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Mr. Neil Hamilton : Paragraph 8 of schedule 11 to the Companies Act 1989 requires recognised supervisory bodies to have rules and practices governing both the technical standards which their auditor members must apply in company audit work and the manner in which those standards are to be applied. The recognised supervisory bodies have bound themselves to adopt the standards and guidelines issued by the Auditing Practices Board and they require their auditor members to comply with those standards.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what statutory provisions govern the recourse of members of the public to recognised supervisory bodies.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Paragraph 12 of schedule 11 to the Companies Act 1989 requires the recognised supervisory bodies to have effective arrangements for the investigation of complaints, both against persons who are eligible under their rules to be appointed as company auditors and for the investigation of complaints against the supervisory bodies themselves in respect of matters arising out of their functions as such. The Companies Act 1989 (Register of Auditors and Information about Audit Firms) Regulations 1991 also require the recognised supervisory bodies to maintain and make available to the public a register of individuals and firms eligible for appointment as company auditor and certain information about firms so registered.
Public Limited Companies
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will bring forward proposals to require public limited companies in their notes to their annual accounts to show the number of employees who earn less than £209 per week.
Company Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for legislation under which company auditors would owe a duty of care to individual shareholders.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have no such proposals.
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Accountants
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will provide a list of the organisations which he consults before appointing accountants as inspectors.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : No. Before making such appointments, my Department makes such inquiries as are necessary and takes all relevant considerations into account.
Exports
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish a table showing for the United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany,
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France, Italy and Japan the change in relative export values for manufactures each year since 1962, on the basis of the second half of 1973 = 100, together with the change in share of exports of manufactures.Mr. Needham : The information requested for relative export values is not available on a consistent basis before 1975. The available information is published in table F8 of the CSO publication "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", which is available from the House of Commons Library. Data for changes in the shares of exports of manufactured goods are given in the table.
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Shares<1> of the main manufacturing countries<2> exports of manufactured goods percentage
|United Kingdom|USA |France |F R Germany<3>|Italy |Japan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1962 |14.8 |23.0 |8-9 |19.5 |5.8 |7.3
1963 |14.5 |22.2 |9.0 |19.8 |5.9 |7.6
1964 |13.3 |22.4 |8.7 |19.4 |6.3 |8.2
1965 |13.4 |20.7 |8.8 |19.1 |6.7 |9.4
1966 |12.9 |20.5 |8.5 |19.3 |6.9 |9.7
1967 |11.8 |20.8 |8.5 |19.5 |7.0 |9.8
1968 |11.0 |20.6 |8.2 |19.4 |7.3 |10.6
1969 |10.9 |19.9 |8.2 |19.5 |7.3 |11.1
1970 |10.6 |18.9 |8.8 |19.8 |7.1 |11.7
1971 |10.8 |17.1 |8.9 |20.1 |7.3 |13.0
1972 |9.9 |16.2 |9.3 |20.3 |7.6 |13.2
1973 |9.1 |16.1 |9.6 |22.2 |6.8 |12.8
1974 |8.5 |17.1 |9.2 |21.6 |6.8 |14.4
1975 |9.0 |18.1 |10.1 |20.3 |7.4 |13.5
1976 |8.4 |17.5 |9.6 |20.6 |7.1 |14.6
1977 |8.9 |16.0 |9.8 |20.8 |7.6 |15.5
1978 |8.9 |15.7 |9.8 |20.7 |7.9 |15.6
1979 |9.1 |16.2 |10.5 |20.8 |8.3 |13.7
1980 |9.6 |17.2 |10.0 |19.9 |7.8 |14.8
1981 |8.5 |18.8 |9.2 |18.4 |7.7 |17.9
1982 |8.4 |18.0 |9.0 |19.6 |7.9 |17.3
1983 |7.9 |17.2 |8.9 |19.0 |8.1 |18.4
1984 |7.5 |17.4 |8.6 |18.1 |7.7 |20.0
1985 |7.8 |16.8 |8.5 |18.6 |7.8 |19.7
1986 |7.6 |14.2 |8.8 |20.7 |8.2 |19.4
1987 |8.1 |14.0 |9.0 |21.4 |8.4 |18.0
1988 |8.3 |15.1 |8.8 |20.6 |8.1 |18.0
1989 |8.2 |16.1 |8.8 |20.4 |8.4 |17.5
1990 |8.6 |15.8 |9.7 |20.6 |8.6 |15.8
1991 |8.5 |17.0 |9.6 |19.6 |8.4 |16.9
<1> Share of the value of exports measured in US dollars.
