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Prisoners (Payments)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement setting out the uses to which the general purposes fund was put, the classes of prisoner to whom payments were made and the basis on which the payments were calculated.
Mr. Mellor : The general purposes fund is used to provide recreational and sporting facilities for all prisoners in addition to those provided from public funds and to provide facilities for inmates' spouses and families. Cash payments may be made at the discretion of governors on special occasions.
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Prisoners (Deportation)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are subject to orders for their deportation at the conclusions of their sentences or otherwise liable to be deported ; how many of these are held in open prisons ; and whether his Department issues any guidelines as to the granting to such prisoners of facilities such as home leave and education at outside establishments and who is responsible for taking decisions on the granting of such facilities.
Mr. Mellor : The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Prisoners subject to a court recommendation that they should be deported at the end of their sentence or to a notice of intention to deport issued by the Secretary of State may be granted some leave or temporary release by the governor for a variety of purposes, including education, subject to the agreement of the immigration department. Prisoners who are the subject of a signed deportation order are not eligible for home leave or temporary release.
Immigration (Carriers' Liability)
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received, and on what dates, from United Kingdom and international airlines suggesting possible changes to the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 ; and whether he is considering amendments to the Act.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The dates and precise nature of representations received from airlines could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can, however, say that the only fundamental changes proposed by the airlines or their representatives have been (i) the introduction of a variable charge up to a maximum of £1,000 per passenger, (as opposed to the existing set charge of £1,000 per passenger) ; (ii) the removal of liability
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in respect of those passengers who, notwithstanding the absence of proper documentation, are granted leave to enter the United Kingdom. British Airways, in particular, has raised a number of issues about the implementation of the Act, and these are under consideration. I have no present plans to amend the Act.Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, according to airline, the number of convictions and fines and costs involved, all United Kingdom and international carriers penalised for contraventions of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The Act gives rise to a civil liability in respect of improperly documented passengers brought to the United Kingdom. It is not the practice to disclose information on the record of individual airlines under the Act.
HEALTH
Radioactive Caesium
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by county, and by year for the last five years, the number of reported cases of radioactive caesium in people.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is not available in the form requested.
AIDS
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his latest estimates of (a) HIV and (b) AIDS cases in the United Kingdom currently ; and what are the projected figures on current trends by the year 2000.
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.
It is not possible to predict how many HIV-infected individuals or cases of AIDS there will be by the year 2000. The Day report, "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in England and Wales to end 1993" published by the public health laboratory service in January 1990 as a supplement to the communicable disease report, made it clear that AIDS predictions beyond 1993 are subject to great uncertainty, and made no estimate of the number of HIV-infected persons beyond 1990.
The Day report estimated that there were between 12,250 and 26,400 HIV- infected persons in England and Wales at the end of 1988. On the assumption that the behavioural trends necessary to produce the upper 1988 estimate continued unchanged, the Day report estimated that there could be 46,450 people infected by the end of 1990. From the report, the expected cumulative total of AIDS cases in England and Wales for the period 1979- 1993 for planning purposes is 11,360 ; with a lower band of 8,115 cases and an upper band of 16,390 cases. A separate group is currently preparing new estimates of short-term predictions of HIV incidence and prevalence estimates of the numbers of AIDS cases in Scotland as a revision of the projections contained in the report of the national working party on health service implications of HIV infection (the Tayler report). Copies of both the Day and Tayler reports are available in the Library.
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Reported incidence in Northern Ireland is too low to make accurate estimates of the likely spread of HIV infection.National Health Service Trusts
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of hospital units interested in self-governing status where (a) a ballot includes more than 50 per cent. of consultants in support of an application, (b) more than 50 per cent. of consultants opposed to an application and (c) no ballot has taken place and is unlikely to do so.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have consistently made it clear that it would not be appropriate for changes in management of National Health Service services to be subject to ballots, and we have not asked for data on ballots. Regional health authorities will seek the views of community health councils and other parties with an interest, including consultants and other staff, on individual proposals before any decisions are made.
Family Practitioner Committees
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total financial cost of family practitioner committees nationwide.
Mr. Dorrell : The total net administrative costs related to family practitioner committees in England and included in the supply estimates 1990-91 amount to £118.389 million.
Infant Mortality
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of infant mortality rates in 1979 ; and what they are today.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is shown in the table :
Infant mortality rates<1> England and Wales 1979, 1989 Year |Rate<1> ------------------------ 1979 |12.8 1989 |8.4 <1> Rate per 1,000 live births.
Maternity Mortality
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of maternity mortality rates in 1979 ; and what it is today.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is shown in the table.
