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Mr. Alan Howarth [holding reply 11 December 1990] : It is for university managements to determine the distribution of staff responsibilities within each institution.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Vietnam
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what development aid is being provided to Vietnam ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 13 December at column 476.
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Cambodia
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts he has made to ascertain the type and amount of aid needed in Cambodia for reconstruction and development ; and when such aid will be forthcoming.
Mrs. Chalker : At their meeting in Paris from 23 to 26 November the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the co-chairman of the Paris conference on Cambodia and the UN Secretary General's representative agreed a draft settlement document, which, inter alia, contains a declaration on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia. This sets out how Cambodian reconstruction and development needs will be addressed in the context of a comprehensive political settlement. Britain played its full part in preparing the document and is ready to join other donors to consider Cambodia's aid priorities, initially at a reconvened Paris conference. In the meantime we are supporting the work of non-governmental organisations and UN agencies in Cambodia.
Poland
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of her Majesty's Government towards assisting the economy of Poland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government fully support the Polish Government in their efforts to stabilise the economy and introduce a free market system. Our policy is to provide technical assistance, help improve trade and other links with the EC, and to contribute to multilateral financial support, whilst seeking to avoid adding to Poland's debt burden.
Bilateral technical assistance is given through the know-how fund for eastern Europe, in which £50 million is pledged to Poland ; this gives priority to encouraging and assisting measures which will help introduce quickly a free market system. We have also provided bilaterally a $100 million grant to the international stabilisation fund which is funded by a group of Western donors to help underpin the value of the zloty while the economy is liberalised.
We play a leading role in the EC's programme of project assistance for Poland. We have promoted the improved trade access Poland has gained from the EC and the strengthening of other Community links. We look forward to the start of negotiations for an EC-Poland association agreement to expand upon the current trade and co-operation agreement.
We also contribute through international financial institutions to multilateral financial support for the countries programme. We have participated in the Paris club rescheduling of Poland's official debt and are taking part in a special Paris club working group on the long-term problem of Poland's debt.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of spending to date of know- how funding for Poland and make a statement on the future of the know-how fund.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) on 10 December at column 281 .
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Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union are currently eligible for assistance from the fund. Further countries may be included as and when they demonstrate satisfactory progress towards encouraging market-driven democracies.Bangladesh
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will undertake an urgent review, jointly with the other major aid donors to Bangladesh, to consider what additional aid could be offered to Bangladesh, especially linked to health, education, housing and development of infrastructure ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We have regular discussions with the Government of Bangladesh and with other major aid donors. Bangladesh's aid requirements are considered at annual meetings of the aid group led by the World Bank. At the last such meeting in April 1990 an action plan for policy reform was adopted.
Last month we participated in a mid-term review of progress in implementing this plan, when it was agreed that the Government of Bangladesh would invite donors for further discussions on its investment priorities and on means of ensuring more effective use of aid, prior to the next aid group meeting in April 1991.
Our bilateral aid programme to Bangladesh is substantial, at over £50 million a year, and includes assistance for health, education and infrastructure. We recently participated in a multi-donor mission to appraise a further major programme of assistance for population and family health. We currently await information on the interim Government's intention in these, and other areas of development and look forward to continued dialogue.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that continued aid to Bangladesh will rest entirely on progress made towards the genuine restoration of representative democracy and observance of basic human rights in Bangladesh ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We have welcomed the appointment of Mr. Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed as acting President and the announcement that free and fair elections will be held within 90 days. We hope everyone will heed the call for peace by leaders of all the main political parties so that normal life can be resumed as soon as possible.
The observance of human rights and good government are among the factors we take into account in allocating aid to developing countries. These considerations apply to Bangladesh as much as to any other developing country receiving British aid.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement about the Government's financial assistance to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to facilitate its location in London.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government will contribute up to £40 million for the first three years rent and refurbishment costs of the bank's chosen headquarters. The Government propose to execute a lease on a temporary headquarters
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building for the bank and to contribute rent for an agreed period, and refurbishment of the building, from within the £40 million available. I have today laid before the House a minute informing the House of the details. Copies of the minute have been placed in the Library of the House.TRANSPORT
Bicycle Bans
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy in respect of bicycle bans in city centres ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Decisions on whether to prohibit bicycles or any other class of vehicle from town centres or other roads are for individual local authorities. The Department has issued advice in our local transport note publication LTN 1/87 on pedestrian zones, "Getting the Right Balance". This refers to the need to consider exempting cycles from vehicular prohibitions in pedestrianisation schemes, if satisfactory alternative routes do not exist or cannot be created. We have further advised, in local transport note 1/89 "Making Way for Cyclists", that when a right of way for vehicles is removed from a road, a continuing right of way for cyclists should be provided unless there are overriding reasons not to do so.
