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Hill Farming
15. Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the National Farmers Union about hill farming and the hill livestock compensatory allowance.
Mr. Gummer : My noble Friend the Minister of State met the National Farmers' Union on 23 October as part of the normal consultation procedures we have held with the NFU. I will report to the House about the operation of the hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme 1992 as soon as the review has been completed.
Potatoes
16. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the Potato Marketing Board to encourage more variety in species of potato grown in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Curry : None. The Potato Marketing Board's latest planting survey showed that 131 varieties were grown commercially in Great Britain last year.
Food Safety
17. Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review the implementation of the Food Safety Act 1990 with reference to the selling of out-of-date food in the retail trade.
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Mr. Maclean : No Sir. It is already an offence under the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 for anyone to sell food bearing an expired "use by" date.It is also an offence under the Food Safety Act 1990 to sell any food which is unfit for human consumption or which is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, whether or not any date mark has expired.
Cetaceans
18. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new initiative he has to protect cetaceans.
Mr. Gummer : We remain very concerned to take measures to secure the conservation of cetaceans. Most recently, on 1 January 1992, we introduced a scheme for voluntary reporting by United Kingdom fishermen of all incidental catches of marine mammals, including cetaceans. The EC-wide limitation on drift net length we secured last October will also contribute to conservation of cetaceans.
River Pollution
19. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any further plans to combat the pollution of rivers by the agricultural industry.
Mr. Curry : My right hon. Friend the Minister announced on 21 January that a pilot study would be drawn up to see if pollution could be reduced by the preparation and use by farmers of plans for the disposal of manure, slurry and other organic wastes. This will supplement existing measures to tackle river pollution from agriculture including new legislation setting minimum constructional standards for farm waste storage facilities, 50 per cent grant aid towards the cost of such facilities, an increased maximum fine available to magistrates for water pollution offences, free initial pollution advice by ADAS and a £2 million R and D programme.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his review of the environmentally sensitive area boundaries will be completed.
Mr. Gummer : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Boscawen), earlier today.
Job Losses
Mr. Haynes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many jobs have been lost in the farming industry since 1979.
Mr. Curry : The number of farmers and workers recorded in the June census of agricultural holdings were 740,000 in 1979 and 628,000 in 1991. The difference of 112,000 overestimates the number of jobs lost because of changes in the basis on which the data were collected.
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Beef Producers
Sir John Farr : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new measures he is taking to improve returns to specialist beef producers.
Mr. Curry : In October, Ministers announced that some £74 million would be made available to specialist beef producers in 1991-92 through the suckler cow premium scheme. The hill livestock compensatory allowance scheme continues to provide assistance to producers of beef cattle in the less favoured areas. Beef producers could also be eligible for assistance under the new group marketing grant scheme which is currently being finalised and will be introduced in April.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he has made in discussions on the reform of the common agricultural policy.
Mr. Curry : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mrs Gorman).
Agricultural Land (Planning Applications)
Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he takes to monitor local authority planning consent with regard to alternative uses for agricultural land.
Mr. Curry : This Department does not monitor planning consents. The Department of the Environment collects statistics from local planning authorities but these do not extend to identifying changes of use for agricultural land.
Animal Exports
26. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were exported live in the past 12 months ; what was their estimated value ; and if he will make a statement on the conditions under which they were exported.
Mr. Maclean : All animals exported from Great Britain for slaughter or further fattening must undergo pre-export rest and veterinary inspection at Government-approved lairages, before being loaded on to vehicles approved for the purpose.
A total of 1,186,702 animals were inspected and declared fit for transport during 1991.
Figures showing the value of these exports are not yet available.
25. Mr. McGrady : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the implications of the MacSharry common agricultural policy reform proposals for the sheep industry.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I gave to my hon. friend the Member for Torridge and Devon, West on 19 December 1991, Official Report , column 306 .
27. Mr. Knox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he is next due to meet the president of the National Farmers Union to discuss the sheep sector.
