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Provision of hearing therapists was initially funded by the Department but it is now the responsibility of individual health authorities. The Department is keeping in touch with the National Health Service training authority in regard to future training provision.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of hearing aid centres employ, or use the services of, a hearing therapist ; what research he has undertaken to monitor the decrease in wastage of hearing aids supplied by the National Health Service as a result of the employment of hearing therapists ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : We do not hold centrally information on the numbers of hearing therapists made available by health authorities to particular hearing aid centres. No such research has been undertaken nationally.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to improve the pay and career structure of hearing therapists ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : There are at present no pay and grading arrangements specifically for hearing therapists. The pay of most of them is linked to that of senior physiological measurement technicians which is negotiated in the professional and technical B Whitley council. The general Whitley council is currently considering what formal arrangements might be made within the Whitley council system for determining the pay of this group.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure the future training of hearing therapists following the abolition of the Inner London education authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The hearing therapist training course at the City Literary Institute continues and the National Health Service training authority is considering future requirements.
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he now expects to make a decision on the proposed removal of the neurosciences unit from the Brook hospital, Woolwich.
Mr. Freeman : We hope to make a decision in the very near future.
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people receive continuing medication through the National Health Service as a result of injuries sustained whilst being Japanese prisoners of war during the second world war ;
(2) what is the annual cost to the National Health Service of the medication people receive as a result of their serving in the Far East as British or Commonwealth troops during the second world war ;
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(3) what is the annual cost to the National Health Service of the medication people receive as a result of injuries sustained whilst being Japanese prisoners of war during the second world war ; (4) how many people receive continuing medication through the National Health Service as a result of their serving in the far east as British or Commonwealth troops during the second world war.Mr. Freeman : I regret that this information is not held centrally.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department consulted the Co-ordinating Committee for Cancer Research before making a grant to the Cyclotron Trust ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : No, but I met representatives of the committee on 11 January.
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give further details of the terms of reference of the investigation into the incident at Lowermoor treatment works on 6 July 1988.
Mr. Freeman : As stated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Neale) on 13 January at column 775 the terms of reference of the Lowermoor incident health advisory group are
"to advise the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly District Health Authority on the implications for the health of the population in the Camelford area following contamination of their drinking water in July 1988".
The Group will be asked to consider the interpretation to be place on reports of persistent symptoms and the likelihood of ill effects persisting or recurring in the long term. They will be asked also to consider whether any further monitoring or research ought to be proposed. They will not be asked to inquire into the incident at Lowermoor treatment works, which was the subject of an earlier independent inquiry set up by the board of the South West water authority and whose report was published.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's current policy towards European Community draft regulations on tar yields and tobacco labelling.
Mr. Freeman : We wish to maintain our well-established and effective voluntary arrangements in the areas covered by the European Commission proposals. We also believe that the labelling proposals are counter productive in being too prescriptive. Discussions on the proposals are continuing in the Council health working group.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state for the most recent 20 year period for which figures are available the annual rate of household formation.
Mr. Trippier : I have been asked to reply.
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We estimate that the number of households in England and Wales in 1968 was 16.2 million, and 19.5 million in 1988. This represents an approximate average net growth of about 0.9 per cent. per year.3. Mr. Cash : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action his Department has taken to ensure access of British-made motor vehicles to overseas markets.
Mr. Alan Clark : My Department takes whatever action is necessary to ensure British-made motor vehicles have unhindered access to overseas markets.
4. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what contact his Department has had with church organisations on inner city matters.
Mr. Newton : I met the Bishop of Willesden on 19 December to discuss joint action with the Church in the inner cities. I was able to inform him that I had just agreed to extend our financial support for "Linking-Up", a project to develop church-based action for cities in a number of task force areas. We are also working with Evangelical Enterprise, and have set up a churches liaison group. Mr. Terry Drummond, an officer of the Church Army, has been seconded to work in our Spitalfields task force.
14. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with representatives of the building industry regarding the employment and training of local labour in inner city areas.
Mr. Newton : I am frequently in contact with representatives from the building industry, and take every opportunity to emphasise that helping to train local people on local building projects is one important way of giving them a sense of commitment to improving their own environment as well as increasing the availability of important skills for the industry.
19. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has any proposals to extend the bottle bank scheme to increase the proportion of United Kingdom recycled glass.
Mr. Atkins : On 2 July 1986 a conference was held on glass recycling at which a commitment was made by the glass industry, packaging industry, supermarkets, local authorities and central Government to work towards doubling the number of bottle banks over a five-year period. Progress is being made towards meeting this target.
20. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the machine tool industry ; and what was discussed.
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Mr. Atkins : I attended the annual dinner of the Machine Tool Trades Association on 16 November 1988. On that occasion the discussion was of a general nature.
21. Mr. John Townend : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on current restrictions on the importation of Scotch whisky into the republic of South Korea ; and what progress the Government is making in persuading the Government of that country to remove these restrictions.
Mr. Alan Clark : We continue to press the Korean authorities on all appropriate occasions, both bilaterally and through the European Community, to remove Korean restrictions on the import of Scotch whisky. The issue was high on the agenda at recent United Kingdom-Korea trade policy talks, when the Korean side proposed certain steps towards liberalisation. These are welcome, but not enough.
22. Mr. Marlow : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what powers he has to encourage the purchase of British-made products.
Mr. Alan Clark : The greatest encouragement to buy British is the availability of competitive British goods and services. My Department's policies are geared to helping businesses achieve this.
23. Mr. Pike : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will state the level of investment in manufacturing industry in the north-west in constant prices for the latest year for which figures are available, as a percentage of 1979.
Mr. Atkins : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs on 19 October 1988, at column 953 of the Official Report .
24. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultations he has had on research and development on educational applications of a broadband fibre optic network.
Mr. Forth : Various aspects of this issue have been considered and in some cases supported by my Department over the last few years. Most recently PA Consulting Group were asked to comment on the area of education and broadband technology when reporting on "The Evolution of the United Kingdom Communications Infrastructure". Its report is available in the Library of the House.
25. Mr. Rowe : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures he has for the output of manufacturing industry ; and what were the comparable figures for 1974 and 1979.
Mr. Atkins : In the three months to October 1988 the output of manufacturing industry averaged 116.4, based
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on 1985 equal to 100, its highest-ever level. The comparable figures for the same three months in 1974 and 1979 were 109.9 and 103.6 respectively.38. Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures he has for manufacturing output.
Mr. Atkins : Manufacturing output in the three months to October 1988 is provisionally estimated at 116.4, based on 1985 equal to 100. Manufacturing output is at its highest ever level.
46. Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much the output of manufacturing industry has increased since 1979.
Mr. Atkins : In the three months to October 1988 the output of manufacturing industry was 10 per cent. higher than the 1979 average level. Manufacturing output is at its highest ever level.
26. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many inquiries his Department has now received from those requesting information about the effects of the single market in 1992 ; and what proportion of these have come from firms in the north-west.
Mr. Alan Clark : A total of 160,000 requests for information have been received since the Europe "Open for Business" campaign was launched in March 1988. Requests from firms in the north-west totalled nearly 13,000.
27. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what contact he has had with private sector organisations involved in inner city regeneration.
Mr. Newton : I have frequent contacts with a wide range of private sector organisations. The Government welcome the increasing role being played by business and industry in the regeneration of the inner cities.
28. Mr. Yeo : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received regarding access for British firms to Japanese markets.
Mr. Alan Clark : The Government attach great importance to Britain's trade with Japan. Representations on market access are received from British companies from time to time and, where appropriate, we take them up vigorously with the Japanese authorities, both directly and through the European Commission.
29. Mr. Amess : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress on recent initiatives in export promotion.
Mr. Alan Clark : We have completed the export services review foreshadowed in the White Paper "DTI-the department for Enterprise". Its constituent parts are detailed in the written reply given on 17 January by myself to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) at columns 106 -108.
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30. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures he has for the productivity of manufacturing industry ; and what were the comparable figures one year ago.
Mr. Atkins : Productivity in manufacturing industry, as measured by output per person employed, in the three months to October 1988 averaged 121.2, based on 1985 equal to 100. This is an increase of nearly 7 per cent. on the average level of 113.0 in the same three months of 1987.
37. Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the productivity growth in manufacturing industry in (a) Britain and (b) other major industrialised countries.
Mr. Atkins : Since 1980 manufacturing productivity, as measured by output per head, has grown faster in the United Kingdom than in all other major industrialised countries. Over the previous two decades the United Kingdom was at the bottom of the league. Between 1980 and 1987 the annual average growth rate in percentage terms was :
- |Per cent. --------------------------------------------- United Kingdom |5.3 United States of America |4.1 Japan |2.3 Germany |2.0 France |2.5 Italy |3.7 Canada |3.2 Source: OECD, IMF, CSO.
31. Mr. William Powell : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many overseas companies have set up operations in Britain over the past year.
