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HEALTH
NHS Employees
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent (a) nursing, (b) midwifery, (c) management and (d) clerical staff were employed by the national health service in each Birmingham health authority area and the West Midlands regional health authority area in each year since 1983.
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Mr. Sackville : The figures are shown in the table. Many of the functions undertaken by senior nursing and senior professional staff are now reflected in the national health service management figures. This means that year-on-year comparisons are invalid. Management still accounts for less than 1.8 per cent. of the NHS work force and the ratio of clinical to support staff has never been higher.
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Whole-time equivalent staff in each Birmingham health authority area and West Midlands regional health authority
|Nursing |Midwifery |Management |Administration and
|clerical
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1983
West Midlands RHA |38,450 |2,370 |<2>- |11,120
Central Birmingham DHA |2,310 |260 |<2>- |880
East Birmingham DHA |1,320 |20 |<2>- |440
North Birmingham DHA |1,490 |150 |<2>- |460
South Birmingham DHA |2,540 |110 |<2>- |680
West Birmingham DHA |2,420 |150 |<2>- |600
September 1984
West Midlands RHA |38,460 |2,540 |<2>- |11,150
Central Birmingham DHA |2,420 |260 |<2>- |870
East Birmingham DHA |1,360 |20 |<2>- |450
North Birmingham DHA |1,500 |160 |<2>- |480
South Birmingham DHA |2,390 |120 |<2>- |630
West Birmingham DHA |2,440 |150 |<2>- |580
September 1985
West Midlands RHA |39,480 |2,570 |10 |11,000
Central Birmingham DHA |2,480 |250 |<1>- |890
East Birmingham DHA |1,390 |20 |<1>- |460
North Birmingham DHA |1,560 |160 |0 |380
South Birmingham DHA |2,350 |110 |<1>- |660
West Birmingham DHA |2,490 |140 |0 |610
September 1986
West Midlands RHA |39,930 |2,590 |60 |11,220
Central Birmingham DHA |2,550 |250 |10 |880
East Birmingham DHA |1,380 |30 |<1>- |470
North Birmingham DHA |1,300 |140 |<1>- |360
South Birmingham DHA |2,440 |100 |<1>- |670
West Birmingham DHA |2,460 |130 |<1>- |600
September 1987
West Midlands RHA |40,490 |2,690 |90 |11,480
Central Birmingham DHA |2,660 |250 |10 |910
East Birmingham DHA |1,380 |30 |10 |450
North Birmingham DHA |1,260 |150 |<1>- |340
South Birmingham DHA |2,530 |100 |<1>- |680
West Birmingham DHA |2,460 |120 |<1>- |580
September 1988
West Midlands RHA |39,440 |2,720 |150 |11,530
Central Birmingham DHA |2,620 |250 |10 |920
East Birmingham DHA |1,370 |20 |10 |450
North Birmingham DHA |1,230 |150 |<1>- |350
South Birmingham DHA |2,520 |100 |10 |710
West Birmingham DHA |2,410 |130 |10 |580
September 1989
West Midlands RHA |39,770 |2,770 |530 |11,800
Central Birmingham DHA |2,790 |270 |40 |940
East Birmingham DHA |1,350 |30 |20 |440
North Birmingham DHA |1,290 |150 |20 |350
South Birmingham DHA |2,480 |90 |10 |750
West Birmingham DHA |2,260 |130 |30 |590
September 1990
West Midlands RHA |40,410 |2,820 |1,060 |11,950
Central Birmingham DHA |2,830 |280 |80 |950
East Birmingham DHA |1,390 |30 |40 |490
North Birmingham DHA |1,270 |130 |30 |350
South Birmingham DHA |2,400 |90 |50 |750
West Birmingham DHA |2,250 |150 |60 |670
September 1991
West Midlands RHA |38,960 |2,710 |1,440 |12,740
East Birmingham DHA |1,440 |30 |<2>- |<2>-
North Birmingham DHA |1,310 |130 |<2>- |<2>-
South Birmingham DHA<3> |4,600 |360 |<2>- |<2>-
West Birmingham DHA |2,210 |150 |<2>- |<2>-
Source:
Non Medical Manpower Census, except for 1991 Managerial and Administrative and Clerical staff which is collected on
the form KM49.