Transport Supplementary Grant
Sir John Hunt : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much local highway authority expenditure he intends to accept for transport supplementary grant in 1991-92.
Mr. Rifkind : I have decided to accept a net local highway expenditure of £636 million for transport supplementary grant--TSG-- in 1991-92. A total of £318 million grant is to be paid in support of capital expenditure on local authority road schemes, and bridge assessment and strengthening. This is an increase of 17 per cent. on last year's grant for road schemes. Structural maintenance work on bridges eligible for grant for the first time has been allocated £45 million. Grant is paid at a flat rate of 50 per cent. on schemes and works accepted from the bids made by the 108 local highway authorities in England.
I have also decided to issue supplementary credit approvals of £90 million and total annual capital
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guidelines of £362 million, bringing allocation for local roads, parking and bridge maintenance for 1991-92 to £771 million. The figure for local roads and parking for 1990-91 is £635 million. In deciding the distribution of transport supplementary grant for 1991-92, I have considered carefully the transport policies and programme documents submitted by each local highway authority, and have looked at the extent to which authorities' programmes relate to roads of more than local importance.Accepted expenditure for minor works has almost doubled, rising from £38 million for 1990-91 to £75 million for 1991-92. The new figure includes £31 million given for local safety schemes, which for the first time in 1991-92 are eligible for grant on all roads and not only on roads of more than local importance. This is in line with the suggestions of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety. It is up to local authorities to decide which schemes to carry out ; this level of finance could however support around 3,500 new local safety schemes which in only 12 months could save 80 lives, 1,000 serious injuries, and in all prevent 5,000 casualties. The grant will also provide £262 million in 1991-92 for continued support of 271 major local authority road schemes which are under construction or about to start ; 35 new major schemes--over £1 million--have been accepted into the programme. The total cost of these new schemes is £166 million and the expenditure on them in 1991-92 is £42 million.
Among these new schemes are major improvements on the A13 in Essex serving east London and docklands, phase 2 of the Reading relief road, and the support of a major bypass of the A34 in Cheshire and Stockport. Fifteen of these schemes are bypasses to town centres and urban areas, which will greatly enhance the quality of life and improve the local environment in some of our historic towns. The remaining schemes are for upgrading existing roads and for improving access to urban and inner city areas.
The amount of expenditure accepted for TSG, the amount of grant, the accepted expenditure for bridge maintenance and, the total of annual capital guidelines and special credit approvals for each local highway authority are set out in the tables. Councils are being informed individually today of their own figures.
