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Mr. Curry : The draft text circulated by the GATT Director General on 20 December 1991 covered all products. It remains under negotiation and it is at present not clear what final agreement may be reached, nor whether the Community will wish to deal with bananas on the same basis as other products. The impact of tariffication on ACP banana industries would depend on the size of any tariffs proposed and on the precise terms of
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any provisions for maintaining current access opportunities. We remain committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Lome convention and to bringing the GATT round to an early and successful conclusion.Fish (Intervention Scheme)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on the withdrawal of the intervention scheme as it relates to fish.
Mr. Curry : The withdrawal arrangements are a permanent and integral feature of the basic Community marketing regime for fish.
Water Quality
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 3 February, Official Report, column 80, regarding the implementation of EC directive 91/492/EC, if he will specify the date on which he expects the classification work to be completed.
Mr. Curry : Under EC directive 91/492/EEC, classification of shellfish harvesting areas must be operative by 1 January 1993. I appreciate that shellfish producers will need the longest possible warning of the likely classifications, and we will publish results at the earliest possible date.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Malawi
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all current bilateral aid contracts between the United Kingdom and Malawi.
Mrs. Chalker : Current bilateral aid agreements between Britain and Malawi are as follows :
General Agreements (governing the provision of capital aid and technical co -operation) :-
1974 Technical Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding 1983 Grant Agreement
1986 Grant Agreement
Specific Project Agreements (by sector) :-
Natural Resources
Mulanje-Thalombe Fish Farm
Traditional Fisheries
Demersal Fisheries
Likoma/Chizimuli Fisheries
Forestry Research Institute
Assistance to the Forestry Department
Biological Control of Aphids
Macadamia Nut Research
Tea Research
Estates Extension Service
Water Hyacinth Control
CTVM/DAHI Veterinary Project
Livestock Disease Evaluation
Education
Technical Colleges
Distance Education College
Secondary School Teachers
University of Malawi (Civil and Mechanical Engineering Faculties)
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Computer ScienceData Processing
Health
College of Medicine
Onchocerciasis Research
Contraceptive Commodities
Transport
Malawi Railways Phase II
Nacala Emergency Support
Lilongwe--Salima Road
Chilumba/Dwongwa Porels
Landrover Rehabilitation Phase III
Water
Blantyre Water Board
Lilongwe Water Board
Districts Water Appraisal
Miscellaneous
Malawi Law Reports
Assistance to City Councils
Ministry of Community Services
Social Dimensions of Adjustment
Programme Aid Agreements :-
1989 Programme Aid Grant
1990 Programme Aid Grant
1991 Programme Aid Grant (pending signature)
World Rainforest Report"
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will obtain for the library of the Overseas Development Administration a subscription to the "World Rainforest Report", published by the World Rainforest Movement.
Mrs. Chalker : The library of the Overseas Development Administration already subscribes to this publication.
Environmental Appraisal
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many copies of the Overseas Development Administration's manual of environmental appraisal have been produced ; and to which organisations the manual has been distributed.
Mrs. Chalker [holding answer 14 February 1992] : More than 1,800 copies of the manual have been produced ; a list of the organisations the manual has been distributed to has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Energy Grants
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what grants have been made by his Department's Overseas Development Administration since 1979 to support (i) energy efficiency, (ii) nuclear power and (iii) pollution abatement in industrially developing nations.
Mrs. Chalker [holding answer 14 February 1992] : I have placed in the Libraries of the House lists of grants funded by the Overseas Development Administration from 1980 to 1990 in the fields of energy efficiency and pollution abatement. No grants in the nuclear power sector were made. Records available, which cover capital grants for the whole period and technical co-operation grants from 1988 only, show that during the period a total of approximately £26 million has been spent on pollution abatement projects and approximately £234 million on energy efficiency-related projects.
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HEALTH
Ear, Nose and Throat Operations
13. Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing the waiting time for ear, nose and throat operations in the past 12 months.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The latest information shows that in the year to March 1991 the number of patients waiting over two years for ENT treatments fell by 50 per cent. and the number waiting over one year by 24 per cent.
Extra-contractual Referrals
15. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the system of extra-contractual referrals as a means of ensuring patient choice and general practitioner freedom of referral.
Mr. Waldegrave : I am satisfied that extra contractual referrals are working effectively in dealing with smaller patient flows. Expenditure on extra contractual referrals is running in line with plan.
