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Health and Social Services (Expenditure)
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give for each year since 1979 the total health and personal social sevices (a) current expenditure (gross) and (b) capital expenditure (net) ; and if he will give those totals adjusted by the HCHS pay and price deflator.
Mr. Needham : The table sets out gross current and net capital expenditure on health and personal social services in cash terms for the period from 1978-79 to 1988-89. The HCHS pay and prices deflator is an index of inflationary pressures on current expenditure in the hospital and community health services alone. It would be inappropriate, therefore, to apply the index to the total health and personal social services expenditure.
Year |Current<1> Expenditure|Capital<1> Expenditure
|(Gross) million |(Net) million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |304 |22
1979-80 |369 |26
1980-81 |477 |25
1981-82 |540 |26
1982-83 |588 |25
1983-84 |634 |26
1984-85 |667 |26
1985-86 |701 |24
1986-87 |750 |28
1987-88 |810 |30
1988-89<1> |892 |32
<1> Estimated Outturn.
Advertising
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much advertising air time his office purchased with each commercial television company in each of the last five years.
Dr. Mawhinney (holding answer 15 May 1989) : Information on television advertisements in the form requested is commercially confidential.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Student Numbers
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many higher education students are in (a) full-time and (b) part-time study at (i) universities ; (ii) polytechnics and (iii) other higher education institutions ; what were the comparable numbers five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago ; what is his estimate of parallel future numbers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Information is shown on the following table. Long-term projections were published in November 1986 in "Projections of Demand for Higher Education in Great Britain 1986-2000". The projections are regularly updated and the most recently published ones are given in the public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 612.
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Students in higher education in Great Britain Thousands ------------------------------------------------- Actual 1967 |200 |18 |n/a |179 |125 1972 |239 |23 |41 |234 |116 1977 |281 |27 |66 |229 |<1>134 1982 |295 |34 |75 |258 |189 1987 |305 |41 |86 |303 |233 <1> Relates to 1975. n/a = Not applicable. The OU first admitted students in 1970.
National Curriculum
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has plans to increase the numbers of schools inspectors in connection with the establishment and operation of the national curriculum.
Mrs. Rumbold : There are no plans to increase the number of Her Majesty's inspectors, but education support grant, made available by the Department, will support an increase in local education authority inspectors. Grant will support the appointment of one additional inspector by each LEA, except ILEA, in 1989-90. It is intended to make further support available up to 1993-94, resulting in a 10 per cent. increase on present numbers.
Higher Education
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were in higher education in the last year for which figures are available ; and what was the comparative figure in 1978-79.
Mr. Jackson : There were 968,000 students in higher education in Great Britain in 1987-88, compared with 766,000 in 1978-79.
Higher Education (Principals' Salaries)
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the gross salaries of the principals of each of the public sector higher education institutions (i) on 1 January and (ii) on 1 May.
Mr. Jackson : By public sector higher education institutions I assume that the hon. Member is referring to institutions funded by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.
The Department collects information each autumn on the salaries of individual directors and principals of PCFC institutions as part of the administration of the teachers superannuation scheme and for statistical purposes. However, publication of the information, which is collected purely for pensions and statistical purposes, would be incompatible with the terms on which it is registered under the Data Protection Act 1984.
Teachers' Pay Award
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects local education authorities to begin paying the 1989-90 teachers' pay award to teachers.
Mrs. Rumbold : Many teachers are likely to receive their salary increases by the end of May.
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Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to sign the necessary orders to bring the 1989-90 teachers' pay award into operation.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend hopes to make the order by the end of May.
Geological Survey
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to reduce or withdraw direct funding to the British geological survey in relation to its core programme of long- term projects ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Funding of the British geological survey is the responsibility of the Natural Environment Research Council from the council's allocation from the science budget. In my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 7 November 1988 at columns 2-3, he announced that he had made available in 1989-90 an additional £3 million for the NERC for the BGS core programme, with planning additions of £4 million and £5 million for the following two years. He also said that further work was needed to define the survey's core programme, having regard to the priority needs of users and to examine the financial funding arrangements, including the charges for goods and services. This further work will be taken into account in this year's public expenditure survey.
