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Miss J. Flindall appointed from 9 October 1991 to 30 November 1993West Dorset Community Health NHS Trust
Ms. A. Neuberger appointed from 1 April 1992 to 30 November 1993 South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance and Paramedic Services NHS Trust
Mrs. P. Battersby appointed from 12 March 1992 to 30 November 1993
Barnsley Community and Priority Services Trust
Mrs. J. R. Lees appointed from 8 June 1992 to 30 November 1994 South Bedfordshire Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Cllr. J. N. Tizard appointed from 15 June 1992 to 30 November 1993
The Bart's NHS Trust
Sir Charles Reece appointed from 17 February 1992 to 30 November 1993
Optimum Health Services NHS Trust
Mr. B. Huett appointed from 27 May 1992 to 30 November 1994
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will acquire and publish information on the comparable salary and fringe benefit packages of executive directors of health trusts in England and Wales.
Dr. Mawhinney : Annual accounts for each NHS trust in England show the emoluments of the highest paid board member separately and the number of board members receiving emoluments in bands of £5,000 with no lower limit. These statements also show the number of employees, excluding executive directors, receiving remuneration of over £40,000 in bands of £5,000.
Copies of NHS trusts' annnual accounts, when available, will be placed in the Library.
Junior Doctors
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of junior doctors in the national health service ; what is the comparable figure for 1985 ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : At 30 September 1990, the latest date for which figures are available centrally, there were 23,377 whole-time equivalent junior doctors in the national health service compared to 21,368 whole-time equivalent junior doctors at 30 September 1985. These figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and include all permanent paid and honorary medical staff.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average number of hours per week worked by junior doctors in the national health service ; what is the maximum amount allowed by law ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : At 30 September 1990, the latest date for which information is available, junior hospital doctors in England and Wales were contracted to be on duty for an average of 79 hours per week. Information on the number of hours spent actually working is not routinely collected centrally.
There are currently no legal limits on the working hours of junior doctors. However, the new deal for junior doctors launched in June 1991 made clear our intention
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that, regardless of the contracted hours of duty for individual posts, from 31 December 1994 doctors in training employed on a full-time basis should not normally be expected to work for more than an average of 56 hours per week.Specialists
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average number of weeks it takes a patient in the United Kingdom to see a specialist in the national health service ; what is the comparable amount of time it takes for a citizen of (i) Germany, (ii) the United States of America and (iii) Japan ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not collected centrally. Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Tuberculosis
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of tuberculosis have been notified nationally in the current year and in each of the last 10 years ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) how many cases of tuberculosis have been notified in London in the current year and in each of the last 10 years ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The latest available information from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is given in the table.
Notifications of tuberculosis Year |England and Wales|Greater London ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1981 |8,128 |2,495 1982 |7,410 |2,146 1983 |6,803 |2,027 1984 |6,141 |1,833 1985 |5,857 |1,741 1986 |5,993 |1,701 1987 |5,086 |1,445 1988 |5,164 |1,486 1989 |5,432 |1,646 1990 |5,204 |1,603 <1>1991 |5,436 |1,794 <2>1992 |2,692 |893 <1>Provisional. <2>Provisional (up to week ending 12 June 1992).
Advisory Committees
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the advisory committees and their memberships which advise her on matters relating to the European Community ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : There are no specific committees. We are advised by officials of the Department who consult other bodies on individual issues.
Civil Servants
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants in her Department are paid at a rate exceeding that of a Cabinet Minister.
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Mr. Sackville : The total salary, including reduced parliamentary salary, of most Cabinet Ministers is £63,047. The number of civil servants in the Department of Health whose pay currently exceeds this figure is seven.Homelessness
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what medical provision is available for homeless men and women and children respectively.
Mr. Yeo : General medical and hospital services are available to homeless people on the same basis as the rest of the population. In some areas there are significant numbers of homeless people whose needs for general medical services cannot be fully met under the normal arrangements, and the Department is funding special schemes. There are 10 such schemes already and more are being considered. These are designed to make general medical services available to homeless people at places where they are known to congregate. Each is staffed by a team of health professionals, including a GP.
In addition, a demonstration project for homeless people who are mentally ill has been set up in London where the problem of homelessness is most acute. The £20 million programme includes up to 150 specialist short- term hostel places, 750 move-on places and four community psychiatric outreach teams.
