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Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide references for the passages in the White Paper, "Working for Patients" and associated documents, in which the implications of and safeguards required for primary care or ambulance services if they become self-governing are discussed.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : The White Paper discusses self-governing trusts in terms of hospitals or other units providing care or services for patients. But self-governing status could be practical for a wide range of
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NHS services, and we are considering the implications for particular services in the light of any expressions of interest received.Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) under what conditions he will approve applications from ambulance services to become self-governing ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) under what conditions he will approve applications from primary care services to become self-governing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : We would propose to consider each application on its merits, provided it meets the general criteria outlined in the White Paper.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his timetable for approving or disapproving applications for medical units to become self-governing ;
(2) whether units other than 250 bed hospitals will have their applications to become self-governing approved in time to begin in April 1991.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 June 1989] : We would aim to establish the first NHS hospital trust as soon as possible after the necessary legislation receives Royal Assent, so that they can complete their preparations before April 1991, the earliest sensible time to establish the first self-governing hospitals. We would be prepared to consider a wide variety of units among the first self-governing units.
AIDS
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest assessment of the possible spread of the HIV infection within prisons and after the prisoner is released ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I have been asked to reply.
An informed assessment is not possible on the basis of HIV screening and practice.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment Schemes
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, at the most recently available date, and for the same months in 1986, 1987 and 1988 how many people of YTS eligible age, registered with jobcentres or the careers service were awaiting an offer of a YTS place ; and how many unfilled places on the scheme were available at those dates, broken down for each training agency region and for Great Britain as a whole.
Mr. Cope : The Government guarantee the offer of a suitable YTS place to all under-18-year-olds who want one.
As at 31 May 1989, there were some 141,144 unfilled vacancies on YTS in Great Britain. The numbers for each of the Training Agency regions are as follows :
|Numbers
-----------------------------------------
Scotland |13,770
Northern |8,910
North West |17,822
Yorkshire and Humberside |16,518
West Midlands |24,343
Wales |4,454
East Midlands |16,796
South West |11,500
South East |18,267
London |8,764
These figures far exceed the demand for places. Young people have a good choice of training opportunities. It is not possible to compare the current situation with that in previous years when the YTS guarantee was of the offer of a suitable place by Christmas to any of that year's school leavers who were unemployed.
Departmental Expenditure Plans
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much the change in the expenditure plans for his Department for 1989-90 from the 1988-89 estimated outturn will be (a) in percentage terms and (b) after adjustment for the gross domestic product deflator.
Mr. Cope : The 1988-89 estimated outturn for my Department is 2.8 per cent. lower than the 1987-88 outturn. After adjustment for the gross domestic product deflator, the 1988-89 estimated outturn is £289 million (8.5 per cent.) lower than the 1987-88 outturn.
Rehabilitation Centres
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the total numbers of people who completed courses at employment rehabilitation centres in each of the last five years for which figures are available ; and what percentage in each year subsequently (a) obtained employment or (b) entered a course of training.
Mr. Nicholls : The total number of people who completed courses with the employment rehabilitation service in each of the last five years was as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1984-85 |12,000
1985-86 |13,440
1986-87 |14,790
1987-88 |16,000
1988-89 |26,000
The percentage in each year who either obtained employment or entered a course of training was as follows :
|Employment/Community|Training/YTS
|Programme
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |29 |9
1985-86 |34 |10
1986-87 |39 |10
1987-88 |41 |10
1988-89<1> |40 |17
<1> 1 April-31 August 1988 only.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average length of attendance at employment rehabilitation centres in each of the last five years ; and what was the average per capita cost to his Department.
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Mr. Nicholls : The average length of attendance on courses run by the employment rehabilitation service in each of the last five years and the average per capita cost to the Department was as follows :
|Average length of |Average per capita cost
|attendance
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|£
1984-85 |35 days |2,287
1985-86 |32 days |2,214
1986-87 |32 days |2,332
1987-88 |30 days |1,250
1988-89<1> |17 days |<2>886
<1> 1 April-31 August 1988 only
<2> Provisional figure.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total expenditure on employment rehabilitation centres in each of the last five years for which figures are available ; and what percentage in each year was received in grants from the European social fund.
Mr. Nicholls : As far as expenditure figures for the employment rehabilitation service are concerned I refer to the reply given to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing) on Wednesday 24 May 1989 at column 576.
