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Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have had three meetings with the general medical services committee to discuss the proposed new contract for general practitioners on 8 September 1988, 9 February 1989 and 20 March 1989. The first two meetings were to review progress on the continuing discussions on the new contract and covered the policy aims of the revised contract very fully. The last meeting was a three-hour discussion of the eight detailed points that the GMSC wished to put to me and its requests for outstanding detailed information.
The GMSC has always agreed with me that revised regulations and a new statement of fees and allowances are required and should take effect in April 1990. We have agreed a number of points of the new contract including some originally proposed by the GMSC. I have stressed at all three meetings that I believe that we should make progress in the discussions because of the need to give GPs as much notice as possible of the new terms and conditions so that they can adjust their practices to prepare for them.
I explained to the GMSC at our last meeting that I would reflect on the detailed submissions it put to me and respond to them in the draft regulations and statement that I will now put to it. Further consultation will take place on the terms of the draft regulations and statement.
Private Residential Homes
34. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet Age Concern to discuss the rapid increase in the number of private residential homes and its relevance to the report by Sir Roy Griffiths on community care.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 21 March 1989] : We are currently giving active consideration to the future organisation and management of community care following Sir Roy Griffiths' report. We hope to bring forward our proposals soon and will consider requests for meetings from organisations involved in community care at that stage.
Hearing Aids
40. Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the waiting lists for hearing aids in the Leicester health authority ; and what action the Government propose to take to cut them.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 21 March 1989] : Provision of local health services is a matter for the relevant district health authority, in this case Leicestershire. The hon. Member may care to write to the chairman of the authority for the information he seeks.
No-fault Compensation
56. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the British Medical
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Association concerning the introduction of a partial no-fault compensation system for high risk medical practitioners.Mr. Mellor [holding answer 21 March 1989] : We have had no such discussions.
Health Authorities (Expenditure)
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list by each district health authority area the overall levels of spending per head of population ;
(2) if he will list by each district health authority area the levels of spending per head of population by each identifiable cost centre.
Mr. Freeman [ holding answer 19 December 1988] : District based figures of total revenue expenditure per head of resident population for 1987-88 are shown in the table.
For information on average treatment costs by type of hospital for health regions and England as a whole I refer the hon. Member to the Department's annual publication "Health Services Costing Returns" (the latest being for 1986-87)--copies of which are held in the Library.
Z
District health |Total revenue expenditure
authorities |per resident £ cash
|1987-88
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern region
Hartlepool |233
North Tees |181
South Tees |253
East Cumbria |229
South Cumbria |169
West Cumbria |195
Darlington |253
Durham |149
North West Durham |215
South West Durham |223
Northumberland |220
Gateshead |168
Newcastle |514
North Tyneside |134
South Tyneside |161
Sunderland |223
Districts total |229
Yorkshire region
Hull |236
East Yorkshire |212
Grimsby |207
Scunthorpe |151
Northallerton |139
York |225
Scarborough |167
Harrogate |211
Bradford |214
Airedale |191
Calderdale |187
Huddersfield |224
Dewsbury |162
Leeds Western |275
Leeds Eastern |263
Wakefield |339
Pontefract |172
Districts total |218
Trent region
North Derbyshire |143
South Derbyshire |201
Leicestershire |196
North Lincolnshire |228
South Lincolnshire |172
Bassetlaw |167
Central Nottinghamshire |196
Nottingham |254
Barnsley |178
Doncaster |191
Rotherham |170
Sheffield |322
Districts total |212
East Anglian Region
Cambridge |282
Peterborough |202
West Suffolk |177
East Suffolk |206
Norwich |219
Great Yarmouth and Waveney |184
West Norfolk and Wisbech |166
Huntingdon |189
Districts Total |209
North West Thames Region
North Bedfordshire |159
South Bedfordshire |171
North Hertfordshire |149
East Hertfordshire |118
North West Hertfordshire |283
South West Hertfordshire |126
