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7 Feb 2006 : Column 1144W—continued
NORTHERN IRELAND
Adult Literacy
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many adults in the province are deemed to be functionally illiterate, broken down by (a) Northern Ireland local Government district and (b) parliamentary constituency. [49389]
Angela E. Smith: Information relating to adult literacy levels in Northern Ireland is not available at local Government district or parliamentary constituency level.
The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), which was conducted in 1996, indicated that 2 per cent. of the adult population in Northern Ireland performed at the lowest level of literacy.
In response to the IALS report, the Department for Employment and Learning launched the Essential Skills for Living Strategy in October 2002 and has met its interim target of supporting 25,000 adults to improve their levels of literacy and numeracy by March 2005.
Asbestos-related Illness
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people died of an asbestos-related illness in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [48284]
Angela E. Smith: The table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland in each year between 2000 and 2004 where the underlying cause of death was recorded as mesothelioma 1 or 'asbestosis' 2 .
1 International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code C45 for years 2001–2004 and Ninth Revision codes 158.9 or 163.9 for year 2000.
2 International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes J61 and J92.0 for years 2001–04 and Ninth Revision code 501 for year 2000.
Belfast City Hospital (Radiotherapy)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients from (a) Northern Ireland, (b) the Irish Republic and (c) elsewhere have received radiotherapy treatment at Belfast City Hospital in each of the last six months. [49392]
Mr. Woodward:
The number of patients from (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland receiving radiotherapy treatment at Belvoir Park Hospital from July 2005 to December 2005 is shown in the following table:
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| (a) Northern Ireland | (b) Republic of Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| July | 266 | 0 |
| August | 261 | 0 |
| September | 284 | 0 |
| October | 306 | 0 |
| November | 272 | 0 |
| December | 274 | 3 |
Notes:
1. No patients outside of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland received radiotherapy treatment.
2. Belvoir Park Hospital is part of Belfast City Hospital Health and Social Services Trust.
Source:
Belfast City Hospital Health and Social Services Trust.
Brain Injury Unit (Castlereagh)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the work of the Reconnect-acquired brain injury rehabilitation unit in Castlereagh; how much funding the unit has received from Government in each of the last three years; and how much funding has been allocated to the unit for the next three years. [49391]
Mr. Woodward: Reconnect provide valuable rehabilitation support for people with acquired brain injuries.
I also understand that Reconnect has recently reshaped their service comprehensively and further developments are under way to expand the scope of the organisations activities via the person-centred, social inclusion/reintegration model.
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in conjunction with the Eastern Health and Social Services Board provided funding in 2004–05 and 2005–06 of £300,000. At present, no decisions have been taken on future funding.
Child Poverty in Northern Ireland
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what measures are in place to tackle child poverty in Northern Ireland. [47536]
Angela E. Smith: New Targeting Social Need (NTSN) is Northern Ireland's high level policy for tackling poverty and social exclusion by directing efforts and resources, within existing departmental programmes, towards people, groups and areas in greatest social need.
In line with a commitment of the previous Northern Ireland Executive, Government have recently reviewed its policy in this area, and in light of this, will soon announce its priorities for tackling poverty, including child poverty in Northern Ireland. In addition, the Children's and Young People's Unit of OFMDFM is also currently developing a 10-year strategy for children and young people. One of the high level outcomes will be linked to the reduction in child poverty.
Government already targets significant resources at tackling child poverty in Northern Ireland, for example working tax credit, and child tax credit, both provide financial assistance for working families on low
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incomes. In addition working tax credits also provide help for childcare, benefiting around 11,000 families with an average of around £58 per week.
In addition, Government are placing significant emphasis on initiatives that focus on the early years of life, such as the Sure Start and Book Start and the Pre-School Education Expansion Programme. Building on these initiatives, the Northern Ireland priorities and budget 2006–08, launched on 14 December 2005, established two new ring fenced priority funding packages—the children and young people, and the skills and science funds.
These funds, worth around £96 million over the next two years, will play an important role in giving children the best start in life, and tackling child poverty. Government will announce further details on these funds shortly.
Children (Strangford)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children resident in Strangford constituency travel outside the constituency to attend grammar school. [49388]
Angela E. Smith: In 2004–05, there were 3,111 pupils who were resident in the Strangford constituency and travelled outside the constituency to attend a grammar school.
Children's Commissioner
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of the Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [45945]
Angela E. Smith: The cost of the Commissioner for Children and Young People's office for the financial year 2004–05 was £1.725 million.
Contraception
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many females (a) aged 16 and (b) 15 years or less have received contraceptive injections or implants in the Province in each of the last three years. [49399]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not available in totality due to contraceptive injections and implants being available from a number of health facilities where either the data are not collected centrally or are not collected in the age bands stipulated in the question.
The only contraceptive information collected centrally by age breakdown is for Family Planning Clinics. Please note contraceptive injections and implants are also available from general practitioners—information is only available on the number of prescriptions rather than the number of females and no age breakdown is available.
Both contraceptive injections and implants are available at specialist clinics such as Family Planning Clinics; this does not involve issuing a prescription. The available information for this service is the number of first attendances in each financial year for the age groups
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under 16 and 16–19 by main method of contraception (see following table). Please note data are not yet available for 2004–05.
Note:
The information is recorded in respect of the first visit during the financial year, therefore the figures equate to the total number of females attending these clinics during the year. The main method of contraception used refers to the method currently in use or to be started immediately after the consultation.
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