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All admissions to mental illness hospitals and units with a diagnosis of presenile or senile dementia<1>, by Regional Health Authority of treatment, 1981-86 Regional Health Authority |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- England |14,855 |15,908 |16,707 |19,183 |19,931 |19,727 Northern |1,163 |1,050 |1,215 |1,499 |1,496 |1,270 Yorkshire |1,086 |1,230 |1,557 |1,587 |1,732 |1,744 Trent |1,190 |1,225 |1,397 |1,721 |1,935 |2,045 East Anglian |834 |1,000 |1,100 |1,409 |1,299 |1,237 North West Thames |799 |773 |989 |1,001 |1,088 |1,118 North East Thames |1,039 |1,173 |1,205 |1,395 |1,279 |1,237 South East Thames |899 |1,172 |959 |920 |1,085 |917 South West Thames |1,084 |893 |979 |1,061 |1,124 |1,217 Wessex |1,580 |1,563 |1,638 |1,836 |1,646 |1,551 Oxford |1,022 |1,208 |982 |1,286 |1,640 |1,759 South Western |1,106 |1,477 |1,370 |1,382 |1,491 |1,342 West Midlands |1,011 |947 |1,052 |1,154 |1,317 |1,385 Mersey |935 |970 |889 |1,280 |1,352 |1,342 North Western |1,085 |1,214 |1,349 |1,628 |1,431 |1,542 Special Health Authority |22 |13 |26 |23 |18 |21 <1> ICD codes 290.0, 290.1, 290.2, 290.3. Source: Mental Health Enquiry.
Contraception (Children)
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any information concerning the numbers of children aged under 16 years who were given contraceptive drugs and devices by family planning clinics and the Brook Advisory Service in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Mr. Freeman : The available information relates to the number of clients seen rather than to the outcome of the consultation. In 1987-88 15,600 young people aged under 16 were seen at community and hospital family planning clinics in England. This figure includes those seen by Brook centres providing services on an agency basis for health authorities.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any information concerning the numbers
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of prescriptions for contraceptive drugs and devices which were issued to children aged under 16 years in the last 12 months for which figures are available.Mr. Freeman : The information is not available centrally.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to ensure that his guidelines for National Health Service doctors on the issuing of contraceptives to children aged under 16 years without parental knowledge are also followed by the personnel of the Brook Advisory Service and the Family Planning Association.
Mr. Freeman : Voluntary organisations in the family planning field have copies of the guidance issued in March 1986 and I have no reason to believe that the guidance is not being followed.
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Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has given any recent guidance to doctors about the action which they should take when approached by children under the age of 16 years who are the victims on incest and who are seeking contraceptives or abortions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : No guidance on this specific point has been issued recently.
Hospitals (Self-governing Status)
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names and status of the sponsors of each of the expressions of interest in self-governing status.
Mr. Mellor : We have now moved forward in examining, with the health authorities concerned, the expressions of interests originally submitted to the Department. We see no good purpose in publishing a list which can change from day to day.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the timetable for the preparation of prospectus documents and business plans for self-governing hospitals.
Mr. Mellor : We will be issuing guidance in due course.
59. Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with regard to allowing self-governing status to hospitals.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : I refer my hon. Friend to my response today to my hon. Friend, the Member for Wanstead and Woodford (Mr. Arbuthnot).
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will deposit in the Library a copy of each of the submissions expressing interest in hospital self-governing status.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : No. Expressions of interest are not formal applications. When applications are prepared RHAs will seek the views of those with an interest.
Food Safety
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what intervals the public health laboratory service central laboratory at Colindale collates regular reports of food contamination from regional laboratories.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 July 1989] : Reports of contaminated food of public health significance are sent to the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre (CDSC) on a weekly basis. In the event of an unusual occurrence, PHLS headquarters and CDSC are immediately informed so that appropriate investigations can be instituted and advice given.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of listeria contamination in imported pate have been confirmed by the public health laboratory centre in England and Wales ; and if he will list the circumstances under which samples were taken and the outlets involved, by county.
