| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 187
claim form trial is expected to be around £22,000. No payments have been made to customers completing trial forms, as Retirement Pension claim forms are issued four months before retirement age. Details of consultations with the Post Office are contained in the Official Report, volume 224, columns 445-446.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what considerations underlie his policy to encourage recipients of specific benefits to receive their benefits by way of bank accounts ; which benefits are involved ; what steps he has taken, and at what cost, to further this policy ; and what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of effects of the success of such a policy.
Miss Widdecombe : Since automated credit transfer was introduced in 1982, our policy has always been to encourage people to take up the option of payment by this method, which is a more cost-effective, safer and easier way for them to receive their benefits.
The benefits for which ACT is currently available are : Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Disability Working Allowance
Pensions/Widows Benefit
Child Benefit
One Parent Benefit
Family Credit
War Pensions
The facility will be available to pay income support by ACT from October 1993 ; unemployment benefit through a rolling programme between May 1993 and October 1994 ; and sickness benefit, invalidity benefit and severe disablement allowance through a rolling programme between May 1993 and January 1994.
For the steps taken, and the costs incurred, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Ms Anderson) on 26 April at columns 313-14.
Retirement Pensions
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has on (a) those EC countries, besides the United Kingdom, that have contributory state retirement pension schemes and (b) those which place a geographical restriction on the payment of full retirement pensions.
Miss Widdecombe : State retirement pensions are contributory in every other EC member state apart from Denmark and the Netherlands, where pension entitlement is linked to residence rather than employment record. Information on pensions in EC countries can be found in the MISSOC tables, a copy of which is in the Library. Information on geographical restrictions on payment of retirement pensions is not available.
Smoke Alarms
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's policy concerning the provision of smoke alarms to recipients of income support and other benefits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : Social security benefits do not include any specific sum in respect of the provision of smoke alarms.
Column 188
Industrial Injuries
Sir Anthony Durant : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the report by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on bringing the self-employed in construction and agriculture into the industrial injuries scheme will be published ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The council's report was published today (Cm 2177) and copies are available in the Library. The report recommends that the industrial injuries scheme should be extended to include self-employed earners in the construction and agriculture industries. We have considered the report, which the council submitted to us last November, very carefully, but have not accepted the council's recommendation. Implementing IIAC's recommendation would represent a significant expansion of the scope of the scheme, which we do not consider would be justified in principle, or workable in practice. The industrial injuries scheme has always been intended for workers employed under a contract of service to an employer. In 1978, the Pearson commission recommended the inclusion of the self- employed in the scheme, but the Government rejected the recommendation on principle and because of the substantial operational difficulties involved. IIAC recently decided to reconsider the position of self-employed workers in the light of the increase in self-employment during the 1980s. The present recommendation to include self-employed construction and agricultural workers in the industrial injuries scheme is seen by the council as a possible first step towards extending the scheme to the self- employed generally.
Those who undertake self-employment do so in the knowledge that provision against industrial injury will be their own responsibility, and that private insurance is available to them. The Government consider that this is right in principle and do not accept the need to alter the present well- established position. We also remain of the view that extending the industrial injuries scheme to self-employed workers would raise significant practical difficulties.
Fraud
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, column 214, how many of the cases of social security investigations in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire and Humberside resulted in identified overpayments (i) inclusive of prosecutions for fraud and (ii) exclusive of prosecutions for fraud.
Miss Widdecombe : The administration of benefit fraud is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 18 May 1993 :
I wrote to you on 20 April 1993 about your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking, pursuant to his answer of 16 March 1993, Official Report, column 214, how many of the cases of social security investigations in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire and Humberside resulted in identified overpayments (i) inclusive of prosecutions for fraud and (ii) exclusive of prosecutions for fraud.
Column 189
In that letter I gave you the figures for the year ending 31 March 1992 but indicated that I would send you the figures for the year ending 31 March 1993 when they became available. I am pleased to inform you that these figures are now to hand.In the year ending 31 March 1993 a total of 62,193 investigations in England resulted in an identified overpayment. Included in this figure are 8,443 identified overpayments in the Yorkshire and Humberside area.
