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HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether asylum applications from those fleeing persecution because they are lesbian or gay are considered on the same basis as those from asylum seekers who have fled persecution for belonging to other social groups.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : All applications for asylum are considered in accordance with the criteria laid down in the 1951 United Nations convention on refugees.
Armed Robbery
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many armed robberies have been committed in each of the Metropolitan police divisions for each of the last three years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have received from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis the following information. The number of offences of robbery where a firearm was involved recorded in each of the divisions in 1988, 1989 and 1990 is as follows :
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Robbery offences involving a firearm: Metropolitan Police Districts 1988 to 1990
1988 1989 1990
Division |Firearm |Firearm |Total |Firearm |Firearm |Total |Firearm |Firearm |Total
|fired |notfired |fired |notfired |fired |notfired
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AB Belgravia |0 |16 |16 |0 |11 |11 |0 |10 |10
BC Chelsea |2 |7 |9 |0 |12 |12 |0 |11 |11
BD Kensington |0 |8 |8 |0 |12 |12 |1 |14 |15
BH Notting Hill |0 |9 |9 |1 |24 |25 |0 |15 |15
CD West End Central |1 |22 |23 |0 |15 |15 |0 |20 |20
CV Vine Street |2 |10 |12 |1 |12 |13 |1 |18 |19
CX Charing Cross |0 |21 |21 |0 |17 |17 |0 |21 |21
DD Paddington Green |0 |24 |24 |1 |20 |21 |1 |33 |34
DM Marylebone Lane |1 |33 |34 |0 |25 |25 |0 |18 |18
DR Harrow Road |0 |18 |18 |1 |22 |23 |0 |11 |11
EH Hampstead |1 |28 |29 |0 |33 |33 |0 |41 |41
EK Kentish Town |2 |30 |32 |1 |33 |34 |1 |44 |45
EO Holborn |1 |48 |49 |0 |33 |33 |1 |41 |42
FD Hammersmith |1 |32 |33 |0 |29 |29 |0 |24 |24
FF Fulham |1 |7 |8 |0 |10 |10 |0 |13 |13
GH Hackney |5 |50 |55 |2 |44 |46 |1 |57 |58
GN Stoke Newington |2 |45 |47 |4 |64 |68 |1 |78 |79
HB Bethnal Green |2 |22 |24 |2 |24 |26 |0 |26 |26
HD Leman Street |1 |20 |21 |2 |24 |26 |0 |20 |20
HH Limehouse |2 |30 |32 |0 |25 |25 |1 |28 |29
ID Heathrow |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1
JB Barkingside |0 |24 |24 |1 |21 |22 |2 |29 |31
JC Chingford |1 |24 |25 |0 |26 |26 |0 |38 |38
JI Ilford |1 |17 |18 |0 |18 |18 |0 |35 |35
JL Leyton |0 |36 |36 |1 |52 |53 |1 |52 |53
KD Romford |1 |18 |19 |1 |45 |46 |0 |29 |29
KG Dagenham |0 |22 |22 |1 |16 |17 |0 |24 |24
KO Plaistow |2 |33 |35 |2 |24 |26 |1 |14 |15
KW West Ham |2 |41 |43 |3 |43 |46 |0 |37 |37
LD Brixton |1 |37 |38 |0 |33 |33 |1 |40 |41
LK Kennington Road |1 |18 |19 |1 |20 |21 |2 |25 |27
LM Clapham |2 |21 |23 |2 |17 |19 |0 |18 |18
LS Streatham |0 |33 |33 |0 |35 |35 |0 |38 |38
MD Southwark |1 |47 |48 |2 |43 |45 |3 |34 |37
MM Peckham |0 |24 |24 |0 |38 |38 |0 |46 |46
MS Carter Street |3 |28 |31 |0 |34 |34 |2 |30 |32
ND Kings Cross Road |0 |50 |50 |1 |33 |34 |1 |52 |53
NH Holloway |2 |36 |38 |2 |47 |49 |2 |52 |54
