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Security Guards
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will propose a code of practice for employers of security guards.
Mr. Nicholls : No. However, I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home
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Department has asked officials to consider with the police and the private security industry ways in which self- regulation of the industry might be improved.Service Industries
Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed in service industries including tourism in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nicholls : In December 1988, the latest date for which estimates are available, there were 15,661,000 employees in employment in the service industries including tourism in the United Kingdom.
Tourism-related Projects (Jobs)
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new jobs were created in tourism-related development projects in the inner cities of England and Wales in the years 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Nicholls : This information is not available.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new jobs were created in tourism-related development projects in north-west England in the years 1977, 1978, 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Nicholls : This information is not available. The number of hotel and catering employees in employment in the north west in each of the years requested is shown in the following table.
Employees in employment in
Hotels and Catering
North West England
|thousands
------------------------------
June 1977 |96
June 1978 |97
June 1987 |133
June 1988 |140
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new jobs were created in tourism-related development projects in rural areas of England and Wales in the years 1977, 1978, 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Nicholls : This information is not available.
Tourist Attractions
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the top 20 tourist attractions in numbers of tourists attending or visiting in England and Wales.
Mr. Nicholls : The following table gives the information :
Top twenty tourist attractions in England and Wales in 1988 --------------------------------------------------- 1 Blackpool Pleasure Beach |<1>6.50 2 British Museum, London |<1>3.84 3 Albert Dock, Liverpool |<1>3.50 4 Westminster Abbey, London |<1>3.25 5 National Gallery, London |<1>3.23 6 Madame Tussaud's, London |2.70 7 Alton Towers, Staffs. |2.51 8 St. Pauls Cathedral, London |<1>2.50 9 Science Museum, London |<1>2.44 10 Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth |<1>2.25 11 Tower of London |2.18 12 Canterbury Cathedral |<1>2.13 13 York Minster |<1>2.10 14 Tate Gallery, London |<1>1.58 15 Pleasureland, Southport |<1>1.50 16 Blackpool Tower |1.48 17 Natural History Museum, London |1.37 18 London Zoo |1.33 19 Bradgate Park, Leicestershire |<1>1.20 20 Kew Gardens |1.18 <1> Free admission (visitor numbers estimated). Sources: Visits to Tourist Attractions in 1988 (British Tourist Authority). English Heritage Monitor (English Tourist Board).
Tourism
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the earnings for England from tourism in 1987, 1988, 1977 and 1978.
Mr. Nicholls : The available information relates to expenditure by international and domestic visitors staying at least one night in England. Figures for expenditure by United Kingdom residents on day-trips within England are not available.
Expenditure by tourists in England at current prices
£ millions
|British residents<1> |Overseas residents<2>|Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1977 |2,000 |2,120 |4,120
1978 |2,400 |2,250 |4,650
1987 |<3>5,550 |5,645 |<3>11,195
1988 |<3>6,275 |5,495 |<3>11,770
<1> British Tourist Authority
<2> International Passenger Survey
<3> From 1984, an improved method of estimation was introduced, therefore, figures after 1984 are not
strictly comparable with earlier years.
