| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Dorrell : Our general scheme of grants under section 64 provides core grants to national voluntary organisations to assist with their administration costs ; project grants to support discrete projects which are experimental or innovative ; and a small number of capital grants. A breakdown of grants awarded in 1988-89 and 1989-90 has been placed in the Library.
Mentally Ill Adolescents
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will visit the adolescent unit for the mentally ill in Nottingham district health authority.
Mr. Dorrell : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to do so.
Community Health Councils
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on procedures for funding community health councils.
Mr. Dorrell : Regional health authorities, RHAs, as establishing authorities for community health councils, CHCs, have a duty to pay CHCs' expenses which the RHAs consider the CHCs have reasonably incurred. How they go about doing so is for each RHA to decide.
NHS Doctors
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the percentage change in the number of doctors within the national health service per 100,000 of population since 1979.
Column 309
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The requested information is given in the table.
Hospital and community health service medical staff
and general
medical practitioners in England
|1979 |1988
-----------------------------------------------------
Doctors |61,554.0|70,995.0
Population |46,396.1|47,536.3
Doctors per 100,000 |132.7 |149.3
Percentage change 1979-88 |- |12.6
Figures include permanent paid and honorary staff but exclude hospital practitioners and clinical assistants.
Disabled People (Legislation)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to implement sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 without delay.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to implement the remaining sections of the Disabled Persons Act (Services, Consultation and Representation) 1986 within the next two years.
Mr. Dorrell : Decisions cannot be taken on the implementation of these sections of the Act until we have established their resource and service implications. We are still awaiting cost estimates from the local authority associations.
Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport
Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff, broken down into category, were employed at Stepping Hill hospital, Stockport on (a) 1 June 1979 and (b) 1 June 1989.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the chairman of Stockport health authority for the details.
Maternity Services
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many obstetrics beds are available now in each regional health authority in England ; and how many were available in each of the past five years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The latest information on numbers of beds available daily in maternity wards for each year from 1983 is contained in "Summary of bed availability, England 1988/89" a copy of which is in the Library. Information is no longer collected centrally on bed availability by clinical specialty.
Public Works
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has been taken by his Department to advise regional or district health authorities of the requirements of EC public works directive 89/440/EEC.
Mr. Dorrell : A copy of the works directive which was adopted by the EC in July 1989 was sent to regional health authorities on 22 February 1990. Preliminary guidance indicating the main changes to the earlier works directive was issued to regional and district health
Column 310
authorities on 30 March. Detailed guidance was issued to regional and district health authorities under cover of an executive letter (EL(90)MB/114) on 6 June ; copies are available in the Library.Project 2000
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the original sum of money earmarked for the implementation of Project 2000 in England ; and what is the latest estimated figure for his purpose.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The implementation of Project 2000 in England is to be phased in over a number of years. A total of £38 million has been earmarked and made available for 1989-90 and 1990-91. This will mean that between 1990 and April 1991 the number of Project 2000 places available will have doubled to 20,000--40 per cent. of all nurse training places. Additional funding will be made available in future years against the background of other competing needs.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the European Community directive on nurse training, due to be implemented by October 1991, will be achieved in the light of delays in the target dates relating to Project 2000 ; and if he will make resources available to meet the 40 weeks of theory training required by the directive.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Implementation of EC directive 89/595/EEC amending EC directive 77/453/EEC is a matter for the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, which is the competent authority of the nursing professions in the United Kingdom. We have never set a target date for full implementation of Project 2000 in England.
Health Authority Staff
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to prevent a conflict of interest arising from district health authority staff preparing contracts with a self-governing trust which may subsequently employ them.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is for health authorities to ensure that conflicts of interest between the purchasing and providing roles do not occur and to determine any mechanisms to prevent this from happening.
Hearing Aids
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average waiting time for fitting hearing aids to national health service patients with hearing difficulties by the Hearing Aid Centre ; and what was the waiting time five years ago.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not held centrally.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is being done to reduce the waiting time for national health service patients needing a hearing aid fitted by the Hearing Aid Centre.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department is funding a pilot scheme, to start later this year, which is aimed at reducing waiting times for hearing aid services. Details of the scheme are contained in a consultation paper issued by the Department in April. A copy of the paper has been placed in the Library.
