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Saudi Arabia
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is making representations to the Saudi Arabian Government on their human rights record.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Saudi Government are well aware of the importance we attach to the observance of human rights standards.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Drainage Authorities
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those occasions in the past five years when he has used his powers under the Land Drainage Act 1976 or the Water Act 1989 to give directions to a regional or local flood defence committee of the National Rivers Authority, or their equivalent under previous legislation in cases where they are promoting a specific land drainage or flood defence scheme which does not accord with his priorities.
Mr. Curry : Powers to give such directions in relation to capital land drainage or flood defence schemes have only been available since the coming into force of the Water Act 1989. No direction could therefore be given under the Land Drainage Act 1976, and none has so far been given under the Water Act 1989.
Feedstuff Additives
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to restrict the use of canthaxanthin as an animal feedstuff additive ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I have accepted the expert advice of the Food Advisory Committee that the use of canthaxanthin as a feed additive should cease and I have asked the EC Commission to urgently review the data on the toxicity of canthaxanthin in order to achieve concerted EC action to prohibit its use in feed. The EC Commission has responded promptly by referring the matter to its expert scientific committee, the Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition. This committee is urgently considering data supplied by the United Kingdom.
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Grain
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the quantity and value of grain produced in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979 stating value in real and 1990 prices.
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Mr. Curry : The table shows information on the tonnage of cereals produced and the available information on its value. Following standard practice, valuations are only made of (net) off-farm sales and of changes in on-farm stocks ; cereals used directly on-farms are not valued. The valuations are at current prices (ie the prices pertaining in each year) and at 1985 prices.
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Production and Output of Cereals in the United Kingdom
Total (£ million)
Calendar year |Production |Output (=Sales) |Value of physical |at current prices |at 1985 prices
|('000 tonnes) |(£ million) |change in on-farm
|stocks (£ million)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |17,416 |1,184 |11 |1,195 |1,315
1980 |19,482 |1,462 |-3 |1,459 |1,546
1981 |19,621 |1,693 |-30 |1,663 |1,623
1982 |21,910 |2,062 |-29 |2,033 |1,859
1983 |21,307 |1,996 |85 |2,081 |1,759
1984 |26,602 |2,420 |84 |2,504 |2,421
1985 |22,466 |2,281 |-141 |2,140 |2,140
1986 |24,489 |2,174 |22 |2,196 |2,202
1987 |21,675 |2,043 |-35 |2,008 |2,025
1988 |21,028 |1,898 |-18 |1,880 |1,980
1989 |22,685 |1,926 |67 |1,993 |2,067
1990 |22,533 |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
n/a Not yet available.
Gramoxone
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the use of Gramoxone ; whether his Department is aware of any impact of this product on the population of the brown hare ; if he is conducting any relevant research ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The use of Gramoxone (active ingredient paraquat) is monitored regularly as part of the rolling survey of pesticide usage carried out by Agriculture Departments, the results of which are published. It has been alleged to cause mortality in brown hares but exhaustive tests carried out by MAFF scientists have failed to establish any link. Another possibility is a virus disease, similar to one found in rabbits, which has been detected in several European countries. To pinpoint the real cause farmers have been asked to report all suspicious deaths of brown hares. Their carcases will be checked for viral symptoms in addition to the normal tests for pesticides.
Market Support and Grant Schemes
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list (a) the market support schemes and (b) the grant schemes operated by his Ministry for which financial resources do not come from the European Community.
Mr. Gummer : Market support schemes and grant schemes are listed, together with their financial provision in the supply estimates. Figures for the previous 10 years are available in the publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1989" and in the annual review of agriculture White Papers. These publications are available in the Library of the House.
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Fishermen Research Centres
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of (a) scientists and (b) non-scientific staff employed at his fisheries research centres since 1980, including those expected to be employed in 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Gummer : The numbers of staff are broken down as follows :
|1980 |1990
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Scientific, professional and technical staff |256 |251"
Marine staff |88 |51
Others (including e.g. administrative and
support staff) |134" |101"
|-------|-------
Totals (excluding casuals) |478" |404
The manpower numbers at the Directorate of Fisheries Research in 1991-92 will depend upon the estimates for my Department's 1991-92 running costs which are still being finalised.