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Mr. Gummer : I will be meeting the president of the National Farmers Union on 18 February to discuss the sheep sector and other matters.Mackerel
28. Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the fishing industry about the future of the south-west mackerel box ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : On 28 November 1991 a regulation making the box permanent in the interests of conserving the western mackerel stock was adopted. The industry has frequently made clear to us that the south western mackerel box should be retained although some would like to see stricter controls on some fishing with small mesh nets within the box for species such as pilchards and horse mackerel whilst others seek some relaxation to permit a small quota of mackerel for local trawlers. There is at present no evidence to suggest the problem is sufficiently large to require a complete ban on small mesh nets. A small mackerel quota would need EC agreement even if we thought a case might be made.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received in the last 12 months regarding animal welfare ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The Department has continued to receive a very large number of representatives on animal welfare. The Government attach great importance to this issue and will continue to press for the high standards in this country to be adopted throughout the European Community.
Cash Limits
Mr. Marland : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he intends to make any changes to his Department's cash limits for 1991-92.
Mr. Gummer : Yes. The cash limit for class III, vote 4 (other agricultural and food services, support for the fishing industry, arterial drainage, flood and coast protection) will be reduced by £6, 745,000 from £273,789,000 to £267,044,000. Within this limit expenditure will be reduced by £2,345,000 on agricultural schemes and by £1,400,000 on sea fishery support. These reductions reflect a predicted decrease in demand under these schemes. Expenditure on emergency and strategic food services will be reduced by £3,000,000 reflecting a reduction in the size of the emergency food stockpile. The non-voted cash limit MAFF/LACAP (supplementary credit approvals for flood defence and coast protection) will be decreased by £2,000, 000 from £16,594,000 to £14,594,000 reflecting a predicted reduction in local authority expenditure on flood defence capital works.
Set-aside Land
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring he is undertaking of the benefits from set-aside for (a) diverse plant species, (b) butterflies and other invertebrates, (c) short- eared
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owls, hen harriers and other predatory birds and (d) foxes and other wild mammals ; and when he expects to complete a proper scientific evaluation of the effect of set-aside on wildlife.Mr. Curry : The Department is currently undertaking work on the environmental impact of set-aside, including a study of the changes in the botanical composition of fallowed set-aside land. Final results are expected in 1994. The study will also provide some information about the likely implications for wildlife and will be supported by a separate study of rabbit numbers on set-aside land. We are considering the scope for further research into the benefits to wildlife and a number of other organisations are carrying out relevant work in this area. However the complex range of factors affecting wildlife populations and the need to measure changes over time, mean that a full scientific evaluation cannot be completed in the immediate future.
Recession
Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the effects of the current recession on the agricultural industry.
Mr. Maclean : The support arrangements under the common agricultural policy have to a considerable extent insulated the agriculture industry from the direct effects of recession. Farmers have however benefited from the fall in interest rates over the past year and interest payments by the farming industry are expected to have fallen by 14 per cent. in 1991.
Farming and Fishing Enterprises
Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements his Department has to assess the effect of proposals for regulations on small farming and fishing enterprises prior to implementation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food participates fully in the Government's deregulation initiative to ensure that the regulatory burden on the agriculture and fishing industries is kept under constant review and minimised wherever possible.
This process includes consultation at an early stage with industry, on both United Kingdom and European Community regulatory proposals through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's close working relationships with trade associations and other groups. A cost compliance assessment which evaluates the effect all legislative proposals will have on industry is also prepared prior to implementation.
Fish Conservation
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the recent agreement of EC fisheries Ministers for the conservation of fish stocks.
Mr. Curry : Further to my statement in the House on 20 December we have today issued a consultation paper to the industry seeking views on a range of proposals which could be taken unilaterally to improve conservation of the fish stocks of importance to us. The proposals include
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suggestion for action on a one-net rule, a United Kingdom minimum landing size for whiting, further action on square mesh panels and new measures on net geometry.A copy of the consultation document is available in the Library of the House.
Salmonella
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any pasteurisation plants have yet been granted approval to process eggs from salmonella infected flocks ; and how many plants have applied to him for such approval.
Mr. Maclean : No applications have been received for the approval of plants to pasteurise eggs from salmonella infected flocks. Consequently no plants have been approved for this purpose.
Pollution, Fal Estuary
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether current levels of pollution are within current EC standards in the Fal estuary, Cornwall.
Mr. Baldry : I have been asked to reply.
The relevant EC standards are environmental quality objectives (EQOs) for mercury and cadmium. Compliance with EQOs is demonstrated by reference to annual averages. Although higher than normal concentrations of these substances have recently been recorded in parts of the Fal estuary it is not possible to say whether there has yet been a breach of the EQO.
