House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Mar 1993

Dr. Mawhinney : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing) on9 February at column 617.

Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a list of the names of each product in each of the 10 therapeutic categories to be included in the selected list.

Dr. Mawhinney : Decisions on which products are to be added to schedule 10 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992, which are no longer prescribable under the NHS, will be based on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs. I understand that the committee has not yet decided which products it will be formally considering in each of the ten new therapeutic categories.

Redbridge and Waltham Forest DHAs

Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the proposed timetable for the merger of the Redbridge and Waltham Forest district health authorities ; and if she will outline the statutory procedure which such a merger is required to follow.

Mr. Sackville : The merger of the Redbridge and Waltham Forest district health authorities is included in the National Health Service (District Health Authorities) Order 1993 and the National Health Service (Determination of Districts) Order 1993 which were laid

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before the House on 11 March. Both orders are effective from 1 April 1993. No other statutory procedures are needed to effect the merger.

Formal consultation took place from 1 September to 30 November 1992 on the proposal to merge the authorities. On 3 March, I announced our decision to merge the two authorities and to appoint Ms Delva Patman as chairman of the new Redbridge and Waltham Forest district health authority.

Perioperative Deaths

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the rate of perioperative deaths in respect of operations carried out by (a) junior doctors and (b) consultants in England.

Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally. In 1990 there were an estimated 3,112,396 episodes of in-patient care involving surgical procedures. Of these, an estimated 23,816 deaths occurred in hospital within 30 days of an operation.

Registration of Death

Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis a medical practitioner may set the level of his charge for registering a person as dead, and giving the cause of death ; and what is the maximum charge which may be levied.

Dr. Mawhinney : Medical practitioners are required by the Birth and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to supply a certificate free of charge to the registrar, giving notification of a person's death.

Drug Costs

Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the increase in the drugs bill for 1992-93 relative to 1991-92 is due to (a) increased costs charged by the drugs companies, (b) increases in the numbers of prescriptions, (c) general practitioners prescribing different and more expensive drugs, (d) the cost of diphasics and triphasic drugs in fees paid to pharmacists or (e) drugs being used to replace surgery.

Dr. Mawhinney : Expenditure on drugs by the family health services in England is expected to increase by about 14 per cent. in cash terms in 1992-93. Whilst prescription numbers are likely to increase by more than 4 per cent. in 1992-93, no information is yet available on the other factors which contribute to the rise in the drugs bill. The cost of pharmacists' dispensing fees does not form part of the drugs bill. Information on drugs being used to replace surgery is not available centrally.

Parental Leave Allowances

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are maternity and paternity leave allowances for NHS staff ; and what are the maternity and paternity leave allowances for NHS staff who adopt children.

Dr. Mawhinney : Staff who satisfy certain qualifying criteria are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave. Staff may also be eligible for paternity and adoption leave in accordance with arrangements determined locally.

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GP Patient Registration

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines are in force for the registration by general practitioners of people who have no fixed address ;

(2) what plans she has to issue guidelines requiring general practitioners to take on any patient requesting registration and living in their practice area when the list is closed and notified as such to the family health service authority.

Dr. Mawhinney : We have no plans to issue such guidelines. All patients, including people who have no fixed address, have the right to be registered with a general practitioner. This is reaffirmed in the patients charter.

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has of the total number of people by region who have not registered with a general practitioner.

Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally.

Health Care Spending

Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average amount spent on health care per person in each European Community country ;

(2) what is the average amount spent on health care per person in each of the G7 countries.

Mr. Sackville : Total expenditure on the national health service in the United Kingdom is planned to be £37.6 billion in 1993-94, equivalent to £649 per head of population.

Figures for other EC and G7 countries are not available on a comparable basis.

Named Nurses

Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meaning is attached to the concept of the named nurse in the patients charter ; and if it is permissible for hospitals to meet this charter standard by designating a ward sister as the named nurse.

Mr. Sackville : The named nurse standard is intended to ensure the continuity of and individual responsibility for patient care. It encourages partnership between the qualified nurse, or midwife or health visitor, and the patient so that care plans can be developed on a joint basis.

There are a variety of nursing methods in operation which can be adapted for use in applying the named nurse standard. In the small number of places where an appropriate scheme is not yet in use, ward sisters are allowed to operate as named nurses as an interim measure. The national health service management executive expects to publish a good practice guide to named nursing in June.

Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses who achieved their basic qualification before 30 September in each year since 1987 were (a) in post in the NHS, (b) undertaking further training in the NHS and (c) not employed in the NHS one year after qualification.

Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

GATT

11. Mrs. Browning : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to bring about a swift agreement to the GATT arrangements.