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Local authority capital expenditure on roads 1991-92
Authority |Accepted expen- |Net total expen- |Transport |Total credit<2>
|diture for bridge|diture accepted |supplementary
|strengthening |for transport |grant
|and assessment<1>|supplementary
|grant
|£ million |£ million |£ million |£ million
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London boroughs
City of London |0.199 |0.618 |0.309 |0.455
Barking and Dagenham |0.197 |3.670 |1.835 |2.255
Barnet |0.528 |1.030 |0.515 |0.803
Bexley |0.300 |2.500 |1.250 |1.858
Brent |1.167 |1.386 |0.693 |2.557
Bromley |0.135 |6.110 |3.055 |4.404
Camden |0.547 |1.288 |0.644 |1.220
Croydon |0.012 |1.538 |0.769 |1.452
Ealing |0.190 |3.172 |1.586 |2.690
Enfield |0.990 |9.000 |4.500 |4.666
Greenwich |0.148 |0.000 |0.000 |0.521
Hackney |0.420 |1.048 |0.524 |1.143
Hammersmith and Fulham |0.370 |0.858 |0.429 |0.859
Haringey |0.227 |2.132 |1.066 |1.577
Harrow |0.560 |6.566 |3.283 |6.651
Havering |0.518 |1.278 |0.639 |0.903
Hillingdon |1.120 |12.704 |6.352 |9.537
Hounslow |0.145 |0.944 |0.472 |0.926
Islington |0.080 |0.724 |0.362 |0.953
Kensington and Chelsea |0.290 |0.460 |0.230 |0.890
Kingston upon Thames |0.255 |1.226 |0.613 |1.184
Lambeth |0.100 |0.596 |0.298 |0.421
Lewisham |0.431 |8.540 |4.270 |8.371
Merton |0.078 |0.018 |0.009 |1.651
Newham |0.886 |1.630 |0.815 |2.948
Redbridge |0.253 |0.832 |0.416 |0.727
Richmond upon Thames |0.315 |0.816 |0.408 |0.620
Southwark |0.118 |0.898 |0.449 |2.530
Sutton |1.338 |1.982 |0.991 |2.330
Tower Hamlets |0.691 |0.990 |0.495 |1.277
Waltham Forest |0.110 |0.778 |0.389 |0.687
Wandsworth |1.169 |4.348 |2.174 |2.963
Westminster |1.100 |1.692 |0.846 |4.384
Metropolitan districts
Bolton |0.565 |2.528 |1.264 |1.468
Bury |0.370 |0.866 |0.433 |0.578
Manchester |0.515 |18.790 |9.395 |10.074
Oldham |1.735 |3.896 |1.948 |2.864
Rochdale |0.376 |0.928 |0.464 |0.605
Salford |0.650 |3.138 |1.569 |3.064
Stockport |1.013 |3.480 |1.740 |1.844
Tameside |1.112 |1.380 |0.690 |1.309
Trafford |0.250 |0.276 |0.138 |1.531
Wigan |0.350 |3.692 |1.846 |2.800
Knowsley |0.401 |3.340 |1.670 |1.806
Liverpool |0.360 |0.000 |0.000 |0.611
St. Helens |0.353 |15.562 |7.781 |8.740
Sefton |0.888 |1.238 |0.619 |0.823
Wirral |0.475 |0.000 |0.000 |0.848
Barnsley |0.527 |5.342 |2.671 |3.236
Doncaster |2.854 |4.584 |2.292 |4.474
Rotherham |0.215 |1.324 |0.662 |0.908
Sheffield |1.000 |10.024 |5.012 |8.680
Gateshead |0.175 |1.512 |0.756 |1.042
Newcastle upon Tyne |0.480 |1.978 |0.989 |2.829
North Tyneside |0.020 |0.630 |0.315 |0.409
South Tyneside |0.236 |1.922 |0.961 |1.097
Sunderland |0.474 |3.826 |1.913 |2.542
Birmingham |2.500 |20.512 |10.256 |15.524
Coventry |0.258 |5.586 |2.793 |3.301
Dudley |0.189 |2.888 |1.444 |2.522
Sandwell |1.781 |2.360 |1.180 |1.557
Solihull |0.850 |0.884 |0.442 |1.752
Walsall |1.802 |0.880 |0.440 |2.120
Wolverhampton |1.095 |12.320 |6.160 |7.486
Bradford |0.154 |4.560 |2.280 |3.442
Calderdale |0.411 |0.734 |0.367 |0.491
Kirklees |1.032 |1.898 |0.949 |1.605
Leeds |0.827 |3.974 |1.987 |3.260
Wakefield |1.802 |2.426 |1.213 |2.745
Shire counties
Avon |1.174 |17.710 |8.855 |10.568
Bedfordshire |1.846 |6.456 |3.228 |3.481
Berkshire |0.455 |5.414 |2.707 |4.779
Buckinghamshire |0.970 |3.698 |1.849 |2.385
Cambridgeshire |1.956 |3.740 |1.870 |2.606
Cheshire |1.390 |11.002 |5.501 |6.797
Cleveland |0.412 |7.378 |3.689 |4.804
Cornwall |0.750 |7.916 |3.958 |5.512
Cumbria |2.035 |6.624 |3.312 |3.634
Derbyshire |1.138 |2.316 |1.158 |6.332
Devon |2.153 |10.124 |5.062 |6.838
Dorset |1.090 |5.540 |2.770 |3.687
Durham |0.850 |7.318 |3.659 |4.060
East Sussex |0.524 |10.462 |5.231 |6.963
Essex |0.475 |12.896 |6.448 |8.569
Gloucestershire |0.348 |4.182 |2.091 |2.840
Hampshire |1.115 |24.358 |12.179 |13.099
Hereford and Worcester |0.827 |6.454 |3.227 |3.981
Hertfordshire |0.760 |6.506 |3.253 |5.655
Humberside |2.000 |11.178 |5.589 |8.307
Isle of Wight |0.135 |1.942 |0.971 |1.282
Kent |1.450 |74.458 |37.229 |39.538
Lancashire |4.250 |22.464 |11.232 |13.594
Leicestershire |0.770 |11.286 |5.643 |6.532
Lincolnshire |2.010 |3.680 |1.840 |3.530
Norfolk |1.830 |9.464 |4.732 |6.326
Northamptonshire |0.660 |7.728 |3.864 |5.098
Northumberland |1.460 |6.286 |3.143 |3.993
