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Parenthood Federation and (b) United Nations Fund for Population Activities to his Department concerning China's population control programme.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : IPPF and UNFPA provide ODA with information about (a) China's population policy and programme (b) their current programmes of technical and financial assistance to China and (c) their planned future activities.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 19 April, Official Report, column 40, on payments to the IPPF and UNFPA, what sums are planned to be given to these organisations in 1993, or the financial year 1993-94.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 10 May at columns 311- 12.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent on all aspects of overseas aid in each year since 1987.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The figures for gross public expenditure on aid to developing countries are as follows :
Year |Amount £ million
---------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |1,410
1988-89 |1,607
1989-90 |1,733
1990-91 |1,883
1991-92 |2,021
We have also provided assistance to eastern Europe
1987-88 |-
1988-89 |-
1989-90 |64
1990-91 |14
1991-92 |119
Full details on these figures are given in tables
B1 and C1 of "British Aid Statistics
1987/88-1991/92", a copy of which is in the
Library of the House.
Belize
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what help the United Kingdom gives to the Belize Government for rain forest work.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 13 May 1993] : A five-year forest planning and management project began in May 1992. The total cost to ODA is £3.73 million. In addition, we have been funding since January 1991 a three-year appointment of a tropical forestry action plan co- ordinator ; and have supported a number of land use planning activities which have a direct bearing on the management of the Belize rain forest.
EDUCATION
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education to what investigations his Department has been subject by the Data Protection Registrar in relation to a suspected
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breach of a data protection principle ; if he will summarise the nature of each complaint and state when the complaint was made ; and what remedial action was taken by his Department to ensure future compliance with the principle subject to the investigation.Mr. Boswell : The Department's data protection co-ordinator has no record on any investigation by the Data Protection Registrar of any suspected breach of a Data Protection Act principle.
Select Committee Recommendations
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Select Committee recommendations have been made about his Department since April 1989 ; and how many of them have been accepted.
Mr. Forth : The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I refer the hon. Member to the "Sessional Information Digest", copies of which are available in the Library. This lists Select Committee reports and provides reference numbers to Department responses where appropriate.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children with special educational needs attended (a) mainstream state schools, (b) special schools, (c) mainstream state nursery schools and (d) special nursery schools at the latest available date.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is given in the following table.
Pupils with statements of special educational needs attending
maintained schools in England-January 1992
|Number of pupils
|with statements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nursery schools |298
Primary, middle and secondary schools |71,246
Special schools<1> |79,198
<1> Includes 60 pupils attending special nursery schools.
Youth Service
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals the Government have to provide local authorities with appropriate guidelines to ensure the provision of a wide range of quality youth work ; and what priority he considers youth service provision should be for local authorities.
Mr. Boswell : The series of ministerial conferences with the youth service established that the youth service is strongly committed to the principle of local determination. It is primarily for individual local authorities to determine their priorities and the type and mix of youth work provision to meet local needs and circumstances in accordance with sections 41 and 53 of the Education Act 1944.
Pre-school Play Groups
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the estimated financial value of the contribution provided by his Department in England to pre-school play groups in respect of each pupil per session for a year.
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Mr. Forth : Responsibility for playgroup matters in England rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. The Department for Education makes an annual grant to the Pre-school Playgroups Association for its staff training activities, amounting to £887,000 in 1993-94.
Class Sizes
Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what analysis has been carried out by his Department on the impact of class sizes on educational attainment, distinguishing between impact on (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Department continues to monitor and assess research in this area.
Student Loans
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many student loans were applied for by students in Wales in each year since its inception ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : This is a matter for the Student Loans Company. I will ask the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Testing
Ms Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 10 May, c. 323 , on spending on testing, if he will break down the figure given between (a) advertising and (b) production of leaflets ; how many leaflets were produced ; how many parents have to date asked for a copy of the leaflet ; how many extra copies of the leaflet have been ordered to date ; and at what cost.
