| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1488W—continued
Racism
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many racially-motivated attacks were reported in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [187411]
Mr. Pearson: The Police Service of Northern Ireland record incidents which are perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be racial. They have supplied the following figures:
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal abuse threat | 132 | 67 | 77 | 50 | 56 | 109 |
| Written material | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Graffiti | 5 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Physical assault | 15 | 54 | 58 | 37 | 50 | 103 |
| Attack on home | 13 | 53 | 49 | 38 | 59 | 148 |
| Attack on property | 20 | 37 | 45 | 33 | 39 | 57 |
| Other | 7 | 15 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 19 |
| Total | 93 | 237 | 260 | 185 | 226 | 453 |
The number of incidents reported for 2003–04 increased 100 per cent. from the same period the previous year. This increase is believed to reflect the considerable effort made by the Police Service to build confidence within Minority Ethnic Communities and encourage the reporting of such incidents.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were convicted of racially motivated offences in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [187415]
Mr. Pearson: Accurate information in respect of conviction rates is not currently available. The Police Service of Northern Ireland have recently introduced new recording and monitoring systems in respect of racially motivated crimes which will assist police in identifying crimes of this type. A detailed analysis of incidents reported during 2003–04 is presently being undertaken and this information will be available in due course.
Rail Services
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answers of 7 September 2004, references 185114 and 185115, on rail services, whether the totals for (a) infrastructure maintenance: cross-border line and (b) upgrading the cross-border line include money spent on maintaining and improving the Enterprise rail service between Belfast and Dublin. [188273]
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1489W
Mr. Spellar: Translink has confirmed that the costs detailed in my answer of 7 September 2004, Official Report, column 1136W, number 185114 for (a) infrastructure maintenance of the cross-border line and (b) upgrading the cross-border line do not include the costs of maintenance and improving the Enterprise rail service between Belfast and Dublin. These costs are detailed separately in my answer of 7 September 2004, Official Report, column 1136W, number 185115.
Railways
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money from Northern Ireland departments has been spent on (a) maintaining and (b) improving the rail service between Belfast and Londonderry in each of the past five years. [188274]
Mr. Spellar: Public money spent on (a) maintaining and (b) improving the rail service between Belfast and Londonderry in the past five years is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure maintenance | |
| 1999–2000 | 912,000 |
| 2000–01 | 939,000 |
| 2001–02 | (30)1.088 |
| 2002–03 | (30)1.199 |
| 2003–04 | (30)2.179 |
| Improvements | |
| 1999–2000 | 100,000 |
| 2000–01 | 350,000 |
| 2001–02 | 200,000 |
| 2002–03 | 100,000 |
| 2003–04 | 28,000 |
(30) Million
Regional Disablement Service
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the merits of providing funding directly to the Regional Disablement Service rather than through health boards. [187786]
Angela Smith:
Funding for the Regional Disablement Service is provided by the four Health and Social Services Boards from the Physical and Sensory Disability Programme of Care budget via Service Level Agreements with Green Park Trust for the provision of services. The agreements are subject to regular monitoring and performance management to ensure that the best possible care is provided. As each Board has a statutory responsibility for the commissioning of services for its resident population, and the current arrangements provide a robust accountability regime, there are no plans to change them.
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1490W
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is planned that the Regional Disablement Service should provide satellite clinics in the Province. [187787]
Angela Smith: The contract for provision of prosthetic and technician services is currently being tendered. The new contract provides for the establishment of satellite clinics during its term, which commences 1 April 2005 and runs for a period of seven years. A detailed specification for a satellite service and its funding would have to be developed in collaboration with Health and Social Services Boards ahead of its actual establishment.
Respite Beds
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many respite beds there are in each (a) council and (b) health board area; and how many of these beds are (i) solely for the use of patients with particular conditions and (ii) restricted to use by individuals within a certain age range. [187763]
Angela Smith: Information on the number of beds which may be used to provide respite care is not collected centrally. Health and social services boards do not have a specified number of residential or nursing home beds dedicated solely to respite care, as beds may be used to accommodate either permanent residents or persons requiring respite according to demand.
Ulster Hospital
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the (a) number and (b) workload of plumbers at the Ulster Hospital (i) in 1994 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available. [187814]
Angela Smith: In 1994 the Ulster Hospital employed four whole-time equivalent plumbing staff to provide a service to the Ulster Hospital and community facilities in the East Belfast and Castlereagh areas.
The Ulster Hospital and Community HSS Trust currently employs four whole-time equivalent plumbing staff to provide a service to the Ulster Hospital and health and social care facilities in Newtownards and Bangor.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the state of (a) plumbing and (b) sewers at the Ulster Hospital. [187817]
Angela Smith:
The condition of plumbing services and sewage systems in the Ulster Hospital is considered to be in a condition consistent with the age of the buildings.
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1491W
The redevelopment programme that has commenced at the Ulster Hospital includes the replacement of the existing sewage system and renewal of internal plumbing services.
Universities
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Protestant, (b) Roman Catholic and (c) other students domiciled in Northern Ireland commenced university courses in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Great Britain in each of the last 10 years. [187812]
Mr. Gardiner:
Information on students enrolled at higher education institutions is collected and provided to the Department for Employment and Learning by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. Religion is only recorded for NI domiciled students enrolled at NI higher education institutions. The religion of students enrolled at higher education institutions in GB is not collected.
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1492W
Religion was first collected in the 1995/96 academic year and the latest information available relates to the 2002/03 academic year. The breakdown of religion for the NI institutions is shown in the table.
| Academic year | Protestant | Roman Catholic | Other | Not known/unavailable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995/96 | 995 | 1,155 | 73 | 11,537 | 13,760 |
| 1996/97 | 925 | 1,124 | 54 | 9,984 | 12,087 |
| 1997/98 | 3,389 | 4,528 | 315 | 6,497 | 14,729 |
| 1998/99 | 3,563 | 4,774 | 399 | 6,650 | 15,386 |
| 1999/2000 | 3,724 | 5,241 | 412 | 5,708 | 15,085 |
| 2000/01 | 4,627 | 6,634 | 509 | 5,608 | 17,378 |
| 2001/02 | 4,564 | 6,148 | 470 | 7,116 | 18,298 |
| 2002/03 | 5,720 | 7,564 | 663 | 4,806 | 18,753 |
Figures for 1995/96 to 1999/2000 relate to a snapshot of enrolments at 1 December in the relevant academic year and figures for 2000/01 to 2002/03 relate to a full-year count.