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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Statistics on the age of persons convicted of drink-related offences such as drink driving, drunkenness and liquor licensing offences are already available. It is not feasible to collect regular statistical information on convictions for offences where alcohol was indirectly involved.
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Scottish Enterprise
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of launching Scottish Enterprise and its associated local enterprise companies.
Mr. Allan Stewart : This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.
Child Abuse
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many criminal convictions there have been for offences against children where children were abused by a parent in each year since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information on the relationship between offenders and their victims is not collected centrally.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Hood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all crime statistics in each Scottish police authority, indicating each police division in order of crimes recorded for each category and give the percentage of increase in each category for every year since 1979.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not held centrally. Information for police authority areas is given in the annual reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, copies of which are available in the Library.
Planning Procedures
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland why he called in the planning consent for housing development at Fishers road, Port Seton ; when he expects to announce his decision ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : These applications were notified to my right hon. Friend by East Lothian district council, the local planning authority, because the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department had objected to the use for housing of prime quality agricultural land which had not been allocated for development in the relevant development plans. My right hon. Friend called in the applications to allow him to examine more closely the arguments for releasing the land put forward by the district and regional councils, which both supported the proposal. The protection of prime quality agricultural land from development that could be satisfactorily accommodated elsewhere remains an objective of Government policy.
I expect my right hon. Friend to issue his decision shortly and will ensure that the hon. Member receives a copy of the decision letter.
Self-employed People
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total number of people registered as self-employed in each Scottish parliamentary constituency.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The latest information available on the number of self-employed by parliamentary constituency comes from the 1981 census of population. This
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information is available from the NOMIS database in the House of Commons Library. Library staff are ready to assist in accessing the information if necessary.NHS Trusts
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost to date of the public affairs department of Grampian health board in preparing and issuing press releases giving publicity to NHS trust status for Aberdeen royal infirmary, Foresterhill site ; and whether any costs will be charged directly to the group of senior managers and consultants who have decided to submit an application for NHS trust status.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The work involved is a small part of the activities of the public affairs department of Grampian health board, the cost of which is not separately identifiable. Health boards have a clear duty to provide assistance to trust candidates and it is quite appropriate for Grampian health board to issue press releases on behalf of the Foresterhill project manager and his team.
Steel Industry
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has submitted additional evidence to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry on British Steel since 25 March.
Mr. Allan Stewart : On 27 March my right hon. Friend sent the Chairman of the Select Committee a copy of the final report on the Arthur D. Little study on the prospects for the steel industry in Scotland. My right hon. Friend has not submitted any evidence as such to the Committee since 25 March.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) when he last met the European Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan, to discuss the steel industry ; and if he will make a detailed statement on those discussions ;
(2) if he will publish a minute of his meeting of 25 March with Sir Leon Brittan in so far as it concerns the Scottish steel industry ; (3) what information he received from Sir Leon Brittan on 25 March with regard to the European Commission's attitude to a potential sale of the Ravenscraig and Clydesdale steel works ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what information he has received from the European Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan, relating to statements made by Sir Robert Scholey concerning the attitude of the Commission to a possible sale of Ravenscraig and Clydesdale steel works.
Mr. Allan Stewart : My right hon. Friend met Sir Leon on 25 March. It was a private meeting at which a number of subjects were dismissed and my right hon. Friend does not intend to make a detailed statement. But one of the subjects was steel ; Sir Leon was able to confirm the Commission's view that any refusal by British Steel to offer the Ravenscraig hot strip mill for sale to a European competitor did not amount to abuse of a dominant position. The Commission was not able to take a view on any proposed sale of the mill until it received a specific application. However, as my right hon. Friend indicated to the Select Committee on 12 December, he is not aware of
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any powers that the Commission has to prevent the mill from being sold and continuing in production within the Community.Manufacturing Jobs
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many manufacturing jobs have been lost in Scotland in each year since 1989.
Mr. Allan Stewart : In December 1990, the latest available date, there were 401,100 employees in employment in manufacturing in Scotland. This represents a small fall of 1,300 (0.3 per cent.) compared with December 1989. Over the same period the number of manufacturing employees in Great Britain fell by 130,000 (2.5 per cent.).