Mr. Forth : The cost of advestimated cost of £148,000. A total of 981,000 copies of the leaflet were initially distributed to schools, libraries and LEAs at an estimated cost of £84,000. The number of requests for additional copies is still being compiled. A handout giving details about requesting copies of the leaflet will be available to people claiming child benefit at main post offices during the week beginning 31 May.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education in respect of how many parliamentary questions a substantive answer was not provided by his Department wholly or partly on the ground of disproportionate cost in each of the last 18 months (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of questions answered.
Mr. Boswell : According to the records available this Department has answered nine parliamentary questions to which substantive answers could not be given on the ground of disproportionate cost since November 1991. This figure represents 0.3 per cent. of the total number of parliamentary questions answered since that date.
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Epileptic Students
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provisions there are for providing teachers with practical advice in dealing with epileptic students ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Department does not itself produce advice for dealing with epileptic pupils and students ; useful advice is, however, offered in information booklets produced by organisations such as the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, the British Epilepsy Association and the National Society for Epilepsy.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Garage (Car Removal)
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will arrange to have the car J767 CUU removed from the House of Commons garage ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael J. Martin : This is a matter for the Serjeant at Arms.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Genetically Modified Organisms
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce compulsory food labelling for foods containing products of gene technology ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to ensure that all foodstuffs produced involving the use of genetically modified organisms are clearly marked both individually and on their packaging to indicate this fact ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The Government's independent Food Advisory Committee issued a consultation paper on 2 April seeking comments from interested parties on the labelling of foods produced from, or using, genetically modified organisms. Copies of the paper have been placed in the Library of the House.
I look forward to receiving the Committee's considered advice which we shall consider with great care.
Animal Exports
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many live animals have been exported from the United Kingdom to each other EC member state since January.
Mr. Soames : Information on trade with other EC member states is not currently available. I shall write to the hon. Member when it is.
IACS Forms
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of eligible agricultural holdings he estimates had not submitted a completed and admissable integrated administration and control system form by 15 May.
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Mr. Curry : We have been encouraged by the very high proportion of IACS applications received by 15 May which we were able to accept as having been lodged with the Department within the deadline. We now have to carry out detailed checks to determine eligibility for payment.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of how many parliamentary questions a substantive answer was not provided by his Department wholly or partly on the ground of disproportionate cost in each of the last 18 months (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of questions answered.
Mr. Curry : The information is as follows :
Month |Wholly |Partly
|disproportionate|disproportionate
--------------------------------------------------------------------
November 1991 |3 |4
December 1991 |0 |2
January 1992 |0 |0
February 1992 |2 |1
March 1992 |1 |0
April 1992 |0 |0
May 1992 |0 |0
June 1992 |1 |3
July 1992 |1 |1
August 1992 |0 |0
September 1992 |0 |0
October 1992 |1 |0
November 1992 |2 |0
December 1992 |0 |2
January 1993 |0 |0
February 1993 |0 |6
March 1993 |0 |4
April 1993 |0 |2
|-- |--
Total |11 |25
These combined totals represent 1.22 per cent. of the written
questions answered between November 1991 and April 1993.
Milk Marketing Board
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the various milk marketing board liabilities which are to be transferred to residuary bodies under the terms of the Agriculture Bill [Lords] ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Under the Agriculture Bill it would be for each milk marketing board in Great Britain to apply to Ministers after enactment for approval of formal proposals for the transfer and distribution of its property, rights and liabilities. I cannot prejudge what each board might propose or what Ministers would decide.
