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Correspondence
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne may expect a detailed reply to correspondence forwarded on 4 May, on behalf of Mrs. J. R. Tummon, of 7 New Lane, Mount Ambrose, Redruth, Cornwall, concerning the resettlement of a disabled person.
Mr. Lee : I have now written to my hon. Friend.
Schizophrenia
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to how many man hours of work were lost in each of the last five years as a result of absence resulting from schizophrenia psychoses.
Mr. Lee : I regret that the information is not available in the form requested.
Bradford Resource Centre
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff from unemployment benefit
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offices and jobcentres in the Bradford travel-to-work area have undertaken training courses organised by Bradford resource centre since 1979.Mr. Lee : Training for staff employed in unemployment benefit offices and jobcentres in the Bradford district is covered by courses provided internally by the employment service.
The Bradford resource centre is an external body funded by Bradford council which provides courses free of charge. Records of attendance on external courses are kept only if there is a cost to the employment service. It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of staff from unemployment benefit offices and jobcentres who may have attended courses at the centre.
Careers Services
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to encourage local careers services to contact school leavers who are believed not to have obtained a YTS place or a job since leaving school to contact the careers service for advice ; and what action he is taking to make known to the public, including school leavers, the availability of hardship payments.
Mr. Cope : Local education authorities are under a statutory duty to observe the Secretary of State's guidance which advises them to take all reasonable steps to help young people find suitable employment or training. Local arrangements to implement this guidance are the responsibility of each local education authority. One million copies of a temporary supplement to the Department of Social Security's leaflet "Young persons guide to Social Security" were distributed in May and contained advice about the severe hardship provision. The main leaflet, reprinted in October, contains the same information. Additionally, each young person who was likely to cease to be entitled to income support from 12 September was sent a copy of the supplement with the letter telling them that they would no longer be entitled in the normal way. A Department of Social Security press release giving full details was issued on 30 September.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest total of unemployed in Bradford, West ; how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) people under 18 years are unemployed, according to the latest figures ; and what were the comparable figures for this time in 1987.
Mr. Lee : The following information is in the Library. The table shows the number of unemployed claimants by sex and the number of unemployed claimants aged under 18 years in Bradford, West constituency for October 1987 and October 1988. The figures are affected by September's change in benefit regulations for under 18-year-olds.
Number of unemployed claimants in Bradford, West constituency
in
October 1987 and October 1988
Unemployed claimants
|October 1987|October 1988
---------------------------------------------------------------
Male |5,589 |4,436
Female |1,943 |1,369
|--- |---
Total |7,532 |5,805
Of total those under 18 |504 |24
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Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report (a) the actual and (b) the percentage fall in unemployment from August 1983 to August 1988 for each parliamentary constituency in Lancashire and Cumbria.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 November 1988] : The following information is in the Library. The table shows
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the actual and percentage change in unemployment from August 1983 to August 1988 for each parliamentary constituency in Lancashire and Cumbria, together with the corresponding levels of unemployment. The figures are affected by the change in the compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce over-recording.Column 113
The change in the level of unemployment in the parliamentary constituencies of Lancashire and Cumbria between August 1983 and August 1988 Unemployed claimants Parliamentary |August 1983 |August 1988 |Change |Percentage change constituency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blackburn |7,593 |5,580 |-2,013 |-26.51 Blackpool North |4,298 |3,613 |-685 |-15.94 Blackpool South |3,993 |3,549 |-444 |-11.12 Burnley |6,177 |4,019 |-2,158 |-34.94 Chorley |4,502 |3,071 |-1,431 |-31.79 Fylde |2,439 |1,978 |-461 |-18.90 Hyndburn |4,234 |2,884 |-1,350 |-31.88 Lancaster |3,319 |2,614 |-705 |-21.24 Morecambe and Lunesdale |2,977 |3,240 |263 |8.83 Pendle |4,569 |3,060 |-1,509 |-33.03 Preston |7,495 |5,395 |-2,100 |-28.02 Ribble Valley |1,870 |1,532 |-330 |-18.07 Rossendale and Darwen |4,935 |3,050 |-1,885 |-38.20 South Ribble |4,326 |2,950 |-1,376 |-31.81 West Lancashire |6,849 |4,896 |-1,953 |-28.52 Wyre |3,795 |2,796 |-999 |-26.32 Barrow and Furness |4,031 |3,362 |-669 |-16.60 Carlisle |3,466 |2,992 |-474 |-13.68 Copeland |3,860 |3,046 |-814 |-21.09 Penrith and the Borders |2,775 |2,186 |-589 |-21.23 Westmorland and Lonsdale |1,946 |1,400 |-546 |-29.06 Workington |4,798 |3,078 |-1,720 |-35.85
School Leavers (Bradford)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people under 18 years who left school during 1988 in Bradford have (a) obtained a YTS place ; (b) are believed to have obtained employment or (c) obtained a YTS bridging allowance.
