Friday 26 January 2001
Written Answers to Questions (Continued)

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of foster parents available to adopt in each of the board areas for 1998-99 and 1999-2000.

(AQW 1312/00)

Ms de Brún: Information is not available in the form requested.

Níl eolas ar fáil san fhoirm a iarradh.

Mr Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the costs to her department of; (a) Relenza, and; (b) Lysovir and if she will make a statement.

(AQW 1320/00)

Ms de Brún: Relenza was licensed for use in September 1999. The community prescribing cost for the period from September 1999 to August 2000, the latest date for which data is available, amounted to £288. There is no information available about the prescribing of Lysovir in the community as this is either infrequently prescribed by general practitioners or, is currently not being prescribed. There is no centralised database on the prescribing of medicines in hospitals.

The prescribing of medicines in the health service is a matter for the clinical judgement of doctors, taking account of the needs of the patient and the effectiveness of the medicines concerned.

Ceadúnaíodh Relenza le haghaidh úsáide i Meán Fómhair 1999. Ba £288 an costas iomlán ar a ordú ar oideas sa pobal don tréimhse ó Mheán Fómhair 1999 go dtí Lúnasa 2000, an dáta is deireanaí a bhfuil eolas againn air. Níl eolas ar bith ar fáil faoi ordú Lysovir sa phobal óir is annamh a ordaíonn liachleachtóirí é ar oideas, sin nó ní ordaítear é faoi láthair. Níl lárbhunachar sonraí ar ordú leigheas ann sna hospidéil.

Braitheann ordú leigheas ar oideas ar bhreithiúnas cliniciúil dochtúirí, ag cur san áireamh riachtanais na n-othar agus éifeacht na leigheas i gceist.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of children seeking foster parents in each of the board areas for years 1998-99 and 1999-2000.

(AQW 1329/00)

Ms de Brún: Information on the number of children seeking foster parents is not available in the form requested.

Níl eolas ar líon na bpáistí atá ag iarraidh tuismitheoirí altrama ar fáil san fhoirm a iarradh.

Mr Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail any changes she intends to make to the adoption and foster parent regulations for Northern Ireland.

(AQW 1340/00)

Ms de Brún: My Department is considering a number of changes to these regulations and I hope to bring forward some proposals shortly. These would deal with matters such as the membership of adoption panels; more openness in the assessment of prospective adopters; the provision of information by agencies to adoptive parents about the child; and the prevention of people convicted of specified offences from becoming adoptive or foster parents.

Tá mo Roinn ag machnamh roinnt athruithe ar na rialacháin seo agus tá súil agam cuid moltaí a thabhairt ar aghaidh ar ball. Phléadh siad seo le hábhair ar nós ballraíocht phainéil uchtála, tuilleadh oscailteachta in uchtaitheoirí ionchais a mheasúnú, gníomhaireachtaí faisnéis a sholáthar do thuismitheoirí uchtála faoin leanbh agus cosc a chur ar dhaoine a ciontaíodh i gcoireanna sonraithe ó bheith ina dtuismitheoirí uchtála nó altrama.

Mr Hussey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail her plans for Castlederg ambulance station.

(AQW 1345/00)

Ms de Brún: The ambulance service trust has reached agreement with the new landlords to remain on the existing site in Castlederg. A business case is now being developed to improve accommodation at Castlederg ambulance station as part of the trust’s overall estate strategy. The trust has recently spent £3,000 on improving facilities at Castlederg ambulance station.

Tháinig Iontaobhas na Seirbhíse Otharcharr ar shocrú leis na tiarnaí talún nua le fanacht ar an suíomh reatha i gCaisleán na Deirge. Tá cás gnó á fhorbairt anois, atá mar chuid de straitéis fhoriomlán eastáit an iontaobhais, le cóiríocht ag staisiún otharcharr Chaisleán na Deirge a fheabhsú. Chaith an t-iontaobhas £3,000 ar fheabhsú áiseanna ag staisiún otharcharr Chaisleán na Deirge ar na mallaibh.

