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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 21 July 1993
Home Department
Immigration (Medical Examinations)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers arriving at United Kingdom ports of entry during 1992 and the first quarter of 1993 were referred to port medical inspectors for examination ; what are the most common diagnoses made ; and how many people have been (a) refused entry(i) wholly or (ii) partly on medical grounds and for what medical reason or (b) required to report for further medical treatment after entry, for what medical reason.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Nine passengers were refused entry principally on medical grounds in 1992 and none during the first quarter of 1993. The other information requested is not available centrally.
Immigration Offences
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were recommended for deportation with no custodial sentence during (a) 1992
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and (b) 1993 to the latest convenient date ; and in how many such cases the courts directed release (i) subject to conditions and (ii) without conditions.Mr. Charles Wardle : During 1992, 27 people were recommended for deportation by the courts with no custodial sentence and seven during the first half of 1993. The other information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many decisions to make a deportation order, by nationality of the potential deportee, where there is only a right of appeal as provided under section 5 of the Immigration Act 1988, have been made in each quarter since 1 August 1988 ; and on what basis these decisions have been made.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The total numbers of decisions to deport affected by the provisions of section 5 of the Immigration Act 1988 in each of the quarters since 1 August 1988 are shown in the table. All these decisions were made under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971, which provides that a person who is not a British citizen is liable to deportation if, having only a limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, he does not observe a condition attached to the leave or remains beyond the time limited by the leave. Information about the nationality of those affected could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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|1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 January to 31 March |- |856 |688 |735 |<2>960|995
1 April to 30 June |- |658 |644 |759 |<2>793|<3>946
1 July to 30 September |<1>285|829 |634 |781 |761 |-
I October to 31 December |692 |729 |744 |778 |710 |-
<1>From 1 August.
<2>Revised figure.
<3>Provisional figure.
EUROPOL
Mr. Robert Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further progress has been made recently towards bringing the European Community joint criminal intelligence office, EUROPOL, on to an effective basis and towards establishing a joint anti-drugs squad.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Ministers of the Interior and Justice of the member states signed a ministerial agreement on the establishment of the EUROPOL drugs unit on 2 June 1993, in Copenhagen. The agreement will come into force as soon as a decision has been made on a site for EUROPOL by the European Council.
Work is continuing under the Belgium presidency on the draft convention establishing EUROPOL. EUROPOL will exchange and analyse intelligence relating to serious crime, focusing initially on drug trafficking, but there is no intention that its officers should have any operational powers.
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Immigration
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding immigration applications there are at Lunar house from (a) students, (b) family members in the United Kingdom applying for variation of stay, (c) settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts and (d) asylum seekers ; and what are the average times applicants in each category might expect to wait before a decision.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information is that at the end of June 1993 there were in total about 16,700 cases in the general immigration caseworking groups--including referred entry clearance applications--the majority of which were under consideration or the subject of further inquiries, and about 46,300 cases in the asylum and special cases division.
The estimated average length of time between the receipt of an application and the decision, for cases decided in caseworking groups and the public inquiry offices, in the first quarter of 1993, was one and a half months for students and 20 months for asylum applications. The latter figure reflects the increase in staffing in the asylum and special cases division which has
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enabled work to proceed on the resolution of older and more complex cases. Information on average waiting times for family members in the United Kingdom for variation of leave and for settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts is not available.Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) British nationals and (b) holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong have been admitted to the United Kingdom in each quarter
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since January 1992 as (i) persons of independent means, (ii) self-employed persons, (iii) business people, (iv) visitors, (v) students, (vi) husbands and fiance s, (vii) wives and fiance es and (viii) other dependent relatives.Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information for British dependent territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) from Hong Kong is given in the table. Data on admissions of holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong are not available.
