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Listed Buildings
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his policy and procedure when he responds to complaints (a) from hon. Members and
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(b) from members of the public that listed buildings are being allowed to fall into a state of disrepair ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Brooke : When such complaints are received, my officials would normally make inquiries of English Heritage, the local authority concerned, or the owner, as appropriate. Further action would in the first instance be a matter for the local authority, but in exceptional cases consideration would also be given to the use of my reserve powers.
Press Freedom
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about ministerial consideration of the issues and proposals in the report from Sir David Calcutt QC.
Mr. Brooke : I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made on 14 January 1993, Official Report, columns 1067-82.
Bletchley Park
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the future of Bletchley Park as a museum dedicated to the cryptographers of world war two.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 14 January 1993] : Bletchley Park is at present owned partly by the Government and partly by British Telecom, both of whom plan to dispose of the site now that it is no longer needed for their own purposes. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State looks on disposal as the opportunity to create at Bletchley Park a visible record of the code-breaking activities which took place there during world war 2. Departmental officials, and British Telecom too, are in touch with the Bletchley Park Trust about the trust's proposals for acquiring part of the site and developing a museum there. These discussions are aimed at translating the present proposals into firm plans.
WALES
Education Programmes
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effective provision of personal and social education programmes in schools in the last two years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Personal and social education is subject to inspection by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools who have undertaken several surveys of aspects of its provision in parts of Wales over the past two years.
HMI has also addressed the subject, as appropriate, in its report on individual schools. Our new arrangements for inspections by registered inspectors will ensure more published reports on all aspects of the life of a school.
For 1993-94, the Welsh Office will be supporting expenditure by local education authorities to support schools in the personal and social development of young people.
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School Building Design
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice has been published in the last two years in school building design ; and what was the principal purpose of such advice in each case.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Guidance and advice on school building design in England and Wales is promulgated by the Department for Education. That Department seeks advice from the Welsh Office as and when appropriate.
Special Needs Education
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessments he has made of the number of educational psychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, qualified specialists in hearing and visual impairments and other specialist support staff needed to ensure that all statements of special educational needs are prepared within six months whilst work with other children with special needs is maintained at satisfactory levels.
Sir Wyn Roberts : It is for local education authorities to assess and make provision for appropriate numbers of such specialist staff to ensure that statements of special educational needs are prepared within six months. I would expect LEAs to liaise and work closely with district health authorities and social services departments in this process.
Whorled Caraway Plant
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to protect the whorled caraway plant species at the Rhigos site in Brecon Beacons national park.
Sir Wyn Roberts : None. The whorled caraway plant is not protected by schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, nor is it classified as a nationally scarce species.
Sheep Producers
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the procedure he intends to follow in the allocation of quota to individual sheep producers in Wales.
Mr. David Hunt : Over 90 per cent. of producers in Wales who were paid sheep annual premium in 1991 have by now received details of their initial allocation of ewe premium quota. Those remaining producers who have not received an allocation under this round are being considered under a second round of allocations. At a later date we will also be considering applications from producers who claimed premium for the first time in 1992 and producers who have inherited holdings from producers who ceased sheep production in 1992. Finally, applications for quota from the national reserve will also be invited following consultations with interested parties on how the reserve will be managed. The reserve has been established in order to deal specifically with cases where the determination of quota on a historical reference period would cause special difficulties for certain producers.
Total Management Centre
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the development of the north Wales QED site.
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Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply given to the hon. Member for Wrexham (Dr. Marek) on 17 November 1992 at column 144. This has been supplemented by my letter of 16 December to the hon. Member for Wrexham, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Press Office
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff were employed by his Department's press office in each year since 1979.
Mr. David Hunt : The number of staff employed in my Department's press office during the years in question is as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1979-80 |8
1980-81 |8
1981-82 |8
1982-83 |8
1983-84 |8
1984-85 |10
1985-86 |9
1986-87 |9
1987-88 |8
1988-89 |9
1989-90 |9
1990-91 |8
1991-92 |9
Committee of the Regions
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Association of European Regions concerning the method of selection of the United Kingdom members and alternates of the proposed Committee of the Regions.
Electricity Cables
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received expressing public concerns over the electromagnetic effects of overhead electricity cables.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : My right hon. Friend has received one representation about the possible human health effects.
