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6 Jun 2005 : Column 366W—continued
HIV/AIDS
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were diagnosed as being HIV positive (a) to date in 2005, (b) in 2000, (c) in 1995 and (d) in 1990. [2229]
Mr. Woodward: The number of people who had a diagnosis of HIV positive in Northern Ireland are as follows:
Please note that the figure for 2005 is provisional and is liable to change as further reports for this period are received.
Home Ownership
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the adult population in Northern Ireland own their own homes; and what the equivalent figures were for each of the last five years. [2189]
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Mr. Hanson: It is not possible to supply figures for the number of adults involved, but the following table shows the approximate percentage of households that are either 'owned outright' or 'owned with mortgage' between 1998–99 and 2003–04.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 68 |
| 1999–2000 | 67 |
| 2000–01 | 69 |
| 2001–02 | 72 |
| 2002–03 | 72 |
| 2003–04 | 73 |
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent steps have been taken by his Department to help first-time home buyers in Northern Ireland. [2191]
Mr. Hanson: The Co-ownership scheme, which has been in operation in Northern Ireland since 1978, offers first time buyers on marginal incomes, who would not be eligible to obtain a full mortgage, the opportunity to become home owners on an equity sharing part mortgage/part rent basis.
In recognition of the success of the scheme which has, since its inception in 1978 assisted almost 18,000 participants into home ownership, the Department has recently increased its funding level by £23 million over the next three years to provide almost £39 million over the period. This, together with funding of almost £60 million which will be provided by the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association (NICHA), which operates the scheme on the Department's behalf, will help support around 2,400 applicants over the period. The eligibility rules have also recently been amended to make the scheme more reflective of house prices in the starter home end of the market.
The social housing house sales scheme also makes an important contribution in providing an opportunity for those in the social rented sector to become home owners. The scheme has recently been extended to housing association tenants.
Hospital Consultants
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what incentives are being provided to attract hospital consultants in Great Britain to work in the Province. [1405]
Mr. Woodward: There are no incentives specifically offered to attract hospital consultants from Great Britain to take up appointment in the Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland. However, Health and Personal Social Services employers may offer assistance with reasonable" removal expenses to any hospital consultant relocating to Northern Ireland.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how he expects front line hospital services to be affected as a result of his Department's proposal to reduce overtime by hospital consultants in Northern Ireland. [2261]
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Mr. Woodward: I do not expect frontline services to be affected by the reduction in additional activity being funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in 2005–06. The reduction equates to a 4.5 per cent. increase in consultant productivity which is not an unreasonable expectation given the high level of investment placed in the new consultant contract.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the British Medical Association and other interested parties in relation to his Department's proposal to cut overtime by hospital consultants in Northern Ireland. [2262]
Mr. Woodward: Both the BMA and the Department negotiated the terms of the new contract for consultants. It seeks to introduce more efficient use of consultants' time and, in particular, an increase in the time spent on direct clinical care. There have not been any discussions specifically relating to overtime.
Intensive Care Beds
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of hospital beds within each health trust in the Province are (a) intensive care and (b) high dependency unit beds. [1437]
Mr. Woodward: Intensive Care and High Dependency Unit Beds form part of the service supplied in the acute sector of care. The number of Intensive Care Beds (ICU) and High Dependency Unit Beds (HDU) in each Health Trust is shown in the following table, as a percentage of all acute beds in the Trust.
Figures are representative of the position at 1 April 2005.
In addition to those beds included in the table, there are a number of critical care beds held for a specific purpose.
8 Intensive Care and 6 High Dependency unit beds are situated in the Royal Victoria Hospital in the Cardiac Surgery specialty
Local Community Fund
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria were used when allocating the recently announced £3 million from the Government's local community fund to aid the regeneration of deprived areas in Northern Ireland. [2271]
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Mr. Hanson: The 48 areas to receive an allocation from the local community fund were initially announced in July 2003. The target areas were determined by applying the noble indices to identify the most deprived areas (worst 10 per cent. of wards and the worst 10 per cent. of enumeration districts not in the top 10 per cent. of wards) supplemented by the outcome of work carried out by Community Foundation for Northern Ireland to provide the focus on areas of weak community infrastructure.
Lough Neagh
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the ownership of Lough Neagh. [2195]
Angela E. Smith: The bed and soil of Lough Neagh, and fringing lands accreted as a result of the lowering of the water level in 1959, are owned by the Shaftesbury Estate of Lough Neagh Ltd.
This ownership includes shooting rights, mineral rights to extract sand and gravel, and rights to charge for laying moorings and building jetties.
The Estate does not claim to own navigation rights or to own the water itself.
MOT Tests
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to reduce the waiting time for MOT testing at driver and vehicle test centres in Northern Ireland. [2225]
Angela E. Smith: The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency is working to restore normal services as soon as possible and is now carrying out more vehicle tests than applications received each week. The action being taken includes maximising available resources at test centres, use of overtime working, redeployment of staff and the recruitment of additional vehicle examiners. Certificates of temporary exemption, which allow vehicles to be taxed and driven legally until they can be tested, continue to be issued where appointments cannot be offered within 21 days.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current average waiting time is for MOT inspections in each vehicle testing agency site in Northern Ireland. [2226]
Angela E. Smith: The following table shows the average waiting times for vehicle tests, including MOT inspections, in each vehicle testing agency site in Northern Ireland for week ending 21 May 2005.
| Test centre | Average waiting time in weeks |
|---|---|
| Armagh | 6 |
| Ballymena | 7 |
| Belfast | 4 |
| Coleraine | 9 |
| Cookstown | 8 |
| Craigavon | 6 |
| Downpatrick | 5 |
| Enniskillen | 10 |
| Larne | 5 |
| Lisburn | 7 |
| Mallusk | 5 |
| Londonderry | 10 |
| Newry | 7 |
| Newtownards | 4 |
| Omagh | 13 |
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The overall average waiting time for all vehicle test categories is seven weeks.
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