English Tourist Board
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what Government grants were made to the English tourist board in the years 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Nicholls : Payments made by my Department to the English tourist board were as follows :
Financial year |Grant-in-Aid |Section 4 |Total
|£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |10,764,000 |9,500,413 |20,264,413
1987-88 |11,435,000 |12,000,000 |23,435,000
1988-89 |12,576,100 |13,200,000 |25,776,000
Labour Statistics
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the number of people in employment in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nicholls : Between March 1983 and December 1988 the work force in employment in the United Kingdom
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increased by 2,951,000 to 26,513,000, the highest level on record. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years. The figures have been adjusted for the effects of seasonal variations. The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self employed, Her Majesty's Forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes.Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the percentage of (a) people of working age, (b) men of
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working age, and (c) women of working age, who are(1) economically active, (2) in employment, (3) in full-time employment and (4) in part-time employment for the latest available year in each of the European Community's member states.Mr. Nicholls : International sources do not differentiate full-time workers from part-time. The latest information which is readily available relates to 1986 (except where otherwise stated), and is as follows :
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Percentage of those
aged 15 to 64
In the labour force In employment
|People|Men |Women |People|Men |Women
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |63 |75 |51 |56 |69 |43
Denmark |83 |88 |76 |78 |85 |71
Federal Republic of Germany<1> |65 |80 |50 |60 |74 |46
Greece<1> |60 |78 |42 |55 |73 |37
Spain |56 |78 |34 |44 |63 |25
France |66 |76 |55 |59 |70 |48
Ireland |61 |85 |37 |51 |69 |32
Italy |61 |79 |42 |54 |74 |35
Luxembourg |65 |86 |44 |64 |85 |43
Netherlands |58 |75 |41 |52 |68 |36
Portugal |71 |86 |56 |65 |81 |50
United Kingdom |75 |89 |62 |66 |77 |56
<1> 1985 figures.
Sources:
United Kingdom: Department of Employment.
Other countries: OECD Labour Force Statistics 1966 to 1986.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Credit
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of families now in receipt of family credit living in areas covered by (a) the Corby Department of Social Security office and (b) Wellingborough.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest information relates to the beginning of April 1989. At that time the number of families receiving family credit who, at the time their award was made, were living in the areas covered by the two local Social Security offices was as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------
Corby |462
Wellingborough |836
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in each of the past five years for which figures are available (a) how many people have been receiving attendance allowance, (b) how many were awarded the attendance allowance in that year and (c) how many lost the allowance because of death or recovery.
Mr. Scott : Reliable information about the termination of attendance allowance awards is not available. The information which is available is as follows :
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Attendance allowance: Estimated number of allowances in payment
and number of awards made 1984-88
Year |Estimated number of |Number of awards made
|allowances in payment at
|31 March
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |470,000 |181,770
1985 |544,000 |184,599
1986 |585,000 |174,064
1987 |641,000 |208,693
1988 |713,000 |207,853
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost of reducing the qualifying period for the attendance allowance from six to three months.
Mr. Scott : About £110 million in a full year.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he is satisfied with the integration of vocational rehabilitation with both the structure and administration of social security ; what action he is taking to improve co-ordination ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he is satisfied with the integration of vocational rehabilitation with both the structure and administration of social security in Wales ; what action he is taking to improve co-ordination ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he is satisfied with the integration of vocational rehabilitation with both the structure and administration of social security in Scotland ; what action he is taking to improve co-ordination ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : As the right hon. Member is aware, the benefits provided for disabled people by this Department are currently subject to review. As part of this process, we and the Department of Employment will consider the relation between the two Departments' provisions.
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I understand that the right hon. Member's question has been prompted by a recent report in The Observer alleging plans to withdraw benefits from disabled people completing employment training (ET). I am glad to have this opportunity to say that these allegations are completely without foundation. The rules which govern disabled people's entitlement both during and after ET will continue as they have been from the beginning of the programme. People entering ET will be paid in training allowance at the rate of their previous benefits with an additional premium of £10 per week and, if they still fulfil the entitlement criteria for those benefits on completion of training, will be able to resume payment thereafter.Personal Pensions
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have taken out a personal pension since July 1988.
Mr. Scott : Just over 3 million people.
Child Benefit (Prisoners)
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if child benefit is paid to mothers serving prison sentences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : Child benefit can be paid to mothers in custody who have a child living with them in prison. Child benefit is intended to help people responsible for bringing up children. A mother who is looking after her child in prison has a significant responsibility for its welfare.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of ceasing to treat (a) child benefit and (b) one parent benefit as a resource for income support, assuming unemployment levels of (a) 1,000,000, (b) 1,250,000, (c) 1,500,000, (d) 1,750,000 and (e) 2,000,000.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 9 June 1989] : Using the May 1987 annual statistical enquiry, which is the latest statistical data available, and the level of unemployment (2.86 million) existing at that time, the annual cost of disregarding child benefit and one parent benefit in income support would be £870 million and £160 million respectively at the current rates in payment. It is not possible to estimate the costs for the requested unemployment levels because the number of families entitled to these benefits and their composition do not alter in proportion to the changes in the number of unemployed people.