Suckler Cow Premium
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to make the recently announced payments of the suckler cow premium.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given on 26 November at column 324 to my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill).
Chief Veterinary Officer's Report
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to publish the report of his chief veterinary officer on animal health for 1990.
Mr. Gummer : My Department is intending to publish the report of the Chief Veterinary Officer--"Animal Health 1990"--on 3 July 1991.
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Agricultural and Food Research Council
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the loss of 380 jobs at the Agricultural and Food Research Council.
Mr. Alan Howarth : I have been asked to reply.
The AFRC has announced that an estimated 380 posts will be lost in 1990-91 as a result of a combination of factors, including reductions in commissioned work as a consequence of the Government's "near-market" policy, an anticipated reduction in contracts work from the private sector, and the restructuring of AFRC institutes. I am confident that the AFRC, which is an independent, chartered body, will continue to make every effort to hold redundancies to a minimum by deploying staff threatened with redundancy to other posts, with retraining as required.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to ensure that slaughterhouses in Northern Ireland meet European Community export standards.
Mr. Brooke : Of the 33 slaughterhouses in Northern Ireland, 27 are already approved for intra-Community trade. Required European Community standards are enforced by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland.
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Grammar Schools (Intake)
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision he has made in respect of the intake allowed into grammar schools in Northern Ireland where there is a number of children of Regular Army personnel in the intake and where the number of children in a yearly cohort is affected by the transfer of such children to those schools from elsewhere when their parents are transferred to Northern Ireland.
Dr. Mawhinney : Admissions are a matter for individual school boards of governors, and the children of regular Army personnel resident in Northern Ireland are catered for within the normal arrangements. Schools are required to admit pupils up to their approved admissions number and to apply admissions criteria if they are over-subscribed. The admission of children from schools outside Northern Ireland is also a matter for individual schools, but the Department of Education is prepared to consider applications for an increase in school admissions numbers in cases where there are extenuating circumstances.
Nursery Education
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many places in nursery education are available in (a) Belfast city and (b) each education and library board area in Northern Ireland ; and in each case how many are (i) in the integrated school system, (ii) in controlled schools, (iii) in maintained schools and (iv) in other schools, respectively.
Dr. Mawhinney : Details of full-time equivalent nursery pupil places for each education and library board are as follows :
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Controlled Maintained
Board area |Nursery |Nursery |Total |Nursery |Nursery |Total |Total
|school |classes in |places |school |classes in |places |places
|places |primary |places |primary |nursery
|schools- |schools- |schools and
|places |places |places
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast<1> |700 |775 |1,475 |550 |50 |600 |2,075
Western |500 |150 |650 |- |75 |75 |725
North-Eastern |725 |200 |925 |100 |100 |200 |1,125
South-Eastern |475 |150 |625 |250 |- |250 |875
Southern |525 |425 |950 |100 |300 |400 |1,350
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,925 |1,700 |4,625 |1,000 |525 |1,525 |6,150
<1> Coterminous with the Belfast city council area.
There is no grant-aided nursery provision in integrated schools or in other schools.
Government of Northern Ireland
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his reply of 28 November 1990, Official Report, column 399, what is meant by the term "Government of Northern Ireland" in note (5) to the table ; and to whom in Northern Ireland the present Government are answerable.
Mr. Brooke : The reference in note (5) to the table in my reply of 28 November, is to Northern Ireland Departments which, under the Northern Ireland Act 1974, are subject to
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my direction and control. The VAT Act 1983 Section (49) provides for refunds to "the Government of Northern Ireland".WALES
National Library and National Museum
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many visits he has made to (a) the national library of Wales and (b) the national museum of Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend visited the national museum in September and plans to take up the invitation of the president to visit the national library of Wales at an early opportunity.
