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Bullying

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many instances of school bullying in (a) primary and (b) post-primary schools have been recorded in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [32099]

Mr. Hanson: In the absence of my hon. Friend, the Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith), I have been asked to reply.

The Department of Education does not collect the information requested.

Information about the scale and nature of bullying in Northern Ireland schools is contained in a research report published in October 2002. A research briefing summary is available on the Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/rb8_2002.pdf.

The Department has recently commissioned updated research into bullying, in all its forms, and the results will also be published in due course.

Consumer Debt

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average level of consumer debt in Northern Ireland was in the last period for which figures are available; what assessment he has made of the differential with other parts of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [32104]

Mr. Hanson: In the absence of my hon. Friend, the Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith), I have been asked to reply.

Research commissioned by the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland in February 2004 estimated that overall consumer debt, including mortgages, averaged £15,300 per respondent. Excluding mortgages, the average debt was £2,300 per respondent. This was based on a representative sample of 1,020 Northern Ireland consumers.

At present, there are no directly comparable figures for the rest of the UK. Further research is under way and, when completed, will allow more detailed comparisons of consumer debt within the UK to be made.

Doctors and Nurses

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses there were per head of population in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) each Health Board in each year since 1995. [33089]

Mr. Woodward: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
Doctors employed within the NI HPSS per 1,000 head of population in Northern Ireland and by Health Board area by year as at 30 September

	Northern Ireland	Northern Board	Eastern Board	Southern Board	Western Board
1995	1.41	0.77	2.07	1.16	1.08
1996	1.47	0.94	2.09	1.12	1.13
1997	1.52	0.93	2.13	1.28	1.21
1998	1.65	1.00	2.36	1.26	1.33
1999	1.53	0.88	2.25	1.13	1.24
2000	1.59	0.89	2.35	1.21	1.28
2001	1.63	0.89	2.46	1.17	1.29
2002	1.71	0.91	2.63	1.20	1.35
2003	1.81	0.98	2.78	1.24	1.46
2004	1.89	1.01	2.90	1.31	1.52
2005	1.97	1.13	3.00	1.33	1.57

Notes:
The Mid-year HSSB Civilian Population Estimate for 2005 was not available, therefore the Mid-year HSSB Civilian Population Estimate for 2004 was used for 2005.
1.Doctors include all medical staff employed within the NIHPSS at the following grades: consultants, associate specialists, staff grade, specialist registrars, PRHOs, SHOs, hospital practitioners, general medical practitioners and medical officers.
2.These figures exclude primary care general practitioners.
Sources:
Doctor headcount figures: Human Resource Management System.
Civilian population figures: Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency.




 
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Qualified nurses employed within the NI HPSS per 1,000 head of population in Northern Ireland and by Health Board area by year as at 30 September

	Northern Ireland	Northern Board	Eastern Board	Southern Board	Western Board
1995	8.35	5.80	10.48	7.88	7.52
1996	8.18	5.61	10.44	7.51	7.32
1997	7.83	5.54	9.92	7.02	7.11
1998	7.82	5.63	9.96	6.77	7.14
1999	7.86	5.59	10.04	6.78	7.29
2000	8.00	5.77	10.26	6.81	7.31
2001	7.99	5.84	10.28	6.77	7.20
2002	8.38	5.91	11.01	6.80	7.70
2003	8.80	6.18	11.60	7.17	8.10
2004	9.05	6.38	11.87	7.35	8.50
2005	9.23	6.45	12.10	7.52	8.75

Notes:
1.The Mid-year HSSB Civilian Population Estimate for 2005 was not available, therefore the Mid-year HSSB Civilian Population Estimate for 2004 was used or 2005.
2.Qualified nurses include midwives and health visiting staff.
3.These figures exclude bank staff who fill staffing shortfalls to maintain service delivery.
4.Nursing figures are not available for staff working in general practice surgeries and are therefore not included.
Sources:
Nursing headcount figures: Human Resource Management System.
Civilian population figures: Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency.

Emergency Contraception

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prescriptions of hormonal emergency contraception were prescribed in each of the last 10 years in each region of Northern Ireland. [33074]

Mr. Woodward: Information on the number of prescriptions for hormonal emergency contraception from GP practices, broken down by Health Board is outlined in the following table.
 
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Number of hormonal emergency contraception prescriptions

	EHSSB	NHSSB	SHSSB	WHSSB	NI total
1995	4,766	3,669	2,819	2,475	13,729
1996	5,719	4,561	3,596	3,559	17,435
1997	5,906	4,763	3,961	3,960	18,590
1998	6,245	5,219	4,475	4,571	20,510
1999	6,229	5,335	4,639	4,642	20,845
2000	6,381	5,261	4,707	4,872	21,221
2001	5,697	4,936	4,652	4,729	20,014
2002	5,102	4,620	4,243	4,079	18,044
2003	4,827	4,357	4,096	3,877	17,157
2004	4,413	4,005	3,797	3,617	15,832

Note:
Prescriptions of hormonal emergency contraception are also available in accident and emergency units and specialist clinics. The data in the table only reflect prescriptions of hormonal emergency contraception from GP practices.
Source:
Central Services Agency

Family Planning Clinics

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many family planning clinics there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990; and how many women were seen by them in each year, broken down by health board. [33088]

Mr. Woodward: Information on the number of family planning clinics is not available centrally. Information on the number of women attending family planning clinics is shown in the following table, according to Health and Social Services Board, for the years for which the information is available centrally.

	Eastern HSS Board	Northern HSS Board	Southern HSS Board	Western HSS Board	Northern Ireland
2003–04	20,981	1,845	4,667	5,061	32,554
2002–03	23,319	1,750	4,206	4,866	34,141
2001–02	20,403	2,044	4,730	5,080	32,257
2000–01	22,714	2,283	4,676	4,679	34,352
1999–2000	23,769	3,156	6,112	5,086	38,123
1998–99	24,944	4,825	5,623	5,651	41,043
1997–98	25,217	5,072	5,930	5,255	41,474
1996–97	24,451	5,375	6,373	5,342	41,541

Notes:
1.Information is in respect of the financial year ending 31 March each year.
2.Figures relate to first attendances by women at family planning clinics during the relevant year.

Freelance Musicians

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that the policy of the Inland Revenue on liability for national insurance contributions does not lead to the loss of full-time jobs in the Ulster Orchestra. [30342]

Mr. Hanson: In the absence of my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith), I have been asked to reply.

The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and theArts Council of Northern Ireland are monitoring discussions currently taking place between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the Arts Council of England, the Association of British Orchestras and the
 
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Musicians Union about the national insurance liability on musicians' earnings. These discussions are ongoing and at an early stage.

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