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Students (Benefits)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received in the current year about restoring benefit entitlement to students during summer vacations.
Mr. Burt : We have received a number of representations from hon. Members, some local branches of the National Union of Students and from members of the public. A letter was also received from the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.
Invalidity Pension
Mr. Graham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average waiting time for people on invalidity pension who have had to wait for the upgrading in line with inflation in Scotland ; and if he will name the benefit offices with waiting lists of four weeks and over.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency that the information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but that the uprating exercise was completed in the normal way. However, if the hon. Member has a particular case in mind, he may wish to write to the chief executive giving further details.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Ozone-Depleting Chemicals
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his Department's policy on purchasing ozone-depleting chemicals and goods manufactured with these substances ; and in which year his Department expects to cease using, purchasing or releasing ozone- depleting substances, controlled by the Montreal protocol and HCFCs.
Mr. Atkin [holding answer 22 June 1992] : The Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments purchasing criteria includes a requirement to seek out and use suitable substitutes. Our policy, in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, is to eliminate the use of these products, if possible, in advance of the date set out in the EC regulation and Montreal protocol. We will consider the use of HCFCs when discussions on their control under the Montreal protocol are completed.
HEALTH
Adolescents
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent to which preventive psychotherapeutic work with children and young people is likely to reduce the risk of adolescent suicide, violence, drug-taking and severe sexual problems.
Mr. Yeo : These risks arise from a large number of often inter- related factors. We are not aware of any clear evidence that preventive psychotherapeutic work is likely to influence the incidence of these risks.
Child Psychotherapy
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of research on the effect difficulties in childhood cause in adult life ; and what assessment she has made of the role of child psychotherapists in this area.
Mr. Yeo : There are some links between emotional disturbances in childhood and those occurring in adult life but these are sometimes weak and the relationship between the two is by no means simple. Although the treatment of disorders in children is sometimes claimed to prevent later adult psychiatric disorder, the evidence in support of this claim is not strong.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of children in (a) residential and (b) day centres for children and young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties or both ; what the average cost to maintain each young person is ; and what is the cost of psychotherapy for such children.
Mr. Yeo : This information is not available centrally.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many child psychotherapy advisers are available to her Department.
Mr. Yeo : There is no formally appointed adviser for child psychotherapy corresponding to the Chief Medical
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Officer's consultant adviser in child psychiatry. Leading child psychotherapists are consulted as necessary. The Department itself employs a range of professional advisers in the field of mental health, including psychotherapy.Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified child psychotherapists are practising in the United Kingdom (a) by region, (b) by health authority and (c) in the inner cities ; and how many sessions are worked in each authority.
Mr. Yeo : The latest available statistics showing the number of qualified child psychotherapists practising within the national health service in England, by region, and by district health authority are set out in the table. Information about the numbers of staff employed within the inner cities or the number of sessions worked in each health authority is not collected centrally.
|c|Child Psychotherapists employed in the National
Health Service in|c|
|c|England, as of 30 September 1991|c|
England |WTE<1>
------------------------------------------------------
Yorkshire |39.40
Hull |2.40
East Yorkshire |2.00
Grimsby |2.00
Scunthorpe |13.00
York |1.00
Harrogate |2.00
Calderdale |6.80
Dewsbury |7.20
Leeds Western |1.00
Yorkshire RHA HQ |2.00
North West Thames |72.80
North West Hertfordshire |10.00
Barnet |0.30
Harrow |10.00
Hillingdon |1.00
Riverside |29.50
Parkside |22.00
North East Thames |1.00
Bloomsbury and Islington |1.00
South West Thames |27.27
North West Surrey |3.00
West Surrey and North East Hampshire |1.90
South West Surrey |1.20
Mid Surrey |1.00
Mid Downs |4.80
Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton |5.37
Wandsworth |9.00
Merton |1.00
Wessex |3.40
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire |3.40
West Midlands |1.00
South Birmingham |1.00
North Western |45.33
Lancaster |2.00
Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre |9.80
Preston |5.50
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley |1.00
West Lancashire |1.00
Bolton |1.00
North Manchester |12.63
Salford |3.30
Stockport |9.10
Trusts |13.00
St. James Hospital |<2>1.00
North Hertfordshire |<3>0.60
Mount Vernon |<3>1.00
Hillingdon Hospital |<3>7.00
Lifecare |<4>1.00
Manchester Central |<5>2.40
SHAs |1.00
Hammersmith and Queen Charlottes |1.00
Total |204.20
<1>Whole Time Equivalents.