DEFENCE
Helicopter Carrier
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the timetable for the procurement of the landing platform helicopter vessel and list any foreseeable factors which might affect the timing of his placing of the construction contract.
Mr. Aitken : Evaluation of the tenders for the new landing platform helicopter vessel, received in October, will be complete this summer. It is planned to place the order in the autumn.
Any order would be dependent upon the outcome of our evaluation of tenders and the competing demands within the defence programme at the time.
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Press Office
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed by his Department's press office in each year since 1979.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The numbers of information and administrative grades employed in the Ministry of Defence press and facilities office have been :
Numbers of information and
administrative grades
|Number
-------------------------------
1979 |48
1980-82 |24
1982-85 |27
1985-87 |23
1987 to mid 1992 |20
Note: Current strength is 15.
Figures prior to 1987 are estimates based on the approved staffing levels.
Radiation
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been made by his Department into the effects of electromagnetic field radiation and low-frequency non-ionising radiation, respectively, from facilities and equipment operated by his Department.
Mr. Aitken : The MOD assesses its facilities and equipments against national guidelines for non-ionising radiation. In addition measurement surveys are carried out to determine the field and effects from both existing equipments and new equipments as they are brought into service.
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to respond to the study by the National Radiological Protection Board into the effects of radiation on personnel in attendance at British nuclear tests ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : When the National Radiological Protection Board report is published the Ministry of Defence will, in the light of its conclusions, consider how best to respond.
Iraq
Sir George Gardiner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on the outcome of coalition operations against Iraq on 13 January.
Mr. Rifkind : I am delighted to report that information now received confirms that no coalition aircraft or personnel were lost or damaged in the attack. There are media reports of a small number of Iraqi casualties, but we are unable to substantiate these at present.
I am also in a position to confirm that the operation achieved a high degree of success. All the indicators so far are that a serious blow has been dealt to the Iraqi air defence network in the south, thereby significantly enhancing the safety of coalition aircraft patrolling the no- fly zone. The latest information indicates that the RAF Tornado GR1 aircraft involved successfully inflicted severe damage on their targets in the air defence facilities at Al Amarah. Further reconnaissance will be required to provide firmer details, and it will be some time before final
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assessments of the success of the operation are available. I will continue to report to the House as more information becomes available.HEALTH
Industrial Diseases
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are taken at the level of district health authorities, between them, or by the Health and Safety Executive, to survey the incidence of use, and collation of the contents of information supplied by medical practitioners signing death certificates consequent to changes in those certificates under the Industrial Diseases (Notification) Act 1981.
Mr. Sackville : All registered deaths, including those certified by coroners as due to an industrial disease, are statutorily drawn to the attention of the district directors of public health, under section 124 of the National Health Service Act 1977, who may analyse them as they feel appropriate.
Information concerning deaths from selected causes which may be the consequence of an industrial disease are routinely supplied to the Health and Safety Executive and analysed and published as appropriate.
Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about the future of the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research.
Mr. Sackville : The centre for applied microbiology and research (CAMR) is at present part of the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), and reports to me through the PHLS board. Following recent consideration of these arrangements, we have decided that CAMR should become a separate body in its own right, remaining accountable to Health Ministers. This will be implemented by creating the centre as an authority under the Department of Health, which will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State through its own board. I will make a further announcement once the necessary preparations have been completed.
Epilepsy (Computer Games)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations she has had with the British Epilepsy Association concerning the incidence of photo-sensitive epilepsy and causal links with computer games.
Community Care Grant
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the allocation of community care grant to each London borough and the City of London Corporation in 1993-94 ; and if she will make a statement on the ability of the London authorities to provide community care services in 1993-94 ;
(2) if she will provide details of the calculations for community care grant in London as provided by her Department to local authority associations and to provide an explanation for the corrections made.
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Mr. Yeo : Indicative special transitional grant allocations for all authorities were given in the Department's circular LASSL(92)12 (amended) issued to local authorities on 14 December 1992. The circular sets out the basis of the calculation, and a copy is in the Library. The figures were revised because of a technical error in the original formula used to calculate the figures. The extra £565 million which has been made available to local authorities for community care has been ring fenced to enable all authorities to arrange and purchase appropriate care under their new
responsibilities.
