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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : On 8 May 1990 the Welsh Office issued a circular giving comprehensive guidance to health and local authorities on good practice in the development and delivery of services for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities. Authorities are expected to have regard to that advice in preparing their local strategies for health and their social care plans, which in Wales are being jointly prepared by all the statutory and voluntary agencies concerned.
We have introduced this year a new grant scheme, unique to Wales, to promote the development of more flexible forms of community care for elderly people and for people with physical or sensory disabilities.
The all-Wales mental handicap strategy has been in place since March 1983. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the strategy and propose shortly to publish for consultation our provisional conclusions on the framework for service development from April 1993.
Deafness
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to take in order to ensure a greater supply of teachers of the deaf in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : We are seeking to increase the number of teachers in Wales who are qualified to meet the educational needs of deaf pupils through a programme of in-service training. Over £100,000 has been approved by my Department for this purpose this year through the grants for education support and training programme.
More generally, the recently introduced criteria for the approval of initial teachers training courses requires that, on completion of their course, students should have developed the capacity to identify pupils with special educational needs or with learning difficulties and to understand the ways in which the potential of such pupils can be developed.
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Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he proposes to help deaf children in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The Children Act 1989, to be implemented on 14 October 1991, lays a general duty on local social services authorities to promote the welfare of children who are in need by providing an appropriate range and level of services. Section 17 of the Act defines children in need so as to include deaf children. By virtue of schedule 2 to the Act, services to such children should be designed to minimise the effect of their disability and give them the opportunity to lead lives which are as normal as possible. Guidance on these provisions is contained in chapter 2 of the publication "The Children Act 1989 : Guidance and Regulations--Volume 2 Family Support, Day Care and Educational Provision for Young Children" (HMSO 1991), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Further guidance is in preparation which will give advice to local authorities on the discharge of their duty to children with disabilities.
Speech Therapy
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what plans he has to increase the number of speech therapists in Wales ; (2) how many speech therapy posts in Wales are currently unfilled.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information on the current number of unfilled speech therapy posts in Wales is not held centrally. However, the results of the 1990 annual manpower resource planning (MRP) exercise carried out by Welsh district health authorities indicated a shortage of 27 speech therapists across Wales as at September 1989. The extent and location of training provision for speech therapy in Wales is being considered along with that for other health care professions in the light of the manpower resource planning results and the new arrangements to be introduced for the planning and funding of certain pre-registration education and training at the all-Wales level.
In the short term, speech therapy shortages are being addressed by my Department through the sponsorship of students. As a result of Welsh Office funding in 1990 and 1991 an additional 10 speech therapy students are being sponsored by Welsh health authorities on the understanding that they work for at least two years in Wales on completion of their training.
Health Boards
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the annual remuneration of (a) health authority chairman and (b) health board members in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Health authority chairmen are remunerated at different rates. These are currently as follows :
Band 1--£17,610 per annum
Applicable to Clwyd, Gwent, Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan Health Authorities.
Band 2--£15,659 per annum
Applicable to East Dyfed and Gwynedd Health Authorities. Band 3-- £13,812 per annum
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Applicable to Pembrokeshire and Powys Health Authorities. All non-executive health authority members receive remuneration of £5,000 per annum. Executive members receive their appropriate NHS salaries.Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criteria he has adopted for appointment to health boards in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Members are appointed on the strength of the skills and experience they can bring to an authority's work.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those hospitals whose managements he has written to, or spoken to, about acquisition of hospital trust status.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The director of the national health service in Wales has written to all managers of health service units explaining Ministers' view that although national health service trusts are seen as the natural organisational model for hospitals and other units providing health care, the decision on whether to seek self-governing status is a matter for individual units, taking account of local circumstances and enthusiasm.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which hospitals in Wales are eligible for hospital trust status.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Any hospital or other health service unit actively providing patient care may apply to become a national health service trust. This would include hospitals, community-based services (whether alone or together with hospitals) and ambulance services.
