Oral Answers to Questions
Education
Mr Speaker:
Question 1, in the name of Ms Ramsey; question 5, in the name of Mr McGrady; question 7, in the name of Iris Robinson; and question 10, in the name of Mr Byrne, have been withdrawn and will receive written answers. Mr John Kelly is not in his place, so we will proceed to question 3.
Post-Primary Education
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3.
Mr Ford
asked the Minister of Education when he plans to report on the findings of the public consultation on post-primary education.
(AQO 1604/01)
The Minister of Education (Mr M McGuinness): Consultation ends on 28 June, and over the summer my officials will analyse the responses. That will take time, but I expect to be able to publish a report on the outcome of the consultation by the end of September.
Mr Ford:
Given the nature of the consultation process, that date may be optimistic. How soon will the Minister bring legislation to the House on the basis of the review? The trauma of the 11-plus now affects not only primary 5 children, but those in primary 4 also, and there is little indication that that will change. Can the Minister give a commitment that he will introduce legislation before the Assembly is suspended next year?
Mr M McGuinness:
This is the largest ever consultation on an education issue; response forms were distributed to over 670,000 households. The distribution took longer than anticipated due to the massive scale of the exercise, but all the forms have now been delivered. The deadline for the receipt of responses is 28 June, which gives people sufficient time. I will not extend that deadline. Already we have received some 100,000 responses, so my officials will have a considerable volume of work over the summer.
The Department is determined to publish the consultation results by the end of September, and I hope that there will be no slippage. The work will be done over the summer, because I am determined to bring my ideas for progress to the Assembly this autumn . However, I need to see the outcome of the consultation. It is a genuine consultation, and people's opinions are crucial. The public has a real opportunity to have a meaningful impact on education.
I hope that work will be completed on time and that we can then deal decisively with an issue that has been outstanding for more than 50 years.
Mr Speaker:
I wish to clarify that dissolution will take place on 21 March 2003; a suspension would be another matter. Mr Ford may be aware of something to which I am not party.
The Chairperson of the Committee for Education (Mr Kennedy):
How does the Minister intend to treat the information given on the household response forms? What weightings will be attached to the representations by the public, community organisations and teachers?
Mr M McGuinness:
The objective of the response form is to provide information on the review and to enable everyone to comment on the key issues. The outcome will have an impact on the majority of households, and it is appropriate that everyone should be able to express his or her views. The form seeks views on key issues, but provides the opportunity to give more detailed comments. Everyone should recognise this real opportunity. The response has been substantial.
People may have response forms lying at home but perhaps feel that their opinions are not important. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for people to take this golden opportunity to have an impact on our education system. We will analyse the results and make those available to the public. We will then decide how to progress.
It is too soon to answer Mr Kennedy's questions. At this stage, we must ensure that there is widespread consultation and a good response. I hope that people will recognise the importance of grasping this golden opportunity. We must look at the strength of the arguments that are made and the extent of the support for the various options detailed in the questions. From the Department's perspective, it would be neither practical nor sensible to have formal weightings of opinions.
Mr Molloy:
Is the Minister aware that several grammar schools have been advising parents not to complete the second stage of the survey and, in particular, not to state that they have any connection with grammar schools? How does he propose to survey those schools?
Mr M McGuinness:
I am reluctant to enter into a negative debate about any aspect of the work that we have been involved in. This is an incredibly important, valuable, positive and constructive debate. Many education sectors have had their say on these issues. I have been involved in extensive meetings with all education interest groups, and there will be more meetings. All of those meetings were invaluable. We have heard powerful statements from representatives of the Protestant churches, who are opposed to academic selection at the age of 11, and from Catholic bishops, citing their opposition to academic selection.
There is a growing consensus on that, which is at the core of the debate. We must face up to the fact that we have a responsibility - as Minister of Education, I certainly have a responsibility - to meet the challenge of creating a stronger education system. We must enhance the system and deal with the key issue, which is not institutions, but what will be good for all our children. We must put the best possible education system in place and fit the institutions around the needs of our children, rather than the other way around.
Resources
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4.
Mrs Courtney
asked the Minister of Education to list the methodology under which he is providing state resources to controlled, maintained, integrated and Irish-language schools to provide pre-school places under equality and New TSN requirements; and to make a statement.
(AQO 1599/01)
Mr M McGuinness:
New pre-school places are being provided under the Department of Education's pre-school education expansion programme. The places are planned by pre-school education advisory groups in the education and library boards and are being created in all grant-aided school sectors and in the voluntary and private playgroup sector. The programme is an important element of the interdepartmental childcare strategy and of the Department of Education's strategy for targeting social need.
