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Region |Number of posts covered|Total cost (including |on-costs) |£ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yorkshire |190 |146,926 Trent |333 |267,374 East Anglia |998 |651,077 North West Thames |1,621 |1,091,058 North East Thames |62 |38,530 South East Thames |1,219 |959,239 South West Thames |2,067 |1,077,027 Oxford |272 |213,873 West Midlands |324 |188,994 North Western |78 |64,935 |------- |------- Total |7,164 |4,699,033
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases were on the inpatient waiting list in the Mersey regional health authority at the latest available date.
Mr. Mellor : On 30 September 1988, there were 32,121 such cases.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services have been contracted out within the Mersey regional health authority to date ; and what savings have been made or are expected from such contracting-out.
Mr. Freeman : This information is not collected centrally in the form requested. As a result of the Government's 1983 competitive tendering initiative for domestic, catering and laundry services annual savings of almost £6 million have been generated in the Mersey region with around £1 million resulting from contracts awarded to outside contractors. This tendering process is being extended within the region, to varying degrees, to portering services, grounds and gardens, building, engineering and equipment maintenance, energy management, waste disposal and computer information services, with outside contractors winning some contracts or otherwise stimulating improvements in in-house services. For more detailed information my hon. Friend may wish to contact the chairman of the regional health authority.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many capital schemes of over £1 million (a) have been completed and (b) are under construction in the National Health Service Mersey region since 1979.
Mr. Freeman : Information held centrally shows that 22 schemes over £1 million have been completed in the National Health Service Mersey region since 1 January 1979, for a total expenditure, including fees and equipment of approximately £140 million, and one is under construction.
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Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage bed occupancy was in (a) the Mersey regional health authority and (b) England in the latest available year.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is given in the table. The health services information steering group (chaired by Mrs. E. Korner) recommended in its first report that bed occupancy statistics no longer be used as an indicator of efficient bed use.
Average daily available beds and occupied beds, 1987-88 |Available beds |Occupied beds |Percentage occupancy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- England |297,342 |240,000<1> |81 Mersey regional health authority |16,653 |13,820 |83 <1> Estimate
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of health expenditure in the Mersey region, expressed per household in (a) 1978-79 and (b) the latest available year in (i) cash terms and (ii) terms adjusted for inflation.
Mr. Freeman : Expenditure by household for individual regional health authorities is not available centrally. My hon. Friend may therefore wish to write to the chairman of Mersey regional health authority who may be able to provide information.
My hon. Friend may however find the following centrally available information of help. Per capita expenditure by Mersey regional health authority on hospital and community health services in1978-79 = £91.34 million.
The comparable figure for 1987-88 (latest year available) = £229.77 million in cash terms and (ii) £112.47 million expressed by 1978-79 values (a real terms increase of 23 per cent.).
These figures exclude expenditure on the family practitioner services in the Mersey region.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the neonatal and perinatal mortality rates are for each of the last five years for which figures are available in the United Kingdom ; and what are the comparable figures for the other individual member states of the European Economic Community.
Mr. Freeman : The tables give the latest available data from the Statistical Office of the European Community's "Eurostat" volume 1988 and the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' "Population Trends No. 56."
