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25 May 2004 : Column 1539W—continued
Broadband
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the percentage of households in Northern Ireland who have broadband access. [175863]
Mr. Gardiner: Based on analysis of information obtained from the public domain, industry sources and service providers, it can be estimated that broadband services aimed at residential users are available to approximately 70 per cent. of households across Northern Ireland.
Business Tariffs
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in securing European Commission approval for a three year subsidy scheme to reduce tariffs for business customers at 10 per cent. below true costs. [175722]
Mr. Gardiner: A paper has been submitted to the European Commission outlining the Government's proposal to make an intervention aimed at bringing about a 10 per cent. decrease in electricity prices for non-domestic consumers below the level they would otherwise have been.
A meeting to discuss the matter with Commission officials will take place early next month.
Creative Writing Funding
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money was granted by (a) the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (b) the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, (c) the Ultach Trust and (d) Foras na Gaeilge towards the publication of creative writing in the Irish language in Northern Ireland in each year since 1999. [168560]
Angela Smith: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has not made funding available specifically for the publication of writing in the Irish language. However, the Arts Council have given £6,000 per annum to "An tUltach", an Irish language literary and cultural magazine, and in 2003–04, £27,200 to an arts supplement published by Lá, an Irish language newspaper. Both these publications include an element of creative writing in Irish.
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's funds in support of the arts in Northern Ireland is disbursed chiefly through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department has not made any funding directly available for the publication of creative writing in the Irish language.
The Ultach Trust is a registered charitable trust. It is not directly funded by Northern Ireland Departments and the Government are not responsible for the Trust's expenditure.
Foras na Gaeilge has not provided any funding for the publication of creative writing in the Irish language.
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Disabled Drivers
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of people in Northern Ireland are in receipt of a blue badge for disabled drivers. [175862]
Mr. Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Gregory Campbell, dated 25 May 2004:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about how many and what percentage of people in Northern Ireland are in receipt of a blue badge for disabled drivers. I have been asked to reply as the issue raised falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
I can advise you that the number of persons currently holding a Blue Badge in Northern Ireland is 74,146. Based on the 2001 population census figure of 1,685,267, this represents 4.4 % of the population.
Heart Conditions
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many individuals in Northern Ireland have implantable defibrillators; and how many procedures to implant these devices were performed in the Province in each of the last five years. [175160]
Angela Smith: Procedures to perform the implantation of defibrillators are undertaken at the Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust and the Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust. Each trust maintains records of their patients who have been fitted with the device. According to the two trusts there are 381 individuals in Northern Ireland who have been fitted with implantable defibrillators since the beginning of the financial year 1999–2000.
The following table provides figures for the number of procedures that were performed to implant these devices over the last five years.
| Number of implantable defibrillators fitted | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 46 |
| 2000–01 | 66 |
| 2001–02 | 55 |
| 2002–03 | 81 |
| 2003–04 | 133 |
Homeless Report
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the 21st Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 2003–04, "Housing the Homeless". [175902]
Mr. Spellar: I welcome the report and will be making a formal response to the Public Accounts Committee in due course.
Iraq (Public Sector Employees)
Mrs. Iris Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses,
25 May 2004 : Column 1541W
(c) allied health professionals and (d) others employed in the NHS in Northern Ireland are providing assistance in Iraq. [175218]
Angela Smith: The information requested is not available centrally.
Livestock Collection
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the national collection scheme to assist livestock farmers in disposing of fallen stock will apply to Northern Ireland. [175591]
Local Government Finance
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by district council area the (a) total amount of debt owed by each of the 26 local authorities and (b) the amount of debt per elector in each district. [174379]
Angela Smith: The amount of debt owed by each of the 26 district councils and the amount per elector in each district, at 31 March 2003, is set out in following table.
| District council | Debt (£) | Number of electors | Debt per elector (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim(22) | 5,924,159 | 29,301 | 202.18 |
| Ards(22) | 17,365,391 | 48,962 | 354.67 |
| Armagh | 23,116,660 | 37,030 | 624.27 |
| Ballymena(22) | 23,576,459 | 40,836 | 577.34 |
| Ballymoney | 5,006,373 | 18,707 | 267.62 |
| Banbridge | 13,327,993 | 28,685 | 464.63 |
| Belfast(22) | 23,601,119 | 155,929 | 151.36 |
| Carrickfergus(22) | 9,718,566 | 24,470 | 397.16 |
| Castlereagh | 19,030,679 | 42,679 | 445.90 |
| Coleraine(22) | 22,427,214 | 35,155 | 637.95 |
| Cookstown | 1,689,565 | 22,087 | 76.50 |
| Craigavon(22) | 8,614,863 | 53,040 | 162.42 |
| Derry | 20,256,762 | 63,434 | 319.34 |
| Down | 8,715,435 | 41,863 | 208.19 |
| Dungannon and South Tyrone | 1,766,842 | 33,129 | 53.33 |
| Fermanagh | 2,188,192 | 40,742 | 53.71 |
| Larne | 5,260,870 | 20,434 | 257.46 |
| Limavady | 8,999,312 | 20,086 | 448.04 |
| Lisburn(22) | 26,557,800 | 66,498 | 399.38 |
| Magherafelt | 78,117 | 27,551 | 2.84 |
| Moyle(22) | 7,004,403 | 10,576 | 662.29 |
| Newry and Mourne | 21,973,624 | 57,365 | 383.05 |
| Newtownabbey | 29,018,716 | 51,613 | 562.24 |
| North Down(22) | 15,551,195 | 49,671 | 313.08 |
| Omagh | 9,340,300 | 31,709 | 294.56 |
| Strabane | 2,725,066 | 25,388 | 107.34 |
(22) Includes borrowings raised for housing, prior to the establishment of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
Love for Life Programme
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the reason is for the Department of Education's decision to refuse funding for the Love for Life programme in schools. [175692]
Mr. Gardiner:
My Department does not directly fund or prescribe the use of any particular programmes or materials that schools should use. It is entirely a matter for individual schools to select the resources and materials they consider necessary to deliver the curriculum. The Chief Executive of Love for Life was advised of this reason in a letter dated 11 May.
25 May 2004 : Column 1542W
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