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Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the projects that are currently undertaken at the North Wyke research station ; if he will indicate which projects have been identified as near market and which of these have definite funding from outside bodies and industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is as follows :
Current (1989-90) Programme Funded by MAFF Commissions and if Near Market
Comparison of the yield potential of permanent grass swards, and re-seeds of contrasting ages. Yes.
Productivity and clover compatibility of late-maturing tetraploid perennial ryegrass under cutting and grazing. Yes.
Yield potential of low-input grazing legumes.
Production and utilisation of grass grown with broad-leaved trees. Nitrogen cycling in grazed grassland as influenced by sward composition, fertiliser input and drainage.
Effects of soil conditions on nutrient availability.
Fertiliser strategies to reduce leaching losses from grazed grass. Establish responses to grazing management with cows grazing permanent grass swards. Yes.
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To improve by supplementation the utilisation of grazed pastures and nutrients derived from them. Yes.To develop optimum strategies for low-input beef production on long-term grassland including grass/clover swards.
The utilisation of grass-white clover swards for milk production. Physiology of plant/animal interactions in grazing systems. Develop lamb production systems based on long-term grass-white clover swards. Yes.
None of the near-market identified work has yet been picked up by alternative sponsors.
Current (1989-90) Contract programmes showing sponsor
Fertiliser effects on productivity and botanical composition on permanent in Somerset Moors. NCC, MAFF, DOE.
Forms of phosphate fertiliser for grass-clover swards. Timac. Pests and disease control in grassland. Various.
Effects of fertilisers and other inputs on grass and grass-clover productivity. ICI, Farrant.
SCOTLAND
Employment Training
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has about the number of employment training placements in Scotland.
Mr. Lang : Of the 23,200 people participating in employment training in Scotland at 30 June 1989, around 19,300 were on placements with employers or on projects.
Domestic Rates
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will produce a table for each district council showing the total yield from the domestic rate payment, excluding domestic water rates, for 1988-89, showing the breakdown of the amounts attributed to district and regions.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The estimated figures are given in the table.
Local Authorities |Yield of Districts |Yield of Regional |Total Yield of Domestic
|Domestic Rates 1988-89 |Domestic Rates 1988-89 |Rates 1988-89
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orkney |1,258 |1,258
Shetland |3,310 |3,310
Western Isles |2,576 |2,576
Berwickshire |480 |2,323 |2,802
Ettrick and Lauderdale |919 |3,879 |4,799
Roxburgh |1,073 |4,115 |5,189
Tweeddale |386 |1,929 |2,314
Clackmannan |2,098 |5,687 |7,785
Falkirk |5,265 |17,493 |22,758
Stirling |5,317 |11,906 |17,224
Annandale and Eskdale |1,067 |4,359 |5,425
Nithsdale |1,697 |6,936 |8,633
Stewartry |692 |3,250 |3,942
Wigtown |714 |3,569 |4,282
Dunfermline |4,114 |17,746 |21,860
Kirkcaldy |5,955 |20,470 |26,425
North East Fife |2,941 |11,273 |14,215
Aberdeen City |8,622 |26,606 |35,228
Banff and Buchan |2,356 |8,141 |10,497
Gordon |1,869 |8,075 |9,944
Kincardine and Deeside |1,111 |5,854 |6,966
Moray |2,003 |8,240 |10,243
Badenoch and Strathspey |240 |1,562 |1,802
Caithness |627 |2,608 |3,235
Inverness |1,487 |8,139 |9,626
Lochaber |607 |2,178 |2,785
Nairn |217 |1,412 |1,629
Ross and Cromarty |1,310 |5,450 |6,760
Skye and Lochalsh |246 |1,065 |1,311
Sutherland |238 |1,301 |1,539
East Lothian |4,324 |14,599 |18,923
Edinburgh City |24,718 |84,960 |109,678
Midlothian |3,566 |12,041 |15,608
West Lothian |5,340 |20,434 |25,774
Argyll and Bute |3,255 |9,764 |13,019
Bearsden and Milngavie |2,265 |9,931 |12,195
Clydebank |2,183 |6,381 |8,564
Clydesdale |2,404 |8,181 |10,585
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |2,567 |8,867 |11,433
Cumnock and Doon Valley |1,569 |5,262 |6,831
Cunninghame |7,197 |20,012 |27,209
Dumbarton |4,286 |12,857 |17,143
East Kilbride |3,294 |13,129 |16,423
Eastwood |2,378 |13,554 |15,932
Glasgow City |46,654 |100,350 |147,003
Hamilton |5,001 |15,837 |20,838
Inverclyde |4,017 |14,309 |18,326
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |3,653 |11,255 |14,907
Kyle and Carrick |5,751 |19,282 |25,032
Monklands |4,528 |14,337 |18,865
Motherwell |5,785 |20,292 |26,077
Renfrew |9,924 |31,425 |41,349
Strathkelvin |3,840 |13,679 |17,519
Angus |3,220 |12,402 |15,622
Dundee City |10,317 |24,952 |35,269
Perth and Kinross |4,775 |17,735 |22,510
|---- |---- |----
Scotland |237,603 |731,393 |968,996
Notes:
