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26 May 2004 : Column 1645W—continued
Diabetes
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the Crest recommendations on diabetes care (a) have been implemented and (b) will be implemented within the next 12 months. [175215]
Angela Smith:
The Crest Taskforce report on the development of services for people with diabetes contains a wide range of recommendations covering the full spectrum of the condition, from screening for people with a higher risk of developing the disease to the prevention and treatment of diabetes. The report acknowledged that implementation of the framework would require a time frame of 5–10 years.
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The Department has allocated an additional £1 million for the development of diabetes services in 2004–05. Priorities for Action requires Health and Social Services Boards to take forward the recommendations of the Taskforce, on a prioritised basis, within a framework to be agreed with the Department by the end of May 2004.
Equal Opportunity Complaints
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many equal opportunity complaints have been lodged with industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland in the last five years; and how many of these were (a) rejected initially, (b) settled, (c) heard and upheld and (d) heard and rejected. [175903]
Mr. Gardiner: This information is not readily available and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Lady with details as soon as possible. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Fibromyalgia
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to fund alternative treatment of fibromyalgia in the national health service in Northern Ireland. [175528]
Angela Smith: There are no specific plans to fund alternative medicine for the treatment of fibromyalgia in the HPSS. Alternative medicine and therapies may be provided within available HPSS resources if the clinician considers that these are the most appropriate treatments for an individual patient.
Private Health Care
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of Agenda for Change on the private sector in health care in Northern Ireland. [175212]
Angela Smith: The new HPSS pay system, Agenda for Change, has been designed around jobs within the NHS across the UK, and when implemented it will only directly be applied to jobs that are within the range of NHS organisations. It is acknowledged however, that any amendment to the terms and conditions of employment of HPSS personnel could have implications for the terms and conditions of staff employed within the private or voluntary health sector.
While the setting of pay rates and defining of terms and conditions for such employees is a matter for the individual independent employers concerned, my Department recognises the financial pressures facing independent sector nursing and residential homes and has made provision for above inflation increases in the regional tariffs over the past three years. This has meant for example an increase of almost 20 per cent. in the weekly fee paid by Trusts for a nursing home place for an elderly person since 2001–02.
The Department has also commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake research into the specific costs of providing nursing, residential home and domiciliary care in Northern Ireland. The consultants
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are expected to present their final report in June 2004, in time for the research to inform budget decisions from April 2005
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people on Northern Ireland waiting lists have had medical treatment in other parts of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [175532]
Angela Smith: The following table shows the number of patients from Northern Ireland who have received medical treatment in other parts of the United Kingdom, in the years 1999–2000 to 2003–04, as part of waiting list initiatives.
| Number of patients transferred to UK for treatment | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000(1) | 90 |
| 2000–01 | 145 |
| 2001–02 | 268 |
| 2002–03 | 269 |
| 2003–04 | 164 |
(1) Eastern Health and Social Services Board and Northern Health and Social Services Board were unable to provide figures for 1999–2000.
Source:
Health and Social Services Boards.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many trained nursing staff from outside the United Kingdom are working in Northern Ireland's hospitals. [175533]
Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mrs. Robinson) on 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 943W, Question Reference 173742.
Maternity Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on (a) the frequency of epidural use in deliveries in Northern Ireland and (b) changes in that frequency in the last 30 years. [175175]
Angela Smith: The information is as follows.
(a) In 2003, the latest year for which figures on pain relief in deliveries are available, there were 5,632 births delivered in Northern Ireland using epidural as a form of pain relief.
(b) In 1994, the earliest year for which data on pain relief in deliveries are available, there were 3,917 births delivered in Northern Ireland using epidural as a form of pain relief.
Over this 10-year period, the proportion of births occurring to Northern Ireland residents in Northern Ireland where epidural was used as a method of pain relief increased from 16 per cent. in 1994 to 26 per cent. in 2003.
The rise in uptake is driven by a number of factors including increased availability and mothers' choice. Mothers are given information antenatally on the forms of pain relief available. Information on epidural is one of the options discussed. Mothers can then make an informed choice as to the method of pain relief they desire during delivery.
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Neighbourhood Renewal
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on neighbourhood renewal; what the timescale is for each stage of the process; and when money will be released for each stage. [175233]
Mr. Spellar: The Department for Social Development launched the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, "People and Place" in June 2003. The Strategy did not specify detailed implementation arrangements, indicating instead that an engagement process would be undertaken to agree implementation arrangements for Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Regional Towns and Cities. This exercise is now complete and the findings from these consultation exercises will be published in the near future.
In addition, interim funding arrangements have been put in place from 1 April 2004 to ensure the continuation of over 100 community projects, which are deemed important to the implementation of Neighbourhood Renewal.
To support the Strategy a Ministerial Working Group on Neighbourhood Renewal was established to oversee the implementation of the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. This group has met on two occasions.
The Ministerial Group has approved the timetable for the establishment of the Neighbourhood Partnership Boards. The Department's aim is to have Neighbourhood Partnership Board, established in the selected areas, by July 2005, with the majority in operation well before this. Funding will be made available to these groups to enable them to develop their Neighbourhood Action Plans. It is the intention of the Department to have all Neighbourhood Action Plans approved by May 2006, again with the majority approved well in advance of this date.
I am also pleased to say that, in March 2004, Department for Social Development launched a scheme under the Neighbourhood Renewal banner, to provide financial assistance to Post Offices in deprived urban areas, which are under the threat of closure.
Recycling
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in Northern Ireland during the last three years to reach Government recycling targets. [175530]
Angela Smith: The Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland set targets for the recovery of household waste (25 per cent. by 2005–06) and a reduction in the landfilling of industrial and commercial waste (to 85 per cent. of 1998 levels by 2005).
The household waste recovery rate has increased steadily since 1998–99 when it was 4.9 per cent. The following table shows year on year figures. The 2003 figures are still being collated and will be available in June 2004. These however are expected to show a further improvement. The 2002 survey of industrial and commercial waste arisings indicated a 36.8 per cent. reduction in landfilling of industrial and commercial waste since 1998.
| Household recovery rate (recycling and composting) | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 4.9 |
| 1999–2000 | 6.6 |
| 2001 | 8.9 |
| 2002 | 9.8 |
| 2003 | (2)— |
(2) Not available until June 2004.
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