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Severe Hardship Rule
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people have been refused benefit after applying to him or his officers under the severe hardship rule.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : During the period 12 September 1988, when general entitlement to income support was withdrawn from 16 and 17-year-olds, to 3 March 1989, a total of 5,127 decisions have been made under the Secretary of State's discretionary power to avoid "severe hardship". A direction to enable income support to be paid was refused in 1,799 instances. These figures relate to the number of decisions made, not to the number of young people involved. Some young people have made more than one application.
Income Support
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people who had been in local authority care during the previous 24 months have lost entitlement to income support since September 1988 (a) nationally, (b) in Halifax and (c) in Yorkshire.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that the information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants currently placed in board and lodging accommodation by local authorities and entitled to income support will have to make a second, separate, claim for living expenses from local Department of Social Security offices and will have to start claiming money for their housing costs from local authority housing benefits sections after April.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Claimants in this group already recieving income support will not have to make a new claim for income support in April. Local offices are sending them the necessary forms to claim housing benefit from April. The number placed in board and lodging by local authorities is not available.
PRIVY COUNCIL
Visitorial Jurisdiction
Mr. Barry Porter : To ask the Lord President of the Council, in exercising visitorial jurisdiction over universities, in connection with petitioners referred to him, what procedures are adopted ; whether there are any plans to change the procedures ; to what categories of persons petitions are delegated before any decision is promulgated ; how many petitions have been referred to him since 1979, with what type of matters, breaking the answer down between substantive and procedural matters, these petitions dealt ; what procedure is adopted for disseminating the results of visitorial decisions amongst universities ; how many visitorial decisions have been referred to the court for review since 1979 ; and what were the results.
Mr. Wakeham : The procedure adopted is informal and matched to the circumstances of the individual case. Where it appears that the visitor has jurisdiction, the process begins by obtaining the university's comments on
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the petition and, where appropriate, giving an opportunity to the petitioner to comment on the observations of the university. The opportunity is sometimes given to the parties to appear at an oral hearing.There are no plans to change the procedures themselves, except that, under the Education Reform Act 1988, when the relevant provision comes into force, matters relating to the employment of staff will no longer fall within the visitor's jurisdiction.
The decision in relation to petitions for which the visitor has jurisdiction is always taken by the Lord President personally and no decision is delegated to another person.
The number of petitions submitted since 1979 in respect of universities for which the Lord President exercises responsibility is 65.
The majority (42) were complaints by students about various aspects of their academic assessment, 11 concerned complaints by academic staff about their employment or dismissal, six concerned complaints by students about disciplinary proceedings and the remainder concerned various matters relating to the Government or administration of the university.
The decisions are normally disclosed only to the parties and are not disseminated to other universities.
Two decisions have been the subject of applications to the courts for judicial review. One such application was dismissed by a Master of the High Court and the other by the Court of Appeal.
Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1988-89 by the Privy Council Office on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and what is the 1989-90 budget for each of these categories of spending.
Mr. Wakeham : The information requested is as follows :
(a), (b) and (d) Nil.
(c) £3,710 will have been spent in 1988-89 on items published in the official gazettes ; and the estimated figure for such expenditure in 1989- 90 is £4,000.
Statistical Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will give the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Privy Council Office ; if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts ; and if he will give the staffing complements by grade, and differentiated between statistical and administrative posts, proposed for 1989-90.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council what were the total fees paid out by the Privy Council Office to management consultants in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for the current year.
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Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the latest figure for (a) the estimated expenditure by the Privy Council Office on press and public relations during 1988-89 and (b) the budget for 1989- 90.
Mr. Wakeham : (a) £1,017 ; (b) Approximately £1,200.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether any staff will be employed in press or public relations roles in the office of the Privy Council in 1989-90.
Mr. Wakeham : I have no plans to employ such staff.
SCOTLAND
Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1988-89 by the Scottish Office on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and what is the 1989-90 budget for each of these categories of spending.
Mr. Rifkind : The latest estimates of expenditure by the Scottish Office on television, radio and newspaper advertising and printed and other material in the current financial year are £257,500, £34,300, £470,600 and £1.291 million respectively. These figures do not include the running costs of the Scottish Information Office. Proposed provision for expenditure by the Scottish Office on information campaigns in 1989-90 is £2.9 million. Detailed decisions on expenditure by media have not yet been taken.
Statistical Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Scottish Office ; if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts ; and if he will give the staffing complements by grade, and differentiated between statistical and administrative posts, proposed for 1989-90.
