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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 14 June 1990
PRIME MINISTER
Bradford
Q26. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to Bradford.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Methyl Chloroform
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy that the time horizon of between 10 and 15 years for the 100 per cent. phase-out of methyl chloroform be used by Her Majesty's Government as a base starting point for agreement at the Montreal protocol meetings due to take place in London later this month.
The Prime Minister : It is the Government's policy ultimately to phase out all ozone-depleting substances. However, it is impossible at this stage to predict whether safe substitutes for all uses of methyl chloroform will be found within the next 10 or 15 years.
Advisers
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer, Official Report, 24 May, column 286, if she has any plans to make funds available from the Cabinet Office vote for political advisers to the leaders of all political parties with parliamentary representation.
The Prime Minister : No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 5 June at column 397.
Correspondence
Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will take steps to ensure that departmental Ministers have sufficient staff to reply to hon. Members' lettes within an acceptable span of time ; and whether it is in accordance with her policy that a letter to the Secretary of State for Health dated 27 February should be answered on 6 June.
The Prime Minister : Long delays in replying to correspondence from Members of Parliament can rarely be justified. The Department of Health has introduced major changes in the national health service which have generated a great deal of public interest. Revised procedures have now been implemented to help in dealing with the large increase in correspondence. My hon. Friend will recall that I announced on 29 March a review of the handling of correspondence across all Departments.
Engagements
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 June.
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Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 June.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 14 June.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I shall be hosting a dinner at Downing street in honour of Sir Sonny Ramphal, Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
Official Visits
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list those countries to which she has paid an official visit in each of the last 11 years, indicating in each case whether the visit was followed by an oral statement to the House.
The Prime Minister : I have paid an official visit to the following countries in the past 11 years :
|Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979
June |France
June-July |Australia
October |Italy, Luxembourg, West Germany
December |United States
1980
May |Yugoslavia
September |France, Greece, Yugoslavia
November |Italy, West Germany
December |Irish Republic
1981
February |Netherlands, United States
April |India, Saudi Arabia
September |Bahrain, Kuwait
October |United Arab Emirate, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan,
| Mexico
November |West Germany
1982
July |Italy
September |China, Hong Kong India, Japan
October |West Germany
November |France
1983
January |Falkland Islands
September |Netherlands, Canada, United States
November |West Germany, India
December |Greece (twice)
1984
January |France, Italy
February |Hungary, Soviet Union
March |Belgium
April |Portugal
May |France
June |France
November |India, France
December |Irish Republic, China, Hong Kong, United
| States
1985
February |United States
March |Soviet Union, Belgium
April |Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Sri
| Lanka, India, Saudi Arabia
May |West Germany
June |Italy
July |United States
September |Egypt, Jordan
October |Bahamas, United States
November |Belgium
December |Luxembourg
1986
January |France
March |Italy
May |South Korea, Japan, Israel
June |Netherlands
July |Canada
September |Norway, West Germany
November |United States, France
December |France
1987
March |Soviet Union
June |Italy, Belgium
July |United States, Jamaica, France
September |West Germany
October |Canada
November |France
December |Denmark
1988
January |Kenya, Nigeria
February |Belgium (twice)
April |Turkey
June |France, Canada, West Germany
August |Bahrain, Oman, Singapore, Australia,
| Malaysia, Thailand, UAE (stopover)
October |Italy
November |Poland, United States, France
1989
Februrary |West Germany, France
March |Morocco, Nigeria (stopover), Zimbabwe,
| Malawi
April |West Germany, Namibia
May |Luxembourg, Belgium
June |Spain
July |France
September |Japan, Soviet Union
October |Malaysia, Qatar (stopover)
November |United States, France
December |Belgium, France
1990
January |France
April |Bermuda, Turkey, Irish Republic
June |Soviet Union
Oral statements to the House are made whenever appropriate.
HEALTH
Blood Products
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which pharmaceutical companies are presently importing factor VIII concentrates into the United Kingdom ; and if he will list each company's share of the market.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : For reasons of confidentiality, the information held by the Medicines Licensing Authority about pharmaceutical companies importing Factor VIII concentrate cannot be divulged.
