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Column 65
(2) what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the current EC legislation which governs the safety of mail order foods by means of a voluntary code of guidance.Mr. Sackville : The Government welcome the EC Commission's proposal for a directive on the hygiene of foodstuffs as an important step in securing harmonised food hygiene standards throughout the Community. There is no current EC legislation dealing specifically with the safety of mail order foods.
Chernobyl
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has of the effect on deaths of children from cancer of the thyroid caused by contamination of the milk supply following the Chernobyl explosion.
Mr. Sackville : Figures for the United Kingdom show that no children died from cancer of the thyroid in respect of the period 1986-90. The Department is not aware of any evidence which demonstrates that any medical effects have occurred in the United Kingdom as a result of radiation exposures from the Chernobyl accident.
Care Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods she is using to project the numbers of persons likely to require residential or nursing home care after April 1993 ; and what conclusions she has reached.
Mr. Yeo : We currently estimate that about 110,000 people annually would have permanently entered independent residential care or nursing homes if the system of higher levels of income support had continued. This figure has regard to the growth in numbers under the present system and turnover rates estimated from the results of recent surveys about the characteristics of people living in residential care and nursing homes, including length of stay. We shall keep this estimate under review as further information becomes available. All such estimates have a margin of error. The actual number of people admitted to residential care and nursing homes under local authority auspices from April 1993 will depend on an assessment by authorities of their care needs.
South Birmingham Health Authority
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide details of the deficit reported by South Birmingham health authority for the last financial year.
Mr. Sackville : The deficit for South Birmingham in 1991-92 is currently estimated to be approximately £10.5 million. Of this, £4 million relates to excess creditors carried forward from 1990-91 and the remaining £6.5 million to overspending in 1991-92.
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much the West Midlands regional health authority agreed to increase South Birmingham health authority's allocation in the last financial year ; and what understandings were reached on compensating reductions for later years.
Mr. Sackville : South Birmingham health authority received an additional £15 million in the 1991-92 financial year, which was the best estimate, at that time, of the
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district's financial deficit. The additional funding was provided on the understanding that there would be a complete investigation into the cause and scale of the deficit. The district has agreed to take action to restore an income and expenditure balance. Any further actions which may be needed, must await the results of the investigation and subsequent discussions between the regional health authority and South Birmingham health authority.Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the KPMG Peat Marwick report on South Birmingham health authority.
Mr. Sackville : KPMG Peat Marwick has not yet completed its report.
Asthma
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her reply on 2 June, Official Report, column 465, what information is held by her Department on the incidence of asthma among children ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Figures on the incidence of asthma amongst children are not held centrally, but it is estimated that upwards of 700,000 children and adolescents under the age of 16 in the United Kingdom are affected by the condition.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the possible links between child asthma and vehicle pollution due to exhaust emissions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Asthma is an ill-understood disease. The role of air pollutants in affecting the interplay between genetic and environmental factors, such as exposure to vehicle emissions is unclear. Research is being carried out into factors contributing to the rise of asthma, but no clear conclusions have emerged. The Advisory Group on the Medical Aspects of Air Pollution Episodes looked at the evidence linking ozone levels with asthma and concluded that the data were not persuasive. The group will soon examine other possible associations with asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Birth Statistics
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were born in the United Kingdom in the last five years, for which records are available, to mothers aged 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 years, respectively ; how many and what percentage of those mothers of age 16 years and over were married to the father of the child at the time of birth ; and what is her estimate of the number and proportion of babies born to mothers aged 14 to 16 years which are being cared for by grandparents or other relatives.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested relating to live births is as follows :
|c|Live births in the United
Kingdom 1986-90|c|
-----------------------------------
1986
14 |208 |- |-
15 |1,279 |- |-
16 |4,972 |531 |10.7
17 |12,321|2,415 |19.6
18 |20,094|6,257 |31.1
1987
14 |200 |- |-
15 |1,235 |- |-
16 |5,063 |441 |8.7
17 |12,141|2,043 |16.8
18 |20,141|5,237 |26.0
1988
14 |217 |- |-
15 |1,205 |- |-
16 |5,159 |396 |7.7
17 |12,775|1,759 |13.8
18 |20,060|4,709 |23.5
1989
14 |198 |- |-
15 |1,246 |- |-
16 |4,865 |316 |6.5
17 |11,798|1,381 |11.7
18 |19,394|3,959 |20.4
1990
14 |211 |- |-
15 |1,237 |- |-
16 |4,713 |260 |5.5
17 |11,819|1,231 |10.4
18 |18,797|3,504 |18.6
No information is available on the numbers or proportions of babies cared for by relatives.