Ms Morrice asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the steps she is taking to ensure that consumers are not eating meat from cattle that are over thirty months old.

(AQO 562/00)

Ms de Brún: The Food Standards Agency is responsible for food safety here and works closely with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development which acts on the agency’s behalf in enforcing BSE controls in abattoirs here.

All food on sale here must comply with the food safety requirements of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. Broadly this legislation demands that food must not be rendered injurious to health; must not be unfit for human consumption or so contaminated that it is unreasonable to expect it to be used for human consumption.

The over-thirty-month rule is the key legal mechanism which prohibits the sale of meat for human consumption from cattle aged over thirty months at slaughter and is implemented here by the Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996. The regulations are enforced by officers of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and district councils.

Particular concern has been expressed about imported beef. Consequently the agency here wrote to enforcing authorities in November asking them to step up checks on consignments of imported beef from countries with a known BSE risk to ensure compliance with the over-thirty-month rule. The agency specifically asked enforcement authorities for details of any breaches. To date none have been reported. The agency is continuing to monitor the situation.

Tá an Ghníomhaireacht Caighdeán Bia freagrach as sábháilteacht bhia anseo agus bíonn sí ag obair go dlúth i bpáirt leis an Roinn Talmhaíochta agus Forbartha Tuaithe a ghníomhaíonn ar son na Gníomhaireachta chun na rialúcháin i n-éadan ESB a chur i bhfeidhm sna seamlais anseo.

Caithfidh gach cineál bia atá ar díol anseo a bheith de réir cheanglais an Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. Is é atá á éileamh go ginearálta sna ceanglais go gcaithfidh bia gan a bheith curtha sa riocht go ndéanann sé dochar don tsláinte; go gcaithfidh sé gan a bheith mí-oiriúnach lena thomhailt ag daoine, nó gan a bheith chomh héillithe sin go mbeadh sé míréasúnta a bheith ag súil go mbainfí úsáid as mar ábhar tomhailte ag daoine.

Is í an Riail Os Cionn Tríocha Mí an phríomh- mheicníocht dlí a thoirmisceann feoil ó eallach atá os cionn tríocha mí d’aois nuair a mharaítear iad a dhíol i gcomhair a tomhailte ag daoine agus is tríd an Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 a chuirtear an riail i bhfeidhm. Cuireann oifigigh de chuid na Roinne Talmhaíochta agus Forbartha Tuaithe agus na gcomhairlí ceantair na rialacháin i bhfeidhm.

Tá imní ar leith á cur in iúl faoi mhairteoil a allmhairítear. Ar an ábhar sin, scríobh an Ghníomhaireacht anseo chuig na húdaráis forfheidhmiúcháin i mí na Samhna le hiarraidh orthu breis seiceála a dhéanamh ar lastaí mairteola a allmhairítear ó thíortha a bhfuil priacal aitheanta ESB iontu chun a chinntiú go gcomhlíontar an Riail Os Cionn Tríocha Mí. D’iarr an Ghníomhaireacht go sonrach ar na húdaráis forfheidhmiúcháin mionsonrai cásanna ar bith a thabhairt di inar sáraíodh an riail. Go dtí seo níor tuairiscíodh aon chás den chineál. Tá an Ghníomhaireacht ag déanamh faireacháin ar chúrsaí i rith an ama.

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment to detail; (a) the numbers currently on the various options of New Deal disaggregated by religion, gender and age, and; (b) by electoral ward and parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 1214/00)

Dr Farren: Information on the progress of participants through New Deal is kept by the Department on its client management system (CMS).

Statistical data from CMS are not currently available pending resolution of data and IT issues. It is anticipated that publication will resume before the end of the current financial year: in the meantime I am providing figures based on management information.