PD Catford |1 |41 |42 |1 |41 |42 |1 |44 |45
PL Lewisham |3 |46 |49 |5 |36 |41 |1 |58 |59
PN Orpington |2 |17 |19 |1 |11 |12 |0 |21 |21
PR Bromley |0 |17 |17 |1 |28 |29 |2 |26 |28
QA Harrow |4 |23 |27 |3 |12 |15 |3 |40 |43
QD Wembley |8 |42 |50 |1 |45 |46 |2 |47 |49
QK Kilburn |6 |46 |52 |1 |53 |54 |3 |62 |65
RA Woolwich |1 |11 |12 |0 |23 |23 |2 |33 |35
RG Greenwich |2 |30 |32 |1 |39 |40 |1 |41 |42
RY Bexleyheath |0 |22 |22 |2 |31 |33 |0 |26 |26
SA Barnet |1 |11 |12 |0 |17 |17 |0 |22 |22
SG Golders Green |0 |20 |20 |0 |31 |31 |0 |53 |53
SV West Hendon |0 |12 |12 |0 |20 |20 |1 |20 |21
TC Chiswick |0 |5 |5 |0 |12 |12 |0 |10 |10
TD Hounslow |1 |9 |10 |0 |19 |19 |0 |18 |18
TG Spelthorne |3 |5 |8 |0 |12 |12 |0 |5 |5
TW Twickenham |3 |14 |17 |0 |8 |8 |0 |26 |26
VK Kingston |2 |8 |10 |2 |15 |17 |0 |29 |29
VW Wimbledon |0 |16 |16 |0 |28 |28 |2 |28 |30
WA Battersea |0 |12 |12 |1 |13 |14 |0 |18 |18
WD Tooting |0 |11 |11 |0 |29 |29 |1 |25 |26
WW Wandsworth |0 |7 |7 |1 |10 |11 |0 |14 |14
XD Ealing |2 |27 |29 |0 |27 |27 |1 |29 |30
XS Southhall |1 |14 |15 |3 |13 |16 |0 |19 |19
XU Uxbridge |0 |19 |19 |1 |18 |19 |1 |15 |16
XY Hayes |0 |8 |8 |2 |8 |10 |0 |8 |8
YE Edmonton |0 |20 |20 |0 |22 |22 |2 |44 |46
YF Enfield |1 |25 |26 |0 |23 |23 |2 |32 |34
YR Hornsey |1 |31 |32 |1 |46 |47 |2 |62 |64
YT Tottenham |1 |25 |26 |1 |43 |44 |0 |33 |33
ZD Croydon |0 |14 |14 |0 |25 |25 |0 |35 |35
ZN South Norwood |4 |34 |38 |1 |24 |25 |0 |31 |31
ZP Epsom |0 |14 |14 |2 |38 |40 |2 |28 |30
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |88 |1,646 |1,734 |63 |1,855 |1,918 |52 |2,139 |2,191
Belmarsh Prison
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prison officers are employed at Belmarsh prison ; and what rank they hold.
Mrs. Rumbold : Fifty seven, of whom one is a principal officer and three are senior officers.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present prison officer staffing at Belmarsh prison as of 7 November ; how many of these officers are newly recruited to the prison service ; and how many have joined Belmarsh by prison transfer from other prisons.
Mrs. Rumbold : There are 464 officers in the ranks from prison officer to principal officer employed at Belmarsh, of whom 133 are newly recruited and 327 have transferred from other prisons.
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Begging
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) charged just with begging and (b) convicted of just begging under the Operation Burlington and its successor, Operation Taurus.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that under Operations Burlington and Taurus, 718 people were charged only with begging and 534 people were convicted only of begging.
Murder
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures for the convictions of suspects indicted for murder for each year from 1982 to 1989 for (a) men and (b) women broken down by category of conviction.
Mr. John Patten : The information in the table relates to homicides recorded in England and Wales from 1982 to 1989 inclusive. The convictions of suspects indicted for murder are given separately for men and women.
