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Regrading
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of (a) midwives and (b) nurses on different grades following the regrading exercise.
Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State, to the hon. Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox) on 28 November 1988 at column 147-8.
Health Authorities (Representatives)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide details of the numbers of local authority
representatives on each district health authority in England and Wales.
Mr. Mellor : This information is available in the National Health Service (Constitution of District Health Authorities) Order 1981 (as amended)--SI 1981 : 1838.
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HEALTH
Health Authority Funding
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he has any information concerning the amount of funding transferred by each regional health authority in the latest year for which figures are available from the mental health services budget to the acute services budget ;
(2) whether his Department has issued any guidelines to regional health authorities concerning the transfer of funds from the mental health budget to the acute services budget following the closure of mental hospitals as part of the community care programme.
Mr. Mellor : It is for health authorities to determine what proportion of their resources to devote to the various services that they provide. Within a national framework of health care priorities, they have to determine, in the light of local needs and circumstances, how their resources can best be used.
No guidelines have been issued to regional health authorities concerning the transfer of funds between budgets and it is not possible to assess, from information available centrally, the extent to which such transfers may have taken place.
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Health authorities are required to ensure that receipts from the sale of land at mental illness and mental handicap hospitals are specifically used to develop services for the mentally ill and mentally handicapped.Residential Homes (North-West)
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of residential homes established in the north western region for each of the last four years, by local authority district.
Mr. Freeman : Information is not readily available in the form requested. The total number of residential homes for elderly and younger physically handicapped people in the north western region by local authority for the years ending 31 March 1984 to 1986 is published in "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and Younger Physically Handicapped People : All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes year ending 31 March 1981 to year ending 31 March 1986 England". The total number of homes and hostels for mentally ill and mentally handicapped people is published annually in "Homes and Hostels for Mentally Ill and Mentally Handicapped People at 31 March England". Copies of these publications are available in the Library. Provisional information for 1987 is given in the table.
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Number of residential care homes in North Western Region, by local authority, as at 31 March 1987 (Provisional)
Local authority |Elderly and younger |Mentally ill<1> |Mentally handicapped<1> |Other client groups<2><3>
|physically handicapped
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheshire |138 |27 |32 |1
Lancashire |581 |17 |55 |0
Bolton |44 |2 |6 |0
Bury |25 |1 |4 |0
Manchester |102 |23 |45 |1
Oldham |49 |5 |7 |0
Rochdale |33 |2 |5 |0
Salford |36 |6 |8 |0
Stockport |59 |12 |17 |0
Tameside |34 |2 |5 |0
Trafford |60 |6 |6 |0
Wigan |32 |8 |9 |0
Knowsley |9 |3 |4 |0
Liverpool |75 |14 |10 |2
Sefton |151 |5 |15 |0
St. Helens |13 |1 |4 |0
Wirral |91 |13 |25 |1
|----- |----- |----- |-----
Total |1,532 |147 |257 |5
<1> Includes unstaffed homes and hostels.
<2> Collected from 1987 onwards.
<3> Includes alcohol and drug misusers.
Test Census
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the criteria used for selecting the parliamentary constituencies referred to in his answer of 10 January, Official Report , column 603 , in respect of the test census in 1989.
Mr. Freeman : The main criteria in selecting areas for the 1989 census test were to ensure that they would cover varying circumstances that would be encountered in a full census in 1991 and provide a thorough test of the response of the public to a question on ethnic group.
In order to make sure that the procedures for delivering and collecting census forms will be effective a test covering
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a few relatively large areas is preferable to one including many small areas. Areas where recent census tests have been held were avoided.The precise areas selected were local authority wards as they existed at the time of the 1981 census. The parliamentary constituencies are those including the selected wards.