1. Domestic rates are net of domestic rates relief.
Community Charge
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will produce a table for each district council showing the total estimated yield from the community charge and standard community charge, excluding water charges, for 1989-90, showing the breakdown of the amount attributed to district and region.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 June, Official Report, Vol. 154, columns 495-98 .
Tourist Board
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consequences are envisaged for the Scottish tourist board as the result of the announcements contained in the reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Mr. Bevan) by the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Fowler) on 6 July, Official Report, column 278 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : No changes are envisaged. I am satisfied that the means by which Government support is delivered to the Scottish tourist industry remain relevant and effective.
Hospital Cars
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of patients living in the Highlands and Islands conveyed to hospital by the
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Scottish ambulance service in hospital cars in (a) the eight months prior to August 1988 and (b) the eight months following August 1988.Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information available on the number of patients conveyed by the hospital car service in the Highlands and Western Isles in 1988 is :
Number of patients conveyed
Period |Number
-------------------------------------------------
22 December 1987-21 March 1988 |3,884
22 March 1988-21 June 1988 |4,333
22 June 1988-21 September 1988 |3,636
22 September 1988-21 December 1988 |2,865
|------
Total |14,718
Figures for 1989 are not yet available.
Food Safety
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide additional resources to ensure that district councils are able to provide an adequate number of environmental health officers to tackle the health hazards arising from food ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 July 1989] : Local authorities have recieved a generous revenue support grant settlement for 1989-90. They should therefore have adequate scope within available resources to fulfill their responsibilities for environmental health.
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Any future requirement for additional resources can be taken into account in subsequent revenue support grant settlements.Food Safety
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide additional resources to ensure that regional councils are able to provide an adequate number of environmental health officers to tackle the health hazards arising from food ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 July 1989] : The provision of environmental health officers is the responsibility of district and islands councils.
Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish (a) the number and (b) the cost of local authorities' environmental health and trading standards officers for each financial year since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 10 July 1989] : This information is not held centrally.