Column 311
ENERGY
Government Publicity and Advertising
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether the Government conventions on publicity and advertising have been revised, in view of his new responsibilities for co-ordinating the development of the presentation of Government policies.
Mr. Wakeham : The conventions on Government publicity and advertising have been revised to reflect the changes in ministerial responsibility. There is no change in the substance of the conventions. I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Departmental Research (Expenditure)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total identifiable expenditure on research by his Department in each year since 1979 ; what proportion was awarded on a customer-contractor basis ; and what proportion of his total departmental budget was expended on research for each year.
Mrs. Chalker : Identifiable expenditure on research in the diplomatic and aid wings of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is shown in the tables. The diplomatic wing's research expenditure accounts for up to 0.5 per cent. of its departmental running costs. Comparable figures for years prior to 1984-85 are not available. A small additional amount of research was commissioned outside the FCO. For the ODA, research expenditure now normally accounts for over 2.5 per cent. of total departmental expenditure. It is now ODA's policy to commission research on a customer-contractor basis with specified aims and objectives, as exemplified by the new renewable natural resources research strategy. For neither wing is information available on the proportion of research undertaken on a customer-contractor basis.
(ii) Aid wing: Expenditure on research 1979-89
Year |£'000 |as percent of
|total ODA
|expenditure
--------------------------------------------------------
1979 |19,996 |2.1
1980 |22,001 |2.3
1981 |22,257 |1.9
1982 |23,042 |2.1
1983 |27,610 |2.4
1984 |26,057 |2.0
1985 |27,874 |2.1
1986 |31,143 |2.5
1987 |38,073 |2.9
1988 |49,482 |3.0
<1>1989 |45,995 |2.6
<1> 1989 figures are provisional.
(ii) Aid wing: Expenditure on research 1979-89
Year |£'000 |as percent of
|total ODA
|expenditure
--------------------------------------------------------
1979 |19,996 |2.1
1980 |22,001 |2.3
1981 |22,257 |1.9
1982 |23,042 |2.1
1983 |27,610 |2.4
1984 |26,057 |2.0
1985 |27,874 |2.1
1986 |31,143 |2.5
1987 |38,073 |2.9
1988 |49,482 |3.0
<1>1989 |45,995 |2.6
<1> 1989 figures are provisional.
Column 312
Aid Targets
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has anything to add to the oral reply given by the Minister for Overseas Development on 18 June, Official Report, column 680, on meeting gross national product, official development assistance targets.
Mrs. Chalker : I much regret that my reply to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones) contained an inadvertent error. I meant to say
"we aim to meet those targets".
As hon. and right hon. Members may be already aware, whereas we have met the 1 per cent. of GNP target for total flows in six out of the last 10 years, we have not met the 0.15 per cent. of GNP target for official development assistance to the least-developed countries.
ENVIRONMENT
Global Warming
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are being taken to investigate the use of the sea as a carbon sink to mitigate the effects upon global warming of carbon dioxide releases.
Mr. Trippier : Intensive research is being carried out both nationally and internationally to understand the role of the oceans in the carbon cycle. The United Kingdom is contributing to this through the Natural Environment Research Council's biogeochemical ocean flux programme which is currently investigating the uptake of carbon dioxide by plankton in the north Atlantic.
Climate Change
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what papers were presented by civil servants from his Department or consultants to his Department at the meeting of the United Nations intergovernmental panel on climate change on 18 to 20 May.
Mr. Trippier : We are not aware of any IPCC meeting on the dates specified.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has to allow teachers to pay the community charge on behalf of those from overseas countries with whom they are involved in exchange schemes.
Mr. Chope : It does not need any special permission to allow this to happen.