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Admissions to the United Kingdom of BDTCs and BN(O)s from Hong Kong
1992 1993<1>
Admission category |1st quarter |2nd quarter |3rd quarter |4th quarter |Year |January, February
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visitors:
Ordinary |7,700 |12,300 |22,000 |7,030 |49,100 |5,220
Business |1,590 |1,470 |1,610 |1,450 |6,120 |1,090
Students |490 |500 |7,290 |940 |9,230 |470
Husbands and fiances<2> |10 |10 |20 |10 |60
Wives and fiancees<2> |30 |40 |50 |30 |140 |20
Parents and grandparents<2> 10 - 10 -
Children<2> |20 |30 |100 |10 |170 |10
5 or fewer.
<1> Provisional figures.
<2> Seeking, or accepted for, settlement in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for (a) single entry and (b) multiple entry visit visas were (i) received, (ii) granted and (iii) refused at each post in the Indian sub-continent, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and Jamaica in each quarter of 1992 and the first quarter of 1993 ; and what was the delay between application and interview for those whose applications were felt to need a
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second or long interview at each of the above posts in (1) June 1992, (2) January 1993 and (3) June 1993 or the nearest available date.Mr. Charles Wardle : Only annual data are available centrally for single visit and multiple entry visit visas and the only information available on the delay between application and interview is of the number of people not interviewed on the day of application. The available information for 1992 is given in the table.
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Applications received for single entry and multiple entry visit visas and the numbers granted,
refused and those interviewed
on a date subsequent to the date of application in specified posts in 1992
Applications
interviewed on
|Received<1> |Granted |Refused
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Islamabad
single entry |30,036 |19,099 |8,393 }
multiple entry |8,192 |6,295 |43 }
Karachi
single entry |14,736 |11,244 |2,256 }
multiple entry |8,082 |7,516 |308 }
New Delhi
single entry |25,879 |19,852 |2,938 }
multiple entry |11,326 |10,764 |43 }
Bombay
single entry |17,943 |14,661 |3,291 }
multiple entry |16,488 |15,890 |363 }
Calcutta
single entry |3,574 |3,346 |175 }
multiple entry |3,304 |2,950 |24
Madras
single entry |4,709 |4,499 |207 }
multiple entry |4,485 |4,443 |25 }
Colombo
single entry |6,382 |4,734 |1,054 }
multiple entry |2,037 |1,995 |15 }
Dhaka
single entry |10,207 |7,606 |2,751 }
multiple entry |2,985 |2,985 }
Accra
single entry |11,664 |6,901 |4,844 }
multiple entry |4,464 |4,135 |49 }
Lagos
single entry |27,717 |15,632 |9,959 }
multiple entry |17,715 |14,447 |724 }
Kaduna
single entry |4,878 |3,194 |1,509 }
multiple entry |1,913 |1,827 |42 }
Manila
single entry |10,066 |8,970 |994 }
multiple entry |2,509 |2,314 |80 }
Kingston
single entry |2,527 |1,897 |652 }
multiple entry |103 |103 }
<1> These will include cases dealt with in a later period and also those subsequently
withdrawn.
Tyre Dump Fires
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions are issued to fire service authorities in dealing with fires at tyre dumps ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office has issued detailed guidance to chief fire officers on, among other things, the need to use the most effective available techniques for dealing with fires at tyre dumps. Revised guidance on the storage of used tyres in the open air is also being prepared.
Registration and Naturalisation
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time taken to process applications for (a) registration and (b) naturalisation ; and how long those applying in both of those categories in June 1993 can expect to wait.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In June 1993 the average waiting time for certificates granted under the British Nationality Act 1981 was 19 months for naturalisation and 13 months for registration applications. It is expected that most applications made in June 1993 for naturalisation will be decided within 12 months and for registration within six to nine months.
Operation Boxer
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) immigration officers, (b) police officers and (c) police dogs were involved in Operation Boxer ; how the officers had obtained the allegations and information on which they were acting ; how many of the people detained on 24 June were found to be (i) legally in the United Kingdom, (ii) in breach of immigration conditions, (iii) alleged illegal entrants and (iv) British citizens ; how many requested and were granted legal advice before interview ; how many were detained for (x) one day or less, (y) between a day and a week and (z) over a week ; and how many have left the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : Forty-nine immigration service staff, assisted by about 80 police officers, were involved in Operator Boxer on 24 June. No police dogs were used.