Admissions priority is given to children from socially disadvantaged circumstances who are most likely to experience difficulty at school and to the oldest four-year-olds. The effect of the expansion programme is to provide an equalising of opportunity in pre-school education. That is a positive measure in the context of the equality legislation.
Mrs Courtney:
I welcome the Minister's comments, but is he aware of the effect of offering nursery provision in mainstream schooling on the community voluntary sector? The number of places is shrinking, trained carers are losing their jobs and trained teachers are being retrained to care for pre-school children from the age of three and upwards. This contrasts with the rest of Europe, where children do not normally go into mainstream schooling until the age of six. Will the Minister look again at this sector with equality and TSN legislation in mind?
Mr M McGuinness:
I am aware that some people hold the view that there is an equality issue involved in the different number of places allocated to individual settings in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors under the expansion programme. However, I cannot accept any suggestion of inequality. In the statutory sector the minimum number is 26, while in the private and voluntary sector it is five. In both cases we are talking about thresholds relating to viability, and not minimum entitlements. If playgroups were each to receive 26 funded places as a minimum, very few would receive places, and coverage would be very sparse.
I am fully aware of the concerns of the voluntary and private sector. In planning the expansion programme, the pre-school education advisory groups have adhered to a set of jointly agreed and adopted principles on displacement. They have aimed to avoid displacement where possible and have actively sought to avoid displacing good quality pre-school provision. It should be borne in mind that the expansion programme is part of a wider childcare strategy that has other elements. Many parents require care for their children outside the two and a half hour period of free pre-school education. In some cases, the establishment of a statutory nursery unit may free up capacity in voluntary or private provision and allow these providers to focus on wrap-around childcare.
Mr Poots:
Can the Minister identify why there is 90% provision of pre-school nursery places in the Belfast Education and Library Board, yet some rural areas in the South Eastern Education and Library Board, particularly the Lagan Valley district, have only 25% coverage? Why were Fairhill Primary School, Riverdale Primary School and Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School - which is a newly opened school - all refused pre-school places? Also, why does the pre-school education advisory group refuse to put in places when developing new schools?
Mr M McGuinness:
That was a fairly lengthy and detailed question, which would require a lengthy and detailed response. I do not have any information about the individual schools to hand, but I will certainly undertake to write to the Member.
Transfer Test
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6.
Mr C Murphy
asked the Minister of Education what assessment he can make in relation to this year's transfer test results and the trend of previous years regarding the disproportionately low numbers of disadvantaged children who attain high grades in the test.
(AQO 1593/01)
Mr M McGuinness:
Analysis of this year's transfer procedure test results show that pupils at schools in the lowest free school meal band were almost three times as likely to achieve grade A as those at schools in the highest free school meal band. This has been the position for the last three years. The disparity is even more pronounced in schools under non-Catholic management, where pupils in schools in the lowest band were almost five times as likely to achieve grade A as those in the highest band. This clearly demonstrates the need for a change to the current system.
Mr C Murphy:
Those figures are very stark and show the difference in the level of achievement between the different socio-economic bands. Does the Minister agree that an important mission of a publicly funded education system is to enable all children to achieve the best educational attainment, regardless of socio-economic or other circumstances, and certainly regardless of whether people can afford to pay for extra tuition to get them through academic selection tests?
Mr M McGuinness:
The objective of any post-primary arrangements must be to ensure that all pupils, wherever their gifts lie, are able to progress and fulfil their potential. It is wrong to focus on any single group to the exclusion of others. I am seeking post-primary arrangements that will provide flexible, diverse and high-quality pathways to suit the varied abilities and aptitudes of all children. I firmly believe that every child should be given the opportunity to succeed. I want fairness and better educational opportunities for all children, whether they live on the Falls Road or the Shankill Road, the Bogside or the Waterside, Crossmaglen or Portadown, regardless of their colour, creed, if they are well off or disadvantaged, and whatever their abilities.
Mr Foster:
Does the Minister agree that disadvantage among children could be largely linked to the amount of money available in school budgets to educate children in particular schools? With that in mind, will he agree that while he, as Minister, does not address the issue of core funding in schools, he is contributing to certain children in certain schools being disadvantaged?
