| Home Page |
Column 709
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 6 July 1990
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teacher Recruitment
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many extra teachers and potential extra teachers have been recruited as a result of his Department's recent advertising campaign ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Nearly 20,000 requests have been received from people seeking information about teaching as a career in response to the first phase of the teacher recruitment advertising campaign. The next step is for those who, as a result of the campaign, have decided upon a career in teaching to approach their local education authority or contact the graduate teacher training registry depending on their qualifications and experience.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many cases are known to his Department arising from their special educational needs, of children of school age suffering from juvenile muscular degeneration ; and what educational provisions is made for these children.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Information identifying the nature of a child's special educational needs is not collected centrally.
Infant School Teachers
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the median years of service of teachers in infant schools in each year from 1980 until the latest year for which figures are available.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is given in the table :
Median years of service of
full-time qualified
teachers in infant and
first schools in England
1980-87
|<1>Years
---------------------------
1980 |11
1981 |12
1982 |13
1983 |13
1984 |14
1985 |13
1986 |14
1987 |13
<1> All figures in
complete years.
Source: The Database of
Teacher Records.
Column 710
Local Management of Schools
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement concerning the effects of local management of schools upon schools of under 100 pupils in England.
Mrs. Rumbold : Under local management of schools all primary and secondary schools will be funded according to the resource allocation formula as approved by my right hon. Friend. Although not required to do so, the majority of local education authorities have indicated that they intend, in the longer term, to delegate responsibility for managing budgets to schools with fewer than 100 pupils.
School Building
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from school governing bodies in north Devon about the level of capital grant for school building.
HEALTH
Kidney Disease
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) males and (b) females over the age of 65 years, per million of the population, are accepted for kidney dialysis treatment.
Mr. Dorrell : According to information provided by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association, the number of new patients aged 65 years and over, accepted for renal replacement therapy in 1988 was as follows :
|Number |Per million
|population
------------------------------------------------
Males |265 |75
Females |167 |31
The rate per million population is based on the number of males and females respectively in the relevant age group.
Hospitals
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of (a) hospital beds, (b) nurses, (c) consultants and (d) all administrative staff in the national health service hospitals in (i) England and (ii) the Basildon and Thurrock health authority or its predecessor for each of the years 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and the most recent date for which figures are available.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information is shown in the following tables.
Column 711
England<1>
Year |Discharges and |Average daily |Hospital nursing and|Hospital medical and|Administration and
|deaths |number of available | midwifery staff |dental consultants |clerical staff (WTE)
|hospital beds | (WTE)<2> | (WTE)<3>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1960 |n/a |n/a |<4>197,900 |<5>10,800 |n/a
1965 |<7>4,616,700 |<7>434,800 |<4>222,400 |<5>10,200 |<4>37,600
1970 |5,011,700 |423,600 |<4>252,800 |<6>9,700 |<4>45,300
1975 |4,975,800 |387,600 |300,400 |11,300 |91,900
1980 |5,670,000 |356,000 |330,200 |12,600 |105,400
1985 |6,353,800 |325,500 |352,500 |14,000 |111,000
1988 |6,586,000 |282,900 |355,600 |15,000 |116,000
<1> All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred (100).
<2> There was a change in nurses working hours in 1980-81 from 40 to 37.5 hours per week. This has not been taken account of in the calculations.
<3> Figures include permanent paid and honorary staff. Prior to 1987 senior hospital-dental officers with allowance were included with
consultants.
<4> These are figures for England and Wales. Figures for England are not available prior to 1971.
<5> Figures for 1960 and 1965 are not comparable with later years.
<6> Figures for 1970 are not comparable with other years.
<7> Figures are for 1966.
n/a not available.