Maternal mortality rates<1>, England and Wales 1979,
1989
|1979 |1989
--------------------------------------------------------
Maternal mortality including abortion |11.51|8.10
<1> Rate per 100,000 total births.
General Practitioners (Prescribing)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to issue fresh guidelines (a) to general practitioners in respect of over-prescribing and (b) to family practitioner committees in respect of the operation of regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The recently published working paper, "Improving Prescribing", (a copy of which is available in the Library), describes a range of new initiatives to improve the quality of general practitioner prescribing. It is the Government's intention, as set out in paragraph 10.2 of that working paper, to amend regulation 16 of the Service Committee and Tribunal Regulations.National Health Service Reforms
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is the Government's intention to use outside consultants in their proposed publicity campaign in respect of their national health service reforms.
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated total cost to his Department of the Government's proposed publicity campaign in respect of their national health service reforms.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 5 July at column 675.
General Practitioner Budgets
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners will be equipped with the necessary software to enable them to be responsible for their budgets from 1 April 1991.
Mr. Dorrell : We are currently engaged in discussions with the computer companies. The details of these discussions are commercially sensitive, but the general objective is to ensure that the necessary software will be available to all the general practitioners wishing to take part in the practice funding scheme.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest estimated cost of developing and supplying the computer software systems for doctors eligible and electing to run their own budgets.
Mr. Dorrell : Development and supplying of the software for practice funding is a matter for the general practitioner computer suppliers. The Department does not hold the information necessary to estimate individual companies' costs.
Hospital Care (Cost)
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the latest information he has on the cost of operations and hospital care in each hospital ; and when he expects all hospitals to publish a price list for all operations and treatments available for patients.
Mr. Dorrell : Information on the cost of operations and hospital care by individual hospitals is not collected centrally. From 1 April 1991 health authority contracts for health services with both public and private providers will be publicly available once they are signed. This will permit a steady improvement of information on the outcome of contract negotiations in terms of service covered and quality as much as price.
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Waiting Lists
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage increase or decrease in the numbers of people waiting for treatment between March 1987 and September 1989 for (a) general surgery, (b) trauma and orthopaedics, (c) ear, nose and throat and (d) obstetrics and gynaecology ; and if he will rank each health authority, giving the greatest increase first and the greatest decrease last.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke [holding answer 22 May 1990] : Figures for waiting lists in themselves are of little value unless considered with figures for waiting times, which are far more important for patients and figures for patient cases which are a much better measure of a unit's activity level. Comparisons between waiting lists in one place and another are also unreliable because of variations in referral practice, the acceptance of patients on to lists and the verification of the lists themselves. Changes in individual waiting lists between two points in time in at district level should also be interpreted with care as large changes can for example be due to errors in the data or transfer of responsibility between districts. However, the information requested will be placed in the Library. Nationally, the in-patient waiting lists for these four clinical specialties fell by 3 per cent. over the period March 1987 to September 1989 from 475,000 to 461,000. Over approximately the same period, the number of in-patient cases remained roughly constant at 2,375,000 per year, but the number of day cases rose by over 4 per cent. from 530,000 to 552,000. Since 1979 the total number of in-patient cases in these four specialties has risen by 12 per cent. and day cases by 68 per cent. In- patient waiting lists have fallen by 7 per cent. overall and by 18 per cent. for these four specialties, including by more than a quarter for general surgery and gynaecology over the same period.
General Practitioners (Information)
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted into whether general practitioners read letters from (a) the Committee on Safety of Medicines and (b) pharmaceutical companies.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 27 June 1990] : Inquiries and increases in adverse drug reaction reports (yellow card reports) indicate that general practitioners and hospital doctors read and take appropriate notice of the information they receive.
The Department does not conduct research into the readership of letters issued by pharmaceutical companies.
Health Service Spending
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give figures for each financial year of the amount spent on the national health service from 1979-80 inclusive (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage change after adjustment for medical inflation, and using 1979-80 as a base year ; and if he will give similar estimates for 1990 and 1991.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 5 July 1990] : The table shows total National Health Service gross expenditure in cash for 1979-80 to 1989 -90 and planned expenditure for 1990-91 and 1991-91 in cash. There is no specific index for medical inflation in the national health service, but there is
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a composite national health service index of changes in input unit costs and this has been used to adjust the cash figures to a 1979-80 basis. Estimates of changes in unit costs are not made until after the end of the relevant financial year, so it is not possible to put the 1990-91 and 1991-92 figures on this basis.