European social fund claims made in report of the employment rehabilitation service resulted in the following grants to HM Government :
|£
------------------------------
1984 |6,144,397
1985 |8,358,625
1986 |2,710,925
1987 |3,193,687
1988 |2,667,794
Disabled People
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what outcome measures of rehabilitation are used by his Department to assess the effectiveness of the employment services for people with disabilities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : The outcome measures used to assess the effectiveness of the employment rehabilitation service are as follows :
(i) Total number of courses ;
(ii) Total number of clients attending courses ;
(iii) Clients with disabilities expressed as a percentage of the total client group ;
(iv) The percentage of clients who proceed to rehabilitation following an assessment course ;
(v) Average cost per disabled client ;
(vi) Average cost per week per disabled client ;
(vii) Average resettlement rate into employment or training ; (
(viii) Average cost per disabled client resettled into employment or training.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many job vacancies in information technology industries were registered in the Bristol travel-to-work area at the latest available date, and two years earlier.
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Mr. Nicholls : The information is not available.
Benefit Entitlement
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons have been disentitled from receiving unemployment benefit where they have been deemed to be unemployed without just cause since October 1988 (a) in England and Wales, and (b) in unemployment benefit offices in Hackney ; and, in each case, if he will state the percentage of cases of which decisions were taken by adjudicating officers to suspend benefit for less than the maximum 26 weeks.
Mr. Nicholls : Information is not available in the precise form requested.
Figures on the number of persons disqualified for leaving their employment voluntarily without just cause in the unemployment benefit offices in Hackney are not collected separately, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information requested on the percentage of claimants disqualified for less than the statutory period of 26 weeks is not collected. However, the Department of Social Security has undertaken a survey to establish the proportion of claims which are disqualified for the maximum period. The results are at present being analysed and will be published shortly.
The number of claimants disqualified from receiving unemployment benefit because they left employment voluntarily without just cause for the period 1 July 1988 to 31 March 1989 in England and Wales was 156,683.
Skills Training Agency
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how he intends to finance the expenditure in connection with the privatisation of the Skills Training Agency.
Mr. Cope : The expenses will be covered by receipts from the sale. Parliamentary approval for the new service will be sought in a new token Supply Estimate (Class VII, Vote 5) for the privatisation of the Skills Training Agency, to be presented in the Summer Supplementary Estimates round, seeking provision for preliminary expenses and token provision for the main expenses. Later in the year
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parliamentary approval will be sought for the substantive provision for the main expenses of the sale. Pending the necessary approval urgent expenditure on fees for professional advice, the first tranche of which is estimated to be £250,000, will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.Mental Handicap (Vocational Training)
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the first European national conference for vocational training for mental handicap in Maastricht, in April ; what official representation attended the conference from the United Kingdom ; and if he will place in the Library any papers resulting from the conference.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 12 June 1989] : The United Kingdom Government were not invited to send representatives. I understand that two officials from the Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development attended, though not in an official capacity.
Claimants
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if benefit officers or staff, including fraud officers and claimant advisers, have targets for numbers of claimants who cease to claim or are removed from benefit.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 13 June 1989] : No.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Level Crossings
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths and injuries there have been at level crossings, by type of crossing, in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years ; whether there are any limits on the speed of trains at each such type of level crossing ; and how many of the incidents in each year resulting in death and injury involved collision with road vehicles.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is as follows :
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Type of Crossing
Year Total numAHB of accidents AOCL Controlled
|Deaths |Injuries|Deaths |Injuries|Deaths
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |1 |- |1 |- |- |-
1985 |2 |- |- |- |4 |-
1986 |1 |- |- |- |- |2
1987 |3 |- |- |3 |1 |-
1988 |- |- |- |- |- |-
1989 |2 |- |- |1 |3 |-
AOCL = Automatic open crossing locally monitored
AHB = Automatic half-barrier
All these accidents resulted from collision with road vehicles. In all cases the speed of trains was limited. The limit varies according to local conditions.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is satisfied with the integration of vocational rehabilitation with both the structure and
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administration of social security in Northern Ireland ; what action he is taking to improve co-ordination ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 June 1989] : The Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Economic Development have agreed arrangements whereby people receiving social security
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benefits may participate in a rehabilitation programme and continue to receive benefit for a period of up to four weeks. If at the end of this initial period a person is considered suitable for full-time training, payment of benefit ceases and is replaced by a training allowance, payable at the rate of the previous benefit plus a premium of £10 a week. On completion of training, payment of benefit will resume if the normal conditions are still satisfied. The rules governing people's entitlement both during and after training will continue as at present.The need for informal co-ordination between Departments in providing help for the disabled will be examined as part of the Government's consideration of the results of the current survey of the disabled in Northern Ireland.