Basildon and Thurrock DHA<1>
Year |Discharges and | Average daily |Hospital nursing and|Hospital medical and|Administration and
|deaths <2> |number of available | midwifery staff |dental consultants |clerical staff (WTE)
|hospital beds<2> | (WTE)<3> | (WTE)<4>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1960 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
1966 |14,930 |2,360 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1970 |19,010 |2,430 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1975 |22,920 |1,860 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1980 |29,450 |1,880 |1,820 |n/a |310
1985 |33,300 |1,950 |2,140 |n/a |490
1988 |33,710 |1,720 |1,970 |n/a |690
<1> All figures are rounded to the nearest ten (10).
<2> For years 1966 and 1970 the data is for Tilbury and south east Essex and south Ockenden hospital management committees.
<3> There was a change in nurses working hours in 1980-81 from 40 to 37.5 hours per week. This has not been taken account of in the calculations.
<4> Figures not available as consultants' contracts are not directly held by non-teaching district health authorities.
n/a not available.
Contraceptive Clinics
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if Her Majesty's Government will make more funds available to health authorities for the purposes of providing contraceptive clinic services.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In the future, as now, it will be for each health authority to decide on the most appropriate financial arrangements for family planning provision. Under the NHS reforms, district health authorities will be responsible for ensuring that patients have access to a comprehensive range of services and this will include family planning. Guidance issued by the Department on the provision of family planning services was recently reaffirmed in a letter (EL(90)MB115) to regional general managers by the director of operations and planning on the NHS management executive. A copy of the letter is available in the Library.
Newmarket Hospital
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if funds earmarked in 1988 for the redevelopment of Newmarket hospital are still available.
Mr. Dorrell : The East Anglian regional health authority is still holding an allocation within its capital programme towards that scheme.
Column 712
Drug Prescribing
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations has been invoked in respect of (a) excessive prescribing and (b) under- prescribing by each family practitioner committee in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations has not been invoked in England in the past five years. Regulation 16 concerns excessive prescribing only and not under- prescribing.
Private Residential Homes
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken to ensure that private nursing homes and residential care homes include medical requisites and all necessary services in their fees.
Mr. Dorrell : People in residential care homes retain the right to NHS services as though they were in their own homes. The fees charged need only reflect provision made beyond this. The person responsible for a private nursing home must provide adequate facilities and services for those accommodated and we would expect fees to reflect this. Nursing home patients retain the right to NHS general medical, dental and hospital services.
Column 713
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether elderly people in private residential care are entitled to receive free national health service prescriptions.Mr. Dorrell : All men aged 65 and all women aged 60 or over are entitled to have NHS prescriptions dispensed free of charge. One of the duties of the person responsible for a residential home is to make adequate arrangements for patients and residents to receive general medical and dental services under part II of the National Health Service Act 1977.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will hold an inquiry into the level of fees charged by private nursing homes and residential care homes.
Mr. Dorrell : The level of fees charged in private nursing or residential care homes is a matter between the proprietor and the residents or whoever pays on the residents' behalf and not one in which we see any need to intervene.
Eye Tests
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of sight tests in the second quarter of 1990, and in previous quarters over the past five years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information on sight tests is not available centrally on a quarterly basis. Statistics on the number of sight tests paid for under the general ophthalmic services are currently collected on a six-monthly basis. The following table gives the number of NHS sight tests paid for in England for the five-year period up to and including 31 September 1989--the most recent figure available. Comparable data on private sight tests conducted since April 1989 are not centrally collected.
Number of sight tests paid for by
FPCs
England
|Millions
-------------------------------------
1984-5
April-September |4.793
October-March |5.090
1985-86
April-September |5.166
October-March |5.080
1986-87
April-September |5.265
October-March |5.350
1987-88
April-September |5.581
October-March |6.114
1988-89
April-September |5.779
October-March |6.714
1989-90
April-September |3.380
AIDS
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the latest figures available for the total number of AIDS cases reported in the United Kingdom.
