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14 Mar 2005 : Column 109W—continued
Medical Negligence
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the cost to the Northern Ireland economy of medical negligence in each of the last five years. [220619]
Angela Smith: Information in relation to the last five years is detailed in the following table:
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 4,859 |
| 2000–01 | 9,409 |
| 2001–02 | 7,415 |
| 2002–03 | 13,550 |
| 2003–04 | 15,194 |
The amount paid in any one year in respect of clinical negligence can vary considerably due to the uncertain timing of the settlement of cases.
The Department remains committed to taking appropriate action to address and reduce the incidence of medical negligence, and the subsequent number and amount of claims.
Pension Credit
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) female and (b) male pensioners in Northern Ireland are in receipt of pension credit. [221501]
Mr. Spellar:
In my answer of 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1071W, the figures provided were incorrect. The correct figures are as follows, there are 29.7 per cent. of female pensioners and 24 per cent. of male pensioners currently in receipt of pension credit.
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Pensioners
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) female and (b) male pensioners in Northern Ireland are in receipt of the full basic state pension. [221500]
Mr. Spellar: In my answer of 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1071W, the figures provided were incorrect. The correct figures are as follows, there are 34 per cent. of female pensioners and 78.1 per cent. of male pensioners currently in receipt of the full basic state pension.
Project Funding
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated by the Department of Finance and Personnel under Priority 4-Outward and Forward Looking Region; and what percentage of such monies relates to projects operating on (a) a Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland basis, (b) a Northern Ireland-Great Britain basis and (c) a Northern Ireland-rest of world basis. [210501]
Mr. Pearson: Priority 4 has two measures Measure 4.1 (Networking in Europe and beyond) and Measure 4.2 (Marketing the region for tourism).
Measure 4.1 is implemented by OFMDFM in Northern Ireland and SEUPB in the border region of Ireland. Information on project operational costs is not held in the format requested and the following estimates have been made by the implementing bodies based on knowledge of projects.
| Measure | Implementing body | Total estimated allocation (£) | Percentage (a)(b)(c) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | OFMDFM | 6,435,897 | 20 | 10 | 70 |
| SEUPB | 684,780 | 78 | — | 22 | |
Measure 4.2 is implemented by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in Northern Ireland and the SEUPB in the border region of Ireland. The activities in this measure include international advertising, international promotion, support for market research and website design. A breakdown of the expenditure in the format requested is not possible. To date NITB have allocated £12,371,843 to such projects for the benefit of Northern Ireland only. Similarly £1,309,000 has been allocated by the SEUPB for border region projects only.
Retirement (Health Grounds)
Mrs. Iris Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under what circumstances individuals
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would be entitled to retire on health grounds following the implementation of proposed Government pension scheme changes in Northern Ireland. [220692]
Mr. Pearson: It is assumed that this question is referring to the proposed changes to the pension schemes for civil servants, staff employed in the NHS and for teachers.
Consultation on proposed changes to pensions, including those for ill health retirement, of the main civil service pension scheme in Great Britain and the NHS and teachers schemes for England and Wales are currently under way. As the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme for Northern Ireland, the Health and Personal Social Services Superannuation Scheme, and the Teachers Superannuation Scheme in Northern Ireland operate on a principle of parity with these schemes, the normal approach would be to introduce similar changes for Northern Ireland staff.
The proposals relating to ill-health retirement in the consultation document Building a Sustainable Future—Proposals for Changes to Civil Service Pension Arrangements" are broadly similar to those presently available to members of the premium arrangement of the current civil service pension provisions with the recognition that higher benefits should be paid to those who are most incapacitated. The proposals relating to ill-health retirement for the teachers pension schemes are similar to those proposed under the civil service scheme.
Where the scheme's medical adviser agrees that a member's ill-health is such that they are no longer able to do their job and that this is likely to continue to pension age, the member should receive their pension immediately without any reduction for early payment.
If the scheme's medical adviser considers that the member is virtually unable to do any job, not just their present job, they should receive an increase to their pension, under a formula yet to be determined.
Civil service members who are covered by the current classic arrangements are subject to a slightly modified approach, compatible with an employee contributions rate of 1.5 per cent. rather than the premium contribution rate of 3.5 per cent. Regardless of the degree of incapacity a single level of ill-health pension will be payable.
The review partners of the NHS pension scheme consider that the pension scheme cannot deal with ill health in isolation and that it is important that any changes to the pension scheme are part of an integrated approach to managing ill-health absence. They have proposed that a separate partnership review of sickness
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and ill-health arrangements should be carried out, which will help the pension review determine this aspect of pension scheme design. The consultation document is seeking views on this approach to reviewing sickness and ill-health retirement arrangements.
Sewerage
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the Government's Reform of Water and Sewerage Services in Northern Ireland on (a) the elderly and (b) those who have elderly dependants, based on each of the broad policy options. [221340]
Mr. Spellar: The draft Integrated Impact Assessment published on 29 November set out Government's assessment of the impacts of its policy proposals and options. The draft equality impact assessment element of the IIA noted that the proposal to base domestic water and sewerage charges on property value would have a marginal negative differential impact on the elderly and on those who care for them. A number of measures to mitigate the negative equality impacts were identified, including the provision of discounts for certain low income households. The proposal also envisages that the impact of the low income protection measures should be kept under review to determine how effectively they are mitigating differential equality impacts.
No other impacts on the elderly or those who care for them were identified in the IIA.
Consultation on the draft Integrated Impact Assessment of the proposals for the reform of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland closed on 4 March 2005. Work is under way to analyse and evaluate the comments received. A considered response will be issued in due course along with a final equality impact assessment.
Shellfish and Whitefish
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed in the (a) shellfish and (b) whitefish sectors of the fishing industry in Northern Ireland on the last date for which figures are available. [221336]
Mr. Pearson: Information in respect of the number of people employed in the processing and marketing, catching and other sectors of the Northern Ireland fishing industry is shown in the following table.
The data does not distinguish between employment in the shellfish and whitefish sectors and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
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(35)includes 30 seasonal staff.
Note:
Others" includes harbour jobs, boat building and chandlery supplies.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much and what value of (a) shellfish and (b) whitefish was exported from Northern Ireland to EU countries outside the UK in each of the last five years. [221335]
Mr. Pearson:
Records are not kept in respect of Northern Ireland exports and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
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However, data is held for the UK as a whole, including Northern Ireland. Tables showing the UK exports of shellfish and whitefish species to EU countries over the last five years have been placed in the Library.
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