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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists have been employed in the National Health Service in each of the last 10 years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information is as follows :
|c|NHS qualified speech
therapists|c|
|c|at 30 September each
year-England|c|
Years |Whole-time
|equivalent
---------------------------------
1979 |1,510
1980 |1,650
1981 |1,750
1982 |1,900
1983 |1,970
1984 |2,150
1985 |2,340
1986 |2,510
1987 |2,630
1988 |2,730
Source: Department of Health (
SMI3) annual census of NHS
non-medical manpower.
Note: All figures are
independently rounded to the
nearest ten (10) whole-time
equivalents.
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Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists he estimates are required per 100,000 population ; and what is the current national average.
Mr. Freeman : A research study by Dr. Philip Davies of Oxford university, funded by the Department and published in December 1989, estimated that 26.0 (whole-time equivalent) qualified speech therapists per 100,000 population would be required if current methods of intervention were maintained. The research also indicated that the number of qualified therapists required could be reduced to 20.5 (whole-time equivalent) per 100,000 population if assistants were used to assist with group work. Dr. Davies's study concluded that a major review of the current concepts of speech therapy provision appeared to be warranted. In accordance with this the Department is supporting the College of Speech Therapists work to produce national guidelines for speech therapy services and will discuss with the college the introduction of another grade to provide appropriate assistance for the degree qualified members of the profession. The current national average of qualified speech therapists is 5.7 (whole-time equivalent) per 100,000 population.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists per head of population are employed by each of the regional health authorities.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information is as follows :
|c|NHS qualified speech therapists per
hundred thousand of population|c|
|c|at 30 September 1988|c|
Region |Whole Time
|Equivalent
----------------------------------------
Northern |5.3
Yorkshire |4.6
Trent |5.3
East Anglian |5.5
North West Thames |7.7
North East Thames |6.5
South East Thames |6.8
South West Thames |6.3
Wessex |4.4
Oxford |5.6
South Western |6.2
West Midlands |5.0
Mersey |4.7
North Western |5.7
England (a) |5.7
Source: Department of Health (SM13)
Annual Census of NHS Non Medical
Manpower; OPCS Mid-1988 Population
Estimates.
Note: (a) Includes staff in London Post
Graduate Special Health
Authorities.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapy posts in special schools are currently vacant ; and what proportion this is of the total number.
Mr. Freeman : The information is not available centrally and could not be provided in the form required. It is for individual authorities to decide on the deployment of speech therapists.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unfilled speech therapy posts there are in the National Health Service as a whole ; and how many in each of the regions.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information, which has not yet been fully validated is as follows :
Region |Funded posts
|vacant over
|3 months at
|31 March 1989
----------------------------------------------
England |178
Northern |4
Yorkshire |7
Trent |30
East Anglia |6
North West Thames |11
North East Thames |17
South East Thames |17
South West Thames |12
Wessex |10
Oxford |12
South Western |12
West Midlands |21
Mersey |13
North Western |4
SHAs |2
Source: National Professional Manpower
Initiative Survey.
Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest
whole-time equivalent.
Speech Problems
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will encourage health authorities to ensure that training programmes for those who have contact with the public include a showing of the National Speak Week video, "Show You Care".
Mr. Freeman : Health authorities are responsible for determining their own staff training programmes and are already be well aware of the need to include information about communication difficulties in those programmes. We are taking steps to commend to all health authorities the use of the National Speak Week video "Show You Care".
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those physical and psychological problems that can lead to speech defects according to information known to his Department.
Mr. Freeman : We are aware that speech and language defects can arise from mental handicap, cerebral palsy, cranio-facial abnormalities, hearing impairment, cerebrovascular accident-stroke, head injury, head and neck surgery, progressive neurological diseases, autism, developmental aphasia, senile dementia, other phsychiatric disorders and a variety of rarer conditions.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish in the Official Report the salary scales for speech therapists
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is in "Advance Letter (SP) 4/90" a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will seek evidence on the number and proportion of advertisements for speech therapy posts for which there are no applications.
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Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will seek information on the number of children in special schools who need speech therapy but are not receiving it because a speech therapist cannot be obtained.Mr. Freeman : Local education authorities and district health authorities are responsible for arranging speech therapy services for children in special schools. We are aware that, despite the increase in the numbers of speech therapists employed in the National Health Service and the initiatives we are taking with the professions, there are shortages in some areas. These are local problems which should be resolved by management locally.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what educational literature or publicity on the difficulties faced by those with speech problems has been provided by the Health Education Council ; and if he will encourage the council to do more.
