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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : One third millilitre syringes have never been available on general practitioners' NHS prescriptions. Disposable syringes in one millilitre and one half millilitre sizes for use with U100 insulin became prescribable on 1 September 1987. Estimated prescribing figures in England are :
Period |Size |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1987
1 September to 31 December |0.5ml |10 million
|1ml |Not available
1988
January to December |0.5ml |27.3 million
|1ml |4.9 million
1989
January to June
(latest available data) |0.5ml |13.9 million
|1ml |5.4 million
Dukeries Community Hospital
Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will be able to announce the start of the new Dukeries community hospital.
Mr. Dorrell : Hospital building is a matter for the relevant regional health authority. I therefore suggest that my hon. Friend contacts Sir Michael Carlisle for the information he seeks.
Abortion
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretay of State for Health what instructions or advice his Department has issued to National Health Service hospitals concerning abortions after the 24th week of gestation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 22 March at column 730.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many notifications of abortions from 1989 have been received by the chief medical officer of the Department of Health six months or later after the abortion took place ;
(2) what action his Department takes in cases where notifications of abortions are received by the chief medical officer later than the time specified by abortion regulations.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The provisional data available suggest that in 1989 a total of 323 notifications were received six months or more after the month of termination. All notification forms are scrutinised by staff authorised by the chief medical officer. Where the forms received appear clearly to have been sent later than the period specified in the regulations, without a reasonable explanation, the matter may be taken up with the doctor concerned.Hearing Aids
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether deaf children are required to insure commercial hearing aids supplied by the National Health Service.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 1 May at column 538.
Hepatitis
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has of the number of professional people and workers who are at risk in contracting hepatitis B as a result of their duties ; and what approximate percentage have been inoculated against it.
Mr. Dorrell : Hepatitis B can be contracted in many ways in private life as well as through professional activity. For this reason, it is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of the numbers of professional people and workers at risk of contracting the disease as a result of their duties. The incidence of hepatitis B in both the general public and public service workers has declined markedly from a total of 1,785 laboratory reports in 1985 to 644 such reports in 1988.
Professional people considered at risk may have been vaccinated either through occupational health services or by their general practitioners, and it is not possible therefore to estimate the percentage who have received vaccination.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that all who are at risk through their work in the public service have been given adequate warning about hepatitis B and information as to how they can obtain inoculation against it.
Mr. Dorrell : Departmental advice regarding hepatitis B vaccination is contained in the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation's memorandum "Immunisation against Infectious Disease". A new edition of this memorandum will be published this month, copies of which will be placed in the Library. The potential risks arising from work in the public service have been drawn to the attention of the relevant occupational health services whose responsibility it is to assess those who may be considered for vaccination.
National Health Service Trusts
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many expressions of interest have been made for hospitals to opt out of existing arrangements within the National Health Service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A total of 193 units have expressed an interest in NHS trust status, including a number with more than one hospital.
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Health Link Workers
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what considerations led his Department to cease to sponsor the health link worker for the Chinese community in Birmingham ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons he has decided to withdraw funding for a health link worker with the Chinese community in Birmingham from 11 July ; and what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of this service.
Mr. Dorrell : As part of the "Helping the Community to Care" initiative, the Department of Health funded a health link worker post within the Birmingham Chinese community centre for the years 1988-89 and 1989-90. As with all these schemes, central funding for this project was planned to last for a limited period.
Nurses (Training)
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has approved the implementation of Project 2000 nurses training in any additional schools of nursing.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I am pleased to announce that approval has been given today to implementation of Project 2000 in 14 more schools of nursing during 1990-91, subject to the necessary educational approval being obtained from the English national board. They cover the following 30 health districts :
Lancaster ; East, South and West Cumbria
Harrogate and Northallerton
North and South Lincolnshire, Nottingham, and Central
Nottinghamshire
West Suffolk
Hillingdon
Barking, Havering and Brentwood
Canterbury and Thanet, South-East Kent
Croydon, Merton and Sutton
Southampton and South-West Hampshire
East and West Berkshire
Cornwall and Plymouth
Herefordshire, Kidderminster, Worcester, and Bromsgrove
and Redditch
South Sefton, Southport and Formby
Salford, Bolton
In addition, I am able at this stage to give approval in advance to implementation in 1991-92 for three further schools, covering a further five health districts :
Shropshire, Staffordshire
City and Hackney
Stockport and Glossop
The total funding to be made available by the Department for the implementation of Project 2000 in 1989-90 and 1990-91 will be approximately £38 million.