Health Service Grading
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many nurses there are in each health authority area in Wales with regrading appeals outstanding ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The numbers of regrading appeals outstanding at the three different levels are as shown in the following table :
Outstanding appeals at:
Health authority |District |Regional |National
|level |(all-Wales) |(negotiating
|level |council)level
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |75 |117 |11
East Dyfed |229 |66 |5
Gwent |282 |287 |2
Gwynedd |- |166 |36
Mid Glamorgan |616 |206 |-
Pembrokeshire |- |55 |-
Powys |- |161 |2
South Glamorgan |310 |181 |17
West Glamorgan |- |103 |22
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies given to the hon. Member for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (Mr. Kennedy) on 26 March 1991, and to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 28 March 1991.
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Aldbourne Associates
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 571, what is the total value of the housing consultancy work given to Aldbourne Associates on (a) the priority estates project and (b) housing options for Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information for the years prior to 1989- 90 cannot, within the time available, be provided in the form requested. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman in due course. It is not possible to attribute every payment made to Aldbourne Associates in 1989-90. 1990-91 and 1991-92 precisely to PEP or to HOW. Since its launch in January 1990, housing options Wales has subsumed the priority estates project programme. It is estimated that payments totalling approximately £98,000 can reasonably be attributed to elements of HOW that are distinct from previous work on PEP. The residue of the sums referred to in the previous answer includes payments made in respect of PEP, and of the Department's alternatives for social housing (ASH) programme (also now subsumed within HOW). Payments readily attributable to ASH for these years total some £27, 000.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 571, whether Aldbourne Associates' contract was awarded subsequent to an open tender.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 571, when Aldbourne Associate's main contract was awarded ; what length of time it was scheduled to cover ; and what subsequent ancillary contracts were awarded.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The initial contract (with Miss C. Lesley Andrews, rather than with Aldbourne Associates Ltd.) was made in September 1983, in respect of work to be completed by 31 March 1986. Before the end of that period, the Department embarked upon the second phase of its PEP programme ; a new contract was therefore made in November 1985, in respect of work to be completed by 31 March 1988. Subsequently, contracts were made in March 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991 extending the application of the main work in line with the development of the Department's priority estates project, alternatives for social housing and housing options for Wales programmes.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each visit he has made to (a) sixth form colleges, (b) further education colleges, (c) university colleges and (d) polytechnics, in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend has visited the following colleges :
|College |Date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) |None |-
(b) |Pembrokeshire College |22 May 1990
|Bangor Normal College |20 May 1991
|Pencoed College |22 May 1991
(c) |University College of North Wales |30 July 1990
|University College of Wales, Aberystwyth|12 November 1990
|University of Wales, College of Cardiff |11 February 1991
|University College Swansea |17 April 1991
(d) |Polytechnic of Wales | 7 May 1991
Sports Council for Wales
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he last met the chairman of the Sports Council for Wales ; (2) when he proposes to visit the headquarters of the Sports Council for Wales ;
(3) how many times he has visited the headquarters of the Sports Council for Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : I have visited the national sports centre for Wales once, on 25 February, when I last met the chairman of the Sports Council for Wales. No further visit has been arranged.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for extra financing of the Sports Council for Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to provide extra financing for the Sports Council for Wales in addition to the generous grant-in-aid settlement announced in my reply to the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones) on 28 February 1991.
Teachers
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which teacher unions he has met.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I met representatives of the NAS/UWT (Wales) on 7 September 1990. We are always prepared to consider requests from the teachers' unions for meetings to discuss educational issues in Wales.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he will take to improve the morale of teachers in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 28 November 1990. Our intention to establish a pay review body for teachers will enhance the status of the profession and improve morale further.
Standard Assessment Tests
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to meet the teacher unions to discuss the standard assessment tests.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Tuesday 4 June.
Health Service Waiting Lists
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding the best means of reducing waiting lists in ophthalmology and general surgery.
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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I last met the chairman and consultants from South Glamorgan health authority on 24 May to discuss current waiting time issues, including those affecting ophthalmology, and ways of tackling them.Rail Services
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will reconsider the contents of his letter of 31 March, addressed to Mr. J. Lazarus, county planning officer of Gwynedd county council, concerning the economic impact of the proposed reduction in British Rail's through services between Holyhead and Euston next autumn.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My letter did not refer to the economic impact of rail services to Holyhead. It did, however, draw attention to improvements to the number of journey opportunities, journey times and rolling stock which British Rail intend to bring to these services.
Social Services
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provision his Department has made to each county council for social services in (a) 1991-92 and (b) the previous year.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Revenue support grant (RSG) for each county council in Wales is paid in support of services generally and is not hypothecated.