Quarries
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the quarries in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is contained in the British Geological Surveys publication "Directory of Mines and Quarries", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Firearms
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been fined for illegal possession of firearms in Scotland in each year since 1985.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In 1989, 36 people were fined for offences under section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 of illegal possession of a firearm. This figure excludes cases where illegal possession was not the main charge. Statistics for earlier years are not available.
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Motorway Lighting
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria are used to decide whether any part of a motorway in Scotland should be provided with lighting.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Lighting on motorways is normally provided when cost benefit calculations show that the benefits of a reduction in the number of night-time injury accidents would exceed the cost of its installation and subsequent maintenance. White-lining, cats' eyes and other markings are considered adequate in ordinary circumstances and generally, on motorways, lighting would afford only marginal road safety benefits which would not justify the cost. The detailed criteria are set out in the Scottish Office Technical Memorandum SH6/89 ("Appraisal of New and Replacement Lighting on Trunk Roads and Trunk Road Motorways"), a copy of which I am arranging to be placed in the Library.
Environmental Health Officers
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many environmental health officers have been employed by local authorities in Scotland for each year since 1980.
Mr. Allan Stewart [holding answer 28 March 1991] : This information is not held centrally.
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SCOTLAND
Opencast Mining
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list all those areas in Scotland for which planning permission has been granted for opencast mining.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 April 1991] : Under current legislation my right hon. Friend deals only with applications for opencast coal operations which come before him on appeal. Up to 29 February 1984 opencast coal site applications were the concern of my
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right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. Thereafter, under transitional arrangements, they transferred to my right hon. Friend until the local planning authorities assumed responsibility on 11 December 1987. I understand from British Coal (Scotland), which holds central records, that the details requested are as follows :
British coal sites
Site name |Planning authority area
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Operational
Darnconner |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Roverhill |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Chalmerston |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Horsecleugh |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Airdsgreen |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Libry Moor |Nithsdale District
Dalquhandy |Clydesdale District
Damside |Motherwell District
Blindwells |East Lothian District
Keirsbeath |Dunfermline District
Lambhill |Perth and Kinross District
2. Sites with planning permission
(not operational)
Westfield Link |Kirkcaldy District
Piperhill |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Polkemmet |West Lothian District
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Other Sites
Site name |Location |Planning authority area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Licensed and operational
Colinshiel |Armadale |West Lothian District
Common Farm |Lugar |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Craigmad |California |Falkirk District
Crawick |Crawick |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
Croftangreen |East Kilbride |Hamilton District
Easter Baton |Shotts |Motherwell District
Humbug |Crossgates |Dunfermline District
Kitleyknowe |Carlops |Borders Region
Laigh Riggend |Wattston |Monklands District
Legbrannock Farm |Newhouse |Motherwell District
Nether Longford |Stoneyburn |West Lothian District
North Rhodens |Armadale |West Lothian District
Oakerdykes |Slammannan |Falkirk District
Parkwood West |Dollar |Clackmannan District
Sherriff Faulds |Hamilton |Hamilton District
South Landridge |Salsburgh |Monklands District
South Roughcastle |Falkirk |Falkirk District
Tippetcraig North |Slamannan |Falkirk District
Venture |Newmains |Motherwell District
Waterloo |Wishaw |Motherwell District
West Kelt |Banknock |Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District
Woosethead |Newhouse |Motherwell District
2. Sites believed to have planning permission but no licence
Harehill |Climpy |Clydesdale District
Garlaff Farm |Cumnock |Cumnock and Doon Valley District
North Monkland Junction |Slamannan |Falkirk District
Earnockmuir |Hamilton |Hamilton District
Airth Mains |Airth |Falkirk District
All information as at April 1991.
Police Operations
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been killed in police pursuits in Scotland (a) excluding and (b) including police officers in each of the last five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 April 1991] : Figures have been collected centrally only for the past four years. Since 1987 there have been six deaths--four in 1987, one in 1988, one in 1989 and none in 1990. All arose from incidents where a police vehicle was in
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direct or indirect pursuit of a fleeing suspect vehicle, or responding to an emergency call ; none of those killed was a police officer.HEALTH
Cancer Screening
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects a breast cancer screening programme to become operational in the South and East Cumbria health authorities' areas.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Screening will begin in South Cumbria at Barrow in June 1991 and in East Cumbria at Carlisle in September 1991. All eligible women should have received their first screening invitation by 1993.General Practitioner Targets
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of general practitioners in Cleveland have achieved their targets for child immunisation, pre-school boosters and cervical cytology.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : On 31 March 1991 the following percentage of GPs in Cleveland qualified for target payments in respect of their achievements on 1 October 1990 :
Percentage of GPs
achieving targets
|Higher|Lower |Total
---------------------------------------------------
Childhood immunisation |61 |32 |93
Pre-school booster |41 |37 |78
Cervical cytology |83 |17 |100
I congratulate all those concerned on this excellent achievement.
