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5 Jun 2006 : Column 438W—continued
Table 2 shows the number of jobs expected to be created as a result of the Start a Business Programme
during the past 4 years (2002-03 to 2005-06). This information is not available over a longer time period.
| Table 2: Jobs created in business start-ups by district council area (2002-03 to 2005-06) | |||||
| District council area | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | DCA total |
Irish Language
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will seek to legislate to provide legal protection for the Irish language; and if he will make a statement. [72925]
Maria Eagle: The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the UK Government's signature of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages underpin Government support for minority languages in Northern Ireland, including Irish. It is considered that the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the Charter provide a suitable framework for the development of linguistic diversity.
The Government have no plans at present to introduce a Northern Ireland Language Bill. This could instead be a matter for a returned NI Assembly to consider.
Knife Amnesty
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further efforts are planned to publicise the knife amnesty recently announced by the Northern Ireland Office. [74341]
Mr. Hanson: The campaign to tackle knife crime in Northern Ireland including the introduction of a three week amnesty was launched on Wednesday 24 May. This received significant attention from all the main media outlets in Northern Ireland. A list of the amenity sites where bins for collection of knives are situated was provided to the media and the police have established a helpline to provide information to anyone who wishes to surrender a knife.
In addition, relevant information has been provided to both District Policing Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships to allow them to provide information to local media and the public at district council levels. I know that a number of them have already taken that opportunity.
I am confident that over the next three weeks everyone in Northern Ireland will have been given an opportunity to surrender any knife which they do not have a legitimate reason to hold and sufficient information as to how they can do this. I would urge everyone falling into this category to do so.
Lakewood School
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the consultees in relation to the proposed move of Lakewood School in Bangor to Childhaven near Millisle in County Down; and what the nature was of the consultation. [74339]
Paul Goggins:
Children who are currently accommodated in the Lakewood Centre will shortly move to Craigmore children's home (formerly named
Childhaven) in Millisle and North Road children's home in Belfast. The Lakewood School will not transfer to Millisle, and interim arrangements will be put in place before September to meet the education needs of these children.
The accommodation of these children in Craigmore and North Road is a temporary measure whilst the Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust commissions two new intensive support units, and all appropriate safeguards will be put in place. As Craigmore is currently registered as a children's home, and there will be no change in function, public consultation has not been carried out. However, staff from the Lakewood Centre met with local residents on 18 May 2006 and a further meeting is due to take place on 1 June to address any concerns they may have.
Loyalist Violence Arrests
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many arrests were made in relation to loyalist violence between 10 and 17 September. [36538]
Mr. Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested 82 people in relation to the public disorder which blighted loyalist areas between 10 and 17 September 2005.
Lung Cancer
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he plans to take to improve the survival (a) terms and (b) rates of lung cancer patients in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [74675]
Paul Goggins: The Government and the DHSSPS are committed to improving the survival terms and rates for all cancers including lung cancer. This commitment is underpinned in the Department's Public Service Agreement which aims to increase the five-year survival rate for lung cancer by five per cent. of the 1993-95 figure by 2010.
The Department in partnership with the Northern Ireland Cancer Network is taking forward work on a number of fronts which have the potential to both increase survival terms and improve survival rates for lung cancer patients. These include:
the provision of better information for lung cancer patients;
the development of GP referrals guidelines and improved primary care pathways for those suspected of having lung cancer, and;
further improvements in oncology protocols for the treatment of lung cancers.
Mental Health
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many psychiatrists per head of population are needed in Northern Ireland to provide adequate service across all mental health areas; what is being done to encourage psychiatrists (a) to come to Northern Ireland and (b) to train in this field of medicine. [74222]
Paul Goggins: We will be looking to the reports from the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability to inform us on future workforce needs across all professions for mental health services. We will also take account of the changes in team working practices outlined in the New Ways of Working report.
In recent years there has been no difficulty in attracting applicants to the specialty of psychiatry.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) young children and (b) young adults are unsuitably accommodated in adult psychiatric units in each health board area. [74223]
Paul Goggins: The number of children and young people aged under 18 who are accommodated in adult psychiatric units in each health board is detailed in the table.
| Health Board | Number |
| Notes: 1. Figures are as at 30 April 2006. 2. Figures include those on home leave. 3. Please note that cell sizes that have a value of less than 5 have been masked in order to help protect confidentiality. Source: HSS Trusts. | |
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