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Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 July 1989] : The results of surveys of pate made by the PHLS, at present available, are that the PHLS Cardiff laboratory examined 73 samples of pate and 37 contained listeria. Of these, 59 samples were produced in Belgium and 32 were positive. In a continuing study in Cardiff further samples have been examined, and positive results obtained, from a variety of retail outlets. A larger national survey is currently in progress.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish details of codes of practice under which the public health laboratory service conducts routine tests on samples submitted to it for analysis as suspected cases of food poisoning.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 July 1989] : Each PHLS laboratory has its own procedures, adapted to local circumstances, based on the standard textbooks. In addition, the PHLS has a set of "Guidelines for the Microbiological Assessment of Foods".
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department assesses to be a potentially inefective dose of listeria.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 July 1989] : In a report "Foodborne Listeriosis" published in 1988, the World Health Organisation concluded that virtually nothing is known about the infectious dose of Listeria monocytogenes in man, nor is there good quantitative information relating to the amount of contaminated foodstuff ingested with the risk of acquiring the disease. It is likely that the infectious dose may be related to host susceptibility hence the early warning to vulnerable groups we issued on 12 July. With present knowledge and experience it is difficult to issue specific guidance on what constitutes a potentially infective dose of listeria.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will instruct the public health laboratory service to conduct tests for listeria during routine examination conducted by them on samples of food submitted by the public health service.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 July 1989] : The type of tests carried out by the PHLS on samples of food taken during routine examination depend upon the type of food and the processing that it has received. It would not be appropriate to examine for listeria in every case. It is a matter for environmental health departments and the PHLS to decide upon the appropriate tests to be conducted according to the circumstances.
Psychiatric Hospitals (Catering Costs)
Mr. Bendall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the approximate cost of the daily main meal for patients in psychiatric hospitals ; and what is the weekly food budget per patient.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 24 July 1989] : The cost of providing daily main meals to hospital patients is not available centrally. The average daily cost of catering for patients in psychiatric hospitals in 1986-87 (England) was £2.53, of which £1.35 related to the costs of provisions. However, this excludes the costs of energy and utilities and accommodation overheads.
Figures for 1987-88 are not yet available.
Source : Costing returns submitted to the Department by health authorities.
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Prescriptions
50. Mr. Patnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest figure he has for the total cost of drugs prescribed by general practitioners.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : The total cost of the drugs, dressings and appliances dispensed to patients in England in 1988, including prescriptions personally administered to patients by their GP, was £2.219 million. This compares with £1,770 million in 1986.
District Health Authorities
53. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the chairmen of district health authorities ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : We do not have formal meetings with all 190 district chairmen at any one time. However we regularly meet chairmen on an individual and group basis to discuss a wide range of issues.
Creches
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to encourage health authorities to establish workplace creches and similar incentives further to encourage the return of mothers into the health and caring professions.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : Mothers returning to work have a major contribution to make to staffing the NHS and other caring professions over the next decade. We fully recognise the value of workplace nurseries in attracting and retaining their services. In March this year we introduced a new collaborative venture between the Health Service and the Midland bank to set up and share creche facilities for staff throughout the country. I understand that the scheme has been well received by health authorities and that a number are discussing specific plans with the bank. The national steering group on equal opportunities for women in the NHS has produced a report and a guidance manual which we commended to all health authorities in April. They give detailed guidance on the implementation of workbreak schemes, including child-minding facilities. In addition, the NHS training authority is developing a "return and retain" scheme for staff wishing to take career breaks. Decisions about the implementation of such schemes are for individual employing authorities. But we take every opportunity to emphasise that there must be improvements and greater flexibility in working practices and recruitment and retention policies to counteract the substantial drop in the number of young people coming on to the labour market in the 1990s, as well as to provide worthwhile job and career opportunities for returning mothers and, for those who are professionally qualified, to secure the best investment from their professional training.
Hospital Physicists
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy fully to fund any pay settlement negotiated by the employers with hospital physicists during the current year.
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Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : No. Health authorities are expected to meet all costs, including Whitley pay settlements, from their allocations.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set up a pay review board for hospital physicists.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) on 24 July at column 536 .
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the salary scales for each of the last five years for hospital physicists.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Hospital Physicists Association ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : Neither my right hon. and learned Friend nor I has met the Hospital Physicists Association.
Minor Operations
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of minor operations being carried out in general practitioners' surgeries within the areas of the five family practitioner committees in west Yorkshire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : We do not hold this information.