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Perinatal<1> and neonatal<2> mortality rates, European Economic Community countries 1982-88 Country |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perinatal Belgium |12.6 |12.2 |11.3 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a Denmark |8.7 |9.0 |8.4 |8.1 |8.4 |n/a |n/a France |12.1 |11.4 |11.1 |10.7 |10.4 |n/a |n/a Greece |16.8 |16.5 |16.6 |15.7 |n/a |n/a |n/a Ireland |13.5 |13.7 |13.6 |12.3 |n/a |n/a |n/a Italy |16.0 |15.2 |<3>14.5|<3>13.2|<3>12.8|n/a |n/a Luxembourg |12.0 |10.7 |8.8 |7.8 |7.2 |n/a |n/a Netherlands |10.0 |10.1 |10.0 |9.8 |9.7 |n/a |n/a Portugal |23.8 |21.4 |21.0 |21.6 |19.9 |n/a |n/a Spain |12.9 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a West Germany |9.6 |9.3 |8.6 |7.9 |7.6 |n/a |n/a United Kingdom |11.4 |10.5 |10.2 |9.9 |9.6 |9.0 |n/a Neonatal Belgium |6.7 |6.5 |5.9 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a Denmark |4.8 |4.6 |4.7 |4.7 |5.1 |n/a |n/a France |5.3 |5.0 |4.7 |4.6 |4.3 |n/a |n/a Greece |11.5 |10.9 |10.8 |10.6 |n/a |n/a |n/a Ireland |6.6 |6.1 |6.0 |5.3 |4.8 |n/a |n/a Italy |10.3 |9.6 |<3>9.1 |<3>8.1 |<3>7.7 |n/a |n/a Luxembourg |6.3 |6.5 |6.0 |2.9 |4.2 |n/a |n/a Netherlands |5.1 |5.3 |5.1 |5.0 |4.8 |n/a |n/a Portugal |13.8 |11.5 |11.3 |12.2 |10.8 |n/a |n/a Spain |7.9 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a West Germany |6.3 |5.9 |5.5 |5.0 |4.8 |n/a |n/a United Kingdom |6.4 |5.9 |5.7 |5.4 |5.3 |5.0 |4.9 <1> Deaths in the first week of life and stillbirths per thousand live and stillbirths. <2> Deaths in the first 28 days of life (27 completed days) per thousand live births. <3> Provisional data.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to inform nursing teachers of the salary to be awarded to the grades they have recently been allotted ; and whether he will publish the grades and salaries attached in the Official Report.
Mr. Mellor : The review body has submitted its report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Decisions on the implementation of the review body's recommendations will be taken in the normal way.
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the code of practice recently published by the Independent Hospitals Association for the conduct of private health screening clinics ; and what assessment has been made of the medical qualifications required of the staff.
Mr. Mellor : We welcome the Independent Hospitals Association's initiative to improve the quality of services in the private sector. We are considering the association's proposals in the light of the White Paper "Working for Patients" and our objectives for improved levels of care and wider patient choice.
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the South West regional health authority in conjunction with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority are continuing to interview patients in the Camelford area of north Cornwall ; and if he will make a statement on the progress of these investigations.
Mr. Freeman : The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority has arranged for a consultant to see those people from the Camelford area who wish to have a medical check following exposure to the water contaminated with aluminium sulphate. These medical checks are carried out every Saturday morning at the East Cornwall hospital. The necessary support facilities are available should the consultant wish to refer anyone for further medical examination.
These sessions will continue for as long as is needed. They are additional to the normal health service provision,
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available at the time of the pollution incident and since, whereby anyone can consult a general practitioner for both diagnosis and treatment and can be referred to a hospital consultant by the general practitioner.Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the current average waiting times for women in Durham district health authority waiting for results of cervical smear.
Mr. Mellor : All results are made available to the patient's GP within two weeks.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Anthony Porter after an incident at North Tees hospital in December 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I am considering my hon. Friend's letter of 23 June on this subject, to which a reply will be sent shortly.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in the Official Report for each of the past five years, those hospital facilities in England that fell short of acceptable standards referred to in paragraph 16 of the first annual report of Her Majesty's inspector of pollution.
Mr. Freeman : I assume that the inquiry relates to the paragraph 16 on page 26 of the report which refers to the inspections of hospitals under the Medicines (Administration of Radioactive Substances) Regulations.
Following these inspections, Her Majesty's inspector of pollution reports to the Department on various requirements for certification under these regulations. These reports may include general comments about the facilities available to clinicians administering radioactive substances. If the Department feels that there is cause for concern, the matter is pursued with the health authority. Should the Department consider, following investigation, that the facilities no longer reach an acceptable standard,
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certificate(s) of the clinician(s) using those facilities would be suspended or revoked. No certificates have been so suspended or revoked during the last five years.Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage contribution from employers to the pension scheme of scientists in medicine employed by the National Health Service over the last five years.