Year |National |Adjusted |Percentage
| Health |for input |change
| Service |unit costs
|expenditure|(1979-80
| England |prices)
| (cash)
------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |7,755 |7,755
1980-81 |10,103 |7,887 |1.7
1981-82 |11,329 |8,180 |3.7
1982-83 |12,353 |8,372 |2.3
1983-84 |13,113 |8,455 |1.0
1984-85 |14,103 |8,592 |1.6
1985-86 |14,919 |8,645 |0.6
1986-87 |16,052 |8,700 |0.6
1987-88 |17,652 |8,816 |1.3
1988-89 |19,597 |8,858 |0.5
<1>1989-90 |21,162
<2>1990-91 |23,552
<2>1991-91 |24,690
<1> Estimate.
<2> Plan.
Cholesterol Screening
Mr. Ashby : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the early introduction of cholesterol screening by general practitioners for those individuals judged to be most at risk ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke [holding answer 5 July 1990] : Opportunistic blood cholesterol testing is already undertaken by many general practitioners. The Standing Medical Advisory Committee has now reviewed the cost-effectiveness of various levels of opportunistic cholesterol testing, and its economic appraisals of these were based upon testing in general practice. I have today issued the committee's report for wide consultation.
Mr. Ashby : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received the Standing Medical Advisory Committee report on cholesterol screening.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke [holding answer 5 July 1990] : In July 1988 I asked the Standing Medical Advisory Committee to consider whether opportunistic cholesterol testing could make a cost-effective contribution towards identifying and treating people at increased risk of coronary heart disease. I have now received the committee's report and have thanked it for its work.
Copies of the report have been placed in the Library. The report sets out the results of a detailed study which the committee advises is full of scientific complexity. The report explains that opportunistic blood cholesterol testing can make a cost-effective contribution to coronary heart disease prevention in certain circumstances and sets out a number of possible options for consideration.
In those circumstances, I believe that all those with an interest in the prevention of coronary heart disease should now have the opportunity to consider the report's findings and let me have their comments on them. I am therefore today issuing the report for consultation.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Telephones
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he has any plans to review telephone facilities in the House.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Arrangements are in hand to provide direct dialling access to a limited number of European Community institutions and organisations ; plans exist for the Palace of Westminster telephone exchange to be upgraded to make the most economic use of available telephone routes.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Attendance and Mobility Allowances
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (a) how many people who apply for mobility allowance are refused after their initial medical ; and how many are awarded the benefit, (b) how many appeal against refusal ; how many are subsequently awarded the benefit after a further examination at a medical centre, and how many are refused ; and (c) how many are awarded mobility allowance resulting from an appeal to a medical appeal tribunal and how many are refused ; and if he will express these figures for each region over the past 12 months.
Mr. Scott : Information is not available in the form requested. The available information, which relates to decisions made during the year ending 31 March 1990, is as follows :
|Decision in|Decision
|claimant's |adverse to
|favour |claimant
----------------------------------------------------------------
Decisions on initial claims |105,500 |113,590
Decisions on renewal claims |29,490 |10,800
Appeals and references
decided by medical boards |6,989 |18,675
Appeals decided by medical
appeal tribunals |2,821 |5,980
As mobility allowance is administered centrally, it is not possible to break those figures down by regions.
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will commission research into the possibility of extending mobility allowance or the mobility component of the disability allowance to people with a mental handicap and behaviour problems ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : On 10 January we laid before Parliament "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People", which details our major proposals arising from our review of the balance and structure of social security benefits for disabled people and their carers. One of the proposals concerns the introduction of a new disability allowance for people of working age or below which will extend help to less severely disabled people, and will also subsume the help currently provided through attendance allowance and mobility allowance. The initial rate of the mobility component--set at £10--will be awarded to people who are not independently mobile, for example those with a
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severe mental handicap or behavioural disturbance, and who do not otherwise fulfil the current criteria for mobility allowance. We estimate that 150,000 people will receive this new form of help.Benefit Leaflets
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reason his Department has ended the practice of sending sample leaflets on benefits, as they are published to local authorities and welfare rights organisations.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Department has not ended the practice. The mailing of sample leaflets is carried out by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) on behalf of the Department.
I understand that HMSO experienced temporary difficulties in providing the service recently but that the service has now been restored. Arrangements are in hand to issue not only future material but those items which should have been sent earlier.
Pensions
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the percentage of the average wage paid in pensions to single people and married couples in each European Community country, including the United Kingdom ; what increase would be required to bring United Kingdom pensions up to the level of the highest pension rate in the European Community ; and what that would cost in additional public expenditure in a full financial year.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Pensions in other member states of the European Community are usually related to length of the individual's contribution record and the level of earnings on which contributions have been paid. The relationship with the overall average wage in the country concerned will therefore vary from individual to individual. Details of pensions in all member states are set out in "Tables of Social Benefits in the European Community" published by the Department, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Discretionary Awards
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in the Official Report the number and percentage of people who were refused discretion-based awards because the items for which they are requesting assistance are excluded by the social fund directions, by local office in Scotland.
Mr. Scott : The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by local office in Scotland the number and percentage of people who were refused discretion-based awards because they had insufficient funds to repay the loan.
Mr. Scott : The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Income Support
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number and percentage of households and persons in Scotland below and at 40 per cent. above the income support level for the financial years 1988-89 and 1989-90, by local office in Scotland.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested is not available.
Social Fund
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the percentage expenditure take-up of the social fund from 0 to 10 per cent. to 90 to 100 per cent. for each of the local offices in Scotland, for the financial years 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Mr. Scott : Figures on expenditure in all local offices can be obtained from the information placed in the Library.
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are repaying social fund loans at (a) 15 per cent., (b) 10 per cent., (c) 5 per cent. and (d) less than 5 per cent. of their income support.
Mr. Scott : At 31 May 1990, the latest date for which data are available, 418,604 social fund loans were being recovered. A detailed breakdown of the percentage rates at which loans are being repaid by individual applicants is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I regret that there was an error in my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 28 June at column 352. The number of social fund loans being recovered at 30 April 1990 should have read 422,055.
Unemployment Benefit
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review the payment of unemployment benefit before the next election.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Unemployment benefit, in common with other benefits, is reviewed each year as part of the process of uprating.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether, for students who will still be eligible for housing benefit and non-student partners who are in receipt of housing benefit, he plans any amendments to reflect the new arrangements for grants to be paid for the whole year as opposed to the previous practice of grants awarded for the academic year.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We propose that the student grant, which is not intended to provide financial support for the long vacation, will continue to be treated as now in the calculation of housing benefit. The new student loans will provide support throughout the whole of the course including the long vacations falling within it. We propose that income from loans will be apportioned over the whole year for the purpose of calculating benefit entitlement. We also propose that income from top-up loans will attract a weekly disregard of £10 so long as the recipient remains a student.
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Student Grants
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provisions he intends to make within the Social Security Benefits (Student Loan) Amendment Regulations 1990 with regard to students in receipt of discretionary grants from local authorities.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Students are not currently treated differently for benefit purposes on the basis of the type or source of the educational grant or bursary they receive. This will remain our intention under future arrangements.
Disability and Care Allowances
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many women would be entitled to (a) severe disability allowance and (b) invalid care allowance if women could claim these benefits up to the age of 65 years.
Mr. Scott : We estimate that the additional number of women who would qualify each year if they could make a new claim between the ages of 60 and 65 is as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------------------------
(a) Severe disablement allowance |2,000
(b) Invalid care allowance |1,800
Low Incomes
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what help is currently being given to families on low incomes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : A range of benefits is available to families on low income. Child benefit continues to provide a worthwhile contribution to the costs of bringing up children. Lone parents are also eligible to receive one parent benefit. In addition help is available in the form of a range of income-related benefits--income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit. Expenditure on each main benefit is set out in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990-91 to 1992-93" (Cm. 1014), copies of which are in the Library.
Income Support
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each office and its region making deductions from income support to pay the community charge ; and how many claimants are having deductions made by each office for this reason.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information is collected centrally on a quarterly basis. The latest available figures are for May 1990 and I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist) on 2 July at columns 460-61.
Fraud
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he intends to reorganise fraud resources within his Department into sector teams ; and when such reorganisation will be complete.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We intend, wherever possible, to align the new fraud sectors with our local office network
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for benefit payment. Existing fraud resources will be merged to form approximately 170 sector teams, grouped with some 20 areas for line management purposes. We plan to have this new organisation in place by the end of the year.Household Incomes
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will revise the data given in his answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) Official Report, 17 March 1989, column 390, on household incomes, to take into account the errors in the originally published data.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The figures quoted in the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) on 17 March 1989 were only marginally affected by the recalculated data.
The main figures are as follows :
Real growth in mean net income before housing costs: 1979 to 1985
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water Charges
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to raise benefits to take account of water charge rises above inflation in each of the next five years.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Benefit levels are considered for uprating each year, and we seek to take account of all relevant factors.
Pensions
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what he estimates would be the cost to his Department of adding £3 per week to the pensions of pensioners over 75 years of age ; (2) what he estimates would be the cost of adding £5 per week to the state pension for a single pensioner at current prices ; (3) how much he estimates it would cost his Department to increase the pension for a married couple by £8 per week at current prices ; (4) how much it would cost his Department to provide every pensioner aged 75 years and over with £10 per week extra at 1990-91 prices.
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