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HIV
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report for each health authority in Scotland the number of persons infected with HIV ; and if he will separately distinguish these numbers by age.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 7 June 1990] : The following table gives a breakdown by health board area of the total number of positive HIV antibody test results in Scotland which have been reported to the communicable diseases (Scotland) unit up to 31 March 1990. Where the total number of results in each board area is under 10, the figure, in accordance with established practice, is not published so as not to jeopardise medical confidentiality.
Health board |Number of
|positive
|results
------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |14
Ayrshire and Arran |<1>
Borders |<1>
Dumfries and Galloway |13
Fife |26
Forth Valley |60
Grampian |40
Greater Glasgow |278
Highland |12
Lanarkshire |27
Lothian |1,053
Orkney |Nil
Shetland |<1>
Tayside |233
Western Isles |Nil
|-------
Total (Scotland) |1,769
<1> Under 10.
The age distribution of results by health board area is not readily available and could not, in any event, be given where the number involved is under 10. The age distribution, where known, of the total number of results is shown in the table.
#
Age |Number of
|positive
|results
-----------------------------------
Under 14 years |116
15 to 24 years |723
25 to 34 years |624
35 to 44 years |158
Over 45 years |44
Not known |104
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Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the correlation coefficient between the incidence of HIV infection and the incidence of tuberculosis in Scotland over the period 1980 to 1990.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 7 June 1990] : As the respective relevant data on HIV antibody positive results reported to the communicable diseases (Scotland) unit and on the notification of tuberculosis in Scotland are not compatible, any attempt at a correlation coefficient using the data would not be valid. No evidence exists of a correlation in Scotland between the incidence of HIV infection and the incidence of tuberculosis, although tuberculosis has occurred in a small proportion of persons with AIDS.
The annual number of positive reports of HIV infection and notifications of tuberculosis in Scotland from 1980 to 1989 inclusive are given in the following table :
|HIV positive|Tuberculosis
|results
----------------------------------------------------
1980 |0 |1,138
1981 |2 |972
1982 |9 |902
1983 |42 |829
1984 |169 |738
1985 |314 |707
1986 |472 |756
1987 |373 |560
1988 |197 |534
1989 |151 |<1>540
<1>provisional.
Farm Pollution
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details about steps taken by his Department in order to quantify the damage to health and safety of people and environment caused by cases of farm pollution in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 8 June 1990] : The Scottish farm waste liaison group compiles records of pollution incidents and publishes information on the numbers and types of such incidents. The group, which was established in 1981, comprises representatives of river purification boards, the Scottish agricultural college and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.
Reports on specific incidents are made in the annual reports of the river purification authority concerned. There are very few recorded cases of direct damage to health arising from specific farm pollution incidents.
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement regarding the role of his Department in the care and protection of the health and safety of the Scottish people and environment from farm pollution.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 8 June 1990] : I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 8 June, Official Report, Vol. 173, column 737. The Government aim by a policy of education, regulation and enforcement to reduce farm pollution at source in the interests of safeguarding public health and protecting the environment.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, together with other Departments, keeps the use
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and effectiveness of pesticides under review. Where it is justified on scientific grounds action is taken to ban substances whose continued use is found to be unacceptable. The Department was associated with the preparation of a code of practice for the safe use of pesticides on farms and holdings published earlier this year. Guidance has also been issued on the operation of intensive livestock units and on the control of slurry spreading.The safeguarding of public health is one of the objectives of the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, a measure introduced recently to protect the environment, and in particular the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture.
The Scottish Development Department sponsors the seven Scottish river purification boards which, along with the three islands councils, are responsible under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 for controlling pollution of the water environment. Their powers were recently improved and strengthened in the Water Act 1989. Where pollution of water occurs, whether from farm or other sources, it falls on these authorities both to take action to safeguard health by notifying water authorities and the public likely to be affected and to assemble evidence against the possibility of offenders being prosecuted.
All employers and the self-employed, including farmers, have a general duty under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of persons who may be affected by their work activities. The specific obligations relating to the protection of employees' health imposed on employers by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations also extend so far as reasonably practicable to non-employees both on and off the employer's premises.
Disabled People
Mr Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people with disability are on employment training placements with employers ; and what percentage this is of placements for people with disabilities.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 11 June 1990] : The information requested is not collected by the Training Agency. However, I can say that 2,822 (3.5 per cent. of the total) disabled people joined employment training in Scotland in the period end September 1988 to March 1990 and that overall within that period 22 per cent. of all employment training placements have been with employers.