Immunisation (Children)
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children are immunised against diphtheria, whooping cough and measles in the South and East Cumbria health authorities' areas together with the corresponding averages for the Northern region, England, the United Kingdom as a whole and the World Health Organisation's target percentage.
Mr. Dorrell : Provisional figures for 1989-90 are as follows :
>
|Diphtheria|Whooping |Measles
|Cough |(MMR<1>)
--------------------------------------------------------------
South Cumbria DHA |96 |85 |93
East Cumbria DHA |93 |83 |90
Northern RHA |90 |79 |86
England |89 |78 |84
<1> A combined vaccine against measles mumps and rubella (
MMR)
replaced measles-only vaccine from 1 October 1988.
It is not possible to provide an average percentage for the United Kingdom as a whole because of differences in methods of collecting the figures. The World Health Organisation's target for its European region was 90 per cent. coverage by 1990. More recent estimates, by the COVER--Cover of Vaccination Evaluated Rapidly--programme, managed by the communicable disease surveillance centre, show that by February 1991 the percentages for England had reached 90 for diphtheria (and tetanus and polio), 89 for MMR and 85 for whooping cough.
Speech Therapy
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was spent by health authorities on the provision of speech therapy in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Dorrell : Health authorities spent £43.4 million on speech therapy services in 1989-90. This represents an increase in real terms of 138 per cent. since 1978-79.
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Appointments
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what way appointments to health authorities are considered and made.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State appoints the chairman and non-executive members of regional health authorities and the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. My right hon. Friend also appoints the chairmen of district health authorities and family health services authorities. Regional health authorities appoint the non-executive members of district health authorities and family health services authorities.
There is no statutory requirement to consult. Nominations of suitable people willing to serve on a health authority from various sources are always welcome and considered.
Hearing Therapists
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his assessment of the future role of the hearing therapist profession ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Hearing therapists play an important role in the rehabilitation and after-care of people with a hearing loss. Officials are in discussion with the British Society of Hearing Therapists and the national health service training directorate about the possibility of developing a national vocational qualification in hearing therapy.
Hearing Aids
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often the range of NHS hearing aids is reviewed ; and what steps are taken to ensure that this range is updated in line with technical developments.
Mr. Dorrell : Contracts for the standard range of NHS hearing aids are normally awarded for one or two year periods and are then subject to review and re-tender. Technical developments are kept under continuing review, having regard to clinical suitability, reliability and cost.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given by his Department to regional health authorities to assist them with drawing up their budget allocation for hearing aids and for setting their staffing levels within the audiology service.
Mr. Dorrell : None. It is for health authorities to allocate resources for the purchase of hearing aids and audiology services in the light of local needs.
Norwich DHA
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the expenditure by Norwich district health authority for the latest available year on the general practitioner contract, general practitioner fund holders, the hospital's internal market and the resource management initiative.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
In 1989-90 the total revenue expenditure on hospital and community health services within Norwich district health authority was £122,580,000 of which expenditure on hospital services amounted to £95,948, 000.
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The East Anglian regional health authority received £158,000 of central funds in 1990-91 to support resource management projects within Norwich district health authority.The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Colin Walker, the chairman of East Anglian regional health authority, for details of expenditure on general practitioner contracts and general practitioner fund holders.
Long-stay Patients
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any plans to prevent the transfer by district health authorities of financial responsibility for the long-stay care of frail, elderly patients which occurs when such patients are discharged from long- stay hospital beds to private nursing homes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The Department's guidance on hospital discharge procedures requires a patient who is to be discharged to a private nursing home to be notified in writing whether or not the health authority will meet the fees of the home under a contractual arrangement. It also makes it clear that no one should be unwillingly discharged to such care if it means that he, she or a relative will be personally responsible for the home's charges.
