of a Waste Arisings Database for Northern IrelandPilot Survey and Database Design" initiated by EHS showed 700,000 tonnes of industrial and commercial waste were generated, of which 57 per cent. (399,000 tonnes) went to landfill.
The amount of such waste sent to landfill in 2003 was, therefore, 63 per cent. of the 1998 figure, which equates to a reduction of some 37 per cent.
Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for an MRI scan is in each of the hospitals providing such treatment in Northern Ireland. [165734]
Angela Smith: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many National Health Service dentists have been working in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [165992]
Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows General Dental Practitioner headcount by year.
Year(102) | Headcount |
---|---|
2004 | 720 |
2003 | 696 |
2002 | 689 |
2001 | 673 |
2000 | 661 |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many student nurses (a) commenced and (b) completed training in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [165791]
Angela Smith:
The information requested is provided in the following tables.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 286W
Year 1 April31 March | Number commencing training |
---|---|
199495 | 663 |
199596 | 733 |
199697 | 711 |
199798 | 749 |
1998/99 | 617 |
19992000 | 562 |
200001 | 614 |
200102 | 856 |
200203 | 770 |
200304 | 864 |
Year 1 April31 March | Number |
---|---|
199495 | 779 |
199596 | 827 |
199697 | 626 |
199798 | 716 |
199899 | 599 |
19992000 | 612 |
200001 | 508 |
200102 | 454 |
200203 | 449 |
200304 | 490 |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with OFCOM on unsolicited telephone calls for commercial purposes. [166049]
Mr. Gardiner: The level of complaints in Northern Ireland concerning unsolicited calls has been small and as such I have not intervened directly in this matter.
The use of telephones for unsolicited commercial, particularly direct marketing, reasons is covered by Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications. The Regulations came into force on 11 December 2003 and are enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office, rather than OFCOM. The regulations work on the principle of opt-out rules on unsolicited direct marketing by phone; it is a breach of the regulations to make an unsolicited direct marketing call to any subscriber who has either told that caller not to ring, or who has been registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for at least 28 days. Currently only individual subscribers have the right to register on the TPS but in response to a Government consultation undertaken last year this will be opened to corporate subscribers also as of 25 June 2004.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been made available to education and library boards in Northern Ireland specifically for parenting initiatives in each of the past five years; what plans he has to increase the current level of funding for parenting initiatives; and if he will make a statement. [165726]
Mr. Gardiner: The Department of Education recognises the importance of engaging parents in their children's learning. Over the last five years the allocations to Education and Library Boards specifically for parenting initiatives were as follows:
Amount | |
---|---|
19992000 | (103)131 |
200001 | 207 |
200102 | 212 |
200203 | 217 |
200304 | 238 |
There are no plans to increase the current level of earmarked funding which the Department of Education makes available to Education and Library Boards for this purpose. However, Boards are free to supplement this funding by allocating further resources from within their overall block grant.
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