Animal Encephalopathies
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is aware of any research, past or current into the transmissibility of animal encephalopathies to man ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Research relevant to the possible transmissibility of animal encephalopathies to man has been reviewed in the report of the working party on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, chaired by Sir Richard Southwood, and published in February 1989. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Bushloe High School
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the staff and governors of Bushloe high school, Wigston Magna, Leicester, on the key issues in the Education Reform Act 1988 ; and if he will ensure that there is no delay in the publication dates of certain key information packs, particularly those related to the science curriculum.
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Mrs. Rumbold : On 19 May, I received a letter forwarded by my hon. Friend from the head teacher of Bushloe high school, supporting the 1988 Act and seeking early delivery of certain National Curriculum Council publications. I will be replying to him shortly. Our aim is to equip schools with the necessary material as far as possible in advance of implementation of the national curriculum requirements. The statutory documents for science were laid before Parliament in March and then distributed to schools. The council's complementary non-statutory guidance for teachers is being printed and should be sent direct to all schools around the end of May.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Boswell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a provisional esimate of common agricultural policy market support expenditure in 1988-89.
Mr. MacGregor : Provisional outturn for class IV, vote 1, is £180 million, which is a saving of £379 million against the supply estimate provision. Excess appropriations in aid of £507 million are being surrendered to the Consolidated Fund. The total expenditure provision, which is expressed net of receipts for intervention sales and levies etc. in the supply estimate was £1,552 million, while estimated outturn was £1,173 million. The outturn figures on a commodity basis are :
£ million
|Supply-estimate|Outturn |Difference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cereals |350 |195 |-15
Milk |295 |124 |-171
Beef |244 |190 |-54
Oilseeds |176 |178 |+2
Sheep |228 |265 |+37
Sugar |148 |117 |-31
Others |112 |105 |-7
|--- |--- |---
Total |<1>1,552 |<1>1,173 |-379
<1> Total figures do not equate because of roundings.
A number of external factors, such as market prices, levels of production, exchange rates and trade volumes affect expenditure on this vote. The more significant factors affecting expenditure in 1988-89 were the drought in the United States, the increasing strength of sterling and lower than expected cereals yields in the United Kingdom in 1987 and 1988.
The largest savings were on purchases into intervention of cereals (£147 million), following two successive relatively low United Kingdom cereals harvests, and butter (£107 million). The reduction in butter purchases can be attributed to additional savings to those forecast as a result of the policy changes made to the milk regime in December 1986, which had a greater impact on intervention than had been anticipated. The other major saving in total expenditure arose from £98 million additional receipts for sales out of intervention of cereals, butter and beef. The excess appropriations in aid largely consisted of receipts from the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund for depreciation of new stocks on entry to intervention and for depreciation of old intervention stocks which took effect from 1 October 1988.
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Fishing Vessels
Dr. Goodman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to re-introduce a scheme of de-commissioning of fishing vessels under EEC regulation No. 4028/86 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The reintroduction of a decommissioning grants scheme is one of a number of options which could contribute towards a reduction in the size of our fishing fleet, but before we would be prepared to consider such a step we would need to be satisfied that it would provide value for taxpayers' money and that there were no better alternatives.
Hedgerows
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how may farmers have sought his Department's advice on hedgerow management in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Mr. Ryder : The information requested is not available.
Business Initiatives
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what future initiatives he is planning to implement the policies outlined in, "Lifting the Burden" and "Building Businesses not Barriers" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : My Department's current work programme on these policies is set out in paragraphs 6.11.1 to 6.11.7 of the White Paper "Releasing Enterprise". In addition, MAFF is actively participating in the wider initiatives described in "Releasing Enterprise", notably the programme for improving understanding between Government and business and the deregulation rolling review programmes, the first of which was announced by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs in his written reply of 31 January. More generally, my Department aims to promote efficient and competitive agriculture, sea fisheries and food and drink manufacturing and distribution industries by encouraging enterprise and better regulation, better relationships and better service.