United Kingdom Residents from Mauritius
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people from the island of Mauritius resided in the United Kingdom at the last available date.
Mr. Dorrell : The estimated number of people born in Mauritius but resident in the United Kingdom is 22,000. This estimate has been derived by averaging the results of the 1987, 1988, and 1989 labour force surveys.
TRANSPORT
Fenchurch Street Rail Service
12. Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposals from British Rail to reduce the load factor on peak-time trains on the Fenchurch Street line to 100 per cent.
Mr. Freeman : The load factor objective for rolling stock of the type operated on the Fenchurch Street line is 110 per cent. with no standing over 20 minutes except through choice. Journeys to Fenchurch Street from Basildon take more than 20 minutes, so the load factor objective is, therefore, already 100 per cent. from there. We have received no proposals from British Rail to reduce the target to 100 per cent. throughout Network SouthEast.
Motorways
13. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to extend the motorway network.
Mr. Chope : Our plans for extending the motorway network were set out in "Trunk Roads England into the 1990s" published in February last year. Subsequent proposals to upgrade the A1 to motorway status from the M25 to Tyneside were announced in July 1990.
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Road Improvements, Devon
14. Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major road improvements he plans for north Devon in co-operation with Devon county council during the next five years.
Mr. Chope : The 47-mile long north Devon link road was completed in 1989 at a cost of £47 million and the Barnstaple and Bideford bypasses were completed in 1987 and 1989 at a cost of £21 million and £17 million respectively.
The level of investment in roads in north Devon in the next five years will not be as great, but schemes put forward by Devon county council for transport supplementary grant will be considered on their merits.
London Assessment Studies
15. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give starting dates for the public transport schemes in the London assessment studies that he intends should proceed.
Mr. Freeman : Subject to the passage of relevant legislation, we hope that construction of the Lewisham extension of the Docklands light railway will begin in 1992 and construction of the east-west crossrail in 1993.
Other schemes recommended in the assessment studies may be brought forward later. The alignment of the Chelsea-Hackney underground line has already been safeguarded.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the total cost to his Department of the work involved in the western environmental improvement route assessment study ;
(2) what was the total cost to his Department of the work involved in the South London assessment study ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what was the total cost to his Department of the work involved in the South Circular assessment study ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what was the total cost to his Department of the work involved in the west London assessment study ; and if he will make a statement ;
(5) what was the total cost to his Department of the work involved in the east London assessment study ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The cost of the four London assessment studies was :
|£ million
---------------------------------------
South Circular |2.9
South London |3.4
West London |2.7
East London |3.0
The western environmental improvement route was a scheme in the national road programme. It had reached the public consultation stage, at a study cost of £1.1 million. The announcement of decisions on the assessment studies indicated that a number of the most important public transport schemes identified in the studies were under active consideration, that it had been decided not to proceed with any of the major road schemes recommended by consultants, but that the limited road improvements
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specified would be pursued. Since then Bills to authorise east-west crossrail and the extension of the Docklands light railway to Lewisham have been announced, and the line of the Chelsea- Hackney line has been safeguarded. The limited road improvements specified have been subject to initial appraisal and an announcement will be made shortly.Prestwick Airport
16. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with BAA about the future of Prestwick airport.
Mr. McLoughlin : Prestwick airport is one of a number of subjects which my right hon. and learned Friend has discussed with the senior management of BAA in recent months.
London Orbital Motorway
17. Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for an additional outer London orbital motorway.
Buses, London
18. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the projected trend in bus usage in London over the next two years.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that London Transport expects little overall change in bus usage in London over the next two years. The Government have issued a consultation paper on the deregulation of the provision of bus services in London and believe that such deregulation offers the best opportunity for increasing patronage in the longer term.
Rail Privatisation
19. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to meet the chairman of British Rail to discuss privatisation.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. and learned Friend meets the chairman of British Rail regularly, to discuss a variety of issues.
British Rail Investment
20. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it is policy to make approval for any BR investment proposals conditional upon orders being placed in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail's purchasing policy is to obtain the best overall value for money through competition. About 95 per cent. of British Rail's requirements for supplies and services are currently ordered within the United Kingdom. Decisions on the placing of railway orders are commercial matters for British Rail and it would be inappropriate for Government approvals of British Rail investment proposals to be conditional on orders being placed in the home market.
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