Multiple Births
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the findings of the national study of triplets and higher order births will be published.
Mr. Dorrell : During the first half of July.
Benzodiazepines
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to contra-indicate benzodiazepines for pregnant women.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 16 May.
Column 493
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much industry contributed to helping those addicted to benzodiazepines to withdraw from them in the last year for which figures are available.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is not held centrally.
Vaccinations
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was spent on vaccinations at GPs' surgeries in 1989.
Mr. Dorrell : Figures are not available on a comprehensive or consistent basis. The cost of item of service payments to GPs for vaccination and immunisation in the general medical service in financial year 1989-90 was £41 million. The basic ingredient cost of prescriptions for vaccines written by GPs and dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors in calendar year 1989 (financial year figures are not yet available) was £26 million ; this excludes the cost of dispensing fees, and takes no account of discount, container allowance or VAT. These figures do not include the cost of vaccines which GPs obtain from health authorities or from any other source, information on which is not held centrally.
ENERGY UKAEA Chairman
Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what will be the salary of Mr. John Maltby as part-time chairman of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Mr. Baldry : The salary of Mr. John Maltby as part-time chairman of the UKAEA will be £50,000 per annum.
Electricity Prices
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what assessment he has made of the probable rise in electricity prices for large electricity-intensive industries, when the transitional price-cap expires ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on the electric arc steel- making industry of the ending of the qualifying industrial users schemes ;
(3) what assessment he has made on the effects on heavy industry of the ending of the qualifying industrial users schemes ;
(4) what representations he has received about the ending of the qualifying industrial users schemes for intensive industrial electricity consumers.
Mr. Baldry : Future prices to large users are a matter for negotiation between customer and supplier. It would be premature to try to predict the outcome of those negotiations. Privatisation is benefiting such customers by enabling them to seek competing bids for supply. Many have already succeeded in negotiating price reductions. Disputes between regional electricity companies and customers may also be referred to the Director General of Electricity Supply.
Column 494
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Local Management of Schools
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to the reply of 14 May, if he will name the local education authority which has sought to defer the implementation of LMS.
Rothera point
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the implications for wildlife from the construction of the airstrip at Rothera Point.
Mr. Jackson : An assessment of the implications for wildlife from the construction of the airstrip is given in the final comprehensive environmental evaluation published in September 1989 by the Natural Environment Research Council, prior to placing the contract for the construction. This document was referred to in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo) on 19 October 1989, Official Report, column 189, and a copy is in the Library.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many seals are killed each year by personnel at the British Antarctic Survey station on Rothera point ; how many deaths are classified as intentional, and how many as accidental ; what is the purpose of the intentional deaths ; what is the explanation for the accidental deaths ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : No accidental seal deaths have ever been reported from Rothera. Meat from some 140 seals is however used annually to feed about 30 sledge dogs at the Rothera base. There is full compliance with the agreed measures for the conservation of Antarctic flora and fauna of the Antarctic treaty.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the origin of the materials being used to construct the British Antarctic airstrip at Rothera point ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : The origin of materials being used to construct the airstrip at Rothera point is given in the final comprehensive environmental evaluation published in September 1989 by the Natural Environment Research Council, prior to construction. A copy of the report is in the Library.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what company is constructing the British Antarctic strip at Rothera point ; on what basis the contract was awarded ; and what safeguards exist in the contract relating to environmental protection.
Mr. Jackson : Pelly Construction Company of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada is constructing the airstrip at Rothera. The contract was awarded by competitive tender and in consideration of experience, expertise and cost. Environmental safeguards were incorporated into the tender exercise and thence into the contract. They are given in the final comprehensive environmental evaluation published in September 1989 by the Natural Environment Research Council, prior to construction. A copy of the report is in the Library.
Column 495
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he has had with other countries in respect of measures to ensure environmental protection in connection with the operation of the British Antarctic airstrip at Rothera ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : A draft comprehensive environmental evaluation for the Rothera airstrip was circulated to all Antarctic treaty consultative parties for comment in 1989--as well as to environmental, non-governmental organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has a provisional estimate of the number of aircraft likely to be using the British Antarctic airstrip at Rothera.