Deregulation
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the initiatives he has taken to implement the policies outlined in "Lifting the Burden" and "Building Businesses not Barriers" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The contribution of my Department to the Government's deregulation policy since the publication of "Lifting the Burden" and "Building Businesses not Barriers" is set out in the progress report on deregulation "Encouraging Enterprise" published in May 1987 and in the White Paper "Releasing Enterprise" published in November 1988.
Tobacco (EC)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the amount spent by the EEC in subsidising the production of
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tobacco and in storing and disposing of surplus production ; what were the comparable totals in each of the past five years ; and if he has received any proposal from the EEC Commission designed to reduce the expenditure in the tobacco industry.Column 374
Mr. Ryder : Expenditure on the CAP tobacco regime as requested is as follows :
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Z
Year Total CostPremia Export Refunds Intervention
|(mecu) |(mecu) |per cent.|(mecu) |per cent.|(mecu) |per cent
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |776 |712 |92 |36 |4 |28 |4
1985 |863 |819 |95 |32 |4 |12 |1
1986 |782 |734 |94 |32 |4 |16 |2
1987 |804 |734 |91 |43 |6 |27 |3
1988 |966 |895 |93 |43 |4 |28 |3
<1>1989 |1,033 |911 |88 |49 |5 |73 |7
<1> estimate
The Council of Ministers has approved the Commission's proposal for an agricultural stabiliser system for tobacco, which will reduce prices and premiums for the 1989 and 1990 harvests by up to 15 per cent. If prescribed levels of production are exceeded. We have keenly supported this development, which is in line with our policy of seeking to reduce expenditure on this regime through reorientation of production away from the less-marketable and higher tar varieties.
Scrapie
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his Department was first notified of the existence of a scrapie- like disease occurring in cattle.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Through the animal health surveillance activities and the vigilance and expertise of veterinary scientists at MAFF veterinary investigation centres and the Central Veterinary Laboratory, bovine spongiform encephalopathy was first identified as an entity in November 1986 Research carried out between CVL and the neuropathogenesis unit in Edinburgh has confirmed that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is similar to a group of spongiform encephalopathies, including scrapie in sheep.
Tyrrell Committee
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the work currently being undertaken under the auspices of the Tyrrell committee.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The Committee was set up to advise on the research work now in progress and on the future priorities for research into bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The Government will be considering the committee's conclusions in due course.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any evidence to suggest that spongiform encephalopathies in animals can be identified by post-mortem histological examination prior to the onset of clinical signs in the live animal.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The research consultative committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. David Tyrrell, is currently considering various research projects including
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a proposal to investigate the relationship between the onset of clinical symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the occurrence of lesions in the brain.Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the incidence of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in each county of England and Wales for the four week period ended 19 May.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The information is given in the table.
