| Previous Section | Home Page |
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Post Offices
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if, for County Durham, he will list those Crown post offices (a) closed and (b) downgraded to sub-office status in the last five years; and if he will list those proposed for either outcome in the future.
Column 21
Mr. Forth : These are operational questions for the Post Office board. However, I understand that it proposes to convert Seaham, Houghton- le-Spring and Crook crown offices into sub-offices in October this year. No crown offices have been either closed or converted in County Durham during the last five years.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received a request from the chairman and chief executive of the Post Office to relieve him from the duty to collect mail in the London borough of Brent.
Mr. Forth : I have received no such request.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the operation of the Post Office's monopoly on the collection of mail from sub-post offices in the London borough of Brent.
Mr. Forth : The Post Office's monopoly is a privilege that applies in the whole of the United Kingdom. Its day-to-day operations are a matter of the Post Office itself.
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the chairman and chief executive of the Post Office; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Chancellor of the Duchy meets the chairman of the Post Office regularly, and last did so on June 27. A range of matters of current interest was discussed.
Brewing Industry
Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the six major brewers; and what was discussed.
Mr. Maude : The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry met representatives of the six national brewers on 6 July. These were private discussions. He announced decisions on 10 July.
Beer (MMC Report)
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he is now able to announce his response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer.
Mr. Maude : My right hon. Friend announced our response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of beer in the House on 10 July.
School Children (Injuries)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many minor injuries to children at school were reported over the period 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1987 and 1 April 1987 to 31 March 1988 broken down by local education authority and whether nursery, primary or secondary school.
Mr. Forth : The information is not available in the form requested. However the most recent estimate from my Department's leisure accident surveillance of children treated in hospitals in England and Wales as a result of accidents in schools or nurseries (or during school sports) totalled 115,000 between May and October 1987, of which 95 per cent. of cases were minor injuries not requiring in-patient treatment.
Column 22
PRIME MINISTER
Mr. Graham Gaskin
Mr. Alton : To ask the Prime Minister what remedies Her Majesty's Government will provide to Mr. Graham Gaskin whose case was upheld in the European Court of Human Rights.
The Prime Minister : The Government will be paying the sums awarded by the court.
Armilla Patrol
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Prime Minister if she proposes that a medal be issued commemorating the Royal Navy's outstanding service in helping to keep open the sea lanes into and out of the Persian Gulf and through the straights of Hormuz ; and if she will bear in mind the desirability of retaining in the annals of the Royal Navy the name of the Armilla patrol.
The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Baker) on 25 May. The Armilla patrol continues to serve in the Gulf with dedication and professionalism. The service that the Royal Navy has performed and continues to perform will not be forgotten ; the term Armilla patrol will always be synonymous with a difficult and, at times, hazardous task carried out with exemplary efficiency, in the best traditions of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
European Court of Justice (Decisions)
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the numbers of decisions of the European Court of Justice which have not been implemented by member states ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : No. However, it is for the Commission to decide whether a member state has failed to comply with a judgment and if necessary the Commission will take further action. The United Kingdom record on implementation is very good.
Junior Ministers
Mr. Stanbrook : To ask the Prime Minister if she will ensure that junior Ministers do not use titles for which there is no statutory or constitutional justification and which are liable to be confused with the Secretary of State or other ministerial head of the Government Department concerned.
The Prime Minister : My authorisation is required for courtesy titles conferred on Ministers below Cabinet rank.
Gifts
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Prime Minister whether she has received any gifts made from Nile crocodile skin products during her visits overseas.
The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to the reply that I gave the hon. Member on 10 July at column 356.
