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Payments Trust to HIV infected haemophiliacs and their families. Copies of all circulars have been placed in the Library.

Occupational Pensions

Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people lost entitlement to unemployment benefit when the age limit at which occupational pensions affect entitlement was lowered in January 1989 ; how many had benefit reduced ; how many subsequently sought a review and had money refunded ; and whether he will make it his policy that all those who lost benefits will receive the correct entitlement via an extra- statutory payment if Mrs. D. Morris's case is upheld by the social security commissioner.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : It is estimated that, in a full year, 45, 000 people will lose entitlement to unemployment benefit as a result of the age limit change. Of these, 14,000 would lose some, and 31,000 all, benefit. Following the local appeal tribunal decision in the case of Mrs. Doreen Morris, 1,552 people had, as at 31 December 1989, requested a review of their benefit disallowance. Further action will be considered once the decision of the social security commissioners is known.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Package Travel

94. Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the proposed European Community draft directive on package travel.

Mr. Forth : EC Ministers reached a common position on a proposal for an EC directive on package travel at the 21-22 December Internal Market Council, subject to finalisation of the recitals and amendments to the text. The common position is expected to be formally agreed by the Council in the near future. Thereafter, it will be subject to the EC co-operation procedure, whereby the European Parliament may give its opinion on the proposal before the Commission can put the draft directive to the Council for consideration of its final adoption.

Post Office Vehicles

Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many bicycles the Post Office operates ; and how many bicycles are maintained in house and how many by private contractors ;

(2) how many vehicles the Post Office operates ; how many are operated on long lease hire and maintenance contracts ; and if he will list those postal districts where Post Office vehicles are maintained by a private contractor.

Mr. Forth : These are operational matters for the Post Office. I will ask the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

Estate Agents

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any proposals for extending the Sale of Goods Act to estate agents ; what representations he has received on this matter ; and if he will make a statement.


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Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has no proposals to extend the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 to sales of land and has not received any representations on this matter.

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on requiring estate agents to disclose personal interests in properties or sales and stopping them favouring bids which use mortgages or other services in which the estate agent has a personal interest ; what proposals he has for legislation or regulations on these matters ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Forth : The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers, and the National Consumer Council, have copied to me their responses to the Director General of Fair Trading's consultation document on estate agency which includes proposals on disclosure of personal interests and on tie-in sales. The director general will be reporting the conclusions of this consultation shortly. I will study the director general's report most carefully, and consider what action may be necessary to give effect to any recommendations he may make.

Amateur Radio

Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received in support of and against the recommendations of the Dylis Gane report of 1984 on the self-policing of amateur radio bands ; and if he will list the relevant organisations that are opposed to these recommendations.

Mr. Forth : The Gane report of 1984 was an internal Department of Trade and Industry efficiency scrutiny document dealing with the work of the radio investigation service. The report contained proposals for reordering the priorities of the radio investigation service. The thrust of the section dealing with radio amateurs was that amateurs should take on greater responsibility for resolving interference problems. That policy has been implemented and the Department has received representations both for and against this policy from organisations and individuals : it would not be practicable to list them.

Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the amateur radio observation network operated by the Radio Society of Great Britain is currently operational ; and if he will list any occasions on which it has not been operational.

Mr. Forth : This is a matter for the Radio Society of Great Britain.

Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the amateur broadcasting licence fee is allocated to the radio investigation service ; and what is the annual cost of that service.

Mr. Forth : The radio investigation service budget for 1988-89 was £6,284,000. Over 60 per cent. of the radio amateur licence fee represents the direct costs of licensing and enforcement. In addition all licensees benefit from the work of the radio investigation service in seeking to prevent interference and abuse of radio across the spectrum.


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Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the radio investigation service is taking to prevent abuse on amateur radio repeaters.

Mr. Forth : The radio investigation service is currently holding discussions with the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), which is the licensee for amateur repeater stations, about the minority of radio amateurs who act irresponsibly when using this service.

Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is giving any consideration to the shutting down of the amateur radio repeater network until the problem of abuse has been resolved.

Mr. Forth : No. The majority of amateur radio repeaters are used by responsible licensees.

Gross Domestic Product

Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which parts of the United Kingdom had, for the purposes of the EC's structural funds' provisions, per capita gross domestic product of less than 50 per cent. of the Community average in the latest available year.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : None.

