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RHA |Diabetics/
|Glaucoma
|sufferers
----------------------------------------
Northern |5,410
Yorkshire |8,900
Trent |15,660
East Anglia |3,200
North West Thames |6,700
North East Thames |9,700
South East Thames |11,900
South West Thames |6,450
Wessex |8,290
Oxford |5,250
South Western |8,750
West Midlands |10,200
Mersey |3,940
North Western |9,830
These figures are based on a 2 per cent. sample of national health service sight test application forms processed by family practitioner committees. They do not take into account sight tests paid for after 1 April 1989 but conducted before that period.
NHS Reform
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions officials of his Department have undertaken about the possibility of any part of the health service in the Greenwich district opting for self-governing status.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : None.
Health Services, Greenwich
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department has been involved in any discussions about the establishment of a new district general hospital at the Memorial hospital, Woolwich ;
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(2) what discussions or correspondence his Department has had with officers of the Greenwich health authority about the future of acute services in Greenwich during the past 12 months.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has not been involved with these issues in the past 12 months. Greenwich health authority is to produce a strategy document for acute services for consideration which should address all options.
Steroids
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department first became aware that high dosages of steroids had serious and lasting side-effects ; and what action was taken to make this information known to general practitioners and hospitals.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : A number of serious diseases require long- term treatment with steroids. The side-effects of long-term treatment have been well known for many years, and the British National Formulary sent to all prescribers by the Department free of charge, has carried warnings to this effect since 1966. Licensing of medicinal products under the Medicines Act started in 1971, and companies promoting medicines to doctors are required to provide individual product data sheets which include appropriate information on warnings, contraindications and side-effects.
AIDS
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further proposals he has to eliminate the spread of AIDS through (a) blood transfusions, (b) dirty syringes and (c) sexual transmission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are firmly committed to taking effective action to minimise the spread of HIV infection. All blood donations are tested for HIV antibody and people who may have been exposed to HIV are asked not to donate blood. As a consequence, the risks of infection with HIV through blood transfusion in this country have been reduced to the lowest level currently possible.
We recognise the grave potential for spreading HIV through the use of infected injecting equipment by drug users. To counter this threat we have asked agencies working with drug users to maximise the number of users they are in contact with and to make HIV prevention activities a key part of their work. Advice has been issued on the establishment of syringe and needle exchange schemes, and on cleaning injecting equipment. We are also considering the role pharmacists have to play in the provision of injecting equipment in the light of the recent report of the addiction research unit, a copy of which is in the Library.
Sexual transmission of HIV remains the major threat : national and local action has been set in hand to meet that threat. Nationally, the Health Education Authority runs mass media campaigns and back-up activities aimed at the general public, with targeted work directed at groups at particular risk. Locally, health authorities have been asked to develop HIV prevention initiatives, in collaboration with local authorities and voluntary bodies, paying particular attention to HIV prevention services in genito-urinary medicine clinics.
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This year health authorities are receiving £128 million specifically for HIV and AIDS-related work, local authorities have been allocated a £9.8 million support grant, and we expect to make grants of £1.8 million to voluntary bodies working in this field. We expect action on all aspects of HIV prevention will have to be sustained for the foreseeable future, and the need for further action will be kept closely under review.Drugs
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department monitors the number of persons who show serious side -effects after a long period of drug therapy ; and what action is taken both in informing manufacturers and advising the medical profession.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) carefully monitors all issues of drug safety. Suspected adverse reactions to medical products are reported on a voluntary basis by doctors and dentists under the yellow card scheme, and there is a statutory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit reports. This applies to patients receiving treatment over short and long periods. The CSM recommends that manufacturers carry out post marketing surveillance studies for new drugs likely to be used for widespread long-term use, in order to identify any side-effects associated with treatment. In addition the CSM closely monitors worldwide epidemiological studies investigating the long-term effects of medicines.
Information on potential problems is sent regularly to all prescribers by means of CSM's "Current Problems" bulletin ; in the case of major drug safety hazards the professions are alerted by means of a letter from the chairman. Drug prescribing information and guidance is also available from a number of other sources, for example the British National Formulary, which the Department issues free to all doctors twice yearly.
The pharmaceutical industry is regularly supplied with information on adverse reactions received by the CSM. In addition it is involved in receiving and providing information in relation to drug safety problems for its licensed products.
Blood Transfusion Service
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the costs of operating the blood transfusion service in each national health service region for the latest available year ; and if he will express those costs in terms of cash, cash per head, and cash per litre of blood product supplied.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 23 May 1990] : The revenue costs of operating the blood transfusion service for 1988-89 (the latest year available) are shown in the table along with the cost per head of population resident in each regional transfusion centre's area. Information is not held centrally to calculate the cost per litre of blood product supplied.
