§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many elderly or handicapped people received assistance with the provision of a television in Northern Ireland and in each area health board in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and what rate this represented per 1,000 population in each year;
(2) how many elderly or handicapped people received assistance with the payment of television licences in Northern Ireland and in each area health board in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and what rate this represented per 1,000 population in each year.
§ Mr. CarterHelp of this kind became available through the health and personal social services only on 12 March 1979 when a new television scheme was introduced. The scheme is being administered by health and social services boards. Television sets will be provided and the cost of licences will be given to applicants who are housebound and live alone or who are confined to one room in their home.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly or handicapped people received assistance with adaptations to their homes in Northern Ireland and in each area health board in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and what rate this represented per 1,000 population in each year.
§ Mr. CarterInformation on the number of elderly or handicapped people in Northern Ireland receiving help from the health and social services boards is not available, but in 1977 the boards helped the following numbers of households with the cost of adaptations to their homes:
Health and social services boards Number of households Rate per 1,000 population Eastern 230 0.35 Northern 241 0.67 Southern 130 0.49 Western 15 0.06 Totals 616 0.40 These figures include adaptations where a grant may also have been paid by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Figures for 1978 are not yet available.
747WThe Northern Ireland Housing Executive assisted 31 and 81 handicapped people in the private sector in 1977 and 1978 respectively to adapt their homes. The assistance took the form of improvement or intermediate grants. The Executive also adapted 1,201 and 2,371 of its own houses in 1977 and 1978 respectively to meet the needs of handicapped people. The adaptations ranged from relatively minor items such as the provision of handrails to the building of extensions to houses.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly or handicapped people were provided with a meal at home in Northern Ireland and in each area health board in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and how many meals per days per 1,000 population this represented in each year.
§ Mr. CarterThis information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the number of meals on wheels provided, and the number of recipients, in a sample week in November 1977 were as follows:
Health and social services board Meals Recipients Eastern 3,407 1,718 Northern 668 428 Southern 921 509 Western 886 280 Northern Ireland 5,882 2,935 These figures, taken over a seven-day week, produce the following daily rates per 1,000 population.
Health and social services board and Rate per 1,000 Eastern 0.72 Northern 0.31 Southern 0.48 Western 0.49 Northern Ireland 0.55 Figures for 1978 are not yet available.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly or handicapped people were provided with a meal at a day centre in Northern Ireland and in each area health board in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and how many meals per day per 1,000 population this represented in each year.
§ Mr. CarterThis information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
748WMeals are only one of a range of facilities provided at day centres and no records are kept of the number of meals provided. Lunch clubs, however, exist solely to provide meals. The average daily attendance at these clubs and the rates per 1,000 population in 1977 are as follows:
Health and social services board Average daily attendance Rates per 1,000 population Eastern 586.71 0.88 Northern 69.14 0.19 Southern 35.14 0.13 Western 30.38 0.13 Northern Ireland 721.37 0.47 The figures for 1978 are not yet available.