To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is for each Trust in Northern Ireland the number of beds in each of their hospitals dedicated as long-stay for elderly people; and how many this represents per 100,000 population in (a) each Trust area and (b) the area served by each hospital. [80873]

NIO Ministers meet members of the US Administration, up to and including President Clinton, both in the United States and in the United Kingdom on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues.Since 1 June 1998, my Ministerial colleagues and I have had the following formal meetings:

Beds are not designated specifically as long stay in Northern Ireland. However, Table 1 shows the number of long-stay patients in the geriatric medicine speciality who were resident in acute hospitals in Northern Ireland on 31 March 1998. Table 2 shows the number of long-stay patients aged 65 or over resident in mental illness and learning disability hospitals in Northern Ireland on 17 February 1998. Long-stay patients are classified as those with a length of stay in hospital of at least one year.