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5 Jun 2006 : Column 402W—continued
Belfast City Hospital
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the car park at the Belfast City Hospital Site is expected to be finished, with particular reference to provision at the new cancer centre. [74685]
Paul Goggins: The new multi storey car park at Belfast City Hospital is currently on programme for phased completion as follows:
| Date | Spaces | |
This will accommodate the additional requirement arising from the opening of the cancer centre and the transfer of services from Belvoir Park Hospital, as well as making provision to support future development on the BCH site eg the proposed surgical unit.
The area that was used as the contractor’s compound during the construction of the cancer centre has been reinstated as a dedicated car park for radiotherapy patients visiting the building as an interim solution until the new facility is available.
Bereavement Support
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what training is available to staff in hospitals when dealing with a bereavement; and if he will make a statement. [74214]
Paul Goggins: All trusts make provision for training on bereavement care for staff to deal with families and friends following bereavement.
The Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety established a Regional Bereavement Network in March 2006. The introduction of this network will ensure that bereavement services for people across Northern Ireland are further improved. It will also improve training for staff in bereavement care and ensure that good policies and practices are in place.
Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by (a) a Labour backbencher, (b) an Opposition backbencher and (c) an Opposition front bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by his Department which has been accepted by his Department during the 2005-06 Session; and if he will make a statement. [72487]
Mr. Hain: My Department has sponsored the following four Bills during the current session: the Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Bill (enacted on 16 February 2006); the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill (withdrawn on 11 January 2006); the Northern Ireland Bill (enacted on 8 May 2006) and the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (currently before the House of Lords).
Information on amendments moved and accepted during the Committee and Report Stages on these Bills is published in the Official Report.
Biodiversity
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) which Minister in his Department is responsible for monitoring his Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if he will make a statement; [73940]
(2) what steps his Department plans to take to monitor the extent to which public bodies which report to him comply, from October, with their duty to conserve biodiversity in exercising their functions, under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. [74398]
David Cairns: The duties contained within the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (or the extended duties contained within Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006) relating to the conservation of biological diversity, do not apply to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is, however, currently considering introducing a statutory duty upon Government Departments and public bodies in the proposed review of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. This is intended to be similar to the statutory duty in Great Britain. In the meantime, progress against delivery of the 76 recommendations contained in the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy (adopted in 2002) continues to be monitored closely by the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group, which independently provides me, as Minister responsible for the environment, with three yearly reports on progress.
Board Area Populations
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total population is of each education and library board area in Northern Ireland. [74318]
Mr. Hanson: The following table gives the official estimate of the population, at 30 June 2004, by education and library board in Northern Ireland.
| Education and library board | Population |
| Note: Data may not add up due to rounding. | |
Bought-in Procedures
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many procedures each health board in the Province has bought from (a) within and (b) outside the Province over the last 12 months; and what the costs were. [74631]
Paul Goggins: 707 complaints were made during 2005-06.
Breast Cancer
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many health board trusts in Northern Ireland have introduced computer systems for rapid diagnosis of breast cancer. [74218]
Paul Goggins: No health service trust in Northern Ireland has introduced computer systems for rapid diagnosis of breast cancer. The National Breast Cancer System is used to capture and report the results of mammograms carried out throughout the screening programme. It is identical to the system used in the rest of the UK and has been operational in Northern Ireland for some years. All mammograms are read by fully trained radiologists.
Budget Allocation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the allocation of the extra £26 million allocated to Northern Ireland in the 2006 Budget. [67066]
Mr. Hanson: The £26 million resource allocated to Northern Ireland over the next two years from the Chancellor’s 2006 Budget will be invested into the Children and Young People’s Funding Package, with most going directly to schools across Northern Ireland. The package is intended to reduce underachievement and improve the life chances of children and young people by enhancing their educational development and fostering their health, well being and social inclusion.
Bullying at Work
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of how many (a) men and (b) women have been bullied at work in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [74315]
Maria Eagle: Bullying is not a jurisdiction recognised in law by which a claim can be made to an industrial tribunal or the Fair Employment Tribunal. Therefore government has no means of recording numbers of men or women who have been bullied in the workplace. However, the Labour Relations Agency in 2004-05 received some 43,000 specific employment enquiries of which some 9,000 related specifically to bullying. Around 60 per cent. of those individuals who contacted the Labour Relations Agency enquiry point were female. The breakdowns of statistics in terms of employer or employee were 39 per cent. employer and 61 per cent. employee.
Buses
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent (a) per head of population and (b) per passenger on bus services (i) including and (ii) excluding funding for concessionary travel in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [73850]
David Cairns: The Department for Regional Development made the following payments to bus companies in Northern Ireland over the specified 10 year period (figures include capital grant).
| Cash payments per head of population | ||
| £ | ||
| Including concessionary travel | Excluding concessionary travel | |
| Cash payments per passenger | ||
| £ | ||
| Including concessionary travel | Excluding concessionary travel | |
Cancer Screening
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will assess the merits of introducing bowel cancer screening in the Province. [74574]
Paul Goggins: The UK National Screening Committee (NSC) has considered the case for bowel screening and recommended that a population programme should be introduced. As a consequence, England and Scotland have announced their intention to introduce a bowel cancer screening programme.
I would wish to see such a programme introduced in Northern Ireland. However, this will have a significant effect on current services for those showing possible symptoms of bowel cancer. Before a similar programme could be implemented in Northern Ireland there is a need to consider the current capacity and pressure on the symptomatic bowel service and to identify other issues which need to be addressed, including additional capacity required, training and accreditation of colonoscoptists and units.
A workshop has therefore been arranged for 20 June 2006 to explore the issues and identify the steps and actions required in the symptomatic service in order to prepare for a bowel screening programme.
Carers (Health Checks)
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce health checks for carers within 12 months of their taking on that role. [73504]
Paul Goggins: Carers already have a legal entitlement to an assessment of their care needs which is aimed at supporting them in their caring role and helping them to maintain their own health and well being.
Carers with specific health problems may contact their general practitioners, who will make a clinical
assessment of need, which may include a comprehensive health check.
Cathedral Quarter
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been allocated for the promotion of the arts in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast in each year since 1997. [71052]
Maria Eagle: Funding allocated for the promotion of the arts in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast since 1997 is shown on the following table:
| Funding for the promotion of the arts in the cathedral quarter since 1997 | |||||||||
| £ | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| (1) Amounts include lottery funding as well as exchequer funding. (2) Amount includes £160,000 for the three year period 2005-08 allocated from the Multi-Annual Programme fund. | |||||||||
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