I attach Table 1 which gives a breakdown of the numbers on the New Deal for 18-24 Year Olds and the New Deal for 25+ by option and gender: more detailed age data and religion is not currently available. Table 2 gives a breakdown of the numbers by job centre area as a proxy for geographical breakdowns requested.

I look forward to the re-establishment of the statistical series on New Deal in the near future. All previously published data, including the information given in the attached tables, will be subject to revision at that time.

Note: data relate to w/e January 12^th 2001

Note: data relate to w/e January 12^th 2001

Note: data relate to w/e January 12^th 2001

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment to detail the number of students currently enrolled in full time further and higher education colleges and universities by religion, age, gender and parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 1215/00)

Dr Farren: As at 1999-2000, the composition of the full-time student population at Northern Ireland higher education institutions and at the Northern Ireland further education colleges was:

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment to detail the numbers of successful New Deal completions that have resulted in full-time employment and the numbers who have returned to claiming social security benefits.

(AQW 1218/00)

Dr Farren: Information on the progress of participants through New Deal is kept by the Department on its newly introduced client management system (CMS).

Comprehensive statistical data from CMS are not currently available pending resolution of some difficult data and IT issues. It is anticipated that data will become available in the next few weeks and that publication will resume thereafter. Once all of the issues have been resolved, a timetable will be drawn up which will outline when detailed information will become available for release.

I regret that in the absence of data from CMS it is not currently possible to answer your question.

Dr O’Hagan asked the Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment to list the administrative data sets held by the Department and its agencies and detail whether these data sets provide qualitative data at enumeration district, electoral ward level, by district council area or by parliamentary constituency.

(AQW 1261/00)

Dr Farren: The Department for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment maintains a range of administrative data sets for the purpose of carrying out its functions.

Where the data includes a post-code as part of the address this can be aggregated to all specified geographical units subject to the requirement to respect the confidentiality of the data subject. The success of this exercise depends on the quality and coverage of the postcode data and would involve considerable time and cost. The postcode information in some of the databases held by this Department is currently not of sufficient quality to allow aggregation to the specified geographical units.

All Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments maintain a range of records on their staff for the purposes of carrying out their functions as employers. Many of the records for individual members of staff are held on computerised systems, which are managed by the Department of Finance and Personnel on behalf of Departments and their respective agencies. These records include personnel, payroll and training records, applicant records for recruitment competitions and superannuation records for retired civil servants. Such records are not managed in a way that routinely provides data sets by enumeration district, electoral ward, district council or parliamentary constituency.

Data sets maintained by the Department include postcodes and are listed as follows:

• HESA (higher education statistics agency) student record.
  
• HESA first destination supplement.
  
• HESA non-credit bearing data set.
  
• HESA individualised staff data set.
  
• HESA finance statistics return.
  
• Further education statistical record (FESR).
  
• Further education leavers survey (FELS).
  
• Further education funding formula data set.
  
• Further education awards system (FEAST).
  
• Individuals who participate in worktrack and Enterprise Ulster.
  
• People who have received redundancy payments or insolvency payments from the Department and individual/bodies interested in developments in employment legislation for consultation purposes.
  
• The Labour Relations Agency and the Office of the Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunals (OITFET) on applications for tribunal hearings, and/or arbitration and conciliation.
  
• Client management system (CMS) and training information management system (TIMS) are currently used by jobcentre staff, headquarters staff and training organisations (TIMS only) to administer employment service, careers service, New Deal, Jobskills and Bridge to Employment activities, and certain elements of worktrack. These computer systems, therefore, hold information in the following areas :
  
• client information; employers; vacancies; schools; training organisations; and training courses.
  
• The training courses’ category is not associated with a postcode but this can be inferred from the training organisation delivering the course. The information provided within each category is illustrative.
  
• Management development programme providers are required as part of their contract to maintain data sets on programme participants. Where programmes are administered by management development staff, similar lists of participants are held within the branch.

A general database is held to facilitate invitations to business events/annual conferences.