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Mr. Redwood : The Government are playing a constructive role in the continuing discussions on the European Commission's proposals for a directive on technical standards for satellite broadcasting. However, the Government cannot accept the current proposal that all satellite services launched after the implementation of the directive should be obliged to use the D2-MAC standard. This is anti-competitive because with so few D2-MAC receivers in the market, new services would not be able to reach sufficiently large audiences to compete effectively with existing services. The Government believe that regulations in this field should not be retrospective but should be focussed on new opportunities such as wide screen satellite transmissions. It should then be a matter of voluntary effort to implement.
Procter and Gamble
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received any reports of the funding of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the National Childbirth Trust by Procter and Gamble.
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Mr. Leigh : None, beyond reference in the press.Environmental Advertising
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to curb misleading environmental advertising.
Mr. Leigh : All misleading advertising, whether environmental or otherwise, is subject to the general provisions of the advertising industry's voluntary codes of practice and the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988. In addition to these self-regulatory and statutory controls, a guidance booklet on environmental claims is currently being drawn up by the Advertising Standards Authority, the Independent Television Commission, the Radio Authority with the support of the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers and in consultation with this Department. It is intended that this new booklet be given wide circulation to ensure that the guidelines on environmental advertising are followed.
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Generally, false and misleading claims about traded goods are also prohibited by the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. A number of prosecutions in relation to misleading environmental claims have been successfully brought under the Act.Disposable Nappies
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has commissioned any independent research on the environmental impact of disposable nappies from cradle to grave.
Mr. Leigh : My Department has not commissioned any research on the environmental impact of disposable nappies from cradle to grave. It is possible that nappies will be chosen as one of the product categories for early consideration under the proposed EC eco-labelling scheme. If so, my officials will of course consider the need for any appropriate research.
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Hungary
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to what proportion of Hungary's imports and exports are (a) with the United Kingdom and (b) with the EEC.
Mr. Sainsbury : In 1990, 2.1 per cent. of Hungary's imports of goods came from the United Kingdom and 30.9 per cent. from the EC. In the same year 2 per cent. of Hungary's exports of goods went to the United Kingdom and 32.4 per cent. to the EC.
Cigarette Products (Labelling)
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning the new regulations on the labelling of cigarette products, whereby United Kingdom manufacturers are required to print warnings on cigarette packs larger than those required of importers.
Mr. Leigh : My Department has received some representations on the subject of the Tobacco Products Labelling (Safety) Regulations 1991 from associations representing the tobacco industry and from within the industry.
Czechoslovakia
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to what proportion of Czechoslovakia's imports and exports are (a) with the United Kingdom and (b) with the EEC.
Mr. Sainsbury : In 1990, 2.8 per cent. of Czechoslovakia's imports of goods came from the United Kingdom and 31.1 per cent. from the EC. In the same year, 2.6 per cent. of Czechoslovakia's exports of goods went to the United Kingdom and 32 per cent. to the EC.
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Poland
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to what proportion of Poland's imports and exports are (a) with the United Kingdom and (b) with the EEC.
Mr. Sainsbury : In 1990, 3.6 per cent. of Poland's imports of goods came from the United Kingdom and 45 per cent. from the EC. In the same year, 4.1 per cent. of Poland's exports of goods went to the United Kingdom and 35.7 per cent. to the EC.
ECGD
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning the deadline for staff of the Export Credits Guarantee Department to opt to remain in the civil service or to join the to-be-privatised company taking over the present work of the Insurance Services Group.
Mr. Sainsbury : One from the hon. Member for Gateshead, East (Ms. Quin) and one from the ECGD Whitley council, Cardiff trades union side.
On 4 September full information on the proposed terms and conditions of employment and the structure of the privatised company was made available to ECGD staff, who were asked to express a firm preference by 4 October. All but a few of them had done so by that date. About 500 permanent staff and 80 casual staff have expressed a preference to join the privatised company.
Manufacturing Output
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the percentage change in output per man hour in manufacturing in the United Kingdom, USA, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden each year since 1970.
Mr. Leigh : The information is in the table.
