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to Munton, Easington, Vane Tempest, Dawdon, Ellington, Westo and Wearmouth collieries in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 ;(3) if he will list, colliery by colliery, the various costings borne by British Coal north-east (a) to British Rail for the transportation of minerals from Munton, Easington, Vane Tempest, Dawdon, Ellington, Westo and Wearmouth collieries in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 and (b) to road haulage contractors for the transportation of minerals from the same collieries over the same period.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is a matter for the British Coal Corporation. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what percentage of the weight, and what percentage of the volume of waste sent to Drigg, for each of the years 1980-88 inclusive, originated from (a) British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., (b) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, (c) the Central Electricity Generating Board and (d) the South of Scotland Electricity Board ; and if he will make a statement.
(2) what was the weight and volume of waste sent to Drigg for each of the years from 1980 to 1988 inclusive ; and what are his estimates for 1989 to 1999 inclusive ;
(3) what is the cost of disposal of waste at Drigg per cubic metre ; what plans there are for upgrading the disposal practice of low-level waste at Drigg ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer : This is a matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the progress of the borehole drilling programme at (a) Sellafield and (b) Dounreay.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Drilling of the first borehole at Sellafield finished on 8 November. Acting on behalf of Nirex, British Nuclear Fuels has now made an application to the local planning authority for permission to drill a second borehole. Also acting on behalf of Nirex, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority submitted an application for permission to drill two boreholes at Dounreay, which was rejected by the local planning authority in July. The authority's appeal against this decision was submitted on 24 August, and is currently with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the expected tonnage which will be deposited in the Nirex deep repository for (a) intermediate waste and (b) low-level waste.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Nirex expects to handle about 1 million cu m of low-level waste and one third of a million cu m of intermediate level waste by 2030.
Reprocessing
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the future of spent fuel reprocessing within the United Kingdom.
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Mr Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 26 June 1989 at column 356.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the progress of the research into the extraction of plutonium from intermediate level waste.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I am advised that the nuclear industry has concluded a programme of research on this topic which indicates that while it is technically possible to remove a proportion of the plutonium from plutonium contaminated material, it is not economic to do so, taking account of dose rates to operatives and the effects of such reductions in terms of storage costs and long-term risks from disposal. The nuclear industry is not proposing further work in this area at present.
Power Station Costs
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest estimates for the cost per unit per kilowatt hour for generation from the following sources stating maximum and minimum estimates (a) coal-fired power stations, (b) nuclear Magnox stations, (c) nuclear advanced gas-cooled reactor stations, (d) Sizewell B, (e) tidal power, (f) onshore wind generation, (g) offshore wind generation, (h) geothermal power and (i) wave power.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Parts (a) to (d) are a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I shall ask the chairman of the CEGB to write to the hon. Member.
On parts (e) to (i) I refer the hon. Member to Energy Paper 55 "Renewable Energy in the United Kingdom : The Way Forward" a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Decommissioning
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the latest estimates for the decommissioning costs of (a) Magnox reactors, (b) advanced gas-cooled reactors and (c) Sizewell B.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Decommissioning costs are a matter for the CEGB. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
British Coal
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to require British Coal to offer outside interests the opportunity to take over the running of pits which British Coal has decided to cease operating.
Mr. Michael Spicer : It is for British Coal to determine in each case whether to license the recovery of remnant coal at collieries which it has decided to cease operating. The increase in the statutory limit on underground manpower at licensed mines proposed in the current Coal Industry Bill give British Coal the opportunity to license such operations on a larger scale than at present.
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Relocation
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list all office relocations of his Department's staff since May 1979, stating in each case the location of origin and the location of transfer, together with the numbers of staff transferred ; (2) what relocations of his Department's staff, or agencies relating thereto, are currently being considered ; and what are the numbers of staff affected.
Mr. Wakeham : No sections of my Department have been relocated since May 1979. As I told the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 6 November 1989 at column 418 , the position will be reviewed in early 1991 when the Department will have had some 18 months' experience of working in its new headquarters building.
Research and Development
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he plans to review the level of research and development programmes devoted to nuclear power and sponsored by his Department.