<2>Yorkshire Region.
<3>North West Thames Region.
<4>South West Thames Region.
<5>North Western Region.
Source: National Health Service Non-Medical Manpower
Census: HAP(STATS)B Department of Health.
Categories included in this figure are Child
Psychotherapist (Group A), and Child Psychotherapist (
Group B).
These figures are provisional.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements she will make to meet the psychiatric needs of children living with disturbed family members, who have been released into the community from mental health institutions under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
Mr. Yeo : The needs of individuals with psychiatric disturbance, whether or not recently discharged into the community, and of affected family members, including children, are the responsibility of district health authorities and social services departments. It is for these authorities to determine needs and to provide or purchase services accordingly.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service multi-disciplinary teams there are for child mental health based in child and family consultation centres ; and how many such teams include a child psychotherapist.
Mr. Yeo : The number of multi-disciplinary teams is not known centrally. Each district health authority is responsible for making provision to meet the mental health needs of children in its area, if necessary by purchasing services from another district. Where a local service does not employ a child psychotherapist, psychotherapeutic services may be provided by other members of the multi-disciplinary team such as child psychiatrists or clinical psychologists.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the ability of the current provision of child psychotherapy to meet the demands for treatment of children and their families.
Mr. Yeo : Assessment of the need for child psychotherapy services is a matter for health authorities in the planning of district child mental health services. Psychotherapy is only one of a range of treatments which can be offered to children with mental disorders.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the level of
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demand for the services of child psychotherapists for teaching, supervision and consultation from other professionals working with children.Mr. Yeo : It is for the other professions involved to determine what contribution to the training and support of their members could usefully be made by child psychotherapists.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children and young people in the United Kingdom have psychological problems or disturbances assessed as requiring treatment from mental health specialists, including child psychotherapists.
Mr. Yeo : The overall prevalence of mental health problems in the child and adolescent population is estimated at up to 20 per cent., with 7 to 10 per cent. having moderate to severe problems. Information about the numbers assessed as needing treatment from particular professional groups, is not held centrally.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what function she envisages for child psychotherapists in the implementation of the aims of "Health of the Nation".
Mr. Yeo : The White Paper on "The Health of the Nation" is expected to be published shortly. All health professionals will be expected to make an appropriate contribution to achieving its aims.
Private Nursing Homes
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private nursing home beds are occupied in homes situated in (a) Murton, (b) Seaham, (c) Easington, (d) South Hetton, (e) Shotton, (f) Peterlee, (g) Horden and (h) Blackhall, respectively ; and at what cost to the Exchequer.
Mr. Yeo : This information is not collected centrally.
Electoral Registration
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the total numbers of electors registered in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom (a) on the current electoral register and (b) on the registers in force for each of the years from 1978-79 to 1991-92.
Mr. Sackville : The numbers in each parliamentary constituency on the 1992 electoral register were published in OPCS Monitor EL 92/1, and similar figures for earlier years were published in successive annual volumes of Electoral Statistics (Series EL). Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
Abortion
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will arrange for her Department to receive copies of the annual reports and accounts of companies which provide abortion in private clinics.
Mr. Sackville : The Department's responsibility is to ensure that the requirements of the Abortion Act 1967 are satisfied and that patients receive an appropriate standard of medical care.
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Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those who have sight of the reports compiled by her Department's inspectors on private clinics which provide abortions.
Mr. Sackville : These reports are drawn up as confidential documents because of the information they contain on individual patients, doctors and others concerned with treatment etc. As such they are available only to those in the Department who need to see them in carrying out their duties of administering the 1967 Abortion Act and supporting regulations.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the complication rates associated with individual clinics approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 19 June at col. 706-7.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the gestation and grounds of the seven abortions performed after 28 weeks gestation from 1 April 1991 to 30 September 1991.
Mr. Sackville : All of the post 28 week cases were performed under ground E (that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped).
Number of |Number of weeks |abortions gestation ------------------------------ 29 |4 30 |1 33 |1 36 |1
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on procedures approved by other EC Governments for counselling mothers considering abortion.
Mr. Sackville : Information is available from some other EC countries about national laws as they apply to abortion but this does not extend to details about any counselling procedures.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will extend the practice of providing information on the condition of the woman and her aborted pre-born child, together with the full statement on the medical condition of the child to those abortions performed on grounds of disability before 24 weeks.
Mr. Sackville : A large amount of information on abortion is already provided to the Department and published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. During the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 an assurance was given that further information would be obtained in the special case of abortion after 24 weeks, and this is being done. We have no plans to extend these arrangements.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the sources from which statistics are compiled by her Department on complications following abortion.
