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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information on the number of people claiming an incapacity benefit and receiving earnings for therapeutic work is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Similarly, information on the number of hours worked and level of payment received is not collected centrally and is not held locally in all cases.
Students (Rents)
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will direct local authorities to determine the claim for rent from students on the basis of information received from rent officers prior to a tenancy agreement being signed.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : No. Rent officers' determinations are made for the purposes of calculating housing benefit subsidy, and do not form the basis on which local authorities are required to determine benefit entitlement.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will reconsider the procedures for the referral of rents by the relevant officer for students in rented accommodation.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We have no plans for doing so, although we are keeping the rent officer arrangements under review.
Savings
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the basis on which income from savings is calculated for the purpose of benefit withdrawal.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : No income is calculated from the first £3, 000 of any savings in the income-related
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benefits. An assumed (tariff) income of £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250, is calculated for savings above £3,000, up to £8,000 in income support and family credit and up to £16,000 in housing benefit and community charge benefit. The actual income generated from savings is ignored.In income support, tariff income is taken into account in full against entitlement. However, the effect of tariff income on family credit, housing benefit or community charge benefit depends on the amount of other income available and the circumstances of the individual case, including the amount of eligible rent or community charge and the effect of the tapers. The tapers are applied to any income above the appropriate applicable amount and the resulting figure is offset against the maximum benefit payable. In family credit the taper is 70 per cent., in housing benefit it is 65 per cent. and in community charge benefit it is 15 per cent.
Means-tested Benefits
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the effects of rent rises and the switch to community charge on the number of (a) families and (b) persons in families entitled to means-tested benefits during the current financial year ; and if he will give the figures for before and immediately after the April 1988 benefit changes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Estimates of the number of people eligible for particular benefits can be made only retrospectively from survey data. The latest available information on take-up of income-related benefits is contained in the technical notes on take-up of benefits, copies of which are available in the Library.
Students
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consultations he has had with organisations of and for deaf people regarding the proposed definition of disability contained in his proposals for the Social Security Benefits (Student Loans) Amendment Regulations : and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The Social Security Benefits (Student Loans) Amendment Regulations were referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee, which consulted a variety of organisations including those representing the interests of deaf people. The committee's report is now being given careful consideration and will be published, together with the Government's formal response, when the draft regulations are laid before Parliament.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will introduce changes to remedy the situation whereby young people undergoing a full-time course of study are not entitled to any benefit in their own right, but whose parents cannot claim for them as dependants when they become 19 years old nor receive child benefit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : In such a situation, as in others where a young person is not in the labour market by reason of undertaking studies, local education authorities have power to provide financial assistance. We do, however, keep the benefit rules under review.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received
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regarding the proposed definition of disability contained in his proposals for the Social Security Benefits (Student Loans) Amendment Regulations ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Scott : Representations have been received from a number of individuals and organisations, including the All Party Disablement Group, the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, and the British Dyslexia Association.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to ensure that deaf students and those with dsylexia retain entitlement to social security benefits while pursuing a course of higher education.
Mr. Scott : We propose that those deaf students and those with dyslexia who meet the criteria for the disability premium will continue to be eligible for income support and housing benefit. This will include any such student in receipt of attendance allowance, mobility allowance, invalidity pension or severe disablement allowance, and those who are also registered blind. Deaf students and those with dyslexia who face additional costs in connection with their course of study will continue to be eligible for the disabled students allowance under the mandatory award arrangements.
Family Credit
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the reasons on which he based the decision to withdraw family credit from those whose weekly hours spread over 52 weeks fall below 24 hours, but who have previously been awarded both family income supplement and family credit on the basis of working more than 24 hours a week during school terms.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Decisions on individual claims for family credit are the responsibility of the independent adjudicating authorities who are required to make their decisions in accordance with the legislation. One of the conditions for the award of family credit detailed in the legislation is that the claimant or her partner must be working, on average, not less than 24 hours a week. The legislation provides that, where the number of hours for which a person works fluctuates according to a recognisable cycle, the average number of hours shall be determined by reference to the average worked over the period of one complete cycle. Some adjudicating authorities have interpreted the legislation as providing that, in certain claims from school workers, the number of hours worked should be determined according to the average over 52 weeks. Where the adjudicating authorities determine that neither the claimant nor her partner works on average for 24 hours or more, the family would not therefore qualify for family credit but would not be debarred by the number of hours worked from receiving income support.