County |Confirmed cases ----------------------------------------------------------------- Avon |13 Bedfordshire |4 Berkshire |8 Buckinghamshire |6 Cambridgeshire |1 Cheshire |14 Cleveland |1 Clwyd |6 Cornwall |35 Cumbria |6 Derbyshire |5 Devonshire |41 Dorset |49 Dyfed |24 Essex |3 Glamorgan South |3 Gloustershire |18 Gwent |6 Gwynedd |3 Hampshire |13 Herefordshire and Worcestershire |9 Hertfordshire |2 Humberside |3 Ise of Wight |5 Kent |12 Lancashire |5 Leicestershire |8 Lincolnshire |5 Norfolk |5 Northmptonshire |5 Nottinghamshire |3 Oxfordshire |10 Powys |4 Shropshire |10 Somerset |38 Surrey |8 Staffordshire |10 Suffolk |4 Sussex East |9 Sussex West |7 Warwickshire |3 Wiltshire |34 Yorkshire North |12 Yorkshire West |1
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Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the existence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States of America.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I am not aware that any cases of BSE have been recorded in the United States of America.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what regulations or procedures are currently in force in the United Kingdom to ensure that meat and bone meal contaminated with the agent responsible for the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United Kingdom is not exported to other countries for inclusion in cattle rations.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 8 March, at column 533.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received concerning the level of infectiousness of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected cattle prior to the onset of clinical symptoms of the disease.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 21 March, at column 513-4.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he, or any of his Ministers, were advised prior to the publication of the Southwood report, by any member of the Southwood committee that 75 per cent. was the appropriate level of compensation in respect of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tests his Department has conducted during the last 12 months on samples of animal protein for use in cattle rations.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The Ministry conducts a wide range of analyses on animal protein to assess nutritional values or levels of contamination. Those carried out on protein for use in cattle feeds cannot be separately identified.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring or testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy is now being conducted on the progeny of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected cattle ; and whether he has any intention of introducing controls on the movement of such progeny.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The Ministry has taken powers to control the movement of progeny, though I have no plans to use these powers at present. The identities of the progeny of affected animals are being recorded, which will enable further investigations to be made if any of these are subsequently notified as suspect cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The Ministry has also accepted the recommendation of the Southwood working party that a study be carried out to determine whether maternal transmission can take place.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total number of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases confirmed to date in each of his Departments veterinary investigation centres.
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Mr. Donald Thompson : Before bovine spongiform encephalopathy became a notifiable disease on 21 June last year, histopathological examinations of brains from suspected animals were carried out at the Ministry's central veterinary laboratory, Weybridge, and at other Ministry establishments. Since 21 June last year, diagnoses have been carried out at nine veterinary investigation centres. The number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy confirmed by each centre is as follows :
|Number
-------------------------
Cambridge |466
Carmarthen |487
Newcastle |132
Polwhele |663
Reading |491
Shrewsbury |654
Starcross |497
Thirsk |552
Wye |66
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether bovine spongiform encephalopathy has yet been reported in any European Economic Community member state other than the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Animal Products
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those products sold to the general public during the past 20 years derived from animals being treated with pharmaceutical products under an animal test certificate granted under the Medicines Act but prior to the granting of a product licence.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Since animal test certificates were introduced in 1971, trials have been authorised in all major animal species. Products from such animals will have been marketed except when it was a condition of the ATC that they should not be.
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the recommendations of the Preston report on conditions in slaughterhouses and the action taken by his Department in respect of each.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Copies of the report and of the Government's response, which was announced on 15 October 1987, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Of the recommendations which the Government accepted, meat inspection procedures in non-exporting and exporting plants were broadly aligned by the Meat Inspection Regulations 1987 and the Fresh Meat Export (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1987. We have already announced that ante-mortem inspection of animals in non-exporting premises is to be introduced from 1 January 1991. The system of regional liaison meetings envisaged in the report has been established and is proving to be of value.
In accordance with Community measures which have been adopted since the publication of the Government's response to the report, new arrangements for meat inspection charges are to be introduced from 1 January
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1991. The Community has also agreed on arrangements for collecting information on diseases found at slaughterhouses which should be passed back to those resonsible for production. Detailed rules for the implementation of these arrangements throughout the EC have yet to be determined. The Commission is developing proposals on the duties and qualifications of inspection personnel in slaughterhouses. Further measures to align standards in all plants will be developed, having regard to decisions in Brussels on the arrangements to be adoped for the completion of the single market.Ruminant Feedstuffs
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to enforce his ban on the inclusion of ruminant derived protein in cattle rations.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 9 March, column 620.
Icelandic Fish
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are taken to monitor the quality of containered and fresh Icelandic fish imported into the United Kingdom ; and to what European Community standards of grading it is subject.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Fresh and chilled fish imported into the United Kingdom is required to be graded in accordance with Council regulation (EEC) No. 103/76 as amended, which lays down common standards covering size and freshness grades for the main species marketed in the Community.