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training is made available to those general practitioners who wish to carry out minor operations in their own surgeries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : It is the responsibility of the medical profession to provide such training as is necessary for the provision of general medical services. We are currently discussing the training implications of the GPs' new contract with interested educationists. No decisions have yet been made.
Griffiths Report
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on proposals for implementation of the Griffiths report.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 25 July 1989] : As yet we have received only a few representations on our proposals for community care set out in the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 12 July. These and other representations will be taken into account in our preparations for the White Paper.
Fair Hearing Campaign
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf to discuss the fair hearing campaign ; if he has any plans to review the provision of National Health Service hearing aids ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Mellor [holding answer 26 July 1989] : We are currently considering our response to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf's Fair hearing campaign, and will make an announcement in due course.
Breast Cancer (Screening)
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by district authority the percentage of women in the relevant age group who have so far responded to the national programme for screening for breast cancer.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 26 July 1989] : Statistics from the breast screening centres will not be available centrally until towards the end of 1990 following the receipt of Korner forms KC62 and KC63 ("Adult Screening Programme : Breast Cancer Screening") by the Department.
Acceptance rates of over 70 per cent. of the women called for screening were, however, reported informally last year by over half the first screening centres.
Nurses (Grading Appeals)
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State (1) how many nurses have been awarded a higher grade following an appeal to district or regional authorities ; and what percentage this represents of all appeals heard to date ;
(2) if he will state his latest estimate of (a) the number of appeals by nurses against their new grade awaiting a hearing at regional level and (b) the number of such appeals so far to complete the appeals process at that level.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 26 July 1989] : We do not collect information centrally concerning the number of appeals to district health authorities. Approximately 2,600 requests for hearings at regional appeals committee level have been lodged to date, and none has yet reached the hearing stage.
Water Supply, North Sheffield
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the incidence of unwholesome water supply in the north Sheffield area ; if he will take steps to monitor the incidence of ill-health arising from the supply of the Yorkshire water authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : I have been asked to reply.
I understand that drinking water from the north Sheffield area is supplied from the Yorkshire grid, from the recently built Langsett treatment works and from the Pennine treatment works. Supplies from the Yorkshire grid and Langsett treatment works are normally of very good quality although there may be occasional breaches of the EC drinking water directive standard for iron. These supplies serve the majority of the people of north Sheffield.
Supplies from the Pennine treatment works, notably Loxley and Ewden, regularly fail to comply with the EC directive standards for manganese and aluminium. These substances affect the appearance of drinking water and are not considered to be a risk to health. Remedial works for both treatment plants are included in the Yorkshire water authority's current capital programme.
Monitoring is already being undertaken nationally by the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre.
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ENVIRONMENT
Chironomid Larvae
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the presence of chironomid larvae found recently in the water supply emanating from Hampton works ; whether there are any dangers to health ; whether any pathogenic organisms, including cryptosporidia and aeromonas, could have passed through the works ; and what action the communicable disease surveillance centre has taken.
Mr. Howard : Thames Water has informed me that it is satisfied that the chironomid larvae problem is under control. Initially five filters were taken out of supply as a precaution. Three were found not to be the cause of the problem and were returned to service. One of the others was marginally affected. This was drained down, inspected and re-sanded and is shortly to go back into service. The other bed which was most affected is undergoing a thorough structural investigation and will be out of service for some time. The contact tank at the Hampton works was also taken out of use in two stages, was cleaned and is now fully operational.
Thames Water has been monitoring intensively the Hampton works and associated distribution system for pathogenic organisms including cryptosporidium. It did not detect salmonellae, entero-viruses or giardia in any of the samples. Aeromonas, an organism which can colonise slow sand filters, was detected in samples of water leaving the works and in the distribution system. It is commonly found in distribution systems and there is no evidence that when present in water supplies it is detrimental to public health.
Thames Water found that many of the samples of water from the works and the distribution system contained low levels of cryptosporidia. As a precaution the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre is monitoring the occurrence of human cases of cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in the parts of London supplied by the Hampton works in order to detect any significant increase in the number of cases, should this occur. So far no such increase has been detected. Thames Water is continuing to monitor samples of the works inlet and outlet for cryptosporidia.