Pensioners
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will amend the poll tax benefit regulations so that the capital element of an annuity received by an elderly person under a home income plan is not treated as income and therefore does not affect benefit entitlement.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We have no such plans.Social Fund
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action his Department is taking in respect of the application of Samuel Stitt of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, for a social fund cash payment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : Mr. Stitt was originally refused a community care grant for domestic assistance on 11 April 1989. His subsequent application for judicial review was discussed by the High Court on 21 February 1990 and is now before the Court of Appeal. Mr. Stitt made another application for a community care grant for domestic assistance on 2 March 1990. This application was considered by the social fund officer on 8 March and he decided not to make an award. Mr. Stitt has not applied for a review of this decision.
Grants and Loans
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have been refused (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans, and (c) crisis loans, on the grounds that there were insufficient funds/priority too low, by his offices within the Barnsley, East constituency during the period April 1988 to March 1989, and April 1989 to December 1989.
Mr. Scott [holding answer 8 May 1990] : The information in the table represents the number of processed applications for the periods April 1988 to March 1989 and April 1989 to December 1989 where one of the reasons for refusal given by the social fund officer was that of insufficient priority. The number of people refused or awarded payments from the social fund is not collected. Individuals can make more than one application during each accounting period and a social fund officer can give up to six reasons for not allowing an application.
|c|Social Fund Refusals of Applications on Grounds of Insufficient|c|
|c|Priority|c|
April 1988-March |Community |Budgeting |Crisis Loans
1989 |Care Grants |Loans
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barnsley East |9 |229 |0
Wath On Dearne |1 |182 |0
April 1989-
December 1990
Barnsley East |74 |255 |0
Wath On Dearne |203 |375 |0
WALES
Agricultural Developments
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state what his policy is with regard to development control over agricultural developments in areas of outstanding natural beauty and areas designated as heritage coasts.
Mr. Roberts : Most agricultural development is permitted under the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 and does not require specific planning consent. Where planning consent is required and
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the development proposed--whether it be agricultural or not--is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, it is important that its design and appearance, as well as its location, are subject to special scrutiny to ensure that the development fits properly into its surroundings. Attention should be paid not only to the natural scenery but to the traditional character of buildings in the area and the use of local materials. Similar considerations apply to those stretches of coast of particular scenic quality which have been designated as heritage coasts. Here, too, special care is needed to ensure that the beauty of these areas is protected.Welsh Language
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy as to the language in which he answers letters which are written to him in the Welsh language ; and whether this is also the policy of (a) his ministerial team and (b) officials of his Department.
Mr. Roberts : Our policy is to reply in Welsh to letters which are written in Welsh.
Gwynedd Health Authority
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed by Gwynedd health authority on the most recent convenient date ; and what was the corresponding figure five and 10 years previously.
Mr. David Hunt : The available information, which relates to whole- time equivalent staff in post as at 30 September, is given in the table :
|Number
---------------------
1979 |3,588
1984 |4,138
1989 |4,269
These figures have not been adjusted to take account of the change in nurses' hours from 40 to 37.5 in 1980.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the cost of the Deloittes consultant's report on the financial position of Gwynedd health authority undertaken in 1987 ; how much of this was paid for by (a) his Department and (b) Gwynedd health authority ; what are the estimates of the corresponding figures for the new report currently being undertaken by consultants into Gwynedd health authority finances ; whether this new report will be published ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : The final cost of the financial review and related work undertaken for Gwynedd health authority by Deloitte, Haskins and Sells in 1987 and 1988 was £173,650 inclusive of VAT. All of this was met by the Welsh Office.
The cost of the current review of the authority's financial strategy, which is being undertaken by Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte, is estimated at £7,000 plus VAT. This will be met by the authority, along with the further cost of an evaluation of its estate by the consultants at an estimated cost of £10,000 plus VAT. The consultants have also been commissioned to assist the authority to study the strategic options open to it and to produce pathfinder procurement and unit business plans for the contractual provision of services from 1 April 1991. The cost of this
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particular element in the consultant's brief is estimated at £53, 000 plus VAT. The Welsh Office and the authority will each meet half this cost.The decision on whether to publish the studies is one for Gwynedd health authority.
Drugs Education
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of drugs education in Welsh schools.