Glen House
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which adjoining property owners have been formally notified of the planning application No. 0339 to develop lands at Glen house, Mountain road -Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 June 1989] : The following occupiers were neighbour notified in relation to planning application No. 0339--Nos 3, 5, 7 and 9 Mountain road and No. 41 Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which adjoining property owners have been formally notified of the planning application No. 0340 to develop lands at Glen house, Mountain Road -Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 June 1989] : The following occupiers were neighbour notified in relation to planning application No. 0340--Nos. 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 41, 43, 45, 47 and 49 Mountain road, Newtownards. The occupiers of Nos. 41 and 49 Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards should also have been notified but, due to an oversight, they were not. However, both these occupiers contacted the Department of Environment (Northern Ireland) about the proposed development and were obviously aware of it despite the lack of neighbour notifications.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which adjoining property owners have been formally notified of the planning application No. 0336 to develop lands at Glen house, Mountain road -Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 13 June 1989] : The following occupiers were neighbour notified in relation to planning application No. 0336--Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 Mountain road, and No. 55 Crawfordsburn road, Newtownards.
SCOTLAND
Severe Weather Payments
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will detail the total monies so far paid out, to individuals and local authorities, respectively, as a result of the severe weather conditions earlier in the current year ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 27 April details of the special financial assistance being made available, and invited claims from local authorities and those eligible for the higher rates of agricultural grants which were announced at the same time. To date, my officials have held discussions with several local authorities about the possibility of assistance, and a number of inquiries about agricultural grants have been made by persons affected by the severe weather in February. To date, however, no claims under these measures have been received, and therefore no payments have been made.
Health Screening
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his Department's current priorities for screening in health care in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Current priorities are the establishment of systematic programmes to screen women aged between 20 and 60 at five-yearly intervals for cervical cancer and women aged between 50 and 64 at three- yearly intervals for breast cancer. Computerised call and recall systems will enable health boards to invite all women in the eligible age groups to attend for a cervical smear test by December 1993 and for a breast screening test by March 1994. In addition, screening of all pregnant women is carried out for the purpose of detecting fetal abnormalities. Following birth, children are screened for inherited or developmental conditions and this is continued throughout the school years. Since 1 December 1988 screening for HIV infection has been available for all women attending ante -natal clinics in Edinburgh and Dundee.
Publicity Campaigns
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all current publicity campaigns being conducted by or for his Department or campaigns planned for the first three months of 1989-90, indicating those which involve television advertising and the starting and finishing dates of each campaign.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 19 April 1989] : My Department was conducting publicity campaigns on school boards and the community charge during April. They were scheduled to run from 9 April to 6 May and from 3 to 28 April respectively. Both involved television advertising. A campaign for road safety was shown on television from 6 March to 8 April.
Planning of publicity campaigns for the whole of the first three months of 1989-90 is not yet complete.
New Towns
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the findings of the surveys carried out in the Scottish new towns on the question of the residents views on the disposal of the development corporations housing stock ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 13 June 1989] : This matter will be covered in the forthcoming White Paper on the Scottish new towns.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Plessey plc
Mr. Thorne : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how, in the event that GEC/Siemens acquire the Plessey company, he proposes to ensure continued competitive solutions in the research and development field.
Mr. Maude : In its report on the proposed acquitition of Plessey by GEC Siemens, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission concluded that the effect of the proposed acquisition on research and development would not operate against the public interest. In accordance with the Commission's recommendations, however, my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to seek undertakings, amongst others, that would satisfy United Kingdom national security requirements as to the ownership and management of defence, research and development and semiconductor activities. Negotiations on undertakings continue.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how, in the event that GEC/Siemens acquire the Plessey company, he plans to ensure that Plessey radar and Plessey defence systems can compete equally with GEC companies.
Mr. Maude : Following publication of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the proposed acquisition of Plessey by GEC Siemens, my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has made it clear that the proposed acquisition should not proceed until satisfactory undertakings have been obtained from GEC and Siemens, including undertakings from GEC that GEC should not acquire any interest in or influence or control over the management of the Plessey radar and defence systems businesses. Negotiations on undertakings continue.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what measures are being taken to safeguard the position of Britain's base of enabling technology in semiconductors in the event that GEC/Siemens succeed in taking over Plessey ;
(2) what measures are being taken to safeguard the position of the United Kingdom as the European leader in application specific integrated circuits in the event that GEC/Siemens succeed in taking over Plessey.
