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Miss Widdecombe : The agencies currently established within the Department are :
The Benefits Agency, established in April 1991 ;
The Contributions Agency, established in April 1991 ;
The Information Technology Services Agency, established in April 1990 ;
The Resettlement Agency, established in May 1989.
We plan to establish the Child Support Agency in early 1993.
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the estimated numbers of severely disabled people who will meet the present criteria set out by the independent living fund for each of the next five years.
Mr. Scott : It is not possible to estimate the numbers of people who will all meet the criteria set by the trustees for receiving help from the ILF.
The number of people receiving help from the ILF at the end of March 1989 was 890. The number at the end of March 1990 was 4,262 ; and 7,724 at the end of March 1991.
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Pensioners
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham of 29 January, Official Report, column 486, whether the weekly incomes on which the figures are based include or exclude (a) SERPS and (b) means- tested benefits.
Miss Widdecombe : The table in the answer given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham on 29 January at column 486 shows the number of married couple pensioners and the number of single pensioners with incomes in excess of basic state retirement pensions, net additional (SERPS) pension and graduated pension plus supplementary pensions, but not housing benefit.
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the answer given to the then hon. Member for Kensington on 14 July 1987, Official Report, column 451, showing the number of pensioners with gross weekly incomes other than the state basic pension of up to £5, £5 to £10, £10 to £15, £15 to £20, £20 to £30, £30 to £40, £40 to £50, £50 to £60, £60 to £70, £70 to £80, £80 to £90, £90 to £100, £100 to £110, £110 to £120, £120 to £130, £130 to £140. £140 to £150, £150 to £200, £250 to £300, £300 to £400, £400 to £500 and over £500, distinguishing between single and married pensioners.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is given in the table.
Numbers (thousands)
|Married|Single
-----------------------------------------
Up to £ 5 |130 |610
£ 5 to £ 10 |110 |360
£ 10 to £ 15 |120 |450
£ 15 to £ 20 |150 |480
£ 20 to £ 30 |330 |990
£ 30 to £ 40 |230 |450
£ 40 to £ 50 |180 |220
£ 50 to £ 60 |130 |160
£ 60 to £ 70 |120 |110
£ 70 to £ 80 |110 |80
£ 80 to £ 90 |120 |100
£ 90 to £ 100 |70 |80
£ 100 to £ 110 |50 |60
£ 110 to £ 130 |110 |70
£ 130 to £ 150 |100 |50
£ 150 to £ 200 |120 |70
£ 200 and over |280 |120
Note: The figures show respectively
thousands of pensioner married
couples and single pensioners. The
income bands have been
aggregated in some cases to provide a
statistically adequate
sample.
Source: Family Expenditure Survey 1987.
DEFENCE
RAF Caerwent
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether projectile ammunition is stored at RAF Caerwent ;
(2) if he will list the movements by road or rail of ammunition and weapons to and from RAF Caerwent in each of the last 12 months ; (3) if he will list the types of ammunition and weapons and their tonnages currently stored at RAF Caerwent.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member on 9 May 1988 at column 1.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish details of the safeguarded areas around the perimeter of RAF Caerwent in which his Department has in the past sought restrictions on planning applications for new developments.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Copies of the Ministry of Defence (Caerwent) Explosives Storage Area Direction 1988 are held by those local planning authorities whose areas are affected by it. The direction is freely accessible to the public via those authorities. I have, however, placed copies in the Library of the House.
The Gulf
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the approximate number of battle casualty reinforcements attached to the 1 Armoured Division during Operation Granby.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our policy to give details of operational contingency plans.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the operational ability of those forces deployed with RAF Germany which were not deployed to the Gulf declined or increased during the course of Operation Granby ;
(2) whether the supply of spare parts for Tornado and Jaguar aircraft and Puma and Chinook helicopters deployed with the RAF in Germany altered as a result of the deployment of RAF forces to the Gulf as part of Operation Granby ;
(3) pursuant to his answer of 28 November 1990 to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers), what was the approximate degree of the adverse effect on BAOR forces that remained in Germany during Operation Granby resulting from the decision to deploy the 1 Armoured Division to the Gulf ;
(4) pursuant to his answer of 28 November 1990 to the hon. Member for Rhondda, what was the approximate degree of the consequential effects on the spares position in BAOR resulting from the deployment of 1 Armoured Division to the Gulf.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Army and RAF units which deployed on Operation Granby were given priority in terms of equipment, including spares, and personnel. This had some effect on the operational availablility or readiness of forces which remained in Germany and on certain spares holdings, but it is not our practice to comment in detail on such matters.