Community Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she has any proposals to further postpone the implementation of the community care reforms.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke), on 12 May at column 81.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish her estimates of the cost to local authorities of community care in 1993-94 ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : This is being considered in the public expenditure survey. We are committed to resourcing community care fairly.
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Dentists and General Practitioners
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the average net pay of (a) dentists and (b) general practitioners for each of the last five years ; and what is the projected figure for 1992-93.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body recommends to Government the target average net income for dentists and the intended average income for doctors.
The target average net income of general dental practitioners and the intended average income of general medical practitioners since 1987-88 are as follows :
|General |General
|dental |medical
|practitioners|practitioners
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 April 1987 to 31 March 1988 |23,220 |26,840
1 April 1988 to 31 March 1989 |24,920 |28,800
1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990 |26,915 |31,105
1 April 1990 to 31 December 1990 |28,800 |33,280
1 January 1991 to 31 March 1991 |29,740 |34,680
1 April 1991 to 30 November 1991 |31,970 |37,280
1 December 1991 to 31 March 1992 33,010 37,975
1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993 |35,815 |40,010
Electro-convulsive Therapy
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that ECT is never administered to anyone under 18 years of age.
Mr. Yeo : Treatment decisions are a matter for clinical judgment. Electro-convulsive therapy is rarely used for people under 18 years of age, but can be the appropriate treatment in certain circumstances.
Domestic Fires
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men, women, children and pensioners died in fires in their homes during each of the last five years for which records are available, in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
The available information relates to deaths in fires attended by local authority fire brigades between 1986 and 1990 and is shown in the table.
Column 67
|c|Table|c|
|c|Fatal casualties from fires in dwellings attended by local authority fire brigades by sex<1>
and country|c|
|c|1986-90|c|
All ages Children<2> Pensioners<3>
Country |Total |Male |Female |Total |Male |Female |Total |Male |Female
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England
1986 |568 |266 |302 |105 |61 |44 |277 |92 |185
1987 |510 |246 |264 |82 |53 |29 |261 |85 |176
1988 |532 |288 |244 |83 |40 |43 |242 |106 |136
1989 |514 |269 |245 |90 |46 |44 |235 |95 |140
1990 |478 |263 |214 |74 |44 |30 |222 |92
Wales
1986 |26 |14 |12 |3 |1 |2 |17 |9 |8
1987 |38 |17 |21 |6 |4 |2 |18 |4 |14
1988 |36 |17 |19 |11 |6 |5 |17 |5 |12
1989 |26 |17 |9 |8 |4 |4 |4 |2 |2
1990 |21 |10 |11 |6 |4 |2 |10 |2
Scotland
1986 |132 |72 |60 |12 |8 |4 |63 |22 |41
1987 |138 |79 |59 |24 |14 |10 |62 |28 |34
1988 |146 |74 |72 |25 |12 |13 |69 |30 |39
1989 |88 |45 |43 |11 |4 |7 |43 |20 |23
1990 |115 |59 |55 |3 |0 |3 |45 |20
Northern Ireland
1986 |27 |14 |13 |2 |1 |1 |12 |5 |7
1987 |24 |8 |16 |7 |2 |5 |8 |2 |6
1988 |18 |8 |10 |2 |0 |2 |9 |5 |4
1989 |14 |8 |6 |3 |2 |1 |5 |1 |4
1990 |13 |8 |5 |2 |2 |0 |4 |2 |2
<1>The Total column includes some casualties of unspecified sex.
<2>Children are classified as those aged 0-16.
<3>Pensioners are classified as aged 65 and over for males and aged 60 and over for females.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men, women, children and pensioners, respectively, were injured in fires in their homes during each of the last five years for which records are available, in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.
Column 70
Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
The available information relates to casualties in fires attended by local authority fire brigades between 1986 and 1990 and is shown in the table.
