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18 Apr 2006 : Column 481W—continued
Grammar Schools
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to give to parents in Northern Ireland the right to determine by ballot whether selection by academic ability should continue in Northern Ireland's grammar schools. [62066]
Angela E. Smith: Following a lengthy review the Government have decided to end academic selection in Northern Ireland. Under the new arrangements parents will choose a school which best meets the educational needs of their child from a range of schools including those with an academic curricular focus to those with a more vocational focus and specialist schools.
Health Services
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 327W, on health services, how much each regional fertility clinic spent on each gonadotropin product in each year. [62389]
Mr. Woodward: Health and Social Services Boards in Northern Ireland commission publicly funded fertility treatment for their patients from the Regional Fertility Centre (RFC) in Belfast. The RFC also provides privately funded fertility treatment.
The RFC has advised that the total cost of gonadotropins issued over the last three years was as follows:
| Product | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puregon | 245,056 | 502,013 | 452,662 |
| Gonal-F | 0 | 3,148 | 2,231 |
| Menogon | 23,542 | 1,585 | 1,298 |
| Menopur | 420 | 14,140 | 18,015 |
| Total | 269,018 | 520,886 | 474,206 |
Health Spending
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in developing better audit trails for health spending in the Province. [62469]
Mr. Woodward:
My Department has been developing, over the past few years, a Strategic Resources Framework which demonstrates how funding allocated to the health and social services boards is to be spent in terms of major programmes, key areas of service provision and geographical areas within boards. The report on the 2005–06 planned spend was the first to be published and I intend to continue and develop this approach.
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Heroin Addicts
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many heroin addicts in Northern Ireland have been provided with methadone in each of the last five years; and what the success rate of methadone treatment is in Northern Ireland. [63446]
Mr. Woodward: The information is not available as requested.
Substitute prescribing is the controlled prescribing of opiate medication, such as methadone, to heroin users as part of an overall care plan.
In April 2004, DHSSPS introduced the Substitute Prescribing monitoring system to record information on persons receiving substitute prescribing treatment for opiate dependence.
Using the information held in the Substitute Prescribing monitoring system as of 29 March 2006, we are able to provide the following information on persons who reported that heroin was a problem drug:
| Number being provided with methadone | |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 73 |
| 2005–06(213) (to date) | (214)108 |
(213) These data are subject to change as the end of year validation is yet to be completed.
(214) The 108 persons on methadone in 2005–06 includes the 73 persons on methadone in 2004–05.
Substitute prescribing has been shown to reduce illicit opiate use and the associated harm to the individual, their family, carers and the community. As part of the monitoring system information is being collected on continuing illicit drug use, injecting behaviour and accommodation and employment issues. It is expected a report containing this information gathered over the past two years will be published in the autumn.
Hotel Beds
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hotel beds were available in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years. [63488]
Angela E. Smith: Figures for the number of available hotel beds in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years, are detailed in the following table.
| Number of: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year end | Hotel rooms | Hotel bed spaces(215) |
| 2003 | 5,837 | 13,247 |
| 2004 | 5,944 | 13,523 |
| 2005 | 5,957 | 13,525 |
(215) NITB collates statistics with regard to bed spaces as opposed to beds i.e. one double bed equates to two available bed spaces.
House Prices
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average house price was in each district council area in the Province in each of the last five years. [62390]
18 Apr 2006 : Column 483W
Angela E. Smith:
The Valuation and Lands Agency (VLA) maintains a database of house sales which covers the period from mid-2002 to present. Prior to mid-2002 this data was not recorded in a way that permits statistical analysis, except at disproportionate cost.
18 Apr 2006 : Column 484W
The average prices in each district council area, for each year in which data is available are shown in the following table. The hon. Member should note that the averages shown for 2002 are representative of sales in the second half of that year only.
Note:
2002 average is for sales in the 2nd half of the year only
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average house price was in each Westminster constituency in the Province in each of the last five years. [62473]
Angela E. Smith: The Valuation and Lands Agency (VLA) maintains a database of house sales, which covers the period from mid-2002 to present. Prior to mid-2002 these data were not recorded in a way that permits statistical analysis, except at disproportionate cost.
The average prices in each Westminster constituency, for each year in which data are available are shown in the following table. The hon. Member should note that the averages shown for 2002 are representative of sales in the second half of that year only.
Note:
2002 average is for sales in the second half of the year only
18 Apr 2006 : Column 485W
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