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Mr. Mellor [holding answer 12 July 1989] : The cumulative totals of people diagnosed with AIDS until 31 March 1988 and 31 March 1989 are shown in the first table for each regional health authority in England and Wales. The table also sets out the numbers for the 12 months before the specified dates. Inevitably, some cases may not be reported to and accepted by CDSC within the same time period as that in which they are diagnosed, and the second table shows numbers diagnosed, reported to and accepted by CDSC within the specified times.
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Table 1
AIDS cases diagnosed
|1 April 1987-31 March |Cumulative to 31 March|1 April 1988-31 March |Cumulative to 31 March
|1988 |1988 |1989 |1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England
Northern |10 |39 |10 |49
Yorkshire |15 |36 |17 |53
Trent |11 |28 |13 |41
East Anglia |5 |19 |7 |26
North West Thames |241 |691 |185 |876
North East Thames |111 |296 |116 |412
South East Thames |56 |139 |93 |232
South West Thames |33 |61 |13 |74
Wessex |18 |39 |10 |49
Oxford |14 |30 |17 |47
South Western |11 |29 |14 |43
West Midlands |9 |29 |12 |41
Mersey |10 |24 |8 |32
North Western |23 |58 |26 |84
Wales |8 |24 |12 |36
Table 2
AIDS cases reported and accepted
|1 April 1987-31 March |Cumulative to 31 March|1 April 1988-31 March |Cumulative to 31 March
|1988 |1988 |1989 |1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England
Northern |15 |36 |13 |49
Yorkshire |15 |24 |29 |53
Trent |14 |26 |15 |41
East Anglia |14 |19 |7 |26
North West Thames |283 |621 |255 |876
North East Thames |131 |267 |145 |412
South East Thames |59 |125 |107 |232
South West Thames |37 |53 |21 |74
Wessex |16 |32 |17 |49
Oxford |19 |25 |22 |47
South Western |15 |25 |18 |43
West Midlands |10 |24 |17 |41
Mersey |8 |17 |15 |32
North Western |21 |52 |32 |84
Wales |9 |20 |16 |36
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National Health Service Staff (Meetings)
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list date and venue of the consultation meetings he is having in the regions with senior National Health Service staff.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will specify for each region (a) the date, (b) the time and (c) the venue of his meeting with managers about the National Health Service White Paper.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 14 July 1989] : We have frequent meetings with senior staff on all aspects of the National Health Service. Assuming that the hon. Member is referring to the current series of meetings on self-governing hospitals, with invited staff at all levels, the information requested is :
27 June :
The Grand Hotel, Birmingham
29 June :
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham
4 July :
The Old Assembly Rooms, Newcastle
6 July :
New Century Hall and Banqueting Suite, Manchester
11 July :
The Queen's hotel, Leeds
13 July :
The Hotel Russell, London WC1
18 July :
Ramada Inn West London, London SW6
20 July :
The Holiday Inn, Bristol
Medical Ethics
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to who is responsible for laying down and enforcing the ethics of the medical profession.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 14 July 1989] : The General Medical Council is responsible, under part 5 of the Medical Act 1983, for advising members of the medical profession on standards of professional conduct and medical ethics. It is also responsible for disciplining doctors whose disregard of such guidance is held to constitute gross professional misconduct.
WALES
Sheltered Accommodation
12. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy on the provision of sheltered accommodation for the elderly and handicapped.
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Mr. Wyn Roberts : The Government attach high priority to the provision of all types of special needs housing. It is for local authorities and housing associations in conjunction with Housing for Wales to assess housing needs in their areas.
South Glamorgan Health Authority
13. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he carried out before arriving at a decision on the 10-year strategic hospital plan of the South Glamorgan health authority.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : None. The strategic plan is the responsibility of South Glamorgan health authority which carried out extensive consultation on it. This culminated in the public being allowed a one-month period to submit comments on the plan to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Sewage Outfalls
14. Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a further statement on the Welsh water authority's proposed one mile raw sewage outfall off the Welsh coast near Swansea.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : This is a matter for Welsh Water. I understand that design and engineering studies are still to be completed.
