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Assembly updates 2007Assembly
recess 15 December 2007 – 6 February 2008 [2008
updates can be found here]
Monday 10 December - Friday 14 December 2007 1.
Summary of relevant written answers received week ending 14/12/07 ·
Severe
Child Poverty - Mr
J Shannon asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to
provide a precise definition of the term 'severe child poverty' in relation to
the target contained in the PSA document. Rt
Hon I Paisley and Mr M McGuinness: The PSA target which the Member refers to in
relation to child poverty is one of a number of targets which an anti-poverty
strategy, once agreed by the Executive, will aim to achieve.
A range of poverty measures will be considered by the Executive in this
context in order to monitor change in child poverty including:
However,
in agreeing its strategy to tackle poverty and social exclusion, as required
under Section 16 of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, the
Executive will decide which indicators, using one or all of these statistics,
best measures the number of children in greatest objective need.
This is currently being considered within the Department. We would hope
to bring proposals to the Executive on an anti-poverty strategy, including
details on how we propose to measure its effectiveness, in the near future.
We in OFMDFM together with the Executive are committed to tackling
poverty and social exclusion in Northern Ireland. This is outlined in both our
draft Programme for Government and budget documents which include a commitment
to reduce child poverty by 50% by 2010. ·
Fair Employment Monitoring
Regulations - Mr S Neeson asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy
First Minister what plans it has to undertake a review of Fair Employment
Monitoring Regulations. Rt Hon I Paisley and
Mr M McGuinness: Reviewing the Fair Employment Monitoring Regulations is an
ongoing commitment and will be considered as part of the review of equality
legislation. ·
Older Persons' Commissioner
- Mr J Spratt asked the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
to outline what progress has been made in relation to an Older Persons'
Commissioner. Rt Hon I Paisley and
Mr M McGuinness: Ministers have received an interim report from the independent
organisation appointed to assist with the review into the case for establishing
an Older People’s Commissioner. It
is hoped that following consideration of the interim report Ministers will be in
a position to issue a statement later this week. ·
Respite Beds - Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health,
Social Services and Public Safety to detail the number of respite beds within
the Western Health and Social Services Board; their location; and the frequency
of their occupation, in each of the last five years. The
Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey):
Information on the number of respite beds, their location and frequency of
occupation is not collected centrally. Community Information Branch (CIB) within
the Department of Health, Social Services & Public Safety, requested the
information from the Chief Executive for Western Health & Social Services
Board (WHSSB). The information provided by the WHSSB is detailed in the table
below.
1.
Occupied Bed Day figures include a range of provision over and above its
correlation with the number of Respite Beds. 2.
As a consequence, the multiple of 365 days per year in relation to the number of
Respite Beds is less than the Number of Occupied Bed Days. ·
Community Care Assistants
- Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
to detail the current hourly rate paid to community care assistants in each of
the five Health and Social Care Trust areas for the provision of (i) personal
care; (ii) practical care; and (iii) sitting services. Mr
M McGimpsey: There are a wide range of staff groups which could fall within the
description of community care assistants. This includes home helps, domiciliary
care workers and community nursing assistants. Under the Agenda for Change
arrangements now in operation in all five Health and Social Care Trusts these
staff groups would fall into one of the following pay ranges, depending on the
skills required to do their jobs: Band 1 (minimum hourly rate £6.23 – maximum
hourly rate £6.78), Band 2 (minimum hourly rate £6.43 - maximum hourly rate £7.94)
or Band 3 (minimum hourly rate £7.38 - maximum hourly rate £8.83). ·
Care Workers from External Agencies
- Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
to detail the current hourly rate paid to external agencies in each of the five
Health and Social Care Trust areas for providing (i) personal care; (ii)
practical care; and (iii) sitting services. Mr
M McGimpsey: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department.
External agencies are not contracted on the basis of the hourly rates of pay
paid to their employees. This is an employment matter between the agency and
their employees. ·
Community Care Assistants
- Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
to detail the current weekend rates of pay and mileage allowance paid to
community care assistants providing community care in each of the five Health
and Social Care Trust areas. Mr
M McGimpsey: There are a variety of methods used to calculate payments to reward
staff in the HSC who work outside normal hours and at the weekends. These range
from a percentage increase on the basic pay to overtime rates at time and a
half. There are however plans under the Agenda for Change arrangements to unify
payments to all non-medical staff for working in the evenings and at the
weekends. These new arrangements will be introduced from 1 April 2008.
