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13 Dec 2004 : Column 926W—continued
Police Service
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland officers stationed in east Belfast were on out-of-station duties on an average shift in the last period for which figures are available. [202869]
Mr. Pearson: An average of 26 officers per shift are on out-of-station duties in East Belfast DCU.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police stations were in operation in east Belfast in each of the last six years. [202872]
Mr. Pearson: Since 2001, when the DCU was formed, three stations have constituted East Belfast DCU, Strandtown, Willowfield and Mountpottinger.
East Belfast DCU is also responsible for the security of sites at Garnerville, Knocknagoney and Brooklyn.
Prior to 2001 Strandtown sub-division consisted of Strandtown and Dundonald stations.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers were stationed in east Belfast in each of the last six years. [202873]
Mr. Pearson: Police officers stationed in east Belfast DCU over the past four years is detailed as follows:
| Number of officers | |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 398 |
| 2003 | 400 |
| 2002 | 382 |
| 2001 | 426 |
East Belfast DCU did not exist in it's current form prior to 2001. It's boundaries and stations were different and a comparison is unrepresentative.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland officers work within the east Belfast district of Northern Ireland, broken down by principal duty conducted by each officer. [202880]
Mr. Pearson: There are 398 officers, including part-time reserve, working within the east Belfast district of Northern Ireland. Their principal duties are detailed as follows:
Radiography
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to collate information on the number of patients waiting for (a) MRI scans and (b) other radiological investigations. [202597]
Angela Smith: Officials will shortly be undertaking a review of the waiting list information collected by the Department. Waiting list information for MRI scans and other radiological procedures will be considered as part of this review.
Officials will also be working closely with colleagues in Great Britain and will be taking account of the outcome of the Statistics Commission report "Enhancing the Value of Health Statistics: User Perspectives".
Regional Adolescent Psychiatry Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many whole time equivalent consultants in child and adolescent psychiatry are working (a) in Belfast and (b) within each of the Province's health boards. [203092]
Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows:
| Area | Whole time equivalent |
|---|---|
| NHSSB | 2.00 |
| SHSSB | 3.00 |
| EHSSB | 7.69 |
| WHSSB | 2.00 |
| Total | 14.69 |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the longest time a patient has been waiting for child and adolescent psychiatry assessment is at each health trust in the Province. [203093]
Angela Smith: The following table details the longest time a patient has been waiting for child and adolescent psychiatry assessment, at each of the Health Trusts in Northern Ireland, which provide Child and Adolescent Psychiatry services. The latest information available is representative of the position at 30 September 2004.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 928W
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the number of (a) child psychologists, (b) child psychotherapists, (c) social workers, (d) nurses and (e) occupational therapists, in the child and adolescent psychiatry specialty in the Province. [201930]
Angela Smith: In October 2002 the Department initiated a wide-ranging independent review of the law, policy and service provision affecting people with a mental health problem or a learning disability. Among other things, this review is examining child and adolescent mental health services. It is likely that many of the recommendations from this review will have workforce implications. The review is expected to complete towards the end of 2005 and further consideration will be given to the work force issues at that stage.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the remit of the Mental Health Review chaired by Professor Bamford includes regional child and adolescent psychiatry services. [201931]
Angela Smith: The Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) does include regional child and adolescent psychiatry services and is examining the full range of mental health services for children and young people. It hopes to produce a draft report for consultation around spring 2005.
Roads
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what expenditure there has been on (a) new roads schemes and improvements and (b) repairs to the roads network in the Lagan Valley constituency in each year since 1997. [204016]
Mr. Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson, dated 10 December 2004:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about expenditure on new roads schemes and improvements and repairs to the road network in the Lagan Valley constituency in each year since 1997. I have been asked to reply as these issues fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
Roads Service does not maintain details of expenditure on a parliamentary constituency basis, however, the table below shows the expenditure incurred by Roads Service on capital (major and minor) road improvement schemes, and on maintenance activities in the Lisburn City Council area during the period 1997/98 to 2001/02. Expenditure details by district council area for 2002/03 and 2003/04 are not yet available.
| Capital(27) | Maintenance | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,368 | 4,915 |
| 1998–99 | 928 | 4,006 |
| 1999–2000 | 646 | 4,551 |
| 2000–01 | 837 | 4,239 |
| 2001–02 | 906 | 5,141 |
(27) Capital includes major and minor works but excludes street lighting, car parks and plant/depot.
In providing this information, I should like to emphasise that Roads Service does not simply apportion its total budget for capital and maintenance expenditure equally across district council areas. In particular, major road improvements are prioritised on a country-wide basis, not on a district council basis, taking account of a broad range of criteria such as strategic planning policy, traffic flows, number of accidents, potential travel save times, environmental impact and value for money. While the actual spend on a major works scheme may be within one council area, the benefits of such schemes are not confined to the district council area or constituency in which they are located.
The resources available for minor capital schemes are allocated to the four Roads Service Divisions and, in turn, apportioned across district council areas on a needs-based priority approach using indicators such as population, weighted road lengths and the number of accidents. This ensures, so far as possible, an equitable distribution of funds across the country.
Similarly the resources available for each maintenance activity (e.g. resurfacing, patching, gully emptying, grass cutting etc) are apportioned to district council areas using appropriate indicators of need.
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