Financial Services Industry
15. Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the development of the financial services industry in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : The financial services industry in Wales is developing very strongly. Employment in the sector has increased to more than 70,000 and is accelerating fast. Many inquiries are being dealt with at the present time.
Welsh Committee for Economic and Industrial Affairs
16. Mr. Coleman : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the Welsh Committee for Economic and Industrial Affairs ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Peter Walker : I met representatives of the Welsh Committee for Economic and Industrial Affairs on Monday 19 June to discuss its report on "Finance for Business in Wales".
Special Education, Clwyd
17. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had from Clywd county council on the provision of special education.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Neither my right hon. Friend nor I has received any recent representations directly from
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Clwyd county council on provision of special education, but the Welsh Office Education Department has had various discussions with council officials about various aspects of the Education Reform Act, including its implications for special education.Computeraid Ltd.
18. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the initiatives that Computeraid Limited, based at the Swansea university college innovation centre, have taken in the field of computer training courses.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The Department has received information about Computeraid Ltd. in connection with a project that it has proposed for inclusion in the European social fund element of the proposed integrated development operation for industial south Wales. I understand that they offer a useful training service in computer systems to small businesses.
Health Authorities
19. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what subjects he intends to discuss when he next meets chairpersons of Welsh health authorities.
Mr. Peter Walker : I next plan to meet health authority chairmen in the autumn. An agenda is yet to be agreed.
Primary Schools (Expenditure)
20. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent per pupil in primary schools in Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available ; and what was the comparable figure for 1978- 79, at constant prices.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : At constant prices, 1987-88 expenditure per pupil in nursery and primary schools was £1,004, compared with £785 in 1978-79 for pupils in primary schools only, which is an increase of 27.9 per cent.
Labour Statistics
21. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many male (a) employees and (b) self-employed and female (i) full and (ii) part-time were in employment in Wales in June 1979 and the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Peter Walker : In June 1979 there were 618,000 male employees in employment, 98,000 self-employed males, 250,000 full-time and 165, 000 part -time females in employment and 26,000 self-employed females. The latest available data are for March 1989, the details being 483, 000 ; 110,000 ; 213,000 ; 187,000 and 40,000 respectively. During this period there were substantial increases in the numbers of those in training and higher education.
26. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest unadjusted figures for unemployment in (a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales ; and if he will give the equivalent figures for 1979 on the most nearly comparable basis.
Mr. Peter Walker : On 8 June 1989, the number of unemployed claimants in the Newport district, Gwent and
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Wales were 5,078, 15,477 and 92,804 respectively. Unadjusted figures for 1979 are not available on a basis that enables a valid comparison to be made.River Pollution
22. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received asking him to ensure that the National River Authority will be fully empowered to prosecute all polluters of Welsh rivers.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Among the many representations I received about provisions of the Water Act the number of those relating specifically to the National River Authority's powers of prosecution was not recorded separately.
Wales Trades Union Congress
23. Sir Anthony Meyer : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he plans to have with the Wales Trades Union Congress about industrial development and job opportunities.
Mr. Peter Walker : I am always ready to meet the Wales TUC to discuss such issues.
National Health Service
24. Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has had to date in favour of the Government's White Paper on the National Health Service.
25. Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations the Welsh Office has received on the Government's Health Service review.
Mr. Peter Walker : I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the reply of 19 June to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers), Official Report, Vol. 155, columns 9-10.
Cancer Services
27. Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the comprehensive study of cancer services for north Wales patients initiated by the Welsh Office and commenced in September 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : I cannot announce the publication date of the study being undertaken by Deloitte, Haskins and Sells at the request of the Welsh Office as it is only now nearing completion. When the report is to hand it will be studied closely by the Department in consulation with the relevant health authorities and other interested parties.