Where HSC staff are required to undertake business travel in order to
carry out their work, they are compensated by their employer. This level of
compensation depends on them satisfying particular criteria on the number of
miles undertaken, the engine capacity of the vehicle and the appropriate form of
transport. The rates payable are set out below and do not vary for weekends. Public
Transport mileage is payable at 23p per mile where the employer deems that
standard or regular user rates do not apply. Standard
rate
Regular
User allowance
·
Care Workers from External Agencies
- Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of
Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the current weekend rates of
pay and mileage allowance paid to external agencies providing community care in
each of the five Health and Social Care Trust areas. Mr
M McGimpsey: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department.
Rates of pay and mileage allowances paid by external agencies will vary and are
a matter for the agency and their employees. ·
Services for Disabled
Children - Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety what actions he is taking to improve services for disabled
children. Mr M McGimpsey: My
Department is working in partnership with user and carer groups, the statutory,
voluntary, and community sectors to develop a Physical and Sensory Disability
Strategy and to conduct a Review of Autism Services. Regional working groups
have been established to review the provision of wheelchair and sensory
impairment services. Further working groups will be established as required to
address other key strands of the strategy. The Physical and Sensory Disability
Strategy is expected to be ready for consultation by 31 March 2008. The Final
Report of the Review of Autism Services will be produced by 31 March 2008. My
Department is also preparing the Government’s Response to the Bamford Review
of Mental Health & Learning Disability which will be released for public
consultation in early 2008. My
Department is also currently involved in a number of improvements to services
for children with a learning disability including expansion of community based
treatment and assessment, provision of early intervention multi disciplinary
teams, transition planning, reviewing services for children with autistic
spectrum disorder and investment in the development of seamless services.
A review of speech & language therapy services is also underway and
is due to be completed in January 2008. This will impact on service delivery for
disabled children. ·
Specialised Mental Health
Treatment - Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety, pursuant to his answer to AQW 1461/08, to detail (i) the number
of children and young people who have been sent for treatment; (ii) the types of
treatment they received; and (iii) the healthcare facilities in which they
received the treatment. Mr M McGimpsey: The
number of children and young people who have been sent for treatment outside
Northern Ireland are as follows: 2002/03 - 11
2003/04 - 8 2004/05
- 14 2005/06 - 15 2006/07 - 18 The complex range of
mental health conditions which these young people may suffer from includes
Severe Behavioural Problems, Eating Disorders and Acquired Brain Injury. To give
more detailed information could compromise a patient’s anonymity. ·
Bamford Review of Mental
Health and Learning Disability - Mrs I Robinson asked the Minister of
Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action he is taking to implement
the recommendations of the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning
Disability. Mr M McGimpsey:
Boards and Trusts are already planning and developing services in line with
Bamford recommendations. However, implementation of the Review requires a
Government-wide response and my Department is leading on this work. The response
document will be submitted to the Executive for approval early in 2008, once the
outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review is known, and will then be issued
for public consultation. ·
Bamford Review - Mr D
McClarty asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to
detail the reasons why a service user representative was not appointed to the
Bamford Review's Expert Implementation Body. Mr M McGimpsey: The
Board for Mental Health and Learning Disability consists of a small number of
people, 6 in all, who have key expertise to bring to the work of championing the
issues of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, following the Bamford Review.
One of its members is a representative of users of services. The Board is, of
course, free to engage with other individuals and groups as it sees fit in
carrying out its remit. Consideration is also being given to ways of involving
wider groups of users of services and carers in the work. ·
Bamford Review -
Mr J Shannon asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public
Safety what plans he has to reprioritise the implementation of the Bamford
Review of Mental Health within his department's work programme. Mr M McGimpsey: I
have no plans to reprioritise the implementation of Bamford. It is already a top
priority for my Department. While a wide range of service improvements are
already underway in line with the Bamford recommendations, the draft budget for
2008/09 to 2010/2011 will only allow for the highest priority elements of the
Review to proceed. ·
Treatment for Personality
Disorders - Ms C Hanna asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety to detail the treatment that is available to patients with
personality disorders in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; and to
provide details of the number that (i) are being currently treated; (ii) have
been referred to specialist centres outside Northern Ireland; and (iii) are
currently on a waiting list. Mr M McGimpsey: The
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust currently have no specialist services for
people with a diagnosis of personality disorder; but within the Belfast Trust
there is a general adult psychiatrist with a particular interest in developing
such services for people with this diagnosis.