Mr. Rifkind : The figures for the Scottish Office are :
|Staff in post at 1 March|Vacant posts |Proposed staff 1989-90
|1989
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Professional grades:
Grade 5 |2 |- |2
Grade 7 |15 |1 |16
Assistant/senior assistant
statistician |8 |3 |13
Administrative grades:
Higher executive officer |9 |- |9
Executive officer |25 |1 |26
Administrative officer |48 |- |47
Administrative assistant |22 |- |22
Personal secretary |2 |- |2
|------- |------- |-------
Total |131 |5 |137
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Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by his Department in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for 1989-90.
Mr. Lang : No expenditure was incurred between the years 1979-80 and 1986-87 inclusive. In 1987-88, expenditure of £615,648 was incurred on advisers' fees relating to the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Scotland. In 1988-89, the expected outturn expenditure in respect of electricity privatisation and of privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group is around £2 million. The provision for 1989-90 will be contained in the supply estimates to be published on 14 March.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the total fees paid out by his Department to management consultants in 1979 -80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for the current year.
Mr. Rifkind : The following information on spending on management consultancy fees is readily available :
|£
---------------------------
<1>1984-85 |47,512
1985-86 |491,864
1986-87 |569,038
1987-88 |198,338
<2>1988-89 |944,457
<1> The 1984-85 figure
relates only to contracts
let during the last
quarter of the year:
comprehensive figures for
the full year are not held
centrally.
<2> Estimated figure.
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, in the press and public relations office of the Scottish Office ; and what is the proposed complement for 1989-90.
Mr. Rifkind : At 1 March 1989, the number of staff in post in the information officer grades in the Scottish Information Office was 29. At that date there were two vacancies. There are no proposed changes in staffing levels for 1989-90.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest figure for (a) the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations during 1988-89 and (b) the budget for 1989-90.
Mr. Rifkind : The estimated running costs of the Scottish Information Office for 1988-89 are £1.2 million. The estimated expenditure for 1989-90 is £1.3 million. These figures exclude expenditure on information campaigns.
Forestry Commission
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of Forestry Commission employees in the parish of Glenelg, Highland region, in 1986 and 1988, respectively.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Forestry Commission had nine employees in the parish of Glenelg in both March 1986 and March 1988.
Legal Profession
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to publish his consultation paper on the legal profession in Scotland.
Mr. Rifkind : I have today published my consultation paper "The Legal Profession in Scotland", and have placed copies in the Library. Copies have also been issued to a range of interests, and I look forward to receiving comments on the paper by 13 June.
Council House Sales
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the annual cost to date of the publicity material promoting the right to buy council houses and flats.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 March 1989] : The information requested is set out in the table.
Year |£ ------------------------ 1980 |56,000 1981 |75,000 1982 |62,000 1984 |100,000 1985 |150,000 1987 |120,000
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many council properties have been sold to council house tenants in (a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole in each of the past five years ; and what proportion of the total stock of council properties in (a) , (b) and (c) these sales represent in each of the past five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 March 1989] : The information requested is given in the table.
|c|Sales to council house tenants in Inverclyde, Strathclyde and|c|
|c|Scotland 1984-1988|c|
|Number of sales |Percentage of stock
|sold<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984
Inverclyde |104 |0.5
Strathclyde |2,848 |0.6
Scotland |11,860 |1.4
1985
Inverclyde |293 |1.5
Strathclyde |3,526 |0.8
Scotland |10,969 |1.3
1986
Inverclyde |224 |1.2
Strathclyde |4,026 |0.9
Scotland |10,306 |1.2
1987
Inverclyde |216 |1.2
Strathclyde |5,900 |1.3
Scotland |13,813 |1.6
1988
Inverclyde |281 |1.5
Strathclyde |<2>10,425 |2.4
Scotland |<3>21,785 |2.6
<1> Stock at 30 September of previous year used in calculation.
<2> Returns for Eastwood, Kyle & Carrick and Motherwell outstanding for
October-December.
<3> Returns for 1988 are outstanding.
Source: SDD S3 and Rent Returns.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the number of repossessions of properties purchased by ex-council house tenants who have exercised their right to buy.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 March 1989] : This information is not collected centrally.