Gas Supplies (Contract Customers)

Mr. Beaumont-Dark : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether British Gas has offered undertakings about contracting for new gas fields following the recommendations of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on the supply of gas to contract customers.

Mr. Ridley : Yes. I have now accepted undertakings given by British Gas following discussions with the Director General of Fair Trading in the light of the Government's decision announced on 27 April 1989 about contracting for new gas fields. The undertakings are as follows :

1. British Gas plc ("British Gas") hereby undertakes to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry that it will in good faith give constructive support to the efforts of gas producers towards the achievement of the target that 10 per cent. of the gas coming forward from new gas fields and contracted to be sold after 31 May 1989 should be supplied to the industrial and commercial market in the United Kingdom by suppliers other than British Gas by :

(i) not purchasing more than 90 per cent. of the gas on offer to it in the period 1 June 1989 to 31 May 1991 ;

(ii) not requiring, in contracts for the purchase of gas entered into after 1 June 1989 under which British Gas does not buy the whole of the recoverable reserves of a field, the inclusion of terms which would unreasonably constrain the ability of the gas producers to dispose of the gas not sold to British Gas into the industrial and commercial market in the United Kingdom ;


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(iii) expeditiously co-operating in setting up and conducting negotiations for the securing of rights to have gas conveyed in its pipelines under Section 19 of the Gas Act 1986 (common carriage). In particular British Gas will, within four weeks of any application to it for such rights containing sufficient information for the purpose, provide to the applicant a full response thereto setting out the terms and conditions (including price) offered by it for the exercise of such rights or, as the case may be, an explanation of the reasons why such application cannot in full or in part be complied with. In the case of exceptionally complicated applications to which it is not possible to provide a full response within four weeks, British Gas will provide whatever information it can within that time and undertakes to provide a full response without unnecessary delay ; (

(iv) not otherwise doing anything calculated to obstruct the achievement of the target.

2. For the purpose of this Undertaking, in assessing the achievement of the 10 target level there shall be taken into account both gas coming from the United Kingdom Continental Shelf and gas imported from foreign sources.

3. British Gas will provide to the Director General of Fair Trading any information to which it has access which the Director General may require to assist the Government in ascertaining whether the target level has been achieved or the undertaking in paragraph 1 fulfilled.

The Government are very pleased that British Gas has given these undertakings which are a declaration of good faith by British Gas that it will co-operate in establishing competitive suppliers of gas. I would like to emphasise again the importance which the Government attach to the development of competition in the supply of gas to business users and their determination to encourage the emergence of such competition. This should give greater confidence to gas producers and independent gas suppliers selling gas directly to the market in competition with British Gas. I hope that they will take advantage of this new opportunity. If they have any concerns about the development of competition in the market they should make representations to the Director General of Fair Trading who will be able to look into the matter.

Flame-retardant Covers

Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has to compensate retailers and small business men who have to destroy stock which does not have flame-retardant covers from 1 March.

Mr. Forth [holding answer 12 February 1990] : I have no plans to do so. It would be very difficult to justify the payment of public money to retailers and small businesses for complying with a safety requirement of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, which was announced almost two years ago, after a full consultation.


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ENERGY

Petrol Prices

Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the average equivalent pump price per litre and per gallon of (a) diesel, (b) leaded petrol and (c) unleaded petrol for each month since January 1989 (i) excluding Government taxes and duties, (ii) excluding Government taxes and duties and retailers' margin and (iii) including all Government taxes and duties, in the


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manner of his answer to the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter), of 27 July 1989, Official Report, columns 807-08.

Mr. Peter Morrison : The Department of Energy does not have data on retailers' margins. Figures from the Commission of the European Communities on the pump price of diesel and on premium grade leaded petrol are given for each month of 1989 available at present. Comparable figures for unleaded are not available.

The figures are as follows :


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Price in Pence/Litre                                                                                                               

                     |January  |February |March    |April    |May      |June     |July     |August   |September|October            

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pump price of Diesel                                                                                                               

Excluding government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |12.10    |11.54    |11.86    |12.84    |12.37    |13.07    |12.81    |12.98    |14.33    |15.13              

Denmark              |14.78    |14.46    |13.69    |15.16    |14.49    |15.06    |14.66    |15.09    |14.50    |16.86              

West Germany         |10.77    |11.16    |11.26    |13.04    |11.81    |10.99    |11.28    |12.18    |13.40    |13.57              