Column 69
|c|Table|c|
|c|Non-fatal casualties from fires in dwellings attended by local authority fire brigades by
sex<1> and country|c|
|c|1986-90|c|
All ages Children<2> Pensioners<3>
Country |Total |Male |Female |Total |Male |Female |Total |Male |Female
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England
1986 |7,262 |3,938 |3,275 |1,194 |635 |559 |1,722 |653 |1,069
1987 |7,476 |4,050 |3,411 |1,176 |641 |535 |1,799 |663 |1,136
1988 |7,882 |4,296 |3,577 |1,317 |736 |579 |1,791 |651 |1,140
1989 |8,076 |4,408 |3,655 |1,399 |762 |636 |1,821 |677 |1,144
1990 |8,080 |4,471 |3,594 |1,383 |774 |608 |1,764 |687 |1,077
Wales
1986 |356 |195 |161 |42 |17 |25 |66 |26 |40
1987 |398 |215 |178 |64 |30 |34 |90 |34 |56
1988 |475 |233 |236 |108 |50 |58 |98 |33 |65
1989 |446 |233 |210 |80 |39 |40 |97 |31 |66
1990 |466 |261 |203 |93 |53 |40 |81 |29
Scotland
1986 |1,499 |843 |655 |212 |105 |107 |311 |125 |186
1987 |1,372 |776 |596 |204 |112 |92 |292 |108 |184
1988 |1,591 |862 |727 |265 |136 |129 |357 |143 |214
1989 |1,605 |869 |736 |247 |133 |114 |367 |141 |226
1990 |1,624 |894 |728 |263 |129 |134 |331 |142
Northern Ireland
1986 |286 |174 |112 |44 |20 |24 |47 |18 |29
1987 |230 |130 |100 |57 |31 |26 |31 |14 |17
1988 |230 |137 |93 |48 |29 |19 |33 |13 |20
1989 |261 |161 |100 |38 |24 |14 |37 |19 |18
1990 |287 |160 |125 |64 |31 |33 |28 |13 |15
<1>The Total column includes some casualties of unspecified sex.
<2>Children are classified as those aged 0-16.
<3>Pensioners are classified as aged 65 and over for males and aged 60 and over for females.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths she estimates occur each year in the United Kingdom due to the inhalation of smoke.
Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
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The available information is published in table 7 of the Home Office report, "Fire Statistics United Kingdom 1990", a copy of which is in the Library. Details of the cause of death come from fire brigade records of fires they attend, updated where possible by information from the death certificate.Column 71
DEFENCE
Navigational Marks
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those navigational buoys and marks in the Solent which the Royal Navy provides and maintains.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows.
Name |Position
----------------------------------------
W. Princessa |50 40 12N
|1 03 57W
Bembridge |50 41 07N
|1 02 43W
Nab End |50 42 48N
|0 59 23W
Nab East |50 42 48N
|1 42 00W
Dean Tail |50 43 01N
|0 59 01W
Dean Elbow |50 43 33N
|1 01 50W
Warner |50 43 50.5N
|1 03 56W
Horse Elbow |50 44 14N
|1 03 48W
Cambrian Wk |50 44 14N
|1 03 56W
Invincible Wk |50 44.34N
|1 02.23W
ASWE 1 |50 46.7N
|1 02.06W
ASWE 2 |50 46.13N
|1 02.02W
ASWE 3 |50 46.69N
|1 02.22W
ASWE 6 |50 45.18N
|1 02.00W
Langstone F |50 46.17N
|1 01 16.5W
Winner |50 45 04N
|1 00 00W
Saddle |50 45 00N
|1 00 00W
Horse Sand |50 45 29N
|1 04 40W
OSB |50 45 33N
|1 05 25W
Boyne |50 46 11N
|1 05 18W
Spit Refuge |50 46 11N
|1 05 22W
Castle |50 46 26N
|1 05 18W
Ridge |50 46 26N
|1 05 34W
1 Bar |50 46 44N
|1 05 43W
2 Bar |50 46.66N
|1 05.58W
3 Bar |50 47 02.5N
|1 06 10W
4 Bar |50 46 58.5N
|1 06 16W
Ballast |50 47 38N
|1 06 16W
Stokes Bay Pier |50 46.58N
|1 09.00W
N. Sturbridge |50 45 18N
|1 08 09W
N.E. Mining Gd |50 44 42N
|1 06 18W
S.W. Mining Gd |50 44.38N
|1 06.57W
Stokes Bay |50 46 40N
|1 10 35W
Browndown |50 46 32.5N
|1 10 52W
E. Bramble |50 47 12N
|1 13 33W
N. Ryde Middle |50 46 35N
|1 14 18W
W. Ryde Middle |50 46 27N
|1 15 42W
S. Ryde Middle |50 46 06N
|1 14 05W
NE Ryde Middle |50 46 11N
|1 11 48W
SE Ryde Middle |50 45 54N
|1 12 00W
Norris |50 45 55N
|1 15 24 W
Peel Bank |50 45 34N
|1 13 15W
Peel Wk |50 44 51N
|1 13 18W
Mother Bank |50 45 27N
|1 11 08W
Flag T' |50 43.19N
|0 59.30W
Flag T' |50 43 01N
|0 59.18W
Flag T' |50 42.88N
|0 59.49W
Flag T' |50 43.06N
|0 59.77W
Mary Rose |50 45 46N
|1 06 10W
Gamma |50 46.34N
|1 06.00W
Delta |50 46.01N
|1 06.20W
Echo |50 46.09N
|1 05.37W