Listeria
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action he is taking following the publication of the survey by Bristol environmental department, a copy of which has been sent to him, which indicates that listeria monocystogenes affected one in every 15 samples of pre cooked-chilled chicken ;
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(2) what information he has as to the proportion of cook-chill food bought from supermarkets which is potentially fatal as a result of the presence of listeria, and what steps he is taking to reduce this proportion.Mr. Freeman : At the request of the Department, the public health laboratory service has been undertaking a national survey of cooked and chilled foods. The results of this survey are expected shortly. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has commissioned studies into the temperature sensitivity of listeria monocytogenes and both the Department and the Ministry are working together with retail and manufacturing sectors of industry to consider optimal production methods for these foods.
Where a product has actually been identified as contaminated the local environmental health officers will take appropriate action in the usual way.
A statement was issued by the Department on 12 January and this has been copied to chief environmental health officers of local authorities. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, in the light of new evidence of the presence of listeria in a substantial proportion of cook-chill food, he will now order the immediate suspension of the implementation of cook-chill catering in hospitals.
Mr. Freeman : No. The recent survey by Bristol environmental health department did not find listeria in any hospital produced cook-chill food. The one positive result came from a purchased previously prepared product that would have been subjected to further testing and processing before being released for consumption.
Children (Safety)
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will introduce regulations for privately-run holiday schemes and privately run out-of-school schemes to provide for the safety of children.
Mr. Mellor : I have no power to make such regulations under present legislation but I refer the hon. Member to my reply to her question on amendments to the Children Bill today.
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Childcare
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on his proposal to seek to amend the Children Bill so as to deregulate child care facilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The Government proposed in the White Paper "The Law on Child Care and Family Services" that registration requirements should not extend to private arrangements where people look after children aged over five. The Government have announced that they will table amendments to the Children Bill to amend the Nurseries and Childminders Regulation Act 1948. These will rationalise the provisions regulating private and voluntary facilities for day care, short stay and holiday arrangements for children up to age 16. Present provisions relating to children aged five to 16 are not well understood or enforced. Following consultation in 1988 the intention is for registration and regulation to be retained only for certain residential facilities and for it to be clarified so that it can be more readily enforced. When the amendments have been published we will of course consider representations made on them.
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission on his proposal to seek to amend the Children Bill so as to deregulate child care facilities.
Mr. Mellor : I received a letter on 10 January on this subject.
Nurses
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by health authority the number of state enrolled nurses, state registered nurses and auxiliaries (a) in post and (b) vacancies for each year since 1983.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 December 1988] : The numbers of registered and enrolled nurses and nursing auxiliaries in each regional health authority at 30 September 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 are given in the tables.
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National Health Service registered nurses<1>
30 September each year
Whole-time equivalents<2>
Region |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Northern RHA |10,270 |10,500 |10,950 |11,260 |11,560
2. Yorkshire RHA |11,090 |11,460 |11,890 |12,110 |12,640
3. Trent RHA |13,050 |13,470 |14,200 |14,640 |15,340
4. East Anglian RHA |5,710 |5,960 |6,250 |6,350 |6,610
5. North West Thames RHA |11,760 |12,160 |12,150 |12,150 |11,700
6. North East Thames RHA |13,440 |13,460 |13,830 |14,000 |14,340
7. South East Thames RHA |12,600 |12,590 |12,820 |13,200 |13,370
8. South West Thames RHA |10,110 |10,090 |10,190 |10,130 |10,080
9. Wessex RHA |8,860 |9,090 |9,420 |9,610 |9,820
10. Oxford RHA |6,900 |7,330 |7,530 |7,650 |7,940
11. South Western RHA |10,190 |10,290 |10,700 |10,870 |11,200
12. West Midlands RHA |15,120 |15,400 |15,980 |16,570 |17,220
13. Mersey RHA |7,980 |7,940 |8,220 |8,350 |8,420
14. North Western RHA |14,090 |14,590 |15,170 |15,550 |15,640
20. London PG(T) |2,430 |2,200 |2,430 |2,400 |2,420
London Ambulance Service |- |- |- |<3>- |<3>-
Other statutory authorities |- |- |- |- |10
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
England total |153,610|156,530|161,730|164,840|168,310
<1> Includes district nurses and health visitors; excludes agency staff.