Greece               |10.04    |8.97     |9.23     |10.47    |10.47    |10.78    |10.00    |10.10    |11.28    |12.93              

Spain                |12.52    |12.66    |12.52    |13.73    |13.48    |13.72    |13.04    |13.26    |13.91    |14.73              

France               |11.23    |11.21    |11.65    |12.63    |12.42    |12.34    |11.37    |11.40    |11.76    |n/a                

Ireland              |14.57    |15.72    |15.71    |15.85    |16.08    |16.69    |16.62    |17.54    |18.15    |19.60              

Italy                |11.71    |11.74    |11.89    |13.23    |13.34    |12.84    |12.20    |12.40    |12.78    |14.11              

Luxembourg           |11.46    |11.46    |11.65    |12.17    |12.17    |12.60    |12.56    |12.66    |12.61    |13.92              

Netherlands          |12.53    |12.08    |12.27    |13.08    |12.00    |12.75    |12.31    |13.76    |13.97    |15.50              

Portugal             |11.74    |12.75    |13.31    |13.62    |13.66    |16.23    |16.54    |16.30    |14.63    |16.04              

United Kingdom       |12.42    |13.17    |13.22    |14.08    |14.06    |13.95    |13.90    |13.75    |14.02    |15.17              

                                                                                                                                   

Including government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |26.18    |25.49    |26.07    |27.40    |26.81    |28.10    |27.73    |29.99    |31.61    |33.25              

Denmark              |35.68    |35.20    |34.47    |36.51    |35.66    |37.07    |36.48    |37.15    |36.34    |40.13              

West Germany         |27.77    |28.25    |28.60    |30.81    |29.36    |29.05    |29.27    |30.43    |31.73    |32.77              

Greece               |13.84    |13.76    |13.86    |13.85    |13.85    |14.26    |14.07    |14.22    |14.11    |14.38              

Spain                |26.94    |27.14    |27.47    |27.80    |27.71    |27.91    |30.49    |30.82    |30.73    |31.61              

France               |30.08    |30.09    |30.95    |32.29    |32.05    |32.57    |31.31    |31.55    |31.93    |n/a                

Ireland              |41.04    |42.45    |42.81    |43.19    |43.50    |45.15    |44.96    |46.24    |46.88    |49.85              

Italy                |31.45    |31.53    |32.43    |33.32    |33.58    |35.08    |34.79    |35.36    |35.74    |40.17              

Luxembourg           |19.88    |19.89    |20.21    |20.86    |20.85    |21.60    |21.53    |21.70    |21.61    |23.42              

Netherlands          |24.03    |23.51    |23.88    |24.92    |23.65    |24.92    |24.30    |26.10    |26.32    |28.62              

Portugal             |27.68    |27.68    |27.95    |28.13    |28.11    |28.99    |28.69    |32.83    |32.66    |33.53              

United Kingdom       |34.17    |35.03    |35.09    |36.08    |36.05    |35.93    |35.86    |35.70    |36.00    |37.33              

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                   

Pump price of Premium Gasoline                                                                                                     

Excluding government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |12.41    |13.11    |13.22    |16.72    |17.68    |16.09    |14.56    |13.92    |15.62    |16.10              

Denmark              |12.61    |13.37    |13.93    |16.58    |17.79    |17.54    |15.92    |15.01    |14.82    |16.57              

West Germany         |11.11    |12.08    |12.32    |16.49    |16.30    |15.26    |14.01    |13.65    |14.96    |14.94              

Greece               |9.85     |10.38    |11.05    |13.99    |13.99    |14.40    |13.07    |13.21    |12.78    |13.38              

Spain                |12.26    |12.87    |13.31    |14.66    |14.64    |14.75    |15.39    |14.20    |14.76    |15.41              

France               |10.24    |10.34    |10.90    |13.75    |14.96    |14.77    |13.00    |12.08    |12.05    |n/a                

Ireland              |14.36    |14.11    |14.49    |14.61    |16.45    |17.07    |17.00    |16.81    |17.14    |18.40              

Italy                |12.34    |12.37    |13.03    |15.73    |16.46    |17.37    |15.79    |14.82    |14.77    |15.73              

Luxembourg           |12.85    |12.85    |14.02    |15.74    |16.94    |17.54    |17.07    |16.37    |16.31    |16.48              

Netherlands          |12.86    |13.55    |14.53    |17.96    |17.49    |17.56    |15.50    |15.85    |16.02    |16.81              