Mr. Freeman : There are no current publications dealing with this subject produced by the Health Education Authority. Whilst many preventable conditions--such as low birthweight and stroke--can lead to speech problems, it is the primary causes of these conditions which the Health Education Authority generally addresses. Many publications dealing with the remedial aspects of such conditions are produced, more appropriately, by voluntary and other bodies who have developed a special understanding of the difficulties faced by particular groups. These publications are made use of by health authorities and professionals.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what evidence he has on the trend in the overall number of people with speech defects ; and what is the trend in each of the major categories of people with speech defects ;
(2) what is the estimated number of people who suffer speech defects ; and if he will classify them according to the major causes of the defect.
Mr. Freeman : An article, "Communication Disorders, Planning a Service to meet the Needs" published in the December 1989 issue of the "British Journal of Disorders of Communication" by Dr. Enderby and Dr. Davies, and based on research funded by the Department, confirmed an earlier estimate of approximately 2.3 million people in the United Kingdom with speech and language disorders, produced by Dr. Enderby and Dr. Philipp. The article, a copy of which is in the Library, also contained estimates for most of the major categories of speech and language disorder. There is no firm evidence available about trends in overall numbers and individual categories.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost of restoring some mobility by a hip operation to an arthritic patient ; and what is the average cost of restoring some speech through speech therapy to a patient who has suffered a stroke.
Mr. Freeman : Information is not available in the form requested. The average cost of a National Health Service hip replacement operation was approximately £2,600 in 1988-89.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of speech therapists currently have specialist qualifications.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not available centrally.
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Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health with whom he has discussed the problem of matching the supply and demand for speech therapy ; what information he has collected ; and when he intends to publish his conclusions.
Mr. Freeman : Officials have held discussions about speech therapy supply and demand issues with representatives of the College of Speech Therapists, the Association of Speech Therapy Managers, National Health Service officials, individual speech therapists and other organisations and individuals. A variety of information has been collected and conclusions will be published as and when appropriate.
Indicative Drugs Budgets
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will announce the procedure for the consultation with general practitioners and others by FHSAs prior to the setting of indicative drugs budgets.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Practices will be able to discuss their indicative prescribing budgets with their family practitioner committees before they are set. Family practitioner committees will consider the practices' historic spending patterns, comparable average costs for that family practitioner committee, special circumstances of the practices including high-cost patients, anticipated changes in demand and an allowance for the forecast increase in the cost of drugs. In this way, the needs of the practices and their patients will be fully taken into account in setting the budgets.
Residential Homes
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to make arrangements for those employed by regional or district health authorities, or National Health Service hospital trusts, directly or indirectly, who have direct or indirect financial interests in residential homes or nursing homes, to be required to register such interests.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We expect health authorities to ensure that their employees declare any interests which may influence the way in which the authority discharges its responsibilities. It is for individual authorities to decide how this is best achieved. The same principle will apply to NHS trusts.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received from health authorities about staff who advise patients on the availability of private residential care receiving commissions from private residential homes for referring clients ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have no record of any such reports.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to arrange for those private residential premises, who care for individuals in receipt of Department of Health and Department of Social Security support, to register for easy public inspection the names of those holding direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the home.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Part 1 of the Registered Homes Act 1984 provides for local authorities to make
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available for inspection at all reasonable times, registers of those persons responsible for carrying on a residential care home registered under the 1984 Act.Meningitis and Hepatitis A (School Outbreaks)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the outbreak (a) of meningitis in a school in Runcorn, Merseyside and (b) of hepatitis A in a school at Croxteth, Merseyside.
Mr. Freeman : Two children from the Brookvale primary school were admitted to Warrington general hospital for treatment for meningitis and one child for observation. All have now been discharged. The health authorities concerned have done everything necessary to keep the outbreak under control.
Five children from St. Swithin's school in Croxteth have contracted hepatitis A. We are satisfied that the Liverpool public health department is taking the necessary measures to control the outbreak.
Labour Statistics
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the mid-year estimate of the population of working age between the ages of 16 and 59 or 64 years in Great Britain and for each of the standard regions in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989.