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Convictions of suspects indicted for murder 1982-1989
Men
England and Wales Number of persons
Conviction |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |198 |1989 |Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder |155 |145 |163 |162 |202 |210 |187 |195 |1,419
Sec. 2 Manslaughter |86 |61 |57 |60 |69 |63 |59 |57 |5122
Other Manslaughter |113 |111 |124 |143 |141 |158 |158 |116 |1,064
Lesser offence |2 |19 |8 |20 |30 |23 |23 |28 |153
Acquitted/unfit to plead |41 |32 |56 |60 |53 |51 |55 |61 |409
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Manslaughter as a percentage of
murder plus manslaughter |56 |54 |53 |56 |51 |51 |54 |47 |53
Women
England and Wales Number of persons
Conviction |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder |6 |8 |8 |11 |6 |12 |11 |9 |71
Sec. 2 Manslaughter |16 |19 |20 |14 |12 |14 |12 |15 |122
Other Manslaughter |12 |14 |18 |15 |17 |16 |32 |21 |145
Infanticide |2 |3 |0 |2 |1 |0 |1 |1 |10
Lesser offence |2 |1 |4 |0 |5 |3 |4 |5 |24
Aquitted/unfit to plead |5 |4 |6 |7 |5 |8 |9 |10 |54
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |43 |49 |65 |49 |46 |53 |69 |61 |426
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Manslaughter as a percentage of
murder plus manslaughter |82 |80 |83 |72 |83 |71 |80 |80 |79
Life Sentence
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the number of (a) discretionary life-sentenced prisoners and (b) mandatory life-sentenced prisoners, excluding terrorist cases, who have been refused release on licence on the specific instructions of Home Office Ministers for each year since 1979.
Mrs. Rumbold : Information in the form requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Animals Procedures Committee
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the names of the members of the Animals Procedures Committee with their qualifications for membership.
Mrs. Rumbold : Section 19 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires that, of the members of the Animal Procedures Committee other than the chairman, at least two thirds shall be persons who hold full registration as medical practitioners, registration as veterinary surgeons or qualifications or experience in a biological subject approved by the Secretary of State as relevant to the work of the committee. The committee is also required to have one member who is a barrister, solicitor or advocate, and in making appointments to the committee my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is required to have regard to the desirability of ensuring that the interests of animal welfare are adequately represented. The Act also requires that at least half the members of the committee are persons who neither hold, nor within the previous six years have held, any licence under the 1986
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Act or under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876. Current members of the Animal Procedures Committee have been appointed in line with these requirements.The membership of the Animal Procedures Committee as at 22 November 1991 is as follows :
Lord Nathan, MA Hon LLD (Chairman)
Professor Michael Balls, MA DPhil, University of Nottingham, Chairman of the Trustees of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME).
Mr. Edward Bernard, FIAT, Chairman, Serotec Ltd.
Professor Margaret Brazier, LLB, Professor of Law, University of Manchester
Professor Barry Bridges, BSc MD, Professor of Histology, Queen's University, Belfast
Dr. Roger Brimblecombe, PhD DSc FRCPath FIBiol, Consultant, Smith Kline and Beecham Laboratories
Professor Fiona Broughton Pipkin, MA DPhil, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham
Dr. Henry Carter, CBE MRCVS, Senior Vice President, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Professor Anthony Dayan, MD FRCP FRCPath FIBiol, Professor of Toxicology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital
Mr. Roger Ewbank, OBE MVSc FIBiol MRCVS, Director of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)
Mr. Clive Hollands, Secretary to the Committee for the Reform of Animal Experimentation (CRAE)
Sir Andrew Huxley, OM FRS, Past President, Royal Society Dr. Susan Iversen, MA PhD, Director of Behavioural Pharmacology, Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories
Professor John Ledingham, DM FRCP, Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford
Dr. Brian Newbould, BPharm FPS PhD MCPP, Director International Research Affairs, ICI Corporate R & T
Professor Onora O'Neill, MA PhD, Professor of Philosophy, University of Essex
Professor Thomas Pilkington, MD FRCP, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, St. George's Hospital Medical School
Professor Lord Soulsby, MA PhD DVSM AM DSc MRCVS, Professor of Animal Pathology, University of Cambridge
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Professor Michael Spyer, BSc PhD DSc, Professor of Physiology, Royal Free Hospital Medical SchoolProfessor Peter Venables, BA PhD Hon DSc FBPsS,
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of York
Animal Experiments
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the figure for the number of experiments on live animals conducted in the last year for which these are available ; what was the figure for 10 years ago ; and what was the percentage change.
Mrs. Rumbold : The figures for experiments on living animals in 1980 and scientific procedures on living animals in 1990 are given in table 18 of "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1990" (Cm 1574), a copy of which is in the Library. The 1990 figure is 30 per cent. lower than that recorded for 1980, but the underlying fall is greater than this. During this period the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was introduced which extended the controls on the use of living animals in research to some research work not previously controlled. As a result the 1990 figure includes procedures which would not have been counted as experiments in 1980.
Magistrates Courts
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the possible closure of magistrates courts as a consequence of the new funding system : and if he will make it his policy to announce his support for the present structure and network of local courts.