Mr. Roberts : All maintained schools in Wales are required to provide education about drugs as part of the national curriculum. Since 1986 education support grant has been available to fund the employment of drugs education co-ordinators, whose role was to stimulate and support the development of drugs education by schools, colleges and the youth service. From 1989-90 the co-ordinators' remit was extended to health education generally, with particular emphasis on drugs, alcohol and AIDS.
To support the work of the co-ordinators, the Department has provided grant support since 1986 for in-service training for education professionals in drug misuse. From 1990-91, this programme has also been broadened to cover health education generally.
House Repossessions
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of house repossessions in Wales in 1979, 1988 and 1989, respectively.
Mr. David Hunt : The information requested is not collected centrally.
Friendly Societies
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to establish for Wales its own registrar for friendly societies.
Mr. Ryder : I have been asked to reply.
There are very few friendly societies with headquarters in Wales and we consider that these matters are best handled centrally on an England and Wales basis.
Computerisation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the computerised personnel information contract awarded to
McDonnell-Douglas on 9 May is compatible with the IBM UK financial management information systems contract awarded in August 1986.
Mr. David Hunt : The two contracts referred to are for separate, unrelated systems. The question of compatibility does not, therefore, arise.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the duration of the contract for computerising the personnel information systems awarded to McDonnell-Douglas on 9 May.
Mr. David Hunt : Four months from the date of delivery (4 May).
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the penalties for late completion of the contract
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for computerising the personnel information systems awarded to McDonnell-Douglas on 9 May ; and whether these provisons are based on the delay of the completion of the IBM contract awarded in August 1986.Mr. David Hunt : The contract concerned contains no specific penalty clauses for late completion, but adequate remedies to deal with such an event, should it occur, are available under common law.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the contract for computerising the personnel information systems awarded to McDonnell-Douglas on 9 May duplicates any part of the contract awarded to IBM UK in August 1986.
Teachers
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what steps he is taking to ensure there will be sufficient numbers of mathematics and science teachers in the primary and secondary schools in Wales ;
(2) what efforts he is making to ensure that there will be sufficient teachers of (a) German, (b) French, (c) Italian and (d) Spanish.
Mr. Roberts : The teacher training bursary scheme provides an incentive to graduates of mathematics, chemistry, physics, technology and CDT to train as teachers. From September the scheme is to be extended to include modern foreign languages and Welsh and the level of the bursary increased to £1,500 with £2,000 for physics. A number of other measures have been introduced to increase the supply of teachers. The Welsh Office is providing financial support to enable initial teacher training institutions to run "taster" courses in shortage subjects for mature people to encourage entry or return to teaching. £116,000 is being made available through education support grant for four LEAs in Wales to support the development of measures to increase the recruitment of teachers in the shortage subjects. TASC (teaching as a career) has been established to promote teaching as a career and help local education authorities and initial teacher training institutions to mount more effective recruitment campaigns.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he proposes to take to ensure that there will be sufficient numbers of teachers of Welsh in the primary and secondary schools of Wales.
Mr. Roberts : To help meet the increased demand for Welsh teachers Welsh is being added to the list of secondary shortage subjects for which a bursary of £1,500 will be available in initial teacher training (ITT). An incentive supplement of £1,200 will be available from September this year to increase the number of students training as primary teachers through the medium of Welsh. The revised criteria for the approval of ITT courses requires that institutions in Wales should provide students on primary courses with an opportunity to learn or increase their competence in Welsh to a point where they can teach the language.
We are not relying solely on new entrants to the profession however to meet this demand. Nearly £1 million is being made available this year to local education
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authorities to help teachers, currently teaching other subjects, develop their skills and competence in the Welsh language and to prepare them to teach the language.These initiatives have been welcomed and the response so far is very promising.
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the future employment of the chief executive of the Cardiff Bay development corporation ; and if he will make a statement.
Hospitals
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish, on the basis of the most recent available figures, the average number of nursing staff hours per standardised unit of work at each of the district general hospitals in Wales and the all-Wales average ; and if he will make a statement on the implications of these figures.
Mr David Hunt : The information requested is not readily available ; however, information on nurses per 1,000 units of work for each district health authority in Wales is shown in table 5.1 of the publication "Key Statistical Indicators for National Health Service Management in Wales, No 7, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing for each district general hospital in Wales the number of outpatient attendances for ear, nose and throat treatment during the most recent
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12-month period available ; and what was the notional period of time in days to clear the waiting list for each such hospital at the end of that 12-month period.Mr. David Hunt : The most recently readily available information is published in "Welsh Hospital List Bulletin 1990 : No 1", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish, for each of the district general hospitals in Wales, figures showing for the most recent available date the cost per standardised unit of work ; if he will rank these on an indexed basis, taking the all-Wales average as 100 ; and if he will make a statement on the implications of these figures.