Small Businesses
28. Mr. Alun Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to encourage the establishment and development of small businesses in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : My Department continues to encourage small businesses in Wales through implementing national policies such as deregulation and by schemes such as the gateway network and enterprise Wales which facilitate access to high-quality advice, information and
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other forms of assistance. We have also continued to support enterprise agencies which, in Wales, have received assistance of over £9.7 million from my Department, the Welsh Development Agency and the Development Board for Rural Wales.Hill Land Compensatory Payments
29. Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest situation regarding the European Community's review of hill land compensatory payments.
Mr. Peter Walker : Discussions on the Commission's proposals are at an early stage. We shall seek to ensure that any changes to the existing arrangements do not discriminate against the interests of the United Kingdom.
Public Libraries
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make an allocation of £13,500 for the next three years to extend and to improve the public library service in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones) on 9 February 1989 by my right hon. Friend, Official Report, Vol. 146, columns 761-63.
Listeria
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reported outbreaks of listeria in Wales ; and what further action he intends to take.
Mr. Peter Walker : Sampling by local authority environmental health officers of pate s in two south Wales districts between 11 May and 26 June 1989 showed that some samples of pate were contaminated with high counts of listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is widely distributed in the environment and some exposure to this organism is unavoidable. Only rarely does this give rise to illness and indeed at any one time as many as one in 20 people may carry this bacteria in their guts without any ill-effects.
In accordance with routine procedures advice was given, during the course of the sampling, to the supermarkets concerned by the environmental health officers about the storage and handling of pate , and arrangements were made for sampling of the implicated pate at the point of entry into the United Kingdom by the port health authorities at Dover and along the distribution networks within the United Kingdom, and the EC and Belgian authorities were alerted. On 3 July, my Department received the results of this exercise from the public health laboratory service (PHLS). My officials had discussions with officers of the PHLS and the relevant environmental health officers and with officials of the Department of Health. Arrangements were put in hand for a nationwide survey of all types of pate on sale in the United Kingdom, and the EC and Belgian authorities were alerted.
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In the light of further evidence received by the Department of Health from one of the importers the public was alerted on 12 July that certain vulnerable groups should for the time being avoid eating pate .In addition, my chief medical officer has written to all doctors in Wales advising that pate should be included in the list of foodstuffs previously notified to them on 21 February 1989 as being a potential hazard to specified vulnerable groups.
Varicose Vein Operations
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the numbers waiting for varicose vein operations in each Welsh health district and the average waiting time for such operations in each district.
Mr. Peter Walker : Information on the numbers currently waiting for varicose vein operations is not available centrally.
Available information on waiting times for patients admitted from the waiting list for such operations in 1988 is shown in the table :
|Median waiting time
|(days)<1>
------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |119
East Dyfed |52
Pembrokeshire |173
Gwent |119
Gwynedd |80
Mid Glamorgan |47
Powys |41
South Glamorgan |119
West Glamorgan |166
<1> Estimates are based on clinical information provided by
hospitals, which in some cases is incomplete.
In-Service Teacher Training
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Bridgend of 11 July, he will list the amounts requested by each local education authority under each heading in the table.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Local education authorities were notified in Welsh Office circular 33/88 of the indicative expenditure in respect of which they could expect to receive grant support under the scheme in 1989-90. The circular asked the LEAs to provide details of their proposed expenditure on in-service teacher training in 1989-90 before the final allocations, as shown in my reply of 11 July, were announced in the formal Welsh Office allocation letter of 27 January 1989. Details of each LEA's proposed expenditure under each category are shown in the table. Authorities are free to spend more on in-service teacher training than the amounts specified as eligible for specific grant under the scheme.