Mr. Jackson : A provisional estimate of the number of aircraft likely to be using the Rothera airstrip is five, all operated by the British Antarctic Survey in support of its science programme. I would also refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 11 May, Official Report column 243, on the use of the airstrip.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what precautions have been taken to prevent fuel spills at the British Antarctic airstrip being built at Rothera point ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Precautions to prevent fuel spills at the Rothera airstrip are given in the final comprehensive environmental evaluation published in September 1989 by the Natural Environment Research Council, prior to construction. A copy of the report is in the Library.
The fuel handling and emergency containment facilities are designed to Canadian Arctic standards. Facilities will exist to contain any spillage considered likely to result from national operations.
Educational Performance
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what work is being undertaken or supported by Her Majesty's Government (a) to compare educational performance with that of other OECD countries and (b) to compare levels of performance after the introduction of the national curriculum with those before.
Mr. MacGregor : The Government are participating in a current OECD project which aims to develop a set of educational indicators applicable to the education system of all OECD member countries. The School Examinations and Assessment Council has a remit to analyse national curriculum assessment data, and will be considering how to compare these with earlier performance, particularly at age 16.
Ryrie Rules
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he has given polytechnics on privately funded projects in the light of the retirement of the Ryrie rules.
Mr. Jackson : The provision of advice to polytechnics and colleges funded by the Polytechnics and Colleges
Column 496
Funding Council is a matter for the council. The PCFC is encouraging institutions to seek a variety of sources of funding for capital projects and, subject to investment appraisal, gives priority to projects where substantial external funding has been raised.Thalassaemia
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money was spent nationally on research in thalassaemia for each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Jackson : The Medical Research Council is the main Government agency for the promotion of medical and related biological research in this country. The council's total expenditure on research projects which could in whole or part be related to thalassaemia in the last 10 years is as follows :
|£000's
----------------------
1979-80 |211
1980-81 |489
1981-82 |697
1982-83 |611
1983-84 |666
1984-85 |681
1985-86 |906
1986-87 |1,042
1987-88 |1,057
1988-89 |1,154
Figures for 1989-90 should be available in July. Research on thalassaemia may have been undertaken by university departments and medical schools with support from the University Funding Council (UFC) block grants and by health authorities ; but information on this is not collected centrally. Charities may also be spending money on research into thalassaemia.
British Antarctic Survey
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science who has been appointed as environmental officer for the British Antarctic Survey ; and what matters were of consideration in deciding the appointment.
Mr. Jackson : Mr. Shears will take up his post on 4 June 1990. The requirement of the post was a minimum of a good honours degree in the environmental sciences and a minimum of four years' postgraduate experience in aspects of environmental management, including waste management, and conservation. Relevant postgraduate qualifications were also sought. Normal Civil Service Commission procedures were followed in making the appointment.
National Curriculum
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he plans to accept the advice given to him by the National Curriculum Council on core skills for 16 to 19-year-olds.
Mr. MacGregor : I have today written to the National Curriculum Council (NCC), endorsing in principle the list of core skills it proposes, namely :
communication
problem solving
personal skills
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numeracyinformation technology
modern language competence.
I have also written to the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC), asking it to use the list as the basis of further work. The NCC advised that the first three core skills should be built into all AS and A- levels, and that the remaining three should be built into syllabuses where this does not distort the nature of the subject. I have asked SEAC to advise me by the end of July on the practicability of building in the various core skills in this way. There must of course be no question of compromising the academic standards of AS and A-levels.
I have also commended to SEAC the idea, put forward by the NCC, that the themes of social and economic understanding, scientific and technological understanding and aesthetic and creative understanding should be included as guiding principles for those who design syllabuses at AS and A-level.
The NCC's report comments on how attainment in the core skills might be described ; how it might be assessed and reported ; and how credit transfer might be developed. These are all issues on which I have already invited advice from SEAC. I have therefore asked SEAC to comment on those sections of the NCC report when it gives its advice in July.
Finally, NCC stresses in its report that the core skills it has identified are suitable not only for those taking AS and A-levels but for all young people aged 16 to 19. I have accordingly, with the agreement of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment, asked the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ), in consultation with the further education unit (FEU) and SEAC, to consider the applicability of the NCC list of core skills to vocational qualifications and report on this before the end of July.
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