Includes staff in "Other statutory authorities" (for example, Public Health
Laboratory Service and the Health Education Authority) not previously collected
in annual manpower censuses. Figures are therefore not directly comparable with
those for earlier years.
<2> All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time
equivalents.
<3> Figures less than 10.
Source: Department of Health annual census of National Health Service
non-medical manpower.
National Health Service ancillary staff<1>
30 September each year
Whole-time equivalents<2>
Region |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Northern RHA |5,880 |5,720 |5,810 |5,930 |6,090
2. Yorkshire RHA |6,790 |6,690 |6,790 |6,860 |6,800
3. Trent RHA |8,670 |8,630 |9,020 |9,170 |9,340
4. East Anglian RHA |3,900 |3,820 |3,940 |3,940 |4,020
5. North West Thames RHA |5,360 |4,980 |5,010 |5,250 |5,270
6. North East Thames RHA |6,430 |6,240 |6,280 |6,190 |6,420
7. South East Thames RHA |6,570 |6,220 |6,110 |6,050 |6,290
8. South West Thames RHA |5,710 |5,560 |5,590 |5,550 |5,580
9. Wessex RHA |6,150 |6,210 |6,400 |6,520 |6,620
10. Oxford RHA |4,140 |4,170 |4,070 |4,070 |4,110
11. South Western RHA |7,080 |7,090 |7,300 |7,420 |7,650
12. West Midlands RHA |10,360 |10,160 |10,480 |10,410 |10,610
13. Mersey RHA |5,740 |5,480 |5,610 |5,590 |5,570
14. North Western RHA |8,800 |8,620 |8,730 |8,810 |8,890
20. London PG (T) |620 |550 |520 |510 |720
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
England Total |92,200 |90,160 |91,640 |92,250 |93,990
<1> Includes all unqualified nursing staff but excludes agency staff.
<2> All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten (10)
whole-time equivalents.
Source:Department of Health annual census of National Health Service
non-medical manpower.
National Health Service ancillary staff<1>
30 September each year
Whole-time equivalents<2>
Region |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Northern RHA |5,880 |5,720 |5,810 |5,930 |6,090
2. Yorkshire RHA |6,790 |6,690 |6,790 |6,860 |6,800
3. Trent RHA |8,670 |8,630 |9,020 |9,170 |9,340
4. East Anglian RHA |3,900 |3,820 |3,940 |3,940 |4,020
5. North West Thames RHA |5,360 |4,980 |5,010 |5,250 |5,270
6. North East Thames RHA |6,430 |6,240 |6,280 |6,190 |6,420
7. South East Thames RHA |6,570 |6,220 |6,110 |6,050 |6,290
8. South West Thames RHA |5,710 |5,560 |5,590 |5,550 |5,580
9. Wessex RHA |6,150 |6,210 |6,400 |6,520 |6,620
10. Oxford RHA |4,140 |4,170 |4,070 |4,070 |4,110
11. South Western RHA |7,080 |7,090 |7,300 |7,420 |7,650
12. West Midlands RHA |10,360 |10,160 |10,480 |10,410 |10,610
13. Mersey RHA |5,740 |5,480 |5,610 |5,590 |5,570
14. North Western RHA |8,800 |8,620 |8,730 |8,810 |8,890
20. London PG (T) |620 |550 |520 |510 |720
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
England Total |92,200 |90,160 |91,640 |92,250 |93,990
<1> Includes all unqualified nursing staff but excludes agency staff.
<2> All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten (10)
whole-time equivalents.
Source:Department of Health annual census of National Health Service
non-medical manpower.