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Plutonium Contamination
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans or studies have been made by his Department to assess what measures would have to be taken in the event of contamination by airborne plutonium resulting from a nuclear weapons accident on board a Royal Navy ship docked at Greenwich.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans or studies have been made by his Department to assess what measures would have to be taken in the event of contamination by airborne plutonium resulting from a nuclear weapons accident on board a Royal Navy ship docked at Greenwich.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Members to the reply my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces gave the hon. Members for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) and Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 8 June at column 724. The contingency plans referred to cover action necessary by all relevant Government Departments and public bodies, including this Department and health authorities.
Sex Offenders
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements for access to information and expertise his Department has with the Gracewell clinic for rehabilitating sexual offenders ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are aware of the work undertaken by the Gracewell clinic ; officials have recently visited the organisation.
Child Sex Abuse
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has of the percentage of children who are sexually abused.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information is not available centrally in the form requested. The information collected centrally relates to the number of children who are on the child protection registers who have been categorised as "sexually abused". The latest information available relates to the year ending 31 March 1989 and is published in the provisional feedback "Children and Young Persons on Child Protection Registers England 1989". Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contact his Department has with Governments in America, Australia and the EEC regarding their experience in the creation and running of national institutes for research into child sexual abuse.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department does not have direct contact with overseas Governments concerning their research programmes into child sexual abuse. Professional staff within the Department keep in touch with research abroad as appropriate and researchers from departmentally funded programmes and units have contact from time to time with overseas counterparts.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the amount of money being spent by
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Government Departments on research into the sexual abuse of children (a) at May 1989 and (b) currently ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The following amounts were allocated by Government Departments for research into child sexual abuse.
|1989-90|1990-91
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------
Department of Health |92,000 |125,000
Home Office |72,000 |32,000
Social Work Services Group
(Scottish Office) |17,000 |52,000
|--- |---
Total |181,000|209,000
In addition, the Department of Health funds a number of projects covering both sexual and physical abuse of children. The cost of these projects in 1990-91 is £221,000 which brings the total to £430, 000.
Medical Accidents
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what review has been made of the gathering of information on medical accidents ; if he will regularly publish statistics about the incidence of claims and settlements or awards achieved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : No review has been made of the gathering of information on medical accidents. When the health authority indemnity for medical negligence was introduced on 1 January 1990, the Department asked health authorities for an annual return of the number of claims of medical negligence, the number of such cases settled, and the total cost of the settlements reached or awards made. The returns for the period to 31 March 1990 are now being received. No decision has been taken on publishing any statistics.
Complaints Procedure
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to monitor and assess hospital complaints, family practitioner committee complaints, and the procedures at the General Medical Council and other related professional bodies.
Mr. Dorrell : Complaints made about the services provided in NHS hospitals are monitored by health authorities as required in directions made under section 17 of the National Health Service Act 1977 ; Family practitioner committees are obliged by regulations to forward reports to the Secretary of State. In addition, the Health Service Commissioner provides an independent assessment of the handling of complaints by health authorities and publishes his report annually.
The General Medical Council is an independent statutory body whose procedures are governed by the Medical Act 1983. The council publishes annually a summary of cases considered by its disciplinary Committees. The Department is not routinely informed by professional bodies of complaints which they receive.
Sheppey General Hospital
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in the assessment made as to the closure of the Sheppey general hospital, what regard was paid to
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questions of (a) population influx in the summer months, (b) future housing development, (c) the nature of access to the island and (d) the availability of an ambulance service.Mr. Dorrell : Medway health authority has no plans to close Sheppey general hospital.
Mr. Joseph Watts
Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the report of the inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Mr. Joseph Watts, a patient at Broadmoor hospital.
Mr. Dorrell : Further to the reply of my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman) on 25 April 1990 at column 219, I welcome the intention of the Special Hospitals Service Authority to make the report widely available. I have arranged for copies of the report, with the authority's response, to be placed in the Library. The authority shares many of the concerns of the inquiry team and has ensured that action on the report's recommendations is well in hand. The inquiry team produced an authoritative, comprehensive and constructive report. I am grateful to its chairman and members for the thorough way in which they approached their work.
