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13 Jun 2005 : Column 94W—continued
Overhead Power Lines
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what evidence he has assessed of the possible risk of developing leukaemia to children living close to overhead power lines. [3619]
Mr. Woodward: The Department of Health's Radiation Protection Research Programme has funded Dr. Gerald Draper of Oxford University's Childhood Cancer Research Group to investigate the incidence of childhood cancer near power lines. The results of the first phase of this study were published in the British Medical Journal on Friday 3 June. The Health Protection Agency posted a considered response to the publication on its website, www.hpa.org.uk.
The research so far shows a statistical link between electronic fields (EMFs) and increased cases of childhood leukaemia. At this stage, research has not proved that power lines cause leukaemia in children. The Stakeholder Advisory Group on EMFs, which was set up to consider the need for precautionary measures in relation to EMFs, will address and take into account the findings of Dr. Draper's research so far.
Police Service (Text Messaging)
Lady Hermon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people he estimates will
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register for the Police Service of Northern Ireland text messaging service enabling people with hearing or speech problems to contact the emergency services using mobile phones. [3519]
Mr. Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has informed me that the scheme is still in the very early stages of development. It is too early to know how many people will register for the service but it is hoped that as many people as possible will do so.
Prescriptions
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prescriptions were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those did not require payment by the recipient. [2800]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not collected in the form requested.
The total number of prescription items dispensed, and the number for which the full prescription charge was paid, in each of the last five calendar years is given in the following table. Based upon sample analyses, it is estimated that a further 5 per cent. of prescription items are partly paid for by pre-payment certificates (PPCs), which allow the patient to obtain as many prescription items as necessary during the four or 12-month validity of the certificate for a set fee. Consequently, about 89 per cent. of health service prescription items are dispensed free of charge to patients. Estimated figures for the latter two categories are calculated as follows:
Prison Service
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to increase representation of the (a) Roman Catholic and (b) ethnic minority communities within the Northern Ireland Prison Service. [3517]
Mr. Woodward: Over recent years the Northern Ireland Prison Service has reduced staffing levels after the closure of Belfast and Maze prisons. There have been no major recruitment campaigns to affect the composition of the service.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service did however recruit Night Custody Officers last year. The Service specifically encouraged Roman Catholics and women to apply in the job advertisements which read as follows:
The Northern Ireland Prison Service is committed to equality of opportunity in employment. All applications for employment will be considered strictly on the basis of merit.
The Service welcomes applications from all suitably qualified applicants irrespective of religious belief, gender, race, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation or whether or not they have dependants. As Roman Catholics and women are
- currently known to be under-represented in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, applications from the Roman Catholic section of the community and from women would be particularly welcome".
The Northern Ireland Prison Service has also put in place an outreach programme aimed at young people from the under-represented communities, including ethnic minorities, with the aim of encouraging applications for future vacancies.
Seat Belts
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to implement a policy of installing seat belts on all buses used to transport children to and from schools in Northern Ireland. [2808]
Angela E. Smith: The Department of the Environment is currently considering in detail the implications of implementing such a policy in its assessment of the four key recommendations of the Northern Ireland Assembly's home to school transport public inquiry. It is expected that the findings of this work, which is being carried in partnership with the Department for Regional Development and the Department of Education, will be published for consultation later this year.
Education and Library Boards have been working towards the goal of providing seat belts on all their vehicles—at current rates this will take at least six years. To date, seat belts have been fitted on 63 per cent. of their vehicles.
Tunes Plateau
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland what stage has been reached in the consultation process over the proposed siting of the offshore wind farm at Tunes Plateau, Northern Ireland. [2809]
Angela E. Smith: The project remains at feasibility stage. The statutory consultation process has not yet commenced as the developers have not submitted the evaluation of environmental impacts necessary to support an application for a marine construction licence, or consent to build as required under Article 39 of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.
HEALTH
Anti-TNFa
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ensure that the guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence instructing health care trusts to provide anti-TNFa intervention to those patients with rheumatoid arthritis who qualify is followed by trusts. [3406]
Mr. Byrne:
It is the responsibility of individual strategic health authorities to ensure local compliance
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with clinical guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
Arthritis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on availability of drugs to treat arthritis. [3059]
Mr. Byrne:
There is a wide range of over-the-counter and prescription drugs available to help relieve pain and discomfort and reduce the future damage associated with the 200 different forms of arthritis.
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Asthma
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children have been recorded as suffering from asthma in (i) Brent East and (ii) each London borough in each year since 1997. [2514]
Jane Kennedy: This data is not available in the format requested.
However, information on the numbers of adults and children recorded as suffering from asthma in London is recorded by London local authority of residence. This data is shown in the table for the years 1997–98 to 2003–04.
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