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Output per Man Hour in Manufacturing-Annual Percentage Change
|UK |USA |Japan |France |Germany<1>|Italy |Sweden
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970 |2.0 |-0.3 |12.7 |5.8 |3.0 |6.6 |4.2
1971 |4.9 |6.2 |5.7 |6.4 |3.7 |1.9 |4.1
1972 |6.8 |5.2 |10.4 |4.5 |6.1 |8.5 |5.1
1973 |7.2 |5.3 |10.2 |7.3 |6.3 |8.0 |7.4
1974 |1.4 |-2.3 |4.0 |3.5 |3.8 |7.1 |4.1
1975 |-1.8 |2.6 |1.8 |1.5 |4.1 |-3.5 |1.4
1976 |4.4 |4.4 |6.2 |7.0 |7.2 |13.5 |1.5
1977 |0.6 |2.5 |5.3 |6.3 |3.0 |2.2 |-1.6
1978 |1.5 |0.8 |7.2 |4.6 |3.4 |6.5 |2.7
1979 |0.7 |0.4 |5.9 |5.1 |4.0 |9.4 |7.8
1980 |-1.3 |1.3 |7.7 |1.2 |-0.1 |4.8 |1.6
1981 |6.5 |1.4 |3.5 |2.8 |1.6 |2.6 |-0.6
1982 |5.3 |2.2 |6.2 |5.7 |0.7 |2.5 |4.4
1983 |8.8 |4.9 |5.4 |4.0 |5.1 |5.3 |6.6
1984 |5.2 |4.9 |7.3 |1.5 |3.2 |10.1 |5.0
1985 |3.3 |4.2 |5.6 |21.3 |3.6 |5.4 |0.6
1986 |4.0 |4.6 |1.6 |1.9 |-0.9 |1.0 |1.5
1987 |6.1 |4.9 |7.7 |2.7 |-2.5 |2.6 |1.3
1988 |5.5 |4.6 |4.8 |4.9 |3.3 |2.8 |1.5
1989 |5.0 |0.8 |4.4 |4.7 |4.4 |2.9 |1.7
1990 |1.0 |2.5 |3.8 |0.4 |2.9 |-1.3 |-0.1
<1> Excludes East Germany
Data source: IMF
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WALES
Doctors and Dentists (Pay)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the amount health authorities in Wales will need to find in 1991-92 from existing funding in 1991-92 to meet the costs of the Doctors and Dentists Remuneration Review Body's pay awards.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : In 1991-92 health authorities in Wales will need to find an estimated additional £0.6 million, over and above the provision for inflation included in their start-of-year 1991-92 allocations, to meet the costs of the 1991 Doctors and Dentists Review Body's pay awards.
National Health Service
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the gross domestic product in Wales has been spent on the national health service each year since 1987-88.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Gross national health service expenditure in Wales for each financial year since 1987-88 is as follows :
Year |£ millions --------------------------------- 1987-88 |1,137 1988-89 |1,271 1989-90 |1,377 1990-91 |1,544
Gross domestic product figures for Wales, by calendar year, are published in CSO Economic Trends.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the cost to health authorities in Wales in 1991-92 of the Professions Allied to Medicine Review Body's pay awards for that year, and the amount allocated from Government reserves to meet part of these costs.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The cost to health authorities in Wales of the Professions Allied to Medicine Review Body's pay awards in 1991-92 is estimated to be £2.9 million. The additional amount allocated from Government reserves, over and above the provision for inflation in authorities' original 1991-92 allocations, to meet part of these costs is £0.7 million.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new administrative posts have been created in each health authority in Wales as a result of the recent changes in the national health service.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The information requested is not held centrally. Manpower returns to the Welsh Office from district health authorities do not identify numbers of posts created specifically to implement particular tasks and health authority accounts similarly do not identify costs in such a way. In 1990-91, additional funding of some £16.2 million was provided to the national health service in Wales for spending on the changes and improvements associated with, and related to the national health service review. Some £8.5 million of this was for hospital and community health service revenue expenditure on the provision of new consultants and treatment centres,
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medical audit, information technology, training and strengthening the personnel and finance functions. It is not possible to estimate what proportion of these funds was spent on establishing new administrative posts.BTEC Courses
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of schools in Wales have applied to run Business and Technical Education Council courses ; and what proportion these are of the total numbers of schools eligible.