Defence Equipment Exports
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the financial effect on his equipment procurement budget of the export of British defence equipment.
Mr. Alan Clark : Where the export of British defence equipment enables United Kingdom companies to spread the cost of their overheads, it reduces the cost of equipment to my Department. However, it is not possible accurately to quantify this effect. In addition, the
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Department benefits from receipts from commercial exploitation levies paid on exports of defence equipment whose development the Department funded.Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will now change his policy regarding the release of information on the export of non-lethal British defence equipment to (a) Iraq and (b) the rest of the world.
Mr. Alan Clark : I see no reason to do so.
Defence Budget
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report, column 292, whether in the last 12 months he has provided any non-governmental organisation or individual with details of the contents of the long-term costing.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement on 2 May, at column 292.
United Nations Military Staff Committee
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 28 March, Official Report, columns 570-1, what is the service rank of the United Kingdom representative at the United Nations military staff committee and the amount and type of administrative support provided to the United Kingdom representative ; and whether he has submitted any documents for consideration by the committee in the last four years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The head of the British defence staff, which is a major general level appointment, acts as the head of the United Kingdom delegation to the United Nations military staff committee. Administrative support for the United Kingdom delegation is provided by members of the British defence staff, Washington. No papers have been submitted to the military staff committee by the United Kingdom delegation in the last four years.
HMS Fearless and Intrepid (Replacement)
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in defining and designing replacement assault ships for HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirmed on 25 July 1990 that we intend to retain an amphibious capability. We are considering how best to maintain in the longer term the capability currently provided by the assault ships HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.
Kill the Messenger"
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will acquire for his Department's library a copy of Sir Bernard Ingham's "Kill the Messenger".
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Ministry of Defence library has one copy of Sir Bernard Ingham's "Kill the Messenger" on order.
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HEALTH
Benzodiazepines
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of funds provided to help drug misusers is being given to those addicted to benzodiazepines.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not available centrally.
Doctors and Dentists (Pay)
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions during the last 12 years the recommendations of the review board have not been implemented in respect of the salaries of doctors and dentists ; and what is his estimate of the cumulative shortfall resulting from variation of, or delays in, implementation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Government have implemented in full the recommendations of the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration except in 1981, when the award was abated, and in 1989 and 1990 when two recommendations were rejected in each year. The 1981 abatement was restored at the start of 1984. Implementation of the award has been staged or deferred in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990 and 1991, but in all cases the awards were or will be in full payment by the end of the financial year to which they related.
By the time this year's awards are in full payment from 1 December, doctors' and dentists' pay will have increased by 37.4 per cent. in real terms since 1978, a rate of increase well above that of most other groups in the public and private sectors.
Health Authority Reports
Mrs. Heal : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the cost of producing annual reports of the local health authorities.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not collected centrally.
Braille Services
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the reasons for the reductions in the Braille grant last year to the Royal National Institute for the Blind ; and when he expects to make a statement concerning the future level of grant.
Mr. Dorrell : We have funded the Royal National Institute for the Blind's braille service for many years. In the light of RNIB's comparatively strong financial position, the scope for it to generate alternative sources of income for the braille service and the very pressing demands on the limited available funds, we decided that we could no longer justify the generous level of grant which RNIB had previously received. Accordingly we advised it that its grant of £250,000 would be reduced by £50,000 in 1990-91 and that the situation would be reviewed in 1991 -92. We have now awarded a grant of £200,000 a year for three years starting on 1 April 1991 and will review the situation again when the grant expires.
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions have taken place between his department and office bearers of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in connection with the funding of Braille publications ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Dorrell : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of the Royal National Institute for the Blind on 26 March following two earlier meetings with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. As well as a very full discussion about the Braille grant we discussed other funding possibilities and have subsequently invited RNIB to submit a funding proposal for a community care project.HIV Virus and AIDS
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total planned expenditure into research by Her Majesty's Government relating to the HIV virus and AIDS ; and what is the planned total for the national health service.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) on 19 March 1991 at columns 85- 86.