<2> United Kingdom, USA, Germany, France Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada.
<3> Includes eastern Germany from 1990.
Sources: United Nations and national sources.
Share Options
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to require company directors to give information about share options in the directors' report.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : A director is required to disclose certain information concerning share options to the company, and this must be entered in the company's register of directors' interests, which is open to public inspection. Certain information regarding options must also be disclosed in either the directors' report or the notes to the accounts. Moreover, a director is not permitted to
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buy options in shares in a listed company. I am aware that disclosure generally is under discussion as part of the public debate on corporate governance.Financial Reporting Council
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received in favour of the transfer of the Auditing Practices Board to the Financial Reporting Council.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have received no such representations.
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Auditing Firms
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will provide a list showing the names of the auditing firms that have been criticised five or more times in his Department's inspectors' reports published since 1988.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Since 1988 there have been five published reports of inspectors appointed under the Companies Act containing criticism of constituent firms of what is now Ernst and Young, chartered accountants.
Polly Peck
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will dismiss the Polly Peck administrators.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The power of appointment and removal of an administrator rests with the court, not with the President of the Board of Trade.
Firework Safety
Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what effect the single European market will have on firework safety in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that any European standard is at least as high as the existing British Standard (BS 7114) on firework safety.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 2 November 1992] : The single European market should not have an immediate direct effect on fireworks safety in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom delegation on the CEN technical committee will continue to try to ensure that any European standard for fireworks matches the high standards of safety in the United Kingdom ; work on producing such a standard is some years away from completion.
First Stop Shops
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on how his proposed first stop shops to support local businesses in Suffolk and Norfolk will be implemented ; and how overlap with existing agencies will be avoided.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 2 November 1992] : Following extensive consultation, my Department will be issuing a prospectus inviting bids to operate up to 15 pilot one-stop shops in England. The bids will be drawn together by the training and enterprise councils and a key criterion for success will be that the bids clearly demonstrate an active partnership between all the relevant local business support agencies. Following the evaluation of the pilot operating a national network will be established.
Coal Subsidies
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of those subsidies which have been made to the mining operations of British Coal in each of the last eight quarter year periods for which figures are available.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 2 November 1992] : Figures for financial assistance to British Coal by quarter are not
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readily available. Government grants paid to British Coal in the last two financial years, 1991-92 and 1990-91, were £709 million and £1,822 million respectively. In addition, British Coal benefited by about £1 billion in both years from the high margins, over and above world market prices, that the electricity generators are obliged to pay for their coal supplies from the corporation under present contracts.Animal Testing
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy that the use of animals in skin and eye irritant testing of cosmetic materials will be ended during or before 1998.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 4 November 1992] : In March we called on the European Community to set 1998 as a target date for the replacement of animal tests for skin and eye irritancy, subject to there being validated non-animal alternatives.
Estate Agency Fees
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will investigate the attempt to form a cartel to control the fee structure of estate agency business in part or parts of scotland by Slater Hogg and Howison, Ron Slater Estate Agents Ltd. and Royal Life Estates.
Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 5 November 1992] : Any attempt to control the fee structure of estate agency business in any part of the United Kingdom is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading, Sir Bryan Carsberg, to consider. Any evidence of possible anti-competitive agreements should be submitted to Sir Bryan.
