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Tinnitus
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will outline the research sponsored by her Department concerning tinnitus and include information on the number of people suffering from the condition.
Dr. Mawhinney : The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1991 the MRC spent £112,000 on research into tinnitus. It is estimated that between 0.5 and 1 per cent. of the population are seriously affected by tinnitus.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a list of current and planned research studies into the possible causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis ; indicating for each study, the start and completion dates, the commissioned body, the level of financial support and the nature of each study.
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Dr. Mawhinney : Independently funded research is not notified to the Department of Health by any formal mechanism. As a result of attendance by officials at scientific meetings and visits to establishments where research is going on, we are aware of a wide range of research into possible causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis. This includes virological, endocrinological and neurotransmitter studies, studies of sleep disturbance and studies of immunological and muscle abnormalities.
The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The MRC is funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry. The MRC and the Department are always willing to consider sympathetically soundly based researched proposals in competition with other applications. We are not at present funding studies which are specifically considering possible causes of ME.
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being done about myalgic encephalomyelitis and its epidemiology in order to establish a consensus of medical opinion regarding the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Medical Research Council is funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry, associated with the Maudsley hospital, which is attempting to find ways to help sufferers from chronic fatigue syndrome- -myalgic encephalomyelitis--attending GPs' surgeries to cope with their condition and regain their health. The results of that study, together with those of earlier epidemiological studies, will form a basis for deciding whether further epidemiological studies are required and the nature of those studies. At present, management of ME is on a case-by-case basis, depending on the symptoms.
Food Poisoning
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of cases notified to her from 1 January 1991 until 31 December 1991 in each health region for (a) food poisoning in general, (b) salmonella, (c) salmonella enteriditis, (d) salmonella enteriditis phase 4, (e) salmonella typhimurium, (f) campylobacter and (g) listeriosis.
Mr. Sackville : The detailed information requested has been placed in the Library.
The data show notification of food poisoning to the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys and laboratory reports of specific organisms to the Public Health Laboratory Service's communicable disease surveillance centre.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the total number of salmonella food poisoning cases, and the number of each of (a) typhimurium, (b) virchow, (c) total enteriditis and (d) PT4 in each year since 1987.
Mr. Sackville : The table shows totals of laboratory reports of all salmonellas and of selected salmonellas made to the Public Health Laboratory Service communicable disease surveillance centre.
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Laboratory reports of salmonellas in faeces
England and Wales
1987 to 1991
Salmonella enteriditis
Year |All<1> |Salmonella |Salmonella |Total |PT4 only
|typhimurium|virchow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |17,551 |6,400 |1,281 |5,784 |3,670
1988 |23,821 |5,566 |1,135 |13,051 |8,964
1989 |24,649 |6,080 |1,507 |13,013 |9,652
1990 |25,351 |4,662 |1,055 |15,664 |12,141
1991<2> |22,461 |4,429 |613 |14,301 |10,973
<1> All salmonellas excluding salmonella typhi, salmonella paratyphi.
<2> Provisional data.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Coal Privatisation
Mr. Riddick : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether and when the Government will consult interested parties on the privatisation of British Coal.
Mr. Eggar : The Government announced in the Queen's Speech their plans to introduce legislation to return British Coal to the private sector and are now in the process of considering the form and timing of coal privatisation. The Government have undertaken to consult on privatisation and I have today written to interested bodies seeking their views. I will of course welcome the views of any interested group or individual, by 22 June.
Lead Shot
Ms. Walley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give tonnages of lead shot (a) made in and (b) imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Needham : The information requested is not available.
GATT
Mr. Tyler : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what the Government's current objectives are for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations.
Mr. Needham : The Government remain committed to an early and successful conclusion to the Uruguay round of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. We are working with our European Community partners and other key participants to ensure that outstanding issues, particularly in the agriculture negotiations, are resolved as quickly as possible. A successful outcome will strengthen the multilateral trading system, boost world trade, and provide new opportunities for British exporters. It will also help to integrate developing countries and the countries of eastern Europe more closely into the international trading system.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has made at the most recent round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade talks concerning the liberalisation of international trade for exporters from poorer countries.
Mr. Needham : In the negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the European Commission represents the European Community and the
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member states. The Government have made clear their commitment to a successful outcome to the Uruguay round negotiations. A Uruguay round agreement would bring considerable benefits to developing countries, providing greater opportunities for their exports and a more open and stable international framework for the domestic economic reforms which many of them are undertaking.Greenhouse Emissions
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the full greenhouse gas emissions from different fuel cycles in the United Kingdom, including both the electricity generating technologies and the final fuel use technologies.
Mr. Eggar : Statistics on United Kingdom emissions of carbon dioxide and methane--the main "greenhouse gases"--are given annually in the Department of the Environment publication "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics" a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The figures for carbon dioxide are listed according to both emission sources and types of fuel. Further information on this subject can be found in the energy technology support unit report "The Impact of United Kingdom Electricity, Gas and Oil Use on Global Warming"--AEA Environment and Energy, 1991. I am arranging for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library.