Our sea fisheries inspectorate checks that fresh and chilled Icelandic fish displayed for sale by auction at ports is in accordance with the Community's grading requirements. Also, the local port health authorities separately monitor the quality of fish for public health purposes.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of fish landed and sold at Lowestoft, Hull, Grimsby, Peterhead and Aberdeen for February, March and April has come from Icelandic container vessels.
Mr. Donald Thompson : While sales of Icelandic container fresh and chilled fish are recorded at Hull and Grimsby, where the bulk of such fish is marketed, the percentage figure requested cannot be derived from available information.
Porcine Somatotropin
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he authorised the sale for public consumption of animal products produced with the aid of porcine somatotropin under an experimental licence.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding reply 18 May 1989] : No. It was a condition of the animal test certificate that no treated animals were to be offered for slaughter for human consumption.
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Veterinary Staff
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vacancies there have been at the veterinary officer grade in each service in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding answer 18 May 1989] : The number of vacancies at veterinary officer grade in the Ministry's state veterinary service in each of the last 10 years is :
Number
--------------------
1980 |50 |(9)
1981 |40 |(7)
1982 |37 |(2)
1983 |42 |(-)
1984 |47 |(1)
1985 |61 |(1)
1986 |58 |(3)
<1>1987 |21 |(5)
1988 |21"|(3)
1989 |27"|(7)
Notes:
(a) Figures in
brackets relate to
the veterinary
investigation
service, which is
part of the state
veterinary service.
<1> Agricultural
Development and
Advisory Service
economies and
improvements in
efficiency
announced in 1986
included a
reduction of posts
in the state
veterinary service.
ENVIRONMENT
Sea Pollution
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has issued any guidelines to local authorities in England which border onto the Irish sea concerning the reduction of pollution levels in that sea.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No. The control of most land-based discharges of pollutants entering the sea is the primary responsibility of water authorities in England and Wales.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to ban all dumping at sea of raw sewage and dangerous chemical wastes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : The disposal of waste at sea from ships, other than operational discharges, is licensed by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to take place only where he is satisfied that disposal will not put at risk the marine environment. Similar responsibilities are exercised by the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In the case of industrial waste, following the second North sea conference in London in November 1987, hosted by my right hon. Friend. the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Government's guidance note on implementation of the declaration announced a review of all outstanding licences. Ths review is being carried out jointly by the Fisheries Departments and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to examine whether there are practicable disposal options for the waste on land. So far, 20 approvals for dumping of liquid industrial waste have been reviewed in detail and either withdrawn or the company has indicated a firm intention to terminate. In the case of the remaining 10 approvals, further discussions are now under way into the practicability of disposal on land without causing harm.
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In the case of sewage, licences are granted only for the dumping of sewage sludge, and only in cases where, having considered land-based alternatives, it has been assessed as representing the best practicable environmental option. In line with the ministerial declaration of the second North sea conference, the United Kingdom is implementing restrictions on the loads of persistent toxic substances in sludge to ensure that their total quantities do not exceed the levels discharged in 1987.Child Abuse
Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing, for each local authority in England functioning as a social services authority, the amount by which its rate support grant for the year 1989-90 was increased to take account of its need for resources to cope with the increase in child abuse referrals.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Rate support grant is unhypothecated and provides support for local authority spending on all services. It is not possible to show how much RSG is paid in support of a particular aspect of social services provision. RSG is, however, distributed in accordance with the Government's assessment of individual local authorities' need to spend, including their need to spend on all aspects of social services. Provision for local authority current expenditure on social services for children aged 0 to 17 for 1989-90 is £1,201 million, an increase of £120 million, 11.1 per cent., over provision for 1988-89. In addition, this year the aggregate of Exchequer grant paid to local authorities includes a specific grant of £7 million to support the costs of training social services staff working with children and their families.
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