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Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) of 2 June 1992, Official Report, column 430, what are the main components of publicity expenditure in the "other" category.
Mr. David Hunt : The main components of the "other" category in my reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 2 June 1992, Official Report, column 435 are the costs of publications, films and videos and exhibitions.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of 27 April 1992 from the head of establishments to all heads of division, deleting the Wilprint Group from the recommended list of suppliers.
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Hospital Beds
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those occasions on which Welsh hospitals and bed bureaux have had yellow and red alerts in the year 1991-92 and in the first half of 1992-93.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : This information is not held centrally. The system of red and yellow alerts is operated at the discretion of individual health authorities.
Welsh Development Agency
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to advertise the post of chairman of the Welsh Development Agency.
Mr. David Hunt : Advertisements have been placed in The Times, Financial Times, Western Mail and Liverpool Daily Post.
Valleys (Job Creation)
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (a) how many new jobs have been created and (b) how many new companies have been attracted to (i) Merthyr Tydfil borough, (ii) Rhymney Valley district, (iii) Rhondda Valley district, (iv) Cynon Valley district and (v) Blaenau Gwent district as a result of his Department's and the Welsh Development Agency's support in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Mr. David Hunt : Comprehensive information in the form requested is not available.
Printing Costs
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 1992, Official Report, columns 323-24, what was his total expenditure on printing, publicity and stationery for school governors in Wales in each year since 1988 and in the first-half year of 1992-93.
Mr. David Hunt [holding answer 22 January 1993] : The information is as follows :
|£
------------------------------
1989-90 |92,929.77
1990-91 |16,036.41
1991-92 |37,240.92
1992<1> |50,450.11
<1> April-September
Details for the years preceding 1989 are not readily available.
HEALTH
Pharmaceutical Prices
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average rate of return of historic capital produced by the pharmaceutical price regulation system for the pharmaceutical industry in each year since 1979.
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Dr. Mawhinney : I shall write to the hon. Member.
Ophthalmology, Leeds
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the size of the ophthalmology waiting list at St. James's hospital, Leeds, for each year since 1985.
Mr. Sackville : Information on waiting times by specialty for each district health authority and national health service trust is given in "Hospital Waiting List, In-Patient and Day Cases" published twice a year, copies of which are available in the Library. Waiting time information on St. James' university hospital was not collected centrally prior to its becoming an NHS trust on 1 April 1991.
Cancer Treatment
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS specialist cancer centres there are in Britain ; if she will list their locations ; and what is their average annual running cost.
Mr. Sackville : Services for people with cancer are provided in most district general hospitals in England. Specialist centres are not separately identified.
Information relating to Scotland and Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.
Dentistry
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in delivering dental treatment to patients with a disability particularly those who require domiciliary visits.
Mr. Mawhinney : The Department has no information suggesting that people with disabilities are experiencing undue delays in getting dental treatment or domiciliary visits.
Hospital Creches
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service hospitals operate creches for (a) staff and (b) patients and visitors.
Mr. Yeo : Full information on the number of national health service hospitals that operate a creche is not held centrally. In 1991 a survey showed that at least 181 health authorities and hospitals in the NHS provided a workplace nursery for their staff.
Expenditure
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing capital receipts as a proportion of capital expenditure in the national health service for each year since 1988.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is given in the table.
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National health
service capital
expenditure
|Gross |Net |Receipts |Capital receipts as
|a proportion of
|gross NHS capital
|expenditure per
|cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |1,129 |926 |204 |18.1
1988-89 |1,221 |921 |300 |24.6
1989-90 |1,454 |1,221 |232 |16.0
1990-91 |1,603 |1,425 |178 |11.1
1991-92 |1,668 |1,502 |167 |10.0
Note Figures are derived from the appropriation accounts.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing health expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product for each year since 1979.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is in the table.
United Kingdom NHS<1> expenditure as a percentage of gross
domestic product
|Gross expenditure as
|a percentage of GDP
---------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |4.7
1979-80 |4.7
1980-81 |5.3
1981-82 |5.5
1982-83 |5.5
1983-84 |5.3
1984-85 |5.4
1985-86 |5.2
1986-87 |5.2
1987-88 |5.1
1988-89 |5.1
1989-90 |5.1
1990-91 |5.3
1991-92 |5.7
1992-93<2> |5.8
<1> NHS includes HCHS, FHS, CHMS, Departmental Administration
and NHS trusts.
