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6 Dec 2005 : Column 1258W—continued
High Hedges
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce legislation to tackle problem high hedges in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [35316]
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Angela E. Smith: The Department of the Environment's recent public consultation to collect information about the number of nuisance high hedges in Northern Ireland supports the need for legislation to address this issue and the Department will take that legislation forward when a place can be secured in the legislative programme.
Fraud and Forgery
Mr. Peter Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) fraud and (b) forgery offences have been reported to (i) East Belfast District Command Unit and (ii) Castlereagh District Command
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Unit in each year since 1998; how many reports led to (A) prosecution and (B) conviction; and what this figure is as a percentage of the total. [31989]
Mr. Woodward: The following tables detail how many fraud and forgery offences have been reported to East Belfast and Castlereagh DCU's in each year since 1988 together with the number of prosecutions and convictions relating to fraud and forgery offences in the period 2000 to 2003 (2000 being the earliest date and 2003 the most current date for which this information is available). As prosecutions and convictions data cannot be linked to offences reported data, it is not possible to provide a meaningful percentage of one in relation to the other.
| Fraud | Forgery | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecutions | Convictions | Prosecutions | Convictions | |
| 2000 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 2002 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| 2003 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 35 | 30 | 12 | 12 |
| Fraud | Forgery | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecutions | Convictions | Prosecutions | Convictions | |
| 2000 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 2002 | 9 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 28 | 24 | 7 | 6 |
Note:
Prosecutions and convictions data is based on the police district command unit in which an offender's address falls
Illegal Drinking Dens
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many illegal drinking dens have been closed down in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; [32229]
(2) how many people have been prosecuted for operating illegal drinking dens in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [32230]
Mr. Woodward:
The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold a central record of the number of illegal drinking dens closed down in Northern Ireland in
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each of the last 10 years. To obtain this information would involve a manual trawl of historical records at disproportionate cost.
The closest prosecution information available relates to offences for selling or supplying intoxicating liquor in unlicensed premises or unregistered clubs, or permitting persons on unlicensed premises.
The following table provides the number of persons prosecuted for liquor law offences during the period 1994—2003 (the latter being the most up-to-date data presently available).
| Number of prosecutions | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 12 |
| 1995 | 9 |
| 1996 | 10 |
| 1997 | 5 |
| 1998 | 5 |
| 1999 | 6 |
| 2000 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1 |
| 2002 | 4 |
| 2003 | 3 |
(31) Includes prosecutions for offences relating to selling or supplying intoxicating liquor in unlicensed premises or unregistered clubs, or permitting persons on unlicensed premises.
Juvenile Ill Health
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland under the age of 20 years have been found to have (a) high cholesterol levels, (b) high blood pressure, (c) heart conditions and (d) diabetes in each of the last 10 years. [34553]
Mr. Woodward: Information is not available on the number of people in Northern Ireland who have been found to have the aforementioned conditions. However, information is available on the number of admissions to hospital where high blood pressure, heart conditions and diabetes have been diagnosed.
(a) There is no information available on the number of people found to have high cholesterol. It has not been possible to identify patients suffering from high cholesterol who have been admitted to hospital.
(b) The following table provides figures on the number of admissions to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure) for each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
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(c) The following table provides figures on the number of admissions to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of coronary heart disease for each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
| 2004–05 | 34,938 |
| 2003–04 | 31,656 |
| 2002–03 | 30,846 |
| 2001–02 | 32,824 |
| 2000–01 | 32,639 |
| 1999–2000 | 27,847 |
| 1998–99 | 28,068 |
| 1997–98 | 28,319 |
| 1996–97 | 29,231 |
| 1995–96(33) | 26,075 |
(d) The following table provides figures on the number of admissions to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes for each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
| 2004–05 | 19,778 |
| 2003–04 | 32,366 |
| 2002–03 | 17,446 |
| 2001–02 | 18,534 |
| 2000–01 | 16,876 |
| 1999–2000 | 14,956 |
| 1998–99 | 12,751 |
| 1997–98 | 12,610 |
| 1996–97 | 12,183 |
| 1995–96(33) | 10,092 |
(32) Discharges and deaths are used as an approximation for admissions. It should be noted that any individual could have been admitted to hospital more than once over the course of a year or over a number of years and would therefore be counted more than once in the tables.
(33) Discharges from hospital during 1995–96 have the final diagnosis coded in accordance with the 9th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death (ICD-9). Discharges from all other years are coded in accordance with ICD-10.
Lakeview Hospital, Derry
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on medical staffing levels at Lakeview hospital, Derry. [33970]
Mr. Woodward: Recruitment of staff is a matter for individual health and social services trusts taking into account factors such as service needs, available resources and in keeping with the need to maintain high quality services. Lakeview hospital has been experiencing difficulties recently recruiting a Consultant Psychiatrist, and the Trust has taken steps to minimise any adverse impact and is making every effort to recruit a replacement.
The numbers in training in the relevant specialty have been increased in recent years to provide candidates for Consultant vacancies as they arise. Trusts need to take all necessary steps to ensure their posts are attractive to potential candidates.
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