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7 Mar 2006 : Column 1328W—continued
Royal Victoria Hospital
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what investigations there have been into the allegations by consultant surgeons at the Royal Victoria hospital in a letter dated 18 October 2004 to the chief executive of the Royal group of hospitals of obstruction in getting gravely ill patients into theatre for necessary surgery. [56378]
Mr. Woodward: The allegations were investigated by the Royal group of hospitals and considered by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) as part of its independent review into the lessons to be learnt from the death of Mrs. Janine Murtagh.
The RQIA's independent review found that
Sure Start
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated to Sure Start schemes in Northern Ireland in each year since they were introduced. [55552]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is set out in the following table:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland allocation for sure start | |
| 2000–01 | (25)2 |
| 2001–02 | 5.8 |
| 2002–03 | 6.6 |
| 2003–04 | 8.5 |
| 2004–05 | 8.8 |
| 2005–06 | 9.1 |
(25) From July 2000.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Sure Start scheme places there are in each (a) ward, (b) county and (c) constituency in Northern Ireland. [55553]
Mr. Woodward:
There are currently 25 Sure Start projects in Northern Ireland offering just over 23,000 children in the 0–4 age range access to health care and family support services as opposed to scheme places.
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Table 1 shows the number of 0–4's who have access to Sure Start Services at Ward level. There are a total of 582 wards in Northern Ireland and Sure Start projects cover 102 wards.
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Table 2 shows the number of 0–4's who have access to Sure Start Services at Consituency level. There are a total of 18 constituencies in Northern Island.
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Table 3 shows the number of 0–4's who have access to Sure Start Services at County level.
County | Number of 0–4s having access to Sure Start Services-Total per County |
|---|---|
| Antrim | 10,176 |
| Londonderry | 4,282 |
| Fermanagh | 682 |
| Tyrone | 3,830 |
| Armagh | 550 |
| Down | 3,882 |
| Total | 23,402 |
Teacher Recruitment
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to encourage the recruitment of newly qualified teachers in Northern Ireland. [54640]
Angela E. Smith: The Department has issued guidance to schools indicating that wherever possible preference should be given to newly qualified teachers, or experienced teachers seeking to return to employment, rather than prematurely retired teachers, when filling vacancies. Schools have also been advised that they should recruit to vacancies on a permanent rather than temporary basis unless the vacancy is clearly of a temporary nature.
Moreover, following the review of teacher education in Northern Ireland which is being carried out jointly by the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning, the Departments jointly will be exploring means by which newly qualified teachers can have greater stability in employment during their early years of teaching.
Translink
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average percentage increase was in standard fares on (a) buses and (b) trains under the auspices of Translink in each of the last five years. [56417]
Mr. Woodward: The average percentage fare increase for Translink bus and rail services for the most recent five years are included in the following table:
| Fare increases from 2001–02 to 2005–06 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| % increase on previous year | Ulsterbus | Metro (Citybus until February 2005) | NIR |
| 2001–02 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 2002–03 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| 2003–04 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 2004–05 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 2005–06 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Source:
Translink Corporate Plans
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Young People
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) youth workers and (b) social workers there are per 1,000 children and young people in each (i) ward, (ii) county and (iii) constituency in Northern Ireland. [55550]
Mr. Woodward: The available information follows.
(a) The information is not available in the format requested. Youth workers, in Northern Ireland are employed by the five Education and Library Boards. They work within the statutory and voluntary sector on a full-time and part-time basis. The number of full-time youth workers working within the statutory sector in Northern Ireland is detailed in table 1 as follows. However, this is a small fraction of the youth worker services provided within Northern Ireland. Full details of all statutory and voluntary youth workers are available from the Department of Education.
Source:
NI Education and Library Boards
(b) The information is not available in the format requested. The total number of qualified social worker staff within each trust is given in table 2. These figures, detailed as per 1,000 children by trust area are given in table 3. The number of qualified social worker staff that work directly with children are given in table 4. These figures, detailed as per 1,000 children by trust area are given in table 5.
(26) WTE = whole-time equivalent.
Note:
The figures detailed in this table include all staff that are qualified social workers and include, but not exclusively, the following grades: social worker, team leader, senior social worker, residential social worker, senior practitioner, officer in charge and principal social worker.
Source:
NI HPSS Trusts
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(27) WTE = whole-time equivalent.
Notes:
1. Population figures are 2004 mid-year estimates (latest available).
2. The headcount of 16 social workers employed by Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust have been included in the Craigavon and Banbridge Community Trust figures.
Source:
NI HPSS Trusts and NISRA
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(28) Other refers to the following Programmes of Care: Mental Health, Learning Disability and Physical and Sensory Disability.
2 WTE = whole-time equivalent.
Notes:
1. The staffing figures detailed in the 'Other' category refer to staff that deal with children but not exclusively.
2. The figures detailed in this table include all staff that are qualified social workers and include, but not exclusively, the following grades: social worker, team leader, senior social worker, residential social worker, senior practitioner, officer in charge and principal social worker.
Source:
NI HPSS Trusts
(29) Other refers to the following Programmes of Care: Mental Health, Learning Disability and Physical and Sensory Disability.
(30) WTE = whole-time equivalent.
Notes:
1. The staffing figures detailed in the 'Other' category refer to staff that deal with children but not exclusively.
2. Population figures are 2004 mid year estimates (latest available) with children defined as those aged under 18.
3. The headcount of 16 social workers employed by Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust have been included in the Craigavon and Banbridge Community Trust figures.
Source:
NI HPSS Trusts and NISRA
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