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Column 349
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 7 June 1991
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
School Clothing Grants
Mrs. Heal : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the cost of a non-discretionary school clothing grants scheme administered by his Department.
Mr. Fallon : The cost would depend on the scale and nature of any scheme. We have no plans to introduce such a scheme ; it is for local authorities to decide, in the light of local circumstances, when and to what extent to provide clothing grants.
Official Visits
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what visits or other official engagements were undertaken by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science during his visit to the east Birmingham task force area on 23 April 1990.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The programme included visits to the Aston Science Park, a meeting with Sir Reginald Eyre and Heartlands training group, attendance at the Heartlands training event, visit to the east Birmingham task force, East Birmingham college and attendance at the launch of the Asian business handbook.
Natural Environment Research Council
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the level of funding to the Natural Environment Research Council in each year since 1 April 1985.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Details of the level of grant in aid paid by this Department to the Natural Environment Research Council since 1 April 1985 are as follows :
|£ million
-------------------------------
1985-86 |67.880
1986-87 |70.325
1987-88 |73.315
1988-89 |91.859
1989-90 |114.955
1990-91 |135.233
<1>1991-92 |122.564
<1> Estimates.
TRANSPORT
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are currently being taken to meet Government targets for the stabilisation of carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2005.
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Mr. Chope : Over the past year or so, the Government have taken a number of initiatives which will help to reduce emissions from the transport sector. These include an emissions check in the MOT test, proposals to fit speed limiters to heavy goods vehicles, and improvements to information about new car fuel economy. The tax changes announced in the last Budget statement will also help to improve incentives to choose fuel efficient cars and drive them in a fuel economic fashion.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been undertaken for his Department to show how the Government will meet their target of stabilising carbon dioxide emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2005 ; and if he will make available any forecasts and associated calculations.
Mr. Chope : My Department has published a report by Dr. M. H. L. Waters on "United Kingdom road transport's contribution to greenhouse gases : a review of TRRL and other research" (Transport and Road Research Laboratory contractor report 223.) This is being followed up by a programme of research into various measures which might help to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Where appropriate, the results will be published in due course.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his Department's traffic forecast for the next 15 years ; how he estimates these will affect the Government's declared objective of stabilising carbon dioxide emission levels from 1990 by the year 2005 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The Department's traffic forecasts are published as National Road Traffic Forecasts (Great Britain) 1989 copies of which are in the Library. They indicate that by the year 2005 traffic will be 31 to 52 per cent. higher than in 1990. The impact of traffic levels on emissions of carbon dioxide will largely depend on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle fleet.
Great Glen Bypass
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made since 1987 in plans for the construction of the Great Glen bypass, Leicestershire, on the A6 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : Following public consultation the preferred route for the A6 Great Glen bypass was announced in November 1989. Since that time surveys have been carried out leading to the detailed design of the scheme. We plan to publish draft orders in the autumn.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Residential Homes
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people living in residential and nursing homes are paid for by income support ; and how many of these are over pension age.
Miss Widdecombe : The latest estimate of the number of people in receipt of income support in residential care and nursing homes is for August 1990, when the figure was 199,000. Information on how many of these were over
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pension age is not available but, as of May 1989, about 80 per cent. of income support recipients in such homes were over pension age.Community Charge (Lambeth)
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many community charge payers in Lambeth were in receipt of community charge benefit at the last period for which figures were available, based on claims for refunds by his Department to Lambeth council.
Miss Widdecombe : As at 28 February 1991, it is estimated that 38, 200 charge payers were receiving community charge benefit in the London borough of Lambeth. This figure is likely to understate the true position as, in addition to having a number of unprocessed claims, a computer- related problem prevented Lambeth from including certain cases in its February stock count.
Social Fund Reviews
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for review by a social fund inspector were outstanding for more than one month on 30 April.
Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 3 May 1991 at column 350.
Benefit Claimants
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's policy on informing the next of kin of deceased unemployment benefit claimants of any outstanding benefits to which they are entitled ; and if he will make a statement on the considerations leading to the formulation of this policy.