Ophthalmic Clinics
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new attendances at ophthalmic clinics were recorded in each quarter of 1988-89 and 1989-90 in each district health authority area in England.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information about consultant out-patient activity is not available centrally on a quarterly basis. Details of the numbers of new referral attendances for all consultant out-patient clinics are published annually and copies of these summaries for 1987-88 and 1988- 89 will be placed in the Library.
Medical and Dental Schools
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the special increment for teaching paid to each medical and dental school in England ; and what that sum represents per student.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The service increment for
teaching--SIFT--is allocated to regional health Authorities to compensate hospitals for the additional service costs incurred through providing clinical facilities for undergraduate medical and dental education and research. In 1990-91, SIFT amounted to £343 million in total. It is allocated to RHAs according to numbers of undergraduate medical and dental students, at rates of £32,017 per medical student and £12,764 per dental student in 1990-91. For students in London, these figures attract a 9 per cent. weighting. RHAs should distribute SIFT to specific hospitals according to a range of factors, taking advice from universities, and other research interests as appropriate. Information on sub-regional distribution is not collected centrally.
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NHS Trusts
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct regional health authorities to commission an opinion poll survey of the local population in each area where there is a proposal to establish a self-governing trust, in order to determine their views about such a proposal.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No. Successive Governments have never thought it sensible for changes in management of NHS services to be subject to opinion polls. When formal applications for NHS trust status are made, following parliamentary approval of the necessary legislation, regions will seek the views of the local community, community health councils and other parties with an interest, on individual proposals before any decisions are made.
Sight Tests
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total cost to his Department of commissioning the NOP survey on sight tests.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The cost of the survey is a commercial matter between the Department of Health and NOP.
Drug Side-effects
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place between his officials and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry about setting up a drug damage compensation scheme for victims of drug side-effects which have become apparent some years after a drug was first prescribed.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No such discussions have taken place.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, column 231, what progress has been made by the research project reviewing the possible connections between BSE and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease ; and what information he has on the common properties of the two diseases.
Mr. Dorrell : After detailed planning the Department of Health has recently commissioned the neuropathology component of the study which my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State announced in a reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 31 January at column 231. The two diseases Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, a spongiform encephalopathy in humans, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy are both fatal, progressive, neurological disorders and have a large number of common properties.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Vietnam
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received seeking further aid to Vietnam ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 17 May about the provision of aid support for NGO activities in Vietnam. Since then I have received no representations seeking further aid for Vietnam.
Ethiopia
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of the population at risk from famine in Ethiopia he estimates can be reached by the southern supply route of the joint relief partnership.
Mrs. Chalker : From the start of the southern line operation on 20 March up to 3 June, 16,030 tonnes of food were delivered to northern Wello and Tigray. As damaged roads are repaired and additional transport capacity becomes available--in both of which areas Britain is providing assistance-- the joint relief partnership hopes to build up deliveries towards its monthly target figure of 14,500 tonnes. This should be sufficient to feed just over 1 million people or perhaps a quarter of the total number at risk in northern Ethiopia.
Irrigation
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new irrigation projects he is currently supporting in the third world ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We are currently funding 11 major irrigation projects, of which seven are in Pakistan and one in each of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. The total value of our support for these products over their duration is just under 100 million. We are also funding irrigation research with a total value of 3 million. Some of our wider programmes also include an irrigation component, but it would be disproportionately costly to collate this information.
Environmental Programmes
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the Government's plans to help developing countries with their environmental programmes.
Mrs. Chalker : To promote sustainable economic growth and meet developing countries' diverse needs, our help covers a wide range including population programmes, energy efficiency, conserving biodiversity, natural resource management and the promotion of environmental awareness among other subjects.
Our policies are set out in a new booklet, "The Environment and the British Aid Programme", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. I have arranged for a copy to be sent to my hon. Friend.