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Revenue expenditure
Region |On the Blood |Per head of
|Transfusion |population in
|Service |RTC area<1>
|(£)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |4,011,374 |1.33
Yorkshire |5,626,860 |1.79
Trent |6,453,730 |1.31
East Anglia |2,990,940 |1.47
North West Thames |6,483,135 |1.76
North East Thames |5,043,480 |1.43
South East Thames}
South West Thames} |9,149,746
Wessex |3,077,056 |1.35
Oxford |3,332,335 |1.24
South Western |4,934,100 |1.37
West Midlands |6,663,586 |1.28
Mersey |3,899,912 |1.43
North Western |6,753,782 |1.48
|-------
Total |68,420,036
<1> 1986 population.
Tuberculosis
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the correlation coefficient between the incidence of HIV infection and the incidence of tuberculosis in England over the period 1980 to 1990.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 7 June 1990] : The reported number of people with HIV infection has increased during the 1980s in England and Wales and in a small proportion of those who have progressed to develop AIDS, tuberculosis has occurred. However, no evidence of a correlation between the HIV epidemic and the overall incidence of tuberculosis has been identified so far in England and Wales.
Tuberculosis incidence, as measured by notifications, has been declining by approximately 5 per cent. per year in recent decades, but the rate of decline varies from year to year. Total notifications for England and Wales in 1988 (5,161) were 1.5 per cent. higher than the total in 1987 (5,086), but such small annual increases have been seen from time to time (in 1973, 1975, 1978 and 1986) with a subsequent resumption of the downward trend. The small increase that was seen in 1988 occurred mainly in the younger females and the elderly age group.
Alcoholism
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the organisations in receipt of funds from his Department that provide post detoxification residential care, indicating the amount received and the number of beds provided.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 11 June 1990] : There is no central register of the number of beds provided for detoxification, nor of the funding specifically used for the provision of these facilities. The Department does not allocate earmarked moneys for the provision of post detoxification residential care for alcohol misusers. The Department does, however, make available to regional health authorities earmarked funding, which this year totals £15.5 million, for the provision of drug services locally. Post detoxification residential care may be funded from these allocations.
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COMARE
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to the Minister of State's answer of 7 June, Official Report , columns 674-75, when COMARE originally recommended a study of any possible health effects on the offspring of parents occupationally exposed to radiation ; for what reason the recommendation was not then adopted; and when the studies will commence.
Mr. Dorrell : The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE)'s original recommendation for epidemiological studies to consider any possible health effects on the offspring of parents occupationally exposed to radiation was made in COMARE's second report (June 1988). The Government accepted this recommendation and research proposals were invited. COMARE subsequently broadened the scope of this recommendation in its third report (June 1989). The Government also accepted this recommendation and, following consultations with COMARE, have invited more detailed proposals. These proposals are currently undergoing the usual refereeing procedure and research should be commissioned later this year.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Income Support
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the earnings disregards are for all single or married income support claimants who are required to be available for work ; what earnings received by a claimant are not counted for income support purposes ; what expenses can an income support claimant deduct from their gross earnings when calculating their benefit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The main disregards and provisions in income support for people with weekly earnings who are required to be available for work are :
Couples aged under 60 years who have been continuously in receipt of income support for two years or more--£15 per couple.
Couples receiving, or with underlying title to, the disability premium -- £15 per couple.
All other couples -- £5 each member.
Single people -- £5
Earnings from employment which ceased before the claim for income support was made are ignored, with the exception of royalties and, for people below pension age, holiday pay, pay in lieu of notice or remuneration, and retainer fees.
Deductions are made from gross earnings in respect of income tax, social security contributions and one half of any contribution towards an occupational or personal pension scheme. In addition, where earnings are from self-employment deductions may be made for certain expenses wholly and exclusively defrayed for the purposes of that employment.
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single-pensioner households in Scotland are in receipt of income support or have been in receipt of income support or supplementary benefit for each of the past five years, expressed as a percentage of all single- pensioner households and as a numerical total.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [pursuant to her reply, 1 March 1990, c. 318- 20] : I regret that the information given wa
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incorrect. The corrected figures, which relate to single people aged 60 and over, are in the table. The information requested is not available for single-pensioner households.
|c|Number of "Single" people in Scotland|c|
Thousands
|1983|1984|1986|1987|1988
--------------------------------------------------
a. Aged 60 and over |482 |483 |483 |484 |484
b. In receipt of
Income Support
aged 60 and over |131 |138 |135 |150 |149
c. Percentage in
receipt of Income
Support |27.2|28.6|28 |31 |30.8
Note: The population figures are mid-year
population estimates from the population
statistics branch of the General Registry Office
for Scotland. The number of benefit recipients
are taken from the annual statistical enquiries (
ASE) in December 1983, December 1984, February
1986, May 1987 and May 1988. No ASE was produced
in 1985.