Information about vacancies is not collected by the Department. However, a sample survey for the pay review body showed the proportion of nursing and midwifery staff posts at 31 March each year which had been vacant for three months or more as :
|Percentage
---------------------------------
1984 |2.5
1985 |2.5
1986 |3.2
1987 |3.5
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Regional Organisation
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he is yet in a position to make a full announcement of his plans for implementing the recommendations of the report of the regional organisation scrutiny team.
Mr. Moore : In my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) on 12 December 1988, at column 458, I said that plans for moving some work from 21 local offices in London were under consideration. We
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have now decided to go ahead with moving from those offices all work that does not need face-to-face contact with the public. All of these 21 offices will remain open and continue to provide a service to callers. Indeed, we intend to improve the network of offices by opening new offices in areas not previously served.New Social Security centres to handle the relocated work will be set up in Glasgow, Belfast and Wigan. This means that we shall be creating over 1,000 jobs in parts of the United Kingdom where they will make a major contribution to our stated policy of encouraging economic development outside London and the south-east.
This project is a major initiative which allows us to address the serious problems that we face in London in delivering the standard of service that we would all like to see. Our staff in London do hard and dedicated work ; but we have great difficulties over recruiting and retaining staff. Moving some work to areas of the country where we shall have a more stable workforce will allow us to offer a speedier and more accurate service. By relieving pressure on our London staff will also allow them to offer a better face-to-face service to our customers. I am therefore convinced that this initiative represents a major contribution to improving the service that we give our customers.
The report made a total of 54 recommendations for improving the way the regional organisation delivers its service. An action plan covering all the recommendations has now been produced. Copies of the action plan, and of a detailed information pack on the relocation project, have been placed in the Library.
Pensioners (Nottingham)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners in Nottingham are in receipt of housing benefit transitional payments.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is not available in the form requested. The transitional payments unit can provide details of the number of recipients in certain groups only within the area of individual local authorities. As Nottingham is covered by more than one local authority, in various surrounding areas, we cannot provide these figures. Once the majority of payments have been made, we will publish national figures showing a breakdown of the numbers of payments made to people in each local authority.
Ministerial Advisers
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the ministerial advisers appointed in his Department for each year since 1979, the salary each person received, whether paid directly or to another employer, and the duties undertaken, whether solely in his Department or in conjunction with other Departments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moore : Since 1979 special advisers were appointed to the Department of Health and Social Security as follows :
Name |Date of appointment ------------------------------------------------------------ Professor R. Dyson |August 1979 Mr. N. True |May 1982 Mr. A. J. Turner |February 1987 Mr. C. Hendry |May 1988 Miss M. Libby |May 1988
Name |Date of appointment ------------------------------------------------------------ Professor R. Dyson |August 1979 Mr. N. True |May 1982 Mr. A. J. Turner |February 1987 Mr. C. Hendry |May 1988 Miss M. Libby |May 1988
Following the creation of two separate Departments of State in July 1988 Miss Libby was appointed to the Department of Social Security.
It is not our practice to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are individually negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and conditions and are therefore confidential. Except for Professor Dyson who was seconded into the Department of Health and Social Security for one day per week, all salaries were paid direct to the individual adviser. Professor Dyson's employer was reimbursed on a pro-rata basis for his services.
With the exception of Professor Dyson who was employed as a consultant adviser on industrial relations in the National Health Service, all advisers were employed on duties laid down by the Minister they served, solely in the Department.
Income Support
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will amend regulation 8(4) of the Income Support (Transitional) Regulations 1987 to make the higher pensioner premium or disability premium available to claimants who have ceased to be entitled to mobility allowance or invalidity pension solely on account of their age.
Mr. Scott : No-one has reached the upper age limit for mobility allowance. People in receipt of the higher pensioner premium when they reach the upper age limit for invalidity pension retain entitlement to that premium. We have no plans at the present time to extend this premium to people who were not in receipt of the higher pensioner premium when they reached the limit.