The level of total standard spending (TSS) allowed for in the local government finance settlement for 1990-91 and 1991-92 is given in the following table. Also shown are the notional amounts provided for personal social services ; it is however for local authorities to determine how resources should be allocated to particular services.
Year |Total |Personal
|Standard |Social
|Spending |Services
|£ million|£ million
----------------------------------------
1990-91 |2,114.5 |186.8
1991-92 |2,433.1 |224.0
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what, at 1992 prices, was the total spending on health and personal social services in each year since 1978-79 ; what is the average percentage increase since May 1979 ; and what are the equivalent capital provisions within these annual figures.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information, on the new planning total basis, is estimated to be as follows :
£ million at 1991-92 prices
|Total net |of which:
|public |Capital
|expenditure
|on health and
|personal
|social services
----------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |1,082 |70
1979-80 |1,085 |62
1980-81 |1,177 |66
1981-82 |1,225 |80
1982-83 |1,257 |83
1983-84 |1,274 |84
1984-85 |1,313 |89
1985-86 |1,327 |85
1986-87 |1,381 |90
1987-88 |1,456 |88
1988-89 |1,506 |78
1989-90 |1,537 |101
1990-91 |1,615 |118
The percentage increase for total net spending between 1978-79 and 1990-91 was over 49 per cent. in real terms (about 275 per cent. in cash). During this period, the annual average percentage increase was a little over 4 per cent. in real terms (23 per cent. in cash).
Health Service Waiting Lists
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings with consultant ophthalmologists and general surgeons regarding initiatives to reduce the appropriate waiting list he has conducted during each month since January 1991.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I met general surgeons at Prince Charles, Morriston, University hospital of Wales, and the Royal Gwent hospitals and consultant ophthalmologists at the University hospital of Wales and Singleton hospital at a series of meetings on 24 and 29 May to discuss waiting list problems. In addition I have discussed the matter when visiting other hospitals over the past six months.
Anaesthetic Services
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken by the Welsh Office to make provision for additional hospital-based general anaesthetic services for tooth extraction in Wales in the light of the Poswillo report.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Consultation upon the Poswillo report is continuing. The outcome will be announced in due course.
Education
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the cost of the booklet, "How is Your Child Getting on at School" ; and by what means it is being distributed.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Total production costs of the bilingual version of the booklet issued in Wales were £27,600.
Free copies were distributed through the Central Office of Information to all primary schools, main post offices and libraries.
EMPLOYMENT
Earnings (Doncaster)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the maximum and minimum basic rates of pay recorded in the Doncaster area of the Employment Service from advertised posts in (a) the manufacturing sector and (b) the service sector for (i) full-time and (ii) part-time work, showing figures for (1) men and (2) women for the latest date he has available.
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Mr. Jackson : The information requested is not available, but figures on average earnings in April 1990 in South Yorkshire metropolitan county, for full-time men and women workers, are published in part E of the 1990 new earnings survey report, a copy of which is in the Library.Consultancy Contracts
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total amount spent by his Department in the 1990-91 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases ; and if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1990-91, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm, the subject of the assignment and, if appropriate, the executive agency for which the contract was carried out.
Mr. Jackson : The amount spent by my Department in 1990-91 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases, was £10.8 million.
The following firms were awarded consultancy contracts by the Department of Employment Group during 1990-91 :
Consultant |Subject
Ex-offenders (Training)
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what were the levels of expenditure on employment training for ex-offenders for each year since the inception of employment training ;
(2) whether expenditure on employment training for ex-offenders has increased since the launch of Training and Enterprise Councils.
Mr. Jackson : Trainees do not have to say whether they are ex- offenders so there is no reliable information on their involvement in ET.
Earnings
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide the latest information available showing the level of average earnings for (a) manual and (b) non-manual males and females in full-time employment in (i) the county of Lancashire, and (b) England as a whole.
Mr. Jackson : The information requested can be found in tables 108, 109, 111 and 112 of part E of the 1990 new earnings survey report, a copy of which is in the Library.
Employment Credit Schemes
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make the results of the Government's market research into the viability of employment credit schemes, and the pilot action credit scheme, available to the training and enterprise councils ; and which training and enterprise councils are planning to adopt a form of such schemes in each area.