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National Library
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to visit the national library of Wales to meet staff members to discuss the future of the library.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy) on 31 October which explained the procedures for dealing with staff inspection reports.
Training
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he proposes to enhance training in rural Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The new training and enterprise councils are locally based and run by local employers in partnership with the local community ; this will ensure that the needs of a rural economy are catered for effectively. A new all-Wales Agricultural Training Board has been established, with a headquarters at Builth Wells, to meet the training needs of the industry. It will work closely with the TECs and in due course, after the necessary primary legislation, it will be able to extend its remit beyond the strict confines of the agricultural industry.
Mentally Handicapped People
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of day centre and day hospital places for mentally handicapped people in Wales currently ; and what was the comparable figure in 1979.
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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : There were 3,499 places in local authority day care, training and employment facilities for mentally handicapped people on 31 March 1990. At 31 March 1979, there were 2,540 places in local authority adult training centres for mentally handicapped people. The increase between 1979 and 1990 is nearly 38 per cent. There were 22,484 place-days--that is, the number of places times the number of days the place was available--in NHS day care facilities for mentally handicapped people in the year from 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990. This is equivalent to an average of 62 continuously available places over the year. Comparable information for 1979 is not available.
Planning Appeals
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many planning appeals were brought in each of the years 1986 to 1989 in relation to each local planning authority in Wales ; how many were allowed ; and what was the overall cost to his Department of the planning appeal system in each of those years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The numbers of planning appeals brought and allowed are given in the table.
For the financial year 1989-90 the cost of the appeal system was £1,006,200. I regret that figures for earlier years are not available.
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District 1986 1987 1988 1989
|A |B |A |B |A |B |A |B
----------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd
Alyn and Deeside |16 |8 |37 |9 |24 |7 |30 |5
Colwyn |28 |9 |28 |6 |25 |5 |32 |10
Delyn |24 |2 |24 |5 |25 |10 |42 |12
Glyndwr |19 |5 |21 |5 |27 |6 |36 |4
Rhuddlan |22 |12 |23 |9 |22 |10 |32 |11
Wrexham Maelor |30 |10 |31 |10 |47 |14 |37 |8
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |139|46 |164|44 |170|52 |109|50
Dyfed
Carmarthen |22 |5 |16 |4 |28 |9 |56 |7
Ceredigion |36 |8 |31 |7 |57 |8 |81 |11
Dinefwr |16 |6 |15 |2 |16 |3 |42 |5
Llanelli |16 |3 |30 |9 |22 |9 |33 |9
Preseli |10 |2 |19 |2 |15 |5 |36 |3
South Pembrokeshire |22 |5 |14 |3 |21 |2 |63 |11
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |122|29 |125|27 |159|36 |311|46
Gwent
Blaenau Gwent |10 |2 |14 |1 |7 |3 |15 |6
Islwyn |19 |6 |19 |6 |13 |5 |29 |6
Monmouth |59 |12 |76 |12 |70 |12 |105|18
Newport |48 |12 |37 |8 |49 |6 |73 |10
Torfaen |36 |11 |19 |6 |26 |7 |33 |6
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |172|43 |165|33 |165|33 |255|46
Gwynedd
Aberconwy |30 |15 |51 |6 |51 |14 |69 |16
Arfon |26 |8 |34 |7 |29 |3 |39 |4
Dwyfor |20 |3 |48 |9 |41 |9 |59 |16
Meirionnydd |22 |9 |13 |1 |25 |4 |20 |0
Ynys Mon |55 |17 |59 |23 |56 |17 |71 |18
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |153|52 |205|46 |202|47 |258|54
Mid Glamorgan
Cynon Valley |17 |3 |14 |3 |18 |3 |27 |7
Merthyr Tydfil |15 |5 |12 |4 |19 |4 |9 |4
Ogwr |46 |5 |41 |6 |62 |8 |58 |14
Rhondda |19 |7 |10 |0 |14 |5 |29 |7
Rhymney Valley |15 |1 |16 |4 |16 |7 |24 |5
Taff Ely |43 |13 |38 |6 |38 |10 |56 |10
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |155|34 |131|23 |167|37 |203|47
Powys
Brecknock |33 |9 |26 |6 |28 |6 |44 |7
Montgomery |5 |3 |7 |2 |22 |5 |30 |5
Radnor |11 |4 |5 |1 |13 |4 |12 |0