The above tables catergorise staff by the terms and conditions on which they are paid. Staff with managerial
reponsibilities were, until a discrete NHS management function was introduced in a series of phased implementations
for 1984, paid on terms according to their professional function (eg. administration, nursing etc).
<1>means less than 5.
<2>not available.
<3>Central Birmingham DHA merged with South Birmingham DHA on the 1st April 1991.
Notes:
1. Includes agency staff.
2. Management figures can not be broken down by DHA in 1991 due to changes in data collection to a Regional return
KM49.
Staffordshire Health Authorities
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full- time equivalent staff were employed by the national health service as (a) managerial staff,
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(b) administrative and clerical staff and (c) nursing and midwifery staff in (i) the South-East Staffordshire health authority area and (ii) the Mid-Staffordshire health authority in each year since 1987.Dr. Mawhinney : The figures are shown in the table.
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Nursing and midwifery, administrative and clerical and general and senior
managers in South-East Staffordshire and Mid-Staffordshire HAs
from September 1987 to September 1991
Whole-time equivalents
|1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South-East Staffordshire
Nursing and midwifery (excluding agency) |1,910|1,900|1,880|1,840|1,760
Administrative and clerical |430 |440 |430 |440 |-
General and senior managers |10 |10 |30 |50 |-
Mid-Staffordshire
Nursing and midwifery (excluding agency) |1,780|1,760|1,800|1,750|1,830
Administrative and clerical |410 |410 |390 |420 |-
General and senior managers |10 |10 |60 |80 |-
Notes:
1. All figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
2. -' indicates that the 1991 figures for Administrative and Clerical and
General and senior Managers are not centrally available at District level.
3. Source of information: Non-Medical Manpower Census HAP(STATS)B.
4. The fall in the number of nursing and midwifery staff in South-East
Staffordshire is because of the transfer of services for elderly mentally
ill patients from St. Matthews's hospital to other health authorities and to
community homes.
Hospital Costs
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what returns and at what intervals are made to her by hospitals on the average costs of procedures ; and in what form those returns are made available to Parliament.
Mr. Sackville : The Department does not routinely collect information on the costs of particular operations or procedures. However, since 1987-88 the Department has collected annual figures on average treatment costs by specialty by district. The health service indicators have included average treatment costs for patients using a hospital bed for most specialties. A copy of the indicators is available in the Library. For 1991-92 the specialty costs
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return was developed to collect total average costs by specialty on a provider unit basis. When the 1991-92 indicators are published later this year average specialty costs will therefore be at hospital rather than district level.Health Care Provision
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent her Department collects and analyses statistics relating to hospital and health care provision within the private sector as well as national health service.
Mr. Sackville : Centrally collected information about the private sector is via Department of Health forms KO36, KO37 and KO71.
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KO36 provides information about beds and other facilities in private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984. As well as recording the number of institutions, there is a count of available beds, hospitals with operating theatres, consulting rooms and various clinical departments. The return also records the numbers of nursing staff by their level of qualification.KO37 collects aggregate activity for all private mental nursing homes registered by a health authority under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984. The return records data on patients detained under the provision of the Mental Health Act 1983. Latest data are published in a Statistical Bulletin "In-Patients Formally Detained in Hospital Under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Other Legislation, England 1984--1989-90" Bulletin 2(7)92, ISBN 1 85839 007 9.
KO71 collects aggregate data on new episodes of drug misuse and the type of drug used. The return collects data from the national health service, voluntary, local authority and private services. This is a new return and it is proposed to publish data later this year.
Nurse Prescribing
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the financial implications of deferring the implementation of nurse prescribing ; what information she has on the long- term savings in health care costs which would flow from enabling certain nurses to write prescriptions ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Based on the Touche Ross cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the Department, we estimate that postponing the implementation of nurse prescribing will avoid start-up costs of £11 million and annual costs, once all nurse precribers are trained, of £15 million at 1991-92 prices.