Inverclyde Royal Hospital
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is (a) the total waiting list, (b) the longest time any patient had to wait and (c) the numbers waiting by number of months' wait for ear, nose and throat department at the Inverclyde royal hospital over the last four years for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 10 March 1989] : The information available is set out in the tables.
|c|(a) In-patient
waiting list as at 31
March|c|
|Numbers
------------------------
1985 |329
1986 |358
1987 |462
1988 |<1>253
|c|(b) The longest waiting time for those discharged during the year|c|
Year |Longest waiting time|Mean waiting time
|(months) |(months)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |36.4 |3.8
1985 |46.5 |3.6
1986 |36.8 |3.0
1987 |54.4 |3.5
|c|(c) Number of People on the waiting
list by time spent on the|c|
|c|waiting list at 31 March 1988<1>|c|
|Number
-----------------------------------------
Under three months |104
Three months to six months |50
Six months to nine months |38
Nine months to one year |25
One year to two years |31
Over two years |5
|--
Total |253
<1> The altered statistical system on
which these figures are collected is
explained in ISD statistical bulletin
1/88.
This information is not available for earlier years and is not collected for deferred or repeat admissions.
FSAs (Trees)
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of all landowners in the Caithness and Sutherland region who have received any form of Government grant for not planting commercial trees in areas deemed to be environmentally sensitive.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have been asked to reply.
This information is treated as a confidential matter between the owners and occupiers of the land concerned and the Nature Conservancy Council. It is not our policy to disclose details.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what are the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, in the press and public relations office of the Lord Chancellor's Department ; and what is the proposed complement for 1989-90.
The Attorney-General : At present, there are six staff employed in the press office of the Lord Chancellor's Department. There are no vacancies at present and no current plans to increase the complement.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General if he will give the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Lord Chancellor's Department ; if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts ; and if he will give the staffing complements by grade, and differentiated between statistical and administrative posts, proposed for 1989-90.
The Attorney-General : The number of staff by grade presently employed in the statistics branch of the Lord Chancellor's Department, together with the full complement, are as follows. The unfilled post has only been vacant since 1 March 1989. No changes in complement are proposed for 1989-90.
Grade of Staff |In post March 1989|Complement 1988-89 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade 7/statistician |1 |1 Assistant/senior assistant statistician |1 |1 Higher executive officer |1 |1 Executive officer |2 |3 Administrative officer |4 |4 Administrative assistant |2 |2
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what is the latest figure for (a) the estimated expenditure by the Lord Chancellor's Department on press and public relations during 1988-89 and (b) the budget for 1989-90.
The Attorney-General : The estimated expenditure by the Lord Chancellor's Department on press and public relations is £35,000 excluding staff costs. The budget for 1989-90 is £41,800.
Legal Aid
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Attorney-General if he will review the legal aid provision whereby a litigant may win damages from which the legal profession is entitled to deduct defence costs if the defendant fails to pay.
The Attorney-General : The legal aid authorities are required by law to retain, from any damages won by a legally aided plaintiff, an amount equal to that paid out of
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the legal aid fund in respect of the plaintiff's costs, if the defendant does not pay these costs. These costs include the solicitors' charges for conducting the case, barristers' and expert witnesses' fees and court fees. The Lord Chancellor does not propose to review this provision.Advertising
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1988-89 by the Lord Chancellor's Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and what is the 1989-90 budget for each of these categories of spending.
The Attorney-General : The figures for the Lord Chancellor's Department, excluding staff costs, are as follows :
|c|Estimated expenditure|c|
|1988-89|1989-90
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------
Television advertising |Nil |Nil
Radio advertising |Nil |Nil
Newspaper advertising |15,000 |15,000
Other promotional material |45,000 |35,000
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Law Officers in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for 1989-90.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Attorney-General what were the total fees paid out by the Lord Chancellor's Department to management consultants in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for the current year.
The Attorney-General : On the information available, the cost to the Lord Chancellor's Department of employing management consultants for each financial year from 1984-85 to date is as follows :
|£
------------------------
1984-85 |nil
1985-86 |221,000
1986-87 |473,837
1987-88 |134,255
1988-89 |205,882
The figures exclude computer consultancy. Figures for 1979-80 to 1983-84 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
WALES
Artificial Limb and Appliance Service
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what developments have taken place in the provision of limb fitting centres in north Wales ; and if he will make a statement ;
Column 41
(2) if he will list the location of wheelchair assessment centres in Wales ; if he has any plans to expand this provision ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Grist : Since 1 April 1988, management and operational responsibility for the artificial limb and appliance service in Wales has rested with the Welsh Health Common Services Authority. I have asked the general manager of the authority to respond directly to these inquiries.
