House of Commons Hansard Debates for 18 Dec 1991

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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 18 December 1991

HEALTH

Adoption

Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the information available to him on the range of charges levied by local authorities on couples wishing to adopt from abroad.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not held centrally. The Department has advised local authorities that there is no objection to prospective adopters being asked to meet such charges as the authorities consider reasonable for work associated with intercountry adoption.

General Practitioners

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much general practitioners in the United Kingdom have been overpaid under their last year's contract ; what is the average overpayment per general practitioner ; how much has been reclaimed ; how much has been written off ; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Mr. Butler) on 7 November at columns 259-60 .

In 1990-91 estimated gross payments to GPs in Great Britain, under the terms of their contract, exceeded the intended level by approximately £178 million. The average overpayment per GP was £5, 951.

As an interim measure, an amount of £7.5 million--£250 per GP-- was reclaimed from GPs' remuneration in 1991-92, in accordance with the recommendations of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body in its 21st report.

The Government decided this autumn to waive recovery of £63 million of the overpayment, or £2,100 per GP, which was attributable to special factors unique to the first year of the new GP contract. Further decisions will be taken on the handling of the remaining sum in 1992, when we have further information.

NHS Trusts

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all the non-executive directors of the Freeman hospital trust and the Northumbria ambulance services trust, and give the remuneration presently received by them.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The non-executive directors of the Freeman hospital trust are :

Mr. Richard Middleton

Mrs. Marion Border

Miss Hilary Goodworth

Mr. John Ward

Dr. Roger Freeman

The non-executive directors of the Northumbria ambulance services trust are :

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Mr. Alan Ferguson

Mr. Peter Moth

Mrs. Jacqueline Higson

Mr. Albert Knight

Mr. Douglas Smith

All non-executive directors currently receive £5,000 per annum.

Northern RHA

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the services of the chief executive of the Northern regional health authority ceased.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Mr. Douglas Hague stood down from the post of chief executive of Northern regional health authority on 13 November 1991.

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the present non-executive directors of the Northern regional health authority ; what recent resignations or new appointments have been made and when they became effective ; and what remunerations are currently received by non-executive directors.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The non-executive members of the Northern regional health authority are :

Mr. Tony Brown

Professor Michael Rawlins

Mr. Peter Reay

Mr. Roger Spoor

There has been one vacancy since 31 October when Mrs. Anne Galbraith resigned her position to become chairman of the Royal Victoria infirmary and associated hospitals NHS trust on 1 November 1991.

All non-executive members receive £5,000 per annum.

Mental Health Hospitals (Liverpool)

Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were committed under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983 to care in mental health hospitals in Liverpool during each of the past five years.

Mr. Dorrell : The latest figures of patients formally admitted to NHS hospitals and units in Liverpool district health authority under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983 are shown in the table.


!

Year       |Formal               

           |admissions           

           |Liverpool            

           |DHA                  

---------------------------------

1987-88    |129                  

1988-89    |141                  

1989-90    |162                  

Source: 1987-88 onwards-Korner   

aggregate KH15.

Comparable figures are not available centrally for the period before 1987- 88.

Mental Health

Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the percentages from each ethnic group of patients committed under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Mr. Dorrell : This information is not available centrally.

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St. Thomas's Hospital

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to St. Thomas's hospital to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

Mr. Dorrell : I understand that under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 10 to 14 February 1992.

Small Firms

Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many schemes his Department runs to provide help or finance for small firms ; and if he will list them.

Mr. Dorrell : The Department supports a link line telephone service which provides guidance to small firms wishing to know how to do business with the national health service, and has published a guide "Businesslinks : A suppliers' guide", which was revised in January 1991, a copy of which is available in the Library.

ENERGY

Piper B Platform

Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Piper B platform to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

Mr. Wakeham : I understand that, under the procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 20 January to Friday 24 January.

Orimulsion

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the studies carried out by National Power and PowerGen by Mr. G. H. Hadley on orimulsion ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : None. The type and quantity of fuel used by the electricity companies is an operational matter for the companies concerned, subject to emission limits imposed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the level of subsidy being offered to the United Kingdom generators by the Venezuelan Government in relation to sales of orimulsion fuel oil ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We have no evidence of any subsidies being offered by the Venezuelan Government in relation to sales of orimulsion.

Home Energy Labelling

Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps have been taken to develop and encourage schemes for home energy labelling ; and if he will make a statement.