The time savings for each prescribing nurse and general practitioner consequential on the implementation of nurse prescribing are unlikely to be translated into reduced expenditure because the relatively small amounts of time saved per week are likely to be used up in a wide range of other activities. The main benefit of nurse prescribing is a speedier and better service for patients, the effects of which cannot be translated into monetary terms. As my hon. Friend knows, we are committed to implementing nurse prescribing as soon as resources permit.
Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is currently being undertaken by her Department to ensure that local authorities fulfil obligations outlined in section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.
Mr. Yeo : We expect local authorities to be aware of their statutory duties under section 2(1) of the 1970 Act to provide a range of services for disabled people, where they accept that there is need. Each case is assessed on its own merits by the local authority. The Department receives regular returns on certain services provided by local authorities under the Act, as well as information from other sources including the social services inspectorate. We
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follow up specific cases referred to the Department, where it is alleged that a local authority is in breach of its statutory duties.Oil Spillages
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she collects to identify human health risks arising out of oil spillage incidents ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Department of Health keeps under continual review the relevant scientific literature on chemicals which are likely to be harmful to human health. The Department is also able to seek advice from its expert advisory committees. Decisions on any necessary monitoring of food and the environment following an oil spillage incident are matters for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who would consult the Health Departments on health effects.
Refugee Children
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources have been targeted towards unaccompanied children who are refugees from former Yugoslavia.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment gave to him today.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when guidance under the Children Act 1989 on refugee and asylum-seeking children will be published.
Mr. Yeo : Guidance and training material for social services staff working with unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children is expected to be published in the spring.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she issues on the identification of who has parental responsibility for unaccompanied children who enter the United Kingdom as refugees.
Mr. Yeo : No specific guidance has been issued on parental responsibility for unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children. Local authorities have responsibilities under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 in relation to unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children.
In-vitro Fertilisation
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of in-vitro fertilisation services within the national health service.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones) on 4 December 1992 at columns 433-34.
Refugees
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to local authorities and voluntary organisations in order to deal with the co-ordination of health care for refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
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Mr. Yeo : For the 1,000 displaced persons and their dependants whom the Government have agreed to accept from the former Yugoslavia, three reception centres have been opened. The staff of these centres, which are run by voluntary organisations, will liaise with the statutory authorities as necessary to ensure that health or personal social services needs are met. Departmental officials have written to both local authorities and health authorities in the reception centre areas to alert them to the expected arrivals.
Child Care
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the voluntary child day care organisations which have closed due to the introduction of regulations regarding adequate facilities under the Children Act 1989.
Mr. Yeo : This information is not held centrally.
Referral Decisions
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 470, if she will now issue guidelines to ensure that community health councils are notified about extra-contractual referral decisions, affecting the population in their areas.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have already asked regional health authorities to ensure that community health councils have access to information about purchasers' contracts with providers and their purchasing plans which will include extra-contractual referral patterns. However, as each ECR decision is based on individual clinical factors, it would not be appropriate to notify community health councils of these decisions.
North West Thames Health Authority
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the contract of employment for the current chairman of the North West Thames health authority expires.
Dr. Mawhinney : The date is 31 July 1994.
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions Ministers from her Department and senior civil servants have had with the chairman and the chief executive of the North West Thames health authority ; and what was the outcome of these discussions.
Dr. Mawhinney : Ministers and senior officials frequently meet the chairman and chief executives of regional health authorities to discuss a wide range of topics and issues.
Tomlinson Report
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Health is she will place copies of the Capita and Touche Ross studies commissioned by her Department in connection with the Tomlinson report in the Library.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Capita/Touche Ross study is one of three commissioned from management consultants as part of a preliminary review of options for reconfiguring acute services in inner London. Some of the information
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supplied by purchasers and providers for the studies was on an in-confidence basis and the full reports are not intended for publication. I will, however, arrange for executive summaries to be placed in the Library in due course.General Practitioners
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the allocations to non-GP fund-holding practices in each region for 1992.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information requested is not held centrally. However, the aggregate indicative prescribing amounts allocated to non-fund -holding general practitioners at regional and family health services authorities level for 1992-93 are shown in the table.