Granite Imports
Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 10 May, Official Report , column 329 , how many of the 50,000 tonnes of granite brought in from Sweden and France as part of the sea defence scheme have not been used and have
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consequently been removed by lorry, out of Devon, and at what cost ; and if he will make a statement as to why British granite was not used.Mr. Curry : All the granite brought in from Sweden and France was used in the sea defences at Beesands. I understand that, in addition, the contractor brought in by road some 11,000 tonnes of British rock to make up an anticipated shortfall in requirements, but in the event this was not needed for the sea defences and was removed, the immediate cost being borne by the contractor. The National Rivers Authority did not specify the source of rock when inviting tenders, only that most of it should be delivered by sea, so that the choice of British or imported rock was a commercial decision by the contractor.
HEALTH
Health Authority Budgets
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total grant-maintained status budget for each year from 1990-91 to 1994-95 for each family health services authority and regional health authority.
Mr. Sackville : Regional health authorities and family health services authorities do not have grant-maintained status budgets.
Maternity Services
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by national health service region the hospitals in England which had consultant obstetric and/or general practitioner maternity beds in 1991-92 and 1992-93, with the numbers of beds of each type in each hospital and each region in each year.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested for 1991-92 will be placed in the Library. Figures for 1992-93 are not yet available. Numbers of beds are now collated in terms of directly managed units and national health service trusts. Beds within one unit may be on more than one site or in more than one hospital. The information is set out in three categories : consultant, general practitioner and mixed. The category "mixed" is where bed use can be either for cases referred by consultants or by GPs.
Junior Doctors
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of whole-time equivalent junior hospital doctors and the total wage bill in each of the last five years ; and what are the projected figures for the next two years.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 20 April at columns 76-78, for the available information on the junior doctors wage bill.
The available information on the number of whole-time equivalent junior doctors is shown in the table. The Department does not make detailed forward projections for the number of whole-time equivalent junior doctors.
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Hospital medical junior doctors 1987-1991
England-30 September each year whole-time equivalents
|1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior registrar |2,865.5 |2,865.4 |2,980.3 |3,270.8 |3,399.4
Registrar |5,664.5 |5,888.3 |5,822.7 |5,871.7 |5,944.5
Senior house officer |9,371.7 |9,883.5 |10,563.3|10,800.9|11,210.7
House officer |2,782.1 |2,861.3 |2,938.9 |3,013.7 |3,052.5
HIV
Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider the preparation and publication of guidelines for a healthy life style for those who are HIV antibody positive but asymptomatic ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Advice on healthy lifestyles for those who are HIV antibody positive but asymptomatic is primarily a matter for individual clinicians to advise on in consultation with their patients. General advice to people who are diagnosed HIV positive, including suggestions on maintaining their health and well-being, is available in various publications, including the Health Education Authority's leaflet "Being Positive--Living with HIV". Copies of this leaflet have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of funds allocated by her Department for HIV and AIDS work in each year since 1987 has been devoted to HIV prevention ; (2) what proportion of funds allocated by her Department for HIV and AIDS work in each year since 1987 has been devoted to support for the voluntary sector.
Mr. Sackville : The table gives details of the proportion of funding from the Department of Health which has been allocated to : National public education programmes and telephone helpline services through the Department of Health and the Health Education Authority ;
Health authorities, since 1989-90, as a contribution towards the additional costs incurred by them in developing community-based local HIV prevention initiatives ; and
The voluntary sector.
Percentage
Year |Public education |Health authorities|Voluntary sector
|(DH/HEA/helplines)|Local prevention
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |29.8 |- |3.5
1988-89 |13.7 |- |1.5
1989-90 |8.4 |9.8 |1.1
1990-91 |6.7 |13.4 |1.2
1991-92 |6.9 |12.5 |1.2
1992-93 |5.3 |10.0 |0.9
1993-94 |4.8 |9.0 |0.8
These proportions have been calculated in relation to the total HIV/AIDS funding made
available by the Department of Health to health and local authorities and non-statutory
organisations.
Funding for other aspects of HIV prevention, such as infection control procedures, is not
separately identifiable within total allocations.
The figures for the voluntary sector do not include any additional funding from health and
local authorities. This information is not available centrally.
