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Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications there have been under the loan guarantee scheme in each year since its introduction.
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Mr. Forth : The number of applications under the loan guarantee scheme in each year since its introduction in June 1981 has been :
|Number
-------------------------
1981-82 |3,351
1982-83 |6,045
1983-84 |4,889
1984-85 |2,081
1985-86 |543
1986-87 |1,042
1987-88 |1,222
1988-89 |2,266
1989-90 |3,214
1990-91 |3,394
<1>1991-92 |2,155
<1> To 31 December 1991.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost to the Government of underwriting the loan guarantee scheme in each year since its introduction.
Mr. Forth : Information on scheme expenditure prior to the Department of Employment becoming responsible for the scheme is not available. For subsequent years the net cost to the Government was :
|£ million
-------------------------------
1985-86 |27.1
1986-87 |11.2
1987-88 |3.6
1988-89 |3.8
1989-90 |5.6
1990-91 |16.5
<1>1991-92 |20.6
<1> To 31 December 1992.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many failures there have been in the loan guaranteee scheme in each year since its inception.
Mr. Forth : Figures prior to June 1987 are not available by individual financial year. The numbers of failures by financial year since July 1987 were :
+
|Numbers
-------------------------------------------
Total up to June 1987 |6,164
1987-88 (from July 1987) |248
1988-89 |402
1989-90 |656
1990-91 |1,310
1991-92 (to December 1991) |1,348
|-------
Overall total |10,128
Technical and Vocational Education Initiative
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the planned programme for the conclusion of the technical and vocational education initiative.
Mr. Jackson : The technical and vocational educational initiative (TVEI) is a 10-year programme, running from 1987 to 1997, in which education authorities participate for up to seven years. Some authorities are nearing the end of their contracts. The Department is working with these authorities on the development of plans for assimilating the lessons of TVEI and will continue to include them in
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any arrangements for disseminating information or other outcomes from the national programme, and to encourage the continuation of networking arrangements.Income Statistics
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the mean, median, quartile and decile earnings for (a) manual workers in manufacturing and (b) non-manuals in the non-manufacturing private sector together with the numbers represented by each of the two categories ; and in each case what was the increase in real earnings since 1979.
Mr. Forth : Information on the mean, median, quartile and decile earnings, and sample numbers, for manual workers in manufacturing, may be found in tables 54, 56, 74 and 76 of part C of the new earnings survey reports from 1979 onwards. Figures for the non-manufacturing private sector are not available.
Information on the retail prices index (all items) to convert 1979 figures to 1991 prices is published in table 6.4 of the latest Employment Gazette for April 1991, and in table 26 of the annual supplement to "Economic Trends" for April of earlier years. Copies of the publications are available in the Library.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the figures corresponding to table 19 of part A of the 1991 new earnings survey for manual workers in manufacturing industry and for non-manuals in the non-manufacturing private sector, together with the total numbers represented by each category.
Mr. Forth ; The information available from the 1991 new earnings survey closest to that requested is given in the following table. Figures for non- manual workers in the non-manufacturing private sector are not available.
Distribution of gross weekly earnings:
Manual employees in manufacturing
April 1991
------------------------------------------------
Nil |163 |106 |63
Others under £100 |326 |638 |1,065
£100-110 |152 |319 |75
£110-120 |195 |396 |52
£120-130 |306 |472 |40
£130-140 |389 |439 |30
£140-150 |469 |443 |15
£150-160 |578 |421 |12
£160-170 |649 |323 |7
£170-180 |707 |306 |13
£180-190 |792 |221 |6
£190-200 |837 |181 |3
£200-210 |932 |155 |5
£210-230 |1,854 |224 |2
£230-270 |3,390 |239 |3
£270-300 |2,017 |95 |2
£300-330 |1,496 |46 |1
£330-360 |954 |26 |-
£360-390 |685 |15 |-
£390-420 |459 |3 |-
£420-480 |507 |8 |1
£480-540 |246 |1 |-
£540-600 |146 |2 |2
£600-700 |97 |1 |-
£700 and more |50 |1 |-
Number of employees
included |18,396|5,081 |1,397
Note: "-" denotes nil.