Mr. Heseltine : I am in regular contact with progress on the GATT Uruguay round. I assure my hon. Friend that this Government will continue to do everything possible to bring the round to a successful conclusion.

24. Mr. Cryer : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current negotiations on the general agreement on tariffs and trade and the incorporation of the terms of the multi-fibre arrangement.

Mr. Needham : During his visit to Washington, the Prime Minister had very positive discussions with President Clinton on the Uruguay round. The President confirmed his support for a successful conclusion to the Uruguay round and that he will be seeking a renewal of the fast-track authority. This is to be welcomed and we hope that negotiations will resume in Geneva. A successful conclusion to the round would include an agreement on international trade in textiles and clothing which would result in a 10- year phase-out of quantitative restrictions maintained under the multi- fibre arrangement.

Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next expects to meet his United States counterpart to discuss issues of world trade and the conclusions of the GATT round.

Mr. Needham : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade expects to meet Mr. Kantor, the United States trade representative, when he visits London at the end of this month.

North America

15. Mr. Elletson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much of British overseas trade is with North America.

Mr. Needham : Around 13 per cent. of United Kingdom visible exports go to north America. A similar proportion of our imports come from north America. My Department has recently launched a campaign aimed at increasing the United Kingdom's share of imports by north American markets.

Industrial Competitiveness Division

21. Mr. Page : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to spread the information gathered by the industrial competitiveness division through the sectors of industry.

Mr. Heseltine : The industrial competitiveness division advises me on ways in which Government policies generally can promote the competitiveness of British industry.

The DTI's regional offices, sector divisions, and--once they are established--the one-stop shops, have a vital role in communicating these policies to industry, and in listening to industry's views.

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Lorry and Van Production

22. Mr. Cann : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the prospects for lorry and van production in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Sainsbury : Future prospects are excellent as a result of the Government's long-term commitment to helping United Kingdom manfucturing companies succeed in world markets by creating the domestic climate within which the commercial vehicle and other industries can thrive.

European Structural Fund

23. Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to introduce transparency of accounting measures in relation to receipts from the European structural fund.

Mr. Sainsbury : From 1 April the Government will be implementing new arrangements to make available automatically public expenditure cover to account in full for forecast receipts from the European regional development fund.

Travel Companies (Liabilities)

25. Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that all travel companies have sufficient bonds to cover their liabilities to package holidaymakers.

Mr. Leigh : The Package Travel Regulations 1992 require all operators of packages to be able to provide sufficient evidence of security for the protection of money paid over in the event of insolvency. The enforcement of the regulations is the responsibility of local authority trading standards departments.

One-stop Shops

26. Mr. Bates : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in the proposal to establish one-stop shops for the co-ordination of business support and enterprise.

Mr. Heseltine : A total of 57 partnerships have submitted bids for funding pilot one-stop shops. A shortlist of 20 have been interviewed by an assessment panel of business men and representatives of TECs, chambers of commerce and other small firms organisations. I intend to announce the winning bids as soon as possible.

Manufacturing Industry

27. Mr. Eastham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation to discuss DTI assistance for manufacturing industry.

Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade met representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation on 16 February to discuss the federation's proposals for industrial strategy, which include recommendations to improve the competitive performance of British firms.

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Aerospace Industries

28. Mr. David Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with his American counterpart about the aerospace industries.

Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend has had no direct discussions on this subject with his counterparts in the new United States Administration. However, contacts have continued at official level and through the European Commission on matters of mutual interest.

Miners (Wages)

29. Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much British Coal has paid in wages to miners who have attended collieries and been refused work since 13 October 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : This is a matter for British Coal.

Manufactured Goods

30. Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on Britain's trade in manufactured goods.

Mr. Needham : The volume of United Kingdom exports of manufactures in 1992 was 69 per cent. higher than a decade earlier. Detailed statistics on United Kingdom trade in manufactures are regularly published in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", which is available in the Library of the House.

Industrial Trends (Europe)

31. Mr. Riddick : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last attended a Council of Ministers meeting to discuss industrial trends within Europe.

Mr. Heseltine : I chaired the meeting of the Council of Industry Ministers during the UK Presidency of the EC on 24 November 1992. The meeting discussed a wide range of industrial issues, including Commission ideas on restructuring the Community steel industry and Community policy on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Whale Products

32. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what whale products have been imported into the United Kingdom during the past 12 months.

Mr. Needham : Information on whale imports is not available. The United Kingdom trade classification does not separately indentify whale products from products derived from other mammals.

Railway Rolling Stock

33. Mr. Bayley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps his Department is taking to promote the export of British-built railway rolling stock.

