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County Hall
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make an announcement on the development proposals for County hall.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : After I have carefully considered the inspector's report.
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Hedges
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he is giving to introducing a statutory protection for valuable and ancient hedges, along the same lines as that recognised in relation to ancient monuments and trees.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Our current review of tree preservation policies and legislation is also considering matters relating to hedgerows.
Rain Forest (Conference)
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will be represented at the International Timber Organisation conference on strategies to help save the rain forest to be held in Bali in May.
Mr. Forth : I have been asked to reply.
Officials from my Department and the Overseas Development Administration are representing the United Kingdom at this meeting.
Fur Production
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what regulations exist in terms of (a) cage size, (b) access to natural light and (c) diet for animals in factory units for fur production ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply.
There are at present no legal requirements relating specifically to the welfare protection of fur-bearing animals. However, the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 makes it an offence to cause livestock on agricultural land unnecessary pain or distress and the Protection of Animals Act 1911 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any captive or domestic animal.
Welfare standards for fur-bearing animals are currently being negotiated in the Council of Europe and are expected to be implemented subsequently within the European Community.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Training
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people received employment training in Northern Ireland during the years January 1987 to December 1988 ; and what percentage of those on completion of their training went to (a) jobs, (b) self-employment, (c) full-time education, and (d) full-time training other than employment training.
Mr. Needham : It is assumed that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the youth training programme (YTP).
In 1987 12,076 and in 1988 12,067 young people entered full-time training under YTP. Information on YTP leavers, whose destinations were known, from full-time training provision is :
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|percentage |percentage |percentage to
|to jobs |to full-time |unemploy-
|education and|ment
|training
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |54 |5 |41
1988 |61 |5 |34
These figures include the destinations of young people who leave YTP prematurely. Separate figures are not available for young people who went to self-employment and these are included in the percentage who went to jobs.
Birth Control
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what development of family planning advisory facilities has taken place in the constituency of Strangford during the past five years.
Mr. Needham : There have been no developments of family planning services in Northern Ireland in the last five years due to fully comprehensive family services having been available free of charge throughout Northern Ireland. Since 1975 most family doctors and two community clinics in the Strangford constituency provide these services. In addition, patients can, if they wish, attend family planning clinics in other areas.
Civil Service Premises
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who owns the premises at Maryfield in which the Irish civil servants are based.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 17 May 1990] : The premises at Maryfield are the property of the Crown.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the expenditure on energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, for the latest year available.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 10 May 1990] : The information in respect of the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office for 1988-89 is as follows :
|£ million
--------------------------------
Electricity |5.419
Oil |2.09
Gas |0.308
Coal |0.008
|---
Total |7.825
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department for the latest year available.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 30 April 1990] : The information in respect of the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office for 1988-89 is as follows :
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|Gigajoules
----------------------------------
Electricity |340,118
Oil |777,916
Gas |57,566
Coal |5,274
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Vietnamese Boat People
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list by detention centre in Hong Kong, the number of Vietnamese boat people held, on the latest date for which he has figures.
Mr. Maude : As at 17 May 1990, there are 11 detention centres in Hong Kong with a total population of 43,974.
Centre |Population ------------------------------------------------ Green Island |299 Hei Ling Chau |3,290 Chi Ma Wan |1,878 Whitehead |22,185 Cape Collinson |323 Argyle Street |1,495 High Island |6,815 Lowu |399 Shek Kong |5,295 Nei Kwu |627 Shek Kwu Chau |999 Victoria Prison and other Institutions |369
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement in respect of the attempted escape by Vietnamese boat people at the Whitehead detention centre in Hong Kong on 3 May.
Mr. Maude : During the early hours of 29 April, 102 Vietnamese boat people, some armed, escaped from the Whitehead detention centre in a well- planned breakout. Five people were apprehended almost immediately and 39 were arrested within 24 hours of the escape. The police have continued to make arrests but a total of 56 people are still missing. On 4 May, police officers and correctional services staff conducted a large scale search of the Whitehead detention centre to find and remove dangerous weapons. More than 2,500 weapons were removed from the centre and 187 people moved to other institutions. The search took place against a background of intimidation by gangs of other boat people, assaults on staff, armed escapes and the widespread possession of offensive weapons. These are serious offences which could not be ignored. The Hong Kong Government are determined to maintain the rule of law inside the detention centres and searches at the centres will continue.