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |49 |16 |38 |9 |63 |15 |86 |12
South Glamorgan
Cardiff |54 |20 |67 |21 |73 |21 |103|36
Vale of Glamorgan |73 |22 |74 |21 |55 |21 |101|32
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |127|42 |141|42 |128|42 |204|68
West Glamorgan
Port Talbot (formerly Afan) |4 |1 |9 |1 |4 |1 |4 |1
Lliw Valley |20 |10 |32 |6 |26 |5 |31 |4
Neath |10 |2 |11 |5 |10 |3 |22 |5
Swansea |70 |23 |58 |10 |69 |22 |78 |30
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Total |104|36 |110|22 |109|31 |135|40
Columns headed A' relate to appeals made.
Columns headed B' relate to appeals allowed.
Marina, Aberystwyth
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to build a marina in Aberystwyth during the next five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Ceredigion district council submitted a scheme for the development of a marina at Aberystwyth harbour as a project of regional or national importance. An announcement on this and other applications will be made in the House shortly.
Textile and Knitwear Industry
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the future of the textile and knitwear industry in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : Several. I am aware that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who has policy responsibility for the textile and knitwear industry, has also received representations. I will ensure that he is aware of any views expressed by the industry in Wales.
Flood Damage
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what sums from public funds were paid to (a) local authorities, (b) private firms and (c) private individuals to repair damage caused by floods in Wales in February ; for what purposes such sums were paid ; how much of these sums were paid by central Government and for what purposes they were used ; and what sums were paid by councils and for what purposes they were used.
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Mr. David Hunt : I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Pembrokeshire Health Authority
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the formal expression of interest by Pembrokeshire health authority in becoming an all-authority national health service trust.
Mr. David Hunt : No, but if a formal application is submitted, a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.
Family Practitioner Committees
Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the total budget of family practitioner committees for the years 1988-89, 1989-90 and the predicted forecast for the year 1990-91 ; and if he will itemise the family practitioner committee budget breakdown for each health authority for each of the years identified above.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The financial allocations made to family practitioner committees in Wales--re-titled family health services authorities from 17 September 1990) for their administration revenue expenditure are shown in table 1.
Apart from identifying separately the amounts built in for certain fixed costs, over which an FHSA has no discretion, these cash-limited budgets are not disaggre-gated into discrete items when they are allocated. It is for each FHSA to decide how its administration revenue budget is best used in accordance with statutory requirements and such directions and guidance as might be given to them.
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In addition to their administration revenue budgets, FHSAs are responsible with effect from the present financial year, for delegated, cash-limited, budgets covering expenditure on a proportion of general medical practitioners' practice staff and premises costs. These are shown for each FHSA in Wales at table 2.Table 1 Administration revenue net allocation<1> FPC/FHSA |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91<2> ------------------------------------------------------------ Clwyd |429 |513 |800 Dyfed |387 |488 |745 Gwent |500 |622 |920 Gwynedd |312 |404 |620 Mid Glamorgan |600 |710 |1,045 Powys |200 |287 |435 South Glamorgan |615 |763 |1,040 West Glamorgan |378 |462 |720 <1> All figures in £'000s. <2> Latest approximate position; figures continue to be adjusted within year.
Table 2 Delegated budgets for general practitioners staff and premises partial reimbursement<1> FPC/FHSA |1990-91 ---------------------------------- Clwyd |3,320 Dyfed |3,779 Gwent |4,261 Gwynedd |2,749 Mid Glamorgan |4,610 Powys |1,538 South Glamorgan |3,872 West Glamorgan |2,907 <1> All figures £'000s.