2.45 pm
Mr M McGuinness:
I do not accept that I am contributing to the disadvantaging of any child. We are discussing post-primary education; it is unacceptable that children from disadvantaged backgrounds constitute only 8% of grammar school enrolments. The objective of any post-primary arrangement must be to ensure that all pupils, wherever their gifts lie, are able to progress and fulfil their potential.
This is probably the most important issue that we have dealt with during the life of the Assembly, which will come to an end early next year. Everyone has contributed to a valuable debate. There is no doubt that in my sphere of influence as Minister of Education, all the people with whom I have come into contact have held deep and genuine views about how we should move forward in education. I respect all those people who have made a powerful contribution to our education system as it stands. I seek to advance and enhance that. I want a stronger education system, and I want to bring about a consensus of opinion so that we can move forward and put in place the best possible education system that will remove for ever any hint of disadvantage for any child. We are building that consensus. Do not lose sight of that.
Mr Shannon:
There has been much talk about disadvantaged areas such as Portadown and Crossmaglen. What will the Department of Education do to address disadvantage in the entire community, especially in the Unionist community that I represent?
Mr M McGuinness:
The process that we find ourselves in, of which the Assembly is a part, is a huge challenge for all of us. There is a real opportunity for us to move forward and deal with all the issues that concern everyone.
I was proud and honoured today that the Ballinderry Shamrocks, who won the All-Ireland Gaelic Football Club Championship, were in the Building. Many of those young people come from schools in the mid-Ulster area. It would have been unthinkable that they would ever have been invited here 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. This is now an inclusive place. Representatives from many different political parties welcomed the team; nobody protested against them. That was a great experience for them, and it was also a good experience for us.
My political party and myself specifically, as a Sinn Féin Minister of Education, face challenges. It is important that I stretch out the hand of friendship to the Unionist community. I do not want anyone in that community to think that we would contemplate putting in place a system of education that would disadvantage any child. I would regard that as absolute and total failure.
It is important to face up to those challenges. Many Members from other political parties would also recognise that. That is why we are still here. Let us recognise the fact that we are still here and that, four years on, the Assembly is up and running. It is still working, and the vast majority of our people like that. They want it to work and they want us to work together. I am prepared to deal with the long and difficult road. There are people on the opposite Benches who are prepared to do the same because if they were not, they would not be here. Their presence is a powerful statement. Let us move forward sensibly and recognise that we must be inclusive. Let us recognise achievements, as we did when the Ulster rugby team won the European Cup and the Ballinderry Shamrocks came here. Let us congratulate Ireland on it's great performance in the World Cup and look forward to great achievements from other neighbours.
NEELB - Additional Funding
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8.
Mr Armstrong
asked the Minister of Education what additional funding is being made available to the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) to offset the financial pressures being faced by the board.
(AQO 1618/01)
Mr M McGuinness:
I am aware of the financial pressures that have been identified by the North Eastern Education and Library Board. I have asked my officials to work closely with the board to establish whether further flexibility is possible within its existing budget and to gather detailed information.
While I appreciate the pressures faced by all boards, the budget available to the Department of Education to fund core board services has been fully distributed on the basis of a methodology that reflects relative needs.
There is a compelling case for additional funds for all schools. When my Department has completed its assessment of the NEELB position, I will decide the best way to take the matter forward.
Mr Armstrong:
I urge the Minister to consider the crisis in the North Eastern Education and Library Board, as shown by the situation at Knockloughrim Primary School. Reduced funding means that staff levels may be reduced from five teachers to three next year, while pupil numbers are increasing.
Can the Minister tell me how his policy in regard to the NEELB is achieving anything other than increased class sizes, while decreasing the standard of education for children? If the Minister is serious in trying to achieve the optimum pupil/teacher ratio throughout Northern Ireland, it is time to do something about it. His party does not have -
Mr Speaker:
Order. I think that the Member has put his supplementary question.
Mr M McGuinness:
The budget available to fund core board services has been fully distributed on the basis of a methodology that reflects relative needs across the education and library boards. That is to ensure an equitable distribution of the available resources. It would be incompatible with the agreed methodology to single out the NEELB for additional resources. However, my officials are examining the position of the NEELB, and when that is completed we will decide what should be done.
When the urgent and detailed assessment of the NEELB's position has been completed, it will enable me to make a decision on any bids that should be made and in which areas as part of the regular in-year expenditure monitoring and bidding processes. There is a compelling need for additional funds for all schools in the longer term, as reflected in the Department of Education's bids presented in the Executive's position report, published last week.