Council House Sales
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number and total value of council houses sold by each district council in the year 1988-89.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 13 July 1989] : The information requested which is available to date is set out in the table :
Local authority sales to sitting tenants 1988-89<1>
District |Number of sales |Value of receipts
|£000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |24,144 |243,281
Berwickshire |120 |1,254
Ettrick and Lauderdale |159 |1,676
Roxburgh |219 |2,261
Tweeddale<2> |27 |307
Clackmannan |356 |3,568
Falkirk |1,252 |12,416
Stirling |457 |4,729
Annandale and Eskdale |177 |1,933
Nithsdale |417 |3,951
Stewartry |86 |861
Wigtown |132 |1,273
Dunfermline |819 |7,631
Kirkcaldy |778 |6,761
North East Fife |316 |3,372
Aberdeen |643 |8,290
Banff and Buchan |322 |3,641
Gordon |78 |1,075
Kincardine and Deeside |61 |851
Moray |372 |4,331
Badenoch and Strathspey |53 |627
Caithness |93 |935
Inverness |169 |1,997
Lochaber |116 |1,391
Nairn |21 |247
Ross and Cromarty<2> |82 |984
Skye and Lochalsh |27 |338
Sutherland<2> |30 |319
East Lothian |647 |7,868
Edinburgh |2,411 |22,396
Midlothian |570 |7,144
West Lothian |629 |6,297
Argyll and Bute |139 |1,524
Bearsden and Milngavie |51 |616
Clydebank |468 |4,071
Clydesdale |363 |3,777
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |187 |1,835
Cumnock and Doon Valley |n/a |n/a
Cunninghame |789 |7,686
Dumbarton |383 |3,558
East Kilbride |85 |923
Eastwood |78 |866
Glasgow |3,189 |28,742
Hamilton |758 |7,856
Inverclyde |263 |2,455
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |568 |5,421
Kyle and Carrick |775 |7,962
Monklands |n/a |n/a
Motherwell |844 |9,082
Renfrew |1,295 |13,248
Strathkelvin |477 |5,356
Angus |386 |4,123
Dundee |812 |6,786
Perth and Kinross |469 |5,198
Orkney Islands |53 |592
Shetland Islands |44 |595
Western Isles |29 |283
<1> Only sales for which complete information is available are included.
<2> Returns for question 1 1989 not included.
n/a No returns available.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Pensioners
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are in receipt of both the basic state pension and housing benefit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 31 May 1989, the number of claimants in receipt of housing benefit, with either the claimant or the claimant's partner, or both being in receipt of basic state pension, was 2.8 million.
Source : Annual Statistical Enquiry 1988.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are in receipt of both the basic state pension and income support.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Latest estimates indicate that the number of claimants in receipt of income support, with either the claimant or the claimant's partner, or both, being in receipt of basic state pension, is 1.61 million.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are in receipt of both the basic state pension and family credit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 31 May 1989 approximately 2,000 women aged 60 and over were in receipt of family credit. Information relating to individuals in receipt of both family credit and the basic state pension is not available.
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for each of the last three years (a) the number of people receiving attendance allowance, (b)
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the number awarded the allowance in that year and (c) the number who lost the allowance because of death or recovery.Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 13 June at columns 387-88.
Single Parent Families
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in the Official Report the various measures taken since 1986 to assist single parent families.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The needs of lone parents were recognised in the social security reforms introduced last year. As well as the family premium, income support and housing benefit have a lone parent premium. In family credit the adult rate for married couples also applies to lone parents. From April families with children who receive income-related benefit had increases over and above those needed to restore their real value of 50p a child.
Unmarried mothers seeking maintenance will also benefit from changes made by the Family Law Reform Act.
Disability
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he plans to act on the evidence of the recently published surveys of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to improve the lot of disabled people by uprating, extending and improving access to disability benefits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 3 July at column 2.
Community Charge
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to lay the regulations on community charge rebates before the House.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We intend to lay the Community Charge Benefits (General) Regulations 1989 once the Social Security Bill has received Royal Assent.
Income Support
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will commission research into the amount of money spent by recipients of income support on food.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on the amounts spent on food by different groups--including recipients of income support--is already collected as part of the family expenditure survey.
Family Credit
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been (a) the total number of claims for family credit and (b) the number of claims assessed as eligible for payment.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Up to and including 7 July 1989, 1,028,536 claims for family credit had been received and
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610,487 awards had been made. The total number of claims received includes 48,853 which were either subsequently withdrawn, or were invalid because they were made more than four weeks before the expiry of an existing award. At 7 July 1989, 86,440 claims were still being processed.Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the expenditure to date on the publicity campaign to re- launch family credit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Up to 30 June expenditure on paid advertising was £3.7 million and £1.1 million on other promotion and marketing costs, mostly printing and postage.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claims for family credit have been assessed as ineligible for payment in each month since April 1988.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The percentage of valid claims dealt with in each month which were unsuccessful is as follows :
|Percentage
---------------------------------
1988
April |32.0
May
June |27.0
July |27.8
August |27.0
September |26.4
October |24.9
November |24.8
December |26.1
1989
January |26.9
February |25.6
March |24.4
April |26.2
May |48.8
June |44.8
Valid claims exclude those withdrawn and those made more than four weeks before the expiry of an existing award.
