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Mr. Grist : On 30 March 1990, Rhymney Valley district council, under the provisions of part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, licensed Euromet Ltd. to store drummed waste at the Capital Valley industrial park, Rhymney.
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On 3 May, the council revoked the licence, with effect from 26 May, on the grounds that continuation of activities on the site would cause pollution of water. The company has appealed against the council's decision, and under the Act's provisions, the revocation is ineffective pending a decision on the appeal.TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Inner City Task Forces
115. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of the work of the inner city task forces.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Responsibility for inner city task forces rests with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
The inner city task forces have continued to make good progress in meeting their objectives of securing more jobs and training for local people and encouraging local enterprise. In the financial year 1989-90, task forces committed about £15.5 million--which in turn levered almost £23.5 million from private and public funds--in support of 562 projects. These were expected to generate, or safeguard, over 6,200 jobs, facilitate over 22,000 training places and provide support for 3,584 new and existing businesses. A recent report entitled "Task Forces in Action" outlining progress in individual task forces is available in the Library.
I announced on 28 February, as part of the Government's action for cities anniversary announcements, that the task forces would be withdrawing from Doncaster and Rochdale ; and that new task forces would be opening in Derby and the Wirral. I also extended the existing task force in north Kensington into part of the neighbouring borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ; it has now been renamed the west London task force.
Atlas Steel Foundry
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry at what cost he instructed Mr. Heriot Currie to appear in Lord Milligan's court on Friday 18 May in relation to the Atlas steel foundry, Armadale ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : It is not usual practice to disclose fees paid individual counsel in a particular case.
The Office of Fair Trading has now completed negotiations : William Cook plc have given signed undertakings to the Secretary of State. The undertakings given to the Secretary of State reflect the undertakings given to the Court of Session on 18 May. In relation to the assets of Armadale steel works, they are as follows :
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"William Cook plc will and will procure that its subsidiaries will :--ensure that no assets of the Armadale Steel Works owned by the Company ("Acquired Assets") are disposed of, and reasonable steps are taken to prevent deterioration of those assets ; so far as such assets remain at Armadale Foundry, such reasonable steps shall be taken so far as is consistent with the fact that those assets are no longer in use ; in so far as assets are removed from Armadale Foundry, all reasonable steps will be taken to prevent serious damage to the Foundry or to the assets removed or to any other assets ; --if the Secretary of State so requires, following an adverse finding by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, return to the Armadale Steel Works any Acquired Assets which have been removed from it ;
--provide promptly to the Director General of Fair Trading such information as he may reasonably require to ascertain what steps have been taken to ensure that the undertakings above (and other undertakings relating to the business of Lloyds (Burton) Limited) are being fulfilled.
HEALTH
Community Care
118. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his best estimates of the additional costs already to be incurred by local authorities in 1991-92 due to the new legislation on community care.
Mr. Dorrell : Our estimates of the financial implications for local authorities of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill are provided in the explanatory and financial memorandum to the Bill. The overall cost of our community care proposals, outlined in the White Paper "Caring for People", is being considered in the current public expenditure survey.
NHS (Expenditure)
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for each five year period from 1960 to the present the amount spent on the National Health Service, expressing it as (a) a percentage of the United Kingdom domestic product and (b) for each five years the percentage increase over the previous five years.
Mr. Dorrell : Health Departments' expenditure figures for the United Kingdom are available on a financial year basis only and because of changes in definition it is not possible to produce a consistent run of figures beginning before 1974-75. Figures as requested for the period 1975-76 to 1989-90 are set out in the table.
O
|Total NHS |NHS |Real terms
|expenditure |expenditure in|percentage
|(gross) in |UK as |increase over
|UK (1989-90 |percentage of |previous five
|prices) |UK GDP |years
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1975-76 to 1979-80 |£94,074m |4.8 |<1>-
1980-81 to 1984-85 |£110,085m |5.3 |17
1985-86 to 1989-90 |£123,735m |5.1 |12
<1>Figure unavailable.
Eye Disease
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what study his Department has funded into the relationship between age and eye disease.
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Mr. Dorrell : The Department has not funded any specific research into this aspect of eye disease. Nevertheless, the Medical Research Council is funding a considerable amount of research on vision.
Medicine Imports
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports his Department has received of illegal parallel imports of medicines reaching the pharmaceutical wholesaling chain in the United Kingdom since 1 January ; from which countries such products originated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Since 1 January 1990 four reports of illegal parallel imports reaching the pharmaceutical wholesaling chain have been received. All such reports are investigated. Under section 118 of the Medicines Act 1968, details of investigations are confidential.