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether all those aged 18 years and over who are in full-time secondary education are wholly exempt from the community charge ;
(2) whether those leaving full-time secondary education with conditional or unconditional offers of places at institutions of higher or further education are regarded (a) as students for the purposes of the community charge between their dates of leaving secondary education and their date of starting higher or further education, or (b) as adults eligible for community charge benefit during this period ;
Column 313
(3) whether the liability of those aged 18 years and over who were in full-time secondary education to pay the community charge commences from the date of their leaving their secondary schools.Mr. Portillo : The majority of those who leave secondary education at the age of 18 will be covered by the exemption from the personal community charge for those in respect of whom child benefit is paid, or would be paid but for the fact the person is in care, and may continue to be exempt for some time after their courses have ended. Those aged under 20 years of age and who are undertaking a qualifying course of education, other than as a result of a post or employment held, are exempt until the end of the course or until they reach their 20th birthday, whichever is the earlier. Qualifying courses for the purposes of this exemption are defined by the Personal Community Charge (Qualifying Courses of Education) Regulations 1990--S.I. 1990/712--which exclude courses of higher education.
Column 314
Entitlement to the 20 per cent. payable by students starts when a person is enrolled on a full-time course of education, as defined for the purposes of the community charge, and has begun to attend it. In the intervening period a person will be registered for the full personal community charge but may be eligible for community charge benefit of up to 80 per cent. of the charge set.Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each district council in Kent, in respect of ward weighted density and the all ages social index, the values of indicators defined in annex A to the revenue support grant distribution report (England), and the amounts produced for each district council by applying the weights set out in paragraph 3.36(a) of that report, to those values.
Mr. Portillo : The values of the indicators and the amounts produced by applying the relevant weights are set out in the table.
Column 313
Ward weighted density All ages social index
|Indicator value|Weight times |Indicator value|Weight times
|indicator |indicator
|£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kent
Ashford |2.14351 |1.057 |-2.6277 |-1.187
Canterbury |1.54525 |1.071 |-1.7101 |-1.085
Dartford |2.21797 |0.907 |-1.8458 |-0.691
Dover |1.96176 |1.106 |-1.2363 |-0.638
Gillingham |4.26523 |2.041 |-1.0305 |-0.451
Gravesham |3.12988 |1.421 |-0.5169 |-0.215
Maidstone |2.14507 |1.516 |-1.8742 |-1.212
Rochester upon Medway |3.42681 |2.632 |-0.4010 |-0.282
Sevenoaks |0.94695 |0.514 |-3.2050 |-1.592
Shepway |2.12467 |0.976 |-0.8121 |-0.342
Swale |1.43987 |0.857 |-1.2630 |-0.680
Thanet |3.20591 |2.178 |0.2060 |0.128
Tonbridge and Malling |1.14540 |0.607 |-2.8119 |-1.364
Tunbridge Wells |1.54320 |0.802 |-1.2322 |-0.586
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to amend the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989, regulation 62, so that the three-month period of grace dates from 1 April 1990 rather than from any earlier date.
Mr. Chris Patten : I am reviewing the operation of the standard charge. Many people whose property was empty and unfurnished before 1 April 1990 will have benefited from either not having to pay any rates at all or paying lower unoccupied property rates.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reconsider the standard spending assessment for Brighton and other holiday and conference resorts using the additional information which is becoming available on the extra burdens they face.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have made it clear that I am willing to consider any fresh evidence on SSAs with a view to making future changes if that should prove necessary. Any information provided by Brighton or any other local authority in this context will be given full consideration.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the authorities which benefited in their standard spending assessment and revenue grant allocation from a consideration of the impact of daily population increases.
Column 314
Mr. Chris Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave him to this same question on 4 April, Official Report, column 666.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the specific and supplementary grants to be paid to local authorities in 1990-91 showing in each case (a) the name of the grant, (b) the purpose of the grant, (c) the sponsoring Department, (d) the amount of grant, (e) the method of calculation of individual authorities' entitlements, including the percentage of expenditure grant-aided and any conditions attached to the grant, (f) when the principles and operation of the grant were last reviewed, and the conclusions of those reviews, (g) whether the grant is included within aggregate external finance and (h) whether the grant is for capital and/or revenue expenditure.
