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Hospitals (Radioactive Waste)
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of hospitals in Wales which are licensed to dispose of radioactive waste.
Mr. Grist : A list of premises authorised to dispose of radioactive waste is provided in the DOE/Welsh Office/Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution publication "List of premises in England and Wales currently authorised under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 to dispose of radioactive waste", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Since publication, one further hospital in Wales, Withybush hospital, Haverfordwest has been authorised and one, Royal Alexandra hospital, Rhyl has had its licence revoked because the work has transferred to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan.
Health Service
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans there are to recruit consultant surgeons to eliminate waiting times for operations in Wales.
Mr. Grist : The responsibility for the recruitment of additional consultant surgeons to meet service needs lies with the district health authorities. Manpower approval has been granted, on the basis of district health authority bids, for the recruitment of additional consultants in specialities with problem lists. These include six posts in trauma and orthopaedics, five in general surgery and four in ophthalmology.
Separately the Welsh Office undertook as part of its treatment centre initiative to fund six additional consultant posts, of which 4.5 whole-time equivalent posts are already in place. Furthermore £1.1 million has been allocated under the 1990-91 waiting times initiative and which includes funding for at least four consultant posts.
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Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he plans to meet health authorities in Wales to discuss with them the waiting times for surgery.
Mr. Grist : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State intends to meet DHA chairmen soon to discuss a number of issues, including waiting times.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet community health councils in Wales to discuss with them their views concerning his plans for changes in the national health service.
Mr. Grist : My right hon. Friend has no current plans to do so. The Association of Welsh Community Health Councils has already made known its views on a number of the proposed reforms.
More routine opportunities for CHCs to raise for discussion matters of interest of concern are offered by the regular biannual meetings between the Association and the Director for the NHS in Wales. The latest of these meetings was held on 17 October 1990.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the reasons for the rise in waiting times for patients needing operations for ear, nose and throat problems.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the "Welsh Hospital Waiting List Bulletin 1990 ; No. 2" which illustrates a variable performance in the light of developing demand and activity levels. During 1989 ear, nose and throat in-patient and day care throughput increased by 5.3 per cent., out-patient throughput rose by 2.2 per cent., with new out- patient attendances up by 8 per cent. In addition, at 31 March 1990 : the number of urgent in-patients waiting fell by 54 per cent. over the previous year ; and numbers of non-urgent in-patients rose by 8 per cent. and of out -patients fell by 15 per cent. Urgent cases waiting one month or more fell by 47 per cent. over the previous year ; non-urgent cases waiting one year or more rose by 45 per cent ; and out-patients waiting three months or more fell by 44 per cent.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of designated intensive care beds in (a) each district health authority in Wales and (b) in each district general hospital in Wales and against each of these (i) the number of such beds which are currently subject to temporary closure, (ii) the number which have been proposed or are being considered for temporary closure and (iii) the number which have been proposed or are being considered for permanent closure.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Monday 22 October. No intensive care beds are proposed for permanent closure in applications currently before the Secretary of State. The temporary closure of beds is a matter for district health authorities.
Menai Straits
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will instruct Welsh Water plc to take steps to protect the public from any possible danger of contamination of the waters in the Menai straits as a result of untreated sewage being carried out from the pathology laboratory at Ysbyty Gwynedd via Pen Rhos Garnedd.
Mr. Grist : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies I gave him on 18 and 22 October.
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Legal Aid
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General how long the London area of the Legal Aid Board takes to authorise solicitors to appropriate costs which have been agreed and paid in legal aid cases and where only the authority of the Legal Aid Board is needed for solicitors doing legal aid work to transfer such moneys from a client account to an office account.
The Attorney-General : This information is not collected at present and the Legal Aid Board has no immediate plans to collect it.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General how long the London area of the Legal Aid Board takes to pay damages to legally aided litigants where those damages have been deposited with the board.
The Attorney-General : This information is not collected. If the hon. Member has a particular case in mind, perhaps he would write to the Lord Chancellor.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General what is the average time taken by the London area of the Legal Aid Board to pay legal aid bills of costs for which allocaturs and bills have been sent to them.
The Attorney-General : Information is not available in the form requested. The Legal Aid Board monitors the payment of bills according to time targets set out in its annual report. A comparison of the performance of the London area office with the targets is set out in the table.
