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Uniake Barracks, HarrogateRichie Barracks, Kirknewton
Kings Barracks, Kirkcudbright
41 District Workshop Strensall
Royal Artillery Barracks Woolwich
Simpson Barracks Northampton
Old Park Barracks, Dover
Kitchener Barracks, Chatham
Oakington Barracks
Albermarle Barracks, Ouston
Queen Elizabeth Barracks Strensall
Sir John More Barracks Shorncliffe
Gamecock Barracks, Bramcote
Queen Elizabeth Barracks Guildford
RAF Hospital Ely
RAF Stanbridge
RAF Harrogate
RAF Swanton Morley
RAF Hullavington
RAF Swinderby
RAF West Raynham
RAF Church Fenton
RAF Brawdy
RAF Hospital Halton
RAF Hereford
Central Stores Depot Swanmore
Proof and Experimental Establishment Inchterf
Proof and Experimental Establishment Cold Meece
Land Sales
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances, when disposing of publicly owned land, he will not accept the highest bid.
Mr. Hanley : When disposing of surplus property on the open market it is the Department's policy to accept the highest bid, provided that we are satisfied that the bidder is capable of honouring the conditions of the sale.
Directorate General of Defence Accounts
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what performance targets have been set for the Directorate General of Defence Accounts for 1993-94.
Mr. Hanley : Under the terms of the agency's framework document, a range of revised targets for 1993-94 has been set which will ensure continuing improvements in the quality of service that the agency provides to its customers, as well as reflecting the continuing need to secure economies in defence spending.
The targets for the period 1993-94 are :
a. to complete the Agency's planned workload, as agreed with our customers, within the funds allocated for this purpose and to cope with any unforeseen requirements in the year ;
b. to maintain the Agency's quality of service as defined in the Service Level Agreements and secondary targets ;
c. to seek further efficiencies in the use of resources to the advantage of the Agency and its customers, thereby making efficiency savings of at least 1.5 per cent. of the total cash budget (excluding those savings arising directly from centrally managed efficiency measures) ;
d. to compete for payroll work offered through the Government's Market Testing programme and to win all that is competed for ; e. to carry out a study into the incidence of cost in the Agency so that fixed costs and variable costs are clearly and separately identifiable, with the further aim of reducing fixed costs.
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WALES
House Prices
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing (a) average house prices paid by all buyers, (b) percentage changes in cash prices in prices relative to the preceding year and (c) percentage changes in prices relative to the preceding year after allowing for the effects of retail price inflation in Wales in each year from 1979.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Information on average house prices for the years 1979 to 1991 is published in "Welsh Housing Statistics and Housing and Construction Statistics", copies of which are in the Library of the House.
Health Authorities (Administration)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish for the most recent year that figures are available (a) the percentage of total revenue expenditure on health services that each health authority spent on headquarters' administration and (b) the actual expenditure that each health authority spent on headquarters' administration.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The amount that each health authority spent on headquarters administration in 1991-92 together with its percentage share of total revenue expenditure was as follows :
|Expenditure on |Expenditure on
|headquarters |headquarters
|administration |administration as a
|percentage of total
|revenue expenditure
Health authority |£ thousands |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |2,581 |1.6
East Dyfed |2,997 |2.7
Gwent |1,557 |0.9
Gwynedd |2,050 |2.1
Mid Glamorgan |2,385 |1.1
Pembrokeshire |478 |1.1
Powys |1,955 |3.4
South Glamorgan |6,542 |3.1
West Glamorgan |2,036 |1.3
Source: Summarised accounts of health authorities in Wales.
Notes:
(1) 1991-92 data is latest available.
(2) The figure for expenditure on headquarters administration is taken to be
that covering authority administration and purchasing expenses.
(3) Excludes special health authorities (Welsh Health Common Services Authority
and Health Promotion Authority for Wales) and family health services
authorities which, by the nature of their functions, are not comparable with
the above.