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LEA's proposed expenditure 1989-90
NP areas |Clwyd |Dyfed |Gwent |Gwynedd |Mid. Glamorgan |Powys |South Glamorgan|West Glamorgan
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Schoolteachers
1. Management |147,060 |80,000 |90,210 |106,290 |119,890 |126,100 |103,570 |71,000
2. Nat. Curr. Ass. and Man. 234,260 200,000 180,580 95,530 289,990 264,660 318,080 145,000
3. Nat. Curr. Content |444,300 |300,000 |248,780 |166,910 |380,630 |217,160 |537,670 |200,000
4. RE |23,800 |10,000 |9,670 |5,150 |12,890 |10,500 |11,600 |8,000
5. Under Fives |10,150 |12,000 |12,750 |6,210 |23,200 |10,500 |12,020 |10,000
6. Sp Needs Hearing |33,000 |7,000 |11,000 |- |34,000 |- |12,000 |13,000
7. Sp Needs Sight |5,000 |7,000 |7,800 |2,000 |20,000 |20,500 |3,000 |15,000
8. Sp Needs Sld |6,000 |- |50,000 |5,000 |13,000 |20,500 |15,000 |20,000
9. Sp Needs DES Teach |11,450 |15,000 |12,570 |6,700 |16,750 |20,500 |23,480 |15,000
10. New Technology |141,450 |35,000 |45,570 |129,552 |60,560 |110,400 |157,190 |100,000
11. Welsh |87,000 |30,000 |26,400 |68,300 |59,900 |38,900 |41,750 |95,000
b. FE Teachers
12. AFE |52,430 |13,000 |73,500 |19,110 |162,680 |- |117,800 |61,740
13. Management |42,790 |20,000 |24,400 |20,970 |25,430 |63,200 |37,930 |27,000
14. Updating Etc. |50,070 |21,000 |32,200 |11,830 |33,560 |74,140 |50,670 |40,000
15. Sp Ed Needs |5,580 |4,000 |980 |2,200 |6,230 |5,300 |4,390 |10,000
c. Other
16. Drugs |38,950 |15,000 |15,320 |25,543 |20,550 |28,430 |28,440 |15,000
17. Youth and Community |24,594 |10,000 |10,640 |38,500 |14,280 |30,500 |19,240 |10,300
18. Ed Psychs |7,000 |- |- |- |16,000 |- |- |65,000
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Total |1,364,884 |779,000 |852,370 |709,795 |1,309,540 |1,041,290 |1,493,830 |921,040
Local priorities |1,072,600 |1,121,000 |1,178,000 |685,332 |1,480,000 |80,971 |692,500 |841,290
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) further to his reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) Official Report, 22 February, column 679, if he will reformulate the figures, in order to show the amounts of support received in 1978-79 and 1988-89 by the following categories (a) support for all children (family allowance/child benefit/child tax allowances), (b) support restricted to lone-parents (one-parent benefit, additional personal allowance, supplementary benefit/income support, housing benefit, and family income supplement/family credit paid to lone parents), (c) child additions paid with national insurance benefits, (d) child additions paid with supplementary benefit/income support for two-parent families and (e) family income supplement/family credit paid to two-parent families ; (2) further to the holding answer to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham dated 3 May, when he proposes to answer the question for priority written answer which appeared as No. 10 on the Order Paper for that day.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest available information is set out in the table. It is inappropriate to use this information to make direct comparisons between levels and changes in expenditure for lone parents and couples with children because the original estimates excluded income support and housing benefit for couples with children and therefore did not include increased expenditure resulting from higher unemployment. Total estimates of expenditure on unemployed couples with children are not readily available. Child additions did not form part of the original estimate given on 22 February and have therefore been excluded.
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£ million
Categories |1978-79 cash |1978-79 real |1988-89 cash/real
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support for all children
Child Benefit |1,776 |3,872 |4,522
Child Tax Allowance |515 |1,123 |-
Family Income Supplement/
Family Credit paid to two-
parent families |14 |31 |242
Support for Lone Parents
One Parent Benefit |22 |48 |174
Additional Personal Tax
Allowance |60 |131 |165
Supplementary Benefit/
Income Support |465 |1,019 |1,850
Housing Benefit |25 |55 |740
Family Income Supplement/
Family Credit |10 |22 |180
Expenditures
The expenditure estimates of family support shown in the table are consistent with those given in
Table 15.8 of the 1989 Expenditure Plans. These do not include expenditure on housing benefit and
income support for couples with children. Estimates of this expenditure for 1988-89 will become
available when the 1988 annual statistical enquiry is published.