Point of Ayr Colliery
Mr. Hanson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the socio-economic consequences of the closure of Point of Ayr colliery, north Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : I have been asked to reply. As the hon. Gentleman will know, a review of the proposed closure of 21 pits is under way and a moratorium has been announced on these proposals while the review takes place. My Department is in discussions with the North East Wales TEC, the Welsh Development Agency and local authorities on measures to promote economic diversification and employment opportunities in the area.
HEALTH
Agencies
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by grade the numbers of staff and their cost for 1991-92 and the estimated figures for 1992-93, for each executive agency for which she is responsible.
Dr. Mawhinney : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the National Health Service Estates agency under its chief executive, Mr. John Locke, and to the Medicines Control Agency under its chief executive, Dr. Keith Jones. I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member.
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Letter from K. Jones to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 5 November 1992 :The Secretary of State for Health will have advised that your recent Parliamentary Question would be answered directly by the Chief Executives of the Agencies concerned. I have set out below the response for the Medicines Control Agency.
Numbers of staff, by grade, are as follows :
Grade |1991-92<1>|1992-93<2>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unified Grade 3 |1 |1
Unified Grade 4 |5 |5
Unified Grade 5 |23 |26
Unified Grade 6 |13 |13
Unified Grade 7 |51 |53
Senior Executive Officer/Pharmaceutical |32 |33
Officer I/Senior Scientific Officer
Higher Executive Officer/Pharmaceutical |29 |29
Officer II/Higher Professional and
Technical Officer/Higher Scientific
Officer
Executive Officer/Scientific Officer |40 |42
Administrative Officer/Assistant Scientific |37 |40
Officer
Administrative Assistant |65 |67
Senior Personal Secretary |6 |6
Personal Secretary |32 |33
Typist/Support Grade Band I |2 |2
Support Grade Band II |4 |4
|--- |---
Totals |340 |354
Total costs<3>are as follows:
|(£000) |(£000)
Salaries, National Insurance, and |9,039 |9,750
Superannuation:
<1>Average number of permanent staff during 1991-92, as shown in the
Agency's Annual Report and Accounts, plus temporary and contract staff.
Numbers by grade have been adjusted to take account of fluctuations during
the year.
<2>Estimated numbers and costs.
<3>Cost of permanent and temporary staff as shown in the Agency's Annual
Report and Accounts.
I regret it is not possible to show costs by grade, as staff budgeting in the MCA is based on functional businesses.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library. Letter from J. Locke to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 5 November 1992 :
I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Health to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question (No. 1515) regarding Agency staff. Please find attached the number and cost for each grade as recorded in the 1991-92 Annual Report and estimates for 1992-93. The salaries disclosed do not include Employer's National Insurance Contributions or Superannuation.
On the 1 April 1992, the Agency absorbed the Works Information Management System Centre of Responsibility from the North East Thames Regional Health Authority, including their 12 posts.
In April 1993 the Agency will be relocating to Leeds in West Yorkshire. A proportion of London based staff will not be relocating, and the 1992-93 estimate includes the additional cost of advance recruitment.
National Health Service Estates Agency
Cost and number of personnel by grade
------------------------------------------------------------
3<1> |1.0 |55,000 |1.0 |64,025
5 |6.0 |259,827 |5.0 |228,431
6 |16.8 |572,207 |17.5 |627,710
NO |1.0 |35,281 |1.0 |37,221
7 |42.5 |1,391,727|41.0 |1,417,785
SPTO |8.7 |258,236 |15.0 |471,348
SIO |0.0 |0 |1.0 |21,814
HPTO |3.0 |66,062 |8.0 |185,855
PTO |3.5 |62,998 |3.0 |56,968
SEO |0.5 |9,846 |2.0 |41,550
HEO |11.9 |247,056 |14.0 |306,126
IO |0.0 |0 |2.0 |35,014
EO |13.5 |213,353 |15.0 |250,098
SPES |3.0 |58,960 |0.0 |0
PES |7.8 |121,220 |8.0 |130,664
AO |7.0 |115,033 |8.0 |138,302
AA<2> |2.3 |45,577 |3.0 |61,910
TYP |0.0 |0 |2.0 |32,666
|--- |----- |--- |-----
|128.6 |3,512,384|146.5 |4,107,488
<1> The Estimated Salary for 1992-93 includes a bonus
payment relating to 1991-92.
