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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1520W—continued
Waste
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much liquid hazardous waste was sent to in-house landfill sites in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000; and where and how such liquid hazardous waste is now being treated. [203661]
Mr. Morley: Data on liquid hazardous waste sent to in-house landfills are not available.
Since July 2002, the disposal of hazardous liquid waste to any landfill has been banned. Alternative treatments to landfill will be provided at suitably authorised sites. The typical treatments for hazardous liquid wastes will include physico-chemical treatment and biological treatment processes. These use techniques such as precipitation, coagulation and filtration with subsequent dewatering of sludges and disposal of treated non-hazardous liquids to sewer with appropriate discharge consents.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Agricultural Waste Regulations will be introduced. [206783]
Mr. Morley:
On 9 December I announced that the Government had published for consultation the draft Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 ("the Agricultural Waste Regulations"), Official
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Report, column 106WS. The consultation paper is available in the Library of the House and on my Department's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/agwaste-regs/index.htm. The timetable is set out in paragraph 1.7 of the consultation paper and envisages the regulations coming into force from June 2005.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Abandoned Vehicles
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what plans he has to review the legislation concerning the time police must wait until abandoned vehicles can be removed from public roads; [202200]
(2) what plans he has to review the legislation concerning the time period where police must wait until abandoned vehicles can be removed from public roads. [206055]
Mr. Spellar: Articles 47 and 48 of the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (the 1997 Order) makes provision for a constable to remove, or require the removal of an abandoned vehicle from a road. There is no statutory requirement in the 1997 Order requiring a constable to wait for any period before exercising the powers in Article 48, except where it is considered that the vehicle is in such a condition that it ought to be destroyed. In such circumstances, seven days notice is required to be given.
It should be noted, however, that in addition to the powers to remove abandoned vehicles, Articles 47 and 48 also make provision for a constable to remove a vehicle causing obstruction to persons using the road or likely to cause danger to such persons. In such circumstances a constable may remove the vehicle to another position on that or another road or to a place which is not a road. No notice is required to be given and the constable may remove the vehicle immediately.
Roads Service currently has no plans to review the existing legislation, nor has it been approached by PSNI to do so.
Care Packages
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients in the Province avail of the direct payments scheme for care packages; and if he will make a statement. [206182]
Angela Smith: At 30 September 2004, there were 192 persons availing of the direct payments scheme for care packages. Of these, 168 were in receipt of payments for care managed domiciliary packages, and 24 were in receipt of payments for non-care managed packages.
Direct payments increase choice and promote independence. The Carers and Direct Payments Act (NI) 2002 recently extended their availability and the Department is working with the Health and Personal Social Services to improve their uptake across Northern Ireland.
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Chiropody
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients (a) are awaiting and (b) have received in the last 12 months an initial assessment for chiropody services in each trust in the Province. [206123]
Angela Smith: Information on number of patients awaiting initial assessment for chiropody services is not collected centrally. However, information is available on the number of persons who attended their first appointment with a community podiatrist/chiropodist, according to time waited for appointment. This information is shown according to Health and Social Services Trust in the following table, in respect of the year ending 30 September 2004.
Civil Service Jobs
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Civil Service jobs have been relocated from the Greater Belfast area to each of the 12 constituencies in Northern Ireland, excluding North Down, Foyle and the four Belfast constituencies, in each of the last five years. [206057]
General Medical Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the exceptional circumstances clause in the new Northern Ireland general medical services contract and the potential for doctors to be obliged to provide out-of-hours cover. [206181]
Angela Smith:
The legislation relating to the new GMS contract contains a provision requiring any Health and Social Services Board which, despite using its reasonable endeavours, has failed to find an alternative provider to take on the provision of out-of-hours services, to make an application to the Department for approval to refuse the request to opt out of the provision of such services or to delay the effective date of commencement of the opt out. In the interests of securing appropriate provision for patients in such circumstances, the existing out-of-hours provider would be obliged to continue to provide these services. It is
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anticipated that such applications will be extremely rare and, to date, none has been received in Northern Ireland.
Genito-Urinary Medicine
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce targets for waiting times from referral to assessment in genito-urinary medicine. [205991]
Angela Smith: Although there has been some slight increases in waiting times from the previous walk in arrangements, at present there are no plans to introduce targets for waiting times in the genito-urinary medicine service. The Department has conducted a comprehensive review of sexual health services, which included a consultation exercise, and work will be undertaken to examine the way in which the service is delivered with a view to improving access in a local setting.
Hospital Consultants
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) leading hospital consultants are attracted to work and (b) approved training of junior doctors occurs at hospitals in the south-west of the Province. [205967]
Angela Smith: Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust is currently bringing forward plans for modernising service delivery through the implementation of "Delivering Better Services". In keeping with this modernisation programme opportunities are being taken to create more attractive jobs for consultants through engagement in Clinical Networks.
The Trust, in common with other HSS Trusts, is engaged in the modernising medical career programme, which will provide competency based postgraduate training for doctors. It is currently developing a range of potential placements in acute specialties, which will be quality assured by the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.
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