Mr Neeson:
Does the Minister accept that salaries for teachers in the NEELB area are high in comparison with those in other education board areas in Northern Ireland? Will he respond to press reports that extra funding will be made available to the NEELB and to other boards? Finally, will he consider reviewing the formula that has been established for the funding of the various boards?
Mr M McGuinness:
The age of teachers in the NEELB area is contributing to some of its difficulties. My Department distributes funding for schools across school sectors and between the five boards using methodologies that are designed to assess relative needs. The assessment of relative needs exercise (ARNE) has been used successfully for the last 19 years, with periodic refinements to take account of changing circumstances.
As a result of the proposed introduction of the common funding formula for schools, the Department is undertaking a fundamental review of the methodology used to assess the relative needs of the five boards, to be completed in advance of the 2003-04 financial year.
It is important that ongoing discussions between officials and the NEELB continue. Speculation in the media can be unhelpful, as it has been on other occasions.
Mr McNamee:
Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. The Minister has already answered some of my questions. Will he be making bids to the Executive for further additional resources for the North Eastern Education and Library Board and the other boards that are facing similar financial pressures, especially those areas that have had reductions in transport for primary schools in rural areas?
Mr M McGuinness:
When the urgent and detailed assessment of the NEELB position has been completed, it will enable me to make a decision on any bids that should be made, and in which areas, as part of the regular in-year expenditure monitoring and bidding processes. In the longer term, as I have said, there is a compelling need for additional funds for all schools, and that is reflected in my Department's bids presented in the Executive position report published last week.
Academic Selection
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9.
Mr McHugh
asked the Minister of Education what assessment he has made of the argument that the end of academic selection will create a system of selection by postcode.
(AQO 1597/01)
Mr M McGuinness:
The Burns Report made a range of recommendations about the future arrangements for post-primary education, including an end to academic selection and new arrangements for the admission of pupils to post-primary schools. I am aware of concerns about selection by postcode. Those do not arise from the proposal to end academic selection, but from the proposal of the review body to use proximity as the final admissions criterion where schools are oversubscribed. The review body has made its recommendations, and I have invited views on them and suggestions for modifications and alternative arrangements.
This is open and genuine consultation, and I want to stress that aspects of the proposals can be amended in the light of responses to the consultation. Yet again, I appeal to the whole community to fill in their household response forms. This is a great opportunity to have an impact on our future education system. In the interests of our children, I appeal to everyone to send in their form. It takes only a few minutes to complete.
Mr McHugh:
Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I agree with the Minister on the importance of filling in the response forms. The issue has proved to be one of the most important in the post-review consultation period. How will the Minister reconcile giving priority to parental choice with the possibility that that might prolong the situation in which schools are either undersubscribed or oversubscribed?
Mr M McGuinness:
As I have said, the recommendations in the Burns Report, including proposed new admissions arrangements, are presently out for consultation. I recognise the potential difficulties in relation to oversubscribed and undersubscribed schools. However, it would not be appropriate for me to take a view on a detail of the proposed admissions arrangements, because I want to listen to what others have to say during the debate and the consultation process. I hope that those who have concerns about any of the Burns recommendations will take the opportunity to put forward any alternatives or modifications that they may have.
Mr Bradley:
Will the Minister assure the House, and, more importantly, those with rural postcodes, that he will undertake to rural proof all proposals for post-primary education before they are introduced?
Mr M McGuinness:
In the course of the consultation we provided household response forms to 670,000 homes throughout the country. An additional leaflet allows respondents to suggest modifications or alternatives. However, we must recognise the importance of education in rural communities, and I am conscious of that. We will move forward sensitively, because we must recognise that many people have participated in the debate, and admissions criteria to schools are one of the issues that have been highlighted. It is important that people in rural areas draw attention to the point that the Member has made when filling in their household response forms.
Apart from that, we are conscious of the need to ensure that we deal with everyone fairly and that no one is disadvantaged as we move forward. We are looking for the best outcomes for all children. We want to ensure that all children have access to appropriate education. If there are particular difficulties in relation to rural areas, the Department has a responsibility to face up to the challenges that they pose.
Mr Hussey:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I see that you are watching the clock. I endorse Mr Bradley's question. However, mine is of a different nature; it concerns consultation by postcode.
Is the Minister aware that forms have not yet been delivered in some areas? My household has not yet received one.
Mr Speaker:
I must ask the Minister to reply in writing because time for questions to the Minister of Education is up.
3.00 pm
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
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Mr Speaker:
Question 1, standing in the name of Ms Ramsey, question 12, standing in the name of Mr O'Connor, and question 18, standing in the name of Mr Attwood, have been withdrawn and will receive written answers.