HEALTH
Dried Fruit
Mr. Couchman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1991, Official Report, column 54 , if he will list the scientific references which led the health education authority to conclude that dried fruits contain non-milk extrinsic sugars.
Mr. Dorrell : During the process of drying, the cells of fresh fruit lose integrity and undergo structural changes, thus converting their intrinsic sugars to an extrinsic form as defined by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy.
The scientific principles of these processes are well established and described in basic food technology text books.
Patients Charter
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his estimate of the total extra costs incurred in enforcing standards in the patients charter expressed separately ;
(2) what extra money he intends to provide specifically for meeting target standards under the patients charter ;
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(3) what assessment he has made of the manpower implications of the patients charter for (a) the ambulance services arising from requirements for response times, (b) accident and emergency departments arising from waiting time limits for initial assessment requirements, (c) out-patient departments arising from waiting time requirements, (d) operating theatres arising from cancellations of operations requirements and (e) on staffing arising from the naming of health service personnel as responsible for individual patients.Mr. Dorrell : The patients charter defines acceptable standards for existing services. Each standard is currently being met, within existing resources, by some health authorities. Enforcement of charter standards will help to generalise this good management practice throughout the National Health Service.
Medical Professions (Work Load)
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been conducted, or are under way, into the administrative work loads of doctors, nurses and clinical staff in the professions associated with medicine ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There are no studies either completed or under way that specifically address the question of administrative work loads of doctors, nurses or professions allied to medicine. The studies listed on the general work load of general medical practitioners (GMPs) and nurses have helped inform the Department of the administrative functions carried out by these groups.
1. The "Unnecessary Bureaucracy Working Group" which made recommendations on streamlining the administrative work of GMPs. 2. A cyclical study, in conjunction with the BMA, on the workload of GMPs. The last study was completed in 1989-90 and the next is scheduled to start in 1993-94.
3. A recently completed study by York university into nursing care which suggests that a small amount of time spent by nurses on administrative work can be beneficial to the quality of nursing care.
4. A survey to be commissioned shortly by the Department will address, among other things, the effects of using administrative support in relation to nursing.
Medical and Nursing Posts
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by staff grade and specialty, the number of full-time equivalent medical and nursing posts available to health service hospitals in 1976, 1981, 1986 and 1991.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information for 1991 is not yet available and 1990 data are shown in the tables. Information for 1976, 1981 and 1986 can be found in the publication "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England" copies of which are available in the Library.
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Table 1
Hospital Medical Staff: Analysis by specialty and grade
England-30 September 1990
Grade |All staff |Consul- |Staff |Associate |Senior |Registrar |Senior |House |Other |Hospital |Clinical
|tant |grade |specialist|registrar |house |officer |practi- |assistant