International Service for National Agricultural Research
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all United Kingdom contributions to the international service for national agricultural research made since 1980.
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Mrs. Chalker : Our contributions to the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) since 1980 have been as follows :Financial year |£ --------------------------------------- 1979-80 |15,000 1980-81 |50,000 1981-82 |50,000 1982-83 |100,000 1983-84 |120,000 1984-85 |120,000 1985-86 |120,000 1986-87 |130,000 1987-88 |135,000 1988-89 |142,000 1989-90 |140,000 <1>1990-91 |140,000 <1>Planned.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Nuclear Accident, Greenwich
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans or studies have been made by his Department to assess measures that would have to be taken in the event of contamination by airborne plutonium resulting from a nuclear weapons accident aboard a Royal Navy ship docked at Greenwich with regard to children at schools in the area.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 11 June 1990, Official Report, column 22.
Mr. Peter Hunt
Sir John Hunt : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the hon. Member for Ravensbourne may expect an answer to his letters of 2 April, 4 April and 4 June and his telephone calls of 10 May, 16 May and 22 May relating to the case of Mr. Peter Hunt ; and what are the reasons for the delays in his Department's handling of this case.
Mrs. Rumbold : I wrote to my hon. Friend on 12 June apologising for the delay in replying to his letter of 2 April. In considering Mr. Hunt's case it was necessary for the Department to make inquiries of Bromley local education authority. The facts of the case were then given very careful consideration within the Department.
The final decision was communicated as soon as possible.
University Staff (Pay Offer)
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the reasons for the delay in his Department's approving, via committee B of the universities' negotiating machinery, the vice-chancellors' offer of a 9 per cent. pay increase, accepted by university academic and related staff on 11 May ; and what steps he is taking to expedite the process of ratification.
Mr. Jackson : There has been no unnecessary delay. The Government are giving careful consideration to the salary
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increases for university non-clinical academic and related staff proposed in the 25th report of committee A of the universities academic salaries committees.Academic Awards
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he proposes to publish his Department's policy review of the Council for National Academic Awards.
Mr. MacGregor : The review has now been completed and I am publishing the report today. Copies have been placed in the Library. The report contains a number of important recommendations, on which I am seeking the views of interested parties. These have been requested by 14 September. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will be arranging parallel consultations in Scotland and Wales. I shall announce the Government's response to the report in due course after these consultations.
Meningitis
Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report in tabular form, details of all research into meningitis being supported by the Medical Research Council, indicating (a) the location of the research work, (b) the precise nature of the research project and (c) its tenure.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 11 June 1990] : The Medical Research Council, which receives a grant in aid from this Department, is supporting the following research projects on meningitis : Direct Support-- through MRC establishments
(A) MRC Clinical Research Centre Middlesex.
(B) Project Title :
1. Pathogenesis and immunobiology of meningococcal infection. 2. Isoenzyme analysis for differentiation of neisseria meningitidis infection.
Indirect Support--Grants
(A) Professor E. R. Moxon, Oxford University.
(B) Project Title : Molecular basis of Haemophilius influenzae pathogenicity.
(C) Tenure : 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1995.
(A) Dr. G. J. Boulnois, Leicester University
(B) Project Title : Genetic Engineering of Polysaccharides (C) Tenure : 18 July 1988 to 17 July 1991.
(A) Professor T. H. Pennington, Aberdeen University
(B) Project Title : Studies on the population genetics and typing of neisseria meningitidis.
(C) Tenure : 21 November 1988 to 20 November 1991.
(A) Dr. J. E. Heckels, Southampton University.
(B) Project Title : Immunobiology of meningococcal outer member proteins.
(C) Tenure : 1 September 1988 to 31 August 1991.
(A) Dr. D. M. Jones, London, Public Health Laboratory Service Board.
(B) Project Title : To investigate neisseria meningitidis surgace antigens for induction of protective antibody after disease/carriage.
(C) Tenure : 1 July 1988 to 30 June 1991.
(A) Dr. J. J. McFadden, University of Surrey.
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