Mr. Cope : Further to my reply to the hon. Member on Thursday 3 November 1988, Official Report, column 655, I am now in a position to give revised estimates for Bradford :
(a) By 26 November it is estimated that approximately 2,300 school leavers had obtained a YTS place.
(b) Some 2,000 school leavers had obtained employment by the same date.
Between 11 September and 10 November 938 young people had received bridging allowance.
Job Vacancies
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he proposes to write to the hon. Member for Oldham, West regarding publication of the findings of the research carried out by IFF into job vacancies mentioned in his February White Paper on training, referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Oldham, West of 15 November, Official Report, column 610.
Mr. Fowler : I have now written to the hon. Member.
Training (Placements)
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number and
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proportion of trainees who are expected to gain work placements by the end of the first year of employment training.Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 October 1988] : Plans are for up to 60,000 trainees to join employment training (ET) in the first full year of the programme. All trainees should be offered a mix of directed training and practical training either on a project or on a placement with an employer as required by their individual action plans. The aim is for all ET trainees to benefit from training in a normal working environment.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest data on the number of people on employment training who have started work placement.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 November 1988] : Information on the number of people on employment training who have started on placements with employers is not available at present but should be available in January.
Labour Statistics (North-West Norfolk)
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest unemployment figure for north-west Norfolk.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 November 1988] : The following information is in the Library. On 13 October 1988 the number of unemployed claimants in the Norfolk, North-West parliamentary constituency was 2,461.
Industrial Tribunals
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide figures for each year since
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1979 for Scotland, Wales and each of the standard regions for (a) the total number of applications to industrial tribunals, (b) the total number of the above cases in which the applicant was successful and (c) the total cost of operating industrial tribunals.Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 November 1988] : The available information on the number of registered applications and the total cost of operating the tribunals for the calendar years 1979-85 is as follows :
Applications Annual Cost
Registered
|England and Wales |Scotland |England and Wales and
|Scotland
|£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |34,225 |4,768 |5,998,000
1980-81 |38,596 |5,174 |7,301,000
1981-82 |39,193 |4,810 |8,346,000
1982-83 |39,073 |4,587 |9,287,000
1983-84 |35,890 |4,069 |9,880,000
1984-85 |35,640 |4,179 |9,774,000
We have more detailed statistics for the regional offices of industrial tribunals in England and Wales and for Scotland for the financial years 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1988 as follows :
|1985-86 |1986-87 |<1>1987-88
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registered
Applications
London (South) |2,643 |2,947 |3,588
Bury St. Edmunds |1,974 |1,647 |1,719
Birmingham |3,566 |3,279 |2,356
Bristol |1,874 |1,911 |1,691
Cardiff |1,728 |1,858 |1,632
Leeds |2,402 |2,135 |4,295
Manchester |2,919 |2,566 |3,968
Newcastle |2,387 |2,016 |1,549
Nottingham |1,904 |2,069 |1,670
Sheffield<2> |1,536 |1,504 |NIL
Liverpool<2> |2,509 |1,962 |NIL
Southampton |1,543 |1,515 |1,992
London (North) |2,428 |2,236 |2,661
London (Central)<2> |4,836 |6,941 |NIL
Scotland |4,344 |3,843 |3,684
Total |38,593 |38,429 |30,543
Number of
successful
applications
London (South) |307 |312 |405
Bury St. Edmunds |413 |268 |254
Birmingham |597 |544 |408
Bristol |215 |268 |224
Cardiff |227 |228 |217
Leeds |381 |335 |364
Manchester |427 |347 |486
Newcastle |432 |538 |285
Nottingham |296 |287 |215
Sheffield<2> |198 |214 |102
Liverpool<2> |312 |347 |NIL
Southampton |260 |247 |232
London (North) |346 |398 |372
London (Central)<2> |298 |292 |NIL
Scotland |696 |707 |627
Total |5,405 |5,332 |4,191
Tribunal
Expenditure
|£ |£ |£
London (South) |1,201,622 |1,072,845 |1,250,590
Bury St. Edmunds |588,266 |665,002 |626,769
Birmingham |903,776 |945,079 |931,568
Bristol |507,318 |549,131 |566,638
Cardiff |511,567 |571,578 |599,971
Leeds |650,217 |676,256 |1,103,130
Manchester |743,200 |817,474 |1,473,268
Newcastle |586,798 |603,130 |578,053
Nottingham |467,279 |540,106 |526,056
Sheffield<2> |415,915 |465,753 |Nil
Liverpool<2> |628,629 |680,480 |Nil
London (North) |1,158,352 |963,731 |978,660
London (Central)<2> |1,233,966 |1,344,181 |Nil
Scotland |1,410,100 |1,467,399 |1,656,100
SCOTLAND
Mental Illness
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new mental illness hospital beds were opened and how many mental illness hospital beds closed in Scotland in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Details of all new hospital developments are not held centrally as minor capital projects are delegated to health boards. One major project, providing 120 new mental illness beds, was opened in 1988 at Parkhead psychiatric hospital.