Time taken between receipt and payment of bills
Legal Aid Board |4 weeks |6 weeks
|per cent. |per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Target (per cent. of bills paid) |82 |95
London area office performance for
September 1990 |69 |90
THE ARTS
Hospitality
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Minister for the Arts how much was spent by his Ministry on official hospitality in 1989-90.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 19 October 1990] : The Office of Arts and Libraries spent £5,741 on official hospitality in 1989-90.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Duty-free Sales
Mr. Cash : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what he estimates would be the net effect on excise duty, value added tax, corporation tax and national insurance revenues, at 1989 figures, of elimination of EC-related duty free sales ; and to what extent that effect has taken into account possible substitution of duty free sales by duty paid sales ;
(2) what would be the estimated effect on the United Kingdom balance of payments at current prices and current duty and value added tax rates in other EC member states of elimination of the duty-free system ;
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(3) what will be the effect on the United Kingdom balance of payments, at 1989 figures, of elimination of EC-related duty-free sales, taking into account the level of United Kingdom excise and value added tax rates by comparison with other EC member states and the likely effect of elimination of EC-related duty-free sales on United Kingdom demand for dutiable goods ;(4) by what percentage United Kingdom domestic demand for alcoholic, tobacco and perfume products is estimated to fall, at current prices, and on the basis of current EC member state duty and value added tax differentials if duty-free status were ended.
Mr. Ryder : No decision has been taken on the future of duty-free sales. The economic effects of abolition have been addressed by some outside observers. These effects are being considered within Her Majesty's Government.
Trade Statistics
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how statistics on trade between Britain and other EEC countries will be collected after 1992.
Mr. Maples : With the abolition of most frontier controls on goods at internal Community frontiers by the end of 1992, the present Customs documentation, which is the current source of intra-Community trade statistics, will disappear. However, both the European Commission and the United Kingdom Government will still need accurate and timely statistics on this trade and new methods are being set up to collect the data. The system for recording trade with other countries will continue unchanged.
The European Commission has prepared revised proposals for the framework of systems to operate in all member states. The overall schemes are relatively complex, but the aim is to provide linked systems which control the collection of VAT on goods traded between member states and generate intra- EC trade statistics. By linking the systems it has been possible to reduce the burdens on small and medium-sized traders. The proposals specify the systems for a transitional period to run from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 1996 when the Commission expects the basis of levying VAT to change, and the definitive systems for the period starting on 1 January 1997. The Commission's amended proposal for an EC Council regulation on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between member states has been published in the Official Journal. The main features of the proposed transitional system to operate from 1 January 1993 are : that detailed monthly trade figures--including value, volume, eight-digit commodity and country--will be collected from larger traders above a threshold yet to be set ; that no separate statistical returns will be required from small and medium traders, but estimates will be made using information from two boxes expected to be added to all VAT returns giving value totals of intra- Community imports and exports ; that businesses not registered for VAT will be excluded from any collection.
The Council regulation sets out only the framework of the new systems. It has not yet been agreed with member states and amendments are possible before it is adopted by the Council. Many of the details of the new system will be specified later in Commission implementing regulations. One of the most important components of these will set the level of the statistical threshold. In some of its publicity the Commission has suggested that it may propose one which
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requires the largest 20 per cent. of traders to provide detailed monthly returns. In the United Kingdom these traders account for around 96 per cent. of the value of intra-EC trade. Such a threshold would ensure that adequate data are available for macro-economic statistics. Also with coverage as high as 96 per cent. it would allow the collection of detailed statistics for most industries. This new threshold would almost certainly replace the present, mainly low-value consignment, thresholds which mean that there is currently no commodity detail for over 1 per cent. of trade.Corporation Tax
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much industrial and provident societies have paid in corporation tax for each year since 1982.
Mr. Maude : The amounts of corporation tax paid by industrial and provident societies during financial years 1986-87 to 1989-90 are shown in the table. Figures for earlier years are not readily available and could be prepared only at disproportionate cost. Figures for the most recent years are now published in Inland Revenue statistics.
Financial year |Amount of corporation tax (£ million) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1986-87 |590 1987-88 |624 1988-89 |821 1989-90 |651
Whisky
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Scotch whisky industry about the consequences of abolishing duty-free sales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The Scotch Whisky Association has made representations on behalf of the Scotch whisky industry about the effects of abolishing duty-free sales within the European Community. In March my right hon. Friend the Chancellor replied to a letter written on the subject by the association.
The European Commission has made it clear that as a consequence of the completion of the single market duty-free shopping for intra-Community travellers should cease. The Scotch Whisky Association has pointed out that ending duty-free sales within the Community could adversely affect sales of Scotch whisky and remove a useful shop window for promoting its goods.