Retirement Pensions
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the 1988-89 cost of providing the national insurance retirement pension (a) including spouse additions and (b) excluding spouse additions to category A retirement pensioners (1) in total, (2) for males and (3) for females.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The costs as requested are as follows :
|c|Including Adult Dependency
Additions (ADAs)<2>|c|
|£ million
------------------------------------
Total Costs |12,240
To men |7,840
To women |4,400
Excluding ADAs
Total Costs |12,090
To men |7,690
To women |4,400
<1> Source Government Actuary
Department.
<2> It is impossible to tell from
Government statistics whether the
ADA is paid for a spouse or a
person having care of children.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the number of (a) male and (b) female claimants who receive a spouse addition for non-contributory benefits for the latest available year.
Mr. Scott : The latest available figures show that 4,966 male and 487 female claimants receive increases of non-contributory benefits in respect of adult dependants. It is not possible to separate those cases where the increase is payable in respect of a spouse.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 11 June on the cost of spouse additions, what percentage of the £800 million and £4 million relate to the retirement pension.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : On male contribution records approximately 20 per cent. of the estimated £800 million figure relates to retirement pension. On female contribution records the percentage is negligible. (Note : The figures of £800 million and £4 million in the earlier answer were the estimated cost in 1988-89 of adult dependency additions, which include a small number of adult
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dependants other than spouses who have care of a child or children. It is not possible to give separate figures solely for spouse additions although the amounts involved are unlikely to be significantly different.)Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 323, regarding the woman's half-test, what information is available.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : A woman who was affected by the married woman's half-test would not have received any pension (not even a reduced one) based only on her own contributions. However, that test was abolished on 22 December 1984 for all women regardless of when they reached pension age and as a result some women became entitled to a reduced pension based on their own contributions.
At March 1989 there were some 0.6 million women in receipt of a reduced category A pension (that is one based on their own contributions), but it is not possible to say how many of these were women who became entitled to that pension as a result of the abolition of the test.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single-pensioner households in Scotland are in receipt or have been in receipt of housing benefit for each of the past five years, expressed as a percentage of all single-pensioner households and as a numerical total.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [pursuant to her reply, 7 March 1990, c. 679] : I regret that a correction is necessary
The estimate for 1988 of 250,000 single people in Scotland aged 60 or over in receipt of housing benefit represents 51.7 per cent. of the total number of Scots in this group and not 11.3 per cent. as shown in the published reply.
Pension Ages
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 323, regarding pension ages, in what form the information is available.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Such information as is available is set out in my answer to the hon. Member's earlier question.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Charities
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bodies established under the law of Scotland or managed or controlled wholly or mainly in, or from, Scotland are presently recognised by the Inland Revenue as charitable for tax purposes and are eligible for relief under section 505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.
Mr. Lilley : The Inland Revenue is in the process of transferring to computer information about bodies in Scotland which have been recognised as charities for tax purposes. The task is not yet complete, but it is estimated there may be about 15,000.
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Mortgages
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his reply of 6 March, Official Report, column 595, if he will now make provision for writing down against tax liabilities the increases in mortgage debts of individuals which were incurred because of the rise in interest rates.
Mr. Lilley : Increases in mortgate interest payable as a result of changes in interest rates qualify for mortgage interest relief in accordance with the normal rules. Relief is allowed for the actual interest paid on qualifying loans up to the statutory limit.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from the budget of which Department the United Kingdom's contribution to the European bank for reconstruction and development will be paid.
Mr. Ryder : The United Kingdom's contribution to the European bank for reconstruction and development will be paid through the Overseas Development Administration. The contributions for the years up to 1993-94 will be additional to ODA's existing provisions. Provisions for contributions in the years after 1993-94 will be considered in future public expenditure surveys.
Society of Chartered Accountants
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Society of Chartered Accountants ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 14 June 1990] : I have no knowledge of any organisation by this name.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the status of a BSE-free herd will be affected by (a) the purchase of calves or young stock from a herd with BSE and (b) the purchase of calves or young stock from a herd that subsequently develops BSE ; and, in the second case, how the authorities and the purchasing owner will be guaranteed information of the change in circumstance.
