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Sea Time
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average time spent at sea by (a) chief petty officers and petty officers, (b) leading ratings and (c) able ratings.
Mr. Neubert : Average sea time (that time during which a rating is drafted to an operational ship) is currently :
|Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------
Chief petty officers and petty officers |42
Leading rates |59
Able rates |64
It does not follow, however, that such time is spent entirely at sea ; ships spend a proportion of their operational time at their base ports.
Norton Manor Camp
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why a private security firm has the responsibility of patrolling Norton Manor camp, near Taunton ; whether he proposes any changes in security at the camp following recent Irish Republican Army bombings at Army camps ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : A private security firm is employed at Norton Manor camp on routine and strictly-defined security tasks. Its presence constitutes only one element of the physical security arrangements in force at the camp. Security arrangements are constantly reviewed in the light of our assessment of the terrorist threat.
Chlorofluorocarbons
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what allowance he has made in his Department's budget for each of the next five years to provide for the substitution of HCFC 22 for chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants covered by the Montreal protocol ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what is his best estimate of the amount of chlorofluorocarbons refrigerants under the control of his Department ;
(3) what plans there are to minimise the risk of leaks of chlorofluorocarbons from refrigeration and air conditioning systems under his Department's control.
Mr. Neubert : It is our policy to reduce the use of
chlorofluorocarbons wherever possible. The information requested is not available centrally and cannot be obtained without
disproportionate cost.
Live Bombing Exercise
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the next live bombing exercise is to be conducted in the Moray Firth ; where, in relation to recognised danger areas, and British territorial waters, the exercise will take place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neubert [holding answer 2 March 1989] : There are no plans to drop live bombs in the Moray Firth.
TRANSPORT
Relocation
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet executives of Nottingham Development Enterprise to discuss the relocation of parts of his Department to Nottingham as part of the policy on relocation of such posts away from the south-east.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Under the policy which my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General announced on 31 March 1988, the Department is reviewing parts of its work with a view to possible relocation. Where appropriate, areas which are the focus of the Government's regional and urban policies, such as Nottingham, will be considered. Nottingham has been selected for relocation of the headquarters staff of the driver testing and training division in mid-1990.
Manchester Airport (Rail Link)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about a railway link to Manchester international airport.
Mr. Portillo : My officials have recently received a joint paper from Greater Manchester passenger transport
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executive and British Rail which seeks to demonstrate that the proposed rail link is commercially viable. The paper will be discussed at a meeting between the relevant parties and the Department at the end of this week.Seafarers (Taxation)
Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the extent of refund to shipping companies of personal taxation and social security payments made by their seafarers made by the Danish and Swedish Governments ; what estimate he has made of the value of this concession to the running costs of Danish and Swedish ships engaged in international trade ; and what steps he proposes to take to enable British shipping companies to meet this challenge.
Mr. Portillo : I am advised that Danish nationals serving on ships registered on the Danish international register are exempted from the full rate of income tax with the savings passed on to shipping companies. The Swedish Government rebate to shipping companies income tax and social security payments made in respect of Swedish seafarers serving on Swedish flag vessels engaged in long distance shipping, at an estimated cost for 1989 of 550 million Swedish kroner. The Department has asked the EC Commission to consider the compatibility of the Danish arrangements with the Community's competition rules. The question of state aids to shipping is also under consideration as part of the second stage of the Community's shipping policy.
Bus Services
Mr. Patnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of local bus services outside London are now provided by private operators.
Mr. Portillo : Of the local bus miles outside London run during 1987 -88, 58 per cent. were provided by operators which were in the private sector by March 1988.
Severn Bridge
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report following the inquiry on the proposals to increase the tolls on the Severn bridge.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Not before the inquiry has been concluded and the report has been written.
Chlorofluorocarbons
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is his best estimate of the amount of chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants under the control of his Department ;
(2) what plans there are to minimise the risk of leaks of chlorofluorocarbons from refrigeration and air conditioning systems under his Department's control.
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Mr. Peter Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Merionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) today.
EMPLOYMENT
Relocation
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will meet executives of Nottingham Development Enterprise to discuss the relocation of parts of his Department to Nottingham as part of the policy on relocation of such posts away from the south-east.
Mr. Lee : Under the policy that my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General announced on March 1988, the Employment Department is now reviewing the location of its work with a view to finding sites offering easier labour markets, value for money and increased operational efficiency. Areas which are the focus of the Government's regional and urban policies, such as Nottingham, will be considered. My Department already has large concentrations of headquarters staff in three such regional locations at Runcorn, Bootle and Sheffield and the study taking place is giving particular attention to those locations ; but other sites in assisted and urban programme areas have not yet been ruled out.