Lucas |50 46.23N
|1 08.67W
Alpha |50 46 35N
|1 07 30W
Beta |50 46.37N
|1 06.25W
Kemps |50 45.15N
|1 9.55W
Bowring Rose |50 47.28N
|1 12.00W
Ratsey |50 47 63N
|1 13.57W
DAKS Simpson |50 45.5N
|1 14.3W
Foul Ground 1 |50 48.85N
|1 07.09W
Foul Ground 2 |50 48.93N
|1 07.09W
Mobel |50 46.13N
|1 13.00W
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the policy reasons for the provision of buoyage by the Royal Navy in the Solent.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Queen's harbour master provides and maintains navigation buoys in the Solent as required by schedule 1, regulation 1 of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth Act 1978.
Column 73
Cambodia
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by (a) rank and (b) armed service the 35 British military observers who are joining the United Nations land operation in Cambodia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We are providing a total of 38 military observers for the United Nations Transition Authority in Cambodia comprising, from the Army, seven lieutenant colonels, 15 majors and 10 captains ; from the Royal Air Force, one wing commander, one squadron leader and three flight lieutenants ; and from the Royal Marines, one captain.
NAAFI profits
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what method the use of NAAFI profits for sporting purposes within the armed forces is determined.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Units of the armed forces are paid a rebate, at rates agreed by the NAAFI council, on total sales at retail prices in junior ranks clubs. The rebate may be spent on improving the amenities of clubs or any purpose that collectively benefits service personnel, including sports. Within these guidelines, use of the rebate is at the discretion of unit commanders.
Low Flying
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid by his Department in compensation to individuals in terms of (a) personal injury both physical and mental and (b) for damage to property arising from low-flying aircraft in each of the last three financial years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Statistics regarding compensation for low flying aircraft activity are not available in the format requested. The following is a breakdown of overall expenditure for claims relating to low- flying aircraft activity :
Column 74
|£
------------------------
1989-90 |356,000
1990-91 |429,000
1991-92 |441,000
RAF Brawdy
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what specific statement was made by his predecessor on the future of Flight B202 Squadron search and rescue at RAF Brawdy in the press conference held at the Welsh Office, Cathays park, Cardiff, on 24 January.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I am not aware that my right hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Mr. King) made any statement at the press conference on 24 January, concerning search and rescue at RAF Brawdy. Final decisions on the structure and basing of the military search and rescue force have yet to be taken. It is, therefore, too early to say what the implications will be for the provision of search and rescue at RAF Brawdy.
Thames House
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give further details of the works on Thames house, as shown in table 1 of class I, votes 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the supply estimates 1992-93--HC 273-I-- showing which parts of his Department will be occupying the building ; and which buildings currently in use will be thereby vacated.
Mr. Aitken [holding answer 2 June 1992] : As my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment stated in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, North-East (Mr. Moss) on 5 June, at column 667, Thames house is being refurbished principally for occupation by the Security Service. The Ministry of Defence has no plans to occupy the building.
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