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MOD Police
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the strength of the Ministry of Defence police in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sainsbury : Over the last 10 years the strength of the Ministry of Defence police was as follows :
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|Numbers
---------------------------------
October 1979 |4,121
October 1980 |4,221
October 1981 |4,080
October 1982 |3,958
October 1983 |3,836
October 1984 |4,003
October 1985 |4,255
October 1986 |4,681
December 1987<1> |4,841
December 1988 |4,706
<1>Strengths are taken from the
chief constable's annual reports,
which from 1987 relate to
calendar years.
The figures shown include
manpower provided to repayment
users but exclude civilians
employed in support of the
Ministry of Defence police.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure on pay and pensions for the Ministry of Defence police for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sainsbury : Details are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure on training for the Ministry of Defence police for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sainsbury : Details are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mines (Price)
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the current purchase costs of the following (a) one M18A1 (Claymor) anti-personnel mine, (b) one padmine (containing 650 steel projectiles) and (c) one C3A1 non-metallic anti-personnel mine (Elsie).
Mr. Sainsbury : It is no longer our practice to publish unit production costs.
ELF Transmitter (Glengarry Forest)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, columns 376-37, if he will undertake to place a copy of the notice of proposed development relating to the proposed trial ELF transmitter at Glengarry forest, in the Library as soon as possible after its submission to the Highland regional council.
ENERGY
Wave Power
Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what support for research and development on wave power is currently under way ; and if he has any further proposals under consideration.
Mr. Michael Spicer : A major element of the Department of Energy's present programme of research and development into small scale wave energy is the development of the shoreline rock gully device invented by Queen's university, Belfast. Over the last two years the Department has funded research and the construction of
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an experimental prototype on the island of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. Early test results of the power performance of the device have been encouraging and the next phase of the project will now proceed, subject to contract, on the basis of the data acquired so far.Radioactive Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the annual cost (a) in cash and (b) 1989 pounds sterling of radioactive waste management and disposal for each of the magnox, advanced gas cooled reactor, fast reactor, steam generating heavy water reactor programmes, respectively ; and how these costs have been factored into nuclear electricity prices.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The fast reactor at Dounreay and the SGHWR at Winfrith are experimental reactors operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The prices paid by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the Central Electricity Generating Board for electricity produced by these reactors are the result of commercial negotiations and reflect the cost to the boards of other supplies rather than the costs of generation. I have asked the chairman of the CEGB to reply to the hon. Member in respect of the board's Magnox and AGR stations.
Nuclear Materials (Export)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if export licences were issued under article 2(i) of the Nuclear Installations Act in relation to the export of nuclear materials to Baltimore via Hampton Rhodes, United States of America, from Barrow on the PNTL ship Pacific Sandpiper on 21 February ;
(2) if the nuclear materials exported from Barrow on 21 February on the PNTL ship Pacific Sandpiper destined for Hampton Rhodes in Virginia, United States of America, were covered by bilateral or international safeguards.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The nuclear material exported from Barrow on 21 February 1989 on the PNTL vessel Pacific Sandpiper consisted entirely of irradiated fuel elements. These were all subject to international safeguards. An export licence was issued, but the material fell outside the categories for which approval for disposal is required under section 2(i) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
Civil Plutonium
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to permit publication in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority journal, Atom, the specific quantities of civil plutonium exported for commercial use under international safeguards, listing utility, date of contract and date of export for all future such exports.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Civil plutonium export data is already published in the Department's annual civil plutonium figures press release.
Fissile Materials (Export)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list for each year since 1979 the number of requests for approval that his Department has received for the
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export of fissile materials ; and if he will further list the consignor and consignee in each case, along with the amount of material permitted in each case.Mr. Michael Spicer : It has been the standard practice of successive Governments not to make public the details of export licence applications for the various categories of goods controlled.