1992-93 Indicative prescribing amounts<1>
|£
---------------------------------------------------------
Northern |161,551,312
Cleveland |28,278,187
Cumbria |26,895,353
Durham |29,197,667
Gateshead |9,935,418
South Tyneside |9,018,511
Sunderland |18,585,952
Newcastle |14,318,000
North Tyneside |11,846,208
Northumberland |13,476,016
Yorkshire |170,944,380
Humberside |41,995,512
North Yorkshire |31,473,094
Bradford |23,116,300
Calderdale |9,528,533
Kirklees |19,674,833
Leeds |33,224,889
Wakefield |11,931,219
Trent |226,040,528
Derbyshire |40,157,309
Leicestershire |39,607,897
Lincolnshire |31,611,166
Nottinghamshire |44,955,047
Barnsley |14,134,291
Doncaster |15,822,522
Rotherham |12,578,370
Sheffield |27,173,926
East Anglia |110,081,510
Cambridgeshire |32,930,439
Norfolk |44,715,873
Suffolk |32,435,198
North West Thames |161,624,985
Barnet |16,159,297
Bedfordshire |25,617,020
Hertfordshire |38,543,203
Brent and Harrow |25,640,541
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow |31,987,000
Hillingdon |10,039,430
Kensington, City and Westminster |13,638,494
North East Thames |183,970,935
Essex |73,773,600
Barking, Havering and Brentwood |17,921,299
Camden and Islington |17,244,237
City and East London |29,756,162
Enfield and Haringey |21,791,339
Redbridge and Waltham Forest |23,484,298
South East Thames |182,199,827
Kent |75,300,058
East Sussex |41,110,910
Bromley |13,356,276
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham |32,360,943
Greenwich and Bexley |20,071,640
South West Thames |135,778,738
Surrey |44,554,588
West Sussex |37,042,262
Kingston and Richmond |11,621,062
Croydon |14,246,115
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth |28,314,711
Wessex |142,533,409
Hampshire |72,991,774
Dorset |35,685,885
Wiltshire |27,966,799
Isle of Wight |5,888,951
Oxford |103,651,699
Berkshire |31,046,847
Buckinghamshire |23,727,503
Northants |26,007,082
Oxfordshire |22,870,267
South Western |177,396,623
Avon |47,107,788
Cornwall |28,843,210
Devon |55,347,684
Gloucestershire |25,608,280
Somerset |20,489,661
West Midlands |261,441,507
Birmingham |56,355,959
Coventry |16,689,102
Dudley |15,535,775
Hereford and Worcester |29,495,176
Sandwell |14,411,416
Shropshire |19,110,046
Solihull |8,307,163
Staffordshire |49,634,920
Walsall |15,457,921
Warwickshire |22,269,467
Wolverhampton |14,174,562
Mersey |126,929,323
Cheshire |44,430,300
Liverpool |27,252,313
Sefton |13,647,842
St. Helens |20,320,141
Wirral |21,278,727
North Western |223,227,213
Lancashire |81,516,576
Bolton |12,207,541
Bury |10,896,582
Manchester |27,101,200
Oldham |11,571,437
Rochdale |10,213,084
Salford |12,454,860
Stockport |15,253,520
Tameside |10,783,925
Trafford |12,668,266
Wigan |18,560,222
<1>Taken from December 1992 PPA data.
Death Certificates
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are issued for the completion of death certificates in cases where the actual cause of death is as a result of a long illness, in order to identify the illness contributing to, and indirectly the cause of, death.
Mr. Sackville : Medical certificates of cause of death are required to be completed by a registered medical practitioner. The form of the certificate is prescribed and is in the internationally agreed format which is designed to
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identify an underlying cause for all recorded deaths, except where the deceased is aged under 28 days. In addition, the certifier may record other significant conditions contributing to the death but which are not related to the disease or condition causing it. Guidelines relating to their completion accompany the death certificates and are supplied to registered medical practitioners. Specimen copies have been placed in the Library and are available to interested parties on request.Capitation Targets
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 469-70, if she will publish such information as she has on capitation targets.