Column 714
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : At the end of May 1990 the cumulative United Kingdom total of AIDS cases reported was 3,346, of whom 1,845 are known to have died.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many infants died from sudden infant death syndrome in the United Kingdom in 1989-90 ; what precentage change that is from 1980 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is shown in the table. Data relate to Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom, since comparable data for Northern Ireland are not available.
Number of deaths under one year of age with
any mention of
"sudden infant death syndrome", "cot death"
or similar term on the
death certificate, Great Britain 1980 and
1989
1980 |<1>1989 |Percentage
|change
--------------------------------------------
1,358 |1,464 |<1>7.8
<1>Provisional.
Data for 1990 are still being processed.
Publications
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to make savings by discontinuing the circulation to NHS doctors of (i) Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, (ii) Prescribers Journal, (iii) Health Trends and (iv) the British National Formulary.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 26 June 1990] : There are currently no such plans. All such departmental publications are reviewed from time to time to ensure that their circulation continues to be justified to meet the needs of the target audience.
Administrative Costs
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the administrative costs as a percentage of total costs for the national health service for each financial year since 1980-81 and the projected figure for 1990-91.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 5 June 1990] : Following is information, covering both hospital and community health services and family practitioner services, derived from annual accounts submitted to the Department for the years 1980-81 to 1988-89 (the latest available).
We do not collect such information in-year and consequently cannot provide an estimate for 1990-91, but equivalent information for the financial year 1989-90 will be available in the autumn.
National Health Service (England)-Headquarters Administration
(Hospital and Community Health Services [HCHS] and Family
Practitioner Services)
Expenditure As a propor- As a propor-
|tion of total | tion of total
|current ex- |expenditure
|penditure | (Current and
|Capital)
|£000(cash) |Per cent. |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980-81 |378,311 |4.26 |4.00
1981-82 |393,377 |3.97 |3.72
1982-83 |403,292 |3.75 |3.52
1983-84 |418,429 |3.66 |3.45
1984-85 |444,016 |3.63 |3.41
1985-86 |479,047 |3.71 |3.47
1986-87 |516,624 |3.72 |3.48
1987-88 |574,198 |3.76 |3.53
1988-89 |624,496 |3.66 |3.44
ENVIRONMENT
Rate Bills
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 19 June, Official Report, columns 477 -80, if he will publish the overall estimated increase in rate bills in 1990-91 as against 1989-90 of (a) shops (b) factories, (c) hotels and boarding houses, (d) officies and (e) mines, in total and by economic regions (i) including the effects of transitional relief and (ii) excluding the effects of transitional relief.
Mr. Chope : Aggregate changes in rate bills between 1989-90 and 1990 -91 for the types of property about which my hon. Friend asks, with and without the transitional arrangements, are given in the table. The figures have been calculated at 1990-91 prices and are based on the rateable values shown in the lists deposited with local authorities on 20 December 1989. The figures take no account of empty property or other reliefs.
Column 715
£ million
Region Shops Offices Factories Hotels and Boarding HoMines
|Without |With |Without |With |Without |With |Without |With |Without |With
|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition|transition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |-14.86 |-4.66 |-13.40 |-3.35 |-72.44 |-15.89 |1.85 |0.33 |0.39 |0.19
Yorkshire and Humberside |-5.90 |-4.40 |-20.05 |-5.64 |85.65 |-20.75 |3.15 |0.93 |9.99 |1.51
East Midlands |-1.60 |0.09 |-10.33 |-2.56 |-71.76 |-19.34 |3.17 |0.77 |6.78 |1.44
East Anglia |20.33 |6.96 |1.71 |0.56 |-9.23 |-3.68 |2.75 |0.68 |- |-
Inner London |207.22 |40.52 |259.78 |100.00 |4.62 |0.20 |55.42 |7.54 |- |-
Outer London |54.94 |14.06 |-0.17 |2.28 |-36.07 |-11.73 |4.17 |1.21 |- |-
Rest of South East |131.80 |38.99 |91.64 |31.95 |-51.06 |-16.14 |16.78 |3.24 |0.13 |0.06
South West |53.81 |15.13 |9.45 |3.58 |-21.07 |-6.90 |6.71 |1.49 |-0.14 |-0.04
West Midlands |-27.80 |-7.64 |-19.18 |-5.92 |-144.42 |-32.39 |4.43 |1.15 |3.27 |0.56
North West |-39.28 |-9.56 |-48.01 |-11.13 |-150.04 |-32.17 |3.54 |1.17 |0.75 |0.26
England |378.22 |89.39 |251.45 |109.78 |-637.13 |-158.79 |101.97 |18.52 |21.16 |4.00
Note: The totals for England may not sum due to rounding.