North Yorkshire |2.160 |12.314 |6.157 |9.321
Nottinghamshire |1.335 |11.110 |5.555 |7.267
Oxfordshire |0.378 |5.968 |2.984 |3.998
Shropshire |0.739 |8.710 |4.355 |5.621
Somerset |0.480 |6.026 |3.013 |4.166
Staffordshire |0.751 |7.854 |3.927 |6.182
Suffolk |1.980 |18.596 |9.298 |11.715
Surrey |3.971 |10.242 |5.121 |8.947
Warwickshire |1.670 |1.902 |0.951 |2.765
West Sussex |0.286 |8.252 |4.126 |4.882
Wiltshire |0.029 |5.376 |2.688 |4.429
<1> Included in (2).
<2> Annual capital guidelines plus supplementary credit approvals.
MV Derbyshire
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the International Maritime Organisation about the fate of the MV Derbyshire and her sister ships.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department has had no discussions with the International Maritime Organisation about the fate of the Derbyshire and her sister ships. A copy of the report of formal investigation into the loss of the Derbyshire was, however, sent to the IMO for information.
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date his Department received a copy of the research paper by Professor Bishop on the sinking of the MV Derbyshire ; on what date it was referred to the marine accident investigation branch of his Department ; what consultations he is having on the basis of it ; when he expects to receive a report ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The marine accident investigation
branch--MAIB--requested a copy of the paper from the Royal Institution of Naval Architects : this was received in early August. Copies of the paper were received in the Department's marine directorate in September. The MAIB is still examining the paper, along with the Tyne Tees television underwater film of the Kowloon Bridge. A report on the conclusions reached will be submitted to the Secretary of State shortly who will then decide whether or not to reopen the formal investigation which took place between October 1987 and March 1988.
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Ships' Plans
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirement there is to ensure that copies of as-built plans of vessels constructed in the United Kingdom are kept during the working life of the vessels.
Mr. McLoughlin : There is no statutory requirement for the retention of "as built" plans of vessels constructed in the United Kingdom. The provision of such plans is usually a matter of contract between the builder and the purchaser.
Networker Trains
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current state of discussions between his Department and British Rail over the introduction of Networker multiple-unit electric trains for the longer- distance journey to Sussex and Kent.
Mr. McLoughlin : British Rail is considering, in the light of its other financial and investment priorities, how soon this project can start.
Roads, Kent
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether all the road improvements in Kent authorised by his Department in connection with improved access to the channel tunnel will be completed by the time the tunnel is open in the summer of 1993.
Mr. Chope : The "missing link" in the M20 between Maidstone and Ashford is under construction. Statutory orders have been made authorising the widening of the
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section of M20 between junctions 5 and 8 and the provision of a new A20 route between Dover and Folkestone. We are on target to have all these improvements in place by the time the channel tunnel is due to open in summer 1993.London Regional Transport
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide a detailed breakdown of how the extra £3 billion available for investment to London Regional Transport is to be allocated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Government grant to London Transport will be nearly £2.5 billion over the next three years. This should allow LT to invest approaching £3 billion over the same period. Of the grant, £748 million is allocated to the Jubilee line extension and £164 million to the east-west crossrail. LT has yet to decide how it wishes to allocate the remainder.