Mr. Needham : The full range of export services provided by my Department is available to British rolling stock manufacturers. For example, we have supported British bids for the Canton metro by providing substantial financial assistance with bidding costs, have an official working full time on the project and are supporting a very attractive financing offer.

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Coal Industry

34. Mr. Mullin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to make a statement on the future of the coal industry.

Mr. Heseltine : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my earlier answer to the hon. Gentleman for Rother Valley (Mr. Barron).

36. Mr. Canavan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent discussions he has had with British Coal about the impact of the Government's energy policy review on the coal industry.

Mr. Heseltine : Since establishing the coal review, I have held a number of discussions with British Coal about the issues under consideration.

Torture and Execution Equipment

35. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next plans to meet representatives of Amnesty International to discuss the export of equipment used for torture and execution.

Mr. Needham : I have no plans to meet Amnesty International. When he was Minister for Trade, my right hon. Friend the current Minister for Industry gave the organisation a very full reply to its report on this matter.

Exporters

37. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on support given to British exporters.

Mr. Needham : The Government are wholly committed to helping more United Kingdom firms to compete effectively in international markets. This is demonstrated by the broad package of advice, information and assistance available to exporters from the Government.

European Steel Industry

Mr. Boyce : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the restructuring of the European steel industry.

Mr. Sainsbury : EC Ministers have agreed a package of measures to assist restructuring based on a voluntary programme of capacity reductions.

Since the United Kingdom industry has already undergone substantial restructuring and rationalisation, I would expect future capacity reductions predominantly in other EC countries.

Relocation

Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on the number of companies which have relocated from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland in the last three years.

Mr. Sainsbury : Information about the number of companies which have relocated from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland in the last three years is not readily available.

Import Substitution

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his strategy for encouraging import substitution.

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Mr. Sainsbury : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 5 March, Official Report, column 350.

Nuclear Industry

Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration in respect of his competition responsibilities he has given to BNFL's position in the market for Magnox nuclear fuel services in relation to its ability to secure contracts for reprocessing Nuclear Electric's AGR spent fuel.

Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have not specifically considered this. Under competition legislation, the Director General of Fair Trading is responsible for investigating possible monopoly situations and anti- competitive practices.

Working Practices

Mr. Butterfill : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the impact of United Kingdom working practices on the competitiveness of British industry.

Mr. Sainsbury : Many factors affect the competitiveness of British industry, including working practices. In order to be competitive, industry needs a labour market which is flexible. One of the key aims of this Government is therefore to encourage greater flexibility in the labour market, for example by lifting the burdens on employers who wish to take on labour and encouraging the abolition of restrictive labour practices. Reforms of industrial relations and trade union law have helped to correct previous imbalances of power between unions and employers and to introduce more democratic procedures into unions. Greater flexibility has been introduced into pay bargaining arrangements. The unemployed are being helped to compete effectively in the labour market and to provide industry with the skills it needs. My Department will continue to work closely with the Department of Employment to ensure that British industry continues to benefit from these reforms.

European Coal and Steel Community Reserves

Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with the member of the European Commission responsible for regional affairs concerning the utilisation of European Coal and Steel Community reserves when the ECSC is wound up ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sainsbury : None, but the future of ECSC financing activities, including use of the reserves, was among subjects discussed at the November 1992 Industry Council attended by Vice President Bangemann and chaired by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade at which I represented the United Kingdom.

Electronic Equipment Recycling

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent meetings he has had with the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling ; and what recent representations he has received from it.

Mr. Eggar : A director of my Department's environment division spoke at the launch of ICER in October last

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year, and has since corresponded with the organisation's chairman. Before that, officials in the division were closely involved in the CEST study which preceded the setting up of ICER, and also commissioned from the Department's Warren Spring laboratory a major study of electronic scrap recycling.

Iraq and Iran (Export Controls)

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent communication he or officials of his Department have had with the United States department of commerce's bureau of export administration in regard to implementation of export controls to (a) Iraq and (b) Iran.

Mr. Needham : None so far this year relating specifically to these destinations.

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what meetings Ministers or officials of his Department have had with the subgroup of nuclear export co-ordination of the United States bureau of oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs in regard to export control policy for (a) Iraq and (b) Iran.

Mr. Needham : None.

Uranium

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will request the United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna to seek to obtain documentation produced by the agency on the levels of safety applied to the Ro"ssing uranium mine in Namibia in the production of uranium exported to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Eggar : No. The final report of the expert mission to the Ro"ssing uranium mine is in confidence between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Government of Namibia.

Departmental Spending

Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage share of total departmental spending was accounted for by non- departmental public bodies in each year since 1979.

Mr. Eggar : The percentage share of total departmental expenditure accounted for by grants to executive non-departmental public bodies by the DTI and the Department of Energy was as follows :

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