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Dentistry

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dentists in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Upper Bann are accepting NHS patients; and if he will list the dentists concerned in Upper Bann. [36333]

Mr. Woodward: During the quarter ending November 2005, there were:

(a) 686 dentists in Northern Ireland with new NHS patient registrations and;

(b) 41 dentists in Upper Bann parliamentary constituency with new NHS patient registrations. The names of these dentists can be found in Table 1.

These new NHS patient registrations refer to patients who had not been registered with the dentist at the end of the previous quarter. These may have resulted from patients moving between dentists or may have been re-registration of patients who have not attended the dentist for some time and whose registrations will therefore have expired. Registrations may also have been due to registering for the first time, for example, children or people coming to reside in Northern Ireland.
Table 1: Dentists in Upper Bann parliamentary constituency who have registered new NHS patients during the quarter ending November 2005

Initial	Surname
K.	Adair
W. N.	Armstrong
A. S.	Armstrong
A.	Barker
H.	Burnett
M.	Copeland
S.	Crowe
B.	Friel
E.	Haughey
M. C.	Haycock
B. P. M.	Henry
S.	Herron
J. E. J.	Hulatt
I. J.	Hulatt
P. W.	Lamont
P. G.	Lawson
D. A.	Little
N.	Magee
P. J.	Maguire
D. J.	Maguire
I.	Martin
S.	Matchett
H. K.	McAllister
A.	McAreavey
G. P.	McCleary
S.	McConville
M.	McDonald
C. A.	McGreevy
C.	McGreevy
P. D.	McGuigan
D. J.	McKinney
D. H.	Millar
J. R.	O'Reilly
J.	Orr
K.	Palmer
R. A.	Smith
L. J.	Spence
A. J.	Stewart
P.	Teggart
H.	Topping
J.	Vaughan

 
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Departmental Staff

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the 10 highest-paid employees in his Department; what the (a) job title and (b) salary including bonuses is of each; and whether the individual concerned is (i) a civil servant and (ii) a contractor in each case. [27576]

Mr. Woodward: The 10 highest-paid employees in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) are civil servants. Their salary ranges can be found in the NIO Departmental Report 2005 (Table 7—Senior Civil Service Salaries), a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Information on civil service reward, including colleagues at senior levels, is available at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/index.asp

Examinations (Remarking)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils in Northern Ireland have requested to have their (a) GCSE and (b) A level examination papers re-marked in each of the last 10 years; and how many pupils had their grade improved as a result of re-marking in each year. [36319]

Angela E. Smith: The Council for the Curriculum, Assessment and Examinations has supplied details for candidates taking its examinations from 2001 when the information was computerised. This does not include candidates taking examinations with a number of other awarding bodies that offer GCSEs and A levels in Northern Ireland.

Series	Total A" level requests	Total A" level upgrades	Total GCSE requests	Total GCSE upgrades
2001
Spring	153	0	3	0
Summer	1,462	168	1,515	291
Winter	(36)—	(36)—	16	1
2002
Spring	81	0	0	0
Summer	1,768	158	1,627	344
Winter	(36)—	(36)—	18	5
2003
Spring	161	0	3	0
Summer	2,156	203	2,027	533
Winter	(36)—	(36)—	33	2
2004
Spring	181	1	3	0
Summer	1,956	224	2,472	645
Winter	(36)—	(36)—	44	12
2005
Spring	186	2	0	0
Summer	2,265	237	2,927	705

⁽³⁶⁾No A level examinations held in winter session

Floral Displays

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by local authorities on floral displays in each council area in the Province in each of the last five years. [36354]

 
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Angela E. Smith: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Fugitives

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of setting up the system for dealing with terrorist fugitives from justice proposed in the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill. [34780]

Mr. Hain: The overall cost of the scheme envisaged in the Bill will depend on the numbers of eligible individuals. This is not known at this stage. It is therefore not possible to fully predict the costs of the scheme. The costs will be met from within the NIO's existing resources.

GPs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prior booked general practitioner appointments members of the public in Northern Ireland failed to keep in each of the last five years. [36380]

Mr. Woodward: The Department does not centrally hold information on missed appointments at GP surgeries. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Hospital Admissions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people resident in the Republic of Ireland have been admitted to hospital in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [36378]

Mr. Woodward: The total number admissions ¹ classified as an in-patient, day case or regular day/night admission at hospitals in Northern Ireland where the patient was recorded as a resident in the Republic of Ireland is given in the following table. Patients may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
Number of admissions⁽³⁷⁾ to hospital in Northern Ireland for residents of the Republic of Ireland

	Number
1995–96	1,485
1996–97	1,304
1997–98	1,424
1998–99	1,286
1999–2000	1,936
2000–01	2,669
2001–02	2,442
2002–03	2,324
2003–04	2,488
2004–05	2,910

⁽³⁷⁾Deaths and discharges are used as an approximation for admissions
Source:
Hospital Inpatients System

Residents of countries within the European Union are entitled to treatment if they are taken ill while visiting another European Union state. Patients may also be transferred to another country under formal contractual arrangements between individual hospitals or health boards if the treatment required is not
 
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available locally. Consequently residents from the Republic of Ireland are sometimes treated in Northern Ireland and vice versa.

Hypothyroidism

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the public have complained about their NHS treatment for hypothyroidism in the Province in the last year for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the level of satisfaction with NHS treatment of hypothyroidism in the Province. [36350]

Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not available.

Influenza Vaccine

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage uptake of vaccine for influenza was by those who were eligible in the Province in each of the last five years; and what the uptake has been to date in 2005. [36351]

Mr. Woodward: Information on the percentage uptake of vaccine for influenza in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.
Percentage

	Uptake in over-65s	Uptake in under-65s 'at risk'
2000–01	68	n/a
2001–02	72	n/a
2002–03	72	56
2003–04	73	64
2004–05	73	65
2005–06(38)	59	51

n/a=There was no requirement to monitor uptake in this category during these years.
⁽³⁸⁾The figures for 2005–06 only included those vaccinated up to the end of October 2005. The vaccination campaign does not end until 31 January 2006. Final 2005–06 influenza vaccination uptake figures will not be available before the beginning of April 2006.
Source:
Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Northern Ireland) (CDSC(NI)).

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