Coal Industry (Productivity)
Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what figures he has for the growth in productivity in the coal industry for each of the last three years ; and if he will publish the figures for other European coal producing nations.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Productivity, in terms of kilograms per manhour in the coal-producing nations of the European Community over the latest three calendar years for which figures are available, was as follows :
|1985|1986|1987
-----------------------------------
United Kingdom |408 |512 |577
Germany |593 |602 |616
France |392 |427 |503
Spain |249 |286 |284
Belgium |314 |321 |316
Nuclear Installations
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he last considered the timing and content of the nuclear installations inspectorate's plans to publish regulations on off-site emergency planning for the civil nuclear power industry.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I am awaiting proposals from the Health and Safety Commission on this matter.
British Coal
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Coal ; and what matters he expects to discuss.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I meet the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.
Ofgas
Sir Neil Macfarlane : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the level of funding for Ofgas in 1988 and 1989 ; what are the staffing levels in 1988 and 1989 ; how many staff have been seconded from his Department ; whether Ofgas intend to move to new premises ; and if he will make a statement about Ofgas's budget for 1990.
Mr. Peter Morrison : There are at present 12 staff on secondment from the Department of Energy to Ofgas.
Ofgas' expenditure, budget, staffing and premises are matters for the Director General of Gas Supply.
Nuclear Power
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the proportion of electricity which will be generated by nuclear power in Britain in the year 2000.
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Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 11 May 1988 at column 112.
Coal (Subsidy)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has as to the average level of Government subsidy per tonne of deep-mined coal each year since 1985 in each European Economic Community country and in the United States of America.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The Information requested is as follows. It has been obtained from European Commission publications. The United States of America does not provide financial support to its coal industry.
|c|£/tonne<1><2>|c|
|1985 |1986 |1987<5>
--------------------------------------------------
Belgium |22.0 |35.6 |58.1
France |37.6 |46.4 |49.6
FR Germany |6.0 |24.2 |58.1
Portugal<4> |- |- |6.9
Spain<4> |- |- |12.0
United Kingdom<3> |5.0 |8.1 |6.6
The Belgium and French coal industries are much smaller than those of FR Germany and the United Kingdom and are currently undergoing substantial contraction which distorts the aid figures. The figures for FR Germany in 1986 and 1987 also include Government aid for supplying coal and coke to its steel industry at world market prices.
It is not possible to make absolute comparisons between the figures from different Member State as the statistical basis may vary.
Figures for all countries represent aid for current production and inherited liabilities only. They do not include social security payments such as pension schemes and insurance contributions since these are not readily comparable.
United Kingdom figures are on a financial year basis for 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88. The others are in calendar years.
Portuguese and Spanish data are not available prior to 1987. 1987 data are the latest published. 1988 figures are not yet available.
HEALTH
Social Workers (Training)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Central Council for Education and Training of Social Workers has provided additional curriculum advice on mental health matters to courses for social workers.
Mr. Mellor : In January 1987, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) published its regulations and guidance for the training of social workers to be considered for approval in England and Wales under the Mental Health Act 1983. In December 1987, it produced a report which referred to training issues. Since then, the Council has had a programme of approving training courses for approved social workers in local authorities. To date, some 90 per cent. of local authorities have, in many instances and in
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conjunction with other local authorities, produced a programme of CCETSW approved training for approved social workers. CCETSW is itself shortly to produce an evaluative report on the training provided by these courses, which will include guidance on training matters.General Practitioners
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners earn more than £55,000 per annum in England and Wales.
Mr. Mellor : The remuneration arrangements for general medical practitioners are conducted on a GB basis and are designed to deliver fees and allowances on an average basis together with some expenses which are reimbursed directly to doctors incurring them. We do not have information centrally in the form requested.
Coronary Heart Disease
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the most recent figures for the cost to the National Health Service of coronary heart disease including (a) the cost of general practitioner prescriptions, (b) the cost of surgery and (c) the cost of hospital beds.
Mr. Freeman : Cost estimates are not available in the exact form requested. However, the following may be of interest :
(a) The net ingredient cost of pharmaceutical products having an effect on the cardiovascular system, and diuretics, dispensed by retail pharmacists in the Family Practitioner Service in England in 1987 was £360 million.
(b) Information on the cost of hospital beds is not collected separately from treatment costs. It is estimated that the total cost of hospital in- patient treatment related to coronary heart disease in England a year is £175.5 milion. (1987-88 prices).
