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Pesticide Alternatives
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made in the use of sea-lice and ctenolabrus rupestris as alternatives to pesticides.
Mr. Lang : A full evaluation of the Sea Fish Industry Authority's initial trials of gold sinny wrasse to reduce sea lice infestation is not expected until the end of the year. Further trials may be needed before commercial viability could be established.
Work on the development of a possible vaccine treatment, which is being co- ordinated by scientists from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, is also at a very early stage.
Lupus Group
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking as a result of the Fife, Lothian and Borders Lupus group letter to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I responded to the points raised in this letter in a reply which I sent to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on 17 November 1989. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Kelvin Central plc
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has granted financial assistance to the management team of Kelvin Central plc in its bid to purchase the company ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Financial assistance has been offered by the Scottish Transport Group to the
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management-employee buyout team led by the managing director of Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. The assistance, which will not exceed £48, 750, will cover 75 per cent. of professional advisers' fees up to £65,000. In the event of the bid being successful, no assistance will be paid.Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide to the employee-led consortium the equivalent financial assistance to that provided to the management-led consortium in its bid for Kelvin Central plc ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Financial assistance is being made available by the Scottish Transport Group to one management-employee buyout team per company. In the case of Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. this assistance has been offered to the management-employee team led by the managing director.
Conveyancing
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the Scottish-based organisations which have supported his proposals for reform of the law and procedures related to conveyancing ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The following Scottish-based respondents to the consultation paper "The Legal Profession in Scotland" expressed support for some or all of the proposed changes to the conveyancing market in Scotland :
Citizens Advice Scotland
Clydesdale Bank plc
Confederation of British Industry, Scotland
Dunfermline Building Society
National Association of Estate Agents, Scottish Branch
Scottish Consumer Council
Stuart Wyse Ogilvie, Estate Agents
All representations on the proposals for reform were taken fully into account before the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Bill was introduced.
New Building Regulations
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds it was decided not to introduce the new building regulations concerning the conservation of fuel and power in Scotland in April 1990.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The building regulations which will come into effect in April 1990 were made under the Building Act 1984, which applies only to England and Wales. I have included similar improvements for the conservation of fuel and power in a major revision of all parts of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations, made under the Building (Scotland) Act 1959, which I intend to lay before Parliament later this year.
Land and Property Holdings
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is yet in a position to publish a schedule of the land and property holdings of the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.
Mr. Lang : I have no plans to publish such a schedule.
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Eastern Scottish Bus Company
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to privatise the Eastern Scottish bus company.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Sales of the subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group will begin soon and it is expected that the whole programme will be completed early in 1991. It is not possible to say at this stage when Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd will be offered for sale.
Cerebral Palsy
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research he has commissioned to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Scottish Home and Health Department has not funded any research specifically to investigate the causes of cerebral palsy. It has funded some research which might be relevant to this condition. Funds are available and applications for soundly based research will be sympathetically considered.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department is taking to monitor trends in cerebral palsy.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Health boards monitor the numbers of children with cerebral palsy who are less than 16 years old. The information is held by the information services division of the Scottish Health Service's common services agency in the handicapped children's register.
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of children born in Scotland, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, who have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information is as follows :
Children with cerebral palsy new registrations in year ending 31 December Year |Number --------------------- 1978 |79 1979 |n/a 1980 |69 1981 |78 1982 |124 1983 |75 1984 |69 1985 |100 1986 |70 1987 |92
Homelessness
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made on the latest annual report by Shelter on homelessness in Scotland.
Mr. Rifkind : The reported results of Shelter's recent survey on homelessness in Scotland have been given careful consideration within my Department. Shelter does not make it clear the basis on which the statistics it presents have been collected, and its figures do not accord with those provided by local authorities to the Scottish Office. Nevertheless, both Shelter's and our own figures show that the number of households applying to local
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authorities under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, and the number of them assessed as being homeless or potentially homeless, has remained fairly stable over the last three years.The figures quoted by Shelter represent its estimate of the number of applications made to local authorities over a full year. Most of those households are found accommodation by local authorities, and others arrange their own accommodation. The figures are not an indication of the number of households without a home at any one time.
Court of Session
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has attended with Lord President Hope since 1 November 1989 ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Rifkind : Since 1 November 1989 I have had one meeting with the Lord President of the Court of Session, at which a range of matters were discussed.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date he was informed that Lord Dervaird was resigning from the Court of Session ; and who informed him.