Wages
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the average wage for (a) full-time male employees, (b) part-time male employees, (c) full-time female employees and (d) part- time female employees, for each of the last 10 years, for each economic region both in real and cash terms ; if he will publish a further table showing average regional wages on the same basis for (i) manufacturing industry, (ii) the leisure industry and (iii) other service industries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : I refer the hon. Member to the reply he was given on 20 October 1988, Official Report, column 869. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a table of 1988 data for part-timers which was not available at the time together with the available information by industry, copies of which have also been placed in the Library.
Labour Statistics (Sheffield)
Mr. Patnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by what percentage unemployment has fallen in each of the Sheffield parliamentary constituencies since June 1987.
Mr. Lee : The following information is also available in the Library. The table shows the number of unemployed claimants in June 1987 and January 1989 for each of the Sheffield parliamentary constituencies, together with the percentage change over the period. The figures are affected by seasonal influences as well as by the change in coverage of the count due to new benefit regulations from September 1988 for young people aged under 18.
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Constituency |June 1987 |January 1989 |Percentage change ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheffield Central |9,729 |7,282 |-25.2 Sheffield Attercliffe |5,801 |4,117 |-29.0 Sheffield Brightside |7,537 |5,610 |-25.6 Sheffield Hallam |4,425 |3,133 |-29.2 Sheffield Heeley |7,011 |5,012 |-28.5 Sheffield Hillsborough |5,524 |3,942 |-28.6
Jobs
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the new jobs which have become available since 1983 are part- time and what proportion were filled by men and women.
Mr. Lee : There are no figures for job gains and job losses. Between September 1983 and September 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, the workforce in employment in Great Britain increased by 1,989,000. Of this net increase 1,167,000 (59 per cent.) was attributable to growth in part-time employment, 649,000 (33 per cent.) to growth in male employment and 1,339,000 (67 per cent.) to growth in female employment.
The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes. In classifying the work force in employment between full and part-time, all programme participants are counted as in part-time employment.
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many full-time and part-time jobs were created in the United Kingdom in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Lee : There are no figures for job gains and job losses. In the year to September 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, the work force in employment in the United Kingdom increased by 404,000. There are no estimates of full-time and part-time employment in Northern Ireland for these dates, and therefore no estimates for the United Kindom.
The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
Labour Statistics (Salford)
Ms. Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the figures for female part-time jobs in the Salford area.
Mr. Lee : The available information taken from the September 1984 census of employment indicates that there were 17,700 female part-time employees in employment in the Salford local authority district.
Labour Statistics (Luton)
Mr. Bright : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the percentage fall in the number of unemployed has been in the travel-to-work area covering Luton in the last 12 months ; how many people are currently registered as unemployed in Luton ; and how many known job vacancies there are there.
Mr. Lee : In January 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the Watford and Luton travel-to-work area
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was 12,773 compared with 20,858 in January 1988, a fall of 8,085 or 38.8 per cent. The comparison is affected by the change in coverage from September 1988 due to new benefit regulations for those people aged under 18 years. There were 4,022 unfilled vacancies at jobcentres approximately covering the Watford and Luton travel-to-work area in January 1989. Vacancies at jobcentres do not represent the total number in the economy. Recent research shows that nationally only about one third of all vacancies are notified to jobcentres.Private Employment Agencies
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many private employment agencies he has investigated since 1979 which accept fees from job applicants for counselling or other services ; and what action he has taken in each case.
Mr. Lee : All private employment agencies are routinely investigated for breaches of any of the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and regulations, including the provision prohibiting the offer of a job- finding service conditional upon the use of other services, such as counselling, for which job applicants may legally be charged a fee. There have been about 25,000 such inspections since 1979. If any infringement of the legislation is found, action is taken to ensure that it is corrected. If the infringement persists, prosecution would be considered.
Wages Councils
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will produce a breakdown of the responses to his consultation document "Wages Councils", setting out (a) the total number of responses, (b) those in favour and those against, and (c) the responses of employers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) on 15 February, Official Report, column 233.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the mid-year unemployment figure each year since 1979 ; and what was the increase or decrease in unemployment in each year both in numbers and in percentage terms.
Mr. Lee : The following information is also available from the Library. The table shows seasonally adjusted unemployment in the United Kingdom for each June from 1979, together with the change in numbers and percentage terms on the previous year.
