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12 July 2006 : Column 1919W—continued

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) fillings and (b) extractions were carried out on children’s teeth in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years (i) in total and (ii) in each board area. [83946]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is detailed in the following table:

	EHSSB	NHSSB	SHSSB	WHSSB	Total
(a) Fillings in children’s teeth
2000-01	83,961	54,552	40,725	39,807	219,045
2001-02	74,105	51,594	39,509	37,744	202,952
2002-03	63,171	45,818	32,871	30,354	172,214
2003-04	61,512	42,348	31,177	30,838	165,875
2004-05	60,938	39,856	28,702	26,872	156,368
2005-06	59,426	40,689	28,563	26,474	155,152
(b) Extractions of children’s teeth
2000-01	37,309	20,080	13,979	17,462	88,830
2001-02	32,463	18,733	12,113	17,573	80,882
2002-03	19,077	13,933	9,573	10,655	53,238
2003-04	19,184	13,614	8,708	8,895	50,401
2004-05	18,764	12,731	7,552	8,550	47,597
2005-06	17,219	11,141	7,794	7,689	43,843
Note: Children are defined as those aged 0-17 years Source: Central Services Agency

Departmental Publications

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list in date order the (a) Green and (b) White papers produced by his Department since October 2005. [81635]

Mr. Hain: My Department has published two numbered Command Papers since October 2005. Details are as follows:

(i) Autumn Report (Cm. No. 6720) published on 5 December 2005; and

(ii) Departmental Report (Cm. No. 6836) published on 19 April 2006.

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The Northern Ireland Office does not keep central records of unnumbered Command Papers that have been published.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the merits of creating a database of people in the Province with foetal alcohol syndrome or other alcohol-related complications of pregnancy. [83779]

Paul Goggins: A formal assessment has not been made of the merits of creating a database or registry of people in the Province with foetal alcohol syndrome or other alcohol-related complications of pregnancy. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a difficult condition to diagnose accurately because of the wide range of symptoms with which it can present, signs and symptoms which themselves can be indicative of other conditions e.g. behavioural problems. In addition there are also the difficulties associated with ascertaining or establishing the mother's alcohol intake before and during pregnancy.

Genital Warts

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of patients in the Province who suffer from genital warts; how many new cases of genital warts have been diagnosed amongst (a) males and (b) females in the Province in each of the last five years; and if he will estimate the cost arising from management of (i) new and (ii) existing cases of genital warts in the Province in 2005-06. [83724]

Paul Goggins: An estimate of the number of patients in the Province who suffer from genital warts is not available.

The number of new cases of genital warts that have been seen at Genito-Urinary Medicine clinics in Northern Ireland, broken down by gender, in the Province in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.

	(a) Males	(b) Females
2001	1,107	1,023
2002	1,147	1,029
2003	1,111	1,065
2004	1,059	1,042
2005	1,208	1,098
Notes: 1. Figures refer to calendar years. 2. The number of new cases of genital warts only includes the condition anogenital warts—first attack. Source: Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Northern Ireland (CDSC (NI)).

Information is not readily available on costs of treating new and existing cases of genital warts due to
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the relatively small numbers of cases involved. For the year 2005-06 the planned expenditure for this area fell under the Genito-Urinary Medicine specialty, which was expected to cost, excluding capital, £4.7 million Province-wide,

Health Expenditure

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of health expenditure in the Province in each of the last five years was allocated to (a) acute hospitals, (b) community-based health care and (c) primary care. [83778]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is shown in the following table:

	Acute and hospital percentage of total	Community percentage of total	PSS percentage of total	Primary care (BFR(F)) percentage of total	Total
2000-01	47	10	27	17	100
2001-02	47	10	27	17	100
2002-03	43	10	26	22	100
2003-04	42	10	26	23	100
2004-05	42	10	25	23	100

The percentages quoted relate to the whole of the integrated health and personal social services (HPSS) budget. It should be noted that there was a reclassification of costs in the financial year 2002-03, which resulted in a decrease in recorded spend under the acute hospitals head and an equivalent increase under primary care.

Health Service Employees (Absence)

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days sick leave were taken in Northern Ireland by (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) other health professionals and (d) other health service employees in each of the last three years, broken down by health trust area. [83777]

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 470W.

Hospital-acquired Infections

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Northern Ireland regional strategy to fight infections acquired in hospital launched on 20 June 2005. [83963]

Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety launched its action plan for the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections at a major infection control conference in Belfast on 13 March 2006. Entitled “Changing the Culture”, the plan took forward the proposals in
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the June 2005 strategy after due consideration of the responses made during the consultation period. It is a three-year plan and it is intended that its effectiveness will be assessed on its conclusion in 2009. A multi-disciplinary steering group is in place to monitor implementation during this period.

Lakewood Centre

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will meet a delegation of North Down constituents to discuss the relocation of facilities from the Lakewood Centre in Bangor to Childhaven in Millisle. [81813]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member with the specifics of this case and place a copy in the library.

Medical Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of all GP practices in Northern Ireland were single-handed in each of the last five years. [83941]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the following table:

Percentage of Single-handed GP Practices in Northern Ireland, 2002 to 2006
	Number of single-handed practices	Percentage of all practices
July 2006	66	18.2
July 2005	68	18.7
July 2004	72	19.7
July 2003	63	17.5
August 2002	62	17.2
Note: Data is at July each year with the exception of 2002 which is at August Source: Central Services Agency

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) the average GP practice list size for registered patients and (b) the average practice list size for dental practices in Northern Ireland was in each of the last five years (i) in total and (ii) in each trust area. [83942]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the following tables.

Table (a)(i): The Average GP Practice List Size (Totals)
	GP practice list size	Number of GP practices	Average practice list size
July 2006	1,804,757	363	4,972
July 2005	1,794,440	364	4,930
July 2004	1,788,589	365	4,900
July 2003	1,781,565	361	4,935
August 2002	1,776,199	361	4,920
Source: Central Services Agency

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