The Government will examine all the arguments carefully before reaching a decision.
Kleinwort Benson
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the Government's privatisations involved the services of the investment banking group, Kleinwort Benson ; and what moneys were paid by the Government to that group for services.
Mr. Maude : The table shows the privatisations and in which positions Kleinwort, Benson acted for the Government. Moneys paid to Kleinwort, Benson for their services are a confidential commercial matter.
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Role of Kleinwort, Benson in privatisations
Company |Date |Position
|of sale
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BP<1> |1979 |Underwriter
|1983 |Underwriter
|1987 |Underwriter
British Aerospace |1981 |Adviser
|Lead Underwriter
|1985 |Joint Lead Underwriter
Cable and Wireless |1981 |Adviser<2>
|Lead Underwriter
|1983 |Adviser<2>
|Lead Underwriter
|1985 |Underwriter
Britoil |1982 |Underwriter
|1985 |Underwriter
Associated British Ports |1983 |Adviser<3>
|Joint Underwriters
Enterprise Oil |1984 |Adviser
|Underwriter
British Telecom |1984 |Adviser
|Joint Lead Underwriter
British Gas |1986 |Underwriter
British Airways |1987 |Underwriter
Royal Ordnance |1987 |Adviser<4>
British Steel |1988 |Underwriter
Water and Sewerage Companies |1989 |Underwriter
Regional Electricity |1990 |Adviser
Notes:
<1>Sale of Government shares (not privatisation)
<2>With Bank of England
<3>Early stages
<4>Initial study
Hospitality
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989-90.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 19 October 1990] : The amount spent by the Treasury on official hospitality was £55,169 in 1989-90.
Mortgages
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his written answer of 17 October on increases in mortgage payments, when he expects most mortgage borrowers to feel the effects of the recent reduction in mortgage rates.
Mr. Maples [holding answer 22 October 1990] : It will depend on the practices of the lenders concerned. Where lenders have reduced their mortgage rates, new borrowers in most cases have been affected already. Existing borrowers not on annual schemes will in most cases have their mortgage payments adjusted from November.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to have sufficient data to update his reply
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to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 20 June, Official Report, column 558, on changes in mortgage payments.Mr. Maples [holding answer 22 October 1990] : We expect to have sufficient data in the course of November.
Bank Directors
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list on what occasions Ministers in his Department met directors and/or non-executive directors of banks between Monday 1 October and 10 am on Thursday 4 October, inclusive.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 19 October 1990] : No.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Infertility
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the most recent figures available showing the number of clinics in Northern Ireland offering (a) IVF, GIFT and other procedures and (b) GIFT and other procedures but excluding IVF ; and if he will also publish the total number of (i) single, (ii) twin, (iii) triplet, (iv) quadruplet, (v) quintuplet and (vi) sextuplet pregnancies following GIFT procedures in each category of clinic.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 22 October 1990] : There is one specialist infertility clinic in Northern Ireland offering IVF, GIFT and other procedures. The information requested on pregnancies is not available.
Technology Development Group
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if his Department made any investigation into the operations of the Technology Development Group (TDG Limited) of London in advance of its intended purchase of the Lear Fan factory in Northern Ireland in 1989.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 22 October 1990] : The Technology Development Group (TDG) was a shareholder in SRC Composites Ltd. (SRC). The Industrial Development Board always conducts a rigorous investigation of inward investment projects and it was in the initial stages of the appraisal of SRC that the decision not to assist the project was taken in the light of Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice. It was therefore not necessary to conduct an in-depth investigation into TDG as part of this project.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 23 October.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 23 October.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 23 October.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others including one with the
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Amir of Kuwait. I also attended the arrival of the President of the Italian Republic, President Cossiga. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I shall be attending the state banquet given by Her Majesty the Queen in honour of President Cossiga.HEALTH
Cancer
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the increases registered in cancer mortality rates in the London borough of Tower Hamlets since 1985.
Mr. Dorrell : The number of deaths from major forms of cancer to residents of the London borough of Tower Hamlets have fluctuated over the years since 1985. The data do not show evidence of an overall upward trend in cancer mortality rates in the borough over these years.