King's College Hospital, Camberwell
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether King's College hospital in Camberwell remains interested in forming a self- governing trust.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Yes.
Sight Tests
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the expected cost of the NOP survey into the volume of sight tests in the first quarter of 1990 ; and what was the survey method used.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The questions on sight test take-up were included as part of the regular NOP weekly omnibus survey. They were repeated over a five-week period and provided a random sample of some 10,000 adults. The cost of the survey is a commercial matter between the Department of Health and NOP.
Kidney Transplants
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are awaiting kidney transplant operations ; and what measures are being taken to encourage more people to carry donor cards.
Mr. Dorrell : According to information provided by the United Kingdom transplant service, the number of United Kingdom patients waiting for a cadaveric kidney transplant on 11 May 1990 was 3,543. For details of the measures being taken to improve the availability of donor organs, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health gave my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 5 April, at columns 736-37.
GPs' Contracts
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the new general practitioners contract will affect provisions for homeless people.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Homeless people have exactly the same rights as others to health services. The improved
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services arising from the GPs' new contract are therefore available to them. The problem is reaching the homeless in the first place and encouraging them to come forward for the services which they need. The new fee payable to GPs who register patients and do a health check should help encourage GPs to register homeless people. Under the reforms in the White Paper, "Promoting Better Health", family practitioner committees are required to assess the health needs of all sectors of their local populations and actively to develop services to meet those needs. In areas where there are homeless people, family practitioner committees and district health authorities need to take account of the special needs of these groups in planning local services. Pilot projects have been funded in City and east London and Camden and Islington FPC areas to assess the needs of the homeless people and to work out the best way of delivering primary care to them. A summary of a Policy Studies Institute report on the projects has been circulated to all FPCs (and to other health and local authorities) so that as similar schemes are considered the lessons learned are shared.General Practitioners (Deprivation Allowances)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of deprivation allowances to general practitioners under the terms of the new contract in each family practitioner committee area.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health is he will list for each family practitioner committee area the areas which qualify for low, medium and high deprivation allowances within the terms of the new general practitioner contract.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he has asked family practitioner committees to identify areas of low, medium and high deprivation for the purposes of payments of deprivation allowances under the terms of the new general practitioner contract.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In introducing deprivation payments for the first time into the general practitioner remuneration system the Government are using the analysis developed by Professor Jarman, professor of primary health care at St. Mary's hospital medical school. His index makes it possible to identify deprived areas by ward according to a score based on key factors such as the level of unemployment, numbers of elderly people living alone and extent of household overcrowding. Family practitioner committees have been supplied with software which will enable payments to be made to general practitioners automatically every quarter by linking patients' postcodes to postcodes in the wards classified as deprived.
General Practitioners Contract
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the additional payments and allowances for patients from deprived areas within the new general practitioner contract.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The amounts payable in respect of patients living in areas of deprivation are as follows :
|From |From
|1 April 1990 |1 January 1991
|£ pa |£ pa
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For each patient resident in |8.50 |8.80
an area with a high level
of deprivation
For each patient resident in |6.40 |6.65
an area with a medium
level of deprivation
For each patient resident in |4.90 |5.05
an area with a low level of
deprivation
These figures represent an increase of 71 per cent., 53 per cent. and 41 per cent. respectively compared to the standard capitation fees.
Transfusion Centres
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Chelmsford, (Mr. Burns), Official Report, 30 April, columns 408-9, which regional transfusion centres have adopted the new arrangements referred to from 1 April.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The south London and south western regional transfusion centres have introduced the new arrangements from 1 April this year. These new arrangements in no way alter the fact that there are no charges for the blood which is freely donated in this country.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed by his Department ; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.
Mr. Dorrell : On 1 April 1990 the number of staff employed by the Department of Health was 5,388. Information on the numbers employed in each of the standard regions is not readily available, although just over one third of the staff are based outside London in various locations throughout England.
Public Appointments
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the full time and part time public appointments for which he is responsible, together with the salary and the date when the appointment is due for renewal.
Mr. Dorrell : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State is responsible for approximately 4,600 full and part-time public appointments.
Details of each of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, details of public appointments to bodies sponsored by the Department of Health can be obtained from the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1989". A copy is available in the Library. Details of salaries or fees can be obtained from the same source.
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Meningitis Vaccination
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects meningitis vaccination to be a routine part of the vaccination programme.