Mr. Maude : In its report on the proposed acquisition of Plessey by GEC Siemens, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission concluded that the effect of the proposed acquisition on electronic components would not operate against the public interest. In accordance with the Commission's recommendations, however, my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to seek undertakings, amongst others, that would satisfy United Kingdom national security requirements as to the ownership and management of defence, research and development and semiconductor activities. Negotiations on undertakings continue.
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Open for Business"
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response there has been to his Department's European "Open for Business" campaign.
Mr. Maude : The response has been huge. Our weekly survey indicates that 90 per cent. of business throughout the country is now aware of the single market and around 50 per cent. is taking action or considering steps to prepare for it. DTI has received over 230,000 requests for information on the single market since the campaign was launched in March 1988, including over 132,000 calls to our 1992 hotline. In addition, DTI Ministers and officials have spoken at more than 1,000 single market conferences since the campaign began and are committed to over 130 other single market engagements during the remainder of this year.
Imports (Consumer Goods)
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of the 1987-88 imports figure was accounted for by consumer goods ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Clark : Consumer goods (1) accounted for 18 per cent. of United Kingdom imports on an overseas trade statistics basis in each of the years 1987 and 1988.
(1) Part of SITC 7 and 8, based on the United Nations broad economic categories.
Refrigeration Industry
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with representatives of the refrigeration industry about the effects of restrictions on CFC consumption ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry held a meeting with my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East and a delegation from the industry on 7 June. Additionally, officials have had a number of meetings with the industry during the last two years to discuss the implications of the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, which control the use of chlorofluorocarbons used by the refrigeration, air conditioning and other industries ; the extent to which savings in the use of these substances may be made ; and the forseeable effects of a strengthened protocol.
Financial Services Act
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many responses he received to the consultative document, "Possible Changes to the Financial Services Act 1986", published on 1 March ; how many respondents supported the proposals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : My Department received responses to the consultation document entitled "Possible Changes to the Financial Services Act 1986" from 67 organisations, companies and individuals. The document invited comments on a number of possibilities, not all of which were related, and many of the responses were also wide-ranging. It would not therefore be meaningful to analyse them in the way requested.
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Eastern Europe
Mr. Stern : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to what extent trade with eastern Europe, excluding the USSR, has increased in the last 10 years.
Mr. Alan Clark : United Kingdom trade with eastern Europe, excluding the USSR, is given in the following table :
United Kingdom trade with eastern
Europe excluding USSR
1979 to 1988
Value in £ million
|Imports|Exports|Balance
----------------------------------------
1979 |563.7 |549.6 |-14.1
1980 |492.5 |673.4 |+180.9
1981 |398.3 |600.1 |+201.8
1982 |484.3 |510.2 |+25.9
1983 |571.4 |503.8 |-67.6
1984 |902.8 |572.8 |-330.0
1985 |851.7 |649.4 |-202.3
1986 |827.4 |626.2 |-201.2
1987 |825.5 |625.3 |-200.2
1988 |859.3 |683.9 |-175.4
Source: Table 1B of the Overseas Trade
Statistics.
Notes: 1. Figures for 1988 are
provisional.
2. Imports valued at cif, exports fob.
Paperless Share Transactions
Mr. Charles Wardle : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will state the Government's intentions for facilitating paperless transactions and holdings in shares.
Mr. Maude : I announced on 1 December at column 369 that I was considering proposing changes to the law that would, if both the company and the shareholder wished, enable shares to be held on computer, without certificates, and to be transferred without the need for paper transfer forms. This process, sometimes referred to as dematerialisation, is important for London's leading position as an international trading market. Paperless schemes will also offer important benefits for wider share ownership by providing a more efficient service to investors.
I issued a consultative document on the proposed changes and I am grateful to all those individuals and organisations who responded. It is essential that any schemes finally developed meet the legitimate needs of all potential users and I welcome the progress made by the international stock exchange as a result of its recent and continuing consultations.
The moves towards paperless trading are intended to reduce transaction risks and costs. In considering possible changes to legislation it is essential to strike the right balance between the interests of shareholders, of companies and of the financial institutions. I have also borne in mind that schemes will develop over time and that competitors may emerge with different approaches from the nominee-based scheme currently being considered by the stock exchange. Against this background it is clearly important that the framework should be flexible.
I hope to bring forward proposals in the form of amendments to the Companies Bill. These will be intended to ensure that the move towards paperless trading does not alter significantly the effect in practice of current company, investor protection and insolvency law. In order to achieve this the Secretary of State would be empowered to make regulations, subject to affirmative resolution, which would
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