Column 23
Correspondence
Mr. Parry : To ask the Prime Minister how long it takes for her to reply to letters from hon. Members ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I receive an enormous number of letters each week from Members of Parliament and others. It is not possible for me to deal with all these letters personally and I must accordingly refer most of them to
Column 24
the Minister and the Department with the responsibility for the policy in question. All correspondence is dealt with as quickly as possible.Private Office
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list all the current members of her private office showing how long each has been on her staff and their civil service grading and salary.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 14 July 1989] : The information is as follows :
Column 23
|Length of Service |Grade |Salary Per Annum
|£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal Private Secretary |7 months |G3 |40,900
Private Secretary |5 years |4 months |G3 |40,900
Private Secretary |1 year |7 months |G5 |31,602
Private Secretary |1 year |1 month |G5 |28,170
Private Secretary |1 month |G7 |18,141
Diary Secretary |4 months |Special Adviser (p/t)|10,927
Assistant Private Secretary |16 years |2 months |Assistant One |17,861
Assistant Private Secretary |Joined |17 July 1989 |SEO |17,861
Secretary for Appointments |7 years |4 months |G5 |32,826
Salaries exclude London Weighting and allowance and are those payable as at 1 July 1989.
Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to premises providing bed-and-breakfast accommodation for the homeless.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 14 July 1989] : I have at present no plans to do so.
Hospitals (Official Visits)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister what is her present policy regarding the making of official visits to hospitals where victims of major disasters are receiving medical treatment.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 14 July 1989] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 13 January at column 764.
HEALTH
Oral Tobacco Products
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his intention to include all products which contain nicotine, including Stubits and Stoppers, in his proposed ban on oral tobacco products.
Mr. Mellor : No. The Government's proposal is to ban the supply of oral snuff dipping products consisting wholly or mainly of tobacco in fine cut, ground or particulate form. We have not yet decided whether to proceed with a ban. Preparations marketed for smoking replacement purposes that consist of tobacco extracts containing nicotine in a non-tobacco base would not be covered. There are regulations under existing Acts governing the supply of nicotine-containing products generally.
Column 24
Medical and Dental Staff
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage increase in medical and dental staff whole-time equivalents in (a) the Mersey region and (b) England, between September 1978 and the latest available date.
Mr. Mellor : The information requested is set out in the table :
Hospital and community health service medical and dental staff<1> in
Mersey Regional Health Authority and England, percentage change,
30 September 1978-87
|Wholetime equivalent (per
|cent. increase)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mersey RHA |14.1
England |14.9
<1> Figures include Permanent Paid, Honorary and Locum staff. 1987 Locum
figures include Agency Locums which were collected separately for the first
time.
Water Contamination (North Cornwall)
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the independent health panel investigating possible long-term health effects of the water contamination incident in July 1988 at Lowermoor treatment works, north Cornwall will publish its report before Parliament rises for the summer recess.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that the report of the independent Lowermoor incident health advisory group to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly district health authority is to be published on 20 July in Truro. Ministers will be giving careful consideration to the report and any recommendations that might be made by the group.
Column 25
Medical Services (Durham)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the revenue generated from private patients at hospitals in the Durham area in 1989 ; and what were the comparable figures for each of the last 10 years at 1989 prices.
Mr. Mellor : The available information is given in the table :
Income from private patients: Durham health authority
|£ (at 1988-89 prices)
------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |6,158
1983-84 |31,773
1984-85 |34,230
1985-86 |41,405
1986-87 |49,912
<1>1987-88 |53,776
<1> Latest year available.
Notes:
1. The figures used are derived from the annual accounts of the
health authority and have been expressed at 1988-89 prices by the
use of the gross domestic product deflator.
2. The Durham health authority was established on 1 April 1982.
Prior to that date the authority's predecessor health district
formed part of an area health authority and district-based
figures were not collected centrally.
Home Helps (Durham)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the estimated total number of hours received by clients of the home-help service of Durham county council for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89.
Mr. Mellor : We do not collect this information centrally. Information about the number of hours received by elderly clients from home helps is collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and published in "Personal Social Service Statistics--Actuals" for each financial year. The latest publication available is for 1987-88. Copies are available in the Library.