Sir Wyn Roberts : To date the number of schools by local education authority who have submitted letters of intent to the Business and Technical Education Council indicating that they will apply to run Business and Technical Education Council first awards from September 1992 are as follows :
-
|Number
------------------------------
Clwyd |4
Dyfed |12
Gwent |11
Gwynedd |2
Mid Glamorgan |8
Powys |2
South Glamorgan |11
West Glamorgan |4
All schools who make provision for pupils over 16 fulfil the criteria laid down by BTEC are eligible to run BTEC courses. Information on the number of schools meeting BTEC criteria is not held centrally.
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list those schools which have been approved by BTEC to run courses in (a) Mid-Glamorgan and (b) Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Those schools in Mid-Glamorgan which have been approved to operate BTEC first awards from September 1991 are as follows :
Blaengwawr
Porthcawl Comprehensive
Ynysawdre
In addition, the following schools in Wales have also been approved to run BTEC firsts from September 1991 :
Bishop Vaughan West Glamorgan
Caerleon Gwent
Cantonian High South Glamorgan
Fitzalan South Glamorgan
Glan Ely South Glamorgan
Maesydderwen Powys
Monmouth Gwent
Mynyddbach West Glamorgan
Newport Dyffryn Gwent
Olchfa West Glamorgan
St. David's RC South Glamorgan
St. Joseph's Newport Gwent
St. Teilo's CW South Glamorgan
Ysgol Maes Garmon Clwyd
Opted-out Schools
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of schools opt-out ballots which have taken place since the introduction of the scheme ; and how many (a) were for, (b) were against and (c) had a majority either way of less than 5 per cent. of parents eligible to vote.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : Of the eight ballots held to date in Wales, five were in favour of applying for grant-maintained status and three were against. In only two instances was there a majority of less than 5 per cent. of the parents eligible to vote.Local Government Finance
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing, for the years 1966-67 to 1991-92 (a) average household domestic rate/community charge bills in pounds sterling, (b) average domestic rate/community charge bills adjusted by the retail prices index, (c) average domestic rate/community charge bills as a proportion of average household income and (d) average domestic rate/community charge bills as a proportion of male average earnings.
Mr. David Hunt : I wrote to the hon. Gentleman about this matter on 23 September, and placed a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Mentally Ill Patients
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people have been discharged from long-stay hospitals caring for mentally ill patients in each of the past five years in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Information on discharges from hospitals caring for mentally ill patients in Wales is published annually in "Mental Health Statistics for Wales", copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Prescribing Budgets
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had from general practitioners concerning the fixing of indicative prescribing budgets for the present financial year.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of general practitioners in Wales were offered counselling visits by their family health service authority prior to their indicative prescribing budgets being set ; and how many such offers were made before 1 April.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 23 May 1991. All GP practices will have been offered the opportunity to discuss their indicative amounts with the responsible FHSA's medical adviser. The timing of such discussions would have been a matter for agreement between the medical adviser and the practice concerned.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines he has issued to family health service authorities in Wales concerning counselling services to general practitioners in the run-up to the fixing of their indicative prescribing budgets.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : A management letter issued to general managers of family health services authorities on 14 February 1991 confirmed that all GP practices should have the right to discuss the level of their indicative prescribing amount with their FHSA's medical adviser on prescribing, in advance of its being set.
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South Glamorgan Health Authority
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority concerning a revision of the authority's 10-year strategic plan.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : My right hon. Friend had informal discussions with the chairman last January and was assured that work on a revised draft strategic plan was well advanced.
Care in the Community
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional funds have been made available to voluntary organisations specifically to provide care in the community for the financial year 1990- 91.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : Voluntary organisations receive funding from a wide range of sources, including social service and health authorities in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. Voluntary organisations have benefited from the general increase in resources made available to these statutory authorities by the Welsh Office for mainstream funding, as well as specific grants for the developments of community care under our various strategies and initiatives. Direct funding to voluntary organisations in Wales under Welsh Office strategies and grant schemes in 1990-91 for community care activities was ; £0.3 million under the elderly initiative ; £0.25 million under the mental handicap strategy ; £0.59 million under the mental illness strategy and £0.47 million grant aid for organisations operating at the all-Wales level, to help further their activities in co-ordinating the work of local voluntary bodies and to represent their client group interests. In total these represent a 138 per cent. increase over 1989-90 expenditure.
