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Census
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider bringing forward the publication of the 1991 census data for Staffordshire to make it available for submissions by local authorities in the county to the Local Government Commission.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) on 14 July. All county monitors will be published by October, and corresponding small area statistics will be available this year.
Heart Disease
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the waiting period for examinations for heart complaints (a) on Merseyside and (b) in Liverpool at the most recent date ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Donald Wilson, chairman of Mersey regional health authority, for details.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have occurred (a) in Liverpool and (b) on Merseyside in each of the past five years from heart disease ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is shown in the table.
Deaths in Liverpool and Merseyside from heart disease (ICD 390-429), 1987 to 1991 Year |Liverpool |Merseyside -------------------------------------------- 1987 |2,120 |5,913 1988 |1,975 |5,778 1989 |2,010 |5,949 1990 |1,844 |5,542 1991 |1,838 |5,588
Residential Homes
Ms. Coffey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will be giving guidance to local authorities about the legal implications that will arise after 1 April 1993 from residential homes having contracts with both local authorities and residents.
Mr. Yeo : The Department issued guidance last year to local authorities about contracting with residential homes in "Purchase of Service--Practice Guidance and Practice Material for Social Services Departments and Other Agencies", a copy of which is available in the Library.
Baseline Statistics
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the baselines referred to in the "Health of the Nation" White Paper for (a) the death rates for coronary heart disease and stroke in 1990, (b) the death rate for CHD for those aged 65 to 74 years in 1990, (c) the death rate for stroke for those aged 65 to 74 years in 1990, (d) the death rate for breast cancer in those invited for screening in 1990, (e) the incidence of invasive cervical cancer in 1986, (f) the death rate for lung cancer under the age of 75 years in 1990, (g) the suicide rate in 1990, (h) the suicide rate of the severely mentally ill in 1990, (i) the incidence of gonorrhoea in 1990, (j) the rate of conceptions amongst under 16-year-olds in 1990, (k) the death rate for accidents among children under 15 years in 1990, (l) the death rate from accidents among children aged 15 to 24 years in 1990 and (m) the death rate from accidents among people over 65 years in 1990, for each national health service region and each health district.
Mr. Sackville : Information relating to coronary heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, suicide and road traffic accidents is available in the public health common data set for 1991, published by the Department of Health. Copies are available in the Library.
Information at regional and district level about the severely mentally ill, incidence of gonorrhoea, under-16 conceptions and all accidents is currently not available in the form requested. The Department will be working with regional health authorities to develop baseline data for these areas.
Tuberculosis
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the number of people contracting tuberculosis (a) in each of the last five years and (b) in each of the last six months ;
(2) what evidence her Department has of any causal link between poverty, poor housing and tuberculosis ;
(3) if she will make a statement about the incidence of tuberculosis in the United Kingdom ;
(4) what plans she has to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis.
Mr. Sackville : For notifications of tuberculosis in England and Wales for the last five years I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 7 July at column 150. The breakdown for the first six months of 1992 is :
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|Number
-----------------------
January |508
February |453
March |460
April |574
May |462
June |494
Notifications of TB fell progressively from 1948 to 1987, since when the numbers have levelled out. Rates are higher in inner cities, to which several factors contribute. Discussions are proceeding between the Department and the national health service on how TB can be reduced in those areas.
The national schools' BCG immunisation programme is to continue at least until 1995-96, when the results will be known of a Public Health Laboratory Service survey of tuberculosis in the general population. Immunisation will continue to be offered also to other high-risk groups as set out in the HMSO publication "Immunisation Against Infectious Diseases". A copy of the 1992 edition will be placed in the Library as soon as it is available.
Royal London Hospital
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will request the board of the Royal London hospital trust to inform her how and in what manner its plans for reduction of staff and services will (a) affect the level of services provided by the hospital to future in and out- patients resident in the borough of Newham, (b) the operation of Newham district hospital and the support available to it and (c) medical education ; and if she will publish their reply.
Dr. Mawhinney : The provision of hospital and community health services for the residents of the borough of Newham is a matter for Newham health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Newham health authority, Mrs. R. Walters, for further information.
Weight Loss
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will carry out an investigation into the prescription of fenfluramine hydrochlorides, and in particular, duromine, as an aid to weight loss.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have no plans to do so.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will investigate the use of prescribed drugs for the prime purpose of weight loss.
Dr. Mawhinney : No. Guidelines on the prescribing of these drugs are contained in the British National Formulary which is sent to all doctors.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she has any plans to issue guidance to doctors in private practice on the question of prescribed drugs being made available for the prime purpose of weight loss.
Dr. Mawhinney : No. The British National Formulary already contains guidance on this point.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review NHS contracts so as to
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restrict the involvement of doctors in the commercial activities of slimming clinics, in particular their power to prescribe drugs in such circumstances.Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the number of qualified NHS doctors who are involved in the commercial activities of organisations calling themselves slimming clinics.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not held centrally.