HEALTH
Self-Governing Status
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussion has taken place regarding the proposal for the Wakefield health authority's mental health unit to have self-governing status ; and when ;
(2) what he regards as constituting an expression of interest in self- governing status for hospitals and National Health Service units ;
(3) what response has been received from (a) Wakefield community health council, (b) Wakefield branch of MIND, (c) Wakefield branch of MENCAP, (d) West
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Yorkshire branch of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship and (e) Wakefield family practitioner committee to the proposal for Wakefield health authority's mental health unit to have self-governing status. (4) who has been consulted regarding the proposal for Wakefield health authority's mental health unit to have self-governing status.Mr. Mellor : Expressions of interest in self-governing status are no more than that. These range from detailed proposals to brief letters registering interest. It would be unrealistic to require consultation at this stage, before people have enough information to make an informed decision. Those with an interest will have an opportunity to express their views at a later stage if those expressing interest decide to proceed with an application.
Hazel Court School, Eastbourne
Mr. Gow : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the responsibilities of the Eastbourne health authority to provide speech therapy and physiotherapy for the children who need those services at Hazel Court school, Eastbourne, being a school owned by the East Sussex county council.
Mr. Freeman : Eastbourne health authority has a general responsibility to provide speech therapy and physiotherapy services for its resident population. It is for the authority itself to decide what resources within the total available for speech therapy and physiotherapy services to devote to providing services for children at Hazel Court school.
Hospital Building Projects
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in the Official Report the cost and names of all the hospital building projects costing in excess of £500,000 which are being built or have been completed since 1979.
Mr. Freeman : Information held centrally on health building schemes, each costing over £1 million, in England shows that 401 have been completed since 1 January 1979 and that a further 144 are under construction. In view of the length of the lists, I have arranged for the information to be placed in the Library. Information is not held centrally on schemes costing less than £1 million.
Nursing Homes
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent by district health authorities on inspection of registered nursing homes in each of the last five years ;
(2) how much was received in nursing home registration fees by district health authorities in each of the past five years.
Mr. Mellor : The total income from fees recorded in the annual accounts of health authorities in England for the registration and inspection of private nursing homes and private hospitals since 1984-85 was as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1984-85 |0.24
1985-86 |0.52
1986-87 |1.39
1987-88 |1.97
Fees are set at a level which covers the full costs incurred in providing this service. Figures for earlier years are not available and provisional ones for 1988-89 will not be available until the autumn.
Asthma
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, under the new Health Service proposals, sufferers from a stoma will continue to receive free prescriptions.
Guy's Evelina Children's Hospital Appeal
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the contribution made by the Guy's Evelina children's hospital appeal to sponsor a cot to supporting cots in that unit.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : This appeal has been running since 1983 and helps to support additional nurses for the unit's intensive care cots which are always in great demand because of its high reputation. Contrary to recent misleading publicity, Guy's hospital management board has stated that there is no financial crisis in the allocation of National Health Service resources to the unit. The Government fully appreciate, however, the contributions made by individuals and organisations to the support of additional health facilities.
Mental Disorder
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many persons from which countries of origin, have been refused leave to enter the United Kingdom on the grounds of mental disorder in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Renton : I have been asked to reply.
The available information is given in the following table.