Details are only held centrally on closures of complete hospitals ; no mental illness hospitals were closed in 1988 but some health boards have reduced mental illness bed numbers as transfers to care in the community have taken place.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funds have been specifically earmarked for the care of the mentally ill following the closure of mental hospitals in Scotland in the last year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No mental illness hospital has been closed in Scotland in the last year.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what figure has been indicated to health boards for 1989-90 as payments under National Health Service Circular 1988 (Gen 18) towards the cost of projects making it possible for the mentally ill to return to or remain in the community ; how the funds will be applied ; and how many people will benefit.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Decisions have not yet been announced about expenditure levels in the National Health Service for 1989-90.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential places in the community will be provided in (a) the current and (b) the next year for those discharged from mental hospitals in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information is not available in the form requested. Data on the provision of residential places are included in annual statistical returns from local authorities on a retrospective basis but such returns do not extend to planned provision.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the mental illness hospitals scheduled to (a) open and (b) close in (i) the current and (ii) the next year.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Parkhead psychiatric hospital phase II opened in November 1988. There are no plans to
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close any mental illness hospitals in the current and next year. Many health boards have plans to reduce the size of mental illness hospitals as places in the community become available.Schizophrenia
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research projects his Department is funding in the current year to test the effectiveness of community care for people suffering from schizophrenia psychoses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. and learned Friend is aware of research being undertaken into aspects of schizophrenia, but he is not funding any projects related to the effectiveness of community care for sufferers.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to how many of those convicted of crimes in Scotland in each of the last two years had previously been admitted to hospital with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received in the last year on the provision of community care for patients suffering from schizophrenia psychoses discharged from National Health Service mental hospitals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. and learned Friend receives representations from time to time on different aspects of community care, some of which make reference to the discharge of patients from mental illness hospitals. The Government have consistently made it clear that we are committed to promoting a policy of care in the community for such groups as the mentally ill where such care is appropriate. Since 1979, we have increased substantially, in real terms, the money available to health boards and social work departments. On 1 June 1988 the social work services group issued detailed guidance to these authorities on arrangements for the discharge of people from mental illness and mental handicap hospitals.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much was spent by his Department last year on the care and treatment of patients suffering from schizo-phrenia ; and what percentage each figure was of total expenditure on (a) mental and (b) all health services ;
(2) how much was spent in Scotland in the last year on the care and treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia ; and what percentage that figure represented of total expenditure on (a) mental and (b) all health services ;
(3) what is the current annual cost per patient to the National Health Service in Scotland of the care and treatment of patients with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to how many people discharged from mental illness hospitals in Scotland in the last year after a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses having been proved vulnerable homeless subsequently became voluntary homeless.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to how many people discharged from hospital following a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses and subsequently taken by the police under the Mental Health Act to hospital have been refused admission in Scotland in the last year for which figures are available.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of those convicted of crimes in Scotland in 1987 have ever been admitted to National Health Service mental illness hospitals and units with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not available.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been found in Scotland for each year since 1979 ; and what are the principal areas in which it has been found.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the British Isles was identified in November 1986. The disease was made notifiable on 21 June 1988. there have been 35 confirmed cases in Scotland (all in 1988). With the exception of Fife these have occurred throughout all mainland regions, and in Shetland, the highest incidence being in Dumfries and Galloway where the disease has been identified on eight farms.
Nurses
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each health board the number of sisters/charge nurses employed in wards with a two charge nurse system.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not held centrally.
Reprocessing Plant, Dounreay
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to announce his decision on the outcome of the local public inquiry into the proposed European demonstration reprocessing plant at Dounreay.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. and learned Friend is still considering the report of the public local inquiry into the proposed development and he is not yet in a position to predict a date for the announcement of his decision.
