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HEALTH
Salaries
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the salary of (a) a community health council secretary, (b) a hospital secretary and (c) a family practitioner committee administrator, or their equivalent grades for (i) 1974 and (ii) currently.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Community health council secretaries are paid on grades and payscales negotiated in the administrative and clerical staffs Whitley council. It is for employing authorities to grade individual posts according to their particular range of responsibilities and activity. Information is not held centrally on individual posts, but the majority at 1 April 1974 were graded scale 9 (salary range £2,856 to £3,552 per annum) and from 1 April 1989 grade 6 in a new grading system (£11,962-£13,994). Changes in NHS organisation and the introduction of general management mean that the posts of hospital secretary and family practitioner committee administrator have no equivalent in the current structure. I shall write to the hon. Member setting out past information on these posts and the nature of changes affecting them.
Shropshire Health Authority
Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he expects the West Midlands regional health authority to allocate funds to the Shropshire health authority on the same basis of calculation applied by his Department to the regional allocation.
Mr. Freeman : Ultimately, district health authorities will be funded on broadly the same basis as regional health authorities, although district allocations may need to take account of additional factors which reflect local circumstances. Regional health authorities will be expected to manage a smooth and careful transition to the new arrangements for funding districts, over a period of several years.
Domiciliary Care (Scotland)
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to meet representatives of Scottish local authorities to discuss the new arrangements regarding Department of Social Security payments to local authorities for domiciliary care, to be introduced in April 1991.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I understand that representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have already met my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office to discuss community care. As part of preparations for implementing the Government's proposals for community care, Department of Health
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officials are holding a series of meetings with representatives of the local authority associations to discuss, among other matters, the arrangements for transferring to local authorities the resources which the Government would otherwise have provided to finance care through social security payments to people in residential and nursing homes. Representatives of COSLA have taken part in these discussions.Water Fluoridation
Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department expects to confirm an indemnity to Yorkshire water authority in connection with the fluoridation of water supplies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Yorkshire Water has indicated that because of the interconnected nature of the water supply system, it is prepared to consider requests to add fluoride to the water supply in future only provided that requests are received from all district health authorities within its water region boundaries. Such unanimity has not been achieved. A new indemnity has therefore not been requested by Yorkshire Water.
HIV
Mr. Chris Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to the interval between a person being infected with HIV and the time when HIV antibodies can be ascertained by testing.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There is usually an interval of six to 12 weeks from infection with HIV to the development of antibodies detectable by routine screening methods. In some individuals the appearance of antibodies may be delayed, but in 95 per cent. of cases they are detectable within six months.
Women Doctors
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women doctors are employed by the Trent regional health authority ; how many are in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment ; and what are the required hours of work in each category.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : As at 30 September 1988 Trent regional health authority employed 785 (whole-time equivalent) full-time and 160 (wte) part-time permanent paid female medical staff in the hospital and community health service.
For junior hospital doctors--that is, senior registrars, registrars, senior house officers and house officers--the standard hours are 40 per week. For consultants and other grades the figure is 38.5 hours. Part-time junior hospital staff are contracted for a maximum of 36 hours per week, hospital practitioners for 17.5 hours per week and consultants and others for 31.5 hours. In community medicine full-time clinical staff are contracted for 37 hours per week and part-time staff for a maximum of 30 hours.
Salmonella
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the incidence of salmonella Manchester.
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Mr. Freeman : The public health laboratory service, division of enteric pathogens confirmed 33 human isolations of salmonella Manchester between 1 January and 3 November this year. Annual totals of human isolations of salmonella Manchester confirmed by the division of enteric pathogens for the period 1981-88 were 2, 0, 34, 9, 4, 28, 0 and 2 respectively.
Rapes (HIV Infection)
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women are known to his Department to have tested seropositive for HIV subsequent to their being raped.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally by the communicable disease surveillance centre. One case of HIV infection following rape in the United Kingdom has been reported in the British Medical Journal (16 September 1989).