Breast Cancer
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2.
Ms McWilliams
asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many women between the ages of 40 and 50 have been diagnosed with breast cancer in each of the past five years.
(AQO 1579/01)
The Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Ms de Brún):
Is é líon na mban idir 40 agus 50 bliain d'aois a diagnóisíodh le hailse chíche sna cúig bliana dheireannacha a bhfuil sonraí ar fáil dóibh mar seo a leanas: 1994, 117; 1995, 127; 1996, 139; 1997, 149; agus 150 i 1998.
The number of women between the ages of 40 and 50 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years for which data are available is: 1994, 117; 1995, 127; 1996, 139; 1997, 149; and 1998, 150.
Ms McWilliams:
Does the Minister agree that the diagnosis of 150 women in 1998, the last year of recorded figures, highlights the seriousness of this? I am concerned that women between 40 and 50 years are not invited for screening. The report from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry states that there was a 14% increase in the crude number of breast cancers detected between 1993 and 1996. Does the Minister agree that that speaks of the benefit of mammography? Does she also agree that it is vital to introduce breast screening for women aged between 40 and 50 in Northern Ireland?
Ms de Brún:
I believe that the issue is serious and that mammography is important. It is the only test available for breast screening, and it is vital that such a test is available where necessary. At present, the breast-screening programme invites women between the ages of 40 and 64 for screening every three years. However, the research evidence does not support the introduction of breast screening for women under 50. That is the view of the screening committee that advises Health Ministers here and in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Chairperson of the Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee (Dr Hendron):
Considering the importance of identifying the number of women between 40 and 50 who have breast cancer, will the Minister reconfirm the extreme importance of the work of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on the island of Ireland, north and south? Will she commend the work of Dr Anna Gavin in that regard?
Ms de Brún:
I join the Member in stressing the importance of that work for everyone and in paying tribute to all involved.
Mr McCarthy:
I am a fierce opponent of age discrimination. Will the Minister assure the House that any woman over the age of 64 will, if she requests, be diagnosed and given the appropriate treatment?
Ms de Brún:
The screening committee that advises the Health Ministers recommends that the breast-screening programme be extended to women aged between 65 and 70. Such an extension would increase the workload by an estimated 40%, and it would require additional resources - financial and staffing. I hope to be able to allocate some funding for that purpose in the coming year.
New Hospital: Rural West
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3.
Mr McMenamin
asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether Dr Tony Hindle's further research will be made available to interested parties before her Department finalises its consultation proposals; and to make a statement.
(AQO 1588/01)
New Hospital: Rural West
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5.
Mr Gibson
asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for her response to the findings of the York Health Economics Consortium on the siting of a new hospital to serve the rural west; and to make a statement.
(AQO 1591/01)
Ms de Brún:
Le do cheadsa, a Cheann Comhairle, freagróidh mé ceisteanna 3 agus 5 le chéile mar go mbaineann an dá cheann acu le hobair taighde ar shuíomh ospidéil ghéarmhíochaine nua i limistéar Fhear Manach/Thír Eoghain. Cuireadh san áireamh cinneadh Chuibhreannas Eacnamaíocht na Sláinte Eabhrac, chomh maith le gach faisnéis dá raibh ar fáil domh, maidir le suíomh ospidéil ghéarmhíochaine nua i limistéar Fhear Manach/Thír Eoghain.
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I shall take questions 3 and 5 together, as they both relate to research work on the siting of the new acute hospital in the Fermanagh/ Tyrone area.
My proposals on the way forward for acute hospitals were published for consultation on 12 June 2002. The findings of the York Health Economics Consortium, along with all other information available to me, were considered in relation to the location of a new acute hospital in the Fermanagh/Tyrone area. My Department commissioned Dr Tony Hindle to review the reports 'A Review of the Acute Hospitals Review Group Report: Final Report' by the York Health Economics Consortium and 'A New Acute Hospital for the South West of Northern Ireland: Report to Fermanagh District Council' by Colin Stutt Consulting.
Copies of Dr Hindle's review have been placed in the Assembly Library. It has also been placed on my Department's Internet web site, and my Department will make copies available to interested parties on request.
Mr McMenamin:
The Minister mentioned the York Report, but did she use any other reports or studies when reaching her decision?
Ms de Brún:
The proposals that I have put forward are based on all the work that came forward, including the Acute Hospitals Review Group's report and people's views on it. That included the two reports referred to as the York Report and the Stutt Report. My proposals have also included further work which I asked my officials to take forward specifically in relation to the siting of an acute hospital in the Fermanagh/Tyrone area.