Portugal             |13.68    |14.32    |14.28    |15.62    |15.37    |18.24    |18.79    |18.94    |17.44    |19.38              

United Kingdom       |11.86    |12.86    |13.34    |15.33    |16.80    |16.69    |15.64    |14.27    |15.03    |15.11              

                                                                                                                                   

Including government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |37.44    |38.32    |38.82    |43.41    |44.60    |43.42    |41.44    |42.38    |44.41    |46.15              

Denmark              |52.06    |52.83    |54.01    |57.76    |59.22    |59.54    |57.36    |56.48    |56.09    |60.03              

West Germany         |35.36    |36.47    |37.11    |42.09    |41.85    |41.59    |39.99    |39.76    |40.98    |42.38              

Greece               |28.42    |28.25    |28.47    |28.44    |28.44    |29.28    |28.90    |29.20    |28.98    |29.52              

Spain                |36.25    |36.52    |36.96    |37.40    |37.29    |37.55    |40.83    |41.26    |41.14    |42.32              

France               |44.63    |44.89    |46.19    |49.95    |51.38    |52.36    |50.06    |49.35    |49.22    |n/a                

Ireland              |48.10    |48.65    |49.63    |50.06    |52.40    |54.38    |54.16    |54.09    |54.34    |57.49              

Italy                |56.80    |56.95    |57.66    |58.25    |58.71    |61.32    |60.82    |61.81    |61.61    |66.17              

Luxembourg           |30.70    |30.71    |32.28    |34.36    |35.71    |36.98    |36.41    |35.75    |35.61    |36.60              

Netherlands          |42.58    |43.44    |44.95    |49.28    |48.74    |50.71    |48.03    |48.67    |48.77    |51.18              

Portugal             |44.51    |44.51    |44.94    |45.23    |45.21    |46.61    |46.13    |50.81    |50.55    |51.90              

United Kingdom       |37.14    |38.30    |38.85    |41.14    |42.83    |42.70    |41.49    |39.92    |40.79    |40.89              


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Pump Prices in Pence/Gallon                                                                                                        

                     |January  |February |March    |April    |May      |June     |July     |August   |September|October            

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pump price of Diesel                                                                                                               

Excluding government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |55.01    |52.47    |53.93    |58.37    |56.24    |59.44    |58.24    |59.02    |65.13    |68.79              

Denmark              |67.20    |65.72    |62.22    |68.90    |65.87    |68.47    |66.64    |68.61    |65.90    |76.67              

West Germany         |48.98    |50.71    |51.20    |59.28    |53.67    |49.97    |51.30    |55.38    |60.91    |61.70              

Greece               |45.64    |40.79    |41.98    |47.61    |47.62    |49.02    |45.45    |45.93    |51.27    |58.78              

Spain                |56.90    |57.57    |56.93    |62.43    |61.30    |62.39    |59.26    |60.27    |63.25    |66.96              

France               |51.03    |50.96    |52.97    |57.40    |56.47    |56.09    |51.71    |51.85    |53.46    |n/a                

Ireland              |66.25    |71.46    |71.44    |72.06    |73.09    |75.86    |75.54    |79.73    |82.50    |89.09              

Italy                |53.26    |53.39    |54.07    |60.15    |60.63    |58.37    |55.46    |56.36    |58.08    |64.15              

Luxembourg           |52.10    |52.11    |52.97    |55.32    |55.31    |57.29    |57.12    |57.55    |57.33    |63.30              

Netherlands          |56.97    |54.92    |55.79    |59.48    |54.58    |57.96    |55.96    |62.56    |63.49    |70.48              

Portugal             |53.36    |57.96    |60.49    |61.93    |62.12    |73.77    |75.19    |74.09    |66.49    |72.94              

United Kingdom       |56.46    |59.82    |59.87    |63.87    |63.91    |63.41    |63.18    |62.50    |63.73    |68.96              

                                                                                                                                   

Including government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |119.02   |115.86   |118.52   |124.55   |121.88   |127.72   |126.06   |136.32   |143.71   |151.16             

Denmark              |162.21   |160.00   |156.69   |165.99   |162.11   |168.52   |165.86   |168.87   |165.18   |182.45             

West Germany         |126.23   |128.40   |130.02   |140.04   |133.46   |132.07   |133.05   |138.36   |144.23   |148.97             

