---

15 Jul 2004 : Column 1330W—continued

Social Care Students

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what financial assistance is available for students of social care from Northern Ireland who are studying in Great Britain; [182631]

(2) if he will provide bursaries to students from Northern Ireland who are studying social care in Great Britain. [182632]

 
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1331W
 

Angela Smith: Students studying across the range of social care qualifications throughout the United Kingdom may be eligible to apply for support in accordance with the Education (Student Support) Regulations. Such support comprises income assessed grants towards tuition fees, higher education bursaries, student loans and supplementary grants.

The Department also operates a discretionary incentive scheme, available only to those social work students domiciled and studying in Northern Ireland in order to benefit Northern Ireland social services. Students from Northern Ireland who wish to study social work outside Northern Ireland will therefore only be eligible to apply to their local Education and Library Board for support. There are no proposals to change these arrangements.

Victims Groups (Counselling)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of counselling services offered by victims' groups in the Province; and if he will make a statement. [179676]

Angela Smith: Where victims' groups offering counselling services apply for funding from the Victims' Groups Core Funding Scheme or from the Victims Measure of the Peace II Programme they are required by the respective Intermediary Funding Bodies to ensure that the counsellors involved have a relevant qualification and that they follow best practice in line with the Social Services Inspectorate's report 'Counselling in Northern Ireland: Report of the Counselling Review' published in 2002. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

In addition, under the auspices of the Victims Strategy Implementation Fund, a research project has been commissioned with a view to establishing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of different approaches to treatment and therapy, including counselling, provided by victims' groups. It is hoped the project will commence in September 2004.

Waiting Times

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) average and (b) longest current waiting time is for surgery for trigeminal neuralgia at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. [182626]

Angela Smith: A total of seven patients with trigeminal neuralgia are currently waiting for surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. The average waiting time of these patients is 23 months; the longest waiting time is 39 months.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the proposed waiting list for patients with trigeminal neuralgia requiring surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. [182628]

Angela Smith: There are currently seven patients with trigeminal neuralgia on the waiting list for surgery. The Royal Group of Hospitals Trust, in liaison with the four Health and Social Services Boards, has been working hard to address waiting times for all neurosurgery patients. Current measures include additional clinic and
 
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1332W
 
theatre sessions, as well as suitable patients being identified for surgery elsewhere. All patients are treated on the basis of clinical priority.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Young People (Voting)

Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures are being taken to encourage participation of the 16 to 21 age-group in the next general election; and if he will make a statement. [184219]

Mr. Leslie: The Government are keen to ensure that all young people are encouraged to play as full a part as possible in all our democratic processes.

A range of initiatives, such as citizenship education in schools and the UK Youth Parliament, assist this aim. During recent elections, we have sought to bring this learning to life for young people by working with partners to provide mock elections in schools and colleges. We will consider how to take forward such initiatives in future elections.

In addition, the independent Electoral Commission, whose remit includes educating and informing people on electoral matters, makes special efforts to target young people, especially those who are on the point of attaining the right to vote.

Departmental Annual Report

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located. [183840]

Mr. Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs headquarters does not store bulk copies of departmental publications centrally. Policy divisions within my Department retain small quantities of those publications which they have authored. Retention and storage of publications published by The Stationery Office (TSO) on behalf of my Department (such as the departmental annual report) is a matter for TSO. TSO may also rely on the use of on-demand printing facilities to meet the demand for copies.

The Court Service currently holds stocks totalling 766,000 copies of 82 information leaflets. These are stored in Preston. This represents no more than two months' worth of stock for courts around the country.

The Public Guardianship Office currently holds stock totalling 26,350 copies of six information leaflets at its London HQ.

Legal Services Commission

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make provision for a dedicated hotline for hon. Members to have access to the management of the Legal Services Commission; and if he will make a statement. [184154]

 
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1333W
 

Mr. Lammy: The Chief Executive and managers of the commission are pleased to deal with inquiries from MPs. The Chief Executive responds personally to all correspondence from MPs received by the LSC's head office.

MP inquiries received by regional customer service teams are, in the first instance, dealt with by the Customer Service Manager and the inquiry will be referred on to more senior managers as appropriate. Where an MP telephone inquiry is directed to a particular department, these too may be escalated to the relevant senior manager. Written complaints or inquiries from MPs are always responded to by a senior manager.

There are no plans to establish a dedicated hotline for Members of Parliament.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the latest average waiting time is for callers to speak to a telephone operator at the Legal Services Commission London Region Office; what measures he proposes to reduce the waiting time; and if he will make a statement. [184155]

Mr. Lammy: The average figure for the Legal Services Commission's London Regional Office to answer each call during the first quarter of 2004–05 is two minutes two seconds. The target waiting time is no longer than two minutes. The average call waiting time for the London Regional Office for the current week is one minute fifty seconds. On average, it receives 356 calls a day.

In June 2003 the LSC introduced a customer service single score to its regional offices. This uses a range of measures covering the significant aspects of good customer service including time taken to perform key tasks, telephone handling skills and complaints handling. The single score allows the Commission to measure performance objectively and focus on areas where there is most need for improvement.

The Legal Services Commission has recently launched new telephone handling standards. An independent specialist company undertakes on-going quarterly assessments of all the LSC's regional offices' telephone performance (including London) to measure capacity for answering telephone queries effectively, politely, and in language that is clear to the customer.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cyprus

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet (a) Greek, (b) Turkish, (c) Greek-Cypriot and (d) Turkish-Cypriot officials to discuss the future of Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [184029]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I met Ministers from the Governments of
 
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1334W
 
Greece and the Republic of Cyprus at the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on 12 July 2004. We met the elected leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Mr Mehmet Ali Talat in London on 1 July. The Foreign Secretary met Turkish Ministers at the NATO Summit in Istanbul on 28 June.

The Foreign Secretary is meeting the Foreign Minister of Greece next week. I hope to travel to both Greece and Cyprus in the near future.

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance will be made available by (a) the UK Government and (b) the European Union for the rebuilding of facilities in the town of Famagusta for the joint benefit of Greek and Turkish Cypriots and to develop business enterprises in the town; and if he will make a statement. [184114]

Mr. MacShane: We are working with partners on proposals from the European Commission for financial support to the Turkish Cypriots and special conditions for trade with the north of Cyprus. Once agreed, these measures will have a positive effect on the development and restructuring of infrastructure and will contribute to the overall economic development in the north. I am confident that this will be to the joint benefit of both communities and will facilitate the eventual reunification of the island.

---