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El Salvador
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the findings of the Scotland Yard detectives sent to El Salvador to investigate the killings of six Jesuit priests ; and when a full report will be made public.
Mr. Sainsbury : The Scotland Yard team went to El Salvador at the request of President Cristiani. Its report will be sent to the Government of El Salvador. It will be for the Salvadorean authorities to decide on future action, including publication.
European Commission
Mr. Tom Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are currently employed by the European Commission ; and if he will classify them by grade.
Mr. Maude : The latest information shows that the European Commission employs 990 British citizens--409 A (administrative) grade, 179 B (executive) grade, 217 C (clerical and secretarial) grade, nine D (manual) grade and 176 L (linguistic) grade. Similar information for other institutions is being sought and a further reply will be given as soon as possible.
Baltic States
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have any plans to use the bilateral mechanism under the CSCE process to discuss with the Soviet Government the applicability of principle VIII of the Helsinki Final Act "Equal Rights and Self-Determination of People" to the Baltic states ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have on several occasions made clear to the Soviet Government that a solution to the present dispute must be reached through dialogue. This should lead to a settlement acceptable to both sides, which will allow the Lithuanian people to decide their own future. We do not at present plan to raise Lithuania under the CSCE mechanism.
Sri Lanka
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of Sri Lanka about the murder of one of the country's Members of Parliament and its implications for human rights.
Mr. Sainsbury : We have not raised with the Sri Lankan Government the specific case of the murder of Mr. Sam Tambimuttu. But we have consistently made clear our concern at the level of violence and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Magistrates
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in relation to the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 and offences committed under the Health and
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Safety at Work etc. Act and any of the relevant statutory provisions within the meaning of section 53 of the said Act, if he has any plans to amend the Magistrates' Courts Act to empower magistrates to refer corporations to a higher court for sentencing.Mr. John Patten : Paragraph 3.15 of the White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm. 965) states that the Government intend to amend section 38 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, in line with the proposed new statutory framework for sentencing, so that the court's decision is based on the seriousness of the offence. That would replace the present provision whereby the decision of the court depends on information about the offender's character and antecedents, and which does not apply to corporations.
Ethnic Monitoring
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether comprehensive ethnic monitoring is to be extended to prison officers and police officers along the lines of that proposed for the probation service, and broken down by grade.
Mr. Mellor : For the prison service, consideration is being given to a further statistical survey of ethnic origin, by grade, on broadly similar lines to that proposed for the probation service. Home Office circular 87/1989--"Equal Opportunities Policies in the Police Service"--recommended that ethnic monitoring arrangements should be established for police officers. Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary is monitoring the information provided in response to that recommendation.
Parole System
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will delay the implementation of the recommended changes in the parole system outlined in "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" until after the publication of Lord Justice Woolf's inquiry into the prison disturbances.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the annual crime detection rates for all crimes and for violent crimes for each year since 1978.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested for 1978 to 1988 is published in table 2.17 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1988" Cm 847, and for 1989 in table 6 of Home Office statistical bulletin 10/90. Copies of both these publications are available in the Library.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were (a) the total number of crimes and (b) the number of violent crimes in Wales in each year from 1978.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested for 1978 to 1988 is published in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", in table 32 for the years 1978 to 1979 and in table 2.5 for the years 1980 to 1988 ; and for 1989 in table 7 of Home Office statistical bulletin 10/90. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
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Probation Orders
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek powers to enable day centres operated by the probation service to offer the initial introduction to employment training for persons subject to a section 11(4b) probation order.
Mr. John Patten : We have already agreed arrangements with the Training Agency for integrating day centre attendance with the youth training scheme. We are now considering whether similar arrangements might be extended to employment training. Home Office officials will be meeting the Training Agency in the near future to discuss this possibility.
Ames Glover
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the steps being taken to solve the case of missing baby Ames Glover ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the police have assigned a full investigative team, consisting of 12 officers, to investigate this case. They will continue to make every effort to trace the whereabouts of Ames Glover.