British Rail (Trespass)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many actions for trespass have been initiated by British Rail in (a) 1989 and (b) 1990 ; and how many cases have been successful.
Mr. Freeman : This Department has no figures readily available. These are detailed matters for British Rail and the British Transport police.
Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list any opinion surveys conducted by, for, or on behalf of his Department since 1 January 1985, giving the date and purpose of each survey.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department regularly commissions surveys of opinions, for example on motor cyclists'
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attitudes to vehicle safety, among other types of survey. A complete list of surveys is maintained, but it it not possible to identify from this list those surveys that have included questions of opinion. I regret therefore that the information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.Speedlink
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if Ministers have been approached regarding a possible private takeover or replacement of the British Rail Speedlink service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I understand from BR that a number of private sector companies have expressed interest in finding ways of operating some Speedlink traffics. British Rail will welcome any serious propositions that have advantages for both sides.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if ministerial approval was sought for the closure of British Rail's Speedlink service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The British Rail chairman kept us informed throughout the board's review of Speedlink. The decision to close the Speedlink network from July 1991 is a commercial matter for the BR board and does not require ministerial approval.
Privatisation
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the privatisations with which his Department has been involved since 1979, indicating in each case the date of the sale, the proceeds of the sale and the estimated current value of the company.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 14 December 1990] : The information is as follows :
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£ million
Company |Date of sale |Net proceeds to|Current
|Government |capitalisation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Freight Consortium |1982 |5.0 |702.3
Associated British Ports |1983 |45.4 |377.4
(Secondary sale by HMT) |1984 |51.0 |-
British Airways |1987 |853.0 |1,132.0
BAA |1987 |1,181.6 |2,089.2
ScotRail
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to meet the senior management of ScotRail to discuss improvements in the Glasgow Central--London Euston passenger service and other matters relating to rail services within Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 14 December 1990] : My right hon. and learned Friend will be having regular meetings with British Rail senior management to discuss a variety of railway matters, although he has no immediate plans to visit ScotRail. His predecessor my right hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Parkinson), visited ScotRail as recently as 16 November.
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HEALTH
Prescription Charges
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representations he has received advocating the extension of exemption from prescription charges to men aged 60 to 64 years ; (2) if he will extend exemption from prescription charges to men aged 60 to 64 years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In the past three months one letter from an hon. Member and two letters from members of the public have been received. The present exemption arrangements protect those who are likely to have difficulty in paying charges and, in the case of men and women who have reached state pension age, reflect the
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change of financial circumstances which they would generally experience at this point in their lives. Persons below state pension age who are not otherwise exempt, but who require frequent medication, can limit their outlay by buying a prepayment certificate. We therefore have no plans to change the present arrangements.St. George's Hospital, Tooting
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the number of patients awaiting heart surgery at St. George's hospital, Tooting, London, who are residents living within the area covered by the Wandsworth health authority ;
(2) what is the present number of patients awaiting heart surgery treatment at St. George's hospital, Tooting, London ;
(3) what has been the longest period of time a person on the waiting list for heart surgery treatment at St. George's hospital, Tooting, has been waiting in the past three years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information about numbers on waiting lists and waiting times for admission to hospital is not available centrally by individual hospital or by specific condition. The hon. Member may wish to write to Dr. Enid Vincent, the chairman of Wandsworth district health authority, for the information.
Heart Attacks (Women)
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women had heart attacks for each of the last three years for which figures are available aged (i) 20 to 30, (ii) 31 to 40, (iii) 41 to 50, (iv) 51 to 60 and (v) 61 to 70 years.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information is not available in the form requested. The table gives, by age, the numbers of deaths of women caused by acute myocardial infarction in the last three years for which figures are available.
|1987 |1988 |<1>1989
----------------------------------------
Age
20-29 |8 |10 |5
30-39 |68 |50 |45
40-49 |302 |259 |242
50-59 |1,605 |1,390 |1,305
60-69 |6,836 |6,437 |6,193
<1>Provisional.