I hope you will find this information helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage to what investigations his Department has been subject by the Data Protection Registrar in relation to a suspected 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.
Privacy
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he is considering for protection in the media of the personal privacy of prominent persons.
Mr. Brooke : We intend to introduce legislation, on the lines recommended by Sir David Calcutt, to criminalise certain acts of physical intrusion into personal privacy with intent to obtain information or other material with a view to publication. We have also accepted Sir David's recommendations for further consideration to be given to four other measures bearing on privacy. We will set out our views on his recommendation for a statutory press complaints tribunal in responding to the National Heritage Select Committee's report on privacy and media intrusion.
Museums and Galleries
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to encourage the development of museums and galleries in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Key : The Department seeks to encourage the development of those national museums and galleries for which it has direct funding responsibility in a number of ways designed to increase public access to collections, encourage greater efficiency in the provision of services and to bring about the refurbishment of the buildings in which the national museums and galleries are housed.
The Department also funds the Museums and Galleries Commission, a royal charter body. The aims of the commission include the development and maintenance of higher standards in museums and galleries and the commission also gives financial assistance for this purpose.
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has for meeting the repair and refurbishment needs of museums and galleries.
Column 190
Mr. Key : The museums and galleries sponsored by the Department of National Heritage have submitted their corporate plans to the Department. The information contained in these plans, including information on proposed repair and refurbishment, will be considered in the course of the current public expenditure round. Spending plans will be announced in due course.
Gambling
Sir John Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if moneys spent on the national lottery will be classified as gambling.
Mr. Key : I refer to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 28 October 1992, Official Report, columns 687 -88.
National Lottery
Sir John Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much per head of population he estimates will be spent on the national lottery in each year from 1994 to 1998.
Mr. Key : It is not possible to make such estimates, which depend upon the degree of success of the national lottery.
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what specific guarantees were obtained from the GAH group of consultants that information contained in the report on the national lottery commissioned by his Department would not be sold to third parties by the group ;
(2) if he will publish the text of the contract agreed between his Department and the GAH group of consultants regarding his commissioned research on the national lottery, minus financial details which are regarded as commercial in confidence ;
(3) what was the length and word count of the report of the national lottery commissioned by his Department from the GAH group ; (4) if he will list the subject and chapter headings contained in the report on the national lottery commissioned by his Department from the GAH group ;
(5) what guarantees were obtained from the GAH groups of consultants that, following their completion of the commissioned research from his Department, the company would not subsequently offer consultancy advice in respect of the national lottery to private individuals or companies ;
(6) which parts of the (a) text, (b) subject headings, (c) chapters and (d) tables contained in the report on the national lottery recently published by the GAH group are similar or identical to the (i) text, (ii) subject headings, (iii) chapters and (iv) tables contained in the report on the national lottery commissioned by his Department from the GAH group ; and if he will list them ; (7) what inquiries he has made with the GAH group of consultants regarding subsequent consultancy and advice work in respect of the national lottery which the group has given to private individuals and/or companies ; and if he will publish a list of all such work subsequently undertaken by the GAH group ;
(8) on what date he was first made aware by the GAH group of consultants that they intended to publish a
Column 191
commercial report on the national lottery ; and what steps he took to obtain a copy of the report in advance of publication.Mr. Key [holding answer 18 May 1993] : The Department of National Heritage contract with the GAH consultancy is commercially confidential and I do not intend to publish it. The recent report "The UK National Lottery Report" published by the GAH group on 10 May 1993 is a different document from the report produced from the Government, and appears to be based on a synthesis of published sources and new and separate research. The publication of this report does not appear to constitute a breach of the contract between my Department and the GAH group. The GAH group did not inform the Department beforehand of its intention to publish such a report. Government contracts do not normally place restrictions on the future clients a contractor may take on--either particularly or generally. However, the GAH group has given a firm undertaking in honour not to work for potential bidders for the national lottery licence.
Redundant Churches
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will enable denominations to dispose of redundant places of worship to the Historic Chapel Trust for less than full consideration.
Mr. Brooke : I have today made a direction to this effect under section 4(11) of the Redundant Churches and Other Religious Buildings Act 1969.