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|c|Unemployment: Seasonally adjusted, consistent with current|c| |c|coverage in the United Kingdom|c| Date |Number |Change (over 12 months)|Percentage change ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ June 1979 |1,069,000 |-83,900 |-7.3 June 1980 |1,275,200 |206,200 |19.3 June 1981 |2,177,400 |902,200 |70.7 June 1982 |2,523,100 |345,700 |15.9 June 1983 |2,807,400 |284,300 |11.3 June 1984 |2,900,900 |93,500 |3.3 June 1985 |3,027,600 |126,700 |4.4 June 1986 |3,130,200 |102,600 |3.4 June 1987 |2,857,200 |-273,000 |-8.7 June 1988 |2,324,100 |-533,100 |-18.7
HEALTH
Child Minders
62. Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has of the extent of unregistered childminding carried out by children aged under 16 years ; if he has any plans to legislate in relation to childminding carried out by children ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : It is not possible to provide an estimate. Local authorities have a duty under the Nurseries and
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Childminders Regulation Act 1948 to register as child minders persons who for reward look after in their own homes child ren aged under five. We would not expect a local authority to register a child aged under 16 as a child minder. The Government will be introducing amendments to the Children Bill (now in the House of Lords) relating to the registration of child minders by local authorities.NHS Staff
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was (a) the number of ancillary staff employed in the National Health Service as of 30 September 1988, excluding nurse auxiliaries, (b) the number of whole-time equivalents in England, (c) the average hours of ancillary staffs by grade together with average pay by grade and (d) the average hours of part-time ancillary staffs by grade and average pay, broken down by male and female for each of categories (b), (c) and (d).
Mr. Mellor : The latest figures available are :
(a) and (b) September 1987
(a) 157,300
(b) Male 41,500 ; female 73,500 ; total 115,000.
(c) and (d) 1987-88.
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|c|Estimated average gross weekly earnings<1>|c|
Full-time Part-time (per head)
Grade |Female |Male |Female |Male
|£ pw |£ pw |£ pw |£ pw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non supervisors and chargehands
Scale A |114.49 |132.11 |54.84 |57.49
Scale B |113.36 |133.11 |62.55 |59.27
Scale C |138.00 |162.90 |71.25 |<3>87.96
Scale D |<3>140.46|156.59 |79.18 |<2>
Supervisors
Scale I |141.89 |148.54 |79.39 |<2>
Scale II |145.73 |179.29 |96.53 |<2>
Scale III |134.71 |181.00 |<2> |<2>
Scale IV |<3>154.36|182.26 |<2> |<2>
<1> The other information requested is not available-without incurring
disproportionate cost.
<2> Numbers of staff in these grades are too small to provide reliable figures.
<3> These averages are based on relatively small numbers.
Resource Management
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resource management initiative select studies he considered when drawing up the relevant proposals in "Working for Patients".
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I had available internal progress reports from the six resource management initiative pilot sites and three assessments of progress on resource management from the National Health Service training authority, the joint consultants committee's sub-group on resource management and the NHS management board's director of resource management.
Plastic Surgery
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the waiting time for plastic surgery in the Leicester health authority ; what are the comparable figures for waiting times in (a) other authorities in the Trent region and (b) nationally ; what assessment he has made of the
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reasons for these levels ; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times in Leicester health authority for plastic surgery.Mr. Mellor : The median waiting time for plastic surgery in-patients treated in 1987-88 in the Leicestershire health authority, other authorities in the Trent region and England is given in the table. Some patients do however wait considerably longer than the times shown, as plastic surgery waiting lists comprise cases with widely different degrees of urgency. Epidemiological changes and medical innovation have led to substantial increases in plastic surgery workloads.
A total of £69,000 has been made available to the Leicester health authority from the waiting list fund in 1987-88 and 1988-89, which has enabled them to treat an additional 350 plastic surgery patients from the waiting list. The regional health authority propose to continue to fund Leicester's plastic surgery waiting list fund project in 1989-90.
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|c|Median waiting time (
weeks)-plastic surgery
in-patients cases|c|
|c|treated 1987-88|c|
|Weeks
-------------------------------
Leicestershire |5
South Lincolnshire |5
Nottingham |6
Sheffield |10
Trent region |7
England |7
Note: Other districts in Trent
did not treat plastic surgery
patients during the year.
Medical Secretaries
Dr. Glyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has had with regard to the shortage of medical secretaries in the National Health Service ; and whether he has discussed this with the Whitley Council.
Mr. Mellor : We have received about 180 letters since the beginning of March 1988 about medical secretaries. Negotiations are taking place in the administrative and clerical staffs Whitley council on management side proposals which include a scheme to supplement the national pay scales where recruitment and retention problems are experienced.