The information on which the officers were acting was received from a number of sources. Of those people interviewed on 24 June, five were found to be legally in the United Kingdom, of whom two were British citizens. Seventeen were dealt with as illegal entrants. Thirteen were found to be in breach of their conditions of entry to this country. Of these, 10 were overstayers and three were working without permission. One person was found to be the subject of an extant deportation order.
All those arrested were given the opportunity to receive legal advice and representation in accordance with the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
Of those detained, 31 were detained for one day or less, five were detained for between one day and one week, and one was detained for over one week.
Thirteen people have so far left the United Kingdom as a result of this operation.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report of the West Midlands police on the Birmingham pub bombings.
Mr. Howard : The investigation of these serious offences is being conducted under the auspices of the Director of Public Prosecutions to whom a report will be sent at its conclusion. It is not possible to say when the report will be ready.
Charities
Mr. McKelvey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will implement part II of the Charities Act 1992 to tackle fraudulent charity fund-raisers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As indicated in the answer to a question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 23 March, column 532, I intend to implement part II--control of fund-raising-- by the end of March 1994. To that end I have recently
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issued a document on part II which includes draft regulations and guidance ; a copy is being placed in the Library of the House.Parking Tickets
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) fixed penalty parking tickets were issued to motorists in (i) Westminster and (ii) the remaining London boroughs during each of the past five years for illegal parking on (1) a single yellow line and (2) a parking meter ; what was the average penalty levied in the case of (a) fines and (b) prosecutions ; what considerations underlie the choice of penalty for such offences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Information is not available in the detailed form requested. A total of 7,696 non-endorsable obstruction, waiting and parking offences were dealt with by prosecution in the Metropolitan police district in 1991 and 1,844,595 by fixed penalty notice. The average fine imposed following prosecution was £31 and the standard amount imposed after a fixed penalty was £16.
Fixed penalty levels are set by the Home Secretary and are reviewed periodically. They are intended to provide a penalty which is proportionate to the offence.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Murder Trials
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what records are kept of the witnesses called at a murder trial ; and for how long they are retained.
Mr. John M. Taylor : All records of a murder trial in which a life sentence is imposed are preserved permanently.
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements are made for the preservation of a judge's notes made during a trial for murder.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Judge's notes are retained for five years from the date of the last entry in each volume. No special arrangements exist for the preservation of judge's notes made during a trial for murder after the five-year period. Verbatim transcripts made for the appeal are kept indefinitely by arrangement with the Public Record Office.
Magistrates' Training
Mr. Michael : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the result of the review announced in February 1992 of magistrates' training in the criteria contained in the Bail Act 1976.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Judicial Studies Board has reviewed the training given to magistrates on bail matters and on 31 August 1992 the chairman of the magisterial committee of the board wrote to all training officers giving advice on best practice. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library.
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Legal Education and Conduct
Mrs. Browning : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Lord Chancellors' advisory committee on legal education and conduct intends to publish its second annual report.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal education and conduct has today published its second annual report, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
HEALTH
Nurses and Midwives
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practising midwives there are in each grade in each region, including those in senior nurse/senior midwife grades, senior nurse grades and education and clinical grades, excluding agency midwives ; how many are employed (a) full time and (b) part time ; and how many student midwives there are in each region.
Mr. Sackville : The information will be placed in the Library.
Emergency Admissions (North-West)
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the number of emergency admissions to (a) Burnley health care trust and (b) the North West regional health authority for 1991-92.
Mr. Sackville : In 1991-92 purchasers in the North Western region bought 331,000 non-elective admissions to hospitals. In the same year the predecessors of the Burnley health care trust provided 17,292 such admissions.
Voluntary Organisations
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) of 21 June, Official Report, column 34 , if he will list the grants so far made to voluntary organisations under the section 64 general scheme of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 in the financial year beginning 1 April.
