| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1053W—continued
Paper Prescriptions
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to replace the use of paper prescriptions by use of IT. [53516]
Jane Kennedy:
The electronic prescription service (EPS), formerly known as the electronic transmission of prescriptions, being developed by NHS Connecting for Health will, when fully implemented, allow electronic transmission of a prescription between prescribers and pharmacists. EPS is being rolled in phases with two releases of EPS compliant general practitioner and pharmacy software. Release one, currently being deployed requires paper prescriptions to be maintained. However, Release two, includes the use of electronic prescriptions. When Release two is fully deployed, it is expected that electronic prescriptions will become the
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1054W
norm, with paper prescriptions being issued only when requested by the patient. NHS Connecting for Health is working towards 100 per cent. implementation of the EPS by the end of 2007.
Psychology
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) chartered psychologists and (b) chartered educational psychologists are practising in England. [39517]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally, but there were 7,051 qualified clinical psychology staff as at 30 September 2004.
Washable Keyboards
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's policy is on the supply of washable keyboards in the NHS. [54510]
Jane Kennedy: The purchase of computer equipment is a local responsibility. We do not promote particular products but the rapid review panel is available to consider new products that may contribute to infection control and prevention and comment on the evidence supporting their use.
Working with Children
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what duty is placed on local authorities to report to her Department incidents of individuals with a record of sex offending working with children. [44472]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1621W, by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast-Sligo Road
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Department has discussed the improvement of the Belfast-Sligo Road with (a) the National Roads Authority and (b) the Irish Government. [54585]
Mr. Woodward: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 2 March 2006:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about whether the Department has discussed the improvement of the Belfast-Sligo Road with (a) the National Roads Authority and (b) the Irish Government.
I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
I can confirm that Roads Service Board members meet with their counterparts in the National Roads Authority (NRA) and a representative of the Republic of Ireland's (RoI) Department of Transport approximately three times per year through the Cross Border Roads Steering Group. Chairmanship of these meetings is shared between myself and the Chief Executive of the NRA.
During recent meetings, the respective major road improvement programmes in RoI and Northern Ireland, have been discussed to ensure the respective programmes are compatible. These discussions have paid particular attention to proposals for the cross border routes which include the A4 / N16 Belfast to Enniskillen to Sligo road.
I can assure you that we will continue to monitor the development and implementation of the respective roads programmes, ensuring that both road authorities are kept updated on any proposed changes.
Concessionary Travel
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that free travel for senior citizens in Northern Ireland is available to people of both sexes at the same age. [56164]
Mr. Woodward: Under the current rules of the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme, free travel is provided to Northern Ireland residents who are aged 65 and over. The eligible age is the same for both genders.
Crime Statistics
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the incidence of crime and disorder was in each (a) ward, (b) county and (c) constituency in Northern Ireland in 2004–05. [55549]
Mr. Woodward: The Police Service for Northern Ireland do not record crime figures in the format requested. Incidents of crime are recorded by police District Command Unit and a monthly update is posted on the police website at www.psni.police.uk .A copy of the full PSNI Statistical Report for the year 2004–05 is also available on the website.
Department for Education (Running Costs)
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the running costs of the Department for Education in Northern Ireland were in 2004–05. [54638]
Angela E. Smith: The running costs of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland in 2004–05 were £22.4 million, or 1.4 per cent. of overall education expenditure of £1,628.2 million in that year.
Motoring Offences
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) males and (b) females were convicted of motoring offences in each district command unit in Northern Ireland in 2004, broken down by offence. [52969]
Mr. Hanson:
The information provided in the response of 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1263W, currently remains the most up-to-date available. At that time it was envisaged that 2004 statistics would be available in early 2006, however an on-going data validation exercise of the data source for these statistics has led to an unavoidable delay. The information will be made available to the House as soon as possible.
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1056W
Parliamentary Boundary Commission
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Boundary Commission to submit its report. [53074]
Mr. Hanson: Advice from the Secretary to the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Boundary Commission is that the report on its fifth review of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland will be published this autumn.
Pre-school Education
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was allocated to (a) 0 to three and (b) three to five years education in each (i) ward and (ii) county in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [55545]
Angela E. Smith: The information is not available in the format requested. The compulsory school age in Northern Ireland is any age between four years two months and 16. What I can provide is funding allocated to pre-school education in Northern Ireland, which can range from age two to compulsory school age.
In the 2005–06 financial year recurrent funding was allocated as follows:
Local Management of Schools (LMS) funding in Northern Ireland does not disaggregate nursery class or year group funding from primary schools' budgets. However in the 2005–06 financial year, under the LMS formula, £15,428,957 was allocated to nursery schools only.
A total of £7,829,000 was allocated to the education and library boards to fund places for children in their final pre-school year, (aged between three years two months and four years two months at the start of the academic year), in voluntary/private settings.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |