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Mr. Michael Forsyth : My noble Friend the Minister responsible for agriculture and fisheries hopes to meet representatives of many of the principal fishing industry organisations over the coming months. He met the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, which represents many west coast fishermen, on 3 October.
47. Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the leaders of the fishing industry in north-east Fife.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : My noble Friend the Minister responsible for agriculture and fisheries intends to have regular contact with the principal organisations representing the Scottish fishing industry. Earlier this month he had a very fruitful meeting with
representatives of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, an organisation to which the Fife Fishermen's Association is affiliated.
50. Mr. Buchanan-Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest assessment of the earnings of the Scottish fishing fleet during 1990 and the past two years.
Mr. Rifkind : The value (at the first sale) of fish landed into Scotland in 1989 was £246 million, compared with £253 million in 1988. The latest available information for 1990, which covers landings up to the end of August, is a total so far of £176 million, an increase of 11 per cent. over the same period last year.
NHS Trusts
33. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many expressions of interest have now been made for self-governing hospitals and other national health service units ; and how many formal applications have been submitted.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Four expressions of interest in NHS trust status have been received, but these have not yet progressed to the formal application stage.
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48. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received regarding the establishment of national health service self-governing trusts.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Representations have been received on a number of aspects relating to the establishment of NHS trusts. Four expressions of interest are currently being pursued.
Nursery Education
34. Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of under-fives have places in local authority nurseries.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There were 41,785 three and four-year-olds in Scottish education authority nursery schools at September 1989, 32.2 per cent. of the 1989 mid-year estimate of the total three and four-year-old population, the range which is the relevant age group for nursery education.
Road and Rail Transport
35. Mr. McKelvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made in improving road and rail transport in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government are committed to improving the Scottish road network and, since 1979, 288 miles of the network have been constructed or improved including 26 miles of motorway and 142 miles of dual carriageway. Earlier this year my right hon. and learned Friend announced a massive £130 million package of major trunk road schemes which are planned to start during 1990-91. These form part of a significant programme of improvements designed to relieve congestion, improve journey times and safety. Over the next three years the resources allocated for new construction and improvements to our road network are set to rise by nearly 50 per cent.
Investment is not, however, restricted to the road network. Since 1979, the Government have sanctioned record levels of investment by British Rail and Scotland has been, and will be, a major beneficiary of this investment. Completion of the east coast main line electrification will enable electric running to begin in May 1991. Together with electrification between Edinburgh and Carstairs, this will allow substantial reductions in journey times between Scotland and London. As part of its long-term strategy, British Rail is investigating a range of further electrification options in Scotland. New rolling stock is being introduced on non-electrified lines.
Health Services
36. Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what improvements he has made to Scottish health services in the past 12 months.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Over the past 12 months the Government have announced a number of substantial new developments for the national health service in Scotland. First, Grampian health board has been asked to prepare detailed proposals for a new specialist maternity unit in Elgin and for a new cottage hospital in Peterhead. Both units are to be developed on the existing hospital sites.
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Tayside health board's proposals for a new hospital in Crieff to replace outdated facilities at Crieff cottage hospital and Bridge of Earn hospital have been approved. Together these three capital projects represent an investment of some £20 million in the NHS estate.The helicopter ambulance services based in Inverness will be centrally funded to serve the more remote parts of Scotland and allow rapid transfer of patients requiring urgent hospital treatment. This will cost some £600,000 and will be the first centrally funded helicopter ambulance service in Britain.
A new national service for the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients is to be established to complement and enhance the work already being carried out in the NHS and the private sector. It is estimated that there are around 500 patients in Scotland who would be likely to benefit from intensive specialised rehabilitation services, many of whom are young people whose quality of life could be vastly enhanced if these facilities were available.
Scotland is also to get its first heart transplant unit so that Scots patients do not have to travel to England for transplant surgery. Many Scots have benefited from the service in England but the long journeys are distressing for very ill patients and their relatives. A new Scottish unit will be much more accessible and will build on the considerable improvements in cardiac surgery in Scotland, which now carries out 2,500 cardiac operations a year.
Earlier in the year the Government announced that £200,000 per annum was to be made available over the next three years to support the development of cochlear implantation in Scotland. This new technique will greatly enhance the quality of life for some deaf people.
On 11 July the Government announced that a total of £4 million is to be made available to provide the health service in Scotland with five advanced magnetic resonance imaging scanners. Use of these scanners will greatly improve early detection of brain tumours and other cancers and, in many cases, will mean that the need for investigative surgery can be avoided. The new equipment will be installed at major neurosurgical and oncology centres.
The first three scanners will be installed at Aberdeen royal infirmary, the Western General hospital in Edinburgh and the Southern General in Glasgow during the financial year 1991-92. The remaining two will be installed at Ninewells hospital, Dundee and the Western infirmary in Glasgow during 1992 -93.
The Government have agreed to provide financial support to the independent hospices in Scotland up to at least 50 per cent. of their running costs. These hospices provide a worthwhile contribution to patient care for the terminally ill. In addition approval has been given to the building of a new blood transfusion centre at Inverness at a cost of £900,000 and to the construction of eight new control centres for the Scottish ambulance service at a cost of £4.7 million over the next four years. These investments will improve the efficiency of the ambulance service throughout Scotland and provide a much better blood transfusion service for Inverness and surrounding areas.
The Government have also approved the introduction of a new contract for general dental practitioners which will encourage preventive dentistry and improve patient care. The contract provides patients with continuing care from their dentist and ensures that dentists have a system which recognises their continuing responsibility for patients.
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The Government have established a Scottish medicines resource centre to provide pharmaceutical advice and information to GPs and others in the primary care service. The centre will issue independent evaluated drug information and provide assistance in the development of local formularies with a view to encouraging rational, safe and cost-effective prescribing of medicines.The remit of community pharmacists in Scotland has been extended to allow them to play a greater part in the NHS by allowing them to maintain medication records for certain patients ; and to visit residential homes in Scotland to advise on the safekeeping and dispensing of medicines.
In the light of a comprehensive review of health education in Scotland, a consultation document was issued on 9 October setting out the Government's strategy for the future, including our proposals for targeting specific problem areas such as coronary heart disease and cancer and for promoting healthy life styles. The new Health Education Board, which will operate from 1 April 1991, will give fresh impetus and direction to health education in Scotland. The Government have also made available in 1990 some £2.2 million in the health programme specifically for the support of drug misuse services and for preventive measures. As regards prevention, an accelerated schedule has been announced for childhood immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio which should lead to higher uptake levels.
Finally, in recognition of the burdens resulting from AIDS and HIV, the Government have continued to make general allocations to health boards, which in 1990 amounted to £7.84 million. In addition specific allocations totalling £7.05 million have been made to those boards which are setting up and running special AIDS units in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, where the majority of AIDS cases in Scotland will be located. This brings total provision to £14.89 million this year.
Maintained Schools
37. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) children and (b) teachers are now in maintained schools in Scotland ; what was the comparable figure in 1986 and 1976 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested, for education authority primary and secondary schools, is as follows :
Number of Teachers<1>
|1976 |1986 |1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary school |27,324.3 |21,218.1 |22,186.1
Secondary schools |27,432.2 |25,992.7 |24,143.3
<1>Full-time equivalent.
Number of Teachers<1>
|1976 |1986 |1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary school |27,324.3 |21,218.1 |22,186.1
Secondary schools |27,432.2 |25,992.7 |24,143.3
<1>Full-time equivalent.
In the period since 1976 pupil : teacher ratios have improved from 22.4 to 19.7 in primary schools, and from 14.7 to 12.4 in secondary schools.
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Lothian Health Board
38. Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has of the deficit likely to be incurred by Lothian health board in 1990-91.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Lothian health board is making good progress in introducing more efficient ways of providing health care and reorganising its hospital service. The savings resulting from these measures are improving the financial position, but it is too early to predict the outcome for the financial year.
Roof Tax
39. Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has recently received regarding proposals for a roof tax ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend has received a very few letters about the Labour party's proposed local tax on houses.
Elderly People
40. Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet Mr. Don Cruickshank, chief executive of the national health service in Scotland, to discuss care of the elderly.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I frequently meet the chief executive of the national health service in Scotland.
Lead Piping
41. Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional funds he intends to make available to local authorities to facilitate the replacement of domestic lead piping to comply with the Government's commitment that such work will be completed in the current year.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government have given no such commitment.
A1
42. Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the implications for the A1 in Scotland of the upgrading of the A1 south of Newcastle to motorway status.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The most recent assessments following the routes south of Edinburgh study concluded that upgrading the A1 from London to Tyneside would result in only approximately 300 additional trips per day across the border on the A1 by the year 2008. This is because the majority of long-distance traffic crossing the border on the A1 is coming from or going to the north-east of England and would therefore be very little influenced by the upgrading of the A1 south of Teesside. I am satisfied that the £50 million package of improvements I announced in April together with the implementation of a route action plan which the A1 steering group has been charged with formulating will considerably improve this important and strategic route to the advantage of Scotland. The monitoring of traffic on the A1 by the steering group will give an early warning of traffic pressures developing which exceed forecasts.
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Students (Housing)
43. Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning housing difficulties for students in higher education in Scottish establishments.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Apart from one case raised by the hon. Member himself, my right hon. and learned Friend has received no representations on behalf of students during the past year about the availability of student housing. He has, however, received various representations about the withdrawal of most students' entitlement to housing benefit as part of the revised student support arrangements.
NHS Reform
44. Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the British Medical Association to discuss the Government's health service reforms in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I last met representatives from the BMA in March this year.
Flood Damage, Tay Valley
45. Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the number of individuals and companies which have received grants to repair flood damage in the Tay valley ; and what proposals there are to protect the village of Spittalfield and the farms downstream from Braecock.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : To date the Scottish Office has either paid or certified for payment grant amounting to £158,471 to 22 farmers and landowners in the Tay valley area for the restoration of flood damage. A further 15 claims with an estimated grant value of £346,505 are under consideration or awaited.
Restoration of the elevated floodbanks at Braecock farm is now virtually completed and this should also afford protection to properties immediately downstream in the direction of Spittalfield.
Public Spending
46. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide the most recent information available relating to annual public spending per capita in Scotland.
Mr. Lang : The latest available figures on identifiable public expenditure per head are in the reply my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury gave on19 December 1989.
Set-aside
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total amount of land covered by the set aside schemes ; and what expenditure is involved per annum.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The area of land currently set aside by farmers in Scotland is approximately 19,700 hectares.
Annual expenditure on payments is cumulative, as new participants may apply each year and participate for five
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years. Payments of £2.279 million were made in financial year 1989-90. Provision of £4.22 million has been made for 1990-91.Labour Statistics
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the unemployment figures, at the latest available date, for each Scottish county.
Mr. Lang : The level and rate of unemployment in each of the Scottish regions as of August 1990 is given in the table. Overall unemployment in Scotland has fallen by over 135,000 in the past three years.
Unemployment in Scotland, August 1990<1>
County/Region |Number |Rate<2>
|unemployed
----------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |1,900 |3.8
Central |10,583 |8.8
Dumfries and Galloway |4,273 |6.0
Fife |12,179 |8.3
Grampian |9,200 |3.4
Highlands |6,590 |6.6
Lothian |25,563 |6.2
Strathclyde |114,356 |10.3
Tayside |14,136 |7.2
Orkney Islands |396 |4.1
Shetland Islands |365 |2.9
Western Islands |1,385 |10.0
|------- |-------
Scotland |200,926 |8.0
<1>Unadjusted for seasonal variation.
<2>Rates expressed as a percentage of the workforce.
Source: Department of Employment
Tayside Health Councils
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will consider the possibility of creating more than one local health council in the Tayside health board area.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I agree that local health councils have an important role to play, but to be effective it is desirable that what is expected of councils is clear, that they are truly representative of my areas that they serve, and that they speak with one voice. These criteria are, in my view and that of my colleagues, most likely met by well- resourced single councils capable of dealing on a one-to-one basis with their health boards. However, if Tayside health board, or indeed any other board, wishes to submit a scheme for more than one council any such scheme will be considered on its merits.
Education Statistics
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the educational participation rate of 16 to 18-year- olds in Scotland and in (a) Denmark, (b) Belgium, (c) Canada, (d) Australia, (e) France, (f) West Germany, (g) Italy, (h) the Netherlands, (i) Spain, (j) Norway and (k) Sweden.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 16 October 1990] : The participation rate in full-time or part-time education or training in Scotland was 60 per cent. in 1986 and 68 per cent. in 1988. International comparisons, including references to definitional differences, are contained in the
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Department of Education and Science statistical bulletin No. 1/90 "International Statistical Comparisons of the Education and Training of 16 to 18 year olds", copies of which are in the Library.DEFENCE
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the number of occasions in the past 10 years when public interest immunity certificates have been issued concerning matters before coroners and other courts preventing members of the armed forces and others within the remit of his Department from attending such courts, and to prevent such courts from hearing details of operations, indicating which operations were involved and how many individuals were covered by such certificates.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There is no systematic record kept centrally of all cases in which public interest immunity is claimed in respect of the armed forces and others within the remit of the Ministry of Defence and it would not be possible to provide the information sought except at disproportionate cost.
Belize and Thailand
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy regarding the release of detailed information concerning service personnel stationed in (a) Belize and (b) Thailand.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : National security considerations may restrict the amount of detail that can be disclosed about service personnel stationed overseas. In addition, where such personnel are providing military training assistance for the host Government, details are normally confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Government concerned. Further information on such assistance may be released in some circumstances with the agreement of the host Government. These principles apply when considering the release of information concerning United Kingdom service personnel in any overseas country, including Belize and Thailand.
Service Personnel (Qualifications)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualifications were acquired each year since records began by service personnel as a result of pre-release training.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without disproportionate cost.
Civil Servants (Training)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 25 July, Official Report, column 297, which skills in which his Department's civil servants have received training are applicable to outside employment.
Mr. Carlisle : Most of the skills acquired by MOD civil servants through either in-house or external training are
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transferable to outside employment. Wherever possible in both industrial and non-industrial training use is made of outside accreditation bodies such as the training boards or the institutions to give recognition to the skills acquired, in addition to academic awards such as BSc, MSc, MBA and HNC.British Forces (Germany)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his statement of 25 July, Official Report, columns 471-72, (1) whether he envisages that those forces that remain in Germany by the mid-1990s will have a similar balance of different types of equipment ;
(2) whether he envisages those forces designated as reinforcements for British forces stationed in Germany increasing or decreasing in size.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Work is continuing to refine the detail of the broad proposals put forward by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 25 July. This includes consultation with NATO and our alliance partners. It is too early to say what will be the appropriate balance between forces stationed in the United Kingdom and Germany or what levels and types of equipment remaining forces in Germany will need.
Foreign Military Forces (Training)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 26 July, Official Report, column 538, whether any companies have contacted his Department to seek approval for the provision of military training for foreign military forces.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Companies intending to provide military training for foreign military forces would be required to request approval from the Government only if such training involved the release of United Kingdom classified information. We have no records of any requests of this nature being made to the Ministry of Defence.
Household Division
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any financial resources from non-Ministry of Defence sources have ever been provided to assist the Household Division in carrying out its ceremonial duties.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : No. Financial resources for ceremonial duties undertaken by the Household Division are provided solely by the Ministry of Defence.
Procurement Programmes
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which equipment procurement programmes whose total value is expected to be greater than £250 million have been either delayed, cancelled, or reduced in size since 1 June.
Mr. Alan Clark : I told the House on 18 June at column 770 that I had decided not to authorise further work on the eighth batch of Tornado aircraft, and I have since decided to slow production of the Warrior armoured infantry fighting vehicle and its variants.
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Nuclear Capable Combat Aircraft
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his statement of 25 July, Official Report, columns 471-72, whether he envisages an increase in the number of nuclear capable combat aircraft as a result of the "Options for Change" study.
Defence Establishments (Closures)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what announcements have been made regarding the closure of Royal Air Force bases and other of his Department's establishments since 25 July.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Since 25 July the Ministry of Defence has announced proposals to close the RAF air defence radar station at Bishops Court.
Tri-Service Resettlement Organisation
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual budget of the Tri-Service Resettlement Organisation and the number and grade of his Department's personnel attached to the organisation.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Tri-Service Resettlement Organisation does not yet have a budget of its own, but the current level of expenditure was indicated in my reply to the hon. Gentleman on 25 July 1990 at column 301. The information requested about the number and grade of personnel attached to the organisation is as follows :
|Number
------------------------------------------------
Headquarters
Wing Commander/Lieutenant Colonel |2
Major/Lieutenant Commander |4
Grade 6 |1
Retired officer (Principal) |1
Retired officer 1 |1
Retired officer 2 |1
Retired officer 3 |1
Higher executive officer |1
Information officer |1
Executive officer |2
Administrative officer |6
Administrative assistant |6
Resettlement Centres
Lieutenant Colonel |2
Major |2
Warrant officer 2 |2
Lance Corporal |1
Higher executive officer |4
Senior lecturer |2
Burnham lecturer 2 |5
Burnham lecturer 1 |4
Higher information officer |2
Information officer 1 |32
Stores officer |1
Special typist |1
Senior storekeeper |4
Storekeeper |1
Skilled labourer |1
Craftsmen |3
Forklift driver |1
Typist |1
Administrative assistant |1
Caretaker |1
Labourer |4
Messenger |1
Executive officer |3
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Hawk Aircraft
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his statement of 25 July, Official Report, columns 471-72, whether he envisages that there will be an increase in the number of armed Hawk aircraft.
Options for Change"
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations have taken place with civil service trade union representatives regarding the "Options for Change" study.
Mr. Alan Clark : Since the trade union representatives were informed of the "Options for Change" proposals on 25 July, the subject has been discussed at meetings of the joint industrial Whitley council and the non- industrial joint general purposes committee.
Defence Planning Committee
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 12 June, Official Report, column 142, when he expects that the work in hand on the implications for British forces of the Defence Planning Committee meeting of 22-23 May will be complete.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The review of readiness and availability requirements for NATO forces to which I referred in my reply of 12 June is progressing satisfactorily and further interim measures have been agreed. Details are classified. We expect work to continue for some time yet.
Cambridge Hospital, Aldershot
Mr. Critchley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will take steps to ensure that the Cambridge hospital in Aldershot will resume its normal civilian and military functions once the Gulf crisis has been resolved.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Yes. This will of course be subject to the future hospital requirements of the armed forces which are currently under review.
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