Mental Illness (Services)
Mr. Goodlad : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in the light of his statement of 12 July on community care, what plans he has to improve health services for the mentally ill.
Mr. Freeman : I have been asked to reply.
I welcome the opportunity to outline Government policy towards the care in the community of the mentally ill and to indicate the initiatives that we propose to take to improve these services in England. These will, of course, be included in the White Paper on community care to be published this autumn which will set out the finer detail where necessary.
Until the 1960s there was little alternative for those suffering from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia to prolonged in-patient care in one of the large and often remote mental hospitals. Scientific advances in the 1950s, particularly the discovery that the symptoms of schizophrenia could often be relieved by drugs, together with the development of community psychiatric services, opened up the possibility that many sufferers could be
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treated on a largely out-patient basis. The vision of a new pattern of services on this basis, reflecting an already occurring fall in the number of hospital beds, and anticipating a further fall, was outlined by the then Minister of Health, Mr. Enoch Powell, in 1961. It was turned into detailed policy under Sir Keith Joseph in the early 1970s, though the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Ill"- -was actually published in 1975.The policy as stated in that White Paper, the development of locally-based hospital and community services, including facilities providing long term asylum for those who need it, and as a consequence the closure of very large mental hospitals, has remained essentially unchanged since, supported by successive Governments. It is founded on scientific and therapeutic advances, and the knowledge that, with the right supporting services, many sufferers can live fuller lives in the community than in institutions.
In our view, this long-standing policy is a civilised and humanitarian one which has benefited many patients who, otherwise, would have been destined to spend their lives in large isolated hospitals. It has also inspired many caring people to work in the psychiatric services. We know it can work. We have examples of services such as those in Buckingham and Hackney, which show what can be done through prevention, early intervention and well co- ordinated care at home working closely with family doctors. I am glad today to be able to reaffirm the Government's commitment to the policy, and our determination to ensure that it is properly implemented. There is no going back to the days when health service care for the mentally ill invariably meant long term institutional care.
Although there are some who question the policy itself, most concerns are about implementation : the pervasive sense that all too often community care means no care : that insufficient resources have been put in place to provide effective alternatives to the old hospitals, where bed numbers have fallen substantially. I would make two points about this.
While we accept that there are deficiencies, it would be wrong to minimise the substantial shift of resources from hospital in-patient provision to community-based services provided by health and local authorities. Over the last ten years for which information is available (1977 to 1987), the number of places for people with a mental illness in local authority, voluntary and private residential homes almost doubled (to 9,000) and there was a 50 per cent. increase in day centre places (to 6,000). On the health service side there has been a 44 per cent. growth in day hospital places (to 19,000) over the same period ; the number of community psychiatric nurses has more than doubled since 1981, and it is estimated that the number of districts with a community mental health centre has doubled every two years throughout the 1980s.
We made quite explicit in last year's guidance to the National Health Service what has always been the intention : that hospitals should close only when proper alternative locally based services were available. When the Secretary of State discussed this issue yesterday with the chairmen of the regional health authorities he made it clear that he will not approve the closure of any mental hospital unless he is satisfied that proper alternative services are in place. This coupled with the requirement to introduce care programmes in 1991, means that no patient will be
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discharged from hospital without proper consideration of his or her need for continuing care and where needs are identified, plans to meet them.Over the last few months we have been working, and will continue to work, collaboratively with individual regional health authorities to identify the progress that has been made and the problems that have been encountered. Our purpose is not to recriminate over any inadequacies in the past, but to identify what we at the centre need to do to help health authorities implement policy effectively. It is through this work, and discussions with the social services inspectorate and voluntary organisations, that we are building up a region-by-region picture of progress and problems, and I expect to have this around the turn of the year.