<2> Figures for 1992-93 are estimates.
Blood Donors
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she will take to ensure that all blood donors are aware of the possibility of giving bone marrow ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Regional transfusion centres are able to supply blood donors with information on how they can become bone marrow donors. Awareness of the possibility of giving bone marrow has increased among blood donors in recent years. The British bone marrow and platelet donor panel recruits donors exclusively through the blood transfusion services and in 1992 recorded a net increase of 12, 000 donors.
Community Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing community care expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product for each year since 1979.
Mr. Yeo : Available figures are given in the table. Figures for earlier years are not comparable due to
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changes in the method of data collection for expenditure on community health services. Figures for 1991-92 are not yet available.
Expenditure on core services for community care (cash)
England
£ million
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91
-----------------------------------------------------------
Community care expenditure |5,755 |6,494 |7,653
GDP (nearest equivalent
calendar year) |336,022|370,662|402,422
Per cent. |1.71 |1.75 |1.90
Notes:
1. Percentages are based on gross domestic product (GDP)
for England in the calendar years 1988 to 1990. GDP
figures for England only are not available on a financial
year basis.
2. Community care expenditure is taken to mean expenditure
on domiciliary and residential care provided by local
authorities for adults; community health services provided
by the NHS for adults; and certain social security and
housing benefits which support community care objectives.
3. Local authority expenditure is in gross terms before
any income from charges is taken into account.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for changes to the standard prescription charge ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on Tuesday 12 January at column 699 .
Selected List Prescribing
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received with regard to the Government's proposals to expand the selected list prescribing system ; and when she expects to make a full statement on those specific drugs to be added to the selected list.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have received a number of representations about the extension of the selected list scheme from hon. Members, various organisations and members of the public. The timing of announcements about specific products in the new categories will depend on the future work programme of the advisory committee on national health service drugs, which I understand that the committee will be considering shortly.
Patients with Learning Disabilities
Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will establish an inquiry into the standards of management of, and the safety of in-patients at hospitals for people with learning disabilities ;
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(2) if she will establish an independent inquiry into the management of Stallington hospital, with particular reference to the case of Freda Latham and other examples of maltreatment of in-patients which have recently come to light.Mr. Yeo : No. We have seen no evidence that there is a national problem regarding the standards of management of, or the safety of patients in hospitals for people with learning disabilities. Any further inquiry into the Stallington hospital is a matter for West Midlands regional health authority in conjunction with North Staffordshire district health authority. A review team has been set up by North Staffordshire health authority to oversee the implementation of the findings of their inquiry into the death of Freda Latham.
South Birmingham Health Authority
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the letters of 25 November 1992 and 5 January about South Birmingham health authority.
Mr. Sackville : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received two letters from the hon. Member dated 25 November 1992 about South Birmingham district health authority, and I replied on 14 and 17 December respectively. I will be responding to the letter of 5 January 1993 very shortly.
West Midlands RHA
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the full remuneration paid each year since 1983 to the former chairman of the West Midlands regional health authority.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 26 January 1993] : The annual rates of remuneration paid to regional chairman since 1983 are as follows :
|£
------------------------------
To 31 July 1983 |7,590
1 August 1983 |8,122
1 January 1984 |8,424
1 April 1984 |8,626
1 November 1984 |8,970
1 July 1985 |9,651
1 March 1986 |10,326
1 July 1986 |10,749
1 April 1987 |11,205
1 October 1987 |11,259
1 April 1988 |11,709
1 October 1988 |11,868
1 April 1989 |12,462
1 April 1990 |18,921
1 January 1991 |19,110
1 April 1991 |20,545
1 December 1991 |20,925
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Arts Councils
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Arts Councils of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is spent on administration.
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Mr. Brooke : Of its grant-in-aid in 1992-93 of £221.2 million, the Arts Council of Great Britain spends £7.97 million, or 3.6 per cent. on administration. It also funds the Scottish and Welsh Arts Councils and the regional arts boards in England, all of which incur administrative expenditure ; this, like that of ACGB, is subject to cash limits. For the funding system as a whole in 1992-93, administration accounts for £20.47 million, or 9.25 per cent., of the grant-in-aid, although these costs are partly offset by income RABs receive from other sources.