HEALTH
NHS Trusts
Mr. Kevin Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total expenditure on (a) remuneration and (b) other expenses incurred by national health service trust board chairmen and members for each of the last two years.
Mr. Sackville : The summarised accounts of national health service trusts in England for 1991-92 record the total remuneration and emoluments of chairmen and members of NHS trust boards as some £15.5 million. This figure includes all fees, emoluments and pension contributions, but excludes travelling, subsistence and similar expenses which are not separately identifiable. Equivalent information for 1992-93 will be available later this year.
Whooping Cough Vaccine
Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on the Wellcome manufactured whooping cough vaccine ; what were the other vaccines on the market at the time that vaccine began to be used by the NHS ; what has been the safety record of each of these vaccines ; when it first came to the attention of her Department that there were suspected brain damage cases ; when the Wellcome vaccine was withdrawn from prescription in England ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : For most of the period since whooping cough vaccine first became available, the vaccine has been
Column 192
ordered direct from the suppliers by district health authorities and by general practitioners. Details of total expenditure on the Wellcome product are therefore not available centrally. Other whooping cough vaccines, from Glaxo Laboratories and the Lister Institute, were available in the United Kingdom when immunisation began in 1957, but their manufacturers subsequently discontinued production. Information on the safety of these products is not available without considerable historical research, atdisproportionate cost.
Suggestions in the 1970s that serious complications following immunisation were occurring more frequently than previously thought led to the joint review by the Committee on the Safety of Medicines and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The joint review reported in 1981. Its main conclusion was that the connection between permanent brain damage and whooping cough vaccine had not been established. More recently, an extensive study by the United States Institute of Medicine concluded that there is insufficient evidence to indicate a causal relationship between diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine and chronic neurological damage and other specified disorders.
All vaccines are examined carefully before release for safety and efficacy and only vaccines which match exacting specifications are used. All adverse reactions to vaccines are carefully monitored both by the CSM and the JCVI which advise the United Kingdom health departments.
The Wellcome whooping cough vaccine has not been withdrawn. It is now supplied by Evans Medical as a combined vaccine with diphtheria and tetanus, known as DTP, and supplied for the United Kingdom's childhood immunisation programme. More than 90 per cent. of infants receive DTP and reported cases of whooping cough in this country have fallen to exceptionally low levels, with only one death since 1990.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the budget of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Mr. Sackville : The provision for advances to and payments on behalf of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for 1993-94 is :
|£
----------------------------------------
Current expenditure |1,068,000
Capital expenditure |18,000
The authority is required to recover 50 per cent. of its running costs through fees paid by licensed centres.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to ensure enforcement of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 in every laboratory capable of doing such work in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sackville : All research projects using human embryos must be licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Applications for a licence must have prior approval from a local research ethics committee and are subject to peer review before being considered by an HFEA licence committee. Research projects are monitored and the premises where the work is carried out are regularly inspected by the HFEA.
Column 193
Human Cloning
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has that human cloning experiments have already taken place in the United Kingdom using techniques routinely used for cloning farm animals.
Mental Illness
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will extend the national survey of mental illness to be carried out on behalf of the Department by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to cover mental illness among people over the age of 65 years ; and on what grounds it has been decided to limit the national survey on mental illness to the 16 to 64 age group.
Mr. Yeo : No. Establishing levels of mental illness in children and young adolescents and in people aged 65 and over requires a different methodology.
Considerable data are already available on the prevalence of mental disorders in elderly people. These will shortly be supplemented by a study currently in progress by 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.
Cervical Cancer
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date departmental representatives will visit the Galton research laboratory at the university of London to see a demonstration of the HDA test for cervical cancer.
Mr. Sackville : Officials have already spoken to the founder of QUEST--developers of the hydrolised DNA assay test--to discuss the arrangements.
Public Toilets
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies she has commissioned of the public health consequences of a reduction in the numbers of public toilets and an increase in the incidence of sleeping rough.
Secure Accommodation
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about allowing voluntary residential schools to provide secure accommodation ; what plans she has to amend the Secure Accommodation Regulations under the Children Act 1989 ; and if she will make a statement.