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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Home energy labelling tells householders, landlords and those responsible for housing stock how energy efficient their housing is. The Government have been considering how to promote the take-up of energy labelling in the United Kingdom and how best to ensure that the existence of different labelling schemes does not confuse the consumer.

With the co-operation of the National Energy Foundation and MVM Starpoint, two organisations at the forefront of home energy labelling, the Government have decided to introduce a standard assessment procedure--SAP--for rating the energy performance of homes. This will provide consumers with a reference point and so enable them to make comparisons between labels, such as those issued on the MVM Starpoint scheme and the national home energy rating--NHER--scheme. Like MVM Starpoint and NHER labels, the Government's procedure is based on the Building Research Establishment's domestic energy model. It will be published as a BRE paper.

The Government will require any labelling scheme wishing to use the SAP to meet certain quality standards. They will therefore only authorise organisations to use the SAP only if they undertake to : obtain a BS5750 certificate of quality assurance based on a Government quality statement. The quality statement will be designed to ensure reliability and consistency of SAP ratings, for example through a requirement that the labelling schemes deliver ratings within a specified number of points in the SAP scale in a specified proportion of cases. The required quality statement will be published after further consultation

obtain confirmation from the Building Research Establishment that their computer software properly incorporates the new standard assessment procedure ;

provide the Government with certain statistical data.

In view of their proven record and in order to avoid any disruption to the activities of the existing labelling schemes, the Government will give interim authorisation to MVM Starpoint and the National Energy Foundation to use the Government's SAP, upon confirmation by BRE that their software properly incorporates the SAP. This authorisation will be for 12 months, during which period they will be expected to seek certification under BS5750. The Government hope by this initiative to expand the market for home energy labels by reducing the risk of confusion arising from an inability to compare ratings. They will be keeping developments under close review and will further refine these arrangements should that prove desirable. They will in due course bring forward proposals for consultation on the incorporation of the SAP into the requirements of building regulations.

WALES

Bats

Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the European bats agreement is now binding on local planning authorities in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholas Bennett : It is hoped that the agreement on the conservation of bats in Europe, which was signed by the United Kingdom earlier this month, will come into force next year. The agreement will be binding, on the national Governments who are parties to it and not on local authorities. The United Kingdom already meets its

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potential obligations through the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which apply where relevant to local authorities.

Political Initiatives

Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans for new political initiatives in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. David Hunt : I have plans for several new such initiatives for Wales which I shall announce at the appropriate time.

The Rural Initiative"

Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the cost of publishing "The Rural Initiative"; and how many copies were printed.

Mr. David Hunt : The rural initiative publication cost £18,444. A total of 1,750 copies were printed in English and 750 copies in Welsh. Printers and designers were selected as a result of competitive tendering.

Housing Revenue Accounts (Subsidy)

Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has completed his consideration of his 1992-93 housing revenue account subsidy proposals ; and when he expects to make his subsidy determinations.

Mr. Nicholas Bennett : The housing revenue account subsidy determinations for 1992-93 have been made today following consideration of the responses to consultation. I am placing copies of the determinations in the Library of the House.

For rent guidelines the proposal for an average increase of £2.14 is confirmed. As usual, guideline increases for individual authorities vary according to the capital value of their stock. For management and maintenance allowances, the proposed average increase from £712 per dwelling in the current year to £766 per dwelling in 1992-93, an average increase of 7.5 per cent., is similarly confirmed. Under targeting arrangements, increases for individual authorities take account of the condition of their housing stock.

The rent guidelines and management and maintenance allowances are the assumptions to be made for subsidy purposes. It is for councils to set their own rents and to decide how much to spend on managing and repairing their housing stock within their legal obligations.

DEFENCE

Pensions

Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the differences in percentage terms between the outright annuality anomaly for 31 March 1976 and 31 March to 1 April 1991 for (a) a brigadier's pension, (b) an air commodore's pension, (c) a senior naval captain's pension ; and what steps he intends taking to remove these anomalies.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Scales of retired pay for brigadiers, air commodores and senior naval captains are the same. For officers in those ranks retiring on the

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maximum point on the scale, which is achieved by 34 years reckonable service, the retired pay currently received expressed as a percentage of the rate awarded for retirement on 1st April 1991 is as follows :

90.3 per cent, where retired pay first came into payment on 31 March 1976.

