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26 Jan 2006 : Column 2319W—continued
Education Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding per pupil in real terms was spent on (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) further education in each local authority area of Northern Ireland in each of the past 20 years. [44526]
Angela E. Smith:
The information in the form requested is not available in the format or over the time period requested.
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Firearms
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many suspected members of the IRA have been found in possession of firearms since the IRA declared it had fully disarmed. [43726]
Mr. Woodward: PSNI has confirmed that no suspected members of the IRA have been found in possession of firearms since the IRA declared it had fully disarmed.
Hospitals (Delayed Discharges)
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to reduce unnecessary delays in discharges from hospitals in Northern Ireland. [44910]
Mr. Woodward: Reducing the number of delayed discharges is a key priority for the Government. We have set a target to reduce the number of delayed discharges in 2005–06 by 15 per cent. Action is being taken to streamline processes within hospitals to ensure that people remain as patients no longer than is necessary.
HPSS bodies have drawn up detailed plans to address delayed discharge, a key feature of which is the expansion of intermediate care services designed to prevent unnecessary admissions and facilitate prompt discharge. These developments are part of wider reform and modernisation across the HPSS, which aims to reduce reliance on hospitals by expanding community-based services so that people can have access to efficient and high quality services in the most appropriate setting.
Inter-community Projects
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he is proposing to sustain PEACE II funded inter-community projects in Northern Ireland beyond 2008. [43829]
Angela E. Smith: EU PEACE funding is finite, special assistance. As a result, all assisted projects were required to have an exit strategy in place.
We have now secured a third round of EU PEACE funding but with a much smaller budget than before. The details of this third PEACE Programme, including its spending priorities and project selection criteria, will be developed following extensive consultation over the coming months. Some projects currently funded under PEACE II may be eligible to compete with other project proposals for a share of the available funding.
Alternatively, some current PEACE II projects may bid for mainstream public expenditure. Such bids will be assessed against other, competing bids on the basis of merit and potential contribution to the overall objectives of the relevant accountable Department.
Interuterine Insemination
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for how many patients each health board has commissioned interuterine insemination (IUI) treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by IUI (a) service provider and (b) location. [44817]
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Mr. Woodward: The number of patients for whom interuterine insemination treatment (IUI) was commissioned in each of the last five financial years is shown in the following table:
(29)Figures for Eastern Board are not available for 2000–01 and Northern Board figures are not available prior to 2002–03.
Note:
Eastern Board figures do not include unstimulated intrauterine insemination (SIUI) treatments.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients have received interuterine insemination treatment at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in each of the last five years. [44818]
Mr. Woodward: The number of patients who have received interuterine insemination treatment at Altnagelvin Area Hospital is shown in the following table. It is important to note that each patient will have had up to four cycles of treatment with numerous hospital visits for each cycle.
| Number of patients | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 58 |
| 2001–02 | 42 |
| 2002–03 | 45 |
| 2003–04 | 31 |
| 2004–05 | 54 |
Source:
Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients have been affected by the withdrawal of interuterine insemination services at Altnagelvin Area Hospital. [44819]
Mr. Woodward: There are currently 68 patients on the waiting list for interuterine insemination treatment at Altnagelvin Area Hospital. In addition, there are 94 patients who have already been registered for interuterine insemination treatment and will have their treatment completed.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long the (a) waiting lists and (b) average waiting times are for interuterine insemination treatments in Northern Ireland, broken down by provider. [44820]
Mr. Woodward: Waiting list information is collected by time band. It is therefore not possible to calculate the arithmetic mean (average) length of time waiting. It is however possible to identify the median or mid point waiting time band.
The number of patients waiting for interuterine insemination treatment (IUI) and the median waiting times for Altnagelvin Group, Craigavon Area Hospital Group and the Royal Group of Hospitals Health and Social Service Trusts (the three providers of this service) are shown in the following table.
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n/a=not available
(30)Waiting times are from consultant referral to commencement of treatment.
(31)For number waiting, fertility patients cannot be identified separately from gynaecology patients.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the limitation and subsequent withdrawal of interuterine insemination services at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in late 2005; and what steps he is taking to provide alternative service providers for the patients affected. [44821]
Mr. Woodward: Interuterine insemination (IUI) was provided at Altnagelvin until December last year. However, in 2005 the Trust assessed how it could most appropriately maintain existing services within Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the context of competing clinical priorities, the constraints of the new consultant contract and the effectiveness of treatments.
On the basis of this assessment the Trust, together with the Western Board, has determined that patients who require IUI treatment should more appropriately be referred to the specialised fertility services at the Regional Fertility Centre (RFC).
Patients wishing to access publicly funded IVF services are required to have had four IUI treatments. The Trust advises that those patients who have already commenced their IUI treatment cycle at Altnagelvin will have their four cycles completed there.
The Western Board has made arrangements to commission IUI treatment from the RFC for those patients who have not yet commenced treatment.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to review the number of interuterine insemination treatments a patient has to undergo in order to qualify for health service-funded IVF treatment; and if he will make a statement. [44823]
Mr. Woodward: In 2001 a Steering Group established by the Health and Social Services Boards recommended that couples with unexplained fertility of at least three years duration and those with minimal/mild endometriosis or mild or moderate male factor infertility should have at least four cycles of interuterine insemination before accessing publicly funded fertility services.
I expect to announce revised criteria for accessing IVF and related treatments in the very near future.
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