GP Practices
Mr. Duncan Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many single-handed general practitioner practices there are in Wales ; and what is their average patient holding.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : At 1 October 1992 there were 126 single-handed general practitioner practices in Wales. The average list size for this type of practitioner was 2,015 as at 1 April 1992 (the latest date for which data are available).
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Health Authorities and Trusts
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) health authorities and (b) trusts were in existence on 1 April ; and what is his forecast of the number on 1 April 1994.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : There were nine health authorities, eight family health service authorities and 14 NHS trusts in Wales on 1 April 1993. The creation of further trusts will depend on decisions due to be made later this year, following public consultation on formal applications submitted for NHS trust status from April 1994.
Unemployment
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to tackle unemployment in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Redwood : It is the job of Government to create the right conditions in which business might thrive, and a wide range of measures designed to create a self-sustaining market economy and thereby help unemployed people find work is already in place. Our strategy for growth is bearing fruit with four consecutive monthly falls in unemployment.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many acute beds have been lost in Wales since 1979, expressed by number and as a percentage ;
(2) how many (a) hospital beds and (b) acute hospital beds there were in Wales in (i) 1979 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available ; and what is (ii) as a percentage of (i) ; (3) how many hospital beds have been closed since 1979.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information is as follows :
Average daily beds in NHS hospitals
Change
|1979 |1991-92 |Number |Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acute beds<1> |10,133.3 |8,834.7 |-1,298.6 |-12.8
All hospital beds |23,456.1 |18,640.3 |-4,815.8 |-20.5
Acute beds as a percentage of all beds |43.2 |47.4 |- |-
Inpatient cases treated |349,695 |500,336 |150,641 |43.1
<1> Excludes geriatric, maternity, mental handicap and mental illness beds.
Adoption and Fostering
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to encourage more people to become foster parents ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Guidance has been given to local social services authorities on recruitment of foster parents at paragraphs 3.7-3.11 of volume 3, "Family Placements", in "The Children Act Guidance and Regulations" series (HMSO). A copy is in the Library of the House. Grant is given to the Wales Centre of the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering Organisation, one of whose activities is to run an annual "Find a Family" campaign in co-operation with local social services authorities.
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Mr. Richards To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have been (a) adopted and (b) fostered in each year and in each county in Wales since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Gwilym Jones : The total number of adoption orders made each year in England and Wales since 1979 is
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published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in its series FM2 "Marriage and Divorce Statistics" (HMSO). A copy is in the Library of the House.The following tables show the numbers of children entering fostering arrangements by county in Wales since 1979.
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2. Number of children in local authority foster care in Wales<1>
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |245 |269 |258 |245 |229 |219 |200 |227 |227 |224 |207 |220 |210
Dyfed |143 |146 |139 |155 |130 |134 |128 |128 |134 |151 |172 |175 |214
Gwent |292 |288 |278 |301 |308 |297 |291 |302 |307 |325 |323 |377 |341
Gwynedd |134 |134 |141 |166 |176 |179 |176 |181 |173 |173 |178 |162 |155
Powys |271 |310 |347 |372 |355 |363 |377 |389 |393 |386 |377 |423 |378
Mid Glamorgan |33 |33 |41 |50 |54 |44 |29 |30 |35 |35 |46 |36 |33
South Glamorgan |288 |307 |299 |306 |292 |303 |330 |354 |341 |352 |301 |306 |316
West Glamorgan |213 |222 |221 |228 |255 |258 |266 |280 |295 |326 |293 |295 |303
Wales |1,619|1,709|1,724|1,823|1,799|1,797|1,797|1,891|1,905|1,972|1,897|1,994|1,950
<1> At 31 March each year.