Mr. Sackville : The statistics published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys are derived from the abortion notification forms sent to the Chief Medical Officer.
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Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make arrangements for her Department to receive the reports of local health authority inspections of private clinics approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967.Drinking Water
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received regarding the addition of fluoride to drinking water ; what advice she provides to members of the public who do not want fluoride in their drinking water ; and what effective measures are available to the public for the removal of fluoride from drinking water, and at what cost.
Dr. Mawhinney : Since 9 April 1992 the Department has received a total of 23 communications relating to the addition of fluoride to drinking water and two parliamentary questions have been asked. The Department believes the fluoridation of water to a level not exceeding one part per million to be a safe and effective means of preventing tooth decay. We do not advise members of the general public on how to extract fluoride from their water supply.
HIV Infection
Mr. Hargreaves : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has had with South Birmingham health authority concerning the incident of a HIV positive man infecting a number of women in Birmingham ; what proposals her Department intends to bring forward to amend the law to render this type of behaviour a criminal offence ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Department is in close touch with South Birmingham health authority about this case and is considering carefully a range of wider issues related to it.
We have asked the health authority to ensure that everything possible is being done to protect the public health and that it is satisfied with the care being offered to all those concerned. We have also emphasised the need to maintain confidentiality.
Questions of criminal law are for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary. We understand, however, that there are difficulties both in principle and in practice with creating an offence of this sort. These are being considered carefully by my right hon. and learned Friend, who will look at the precedents in other countries before reaching a final view.
DEFENCE
Accommodation
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much service accommodation is located in (a) Lothian and (b) Scotland ; and how much service accommodation in (i) Lothian and (ii) Scotland is currently empty.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 31 March 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, MoD owned 753 service married quarters in Lothian and 6,567 in Scotland.
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Of these, 174 were vacant in Lothian and 954 in Scotland. Many of the unoccupied properties were either undergoing major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly and others were being considered for disposal. In addition, 249 properties in Scotland were in the process of being sold, 53 of these were in Lothian.Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications from service personnel to purchase his Department's accommodation through the services discount scheme have been received in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Since the introduction on 1 December 1983 the following numbers of applications have been received.
Financial |Number of year |applications --------------------------------------- 1984-85 |10,853 1985-86 |16,255 1986-87 |29,002 1987-88 |51,261 1988-89 |81,234 1989-90 |78,298 1990-91 |35,662 1991-92 |22,026
Many of these applications are multiple bids from service personnel.
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications he has had in the last six months with local authorities about the housing opportunities available to ex-service personnel and their families.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As part of the process of assembling a database to inform those leaving the services who may wish to seek local authority accommodation, officials of my Department wrote in December 1991 to the housing officers of local authorities seeking information about their policies regarding the housing of ex-service personnel. The results of these enquiries are now held centrally at the joint service housing advice office, Old Sarum, which was set up in May this year to provide advice on a range of housing matters to service personnel. At a local level, regular contact has been maintained, and continues to be maintained, by service units with local authorities on the housing needs of service personnel leaving the service.
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have purchased their homes through the services discount scheme in the third quarter of financial year 1991-92.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A total of 102.
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total amount of discounts given out by the services discount scheme in each year since its inception.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The amount of discount given out by the services discount scheme since its introduction on 1 December 1983, is as follows :
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Financial |Discount year |in £ ------------------------------ 1983-84 |Nil 1984-85 |1,300,415 1985-86 |2,427,607 1986-87 |4,173,860 1987-88 |3,734,206 1988-89 |7,299,277 1989-90 |8,158,387 1990-91 |9,681,730 1991-92 |6,942,010
Research Projects
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 May, Official Report, column 256, what are the reasons behind his Department's policy not to publish the list of Ministry of Defence research projects in universities and polytechnics which are unclassified.
Mr. Aitken : The hon. Gentleman knows that it has been our consistent policy not to release details of individual research contracts at universities and other institutions of higher education, but to leave it to the institutions themselves to confirm their involvement.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many research projects in universities and polytechnics are currently being funded by the Ministry of Defence ; what is their total worth ; and how many of these research projects are currently classified secret.
Mr. Aitken : The Ministry of Defence is currently funding in universities and other institutions of higher education in Britain 789 research contracts and agreements with a total value of £75.1 million. One is classified secret.