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Mr. Mellor : Over the last five years, the contribution from NHS employers to the NHS superannuation scheme for all NHS employees was 7.5 per cent. of superannuable pay up to and including 31 March 1989 and 4 per cent. from 1 April 1989.
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Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received the recent letter from the Rotherham Hospital Medical Staff committee expressing grave concern about the maintenance of services ; and if additional resources will be provided for the Rotherham health authority.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has received a letter from the Rotherham Hospital Medical Staff committee. Allocation of resources to individual health authorities is a matter for the relevant regional health authority ; in Rotherham's case, this is Trent.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend basic child immunisation for the 0 to 5 years age group.
Mr. Freeman : The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, which advises the health departments on all aspects of immunisation, has set up a group to consider and make recommendations on the present
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childhood immunisation schedule and on future developments. We shall consider the JCVI's views when they are available.Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to recognise new centres for the management of alcohol problems as designated places ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health is at present considering the designation of one new centre for the management of alcohol problems in Southampton.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) botulism, (b) salmonella enteriditis, (c) salmonella typhimurium and (d) other types of food poisoning had been detected or reported for each month since Janaury.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 3 July 1989] : The information requested is given in the tables. Laboratory reports of campylobacter infections are collated weekly, and four-weekly totals to 16 June are given, but it is not known how many of these infections are food-borne.
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Number of cases of principal types of food poisoning detected or reported January-June 1989 |January |February|March |April |May |June --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clostridium Botulinum |- |- |- |- |- |27 Salmonella Enteritidis |733 |826 |742 |671 |779 |n.a. Salmonella Typhimurium |318 |254 |227 |200 |329 |n.a. Other Salmonellas |367 |235 |244 |235 |256 |n.a. Clostridium Perfringens |16 |46 |228 |8 |2 |44 Staphylococcus Aureus |4 |7 |10 |- |50 |- Bacillus SP |- |3 |5 |3 |3 |- n.a. = Not yet available.
Number of laboratory reports for Campylobacter infection, four- weekly to 16 June 1989 Weeks |Number --------------------- 01-04 |1,480 05-08 |1,915 09-12 |1,944 13-16 |1,625 17-20 |2,225 21-24 |4,175 Source: PHLS Note: All figures are provisional
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will instruct Wessex Water to extend the proposed 900 m sewage outfall being built adjacent to Royal Portbury dock to the full 2 km length ; and if he will make a statement on what length outfall is appropriate in coastal waters such as the Bristol channel.
Mr. Howard : Before granting a discharge consent for any new sea outfall scheme, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution must be satisfied that the scheme will enable bathing waters in the vicinity to meet the standards of the EEC bathing water directive. The length of the outfall required to achieve this objective will depend on local
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factors such as tides, currents, depth of water and prevailing winds. The average length of long sea outfalls is around 2 km. However, local conditions may mean that they can be longer or shorter than this. Relevant studies of the hydrographical conditions near the Royal Portbury dock indicated that a 900 m outfall would be the most appropriate length. Accordingly, a discharge consent for such an outfall was granted by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in July 1987.Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department has undertaken into air conditioning of office buildings.
Mr. Trippier : The Building Research Establishment has carried out research into the design and performance of air conditioning of office buildings over a number of years. Working with the Property Services Agency and the industry, the establishment has provided a major contribution to industry standards, such as the design guides, application manuals and building energy codes of the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers. The topics covered have included air infiltration, calculation of summertime overheating, plant capacity, thermal comfort conditions and operating costs. More recently, work has been focused on the "sick building syndrome", the emerging problems of CFCs, and means of improving
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energy efficiency. A copy of the published research programme of the Building Research Establishment is in the Library of the House.Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the in the Official Report the 30 local authorities in England with the largest amounts of rent arrears, with the amounts outstanding and the number of people owing in each case.