ERDF Funding (Merseyside)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about ERDF funding for the Merseyside integrated development operation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : My right hon. Friend has received letters from a number of hon. Members representing Merseyside constituencies about the level of ERDF funding which may be allocated to the Merseyside integrated development operation. Firm decisions on the allocation of resources have not yet been made by the European Commission, and the Government will be pressing for the best possible outcome for the United Kingdom as a whole and for Merseyside.
Correspondence
Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many letters were received from, and sent to, hon. Members by his Department in (a) January and (b) the whole of this Session up to 1 July.
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Mr. Patten : The number of letters received from right hon. and hon. Members in January was 2,211 and for the whole of this Session up to 1 July the total was 17,991. The number of letters sent to right hon. and hon. Members was 1,802 in January and 15,968 for the whole of this Session up to 1 July.
Housing Act 1988 (Grants)
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire of 26 May, Official Report, column 792 , on the subject of grants under section 29 of the Housing Act 1988, what progress has been made and what discussion he has had with (a) the Lichfield district council, (b) the Stafford borough council and (c) the Cannock Chase district council.
Mr. Howard : Twenty-nine local authority cash incentive schemes have now been approved, and others are under consideration. The Department has written to the councils mentioned but none has submitted a scheme for approval.
House Purchase and Sales
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' working party on ways to simplify the process of buying and selling houses ; and whether he will introduce legislation based on the working party's recommendations.
Mr. Chope : The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors sent copies of the working party's report to my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Consumer Affairs.
The Government wish the process of house buying and selling to be as simple and fair as possible and are therefore considering the report's recommendations together with other representations on the subject.
Special Waste (Dumping)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many enforcement officers are employed in Surrey to monitor the illegal dumping of special waste.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Surrey county council employs seven full- time inspectors and two part-time prosecuting officers to carry out enforcement responsibilities regarding waste management in its area.
Local Government Finance
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total sum which will be raised by the community charge in England and Wales in the first year of collection.
Mr. David Hunt : If English local authorities spend in line with the level of total standard spending proposed by my right hon. Friend on 19 July, and given the level of aggregate external finance he proposed, they would need to raise about £9.7 billion from community charges in 1990- 91. The equivalent figure for Wales, announced by my right hon. Friend on 20 July, is £376 million. Not all of these sums would come from chargepayers, because of community charge benefit.
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Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will prepare a leaflet explaining the effect of the community charge upon private tenants and their landlords.
Mr. David Hunt : My Department is preparing such a leaflet, which will cover landlords and tenants in the private, public and housing association sectors. It will be available free of charge later this year.
Mr. Waller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the maximum percentage reduction in rates from which business will benefit in 1990-91, following the introduction of the uniform business rate ; and whether he will make it his policy that any increase in this percentage figure during the transitional period should not be brought about by penalising those businesses liable to higher rate bills.
Mr. David Hunt : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he plans to issue any guidelines to local authorities in England and Wales in respect of poll tax payments for (a) Royal Navy personnel and (b) merchant seamen ;
(2) what guidelines have been issued to local authorities in England and Wales in respect of poll tax payments for Royal Navy personnel and merchant seamen away from home for a period of more than six months, for both householders and non-householders ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Guidance on United Kingdom service personnel was included in community charge practice note No. 17 published in April this year. Guidance on questions of sole or main residence was contained in community charge practice No. 9 published last November. Copies of all practice notes are in the Library of the House. It is for community charge registration officers to decide where an individual is solely or mainly resident on the facts of each individual case.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the estimated yield in the current financial year of a business rate for (a) offices, (b) shops, cafes and restaurants, (c) hotels and boarding houses based on the capital value and (d) other business premises equal to, respectively (i) five per cent. in the City of London, (ii) four per cent. in the rest of London, (iii) three per cent. in the metropolitan districts and (iv) two per cent. elsewhere in the United Kingdom, together with his estimate of the yield in 1988-89 under the present arrangement and under the new arrangements.
Mr. David Hunt : The estimated yield in the United Kingdom for 1988- 89 from business rates under the present arrangements is as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------------------
Offices |1,900
Shops and restaurants |1,800
Hotels and boarding
houses |150
Other businesses |4,600
The other information requested is not available.
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