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20 Mar 2007 : Column 874W—continued
Urology: Medical Treatments
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans her Department has to assist people with urology, continence and stoma problems in obtaining alternative service providers in the event that their current providers exceed the prescribed number of items they are allowed to dispense; [128099]
(2) what assessment her Department has made of the impact on service providers of changes proposed
recently by her Department to services for people with urology, continence and stoma problems; [128100]
(3) which organisations her Department consulted concerning proposals to change services for people with urology, continence and stoma problems; and what representations she has received on the adequacy of the consultation. [128101]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are currently consulting on changes to the payment process for items and services related to stoma and incontinence appliances within part IX of the Drug Tariff. Interested parties wishing to comment on these proposals can do so until the deadline of 2 April 2007.
As this consultation process is ongoing, no decisions, or plans on changes to services for stoma and incontinence appliances have been finalised.
It is not meaningful to provide a list of organisations consulted, or representations on the adequacy of the consultation process, until the consultation process has ended.
Northern Ireland
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which individuals were sent copies of the draft guidelines on termination of pregnancy in Northern Ireland; what the cost was per copy of the guidelines; and for what reason the draft guidelines were not subject to public consultation. [119961]
Paul Goggins: The draft “Guidance on Termination of Pregnancy in Northern Ireland” was issued to interested parties in January 2007. A list of consultees has been provided.
Costs were limited to photocopying and postage costs met out of general departmental administrative expenditure. The Department decided to conduct a limited consultation on this guidance as there is no change in the law in NI and the document covers the clinical aspect of the issue.
1. Family Planning Association
2. Life
3. Precious Life
4. Doctors for Life
5. Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child
6. Northern Catholic Bishops
7. Church Forum
8. Workshop members
9. Chief executives of HSS Boards and Trusts
10. Chief executives of four Health and Social Care Councils
11. NI Executive of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
12. Royal College of Psychiatrists
13. Royal College of General Practitioners
14. Chief executive of the new Health and Social Services Authority
15. Royal College of Nursing
16. Royal College of Midwifery
17. MLAs (party leaders and health representatives only)
18. Law Society for NI
19. The Bar Council
20. NI Family Planning Doctors Association
21. NI Medical And Dental Training Agency.
Note:
2-6 of the organisations were permitted to intervene in the judicial review.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the number of abortions that will be performed in Northern Ireland each year once the draft guidelines on termination of pregnancy in Northern Ireland have been implemented; whether additional funding is being made available to health authorities in Northern Ireland to implement the draft guidelines; and if he will make a statement. [119964]
Paul Goggins: There is no change to the abortion law in Northern Ireland. The draft guidance restates the current law regarding termination of pregnancy in Northern Ireland and provides clinical guidance on the issue.
Avian Influenza
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are in place to protect the poultry industry in Northern Ireland following the reported outbreak of an H5N1 virus infection in Suffolk; and whether the Northern Ireland Influenza Pandemic Control Committee met in relation to the latest outbreak. [120232]
David Cairns: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) keeps the risk of Avian Influenza (AI) under constant review. The Department has a range of preventive measures in place, which are ongoing, to address the risk of AI entering Northern Ireland and to stop it spreading in poultry. Wild bird surveillance is under way this winter throughout Northern Ireland and to date no highly pathogenic H5N1 AI has been found here. A NI Bird Register is in place to gather essential information about poultry, game and other captive birds for the purposes of risk assessment, disease prevention and control. DARD has issued extensive guidance to bird keepers on biosecurity measures to protect their birds, including on how to plan for housing birds in the event of an outbreak. This is also available on the DARD website.
Following the outbreak of H5N1 AI in Suffolk, DARD has reviewed the level of risk and has put in place some additional precautionary measures. These include the introduction of a number of trade restrictions including new general and specific licensing arrangements,, and a ban on the movement of birds from Great Britain to attend bird gatherings and pigeon races here. The Department has also reiterated to bird keepers the importance of good biosecurity measures to minimise the risk to their birds. The Department continues to liaise closely with Defra to monitor developments, and also maintains very close contact with the Department of Agriculture and Food in the Republic of Ireland. The Department will continue to keep the situation under constant review and the need for additional measures in proportion to the level of risk.
The Department has a contingency plan in place for use in the event of an outbreak here to contain and eradicate H5N1 AI if it does occur here.
H5N1 avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds. Transmission to humans in contact with poultry/other birds occurs rarely and to date has occurred almost exclusively in people with very close physical contact with infected birds. The Northern Ireland Pandemic Influenza Control Committee (NIPICC) is concerned with contingency planning for, and management of, a pandemic of human influenza. As such NIPICC does not have a role in reviewing/managing an outbreak of avian influenza and hence has not met in relation to the most recent H5N1 outbreak in Suffolk.
Burglary
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidences of domestic burglary were recorded in each Police Service of Northern Ireland district command unit area in each of the last 12 months; and how many people were apprehended for this crime over the same period. [125041]
Paul Goggins: Table 1 outlines the number of domestic burglaries recorded and cleared, by district command unit (DCU), during period 1 February 2006 to 31 January 2007. The PSNI do not collate statistics by the number of persons apprehended.
Table 2 sets out details of the number of persons arrested for domestic burglary by DCU during the period 1 February 2006 to 31 January 2007. We have included this second table as it sets out the number of arrests per custody suite and not DCU as this is how it is recorded at present as not all DCU’s have custody suites.
| Table 2: Persons arrested for domestic burglary 1 February 2006- 31 January 2007 | |
| District command unit | Number |
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