§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government provided to support the production of television programmes in the Welsh language in(a) 1997 and (b) 2002. [100992]
314W
§ Mr. BrowneThe Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust is the only trust in Northern Ireland that employs nurses to work in neurosurgery. The figures are detailed in the table:
Number of nurses (including bank1 staff) recruited to work in neurosurgery in Northern Ireland between 1997 and 2002 Year Non-bank/headcount Non-bank WTE2 Bank headcount 1997 4 2.86 3 1998 2 2.00 0 1999 1 0.64 2 2000 5 4.84 5 2001 7 6.36 1 2002 5 4.25 1 1 Bank staff cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating work loads in order to maintain service delivery 2 Whole time equivalent
§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the waiting list for neurosurgery is at the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast. [102314]
§ Mr. BrowneThe latest figures available (end of December 2002) indicate that there are 733 in-patients awaiting admission in the neurosurgery specialty. A further 302 out-patients are waiting for a first appointment.