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5 Jul 2004 : Column 536W—continued
Endoscopes
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which hospitals in the Province use automated endoscope cleaners; and when use of this process commenced at each hospital. [181532]
Angela Smith: The hospitals that use automated endoscope reprocessors are as follows.
The date of introduction of the process in each hospital is not available.
Royal Group of Hospitals
Ulster Hospital
Belfast City Hospital
Mater Hospital
Antrim Hospital
Whiteabbey Hospital
Causeway Hospital
Altnagelvin Hospital
Craigavon Area Hospital
Tyrone County Hospital
Daisy Hill Hospital
Erne Hospital
Lagan Valley Hospital
Fertility Treatment
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) latest average waiting time and (b) current longest waiting time for an initial out-patient appointment for fertility treatment in Northern Ireland is; and how many couples are waiting for such an appointment. [179661]
Angela Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Gas Price Increases
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the intended rise in domestic gas prices in Northern Ireland by the largest gas supplier. [181044]
Mr. Gardiner:
The gas price increase, proposed earlier this year by Phoenix Natural Gas, remains suspended pending completion of the company's wholesale gas supply agreement negotiations with Centrica.
5 Jul 2004 : Column 537W
Grammar Schools
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many lower graded pupils admitted to grammar schools were upgraded as a result of representations on special circumstances made to the schools by (a) parents and (b) primary principals in each of the last three years. [180965]
Mr. Gardiner: This information is not centrally available. Admissions decisions, including the consideration of claims of special circumstances, are entirely a matter for the Boards of Governors of individual grammar schools.
When a grammar school receives its applications they consider those claiming special circumstances first and decide on the merits of each case. Those that are considered to warrant a higher grade are then considered alongside the other applications with that higher grade when the admissions criteria are applied. The school will then admit pupils up to its approved admissions number.
Homeless People (Accommodation)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) unannounced and (b) announced inspections the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has made of accommodation for homeless people since the introduction of its revised inspection programme in September 2003. [180913]
Mr. Spellar: The information is as follows.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Unannounced | 45 |
| Announced | 271 |
| Total | 316 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Northern Ireland Housing Executive spent on bed and breakfast accommodation in each financial year from 2000–01 to date. [180914]
Mr. Spellar: The information is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 2.82 |
| 2001–02 | 2.08 |
| 2002–03 | 2.28 |
| 2003–04 | 1.2 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has spent in each financial year from 2000–01 to date to subsidise bed and breakfast rents that exceeded the housing benefit limit. [180915]
5 Jul 2004 : Column 538W
Mr. Spellar: The information is as follows.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 1.5 |
| 2001–02 | 0.9 |
| 2002–03 | 1.3 |
| 2003–04 | 0.8 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of bed and breakfast units used by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive have rent charges that exceed the levels assessed as reasonable by the Valuation and Lands Agency. [180916]
Mr. Spellar: All bed and breakfast accommodation have rent charges which exceed the level assessed for housing benefit purposes as indicated by the Valuation and Lands Agency.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland are in bed and breakfast accommodation provided by the Housing Executive; how many are families with children; what the average time spent in bed and breakfast accommodation is for (a) families with children, (b) those without children and (c) all clients; what the target time set by the Housing Executive is for each group; and if he will make a statement. [180917]
Mr. Spellar: At 24 June 2004 there were 117 households in bed and breakfast accommodation. Of these seven were family households with children.
(a) for families with children—20 days;
(b) for those with out children—135 days; and
(c) for all clients—128 days.
to cease the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children except in emergency and for no more than six weeks by April 2004. At the end of March 2004 the Housing Executive had no families in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks;
to cease the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless households without children except in emergency and for no more than six weeks by March 2006;
to reduce the expenditure on bed and breakfast establishments in 2004–05 by 50 per cent. compared to the £1.2 million spent in 2003–04; and
to secure a reduction in expenditure in 2004–05 by £270,000 on bed and breakfast accommodation for families.
It is the Housing Executive's intention that, ultimately, bed and breakfast will be used only in emergencies and never for families.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many placements of homeless people were made by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive during 2003–04 into (a) the Housing Executive Sector, (b) the voluntary sector, (c) private sector rented accommodation and (d) private sector single let accommodation. [181176]
5 Jul 2004 : Column 539W
Mr. Spellar: During the 2003–04 year the Northern Ireland Housing Executive made a total of 3,934 homeless placements in the following sectors:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| (a) Housing Executive Sector | 620 |
| (b) Voluntary Sector | 1,708 |
| (c) Private Sector | 1,092 |
| (including Bed and Breakfast and House in Multiple Occupation) | |
| (d) Private Sector Single Let accommodation | 514 |
Housing Executive (Private Shared Accommodation)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent estimate is of expenditure by the Housing Executive on private shared accommodation (a) in 2003–04 and (b) during the current financial year to date; and what his current estimate is of the likely out-turn for such expenditure for the entire financial year 2004–05. [181177]
Mr. Spellar: Expenditure by the Housing Executive on Private Shared Accommodation is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| (a) For the 2003–2004 year | 1.2 |
| (b) For the year to date (April 24-June 2004) | 0.2 |
The likely outturn for the 2004–05 year is £0.6 million.
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