Mr. Jack : When a claimant dies, any outstanding unemployment benefit may be paid to persons claiming that benefit as legal personal representatives, legatees, next of kin or creditors of the deceased. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individuals mentioned to make sure that any outstanding benefit has been claimed. However, following the hon. Member's question, steps are being taken to ensure that in administering unemployment benefit on a day to day basis instructions to employment
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service offices properly reflect this policy intention and that, where a legal personal representative or next of kin notifies the ESO that a claimant has died, an invitation to claim any arrears will be issued. Instructions to staff in offices of the Benefits Agency will also be reviewed to ensure that similar procedures are followed where this is not already the case.Information regarding the payment of arrears of benefit following a death can be obtained from offices of the Department of Social Security and unemployment benefit offices. In addition, advice on claiming arrears of benefit is included in social security leaflet D49, "What to do After a Death", which contains detailed information on the action to be taken when someone dies.
Disposable Income
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing disposable income in and out of work, after 16 weeks, for a single-wage family with two children aged four and six years and a mortgage of (a) £50,000 (b) £75,000 and (c) £100,000 assuming offer wages of £200, £250, £300, £350, £400, £450 and £500 a week.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 20 May 1991] : The information is set out in the table. The figures are based on the following assumptions.
Mortgage payments are for interest only and contain no repayments of capital. Where an income support claimant's outgoings are unnecessarily high they may be restricted to the amount that they would need to obtain suitable alternative accommodation. In the table, it has been assumed that no such restriction has been applied. They are shown net of tax. The mortgage shown is the capital outstanding. Mortgage interest is calculated at 12.95 per cent.
In calculating the figures the same assumptions have been used as are found in the tax benefit model tables. Net income in work includes child benefit and any community charge benefit as may be payable. It should be noted that the results in the tables remain arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people and cannot claim to be representative of the population at large.
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Gross Pay (£pw) Net income in work after mortgage and community charge Net income on income
(£pw) support after mortgage and
|community charge (£pw)
|mortgage £50,000 |mortgage £75,000 |mortgage £100,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
200 |60.84 |-1.42 |-63.68 |101.22
250 |93.84 |31.58 |-30.68 |101.22
300 |126.84 |64.58 |2.32 |101.22
350 |159.84 |97.58 |35.32 |101.22
400 |197.34 |135.08 |72.82 |101.22
450 |234.84 |172.58 |110.32 |101.22
500 |272.34 |210.08 |147.82 |101.22
HOME DEPARTMENT
Iraqi Detainees
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to publish the report prepared by the Red Cross on prison conditions under which the Iraqi detainees in the United Kingdom were kept during the course of the Gulf war.
Mrs. Angela Rumbold : No. The convention is that such reports are made available only to the Government of the detaining country and to the national Government of those detained, and in confidence.
Racial Attacks
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been made to each police authority in England and Wales in the past year regarding improper handling of an offence caused by racial prejudice.
Mrs. Rumbold : This information is not held centrally and may only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Police Records
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will describe the procedures used by the Metropolitan police when disclosing criminal records to local authorities to allow them to determine who is a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence ; whether he will list the offences deemed to make a taxi driver unfit to hold a taxi licence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is not the practice of the Metropolitan police to disclose criminal records to local authorities for this purpose.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has issued advice to local authorities concerning the use of criminal records to determine on who is a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence ; what appeals procedure there is should a criminal record be inaccurate or not relevant to a taxi licence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Office has not issued any such advice to local authorities. Anyone aggrieved by the refusal of a district council to issue a licence may appeal to the courts.
Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many successful prosecutions there have been in each of the past five years under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 relating to having an unmuzzled ferocious dog at large in a street, park or open public place ;
(2) how many successful prosecutions there have been in each of the past five years under the Animals Act 1971 for injury or damage caused by dogs in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : The table shows the number of prosecutions and convictions under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 Section 28(2) to (4).
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Number of defendants prosecuted and convicted under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 section 28(2) to (4) 1985 to 1989 England and Wales Year |Prosecutions|Convictions ---------------------------------------------------- 1985 |55 |28 1986 |54 |26 1987 |52 |37 1988 |80 |43 1989 |93 |60 Note: Information is not collected centrally on civil offences committed under the Animals Act 1971.
Control of Explosives
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of cases where explosives other than fireworks have caused accidents in the home in the past five years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Accurate figures are not available. In 1989, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones) drew my noble Friend's attention to an unfortunate accident in his constituency when a young boy was badly injured while playing with materials used in the home loading of ammunition.
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bear the extra cost to the police of carrying out inspections under the proposed control of explosives regulations.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The cost of operating the statutory enforcement powers to be conferred on the police as a result of the proposed control of explosives regulations, which should not result in a significant additional burden upon police resources, will be met by police funding in the usual way.
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of cases in the last convenient period where explosives have been stolen from private homes.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There is no legal requirement to report thefts of explosives. Accurate figures for thefts from private homes are not available, but five are known to have been reported by police since 1969.