Greece               |62.92    |62.55    |63.03    |62.96    |62.97    |64.83    |63.98    |64.66    |64.15    |65.35              

Spain                |122.49   |123.39   |124.89   |126.38   |125.99   |126.89   |138.61   |140.10   |139.69   |143.69             

France               |136.77   |136.80   |140.70   |146.80   |145.69   |148.06   |142.36   |143.41   |145.14   |n/a                

Ireland              |186.57   |192.97   |194.63   |196.32   |197.76   |205.25   |204.41   |210.21   |213.12   |226.63             

Italy                |142.97   |143.34   |147.44   |151.48   |152.68   |159.47   |158.16   |160.75   |162.49   |182.61             

Luxembourg           |90.38    |90.40    |91.89    |94.81    |94.80    |98.19    |97.90    |98.64    |98.25    |106.49             

Netherlands          |109.25   |106.88   |108.57   |113.27   |107.50   |113.28   |110.48   |118.67   |119.64   |130.09             

Portugal             |125.83   |125.82   |127.06   |127.88   |127.80   |131.77   |130.41   |149.24   |148.48   |152.44             

United Kingdom       |155.34   |159.18   |159.23   |164.00   |163.91   |163.33   |163.04   |162.28   |163.64   |169.70             

                                                                                                                                   

Pump Prices of Premium Gasoline                                                                                                    

Excluding government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |56.41    |59.61    |60.11    |76.01    |80.37    |73.13    |66.20    |63.27    |71.03    |73.18              

Denmark              |57.32    |60.79    |63.35    |75.36    |80.87    |79.76    |72.38    |68.25    |67.37    |75.32              

West Germany         |50.51    |54.89    |56.01    |74.97    |74.08    |69.39    |63.68    |62.06    |68.01    |67.91              

Greece               |44.77    |47.21    |50.24    |63.60    |63.61    |65.49    |59.41    |60.04    |58.09    |60.83              

Spain                |55.75    |58.52    |60.49    |66.62    |66.57    |67.06    |69.98    |64.56    |67.10    |70.07              

France               |46.54    |46.99    |49.54    |62.51    |67.99    |67.15    |59.10    |54.92    |54.77    |n/a                

Ireland              |65.27    |64.15    |65.85    |66.42    |74.77    |77.60    |77.28    |76.41    |77.93    |83.64              

Italy                |56.09    |56.23    |59.23    |71.53    |74.84    |78.97    |71.76    |67.37    |67.15    |71.49              

Luxembourg           |58.41    |58.43    |63.72    |71.55    |77.00    |79.76    |77.61    |74.44    |74.15    |74.91              

Netherlands          |58.45    |61.58    |66.07    |81.63    |79.52    |79.82    |70.47    |72.04    |72.81    |76.40              

Portugal             |62.20    |65.08    |64.91    |71.00    |69.89    |82.92    |85.41    |86.09    |79.29    |88.09              

United Kingdom       |53.92    |58.45    |60.64    |69.68    |76.36    |75.87    |71.09    |64.86    |68.32    |68.69              

                                                                                                                                   

Including government taxes and duties                                                                                              

Belgium              |170.19   |174.22   |176.49   |197.33   |202.78   |197.38   |188.40   |192.66   |201.88   |209.80             

Denmark              |236.66   |240.18   |245.56   |262.57   |269.20   |270.70   |260.76   |256.74   |255.01   |272.88             

West Germany         |160.75   |165.77   |168.71   |191.34   |190.25   |189.05   |181.80   |180.75   |186.30   |192.64             

Greece               |129.21   |128.44   |129.42   |129.29   |129.31   |133.13   |131.37   |132.77   |131.73   |134.20             

Spain                |164.81   |166.02   |168.04   |170.04   |169.52   |170.72   |185.60   |187.59   |187.04   |192.40             

France               |202.90   |204.06   |209.99   |227.08   |233.57   |238.03   |227.57   |224.35   |223.75   |n/a                

Ireland              |218.65   |221.17   |225.60   |227.56   |238.21   |247.23   |246.21   |245.89   |247.06   |261.36             

Italy                |258.23   |258.88   |262.11   |264.81   |266.90   |278.77   |276.47   |281.00   |280.09   |300.83             

Luxembourg           |139.56   |139.59   |146.76   |156.20   |162.33   |168.13   |165.51   |162.51   |161.88   |166.39             