Community Care
Ms. Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has (a) to evaluate local authorities' community care plans, (b) to provide local authorities with her Department's comments on their plans and (c) to intervene should a local authority be found to have failed to follow guidelines in consulting other agencies in the preparation of its community care plans ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities' final draft community care plans were evaluated during the course of the April round of regional health authorities/social services inspectorate monitoring, and comments were made to authorities on their overall progress towards implementation. The Social Services Inspectorate is undertaking a further analysis of the final plans and, where serious gaps in the planning process have been identified SSI is notifying the authorities concerned and seeking remedial action.
Ms. Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities met the deadline of 1 April for submitting their community care plans to her Department.
Mr. Yeo : Only a very small number of authorities failed to meet the deadline for publication of community care plans. Of these, one has not yet published its plan but all the others did so soon after 1 April.
Southmead Health Care Trust
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the level of staffing of junior doctors at Southmead health care trust, Bristol and the current number of hours they are required to work ;
(2) if she will take action to ensure that full houseman cover is available at Southmead health care trust.
Mr. Sackville : The appropriate level of medical staffing is a matter for the trust to determine, having regard to the ceilings set in "Achieving a Balance" and the advice given in "The New Deal on Junior Doctors' Hours".
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the proposed closure of the paediatric renal unit at Southmead health care trust, Bristol.
Mr. Sackville : I understand that in the light of representations which have been made about the proposed closure of the unit, the Southmead health services trust has decided to re-examine the decision to close it. A further review of the options for the future of the unit will now be carried out and it will stay open, at least until the review is complete.
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Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will call for a full report from the Southmead health care trust, Bristol on representations made to the trust management by doctors on emergency medical cover in the hospital.Mr. Sackville : I understand that the chief executive of the Southmead trust has asked the acting director of operations to undertake an immediate inquiry into the allegations about patient deaths. I am confident that the trust board will take whatever further action is necessary.
Mr. Mike Shannon
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the issues considered when deciding the redundancy pay of Mr. Mike Shannon, former chief executive of Warrington district general hospital ; and what was the payment paid to him.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. D. Hannah, the chairman of Warrington health authority, for details.
Nurses (Grading)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to promote a fast track approach to dealing with the outstanding number of nurse clinical grading review appeals.
Mr. Sackville : The Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council has recently reached agreement on streamlining the appeals process including a facility for referring appeals direct from the employing authority to national level. The National Health Service Management Executive's director of personnel wrote to regional general managers and chief executives of NHS trusts on 31 March 1992 urging them to adopt the new procedures.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Radioactivity Monitoring
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what seashore monitoring for radioactivity is carried out by his environment department.
Mr. Atkins : The environment service of the Department of Environment for Northern Ireland monitors the gamma dose rate in the air over intertidal sediments around the coastline of the Province. The results are consistent with normal background levels of radioactivity.
The environment service also arranges for analyses of sea water, seaweed, fish, nephrops and winkles on a quarterly basis. These results are published annually and indicate that the radioactivity is of negligible radiological significance to the Northern Ireland public.
Ferry Links
Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve ferry links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : In recent years, there has been considerable investment in infrastructural improvements to the ports of
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Belfast and Larne supported by grants from the European regional development fund. This has enabled a continuing improvement to the ferry services operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland.Rural Housing
Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve rural housing in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but the chief executive has advised me that following extensive consultations the Housing Executive completed a review of its rural policy and in June 1991 published a revised policy statement titled "The Way Ahead". This sets out a strategy for improving rural housing in the short, medium and long term. The executive, as part of its short-term strategy, has already designated 67 rural priority areas in which grants are actively targeted and where an enhanced grants package is available for the provision of mains water, sewerage and electricity services. Allied to this, the demolition criterion has been relaxed and the provision of amenity blocks introduced which will allow a greater number of properties to qualify for grant aid. The scope of the improvement grant scheme has also been widened to include a replacement option where this is shown to be more feasible on technical grounds than improvement.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed in (a) the shipbuilding industry and (b) the tourist industry in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : At present, there are approximately 2,100 workers employed in the shipbuilding industry in Northern Ireland. The information requested on the tourism industry is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current level of unemployment in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins : At 14 May 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 103,796 unemployed claimants in Northern Ireland, representing 14.2 per cent. of the work force.
Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the achievements of his Department and his policies in helping small businesses over the last 12 months relative to the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
Mr. Atkins : The Government continue to place a high priority on helping small businesses in Northern Ireland, through improvements to the business climate, deregulation and specific programmes of support and assistance. Direct comparisons between 1990-91 and 1991-92 are not possible as the Northern Ireland industrial development agencies concentrated on implementing the Government's
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new economic development strategy for Northern Ireland in 1991-92. This focuses on assisting companies to develop their growth potential and competitiveness. Measures operated in 1991-92 by the Department of Economic Development through the Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit, to assist small business include :
Activity |Performance
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sectoral activity |Examination of competitive performance
|begun in 20 sectors (new programme)
|6 sectoral task forces established (new
|programme)
Strategic development |21 companies assisted (new programme)
planning scheme
Growth opportunities |40 companies assisted (new programme)
Marketing, quality, |805 companies supported
research and
development, product
development support
Exhibitions, trade |396 companies participated
missions
Moneyrea
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total electorate of Moneyrea ward in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Hanley : The parliamentary electorates taken from the electoral register published on 15 February each year are as follows :
Electoral Register |Electorate --------------------------------------------------------- 1982 |1,796 1983 |1,827 1984 |1,818 <1>1985 |2,049 1986 |2,087 1987 |2,114 1988 |2,110 1989 |2,138 1990 |2,241 1991 |2,337 1992 |2,336 <1>The Local Government (Boundaries) Order (NI) 1984 gave effect to the recommendations of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner altering ward boundaries.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the enrolment at Moneyrea primary school in each of the past 10 years ; and how many children were refused places in this school in each of those 10 years.
