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Winkleigh Biomass Project

Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies have been conducted by (a) central Government and (b) the South West Regional Development Agency of potential (i) fossil fuel savings and (ii) additional fossil fuel use if the proposed Winkleigh Biomass Project is completed and running at full capacity; and with what results. [169460]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 29 April 2004]: No such studies have been commissioned or undertaken by the DTI. The developer as part of the application process did undertake an initial assessment of the fossil fuel savings from such a plant. And as part of the assessment process the assessors took into account the estimates made by the proposers.

No such studies have been commissioned or undertaken by the South West Regional Development Agency either. Further detail will be found in the planned Environmental Impact Assessment, which will include an evaluation of potential road traffic.
 
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NORTHERN IRELAND

Area Plans

Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the target date is for the implementation of the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan; and if he will make a statement. [168215]

Angela Smith: The publication date for the Plan has not yet been finalised. Work on the Draft Plan is now well advanced. If the Draft Plan passes through its final stages within the normal time scale, the target for publication is late autumn.

These final stages include:

Clearance by other Government Departments; and

Assessment by the Department of Regional Development for "conformity with the Regional Development Strategy".

Bangor Hospital

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to enhance the services available at Bangor hospital; and if he will make a statement. [169655]

Angela Smith: Bangor hospital currently offers GP in-patient services, a minor injuries service and a wide range of other secondary, intermediate and primary care services. Social care and voluntary sector services are also provided at the hospital. Work is ongoing to develop further the services provided, including the introduction of an advanced digital imaging system that, in addition to improving the quality of the x-ray service, will further enhance the hospital's minor injuries service.

British-Irish Joint Declaration

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in implementing those aspects of the British-Irish Joint Declaration that deal with security normalisation. [166228]

Mr. Pearson: The Joint Declaration, which was published by both Governments on 1 May last year, gave a commitment to the complete normalisation of security over a two-year period, in the context of an enabling environment.

The Prime Minister announced in a statement on 1 May 2003 that the Government would on some aspects of normalisation, push on and do what we can. Since then two towers at Cloghoge and Tievecrum were demolished in June and the Chief Constable announced on 11 February that Clooney Army base in Londonderry would be closed and sold and the Army would vacate the joint Police/Army base at Aughnacloy.

Any further steps will only be taken in light of the threat and the Chief Constable's advice.

Housing Executive Properties

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals were awaiting placement in housing executive properties, broken down by area, in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [169658]

 
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Mr. Spellar: The information is not readily available in the format requested.

The following table shows the numbers of households at 31 March 2004 requiring social housing (Housing Executive and Housing Association) broken down by the applicant's stated preference of Housing Executive District Office area.

The waiting list is not static as households move on and off the list during the course of the year. The trend in demand for social sector accommodation continues to rise steadily. The increases in demand are most pronounced in urban areas and in the east of the province.
Number of households on the waiting list at 31 March 2004

Housing executive district	Number
Belfast 1	926
Belfast 2	1,479
Belfast 3	839
Belfast 4	801
Belfast 5	647
Belfast 6	1,001
Belfast 7	1,746
Antrim	709
Ballycastle	225
Ballymena	1,032
Ballymoney	286
Carrickfergus	839
Coleraine	855
Larne	370
Newtownabbey 1	631
Newtownabbey 2	662
Armagh	559
Banbridge	410
Dungannon	517
Fermanagh	734
Lurgan	659
Newry	1,301
Portadown	413
Bangor	1,488
Castlereagh	984
Downpatrick	919
Lisburn Antrim Street	1,362
Lisburn Dairy Farm	514
Newtownards	1,174
Cookstown	230
Limavady	337
Londonderry 1	623
Londonderry 2	457
Londonderry 3	531
Magherafelt	356
Omagh	370
Strabane	529
Total	27,515

NHS Dentists

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the numbers of dentists working for the NHS in Northern Ireland. [169931]

Angela Smith: The Department has put in place a comprehensive work force planning mechanism that reviews, on an annual basis, supply and demand issues across all HPSS professional groups. The first report on the dental staff group has been completed and its findings did not indicate any general recruitment
 
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difficulties with this group. Nevertheless, the position will be kept under review through the Department's work force planning process.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Parliamentary Questions have been tabled to his Department since 1 January 2003, broken down by (a) Ordinary Written and (b) Named Day; what percentage in respect of (a) were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage in respect of (b) were answered by the specified date. [157740]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The information is not available in the form requested.

However, from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003, 3134 Parliamentary Questions were tabled to the Northern Ireland Office.

From 1 May 2003 to 31 December 2003, the 11 Departments of the NI administration answered 986 Ordinary Written questions of which 79 per cent. were responded to within a working week of the question being tabled. Of the 65 Named Day questions tabled in the same period 80 per cent. were answered by the specified date. The corresponding information in respect of the Northern Ireland Office is not currently available on the same basis.

Prostate Cancer

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in dealing with prostate cancer in Northern Ireland in the past two years. [169933]

Angela Smith: Patients with prostate cancer may be treated either by the regional urology service at the Belfast City hospital or by the Cancer Units at Antrim, Altnagelvin, Craigavon and Ulster hospitals. Strong linkages have been developed between these units in recent years.

Funding has recently been made available for the appointment of an additional urology consultant, with a special interest in uro-oncology, to be recruited jointly between BCH and the Ulster hospitals, and for the appointment of an additional consultant urologist at Craigavon Area hospital. A number of specialist nurses have also been appointed at BCH, the Ulster hospital and elsewhere. Altnagelvin, the Ulster and BCH have developed nurse-led fast track assessment clinics with direct access to urology consultants. Craigavon also plans to introduce this service to help ensure prompt access to investigations and treatment.

Radioactive Contamination (Chernobyl Accident)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many farms in Northern Ireland, comprising what land areas and in what locations, have restrictions applied to them in respect of land use as a result of the residual radioactivity from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. [169876]

 
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Mr. Pearson: It is estimated that 153 farms in Northern Ireland located in three small hill areas at Glenwherry in Co. Antrim and Belraugh and Glenshane in Co. Londonderry had controls applied to the movement and slaughter of sheep as a result of the residual radioactivity from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The three areas extended to some 21,612 acres (8,752 hectares).

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