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2. Number of children in local authority foster care in Wales<1>
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |245 |269 |258 |245 |229 |219 |200 |227 |227 |224 |207 |220 |210
Dyfed |143 |146 |139 |155 |130 |134 |128 |128 |134 |151 |172 |175 |214
Gwent |292 |288 |278 |301 |308 |297 |291 |302 |307 |325 |323 |377 |341
Gwynedd |134 |134 |141 |166 |176 |179 |176 |181 |173 |173 |178 |162 |155
Powys |271 |310 |347 |372 |355 |363 |377 |389 |393 |386 |377 |423 |378
Mid Glamorgan |33 |33 |41 |50 |54 |44 |29 |30 |35 |35 |46 |36 |33
South Glamorgan |288 |307 |299 |306 |292 |303 |330 |354 |341 |352 |301 |306 |316
West Glamorgan |213 |222 |221 |228 |255 |258 |266 |280 |295 |326 |293 |295 |303
Wales |1,619|1,709|1,724|1,823|1,799|1,797|1,797|1,891|1,905|1,972|1,897|1,994|1,950
<1> At 31 March each year.
Cardiac Centre
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to announce the establishment of a second cardiac centre in south Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The option appraisal dealing with cardiac services in south Wales has been completed and an announcement will be made very shortly.
Timber
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much board feet of timber haf cubic metres. The quantity of sawn wood produced from this timber would depend on the end-use and the efficiency of the conversion process, but each cubic metre is likely to produce about 220 board feet of sawnwood.
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Year |Volume ('000 m<3>)
---------------------------------------------------------
1979 |560
1980 |630
1981 |680
1982 |730
1983 |760
1984 |780
1985 |840
1986 |930
1987 |960
1988 |905
1989 |925
1990 |920
1991 |975
1992 |1,020
Spine Cancer
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales died from cancer of the spine in each year since 1987.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The number of deaths to residents of Wales where the underlying cause was cancer of the spine is not available separately. However, the number of deaths where the underlying cause was cancer of the vertebral column (main part of the spine), excluding sacrum and coccyx and the number of deaths where the
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underlying cause was cancer of the pelvis and the lower part of the spine (pelvic bones, sacrum and coccyx) are given in the following table :
Residents of Wales
|Main part of |Lower part of spine
|spine<1> |and pelvis<2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |4 |4
1988 |1 |2
1989 |1 |3
1990 |2 |3
1991 |2 |3
1992 |0 |2
<1> 170.2.
<2> 170.6.
Source:
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.
International Classification of Diseases (9th revision).
Mature Students
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many mature students entered into full-time or part-time education in Wales for each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The numbers of mature students who commenced full or part-time courses at maintained and grant-aided further and higher education colleges in Wales and at the University of Wales each year since 1981 are shown in the following table. Comprehensive information for earlier years is not available.
Mature students<1> entered first year of course<2> Year<3> |Full-time<4>|Part-time<5> ---------------------------------------------------- 1981 |5,500 |16,400 1982 |5,400 |16,900 1983 |5,200 |19,600 1984 |5,200 |19,700 1985 |5,500 |21,100 1986 |5,800 |24,000 1987 |5,800 |26,700 1988 |5,900 |30,300 1989 |6,900 |35,500 1990 |7,900 |37,400 1991 |10,600 |40,400 1992 not yet available <1> Students aged 21 or over at 31 August preceding the academic year except in the case of postgraduates where the age taken is 25 or over. <2> All courses regardless of level and including those of a recreational nature. <3> Student count at December for University of Wales, November for other colleges. <4> Includes sandwich students. <5> Includes part-time day, block release, evening only and open/distance learning. Sources: Further Education Student Record and Universities' Statistical Record.
Investment
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what work is currently undertaken by his Department to attract increased levels of investment into Wales by venture capital houses.
Mr. Redwood : Every encouragement is given to venture capital houses to increase their investment in Wales.
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Through the financial services initiative and other means, my Department and the WDA have regular contact with providers of finance and their representative bodies, and all possible support is given for them to take advantage of the excellent investment opportunities available in Wales.Corporate Jets
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions his Department has had with potential bidders for Corporate Jets ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : All such matters are commercial in confidence.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit the Corporate Jets factory, Broughton, Clwyd.
Mr. Redwood : I have no current plans to do so.
Central Heating Grants
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Maplewood avenue in Alyn and Deeside about the introduction of grants for the installation of central heating.