Sports Council
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Sports Council is spent on administration.
Mr. Brooke : The forecast expenditure by the Sports Council on salaries and running costs in 1992-93 is £18 million. This represents approximately 34 per cent. of forecast income and 37 per cent. of the Government's grant-in-aid.
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Sports Council is spent on parliamentary lobbying.
Mr. Brooke : The Sports Council estimates that its expenditure over the last twelve months on parliamentary lobbying was £43,650, or less than one tenth of 1 per cent. of its current grant-in-aid.
Football Stadiums
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many jobs have been created in the construction industry as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the Taylor report on football stadium safety.
Mr. Brooke : The information requested is not available from Government sources.
Royal Collection
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many people are employed in the royal collection department of the royal household ; and if he will list their grades and duties ;
(2) if he will publish the work in progress on the inventory of the royal collection ;
(3) pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report , column 540 , what items in the royal collection are the personal property of the sovereign ; and whose consent is required for the sale or other disposal of items in the royal collection ;
(4) pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report , column 540 , what items in the royal collection are located in the private residences of the sovereign.
Mr. Brooke : The Government have no funding or supervisory responsibility for the royal collection. The questions raised are matters for the Director of the Royal Collection, to whom the hon. Member may wish to write.
Column 887
NATIONAL FINANCE
Chancellor (Legal Fees)
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what cost benefit analysis he has made into the Exchequer contribution to the cost of the legal fees he incurred in relation to his former tenant.
Mr. Nelson : The basis on which this payment was made was set out in the answer which I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) on 8 December, Official Report, column 571. It was subsequently described in the memorandum to the PAC by the Comptroller and Auditor General and covered in oral evidence given by the accounting officer at the PAC hearing on 25 January. I have nothing further to add.
Social Security
Mr. Davidson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations underlay his choice of the benefits to be included in the definition of cyclical social security in paragraph 2107 in the autumn statement, Cm 2096 ; and if he will provide ready reckoners of the effects of (a) the new control total by Department, as in table 2A.5 and (b) on the new control total by spending sector and on the other components of general Government expenditure, as in table 2A.4, of each increment of 100,000 on unemployment above the working assumptions of table 2D.1 of the autumn statement, Cm 2096.
Mr. Portillo : In defining the new control total the intention has been to include as many elements of public spending as possible to ensure that it is effective in restraining the trend in growth of public spending below the trend rate of growth of the economy as a whole. Only as much cyclical spending has been excluded from the NCT as is necessary to capture most of the cyclical variation in public expenditure.
Ready reckoners on the effects of an additional 100,000 unemployed are due to be published on 11 February in the Department of Social Security's departmental report.
Set-aside Land
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to adjust the tax regime on bio-fuels to encourage British farmers to grow the appropriate crops on set-aside land.
Sir John Cope : Under the EC mineral oils duties structure directive agreed last year, all substitutes for mineral oils are required to be subject to duty at the same rates as the oils themselves, although there is an optional provision under which member states can introduce a duty exemption for pilot projects. How this directive is implemented in the United Kingdom is a matter which my hon. Friend will consider in the run-up to the Budget. In view of this it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.
The European Commission has also made a proposal on reduced rates of excise duty for biofuels but this has not yet been agreed. The Government are carrying out detailed analysis of the proposals.
Column 888
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining those steps which have been taken by his Department since 9 April 1992 specifically to assist the United Kingdom manufacturing industry ; and what future action he intends to take to assist manufacturing industry.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 26 January 1993] : Specific measures outlined in the autumn statement included substantial help for manufacturing industry. Examples are :
a temporary increase in first-year capital allowances ; the abolition of the car tax ;
the relaxation of the rules for private financing of public sector projects ; and
additional ECGD cover to help exporters in certain important but risky markets.
There is evidence that businesses now recognise the opportunities created by the measures in the autumn statement, low inflation and lower interest rates, and the lower exchange rate. This is reflected in the CBI economic situation report for January, which shows business optimism at its highest level since April 1988.