It is generally accepted that between 20 – 40% of patients admitted to
acute mental health inpatient care will have a single or co-morbid diagnosis of
personality disorder. Also, 10% of the outpatient list of general adult
psychiatrists will include patients with a single or co-morbid diagnosis of
personality disorder. Community mental health teams will provide support to
clients with personality disorder where they have significant functional needs
and are willing to engage with services. It
would be extremely difficult to provide exact details in relation to the number
of patients currently being treated because it would require individual
patient’s files to be reviewed. Currently
there are 6 patients referred to specialist centres outside of Northern Ireland.
There is one client with severe personality disorder presently on the waiting
list awaiting assessment for placement in a specialist centre outside of
Northern Ireland. ·
Foreign Nationals - Mrs
I Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to
detail what responsibility his department has in relation to monitoring the
number of foreign nationals residing in Northern Ireland. Mr M McGimpsey: The
Department of Health, Social Services & Public Safety does not have any
formal responsibility for monitoring the number of foreign nationals residing in
Northern Ireland. Health and social Care statistics contain
information only on foreign nationals who have registered for treatment and for
a Health and Social Care number. ·
Community Care Packages
- Mr M McLaughlin asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public
Safety what assessment he has made of the impact upon the care of the elderly
and vulnerable, that the lack of staff and resources available for community
care packages, is having in the South Antrim constituency. Mr M McGimpsey: It
is important that older and vulnerable people have their care needs met
promptly. Tough targets have been set for Trusts to reduce delayed discharge
from hospital and to meet the need for community care packages in the community.
By March 2008, people with complex needs should be discharged from hospital
within 72 hours with appropriate support and people with assessed care needs in
the community should have the main components of those needs met within 12
weeks. My Department has invested an additional £4m in services for older
people in 2007/08. I am satisfied that those resources been allocated equitably
across Northern Ireland and good progress is being made against the targets in
South Antrim and elsewhere. However, as I made clear in my submission to the
Comprehensive Spending Review, further investment will be required if we are to
maintain and improve upon the progress that has been made to date. ·
Pension Credit - Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social
Development to detail the number of new applicants for pension credit in each of
the last 12 months. Ms
M Ritchie: The number of new applications for Pension Credit for the 12 month
period November 2006 to October 2007 is set out in the table below.
·
Attendance Allowance - Mr
P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of new
applicants for attendance allowance in each of the last 12 months. Ms
M Ritchie: The number of new applications for Attendance Allowance for the 12
month period November 2006 to October 2007 is set out in the table below.
·
New Claimants for Pension Credit - Mr
P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the number of new
claimants for pension credit in (i) Bangor Social Security Office; (ii)
Newtownards Social Security Office; and (iii) Holywood Road Social Security
Office, over the last 12 months. Ms
M Ritchie: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested
for all new claimants as we do not hold geographical data on unsuccessful
claims. The table below provides a breakdown of customers whose postcodes fall
within each of the 3 Social Security Office/Jobs & Benefits office
boundaries in respect of successful new claims only for the 12 month period
November 2006 to October 2007. *
*
In producing this analysis, individual records were attributed to geographical
areas on the basis of their postcode. Not all records can be correctly allocated
to a geographical area using this method, and some cannot be allocated at all. ·
New Claimants for Attendance
Allowance - Mr P Weir asked the Minister
for Social Development to detail the number of new claimants for attendance
allowance in (i) Bangor Social Security Office; (ii) Newtownards Social Security
Office; and (iii) Holywood Road Social Security Office, in each of the last 12
months. Ms
M Ritchie: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested
for all new claimants as we do not hold geographical data on unsuccessful
claims. The table below provides a breakdown of customers whose postcodes fall
within each of the 3 Social Security Office/Jobs & Benefits office
boundaries in respect of successful new claims only for the 12 month period
November 2006 to October 2007. *
*
In producing this analysis, individual records were attributed to geographical
areas on the basis of their postcode. Not all records can be correctly allocated
to a geographical area using this method, and some cannot be allocated at all. ·
Incapacity Benefit and Disability
Living Allowance - Mr J Shannon asked the
Minister for Social Development to detail the number of Incapacity Benefit and
Disability Living Allowance life-time awards that were reviewed, in each of the
last three years. Ms
M Ritchie: The information requested is not available as there are no
"life-time awards" for Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living
Allowance. Table 1 below details the number of Incapacity Benefit claims
reviewed under the Personal Capability Assessment process in each of the last
three years and shows the current year to date position.
The Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 removed the term "for
life" in respect of awards of Disability Living Allowance and amended it to
state "indefinite" awards. Table 2 below details the number of
indefinite awards of Disability Living Allowance reviewed under my
Department’s Programme Protection Strategy in each of the last three years and
shows the current year to date position. Table
1 Incapacity Benefit
Table
2 Disability Living Allowance
·
Foreign Nationals - Mrs
I Robinson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail what
responsibility her department has in relation to monitoring the number of
foreign nationals residing in Northern Ireland. Ms
M Ritchie: My Department has no formal responsibility for monitoring the number
of foreign nationals residing in Northern Ireland.
My Department collects and maintains data on the number of applications
made by foreign nationals for a National Insurance number (NINo) and allocates
NINos on behalf of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A database of
national insurance number allocations and registrations to foreign nationals is
supplied to the Department by HMRC for the purposes of statistical analysis,
research and fraud investigation. Using this data the Department produces an
annual National Statistic entitled "NINo Allocations to Oversees Nationals
entering Northern Ireland". Quarterly summary tables relating to trends on
the allocation of NINos to foreign nationals are also produced. ·
Disability Living Allowance - Mr
J Dallat asked the Minister for Social Development to outline what steps she is
taking to ensure that there is a consistent approach, taken by panels hearing
Disability Living Allowance cases, in reaching their decisions. Ms
M Ritchie: My Department does not have a role in such matters as appeal
tribunals are independent judicial bodies composed of members taken from a panel
appointed by the Lord Chancellor. In the circumstances, the Honourable Member
may wish to write direct to the President of Appeal Tribunals at 6th floor,
Cleaver House, 3 Donegall Square North, Belfast, BT1 5GA for a response. 2.
Summary of relevant oral answers from 10/12/07 ·
Single
Equality Bill
- Ms Lo asked
the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to make a statement
on a single equality Bill, in light of the draft Programme for Government.
The First Minister: The single equality Bill was a Programme for Government commitment of the previous Executive, and a significant amount of work has been completed as a consequence. Since that commitment was made, additional equality legislation has been introduced that provides further protections across a range of grounds. We have not yet taken decisions on policy proposals; any policy proposals for single equality legislation will be considered in consultation with the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) and the Executive. As I said, the single equality Bill was a Programme for Government commitment of the previous Executive. The intention was that it would provide a clear and accessible framework of equality law for Northern Ireland in one legal instrument, which, as far as was practicable, would harmonise existing provisions. Northern Ireland has a significant body of equality legislation, so this represents a significant and complex piece of work. There have been significant consultations to date on the Bill, and two public consultations were held — in 2001 and in 2004. In line with the commitment in the St Andrews Agreement to develop policy proposals for an incoming Executive, there was further engagement with key stakeholders. Subject to a ministerial decision, it is anticipated that there will be a formal public consultation on final policy proposals. At present, officials are engaging with advisers and preparing a submission for Ministers on potential options. · Single Equality Bill - Ms Lo: Given that there is not a single mention of a single equality Bill in the three-year draft Programme for Government, is this another case of the political differences between the First Minister and the deputy First Minister leading to a freeze on any legislation that they regard as controversial? The First Minister: I have given the full position of our stand on this issue and the work that is being done on it. Our targets are to introduce measures to work towards the total elimination of the gender pay gap and to work across Government to reform the tribunals system to enhance the enforcement of rights. · Single Equality Bill - Mr K Robinson: Given that the Equality Commission is the enforcer of any equality legislation and that it is a body for which the First Minister has oversight responsibility, what significant steps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
