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Health Spending
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will show the total public expenditure on health by standard economic planning region for the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Dorrell : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Hospital Beds
Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the annual cost to the Northern regional health authority of a hospital bed.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is not available centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the chairman of Northern regional health authority.
Loop System
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the public buildings in the Easington constituency which have installed the loop system to assist the deaf and hard of hearing.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not available centrally.
General Practitioner Lists
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average general practitioner's list size in the Barnsley health authority area in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : At 1 October 1987, the average general practitioner list size in the Barnsley family health services authority's area was 2,088. The corresponding figures for 1988 and 1989 are 2,112 and 2,067. Figures for 1990 are not yet available.
Elderly People (Residential Care)
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to provide for a guaranteed place in a local authority home in any case where supplementary income support for board and lodging payments to elderly people of limited or no means in private or voluntary care residential and nursing homes is inadequate or insufficient to pay the costs.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Local authorities already have a duty to provide or arrange residential accommodation for elderly people in need of care and attention not otherwise available. Health authorities have similar responsibilities for people who require nursing care.
Children Act
Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when local authorities will be able to obtain each of the 12 out of the total of 29 regulations pursuant to the Children Act which are still outstanding.
Mr. Dorrell : We hope to make the regulations well in advance of the implementation date of 14 October 1991.
Prescriptions
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the reply of 29 November 1989, Official Report, column 299, if, on the same basis, he will publish how much money was raised in prescription charges in England in 1988-89 ; and for what specific purposes this money, credited for class XIV, vote 2, was put.
Mr. Dorrell : Prescription charges, including receipts from the sale of pre-payment certificates, raised £176.9
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million in England in 1988-89. This amount, along with other national health service charges, was used to offset the total cost of the national health service.Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the annual figures for the awarding of free prescriptions on the grounds of low income for the past three years for which figures are available.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is given in the table.
Financial |Number
year |prematurely
|retired
------------------------------------
1985-86 |6,282
1986-87 |6,427
1987-88 |6,147
1988-89 |6,695
1989-90 |6,627
NHS (Early Retirement)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been given early retirement on health grounds by the superannuation board of the national health service in each of the last five years.
Mr. Dorrell : In each of the last five financial years the number of NHS employees who have retired prematurely on the grounds of ill-health and drawn their superannuation benefits is as follows :
Financial |Number
year |prematurely
|retired
------------------------------------
1985-86 |6,282
1986-87 |6,427
1987-88 |6,147
1988-89 |6,695
1989-90 |6,627
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been refused early retirement on health grounds by the superannuation board of the national health service in each of the last five years.
Mr. Dorrell : In each of the last five years the number of NHS employees who have been refused early payment of superannuation benefits on the grounds of ill-health is as follows :
Year |Number ---------------------- 1985-86 |315 1986-87 |321 1987-88 |307 1988-89 |334 1989-90 |328
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis have applied for early retirement on the grounds of ill-health to the superannuation board of the national health service in each of the last five years ; and how many have been granted early retirement.
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Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Mental Illness
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the trend in admissions to mental illness hospitals and units in the last decade in the age groups for which statistics are kept.
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Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is shown in table 1 for the years 1976-86. The figures are for admissions not individuals ; an individual may be admitted more than once during the year. Table 2 expresses these admissions as rates per 100,000 population, in each age band.