Source: Office of Population Censuses
and Surveys.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names of those people appointed to be chairmen and non-executive directors of national health service trusts.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to announce the names of those appointed to the chair and trustees of the Bradford NHS trust ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have today placed in the Library a list of appointments to those trusts established today. A list of those people to be appointed as chairmen and non-executive directors of the trusts to be established on 21 December will be placed in the Library shortly.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the procedure followed for public consultation
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for second wave trust will differ from those in the first wave ; and if hospitals which were not approved in the first wave will be obliged to put any second wave applications out for public consultation.Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The procedure to be followed for public consultation for second wave trusts will not differ from the first wave. The applications from those hospitals and units which were not approved in the first wave have already been the subject of full public consultation. It would, therefore, suffice for the region concerned to write to the bodies to whom it had sent the original consultation document, stating that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State would be willing to consider trust status subject to specific issues having been addressed, specifying the conditions and seeking further comments.
Child Care
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has received from the local authority associations about the cost of providing child care services for Eritrean children seeking asylum in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Department has received estimated costs from the local authority associations for London boroughs involved in providing child care services for newly arrived unaccompanied Eritrean children seeking asylum. Consideration is now being given to the case for special funding.
The Gulf (Casualties)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the contingency provision for the reception of casualties by national health service hospitals, in the event of a military option in the Gulf.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West (Mr. Douglas) on 16 November at column 248. Contingency provision is under continuous review in consultation with the Ministry of Defence.
Tehidy Hospital, Cornwall
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he anticipates announcing his decision on the future of Tehidy hospital, Camborne, Cornwall, following the decision of the South Western regional health authority at its meeting of 4 December.
Mr. Dorrell : When we receive the papers from South Western regional health authority, concerning the proposed siting of the Camborne Redruth hospital, including the future of Tehidy hospital, we shall consider carefully all of the views expressed and make a decision without delay.
Clinical Standards
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with which organisations he has recently met in order to discuss the work of the clinical standards advisory group ;
(2) if he intends to meet with the Royal College of Midwives to discuss the work of the clinical standards advisory group.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Since my right hon. and learned Friend the then Secretary of State met the presidents of the royal colleges and other leaders of the dental, medical, midwifery and nursing professions earlier this year, work on the clinical standards advisory group has been taken forward by officials. This work is continuing. We shall keep the need for any further meetings under review.Function, Banqueting House
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the purpose and full cost of the function organised by his Department at the Banqueting house, Whitehall on the evening of Tuesday 11 December ;
(2) if he will list the names of those attending the function organised by his Department at the Banqueting house, Whitehall on the evening of Tuesday 11 December.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The dinner held at the Banqueting house, Whitehall on the 11 December was part of a two day business conference on NHS trusts and was attended by people including Ministers, NHS managers, members of the NHS Management Executive and departmental officials. The dinner cost £9,959.43.
Cook-chill Foods
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cook-chill production facilities were introduced into hospitals in each year since 1985.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department's guidelines on cook-chill catering have been supplied to the managers of every hospital and school cook-chill production unit.
Mr. Dorrell : Copies of the Department's "Guidelines on Cook-Chill and Cook-Freeze Catering Systems" were sent to every district health authority in England in July 1989. Copies are also available in the Library.
Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list any opinion surveys conducted by, for or on behalf of his Department since 1 January 1985 giving the date and purpose of each survey.
Mr. Dorrell : The information readily available relates to the register of surveys maintained by the Central Statistical Office. The table lists surveys commissioned by the Department of Health since 1988 and surveys which from their titles appear to relate to health and personal social services from 1985 to 1988 commissioned by the former Department of Health and Social Security.
Department of Health
Misuse of drugs campaign 1988-89 : Creative development stage 2 Nursing recruitment campaign--Telephone response follow up Cold weather campaign evaluation 1988-89
Misuse of drugs 1988-89 : Creative development stage 3
NHS financial management training scheme research
Nursing : Youth concept research
Drugs 1988-89 : Campaign evaluation stage 7
Nursing tracking 1989-90 : Two stages June and September Cold weather publicity campaign 1989-90 : Evaluation
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