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total spending on social security benefits in 1979 at today's prices ; and what is the present total spending.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : On current plans social security spending will be £51.1 billion in 1989-90, an increase in real terms of 34 per cent. over the figure in 1978-79, which at today's prices was £38 billion.
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Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the numbers of people who have been transferred from unemployment to sickness benefit over the last three years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : An estimate of the number of claims for sickness and invalidity benefit which followed a claim for unemployment benefit in the last three years for which figures are available is shown in the table.
Claims for sickness benefit/invalidity benefit following claims for unemployment benefit Year ending |Number ------------------------------------- 2 April 1988 |236,000 4 April 1987 |220,000 5 April 1986 |203,000
Pensioners
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of (a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples who will receive an increase in housing benefit when applicable amounts are increased in October 1989 of the same or less than the reduction in benefit which they experienced in April 1988.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that the information requested could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Employment Training (Allowances)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of claimants who are receiving (a) invalidity benefit, (b) severe disability allowance, (c) mobility allowance and (d) attendance allowance who are on employment training schemes ; and what are the equivalent numbers in each standard region.
Mr. Scott : I regret that the information is not available.
Disability
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to publish the final report from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys surveys of disability.
Mr. Scott : The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) has today published the sixth report on the findings of the surveys of disability carried out in Great Britain between 1985 and 1988. The report covers all the remaining aspects of circumstances of disabled children not included in reports 3 and 5, which were published earlier this year. It provides information on a wide range of topics, including the use of services, equipment and adaptations, mobility, transport and education. For those in private households the effect of disability on the family is examined, and for those in communal establishments the social activities and some financial aspects are described.
The large quantity of detailed and complex information contained in the report has been provided by the families of disabled children or by members of staff for those in communal establishments. It therefore reflects the perceptions and knowledge of those people on the activities and experiences of disabled children, including the type of services they receive and the disability equipment they use.
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This report is the sixth and final in a series published by the OPCS since September 1988. Its publication marks the point at which both the Government and organisations of and for disabled people can begin to look at the survey findings in the round. We hope that the report will generate comment not only on its own results but on the survey findings as a whole.Hostels
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he intends to establish a permanent central fund for hostel residents previously dependent on board and lodgings payments.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. From October 1989, existing claimants will have any shortfall between their new and old levels of benefit made good by special transitional payments of income support for as long as they continue to live in the same hostel. To help hostel finances, a shortfall between the level of hostel charge met by housing benefit and that formerly met by income support will continue to be met until April 1991. From that date, the money made available by the October benefit change will be redirected to existing hostel funding sources. It is not a function of the social security system to fund hostels but claimants will be able to obtain help with accommodation costs through housing benefit.
Community Charge
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to the effect on the confidential relationship between officers of his Department and claimants of the provision of information to community charge registration officers as set out in his answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) of 26 June, Official Report, column 306.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The confidentiality of the relationship between benefit claimants and officers of the Department is treated with the utmost seriousness. It may be breached only in carefully circumscribed circumstances such as those to which the hon. Member refers which are specifically provided for in legislation.
National Insurance
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the most recent estimate of the cost to the national insurance fund, in 1989-90, of minimum contributions to personal pension schemes ; and by how much this exceeds the amount taken into account in the Government Actuary's estimate of net contributions to the fund in his report on the draft uprating order (Cm. 537).
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The most recent estimate of the revenue forgone by the national insurance fund in 1989-90 in respect of minimum contribution to personal pension schemes is £2,050 million. This exceeds the amount taken into account in the Government Actuary's estimate of net contribution to the fund by about £1,650 million.
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EMPLOYMENT
Co-operative Development Agency
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will be announcing his plans for the future of the Co-operative Development Agency.
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