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10 Nov 2004 : Column 778W—continued

Gambling

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information she has collated on the number of problem gamblers in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) each region of England. [197199]

Mr. Caborn: The available information is set out in "Gambling behaviour in Britain: Results from British Gambling Prevalence Survey", published by the National Centre for Social Research, which was summarised in the report of the Gambling Review Body (CM 5206).

Regulatory Compliance Costs

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the aggregate annual cost as measured by the regulatory impact assessments is of compliance with regulations introduced by her Department since 1997; [196570]

(2) what her latest estimate is of the total cost in a year of compliance with regulations for which her Department is responsible. [196571]

Mr. Caborn: All proposals which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector require a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) which includes details of the costs, benefits and risks of the proposal. RIAs are subject to public consultation and copies of final RIAs are available from the House Libraries and on departmental websites.

Special Advisers

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many unpaid special advisers the Department has; what their names are; and which Government (a) bodies, (b) committees and (c) strategy groups each unpaid adviser (i) belongs to, (ii) advises and (iii) works alongside. [194055]

Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly) on 28 October 2004, Official Report, column 1380W.

Sport Participation

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of children under the age of 18 who (a) play rugby, (b) play football, (c) play cricket and (d) take part in boxing. [197370]

 
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Mr. Caborn: According to surveys undertaken in 2003, the numbers of children under the age of 18 who play rugby, football, cricket and take part in boxing are as follows:

	Number
Rugby	1,064,000
Football	4,593,000
Cricket	2,599,000
Boxing	4,519

Windsor Castle (Power)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to public funds will be of the provision of two hydro-powered turbines at Windsor Castle. [196835]

Mr. Caborn: None: the cost of the provision of four small turbines, rather than two large ones, is being met by the electricity generating company.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Winter Fuel Allowance

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the annual cost of extending the winter fuel allowance to disabled people aged below 60 years who are in receipt of (a) middle or higher rate care and (b) the higher mobility component of disability living allowance. [196779]

Malcolm Wicks: The estimated annual cost of extending the winter fuel payment to disabled people aged below 60 years who are in receipt of either the middle or higher rate care component or the higher mobility component of disability living allowance is £235 million for 2004–05.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Age-related Macular Degeneration

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the prevalence of age related macular degeneration in the Province. [196249]

Angela Smith: Information on age related macular degeneration is routinely collected through current eye examinations to determine serious visual impairment.

Analysis of that information is undertaken by the Ophthalmology Department at the Royal Victoria hospital. It has advised that prevalence rates of macular degeneration in Northern Ireland are consistent with those elsewhere in Europe and the United States.

Prevalence rates are typically around 5 per cent. of those aged 60; 10 per cent. of those aged 70; and 20 per cent. of those aged 80 or over.
 
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Anti-TNF Medications

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there is an upper age limit for treatment with anti-TNF medications in the Province. [196250]

Angela Smith: There is no prescriptive upper age limit for treatment with anti-TNF therapies. However, local clinicians do take the age of the patient into account when considering whether the potential clinical benefits arising from treatment outweigh the risk of side effects. As individuals get older, there is an increased risk of serious infection in those with a longer duration of inflammatory disease, and where patients have complex medical histories.

The decision to prescribe an anti-TNF medicine is, therefore, a clinical one, which takes account of the specific needs of the individual and experience of use of these new products.

Asbestos

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the sites in Northern Ireland where (a) asbestos and (b) asbestos products can be legally disposed of; and what safety measures are in place at these locations to protect members of the public. [197068]

Angela Smith: There are currently no facilities in Northern Ireland for the disposal of asbestos or wastes containing asbestos. However there is one facility, a waste transfer station located in Belfast, which is presently licensed to accept asbestos waste, on a temporary basis, prior to onward movement for disposal in Great Britain. This facility operates under a waste management licence which provides conditions for the environmentally sound management of the wastes accepted at the site.

Autism

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where in the Province autism early intervention teams (a) are operating and (b) will be introduced within the next 12 months. [196956]

Angela Smith: Within the Eastern Health and Social Services Board, there are teams with specialist skills and experience in Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) located in each of the Trust's Child Development Clinic structures, which are locality based.

There are diagnostic teams within the Northern Health and Social Services Board. Within the next 12 months, Homefirst Trust will be developing its team further to include post-diagnostic support.

Within the Southern Health and Social Services Board there is an area wide Attention Behaviour Communication Specialist Assessment Clinic and Early Intervention (ABC) Clinic. The Board hopes to strengthen this clinic within the next 12 months with additional intervention workers and also associated training for professional and parents.

The Western Health and Social Services Board has been developing plans for enhancing diagnostic and assessment services during 2004/05 and 2005/06. The
 
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Board has also funded PAPA to employ, from 1 March 2004, an early intervention worker to pilot early intervention service.

Aviation

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in developing an aviation strategy for Northern Ireland. [197067]

Mr. Spellar: The Government's policy in relation to the future of air transport in Northern Ireland was set out in the Air Transport White Paper published in December 2003.

Back Pain

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent estimate is of the number of days lost from work in a year in the Province as a result of back pain. [196352]

Mr. Gardiner: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave on 7 June 2004, Official Report, columns 138–39W. A more recent estimate is not available.

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