Benefits and Allowances
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average length of time from receipt of claim to issuing of a decision for the following benefits during the last year for which statistics are available and in what percentage of those claims the period in question exceeded four weeks ; attendance allowance, child benefit, family credit, guardians allowance, industrial disablement benefits, invalid care allowance, mobility allowance, retirement pension, severe disablement allowance, war pensions and widows benefits.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Based on the latest available data the average time between the date of claim and when a decision on the claim is made is as follows :
|Time
-------------------------------------------------
Attendance Allowance |7.6 weeks
Child Benefit
New Claims
straightforward<1> |5.96 days
non-straightforward<2> |13.15 days
Supplementary claims
straightforward<1> |4.91 days
non-straightforward<2> |10.84 days
Family Credit |22.9 days
Invalid Care Allowance |17.0 weeks
Mobility Allowance |7.5 weeks
War Pensions |27.5 weeks
<1> Claims processed by computer.
<2> Claims processed clerically.
I regret that information is not available for the other benefits mentioned nor about the percentage of claims cleared within four weeks.
Family Credit
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by what date he expects family credit claims to be dealt with within the statutory time limit of 14 consecutive days.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I assume that the time limit to which the hon. Member refers is that contained in section 99(1) of the Social Security Act 1975. This provides that
"99--(1) An adjudication officer to whom a claim or question is submitted under section 98 shall take it into consideration and, so far as practicable, dispose of it in accordance with this section, and with procedure regulations under section 115, within 14 days of its submission to him."
A claim for family credit is not normally submitted to an adjudication officer until all the evidence about the claim has been gathered. Claims are then determined by the adjudication officer, on average, within five days.
Pensioners (Second-hand Clothes)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the price of second-hand clothes bought at jumble sales by pensioners is taken into account in the setting of local social security payments.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The income support personal allowances and premiums are set nationally, at a level intended to provide for all normal day-to-day living expenses including the purchase and replacement of clothing. It is for individuals to spend their benefit as they see fit in the light of their personal needs and preferences.
EMPLOYMENT
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what total annual budget he envisages for the 100 training and enterprise councils outlined in the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s".
Mr. Cope : "Employment for the 1990s" indicated that the annual budget to each TEC would range between £15 million and £50 million, depending on the size of the TEC. Most of the budget would be programme money but it also included costs of administration.
Tourism Review Committee
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will consider the final report of the Tourism Review Committee.
Mr. Cope : My right hon. Friend has received the report of the tourism review at the end of last year and is currently considering it.
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Opencast Coal Mines
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking, in the light of the report of Her Majesty's principal district inspector of mines and quarries on the flooding of St. Aidan's opencast coal site to (a) identify other sites of potential risk and (b) implement the inspector's principal recommendation to establish a standard form of stability analysis.
Mr. Nicholls : The Health and Safety Executive's mines and quarrries inspectorate has carried out a survey of all sites nationally and identified those where working was planned in the vicinity of water courses. Where necessary preventive and advisory action has taken place. Work has already started to implement HSE's recommendations by drafting a code of practice incorporating best current technical procedures and also clearly identifying areas of responsibility.
Ministerial Advisers
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the ministerial advisers appointed in his Department for each year since 1979, the salary each person received, whether paid directly or to another employer, and the duties undertaken, whether solely in his Department or in conjunction with other Departments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fowler : The following list shows the ministerial advisers appointed or on secondment to the Employment Department since 1979. It is not our practice to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are individually negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and are therefore confidential. The duties of each adviser were as laid down by the employing Minister and were for Employment Ministers only.
List of Ministerial advisers in the Employment Department since 1979 1979 Mr. T. A. G. Davis
Mr. R. J. Shepherd
1982 Mr. M. J. Dobbs (on secondment)
1984 Mr. R. A. Ehrman
1985 Mr. H. James (on secondment)
1986 Mr. J. H. Hill
1987 Mr. W. M. Lightfoot
Labour Statistics
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people under the age of 21 years are currently unemployed in the Pontefract and Castleford constituency.