Paracetemol
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to restrict the sale of paracetemol and products containing paracetemol to pharmacies only and to require such products carrying health warnings on the labelling.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No. I am advised that paracetemol in recommended dosage is not harmful to the normal population. There are limits on the strength and pack size of paracetemol products which may be supplied without the supervision of a pharmacist. The labelling of all such products is required by law to show clearly that they contain paracetemol. The recommended dosage is shown with a warning that it should not be exceeded and that if symptoms persist a doctor should be consulted.
Births
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the number of booked home deliveries in each health authority for each of the last five years ;
(2) if he will list the number of born before arrival cases for each health authority for each of the last five years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of legal actions taken against (a) obstetricians, (b) hospital midwives, (c) general practitioners in attendance at birth and (d) community midwives over the last five years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We do not hold this information centrally.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision each health authority makes for the training of student midwives in home births.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting--UKCC--is responsible for establishing the standards of training necessary for midwives and for ensuring that the standard of midwifery training programmes meet European Community requirements.
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EC directives on the training of midwives require that each student midwife will conduct 40 deliveries during training. There are no specific requirements on where the deliveries should take place. Each school or college of midwifery reaches agreement locally on the appropriate clinical experience for its midwives. All schools and colleges must be recognised by the relevant national board--of nursing, midwifery and health visiting--which must also ensure that training courses meet UKCC and EC standards.OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Eastern Europe
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the emergency aid currently being given to eastern European countries is from the overseas aid budget for the current year or is in addition to it.
Mrs. Chalker : The £500,000 of emergency aid provided to Romania, channelled through WHO, was drawn from the overseas aid budget. Economic assistance to eastern Europe is separate from and additional to the overseas aid budget for developing countries.
Aid Policy
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the policy for targeting aid overseas in such way that it is not wasted and that it is monitored on the ground to allow maximum flexibility.
Mrs. Chalker : Each year the Government review overall aid policy, and the direction of multilateral and bilateral country programmes. This process is carried through into regular discussions with recipient countries on their development plans and priorities and on what assistance the United Kingdom is best able to provide. We have developed rigorous and effective systems for project management. All proposals are subject to technical, economic and financial appraisal before funds are committed. Projects are monitored during implementation, and completion reports are prepared. These provide a basis for further evaluation if required.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Khmer Rouge
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning Chinese supplies of tanks, helicopter gunships, and training of pilots, to the Khmer Rouge.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are aware that China provides a variety of military hardware to the Cambodian resistance. We have no evidence that the Chinese have supplied helicopters or the associated training.
Lorry Drivers (Spain)
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the position of British lorry drivers stranded in Spain by the Spanish drivers' blockade.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The strike is now over and we understand that vehicles are moving freely across the border in both directions. During the strike our consular staff in Spain visited the scene regularly to give general advice and financial assistance to drivers.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he is giving relatives of lorry drivers caught in the French-Spanish blockade ; and whether a helpline or information number is available for families.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The strike has now ended and vehicles are moving freely across the border in both directions. During the strike no helpline as such was set up. However, the consular department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was in regular touch with the relatives and employers of the drivers involved.
The Gulf
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the crisis in the Gulf.
Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs intends to make a statement shortly.
USSR (Visas)
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will make representations to the Soviet authorities to grant an exit visa to Elena Morgulis of Sverdlovsk so that she can join her husband and son in Israel.
Mr. Waldegrave : We can certainly raise Mrs. Morgulis's case with the Soviet authorities. We have asked her family to provide further details in order to make our representations most effective.
South Africa
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of the Republic of South Africa regarding the progress towards ending the policy of apartheid.
Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister had constructive discussions on 14 October with President de Klerk which focused on progress towards negotiations on a new constitution for South Africa and a peaceful end to apartheid. My right hon. Friend welcomed recent positive developments in South Africa and expressed the hope that negotiations will begin soon with all parties concerned.
Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the fourth nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference decisions were discussed at the informal Foreign Ministers Council at Aslo-Venice on 6 and 7 October.
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Eastern Europe
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution will be made to the eastern section of Germany, up to the end of 1990, from the European Community PHARE programme on economic assistance to eastern Europe.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The European Community has made available 35 million ecu--£25 million--to the former GDR up to the end of 1990 from the EC PHARE programme. No further PHARE funds will be made available to the former GDR from 1991.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contributions will be made to environmental protection in eastern Europe under the PHARE programme, following the most recent European Council decision.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : From the 1990 PHARE budget of 500 million ecu-- £350 million--for economic aid to eastern Europe, a total of 100.5 million ecu--£70 million--has been earmarked for environmental protection.
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