Mr. Sackville : No. As I explained in my earlier reply, the information at present held centrally contains inconsistencies and would be misleading as a source of comparisons between districts of different health regions. Consistent and comparable information will be placed in the Library as soon as it is available.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those self-governing trusts that have filed their current accounts, indicating what percentage of the total this represents.
Dr. Mawhinney : All 57 first-wave national health service trusts have submitted the necessary financial accounts information for 1991-92 to the Department.
Creutzfeld Jakob Disease
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the present number of known and suspected cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease and the geographic location of these cases ; and what comparable data she has for the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : Information showing the total number of definite and probable cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease is produced on a yearly basis by Dr. R. G. Will, consultant neurologist at the national CJD surveillance unit, Edinburgh. Data for 1992 will be available later this year.
Between 1987 and 1990 there were a total of 104 definite cases of CJD. The available data on deaths in the calendar year 1991 show that 28 people have been confirmed as CJD with a further four probable cases. The available information is shown in the table.
Definite and probable cases of CJD 1987-1991
Year and status |Number
------------------------------------------------
1987 Definite |22
1988 Definite |22
1989 Definite |28
1990 Definite |32
1991 Definite |28
Probable |4
Detailed information on geographical location of definite and probable cases is contained in the last report from Dr. Will. Copies have been placed in the Library.
This report confirms that there has been no change in the incidence, geographical distribution or occupational
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distribution of CJD. It will, however, be necessary to continue the study into the incidence of CJD for a decade or more to detect any change in the pattern of the disease.Hospitals (Alcohol Sales)
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of hospitals have bars on hospital premises selling alcohol.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is not available centrally.
Down's Syndrome
Ms. Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies her Department has conducted into the use of, and efficacy of the Bart's test for pregnant women for Down's syndrome.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 5 February 1993] : Recently published articles and published studies on maternal serum screening, including the Bart's triple test, are listed as follows. Copies are available in the Library. These were funded from various sources. The implications of these new tests are complex and are being addressed at the moment by two separate working parties set up by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and regional directors of public health.
Maternal serum screening for Down's Syndrome in early pregnancy--Wald N. J, Cuckle H. S, Dansem J. W. et al, British Medical Journal 1988, pp 883-7.
Antenatal maternal serum screening for Down's Syndrome : results of a demonstration project--Wald, Kennard, Densem et al, British Medical Journal 224/92, pp 391-4.
Prenatal screening for Down's Syndrome with use of maternal serum makers-- Haddow J. E, Palomaki G. E, Knight G. J, et al, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 327, No. 9, pp 588-93.
Maternal serum screening for fetal Down Syndrome in Women less than 35 years of age using alpha-fetaprotein, hCG, and unconjugated estriol : a prospective 2 year study--Phillips et al, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 80, No. 3, Part 1, pp 353-8.
Prospective intervention trial of a screening protocol to identify fetal trisonomy 18 using maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, unconjugated oestriol, and human chorinonic gonadotropin--Palomaki GE, Knight GJ et al, Prenatal diagnosis, Vol. 12, pp 925-30.
Health Care Funding
Mr. Whittingdale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the amount of funding per capita for health care for each of the last five years for (a) the North East Essex health district and (b) the East Suffolk health district.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the amount of funding per capita for health care in each of the last five years for (a) Mid Essex health district and (b) the East Suffolk health district.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 1 February 1993] : The allocation of funds to the district health authorities is a matter for the North East Thames and the East Anglian regional health authorities respectively and detailed information is not collected centrally. Information which relates the expenditure of the DHAs to their resident populations is shown in the table.
The figures which for the years before 1991-92 predate the national health service reforms, show the DHAs as
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providers of health care. Expenditure per head of population therefore reflects patterns of local service provision and the effects of patient flows across health authority boundaries. The figures for 1991-92, which show the DHAs as purchasers and are not comparable to those for earlier years, reflect a transitional position as each RHA moves towards allocating funds to DHAs on a weighted capitation basis. Figures for total spending per capita include other resources, such as regional budgets and local income, in addition to allocations for resident population.