Mr. Chris Patten : I refer the hon. Gentleman to chapter 21 of "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990/91 to 1992/93"--Cm 1021--tables 21.4.3, 21.4.4. and 21.4.5 which, respectively, list revenue grants within and without aggregate external finance, and capital grants. The various departmental chapters provide details on the principles and operation of individual grants. If he has particular concerns I am sure the Departments concerned will be pleased to help.
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional assistance was given in
Column 315
calculating standard spending assessment and grant to Westminster city council on account of its daily population figure ; and if he will set out the criteria used on arriving at that sum.Mr. Chris Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to him on 4 April of this year when he asked a very similar question.
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was the total level of local government spending in each of the last five years including the current year.
Mr. Chope [holding answer 27 June 1990] : The information is as follows. New definitions of local government spending were introduced in 1990-91 and comparable information for years prior to 1989-90 is not available. For years 1986-87 to 1989-90 (budgets) expenditure is defined as total expenditure gross of specific and supplementary grants and for 1989- 90 (provisional outturn) and 1990-91 expenditure is defined as revenue expenditure, the measure equivalent to total standard spending.
Local government expenditure
|£ million
----------------------------------
1986-87 |26,629
1987-88 |28,943
1988-89 |31,334
1989-90<1><3> |34,317
1989-90<2><4> |32,100
1990-91<3> |36,600
<1> Including an adjustment for
polytechnics (not in the local
authority sector in 1989-90) to
make the series up to and
including 1989-90 comparable.
<2> After adjusting for system
changes to make the 1989-90
provisional outturn estimates
comparable to 1990-91 budgets.
<3> Budget.
<4> Provisional outturn.
Local Services (Tendering)
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the response by local authorities to circular 7/90 regarding tender documents for public supply and works contracts.
Mr. Portillo : Circular 7/90 reminds local authorities in greater detail of their obligations under the treaty of Rome and the EC works and supplies contract directives, set out in DOE circulars 59/73 and 6/89, and imposes no new or added responsibilities or burdens. The Department has had a small number of telephone inquiries from local authorities on the application of tender specifications to particular contracts.
Inland Revenue Office, Cumbernauld
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost to date of the refurbishment and new construction work currently being carried out at the Inland Revenue office in Cumbernauld.
Mr. Chope : The refurbishment work, which started in December 1988, has so far cost £2.5 million. There is no new construction.
Column 316
Nature Conservancy Council
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the report, "Strategic Roll-Forward Submission 1991-92", prepared by PE International plc, concerning the Nature Conservancy Council.
Mr. Trippier : This report is a management document commissioned to assist the NCC in preparing its proposed forward plans. It is not suitable for publication. In line with past practice, the Nature Conservancy Council's corporate plan for 1990-91 will be published later this summer.
Local Authorities (Company Interests)
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the implementation of part V of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 : local authority interests in companies.
Mr. Portillo : In view of various points which have arisen on the drafts of the orders which we circulated for comment, we have concluded that it would be right to postpone the coming into force of those orders from 1 July 1990. I shall set a new date as soon as possible.
Bulk Materials (Transport)
Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his current policy in respect of imposing conditions in planning permissions which restrict the dispatch of bulk materials to rail transport, in circumstances where the volume to be dispatched from the site may be large, the number of destinations is few and the environmental damage to communities affected by the road transport of the material is likely to be insignificant.
Mr. Michael Spicer [holding answer 25 June 1990] : The Government's policy on the imposition of conditions on the grant of planning permission is that they should be imposed only where they are necessary ; relevant to planning ; relevant to the development to be permitted ; enforceable ; precise ; and reasonable in all other respects. A key test is whether planning permission would have to be refused if the condition were not to be imposed. A condition may be invalid if it is unduly restrictive. Whether it may be appropriate to impose a condition to restrict the mode of transport of bulk materials to and from a site will depend upon the particular circumstances of an individual case, and is a matter for the local planning authority in the first instance.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Costs
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will give details of the costs out of public funds ordered by the courts in each of the years from 1986 to 1990.