|officer |tioner
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All medical specialties |39,760.8 |13,897.3 |239.7 |717.1 |3,143.9 |5,934.8 |10,692.5 |3,016.0 |10.8 |186.9 |1,921.6
General Medicine<1> |4, 643.4 |1,155.7 |3.5 |14.0 |239.2 |628.7 |1,145.7 |1,283.3 |0.8 |20.8 |151.7
Cardiology |437.4 |132.8 |0.0 |2.4 |42.8 |114.7 |103.7 |23.0 |1.0 |2.2 |14.8
Diabetes and Endocrinology<2> 85.9 17.2 0.9 1.1 14.2 21.5 14.0 5.0 0.0 1.6 10.4
Gastroenterology |138.5 |33.6 |1.0 |0.0 |11.3 |44.1 |18.1 |21.0 |0.0 |1.5 |7.9
Nephrology |218.8 |59.3 |3.5 |4.8 |15.0 |45.9 |72.9 |10.0 |0.0 |0.8 |6.6
Palliative Medicine<3> |25.9 |13.1 |0.0 |0.0 |1.5 |0.5 |7.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.7 |3.1
Thoracic Medicine<4> |283.8 |83.7 |0.0 |13.1 |26.6 |47.3 |81.7 |13.0 |0.0 |2.7 |15.7
Geriatric Medicine |1,897.0 |483.9 |18.5 |42.4 |81.6 |183.3 |776.8 |103.2 |1.0 |33.4 |172.9
Audiological Medicine |15.2 |10.9 |0.0 |0.0 |4.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.3
Clinical Genetics<5> |47.4 |29.3 |0.0 |1.5 |7.2 |6.1 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.5 |2.8
Clinical Neuro. Phys. |61.8 |49.8 |0.0 |1.0 |7.0 |0.0 |3.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.0
Clinical Pharm. and Thera. |59.6 |24.9 |0.0 |0.0 |9.6 |16.1 |3.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |5.0
Clinical Physiology |15.7 |11.9 |0.0 |0.0 |0.5 |2.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |0.2
Clinical Immun. and Aller.<6> 2.7 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rehabilitation<7> |17.6 |8.8 |0.0 |0.0 |3.6 |1.0 |3.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.2
Dermatology |431.8 |223.1 |0.4 |7.5 |49.1 |39.4 |40.2 |4.0 |0.5 |9.3 |58.3
Genito-Urinary Medicine |335.9 |157.9 |3.9 |8.1 |37.9 |42.3 |27.6 |0.7 |0.8 |5.7 |51.0
Medical Oncology |69.5 |23.2 |0.0 |0.0 |9.9 |13.1 |15.8 |3.0 |0.0 |0.3 |4.2
Infectious Diseases |76.4 |26.8 |0.0 |1.0 |7.5 |10.6 |28.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.5
Neurology |376.0 |167.1 |0.0 |1.3 |36.9 |57.1 |89.3 |13.0 |0.0 |1.2 |10.1
Occupational Health<8> |62.9 |27.2 |1.0 |0.0 |5.6 |2.7 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.2 |24.2
Rheumatology<1> |470.5 |221.9 |3.9 |10.6 |48.5 |36.2 |94.9 |17.0 |0.0 |5.6 |31.9
Other |189.1 |28.1 |2.6 |2.1 |10.2 |34.4 |40.2 |6.0 |0.0 |4.7 |60.8
Paediatrics |2,316.3 |684.8 |4.0 |6.5 |134.5 |329.8 |1,112.9 |6.0 |0.0 |3.8 |34.0
Paediatric Neurology<9> |22.8 |9.5 |0.0 |1.7 |2.0 |1.0 |8.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.6
Accident and Emergency |1,886.4 |196.4 |41.6 |62.1 |54.6 |78.2 |1,262.2 |6.0 |0.0 |5.9 |179.4
General Surgery |3,522.8 |879.3 |9.0 |13.2 |162.8 |570.7 |646.1 |1,192.5 |0.0 |9.7 |39.5
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery |352.5 |116.0 |0.0 |4.0 |30.0 |95.6 |96.0 |9.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.9
Otolaryngology<10> |943.3 |352.8 |5.9 |24.6 |63.4 |138.9 |282.1 |35.0 |0.0 |7.4 |33.2
Neurosurgery |246.1 |86.8 |0.0 |0.0 |24.4 |53.3 |73.0 |8.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.6
Ophthalmology |1,155.7 |407.5 |14.7 |52.3 |78.8 |122.0 |338.9 |1.0 |3.4 |6.4 |130.7
Paediatric Surgery |127.6 |35.6 |0.0 |0.0 |16.2 |22.5 |49.0 |4.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.3
Plastic Surgery |258.8 |93.4 |2.8 |1.0 |22.0 |49.2 |84.0 |1.0 |0.0 |1.1 |4.3
Traumatic & Ortho. Surgery |2,199.2 |696.8 |17.8 |59.5 |145.0 |386.9 |685.5 |149.3 |0.0 |7.7 |50.7
Urology |500.2 |205.7 |0.0 |2.8 |48.2 |82.1 |90.8 |63.0 |0.0 |1.1 |6.5
Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2,814.9 736.4 11.0 38.1 135.5 510.3 1,251.2 5.0 0.2 10.6 116.6
Anaesthetics |4,497.4 |1,986.3 |31.9 |125.2 |378.2 |821.7 |971.7 |2.0 |1.5 |16.5 |162.4
Radiology |1,552.4 |1,054.5 |1.3 |4.5 |250.1 |225.2 |4.5 |0.0 |0.0 |1.0 |11.3
Nuclear Medicine |38.1 |21.9 |0.0 |1.5 |6.0 |4.5 |2.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |2.1