Mr. John Patten : We have received a number of representations expressing concern about possible closure of magistrates' courthouses. We are committed to the principle of local summary justice and hence to the maintenance of a network of local courthouses. At the same time it is necessary for magistrates' courts committees, in consultation with their paying authorities, to keep under review the number and location of courthouses in the light of all relevant circumstances, including for example the volume of proceedings heard there ; the resources available to support and run them ; the physical condition of the accommodation and the work required to achieve good standards of safety, security and facilities for court users ; and the effect of closure in terms of cost and convenience for the community concerned and other criminal justice services. The balance between operational efficiency and other considerations has to be judged case by case by courts committees and, in the event of an appeal under section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979, by the Home Secretary.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teacher Qualifications
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the best available estimate of the cost to public funds of a teacher obtaining a teacher qualification through (a) the BEd-BA--qualified teacher status-- (b) the post-graduate Certificate of Education--ordinary--and (c) the articled teachers scheme--PGCE-- respectively.
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Mr. Fallon : The estimated average cost at 1991-92 prices of training a teacher in a higher education institution outside London through a four-year undergraduate course is about £25,000 ; through a one-year PGCE about £6,000 ; and through the two-year articled teacher scheme about £19,500. Costs for training teachers in London institutions are higher, as are costs of training teachers in shortage secondary subjects, due to the special bursaries they receive.
Modern Languages
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which institutions in the PCFC sector have received from Her Majesty's inspectorate the highest rating for the quality of teaching and learning in modern languages.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council award quality ratings, based on advice from Her Majesty's Inspectorate and others, to institutions in nine programme areas. Courses where modern foreign languages form the major element are in programme area 7. The following institutions have been judged as having outstanding quality in 50 per cent. or more of provision--full and part-time--in programme area 7.
Bristol Polytechnic
City of London Polytechnic
Kingston Polytechnic
Newcastle Polytechnic
Nottingham Polytechnic
Polytechnic South West
King Alfred's College, Winchester
EC Meetings
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the European Community ministerial council meetings at which his Department has, or will be, represented during November and December.
Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. and learned Friend attended the meeting of the Council and the Ministers for Education meeting within the Council on Monday 25 November.
EC (Visits)
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Officials from this Department have made in total 14 visits to EC member states, of which 10 were visits to Brussels, and spent 23 nights away from the United Kingdom during the period from 1 November 1991 to the present time.
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for himself, and for each of the ministers at his Department, details of (a) the
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number of visits made in the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (b) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (c) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.Mr. Alan Howarth : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has made one visit to Brussels in the past month, on official business related to the European Community. He spent one night away from the United Kingdom on this occasion. None of his ministerial colleagues have made any visits relating to European Community business in the past month.
Further and Higher Education Bill
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received regarding the Further and Higher Education Bill [Lords].
Mr. Eggar : Representations have been received from a small number of organisations on various aspects of the further education clauses and from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals and other interested organisations on various aspects of the higher education clauses.
Education (Schools) Bill
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received regarding the Education (Schools) Bill.
Mr. Eggar : The Education (Schools) Bill gives effect to proposals outlined in the parents charter. Taking both
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documents together, we have to date received 806 items of correspondence concerning them : 105 through Members of Parliament, 128 from educational bodies and associations, and 573 from individuals. We have also held three meetings with interested bodies, at which these proposals were discussed.Children's Assessment
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research his department has funded by (a) Her Majesty's inspectorate, (b) the National Fund for Educational Research and (c) other bodies, into the validity of assessing children's IQ or other measurements of potential ability.
Mr. Eggar : The Department has not funded research into this question in recent years.
HEALTH
Dental Practitioners
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish for each family health service authority area in England (a) its population, (b) the number of people registered with a general dental practitioner, (c) the ratio of general dental practitioners to the number of people registered, (d) (b) as a percentage of (a) and (e) the percentage of children under the age of 18 years registered with a general dental practitioner.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is shown in the table. The new dental contract introduced in October last year provides for the first time, all- round continuing care. More than 21 million people in England have registered with a dentist under the new contract, a faster take-up than we or the dental profession expected.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish for each family health service authority area in England, and for each year since 1970, the percentage of children over the age of five years in maintained schools inspected by the community dental service.
Mr. Dorrell : The information is not held in the form requested.
Nurses, Medway
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of nursing staff currently employed by the Medway district health authority, relative to 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information is given in the table.