<2> Cost includes casual employees not included in staff
numbers.
London Ambulance Service
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what percentage of incidents the London ambulance service failed to meet its call-out time standards in each month of the current year to date ; and what were the figures for the equivalent months in each of the past five years.
Mr. Sackville : Monthly details of the response times of ambulance services are not collected centrally. The available information is in the table.
Summary of response times of the London Ambulance Service- 1987-88 to 1991-92 ---------------------------------------- 1987-88 |470,348|21 |85 1988-89 |451,150|18 |83 1989-90 |231,294|14 |79 1990-91 |456,659|11 |74 1991-92 |472,310|15 |64 Performance standard 1:50 per cent. of ambulances to respond within seven minutes up to 1990-91 and eight minutes in 1991-92. Performance standard 2:95 per cent. of ambulances to respond within 14 minutes. (i) The number of calls received in 1989-90 are low due to the ambulance dispute which took place during that year. (ii) 1991-92 figures are provisional. The response time of an ambulance is the time taken from an emergency call being received, to the arrival of a fully equipped vehicle at the patient's location. These figures are likely to underestimate the performance of the LAS because percentages relate to the total number of calls and not all calls result in a response.
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been received (a) by her Department and (b) by the London ambulance service in each month of the current year to date about delays or failures by the London ambulance service in responding to (i) emergency and (ii) other calls ; and how many of these have involved incidents in which patients have died between the time at which the call was logged and the time at which the patient was delivered to hospital.
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Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints she has had from the public about the condition of the London ambulance service since the introduction of the computerised system.
Mr. Sackville : There has been widespread concern and a large number of complaints have been made about the emergency services of the London ambulance service.
My right hon. Friend announced to the House, on 28 October, an external inquiry into the operation of the computer-aided dispatch system and the circumstances surrounding its failure on 26 and 27 October. My right hon. Friend has today announced further details of the terms of reference and composition of the inquiry which will also enquire into the further failure of the system on 4 November. Every allegation that a patient died as a result of the computer failure will be investigated by the acting chief executive of the London ambulance service.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings she has held with the director of the London ambulance service ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Sackville : The South West Thames regional health authority is responsible for the London ambulance service. My right hon. Friend met Professor Marian Hicks, chairman of South West Thames regional health authority, members of the South West Thames regional health authority management team and Mr. James Harris, chairman of the London ambulance service on 16 October 1992. There was a full discussion about the reasons for the unsatisfactory performance of the London ambulance service in responding to emergency calls. My right hon. Friend had a further meeting with the regional general manager of SW Thames RHA and the acting chief executive of the London ambulance service on 3 November.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what internal audit has been done of the purchase and efficiency of the London ambulance service computer.
Mr. Sackville : The purchase of the computer-aided dispatch system by the London ambulance service was subject to the South West Thames regional health authority standing orders and standing financial instructions. The RHA is satisfied that these were complied with. The development of the system was managed by a project board in line with the PRINCE project management methodology. During the development phase the component parts were tested on dummy data. The system would ordinarily have been subject to a post implementation review but due to the problems experienced following full implementation, the London ambulance service reverted to a part manual system. Following a further failure on 4 November the London ambulance service had now reverted to a full manual system. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in the House on 28 October, that there will be an external inquiry into the operation of the computer-aided dispatch system. Further details of the terms of reference and composition of the inquiry were announced today.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many different ambulance controls systems
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have been installed at the headquarters of the London ambulance service over the past 15 years ; what was their cost ; and what were the reasons for their abandonment.Mr. Sackville : I am advised that an ambulance control system was originally commissioned at a cost of £1.8 million by South West Thames regional health authority which was responsible for the management of the London ambulance service. When the London ambulance service board was established, in August 1990, the system was found to be inoperable. The new board tendered for a new computer based system in the same year and this has been phased in over the last six months, at a capital cost of about £1.5 million. Following the failure of this system on 26 and 27 October and 4 November a decision was made to revert to manual control. The reasons for the failure are being investigated.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current condition of the London ambulance service computer ; and how many times it has broken down since installation.
