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16 Apr 2007 : Column 192W—continued
Domestic Rates: Valuation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the capital value of a domestic property which is part of another property and has a dependent relative living in it is added to the capital value of the main domestic property when the domestic property is valued for domestic rates under the new discrete capital values system. [130556]
Mr. Hanson: Each separate property has a capital value assessment in the Valuation List irrespective of occupier.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what co-efficient value was given to the property attribute for adjoining a golf course in each of the 25 market areas in the Valuation and Lands Agency calibrated multiple regression formula used in domestic rates revaluation in Northern Ireland. [130564]
Mr. Hanson: Belfast is the only market area which has a co-efficient allocated to the property attribute for adjoining a golf course and the value of this co-efficient is 0.083.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what fine may be imposed on residents who do not fill in a questionnaire sent by the Valuation and Lands Agency asking for information on the property attributes of their residence. [130570]
Mr. Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency has not sent and is not contemplating sending a questionnaire to residents asking for information on the property attributes of their residence.
Domestic Waste: Republic of Ireland
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the amount of household waste illegally dumped in Northern Ireland originating from the Republic of Ireland in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. [130559]
David Cairns: The Environment and Heritage Service estimates that a minimum of 250,000 tonnes of household waste from the Republic of Ireland has been illegally disposed of in Northern Ireland since 2003. Given the clandestine and criminal nature of the activity, it is impossible to accurately quantify the extent of this activity on an annual basis. Material illegally landfilled in the period 2003-06 is still being discovered. To date, over 50 illegal landfill sites have been discovered in Northern Ireland containing waste originating from the Republic of Ireland.
Educational Psychology
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time a child will wait to see an educational psychologist is in each health and social services board area in Northern Ireland. [131303]
Maria Eagle: The chief executive officers of the education and library boards state that this information is only available in relation to their own areas and not in relation to health and social services board areas.
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Strangford (Mrs. Robinson) on 23 February 2007, Official Report, column 983W.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are waiting to see an educational psychologist in each health and social services board area in Northern Ireland. [131304]
Maria Eagle: The chief executives of the education and library boards state that this information is only available in relation to their own areas and not in relation to health and social services board areas.
The following numbers of children are waiting to see educational psychologists.
| Number | |
These figures are in regard to children with a variety of need, including stage 3 (non-statutory assessments) and stage 4 (statutory assessments) of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, reviews at stage 3 and stage 5 of the code of practice, special testing at transfer stage between (primary and post-primary, pre-school and examination arrangements.
Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tax discs were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years, broken down by vehicle category. [129583]
David Cairns: The following table shows the numbers of vehicles licensed in Northern Ireland at the 31 December for the last six years, for which vehicles are currently available, broken down by vehicle category.
| Vehicle category | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
Fly-tipping
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what co-operation there has been with the Irish Government on tackling the problem of cross-border illegal dumping. [131023]
David Cairns: Bilateral meetings have been held at ministerial level to discuss matters of mutual interest and the illegal movement of waste has been identified as a key area of concern.
Officials from the Department of the Environment are working closely with counterparts in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DOEHLG) to finalise a structured plan to deal with existing illegal waste dumped in Northern Ireland originating from Ireland and to prevent possible future illegal waste movements. The plan envisages co-operative operations involving enforcement authorities and, where appropriate, repatriation of waste from Ireland illegally dumped in Northern Ireland.
Officers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have attended Northern Ireland operations in which waste from Ireland has been identified. Officers from DOE have also been witnesses in EPA prosecution cases heard in Irish courts.
In January 2007, the Environment and Heritage Service, in conjunction with counterparts from the EPA, supervised the return of illegally deposited waste to Ireland from an illegal landfill in Co. Armagh, where an estimated 150 tonnes of commercial/household waste had been deposited.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many reports of fly-tipping were received by the Environment and Heritage Service in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. [130558]
David Cairns: The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) holds details of alleged illegal or unauthorised waste activities. It does not have figures for fly-tipping, which, although not legally defined, has in the past been used to describe largely domestic, low- quantity incidents. Such small-scale cases are generally dealt with by district councils.
The EHS is currently implementing the Flycapture software used by the Environment Agency to facilitate a consistent approach to the impact of fly-tipping across the UK, and is liaising with councils to encourage their use of the system. Flycapture records all incidents of illegal dumping, from a single black bin liner up to sites with thousands of tonnes of waste. This will allow the problem to be quantified, and enforcement, clean-up activities and budgets to be directed to areas of greatest need.
The EHS received the following number of allegations of illegal or unauthorised activities relating to controlled waste.
| Number | |
Graffiti
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on removing graffiti in each local authority area in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years for which figures are available. [129557]
David Cairns: The Department of the Environment does not hold information on the cost of removing graffiti in Northern Ireland.
Health and Social Services Authority
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the merits of separating the Health and Social Services Authority functions from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. [130688]
Paul Goggins: Under the proposed new arrangements, the Department will retain statutory responsibility for securing the delivery of the services necessary to promote the health and wellbeing of the population. The role of the authority will be to implement the Government's policies for health and social services, to manage performance of the system and to commission services to meet the demands of patients. These roles are not appropriate to a central Government Department. The new, much smaller DHSSPS will be able to focus on assisting the Minister with policy, legislation and strategic planning and resource allocation. This separation of roles within the new organisational arrangements will lead to clearer accountability, improved efficiency and better outcomes from more responsive, person-centred services.
Hearing Aids
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) target and (b) actual average waiting time is for people requiring a new digital hearing aid from the point of referral from GP to final fitting of the hearing aid in Northern Ireland. [130782]
Paul Goggins: Audiology is one of the areas subject to the new diagnostic targets set out in Priorities for Action 2007-08, which states that no patient should have to wait longer than 13 weeks for a diagnostic test. Therefore, the target for people requiring a new digital hearing aid from the point of referral from GP to final fitting of the hearing aid will be 13 weeks in Northern Ireland.
Information on the average waiting time for a new digital hearing aid from the point of referral from GP to final fitting of the aid in Northern Ireland is not collected centrally. However, information is collected on the number of people who were waiting for a hearing aid assessment/reassessment to be completed according to specified time bands. Waiting time is counted from the date a referral is received by the audiology department until the aid is fitted.
As waiting list information is collected by specified time bands, it is not possible to calculate the actual average waiting time for a digital hearing aid. On 31 March 2006, 2,184 patients were waiting for a
hearing assessment / reassessment in Northern Ireland; 1,089 had waited for six to 12 months, 563 for less than three months, 420 waited three to six months, and 112 for 12 months or more.
Information on hearing aid assessments / reassessments for the quarters ending 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 is due for release in early May 2007. It has been delayed until inconsistencies and validation errors are resolved with audiology departments in Northern Ireland.
Irish Language
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 562W, what his Department's estimate is of the cost of implementing an Irish Language Bill. [127885]
Maria Eagle: It has been estimated that in the 2008-09 financial year, the first full year after any Irish Language Bill becomes law, total expenditure by Northern Ireland Departments on the Irish language could be in the region of £12.55 million. This represents an increase over existing expenditure of approximately £2.81 million.
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