Netherlands          |193.59   |197.47   |204.35   |224.02   |221.59   |230.51   |218.34   |221.27   |221.70   |232.65             

Portugal             |202.35   |202.33   |204.32   |205.64   |205.53   |211.91   |209.71   |230.97   |229.79   |235.92             

United Kingdom       |168.84   |174.12   |176.60   |187.03   |194.71   |194.10   |188.63   |181.48   |185.42   |185.88             

HEALTH

Expenditure

Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for England for each year since 1974-75 (i) total National Health Service expenditure, (ii) current expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iii) capital expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iv) expenditure on the family practitioner services, (v) expenditure on centrally funded National Health Service services, and (vi) expenditure on personal social services, giving each in (a) cash terms, (b) adjusted using the relevant pay and prices index and (c)


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adjusted using the gross domestic product deflator ; and if he will place in the Library details of the methods used to make these adjustments.

Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for each year since 1959 (a) the total amount spent on health and (b) the capital expenditure, giving the figures at constant prices.

Mr. Freeman : Information, which is readily available only from 1974 -75, has been placed in the Library.


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Hospital Patients (Mortality)

Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital patients have died as a result of catching infection whilst in hospital for treatment for other conditions during each of the last five years.

Mr. Freeman : The exact information requested is not available. The number of deaths with the underlying cause of post-operative infection, England and Wales, 1984-88, is shown in the table.


Deaths from post      

operative infection,  

<1>                   

England and Wales,    

1984-88               

Year    |Deaths       

----------------------

1984    |13           

1985    |12           

1986    |15           

1987    |11           

<2>1988 |15           

<1>International      

Classification of     

Diseases, 9th         

revision, code 998.5. 

<2>Provisional data.  

Mentally Ill Patients

Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the effect on services for mentally ill patients of the Government's proposals in the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

Mr. Freeman : We have received several representations and are considering them all carefully.

Statutory Child Care

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many current cases there are of statutory child care ; how many are not supervised by local authority social workers ; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Particulars of the number of children in the care of local authorities under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, the Child Care Act 1980, and other legislation are published in the document "Children in Care in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library. Particulars of the numbers of children on child protection registers--some of whom are also in the care of local authorities--are contained in the "Survey of Children and Young Persons on Child Protection Registers", copies of which are also available in the Library. Information is not collected centrally about the numbers of child care cases not supervised by local authority social workers.

Sight Tests

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish figures indicating the change in the number of sight tests since 1 April 1989, nationally and regionally.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Data on the number of National Health Service eye tests carried out between April and September 1989 will be available in the spring. We do not collect statistics on the numbers of private sight tests carried out since April 1989. An independent sample survey has been commissioned relating to the first quarter of 1990. The results of that survey should be available in the early summer.


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British Medical Association

Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the British Medical Association ; and what subjects were discussed.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State last met representatives of the British Medical Association formally on 18 October 1989, when he had a friendly and constructive discussion about the implementation of the proposals in the White Paper "Working for Patients". The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lords) and I met representatives of the British Medical Association on 7 February to discuss the question of junior doctors' hours of work.

GPs' Contracts

Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of the new general practitioners' contracts.

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of the new general practitioners' contracts.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We will monitor the GPs' new contract through family practitioner committees by collecting information about the services provided, by analysing claims for payment made by GPs and through research studies.

Waiting Lists

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were inpatient and outpatient waiting lists (a) in 1979 and (b) currently ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The inpatient waiting list for England fell from 752,422 at 31 March 1979 to 704,724 at 31 March 1989, the latest date for which firm figures are available. Provisional figures for September 1989 suggest there has been a further reduction, particularly in the number of patients waiting over a year. We do not make forward estimates of the size of the waiting list, since this is subject to unpredictable factors such as variations in demand. No information is held centrally on numbers awaiting outpatient appointments.

Patient Involvement

Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the involvement of patients in the running of the National Health Service.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave the hon. Members for Glasgow, Pollock (Mr. Dunnachie), for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), for Renfrew, West and Inverclyde (Mr. Graham), and for Wigan (Mr. Stott) on 23 January at column 662.


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Regional Health Authorities

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to meet the chairmen of the regional health authorities ; and what matters he hopes to discuss.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. and learned Friend's next meeting with chairmen of regional health authorities is on 21 March 1990 when the items for discussion will include the implementation of the NHS reforms and other matters of topical interest.