Child Employment
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will strengthen regulatory powers to ensure employers' adherence to child employment byelaws.
Mr. Yeo : The Government are very much aware of the need to protect children in whatever form of activity they may be engaged. We are generally satisfied that the safeguards which exist in legislation and byelaws to protect children who work are presently adequate.
Suicide
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people committing suicide in each year from 1987 to the latest convenient date, were recorded as being (a) homeless or (b) schizophrenic or suffering other mental illness ; and how many of these were (i) men and (ii) women.
Mr. Sackville : The number of people who have been recorded as having committed suicide and were homeless in each year from 1987 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The number of those having been recorded as having committed suicide in the period in question as being schizophrenic or suffering from other mental illness is not available centrally.
Clinical Grading Appeals
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical grading appeals have been decided in each month since the start of the current process ; how many appeals have been allowed in each month, and how many disallowed (a) in England, (b) in Wales, (c) in Scotland and (d) in each health authority area in England, Wales and Scotland.
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Mr. Sackville [holding answer 1 July 1992] : The Department does not collect information on appeals at employing authority level. The available information has been placed in the Library.
ENVIRONMENT
Water (Lead Content)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department has received from the drinking water inspectorate on the number of water supply zones which exceed 15 mg/litres in lead content ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The drinking water inspectorate has received data on lead in water supplies from the water companies of England and Wales under the requirements of the information direction. The data relate to the concentration of lead in water supplies taken from consumers' taps in 1991, being set out in concentration bands of 10 g/1. Information was not sought specifically in relation to 15 g/1. In 1991, approximately 77,000 samples from 2,565 water supply zones were analysed for lead : 76.7 per cent. contained 10 g/1 or less ; 10.6 per cent. contained between 11 and 20 g/1 ; and 3.7 per cent. contained more than 50 g/1, the standard set in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989. At least one sample taken during 1991 from 1,908, 1,396 and 941 zones respectively contained more than 10, 20 and 50 g/1 of lead. In each zone where there is a risk of the water exceeding the lead standard because of lead dissolved from consumers' pipes, companies are evaluating and, where appropriate, installing treatment to reduce the plumbosolvency of the water.
Agenda 21"
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if Her Majesty's Government supported the amendments to paragraphs 20.1, 20.13, 20.15, 20.17, 20.20 and 20.26 of chapter 20 on the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes including prevention of illegal international traffic in such wastes, of "Agenda 21" as presented to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
Advisory Committees
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the advisory committees and their memberships which advise him on matters relating to the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : There are no committees dedicated to advising my Department on European Community matters. However, we consult as widely as necessary to ensure European Community proposals are given full consideration, and receive advice and views from a wide variety of sources.
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Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in the Paisley, South constituency qualify for grant aid under the home energy efficiency scheme ; and how many houses have been improved under the scheme in each year since its inception.
Mr. Maclean : In order to be eligible for grant under the home energy efficiency scheme, an applicant or his or her spouse must be in receipt of one of five passportable benefits : housing benefit, income support, family credit, community charge benefit and disability working allowance. In addition, his or her property must meet certain criteria concerning existing levels of insulation and receipt of a grant for similar work under previous schemes. Data on numbers of households eligible in any particular area at a particular time are not available.
Figures for the number of homes treated under the scheme are not collected on a constituency basis. Within the network installer area which contains the hon. Member's constituency, 3,495 homes have benefited from home energy efficiency scheme grant since 1 January 1991.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in the Inverclyde district council area qualify for grant aid under the home energy efficiency scheme ; and how many houses have been improved under the scheme since its inception in 1991.
Mr. Maclean : In order to be eligible for grant under the home energy efficiency scheme, an applicant or his or her spouse must be in receipt of one of five passportable benefits : housing benefit, income support, family credit, community charge benefit and disability working allowance. In addition, his or her property must meet certain criteria concerning existing levels of insulation and receipt of a grant for similar work under previous schemes. Data on numbers of households eligible in any particular area at a particular time are not available.
Figures for the number of homes treated under the scheme are not collected on the basis requested. Within the network installer area which contains the Inverclyde district council's area, 3,495 homes have benefited from HEES grant since 1 January 1991.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in the City of Durham constituency qualify for grant aid under the home energy efficiency scheme ; and how many houses have been improved under the scheme since its inception in 1991.