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Maternal Mortality
Mr. Cann : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution the United Kingdom Government have made towards achieving the World Health Organisation target of halving the maternal mortality rates in the world by 2000 ; and if she will list the actions taken by her Department in furtherance of the Government's commitment to safe motherhood given in September 1989.
Mr. Sackville : The Government support the World Health Organisation's "Health for All" targets, including those for maternal and child health.
Efforts to reduce maternal mortality in England and Wales have met with considerable success during the past 37 years, over which period the rate has fallen from 100 to 5.6 per 100,000 total births. This success is a tribute to the long-standing co-operation between the professionals involved in maternity care.
The Government are determined to build on the established excellence of national health service maternity care. An expert maternity group is currently reviewing policy on NHS maternity care, particularly during childbirth. The group's report, to be published in the summer, will be an important aid in clarifying how and where further improvements can be made. For the past four years, maternity services have featured in the NHS chief executive's annual priorities and planning guidance to health authorities. Authorities have been asked to undertake general reviews of their maternity services and to pay particular attention to specific issues such as improving access to maternity services for certain groups of women, for example, those from black and ethnic minority communities, and to arrangements for consultant cover of labour wards.
Hay Fever
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has conducted on the effect of air pollution on the incidence of hay fever ; and what action she proposes to take.
Mr. Sackville : None. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The Government's Advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution has invited two leading research workers, who are currently undertaking studies of the relationship between levels of air pollutants in London and symptoms among hay fever sufferers, to present information to them on this topic. The Department would ask the MRC to consider any research recommendations made by the Committee.
Also, the chairman of COMEAP has been instrumental in establishing a working group on the possible effects of air pollutants upon allergic diseases under the auspices of
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the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Staff from the Department are participating in the work of this group and will contribute to its report.NHS Trusts
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent in each health service region on (a) printing and publication costs, (b) publicity and public relations costs, (c) consultation and public meetings and (d) other costs connected with the proposed establishment of NHS trusts in (i) 1991-92 and (ii) 1992-93 ; and how much is expected to be spent in 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : Tables 1 and 2 show allocations to regional health authorities for 1991-92 and 1992-93 to cover consultation costs and trust start-up costs, including conveyancing. Detailed breakdowns of this expenditure are not available centrally. The Government are making available £2,042,000 for consultation costs and £36,271,000 for start-up and conveyancing costs for 1993-94.
Table 2
NHS trusts-Start-up and conveyancing costs
Region |1991-92 |1992-93
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,506,000 |2,310,000
Yorkshire |1,506,000 |3,234,000
Trent |2,510,000 |3,696,000
East Anglian |753,000 |2,310,000
North West Thames |3,537,000 |2,361,000
North East Thames |2,031,000 |2,353,000
South East Thames |2,054,000 |2,870,000
South West Thames |753,000 |1,629,000
Oxford |1,255,000 |2,079,000
South Western |2,259,000 |1,180,000
West Midlands |1,506,000 |3,370,000
Mersey |2,078,000 |1,617,000
North Western |1,506,000 |1,155,000
Wessex |1,757,000 |2,310,000
|------- |-------
Total |25,011,000|32,474,000
Table file CW930517.019 not available
Diphtheria
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has about the source of the diphtheria infection at Whitefield school, Nelson.
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Mr. Sackville : Health matters in Nelson are the responsibility of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale district health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. W. Ashworth, chairman of the health authority, for details.
Blood Donors
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she proposes to take regarding the banning of the use of blood and blood products from paid donors.
Mr. Sackville : This country is self-sufficient in blood obtained from our voluntary, unpaid donors and we do not obtain supplies from other sources. It is our long-standing policy to pursue self-sufficiency in blood products made from voluntary, unpaid donations and seek to maximise the use of those products. We also recognise the clinical freedom of doctors to prescribe other products if considered more appropriate for individual patients.