Immigration
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the present whereabouts of 670 immigrants detained on the Earl William in 1987 by (a) those granted permission to remain in the United Kingdom, (b) those returned to their state of origin, (c) those in the United Kingdom, case under consideration and (d) those whose whereabouts are unknown.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information is not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Trafalgar Square (Incident)
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to how many of the mounted officers involved in the disturbances in London on 31 March were involved in the charge in Trafalgar square.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I am advised by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that 25 mounted officers were deployed to disperse the demonstrators in Trafalagar square during the disturbances on 31 March.
Political Asylum
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have sought political asylum in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years ; and how many have been granted asylum.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information is given in the table. Further information on applications for, and grants of, refugee status in 1980-88 is published in Home Office statistical bulletin issue 25/89 "Refugee Statistics United Kingdom 1988", a copy of which is in the Library. The bulletin for 1989 will be published later in the summer.
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|c|Applications for refugee status in the United Kingdom,
and grants|c|
|c|for refugee status, 1980-89.|c|
Number of persons
Year |Applications |Grants<1> of
|received |refugee status
------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |2,352 |1,147
1981 |2,425 |1,473
1982 |4,223 |1,727
1983 |4,296 |1,185
1984 |3,869 |649
1985 |5,444 |915
1986 |4,811 |565
1987 |5,160 |439
1988<2> |5,105 |960
1989<2> |12,570 |1,550
<1>Grants in a particular year do not necessarily relate to
applications made in that year.
<2> Provisional figures.
Prison Escapes
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, in numerical order by prison, the number of escapes from each English prison in 1989.
Mr. Mellor : The following table shows the number of prisoners reported as having escaped from within closed prisons in England in 1989 :
Establishment |Number -------------------------------------------- Highpoint |28 Wymott |13 Ranby |9 Acklington |6 Aldington |6 Haslar |6 Featherstone |5 Northeye |5 Norwich |5 Stafford |5 The Verne |5 Channings Wood |4 Erlestoke House |4 Lindholme |4 Manchester |4 Canterbury |3 Dartmoor |3 Stocken |3 Durham |2 Haverigg |2 Oxford |2 Thorp Arch |2 Camp Hill |1 Hull |1 Leicester |1 Lewes |1 Nottingham |1 Pentonville |1
Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990-91.
Mr. Waddington [holding answer 12 March 1990] : The full cost of staff, accommodation and administration for the Home Office press office from 1979-80 to 1989-90 was :
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|£
------------------------
1979-80 |283,140
1980-81 |392,532
1981-82 |381,799
1982-83 |424,290
1983-84 |516,362
1984-85 |560,512
1985-86 |606,996
1986-87 |548,136
1987-88 |599,282
1988-89 |674,945
1989-90 |715,646
The budget for 1990-91 is £822,471.
Note : The costs for 1979-80 are based on figures supplied by Her Majesty's Treasury. From 1986-87 costs have been calculated departmentally following the adoption of a system of devolved budgeting.
Prison Management
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will postpone the implementation of the management structure review of the prison service pending Lord Justice Woolf's report on the riots in Strangeways.
Mr. Mellor [pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1990, c. 667] : My right hon. and learned Friend has today written to the Prison Governors Association confirming that the reorganisation of the prison service will take place on the timetable which was announced on 11 January. A copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.
HEALTH
General Practitioners
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a table showing for the latest available date for each of the regions of England how many general practitioners are (a) men and (b) women.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : At 1 October 1989 the figures were as follows :
Region Unrestricted principals
|Male |Female|Total
----------------------------------------------
Northern |1,310 |299 |1,609
Yorkshire |1,548 |386 |1,934
Trent |1,905 |478 |2,383
East Anglia |883 |184 |1,067
North West Thames |1,393 |604 |1,997
North East Thames |1,531 |494 |2,025
South East Thames |1,521 |446 |1,967
South West Thames |1,151 |413 |1,564
Wessex |1,215 |345 |1,560
Oxford |1,025 |305 |1,330
South Western |1,561 |347 |1,908
West Midlands |2,193 |522 |2,715
Mersey |976 |288 |1,264
North Western |1,580 |419 |1,999
National Health Service Reform
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to how many ballots of staff and patients on the question of the formation of self-governing trusts have resulted in majorities in favour.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are aware that ballots on the establishment of National Health Service trusts have
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taken place in a number of units, however, we have consistently made clear that it would not be appropriate or necessary for changes in management of National Health Service services to be subject to ballots. Applications for National Health Service trust status will not be invited until Parliament has approved the necessary legislation. Staff and the local community will then have an opportunity to express their views on individual proposals before any formal applications are made.Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has of the views of National Health Service staff or patients for the formation of self-governing trusts.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A total of 193 units have so far expressed an interest in NHS trust status, with some 80 indicating that they may seek trust status in 1991. This demonstrates the keen interest with which senior NHS staff, including members of the medical and nursing profession, view the prospect of establishing NHS trusts. However, applications for NHS trust status will not be invited until Parliament has approved the necessary legislation. Staff and the local community will then have an opportunity to express their views on individual proposals before any formal applications are made.