Mr. Maclean : In order to be eligible for grant under the home energy efficiency scheme, an applicant or his or her spouse must be in receipt of one of five passportable benefits : housing benefit, income support, family credit, community charge benefit and disability working allowance. In addition, his or her property must meet certain criteria concerning existing levels of insulation and receipt of a grant for similar work under previous schemes. Data on numbers of households eligible in any particular area at a particular time are not available.
Figures for the number of homes treated under the scheme are not collected on a constituency basis. Within the network installer area which contains the hon. Member's constituency, 1,017 homes have benefited from home energy efficiency scheme grant since 1 January 1991.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homes within the network
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installer area which contains the Leeds, West constituency have been improved under the home energy efficiency scheme since its inception in 1991.Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 July 1992] : Within the network installer area, which contains the hon. Member's constituency, 2,058 homes have benefited from home energy efficiency scheme grant since 1 January 1991.
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households in Preston have qualified for grant aid under the home energy efficiency scheme in the most recent available period ; and how many houses have been improved under the home energy efficiency scheme in the network installer area including Preston since its inception in 1991.
Mr. Maclean : In order to be eligible for grant under the home energy efficiency scheme, an applicant or his or her spouse must be in receipt of one of five passportable benefits : housing benefit, income support, family credit, community charge benefit and disability working allowance. In addition, his or her property must meet certain criteria concerning existing levels of insulation and receipt of a grant for similar work under previous schemes. Data on numbers of households eligible in any particular area at a particular time are not available.
Within the network installer area which contains the hon. Member's constituency, 1,626 homes have benefited from home energy efficiency scheme grant since 1 January 1991.
Environmental Charter
Mr. Ancram : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made towards issuing an environmental charter ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State announced his intention to develop a charter for local authority environment services at the Prime Minister's seminar on 19 June. He has proposed that the charter should be developed through a working group of the central and local government environment forum and that it should build on the existing good practice in authorities. In addition, other environmental authorities will apply the charter principles to their services to the public.
Hoop Iron Housing
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals he has to assist former tenants who have purchased hoop iron housing and are now unable to sell their properties ; (2) what consideration he has given to reports on the problems associated with hoop iron housing ; and if he will make it his policy to include properties with this type of construction in the definition of defective housing under the Housing Act 1985.
Sir George Young : At the Department's suggestion, the London borough of Sutton has commissioned a report on these houses from the Building Research Establishment, which is expected shortly. When the borough, and the Department, have had an opportunity to consider its findings, it will be possible to decide whether any assistance to owners is needed, and, if so, what form it should take.
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Civil Servants
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many civil servants in his Department are paid at a rate exceeding that of a Cabinet Minister.
Mr. Redwood : Four in the main Department and three in the Property Services Agency.
London Docklands (Vandalism)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the extent of building vandalisation in the London docklands area to avoid payment of rates ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I have not been advised of any empty properties in London docklands that have been unusable by their owners in order to avoid rates liability.
Salt Water
Ms. Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department has undertaken on the use of salt water in fire hydrants, street cleaning or domestic sewerage.
Mr. Maclean : None. The Water Industry Act 1991 requires water companies to make available supplies of water for fire fighting, cleansing and watering highways, and other public purposes, in addition to their duty to supply water for domestic purposes. To deliver non-potable water for certain of these purposes would require the development of a separate supply system to avoid contamination of drinking water. The use of salt water for such purposes could also have implications for the contamination of land.
British Waterways Board
Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to commercialise the operations of the British Waterways Board.
Mr. Maclean : As far as is consistent with its statutory obligations, the British Waterways Board is already required to run its affairs on a commercial basis. How it manages its day-to-day operations is a matter for the board, but in all its activities BWB should achieve value for money, seek an adequate return on investment and increase opportunities for private sector participation.
Council Rents
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing average council sector rents in each year since 1979 in cash and constant prices.
Sir George Young : Average local authority rents in England were as follows :
Average unrebated rent (£ per week)
As at April |As reported|At 1992
|(£) |prices (£)
------------------------------------------------
1979 |6.40 |16.36
1980 |7.71 |16.19
1981 |11.43 |21.42
1982 |13.52 |23.16
1983 |14.05 |23.14
1984 |14.75 |23.10
1985 |15.63 |22.89
1986 |16.45 |23.38
1987 |17.24 |23.51
1988 |18.88 |24.77
1989 |20.76 |25.21
1990 |23.79 |26.40
1991 |27.26 |28.43
1992 |<1>30.55 |<1>30.55
<1>Estimates.