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now postpone the control of explosives regulations to allow increased consultation time for the guidance notes to be fully studied by all interested parties.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is not normal practice for the Health and Safety Executive to consult on guidance notes. They represent an explanation of the regulations and advice on compliance. The proposed control of explosives regulations have been subject to full consultation. We see no need for postponement.
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long has been allowed for consultation on the form of the guidance notes applying to the new proposed control of explosives regulations ; and what factors underlay the decision to set this length of time for consultation.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No general consultation on draft guidance notes applying to the new proposed control of
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explosives regulations has taken place. Draft guidance notes were sent to a number of organisations by the Health and Safety Executive on 3 May 1991. Comments were requested by 17 May 1991. This time was set to permit the guidance notes to be published prior to the draft regulations coming into force. However, important comments received after this date could be taken into account if printing schedules permitted.Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the case histories that led to the proposal by the Health and Safety Executive of new control of explosive regulations.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The new proposed control of explosives regulations are part of the ongoing modernisation of the Explosives Act 1875 and related regulations. This forms part of the Health and Safety Commission's programme of work to review and reform existing legislation. So far a number of new explosives regulations have been made. The draft control of explosives regulations are the latest proposals. These proposals are not driven by particular case histories.
Dog Fights
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Greater Manchester on the action taken in connection with publication of "Pit Bull News" by P. Graham from 44 Midland road, Bramhall, Stockport, in respect of possible offences related to promotion of organised dog fights.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the chief constable of Greater Manchester police that the police are aware of the publication "Pit Bull News". Together with the RSPCA, they have looked into the possibility of prosecuting the publication for offences relating to the promotion of organised dog fights, but have concluded that there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution to proceed.
Sellafield (Security)
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Cumbria as to the investigations being conducted into the break-in at the Sellafield site in the week beginning 20 May, and as to the security implications of these events.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The incident was handled by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority constabulary and Cumbria police were not involved.
CIVIL SERVICE
Civil Service College
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what targets he has approved for the Civil Service College for 1991-92.
Mr. Renton : The primary target for the Civil Service College executive agency will be to cover its costs from income : planned costs for 1991-92 are £14,476K. Other agreed targets for the college in 1991-92 are :
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|Targets
------------------------------------------------------------------
Student days |82,750
Course days |5,465
Students |20,900
Students at grade 7+ |5,501
Number of students in development schemes |4,190
Number of students for formal qualifications |1,980
Number of students from the private sector |450
Percentage of course evaluations in boxes 1 and 2 |78
Students per course day at the college's two main
sites |16.5
Income from consultancy |£130K
There is also a target for "cost per student day" which is not published for commercial reasons, and a five-year value for money target. The rating of college services as revealed by a detailed survey of the views of students must increase over the five-year period to 1995 by 10 per cent. more than the real cost of the college's output.
I am arranging for copies of the college's stategic plan for 1991-1995 to be placed in the Libraries of the Houses of Parliament.
EMPLOYMENT
Redundancies
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average time for his Department to process redundancies ; how many redundancies are awaiting processing ; and whether there are any plans to recruit extra staff to increase efficiency.
Mr. Forth : The average time to process a redundancy payment is currently 10 weeks and the number of claims awaiting processing is 53,000. My Department has introduced a number of efficiency measures to improve the time taken to deal with claims, including the recruitment of additional staff.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment has been made of the effect on employment of the introduction of a minimum wage based on two thirds of male median earnings.
Mr. Forth : Officials in my Department have estimated that the introduction of a minimum wage of two thirds male median earnings could over time lead to the loss of over 1 million jobs if wage differentials were restored by 50 per cent. They have also estimated that in the extreme case of full wage restoration the losses could be of the order of 2 million jobs.
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the cost to the public sector wages and salaries bill of the introduction of a minimum wage of two thirds of male median earnings.
Mr. Forth : We do not have the information to provide a full answer, and even a partial answer could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Employment Training
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money is set aside for employment training in each English county.
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Mr. Jackson : The information is not available in the form requested. In 1991-92 budgets were allocated by funding block rather than by individual scheme. Funding block 2 includes employment training (ET) fees, ET allowances and high technology national training (HTNT). The table below shows the money allocated to each regional office in England for funding block 2 :
Region |Allocation £
|million
---------------------------------------------------
South East |57.25
London |93.02
South West |46.51
West Midlands |89.88
East Midlands |67.75
Yorkshire and Humberside |100.49
North West |123.93
Northern |82.63
Health and Safety Executive
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action the Health and Safety Executive is taking in respect of the drafting of regulations for the storage of (a) propane or butane gas, (b) petrol and (c) weed killer, in the home.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Commission's current reviews of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1984 and regulations concerning the storage of petrol in containers include consideration of the domestic storage of liquefied petroleum gas and petrol respectively.