Tomlinson Report
Ms. Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the estimated cost of funding the transfer or redundancy of 680 doctors in London, as envisaged by the Tomlinson report ; (2) if she will publish the detailed reasoning behind the Tomlinson report estimate of £150 million to be spent on developing primary care services ; and if she will publish similarly detailed costing of the costs of implementing the Tomlinson report in respect of (a) transfer and redundancy of doctors and (b) capital investment in restructuring hospitals ;
(3) what provision has been made in the public expenditure planning totals for 1993-94 to 1995-96 to fund the implementation of the Tomlinson report in respect of (a) transfer and redundancy of doctors, (b) developing primary care services and (c) capital investment in restructuring hospitals.
Dr. Mawhinney : We shall publish our proposals for health services in London in the light of the Tomlinson recommendations, and their financial implications, shortly.
Residential Care Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of residential care and nursing home places in each London borough.
Mr. Yeo : Statistics on private nursing homes are not collected by borough. Details of nursing home places are held by district health authorities and the latest available information is contained in "Private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984", copies of which are available in the Library.
The reported number of places in residential care homes in London boroughs as at March 1991 was :
|Number
-------------------------------------
Barking |582
Barnet |2,262
Bexley |583
Brent |594
Bromley |1,489
Camden |939
City of London |0
Croydon |2,106
Ealing |1,379
Enfield |1,175
Greenwich |714
Hackney |809
Hammersmith and Fulham |651
Haringey |1,174
Harrow |1,008
Havering |1,387
Hillingdon |1,010
Hounslow |790
Islington |937
Kensington and Chelsea |635
Kingston upon Thames |658
Lambeth |1,681
Lewisham |1,334
Merton |719
Newham |774
Redbridge |1,112
Richmond upon Thames |1,109
Southwark |895
Sutton |889
Tower Hamlets |549
Waltham Forest |1,058
Wandsworth |1,611
Westminster |874
These figures include places in independent and local authority homes (both staffed and unstaffed). They do not, however, include places in most independent homes for fewer than four residents and some other independent homes which are not subject to registration under the Registered Homes Act 1984.
Departmental Property
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 11 January, Official Report, column 615, how many residential properties are owned by her Department, other than by the national health service ; and what number and percentage of these are empty.
Mr. Sackville : The Department itself does not own any residential properties.
Press Office
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed by her Department's press office in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sackville : Information for the years 1979-80 to 1987-88 is not available in the form requested.
|Professional staff |Administrative staff
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |13 |1
1990-91 |14 |1
1991-92 |13 |1
1992-93 |14 |1
Electromagnetic Radiation
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has conducted into the health effects of electromagnetic energy subsequent to the study on electromagnetic fields and the risk of cancer, published in March 1992.
Mr. Sackville : The Department is funding the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) to undertake a programme of laboratory research into the effects on health of electromagnetic fields. This work was under way at the time the March 1992 study from the board was published. The programme includes the development of methods of measuring fields' strengths, theoretical assessments of energy distribution within the human body
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and the effects of fields on the development and behaviour of animals and cellular systems. Results will be published as the various studies are completed.In addition, an advisory group to the board, chaired by Sir Richard Doll, continues to review new published information from worldwide sources.
European Drug Prevention Week
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the promotional budget for European drug prevention week was spent on (a) leaflets advertising specific services, (b) radio advertising and (c) television advertising.
Dr. Mawhinney : Producing and screening television commercials advertising the week represented about 16 per cent. of the total expenditure on European drug prevention week of Government Departments in England and Wales.
No radio advertisements or leaflets advertising specific services were commissioned centrally. However, £590,000 was made available to regional health authorities, health districts and local drug prevention teams for the development of local projects. Some local radio advertisements and leaflets advertising services were produced from within the regional allocation as part of local campaigns.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on producing (a) folders, (b) promotional pens and (b) balloons for European drug prevention week.
Dr. Mawhinney : A range of support material was made available to help local groups promote awareness about the dangers of drug misuse and the availability of services during the Week. This material included posters, flyers, folders, badges, pens and balloons. The cost of producing folders, pens and balloons was £27,500, £34,000 and £11,000 respectively.