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Distribution of gross weekly earnings: Manual employees in
manufacturing
April 1991
Numbers in sample with Employees whose pay was
weekly earnings in the range unaffected by absence
Full-time Part-time
(£100-£110 means £100 or |Males |Females |Females
more but less than £110) |on adult rates |on adult rates
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nil |- |- |-
Others under £100 |72 |250 |896
£100-£110 |87 |235 |73
£110-£120 |141 |317 |46
£120-£130 |209 |370 |35
£130-£140 |302 |353 |28
£140-£150 |360 |380 |15
£150-£160 |473 |378 |11
£160-£170 |547 |302 |7
£170-£180 |592 |276 |12
£180-£190 |690 |203 |4
£190-£200 |719 |171 |3
£200-£210 |824 |139 |5
£210-£230 |1,665 |210 |2
£230-£270 |3,101 |225 |3
£270-£300 |1,869 |82 |2
£300-£330 |1,411 |44 |1
£330-£360 |890 |24 |-
£360-£390 |644 |14 |-
£390-£420 |433 |2 |-
£420-£480 |481 |8 |-
£480-£540 |229 |1 |-
£540-£600 |138 |2 |1
£600-£700 |88 |1 |-
£700 and more |47 |- |-
Number of employees included |16,012 |3,987 |1,143
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Note: "-" denotes nil.
Gross weekly earnings
Manual employees in manufacturing
April 1991
Employees whose pay
was unaffected by absence
Full-time Part-time
|Males |Females |Females
on adult |on adult|on adult
rates |rates |rates
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mean £ |261.8 |162.1 |78.0
Highest decile £ |379.9 |230.5 |n/a
Upper quartile £ |306.5 |186.4 |n/a
Median £ |246.5 |151.9 |n/a
Lower quartile £ |197.3 |125.1 |n/a
Lowest decile £ |159.1 |106.6 |n/a
As percentage of the median
Highest decile |154.1 |151.8 |n/a
Upper quartile |124.3 |122.7 |n/a
Lower quartile |80.0 |82.3 |n/a
Lowest decile |64.5 |70.2 |n/a
Standard error of mean £ |0.76 |0.86 |1.20
Percentage standard error (mean) 0.29 0.53 1.54
Standard error of median £ |0.92 |0.69 |n/a
Percentage standard error (median) 0.30.46 n/a
Source: New Earnings Survey.
n/a-Denotes not available.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the mean, median, quartile and decile earnings for part-time employees, excluding those who received no pay for the survey period together with the numbers and aggregate incomes of those earning less than £54 and between £54 and £100 per week ; and if he will provide corresponding figures for 1979 which likewise distinguish between part-time workers earning less than the lower earnings limit and between that limit and the ceiling for the lowest income category.
Mr. Forth : Information from the 1991 new earnings survey on the weekly earnings of part-time employees on adult rates is published in table 19 of part A of the survey report, a copy of which is in the Library. These figures relate to (a) all employees, and (b) employees whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. Figures excluding employees who received no pay for the survey period are not available, except for mean (average) earnings, which were as follows in April 1991 (£ per week).
Men |Women|All £ |£ |£ ------------------------ 101.4 |83.1 |85.5
Projections for 1992-93 concerning part-time employees earning less than £54 (the National Insurance lower earnings limit), excluding those with no earnings, and between £54 and £100, are as follows :
|Numbers |Aggregate
|earnings
-----------------------------------------------------
Less than £54 |2.25 million|£4 billion
£54-£100 |1.50 million|£6 billion
Comparable figures for 1979 are not available.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether, further to table 12 of part A of the 1991 new earnings survey, he will publish a table showing the mean, median, quartile and decile earnings for (a) manual workers in manufacturing and (b) non-manuals in the non- manufacturing private sector in the Greater
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London sub-region and in the west midlands region, together with the numbers represented by each category in each region.Mr. Forth : Information on the mean earnings, and sample numbers, for manual workers in manufacturing, for Greater London and for the west midlands, may be found in tables 118 and 120 of part E of the new earnings survey reports from 1979 onwards. There is no available information for median, quartile and decile earnings for manufacturing on a regional basis. Figures for the mean, median, quartile and decile earnings for non-manuals, in the
non-manufacturing private sector, are not available. Copies of the publications are available in the Library.