Mr Hussey:
The Minister's reply was unclear to me, so perhaps I am asking her to repeat herself. Is she assuring the House that Dr Tony Hindle's further research fully considered the findings of the York Health Economics Consortium?
Ms de Brún:
Dr Hindle was commissioned to review the two reports and to bring forward work to the Department on that basis, and he did so.
Mr Molloy:
Does the Minister accept that Dr Hindle gave a variation of that report to the Omagh Steering Group that gave a different view from that which it gave to the Department? It looks as though whoever pays gets the right answer. Does the Minister also accept that there has been a reduction in the number of acute hospitals west of the Bann? Before Hayes there was the Erne Hospital in Fermanagh, the Tyrone County Hospital, the South Tyrone Hospital, the Mid-Ulster Hospital and Altnagelvin Area Hospital. The number of acute hospitals has been reduced from five to one, with an additional one proposed. What action is being taken to ensure that a proper acute service is available for constituents in Tyrone?
Ms de Brún:
It is incorrect to say that the review that Dr Hindle carried out was given, in any shape or form, in a modified version to anyone in Omagh or Enniskillen. However, I have now placed the review in the Assembly Library and on my Department's Internet web site so that people can see exactly what was said.
The view that the balance lies in locating the new hospital in or to the north of Enniskillen was based on all the information available, including Dr Hindle's review. The views of all those who brought forward information during the consultation period were taken into account, including reports from groupings from various areas and work that was carried out by my officials on hospitals in the South.
Consultation is taking place, and I am prepared to consider new proposals and additional information that arises from that.
E-Government
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4.
Dr McDonnell
asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline (a) any progress which has been made on introducing e-government methods and programmes within her Department over the last three years and; (b) any plans which are in place for further developments in the next three years.
(AQO 1602/01)
Ms de Brún:
My Department is committed to the targets for e-government that were agreed by the Executive in July 2001, and a strategy is in place to meet them. Electronic business has been increasing in health and personal social services, and new Internet, web site and video conferencing facilities are in place. Appropriate training is being provided, and the first year of a three-year programme to upgrade the existing infrastructure has been successfully completed. Plans for the next three years include the establishment of a secure Intranet for health and personal social services, a data warehouse project to support the better use of information, the introduction of electronic document and records management and the development of networks with other Departments.
Dr McDonnell:
The Minister may be aware of the perception that there is at best a reluctance and at worst a resistance in her Department to full implementation of some of the electronic methods of communication and business. What targets are set for the take-up, as distinct from the provision of, electronic services? What steps are in place to monitor the take-up? That concerns me - availability is important, but use is even more so.
Ms de Brún:
I have not heard, and I do not accept, that there is reluctance on the part of my Department to play its full part in this. It is fully participating in all of the groups that have been set up, and it is committed to the targets that have been set out. The Executive have set a target of 25% of key services, determined by Departments, to be in place by 2002, and 100% of those services are to be in place by 2005. An agreed programme of action is in place to meet those targets. It is monitored by a committee which is chaired by one of my deputy secretaries and meets three to four times a year.
Mr Armstrong:
We all recognise the need for more public awareness of any e-government initiatives undertaken by the Minister's Department, as a sizeable proportion of the public do not know what online services are on offer. How will she let most people know about this? Will she link it in with the National Health Service?
Ms de Brún:
Currently my major target is to improve the amount of work that we carry out through e-business. For example, we have achieved targets to provide information electronically to the public and opportunities for feedback via the Department's web site. As Members will know from my previous answer, that pertains to consultation and other documents, which are routinely published online. The public can respond electronically using the feedback facility.
Work to maximise clarity in the provision of information on health and personal social services and to achieve faster, more accurate collation of information is on target for the first phase of implementation. All departmental circulars to health and personal social services are to be available online, and all health and personal social services returns to the Department are to be facilitated online by 31 March 2005.
One example of how we are maximising the other work and providing faster and better quality briefing is that a project manager has been appointed and a series of system presentations is being arranged, so work is continuing in several areas. As Members will know, we have made progress in introducing similar work in health and social services; they use e-business services in finance and administration, and health and personal social services business with private-sector suppliers involves electronic ordering and payments.
3.15 pm
The Department is carrying out work throughout the system. It has also made considerable bids throughout the period for Executive programme funds. I know from the questions today that Members will support those bids to enable that work to be taken further.
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