Hospices at Home
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement of the funding of the Hospice at Home organisation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : For England, we have allocated an additional £8 million to health authorities this year to enable them to contribute more to voluntary hospices. The funding of individual projects is a matter for discussion between the organisations and authorities concerned. The funding of projects in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Cataract Operations
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations were performed in 1989.
Mr. Dorrell : Health authorities in England reported 81,000 cataract operations in 1988-89.
Nurses and Midwives
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on current consideration of the pay and conditions of nurses and midwives in the National Health Service.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The pay of nurses and midwives is determined in the light of recommendations from the independent pay review body for nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine. Conditions of service are a matter for the Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council and the general Whitley council.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the Government's decisions on pay for staff in the clinical and education grades in 1990-91 on 1 February at columns 260-62. The review body intends to make recommendations on pay levels for senior nurse managers in a supplementary report when the negotiating council has completed its review of the structure for these staff.
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Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he has received any recent representations from within the midwifery profession or from other organisations about the need for a career structure for midwifery managers ;(2) if he has made proposals regarding pay and grading structure for midwifery managers.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have received a small number of representations from senior midwives about the need for a new structure.
A joint working group of the Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council has recently concluded negotiations on a new structure for senior nurses and senior midwives. A final offer has been made to the staff side, who are currently consulting their members.
Community Care
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities have a duty to consult disabled people and their carers on their community care plans.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government are currently examining ways of incorporating into the National Health Service and Community Care Bill a requirement for local authorities to consult service users and their carers on community care plans.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's policy towards the role of small community hospitals as part of the community care policies of the Government ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Small hospitals can play a valuable part in providing a range of services where it is needed locally. They can be more accessible to both patients and staff alike and foster closer relations between local people and primary care services than do larger hospitals. District health authorities in determining the best pattern of services to meet local needs must weigh these benefits against those of larger district hospitals which can provide a full range of specialised treatment and help avoid uneconomic duplication of services on a number of different sites.
Ambulance Personnel, Cheshire
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the numbers of ambulance personnel employed in Cheshire in the years 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Mr. Dorrell : The available information is shown in the table. Figures for 1989, 1990 and 1991 are not available.
|c|Ambulance staff (including officers)
in post at 30 September each|c|
|c|year|c|
|c|Cheshire county<1>|c|
Years |Whole-time
|equivalent<2>
------------------------------------------
1985 |330
1986 |360
1987 |360
1988 |350
Source: Department of Health (SM13)
annual census of non-medical manpower.
<1> All staff are based in the Chester
District Health Authority.
<2> All figures are independently rounded
to the nearest ten (10) whole-time
equivalent.
Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the staffing levels on geriatric wards at Stepping Hill hospital, Stockport.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The North Western regional health authority has set and published "Standards for Nursing Services" which includes standards for the management and staffing of wards and we understand that the Stockport health authority intends to apply all those standards. The authority continues to keep under review nurse staffing levels on the geriatric wards at Stepping Hill hospital, Stockport.
Community Health Councils (Monitoring)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the changes proposed in monitoring by community health councils, once the National Health Service is reorganised into an internal market with providers and purchasers.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The role of community health councils will remain fundamentally unchanged. District health authorities will be expected to take careful account of the views of their resident population on the overall pattern of service which they plan to secure through their contracts. CHCs will play an important role in this.
Mr. George Pawsey (Eviction)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the result of the investigations carried out by his Department into how a terminally ill pensioner, Mr. George Pawsey of Chelmsford was left to live in a garden shed after being evicted from his flat by Essex county council.
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