To enhance our capacity to undertake this work we have secured the services at the Department of one of the few general managers in the country with experience of developing locally based services and closing a major hospital. Mr. John Jenkins, who played a leading role in the development of services in Exeter and Torbay and the closure of Exminster hospital will be working with us in an advisory capacity from next Monday, and will play a key role in our collaborative work with regional health authorities and the development of any further initiatives or guidance that seem necessary.
I would now like to outline a number of specific policy steps. The first is guidance to health authorities on care programmes. Much concern has been expressed about the adequacy of continuing health service care for psychiatric patients discharged from hospital. Last year, through a health circular, a requirement was placed on district health authorities to initiate, by 31 March 1991, explicit individually tailored programmes for continuing health service care for all such patients. Later this month we will be formally consulting on guidance to authorities on developing these care programmes, which will emphasise the need for locally developed approaches including local registers of vulnerable discharged patients and regular reviews of their needs. We expect to publish the definitive guidance in the autumn. In addition, and we greatly welcome this, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has agreed to draw up minimum acceptable professional standards for assessing patients prior to discharge, and for follow up after discharge. A preliminary statement of good practice is expected from the college in late summer, to be followed by a more substantive one developed in concert with the other professions concerned. These two initiatives will, together, provide much clearer guidance on good practice than currently exists.
As part of our 1990-91 research programme, we plan to commission research which will assist us to evaluate the effectiveness of the care programme initiative.
The second is guidance on compulsory admission to hospital. Another area of current concern is in relation to arrangements for compulsory admission to hospital, and the related issue of compulsory treatment in the community.
On hospital admissions, there seems to be wide agreement that the law is adequate, but concern that its interpretation by practitioners is sometimes not. We believe that these problems will be much reduced once the code of practice for admitting and treating patients compulsorily required under the 1983 Mental Health Act is available. In April we set up an expert group under the chairmanship of Mr. James Collier, with Mr. William
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Bingley, on secondment from MIND to whom we are indebted, as the full-time executive secretary. Work is well advanced, and the code will be laid before the House this autumn.We understand that in due course the Royal College of Psychiatrists will be giving us its views on the possible role of new legal powers to ensure compulsory treatment in the community. We will then explore this issue with all the interested parties involved. Without prejudicing the discussion, we would need to be very clear both of the benefits, and that they could not be achieved through voluntary means, before seriously considering asking Parliament to create provision for compulsory treatment in the community.
The third is health service resources. Although the issues that I have already referred to are important, we fully understand that underlying much of the current concern is the question of resources. Finance from mental hospital sites provides valuable capital for replacement facilities, but these facilities are needed before hospitals can be vacated. They in turn have to compete for resources with other priorities within capital programmes, and this may hold up the whole process. Existing arrangements offer one way of addressing this problem--with regions lending each other capital to match the timing of planned new developments. Another possible solution is for authorities to enter into agreements with developers to upgrade, purchase and build community facilities for the mentally ill, in return for which they would receive all or part of the vacated site. We plan to invite health authorities to identify sites where this approach would be suitable : the aim will be to bring about the degree of private sector involvement that maximises value for money. We do understand the revenue burden of keeping open old hospitals which will close and new replacement facilities already open. Clearly the quicker older facilities can be closed the lesser the burden of double running and running inefficient emptying facilities. The fourth is local authority resources. Proper social care for the mentally ill in the community is vital. Yesterday the Government confirmed that local authorities would continue to be responsible for the social care of the mentally ill and announced that from 1991 we would be instituting a new, specific grant to local authorities to encourage them to make the necessary contribution to the services required. To encourage joint planning of services, and proper collaboration in relation to care programmes, we are making this grant payable through health authorities as the Secretary of State's agent, on the basis of agreed plans. Further details will be set out in the White Paper on community care, to be published this autumn. The fifth is quality of services. We are very concerned that the new hospital and community facilities that are developing should provide a good quality service. In the wake of scandals about the conditions in some mental hospitals in the 1960s and early 1970s, the health advisory service was established, to keep a watch on standards and encourage better services. I think that it is generally agreed that, over the years the HAS has been successful. We are now examining its work to identify how it might be done even more effectively, and in a way even more relevant to the NHS as it will develop following "Working for Patients".