Mr. Bowis : Section 64 general scheme grants continuing into 1993-94 from previous years and new grants for which approval had been notified by 15 July 1993 total over £16.5 million. Details will be placed in the Library. The budget for 1993-94 is £19.2 million, an increase of £0.9 million over 1992-93.
Elective Surgery Treatment Centres
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to establish treatment centres for elective surgery in England for (a) cataract surgery, (b) major joint surgery and (c) hernias and varicose vein surgery.
Mr. Sackville : We have no plans to do so. It is for health authorities to decide whether the establishment of treatment centres providing certain surgical procedures would be in the best interests of the populations they serve.
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Psychiatric Care
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many mother and baby beds there are in psychiatric units in the country ;
(2) how many women-only psychiatric wards there are in England.
Mr. Bowis : This information is not available centrally.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) male and (b) female psychiatrists are currently practising.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table. Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Numbers of psychiatrists in national health service
hospital sector by
sex England-30 September 1991
|Consultants |All staff<1>
----------------------------------------------------
Male |1,490 |3,760
Female |535 |2,097
Total |2,025 |5,857
Note:
Specialties included are mental illness, child and
adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, mental
handicap, old age psychiatry and psychotherapy.
<1> Grades included: consultants, associate
specialists, staff grades, senior registrars,
registrars and senior house officers, house
officers, hospital practitioners and clinical
assistants working in the specialty.
Accident and Emergency Units
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures she has on the percentage of women of reproductive age who visit accident and emergency units because of domestic violence.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Secure Accommodation
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy on the provision of secure accommodation for 15 and 16-year-old offenders by social service authorities.
Mr. Bowis : Secure accommodation provided in community homes is for any child being looked after by a local authority who meets the statutory criteria for restriction of liberty, whether as an offender or as a non- offender.
We are working closely with local authorities to ensure that sufficient additional secure accommodation is made available to ensure that the practice of remanding 15 and 16-year-old alleged offenders to penal establishments can be abolished as quickly as practicable.
NHS Reforms
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is her estimate of the total cost of administering the internal market in the health service in each of the last two years ;
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(2) what assessment she has made of the cost -effectiveness of the NHS reforms.Mr. Sackville : The national health service reforms are now firmly in place. It is impossible to put a figure on the relative cost of services under this system compared with any particular alternative, such as the previously directly managed arrangements, but there is no doubt that the NHS is now more effective in identifying local health needs and providing more efficient health care services.
Paracetamol Overdoses
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died from paracetamol in each of the last five years ; how many recorded overdoses of paracetamol there were in each of the last five years ; and what plans she has to decrease morbidity and mortality from paracetamol overdose.
Mr. Bowis : The table shows the number of deaths from poisoning where paracetamol is mentioned in the deaths' records. Information on the number of recorded overdoses of paracetamol is not available centrally.
"The Health of the Nation" mental illness key area handbook gives guidance to professionals on how to meet the specific suicide reduction targets. The advice covers the labelling of paracetamol bottles to warn of toxicity and reviewing the storage and availability of poisonous over-the-counter medicines.
Deaths from poisoning where
paracetamol is mentioned in
the
deaths' records, England and
Wales, 1986-90
ParacetamoParacetamol wi
without memention of oth
other drugdrugs
------------------------------
1986 |208 |(15)|299 |(69)
1987 |212 |(19)|301 |(58)
1988 |184 |(21)|312 |(77)
1989 |163 |(16)|295 |(59)
1990 |223 |(16)|288 |(60)
Figures in brackets are
deaths where there was no
mention of alcohol.
Note: This table is compiled
using the information
available in table 10 of the
Office of Population Censuses
and Surveys (OPCS)
publication "Mortality
statistics: injury and
poisoning" series DH4 Nos.
12-16, which lists all
substances mentioned in the
records of deaths assigned to
accidental and other
poisoning by solid or liquid
substances. The inclusion of
a substance in this list does
not, however, imply that it
is necessarily toxic. Where
two or more substances are
mentioned togther the
contribution, if any, of each
to the death is unknown; even
where one substance is listed
alone there may well be other
factors with an important
bearing on the death. Copies
of the OPCS DH4 series are
avaiable in the Library.
