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21 Jun 2006 : Column 1962W—continued
CCTV
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police-monitored CCTV cameras are in operation in Castlereagh District Command Unit. [78741]
Paul Goggins: Aside from the CCTV cameras situated in and around police establishments, there are no other police-monitored CCTV cameras in operation in Castlereagh District Command Unit.
Child Obesity
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children at (a) primary school, (b) high school and (c) other academic institutions in Northern Ireland are deemed to be (i) overweight and (ii) obese; and if he will make a statement. [78502]
Paul Goggins: Information relating to how many children are (i) overweight and (ii) obese in schools and academic institutions is not currently available for all children in Northern Ireland. However such information relating to Primary schools is available for all P1 pupils from the Northern Ireland Child Health Systems. The following table shows the percentage of primary 1 pupils in Northern Ireland, 2003-04, who were overweight or obese.
| Northern Ireland 2003-04 | ||
| Percentage | ||
| P1 children | Overweight | Obese |
| Source: Child Health System (NI) 2003-04 | ||
Further information on the height and weight of children and young people was collected as part of the Northern Ireland Health and Social Well-being Survey and will be available later this year.
The report of the Fit Futures taskforce on tackling obesity in children and young people was published in March 2006. The report included over 70 recommendations designed to deliver the public service agreement target to stop the increase in levels of obesity in children by 2010. Responsibility for this target is shared by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Department of Education and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. A response from the Ministerial Group on Public Health to the Fit Futures report, including a comprehensive, cross-departmental implementation plan is currently being developed.
Civil Partnerships
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in local authorities in Northern Ireland have (a) refused and (b) resigned a post based on personal Christian principles following the introduction of the Civil Partnership legislation. [78552]
David Cairns: There have been no instances reported to the General Register Office where staff in local authorities have (a) refused or (b) resigned a post based on personal Christian principles following the introduction of the Civil Partnership legislation.
Contraception
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times in each of the last five years emergency contraception was given to under-age females in each health board in Northern Ireland. [78720]
Paul Goggins:
The information requested is not collected centrally. However, information is collected centrally on the number of times females under the age of 16 have obtained emergency contraception through
Health and Social Services Trust family planning services. Information for the last five years is contained in the following table:
| Eastern Board | Northern Board | Southern Board | Western Board | |
Hormonal emergency contraception is also available in accident and emergency units and from G.P. practices. These figures have not been included in the table as (a) figures from accident and emergency units are not collected centrally and (b) figures from G.P. practices are not broken down by age. Emergency contraception is not available over the counter in Northern Ireland for girls under the age of 16.
Cosmetic Surgery
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how cosmetic surgery is regulated in Northern Ireland. [78766]
Paul Goggins: Doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council to practice medicine in the UK, regardless of the area in which they work. Similarly nurses and allied health professionals must be registered with the statutory regulatory body for their professions, i.e. the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health Professions Council respectively. Those bodies are responsible for the registration and regulation of their professions.
In addition, independent hospitals and clinics in Northern Ireland providing cosmetic surgery services are regulated under The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. Under these regulations, independent hospitals and clinics must be registered with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority and are subject to regular inspection by the Authority.
Departmental Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2006, Official Report, column 1009W, on departmental expenditure, what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of advertising commissioned by Northern Ireland Departments, including the Northern Ireland Office. [77216]
Mr. Hanson: A comprehensive review of the procurement and management of government advertising has been undertaken and the final report, published in April 2006, is available in the House of Commons Library. The review considered every area of classified and campaign advertising across all media. The final report makes a series of recommendations aimed at improving value for money and effectiveness. These are now in the process of being implemented and progress against them will be monitored.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006, Official Report, column 1243W, on departmental staff (vetting), what is being done to check information prior to August 2005 to ensure that no foreign nationals working in departments in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Office, would be disqualified for security reasons. [77215]
Paul Goggins: National security vetting information kept by the security vetting unit in the Northern Ireland Office in respect of the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office was not recorded in a manner that would allow recall of the specific data prior to 1 August 2005. But this has no bearing on the appropriateness of national security vetting clearances given during the preceding four years and is not an indicator that further checks are now necessary.