Mr. Sackville : The computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system failed on 26 and 27 October. On 4 November the system was malfunctioning and management at the London ambulance service decided to revert to a fully manual system. The computerised system will not be brought back into use until the problems have been solved. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has announced today details of the external inquiry set up by the South West Thames regional health authority into these failures.
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the external inquiry into the London ambulance service which she announced on 28 October.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have today agreed the terms of reference and composition of the independent inquiry which the South West Thames regional health authority has set up on the London ambulance service. The inquiry's terms of reference are :
"To examine the operation of the computer-aided dispatch system, including :
the circumstances surrounding its failures on Monday and Tuesday 26 and 27 October and Wednesday 4 November
the process of its procurement
and to identify the lessons to be learned for the operation and management of the London Ambulance Service against the imperatives of delivering the service at the required standard, demonstrating good working relationships and restoring public confidence."
The inquiry will be led by Mr. Don Page, chief executive of the South Yorkshire ambulance service. Other members of the inquiry will be Mr. Paul Williams, a specialist in computer systems from BDO Binder Hamlyn Chartered Accountants, and Mr. Dennis Boyd, formerly chief conciliation officer of the Arbitration, Conciliation Advisory Service (ACAS).
The inquiry has been asked to report to the South West Thames RHA by February 1993 at the latest and to highlight any action, where necessary, for the chief executive of the London ambulance service. The report will be published. The chairman of the RHA will report to me on its outcomes, and will keep me informed of progress in improving service performance during the inquiry period and beyond.
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Smoking
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the comparative influences of (a) price, (b) parental smoking and (c) tobacco advertising bans on smoking habits.
Dr. Mawhinney : It is difficult to estimate the comparative influences of the different factors on smoking habits. The influence of each factor taken alone can be summarised as follows :
(a) increases in price have been shown to decrease consumption, though by a proportionately smaller amount. For example, a 10 per cent. increase in price will lead to a 3 per cent. to 6 per cent. decrease in consumption ;
(b) children whose parents both smoke are two and a half times more likely to smoke than children whose parents do not smoke ; (c) the Department of Health discussion document, titled "Effect of tobacco advertising on tobacco consumption",
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looks at the effect of tobacco advertising bans. It was published on 28 October and comments have been invited on it over the next three months.Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list for each study examined by her Department of the effect of advertising on tobacco consumption the final year of data, the level of participation in smoking in that year, the present level and the estimated reduction associated with a ban ; and what conclusions she has drawn on the effect if these results were replicated in the United Kingdom in the same years ;
(2) if she will list the information available to her of the year and the level of smoking when an advertising ban was introduced and the levels of smoking in this country in each of those years.
Dr. Mawhinney : The figures for those countries studied in the Department of Health discussion document "Effect of tobacco advertising on tobacco consumption" are as follows :
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Œ
Per cent.
Country |Final year of data |Smoking level in |Present level in |Consumption |United Kingdom
|before ban |relevant country in|relevant country |reduction |prevalence in year
|that year |associated with ban|of ban
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norway |1975 |43 |34 |9 |45 (1974)
Finland |1977 |29 |(1985) 26 |7 |42 (1976)
Canada |1989 |<1> |32 |4 |32 (1988)
New Zealand |1990 |28 |26 |5.6 |30 (1990)
<1> Indicates that a prevalence figure is not available.