Social Workers
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average number of social workers per 100,000 head of population in each of the London borough councils.
Mr. Freeman : The number of field social work staff as a rate per 100,000 population is set out in the table for each of the London boroughs and for the City of London.
London borough |Rates per 100,000
|population September
|1988
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Camden (1984) |180.4
Greenwich |99.6
Hackney |99.1
Hammersmith |129.6
Islington |145.8
Kensington |162.7
Lambeth |155.4
Lewisham |132.2
Southwark |127.6
Tower Hamlets (1987) |124.1
Wandsworth |145.9
Westminster |152.2
City of London |527.8
Barking |48.5
Barnet |51.2
Bexley |49.2
Brent |86.7
Bromley |53.4
Croydon |47.2
Ealing |34.0
Enfield |74.5
Haringey |75.0
Harrow |90.7
Havering |45.0
Hillingdon |65.4
Hounslow |73.2
Kingston upon Thames (1978) |63.2
Merton |53.7
Newham |84.5
Redbridge |32.6
Richmond upon Thames |42.0
Sutton |72.7
Waltham Forest |105.0
The staff numbers are in whole-time equivalent terms and relate to returns for 30 September 1988. Where this return is not available, data from the most recent year's return has been used ; the year of the return is shown.
Rates per 100,000 population are based on the mid-year population estimates for 1988. Where a previous year's
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return has been used, the appropriate year's population figure has also been used. Field social work staff includes field social work practitioners, community workers, trainee social workers, and social work (welfare) assistants.Nineteen-eighty-eight data are provisional and subject to amendment.
Mental Health
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received during the past six months concerning the need to amend section 73 of the Mental Health Act 1983, relating to the discharge of part III patients ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : A number of representations have been received, all originating from the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds, or its local branches.
The effect of an amendment to the legislation such as is proposed would be to turn the clock back to the situation as it was before the 1983 Act. I am not aware of any widely held view that this would be desirable. This particular aspect of the change in the law, promulgated in 1983, followed the judgment given on 5 November 1981 in X v United Kingdom, in which the European Court of Human Rights held that under article 5(4) of the European convention, a detained patient has a right of periodic access to a judicial body to determine the justification for continued detention. A mental health review tribunal, having an advisory power only, did not constitute a judicial body.
Abortion
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many projects for women undergoing post-abortion trauma are funded by his Department.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : One ; the joint Royal College of General Practitioners and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists study into "Attitudes to Pregnancy", which commenced in 1976.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a requirement for clinics to inform his Department of the fees charged and monies collected for termination of pregnancy.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department already approves the general level of fees in the case of registered pregnancy advice bureaux, and nursing homes with more than six beds, or more than 25 per cent. of their total beds, approved for the use of abortion cases. Bureaux and nursing homes are required to issue receipts. Copies of these are examined by officials of the Department on inspection visits.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to require that the unborn child about to undergo abortion should be administered an anaesthetic prior to the operation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This is entirely a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor responsible.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to report to the ministries of justice in those countries which have time limits lower than the United Kingdom's the details of abortions which would violate their domestic laws.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No. Medical treatment of such patients in this country is subject to the usual rules of confidentiality.
Visually Handicapped People
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on the guidance to accompany the new BD8 form ; and to what extent that guidance will be based on the recommendations of the working group established in 1987.
Mr. Freeman : Work is currently in hand on the guidance to accompany the new form. The guidance will be based on the recommendations in the report "Co-ordinating Services for Visually Handicapped People" published earlier this year.
Pain Relief X-ray, Waltham Forest
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a central Government donation to Dr. Beverly Collett's appeal for a new pain relief X-ray machine in Waltham Forest health district ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The distribution of resources to districts is a matter for regional health authorities. It is up to district health authorities to decide how best to allocate the resources available to them in the light of local health care needs and circumstances.