The sixth is the contribution of the voluntary sector. We believe that a lot can be done, through Departmental
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grants to voluntary organisations, to increase the information, services and mutual help available to the parents and friends of patients. Current grants to voluntary organisations in the mental health field, including mental handicap, are being reviewed with a view to ensuring that we use the nearly £2 million a year that we allocate in a way which best supports patients and their relatives and encourages new initiatives which are of clear and direct benefit.There are some areas we need to explore more fully as a matter of urgency. I would like to refer to some of the issues that we are aware are causing concerns that we are beginning to address, and on which work will be undertaken in the course of the next year or so. First, the need to improve the ability of general practitioners and others to prevent, detect and treat mental illness. The first of a series of departmentally sponsored conferences on these themes was held in May ; others are planned for the autumn and next spring. In the light of these discussions we will be considering what practical initiatives need to be taken ;
Secondly, the need to provide appropriate services for those among the homeless population who suffer from mental illness. The incidence of mental illness among homeless and destitute men and women in London and other cities has been linked by some to the fall in the number of hospital beds. Research funded by the Department shows that, most commonly, homeless mentally ill people have had care organised outside hospital but have lost touch with the service. We expect to reduce the future numbers losing touch through the measures to which I have already referred. But we need to address the existing problem, and will be doing so in the light of a recent study by the Policy Studies Institute, again funded by the Department, on schemes for delivering primary health care to single homeless people ; Third, the need for adequate arrangements in each health district for emergency care of people suffering from mental illness. In some places this is handled through the normal accident and emergency service ; in others by specialist mental health emergency arrangements. We will be discovering the extent of arrangements and seeking to evaluate alternatives.
Finally, let me summarise what we are announcing at this stage. We reaffirm our commitment to the longstanding policy of locally based hospital and community services, including asylum ; working collaboratively with the regional health authorities, we will ensure that hospitals are not closed before proper alternative provision is made ;
from 1991, we will require district health authorities to have care programmes for those discharged from hospital, upon which we will be issuing guidance, and we propose a new specific grant to local authorities, payable through health authorities, to help meet the social care needs of such patients ;
we are offering health authorities the possibility of, in effect, bringing forward the sale of hospital sites, to fund new facilities such as hospital hostels ;
we propose this autumn to lay before the House a code of practice for the compulsory assessment and treatment of patients suffering from mental disorder in hospital, and will consider, though from a very questioning standpoint, the possibility of new legislation for compulsory treatment in the community ;
we are reviewing the work of the health advisory service, to ensure effective oversight of the quality of locally-based services ;
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we are reviewing our funding of voluntary bodies, to ensure that public funds are used in the most effective way to encourage the development and provision of services for patients and their relatives ;we are looking at ways of increasing general practitioners' awareness of mental illness and how it can be treated ; theextent and adequacy of emergency services for people with a mental illness, and what can be done to meet the needs of those members of the homeless population in London and elsewhere suffering from mental illness.
ENVIRONMENT
Council House Sales
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many admitted full ownership claims were in the pipeline at the end of the last quarter for which information is available.
Mr. Trippier : About two thirds of the local authorities in England have submitted returns for the period ending 31 March 1989 ; the total of pipeline figures for these authorities was some 112,000.
Toxic Waste
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discharges of toxic waste currently take place into the North sea.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Toxic wastes are discharged into the North sea via two main routes : direct discharge by pipe from land-based sources and riverine inputs from direct discharges to rivers. Wastes also enter the North sea from dumping and incineration at sea and general atmospheric deposition. The 1987 quality status report on the North sea confirms that most of the pollution in the North sea comes from rivers.
The combined effect of all United Kingdom rivers flowing into the North sea contributes about 20 per cent. of riverborne pollutants, although the United Kingdom has almost half the North sea coastline. The Rhine and Meuse alone contribute between 40 and 50 per cent. of pollutants carried by rivers.
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