The Government make available earmarked funds to regional health authorities as a contribution towards the costs incurred in helping prevent the spread of HIV infection and providing treatment, counselling and support for those affected by HIV and AIDS. Since 1985 over £500 million has been made available in this way. Regional and district health authorities have discretion to use these funds for research purposes, but there is no central record kept of the amounts spent or planned to be spent.
Northumberland Area Services
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average general practitioner list size for the Northumberland family health services authority.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : At 1 October 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, the average general practitioner list size in the Northumberland family health services authority's area was 1,773.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the average unit cost of bed spaces in Northumberland in (a) Northumberland local authority, (b) private care homes, (c) private nursing homes and (d) voluntary homes for elderly persons.
Mr. Dorrell : The 1990-91 estimates published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy give the gross cost per place filled in Northumberland's own homes for elderly people, excluding capital charges, as £163 per resident per week. Information on the costs of private and voluntary homes is not held centrally.
Hospital Waste
Mr Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding has been given to health authorities to update their existing waste incinerators since 1987 ; and how much of that has been given to Leicestershire health authority ;
(2) how many waste incinerators, for disposing of contaminated waste from hospitals, are currently in use in England and Wales ; and what information he has on how much it costs to run them each year ;
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(3) how many hospital waste incinerators are classified as out of date in England and Wales ; and what estimate has been made of how much it will cost to upgrade them to new Environmental Protection Act 1990 standards ;(4) what information he has on how many health authorities in England and Wales are preparing to send hospital waste to Germany to be changed to safe fuel before returning it to Britain to be disposed of.
Mr. Dorrell : Financial provision for the disposal of clinical waste is subsumed within overall annual allocations to health authorities. There are approximately 600 NHS-owned incinerators in England. Their running costs, maintenance, upgrading and any plans for replacement are a matter for individual health authorities. A "Strategic Guide for Waste Management" was issued to health authorities/NHS trusts in March 1991 (ELM(a1)M/1), a copy of which is available in the Library. It included guidance on meeting incinerator standards required by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and arising from relinquishment of NHS Crown immunity on 1 April 1991. It recommended that health authorities/NHS trusts examine a wide range of options for future clinical waste disposal of which wholly NHS owned and operated incinerators is only one. Decisions remain the province of individual health authorities/NHS Trusts.
We are not aware of any proposals to send clinical waste to Germany for reprocessing.
South Yorkshire Ambulance Service
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received during the last six months from residents in South Yorkshire expressing support for the transfer of the South Yorkshire ambulance service to trust status.
Mrs Virginia Bottomley : The application from the South Yorkshire ambulance service will be subject to a statutory period of public consultation conducted by Yorkshire regional health authority for a three- month period commencing 13 May 1991.
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what salaries are currently paid to those officials within the national health service who are in charge of the ambulance service and their respective areas, including the chief ambulance officer of the South Yorkshire ambulance service.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not held centrally and details of payments awarded to individual NHS employees are a confidential matter between employer and employee. I understand that most officers in charge of ambulance services are employed on NHS senior manager terms. Senior managers are on performance-linked contracts and paid a flat rate salary on a 30-point pay spine. The spine ranges from £13,560 to £42,290 per annum.
Elderly People
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is proposing to take action to respond to the European Parliament resolution B-1537/90 which calls on member state Governments to realise the needs of elderly people and make proper provision for them.
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Mr. Dorrell : We have noted the terms of the motion for a resolution. It is for the Parliament to decide whether it wishes to refer the issue to the Commission.The Government are promoting a wide range of measures to develop services for older people. In doing so, we encourage the involvement of the voluntary sector and of older people themselves wherever possible.
Following agreement on the decision of the Council of the European Communities on actions for the elderly, the United Kingdom intends to play a full part both in the programme of activities and in the European Year of the Elderly in 1993.