Diabetes
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been refused (a) driving and (b) taxi licences as insulin-dependent diabetics in each of the last 10 years. [78727]
David Cairns: Insulin-dependent diabetes is not a prescribed condition and would not prevent an applicant from being granted a licence for a car or motorbike. It is a prescribed condition in respect of large good vehicles and all passenger carrying vehicles including taxis and prohibits the holding of licences for such vehicles. Information on the number of insulin- dependent diabetes who have been refused a licence is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people aged 16 years and over in Northern Ireland were diagnosed with diabetes in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [78785]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is not available. However, figures are available on the number of registered patients, aged 17 and over, in each GP practice in Northern Ireland as recorded on the practice’s Diabetes Register in each of the last two years.
| At 14 February each year | Number on Diabetes Register (aged 17 and over) |
| Notes: 1. The figures in the table are a count of all GP registered patients with diabetes at a particular point in time and therefore do not represent just newly diagnosed cases. 2. The diabetes register exists to fulfil requirements for the Quality and Outcomes Framework section of the General Medical Services (GMS) Statement of Financial Entitlement. This has been in operation for 2004-05 and 2005-06 and prevalence are only made on the National Prevalence Day of each financial year. Source: Payment Calculation and Analysis System (PCAS). | |
Independent Monitoring Commission
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 1601W, on dissident Republican paramilitaries, (1) whether the eighth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission provided evidence of which he was not already in possession on recruitment activities of dissident Republican groups; [77208]
(2) whether the Independent Monitoring Commission had access to security sources in preparing the eighth report that he has not had. [77209]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 1601W.
Grammar Schools
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many grammar schools had exclusively A grade pupils in the September 2005 intake. [78982]
Maria Eagle: Only one grammar school in Northern Ireland admitted exclusively Grade A applicants to Year 8 in September 2005. This school was Lumen Christi College, Londonderry.
Elderly Mentally Ill Provision
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly mentally ill (EMI) (a) nursing and (b) residential beds there were in each health trust area in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; what plans he has to increase the number; and what research has been carried out by his Department into the demand for future EMI provision. [78542]
Paul Goggins: Information on the number of (a) nursing and (b) residential places for the elderly mentally ill (EMI) is not available. The Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) does not specify a number of nursing or residential home places dedicated solely to elderly mentally ill. The nature of placements may vary, according to demand.
There are no specific plans to expand the number of EMI residential or nursing home places. In line with the Government’s programme of reform and modernisation, the HPSS is required to develop a range of care services in response to its assessment of need. The focus of those services must be upon rehabilitation and supporting independent living. Too many people are placed unnecessarily in residential or nursing homes without the prospect of rehabilitation.
Health and social services boards are responsible for assessing the care needs of their populations. Within that assessment, the future need for EMI residential places is kept under continuous review.
Emergency Doctor Service
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many calls to the out-of-hours emergency doctor service were recorded in each health board in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [78765]
Paul Goggins: Information on calls to out-of-hours services is held by health and social services boards from April 2005. Prior to this, information was held by individual GPs and GP Out-of-Hours Co-operatives and was not collated centrally.
The table shows the number of calls to the out-of-hours service in each health and social services board area for the period April 2005-March 2006. It should be noted that the period covered did not include an Easter period, when it is possible that there was a higher volume of calls than over a normal weekend.
| Number of calls | |
Epilepsy
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland died from epilepsy-related causes in each of the last five years. [78758]
Mr. Hanson: The following table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland for each year between 2001 and 2005 where the primary cause of death was ‘epilepsy’(1) or ‘status epilepticus’(2).
| Number of deaths due to: | ||
| Epilepsy( 1) | Status epilepticus( 2) | |
| (1) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code G40. (2) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code G41. (3) Provisional data. | ||
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