Geriatric Wards
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are provided in long stay geriatric wards in the National Health Service hospitals in the following regions (a) East Anglia, (b) North East Thames, (c) North West Thames, (d) South West Thames and (e) South East Thames.
Mr. Freeman : The available information given in the table relates to general wards for elderly patients.
N |c|Average daily available beds in general wards for elderly patients,|c| |c|National Health Service hospitals, by selected regional health|c| |c|authorities, 1987-88 Regional health authority |Available beds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ East Anglian |2,539 North West Thames |3,386 North East Thames |4,260 South East Thames |3,535 South West Thames |2,832
Hospital Trusts
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which sets of Korner data will be collected from National Health Service hospital trusts ; and if similar data will be required from hospitals in the private sector.
Mr. Freeman : We shall be giving detailed consideration over the coming months to the information which will be needed centrally when National Health Service hospital trusts are established.
Single European Act
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact that the Single European Act will have on his Department's operation of domestic policy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The main impact is in the extent to which it facilitates the introduction of European Community
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legislation contributing to the establishment of the single market in areas falling within the Department's responsibilities and in its requirement that in proposals affecting health a high level of health protection shall apply. As far as can be foreseen at present the main effects of European Community legislation and legislative proposals on the Department's domestic policy will be in the areas of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and tobacco products.AIDS
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums have been allocated to all aspects of treatment, research and education related to AIDS and HIV for the current and next three financial years.
Mr. Mellor : In the current year, we have made available to health authorities in England £58.6 million as a contribution towards the additional costs of providing treatment and care for people infected with HIV and with AIDS. For 1989-90 a total of almost £130 million is being made available towards those costs. Details of the distribution of resources to regional health authorities were given in health circular HC(88)66.
A number of Government-funded organisations are supporting HIV-related research, on which over £13.2 million is expected to be spent in this financial year. The Medical Research Council is the main agency through which we support biomedical research in relation to HIV and AIDS, and is funded through grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science. The MRC plans to spend, through its directed programme on AIDS :
|£ million
------------------------------
1988-89 |5.0
1989-90 |7.0
1990-91 |8.0
1991-92 |8.5
The Department is providing the MRC with an additional £1,050,000 this year and £1.7 million in 1989-90 principally for epidemiological research on HIV. We are making available separately an estimated £593,000 for HIV-related health and personal social services research projects this year, and will be deciding shortly the Department's budget for such research for 1989-90.
In respect of health education related to HIV and AIDS, the Department has allocated £8.7 million in 1988-89 to the Health Education Authority, and £1.3 million to the national AIDS helpline, which provides a free, confidential telephone advice service. The Department's budget for health education work in 1989-90 has yet to be decided. No decisions have yet been made on the Department's allocations for treatment, research and health education in future years.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national data exists on which people known to be HIV positive develop AIDS.
Mr. Mellor : No national data are available showing which HIV- positive individuals develop AIDS.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any people in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed as having AIDS without the presence of HIV.
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Mr. Mellor : Of the cases of AIDS reported to the communicable disease surveillance centre and the communicable diseases (Scotland) unit, 88 per cent. have been tested for the presence of antibodies to HIV or for HIV. Of these, results were positive in all but five individuals.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on whether test for Epstein-Barr, cytomegalo lymphoma hepatitis B, herpes simplex viruses or anti-bodies in people with AIDS are routinely performed.
Mr. Mellor : These tests are not routinely performed. However, if the clinical findings suggest that any of these conditions may be present, the tests would be carried out in accordance with clinical judgment.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any evidence that virus infections such as leukaemia and lymphoma retroviruses can result in selective damage to specific cells of the immune system, and in particular to white blood cells known as T and B lymphocytes.
Mr. Mellor : I understand that there is a considerable scientific literature on the possible effects of retroviruses on elements of the immune system.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in what percentage of people with Kaposi's sarcoma has HIV been isolated ; (2) what percentage of people with AIDS are infected with syphilis.
Mr. Mellor : I regret that these data are not available.
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what criteria he authorises spending on research and public education programmes which identify HIV as the sole cause of AIDS.
Mr. Mellor : The overwhelming consensus of expert opinion is that HIV is the causative organism of AIDS.
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer on 10 January, Official Report, columns 605- 8 about the AIDS education campaign, if he will state the value of the AIDS advertising budget ; and how many times advertisements have been placed in the newspapers and journals set out in his answer.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 17 February 1989] : The amounts spent on mass media advertising from the inception of the Government AIDS public education campaign to 31 December 1988 were as follows :
|c|Health Education Authority (
to 31 December 1988)
|£
-------------------------------
Press |1,120,367
Television |2,300,000
Posters |880,694
|------
Total |4,301,061
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