Ambulance Service Trusts
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given to national health service trusts on the salaries and fringe benefits to be paid to those who are the principal directors of the ambulance services which have become trusts.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Non-executive directors of NHS trusts are remunerated at a rate of £5,000 per annum. Remuneration for executive directors of NHS trusts is a matter for the trust board.
Disposable Needles
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has completed his discussions about supplying, on prescription, disposable needles to diabetics using pen type insulin injectors.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The discussions with suppliers referred to in my reply to my hon. Friend on 18 December 1990, at column 155, are continuing.
Cot Deaths
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the report of the independent experts set up in March 1990 to investigate whether the emission of toxic gases from fungal growth on cot mattresses could be a cause of cot deaths ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The report of the working group of independent experts set up by the chief medical officer will be published shortly.
Hornsey Centre for Children Learning
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his medical advisers visited the Hornsey centre for children learning ; and what his policy is in publishing advice from medical advisers in relation to such centres.
Mr. Dorrell : The most recent visit was on 9 April. Reports on such visits are confidential to the institution visited and the Departments concerned.
Midwives
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were working in the national health service in 1979 and in the latest year for which figures are available ; and what has been the trend in perinatal and maternal mortality rates since 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There were 19,2000 whole-time equivalent qualified midwives working in the hospital
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and community health service in England at 30 September 1989. The equivalent figure for 1979 was nearly 4,000 lower at 15,500. The perinatal and maternal mortality rates have both fallen further since 1979.The perinatal mortality rate has fallen from 14.6 to 8.1 per 1,000 total births and the maternal mortality rate has fallen from 0.11 to 0.09 per 1,000 total births.
Women GPs
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women general medical practitioners there were in 1970, 1979, 1989 and 1990.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The figures are provided in the table. Last year the number of women GPs increased by a further 4.5 per cent. continuing the encouraging trend of previous years. Now nearly one in four GPs are women.
|Number of |Percentage of
|women GPs |females to the
|(England) |total
------------------------------------------------------------
1970 |2,082 |11
1979 |3,261 |15
1989 |5,830 |23
1990 |6,093 |24
Rehabilitation (Brain Injuries)
Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government are doing to improve national health service rehabilitation services for people with brain injury.
Mr. Dorrell : We are pleased to announce a central Government initiative to improve rehabilitation services for people with brain injury. We will support the development of a number of centres around the country which can act as a model for the rest of the national health service. We shall be inviting bids for funds. We shall also be funding a research study to evaluate the services provided. We recognise the vital contribution which skilled rehabilitation can make to recovery from the traumatic effects of brain injury. The aim is to restore normal functioning as far as possible and to return the patient to independent living in the community.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Commercial Whaling
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with whom he has had consultations on commercial whaling.
Mr. Gummer : I have recently discussed our policy on this matter with the all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare and wildlife link, the umbrella group for the major United Kingdom environmental organisations. In addition, the House itself debated this subject on 30 April. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary discussed the issue with the Norwegian Government on his recent visit to Norway and my officials have had a number of meetings with representatives of Governments of some members of the International Whaling Commission.
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Animal Cruelty, Spain
Mr. Parry : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the representations he has received to date concerning cruelty to animals in Spain ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : We have received representations from Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA, which have both provided video-taped material alleging breaches in Spanish slaughterhouses of the EC provisions on pre- slaughter stunning. We are asking the Commission what action it intends to take and in the meantime we continue to refuse to license exports of food animals to Spain.
Farm Incinerators
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what consideration his Department is giving to exempting, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, rules monitoring small farm incinerators, provided they are lined and fitted with flame-wash after- burners ;
(2) if he will make a statement on progress on discussions he is having with the farming industry on exemptions on waste incineration under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provisions ; and when he expects to conclude discussions.
Mr. Maclean : Following discussions with farming and hunting interests it has been agreed that there should be an exemption from the inspection and authorisation requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for incinerators designed to incinerate certain farm wastes, including animal carcases, at a rate of no more than 50 kg per hour.
Pesticides
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the organisations which obtained contracts to carry out toxicological evaluations of pesticide active ingredients in 1990-91 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Organisations with contracts to evaluate pesticide active ingredients in 1990-91 were :
Inveresk Research International
Life Science Research
British Industrial Biological Research
Dr. Brian Hunter (Independent Consultant)
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