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1 Feb 2005 : Column 873W—continued
Cold Weather Premium
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people over the age of 75 were claiming the additional cold weather premium at the latest date for which figures are available. [211874]
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Mr. Spellar: The Social Security Agency does not provide a specific additional cold weather premium" although it does provide cold weather payments and winter fuel payments.
It is not possible to calculate the number of people over the age of 75 claiming either of the above. However 50,000 persons over 80 qualified for an additional payment.
Control Orders
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the introduction and application of control orders in Northern Ireland. [212046]
Mr. Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Home Affairs wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with an outline of his proposed policy on 21 January 2005. Until detailed legislative proposals are brought forward, it will not be possible to assess the applicability of Control Orders to Northern Ireland.
Currie School
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what financial assistance was provided to the Currie primary school in North Belfast in this financial year. [211963]
Mr. Gardiner: I am advised by the Belfast Education and Library Board that Currie primary school has received recurrent funding of £314, 280 to-date, an additional £37,742 under the Interface Schools Initiative and £2,000 for landlord maintenance in this financial year.
Dentistry
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what incentives he has assessed to encourage dentists in the Province to work within the NHS. [212181]
Angela Smith: The health service provides a full range of dental services through general dental practitioners, the community dental service and the hospital dental service. In terms of general dental practitioners there is a dentist for every 2,400 people here, which is better provision than in England, Scotland and Wales.
No incentives are currently required to attract dentists to the health service. However, the General Dental Services, through which the vast majority of primary dental care is delivered, is in need of reorganisation in order to provide a quality service to patients, address the oral health needs of the population and provide a rewarding career for dental professionals. This is being taken forward through the work on the development of a Primary Care Dental Strategy. As part of that work, consideration will be given to whether any new contractual arrangements, including those currently being developed in England, should be introduced here.
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Eating Disorders
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects specialist eating disorders teams to be operational within each board area in the Province. [212185]
Angela Smith: The recruitment process is currently ongoing and it is expected that team-members should be appointed by May. However, due to the nature of the very specialized work, further in-service training may be required before the teams are fully operational.
Firearms Order
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place a copy of the equality impact assessment of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 in the Library. [211778]
Mr. Pearson: An equality impact assessment of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 was not carried out. A previous screening exercise on firearms policy had not indicated an adverse impact on any of the groups listed in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
Fraud Losses
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on losses from fraud affecting the health service in the Province. [212187]
Angela Smith: Information on losses from theft and fraud affecting the Province's health service in each of the last two years is provided in the following table.
| Year ending 31 March: | Reported losses due to theft and fraud (22) | Estimate of loss due to incorrect claiming of prescription exemption(23) |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 61,721 | 8.0 |
| 2003 | 121,204 | 10.0 |
(22)This represents the amounts reported in the annual accounts of the Department, HSS Boards and HSS Trusts. The Department does not collect information on losses relating to theft and fraud separately.
(23)It should be noted that the estimate of loss due to incorrect claiming of exemptions from prescription charges, will include those losses due to error as well as fraud.
The Department remains committed to the continuing reduction of loss of funds due to fraud and theft.
Health and Social Services Trusts
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost of administration of the health and social services trusts in Northern Ireland is in the 2004–05 financial year. [211522]
Angela Smith:
Information on the total cost of administration in the 2004–05 financial year is not available at this time, as the financial year runs until the 31 March 2005.
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Health Staff Checks
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under what circumstances police checks are conducted on applicants for (a) permanent local trust and (b) agency health care staff posts. [212168]
Angela Smith: Police checks are not routinely carried out on applicants for permanent local trust or agency health care staff posts. However, the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety currently recommends that pre-employment checks are carried out where potential employees will have substantial unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults.
Hospital Cleaning
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each health trust in the Province spent on cleaning in the last 12 months. [212182]
Angela Smith: Provisional figures for Health and Social Service Trust expenditure on cleaning in the 2003–04 financial year are shown in the following table. However, the figures do not include any expenditure on cleaning services that are contracted out, as these cannot be separately identified.
MRI Scans
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 252W, on MRI scans/scanners, what action he has taken following the offer by an independent provider to carry out additional MRI scans on a not-for-profit basis. [212176]
Angela Smith:
The Department has had preliminary discussions with an independent provider of MRI services to explore options for the provision of additional MRI scans to patients in Northern Ireland. Further consideration is being given to the costs and the level of demand.
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