Accountancy Firms
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any proposals for legislation under which accountancy firms acting as investigators for banks will not be able to act as receivers for companies placed by the banks into liquidation.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have no such plans.
Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to introduce legislation under which the bodies named as recognised supervisory bodies under part II of the Companies Act 1989 will be required (a) to admit members of the public to their council meetings and (b) to make their agenda papers public.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to conduct a
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competition investigation into the domination of the United Kingdom audit market by a limited number of firms.Companies Acts Definitions
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will set out the provisions of the Companies Acts which relate to definitions of asset, liability and profit.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : There are no provisions in the Companies Acts which define an asset, liability or profit, although there are clarifications of the scope when the term "liabilities" is used and of realised profits. However, the statement of principles being developed by the Accounting Standards Board is expected to contain definitions of assets and liabilities and of gains and losses.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what evidence he has submitted to Lord Justice Bingham's inquiry into the collapse of BCCI.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : My Department has co-operated fully with Lord Justice Bingham's inquiry.
Companies Act Investigations
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish a summary of the findings of investigations carried out under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The "Companies Annual Report" published annually provides information about company investigations under the Companies Act 1985. However, there is no statutory provision for reports of inquiries under section 447 to be published, and information obtained under section 447 may be disclosed only under the clearly defined circumstances set out in section 449 of the Companies Act 1985, as amended.
Public Limited Companies
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to propose legislation under which shareholders of all public limited companies will be required to choose from two firms nominated to the office of auditor.
Pension Schemes
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the provisions of the Companies Acts relating to the showing in company accounts of pension scheme surpluses.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : There are no specific provisions in the Companies Acts dealing with company pension scheme surpluses. However, the treatment of such surpluses is dealt with in the accounting standard dealing with accounting for pension costs--SSAP24.
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Greenwich Generating Station
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about the proposal by MetroPower to redevelop the Greenwich generating station ; and if he will set up a public inquiry.
Mr. Eggar : More than 100 representations have been received by my Department. The London borough of Greenwich, the relevant planning authority, has objected to the application and the President is therefore statutorily obliged to call for a public inquiry to be held into MetroPower's application.
Arrangements for the public inquiry will be made when further information on aquaeous and atmospheric discharges from MetroPower, and the views of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the National Rivers Authority, have been received.
Internal Market Council
Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Internal Market Council on 14 May.
Mr. Needham : I attended the Internal Market Council on 14 May. Progress was made on a number of items which should benefit UK business. Political agreement, which meets all the main UK objectives, was reached on the third life insurance directive. This opens the way to completion of the single market for life insurance. There was also broad political agreement to an amendment to the second company law directive which limits the potential use as barriers to takeover of subsidiaries' shareholdings in parents.
There were two intellectual property items on the agenda. A Council resolution on increased protection for copyright and neighbouring rights, and in particular the importance of the Berne and Rome conventions, was agreed. Further work was commissioned on the proposed directive covering protection of rental and lending rights, with the objective of the Council reaching agreement in June. Separately, the UK emphasised the importance of trying to resolve technical issues relating to the proposed Community trademarks regulation.
A report on the procurement of services by utilities indicated that there should be no significant difficulties in reaching agreement at a future Council. There was a discussion about the possibility of harmonising hallmarking systems at Community level, something which most member states favour.
There was extensive discussion of the Commission communication on Article 8A of the treaty of Rome on the abolition of routine frontier controls between member states from 1 January 1993. The United Kingdom underlined the need to retain the possibility of selective controls on goods, and that practical solutions were needed to meet problems raised by changes in controls. We emphasised that the issue of frontier controls on people was a matter for the Foreign Affairs Council. Other member states expressed a range of views. But while some showed greater support for the Commission communication, many recognised that pragmatic solutions were needed to the practical issues raised. The Council conclusions agreed the priority of continuing work on border controls as part of the completion of the single market.
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Other items on the Council agenda included progress reports by the Commission on work relating to customs agents, drug precursors, and export controls on dual-use goods. A common position was reached on the Community customs code which consolidates existing Community customs legislation.Japanese Companies
Mr. Ingram : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the number and location of employees of each of the Japanese-owned companies within the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sainsbury : The information is not available in the form requested.
Assisted Area Boundaries
Mr. Harvey : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make it his policy to wait for the Department of Employment to review travel-to-work area boundaries before completing a review of assisted area boundaries.
Mr. Sainsbury : No. New travel-to-work areas will not be designated before 1994. The Government made it clear before the election that a review of the assisted areas map would be conducted early in this Parliament.
Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's estimate of the installed capacity of operational nuclear power stations in England and Wales in each year from 1994 to the year 2000.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 18 May 1992] : The principal operator of nuclear capacity in England and Wales is Nuclear Power plc. Decisions regarding nuclear capacity are mainly a commercial matter for the company. Nuclear Electric will operate its existing portfolio of nuclear stations as long as it is safe and economic to do so.
Rechar
Mr. Enright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how the interim capital cover arrangements for Rechar operational programmes are to be introduced.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 18 May 1992] : My Department expects to make an announcement shortly.
EDUCATION
Student Loans
14. Mr. Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will bring forward proposals to increase student grants and to end the present system of student loans.