Chemical and Biological Warfare
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work in the field of chemical and biological warfare the United Kingdom was carried out at the Canadian military establishment at Suffield in Alberta ; and what was the nature of this work.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The experimental station Suffield in Alberta was set up in 1941 under an agreement with the Canadian Government to establish a joint United Kingdom-Canadian chemical weapons experimental site. About 10 United Kingdom scientists went to Canada to help set up the new site. By 1946, the station was entirely staffed by Canadians and was taken over by the Canadian Defence Research Board in April 1947 and eventually became the Defence Research Establishment Suffield. During the second world war there was collaboration between the United Kingdom and Canada involving work at Suffield on a retaliatory capability in chemical weapons and biological weapons against the threat that such weapons might be used against the allied forces. Both the United Kingdom and Canada have abandoned all work on offensive chemical and biological warfare and since then both countries have been solely concerned with the provision of effective protective measures for their armed forces against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them. Collaboration in chemical and biological defence has continued up to and
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including the present day under various collaborative arrangements already outlined in my reply of 21 May 1992, Official Report, columns 255-56.Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report , column 16 , if he will publish the text or details of the 1980 memorandum of understanding on chemical and biological (CB) defence between the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada ; what is the purpose of the agreement ; whether the memorandum is still in force ; what amendments have been made and for what reasons ; and whether the results of research in British universities and polytechnics funded by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment have been passed to other countries under this memorandum.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The memorandum of understanding (MOU) remains in force and is classified. Since it was signed in 1980, there have been four amendments ; three to extend the MOU and one to expand its scope. The MOU addresses exchange of information on chemical and biological defence research and development and on production and procurement of chemical and biological defence equipment. Reports of research in British universities and polytechnics funded by the chemical and biological defence establishment are not routinely passed direct to the United States and Canada, but the results of such work contribute to the science and technology base which is shared with these countries.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 May, Official Report , column 255 , with regard to the United Kingdom--United States--Canada--Australia armies agreement referred to in point (c) , when the agreement was signed ; in what year the panel on nuclear, biological and chemical defence within the quadrupartite working group started its work ; what is the nature of its work ; who are the members of the panel ; and whether members of the Ministry of Defence visit United States Department of Defence establishments in the course of the workings of this panel.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A Basic Standardisation Agreement (BSA) was agreed between the American, British and Canadian armies in 1954. In 1963 the Australian army joined the programme and all four armies ratified the BSA in 1964. The quadrupartite working group on nuclear biological and chemical (NBC) defence first met in 1978 and its purpose is to identify and recommend to armies how interoperability may be achieved in the field of NBC defence. The five United Kingdom members of the group are drawn from Ministry of Defence branches which are active in NBC defence. The group meets every 18 months on a cyclical basis in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Meetings in the United States are held at department of defense establishments.
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 May, Official Report, column 255, in what year the sub-group for chemical and biological defence research, referred to in point (f) of the answer, was set up ; what is the nature of its work ; and when Australia and New Zealand formally joined the programme.
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Mr. Aitken : The sub-group for chemical and biological defence research, involving the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia, was formed in 1967. Its aim is to guide and co- ordinate exchanges and active collaboration in research and development activities for chemical and biological defence. New Zealand has not actively participated in this sub-group.Strategic Defence Initiative
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many research developments and contracts and agreements have been awarded to the British Ministry of Defence by the United States strategic defence initiative programme since January 1987 ; what is their total worth ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Aitken : Government-to-Government arrangements for US-funded work performed by the United Kingdom for the SDI programme are called letters of offer and acceptance (LOAs). Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two countries in December 1985, 25 such LOAs have been awarded, amounting to a total value of $107.3 million. The majority of the work and funding effort has been sub-contracted to United Kingdom industry.
The purpose of three arrangements is classified ; the remainder are as follows :
SUBJECT :
UK SDI European Architecture Study
European BMC3 Architecture
Electromagnetic Railgun
Countermeasures to SDI components
Laser Impulse Coupling/Interaction
European Test Bed Requirements Study
Catalyst for CO2 laser system
Advanced Sensor Hardening
Higher operating temp IR detectors
Delay Lines for use at 10 Micrometers
UK Node Extended Air Defence test bed
Artificial Intelligence Discrimination
Data Fusion Demonstrator
MESAR--Radar Trials
Tetraform
UKAS follow-on study
Lethality Database
Sensor Hardening (follow-on studies)
Phase Conjugation Programme
Target-Oriented Tracking System
Evolution and test of IR window materials
Threat Generation Study
Details of all unclassified awards have been included as some agreed prior to January 1987 will have had additional funding of work packages placed upon them after this date.
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