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Table 2 Rates of all admissions to mental illness hospitals and units, by age, in England (per 100, 000 population in age group) Age |1976 |1977 |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 group (years old) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All ages |385 |378 |371 |365 |388 |397 |392 |402 |409 |425 |417 0-9 |11 |12 |12 |11 |12 |12 |11 |12 |12 |12 |12 10-14 |35 |35 |33 |33 |36 |35 |35 |35 |36 |38 |36 15-19 |204 |174 |168 |156 |157 |157 |140 |140 |145 |145 |143 20-24 |432 |411 |376 |355 |347 |345 |321 |331 |338 |329 |334 25-34 |534 |506 |474 |457 |468 |478 |458 |460 |459 |459 |455 35-44 |564 |537 |517 |497 |521 |523 |499 |499 |495 |491 |479 45-54 |519 |505 |487 |474 |497 |494 |478 |471 |478 |489 |464 55-64 |442 |452 |449 |447 |477 |480 |481 |489 |482 |510 |479 65-74 |489 |509 |519 |516 |553 |570 |579 |611 |624 |676 |656 75 plus |769 |781 |818 |844 |973 |1,009 |1,078 |1,141 |1,188 |1,263 |1,276
Table 2 Rates of all admissions to mental illness hospitals and units, by age, in England (per 100, 000 population in age group) Age |1976 |1977 |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 group (years old) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All ages |385 |378 |371 |365 |388 |397 |392 |402 |409 |425 |417 0-9 |11 |12 |12 |11 |12 |12 |11 |12 |12 |12 |12 10-14 |35 |35 |33 |33 |36 |35 |35 |35 |36 |38 |36 15-19 |204 |174 |168 |156 |157 |157 |140 |140 |145 |145 |143 20-24 |432 |411 |376 |355 |347 |345 |321 |331 |338 |329 |334 25-34 |534 |506 |474 |457 |468 |478 |458 |460 |459 |459 |455 35-44 |564 |537 |517 |497 |521 |523 |499 |499 |495 |491 |479 45-54 |519 |505 |487 |474 |497 |494 |478 |471 |478 |489 |464 55-64 |442 |452 |449 |447 |477 |480 |481 |489 |482 |510 |479 65-74 |489 |509 |519 |516 |553 |570 |579 |611 |624 |676 |656 75 plus |769 |781 |818 |844 |973 |1,009 |1,078 |1,141 |1,188 |1,263 |1,276
I will write to the hon. Member with information for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89 in due course.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the trend in admissions for mental handicap hospitals and units in the last decade in the age groups for which statistics are kept.
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Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is shown in table 1 for the years 1976-86. The figures are for admissions not individuals ; an individual may be admitted more than once during the year. Table 2 expresses these admissions as rates per 100,000 population in each age band.
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Table 1 All admissions to mental handicap hospitals and units, by age, in England Age group |1976 |1977 |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 years old ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All ages |14,023 |14,936 |15,815 |16,665 |18,954 |21,974 |24,951 |31,106 |35,014 |37,800 |40,060 0-1 |83 |79 |108 |112 |99 |110 |163 |163 |143 |108 |216 2-4 |567 |557 |542 |577 |669 |716 |789 |827 |941 |1,159 |869 5-9 |2,312 |2,371 |2,582 |2,444 |2,547 |2,835 |3,077 |3,536 |3,491 |3,873 |3,998 10-14 |2,770 |2,949 |3,241 |3,495 |3,924 |4,512 |5,214 |6,115 |6,154 |5,921 |5,568 15-19 |2,407 |2,806 |3,006 |3,352 |3,945 |4,549 |5,379 |7,029 |8,154 |8,584 |8,751 20-24 |1,612 |1,743 |1,892 |2,176 |2,594 |3,104 |3,643 |4,753 |5,728 |6,663 |7,613 25-34 |1,982 |2,091 |2,021 |2,188 |2,567 |3,170 |3,332 |4,434 |5,572 |6,385 |7,141 35-44 |927 |962 |955 |841 |1,083 |1,401 |1,561 |1,920 |2,449 |2,841 |3,354 45-54 |696 |683 |709 |684 |744 |823 |918 |1,262 |1,334 |1,166 |1,273 55-64 |454 |483 |438 |470 |480 |469 |547 |579 |679 |744 |793 65-74 |183 |179 |210 |189 |210 |221 |244 |340 |262 |241 |273 75 plus |30 |33 |111 |137 |92 |64 |84 |148 |107 |115 |211
Table 1 All admissions to mental handicap hospitals and units, by age, in England Age group |1976 |1977 |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 years old ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All ages |14,023 |14,936 |15,815 |16,665 |18,954 |21,974 |24,951 |31,106 |35,014 |37,800 |40,060 0-1 |83 |79 |108 |112 |99 |110 |163 |163 |143 |108 |216 2-4 |567 |557 |542 |577 |669 |716 |789 |827 |941 |1,159 |869 5-9 |2,312 |2,371 |2,582 |2,444 |2,547 |2,835 |3,077 |3,536 |3,491 |3,873 |3,998 10-14 |2,770 |2,949 |3,241 |3,495 |3,924 |4,512 |5,214 |6,115 |6,154 |5,921 |5,568 15-19 |2,407 |2,806 |3,006 |3,352 |3,945 |4,549 |5,379 |7,029 |8,154 |8,584 |8,751 20-24 |1,612 |1,743 |1,892 |2,176 |2,594 |3,104 |3,643 |4,753 |5,728 |6,663 |7,613 25-34 |1,982 |2,091 |2,021 |2,188 |2,567 |3,170 |3,332 |4,434 |5,572 |6,385 |7,141 35-44 |927 |962 |955 |841 |1,083 |1,401 |1,561 |1,920 |2,449 |2,841 |3,354 45-54 |696 |683 |709 |684 |744 |823 |918 |1,262 |1,334 |1,166 |1,273 55-64 |454 |483 |438 |470 |480 |469 |547 |579 |679 |744 |793 65-74 |183 |179 |210 |189 |210 |221 |244 |340 |262 |241 |273 75 plus |30 |33 |111 |137 |92 |64 |84 |148 |107 |115 |211
I will write to the hon. Member with information for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89 in due course.