NHS nursing and midwifery staff (
including agency) at 30
September each year
Medway district health authority
Years |<1>Whole-time
|equivalents
------------------------------------------
1979 |<2>1,310
1990 |1,710
<1> All figures independently rounded to
the nearest ten (10) whole-time
equivalents.
<2> Not adjusted for the reduction of
nurses working hours during 1980-81 (from
40 to 37.5 hours per week).
Source: Department of Health (SM13)
annual census of NHS non-medical
manpower.
NHS Staff Statistics
Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of general practitioners, nurses and midwives currently employed in the national health service relative to 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The information requested is given in the table.
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NHS nursing and midwifery staff (including agency) and general
practitioners
England
Year |<1>Nursing and<1><2>General
|midwifery |Practitioners
|Whole-time |Numbers
|equivalents |(head count)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |<3>358,400 |36,000
1990 |402,100 |43,800
<1>All figures are independently rounded to the nearest one hundred (100).
<2>Includes medical, dental and ophthalmic practitioners.
<3>Not adjusted for reduction in nurses working hours during 1980/81 (from 40 to 37.5 hours per week).
Source: Department of Health (SM13) annual census of NHS non-medical manpower; General Medical Services basic
statistics; Dental Practice Board; and Family Health Services Authorities.
Perinatal Mortality
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will have regard to the perinatal mortality figures for Staffordshire when determining his Department's priorities.
Mr. Dorrell : Executive letter, EL(91)103, "Priorities and planning guidance for the NHS for 1992/93" issued by the NHS management executive in July 1991, a copy of which is available in the Library, included guidance on NHS priorities. This specified that stillbirths and infant deaths are to be tackled as a priority by the NHS in 1992-93. This applies to Staffordshire as to all other health authorities.
Anabolic Steroids
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department is contributing, and over what period, to the research project on anabolic steroids misuse being carried out by the centre for research on drugs and health behaviour.
Mr. Dorrell : This is a one-year research project with a total estimated cost of £70,000. The Department plans to contribute 90 per cent.--£63,000--of the total cost over
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that period. The remaining 10 per cent.-- £7,000--will be met by the Scottish Office Home and Health Department. Work on the project is expected to start in January 1992.Contraception
Mrs. Heal : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines have been issued to general practitioners by his Department concerning leaflets for patients relating to the contraceptive services and abortion counselling provided by GP practices.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : GPs are required by their terms of service to compile a practice leaflet which should be made available to patients on their lists. The leaflet must indicate whether the doctor provides contraceptive services. It is left to the discretion of individual doctors as to whether information is included about abortion counselling.
Mrs. Heal : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many centres in England and Wales offer professional training in contraception ; how many general practitioners in England and Wales hold the certificate of the joint committee on contraception ; and what percentage of the total number of general practitioners this represents.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The latest United Kingdom figures from the joint committee on contraception--JCC--for the number of premises approved for the training of doctors in the two JCC certificates are :
|Number
---------------------------------------------
Community and hospital clinics |1,216
GP premises |89
These are in addition to such training on contraception as takes place during vocational training for general practice.
At 22 November 1991, some 30,636 JCC certificates had been issued to doctors. The percentage of practising GPs holding these certificates is not known.
Mrs. Heal : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the components of the course leading to the joint committee on contraception certificate ; and how long the course lasts.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The course for the joint committee on contraception--JCC--general certificate in family planning involves acquisition of acceptable gynaecological experience, and attendance for theoretical training at least at four half-day sessions. This is followed by at least eight sessions involving practical training in barrier methods. Extended training for the JCC's advanced certificate includes IUD insertions. Further details can be obtained direct from the JCC, 27 Sussex place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RG.
Insulin Injector Pens
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long he has been considering making needles for insulin injector pens available upon prescription ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Negotiations with manufacturers of insulin injection pen systems, which include needles, are continuing. In the light of these discussions we aim to make these systems available on prescription as soon as resources will allow.
Patient Statistics
Sir Patrick McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will publish figures setting out the number of patients who failed to attend national health service hospitals after being granted firm appointments, as a percentage of all appointments made, for each region for the year to March 1991 ;
(2) if he will publish figures setting out the number of patients who failed to attend national health service hospitals after being granted firm in-patient appointments for the year to March 1991, expressed as numerical totals and as percentages of all such appointments made for each region.
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