Life-saving Equipment
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what bids he has received from Waltham Forest district health authority for provision of essential life-saving equipment at Whipps Cross hospital ; what bids have been met ; and what consideration he has given to the replacement life of current equipment at that hospital, and its implications for funding.
Mr. Freeman : The level of provision of health care services within a particular area is a matter for the health authority concerned, which is best able to judge the priorities for provision of services and equipment in the light of local needs and circumstances.
Community Care
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department has drawn up any guidelines for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Person's (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1989 ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if his Department has received any guidelines drawn up by disability organisations for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I have been asked to reply.
We have received proposed guidelines from a disability organisation for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. The Government's position on the implementation of section 7 will be made clear in the White Paper on Community Care which will be published shortly.
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Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the number of psychiatric patients discharged from hospitals in the Greater London area into community care in each of the last three years.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is not readily available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the role of community nurse managers and by whom they will be employed under the Government's proposals for care in the community.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Community nurse managers will continue to have central responsibility for the management of the community nursing services. The Government's proposals for community care will not affect their employment position.
Haemophiliacs (AIDS)
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received recent representations from the Haemophilia Society regarding compensation to haemophilia sufferers who contracted AIDS as a result of contaminated blood supplied to them through the National Health Service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Representations have been received from the Haemophilia Society about compensation for people with haemophilia and HIV infection-AIDS.
Some haemophiliacs are now pursuing compensation through the courts and I am advised that this matter is now sub-judice.
Carl McGoldrick
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the reason for the delay in replying to the letter of 25 August from the hon. Member for Copeland asking for publication of the inquiry report into the death of Carl McGoldrick ; when copies of the report will be made available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have written to the hon. Member.
Ambulance Dispute
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received recent representations from the trade union movement about the ambulance drivers' dispute ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Representations have been received by the Department from trade unions on the staff side of the ambulance Whitley councils. Representations have also been received from the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, which claims to have within its membership over 20 per cent. of all ambulance personnel but is not represented on the staff side of the Whitley councils. No recent representations have been received from elsewhere in the trade union movement.
Foster Parents
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue instructions to local authority social services departments that their race-matching policy for
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children needing foster parents shall not be retrospective and that children happily placed with foster parents over a long period shall not be removed solely for racial reasons.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Local authorities have a statutory duty to give first consideration to the need to promote and safeguard the welfare of each child in care. A child's racial origin, cultural background and religion are important factors to be taken into account. But any decision made about a child on the basis of generalised and rigidly applied rules would not accord with the authority's duty to the child. It follows that a child should not be removed from a foster placement which is otherwise satisfactory solely because of the foster parents' race. We are considering what further guidance is needed to make this clear.
Medical Research
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to review the legislative control of non-National Health Service medical research practices.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 9 November 1989] : The Government have no general proposals for legislation in this area. However, proposals for dealing with embryo research are set out in the White Paper "Human Fertilisation and Embryology : A Framework for Legislation". We intend to bring forward legislation on this as soon as possible.
Drugs (Development and Prescription)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new safeguards he intends to introduce for the development and the prescribing of drugs that act on the brain's 5HT receptors.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 9 November 1989] : Satisfactory controls already exist under the Medicines Act to ensure that newly developed drugs are examined for safety quality and efficacy by the Committee on Safety of Medicines before a product licence is granted. Doctors exercise clinical judgment in deciding whether to prescribe new drugs and in doing so have regard to information from a wide variety of sources including product data sheets. We have no plans at present to introduce any further safeguards.
ENERGY
Sellafield
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from La"nder administrations in the Federal Republic of Germany on health and safety standards at BNF Sellafield in relation to contracts with Federal German Utilities to reprocess spent fuel at Sellafield.
Mr. Michael Spicer : No such representations have been made.