Intermediate Treatment Fund
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provision he proposes to make to fund the future work of the intermediate treatment fund in Wales.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : At present the Welsh Office contributes to the intermediate treatment fund's core costs via the Department of Health : £21,000 in the current financial year and £15,000 in 1992-93. Central Government support for the fund is currently planned to cease in March 1993.
After that date it will be open for the ITF to bid for support for specific projects under the terms of the support for child and family services grant scheme.
Mental Illness
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was allocated in the 1990-91 financial year (a) specifically to support the implementation of the all-Wales strategy on mental illness and (b) for other work in connection with mental illness (i) to each local authority in Wales, (ii) to voluntary organisations in each local authority area and (iii) to voluntary organisations in Wales as a whole.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : In addition to the record level of resources being spent on these services by health and social
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services authorities from their mainstream allocations, a total of £3.09 million of mental illness strategy funding and £1.34 million of other funding for mental illness services was allocated in 1990-91. Allocations were predominantly to district health authorities. Mental illness strategy funding to social services authorities and local voluntary organisations was as follows :
|Social Services|Voluntary
|Authorities |Organisations
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |60,000 |36,647
Dyfed |58,486 |-
Gwent |10,700 |214,600
Gwynedd |72,284 |71,079
Mid Glamorgan |86,000 |107,500
Powys |65,740 |47,740
South Glamorgan |2,431 |111,939
West Glamorgan |111,000 |3,800
A total of £178,205 was allocated to voluntary organisations operating on an all-Wales basis.
Information on the allocation of non-strategy mental illness funding between recipient agencies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Council Estates
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to receive applications for refurbishment and modernisation of older council estates for estate programmes to run from April 1992.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : I receive proposals from time to time for special funding to address particular estate problems and these are treated on their merit.
I shall be issuing guidance shortly on this matter.
Health Common Services Authority
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the location of the new head office of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority.
SCOTLAND
Dogs
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prosecutions have taken place in relation to dog-fouling since the introduction of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not separately identifiable within the Scottish Office Home and Health Department's classification of crimes and offences.
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent studies are available to him on the effects of dog-fouling on public health ; whether any further studies are under way or planned ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Studies conducted in Glasgow in 1979 and Edinburgh in 1990 indicate that exposure to
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organisms excreted by dogs and other animals can cause infections in humans. The risk is greatest among pet owners and their families. I am not aware of any further studies currently under way or planned.Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many people per head of population have been detained in the last two years in psychiatric hospitals under sections 24 and 26 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 in each of the health board areas in Scotland ;
(2) how many people in the Grampian health board area have been detained under sections 24 and 26 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 at (a) Royal Cornhill hospital and (b) the Kingseat hospital.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : In 1989 and 1990 the rates of admission per 100,000 population for detention under sections 18 and 24 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 for each health board area were as follows :
|1989|1990
-------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |42 |46
Ayrshire and Arran |39 |36
Borders |41 |31
Dumfries and Galloway |40 |32
Fife |37 |34
Forth Valley |38 |36
Grampian |51 |46
Greater Glasgow |64 |64
Highland |44 |49
Lanarkshire |46 |44
Lothian |45 |44
Orkney |26 |31
Shetland |32 |36
Tayside |55 |55
Western Isles |42 |62
The numbers of admissions to the Royal Cornhill and Kingseat hospitals under sections 18 and 24 of the 1984 Act were as follows :
|1989|1990
---------------------------------------
Royal Cornhill hospital |54 |43
Kingseat hospital |173 |148
Notes:
1. The figures available centrally do
not distinguish between sections 18
and 24. Detention orders under section
26 of the Act extend periods of
detention authorised under section 24
and are not recorded separately.
2. The figures given refer to
admissions. A person may be admitted
on more than one occasion, and when
this happens each admission is
recorded separately.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of opt-out school ballots which have taken place since the introduction of the scheme ; and how many (a) were for, (b) were against and (c) had a majority either way of less than 5 per cent. of parents eligible to vote.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There have been three such ballots. All were against with a majority of more than 5 per cent. of those eligible to vote.
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