Mr. Rifkind : By letter dated 21 December 1989, Lord Dervaird advised me that for personal reasons he wished to resign his appointment as a Court of Session judge from 1 January 1990.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what part the Lord Advocate took in initiating by advice or otherwise the meeting between Lord President Hope and senior members of the Scottish media.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions, and on what dates, the Lord Advocate held with the Lord President of the Court of Session about impending vacancies in the membership of the court.
Mr. Rifkind : The Lord Advocate has regular discussions on judicial matters with the Lord President of the Court of Session.
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Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings he has held with judges of the Court of Session.
Mr. Rifkind : I have meetings with judges of the Court of Session from time to time.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings the Lord Advocate has had with judges of the Court of Session.
Mr. Rifkind : The Lord Advocate has meetings with judges at the Court of Session from time to time.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any recent information has been given by Crown Office officials to the Lord President of the Court of Session.
Mr. Rifkind : Information on a wide range of matters is made available on a regular basis by officials of the Lord Advocate to the Lord President of the Court of Session and to his officers of court.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether being a practising homosexual within the law bars the nomination and appointment of persons to the Court of Session, or requires resignation from among those presently appointed.
Mr. Rifkind : There is no such legal bar.
Inward Investment
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each of the announcements made by his Department on new planned jobs locating in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Mr. Lang : Details of every inward investment decision cannot be published as information is supplied by some companies on a commercially confidential basis.
The following table gives information on inward investment in Scotland for the years 1984-85 to 1988-89, as previously announced. The planned job figures are based on company forecasts.
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|Number of |New |Safeguarded
|projects |jobs |jobs |jobs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |69 |8,169 |1,274 |9,443
1985-86 |58 |4,663 |3,554 |8,217
1986-87 |50 |4,106 |978 |5,084
1987-88 |84 |6,363 |4,856 |11,219
1988-89 |55 |4,846 |2,243 |7,089
The figures for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89 relate only to projects where there was direct involvement by Locate in Scotland or the Industry Department for Scotland. Locate in Scotland is aware of a further four projects which came to Scotland in 1987-88 without such involvement and of a further five in 1988-89.
Civil Service Relocation
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the number of actual jobs created in each of the last five years by new companies and organisations or Government Departments locating in Scotland ;
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(2) what is the number of civil service posts relocated to Scotland in each of the last five years.Mr. Lang : The information on non-Government employment is not available for the first question and the information on Government Departments is not available in the form requested for both questions.
In the five years since 1985 around 1,490 posts were transferred to Glasgow under the Government's earlier dispersal programme ; of these, 1,400 were in the Ministry of Defence and the remainder in the Passport Office. In
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addition there have been some minor moves by Departments to Scotland taken on their own initiatives, but no central records are kept.Mentally Ill Patients
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland over a two-year period.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of long-term mentally ill patients will vary depending on the particular circumstances of the person involved and it is not possible to give an estimate of the costs.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland will have an assessment made of their individual needs within the next two years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : People with mental illness have individual care plans to meet their needs while they are receiving treatment in hospital. The White Paper "Caring for People" indicates that health boards and local authorities will be required to complete an assessment of the needs of each person with a long-term mental illness due to be discharged from hospital and prepare joint care programmes for them. The intention is to introduce these care programmes from 1 April 1991.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what extra resources will be available to local authorities to pay for the individual needs assessments for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what extra resources will be made available to local authorities to develop community care for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland ;
(3) what new resources are currently being planned to offset the reduction in long-term beds for patients who are mentally ill.
Mr. Lang : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on 16 January 1990 to his earlier questions on the same subject. ( Official Report, Vol. 165, col. 208-09 .)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the proportion of long-term mentally ill patients currently in Scottish hospitals that could satisfactorily be cared for in a community context.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Whether a long-term mentally ill inpatient could be satisfactorily discharged into the community is a matter of clinical judgment. No comprehensive estimates of the likely proportion involved are currently available.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to develop a system of bridging finance to develop services for the provision of community care of long-term mentally ill patients in Scottish hospitals.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Under the arrangements set out in the White Paper "Caring for People", health boards and local authorities will each prepare a community care plan. As a basis for these plans, the White Paper recognises a
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need for planning agreements between boards and authorities setting out shared assumptions and objectives. A key requirement of planning agreements will be funding agreements setting out the basis on which health and social care will be funded. The details will be the subject of consultation in due course.Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to establish an independent body to undertake any needs assessment of individual long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : None. The needs assessment of mentally ill patients in hospital is a matter for the relevant health boards. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has a statutory duty to inquire into any case where there appears to be any deficiency of treatment or care and to follow this up as appropriate.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to reduce the number of inappropriate hospital admissions for patients who are mentally ill.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The proposals in the White Paper "Caring for People" are designed to help the mentally ill to be cared for in a community setting and to ensure that they are admitted to hospital only where, on the basis of clinical judgment, it is necessary for the purposes of treatment.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he plans to develop systems of community and institutional care for long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The White Paper "Caring for People" sets out in detail the Government's proposals for the provision of comprehensive community facilities for the long-term mentally ill and other priority groups. At the same time we are providing the necessary resources to develop and improve hospital facilities for those whom this remains the most appropriate form of care.