Food Poisoning
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what reports of people suffering campylobacter enteritidis he has received this year, to date ; how many cases of people living in Bradford have been reported ; what advice he has issued to combat this disease ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what action he has taken and what advice he has issued to combat the spread of campylobacter enteritidis ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The PHLS communicable disease surveillance centre has received 26,607 reports of faecal isolates of campylobacter by laboratories in England and Wales in the first 39 weeks of this year. There have been 2,618 from the Yorkshire health region. The number from Bradford is not routinely abstracted from national surveillance data.
The advice that the Government have issued to contain the disease relates primarily to good kitchen hygiene and is contained in the publication "Food Safety : a Guide from Her Majesty's Government" copies of which are available in the Library. In May 1989 14 million copies of this food safety leaflet, jointly published by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, were distributed to the general public.
Income Generation Unit
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the income generation unit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The unit's role is to formulate national policy on income generation ; to provide a source of advice on this for health authorities and the private sector ; to assist health authorities to develop and implement projects, monitor their achievements, and disseminate information and good practice.
I am pleased to report that income generation activity raised £26.8 million for the NHS in 1989-90 and it is expected that £50 million will be raised in 1990-91. The initial top target of £75 million is therefore well in sight. These substantial sums of money are making a significant contribution to improving the care offered to patients by the NHS.
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Children (Employment)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to give preliminary approval to proposed byelaws, concerning the employment of children submitted to him by Bradford council on 25 October 1989 and the subject, to date, of seven further letters ; when he acknowledged receipt of the various documents ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Bradford council's draft amended byelaws have been considered by the Department ; and a response was sent to the local authority on 26 October. I regret the delay ; and will ensure that every effort is made to expedite approval of the byelaws.
The Gulf
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what quantitative provision is being made for casualties from a Gulf war.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 31 October at column 528. Should the need arise, NHS beds would be made available through restrictions on non-urgent admissions. No request for such action has yet been made by the Ministry of Defence.
Unruly Certificates
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish a table of all local authority social services departments showing the number of unruly certificates applied for in each department in 1989-90.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by date, and by location, the number of occasions in the past 10 years when public interest immunity certificates have been issued in the three counties of Yorkshire and Humberside concerning matters before coroners and other courts preventing members of the police forces and others within the remit of his Department from attending such courts, and to prevent such courts hearing details of operations, indicating which operations were involved and how many individuals were covered by such certificates.
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Mr. Waddington : I have been asked to reply.I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 17 October at column 820.
ENVIRONMENT
County Hall, London
Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will hold urgent discussions with the board of the London residuary body concerning the practical steps needed to retain county hall and its outbuildings in public ownership, following the collapse of the consortium offer in the recent tender application.
Mr. Key : No. The future of county hall is a matter for the London residuary body whose responsibility it remains to dispose of the property in the interests of London charge payers.
Planning Permission
Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to include in any future changes to planning legislation provisions governing the extension of planning permission applications to cover the demolition of existing dwelling units.
Mr. Atkins : I am considering the need for legislation in the light of the consultations which we undertook earlier this year.
Pollution Control
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list firms that have been (a) advised on pollution control and (b) prosecuted for discharging pollution into the River Rother by the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution or their predecessors since 1979.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Detailed information about advice given to firms on pollution control, and about prosecutions for water pollution offences, is not held centrally. For information on prosecutions for pollution of the River Rother brought by the former Yorkshire water authority, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 18 January 1990, at columns 360-62. I have asked the National Rivers Authority to write to the hon. Member about prosecutions it has brought since its formation.