Housing
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest figure for the number of private sector starts in the housing market in Wales ; and what has been the increase since 1979.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Ten thousand and ninety five private sector starts were recorded during 1989--2,509 or 24.9 per cent. more than the 7,586 started in 1979.
Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each county in Wales his estimate available of the number of people in that county with problems of alcohol misuse.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The only available data are provided in the Welsh heart health survey of 1985, which recorded people drinking in excess of "safe limits" defined by the Health Promotion Authority for Wales. These are 20-plus units per week for men and 15-plus units for women. The figures are as follows :
Health authority |Proportion of popu- |Estimated number of
district |lation aged 18-64 |people aged 18-64
|drinking in excess of|drinking in excess of
|the safe limits |the safe limits
|percentage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd
Male |37 |29,000
Female |12 |5,600
East Dyfed
Male |36 |14,600
Female |15 |3,300
Gwent
Male |43 |39,700
Female |10 |5,600
Gwynedd
Male |34 |14,900
Female |10 |2,700
Mid Glamorgan
Male |46 |53,800
Female |13 |8,600
Pembrokeshire
Male |38 |7,700
Female |10 |1,200
Powys
Male |38 |8,500
Female |13 |1,600
South Glamorgan
Male |41 |35,800
Female |11 |6,000
West Glamorgan
Male |43 |33,500
Female |11 |5,300
1990 data will become available next year.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the finances available to his Department and allocated by his Department to combat alcohol misuse in each of the financial years 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90 ; if he will indicate the amounts initially available in 1990-91, and any additional sums made available by his Department for this purpose since the start of the financial year.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Responsibility for tackling alcohol misuse rests primarily with health and local authorities. The Health Promotion Authority for Wales has a role in primary prevention and many voluntary organisations participate as part of their overall activity. Finances to these organisations are unhypothecated and it is not possible separately to identify that element earmarked for combating alcohol misuse.
Specific funds are made available to Alcohol Concern Wales and these are as follows :
|£
----------------------
1987-88 |38,187
1988-89 |42,000
1989-90 |49,546
1990-91 |68,079
It was announced in June of this year that an additional £150,000 was available for organisations concerned with combating alcohol misuse.
Teachers
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many resignations there have been from the teaching profession in each year between 1985 and 1989, inclusive, in each local education authority area ; and if he will publish figures for (a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary school sector.
Sir Wyn Roberts [holding answer 28 November 1990] : The number of teachers who have moved out of teaching
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posts in the maintained education sector is given as follows for the years ending 31 March 1986 to 31 March 1988. Information for 1989 is not yet available, and information prior to 1986 is not readily available.
Year ending |Primary |Secondary
31 March
----------------------------------------------------
1986
Clwyd |29 |60
Dyfed |52 |68
Gwent |53 |81
Gwynedd |29 |36
Mid Glamorgan |56 |83
Powys |14 |20
South Glamorgan |40 |75
West Glamorgan |38 |56
|------- |-------
Wales |311 |479
1987
Clwyd |21 |67
Dyfed |26 |54
Gwent |48 |76
Gwynedd |23 |38
Mid Glamorgan |57 |102
Powys |23 |17
South Glamorgan |51 |68
West Glamorgan |47 |58
|------- |-------
Wales |296 |480
1988
Clwyd |22 |51
Dyfed |50 |62
Gwent |58 |87
Gwynedd |20 |37
Mid Glamorgan |41 |91
Powys |17 |29
South Glamorgan |45 |63
West Glamorgan |61 |61
|------- |-------
Wales |314 |481
Note: Figures exclude those teachers who moved out
of posts for the following reasons: death,
disbarment, retirement, movement within the
maintained education sector in England or Wales, or
became part-time. Also, those teachers who entered
and left a post within the year March 31 to March
31 are not included.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the names of members nominated by his Department to represent ethnic minority communities to serve on bodies in Wales during the past three years.