Radiotherapy |451.4 |181.8 |2.8 |6.0 |59.5 |76.5 |98.2 |15.0 |0.0 |0.8 |10.8
General Pathology |49.5 |0.0 |0.0 |2.5 |0.0 |12.0 |31.7 |0.0 |0.0 |0.5 |2.8
Blood Transfusion |97.0 |32.3 |2.9 |20.7 |3.5 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |36.6
Chemical Pathology |263.1 |157.6 |1.0 |2.3 |55.3 |32.4 |13.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.1 |1.4
Haematology |632.4 |334.2 |6.9 |7.5 |101.5 |83.6 |63.5 |13.0 |0.0 |1.3 |20.9
Histopathology |839.6 |541.7 |0.0 |6.7 |135.3 |107.2 |40.2 |0.0 |1.0 |0.0 |7.5
Immuno-Pathology |44.8 |25.2 |0.0 |0.0 |10.2 |5.0 |3.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.4
Medical Microbiology |388.8 |239.3 |0.0 |2.1 |72.6 |54.6 |17.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |3.2
Virology<11> |13.1 |4.3 |0.0 |0.0 |5.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |2.8
Neuropathology |38.1 |25.5 |0.0 |0.0 |9.9 |1.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.2 |0.5
Clinical Cytogenetics<12> |4.8 |3.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.8
Mental Illness |3,359.8 |1,095.5 |39.2 |124.7 |292.8 |642.2 |861.1 |22.0 |0.0 |11.1 |291.2
Child and Adol. Psychiatry |478.1 |326.5 |0.0 |3.2 |91.9 |24.6 |13.1 |0.0 |0.6 |1.3 |16.9
Forensic Psychiatry |103.8 |68.4 |1.0 |5.0 |16.3 |11.0 |1.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.0 |1.1
Mental Handicap |373.7 |159.4 |4.0 |21.7 |42.8 |30.7 |10.0 |0.0 |0.0 |7.1 |98.0
Old Age Psychiatry<13> |103.3 |79.4 |2.9 |4.0 |2.0 |4.0 |2.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.5 |8.5
Psychotherapy |122.5 |67.7 |0.0 |2.7 |24.1 |8.0 |13.0 |0.0 |0.0 |0.5 |6.5
Notes:
<1> In 1982 specialty of Rheumatology replaced Rheumatology and rehabilitation: Rehabilitation became a sub-specialty of General medicine.
<2> In 1987 specialty of Endocrinology renamed Diabetes and endocrinology.
<3> New specialty introduced in 1989.
<4> In 1984 specialty of Diseases of chest renamed Thoracic medicine.
<5> New specialty introduced in 1979. Prior to 1979 staff in this specialty would usually have been included under "other".
<6> New specialty introduced in 1990.
<7> New specialty introduced in 1990.
<8> New specialty introduced in 1983. Prior to 1983 staff in this specialty would usually have been included under "other".
<9> New specialty introduced in 1980. Prior to 1980 staff in this specialty were included under Paediatrics.
<10> In 1985 specialty of Ear nose and throat renamed Otolaryngology.
<11> New specialty introduced in 1989.
<12> New specialty introduced in 1989.
<13> New specialty introduced in 1989.
Hospital based Nursing and Midwifery<1> staff in post
at 30 September 1990
England
|Whole-time
|equivalent<2>
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hospital Nursing Staff |328,060
Qualified |188,770
Senior Nurses 1-5 |570
Senior Nurses 6-8<3> |-
Tutorial Nurses |5,240
Other Registered |131,410
Enrolled Nurses |51,550
Learners:
Post-Registered Student Nurses |1,640
Post-Enrolled Student Nurses |1,850
Pre-Registered Student Nurses |46,550
Pupil Nurses |2,470
Unqualified |86,790
Hospital Midwifery Staff |19,490
Qualified |15,660
Senior Nurses 1-5 |40
Senior Nurses 6-8<3> |-
Tutorial Midwifery Staff |660
Other State Certified Midwives |14,960
Learners: Student Midwifery |3,820
Source: Department of Health (SM13) annual census of
National Health Service non-medical manpower.
<1> Excludes agency staff.
<2> All figures are independently rounded to the nearest ten
(10) whole-time equivalents.
<3> It is no longer appropriate to separate registered
nurses between senior nurse 6 to 8 and other registered
nurses.
Column 280
Mental Handicap
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements for transfer of dowry funds with resettled mental handicap patients to local authorities have been made in each regional health authority ; under what terms these payments are made ; and if he will list by regional health authority the sums transferred each year on this basis.