Mr. Jackson : The results of the market research carried out on behalf of the Employment Service were published
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in July 1990 under the title "Action Credit : Survey of Clients", and a copy was placed in the Library of the House. The results of the pilot action credit scheme will be published shortly. They will be made available to TECs through Employment Department regional offices. No central record is kept of the extent to which TECs are planning such schemes, but it is understood that few TECs currently have such plans.Health and Safety Inspectors
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many health and safety inspectors are currently employed wholly or mainly in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : On 1 May 1991 the Health and Safety Executive employed 55 health and safety inspectors working mainly or wholly in Wales.
Early Retirement
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate for the number of people over the age of 55 years who have retired early due to redundancy.
Mr. Jackson : Reliable estimates are not available.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
EC Legislation
44. Mr. McMaster : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he has any further plans to review the arrangements for considering EC legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : The Government are committed to carrying out a full review of the new scrutiny procedures at the end of this parliamentary Session. In addition, as I have made clear on a number of occasions, most recently on 29 April, I keep the arrangements constantly under review, and I am presently considering whether to bring forward any proposals in the short term to deal with points that have arisen from the operation of the European Standing Committees.
Recycled Paper
45. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Lord President of the Council what percentage of publications printed by HMSO on behalf of the House of Commons appear on recycled paper ; and what plans there are to increase this percentage.
Mr. MacGregor : No publications printed by HMSO on behalf of the House of Commons are produced on recycled paper at present. Much of the material concerned is of archival significance and when the question was considered by the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee during the last Session, it concurred with the advice given by HMSO that recycled paper was currently unsuitable for use in producing parliamentary publications, largely due to the poor archival qualities of the paper. However, the matter is being kept under review and I have asked the Sub- Committee to look again at the proposal that the Vote bundle be printed on recycled paper.
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SCOTLAND
Infant Mortality
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the infant mortality rate in (a) each Scottish constituency, (b) each health board area, and (c) each postal district, in the last available year.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Provisional figures show that there were 510 infant deaths in Scotland in 1990, giving an infant mortality rate of 7.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. This continues the long-term downward trend. At this level, care must be taken in comparing rates for different areas.
Rates for the 15 health board areas are given below : those based on fewer than 10 deaths are marked with an asterisk.
Rates for the 72 parliamentary constituencies and the 438 postal districts are not given because comparisons at this area level could be misleading.
Infant Death Rates, Scotland 1990 (Provisional) Health Board Areas |Number ------------------------------------------------------------ Borders |10.7 Forth Valley |8.1 Dumfries and Galloway |*5.0 Fife |7.2 Grampian |6.8 Highland |8.5 Lothian |7.9 Tayside |9.1 Orkney |*7.4 Shetland |*0.0 Western Isles |*8.7 Argyll and Clyde |10.1 Ayrshire and Arran |6.4 Greater Glasgow |7.3 Lanarkshire |7.4
Justices of the Peace
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many justices of the peace in Scotland are (a) men and (b) women ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information is set out in the table.
I am advised on the appointment of justices of the peace for each district and islands area by advisory committees. The committees have all been given guidance to the effect that it is desirable that the area of selection be wide and the choice comprehensive, so that commissions of the peace may include both men and women and be broadly representative of all sections of the community which they serve.
Justices of the peace in Scotland as at 1 May 1991
|Men |Women |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justices appointed by the Secretary of State |2,893 |745 |3,638
Ex officio justices nominated by local authorities |235 |59 |294
Justices by virtue of having held office as a magistrate immediately before 16 May 1975 |418 |44 |462
|-------|-------|-------
All justices |3,546 |848 |4,394
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Hospital Services (East Lothian)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation took place between Lothian health board and the Scottish ambulance service about the implications of closures of hospital services in East Lothian on the workload of the ambulance service before those wards and units were closed ; and if he will make a statement on the measures being taken to meet that workload in terms of manpower, equipment and finance.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Scottish ambulance service was consulted by the health board as part of the public consultation of interested parties from 29 May to 30 July 1990.
In order to meet the additional workload and to improve the service, including a reduction in single manning, 14 additional staff were employed in the East Lothian area at a cost of £286,000. No extra vehicles and equipment were required.
Cottage Hospitals
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for the last five years for which figures are available, the bed occupancy rate of Meigle cottage hospital.
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