Mr. Trippier : The information, for the end of March 1988, is listed as follows :
|Rent arrears<1> |Number of current and |former tenants in |arrears<2> |£000s --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Southwark |19,019 |. . 2. Lambeth |12,554 |. . 3. Liverpool |11,220 |. . 4. Islington |9,764 |. . 5. Hackney |8,418 |. . 6. Brent |<3>8,100 |20,140 7. Manchester |8,085 |55,368 8. Sheffield |5,449 |. . 9. Birmingham |5,263 |46,950 10. Greenwich |4,785 |. . 11. Lewisham |4,700 |. . 12. Camden |4,660 |25,230 13. Haringey |4,119 |. . 14. Walsall |4,016 |21,946 15. Newham |3,626 |. . 16. Wolverhampton |3,329 |. . 17. Waltham Forest |3,141 |. . 18. Wandsworth |2,409 |16,081 19. Newcastle upon Tyne |2,321 |26,774 20. Knowsley |2,282 |16,898 21. Tower Hamlets |2,218 |23,068 22. Ealing |2,196 |11,727 23. Leicester |2,188 |21,444 24. Hammersmith and Fulham |2,153 |16,511 25. Leeds |2,136 |32,721 26. Sandwell |2,101 |21,985 27. Bradford |2,002 |21,588 28. Salford |1,867 |18,616 29. Westminster |1,779 |12,577 30. Kirklees |1,627 |14,344 <1> Cumulative rent arrears are reported to the Department on local authorities' Housing Subsidy Claim forms, but these do not give the number of tenants in arrears. <2> Local authority tenants owing rent, rates and other charges as reported to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and published in "Housing Rents Statistics at April 1988" are given where available (. . indicates not available). <3> Department of the Environment estimate of rent arrears based on reported total tenants' arrears (including rates etc.) of £16.7 million.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals for a code of conduct for the offer by local authorities of council housing to ex-service personnel.
Mr. Trippier : Advice to local authorities is already available in my Department's circular 54/75, which requests that local authorities consider sympathetically applications from men and women leaving Her Majesty's forces.
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Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he or Ministers or officials of his Department have recently met the head of the United Nations environment programme's industry and environment office to discuss matters pertinent to the United Kingdom or European Community environmental protection.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government fully support the work of the United Nations environment programme's industry and environment office. Officials in the Department of the Environment are in regular contact with the industry and environment office and have recently been discussing the creation of an international network to promote the exchange of information on clean technology.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what initiatives he has taken to implement recommendations made by the Brundtland committee on world environment and development.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The United Kingdom is one of a very small number of countries to have published a formal response to the report of the world commission on environment and development. The London "Saving the Ozone Layer" conference in March, attended by 123 countries, gave strong support to the report's concept of sustainable development. In September the United Kingdom is to host a workshop on awareness raising and public participation as part of the preparations for next year's ministerial conference in Bergen which will examine the implementation of the report in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is Her Majesty's Government policy towards proposals by the United Nations to hold a conference on environment and development in 1992.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government fully support the proposal for a United Nations conference on environment and development in 1992. The United Kingdom will be taking an active part in the preparations and will aim to ensure that the conference reaches agreement on the actions needed to tackle global environmental problems.
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of appeals carried out into planning applications in the Harrogate borough council area during each of the last three years.
Mr. Chope : The information requested is as follows.
Year Planning appeals |Received |Decided |Allowed |Withdrawn ------------------------------------------------------------ 1986-87 |92 |64 |21 |11 1987-88 |104 |87 |30 |17 1988-89 |121 |96 |28 |15
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what powers he has imposed a unilateral ban on ivory imports.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The ban on ivory imports is based on article 10 1(b) of EC regulation 3626/82. We consider that the decline in African elephant populations is so serious that the conditions set out in that article for the issue of import permits cannot be met.