South Llanelli
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what percentage of the total (a) receipts arising out of and (b) expenditure incurred on the development of south Llanelli has fallen to the Welsh Development Agency ;
(2) what has been the total (a) expenditure incurred and (b) receipts by the Welsh Development Agency in respect of its joint venture with Llanelli borough council for the development of south Llanelli.
Mr. Redwood : A provisional figure for WDA expenditure in respect of the re-development of south Llanelli up to the beginning of May 1993 is £14.1 million. Income due to the WDA for the same period is around £188,000. I am not in a position to advise on the borough council's income and expenditure as it is a matter for the local authority.
Enterprise in Wales
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to designate 1994 as a year for enhancing enterprise in Wales.
Mr. Redwood : My policy is that every year is a year for enhancing enterprise in Wales.
In the last 10 years, the number of self-employed people in Wales has risen by over a third.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to develop a Welsh enterprise foundation ; and what efforts are currently undertaken by his Department to encourage an enterprise culture within Wales.
Mr. Redwood : My Department works closely with a range of bodies including the WDA, DBRW TECs, local
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enterprise agencies, colleges and schools to promote enterprise in Wales. I am considering the Institute of Welsh Affairs' report "Wales 2010" including its proposal that the institute should act as the catalyst in establishing a Welsh enterprise foundation.Cancer
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cancer cases diagnosed among people living in Gwynedd were analysed by the various indentifiable categories of cancers for the latest available period ; and if he will publish corresponding figures for five, 10, 15 and 20 years previously.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The latest available data on cancer registrations in Wales are for 1988 and are published at health authority level in table 9.03 of "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for Wales, No 19, 1992". Reliable data on cancer registrations in Wales are available only from 1974. Data for Gwynedd for 1974 to 1983 are contained in table 2.8 of "Cancer Registration in Wales : 1974-84". Data for 1984 to 1986 are contained in table 1 of "Cancer Registration in Wales : 1984-86". Each of the above publications is available from the Library of the House.
Flu Vaccinations
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken to encourage people in Wales to receive flu vaccinations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : In September of each year the Chief Medical Officer reminds all doctors of those groups of patients for whom immunisation against influenza is recommended. Further details are given in the 1992 edition of the Memorandum "Immunisation Against Infectious Disease" which is issued to all doctors in Wales. Posters are also issued to family health services authorities and health authorities for display in surgeries and other relevant patient areas.
Solvent Abuse
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken to tackle the problem of solvent abuse in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Initiatives in Wales to combat drug misuse, including solvent abuse, are undertaken locally by the health authorities and county councils. Nationally the Health Departments' anti-solvent campaign launched in February 1992 is still providing material to support the local campaigns.
The prevention working group of the advisory council for the Misuse of Drugs is currently examining the whole area of volatile substance abuse and hopes to make recommendations during the course of next year.
Tourism
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many recognised visitor attractions there are in Wales ; and how many of them are located in Clwyd.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The Wales tourist board knows of 421 tourist attractions in the Principality of which 53 are located in Clwyd. However there is no requirement for visitor attractions to be formally recognised.
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Research and Development
Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what steps he is taking to improve the take up of grants and other incentives for research and development by small and medium enterprises ; (2) what steps he is taking to improve the ease of access to innovation support programmes by small and medium sized enterprises.
Mr. Redwood : The Welsh Office carries out a range of promotional activities, working with other bodies including the training and enterprise councils, the Welsh development agency, the Design Council and the Development Board for Rural Wales, to encourage small and medium sized companies in Wales to take advantage of the support available for research and development both from the United Kingdom Government and the European Commission.
The climate for innovation and take-up of grants for research and development are encouraged through the work of local initiatives such as information technology Wales and the Welsh medical technology forum.
In addition my officials are now working closely with the Welsh relay centre which will play a central role in ensuring the results emanating from the EC's framework research and development programme are used effectively, particularly by small and medium enterprises. In order to build effectively on these and other initiatives to encourage innovation, we are consulting on how best to improve access to and delivery of business services in Wales.
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