84.7 per cent, where retired pay first came into payment on 31 March 1991.

Initial awards of retired pay are derived from rates of military salary in force at the date of retirement. They are subsequently increased through index-linking arrangements which take into account movements in the retail prices index. The Ministry of Defence has no plans to adjust rates of retired pay previously awarded in accordance with normal rules, other than through the normal index-linking arrangements.

National and Wildlife Parks (Military Use)

Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in each of the last five years to the Duchy of Cornwall for permission to use land in the Dartmoor national park for military use.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information is commercially confidential between the Duchy of Cornwall and the Ministry of Defence.

Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what grants were paid to Dartmoor hill farmers in each of the last five years as compensation for restricted grazing as a result of live firing in the National Park.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : Compensation is paid to registered commoners. Over the last five years the amounts approved for payment as a result of live firing are as follows :


Year   |£          

---------------------

1987   |81,576       

1988   |81,101       

1989   |81,101       

1990   |91,668       

1991   |91,668

Empty Property

Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long the 24 houses between 2 and 48 Nyland road, Swindon, have been empty.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence houses in Nyland road have been vacant since they were handed back to the Ministry of Defence by the United States Air Force. The houses were handed back in three stages in December 1990 and in April and September 1991.

Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will enter into a management agreement with a housing association or the local authority to use the 24 empty houses in Nyland road, Swindon, for rented accommodation ;

(2) if he will transfer immediately the ownership of the 24 houses between 2 and 48 Nyland road, Swindon, to a housing association or local authority.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : No. A number of the houses are being retained for use by the Ministry of Defence and will be occupied in January 1992. Those houses which are

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surplus are to be offered for sale through the scheme to sell surplus married quarters at a discount to service personnel.

Royal Marines

Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to introduce opportunities for the employment of women in the Royal Marines ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is intended to extend the employment of women in the armed forces to include service in the Royal Marine band service. The recruiting process will be started shortly with a view to receiving the first female recruits at the Royal Marine school of music in the autumn of 1992. Women will serve on the same terms and conditions as male bandsmen. They will receive the same training, including weapons training, and will be expected to achieve the same standards as their male counterparts. Studies into the feasibility of women serving in the corps as commandos are continuing.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Juliette"

Mr. Hind : To ask the Attorney-General what consideration has been given to the prosecution of Arrow, publishers of "Juliette", by the Marquis de Sade, under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 ; and if he will make a statement.

The Attorney-General : The question of prosecution is a matter for the acting Director of Public Prosecutions and is at present under consideration by him.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Northumbria Police Authority

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors he takes into account when allocating resources to individual police authorities ; and how these factors apply to the Northumbria police authority.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.

Car Crime

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to chief constables on cautioning or arresting young people caught taking away other people's motor vehicles ; and what guidance is given to magistrates concerning sentencing policy for these offences.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Guidance on the decision to caution is contained in Home Office circular 59/1990, a copy of which is in the Library. There is no guidance about the exercise of the power of arrest. Within the statutory powers provided by Parliament, sentencing in individual cases is for the courts to decide.

Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives he plans in sentencing policy related to young offenders and (a) car crime and (b) house breaking.

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Mr. John Patten : Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts within the powers given by Parliament. The Aggravated Vehicle-Taking Bill now before Parliament strengthens courts' powers to deal with the unauthorised taking of motor vehicles where there is dangerous driving, damage or injury. Courts have the power to impose a custodial sentence of up to 14 years on offenders convicted of domestic burglary.

Immigration

Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been admitted for settlement in the United Kingdom for each year since 1979 from (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of citizens of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom in the years 1979- 90 is published in tables 22 and 14, respectively, of the 1987 and 1990 volumes of the annual Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics United Kingdom"--Cm 415 and Cm 1571). Copies of these publications are in the Library.

Government Security

Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he is able to give on the cost of Metropolitan police security operations around the Palace of Westminster, parliamentary outbuildings and Departments of state located in and around Whitehall.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is not the practice to give details of security costs.

TRANSPORT

Harbours (Accounts)

Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list, for each county, the statutory harbour undertakings which are required by section 42(2)(b) of the Harbours Act 1964 to send him a copy of their annual accounts, stating in each case, the names of the harbour or harbours covered by the undertaking, and the financial year for which accounts were most recently submitted.

Mr. McLoughlin : I am writing to the hon. Lady with this information.

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