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1 May 2007 : Column 1553W—continued
Departments: Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years. [134061]
Mr. Hain: This information is not recorded and therefore it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The NIO policy is to use paper for photocopying, printing and for publications that is derived from at least 70 per cent. post consumer waste. Currently we purchase office paper that is derived from 100 per cent. post consumer waste.
Derelict Land
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what disused public land is available in Northern Ireland; what plans are in place for each such site; and if he will make a statement. [132034]
Mr. Hanson: The following plots of disused public land and the plans in place for each have been identified by Northern Ireland Departments:
Drumaghlis School: Crossgar School
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions have taken place between the South Eastern Education and Library Board and the boards of governors of Drumaghlis Primary School and Crossgar Primary School on the implementation programme for the amalgamation of both primary schools from 1 September 2007; and if he will make a statement. [134410]
Maria Eagle: The South Eastern Education and Library Board has undertaken a full consultation with the boards of governors of Drumaghlis Primary School and Crossgar Primary School about the proposed amalgamation prior to the publication of the development proposal. The development proposal is currently being considered by the Department of Education.
Pending a decision on the development proposal an interim board of governors for the proposed new amalgamated school, representative of both the existing schools, has been established to progress the effective implementation of the amalgamation and to prepare a Scheme of Management for the new school. A senior officer from the South Eastern Education and Library Board has been appointed as an independent chairman to the interim board of governors to facilitate this work.
Faith Schools
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many private (a) Anglican, (b) Catholic, (c) Evangelical and (d) Jewish faith schools there are in Northern Ireland. [135019]
Maria Eagle: There are currently 10 private evangelical schools in Northern Ireland. There are no Catholic, Church of England or Jewish private schools.
General Practitioners
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department allocated to Western Urgent Care for out-of-hours service provision in each of the last five years. [135249]
Paul Goggins: Following the introduction of the new GMS contract, responsibility for the commissioning of out-of-hours services was transferred to WHSSB on 1 January 2005. Since that date the WHSSB has allocated the following levels of funding to Western Urgent Care:
| Period covered | Amount (£ million) |
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures his Department has in place to ensure that the proposed five per cent. reduction in the Western Urgent Care budget for the financial year 2007-08 will not reduce the level of patient care provided to patients living in the Derry, Strabane and Limavady areas. [135250]
Paul Goggins: There has been no reduction in the actual budget for the provision of out-of-hours (OOH) care, either for Western Urgent Care specifically, or in Northern Ireland as a whole, nor is such a reduction planned. When the Health and Social Services Boards took over responsibility for the delivery of OOHs from GPs in 2005 following the introduction of the new contract for GPs, the Department agreed to provide bridging finance for a period of three years to assist the boards with the start-up costs of the new service. It was agreed with the Health and Social Services Boards at the time that this bridging finance would decrease in the third year (2007-08) and cease from 1 April 2008. The budget for the service is otherwise unaffected.
Health Professions: Training
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which specialities used the online NHS eportfolio for Medical Training Application Service shortlisting in Northern Ireland. [133695]
Paul Goggins: No specialities used the online NHS eportfolio for MTAS shortlisting.
Irish Language: Pupils
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in what proportion of schools in Northern Ireland pupils are taught Irish as a second language. [135020]
Maria Eagle: The requested information is not available for primary schools. The following information relates to examination entries in Irish for the 2005-06 academic year in English-medium schools.
Of the 229 English-medium post primary schools:
79 (34 per cent.) post primary schools had entries in GCSE Irish;
49 (21 per cent.) post primary schools had entries in A-level Irish.
Notes:
1. Irish-medium primary and post primary schools have been excluded from this analysis.
2. In the 2005-06 academic year, two post primary schools had pupils being taught in Irish-medium units. It is not possible to exclude these pupils from the analysis.