Mr. Michael Spicer : My Department keeps its nuclear research and development programmes under regular review.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will increase substantially the research and development budget devoted to renewable energy sources ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Morrison : My Department has published its strategy for research and development of renewable energy sources in energy paper 55. In line with that strategy, expenditure is set to increase steadily over the next three financial years. It remains our policy to ensure that all economic and environmentally acceptable energy sources should be exploited fully.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what percentage of his Department's research and development budget is devoted to (a) gas-fired generation, (b) renewable energy sources and (c) energy conservation and efficiency in 1979 and each succeeding year.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Technological development in the field of gas- fired power generation has been taken forward by the power generation industry and equipment manufacturers without a need for Government intervention. Hence, in this field my Department has no separate budget for R and D. The other information requested is as follows :
Percentage of Department's R
| and D expenditure
Year |Renewables |Energy
efficiency
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |5.5 |<1>0.6
1980-81 |6.5 |<1>0.9
1981-82 |6.4 |1.0
1982-83 |5.2 |1.8
1983-84 |5.0 |2.9
1984-85 |6.4 |2.7
1985-86 |6.1 |1.5
1986-87 |7.0 |2.0
1987-88 |9.1 |2.3
1988-89 |8.9 |1.7
Source : Annual Review of Government funded R and D. except where breakdown not shown in source, and Departmental figures used. Figures used for total Departmental expenditure include throughout the period nuclear expenditure by the UKAEA in support of the Department's
programmes.
Coal
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has discussed, or will discuss, with the chairman of British Coal the implementation of measures to protect the reserves of low-sulphur coal in this country ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Spicer : It is for British Coal to assess the market demand for particular qualities of coal, including low-sulphur coal, that it can profitably supply. This assessment forms part of its business plan which we review regularly with the chairman of British Coal.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will raise the closure of Betteshanger colliery with the chairman of British Coal as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Michael Spicer : Colliery closures are the responsibility of British Coal. I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the tonnage of workable reserves of low-sulphur coal in the United Kingdom for (a) 1979, (b) 1983 and (c) 1989.
Mr. Michael Spicer : United Kingdom coal resources are vested in the British Coal Corporation. The amount of those resources which constitute workable reserves can be determined by the corporation only in the light of local mining conditions and market opportunities.
HEALTH
Child Migrants Trust
Mr. Ashdown : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Child Migrants Trust in response to its request for funding ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have been in correspondence with members of the Child Migrants Trust concerning individuals' efforts to trace their roots and the possibility of Government support for the trust. My officials have met and are in contact with representatives of the Child Migrants Trust to discuss how my Department might assist them. However, I am unable to make a decision about the trust's grant application until it provides the extra information we have requested.
Pesticides
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the research projects he is funding, including the location and amount spent on each project, into the effects of pesticides on human health.
Mr. Freeman : The Department is not funding any research on this subject but I understand some proposals relating to improved monitoring and investigation of alleged pesticide poisoning are under consideration at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Under the
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Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, applicants seeking approval of pesticide products are required to submit a full breakdown package in support of their application for the approval of pesticides. They are also required to undertake extensive research into, among other things, the potential toxicological effects of pesticides on operators and consumers. This research can often take several years to complete to the satisfaction of the regulatory authorities and is carried out at considerable cost to the companies. It makes an important contribution towards increasing knowledge of pesticides and raising contemporary scientific standards.Ambulance Dispute
Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the ambulancemen's 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 and 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. Representations have come also from members of the public writing direct or through their Members of Parliament.
Liquid Crystal Thermography
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which locations within the National Health Service liquid crystal thermography is available ; and what advice his Department has given to health authorities on the use of this screening procedure.
Mr. Freeman : We do not keep records of the locations at which liquid crystal thermography is available and have not advised health authorities on its use. I understand that very few hospitals use this technique as a diagnostic tool.
Evidence has emerged from a long-term trial carried out by the Department at Bath to measure skin temperature patterns that liquid crystal thermography is not suitable for screening, although it may be of use as an adjunct to other diagnostic routines.