Research
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated by her Department for research into (a) epidemiology, (b) aetiology and (c) the prevention of cerebral palsy in each of the last five years.
Dr. Mawhinney : A research project into the epidemio-logy of cerebral palsy was carried out at the departmentally funded health care research centre between 1989 and 1991. Exact expenditure on the project is unavailable, but the total allocation made by the Department to the centre was £48,090 in 1989-90 and £35,011 in 1990-91.
Departmental allocation for other research into the epidemiology of cerebral palsy in later years were :
Year |£ ---------------------- 1990-91 |15,200 1991-92 |23,917 1992-93 |17,083
The Department has allocated no money for research into the aetiology and prevention of cerebral palsy. The main agency through which the Government support research is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant- in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Department has recently commissioned a research project into the treatment of cerebral palsy at a total cost of £71,335. This project began in December 1992 and will continue until November 1994.
Mental Health Act
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the new Mental Health Act 1983 code of practice will be laid before Parliament.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of how many parliamentary questions a substantive answer was not provided by her Department
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wholly or partly on the ground of disproportionate cost in each of the last 18 months (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of questions answered.Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table.
Year and Month |Number of |Total number of |Percentage of
|dis-proportionate |answers |Questions receiving
|cost answers |disproportionate
|cost answers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991
November |<1>11 |453 |2.43
December |0 |211 |.00
1992
January |0 |357 |.00
February |2 |335 |.60
March |3 |190 |1.58
April |- |- |-
May |0 |195 |.00
June |3 |498 |.60
July |4 |403 |.99
August |- |- |-
September |- |- |-
October |3 |270 |1.11
November |3 |571 |.53
December |1 |361 |.28
1993
January |3 |420 |.71
February |5 |571 |.88
March |5 |624 |.80
April |2 |338 |.59
|----- |----- |-----
Total |45 |5,797 |.78
<1>These questions asked for detailed information on issues relating to back and other injuries to
National Health Service staff and were answered together.
Pharmacists
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations she has received on the proposals to amend the pay of pharmacists.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have received a number of representations about our proposals for restructuring pharmacists' remuneration. We shall take these into account in the further discussions we shall be having with the pharmacists' representatives.
Tuberculosis Vaccination
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information she has about the provision of BCG vaccination to school children on a routine basis ;
(2) if she will list those health authorities which (a) provide the BCG vaccination to school children on a routine basis and (b) no longer provide that vaccination ;
(3) what advice she gives to health authorities which (a) no longer routinely offer BCG vaccination to school children and (b) continue to routinely offer BCG vaccination to school children.
Mr. Sackville : The advice from the Department of Health is that the schools' BCG programme should continue at least until the academic year 1995-96, pending the results of a survey of the incidence of tuberculosis in this country, which is being conducted by the public health laboratory service. Authorities which have discontinued a
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school's programme must have in place arrangements for vaccinating clearly defined at-risk groups and for offering the vaccine to any child whose parents request it.Information on the level of BCG vaccination in schools is not available on a routine basis, but it is estimated that 75 per cent. of the children in this group are vaccinated each year, with a further 5 to 7 per cent. already tuberculin positive who therefore do not require vaccination.
It is understood that a small number of health authorities--less than 10 per cent.--have discontinued the school's BCG programme, but their names are not available centrally.
Overseas Contracts
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy towards British subjects who work on contract in countries outside the EC which have no reciprocal arrangements with the United Kingdom on health care in cases where their salary is administered in Britain by United Kingdom employers and accordingly subject to United Kingdom taxes and national insurance.
Dr. Mawhinney : National health service services are available only within the United Kingdom to people ordinarily resident here. United Kingdom nationals working in non-reciprocal health agreement countries are personally responsible for the costs of health care obtained abroad, but, subject to certain criteria remain eligible for NHS treatment in the United Kingdom. It is the Government's policy to negotiate reciprocal health agreements where it is practicable to do so.
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