Paediatric Nurses
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses trained as specialists in paediatrics in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : The figures give the numbers starting paediatric nurse training and the numbers completing paediatric nurse training in England at year ending 31 March.
|1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
--------------------------------------------------------
Intakes to training |710 |810 |850 |1,090|1,180
Completing training |780 |700 |770 |850 |890
Note: The number completing training in 1988 is greater
than the number of intakes to training in the same year
because those completing refer to intakes in previous
years.
Electro-convulsive Therapy
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the number of (a) women and (b) men receiving ECT each year ; and what is the ratio between them.
Mr. Bowis : The number of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) treatments in 1990-91 was 105,466 but a patient could receive more than one treatment during the year. It is estimated that five women receive ECT for every two men.
Mid-Staffordshire Health Authority
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she proposes to take following the Peat Marwick report on the financial management of Mid-Staffordshire health authority.
Mr. Sackville : This a matter for the health authority concerned who are working in close conjuction with West Midlands regional health authority to resolve their financial position. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. B. Liss, the chairman of Mid-Staffordshire health authority, for details.
Elderly People (Abuse)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to place a legal duty on social workers to investigate cases of suspected abuse against those elderly and disabled people who are unable to take decisions for themselves.
Mr. Bowis : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 12 July at col. 385.
HELIOS II Proposals
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement outlining the progress made by her Department to date in determining an official response to the HELIOS II proposals.
Mr. Bowis : The European Community's HELIOS II programme was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 25 February this year. The Department is currently consulting in the United Kingdom with other interested Government Departments and with a United Kingdom forum of voluntary bodies representing a wide range of disabilities on the content of the programme.
Patient Waiting Times
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will publish the provider waiting lists and waiting times for each Thames region of the NHS.
Mr. Sackville : Provider based information on waiting lists le in the Library.
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Home Helps
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about the level of charges for home helps ; whether she will carry out an inquiry into the differences in charges between local authorities ; when she plans to issue guidelines to local authorities on levels of charges ; and if she will make a statement, with particular reference to the role that voluntary groups and the private sector can play in providing home helps in the Bolton area.
Mr. Bowis : A number of representations have been received. Local authorities have a discretionary power to make charges for non-residential services. We have no current plans to carry out an inquiry. It is the Government's view that a full economic charge should be recovered where this can be done without causing hardship to the service user. Advice on detailed aspects will be disseminated where appropriate.
One of the main objectives of the community care reforms is to encourage the development of a flourishing independent sector in the provision of domiciliary servics. It is for each local authority to identify local needs and opportunities, and their progress will be monitored. We understand that independent sector involvement in the provision of domiciliary services in Bolton is currently minimal. It is our view that such involvement should be encouraged.
Ambulance Service
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to NHS trusts with regard to the specifications of contracts for ambulance and patient transport services and the minimum levels of training required for ambulance personnel.
Mr. Sackville : Guidance on contracts was included in "Health Service Guidelines (HSG(91)29) : Ambulance and other patient transport services--Operation, use and performance standards". Subsequent circulars FDL(92)82 and FDL(93)07 set out the finance arrangements recommended to those contracting for non-emergency patient transport services. Further guidance on these matters is to be issued very shortly. Copies of guidelines and circulars are available in the Library.
The level of training given to ambulance personnel will depend on the nature of their duties. For example, ambulance paramedics must, as a minimum, achieve the standards currently set by the national health service training directorate.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the policy of her Department with regard to the maximum geographical area which can appropriately be covered by one ambulance service.
Mr. Sackville : There is no restriction on the area for which an ambulance service may tender for service contracts.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations have been received by her Department from groups representing private ambulance operators, with regard to the need for increased regulation or self-regulation of such operators.
Mr. Sackville : Representations have been received from a number of organisations representing private ambulance
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