Construction Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining those steps which have been taken by his Department since 9 April 1992 specifically to assist the United Kingdom construction industry ; and what future action he intends to take to assist the construction industry.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 26 January 1993] : The measures outlined in the autumn statement included substantial help for the construction industry :
assistance to the housing market, such as extra spending by the Housing Corporation ;
local authorities allowed to spend 100 per cent. of all capital receipts realised between 12 November 1992 and the end of 1993 ; priority given to investment and construction expenditure within public expenditure plans wherever possible ;
over £1.2 billion allocated to the Jubilee Line Extension over next three years. The project will go ahead, subject to successful outcome of negotiations with the administrators of Canary Wharf ; the roads programme baseline was protected, allowing an increase in the volume of work, given lower construction prices ;
relaxation of rules on private sector financing of public sector projects should encourage a wider range of joint ventures additional £700 million of ECGD cover in 1992-93 and 1993-94 in important but risky markets will help construction projects run by United Kingdom companies abroad.
In conjunction with the other measures in the autumn statement to help industry in general, as well as low inflation, recent reductions in interest rates, and the lower exchange rate, this package should have a beneficial impact on construction.
Economic Policy Advisers
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what period of time will be spent in an average month by his seven new advisers on economic policy ; what remuneration package has been set for their work ; and how often he expects to meet them in the average year.
Mr. Lamont [holding answer 28 January 1993] : The primary role of the panel of forecasters is to provide an
Column 889
independent source of advice on Britain's economic prospects. The panel will produce a report three times a year. Meetings of the forecasting panel will be chaired by the chief economic adviser, and other Treasury officials will put the report together on the panel's behalf. I look forward to receiving the panel's reports.The amount of time spent per month on this work by panel members will vary according to when and how often they produce forecasts independently. For those members who publish forecasts frequently the time required will be less than those who do not. At this stage it is not possible to estimate the time spent. Remuneration will be £125 plus expenses per meeting attended.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Set-aside Land
Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the total amount of money paid to farmers in settlement for set-aside in each of the last three years.
Mr. Curry : The total amount of set-aside payments to farmers in England and Wales in each of the last three years was :
|£
------------------------------------------
1990-91 |15,533,000
1991-92 |20,654,000
1992-93 |<1>39,176,000
<1> Estimate.
Notes:
Payments in 1990-91 and 1991-92 were
under the five year scheme.
Payments in 1992-93 were under the five
year and one year set-aside schemes.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total acreage of farm land in England and Wales in set aside as of 18 January.
Mr. Curry : Around 91,000 hectares, 222,950 acres, of arable land were set aside under the five-year set-aside scheme on England and Wales as of 18 January 1993. Information on land set aside under the new arable area payments scheme will not be available until growers have to declare the area later this year.
Fishing Industry
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for involving the fishing industry organisations in the process of decision making about the future of the industry.
Mr. Curry : It is the Department's policy formally to consult the fishing industry on matters affecting its future.
Abattoirs
Mr. Ancram : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about small rural abattoirs ; what he intends to do to promote their viability ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Minister gave to a question from
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the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 2 December 1992, Official Report , columns 223-24. Many right hon. and hon. Members have written to me about small abattoirs since 2 December. On the initiative of my right hon. Friend the Minister, the December Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed to increase the throughput limit for small slaughterhouses from 12 to 20 units per week until 31 December 1994. The Commission has been asked to review during 1993 the implications of the meat hygiene directives for small businesses. The Government will work closely with the Commission as it carries out this review.No small business was forced to close on 1 January because it did not comply with the structural standards required by the fresh meat directive. The agriculture departments have issued time-limited licences to all businesses which have not completed the licensing process provided for in the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1992. The arrangements for temporary derogations will ensure that no small premises is required to comply with the full structural requirements of the directive until the Commission has completed its review.
My right hon. Friend the Minister and I intend to look in detail at any recommendations from officials to refuse or revoke licences. We will not hesitate to take action where there are real hygiene problems, but we are not prepared to see small businesses closed as a result of over-zealous application of the regulations.
We issued further guidance on 30 November 1992 making it easier for local authorities to provide a cost-effective veterinary ante-mortem inspection service at small abattoirs. We are also consulting on proposals to set statutory limits on the amount local authorities can charge for the inspection service based on the reasonable cost of providing the inspection service required by the new regulations. We remain concerned about some of the veterinary costs being quoted. We consider that work carried out on a guaranteed contract basis should be charged at a lower hourly rate than ad hoc visits. We shall continue to monitor the level of inspection costs very closely.
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