Mr. Maclean : Since there is no test for BSE in the live animal it is not possible to certify that any herd is BSE free.
Salmon
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the report on the future of the east coast salmon fishery.
Mr. Curry : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 26 April at column 317.
Spongiform Encephalopathy (Pets)
Mr. Amos : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest figures for the incidences of spongiform encephalopathy in domestic pets.
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Mr. Maclean : Thirteen cats' brains have been examined at the central veterinary laboratory at Weybridge, of which three have been confirmed as having a spongiform encephalopathy. There are no confirmed cases involving dogs.Rabies
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the result of the rabies tests carried out on an eight-month-old border collie, which died in Walthamstow, east London on 15 May ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The rabies tests were all negative.
DEFENCE
Disarmament
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the process of disarmament.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In common with our NATO allies, the United Kingdom has continued to give strong support to current arms control negotiations, and to work actively in those in which we are involved. We are now making important progress in achieveing our long-standing aim of enhancing security and stability in Europe at the lowest possible levels of forces consistent with our security needs. We intend to maintain this policy, which has proved such a success.
Air-to-Surface Missiles
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has about the proposed sitings of tactical air-to-surface missiles.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The question of the detailed sitings of tactical air-to-surface missiles has not arisen.
Cruise
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about sea-launched cruise missiles.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 5 April at column 832 .
German Unification
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he envisages in Britain's defence policy as a result of the two-plus-four talks on the reunification of Germany.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State informed the House on 6 February, we are examining options for change in the structure and deployment of our armed forces in the light of changing international circumstances. We will also be playing a full part in the forthcoming review of NATO strategy. It is still too early to indicate any specific changes, but we will continue to maintain our commitment to NATO which provides the best guarantee of peace and security in Europe.
Column 380
Aircraft Procurement
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current state of the CFE negotiations and their possible effect on future military aircraft procurement for the RAF.
Mr. Alan Clark : The negotiations continue to make good progress and there are hopes that an agreement may be reached later this year. There has, as yet, been no agreement on either the definition or number of combat aircraft which might be covered by a CFE treaty. It is, therefore, not possible to speculate on the likely effects on future procurement.
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests of nuclear weapons have taken place in the last five years ; whether they have been to test the effectiveness of the weapons or in connection with modernisation ; where such tests took place ; and what notification was given to any international bodies.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The following joint UK-US nuclear tests have been held in the last five years :
Kinibito--5 December 1985
Darwin--25 June 1986
Midland--16 July 1987
Barnwell--8 December 1989
All were conducted at the Nevada test site. Such tests are carried out in order to maintain the effectiveness of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons capability. In line with standard practice, all were simultaneously announced in London and Washington 30 minutes after shot time ; no specific notifications were given to any international body.
RAF Akrotiri
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by year for the last 10 years to date, the number of times the United States U2 spy aircraft has used the facilities of RAF Akrotiri ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The USAF U2 aircraft has been permanently stationed at RAF Akrotiri since 1974 in support of middle east peacekeeping arrangements. It operates with the knowledge of all Governments directly involved.
Biological Defence
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has obtained for his departmental library a copy of the United States Department of Defense 1986 publication, "Biological Defense Programme" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neubert : No. A copy is, however, on order by the relevant departmental library.
Trilateral Air Force
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement in respect of the proposed plan to create a trilateral British, United States and West German air force, based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : We have received no proposals for a trilateral British, United States and West German air force based primarily in the United Kingdom.Genetically Modified Organisms
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the procedure for ensuring that the non-military potential applications of work carried out with genetically modified organisms are identified and subsequently exploited ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neubert : Scientific work leading to the development of defensive measures against chemical and biological warfare, including the limited amount of work on genetically manipulated organisms, often has non- military potential. It is identified by the scientists in the course of their experiments and reviewed by the independent medical, physical sciences and life sciences committees.
Where possible, the work is then exploited through contacts between the MOD's scientific staff and industry and scientific research organisations. The greater part of the work not disseminated in this way is published in open literature.
Low Flying
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) of 25 April, Official Report, column 208, on how many occasions full charges were carried on low- flying training exercises in 1989 and 1990 to date ; and what forms of charges were involved.
Mr. Neubert : The detailed information requested is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost and effort.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of low-flying training sorties flown by RAF and NATO aircraft over South Yorkshire and neighbouring counties in 1989 and the proposed number in 1990 ; and how close any such sorties fly to Crowedge, Hazlehead, South Yorkshire.
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