Barnet |263
Harrow |218
Hillingdon |282
Hounslow and Spelthorne |211
Ealing |158
Brent |220
Paddington |599
Riverside |514
Districts Total |236
North East Thames Region
Basildon and Thurrock |185
Mid Essex |199
North East Essex |202
West Essex |175
Southend |161
Barking, Havering and Brentwood |188
Hampstead |592
Bloomsbury |1,076
Islington |334
City and Hackney |483
Newham |227
Tower Hamlets |485
Enfield |166
Haringey |270
Redbridge |193
Waltham Forest |288
Districts Total |273
South East Thames
Brighton |218
Eastbourne |203
Hastings |202
South East Kent |158
Canterbury and Thanet |217
Dartford and Gravesham |229
Maidstone |208
Medway |164
Tunbridge Wells |260
Bexley |190
Greenwich |300
Bromley |205
West Lambeth |568
Camberwell |374
Lewisham and North Southwark |386
Districts Total |251
South West Thames
North West Surrey |217
West Surrey and North East Hampshire |134
South West Surrey |271
Mid Surrey |276
East Surrey |288
Chichester |199
Mid Downs |179
Worthing |162
Croydon |209
Kingston and Esher |258
Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton |176
Wandsworth |543
Merton and Sutton |227
Districts Total |231
Wessex Region
East Dorset |183
West Dorset |199
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire |172
Southampton and South West Hampshire |262
Winchester |198
Basingstoke and North Hampshire |199
Salisbury |278
Swindon |201
Bath |190
Isle of Wight |207
Districts Total |203
Oxford Region
East Berkshire |171
West Berkshire |173
Aylesbury Vale |315
Wycombe |126
Milton Keynes |143
Kettering |148
Northampton |205
Oxfordshire |229
Districts Total |187
South Western Region
Bristol and Weston |279
Frenchay |255
Southmead |221
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |181
Exeter |254
North Devon |199
Plymouth |241
Torbay |190
Cheltenham |165
Gloucester |208
Somerset |192
Districts Total |218
Bromsgrove and Redditch |177
Herefordshire |192
Kidderminster |273
Worcester |195
Shropshire |185
Mid Staffordshire |153
North Staffordshire |223
South East Staffordshire |178
Rugby |160
North Warwickshire |213
South Warwickshire |215
Central Birmingham |521
East Birmingham |211
North Birmingham |223
South Birmingham |283
West Birmingham |322
Coventry |220
Dudley |190
Sandwell |136
Solihull |155
Walsall |174
Wolverhampton |228
District Total |214
Mersey region
Chester |283
Crewe |171
Halton |128
Macclesfield |208
Warrington |265
Liverpool |325
St. Helens and Knowsley |182
Southport and Formby |234
South Sefton |321
Wirral |196
Districts Total |237
North Western region
Lancaster |353
Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde |186
Preston |582
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley |181
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale |300
West Lancashire |228
Chorley and South Ribble |79
Bolton |181
Bury |152
North Manchester |434
Central Manchester |562
South Manchester |518
Oldham |165
Rochdale |143
Salford |363
Stockport |176
Tameside and Glossop |148
Trafford |146
Wigan |172
District Total |241
Sources:
(a) 1987-88 annual accounts of district health authorities.
(b) Mid-year estimates of resident population:-1987 (Office of Population Censuses and
Surveys).
Notes:
1. District capital expenditure and all expenditure incurred by regional health
authorities on behalf of their regions as a whole is excluded.
2. Expenditure on family practitioner services is excluded: such expenditure is accounted
for by family practitioner committees (FPCs) and cannot strictly be attributed to
particular districts.
3. Significant variations in per capita expenditure figures at district level arise
principally because:
i. people travel across district boundaries for treatment and sub-regional resource
allocations reflect the pattern of service provision locally.
ii. the population figures used make no allowance for people resident in one district who
receive treatment in another or for the difference in morbidity and age/sex structure of
particular population.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Disability Payments
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether a disabled person, in receipt of a disablement pension or the relevant disability allowances, is able to transfer such payment to another country, should that person decide to reside in another country ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Disablement pension is payable to a person who resides abroad. Reduced earnings allowance is generally payable only during temporary absences but is payable for permanent absence if the disabled person goes to a country with which we have a social security agreement which provides for this or goes to another EC country (provided he is a national of an EC country, or a stateless person or refugee living there). Attendance allowance and mobility allowance are payable during temporary absence of up to six months, or temporary absence for the specific purpose of being treated for an incapacity or a disabling condition which began before leaving Great Britain.