Mr. David Hunt : Information on costs per standardised unit of work are shown in section 2 of the publication "Key Statistics Indicators for National Health Service Management in Wales, No. 7, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The tables also show indexed costs, taking the average for hospitals of a similar classification as 100.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish an analysis for each of the district general hospitals in Wales, showing the total number of deaths and discharges, indexed as 100 for each hospital ; and what proportion is accounted for by virtue of (a) discharge to their own houses, (b) discharge to other National Health Service hospitals, (c) discharge to private nursing homes, (d) discharge to other locations and (e) deaths.
Mr. David Hunt : Figures on the destination of patients, based on the available information for 1988, are as follows :
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Per cent<1>
|Patient's |Other |Other |Deaths |Not Known
|Home |Hospitals |Locations<2>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ysbyty Glan Clwyd |91 |5 |2 |3 |0
Wrexham Maelor |94 |1 |1 |3 |0
Bronglais General |91 |6 |1 |2 |0
West Wales General |93 |3 |1 |3 |0
Withybush |93 |2 |1 |3 |0
Nevill Hall |91 |4 |1 |4 |0
Royal Gwent |92 |4 |2 |2 |0
St. Woolos |84 |5 |4 |7 |0
Ysbyty Gwynedd |89 |6 |2 |3 |0
Princess of Wales |93 |3 |2 |2 |0
East Glamorgan |90 |5 |2 |2 |0
Prince Charles |91 |6 |1 |2 |0
University Hospital of Wales |94 |3 |1 |2 |1
Cardiff Royal Infirmary |84 |9 |1 |4 |3
Llandough |91 |5 |1 |4 |0
Morriston |88 |6 |2 |4 |0
Singleton |91 |6 |1 |2 |0
Neath General |94 |1 |4 |2 |0
<1>Figures may not sum to 100 per cent. owing to rounding.
<2>Discharges to private nursing homes cannot be separately identified, but are included within other
locations'.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list changes in the definitions of units of work used by his Department for the measurement of managerial performance in National Health Service hospitals in Wales since the concept was first introduced ; and whether he has any plans for further changes.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the introduction to chapter 1 in the publication "Key
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Statistical Indicators for National Health Service Management in Wales, No. 7, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The methodology is constantly under review.Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing in each district health authority in Wales the number of new hospitals costing
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over £1 million which are all currently at various stages of planning, design and construction ; and of these how many in each district are currently under construction.Mr. David Hunt : The information requested is shown in the table : District health authority and proposed new hospital
1. Under construction
Clwyd--Deeside community hospital
Mid Glamorgan--North Rhondda community hospital
2. In planning/design
Gwent--Ebbw Vale community hospital
Gwynedd--West Monmouth community hospital
Mid Glamorgan--District general hospial for Taff Ely/Rhondda West Glamorgan --District general hospital for Neath/ Port Talbot Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of general practitioner beds available in National Health Service hospitals in each district health area in Wales at the most recent available date ; and what is his policy towards the maintenance and extension of the availability of general practitioner beds.
Mr. David Hunt : The latest available information is published in "Hospital Bed Use Statistics, 1988-89", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
The provision of general practitioner beds is a matter for district health authorities, in consultation with family practitioner committees, in the light of their assessments of local need and resources available.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will publish a table showing the number of beds in community hospitals in each of the nine district health authorities in Wales ;
(2) what was the total number of hospital beds available in 1978-79 and at the most recent available date (a) for Wales as a whole and (b) for each district health authority in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : The information requested is published annually in "Hospital Bed Use Statistics", copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Separate publications are available for each calendar year 1973 to 1987, and for each financial year 1982-83 to 1988-89.
Ysbyty Gwynedd
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many outpatients were on the waiting list for ear, nose and throat treatment at Ysbyty Gwynedd in September 1987, September 1988, September 1989 and at the latest available date ;
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(2) how many persons were on the outpatient waiting list for ophthalmology at Ysbyty Gwynedd in September 1987, September 1988 ; September 1989 and at the latest available date ;(3) how many people were on the waiting list for outpatient treatment for oral surgery at Ysbyty Gwynedd in September 1987, September 1988, September 1989 and at the most recent available date.
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