HC Deb 01 April 2004 vol 419 c1581W
Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of(a) residential care and (b) nursing home places in Northern Ireland are provided by independent charities or non-profit organisations. [164914]

Angela Smith

Information on the number of residential care and nursing home places according to whether they are provided by independent charities or non-profit organisations is not collected centrally. However, information is available on total places provided by all voluntary organisations. At 31 March 2003, 29 per cent. of available residential care places and nine per cent. of available nursing home places were provided by such organisations.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many allergy sufferers he estimates there are in the Province. [164926]

Angela Smith

The information requested is not available.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Duchenne muscular dystrophy sufferers he estimates there are in the Province. [164927]

Angela Smith

Research conducted in 2003 indicates that there are 62 Duchenne muscular dystrophy sufferers in the province, a prevalence of 3.5 per 100,000 population.