Severe disablement allowance (SDA) is payable during temporary absence for the specific purpose of being treated for an incapacity which began before leaving Great Britain ; or during temporary absence if the person had been continuously incapable of work for six months when the absence began and remains continuously so incapable. However, if the disabled person is going to another EC country and is helped by the EC regulations on social security for migrant workers he will be able to continue to receive SDA even if he does not meet the above rules.
Community Charge Benefits Regulations
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what representations he has received from computer companies on the timetable for the preparation of the community charge benefits regulations ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the progress being made on the preparation of the community charge benefits regulations ; and when he expects that they will be laid before the House.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No representations have been received from computer companies about the timetable for preparing the Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 1989. Copies of the draft regulations were sent on 16 March to the Social Security Advisory Committee and to the local authority associations in accordance with the consultation requirements set out in section 61 of the Social Security Act 1986. The regulations will be laid before the House once the Social Security Bill has been enacted. In order to assist local authorities and the computer companies in their preparation for the introduction of the community charge benefits scheme, it is intended to send copies of the draft regulations to each authority as soon as possible after the completion of the consultation process.
Disablement Income Group
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration his Department has given to the report published by the Disablement Income Group entitled, "Am I Entitled? Problems With The Take
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Up And Administration Of Attendance And Mobility Allowance"; if there is any action he will be taking ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Scott : The Department co-operated with this study, and commented on a draft of the report but we have not yet had an opportunity to consider the final version. We shall take careful account of the findings, together with the other recent Disablement Income Group report, "Being Disabled Costs More Than They Said," in our consideration of the OPCS findings.
Social Fund
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate as to how much of the funds allocated to the social fund will have been unspent by the end of the 1988-89 financial year, broken down into (i) budgeting loans, (ii) crisis loans, and (iii) community care grants.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Based on expenditure to the end of February 1989 the gross underspend on the loans budget at the end of the 1988-89 financial year is estimated at £18 million. The estimated underspend on the grants budget is £20 million. Crisis loans and budgeting loans are paid from a single loans budget.
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will announce the revised social fund allocation for the office at Chatham following the transfer to that office of responsiility for the area covered by Rochester area office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : On 31 March 1989 the office at Rochester will close and merge with the office at Chatham on 1 April 1989. Accordingly the social fund allocation for Chatham has been adjusted. The revised allocation is :
|£
------------------------------
Grants budget |159,467
Loans budget |385,634
Departmental Staff
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively, in his Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 20 March 1989] : Information is not available in the form required because records are held on a combined basis with the Department of Health.
Information for both Departments is as follows :
Grade Total Female staff <1>Ethnic
[ staff minority staff
--------------------------------------------------------
1 |3 |- |- |- |-
2 |12 |2 |16.7 |- |-
3 |39 |6 |15.4 |- |-
4 |29 |6 |20.7 |1 |3.4
5 |268 |75 |28.0 |14 |5.2
6 |373 |58 |15.5 |34 |9.1
7 |1,049 |173 |16.5 |13 |1.2
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |1,773 |320 |18.0 |62 |3.5
<1> Ethnic minorities figures are based on
questionnaires voluntarily completed by staff (75 per
cent. response rate to date).
Column 677
ENERGY
Drilling Rigs
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, in the light of his Department's instructions to operators, following the blowout on the Ocean Odyssey, to suspend drilling using flexible jumper hoses at high pressure until an alternative acceptable to his Department can be found, he will now present an interim report on the scope and methods of his Department's review and give an estimate of the completion date and if he will also release details of the number of well drilling operations which are prevented from proceeding until his Department's review is satisfactorily completed.
Mr. Peter Morrison : A full report of my Department's investigation into the Ocean Odyssey accident has been passed to the procurator fiscal in Aberdeen. The report takes account of both operational practices and the failure of the flexible hoses. Work is continuing on assessing all applications for consent to drill high pressure wells in order to ensure that they can be carried out safely giving full regard to the lessons learnt from the accident. Ten well operations are being delayed. Consent will be given when my Department is satisfied that it is safe to proceed.
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, in the light of his Department's order that the drilling rigs Neddril Trigon, Glomar Labrador, Glomar Moray Firth, KCA Sandpiper, Shelf Driller, Trident X and Trident XI, are to be dry docked for inspection and remedial work following the discovery of serious cracking in the spud cans of one rig, he will now release the report of these inspection findings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Conclusions and recommendations will be published when the results of the inspections have been fully assessed.