Column 194
Mr. Yeo : A number of organisations have recently made inquiries about the prospect of providing secure accommodation. On 2 March my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced our intention to amend regulations to enable private and voluntary providers to provide secure accommodation. We intend to issue a consultation document shortly.
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has plans to amend the list of the items of data that comprise the contract minimum data set in view of the comments made in a recent report from the Data Protection Registrar ; and if she will make a statement.
egistrar to agree how best to address his concerns.
Pensioners (Discharge from Hospital)
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has concerning early discharge of pensioners from hospital because of the reduction in their pensions after six weeks if they reside in a nursing or residential home.
Mr. Yeo : Decisions about the discharge of patients from hospital and the type of care most appropriate to meet their individual care needs are for the professional staff involved and must be made on clinical grounds.
Medical Negligence
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims were made for compensation in instances of medical negligence affecting children born with a disability in each year since 1987 ; how many (a) were settled or withdrawn prior to court hearings and (b) resulted in successful court hearings ; and what was the average amount paid out in compensation.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Children
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children there were at the most convenient date in each year since 1977 ; and how many of them were aged on those dates (a) under one year, (b) between one and four years, (c) between five and nine years, (d) between 10 and 14 years and (e) between 15 and 17 years.
Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table.
Column 193
Estimated numbers of children resident in England and Wales, 1977-91.
(Thousands)
Ages (years):-
Mid-year (30 June) |Total children aged|0 |1-4 |5-9 |10-14 |15-17
|under 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1977 |13,272 |559 |2,492 |3,801 |4,091 |2,329
1978 |13,093 |568 |2,371 |3,691 |4,071 |2,392
1979 |12,936 |617 |2,309 |3,536 |4,023 |2,451
1980 |12,776 |639 |2,317 |3,386 |3,941 |2,493
1981 |12,591 |634 |2,371 |3,196 |3,889 |2,501
1982 |12,369 |620 |2,443 |3,032 |3,791 |2,483
1983 |12,148 |623 |2,496 |2,923 |3,680 |2,426
1984 |11,954 |623 |2,510 |2,916 |3,528 |2,377
1985 |11,823 |649 |2,502 |2,960 |3,388 |2,324
1986 |11,730 |655 |2,528 |3,025 |3,214 |2,308
1987 |11,635 |664 |2,562 |3,099 |3,060 |2,250
1988 |11,581 |686 |2,602 |3,164 |2,957 |2,172
1989 |11,512 |680 |2,666 |3,178 |2,951 |2,037
1990 |11,496 |686 |2,694 |3,194 |2,993 |1,929
1991<1> |11,552 |702 |2,725 |3,219 |3,057 |1,849
<1> The estimates for 1991 are provisional. Final 1991 population estimates (taking account of later 1991 Census results) will be published in June 1993, and
estimates for the period 1982-90 will be revised slightly thereafter to make them fully consistent with these final 1991 figures.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken by her Department into the feasibility of developing a non-fault compensation scheme to deal with claims of medical negligence affecting children born with a disability.
West Midlands Regional Health Authority
Mr. Luff : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will announce the new chairman of West Midlands regional health authority.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I have appointed Mr. Bryan Baker, the former deputy chairman of Tarmac plc, as chairman of West Midlands regional health authority with effect from 16 July.
Mr. Baker will succeed Sir Donald Wilson, who has been temporarily chairing the authority since January. Mr. Baker will carry forward the work begun by Sir Donald in implementing important management changes in the region.
Sir Donald will return to his former role as chairman of Mersey regional health authority. Professor Alasdair Breckenridge, the present Mersey chairman, will resume his role as the university member on the Mersey regional health authority board.
Mental Health
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to lay before Parliament a revised code of practice under section 118 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Mr. Yeo : We have today laid the revised code of practice and copies have been placed in the Library.
Laboratory Technicians
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 10 May, Official Report, column 356-57, on medical laboratory scientific officers, if the national health service employs laboratory technicians who are not required to have the MLSO qualification.
Dr. Mawhinney : The national health service employs technicians to perform a range of functions in hospital departments with laboratories and the qualifications required depend upon the nature of the post.
Column 196
| Next Section
| Home Page |