In 1991 61 per cent. of council tenants were receiving housing benefit and therefore not paying the full rent.
Water Disconnections
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the number of water disconnections in England in each year since 1979.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) on 24 June, Official Report, column 204. Information prior to 1984-85 was not held centrally. Since privatisation this information is collected by the Director General of Water Services. It is also published by the Water Services Association in "Water Facts", copies of which are in the Library.
Local Authority Tenants (Arrears)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals for powers to issue regulations to local authorities to prevent eviction of local authority tenants for arrears of water and environmental charges.
Mr. Maclean : No. Local authorities do not have powers to evict tenants solely on the grounds of the non-payment of water and environmental charges.
Non-domestic Rates
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review non-domestic rating regulations to ensure the same treatment for self-catering holiday units as for bed-and-breakfast accommodation.
Mr. Robin Squire : No. Bed-and-breakfast accommodation is not rated if the person who lives in the premises intends to make the accommodation available to six people or fewer and such use is subsidiary to the use of the property as his home. It would not be appropriate to apply such a test to self-catering holiday units.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his current policy on planning regulations and consents in environmentally sensitive areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The Government's planning policy for areas of environmental sensitivity, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, is set out in planning policy guidance note 7, "The Countryside and
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the Rural Economy". Paragraph 3.18 states that designation as an environmentally sensitive area under the Agriculture Act 1986 does not affect the status of the area in terms of national planning policies or development control regulations. However, the features which contributed to the designation of the area as an ESA may sometimes also be important features in local countryside planning policies and development control decisions.Care Homes
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to restrict the liability of residential care homes to the council tax.
Mr. Robin Squire : It is right that residential care homes should contribute to the cost of local services from which they benefit. However, we have taken several measures to ensure that these contributions are modest and fair.
Special rules mean that the owner of a care home, not its residents, will be liable to pay the council tax bill. The size of that bill will be kept down by the banding arrangements, which ensure that larger dwellings give rise to less tax, proportionate to their value, than smaller ones.
There will be personal discounts for residents of care homes, so that they do not count towards the personal element of the tax. In many cases these discounts will reduce the council tax bill by 50 per cent. Finally, any home with a resident who, because of a disability, needs a room, an extra bathroom or kitchen, or circulation space indoors for a wheelchair will be able to apply to the local authority for a reduction equivalent to one valuation band.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require county councils to provide information to district councils which is considered necessary by district councils for the purposes of their submissions to the Royal Commission on the restructuring of local government.
Mr. Robin Squire : Under schedule 2 to the Local Government Act 1992, public bodies have a duty to supply the Local Government Commission with any information which it reasonably requires in connection with any of its functions. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State intends to direct the commission to make such information available on request to local authorities provided the information is not sensitive for commercial or other reasons.
Planning
Mr. Hawkins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to review the permitted development rights granted in the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 in relation to environmental assessment ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : Yes. We are committed to ensuring that all projects which could have significant environ-mental effects are thoroughly assessed by planning authorities before going forward. The Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 already secures this for projects which
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require a planning permission. But certain minor classes of development defined in the General Development Order do not presently require a specific planning application and this may require amendment.A consultation paper will shortly be issued with proposals for such amendments on which the views of industry, the public and planning authorities will be sought.
Peat
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the terms of reference of the working group on peat extraction.
Mr. Baldry : I am pleased to announce that a working group has been convened by my Department which will work to the following terms of reference. Membership of the working group includes representatives of the peat industry, mineral planning authorities, the statutory nature and countryside conservation bodies, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Forestry Commission and the Scottish Office Environment Department. The working group will advise my Department about :
current peat extraction and usage having regard to the overall peatland resource in Great Britain and the place of imports and alternatives, and having regard to the Government's general policies for reconciling the supply of minerals with sustainable development ;
any required guidance at national level in respect of development control over existing extraction sites ; guidance on rehabilitation of existing workings ; and guidance in respect of future land-use issues affecting peatlands, especially the nature conservation of, and extraction from, lowland peat mires.
Particular topics that the group will need to consider include : (
(i) occurrence and types of peat ;
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