Private Contractors
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what advice was sought by Warrington and Runcorn development corporation from its in-house solicitors concerning the redundancy of staff and their re-employment as private contractors ; and what advice was proffered ;
(2) what information he has on the reasons why Milton Keynes sought outside legal advice concerning the redundancy of staff and their re-employment as private contractors and the advice that was proffered.
Mr. Key : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Food Poisoning
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice has been issued to local authorities concerning campylobacter enteritis ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No specific advice has been issued to local authorities by my Department. The Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have issued jointly a food safety leaflet advising the public on how to avoid health risks posed by some types of bacteria including campylobacter enteritis. This leaflet was also made available to environmental health officers in local authorities.
Houses of Parliament
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total identified cost of maintaining the Houses of Parliament for the financial years 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Maintenance costs, including consultants' fees, were as follows :
|£'000
--------------------
1987-88 |5,283
1988-89 |6,316
1989-90 |6,897
Environment White Paper
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has been invited to contribute to the conference on the business implications of the environment White Paper and future environmental legislation, to be held on 19 November.
Mr. Trippier : I will be addressing the conference.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people in each district council area received disability relief on their rate bills in 1988-89 ; what was the average amount of relief per property in each district ; and what is his estimate of the number of households which are (a) now better off and (b) worse off under the poll tax.
Mr. Key : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list those local authorities that gave grants to regional theatres in 1986, 1987, 1989 and the first six months of 1990 ;
(2) if he has yet decided upon the criteria for capping poll tax levels, in 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish figures revising his analysis of the distributional impact of the community charge placed in the Library on 15 February 1990.
Mr. Key : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Waste Disposal
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are the implications of the introduction of local authority waste disposal company rules for existing contracts that local authorities may have previously entered into ;
(2) what time limits local authorities will be under to make a decision on the formation of a local authority waste disposal company ;
(3) if local authorities will in the future continue to be in a position to deal directly with private sector companies as an option to a local authority waste disposal company ;
(4) when his Department plans to publish local authority waste disposal company regulations.
Mr. Key : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Environmental Projects
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report those United Kingdom-based environmental projects in receipt of financial support from the European Community under Council regulation 2242/87, since 1987 ; and if he will make a statement on the future prospects of United Kingdom projects receiving support under this programme.
Mr. Trippier : I will write to the hon. Member.
EC Environment Council
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions have taken place in the European Environment Council on the proposed European Community directive for harmonising and rationalising reports on the implementation of certain directives relating to the environment--Com (90) 287 final--dated 26 July ; what consideration has been given to that directive by the European Parliament and the European Community economic and social committee ; and when he expects the Environment Council to take a decision on the Commission proposal.
Mr. Trippier : The proposal has not yet been discussed in the Environment Council. The European Parliament and the economic and social committee have not yet given their opinions on the proposed directive. It is for the EC presidency to decide when the proposal will be discussed at Environment Council.
Climate Change
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he plans to make to the second world climate change conference in Geneva at the beginning of November.
Mr. Trippier : I will write to the hon. Member.
European Environment
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom contribution to the Council of Europe conference on the European environment recently held in Vienna ; and what decisions arose from that conference.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Correspondence
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average time his Department takes in replying to an hon. Member's letter ; and what is (a) the shortest time and (b) the longest time it has taken to reply in full to an hon. Member's letter in the last Session of Parliament.
Mr. Chris Patten : I will write to the hon. Member.
Urban Development Corporations
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total cost of Government investment in each of the urban development corporations set up by the Government since 1981 ; (2) how many low-cost houses have been built by each of the urban development corporations since 1981 ;
(3) how many compulsory purchase orders have been enacted by each of the urban development corporations ;
(4) what is the total number of jobs created by the investment in each of the urban development corporations ;
(5) how much private investment has there been in each of the urban development corporations for each year since 1981.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I will write to the hon. Member.
Water Quality
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what reports he has received about the effects on the sea bed of licensed dumping of sewage sludge in the Bristol channel, in the area between south Wales, Lundy Island and Ilfracombe ;
(2) what reports he has received from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution about damage to the environment and the sea bed of the Bristol channel through the dumping of sewage sludge or the licensed input of effluent or other substances ;
(3) what are the tests carried out and with what frequency by the National Rivers Authority to check on beaches and adjacent waters for compliance with the European Community bathing waters directive and the award of blue flags ;
(4) if he will list the holders of current licences to discharge any effluent into the Bristol channel and give details of the effluents the licence covers.
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