Hepatitis B
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of medical and nursing staff in Scotland who have contacted hepatitis B in each of the last 10 years ; and how many medical nursing staff have died from contracting hepatitis B in these years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 15 June 1990] : This information is not held centrally. National statistics about the incidence of hepatitis B do not separately identify particular occupational groups.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total expenditure by the Scottish
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Home and Health Department over the past 10 years in advertising risks to medical staff of contracting hepatitis B as a result of their work.Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 15 June 1990] : The Scottish Home and Health Department does not incur specific expenditure on advertising the occupational risks of hepatitis B to medical staff. The Department does, however, issue to health boards the memorandum "Immunisation against Infectious Disease", which is prepared and regularly revised for the health departments by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. The memorandum, the latest edition of which has just been sent to health boards, identifies the occupational groups, including medical staff, particularly at risk from hepatitis B and gives advice on those to whom vaccination should be offered. Further advice is contained in "Guidance for Clinical Health Care Workers : Protection against Infection with HIV and Hepatitis Viruses". This booklet, which was issued by the Department to health boards recently, contains guidance on measures for the protection of health care workers in hospital and the community against occupational infection with HIV and hepatitis viruses. The occupational health services within health boards will also give advice to medical staff about the risks of contracting hepatitis B and on the protective measures which can be taken.
Salmon
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to publish the results of the inquiry into the east coast salmon fishery.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 15 June 1990] : The analysis of scientific data is almost complete. Once this is submitted, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will then have to consider the implications. A report to both Houses will be submitted as soon as possible thereafter.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Capital Allocations
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the 1990-91 capital allocations to each local education authority, indicating in each case the bid submitted and the allocation as a percentage of the bid and indicate which local education authorities have made representations for additional resources.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The information requested on annual capital guidelines for education is set out in the table. Local education authorities are free to augment their annual capital guidelines within the flexibilities of the capital finance system by the use of capital receipts and other sources of income. The following LEAs have made formal representations for additional resources :
Berkshire
Bolton
Bradford
Buckinghamshire
Cornwall
Coventry
Column 455
DevonDorset
Dudley
East Sussex
Essex
Gateshead
Hackney
Hammersmith and Fulham
Hampshire
Humberside
Leeds
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Manchester
Newham
Norfolk
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oldham
Rochdale
Rotherham
St. Helens
Sheffield
Stockport
Sunderland
Surrey
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Westminster
Wiltshire
|c|Education plans and annual capital guidelines for 1990-91|c|
LEA |1990-91 |1990-91 |1990-91
|Plans |Annual |Initial
|(cash) |capital |(ACG) per-
|guideline |centage of
|(ACG) |plans
|(cash)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |1,415 |485 |34
Barnet |4,484 |888 |20
Bexley |4,892 |1,242 |25
Brent |6,332 |687 |11
Bromley |6,612 |1,684 |25
Croydon |19,319 |1,061 |5
Ealing |14,683 |889 |6
Enfield |30,222 |1,315 |4
Haringey |5,245 |1,132 |22
Harrow |3,345 |1,073 |32
Havering |8,589 |5,881 |68
Hillingdon |7,692 |1,140 |15
Hounslow |7,000 |539 |8
Kingston |4,475 |268 |6
Merton |11,257 |3,608 |32
Newham |16,733 |5,572 |33
Redbridge |5,787 |1,577 |27
Richmond |7,290 |1,390 |19
Sutton |14,161 |2,974 |21
Waltham |11,771 |6,661 |57
City of London |0 |0 |0
Camden |5,369 |1,421 |26
Westminster |5,613 |380 |7
Greenwich |10,823 |3,849 |36