Hilda Lewis House
16. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had about the proposed closure of Hilda Lewis house ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : The Bethlem Royal hospital and the Maudsley hospital special health authority has decided to restructure the services for children with both learning difficulties and behavioural problems which it currently provides at Hilda Lewis house. This will better enable the authority to fulfil its key role in postgraduate research and teaching. The authority is best placed to make this kind of decision about its strategic priorities, which it has also discussed with the NHS management executive.
Bloomsbury and Islington Health Authority
17. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning possible trust status for any part of the Bloomsbury and Islington health authority.
Mr. Dorrell : We have received an expression of interest in trust status from April 1993 from the Whittington and Royal Northern hospitals. We have received an application from the Royal London homoeopathic hospital, which is resubmitting from the second wave. We have also received an expression of interest from St. Peter's, St. Paul's, St. Philip's and the Shaftesbury hospitals, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not approved to make an application.
Patients Charter
18. Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what waiting list targets have been set under the patients charter.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : From 1 April 1992, the patients charter guarantees that no patient will wait more
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than two years for treatment. The charter also requires health authorities to set and publish clear local standards for waiting time for first out-patient appointments.National Health Service Trusts
19. Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress by national health service hospital trusts.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Recently my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that 99 hospitals and other units will be established in the second wave of national health service trusts in April 1992, while four London teaching hospitals will become operational as trusts in April 1993.
To date, 153 hospitals and other units have indicated that they may apply to become trusts in April 1993. If all these were to be successful, two thirds of national health service hospitals and other units would be operating as national health service trusts. First-wave national health service trusts across the country have already made significant improvements in the care they can offer their patients.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in the first wave of trust hospitals how many executive directors were appointed following advertisements and competitive interviews and how many were appointed without competition ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally. The appointment of executive directors is a matter for the National Health Service Trust Board in accordance with the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations and the Department's guidance which states that the post of chief executive must be advertised except when the trust is first established.
Mr. Robin Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been his Department's total expenditure to date on the introduction of national health service trusts.
Mr. Dorrell : Figures are not available, but the cost is not significant and will be more than offset by the improvements in efficiency in delivering the service.
General Practitioner Contracts
20. Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the general practitioner contract.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The general practitioner contract has revolutionised primary health care. As a direct result of this initiative, general practitioners all over the country now offer patients a wider range of services than ever before and patient satisfaction levels are high.
Surgeries now offer more preventive care and give special emphasis to vulnerable patients like young children and the elderly. These improvements amply illustrate the very positive impact of the general practitioner contract, and the Government's commitment to improving the health of the whole population.
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Pain Relief
21. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve and extend the relief of pain.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The provision of services for the diagnosis and relief of pain is a matter for individual health authorities to determine.
Electoral Registration
22. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the total number of electors registered for England and Wales for 1992-93 ; and what is the equivalent relevant population of those who are entitled to register.
Mr. Dorrell : The size of the 1992 electoral register is not yet known. It is estimated that there were about 40.4 million residents of England and Wales at mid-1991 old enough to be included on this register.
Mersey RHA
23. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to meet the chairman of the Mersey regional health authority to discuss changes planned in national health service provision.
Mr. Dorrell : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets regional chairmen on a regular basis. A wide range of topics on the national health service are discussed at these meetings.
Social Services
24. Mr. James Lamond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he intends to make to the policy forum report on spending on social services.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Local authorities have a challenging job to provide services which are flexible, comprehensive and sensitive to the needs of users and carers. Our record which has seen personal social services spending increase by nearly 60 per cent. in real terms since 1978- 79 shows that we are committed to providing local authorities with the resources to do so.
NHS Charges
25. Mr. Edwards : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to health authorities regarding the imposition of charges on NHS patients.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : National health services must be free except where charging is expressly provided for by legislation. The chief executive reminded health service managers of this on 24 October 1991.
GP Lists
26. Mr. Day : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average number of patients on each general practitioner's list (a) in 1978 and (b) in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The average list size fell from 2,312 in October 1978 to 1,942 in October 1990--a reduction of 16 per cent. The latest available information held centrally shows that the average list size at 1 April 1991 was 1,917, a further reduction of 1.3 per cent.
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GP Fund Holders
27. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what independent reports have been issued about the progress of general practitioner fund holding.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Kings Fund report on GP fund holding-- "A Foothold for Fundholding"--was published on 11 February and a copy is available in the Library. We welcome this first piece of independent, academic research undertaken by Professor Howard Glennerster of the London School of Economics which shows that GP fund holding is proving to be a clear success and, most importantly, working to the benefit of patients.
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