Mr. Dorrell : Routine vaccination with meningococcal vaccine is not recommended because the risk of meningococcal meningitis is low and, at present, there is no effective vaccine against meningococcal group B organisms which are the major cause of meningococcal disease in this country. However, there is an active programme of research into the development of such a vaccine.
Meningococcal vaccines effective against serotype A and C organisms are already available. Vaccine is given, in addition to chemoprophylaxis, to immediate family and close contacts of cases of serotype A and C meningitis. The vaccine is also available to those travelling to areas of the world where meningococcal vaccination is required or advisable.
Full details about meningococcal vaccines can be found in the 1990 edition of "Immunisation Against Infectious Disease", copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Whooping Cough and Meningitis
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have (a) died and (b) suffered serious handicap as a result of (i) whooping cough and (ii) meningitis in each of the last four years.
Mr. Dorrell : The figures for deaths among children aged 0 to 14 years in England and Wales reported to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys were as follows :
Year |Whooping |Meningococcal|Meningococcal
|cough |infection |meningitis
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |3 |84 |15
1987 |4 |95 |17
1988 |0 |109 |21
<1>1989 |1 |117 |25
<1>provisional.
The figures for meningococcal meningitis are included within those for meningococcal infection.
The total notifications for the same period were :
Year |Whooping |Meningococcal|Meningococcal
|cough |infection |meningitis
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |34,695 |1,462 |582
1987 |14,405 |1,717 |744
1988 |4,874 |1,876 |864
<1>1989 |11,066 |1,776 |758
<1>provisional.
It is not possible to say how many of these have led to serious handicap.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total of Government expenditure on (a) research, (b) promoting and (c) administering vaccines against (i) whooping cough and (ii) meningitis in each of the last four years.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department has directly funded research as follows :
|Meningitis|Whooping
|cough
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------
1986-87 |16,600 |28,000
1987-88 |16,600 |28,500
1988-89 |27,200 |5,200
1989-90 |12,400 |Nil
The Medical Research Council, which is funded by the Department of Education and Science, has provided funds for research wholly or partly related to the two diseases as follows :
,
|Meningitis|Whooping
|cough
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------
1985-86 |27,000 |67,000
1986-87 |144,000 |137,000
1987-88 |216,000 |194,000
1988-89 |161,000 |273,000
The figure for 1989-90 is not yet
available.
It is not possible to provide figures for promotion or administration relating specifically to whooping cough and meningitis vaccines.
Centre for Applied Microbiology Research
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he intends to grant additional exclusive rights to Porton International Limited, the centre for applied microbiology research ;
(2) when he expects to announce a decision on the future of the centre for applied microbiology research ;
(3) when he expects to conclude his review of the public health laboratory service.
Mr. Dorrell : I have nothing to add to the reply my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 19 April, at column 990.
Column 203
Disabled Persons
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physically disabled persons aged (a) 16 to 24 years and (b) 25 to 64 years are long-stay residents in hospital units or wards or residential care homes ; and how many of them are in institutions designated for younger disabled people.
Mr. Dorrell : Information is not held in the form requested.
Immunisation
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the most recent figures for the uptake of measles, pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus, and polio immunisation in each of the countries of the European Community.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 21 May 1990] : The latest confirmed figures for England are for 1988-89, as follows :
|Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------
Diphtheria, tetanus and polio |87
Measles |80
Pertussis |75
My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland are responsible for the figures in those countries, but I understand that they have each achieved comparable levels to England.
A programme for more rapid evaluation of immunisation uptake in England is undertaken by the public health laboratory service's communicable disease surveillance centre, and I am pleased to say this indicates that by February 1990 uptake had reached 88 per cent. for diphtheria, tetanus and polio, 85 per cent. for measles and 80 per cent. for pertussis.
The most recent figures for the other countries in the European Community are as follows :
|Diphtheria |Polio |Measles
|Pertussis<1>
|Tetanus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |95 |97 |50
Denmark |88 |100 |82
France |96 |97 |41
Germany (Federal Republic) |97 |95 |50
Greece |83 |98 |82
Ireland (Republic of) |45 |90 |63
Italy |88 |95 |21
Luxembourg |79 |90 |70
Netherlands |97 |97 |93
Portugal |78 |80 |84
Spain |74 |78 |81
<1> Figures for pertussis are not available separately.
The figures shown in the table are for 1988, except in the cases of France, Germany and Ireland, where figures for earlier years are the latest available. I should also point out that the basis for calculating immunisation uptake varies widely from country to country. The basis used in this country--the number of children immunised by their second birthday against the number of such children resident in the district--is acknowledged to be one of the most reliable and accurate available.