Mr. Alan Clark : According to the latest figures known to the Invest in Britain Bureau, during the first three quarters of 1988, 260 inward investment decisions were made to locate in the United Kingdom. These include the establishment of a new business, expansion or acquisition of an existing business and involvement in joint venture.
32. Mrs. Roe : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to announce the award of the licences for the next generation of cordless telephones.
Mr. Atkins : My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry expects to make an announcement shortly.
33. Mr. Janman : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many jobs have been created or safeguarded by overseas investment since 1979.
Mr. Alan Clark : The following are the Invest in Britain Bureau figures for the numbers of jobs expected to be created or safeguarded, by inward investment projects, for each year since 1979 to 1987 and for the first three quarters of 1988. The figures are based upon information provided by the companies themselves.
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Year |New jobs |Safeguarded jobs -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1979 |14,310 } 1980 |18,662 } 1981 |16,417 } |n/a 1982 |10,529 } 1983 |15,546 |15,257 1984 |27,102 |19,294 1985 |15,584 |18,721 1986 |16,274 |10,760 1987 |19,914 |17,015 <1>1988 |18,805 |11,978 <1> January to September 1988.
34. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the chairman of British Shipbuilders ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Newton : I last met the chairman of British Shipbuilders on 12 January. We discussed matters of current interest to the corporation.
35. Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received from newsagents about recent developments in newspaper distribution ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My Department has received a number of representations from newsagents about recent developments in newspaper distribution. They have been referred to the Director-General of Fair Trading who is monitoring such developments.
36. Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the current rate of growth of United Kingdom exports.
Mr. Alan Clark : On a seasonally adjusted basis total export volume in the three months ended November 1988 is provisionally estimated to have been 3 per cent. higher than in the previous three months.
39. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on (a) the market share and (b) export performance of the British-based commercial vehicle manufacturing industry.
Mr. Atkins : In 1988 British commercial vehicle manufacturers took 60 per cent. of the United Kingdom market. In the first 11 months of 1988 they produced over 76,000 vehicles for the export market, compared with some 56,000 vehicles in the corresponding months of 1987.
40. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last had discussions about space policy with his counterparts in the European space industry.
Mr. Atkins : Department of Trade and Industry Ministers have periodic contacts with their European
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counterparts on space matters. Most recently my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was in touch with Dr. Riesenhuber, the Federal German Technology Minister, on the issue of the European Space Agency science programme. It was subsequently possible to reach agreement in ESA on this question.41. Mr. Stern : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to how many United Kingdom manufactured communications satellites are now orbiting the earth.
Mr. Atkins : Nine, on the basis of satellites with a still operable payload.
42. Dr. Bray : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the communications steering group report "The Infrastructure for Tomorrow".
55. Mr. Stott : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the MacDonald report on a national wide-band cable network.
Mr. Newton : The communications steering group, sometimes referred to as the Macdonald committee, was established in the spring of 1987 to advise DTI Ministers on prospective developments of the electronic communications infrastructure of the United Kingdom.
My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry received the group's report in the summer 1988 and it was published on 15 December 1988 as a contribution to the discussion about the United Kingdom's future communications infrastructure needs. We are grateful to the members of the group for their work.
43. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the balance of trade deficit in manufactured goods.
Mr. Alan Clark : In the first 11 months of 1988 the provisional estimate of the seasonally adjusted deficit on trade in manufactured goods was £13.5 billion.
49. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current level of deficit in the balance of trade ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Clark : The current account is provisionally estimated to have been in deficit by about £13.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first 11 months of 1988.
44. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next expects to attend a meeting of the European Economic Community Council of trade and industry ministers to discuss further steps in the creation of the internal market.
Mr. Alan Clark : My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs plans to attend the next meeting of the Internal Market Council to be held on 27 February.
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45. Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many projects have been supported by regional aid over the past year.
Mr. Atkins : In 1988, the Department of Trade and Industry made 1, 330 offers of regional selective assistance and 470 offers of regional enterprise grant, and approved 6,820 projects under the revised regional development grant scheme. In addition, payments under the original regional development grant scheme were made in respect of some 330 projects. All these figures are provisional.
47. Mr. Ward : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications have so far been received for the consultancy support under the enterprise initiative.
Mr. Forth : As my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State announced yesterday on the first anniversary of the enterprise initiative, response to the consultancy initiatives has been excellent from across the whole range of small and medium sized business. I am pleased to say that over 17,000 applications for assisted consultancy have been received.
48. Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the Post Office Users Council to discuss the restructuring of Post Office counter services.
Mr. Forth : No meetings have been held with representatives of the Post Office Users Council for Scotland to discuss the restructuring of Post Office counter services.
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