Revenue expenditure per head of population
Year |North East Essex |Mid Essex district|East Suffolk
|district health |health authority |district health
|authority |authority
|£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |202 |199 |206
1988-89 |220 |219 |226
1989-90 |236 |237 |245
1990-91 |247 |255 |270
1991-92 |317 |316 |345
Sources:
a. Annual accounts of the North East Essex, the Mid Essex and the East Suffolk district health
authorities.
b. Mid-year estimates of resident population-1987-91 (Office of Population, Censuses and
Surveys).
Notes:
1. For the years prior to 1991-92, the figures for the DHAs are based upon their total revenue
expenditure on the services which they managed or accounted for in the relevant financial
years. For 1991-92 the figures for the DHAs are based upon their total revenue expenditure on
purchases of health care and directly related services through contracts placed with their own
Directly Managed Units and other providers of health care. Expenditure incurred on the
authorities' administrative and purchasing functions is excluded.
2. Capital expenditure incurred by the DHAs and all expenditure incurred by RHAs on behalf of
their regions as a whole is excluded.
3. The population figures used make no allowance for people resident in particular districts
who receive treatment in others. For consistency the population estimates employed are those
based on the 1981 Census.
Wessex Regional Health Authority (Computer)
Mr. Milligan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest estimate of the money lost by Wessex regional health authority in attempting to install a new computer system ; and if she will make a statement on the current situation.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [pursuant to the reply, 10 February, column 701] : A comprehensive report in the public interest on thissubject was published in July 1992. In addition, the district auditor decided to provide further material to Wessex regional health authority in confidence, to enable the authority to pursue all avenues for legal action. When I was informed of these documents, I instructed the chief executive of the national health service to ensure that rigorous remedial action was taken by the region and closely monitored by the national health service management executive ; and that every opportunity for legal and police action was fully explored. Wessex regional health authority made all the material available to the police, whose inquiries are continuing. Legal action is still in progress.
It is very important that these serious matters should be fully studied and lessons learnt. I understand that the Public Accounts Committee has commissioned a further
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report on the project from the Comptroller and Auditor General and I shall consider it very carefully. It is important that as much information as possible should be in the public domain. With regard to the confidential reports to the regional health authority, I am advised that under section 30 of the Local Government Finance Act 1982, disclosure would require the consent of the people to whom the information relates. All the major points of concern are, however, set out very fully in the district auditor's public report.Drug Addiction
Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individual general practitioners provided notifications of drug addiction in the last year.
Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
In 1991, the last year for which figures are available, there were 3,075 general practitioners in the United Kingdom who provided such notifications to the Home Office.
Radiation
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to reduce the United Kingdom's radiation dose limit to 0.3 milliSieverts and the lifetime radiation dose limit to 21 mSv.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
The United Kingdom's radiation dose limits, for the public and for workers, comply with the current EC Eurotom directive on basic standards for radiation protection. Revision of this directive, and the dose limits therein, will begin later this year. My right hon. Friend has no plans to reduce dose limits in advance of revision of the directive.
ENVIRONMENT
Regulations
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a list of all the regulations for which his Department is currently responsible with a descriptive title for each individual regulation.
Mr. Howard : A provisional list of the regulations for which this Department is responsible and which impact on business has recently been prepared. I will arrange for it to be placed in the Library once it has been fully checked for accuracy and consistency of definition.
Consultants
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the firms of consultants used by his Department as part of the market testing programme since November 1991 together with the total cost ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : My Department has used the following consultancy services to assist it in the development of the market testing process since November 1991 :
Dr. Alan Kemp
Shreeveport
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Simon Thorpe ConsultancyHoskyns Group plc
Prime Strategy Consultants
Symonds
Capita Management Consultancy
Civil Service College
Coopers and Lybrand
Peter Burholt Consultancy Ltd.
Lane Whittlesey Business Consultants.
The total cost of consultancies let to date is £302,004.
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