Mr. David Hunt (holding answer 27 November) : Members are appointed on the basis of their personal qualities and relevant experience and not as representatives of any particular ethnic group. Candidates are not required to state their ethnic origin ; consequently, such information is not recorded.
HEALTH
Benzodiazepines
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what alternatives to benzodiazepine sleeping pills are currently being provided in national health service hospitals.
Mr. Dorrell : The current British national formulary lists seven drugs or chemical groups which are available as alternatives to benzodiazepine hypnotics.
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Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has that pharmaceutical companies are providing incentives to national health service doctors to continue supplying benzodiazepines to patients.
Mr. Dorrell : We have no such evidence.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department is currently doing to ensure that no new patient becomes addicted to benzodiazepines.
Mr. Dorrell : Doctors already have advice about the use of these drugs and are aware of the need to prescribe them carefully. The number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines dispensed by community pharmacists in Great Britain in 1989 was approximately 9 per cent. smaller than in 1988.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for each individual benzodiazepine were issued by community pharmacists during 1989.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is as follows :
Benzodiazepines
Great Britain: 1989
Drug group
--------------------------------------------------
Temazepam
Nitrazepam
Diazepam
Triazolam
Lorazepam
Chlordiazepoxide
Oxazepam
Lormetazepam
Loprazolam
Clonazepam
Clobazam
Totals
These estimates are based on a sample of prescriptions of approximately 1 in 200 in England and Wales and 1 in 100 in Scotland which were dispensed by community pharmacists.
Residential and Nursing Homes (Touting)
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on touting for business on health authority property by agents for residential and nursing homes.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the replies my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales gave him on 22 November at column 193 and 30 November at column 517 . I am not aware of any such problems elsewhere.
Pollen
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's review of the possible impact of vehicle gases on the potency of pollen grains.
Mr. Dorrell : I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 17 July at column 514 .
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Agency Staff
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the percentage of agency nurses employed by the national health service at the present time.
Mr. Dorrell : The latest available information relates to 30 September 1989 and shows that agency nursing and midwifery staff accounted for less than 2 per cent. of the total wholetime equivalent nursing and midwifery staff employed in the national health service in England.
NHS Trusts
Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which national health service trusts he intends to establish ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : National health service trusts are a central element in our plans for reforming the NHS and improving the services which it provides to patients. While remaining firmly a part of the NHS, trusts will have wide ranging and significant powers of self-determination which will enable them to deliver high quality patient care and to provide greater job satisfaction to their employees.
The trust initiative has already attracted considerable interest from those working within the NHS. Last year some 86 hospitals and other units indicated that they were considering applying to become operational on 1 April 1991. Staff from the management executive worked closely with these units while they were deciding whether to apply for trust status and during the preparation of their applications. During this period a number of units decided not to go ahead with a formal application for trust status on this occasion. Sixty-six hospitals and other units formally applied for trust status, and regional health authorities have consulted widely on these applications. I have now considered these applications and the comments made on them during the consultation period by those consulted and others. In doing so, I applied four key criteria : that the establishment of a Trust will give clear benefits and improved quality of service to patients ; that management has the skills and capacity--including strong, effective leadership, sufficient financial and personnel management expertise and adequate information systems--to run the unit effectively ; that senior professional staff, especially consultants, are involved in the management of the unit ; that the trust will be financially viable. As a result, I have decided to establish the following 56 trusts, to become operational on 1 April 1991.
Northern RHA
Northumbria Ambulance NHS Trust
Newcastle Mental Health NHS Trust
The Freeman Group of Hospitals NHS Trust
Yorkshire RHA
Leeds General Infirmary and Associated Hospitals NHS Trust St. James's University Hospital NHS Trust
Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust
Trent RHA
Northern General Hospital NHS Trust
Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport Service NHS
Trust
Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Montagu Hospital NHS
Trust
East Anglian RHA
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