Myelography
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what efforts are being made to ensure that patients for whom myelography is proposed are made fully aware of the risks of that specific form of treatment.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 11 January 1993] : This forms part of the process of achieving informed consent from the patient prior to the procedure.
Patients are entitled to receive sufficient information in a way that they can understand about the proposed treatment, any possible alternatives and any substantial risks. Patients must then be allowed to decide whether they will agree to the treatment. This important principle has been highlighted in the patients charter.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to radiologists and radiographers regarding the dangers of use of the contrast medium iophendylate.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 11 January 1993] : Iophendylate is the active ingredient of Myodil. I refer the hon. Member to the replies that my right hon. Friend gave the then right hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, South, Mr. Ashley, on 13 December 1990 at columns 466-69.
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the level of use of magnetic resonance imaging within national health service institutions.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 11 January 1993] : I am aware of 51 magnetic resonance imaging units in use in the national health service in the United Kingdom.
SCOTLAND
Departmental Property
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list (a) the total number of residential properties owned by his Department, (b) the number of such properties which are empty, and (c), (b) as a percentage of (a).
Mr. Lang [holding answer 11 January 1993] : The total numbers of residential properties owned by the Scottish Office, including the health service, as at 31 March 1992 was 1,666, of which 245 were vacant. The number of vacant properties expressed as a percentage of the total owned is 14.7 per cent.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Nuclear Accident Prevention
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what reports he has received from British Nuclear Fuels plc on the effectiveness of its plutonium evaporator live visual inspection system to prevent radiological accidents at Sellafield.
Mr. Eggar : Following the incident involving the plutonium evaporator cell at Sellafield on 8 September and the recovery of the resultant spillage, a number of features have been introduced to prevent a recurrence and to improve early detection in the unlikely event of there being any such similar spillage in the future. Such measures include detailed examination of relevant welds and where necessary repair, installation of drip trays with leak detectors, installation of television cameras and an improved inspection regime. The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate also required British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) to improve lighting and to install an automatic imaging system to detect any changes in the evaporator cell. These systems are in place and BNFL is confident that it would detect any similar leak if one were ever to occur.
Combined Heat and Power
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations his Department will have at the seminar on combined heat and power and the effects of EC environmental legislation on small-scale plants, to be held in Birmingham on 26 January.
Mr. Eggar : A representative of my Department will be speaking at the seminar. I understand that representatives of the Department of the Environment, including the energy efficiency office, and of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution are expected also to attend.
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Offshore Oil and Gas
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will suspend the 14th round of offshore oil and gas production licences.
Mr. Eggar : I have no plans to do so.
Electricity Cables
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what studies his Department, or predecessor departments, has undertaken into the electromagnetic effects of high-voltage electricity cables.
Mr. Eggar : The Department and its predecessors have not themselves carried out such studies. However, the Department keeps in close touch with the work being done nationally and internationally on this subject. In the United Kingdom the National Grid Company, formerly the CEGB, is currently funding such work which is carried out by independent research bodies.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the number of jobs in those areas currently enjoying assisted area status.
Mr. Sainsbury : Of the 322 travel-to-work areas in Great Britain, 99 have assisted area status including Manchester which is part non-assisted. The latest available data on employment at TTWA level come from the 1989 census of employment. This gives the number of employees in employment, excluding self-employed, in all assisted areas as 7,230,384. The total for Great Britain was 22,234,458.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the amount of (a) Government grants and (b) European Community grants given in each of the last five years to assisted area status locations.
Mr. Sainsbury : On (a), Government expenditure by my Department in each of the last five financial years in respect of regional selective assistance, regional enterprise grants, consultancy initiative, expenditure by English Estates on land and factories and on residual expenditure under the regional development grants schemes, to locations in England with assisted area status were :
|£ million at current
|prices
---------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |271
1988-89 |323
1989-90 |280
1990-91 |223
1991-91 |175
Details of expenditure on other schemes run by my Department are not held on a regional basis.
On (b), the European Community makes many different types of grant to the United Kingdom. Of these, part of the structural funds is regionally allocated under objectives 1, 2 and 5B. The only area in the United Kingdom that receives moneys under objective 1 is Northern Ireland. Regions designated under objectives 2 and 5B equate approximately to the assisted areas of Great Britain as designated by my Department. Totals allocated to these two areas in each of the calendar years 1989 to 1993 were :
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