Nurses
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will clarify the entitlement of enrolled nurses in respect of (a) taking charge of a ward and (b) the administration of controlled drugs ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 25 November 1988] : Enrolled nurses may take charge of wards at management's discretion. Normally this will be on an ad hoc rather than a continuous basis and in situations where more highly qualified staff will be available to assist or take over at short notice. In determining new clinical grades for enrolled nurses, periods spent in charge of wards will have been taken into account by health boards. The administration of controlled drugs is controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 (SI 1985 No 2066). Two staff are required to participate in order that all aspects of administration can be checked. It is permissible for employers to assign such work to enrolled nurses although they are recommended not to do so unless they have provided appropriate additional instruction and assessed the individual's knowledge and competence to perform the task. Such work is not, however, a factor in determining clinical grading.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Chief Constable
Mr. Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will call for a report from the Police Authority of Northern Ireland as to what is the total cost of advertising the future vacancy of the post of Chief Constable.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Advertising the post of Chief Constable is a matter for the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. I understand, however, that the estimated cost is approximately £9,500.
Schizophrenia
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the discharges and (b) the deaths by length of stay, including percentage change in numbers and percentage distribution, of patients suffering from schizophrenia psychoses in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is as set out :
Patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses-discharges and deaths in 1987 by length of stay
Length of stay Discharges Deaths Total
|Number |Per cent. Distribution|Number |Per cent. Distribution|Number |Per cent. Distribution
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 1 month |430 |46 |4 |10 |434 |45
1 and less than 3 months |334 |36 |3 |7 |337 |34
3 and less than 6 months |84 |9 |1 |2 |85 |9
6 and less than 12 months |42 |4 |- |- |42 |4
12 months or over |45 |5 |33 |81 |78 |8
Total |935 |100 |41 |100 |976 |100
The number of discharges and deaths was 0.5 per cent. lower in 1987 than 1986.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many current occupants of National Health Service hospital and unit beds in Northern Ireland have a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses ; and what those figures are as a percentage of (a) mental and (b) all beds in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Needham : Information on current occupancy is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost from each of the psychiatric units in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the admissions by diagnosis and orders of admissions, including percentage changes in numbers and rates per 100,000 population, of patients suffering from schizophrenia psychoses in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is as follows :
`
Admissions of patients diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia
psychoses during 1987
Number |Percentage change since|Rate per 100,000
|1986 |population
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First admission
133 |+23.2 |8
Total admissions
968 |+5.6 |62
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients with a primary
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diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses were discharged from mental illness hospitals in Northern Ireland in the last year ; and how many were admitted for a hospital stay more than once during the year.Mr. Needham : The information requested is as follows :
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------
Discharges during 1987 |935
Patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals more
than once during 1987 |159
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to how many people discharged from hospital following a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses and subsequently taken by the police under the Mental Health Act to hospital have been refused admission in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Needham : This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost from each of the psychiatric units in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research projects his Department is funding in the current year to test the effectiveness of community care for people suffering from schizophrenia psychoses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people with a main diagnosis
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of schizophrenia psychoses were discharged from mental illness hospitals in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years ; and how many of them were taken into local authority residential care.Mr. Needham : Information requested on discharges is as set out :
Year |Number of discharges --------------------------------------------------------------- 1987 |935 1986 |981 1985 |1,120 1984 |1,096 1983 |1,037
Information on the number of discharged patients taken into statutory residential care is not available centrally.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to how many of those convicted of crimes in Northern Ireland in each of the last two years had previously been admitted to National Health Service mental hospitals with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses.
Mr. Ian Stewart : The information sought is not available in the form requested. However, in Northern Ireland the number of offenders who were made subject to restriction orders under article 47 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and were thereby detained in hospital for treatment for schizophrenia pychoses in each of the last two years was as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1986 |3
1987 |1
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much was spent in Northern Ireland in the last year on the care and treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia ; and what percentage that figure represented of total expenditure on (a) mental and (b) all health services ;
(2) what is the current annual cost per patient to the National Health Service in Northern Ireland of the care and treatment of patients with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses ; (3) what information he has as to how many people discharged from mental illness hospitals in Northern Ireland in the last year after a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses having been proved vulnerable homeless subsequently became voluntary homeless.
Mr. Needham : The information is not available.
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received in the last year on the provision of community care for patients suffering from schizophrenia psychoses discharged from National Health Service mental hospitals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : The director of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship has written to me seeking my support for early-day motions concerning hospital closures and the provision of appropriate community
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