Mr. Freeman : The information requested is as follows :
|c|Population of working age (16 to 64 for males: 16 to 59
for|c|
|c|females)|c|
Region |Mid-year |<1>Mid-year
|1979 |1988
-------------------------------------------------------------
North |1,877.9 |1,890.9
Yorkshire and Humberside |2,911.5 |3,016.7
East Midlands |2,279.4 |2,463.6
East Anglia |1,097.0 |1,231.6
South East |10,222.6 |10,783.7
South West |2,504.6 |2,781.0
West Midlands |3,117.5 |3,230.5
North West |3,828.4 |3,897.0
Wales |1,653.0 |1,724.7
Scotland |3,084.9 |3,169.8
Great Britain |32,576.8 |34,189.5
<1> Populations estimates for mid-1989 have not yet been
made and are not expected to be available until July 1990.
THE ARTS
East Midlands
68. Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met representatives of the arts in the east midlands ; what was discussed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Luce : I met the chairman and director of East Midlands Arts on 19 December to discuss the Wilding report.
Royal Shakespeare Company
69. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on contributions made by the City of London Corporation to the Royal Shakespeare Company since the Barbican centre was built.
Mr. Luce : The City of London Corporation provided the Barbican theatre as a purpose-built London home for
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the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982. Since then the RSC has enjoyed a rent which is low by commercial standards. In 1988 the corporation also agreed to contribute £500,000 towards the RSC's accumulated deficit.Arts Council
70. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he last met the chairman of the Arts Council ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Luce : I meet Mr. Palumbo from time to time to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Wilding Report
71. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received concerning the Crafts Council following his statement on the Wilding report.
Mr. Luce : I have received general support for my announcement to the House on 13 March 1990 that the Crafts Council will remain an independent body.
Queen Street Mill, Burnley
72. Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a visit to Queen Street mill, Marle Syke, Burnley.
Mr. Luce : I have no plans at present to visit the Queen Street mill museum, Burnley.
Admission Charges
73. Mr. John Evans : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he has any plans to enforce charges for art galleries.
Mr. Luce : The Government's repeatedly stated policy is that the decision whether to operate a system of admission charges or voluntary donations should be for the board of trustees responsible for each institution.
The Government neither impose nor prohibit the imposition of admission charges.
I confirm this in the Government's response to the recent report of the Education, Science and Arts Committee, copies of which I placed in the Library of the House on 12 March.
Donations
74. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will list the five highest individual corporate or private donors to the arts in the last 12 months.
Mr. Luce : Such information is not held centrally. However, with business sponsorship of the arts now estimated at well over £30 million a year, donors, both great and small, are making a very useful contribution to supporting the arts.
Royal National Theatre (Exhibition)
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Royal National theatre to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Luce : I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 14 to 18 May.
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CIVIL SERVICE
Civil Service Unions
80. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met representatives of the Civil Service unions ; and what subjects were discussed.
81. Mr. Winnick : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met Civil Service unions ; and what matters were discussed.
84. Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met representatives of the Civil Service unions ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Luce : I meet the Civil Service unions from time to time, to discuss a range of matters.
Next Steps Agencies
82. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what progress has been made in developing the next steps agencies ; and what was discussed.
85. Mr. Watts : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what progress has been made in the setting up of Civil Service agencies since his last statement to the House.
Mr. Luce : Excellent progress is being made. Only last week, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry launched the insolvency service as an executive agency, bringing the total number of agencies to 12, with many more to follow. I hope to make a further statement shortly.
Equal Opportunities
83. Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what further progress has been made to implement the Civil Service's equal opportunities employment programme.
Mr. Luce : Good progress is being made. We will shortly be publishing a revised code of practice on the employment of people with disabilities. The programme of action on women continues to be implemented, and in May, I shall introduce a new programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the Civil Service for people of ethnic minority origin.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Lindane
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on when the Advisory Committee on Pesticides will be discussing the matter of lindane.
Mr. Gummer : Scientists within the Health and Safety Executive and MAFF are currently evaluating the data on lindane. It is not yet possible to predict when their report will be put to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides but it is being treated as a priority.
Pesticides
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to obtain the handbook of basic information on the 100 most commonly used
Column 50
pesticides in the United States of America, published by the United States Department of Agriculture ; and if he will arrange for a similar publication in the United Kingdom.Mr. Maclean : This Department and the Department of Agriculture for Scotland monitor usage of pesticides and the results are published. We are currently preparing a review of the surveys carried out between 1984 and 1989, which cover all main crops, to be published later this year. The USDA publication is being sought.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the pesticides for which his Ministry carries out surveillance for residues in food that are (a) banned in the United Kingdom and (b) in use in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Monitoring for pesticide residues is carried out by the working party on pesticide residues. Results are published and show, for all samples analysed, both those pesticides which have been sought and the levels of any residues which have been found.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he intends to take to phase out pesticides listed in part (c) of annex B of the final declaration of the third international conference on the protection of the North sea ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Under the terms of the North sea declaration, special attention is to be paid to phasing out pesticides which are the most persistent, toxic and liable to bioaccumulate. Annex 1B, part (c), lists 18 substances the use of which must be strictly limited or banned. Eleven of these substances are not approved for use in the United Kingdom, and approval for another, chlordane, will be withdrawn on 31 December 1992.