Acute Hospitals

Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds of 31 January, Official Report, column 235, if he will list in the Official Report the names and locations of the acute hospitals in England with fewer than 600 beds in total, indicating which regional health authority is responsible for each.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Consultants

Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants now work in the Rugby health authority area ; and how many did so in 1979.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to ask the West Midlands regional health authority which holds the contracts for consultants working in Rugby

General Practitioners

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the proposed pay increases for general practitioners.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has received one letter on the GPs' pay increase.

Ambulance Dispute

Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an up-to-date statement about the ambulance dispute.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 18 January 1990 at column 402.

Osteoporosis

Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of resources his Department is committing to making women aware of the preventive effects of hormone replacement therapy with respect to osteoporosis.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department provided in 1989-90 funding totalling £63,000 to three voluntary organisations which inform women about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)--Women's Health Concern, the National Osteoporosis Society, and the Amarant Trust. The Health Education Authority has also produced a booklet on the menopause, which includes information


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on HRT and osteoporosis. The Department is also providing funding for research and recently gave funds to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists towards holding a study group of experts on HRT and osteoporosis. The Department and health authorities allocate funds for the provision of courses and other educational activities for general practitioners, including courses on HRT and osteoporosis.

Pharmaceutical Investment

Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the report, "Pharmaceutical Investment in the United Kingdom : the impact of the proposals in the White Paper, Working for Patients", submitted to his Department by the Economist Advisory Group.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The report, which was commissioned on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of the USA, acknowledges the attractions over the years of the United Kingdom as a place for investment, highlighting research activities in view of this country's strengths in pure science and pharmaceutical innovation. While some concern was reported about future manufacturing investment, there is no reason why these attractions should disappear.

Information Technology

Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on working paper No. 11 on information and information technology in the National Health Service.

Mr. Freeman : One response to the document has been received to date, about the needs of regional and supra-regional services, which will be taken into account as part of the consultation, the closing date for which is 30 March 1990.

Community Pharmacies

Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish Alan Glanz's report on the role of community pharmacies in AIDS prevention and drug misuse ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman : The report was published on 8 February 1990 and copies have been placed in the Library.

The report indicates that the involvement of community pharmacies in preventive health education activities for drug misusers could be an effective way of making contact with those who are at high risk of HIV infection.

We welcome this news and acknowledge the good will displayed by many pharmacists who are prepared to supply injecting equipment to drug misusers, give out information materials and offer advice. Where the report has identified problems hindering the involvement of pharmacists, we are considering ways of making progress.

Almost £15 million has been allocated to health authorities in 1989-90 for the expansion and development of drug services in the light of HIV. We would expect that money from this allocation could be used for both the provision of individual sharps containers for drug users to place their used equipment in, and also the provision and servicing of larger sharps containers sited in pharmacies.


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Pharmacists' training needs are currently being considered by the Department in conjunction with the relevant professional bodies, and we have encouraged liaison between pharmacists and local drugs services through the drug advisory committees established in every health district.

HIV

Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe of 8 February, what steps have been taken to obtain evidence on the disadvantage after the infection has been discovered in respect of employment prospects and ability to obtain life insurance and mortgages, suffered by people who became infected with HIV via blood transfusions ; and what comparisons have been undertaken between the situations of such people in the post-infection phase and that of haemophiliacs in the post- infection stage.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We do not believe that any useful purpose would be served by such a survey of the financial circumstances after infection of any particular group with HIV. Our ex-gratia payments to haemophiliacs recognise their wholly exceptional circumstances whereby they were doubly disadvantaged by their pre-existing haemophilia as well as the HIV infection. We have no plans to extend these special arrangements to other groups.

The full facilities of the National Health Service and a range of social security benefits are available to all those infected with HIV who suffer illness, unemployment or loss of earnings.


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NHS Pay Increases

Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what will be the total cost to health authorities of the increases in pay for hospital doctors from April ; and how much of that sum will be provided by additional central Government funding ;

(2) what will be the total cost to health authorities of the increases in pay for nurses from April ; and how much of that sum will be provided by additional central Government funding.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The total cost in 1990-91 of pay increases for National Health Service review body staff groups is £884 million in the United Kingdom. The cost of the increases for nurses and midwives is £523 million, and for hospital doctors and dentists it is £146 million. Of the total United Kingdom cost, £635 million is already within existing National Health Service provision, and an additional £205 million will be provided from the reserve. This additional funding is not specifically apportioned between the different National Health Service review body groups.


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