Energy-efficient Buildings
Mr. Frank Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution will be made by his Department to the International Building Bureau conference on energy-efficient buildings, to be held in London on 21 June.
Mr. Chope : I understand that the hon. Member is referring to the luncheon held by the Industrial Building Bureau at the House of Lords on 21 June to mark the launch of its national industrial building audit. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), attended the lunch and spoke on the subject of energy-efficient buildings and related matters.
Protection of Birds
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those areas of special protection for birds as well as those Ramsar sites and areas with dual designation for the protection of birds.
Column 716
Mr. Trippier : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to special protection areas under the EC birds directive rather than areas of special protection under section 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Details of those sites which have been designated as special protection areas and as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar convention are set out in the table. Those sites with dual designation have been marked with an asterisk. Responsibility for the designation of sites in Scotland rests with the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Sites designated as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar convention
Name and county/region
Bridgwater Bay--Somerset
Bure Marshes--Norfolk
Cors Fochno and Dyfi--Dyfed, Gwynedd and Powys
Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere--Norfolk
Lindisfarne--Northumberland
Minsmere-Walberswick--Suffolk
North Norfolk Coast--Norfolk
Ouse Washes--Cambridgeshire and Norfolk
Abberton Reservoir--Essex
Column 717
Rostherne Mere--Cheshire*Chesil Beach and the Fleet--Dorset
*The Dee Estuary--Merseyside, Cheshire and Clwyd
*Derwent Ings--North Yorkshire and Humberside
*Holburn Moss--Northumberland
Irthinghead Mires--Cumbria and Northumberland
*The Swale--Kent
*Alt Estuary--Merseyside
*Leighton Moss--Lancashire
*Martin Mere--Lancashire
*Rockliffe Marshes (Part of Upper Solway Flats and
Marshes)--Cumbria
*Chichester and Langstone Harbours--Hampshire/West Sussex *Upper Severn Estuary--Gloucestershire
*The Wash--Lincolnshire/Norfolk
*Pagham Harbour--West Sussex
Moor House--Cumbria
Orfordness-Havergate--Suffolk
Ribble Estuary--Lancashire
Skomer--Dyfed
*The Swale--Kent
*Chesil Beach and The Fleet--Dorset
Chew Valley Lake--Avon
Coquet Island--Northumberland
*The Dee Estuary--Merseyside, Cheshire and Clwyd
*Derwent Ings--North Yorkshire
Farne Islands--Northumberland
*Holborn Moss--Northumberland
*Alt Estuary--Merseyside
*Leighton Moss--Lancashire
*Martin Mere--Lancashire
Grassholm--Dyfed
*Rockliffe Marshes (Part Upper Solway Flats and Marshes) Cumbria Chichester and Langstone Harbours--Hampshire/West Sussex *Upper Severn Estuary-- Gloucestershire
*The Wash--Lincolnshire/Norfolk
*Pagham Harbour--West Sussex
*North Norfolk Coast--Norfolk
Water Quality
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to forbid the payment of dividends to the shareholders in water companies until all European Community directives on water quality are met.
Greenhouse Effect
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the cassette and transcript of the Radio 4 analysis programme on the greenhouse effect and global warming broadcast on 28 June.
| Next Section
| Home Page |