Mr. Dorrell : Payments of dowries are made under section 28A of the National Health Service Act 1977. Guidance on such payments was given to regional health authorities in HC(83)6, HC(84)9 and HC(86)11, copies of which are available in the Library. Information on dowry payments in respect of patients resettled from mental handicap hospitals is not available in the form requested. Total health authority dowry payments to local authorities for people with learning disabilities were £6.647 million in 1988-89 and £12.283 million in 1989-90.
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number, for each regional health authority, of in-patient residents in health service facilities for patients with a mental handicap for each year since 1981 ; and what proportion of the reduction in numbers is due to discharge and what proportion due to death, for each regional health authority.
Mr. Dorrell : The table shows the number of patients with learning disabilities resident in national health service hospitals and units by regional health authority. It is not possible to calculate the proportions of the reduction due to discharge and deaths as the data on admissions and discharges collected centrally do not relate to individual patients.
|31 |31 |31 |31 |31 |31
|December|December|December|December|December|December|31 March|31 March|31 March|31 March
|1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |3,022 |2,938 |2,859 |2,681 |2,568 |2,478 |n\a |n\a |2,077 |1,957
Yorkshire Trent |2,966 |2,887 |2,773 |2,609 |2,567 |2,355 |n\a |n\a |1,980 |1,313
Trent |4,028 |3,882 |3,777 |3,419 |3,122 |2,820 |n\a |n\a |2,347 |1,760
East Anglian |1,470 |1,458 |1,375 |1,267 |1,184 |1,075 |n\a |n\a |893 |906
North West Thames |3,413 |3,297 |3,205 |3,085 |2,934 |2,808 |n\a |n\a |2,496 |2,467
North East Thames |2,447 |2,377 |2,318 |2,119 |1,909 |1,786 |n\a |n\a |1,274 |1,274
South East Thames |2,877 |2,743 |2,596 |2,418 |2,123 |1,843 |n\a |n\a |840 |1,077
South West Thames |5,402 |5,229 |5,030 |4,783 |4,493 |4,069 |n\a |n\a |2,948 |2,704
Wessex |2,092 |2,037 |1,932 |1,434 |1,432 |1,318 |n\a |n\a |1,214 |1,116
Oxford |1,677 |1,636 |1,582 |1,483 |1,383 |1,266 |n\a |n\a |853 |843
South Western |4,164 |4,049 |3,896 |3,184 |2,821 |2,523 |n\a |n\a |2,314 |1,495
West Midlands |3,839 |3,726 |3,632 |3,342 |3,179 |2,980 |n\a |n\a |2,555 |2,555
Mersey |2,156 |2,062 |1,952 |1,828 |1,729 |1,566 |n\a |n\a |1,115 |921
North Western |3,538 |3,391 |3,256 |3,022 |2,813 |2,576 |n\a |n\a |2,003 |1,729
|------- |------- |------- |------- |--------|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England |43,091 |41,712 |40,183 |36,674 |34,259 |31,461 |n\a |27,700 |24,909 |22,117
Source:
SK12C
KHE for 1981-1986
HES for 1987-88 onwards
n\a = not readily available
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Triazolam
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of adverse drug reaction reports, through the yellow card system for each year from 1978 to 1991 for Triazolam ; and how many of these were categorised as serious.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There have been 402 reports, of which 173 were categorised as serious. The number of reports by year is as follows :
Computerised Equipment Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many computerised tomography scanners and magnetic resonance machines are at present available to the national health service that were bought from (a) national health service funds and (b) charitable appeals.
Mr. Dorrell : There are 250 computerised tomography scanners and 30 magnetic resonance machines in use on national health service sites in the United Kingdom. Available information suggests that private donations or appeals helped towards the funding of purchase in approximately half these cases.
Dementia and Arthritis
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health why it was decided not to include dementia and arthritis as key areas for action in his "Health of the Nation" report ; and whether he proposes to ask public health directors to report on the demand for services for dementia and arthritis sufferers in their assessments of health needs.
Mr. Dorrell : Dementia and arthritis were not discussed and proposed in "The Health of the Nation" as areas in which health targets might be set because despite their importance they did not meet the proposed criteria for selection set out in the Green Paper. Directors of public health are already required to assess the health needs of the local population to inform their local health authority's decisions about the provision of services, including those for people suffering from dementia and arthritis. Progress in meeting needs is included in public health directors' reports to their regional health authorities and to the Department.