Cottage Hospitals
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role his Department envisages for cottage hospitals over the next five years ; whether he estimates that their number will diminish ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The pattern of hospital services locally is for health authority decision, taking into account the needs of all the communities they serve and available resources. In future district health authorities are likely to wish to place contracts with those cottage hospitals which are able to provide a good quality and cost-effective service.
Drugs (Definition)
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any document has replaced or updated the 1967 report on the "Definition of Drugs (Borderline Substances)" by the standing joint committee on the classification of proprietary preparations in particular paragraph 4 and appendix A on a guidance to general
Column 26
practitioners on prescribing preparations normally regarded as foods but regarded as drugs when used in the treatment of the diseases therein listed ; and what is the status of the 1967 report.Mr. Mellor : The standing joint committee on the classification of proprietary preparation was replaced by the advisory committee on borderline substances in 1971. The report on the definition of drugs (borderline substances), which was produced by the standing joint committee, has been superseded by the recommendations of the advisory committee on borderline substances. These recommendations are revised periodically and are published in the "Drug Tariff", the "British National Formulary" and the "Monthly Index of Medical Specialties" (MIMS).
The role of the advisory committee on borderline substances is to provide the Secretary of State and general practitioners with expert independent medical advice on the classification of borderline substances, and on whether they should be prescribed by general practitioners at NHS expense. In reaching its judgment on any particular product the committee's sole criterion is whether it has a therapeutic use in the treatment of disease in the community. This criterion was published on 25 February 1988 at column 302-03 in my predecessor's reply to a question from my hon. Friend the member for Surrey, South-West (Mrs. Bottomley).
GP List Sizes
Mr. Bright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average size of a general practitioner's list in Luton in May 1979 ; and what it is now.
Mr. Mellor : Figures are available only for 1 October each year by family practitioner committee (FPC) areas. Luton is served by Bedfordshire FPC. At 1 October 1979 the average list size of unrestricted principals in Bedfordshire FPC was 2,585. At 12 October 1987 (the latest available figure) the number had decreased to 2,052.
Committee on Safety of Medicines
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish a list of the financial and other links between the members of the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the pharmaceutical industry.
Mr. Mellor : Information on members' links with the pharmaceutical industry was published with the 1987 annual report of the Medicines Commission and Medicines Act committees. A copy is in the Library. The 1988 report, which will contain additional information, will be published shortly.
Medicines Control Division
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed by the medicines control division of the Department in each year since 1979 ; and at what grades and locations.
Mr. Mellor : I regret that information is not available in the form requested. The table gives numbers of staff in post as at 31 March of each year since 1986. This includes staff of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission.
Column 27
|Staff in post 1986|Staff in post 1987|Staff in post 1988|Staff in post 1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 3/U.S |1 |1 |1 |1
Grade 3/SPMO |1 |1 |1 |1
Grade 4/CPHO |1 |1 |1 |1
Grade 5/AS |2 |2 |2 |2
Grade 6/S/PRIN |1 |1 |1 |1
Grade 7/PRIN |7 |9 |9 |9
SEO |3 |5 |5 |5
HEO |16 |21 |19 |19
EO |26 |34 |30 |32
AO |53 |55 |54.5 |58.5
AA |29 |32 |32 |32
S/PES |1 |1 |- |-
PES |20 |20 |17 |13
Typist |- |2 |2 |2
Data Processor |- |1 |- |-
S/Paper Keeper |- |- |- |1
Paper Keeper |- |- |- |3
Messenger |- |- |- |2
Principal M.O. |3 |3 |3 |3
Senior M.O. |14 |13 |15 |12.5
M.O. |1 |1 |- |-
P.S.O. |- |- |- |2
S.S.O. |- |3 |4 |4
H.S.O. |6 |6 |5 |4
A.S.O. |3 |2.5 |4 |3
S.O. |2 |2 |2 |2
DCPO |3 |3 |3 |3
SPHO |6 |6 |8 |8
PPHO |22 |22 |25 |30
PHO1 |31 |31 |24 |23
PHO2 |7 |1 |- |-
HPTO |- |5.5 |3 |7.5
Laboratory Attendant |1.5 |1.5 |1.5 |1.5
|--- |--- |--- |---
Total |260.5 |286.5 |272 |286
Total Administration Staff |159 |184 |172.5 |180.5
Total Professional Staff |101.5 |102.5 |99.5 |105.5
From 1979 to 1985 the following table shows the total number of staff in post and the numbers of administrative and professional staff.