Mr. Hanley : The number of pupils enrolled at Moneyrea primary school in January in each of the last 10 years was as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1983 |145 1984 |138 1985 |132 1986 |134 1987 |139 1988 |134 1989 |136 1990 |133 1991 |129 1992 |136
I will write to the right hon. Gentleman about the number of children refused places once the school has reopened after the summer break.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the estimated population of Moneyrea ward in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Vehicle Inspectors
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many spot inspections, as distinct from annual inspections, were carried out by the Department of the Environment from 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 on vehicles belonging to private operators ; and if he will publish the results of such inspections.
Mr. Atkins : From 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992, the Department of the Environment carried out roadside examinations on 1,203 vehicles, including lorries, buses and private cars. As a result of these examinations, 241 minor defects were drawn to the operators'/owners' attention. Seventy-four delayed prohibitions and 18 immediate prohibitions were issued in respect of more serious defects.
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many spot inspections, as distinct from annual inspections, were carried out by the Department of the Environment from 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 on vehicles belonging to Ulsterbus ; and if he will publish the results of such inspections.
Mr. Atkins : My Department does not record the roadside examination of vehicles by the names of the operators.
Pharmacies
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at what locations new pharmacy retail outlets have been approved by the pharmacy practices committees of the Eastern health and social services board in each year since 1989 ; and in 1992 up to 30 June ; and how many applications were refused for each of those periods.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce regulations to control aircraft noise.
Mr. Atkins : Aircraft noise at airports is subject to control under the provision of section 12 of the Aerodromes Act (Northern Ireland) 1971. There are no present plans to invoke these provisions.
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will undertake a review of the machanisms for controlling aircraft noise.
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Mr. Atkins : I have plans to do so as part of a general review of current airport legislation.Departmental Objectives
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out the objectives of each division and branch of his Department.
Mr. Mates : I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
Civil Servants (Shares)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidance, other than the civil service pay and conditions of service code and the establishment officers' guide, his Department provides relating to civil servants' shareholdings ; if he will list the number of occasions within the last five years on which civil servants have reported shareholdings to establishment officers in his Department ; what regulations apply to the staff of the next steps agencies within his Department ; what mechanisms are in place to prevent potential conflicts of interest ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mates : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Police Stations (Lay Visitors)
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the value of lay visitors to police stations in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : The lay visiting scheme was established by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland in April 1991. It is non-statutory and was set up to enable members of the community to observe, comment and report upon the welfare of persons in police custody and the operation by the police of the rules under the police and criminal evidence legislation governing the welfare of those held in custody in police stations. The scheme constitutes an important and effective element in promoting community confidence in the police and has demonstrably been a success.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the cost of the lay visitor system in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : I understand from the Police Authority for Northern Ireland that during the financial year 1991-92 the approximate cost of administering the lay visiting scheme was £27,000.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits were made by lay visitors to police stations in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Mates : I understand from the Police Authority for Northern Ireland that from April 1991, when the lay visiting scheme was established, to 31 March 1992, 230 visits were made to designated police stations.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many lay visitors have attended police holding centres in Northern Ireland ; and what is the number of lay visitors in Northern Ireland.
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Mr. Mates : The Police Authority for Northern Ireland currently has 46 lay visitors, none of whom has visited the holding centres since their terms of reference apply only to police stations designated under the police and criminal evidence legislation.
Youth Training
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of youth training trainees in Northern Ireland who left schemes without receiving any recognised qualifications for the previous five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Atkins : The number of youth training trainees in Northern Ireland who left schemes without receiving any recognised qualifications was 6,541 in 1990-91--66 per cent. and 7,893 in 1991-92--47 per cent. Data on recognised qualifications gained were not collected prior to April 1990.
Higher Education
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total amount spent on higher education excluding student awards for the last five years in current and real terms and the percentage that is of total Government spending.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Student Entitlements
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated cost of restoring student entitlement to (a) income support, (b) housing benefit and (c) unemployment benefit in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Water Disconnections
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by district office the number of water consumers disconnected from the mains water supply because of arrears in each year since 1987 and the number reconnected after arrears were paid.
Mr. Atkins : The table shows the number of consumers disconnected in each water service division since 1987. Figures for the number of reconnections after payment of arrears are not available.
Division |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 --------------------------------------------------------------- Northern |78 |76 |31 |22 |99 Southern |120 |139 |69 |40 |100 Eastern |79 |132 |125 |163 |96 Western |41 |61 |67 |33 |90
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