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Cash Limits
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits for the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for 1991-92.
Mr. Dorrell : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XIII, vote 6 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys) will be increased by £263,000 from £95,807,000 to £96,070,000. This reflects an increase in running costs provision of £263,000 in respect of the end year flexibility arrangements for running costs expenditure (the increase of public expenditure will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planning total). Increases of £250,000 in the National Health Service central register area to reduce the backlog of transactions arising from computerisation of the national health service central register earlier this year : and £66,000 for additional and continuing work on medical statistics, and an increase in capital provision of £20,000 for work on morbidity will be matched by an increase in appropriations in aid on the OPCS vote. These latter amounts will be met from within the existing resources of the Department of Health (class XIII, vote 3).
Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits and running cost limit of his Department in 1991-92.
Mr. Waldegrave : Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made. The cash limits for class XIII vote 1 (Hospital, community health, family health services (part) and related services, England) will be decreased by £21,861,000 (from £16,520,699,000 to £16,498,838,000). This decrease allows for transfers to class XIII, vote 4 of £12,480, 000 reflecting an increase in the NHS trusts' aggregate external financing limit and £8,214,000 following reapportionment of drug budgets ; to class XIII, vote 3 of £2,000,000 for publicity in respect of deaths in infancy ; £96,000 for the inquiry into still births and £24,000 for computer audit equipment ; and to class XVI, vote 8 of £38,000 for the Cardiff school of occupational therapy. These reductions are partly offset by transfers from class XIII, vote 3 of £640,000 for valuation office services, £152,000 for inspection by the Medicines Control Agency ; £128,000 for training purposes and £71,000 for the national external quality assessment scheme. The cash limit for class XIII, vote 3 (Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England) will be decreased by £1,716,000 (from £733,429,000 to £731,713,000). This reduction allows for transfers to class XIV, vote 4 of £819,000 for accommodation of the artificial eye service ; to class XIII, vote 1 totalling £991,000 as mentioned above ; to class XVIII, vote 1 of £65,000 for Chessington computer centre and to class XVI, vote 7 of £11,000 for inspections by the Medicines Control Agency. Savings totalling £2,000,000 are also made from departmental administration capital. These decreases are partly offset by transfers from class XIII, vote 1 of £2,120,000 as mentioned above ; and from class XIV, vote 4 of £50,000 for the Departmental Records Office.
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The provision for running costs on class XIII, vote 3 and the Department's running cost limit is decreased by £15,000 from £252,921,000 to £252,906,000.North West Thames Regional Health Authority
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that there has been proper management of the finance and payroll computer systems in the North West Thames regional health authority ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : All national health service finance and payroll systems are subject to statutory external audit.
Free Prescriptions
Mr. Rooney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the list of illnesses qualifying for free prescriptions to include (a) cancer sufferers taking Tamoxifen and (b) other illnesses.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Exemption from prescription charges on medical grounds is linked to specified medical conditions, rather than to particular treatments. There are no plans to change this policy or to extend the list of medical conditions which currently attract free prescriptions.
Existing, wide-ranging exemption arrangements, underpinned by the separate scheme for remission on grounds of low income and the prescription prepayment certificate scheme, ensure that no one need forego any necessary medication on financial grounds. Less than one item in five dispensed in the national health service currently attracts a charge.
Personal Social Services
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will issue a clear exposition on the levels of service which can be expected by recipients of personal social services ;
(2) what is his policy with regard to the principle of equity of access to personal social services ;
(3) what steps he takes to measure outcomes in the provision of personal social services.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is for local authorities to determine the appropriate level of services based on their judgment of local needs and priorities and on available resources, and to monitor implementation. Their published community care plans should make clear the level of services they expect to provide.
The Department is committed to funding longer term research to evaluate the new community care arrangements, including the assessment of outcomes for users and carers.
The standard spending assessment for personal social services represents the Government's view of the appropriate level of spending required to achieve a standard level of service, and thus ensures that the Government's contribution to local government is targeted on areas with greatest need.
Community Nurses
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy on charging for community health nurse services.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : National health service community health services are provided free of charge.
Cook-Chill Catering
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation has been undertaken into the value for money of expenditure by district health authorities on cook-chill catering units.
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