Judges
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Lord Advocate will initiate a review of the system of appointment and of the terms of service of Scottish judges.
Mr. Rifkind : There are no plans to do so.
Businesses
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of new businesses registered and bankruptcies in Scotland in each year since 1984.
Mr. Lang : The table shows the number of new companies registered in Scotland and the number of liquidations notified for Scottish registered companies in each year between 1984 and 1989. The table shows the number of bankruptcies. Bankruptcies are awards of sequestration and relate solely to individuals, partnerships, clubs etc and exclude limited companies.
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Companies registered and liquidated and bankruptcies in Scotland
Year |New |Liquidations<1>|Bankruptcies<2>
|companies
|registered<1>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |4,976 |757 |296
1985 |5,417 |757 |298
1986 |5,999 |762 |437
1987 |5,860 |636 |<3>826
1988 |6,879 |651 |1,420
1989 |6,779 |674 |2,294
<1> Source Companies House
<2> Source Accountant and Bankruptcy Office
<3> New legislation was introduced in 1986, which affected the number of
sequestrations.
Living Elsewhere Grants
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students receive grants based on living elsewhere than in the parental home ; and what proportion this is of the number of students receiving grants.
Mr. Lang : The latest available figures are for the academic session 1988-89, when 31,981 Scottish domiciled students received the elsewhere rate of maintenance grant. This represented 65.8 per cent. of the total number of students receiving a maintenance grant.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effect of the imposition of the poll tax on the workload of sheriff officers ; and if he anticipates a need for any increase in the number of sheriff officers as a result of the poll tax.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Sheriff officers are independent contractors and it is for them to consider how best to respond to requests for their services.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many summary warrants were issued by Scottish regional councils for non-payment of the poll tax at the most recent date for which figures are available ; and what was the equivalent number of summary warrants issued by Scottish regional councils for non-payment of rates on the same date in the previous year.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 12 January 1990] : Information on the total number of persons subject to summary warrant procedure for non-payment of domestic rates or community charge is not held centrally. The use of the summary warrant procedure is a matter for regional councils.
HEALTH
Teaching Hospitals
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what exercises have been carried out by his Department to determine the excess costs of teaching hospitals ; and how often these exercises have been repeated.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In the last 15 years the Department has several times sought to determine the excess costs of teaching hospitals, and to establish what proportion of this excess is attributable to teaching --as
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opposed to research, the tendency to treat more complex cases, or other factors. Exercises have been undertaken on four occasions : for the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) in 1975, and again in 1976, and subsequently during reviews of the RAWP formula in 1978-80 and 1986-88.For the future, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has accepted a recommendation from the Steering Group on Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education that the basis and level of the service increment for teaching (SIFT), which is intended to compensate hospitals for those excess costs, should be re-examined in 1992.
Service Increments for Teaching
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the changes in the service increment for teaching formula since 1980.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The formula used to calculate the service increment for teaching (SIFT) has been changed on two occasions in this period ; following the work of, first, the Advisory Group on Resource Allocation which reported in 1980, and the NHS Management Board's review of the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) formula, which reported in 1988. The changes on each occasion were : In 1980-81 :
Expansion to cover new medical schools at Cambridge, Leicester, Nottingham and Southampton ;
Expansion of the number of teaching hospitals covered by the formula ;
Replacement of the previous method of compensating for higher London costs ; introduction of the London weighting addition in its place ;
Introduction of separate recognition for dental hospitals' excess service costs--equal to 85 per cent. of their average outpatient expenditure.
Recommendations of the RAWP Review : to take effect in 1990-91 : Increase in the proportion of excess service costs met by medical SIFT from 75 per cent. to 100 per cent. ;
Recalculation of the average amount by which teaching hospitals' service costs exceed those of other hospitals, on the basis of an updated survey ;
Recalculation of dental SIFT in recognition of increased costs in dental hospitals, relative to the rest of the NHS.
In addition to these changes to the formula, in November 1989 important new advice was issued to the regional health authorities on the principles which should govern their allocation of SIFT to individual hospitals.
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