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5 Jun 2006 : Column 452W—continued
Planning Applications (Health Factors)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will consider the merits of the introduction of a medical expert to advise on planning applications linked to health issues. [74678]
David Cairns: The merits of the introduction of a medical expert to advise on planning applications linked to health issues, has been carefully considered on two previous occasions, where it was concluded on each occasion that such an expert should not be used. On this basis I have no plans to reconsider the issue.
Plastic Surgeons
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many whole-time equivalent plastic surgeons are employed by the NHS in Northern Ireland. [74368]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is presented in the following table.
| Plastic surgeons employed within the NI HPSS by grade as at 31 March 2006 | ||
| Grade | Headcount | Whole-time equivalent |
| Source: Human Resource Management System. | ||
Police
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police drivers in Northern Ireland have been (a) disciplined and (b) relieved of driving duties in each of the last three years. [73079]
Paul Goggins: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not hold a central record of police drivers disciplined or relieved of driving duty. To obtain such details would require a manual trawl of officers’ files across all district command units and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Policing Board
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) (i) status and (ii) powers and (b) payments to members of the Policing Board in Northern Ireland will be from 25 November 2006. [70463]
Paul Goggins: While section 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 2000 (suspension of devolved Government in Northern Ireland) is in force part II of schedule 1 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 applies to the membership of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Under this part of the Act the current membership of the Policing Board came into effect on 1 April 2006 for a term of four years.
On restoration of the Assembly part III of schedule 1 of the Police (NI) Act 2000 requires the Policing Board to be reconstituted and in these circumstances new terms of appointment would be issued to all members of the newly reconstituted Board.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the police board in Northern Ireland spent on advertising for recruitment of police officers during 2005. [72716]
Paul Goggins: The policing board for Northern Ireland is responsible for the appointment of senior police officers, at the ranks chief constable and assistant chief constable. I am advised that during 2005 the policing board spent £7,249.75 to advertise an assistant chief constable post which was filled in 2006.
Primary to Post-Primary Transfer
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to receive a definitive proposed format for the pupil profile from the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment to guide the transfer of pupils from primary to post-primary schools in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [74695]
Maria Eagle: An independent evaluation of the current trial of the Pupil Profile will report back via the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment at the end of July 2006. The outcomes of this evaluation will inform the finalised format of the Key Stage 2 Pupil Profile, which it is intended will be introduced for Year 5 pupils from September 2007.
Prisoners' Compensation
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much in compensation has been paid to (a) serving and (b) remand prisoners in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [74343]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service does not hold separate records for remand and sentenced prisoners for the purpose of compensation claims. The tables indicate total compensation paid to prisoners in each of the last five years.
| Total paid (£) | |
| Claim settlements in excess of £10,000 | |||||
| Name | Location | Allegation | DOI | Amount (£) | Date paid |
|
500,000.00 (this figure includes payment of CRU = 51,037.86) | |||||
Prisons
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the decision by the Director of Custodian Services at the Juvenile Justice Centre at Bangor not to recognise representation of Prison Officers Association staff during the review of work practices. [73506]
Mr. Hanson: The Prison Officers Association have lodged an application before the Industrial Court and the matter is currently under consideration. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment further.
Private Members' Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those Private Members’ Bills in respect of which his Department has adopted a policy of neutrality in each Session since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement. [72486]
Mr. Hain: There have been no such Bills relating to Northern Ireland.
Prostate Cancer
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of males over the age of 75 in Northern Ireland are estimated to have prostate cancer. [74417]
Paul Goggins: The following table details information on the prevalence(1) of prostate cancer (ICD-10 C61) in Northern Ireland since 1993.
| Aged 75 and over | |
| (1) Prevalence has been estimated by counting the number of patients diagnosed between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2003 with prostate cancer, who were still alive on 31 December 2003. This may represent an undercount of the actual number of people living with prostate cancer as those diagnosed prior to 1993 and still alive at the end of 2003 are not included. (2) 2004 Mid-year population estimate, NISRA | |
This information has been provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry and is the most up to date currently available.
Psychology Degrees
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students have graduated in psychology from universities in the Province in each of the last five years. [74647]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is as follows:
| Qualifications obtained in the psychology subject area at NI higher education institutions 2000-01 to 2004-05 | |
| Academic year | Qualifications obtained |
| Source: HESA | |
Psychology is commonly studied alongside other disciplines. Accordingly a procedure of apportionment is used from 2002-03 onwards to allocate students to specific subject areas, by dividing each headcount in a way that reflects the pattern of split programmes. The figures therefore refer to a full-person equivalent value. Prior to 2002-03, enrolments split equally between two or more subject areas were assigned to the combined subject group and are not included in this table.
Public Bodies
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious affiliation is of each member of each public body in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [74256]
Mr. Hanson: Individuals appointed to the boards of non-departmental public bodies in Northern Ireland are not required to declare their religious affiliation, however, they are asked to provide, on a voluntary basis, details of their community background. This information is sought for monitoring purposes only and forms no part of the selection process. Disclosure of this information by reference to each public body in Northern Ireland would contravene the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998.
An overview of the community background of both applicants and appointees to bodies sponsored by Northern
Ireland’s 11 Government Departments can be found in the Public Appointments Annual Report, and similar details in respect of NIO sponsored bodies is included in the NIO Departmental Report. Copies of the latest versions of both these reports are available from the Library of the House and can be found on the Internet at www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/public-appointments and www.nio.gov.uk/nio_departmental_report_2006.pdf respectively.
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