Family Practitioner Committees
Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward legislation to end restrictive practices imposed by family practitioner committees in respect of the use by patients of pharmacies of dispensing doctors.
Mr. Mellor : Dispensing by doctors is permitted only as an exception to the general rule that doctors prescribe and pharmacists dispense. This is a sensible rule which ensures that the skills and qualifications of both professions are used to the best effect. I have no plans to change it.
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Drugs
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the net ingredient cost of drugs per head for each family practitioner committee area and health region for 1986-87 and 1987-88 ; and if he will give the 1986-87 cost in terms of 1987-88 prices for each area and region.
Mr. Mellor : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the national average net ingredient cost of drugs per head for 1986- 87 and 1987-88, what is the 1986-87 cost in 1987-88 prices ; and what is the percentage variance cost per head of each family practitioner committee area and health service region for the national average.
Mr. Mellor : The average net ingredient cost per person for 1986-87 is £31.68 for 1986-87 at 1987-88 prices is £33.36 and for 1987-88 is £35.79. A table showing the percentage variation from the England average has been placed in the Library.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the change in waiting list lengths in (a) the North West regional health authority and (b) the Mersey regional health authority since 1979.
Mr. Mellor : The information is given in the table.
|c|In-patient waiting lists, Mersey and North Western regional health|c|
|c|authorities, 1979 and 1988|c|
|Mersey |North Western
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waiting list 31 March 1979 |41,103 |77,368
Waiting list<1> 30 September 1988 |32,121 |63,839
Change |-8,982 |-13,529
Percentage change |-22 |-17
Hospital Building Schemes
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital building schemes in (a) the North West regional health authority and (b) the Mersey regional health authority have (i) been completed since 1979 and (ii) are under construction or at the planning and design stage ; and what are the comparable figures for the other health regions.
Mr. Freeman : The information held centrally on schemes each costing over £1 million is as follows :
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Schemes |Regional Health |North Western |Mersey |Trent |Yorkshire |Northern |East Anglian |North-West Thames|North-East Thames|South-East Thames|South-West Thames|Wessex
|Authorities
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed since 1979 |42 |21 |37 |19 |18 |22 |30 |17 |25 |24 |17 |16 |23 |38
Under construction |14 |2 |11 |11 |11 |2 |15 |11 |6 |10 |12 |15 |12 |10
At planning and design stage |46 |2 |51 |28 |17 |24 |10 |27 |15 |23 |12 |9 |18 |50
Drinking Water
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give within the Trent regional health authority the total number of qualified members of (a) the medical and (b) the scientific staff of his Department dealing with
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matters related to contamination of drinking water by (i) micro-organisms, (ii) chemicals and (iii) radiation ; and where these staff are located within the Trent regional health authority.Mr. Mellor : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has primary responsibility for the
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public water supply. The Department of Health does not employ any staff to deal specifically with contamination of drinking water.Vaccinations
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under the age of one year were vaccinated in 1988 ; and what percentage this was of the age group.
Mr. Mellor : The available information is not precisely in the form requested. The one year uptake rate of each vaccination is calculated as the number of children who were vaccinated by the end of the year following birth. The latest figures are shown in the table and relate to children born in 1986. Because of the change to collecting data on a financial year basis, the one year uptake rate for this particular cohort of children is calculated as the number of children born in 1986 and vaccinated in either 1986, 1987 or the first quarter of 1988, expressed as a percentage of live births in 1986.
}
|c|Vaccination and immunisation: completed primary courses|c|
|Live births 1986 |Vaccinated in 1986 or |Percentage vaccinated by
|1987-88 (numbers) |31 March 1988
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|623,609 |- |-
Diphtheria |- |487,372 |78
Tetanus |- |487,493 |78
Polio |- |484,771 |78
Whooping Cough |- |419,523 |67
Measles |- |401,414 |64
Environmental Health Officers
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many environmental health officers are employed by his Department ; and what are their duties.
Mr. Freeman : The Department employs three environmental health officers. They advise on and deal with a range of functions related to the work of environmental health officers. Their work is concerned with food hygiene and certain aspects of environmental health.