Mr. Lee : Following is the available information, which is also in the Library. Unemployment figures are not available for the requested age group. However, in October 1988, the latest available date, the number of unemployed claimants aged under 20 in the Pontefract and Castleford parliamentary constituency was 416.
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in the Pontefract and Castleford constituency.
Mr. Lee : The information is in the Library. In November 1988 there were 4,244 unemployed claimants in Pontefract and Castleford parliamentary constituency.
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Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the rate of change in the unemployment figures relative to the number of notified vacancies over the last 12 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : The table shows seasonally adjusted unemployment and seasonally adjusted unfilled vacancies at jobcentres in the United Kingdom for November 1987 and 1988 with the percentage change over the period.
November
Seasonally adjusted |1987 (thousands) |1988 (thousands) |Percentage change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployed claimants<1> |2,604.4 |2,108.6 |-19.0
Unfilled vacancies<2> |265.1 |244.9 |-7.6
<1> Consistent with current coverage.
<2> Recent research shows that, nationally, only about a third of vacancies are notified to jobcentres.
Health and Safety Executive Factory Inspectors
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many Health and Safety Executive factory inspectors have been employed (a) as a whole and (b) on factory visits for each year since 1979 (i) in the Nottingham area and (ii) in the east midlands ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The Health and Safety Executive's factory inspectors operate through an area office network. The numbers of factory inspectors based at the north midlands and east midlands area offices since 1979 are as follows :
Area location
|North Midlands|East Midlands
|(Nottingham) |(Northampton)
------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |29 |29
1980 |31 |29
1981 |30 |26
1982 |29 |24
1983 |26 |23
1984 |25 |23
1985 |27 |23
1986 |23 |25
1987 |23 |26
1988 |21 |24.5
1989<1> |21 |25
All factory inspectors employed at the Health and Safety Executive's area offices undertake factory visits.
For 1988-89 the Government increased provision to the commission by £6.7 million gross above the level previously planned. In 1989-90 planned provision will be enhanced by a further £8.8 million gross, allowing for gross expenditure of £118.3 million. The planned provision for 1989 to 1992 allows for real growth in the Health and Safety Executive's activities over the next three years. This will enable the executive to increase the number of inspectors including factory inspectors.
Unemployment Benefit
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people (a) within South Shields and (b) nationally had their unemployment benefit stopped because they were considered to be not available for work in the period from January to September.
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Mr. Lee [holding answer 22 December 1988] : Information is not available in the precise form requested. However, for the period 1 January 1988 to 30 June 1988, 2,424 cases were considered in the adjudication office area which includes the town of South Shields, because of doubts about availability. From 3 March 1988 not all cases of doubt led to benefit being withheld pending a decision. Between 1 July 1988 and 30 September 1988, 2,164 cases were considered. It is not possible to provide national figures up to September. However, for the period 1 January 1988 to 30 June 1988, the total number of cases considered due to doubts about availability was 123, 606.
CIVIL SERVICE
Agencies
130. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if there has been further progress in setting up Civil Service agencies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Field).
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on current progress towards the setting up of agencies within the Civil Service.
Mr. Luce : Since I last spoke to the House on this subject on 5 December 1988, Her Majesty's Stationery Office has been launched as an agency bringing the total of agencies which have been set up to three. Around 30 other candidates for agency status have been announced as under active consideration, and I expect more to be announced.
Civil Service Unions
129. Ms. Quin : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met representatives of the Civil Service unions ; and what was the content of the discussions.
131. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met the Civil Service unions ; and what subjects were discussed.
134. Mr. Favell : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met leaders of the Civil Service unions ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Luce : I have meetings from time to time with representatives of Civil Service trade unions both centrally and during visits to Civil Service establishments. A wide variety of matters are raised.
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