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19 Apr 2004 : Column 287W—continued

Personal Debt

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to address the dangers of increasing personal debt in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [165779]

Mr. Gardiner: The Consumer Strategy for Northern Ireland was published in March 2002. As a result, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment commissioned research into the provision of a suitable framework for the delivery of effective debt/money advice in Northern Ireland. This is now being taken forward within the context of the Department for Social Development's proposed new Information and Advice Strategy which is scheduled to be published for consultation in May 2004.

The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is currently representing Northern Ireland on a UK cross-departmental officials' group on over-indebtedness. The findings of this group may also impact on the money advice initiative in Northern Ireland.

Prescriptions

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what the cost to the public purse of free prescriptions issued in Northern Ireland has been in each of the last five years; [166002]

(2) how many (a) paid-for and (b) free prescriptions were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [166003]

Angela Smith: The information is not available in the form requested.

The total number of prescription items, and the number for which the full prescription charge was paid, in each of the last five calendar years is given below. Based upon sample analyses, it is estimated that 5 per cent. of prescription items are partly paid-for by pre-payment certificates (PPCs), which allow the patient to obtain as many prescription items as necessary during the four or 12 month validity of the certificate for a set
 
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fee. Consequently, about 89 per cent. of Health Service prescription items are dispensed free of charge to patients. Estimated figures for the latter two categories are calculated as follows:
£million

	Total Items	Charge Paid	Est. 5 per cent. PPCs	Est. 89 per cent. Free
1999	23,247,901	1,341,795	1,162,395	20,743,711
2000	23,663,632	1,409,347	1,183,182	21,071,103
2001	24,551,125	1,472,666	1,227,556	21,850,903
2002	25,419,957	1,545,007	1,270,998	22,603,952
2003	26,399,016	1,552,296	1,319,951	23,526,769

The total cost of Health Service prescription items in Northern Ireland in each of the last five calendar years (most recent figures available) and the estimated costs of those items dispensed free, are as follows:
(£000)

Year	Total Gross Cost	89 per cent. (Cost of Free Items)
1999	262,822	233,912
2000	273,977	243,840
2001	295,607	263,090
2002	323,651	288,049
2003	354,339	315,362

Property Demolition

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in relation to proposed action to be taken against those allegedly responsible for the demolition of properties for which no planning permission was sought. [165999]

Angela Smith: Consent is required for the demolition of listed buildings and for the demolition of unlisted buildings within a Conservation Area.

If a building is demolished without the necessary consent being obtained, enforcement action will be taken. Prosecution action will also be pursued if appropriate, as is currently happening in relation to the demolition of two listed buildings in the hon. Gentleman's constituency last summer.

Public Sector Housing

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown by community background in numbers and percentages is of those waiting for public sector housing in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Belfast areas in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003. [166044]

Mr. Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, under its Section 75 Equality duties, is developing a comprehensive approach to record keeping and monitoring in relation to religious affiliation. The information requested is only available for the last two financial years in respect of those waiting to be allocated properties by either the Northern Ireland Housing Executive or a registered housing association and is a snapshot of the waiting list at 31 March in each of the years.
 
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	2001–02		2002–03
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Northern Ireland
Protestant	12,268	47	12,237	47
Catholic	10,180	39	10,512	40
Undisclosed/Unavailable	2,350	9	2,103	8
Other	1,305	5	1,394	5
Total	26,103		26,246
Belfast
Catholic	3,728	48	3,187	44
Protestant	3,029	39	3,125	43
Undisclosed/ Unavailable	648	8	567	8
Other	345	4	387	5
Total	7,750		7,266

The breakdown is based on answers, as stated on the General Housing Application Form, to a question about the religion of the respondent and the raw data are still subject to testing for reliability and validity. The question was answered by over 91 per cent. of applicants.

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown by community background in numbers and percentages is of those allocated public sector housing in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Belfast areas in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003. [166045]

Mr. Spellar: Housing is allocated on the basis of need and not religious affiliation. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive, under its Section 75 Equality duties, is developing a comprehensive approach to record keeping and monitoring in relation to religious affiliation. The information requested is only available for one financial year 1 April 2002–31 March 2003 and the cumulative total for the year in respect of those allocated Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties is as follows:

	Number	Percentage
Northern Ireland
Protestant	4,959	54
Catholic	3,258	35
Undisclosed/Unavailable	530	6
Other	471	5
Total	9,218
Belfast
Protestant	1,331	64
Catholic	579	28
Undisclosed/Unavailable	104	5
Other	73	3
Total	2,087

The breakdown is based on answers, as stated on the General Housing Application Form, to a question about the religion of the respondent. The question was answered by over 91 per cent. of applicants. The proportionately lower level of allocations to Catholic applicants in Belfast reflects the lower stock turnover in Catholic areas.
 
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Pulmonary Hypertension

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on provision in Northern Ireland for sufferers of pulmonary hypertension. [165934]

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave on 30 March 2004 (Official Report, column 1332W).

Redundancies (Foyle)

Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many redundancies there were in the Foyle constituency in the past 36 months. [165395]

Mr. Gardiner: In the past 36 months, to 29 February 2004, there were 1,436 redundancies in the Foyle Constituency confirmed to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the education and retraining specifically tailored for textile workers who have been made redundant. [165396]

Mr. Gardiner: Staff from the Department for Employment and Learning, supported by colleagues from the Social Security Agency, Inland Revenue and local training and Further Education providers, have delivered Redundancy Counselling for those textile workers affected by the recent closures. An important aspect of this service is to promote available education and training opportunities.

In the North West the Further Education sector has been particularly proactive and offers a full range of provision including training in new skills and assistance in the start-up of businesses. In addition, a joint application has been made by the Department for Employment and Learning and FAS, the training authority in the Republic of Ireland, for funding to the European Structural Fund's Interreg Programme, to address the reskilling of redundant workers.

Mr. Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new jobs were created in the Foyle constituency in the past 36 months; and how many of those new jobs are still in existence. [165397]

Mr. Gardiner: There were 2,624 job gains by Invest NI clients within Foyle Parliamentary Constituency Area over the three-year period to March 2003. However, there were also 3,991 job losses by clients during this period resulting in a net loss in employment of 1,367. In addition to this, 322 offers of assistance were made through the 'Start a Business' Programme and the estimate of job creation resulting from these is 531. It is not possible to state specifically which of the new jobs created remain in existence.

Information on the total number of jobs created is not available. Total employee jobs data at Parliamentary Constituency level are only available from the biennial Census of Employment and the most recent figures relate to September 2001. At September 2001, the Census of Employment showed that there were 39,063 employee jobs in Foyle Parliamentary Constituency Area. This represented an increase of 515 (1.3 per cent.) from the previous Census figure (September 1999).
 
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