Oil and Gas Pipelines
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will provide a list of all installations of submarine emergency shutdown valves in oil and gas pipelines which have been or are being, or are planned to be carried out since the Piper Alpha disaster ; (2) how many existing oil and gas pipelines were fitted with submarine emergency shutdown valves prior to the Piper Alpha disaster ; and what are their locations ;
(3) if he will provide a list of all oil and gas pipelines with an operating pressure in excess of 600 lb per sq in and a diameter of 6 in or greater which do not contain submarine emergency shutdown valves ; and if he will also provide a list of the production platforms, onshore reception terminals and other facilities which are connected to these pipelines.
Mr. Peter Morrison : There are approximately 124 offshore oil and gas pipelines with an operating pressure in excess of 600 pounds per sq in and a diameter of 6 in or greater that do not have sub-sea emergency shut down valves fitted. Full details of these have been placed in the Library.
Six pipelines had sub-sea emergency shut down valves fitted prior to the Piper Alpha accident, located adjacent to the Brent Alpha, Fulmar, Murchison, Balmoral, Buchan
Column 678
and Argyll platforms. It was also intended that two valves would be installed on the new pipeline, yet to be commissioned, in the Ivanhoe/Rob Roy field.Following the Piper Alpha accident and in response to a letter from my director of safety asking for pipeline isolation arrangements to be reviewed, the industry has to date made proposals for the installation of an additional 26 sub-sea pipeline isolation systems, seven of which have already been installed. A list of these has also been placed in the Library. My Department is giving urgent consideration to the proposals from operators and I expect the completion of the review work to identify the need for additional systems.
These systems together with the mandatory offshore installation isolation systems, the proposals for which were issued for consultation this week, will provide a further step to greater safety offshore.
Mr. Doran : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy why the list of major changes to the Piper Alpha platform in annex B to the technical investigation interim report does not mention the tie-in of the Tartan field gas export pipeline to the Piper platform. Mr. Peter Morrison The tie -in of the Tartan field gas export pipeline to the Piper Alpha installation was outside the scope of annex B of the technical investigation interim report but is covered elsewhere in the report.
Electricity (Cost)
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the price which would be charged for electricity if the cost of fuel for generation provided the same proportion of that price as it did three years ago.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This a matter for the electricity supply industry. I will ask the chairman of the Electricity Council to write to the hon. Member.
Water Quality
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if, pursuant to his answer of 13 March, he will list the criteria of the European Community directive on drinking water which the supply in his Department's head office failed to meet in 1988.
Mr. Parkinson : The responsibility for monitoring the quality of drinking water in my Department's headquarters building rests with the Property Services Agency.
I am advised that the criteria of the European Community directive on drinking water for the permitted maximum admissible levels which the supply in my Department's head office failed to meet in 1988 are :
|Permitted maximum
|admissible levels
------------------------------------------------------
Sulphate |250mg/litre
Fluoride |1500ug/litre
Potassium |12mg/litre
Sodium |175mg/litre
Magnesium |50mg/litre
Iron |50ug/litre
Manganese |50ug/litre
Nickel |50ug/litre
Conductivity |1500us/cm
Turbidity |4NTU
Nuclear Materials (Transport)
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set out the liaison arrangements between his Department and the international safeguards authorities at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and Euratom in Luxembourg over the transport and transfer of nuclear materials to and from the Atomic Weapons Establishment to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The Commission regulation (Euratom) 3227/76 and the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement make provision for the receipt from and shipment to a facility not under safeguards.
Column 680
Sellafield (Safeguards)
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if full facility attachments and particular safeguards provisions are now in force for all facilities at Sellafield containing safeguardable nuclear materials ; and what has been the cost of implementation of a comprehensive safeguards regime for Sellafield.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The particular safeguards for provisions for facilities at BNFL Sellafield are currently under discussion and to date four have been brought into force. Facility attachments for certain facilities which the IAEA inspect are also being negotiated. The costs of meeting safeguards requirements cannot be separately identified among the general running costs of the facilities concerned. The costs incurred by Euratom and the IAEA are a matter for the authorities concerned.
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