Toxic Emissions (Merseyside)
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place a copy in the Library of the health and safety inspector's report on emissions and leaks of toxic fluids and gases on Merseyside.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) investigations into the circumstances of recent incidents involving emissions and leaks of toxic fluids and gases on Merseyside are continuing. At this stage HSE has no plans to publish reports on its investigations into these incidents.
HEALTH
Management Executive
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the present work, research and development programmes of the NHS management executive with regard to the assessment of the health of the population and the cost effectiveness of present spending programmes.
Mr. Dorrell : The assessment of health need is the responsibility of district health authorities. The management executive offers a wide range of support to local health needs assessment and the assessment of cost effectiveness of services.
Expenditure
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish an updated table of hospital and county health service programme expenditure by age group comparable with that for 1986-87 supplied to the Social Services Select Committee in 1988 and publish such a table both in cash terms and cash adjusted for NHS pay and prices using the same base as the 1986-87 table.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is given in the table. The expenditure relates only to that by regional health authorities and excludes expenditure on certain centrally financed services, and on joint finance with the personal social services, as well as all expenditure on family health services.
The methodology for estimating the distribution of expenditure by age has been revised since the 1986-87 estimates were made, largely as a result of changes in the way in which financial data are reported. The figures for 1989-90 are therefore not comparable with the figures for 1986-87.
Changes in input volumes are an inadequate guide to the level of service the NHS can be expected to achieve,
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since they do not reflect the continuing success of the NHS in increasing the efficiency with which it uses resources. The table therefore also shows expenditure figures in real terms, ie adjusted by the GDP deflator.Column 389
Hospital and community health service
Estimated gross current expenditure by age
£ million
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4)
|Expenditure |Expenditure |Expenditure |Expenditure
in 1986-87 |(2) |in 1989-90 |(3) |in 1989-90
Age bands |(Cash) |(Cash) |In real terms<1> |In volume terms<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All births |742.3 |888.4 |738.1 |692.1
0 to 4 |590.6 |645.8 |536.6 |503.1
5 to 15 |641.5 |662.3 |550.3 |516.0
16 to 44 |1,795.9 |2,365.7 |1,965.6 |1,842.9
45 to 64 |1,521.7 |2,623.9 |2,180.1 |2,044.0
65 to 74 |1,738.1 |2,292.8 |1,905.0 |1,786.1
75 to 84 |2,318.1 |2,650.7 |2,202.4 |2,064.9
85 plus |876.2 |1,336.5 |1,110.4 |1,041.1
|---- |---- |---- |----
Total, all ages |10,224.4 |13,466.0 |11,188.5 |10,490.0
<1> In 1986-87 prices after allowing for changes in general inflation as measured by the GDP deflator.
<2> In 1986-87 prices after allowing for changes in HCHS pay and prices.
Child Protection
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to support moves towards introducing approved or accredited social workers to tackle complex child protection cases.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are in discussion with the local authority associations, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) and the Association of Directors of Social Services on this issue.
Liverpool (Proposed Hospital)
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds will be in (a) the acute and (b) the recovery wings of the proposed new obstetrics and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is planned that there will be a total of 263 beds, of which 163 will be acute.
Asthma
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the reported level of asthma sufferers, by age range of 0-11, 11-21, 21-45 and over 45 years for each London health district from 1980 to the present.
Mr. Dorrell : Information in the form requested is not held centrally. The vast majority of asthma sufferers do not attend hospital as in-patients.
Prescriptions (Respiratory Drugs)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of children's prescriptions, by family practitioner committee area, of ventolin or equivalent respiratory drugs for each year since 1980.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally.
Health Units (Deficits)
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will publish his Department's analysis of regions'
deficits--"Financial management of the NHS : Winter 1991-92, DMU and Trust deficits", month nine report ;
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(2) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-ended deficit and current deficit of the London Ambulance Service ; (3) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit and the current deficit in Bloomsbury and Islington district health authority ;(4) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit in the Camberwell district health authority ;
(5) if he will make a statement about current and recent deficit forecast year-end deficits in (a) the West Suffolk district health authority and (b) the Cambridge district health authority ; (6) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond street ;
(7) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit at (a) the Royal Surrey county trust, (b) the Nuffield orthopaedic centre and (c) the North West Hertfordshire mental handicap unit ; (8) if he will make a statement on (a) the current financial situation for both capital and revenue and (b) the forecast year-end deficit, at Guy's hospital ;
(9) if he will make a statement about the deficit and forecast year-end deficit at St. Bartholomew's hospital ;
(10) if he will make a statement about the number of units reporting current deficits above £100,000 in January 1992 ; (11) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit in the national heart and chest hospitals special health authority ;
(12) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit in the (a) South West Hertfordshire district health authority and (b) Riverside health authority ;
(13) if he will make a statement about the year-end deficit and current deficit in the Bromsgrove and Redditch district health authority ;
(14) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit and current deficit in the Basingstoke district health authority ;
(15) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit in East Surrey district health authority ;
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(16) if he will make a statement about the forecast year-end deficit and current deficit at the (a) Salford and (b) South Manchester district health authorities.Mr. Dorrell : The recently leaked internal management document to which the questions refer contained unaudited management information, some of which has been overtaken by events. The proper way of reporting the financial position of the National Health Service and its component parts is in the annual accounts of these bodies for 1991-92, which will be published in due course.
Community Care
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress being made in implementing the Government's community care reforms.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The policies set out in the White Paper "Caring for People" are widely supported by local authorities, health authorities, voluntary organisations, practitioners in the field and many other interested commentators. The objectives are that good quality local services are provided that are responsive to the needs of users and carers, that provide choice and that enable elderly, disabled or vulnerable people to live as independently as possible in their own homes or in homely settings in the community. The Government attach particular importance to the successful implementation of these reforms.
Special monitoring arrangements have been established. The regional social services inspectorate and regional health authorities have been asked to submit six-monthly reports on the progress being made by authorities in their regions against a checklist of issues. The first reports were submitted at the end of September.
These reports showed that overall, satisfactory progress was being made at that stage in implementing the reforms. Most local authorities had met the specific requirements of the first phase of implementation by establishing complaints procedures and "arm's-length" inspection units for residential homes by 1 April 1991. They were also establishing a wide range of projects under the new mental illness specific grant which supports £30 million of expenditure in 1991-92 and £43.6 million in 1992-93 and under the new alcohol and drug misuse specific grant which supports £2 million of expenditure in 1991-92 and £3 million in 1992-93. Nearly all are on course to produce their first community care plans for 1 April 1992. A number of local authorities were making progress in clarifying the different "purchaser" and "provider" roles within the authority. We expect all authorities to make progress on this issue in the next few months. It is also clear that the degree of collaboration between health and local authorities which is essential to successful implementation has notably improved and that many authorities are making significant efforts to involve voluntary organisations, users and carers in preparing their plans.
Authorities should now be addressing the detail of the reforms' implications, having undertaken much of the necessary groundwork for full implementation by 1 April 1993. At that stage, local authorities must have in place needs-based assessment systems. Funds will also be transferred to them from the Department of Social Security to enable them to arrange care for those people who would have entered residential or nursing home care
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and looked to the Department of Social Security for financial support. Implementing the remaining aspects of the reforms will be a challenging task. Local and health authorities will need to tackle a number of difficult issues. Closer collaboration will also be required between authorities generally and independent sector providers of community care services. The next round of the monitoring exercise will concentrate on those aspects to which authorities must give priority in order to achieve a smooth and successful introduction of the remainder of the changes required by legislation. Once these elements are in place authorities will be in a good position to take advantage of the opportunities created and to develop more appropriate and more responsive services to meet the needs of users and carers.NHS Estate
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state for each NHS region the amount needed for repairs and maintenance to bring the estate to an overall condition which exhibits only minor deterioration.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 12 July 1991, Official Report, at columns 500-4. That gave the figures at March 1990 ; the final figures at March 1991 are not yet available.