Child Abuse
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the amount of funding allocated by his Department towards the Great Ormond Street project.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : £56,347 in 1987-88, £62,110 in 1988-89 and £56,223 in 1989-90 has been allocated by the Department of Health for the postgraduate training programme in child sexual abuse. The level of funding for the forthcoming financial year has not yet been decided.
Ambulance Service
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to put out to competitive tender the management and operation of non- emergency ambulance services.
Mr. Freeman : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Mr. Hoyle) on 30 November at column 411.
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Royal College of Nursing
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the main issue discussed at his first meeting with the new General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has had one formal meeting with the recently appointed general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing. It was in June, shortly before she took up her new duties. The establishment and membership of the NHS policy board was the main issue discussed.
Community Care
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the participation of disabled people in the planning of their own community care services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Our White Paper "Caring for People" (Cmnd. 849) sets out our detailed proposals for the future organisation of community care, including arrangements designed to widen room for choice by those who require such care and provide more appropriate services closer to their wishes and needs. In particular our proposals for multidisciplinary assessment of need, whether for residential care or support at home (paragraph 3.2) lay particular stress on the need to take account of the wishes of the individual and his or her carer, and as far as possible to include their active participation in the assessment.
Helicopter Emergency Ambulance Services
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the review being conducted by the regional ambulance officers working party into helicopter emergency ambulance services will be complete ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The review is well advanced but has had to be suspended during the industrial action taking place within the ambulance service.
Lancashire Ambulance Service
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the quota system operated by Lancashire ambulance service.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have received no recent representation regarding the system of quotas introduced in 1986 by the Lancashire health authority for non-urgent patient journeys.
Contraception
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure has been undertaken by his Department to encourage safe and effective contraception in the Nottingham area, in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Regional health authorities are responsible for allocating funds to individual districts who are in turn responsible for determining the need for and level of local services and providing them in the most efficient way. Family planning services are no exception to this.
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Mental Health Act
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his intention to review the operation of the guardianship provisions of the Mental Health Act ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : We have no present plans for such a review, but will of course reconsider the need in the light of evidence to suggest that either the provisions, or the way they are put into operation, are inadequate.
National Assistance Act
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure that the provisions of section 47 of the National Assistance Act 1948 are fully understood by practitioners within the medical and social work professions.
Mr. Freeman : At present we have no plans to take action, but we are keeping the situation under review.
Relocation
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all office relocations of his Department's staff since May 1979, stating in each case the location of origin and the location of transfer, together with the numbers of staff transferred.
Mr. Freeman : The Department of Health was formed in 1988. Between 1979 and 1988 a number of posts in the former DHSS were relocated, but the available information does not distinguish between health and social security posts. We have recently announced that the work of the National Health Service management executive, involving some 1, 000 posts, is to be relocated from London to Leeds.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what relocations of his Department's staff, or agencies relating thereto, are currently being considered ; and what are the numbers of staff affected.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has announced that the work of the whole of the National Health Service management executive, involving some 1,000 posts, is to be relocated from London to Leeds.
Hospices
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to give financial support to hospices.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Arrangements for financial support for hospices in England have been under careful consideration for some time. We hope to announce proposals shortly.
Babies (Intensive Care)
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of intensive care baby cots available in the Yorkshire regional health authority ; and what is the number in each district health authority.
Mr. Freeman : The information is given in the table.
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Neonatal cots, Yorkshire Regional Health Authority, 1988-89
District Health Authority |Number of
|cots
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hull |24
East Yorkshire |10
Grimsby |19
Scunthorpe |10
Northallerton |24
York |10
Scarborough |10
Harrogate |14
Bradford |32
Airedale |14
Calderdale |18
Huddersfield |18
Dewsbury |17
Leeds Western |36
Leeds Eastern |31
Wakefield |14
Pontefract |15
|----
Regional total |316
<1> Average daily available cots not in maternity units.
Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of intensive care baby cots available in the Yorkshire regional health authority.
Mr. Freeman : Responsibility for the local provision of services is a matter for the health authority concerned. The hon. Member may like to approach the chairman of the Yorkshire regional health authority, Sir Bryan Askew.
