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28 Apr 2004 : Column 1128W—continued

Inward Investment (East Londonderry)

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits have been made under the auspices of Invest Northern Ireland by potential inward investors to the East Londonderry constituency within the past 12 months; and how many jobs have been created as a result. [168295]

Mr. Gardiner: Over the past year (April 2003 to March 2004) there have been two visits by potential inward investors to the East Londonderry constituency area. While these have not led to investment to the area, Invest NI continually seeks to build on the recent successes, which has seen a re-investment by Seagate Limavady, and will work closely with other companies in the area, for example Stream, Northbrook and Raytheon.

Lottery Funding (Sport)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Lottery funding has been allocated to (a) the Gaelic Athletic Association and (b) all other sporting organisations in Northern Ireland since the introduction of the Lottery. [167397]

Angela Smith: Since the Lottery began the Sport Council for Northern Ireland's Lottery Fund has awarded £14,350,488 to the Gaelic Athletic Association and £39,888,402 to all other sporting organisations in Northern Ireland.
 
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Multiple Sclerosis

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration he has given to extending the guidelines published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on the management of multiple sclerosis to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [168080]

Angela Smith: Guidelines produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are only applicable to England and Wales; there is no statutory requirement to implement NICE guidelines in Northern Ireland. The Department advises health and social services boards and trusts on the local applicability of NICE guidance, and is considering how guidelines issued by NICE can be fully assessed and applied in the context of Northern Ireland's health and social services.

Following the issue of NICE guidelines on the use of disease modifying medicines for people with multiple sclerosis, the Department agreed to participate with the other UK Departments in a scheme for monitoring patients to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of supplying these treatments. Over 500 Northern Ireland multiple sclerosis patients are currently taking part in the UK-wide scheme.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) verbal and (b) physical assaults against (i) nurses and (ii) other health care staff in each Northern Ireland health trust area there were in each of the last three years. [168271]

Angela Smith: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of recorded assaults (both verbal and physical) on Health and Personal Social Services staff in all disciplines, during the financial years for which figures are currently available, is detailed in the following table:

	Number
2002–03	5,065
2001–02	2,438
2000–01	1,956

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) arrests were made, (b) people were charged, (c) cautions were issued and (d) convictions were reached for assaults on NHS staff in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years. [168272]

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.

Nurses

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what formal training is provided to assist nurses from overseas in adapting to and integrating into a new (a) working and (b) cultural environment. [167714]

Angela Smith: HPSS employers provide comprehensive support by means of induction and adaptation training to help overseas nurses integrate into their new work force and cultural environments.
 
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Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the need to assign a single body with responsibility for recruiting overseas nurses to hospitals and health facilities in the Province. [167716]

Angela Smith: This matter has been included in discussions with HPSS employers about overseas recruitment but the concept of establishing a single body with responsibility for recruiting overseas nurses does not have support and would not represent cost effective use of valuable resources.

Collaboration already exists between local employers in the recruitment of overseas nurses resulting in more effective use of resources.

While I greatly value the contribution of overseas nurses in providing healthcare to our population, I expect the need for overseas recruitment to diminish as the investment in providing additional nurse training places over the last few years shows results.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nurses in each Northern Ireland health trust area have left the profession within two years of registration in each of the last five years. [168267]

Angela Smith: This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) student nurses were employed in each Northern Ireland health trust area in each of the last five years. [168268]

Angela Smith: Figures for the number of full-time and part-time nurses employed in each Northern Ireland health trust area in each of the last five years have been placed in the Library.

Student nurses are no longer employed during their pre-registration training but HPSS employers facilitate practice placements as part of their training programme.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many specialist (a) theatre, (b) coronary care, (c) children's nursing, (d) diabetes, (e) intensive and (f) palliative care nurses were employed in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and what resources are being made available to train nurses in specialist areas. [168269]

Angela Smith: Figures for the number of theatre, coronary care, children's nursing, diabetes, intensive and palliative care nurses employed in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years have been placed in the Library.

The Department currently allocates in excess of £10 million per annum for the provision of post registration nurse training to meet identified service needs. This includes commissioning of "specialist practice" training.

Phoenix Natural Gas

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation's investigation into the proposed price increase by Phoenix Natural Gas. [168629]

 
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Mr. Gardiner: Following consideration of the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAER) report, I met senior representatives of Phoenix Natural Gas on 8 April 2004 when the company agreed to suspend its proposed 20 per cent. increase in gas prices. I met Centrica, the wholesale supplier of gas to Phoenix on 19 April 2004 to emphasise the importance of the gas industry to Northern Ireland. I have subsequently urged all parties to work together to reach early resolution of the outstanding issues in order to secure a stable long-term future for the gas industry in Northern Ireland.

R and D Spending

Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the change in (a) real and (b) nominal terms in private sector research and development spending in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998. [168211]

Mr. Gardiner: The expenditure on research and development (R&D) in real and cash terms that was carried out within companies in Northern Ireland (intramural) each year between 1998 and 2002, and the annual percentage change, is shown in the table.

	Real terms (2002 prices)		Nominal (cash) terms
Period	Intramural R&D spend (£ millions)	Annual percentage change	Intramural R&D spend (£ millions)	Annual percentage change
1998	88.8	—	80.9	—
1999	104.5	17.6	97.2	20.2
2000	147.0	40.7	138.6	42.6
2001	155.0	5.4	149.9	8.2
2002	149.3	-3.7	149.3	-0.4

Source:
DETI (1999, 2001 and 2002 data); Office for National Statistics (1998 and 2000 data)

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