The Attorney-General : Courts may order costs out of public funds in two circumstances. In civil proceedings where one of the parties is legally aided, the court can award costs against the legal aid fund in favour of a successful non-legally aided party. In criminal proceedings
Column 317
the court can order the costs of a defendant or a private prosecutor to be paid from central funds. The information requested is collected on a financial year basis and for the years in question is as follows :
£ million
|1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Costs of successful non-legally
aided parties |0.280 |0.227 |0.446 |0.524
Costs from Central Funds:
Orders made in Magistrates
Courts |11.050 |3.082 |3.825 |<1>-
Orders made in Crown
Court and higher courts |30.522 |4.380 |4.047 |4.751
|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |41.852 |7.689 |8.318 |5.275
<1> This information is not yet available.
Solicitors (Professional Negligence)
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Attorney-General what information he has as to in which European countries solicitors and barristers or their equivalent are liable to be sued for professional negligence.
The Attorney-General : The Government do not hold information about the liability for professional negligence of lawyers practising in other European countries.
Land Registry
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Attorney-General when Her Majesty's Land Registry is to be established as an executive agency.
The Attorney-General : Further to my answer to my hon. Friend on 5 April 1990 at column 725, I am pleased to confirm that the Lord Chancellor will establish the Land Registry as an executive agency on Monday 2 July 1990. I have arranged for the Land Registry's framework document to be placed in the Library. Performance indicators for the Land Registry are set out in the framework document.
The Land Registry has made significant progress in recent times in improving its productivity and its quality of service, both in terms of speed and accuracy. The performance targets set for the registry will require it to continue this improvement. The key productivity target is to reduce unit costs in real terms by 6 per cent. over the three financial years from 1 April 1991. Over the same period, the average length of time to finalise post-completion applications, which in December 1988 stood at 15.5 weeks is to be reduced to five weeks. The handling of pre-completion applications, which are more time-sensitive as they are part of the conveyancing process, will also be expedited with the proportion of applications dealt with within four days being increased from 90 per cent. at present to 92 per cent. in 1994. Targets have also been set increasing the already high percentage of error-free handling of applications.
An open competition is currently being held for the selection of a person to be appointed as chief land registrar and chief executive of the agency to succeed the current chief land registrar, John Pryer CB, following his forthcoming retirement.
Column 318
SCOTLAND
Foodstuffs (Toxic Chemicals)
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what tests are applied to ascertain residue levels of toxic chemicals in imported foodstuffs from (a) eastern Europe, (b) the European Common Market and (c) the rest of the world ; how many tests were carried out in each of the past five years and on what types of foods ; and what changes he intends to make in this system.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Imported foodstuffs are examined for a wide range of potentially toxic substances such as heavy metals, natural toxins and environmental contaminants. Information on the surveillance of food imports is included in reports of the Government's steering group on food surveillance, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. District and islands councils in Scotland undertake testing of imported food as enforcement authorities but related statistics are not held centrally.
Rural Solicitors
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has held with the Law Society of Scotland or representatives of faculties of solicitors on the future of rural practices since 12 June.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There have been a number of informal discussions with the Law Society of Scotland about the Government's conveyancing proposals.
Student Grants
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he has given to Strathclyde regional council concerning the payment of grants to students undertaking courses provided by other education authorities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : None. My right hon. and learned Friend is responsible for providing financial support for students attending full-time degree and equivalent level courses. Financial support for students attending other full-time and all part-time courses is the responsibility of the education authorities under their bursaries arrangements. These bursaries are awarded to students at the discretion of the education authorities and I have no power to intervene.
Elderly People
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the amount an elderly couple needs to spend every week on food to maintain a healthy diet ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : None. Given variations in individuals' dietary requirements and the cost of food it is not feasible to make such an assessment.
Scottish Consumer Council
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the relationship of his Department to the Scottish Consumer Council ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 319
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Direct responsibility between the Government and the Scottish Consumer Council rests with the Department of Trade and Industry.My colleagues and I do, however, meet the council from time to time to discuss matters of common interest, and welcome its comments on relevant aspects of Government policy.
Nursery Education
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Government intend to make the provision of nursery education in Scotland compulsory ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : The Government have no plans to impose a duty on education authorities to provide nursery education. Authorities are best placed to decide the extent of pre-school provision appropriate for their area having regard to local circumstances and competing priorities.
| Next Section
| Home Page |