It is unclear whether the effect of a tobacco advertising ban in these countries would be replicated in the United Kingdom, given the fall in smoking in the United Kingdom from 45 per cent. of the population in 1974 to 30 per cent. in 1990 and the existing controls on tobacco advertising through the voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising and promotion.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the contribution of the major factors in the reduction of smoking in the past 20 years in this country and in other countries since the introduction of a ban on advertising.
Dr. Mawhinney : It is difficult to estimate the contribution of the major factors in reducing smoking in this country. Perhaps the most important factor has been the increasing social unacceptability of smoking, with increased awareness of the health risks of smoking and passive smoking. It is also difficult to estimate the contribution of various factors in other countries. The Department of Health report, titled "Effect of tobacco advertising on tobacco consumption", reviews the evidence on the effect of advertising bans in other countries.
Tinnitus
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated for research into the cause and treatment of tinnitus in each of the past three years in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sackville : It is not possible to identify centrally funds allocated for research into the treatment of tinnitus.
The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which
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receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology under the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.In 1991-92, the latest year for which figures are available, the MRC spent £129,000 on research into tinnitus. The council also supports a substantial volume of basic research into hearing which may have relevance to the understanding and treatment of this condition.
Influenza
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring her Department is undertaking as to the effectiveness of family health authorities, general medical practitioners, regional medical officers and district medical officers in implementing the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of 21 September on the immunisation of groups at risk from influenza ; and if she will make a statement as to the results.
Mr. Sackville : The Department monitors the national uptake of influenza vaccine each year. In addition, the public health laboratory service's communicable disease surveillance centre monitors laboratory reports of influenza--and other respiratory tract infections--and provides regular information for health authorities through its communicable disease review. It is for directors of public health to decide what data to collect locally in assessing health care needs, including protection against influenza. Steps have been taken in the past two years to ensure that both doctors and patients are aware of the benefits of influenza immunisation for those patients who are at increased risk of complications should they develop influenza. This includes the production of guidance leaflets for general practitioners, revised guidance in the 1992 edition of "Immunisation against Infectious Disease" and a patient information poster for GPs' surgeries.
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Hydatid Disease
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current incidence of hydatid disease.
Mr. Sackville : Interim figures from the public health laboratory service indicate an average of five cases a year presumed to be acquired in England and Wales for the last three years--1988 to 1990--of its current survey into hydatid disease. This figure may be subject to amendment by the time the survey is completed at the end of this year. The final results of the survey will be published.
Health Services, Coventry
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of people each year having NHS eye tests in the Coventry health authority area in each year since 1987.
Dr. Mawhinney : Figures are not collected in respect of district health authorities. The numbers of national health service sight tests paid for in each financial year by the Coventry family health services authority are shown in the table.
Year |Number of sight
|tests
------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |75,470
1988-89 |86,610
<1>1989-90 |31,500
1990-91 |28,200
1991-92 |36,440
<1> From April 1989, national health service
sight tests were restricted to certain groups
in the population. The sight tests paid for in
1989-90 include some carried out prior to that
date. The remainder paid for in 1989-90 do not
represent a full year under the new system,
because of the delay in payments. The figure
for 1989-90 is not, therefore, directly
comparable with 1990-91.
Health Care, London
Ms. Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will formally consult on the establishment of a new St. Thomas's and Guy's national health service trust ; and when she expects to announce her decision on whether to grant the new hospital trust status.
Dr. Mawhinney : Consultation on Sir Bernard Tomlinson's recommendation that the St. Thomas's and Guy's and Lewisham national health service trusts should be dissolved, and a new St. Thomas's and Guy's national health service trust, and a Lewisham national health service trust established will be managed by South East Thames regional health authority and should begin shortly. It will last for three months. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce her decision only when that consultation is completed.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the members of the implementation group for Tomlinson on the future of London's health care ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The chairman of the London implementation group will be Mr. Tim Chessells. I shall announce the other members in due course.
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