Medical Treatment (Travel)
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to reduce the need for patients from Wales to travel long distances to England for medical treatment ; what effect the White Paper proposals will have on this travelling ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : Patterns of patient referral for treatment or diagnosis are only in part related to the location of the relevant services. Clinical and patient choice also influence such decisions. In the case of some specialised procedures, notably those designated as regional or supraregional services, the catchment population is necessarily so large or the availability of the specialist expertise so limited that only a small number of centres have been established. Although some of these are in Wales, where they are not it is desirable to refer Welsh patients to centres in England, in the same way as patients in England are sometimes referred to Wales. The Welsh Office keeps under review the access which Welsh patients have to specialist health care services. As a result in- patient services are being expanded to improve patient access. Examples include renal dialysis, radio-therapy and oncology in south Wales, medical genetics, bone marrow transplantation and cardiac services. A report on the future development of radiotherapy and oncology services for patients in north Wales is expected shortly. The arrangements for the management of regional services in Wales following the publication of the White Paper "Working for Patients" will be decided in consultation with district health authorities, within the Department's policy of developing in Wales as full a range of health services as is consistent with the clinical viability of the units concerned.
Statistical Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Welsh Office ; if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts ; and if he will give the staffing complements by grade, and differentiated between statistical and administrative posts, proposed for 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Walker : Current staffing levels within my Department's economic and statistical services division is shown in the following table :
Column 42
|c|As at 1 February 1989|c|
|Staff in post|Complement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Professional Posts
Senior economic adviser
(grade 5) |1.0 |1.0
Chief statistician (grade 5) |1.0 |1.0
Statistician (grade 6) |1.0 |1.0
Statistician (grade 7) |11.0 |11.0
Principal research officer
(grade 7) |1.5 |1.5
Economic adviser (grade 7) |1.0 |1.0
Senior assistant statistician |6.0 |8.5
Assistant statistician |1.0 |1.0
|------- |-------
Total professional posts |23.5 |26.0
Administrative posts
Higher executive officer |1.0 |-
Executive officer |16.0 |16.5
Administrative officer |19.0 |21.5
Administrative assistant |7.5 |5.0
Personal secretary |2.0 |2.0
|------- |-------
Total administrative staff |45.5 |45.0
|------- |-------
Grand total |69.0 |71.0
Staffing levels for 1989-90 will be determined in the light of running cost budgets.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by his Department in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Walker : All expenditure associated with privatisation has, up until 1988-89, been administered by the Departments of Industry, Transport, Energy and the Environment. An announcement in respect of any costs borne by the Welsh Office in connection with the privatisation of the water industry, will be made in due course.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the total fees paid out by his Department to management consultants in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for the current year.
Mr. Peter Walker : I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest figures for (a) the estimated expenditure by the Welsh Office on press and public relations during 1988-89 and (b) the budget for 1989-90.
Mr. Peter Walker : The estimated expenditure on press and public relations (inclusive of staff and press cutting service but excluding media advertising and promotional material) for 1988-89 is £469,000. The estimated budget for 1989-90 is £487,000.
Benzodiazepines
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking or contemplating to reduce the number of people in Wales addicted to benzodiazepines.
Column 43
Mr. Grist : The central initiative for combating drug misuse funded by the Department makes its own contribution to dealing with these problems. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement on funding for the coming financial year soon. Additionally, the chairman of the Welsh Medical Committee wrote to all general medical practitioners in Wales last year, to draw their attention to the views of the Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse about the prescribing of benzodiazepines.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the trend in the prescribing of benzodiazepines.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave on 31 January at column 96.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will commission research to discover the number of people in Wales addicted to benzodiazepines.
Mr. Grist : If a suitable research proposal were put to the Department, then it would certainly be given careful consideration. The Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse is presently examining ways of collecting reliable statistical data on the incidence and prevalence of drug misuse in Wales. Their work may help to establish how many people in the Principality have problems associated with the use of benzodiazepines.
Childbirth
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for the years 1987 and 1988 the estimated percentages of women delivering in Wales whose deliveries were (a) spontaneous including abnormal presentation of head and breech spontaneous, (b) instrumental including forceps, vacuum and for breech extraction, (c) caesarean section and (d) other unspecified means.
Mr. Grist : The information requested for 1987 is given in the following table. Information for 1988 is not yet available.
|c|Estimated percentages of deliveries by specified mode of delivery:|c| |c|Wales|c| Mode of delivery |1987 Per cent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spontaneous including abnormal presentation of head and breech spontaneous |79.6 Instrumental-forceps, vacuum and breech extraction |8.2 Caesarean section |12.2
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for the years 1987 and 1988 the estimated percentages of women delivering in Wales (a) whose labours were induced, (b) whose labours were of spontaneous onset and (c) who had elective caesarean sections.
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