3. The GCSE and A-level examination data have been taken from the University of Bath dataset.
4. The number of post primary schools is taken from the annual school census.
Junior Doctors: Working Hours
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days on average junior doctors were available to provide a service to patients in the Northern Ireland hospital where they work during (a) March 2006 and (b) March 2007. [134979]
Paul Goggins: This information is not held centrally and could be provided by the Health and Social Care Trusts only at a disproportionate cost.
Local Government: Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed in local government in Northern Ireland. [135045]
David Cairns: The number of people employed in the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland, as at 1 January 2006, totalled 10,912. This figure has been provided from records held by the Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland.
Locums
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of locum cover in Northern Ireland for junior doctors during (a) March 2006 and (b) March 2007. [133702]
Paul Goggins: The cost for locum cover in Northern Ireland for junior doctors during March 2006 was £782,605. A final figure for March 2007 is not yet available but the cost to date is £867,297.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost has been of providing locum cover for junior doctors in Northern Ireland attending activities relating to Modernising Medical Careers. [134962]
Paul Goggins: There is no additional cost for providing locum cover for junior doctors attending Modernising Medical Careers activities as cover is provided by other junior doctors in the rota.
Primary Education
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what meetings have taken place between the education boards and primary school teachers on the implementation programme for the revised primary school curriculum for primary 1 and primary 5 classes; [134408]
(2) what training programmes have taken place with teachers in each of the education and library boards on the implementation of the revised primary school curriculum for (a) primary 1 and (b) primary 5 classes. [134409]
Maria Eagle: The education and library boards, as part of the strategic planning by the education partners within the partnership management board (PMB), have provided three days’ training for all Year 1 and Year 5 teachers during 2006-07, with follow-up training planned for the next academic year. Year 1 teachers have also been invited to attend local group meetings relating to Foundation Stage, and Year 5 teachers will receive training during the summer term relating to specific aspects of assessment.
The boards have also been engaging directly with primary principals, as school leaders. Every primary principal has had the opportunity to discuss the
implementation of the revised curriculum at a series of face to face meetings, in addition to senior management conferences which began in 2005-06. PMB has also established a principals’ forum as a further means of engaging directly with schools and every school has a dedicated link officer from the boards.
Recycling
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on encouraging recycling across Northern Ireland. [135022]
David Cairns: “Towards Resource Management”, the waste strategy for Northern Ireland, sets challenging targets for the recycling and recovery of all wastes. I am committed to the development of viable end markets for recycled materials and to supporting the work of WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and other initiatives that will engage the business sector and encourage recycling. Sustainable procurement and purchasing policies across central Government will help to stabilise these markets. My Department will also be consulting on providing powers for district councils to introduce incentive schemes to reduce and recycle household waste.
Roads: Accidents
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government are taking to tackle the number of young drivers killed and injured on Northern Ireland's roads. [134407]
David Cairns: The Northern Ireland Road Safety Strategy 2002-12 reinforces Government's commitment to road safety and includes a range of measures aimed at young drivers.
The Department of the Environment is currently researching the training, testing and licensing of new and young drivers and the future direction for Northern Ireland's “L” and “R” driver schemes. Any proposed changes will be the subject of consultation.
DOE actively promotes Road Traffic Studies and GCSE Motor Vehicle and Road User Studies in post-primary schools, providing support, training and materials to schools. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has developed an NVQ, “Preparation for Driving”, which will be made available by September 2007. These courses focus on the attitudes of young adults, many of whom will soon become drivers. The PSNI ran 19 “Roadsafe Roadshows” during the current school year, attended by almost 11,000 young people, depicting how a night out could end in tragedy. DOE also offers, through schools, a driver training scheme to 17 and 18-year-olds with valid provisional licences.
DOE has a portfolio of hard-hitting road safety campaigns targeting the main causes of road deaths and serious injuries. These particularly focus on the 17-24 age group as it is most at risk and most likely to be responsible for serious road collisions.
The PSNI has introduced a Driver Improvement Scheme to improve driving standards and attitudes for first time careless driving offenders as an alternative to prosecution.
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