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ENERGY
Acid Rain
119. Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what level of expenditure is planned over the next 10 years to reduce the amount of gases causing acid rain emitted from coal-fired power stations.
Mr. Baldry : This is a matter for the industry and will depend on the options used to reduce emissions. However, the industry has stated that it will retrofit flue gas desulphurisation plant to 8GW of existing power stations. This, along with a programme to fit low nox burners to 12 of the largest power stations, will cost around £1.4 billion.
Peat
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what factors were taken into account in deciding to classify peat as a renewable resource for its review of renewable energy sources.
Mr. Peter Morrison : While peat is not a renewable energy source, it is generally considered as an alternative fuel under the generic title Biofuels.
Within our Biofuels research, development and demonstration programme we are carrying out a limited study on peat as a fuel which is due to be completed this year. The objectives of the work are to examine the characteristics of a range of Scottish peats and also the suitability of several combustion appliances for coal, when used with peat. In addition, my Department is currently considering its future policy towards peat as a fuel in consultation with other interested Departments.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many staff are employed by his Department ; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.
Mr. Wakeham : I refer the hon. Member to "Civil Service Statistics 1988-89, Table 3", a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
Public Appointments
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which he is responsible, together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.
Mr. Wakeham : Details of appointments for which I am responsible are published annually in "Public Bodies" and "Women into Public Appointments". "Public Bodies" is available in the Library of the House. The latest edition of "Women into Public Appointments" is to be published next month : a copy will be placed in the Library.
Mixed Oxide Fuel
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the potential uses of mixed oxide fuel.
Mr. Baldry : Mixed oxide fuel can be used in either thermal or fast reactors for generating electricity.
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Sellafield
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what quantity of fuel stored at Sellafield is awaiting processing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : I understand from British Nuclear Fuels plc that, at 31 March 1990, the quantity of irradiated fuel from United Kingdom and overseas civil reactors awaiting reprocessing at Sellafield amounted to some 700 tonnes of uranium as spent magnox fuel and some 3,500 tonnes of uranium as spent oxide fuel. Reprocessing of oxide fuel at Sellafield will start in late 1992 when the thermal oxide reprocessing plant is expected to begin commercial reprocessing.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to amend the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 so as to bring repositories of radioactive waste within its scope ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The Government are well aware of the need to provide for the licensing of radioactive waste repositories and propose to introduce regulations to achieve this at an appropriate time.
Office of Electricity Regulation
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether any changes will be made to the Office of Electricity Regulation's cash limit for 1990-91.
Mr. Wakeham : A supplementary estimate will be sought by the Director General of the Office of Electricity Regulation, who is accountable for this vote.
Subject to parliamentary approval of the supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class V, vote 8 relating to expenditure by the Office of Electricity Regulation will be increased by £1,500,000 from £10,635,000 to £12,135,000 to provide for slippage of setting up costs from 1989-90 into 1990-91. This increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Local Government Finance
122. Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will detail the numbers of those claiming rebates under the terms of the poll tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information about the number of recipients of community charge benefit will be available in the Autumn of this year and details of the number of claims for community charge benefit will be available in 1991. It is estimated that the average number of community charge benefit cases in Great Britain in 1990-91 will be in excess of 8 million which, since a couple are treated as one benefit unit, equates with about 10 million individuals.
123. Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received concerning eligibility for community charge rebates.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe) on 28 March at column 204-5. In the two months since that reply, the Department has received a further 985 items of correspondence about the community charge benefit scheme.
Appeal Tribunals
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley, on 24 April, Official Report, column 155, if he will list by year for the last 10 years for social security appeal tribunals in the North-East England region, the cost of hearing successful claimant appeals in respect of (a) disablement benefit and (b) mobility allowance ; and if he will show in his answer for each category, and by year, how much the successful claimants appeals were worth financially.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The figures quoted are current costs for Great Britain and apply whether an appeal is successful or unsuccessful. The current average cost of a social security appeal tribunal hearing in relation to disablement benefit is £187. The current average cost of a medical appeal tribunal hearing in relation to disablement benefit is £120 in respect of the tribunal alone. The administrative cost of preparing the submission to the tribunal with supporting medical evidence is usually much greater involving as it can the obtaining of consultants' reports. The complexities of each case vary enormously and detailed costings could be supplied only at disproportionate cost but the administrative cost is estimated to be in the region of £700. The current average cost of a social security appeal tribunal hearing in relation to a mobility allowance is £178. The current average cost of a medical appeal tribunal hearing in relation to mobility allowance is £185. I regret that records are not kept of the amount of benefit paid as a result of favourable decisions.
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