Passengers who were refused leave to enter and removed from the
United Kingdom at a port of entry because of a mental disorder by
nationality
Geographical region aNumber
Nationality
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe
Austria |3 |3 |- |1 |-
Belgium |3 |- |2 |5 |7
Cyprus |- |- |1 |- |-
Denmark |5 |3 |3 |1 |-
Finland |2 |- |- |1 |1
France |12 |9 |9 |13 |12
GDR |1 |3 |1 |- |-
German Federal
Republic |12 |7 |6 |10 |11
Greece |1 |2 |2 |- |3
Italy |2 |4 |10 |5 |4
Netherlands |6 |11 |18 |12 |6
Norway |1 |2 |2 |3 |2
Poland |- |1 |- |- |-
Portugal |1 |1 |- |1 |1
Spain |9 |4 |6 |1 |2
Sweden |7 |4 |3 |3 |5
Switzerland |1 |1 |5 |4 |5
Yugoslavia |- |2 |- |1 |-
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |66 |57 |68 |61 |57
Americas
Argentina |1 |- |- |- |-
Brazil |1 |- |1 |- |-
Canada |2 |3 |5 |6 |8
Chile |- |1 |- |- |-
Jamaica |- |- |2 |- |3
Trinidad & Tobago |- |1 |- |- |-
USA |31 |36 |39 |43 |51
Uruguay |- |- |- |- |1
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |35 |41 |47 |49 |63
Africa
Algeria |- |- |- |1 |-
Ghana |1 |1 |3 |1 |-
Kenya |- |- |- |1 |-
Mauritius |- |1 |- |- |-
Morocco |- |1 |- |2 |-
Nigeria |1 |1 |3 |1 |-
Sierra Leone |1 |- |- |- |-
South Africa |1 |1 |1 |1
Sudan |- |1 |- |- |-
Tunisia |- |1 |- |- |-
Uganda |- |- |- |- |1
Zimbabwe |- |- |- |1 |-
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
|3 |7 |7 |8 |2
Asia
Bangladesh |- |1 |1 |2 |-
Hong Kong |- |- |- |1 |1
India |3 |2 |1 |- |-
Israel |- |- |2 |2 |-
Japan |1 |- |2 |- |2
Lebanon |- |1 |- |- |-
Malaysia |1 |1 |1 |- |-
Pakistan |2 |2 |- |- |-
Philippines |- |- |- |- |1
Saudi Arabia |1 |- |- |- |-
Syria |- |1 |- |- |-
Turkey |1 |1 |- |- |-
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
|9 |9 |7 |5 |4
Australasia
Australia |1 |3 |3 |1 |1
New Zealand |- |- |- |5 |1
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
|1 |3 |3 |6 |2
Others
UKPH |- |1 |- |- |-
Other countries not
elsewhere
specified |4 |- |5 |2 |1
Stateless |5 |7 |6 |5 |6
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
All Nationalities |123 |125 |143 |136 |135
Cystic Fibrosis
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that all cystic fibrosis units in hospitals are retained if individual hospitals decide to opt out.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific response he has given to the Association of Cystic Fibrosis Adults regarding the impact of the proposals in his White Paper "Working for Patients" on the care of cystic fibrosis patients.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if a self-governing hospital which provides a specialist
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service to cystic fibrosis patients will be allowed to discontinue the service solely on the grounds that the service is unprofitable ; (2) if district authorities will be given special dispensation to enable them to refer cystic fibrosis patients to specialist centres for treatment without having regard to cost or contractual arrangements ;(3) what estimate he has made of the future of specialist hospital centres which currently provide a service to cystic fibrosis patients under the new system of acute care proposed in the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : A detailed response will be sent to the letter from the Association of Cystic Fibrosis Adults which has only just been received.
Following the implementation of "Working for Patients", cystic fibrosis adults can expect to continue to receive a high quality service. The responsibility for ensuring that a comprehensive range of services is available will remain with the district health authority. The needs of patients requiring unusually expensive medicines or treatments will be taken fully into account when contracts are being placed and when prescribing budgets are being assigned to GP practices.
Every patient will receive the treatment and drugs he or she needs.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on treatment of cystic fibrosis patients on long-term drug therapy of the general practitioner budget arrangements proposed in the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : Every cystic fibrosis patient will continue to get all the drugs and treatment they require.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to ensure that cystic fibrosis patients will not be refused admission to a general practitioner's list solely because of the potentially high cost of treating the disease under the new general practitioner system of indicative budgets proposed in the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : The scheme will be structured to take full account of the fact that some patients, such as those with cystic fibrosis, may need potentially high cost treatment. Indicative prescribing budgets will fully reflect these costs and there will be no disincentive to GPs to accept such patients on their lists.