Ko Hsuan School, Chawleigh
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute an inquiry into the welfare of children at the Ko Hsuan school in Chawleigh, north Devon.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I understand that a joint social services and police investigation took place on 3 February and that the findings of the investigation are now being studied. We do not anticipate the need for a Government inquiry at this time. We will, however, keep the situation under review.
Under the terms of the Children Act 1989 the proprietors of the school have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children accommodated in the school.
Children's Beds (Oxfordshire)
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the proposed rationalisation of children's beds in Oxfordshire district health authority ; and what are the (a) current and (b) forecast end of year deficits for the authority.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her today. I understand that Oxfordshire health authority has no plans to rationalise children's beds.
Novopen Needles
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to end the charging of diabetics for supplies of Novopen needles.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Needles for insulin injection pens including Novopens are not compatible with conventional syringes and so arrangements for both pens and needles have to be considered together. We are currently reviewing the case for making both these items available on GP prescription.
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NHS Trusts
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by regional health authority, those units and hospitals which are not in the first, second or third waves of trusts, and which are eligible to apply for trust status.
Mr. Dorrell : Any NHS hospital or other unit involved directly in patient care may apply for NHS trust status.
National Blood Authority
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the consultation exercise into establishing a national blood authority.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Hayes) on 29 January at column 586.
Ambulances
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will state for each metropolitan ambulance authority (a) the percentage of emergency calls responded
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to within seven minutes and (b) the percentage of emergency calls responded to within 14 minutes for each quarter since March 1991 ; (2) if he will state for each non-metropolitan ambulance authority (a) the percentage of emergency calls responded to within eight minutes and (b) the percentage of emergency calls responded to within 20 minutes for each quarter since March 1991.Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 24 January at columns 391-96.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, columns 392-94, if he will give corresponding figures for ambulance response times for the years 1983 and 1987.
Mr. Dorrell : The information requested was not collected centrally until the financial year 1987-88.
The tables show the numbers and percentages of emergency calls being responded to within the standards of eight and 20 minutes for non- metropolitan authorities and seven and 14 minutes for metropolitan authorities for 1987-88.
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Patient transport services: Table 1
1987-88
Quality of service
Emergency calls: response times: non-metropolitan authorities England
Ambulance authority |Total number of |Number where |Percentage of |Time at 50th
|emergency calls |response within |calls where |percentile
|7-8 minutes |response within |(minutes)
|7-8 minutes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |23,890 |18,200 |76.2 |6.0
Cumbria |12,562 |7,828 |62.3 |6.2
Durham |29,098 |17,243 |59.3 |7.3
Humberside |42,403 |30,455 |71.8 |6.0
North Yorkshire |19,361 |12,711 |65.7 |5.9
Derbyshire |32,556 |17,944 |55.1 |8.0
Leicestershire |31,129 |19,304 |62.0 |8.0
Lincolnshire |16,237 |10,300 |63.4 |7.0
Nottinghamshire |58,018 |35,332 |60.9 |8.0
Cambridgeshire |16,807 |8,526 |50.7 |8.0
Norfolk |25,151 |16,028 |63.7 |6.4
Suffolk |10,313 |5,641 |54.7 |7.5
Bedfordshire |19,495 |12,216 |62.7 |7.0
Hertfordshire |35,981 |19,983 |55.5 |8.0
Essex |62,107 |28,901 |46.5 |8.0
East Sussex |35,221 |24,541 |69.7 |6.0
Kent |51,272 |31,709 |61.8 |7.0
Surrey |47,151 |25,984 |55.1 |6.0
West Sussex |5,734 |3,658 |63.8 |7.0
Dorset |23,200 |14,130 |60.9 |6.2
Hampshire |46,996 |24,017 |51.1 |7.3
Wiltshire |13,452 |8,123 |60.4 |6.6
Isle of Wight |4,199 |2,376 |56.6 |7.1
Berkshire |22,538 |10,481 |46.5 |7.0
Buckinghamshire |16,511 |10,060 |60.9 |7.0
Northamptonshire |18,381 |8,361 |45.5 |7.1
Oxfordshire |12,556 |7,187 |57.2 |7.0
Avon |31,327 |20,573 |65.7 |8.0
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |14,581 |6,658 |45.7 |9.0
Devon |33,875 |21,284 |62.8 |7.0
Gloucestershire |14,133 |9,227 |65.3 |7.0
Somerset |9,575 |5,704 |59.6 |6.0
Hereford and Worcester |17,482 |11,888 |68.0 |6.0
Shropshire |12,333 |6,340 |51.4 |7.9
Staffordshire |33,875 |21,284 |62.8 |7.0
Warwickshire |13,019 |8,643 |66.4 |6.8
Cheshire |33,031 |17,308 |52.4 |8.0
Lancashire |70,509 |49,845 |70.7 |6.2
Source: KA34.