Sex Change Operations
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the district health authorities in England and Wales (a) which fund sex change operations and (b) which do not fund such operations ;
(2) how many sex change operations were carried out in each district health authority in 1988.
Mr. Freeman : This information is not available centrally. The number of such operations carried out is so small that no reliable estimates can be made from normal statistical returns. It is, however, unlikely that the number of operations performed in England exceeds 100 a year.
PACT Information
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how long PACT information has been available to all general practitioners.
Column 768
Mr. Mellor : The new prescribing information system known as "PACT" was introduced in stages beginning in August 1988 and is now generally available to GPs.
General Practitioners
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the capitation payments to general practitioners in rural areas will continue for temporary residents.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have no plans to make alterations to arrangements for the payment of temporary residents fees to any GPs, except where such alterations are consequent upon the proposals I am putting to the profession's representatives and which are set out in "General Practice in the NHS--A New Contract". For example, I am proposing to extend the period during which a night visit fee may be claimed in respect of permanent patients and consequently in respect of temporary residents.
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will be in a position to provide a figure for the substantial extra resources to be devoted to the family practitioner service in relation to any new general practitioner contract.
Mr. Mellor : General practitioners' remuneration is determined by the Government acting on advice from the doctors and dentists review body. As part of their evidence to the review body later this year, the Government will consider what additional resources they believe appropriate.
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest average income of a general practitioner principal net of all practice expenses.
Mr. Mellor : The current intended average net income for general medical practitioners is £28,800 per annum. The Government have accepted the recommendation in the nineteenth report of the doctors and dentists review body that this should be increased to £31,105 per annum from 1 April 1989.
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether general practitioners who hold practice budgets will be able to create a surplus by sending patients to hospital accident and emergency services.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I expect health authorities to satisfy themselves that referral to A and E Departments is not being used as a substitute for out-patient referral and they will continue to do so in future in the case of all GPs whether practice budget holders or not. I do not expect that GP's would use such a device because of their professional integrity and because such a procedure would cause annoyance to their hospital colleagues and inconvenience and bewilderment to their patients.
Teenage Pregnancies
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born to mothers aged 16 and 17 years for the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Freeman : The latest year for which information is available is 1987. The number of births in England and Wales were :
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Age of mother |Live births |Stillbirths -------------------------------------------------------- 16 |4,398 |31 17 |10,484 |50
Stroke Victims
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the number of stroke victims in the United Kingdom as a ratio of the population ; how many such victims suffer serious or severe disability ; and what assistance is available to them.
Mr. Freeman : Centrally collected statistics do not include total numbers of those suffering from "strokes" (acute cerebrovascular disease). However, it is believed that the total number in England and Wales is about 100,000 pa, about 1 in 500 of the population. In broad terms, one third of those who have strokes will suffer disability. After treatment for the acute condition, a range of hospital services is available to stroke victims, including rehabilitation, speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
Newchurch Hospital, Culcheth
Mr Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the future of Newchurch hospital, Culcheth, Warrington ; and if there are any plans to close it.
Mr. Freeman : Newchurch hospital is in the process of retraction as patients are gradually transferred to care in the community schemes. As the numbers of patients reduces consideration will have to be given to the best way of caring for those remaining. We are not, however, aware of any plans to close Newchurch hospital.
Self-Governing Hospitals
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impact he estimates his White Paper proposals will make on the quality of medical education in self-governing hospitals.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : We are still considering the detailed arrangements for providing and funding medical education in self-governing hospitals but we shall ensure that hospitals which become self-governing continue to play their part in maintaining the high quality of this education.
Hospital Computer Systems
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the cost of setting up hospital computer systems will be funded.
Mr. Freeman : In general, the responsibility for deciding how much to spend on hospital computer systems rests with NHS managers. However, hospitals receiving computer based information systems as part of the hospital information and support systems and resource management programmes in 1989-90 will have a substantial part of the cost of those systems met centrally.
Family Practitioner Committees
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will announce the names of chairmen appointed to family practitioner committees from 1 April.
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Mr. Mellor : I am placing in the Library a list of the appointments made with effect from 1 April 1989. All appointments are for a period of two years.
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