Column 27
Staff in post at 31 March
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative Staff |120 |120 |117 |134 |128 |142 |145
Professional Staff |94 |95 |98 |95 |93.5 |107.5|117.5
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Totals |214 |215 |215 |229 |221.5|249.5|262.5
As to location the Medicines Control Agency, formerly the Medicines division, has been located at Market towers since 1980 ; previously they were at Finsbury square. The bulk of the staff are located at Market towers. The remainder are located at the BPC laboratory at Canons park and medicines inspectors at the following locations :
Chester, Hitchin, York, East Grinstead, Chelmsford and Lymington.
Pharmaceutical Price Regulation
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the total sales of medicines under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme to general practitioners and National Health Service hospitals in each year since 1979.
Mr. Mellor : Total United Kingdom sales for major companies operating under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS) have been as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1979 |775
1980 |884
1981 |1,083
1982 |1,269
1983 |1,386
1984 |1,483
1985 |1,510
1986 |1,569
1987 |1,611
The figures are sales of PPRS medicines made by companies required to submit full financial information under the scheme, and are the total of sales made in each company's financial year which ended in the year stated. They will include some sales not made to the NHS, where these are incidental to NHS sales ; separate information on sales to hospitals and the family practitioner service is not available, nor is information for later periods.
Sales made under the PPRS were affected by the introduction of the selected list scheme in April 1985, and by the exclusion of generics from the PPRS in October 1986.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the minimum allowable profit on capital employed under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme in each year since 1979 and the average level of profit under the scheme in each year.
Mr. Mellor : Under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme each company has a profit target which it can expect to retain if achieved. There is no "minimum allowable profit" under the scheme. For the years in question, the lower end of the range of target returns was :
|Per cent.
----------------------------------------
To 31 March 1984 |17
From 1 April 1984 |15
From 1 October 1986 |16
From 1 October 1987 |17
Average levels of profit achieved are not published.
Column 29
Drugs Licences
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the numbers of new drugs licensed under the Medicines Act in each year since 1979 and the numbers of drugs whose licence was withdrawn in each year.
Mr. Mellor : The figures for the years prior to 1982 are not available in a comparable form. The figures for the period 1982-88 are as follows :
|Product licences granted|Product licences for |Licences withdrawn<2>
|medicinal products
|containing a new active
|substance<1>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982 |934 |49 |1,003
1983 |783 |26 |1,531
1984 |641 |9 |1,513
1985 |649 |19 |721
1986 |738 |36 |920
1987 |641 |41 |1,204
1988 |557 |47 |1,268
<1>Differences from year to year in the number of licences for products containing a new active substance must be treated
with caution since (a) the year in which particular licences were granted may be dependent on a variety of factors and (b)
the number of licences granted may depend on the number of dosage forms needed for the particular products.
<2>The licences withdrawn column covers both product licences and product licences of right. The numbers include licences
withdrawn because of revocation by the licensing authority and because of decisions by applicants to withdraw, not to renew
or, in the case of product licence of right holders, not to pursue applications for full product licences.
Anthrax Vaccine
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he proposes to review the 1968 Medicines Order in order to facilitate the importation of anthrax vaccine ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : We have no plans to do so. We already hold a current produce licence for anthrax vaccine under the provisions of the Medicines Act 1968. Stocks of the vaccine are readily available for use and this country is the only one to our knowledge with a routine programme of vaccination of humans at particular risk of anthrax.