DH Statistics and Management Information (SM12B)1992.
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Patient transport services: Table 2
1987-88
Quality of service
Emergency calls: response times: non-metropolitan authorities
England
Ambulance authority |Total number of |Number where |Percentage of |Time at 95th
|emergency calls |response within |calls where |percentile
|14-20 minutes |response within |(minutes)
|14-20 minutes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |23,890 |23,353 |97.8 |12.0
Cumbria |12,562 |11,855 |94.4 |20.7
Durham |29,098 |28,691 |98.6 |16.4
Humberside |42,403 |42,276 |99.7 |14.0
North Yorkshire |19,361 |18,317 |94.6 |16.5
Derbyshire |32,556 |31,579 |97.0 |18.0
Leicestershire |31,129 |30,462 |97.9 |17.0
Lincolnshire |16,237 |15,572 |95.9 |20.0
Nottinghamshire |58,018 |56,139 |96.8 |18.0
Cambridgeshire |16,807 |15,459 |92.0 |18.0
Norfolk |25,151 |24,441 |97.2 |17.7
Suffolk |10,313 |9,336 |90.5 |20.5
Bedfordshire |19,495 |18,922 |97.1 |17.0
Hertfordshire |35,981 |34,666 |96.3 |18.0
Essex |62,107 |53,709 |86.5 |17.0
East Sussex |35,221 |32,543 |92.4 |14.0
Kent |51,272 |49,536 |96.6 |18.0
Surrey |47,151 |27,044 |57.4 |13.0
West Sussex |5,734 |4,529 |79.0 |21.0
Dorset |23,200 |20,770 |89.5 |16.4
Hampshire |46,996 |40,645 |86.5 |16.5
Wiltshire |13,452 |12,777 |95.0 |17.0
Isle of Wight |4,199 |3,951 |94.1 |19.3
Berkshire |22,538 |21,989 |97.6 |16.0
Buckinghamshire |16,511 |15,711 |95.2 |15.5
Northamptonshire |18,381 |16,779 |91.3 |15.3
Oxfordshire |12,556 |11,818 |94.1 |20.0
Avon |31,327 |30,526 |97.4 |20.0
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |14,581 |13,173 |90.3 |25.0
Devon |33,875 |32,179 |95.0 |18.0
Gloucestershire |14,133 |13,900 |98.4 |17.0
Somerset |9,575 |8,921 |93.2 |19.0
Hereford and Worcester |17,482 |17,132 |98.0 |16.0
Shropshire |12,333 |11,648 |94.4 |19.6
Staffordshire |33,875 |32,179 |95.0 |18.0
Warwickshire |13,019 |12,700 |97.5 |16.8
Cheshire |33,031 |31,544 |95.5 |20.0
Lancashire |70,509 |69,883 |99.1 |13.8
Source: KA34.
DH Statistics and Management Information (SM12B) 1992.
Patient transport services: Table 3
1987-88
Quality of service
Emergency calls: response times: non-metropolitan authorities
England
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patient transport services: Table 4
1987-88
Quality of service
Emergency calls: response times: non-metropolitan authorities
England
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the average length of service expected from emergency ambulance vehicles in terms of (a) years and (b) miles ; and if he will give for each ambulance authority the percentage of vehicles which meet those specifications.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not collected centrally.