Grant-maintained Schools
15. Mr. Watts : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications for grant-maintained status are currently being considered by his Department.
Mr. Forth : At 11 May, 43 applications for grant-maintained status were under consideration by the Department.
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23. Mr. Ashby : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the progress towards grant-maintained status for schools in Leicestershire.
Mr. Forth : There is one GM school in Leicestershire. I hope to see many others following the example of Long Field high school and joining the growing number of GM schools.
Allo 'Allo"
16. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he last watched an episode of " 'Allo 'Allo" to assess its appropriateness for the national curriculum.
Mr. Forth : Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have watched this programme. The question of its appropriateness does not arise ; the national curriculum does not prescribe the study of this or any other television programme.
Funding, Greenwich
17. Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on the level of funding for education within the London borough of Greenwich in 1992-93 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has received a handful of letters about education funding in Greenwich. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has proposed a cap on the authority's budget which is, in his view, reasonable, appropriate and achievable in all the circumstances of the authority. It allows Greenwich a budget which is nearly 9 per cent. above its standard spending assessment for this year and 18 per cent. above last year's SSA.
Education Reforms
18. Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on progress with the implementation of the Government's education reforms.
Mr. Forth : The Government are continuing to make rapid progress in implementing the important changes introduced in the Education Reform Act 1988 and in subsequent legislation. We have made steady progress in implementing the national curriculum ; we have taken measures to ensure that schools admit pupils up to the limit of their capacity ; we have introduced schemes of local management for schools and colleges ; we have given schools the chance to opt out of local authority control ; we have established city technology colleges ; we have reformed further and higher education.
Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, further education and sixth-form colleges will be transferred from local authority control on 1 April 1993 to a new further education sector and will be funded direct by new national further education funding councils. The Act also established a single funding structure for higher education and enabled institutions other than present universities to award degrees and adopt university titles. In 1992 we took steps to ensure greater openness about the performance of individual schools and announced plans to give schools a bigger say in initial teacher training. Measures to support the growing number of grant-maintained schools will be introduced later this year.
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Higher Education
19. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of young people are now entering higher education ; and what was the figure 10 years ago.
Mr. Forman : The proportion of young people entering full-time higher education has increased from one in eight in 1979 to one in four currently.
Nursery Education
20. Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what resources will be made available for nursery education provision in the year 1993-94.
Mr. Forth : The Government will announce their decision later this year on the total amount of resources, including the share for education, to be made available to local authorities in 1993-94. It will be for individual local authorities to decide how much to spend on the services for which they are responsible, and for authorities and schools to decide how to deploy the expenditure.
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to encourage the creation of nursery places.
Mr. Forth : Over the years 1987 to 1991 the numbers of under-fives attending maintained schools in England increased by nearly 90,000, from 517,000 to 604,000. The local authority grant settlement for 1992-93 allows for an increase in education spending well in excess of inflation. The scale and form of services for under-fives is for local authorities to decide in the light of the settlement.
Music
21. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to protect and enhance the opportunity for young people to learn music and to develop choral and orchestral skills.
Mr. Forth : The final order for music in the national curriculum, which is now before the House, secures, for the first time, the place of practical music-making for all pupils aged between five and 14. It provides for children to learn to perform a wide range of music, both individually and in ensembles, and opportunity for them to develop both choral and orchestral skills.
The Department assists the implementation of the national curriculum through specific grant, and intends to continue its grant this year to Music for Youth, a national organisation which promotes practical music- making in schools.
Special Schools
22. Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will make a statement about grant-maintained status for special schools.
Mr. Forth : Although the Government have considered whether to extend the option of grant-maintained status to special schools, we have no current plans to do so.
Local Management of Schools
24. Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has any changes to announce in his policy for the local management of schools.
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Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has no current plans for changes in his policy for local management of schools. As part of the promised three year review of LMS, he will be offering guidance to local education authorities on future developments later in the year.
Hornsey Centre for Children Learning
25. Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has any plans to fund the Hornsey centre for children learning.
Sixth-form Colleges
26. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what additional resources will be made available for small sixth-form colleges to help with administrative costs under the new regime.
Mr. Forman : The funds available to the new further education sector will take account of the costs to colleges of undertaking or buying in services currently provided for them by LEAs. The allocation of funds to colleges will be for the Further Education Funding Council.
Grammar Schools
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the contribution made to education by grammar schools.
Mr. Forth : Many grammar schools are centres of excellence and make a significant contribution to the education of our children. High educational standards are not, however, uniquely associated with any one particular type of school system and examination results vary widely between individual schools, whether selective or non-selective.
Educational Equality
Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will meet teachers' representatives to discuss educational equality for pupils.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend will be visiting a number of schools and he looks forward to constructive exchanges with the teacher associations in due course.
Selection
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his policy on selection for secondary education at 11 plus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : We are in favour of a diversity of schools and of choice for parents. It is for local education authorities and the governors of voluntary and grant-maintained schools to establish the organisation of schools most appropriate for their area, in the light of local needs and the wishes of the community.
Where proposals are made to introduce selection in the admission arrangements of a school we will consider them carefully on their individual merits and in the light of the local community's views and needs.
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