The storage of weed killer in the home is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who has no plans to produce regulations on such storage.
Mr. Wiggin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the role of the Health and Safety Executive in respect of safety in private domestic premises as proposed in the new draft of the Control of Explosives Regulations ; and on what section of which Act this role is based.
Mr. Forth : None. The Health and Safety Commission has proposed new draft control of explosives regulations to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. The police will be the enforcing authority for most requirements in the proposals ; the Health and Safety Executive for others. The proposed new regulations give the Health and Safety Executive no role in respect of safety in domestic premises.
Training (Finance)
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding reductions in funding for people on training schemes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : A number of hon. Members have written to me about funding for training, including the hon. Member for Truro. It is for training and enterprise councils to allocate funding to training schemes locally. Nationally resources for youth training and employment training now stand at over £1.7 billion for 1991-92. Following a reappraisal of the range of measures available to help unemployed people and a reassessment of the overall demand for ET adjustments were made to the
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balance of our measures involving an increase in the number of opportunities delivered through the Employment Service.Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money has been set aside for the purchase of tools to enable the unemployed to gain skilled employment.
Mr. Jackson : No money has been allocated specifically for the purchase of tools for this purpose.
Skills Training
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans the Government have to provide training for people aged over 25 years in skills necessary to gain employment, including interview skills, literacy and numeracy.
Mr. Jackson : The Government aim to offer to all adults under 50 who have been unemployed for more than two years, and to all unemployed people with disabilities, a place on employment training (ET), enterprise allowance, the job interview guarantee or in a job-club. Many people who need the help described will be included in this group. Other people who need help with literacy/numeracy are eligible to enter ET without being unemployed for 26 weeks. Job preparation courses are offered as part of the job interview guarantee initiative and are designed to give long-term unemployed people the knowledge and confidence to succeed at a guaranteed interview for vacancies offered at the end of the course. The Government have recently announced sponsorship of £3 million over the next three years for a new initiative called "Basic Skills at Work" intended to enhance the quantity and quality of literacy/numeracy training.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people of employment age are on literacy and numeracy training courses ; and if he will give these figures for each English county ;
(2) what money is available for each English county for people with special training needs in literacy, numeracy and social skills ; and what the figures were for 1990.
Mr. Jackson : This information is not available.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Sri Lanka
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much grant aid has been provided for Sri Lanka during each of the past five years ; and if he will increase grant aid for next year.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid is being provided to Sri Lanka in this financial year ; and what was the figure in each of the previous three years.
Mrs. Chalker : I will write to the hon. Members.
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HEALTH
Cancer
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have been recorded in Gwynedd caused by cancer in each of the past five years ; what incidence rate the figure for each year represents ; how that rate corresponds to the figure for (a) Wales and (b) Great
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Britain in each of those years ; and if he will break down the total number of cancer deaths in each year into convenient age groups.Mr. Dorrell : The tables list the number of deaths, and rates per 1,000 population, from malignant neoplasms (ICD 140-208) for the years 1986 -90, in Gwynedd, Wales and Great Britain. The data are presented in convenient age groups.
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Deaths from malignant neoplasms, ICD 140-208 in Great Britain, Wales and Gwynedd.
1986-90.