Cancelled Operations
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state for each regional health authority (a) the number of scheduled operations cancelled and (b) the average number of operations per session held for each quarter since 31 March 1991.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information on the number of operations cancelled is not collected centrally. Statistics on the number of cases operated on in each region per scheduled session held are collected annually. Data for 1990-91 will be published in the near future in "NHS Operating Theatres Availability and Use, England, Financial year 1990-91", a copy of which will be placed in the Library.
Maternity Beds
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by national health service region (a) for 1980 and (b) for 1990-91 the hospitals in England which had consultant obstetric or general practitioner maternity beds, giving the number of beds of each type in each hospital.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 24 January 1992] : The information requested for 1990-91 has been placed in the Library. Figures for 1980 and 1989-90 were placed in the Library in reply to the question from the hon. Member for Peckham on 15 March 1991 at column 709 . Due to changes in the type of information collected, the data for the years concerned are not strictly comparable. The data for 1980 identified the beds available in the type of unit concerned. Since 1987, the bed type has been classified according to clinical responsibility--by consultant, general practitioner or for joint use. In addition, many of the individual sites were not open during one or other of the years in question. While there has been an overall reduction in the number of beds over the period, this has been accompanied by a significant reduction in the average length of stay of over 30 per cent.
Column 398
Home Helps
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each year since 1979 the number of home helps employed by local authorities.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 6 February 1992] : The net expenditure on home helps and the numbers of home helps directly employed by social services departments in England (in whole time equivalent terms at 30 September) in each year are set out in the table.
|Net |Staff numbers
|expenditure |directly
|on home help |employed
|services
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------
1979 |132.8 |44,660
1980 |157.1 |46,637
1981 |186.9 |46,541
1982 |205.6 |47,310
1983 |228.7 |49,326
1984 |253.6 |50,561
1985 |269.4 |51,959
1986 |296.5 |53,706
1987 |336.2 |56,336
1988 |413.1 |57,004
1989 |464.7 |56,613
1990 |519.6 |55,783
|per cent. |per cent.
Percentage
increase over
the period |<1>67.0 |25.0
<1> In real terms.
Note: Staff figures relate only to local authorities'
directly employed staff.
Although there is a drop in the number of home helps since 1988 the expenditure on the service has been increasing, indicating that local authorities are contracting out an increasing proportion of the service to the voluntary and private sectors.
ENERGY
Orimulsion
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest position with regard to the issues before him relating to National Power plc's proposals to burn orimulsion at Pembroke power station ; what decisions under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, or under section 10 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, are still awaited ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 399
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : South Pembrokeshire district council, a relevant planning authority, has objected to National Power plc's application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for my right hon. Friend's consent to fit electrostatic precipitators in order to use orimulsion as the fuel for the Pembroke power station. My right hon. Friend is, therefore, statutorily obliged to call for a public inquiry to be held into the application unless the district council withdraws its objection.Before arranging the inquiry, my right hon. Friend does, however, need to know the views of all statutory consultees, including the other relevant planning authority, Dyfed county council, in order to determine the matters that are relevant to his consideration of the application. The relevant inquiry procedure rules require him to issue a statement of such matters.
The authorisation of a licence under section 10 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is a matter for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Data Information Systems
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what data information systems his Department has (a) agreed and (b) been consulted about with a view to taking part in ; what are the criteria for inclusion in such systems ; whether they will be linked to (i) the police national computer and (ii) other computer systems ; what data protection provisions apply to them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wakeham : My Department has established links with the following organisations for the following purposes :
Organisation and Purpose
HM Paymaster General--Pay-roll
Department of Trade and Industry--Accounts and Library Services British Geological Survey--Petroleum Engineering data.
AEA--Energy Technology Data
HMIP--Radio-active Incident Monitoring.
OECD--Transferral of papers.
My Department also subscribes to several commercial databases such as Lexis and those available with BT Gold.
The main criterion used in deciding whether to join a system is whether it would further the objectives of the Department in a cost-effective manner. My Department is not linked to the police national computer. All systems which contain data on personnel are registered with the Data Protection Registrar.
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