Hackney |9,218 |2,605 |28
Hammersmith and Fulham |3,662 |1,047 |29
Islington |8,670 |1,079 |12
Kensington |9,172 |2,145 |23
Lambeth |4,858 |1,480 |30
Lewisham |8,762 |1,232 |14
Southwark |17,740 |5,429 |31
Wandsworth |17,305 |1,677 |10
Tower Hamlets |33,246 |7,778 |23
Birmingham |15,407 |10,494 |68
Coventry |12,758 |1,962 |15
Dudley |6,308 |3,608 |57
Sandwell |8,493 |1,647 |19
Solihull |6,365 |1,511 |24
Walsall |4,911 |1,369 |28
Wolverhampton |3,353 |783 |23
Knowsley |6,594 |2,080 |32
Liverpool |16,861 |9,742 |58
St. Helens |6,610 |5,066 |77
Sefton |7,111 |4,176 |59
Wirral |7,099 |3,354 |47
Bolton |5,619 |802 |14
Bury |1,476 |815 |55
Manchester |29,168 |3,062 |10
Oldham |7,707 |3,429 |44
Rochdale |12,529 |4,078 |33
Salford |6,461 |3,899 |60
Stockport |3,385 |1,300 |38
Tameside |2,438 |1,410 |58
Trafford |11,268 |9,448 |84
Wigan |7,748 |4,378 |57
Barnsley |2,276 |1,883 |83
Doncaster |1,269 |860 |68
Rotherham |3,712 |1,589 |43
Sheffield |6,068 |2,428 |40
Bradford |28,814 |9,731 |34
Calderdale |2,845 |1,514 |53
Kirklees |6,876 |1,216 |18
Leeds |15,768 |2,562 |16
Wakefield |6,860 |5,394 |79
Gateshead |8,776 |1,082 |12
Newcastle |8,438 |1,564 |19
North Tyneside |5,138 |1,265 |25
South Tyneside |10,019 |1,894 |19
Sunderland |10,205 |1,883 |18
Isles of Scilly |300 |221 |74
Avon |20,049 |5,653 |28
Bedfordshire |12,767 |2,409 |19
Berkshire |15,932 |4,500 |28
Buckinghamshire |14,902 |4,544 |30
Cambridgeshire |34,854 |13,229 |38
Cheshire |15,935 |5,814 |36
Cleveland |7,761 |3,329 |43
Cornwall |18,786 |6,522 |35
Cumbria |13,051 |7,930 |61
Derbyshire |26,701 |14,653 |55
Devon |28,679 |12,984 |45
Dorset |11,414 |3,853 |34
Durham |19,564 |4,924 |25
East Sussex |23,967 |8,613 |36
Essex |42,364 |13,895 |33
Gloucester |18,734 |7,917 |42
Hampshire |37,095 |13,325 |36
Hereford and Worcester |12,740 |6,248 |49
Hertford |16,526 |6,526 |39
Humberside |17,795 |9,004 |51
Isle of Wight |6,275 |1,912 |30
Kent |33,849 |16,210 |48
Lancashire |36,022 |18,524 |51
Leicestershire |16,794 |11,154 |66
Lincolnshire |23,274 |7,387 |32
Norfolk |10,044 |2,880 |29
North Yorkshire |7,735 |4,105 |53
Northamptonshire |10,076 |6,182 |61
Northumberland |5,601 |1,961 |35
Nottinghamshire |12,952 |3,716 |29
Oxfordshire |15,443 |3,751 |24
Shropshire |10,272 |6,319 |62
Somerset |13,498 |4,837 |36
Staffordshire |16,421 |6,375 |39
Suffolk |15,754 |7,921 |50
Surrey |11,805 |3,718 |31
Warwickshire |6,355 |1,507 |24
W. Sussex |12,754 |3,633 |28
Wiltshire |19,214 |6,256 |33
Notes:-All figures are in £000's and in cash terms.
Students
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total number of (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students studying in universities in England and Wales ; and what are the estimated targets for undergraduate and postgraduate student numbers for each year up to 1995.
Mr. Jackson : Information published by the universities statistical record for the 1988-89 academic year, shows that there 223,311 undergraduates and 82,713 postgraduates studying at universities in England and Wales.
Future levels of admissions are for individual universities to decide.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total number of (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students in the university of Wales ; and what targets have been set for (i) undergraduate and (ii) postgraduate numbers for each university college in each year up to 1995.
Mr. Jackson : Information published by the universities statistical record for the 1988-89 academic year, shows that there 17,618 undergraduate and 5,549 postgraduate students in the university of Wales. Future levels of admissions are for the individual constituent colleges to decide.
Teacher Training
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will instigate an experimental period of payment for teachers who undertake training during holiday periods.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend agrees with the interim advisory committee's view that it would not be helpful to distinguish training which takes place within the 1,265 hours from training which takes place outside directed time.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the increase in cost of paying teachers for holiday training periods during the 1990-91 school year.
Mrs. Rumbold : If such payments were made available, the cost would depend on a variety of factors including the amounts of holiday training undertaken and the extent to which it replaced the training currently undertaken in directed time, as well as rates of pay. Given these variables, an estimate is impossible.