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications of the unilateral ban on ivory imports for the terms of the CITES convention which regulates and controls the legitimate trade in ivory.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Article XIV of the convention indicates that the provisions of the convention shall not affect the right of parties to adopt stricter domestic measures. The action that we have taken is entirely compatible with the provisions of the convention.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households were housed from the waiting list and by which category in each local authority in England and Wales in 1988.
Mr. Trippier : Local authorities report the number of dwellings let on secure tenancies to households under normal waiting list allocation procedures on their annual housing investment programme returns. The figures for 1987-88 appear in column E9c of the "198 HIP1 All Items Print", a copy of which is in the Library. Information on categories is not held centrally.
For corresponding information about Welsh authorities I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce the continuation of funding to voluntary agencies in the housing field under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985.
Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment hopes to make an announcement soon.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the funding of voluntary organisations by the statutory sector in the field of housing.
Mr. Trippier : Our policy is that voluntary organisations in the shape of housing associations have a major role to play in the future, as providers of housing, and should be supported by Government and local authorities, with important contributions from private funding.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the role that voluntary housing organisations should play in relation to statutory housing services.
Mr. Trippier : Housing associations should in future be the major providers of social rented housing, supported by public and private funds, and co-operating fully with local housing authorities.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the service provided by
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those organisations in receipt of funding under section 16 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 and under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 ; and what are his concerns in each case with which he is not satisfied.Mr. Trippier : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has been reviewing the section 73 grant regime ; we hope to announce conclusions soon. A review of section 16 grants in relation to housing management training is now under way and we shall be consulting interested bodies.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the establishments that have applied for consent to discharge sewage in excess of the levels set in the Control of Pollution Act 1974 following the privatisation of water authorities.
Mr. Howard : Consents for discharges from sewage treatment works by water authorities are issued by the Secretary of State under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The Act itself does not set permissible levels of discharge. Lists of sewage treatment works for which applications have been made for time-limited discharge consents, pending completion of capital improvement schemes, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the closure of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Harwell laboratory incinerator has posed any disposal problems for slightly radioactive organic solvents used in scintillation counting.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The closure of the Harwell incinerator has not posed any disposal problems. Slightly radioactive solvents are now disposed of in other incinerators authorised under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution intends to publish reports on the results obtained from monitoring private water supplies for radioactivity ;
(2) when he expects Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to publish its first annual report on the national programme of environmental monitoring in the vicinity of selected premises controlled under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The inspectorate intends to publish the reports by the end of this year.
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all sites of special scientific interest presently renotified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England and Wales on a county by county basis.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Nature Conservancy Council is currently preparing an up-to-date list of SSSIs in England and Wales. I will write to the hon. Member
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with this information as soon as it is available, and will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had recently on the case for a public inquiry into the Central Electricity Generating Board proposal to build Sizewell C in Suffolk ; and whether he now intends to order such an inquiry.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend has received one letter from a member of the public which was forwarded to the Department of Energy for a reply. As far as a public inquiry is concerned, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy.
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of his Department's community charge practice notes were designed to assist registration officers in the compilation of the registration form ; and on what dates each was dispatched to local authorities.
Mr. Gummer : The following five practice notes have been issued to local authorities about various aspects of the task of compiling their community charges register :
Date of issue |Title ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26 August 1988 |Practice Note No. 3: The Community Charges | Register 26 August 1988 |Practice Note No. 4: Data Protection and the | Community Charge (Volumn 1) 14 October 1988 |Practice Note No. 6: Omission of Names from | the Public Extract of the Register 11 November 1988 |Practice Note No. 8: The Community Charge | Canvass 1 February 1989 |Practice Note No. 10: Data Protection and the | Community Charge (Volume 2)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to exempt from poll tax young people who are required to remain in secondary education beyond their 18th birthday ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Young people who remain at school after their 18th birthday are exempt from the community charge for as long as their parents are entitled to claim child benefit on their behalf.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made with the review of the building regulations.
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