Power Stations (Coal)
Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list for each year from 1980 to 1988, inclusive, the annual figure for consumption of coal at (a) Cottam, (b)
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High Marnham and (c) West Burton power stations inNottinghamshire ; how many tons of this coal was supplied from Harworth colliery, Bevercoats colliery, Shireoaks-Steetley colliery and Manton colliery in Nottinghamshire ; and how much from other United Kingdom collieries or imports.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Arrangements for the delivery of coal from individual collieries to power stations are a matter for the day-to-day management of the Central Electricity Generating Board and British Coal. I am asking the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.
Quality Industrial Users Scheme
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has carried out on the impact of privatisation of the electricity supply industry on the cost of electricity to large industrial users currently eligible for QUICS.
Mr. Spicer : The terms on which electricity is supplied after privatisation are a matter for negotiation between customers and their suppliers, subject to applicable statutory and licence obligations.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the 12 area boards about the impact on electricity prices of withdrawing Magnox and advanced gas-cooled reactors from the sale of the generating companies after vesting day under the Electricity Act ;
(2) what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the 12 area boards about the withdrawal of nuclear power stations from the privatisation of the electricity generators under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989 ;
(3) what consultations he has had with the 12 area board chairmen in the electricity supply industry on the signing of contracts for nuclear power with the generating boards and companies.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My right hon. Friend and I have discussions from time to time with area board chairmen on a wide range of issues.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his current estimate of the date for starting negotiations on nuclear power contracts between the Central Electricity Generating Board and its successor generating companies and the area boards ;
(2) what is his latest estimate for the completion date of negotiations of nuclear power contracts between the Central Electricity Generating Board or National Power and the area boards ; (3) what is his latest estimate of the length of time required for negotiating nuclear power contracts between the nuclear generating companies and boards and the area boards.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Negotiations on nuclear contracts are under way. I hope they will be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible.
Electricity (Sale of Assets)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his latest estimate of the net proceeds of the sale of the assets of the electricity supply industry under the terms of the Electricity Act ;
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(2) what is his latest estimate of the proceeds from the sale of the electricity supply industry ;(3) what is his current estimate of the Exchequer proceeds from the sale of the 12 area boards under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989, net of flotation and advertising costs ;
(4) what is his current estimate of the Exchequer proceeds from the sale of the generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989 net of all flotation and advertising costs.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The market value of the generating companies and distribution companies will depend on a wide range of factors including the profitability of the companies, their capital structures, their future prospects and the state of the market. It is therefore too early to estimate the likely proceeds for the sale of the companies.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate of the total cost of decommissioning and nuclear waste management for the advanced gas-cooled reactors in England and Scotland.
Mr. Michael Spicer : These are matters for the CEGB and SSEB. I have asked the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proposals he has for capping the liability of National Power to decommissioning and nuclear waste management costs after vesting day under the terms of the Electricity Act.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to the statement that my right hon. Friend made on 9 November at column 1175.
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate for the completion of the privatisation of the electricity supply industry under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Our aim remains to privatise the industry within the lifetime of this Parliament.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his current estimate of the date for flotation of the electricity generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act ; (2) what is his current estimate of the proportion of the total assets of the electricity supply industry of Great Britain that will have been privatised under the terms of the Electricity Act by the end of (a) 1990, (b) 1991 and (c) 1992.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The Government intend to float the successors to the area boards in the autumn of 1990, and to bring National Power and PowerGen to the market in the first half of 1991.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate of the date of vesting day under the Electricity Act.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Our aim is to vest the new structure of the industry at the end of March 1990.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the level of the non-fossil fuel quota in England and Wales under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989.
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Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy on 9 November.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his most up-to-date estimate of the level of tax losses to be carried forward in the balance sheets of the Central Electricity Generating Board and its successor generating companies under the terms of the Electricity Act.
Mr. Michael Spicer : The tax position of the CEGB is a matter for the board and the Inland Revenue, and is currently the subject of discussions between the two. The level of tax losses available to the successor companies will be determined in accordance with schedule 11 of the Electricity Act.
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