Column 458
Assessment
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he circulated to the teacher unions for consultation the draft document entitled the Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements in English, Mathematics and Science) Order 1990.
Mrs. Rumbold : Copies of the draft document were dispatched to relevant teacher associations on 18 May with the exception of two of the associations which, by error, were not sent copies. The Department has since sent copies to these two associations.
Community Work Training
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what plans he has for the future of community work training ;
(2) what representations he has received about the future of community work training ; and if he will place them in the Library.
Mr. Alan Howarth : On 5 April my right hon. Friend announced that from 1 April 1991, he would channel funding to the national level youth service bodies through a single national youth agency. The agency will be based on the existing youth service bodies, in particular the National Youth Bureau (NYB) and the Council for the Education and Training of Youth and Community Workers (CETYCW). One of the functions of the agency will be the development, endorsement, accreditation and, in some circumstances, the provision of youth and community worker training and I shall look to the agency to build upon the work currently undertaken by CETYCW.
My right hon. Friend has received a number of general representations about the establishment of the agency.
School Buildings (Access)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he gives to local education authorities on the standards of access for people with disabilities for new designs for and adaptations to school and college buildings ; and whether he will consult interested parties regarding statutory provision for standards of access for new school and college buildings.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Guidance to those responsible for making educational buildings accessible to disabled people and for adapting ordinary school buildings for pupils with special needs is given in design note 18 (1984) and building bulletin 61 published by DES architects and building branch. The design note is based on the recommendations of a working party including representatives of Her Majesty's inspectorate, local authorities and interested central Government Departments.
Access for disabled people to new school and college buildings is required to be confirmed under the arrangements for obtaining the Secretary of State's approval to capital building projects.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many nursery, primary and secondary schools are fully accessible to pupils and teachers with disabilities ; what are these figures as percentages of the total number of schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 459
Mr. Alan Howarth : This information is not held centrally.Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what specific funding has been available to local education authorities to enable access to school and college buildings for pupils and teachers with disabilities in each of the last 10 years ; and if he has any plans to make specific grants available to local education authorities to carry out necessary capital works to facilitate physical access for people with disabilities.
Mr. Alan Howarth : None. It is for local education authorities to decide their priorities for capital expenditure on schools and colleges, taking account of their responsibilities under section 8 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.
Special Educational Needs
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many appeals were received under section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 by each local education authority ; and what were the decisions taken by the appeals tribunal for each of the years from April 1983.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Appeals under section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 are made directly to my right hon. Friend. Appeals to local appeal committees are made under section 8(2) of the 1981 Act. Information concerning the number and outcome of such appeals is not collected centrally.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many appeals were received under section 5(6) of the Education Act 1981 by each local education authority ; and what were the decisions taken by the appeals tribunal for each of the years from April 1983.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Appeals under section 5(6) of the Education Act 1981 are made directly to my right hon. Friend. Since April 1983 he has received 164 such appeals. The following table lists by year the number of such appeals and the number of appeals under section 5(6) which resulted in my right hon. Friend directing the LEA to reconsider its decision not to make a statement of special educational needs.
8
Year |Appeals |LEA directed
|received |to reconsider
--------------------------------------------------------
1983 |3 |0
1984 |19 |0
1985 |19 |1
1986 |21 |3
1987 |31 |6
1988 |17 |3
1989 |12 |7
There are 42 such appeals upon which my right hon. Friend has yet to reach a decision.
Student Teachers
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of students with disabilities who have entered initial teacher training for each of the last 10 years ; and what percentage of the total number of student teachers this represents.
Mr. Alan Howarth : These data are not available centrally.
Column 460
Research and Development
Mr. Warren : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total of the reduction in his Department's expenditure on research and development achieved by taking advantage of the additionality principle when grants have been awarded to United Kingdom universities by the European Economic Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : None. The European Community's requirements in respect of additionality arise in relation to the structural funds rather than to research and development, and the principle applies to the setting of levels of expenditure by public bodies, including Government Departments, rather than to universities which are private sector bodies.
EMPLOYMENT
National Insurance Credits
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been disallowed national insurance credits for not being available or not actively seeking work in each quarter since January 1987 ; how many have appealed against those disallowances and with what result ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The employment service became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the Employment Service Agency's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Lady.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage change in employment in manufacturing industry for each region of the United Kingdom from 1979 to the latest figures available.
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