The remaining six substances are all tightly controlled under the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986. Atrazine is being reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, mercury compounds and PCP are being considered by the European Community, and chloropicrin, fluroacetamide and quintozene will be considered by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides when priorities for review are set later this year.
Baby Milk Products
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to introduce legislation limiting the aluminium content of baby milk products produced by manufacturers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : We have no plans to introduce legislation. Results of the Government's surveillance work show that likely intakes of aluminium from baby milk products are well below the provisionally tolerable weekly intake set by the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to ensure that the aluminium content in baby milk products does not exceed the European Commission's recommended safety limits.
Mr. Maclean : There are no recommended EC limits for aluminium in baby foods.
Column 51
Radioactivity
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the research projects he is currently (a) conducting or (b) funding on the effects of radioactivity contamination on agriculture and food products, giving the research establishment in each case.
Mr. Gummer : The following projects are being funded by my Department in 1989-90.
Project title |Contractor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wind tunnel and rain tower studies |IC Implementation of models for upland environments |ANS Maintenance and support of the Soil-Plant-Animal Dynamic-Evaluation (SPADE) suite of codes |ANS Field investigations on the dynamics of Caesium in agricultural foodchains following the Chernobyl accident: Sample collection and analysis |ANS Further experimental studies on radionuclide transfer to upland plant species |ANS Enhancement of atmospheric dispersion models in the SPADE suite of codes |ANS Development of a method to rapidly predict the availability of radio-caesium to animal products after an accidental discharge |ITE/MLURI Vegetation/soil survey in Cumbrian restricted area- validation of aerial survey |ITE Studies on Caesium in soil, plants and sheep in Ireland |QUB Particle properties and root uptake |UKAEA Continuation of studies into the use of Prussian Blue to reduce body burdens of caesium in sheep |QUB Comparative deposition and uptake by crops of radionuclides around English and French nuclear sites |UKAEA Influence of upland soil type on caesium uptake |UKAEA Assessment of novel analytical techniques |UKAEA Strontium-90 in crops and effect of Chernobyl deposition |UKAEA Development of automation of Strontium-90 analytical method |UKAEA Gut uptake of fission products from fuel particles |UKAEA Implementation of risk assessment and emergency codes for personal computers |CERC Effects of land management on caesium recycling |ANS Radionuclide transfer: a critical view |ANS Methods to reduce agricultural impact |ANS Radionuclide uptake by sheep |ITE Transfer of radionuclides in an area reclaimed from the sea |NRPB Specification of models for upland environments |ANS Further evaluation of data obtained from field investigations on caesium dynamics following Chernobyl. Analysis of 1988-89 samples |ANS Effects of organic matter on caesium uptake in pasture |UKAEA Studies into the migration and binding of radio- caesium in peat |UKAEA The migration of caesium 134 and 137 in peat |UKAEA Recycling of radio-caesium |UKAEA Preparation of detailed maps on selected farms in north Wales known to have received Chernobyl fall-out |SSLRC Note: ANS-Associated Nuclear Services. ITE-Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. UKAEA-AEA Technology (Harwell Laboratories). IC-Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. MLURI-Macauley Land Use Research Institute. QUB-Queens University, Belfast. CERC-Cambridge Environmental Research Contractors. NRPB-National Radiological Protection Board. SSLRC-Soil Survey and Land Research Centre.
Column 52
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number and types of equipment he has for measuring radioactivity in plants, animals and liquids.
Mr. Gummer : My Department maintains fully equipped laboratory facilities, provided with a comprehensive range of radiometric equipment for measuring all types of radioactivity in any kind of agricultural, fisheries or food materials. In addition, we have 50 sodium iodide detectors which may be used, among other things, for monitoring gamma- emitting radionuclides in live animals in field conditions.
Food Stockpiles
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the quantities and types of food which are stockpiled as part of his emergency planning procedures.
Mr. Gummer : The strategic food stockpile contains flour, sugar, refined fat, yeast, special formulation biscuits, sweets and vitaminised skimmed milk powder, chosen for their value as sources of energy and nutrition for use in time of war or severe national crisis. It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal detailed information on the level and locations of the stockpile.
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