Dental Services
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of community dental clinics operating in Britain for each year since 1979.
Mr. Freeman : The number of operational community dental clinics, both fixed and mobile, in England in each of the years since 1979 is as follows :
Caldendar |Number of /Financial year<1> |clinics<2> --------------------------------------------------------- 1979 |1,861 1980 |1,865 1981 |1,864 1982 |1,876 1983 |1,909 1984 |1,881 1985 |1,907 1986-87 |1,838 1987-88 |1,810 1988-89 |1,747 <1> Figures up to 1985 relate to calendar years. Information thereafter is based on financial years. <2> These figures relate to the total number of clinics available, though some may not have been in use for part or all of the year in question.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the dental attendance figures for the Wakefield district health authority for each year since 1979.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is not available centrally for the period before 1982. From 1982 the figures for Wakefield DHA are shown in the table. The information relates to the community dental service.
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Last day of |Number of calendar/ |attendances Financial year ------------------------------------ 1982 |12,456 1983 |13,167 1984 |12,652 1985 |11,265 1986-87 |9,881 1987-88 |10,720 1988-89 |8,730
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his policy with regard to the future of the community dental service ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what plans there are to improve the dental care of those children whose parents fail to arrange regular dental checks.
Mr. Freeman : Following proposals made in their White Paper "Promoting Better Health", the Government took powers in the Health and Medicines Act 1988 to enable changes to be made to the responsibilities of the community dental service.
In the Government's view, general dental practitioners should normally provide dental care to schoolchildren.
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Switching the emphasis of the community dental service away from children will enable it to commit a significant proportion of its resources to health education, to the treatment of priority groups such as handicapped adults and the elderly, to identify the dental needs of the population, and generally to act as a safety net for treatment for those whose needs cannot be met by general dental practitioners.The community dental service continues to carry out dental screening of schoolchildren, and a patient who is identified as being in need of dental treatment is advised to seek it from a general dental practitioner. The changes will of course be monitored.
Vaccination
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will itemise the take-up of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccination for children in South Yorkshire.
Mr. Freeman : The estimated number of children receiving the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccination in South Yorkshire in 1988- 89, broken down by age and district health authority are shown in the table. Accurate information about take-up rates is not available.
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Vaccination and immunisation-South Yorkshire-1988-89
Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)-number immunised by age
Districts |Age |Age1 |Age 2 |Age 3 |Age 4 |Age 5 |Age |Age |Age |20 or |Total all
|under 1 |6-7 |8-15 |16-19 |over |ages
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barnsley |5 |1,396 |292 |251 |994 |133 |25 |3 |0 |0 |3,099
Doncaster |0 |2,097 |586 |435 |1,392 |724 |546 |250 |0 |0 |6,030
Rotherham |10 |1,784 |289 |263 |1,216 |145 |111 |19 |0 |0 |3,837
Sheffield |18 |2,406 |593 |357 |1,268 |719 |562 |257 |29 |0 |6,209
|------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------ |------
Total ages |33 |7,683 |1,760 |1,306 |4,870 |1,721 |1,244 |529 |29 |0 |19,175
Source: Form KC50A.
Nurses
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is the number of NHS staff, by grade, who have retired within the last five years under the female nurse provisions of the NHS superannuation regulations, indicating the ages of the staff concerned in year bands.
Mr. Freeman : The specific information requested is not available. The NHS superannuation scheme does not maintain either records by grade or statistics relating to retirements under the special class provisions. An attempt to extract even some of the required information from manual and computer records would be a very time-consuming exercise, which would incur disproportionate expense.
Basingstoke and North Hampshire Health Authority
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the level of funding of the Basingstoke and North Hampshire health authority.
Mr. Freeman : From 1 April 1990 allocations to regions will be based upon a basis of weighted capitation of residents. Regions will in turn begin the process of allocating to districts next year on the same basis but taking into account additional local factors. This basis will provide a fairer basis of revenue funding to all districts. The details are set out more fully in "Working for Patients".
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