Chiropodists
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the registration of chiropodists ; how many practising chiropodists are (a) unregistered and (b) registered ; and what checks are made on unregistered chiropodists working in private homes for the aged and other institutions outside the National Health Service.
Mr. Mellor : Over the last 12 months my right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of letters on this matter from members of the public and hon. Members writing on behalf of their constituents.
I understand that the Council for the Professions Allied to Medicine, which maintains the state register, does not hold details of chiropodists practising in the profession. Information on unregistered practitioners is not held centrally. It is for the registration authorities for homes to
Column 30
decide how they carry out their registration inspection duties for this aspect of a home, as with many other aspects of a home.District Health Executive
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to appoint senior nurses as executive directors on the proposed district health executive body.
Mr. Mellor : There will be nothing to prevent the appointment of a senior nurse as an executive member. However, this will be a matter for the chairman and non-executive members of the authority, acting with the general manager.
NHS Reform
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the full public cost of his meeting with managers of hospital units which have expressed an interest in self-governing status held in Leeds on Tuesday 11 July.
Mr. Mellor : About £8,000, excluding individuals' travelling and other costs.
Dr. A. J. Davis
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Ealing, North to the Minister of State on the subject of Dr. A. J. Davis, dated 21 April, 17 May and 29 June ; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay.
Mr. Freeman : A reply to my hon. Friend's letter of 21 April has now been despatched. I apologise for the delay. We have had a lot of correspondence on the subject of the GP's contract. The Department can find no trace of receipt of the letters dated 17 May and 29 June.
Cervical Smears
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what categories of women do not require cervical smears ; and what method is proposed to ensure that they are not tested unnecessarily.
Mr. Mellor : Our guidance to health authorities states that "all women aged 20 to 64 should be invited for screening unless their GP has indicated that they should be excluded". (Circular HC(88)1 paragraph 3.)
A GP may decide to exclude from the screening programme those women who have had a total hysterectomy (which implies that the cervix has been removed along with the rest of the uterus) and those who have had their cervix amputated as part of a prolapse repair. Besides women who are dying of cervical cancer there are also those in terminal stages of other illnesses such as cancers elsewhere in their body or neurological disorders.
Smoking (Pregnancy)
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many babies were born (a) still born and (b) premature as a result of smoking by the mother during pregnancy in 1987 and 1988 ;
Column 31
(2) if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of (a) still births, and (b) premature births by weeks of gestation, where the mother smoked during pregnancy in 1987 and 1988.Mr. Mellor : We do not hold this information. Not all premature and still births in mothers who smoke can readily be attributed to maternal smoking.
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department has on the medical effects of smoking on the health of an unborn child ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health has found that smoking during pregnancy is a cause of low birthweight and increased perinatal mortality. The committee reported that the mean reduction in birthweight between maternal smokers and non-smokers ranges between 150 g and 250 g, and that perinatal mortality for maternal smokers is increased by about 28 per cent. Both the reduction in birthweight and the increase in perinatal mortality increase with the average number of cigarettes smoked. The committee also found that there is an association between exposure to other people's tobacco smoke and low birthweight although its interpretaton is unclear.
The Government continue their efforts to persuade all smokers, including pregnant woman, to give up the habit. The Health Education Authority's pregnancy book, which is given to every woman who is pregnant for the first time,
Column 32
advises women not to smoke during pregnancy. The teenage anti-smoking campaign, to be launched later this year, will discourage teenagers, especially girls, from taking up smoking. This campaign, aimed at the pre-childbearing years, should contribute to reducing smoking during pregnancy.AIDS
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the cumulative total of people diagnosed with AIDS until 31 March 1988 ; and how many of these had been diagnosed in the 12 months prior to that date ; in each regional health authority in England and Wales ;
(2) what was the cumulative total of people diagnosed with AIDS until 31 March ; and how many of these had been diagnosed within the previous 12 months ; in each regional health authority in England and Wales.
| Next Section
| Home Page |