Medical Education and Research
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will detail the specific ways in which the Government intend to (a) maintain and (b) help to further improve the quality of medical education and research.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : Paragraph 4.30 of "Working for Patients" affirmed the Government's commitment to maintaining the quality of education and research and recognised the special needs in this area. The steering group on undergraduate medical and dental education, whose interim report was published on 6 June will consider how the current arrangements can best be improved to ensure that the policies and programmes of the bodies concerned are properly co-ordinated and
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managed ; and make recommendations. The group has already made recommendations, which we have endorsed, on support for the higher service costs associated with teaching.Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all the institutions and experts which he consulted about the medical education and research aspects of the White Paper "Working for Patients".
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : We have received representations from various groups including the Committee on Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), the Joint Medical Advisory Committee (JMAC) and the Joint Committee of Metropolitan and Provincial Deans (JCMPD), which represents the deans of United Kingdom medical schools and clinical facilities. These
representations were primarily about education. In addition we have received representations on research from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Association of Medical Research Charities and other interested parties. All of these bodies have welcomed the commitment in "Working for Patients" to maintaining the quality of medical education and research.
Nurses (Examinations)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to introduce the UKCC recommended rule change to allow nurses entered on the roll, or the relevant second level part of the UKCC register, as a result of failing their first level exams the maximum permitted number of times, a further three attempts at passing.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : Work on the statutory instrument to introduce this change is in hand and the new rule will be in operation in the near future.
NHS Reform
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by family practitioner committee area the numbers of doctors' practices that are eligible to become practice budget holders under the conditions described in "Working for Patients."
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms. Harman) on 4 April at column 93. In addition, as working paper No. 3 makes clear, practices may group together in order to opt for practice budgets.
Childhood Cancers
Mr. Woodcock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to encourage work on early detection of childhood cancers and, in particular, the type called neuroblastoma.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 12 June 1989] : The Department provides research funds to the Childhood Cancer Research group, which maintains a national registry of childhood tumours and carries out studies of the causes and treatment of childhood cancers. The Department also supports the cancer screening evaluation unit, which provides advice on existing and possible future schemes of screening for cancer, including neuroblastoma.
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Pharmacies
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the reasons for a decision on the location of a pharmacy are (a) made public by the rural dispensing committee and (b) usually made available to interested parties.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : Regulations require the rural dispensing committee (RDC) to give written notice of such decisions to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State, the applicant, the family practitioner committees concerned, the local medical and pharmaceutical committees for the areas of those committees and to any other person who has submitted written or oral evidence to the RDC.
Disabled People
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to take full account of the urgent resource implications of the fourth report of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, "Disabled Adults : Services, Transport and Employment", in formulating the Government's response to the Griffiths report on community care ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : We are pleased to have available the wealth of information on the circumstances of disabled people provided by the four reports published to date from the OPCS surveys of disability. We will take careful account of their findings in drawing up our proposals on community care and in our consideration of other policies for disabled people.
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that, under the new Health Service proposals, the present range and quality of ostomy appliances will be maintained.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Weapons
3. Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether more United States or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nuclear- capable forces are proposed to be based in the United Kingdom.
51. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether more United States or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nuclear-capable forces are proposed to be based in the United Kingdom.
72. Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether more United States or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nuclear- capable forces are proposed to be based in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : NATO allies are still considering a number of options for adjusting remaining nuclear forces following the INF agreement. Amongst these options is the possible deployment to Europe, including the United Kingdom, of additional longer-range dual-capable aircraft from the United States. However, no decision have yet been taken.
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24. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals have been made for additional nuclear weapons to be based in the United Kingdom.
37. Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals have been made for additional nuclear weapons to be based in the United Kingdom.
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