Great Britain Wales Gwynedd
Age |Deaths |Rate per |Deaths |Rate per |Deaths |Rate per
|,000 |1,000 |1,000
|population |population |population
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986
Under 1 |17 |0.02 |2 |0.05 |0 |0.00
1-4 |122 |0.04 |7 |0.05 |1 |0.09
5-14 |269 |0.04 |10 |0.03 |2 |0.07
15-24 |515 |0.06 |24 |0.05 |1 |0.03
25-34 |1,125 |0.14 |69 |0.19 |6 |0.21
35-44 |3,630 |0.48 |196 |0.52 |13 |0.44
45-54 |9,994 |1.66 |500 |1.63 |40 |1.61
55-64 |29,070 |4.87 |1,648 |5.18 |132 |5.01
65-74 |48,679 |9.95 |2,604 |9.73 |243 |10.01
75-84 |45,853 |15.78 |2,412 |15.72 |241 |15.36
85 and over |14,348 |20.62 |656 |18.46 |72 |18.56
All ages |153,622 |2.78 |8,128 |2.88 |751 |3.20
1987
Under 1 |20 |0.03 |0 |0.00 |0 |0.00
1-4 |116 |0.04 |5 |0.03 |1 |0.09
5-14 |249 |0.04 |9 |0.03 |0 |0.00
15-24 |480 |0.05 |18 |0.04 |3 |0.08
25-34 |1,148 |0.14 |52 |0.14 |4 |0.13
35-44 |3,717 |0.49 |183 |0.48 |22 |0.74
45-54 |9,971 |1.66 |535 |1.73 |54 |2.15
55-64 |28,473 |4.85 |1,574 |5.03 |122 |4.68
65-74 |48,722 |9.89 |2,616 |9.67 |257 |10.55
75-84 |47,198 |15.98 |2,474 |15.86 |262 |16.60
85 and over |15,324 |20.54 |786 |20.31 |90 |21.26
All ages |155,418 |2.81 |8,252 |2.91 |815 |3.45
1988
Under 1 |19 |0.03 |2 |0.05 |1 |0.34
1-4 |135 |0.05 |6 |0.04 |0 |0.00
5-14 |266 |0.04 |17 |0.05 |1 |0.03
15-24 |534 |0.06 |15 |0.03 |1 |0.03
25-34 |1,125 |0.14 |53 |0.13 |2 |0.06
35-44 |3,838 |0.50 |200 |0.52 |14 |0.46
45-54 |9,999 |1.64 |550 |1.75 |45 |1.76
55-64 |27,921 |4.81 |1,481 |4.77 |111 |4.24
65-74 |49,130 |9.99 |2,821 |10.38 |247 |10.12
75-84 |48,154 |16.10 |2,546 |16.09 |258 |16.23
85 and over |16,117 |20.63 |864 |21.23 |105 |23.50
All ages |157,238 |2.83 |8,555 |2.99 |785 |3.28
1989
Under 1 |22 |0.03 |0 |0.00 |0 |0.00
1-4 |146 |0.05 |7 |0.05 |0 |0.00
5-14 |228 |0.03 |13 |0.04 |2 |0.07
15-24 |485 |0.06 |30 |0.07 |1 |0.03
25-34 |1,107 |0.13 |37 |0.09 |7 |0.21
35-44 |3,807 |0.50 |196 |0.51 |25 |0.82
45-54 |9,992 |1.60 |529 |1.65 |45 |1.72
55-64 |26,985 |4.70 |1,448 |4.71 |133 |5.10
65-74 |48,903 |9.96 |2,790 |10.21 |253 |10.33
75-84 |49,504 |16.33 |2,631 |16.35 |284 |17.70
85 and over |17,177 |20.95 |871 |20.45 |95 |20.25
All ages |158,356 |2.85 |8,552 |2.98 |845 |3.51
1990
Under 1 |13 |0.02 |1 |0.03 |1 |0.34
1-4 |109 |0.04 |4 |0.03 |0 |0.00
5-14 |271 |0.04 |13 |0.04 |4 |0.14
15-24 |420 |0.05 |22 |0.05 |0 |0.00
25-34 |1,109 |0.13 |46 |0.11 |7 |0.21
35-44 |3,702 |0.48 |187 |0.49 |18 |0.59
45-54 |9,956 |1.57 |552 |1.69 |48 |1.84
55-64 |26,494 |4.65 |1,417 |4,65 |118 |4.53
65-74 |48,636 |9.94 |2,738 |9.96 |250 |10.21
75-84 |49,416 |16.20 |2,591 |15.90 |260 |16.20
85 and over |17,654 |20.92 |868 |19.73 |91 |19.39
All ages |157,780 |2.83 |8,439 |2.92 |797 |3.31
Note: 1990 rates for Gwynedd based on 1989 population for all ages.
Table file CW910607.007 not available
Cervical Cancer
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of research into a vaccine for cervical cancer ; and what funds are being made available by his Department for such research.
Mr. Dorrell : The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science. I understand that no research into this subject is currently being undertaken by the MRC. The Department's view is that although some strains of human papilloma virus, against which such a vaccine would be used, may pre-dispose to the development of cervical cancer, there is no absolute proof that it does.
It is not normal practice to contemplate developing a vaccine unless there is clear proof that the infectious agent against which the vaccine is directed has been proved to cause the condition under consideration.
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