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Dr. Mawhinney : Waltham Forest has submitted to the London Implementation Group, primary health care development plans for the years 1993-94 and 1994-95. The plans contain proposals for improving Waltham Forest's
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primary care infrastructure and for developing innovative practice in primary and community care. The estimated cost of the 1993-94 and 1994-95 proposals is £5 million.Health Benefit Claims
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1), pursuant to her answer of 29 November, Official Report, column 301, on the low income scheme, how many applications in 1992-93 for health benefits were (a) incorrectly filled in and returned to the claimant and (b) not successful in receiving help towards the item claimed ; and what is the average financial help awarded to the claimants ;
(2) if she will publish the proposals made by the review into health benefits in respect of reforming or simplifying the AG1 claim form.
Dr. Mawhinney : Proposals for simplifying the national health service low income scheme claim form AG1 remain under consideration. Implementation of any changes will be discussed with those who contributed to the review, including the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, before they are introduced. During 1992-93, approximately 18 per cent. of all claim forms were returned to the claimant for additional information or clarification. Full or partial help was offered on each completed claim form except for 3,000 where a capital holding in excess of £8,000 precluded an award. It is not possible to quantify the average financial help awarded. Holders of low income scheme certificates are entitled to receive national health service services free or at a reduced cost as and when these are needed during the currency of a certificate ; they do not receive a specified financial award.
Hospital Admissions
Mr. Rendel : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients admitted so far in 1993 to hospitals in Berkshire as (a) emergency and (b) non-emergency cases were registered at (i) fund- holding and (ii) non-fund-holding general practices.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Richard Eassie, the chairman of Berkshire health authority, for details.
Consultants
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants have been suspended in each of the last 15 years ; and how many from each year are still under suspension by regional health authority, district health authority and provider unit.
Dr. Mawhinney ; This information is not available centrally.
Self-medication
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates she has made of the savings possible from her initiative to encourage self-medication.
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GPs
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of patients deregistered by their general practitioners in each of the past five years, nationally and by region.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally.
NHS Psychogeriatric Care Beds
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration she has given to the report, "NHS Psychogeriatric Continuing Care Beds" published by the Alzheimer's Disease Society, copies of which have been sent to her Department ; what action she is taking ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : The report, which makes a number of recommendations for Government action, will be given full and careful consideration.
NHS Sight Tests
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations she has had with optometrists concerning the level of expenses to be included in the NHS sight test fee for 1993-94.
Dr. Mawhinney : The optometrists have been consulted as normal, through the established Whitley machinery, about the level of the national health service sight test fee.
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of the current NHS sight test fee is attributable to the reimbursement of optometrists' expenses.
Dr. Mawhinney : The national health service sight test fee contains both a remuneration and expenses element. These components are not separately identifiable.
Estates Information Systems Group
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are the responsibilities and terms of reference of the national health service estates information systems group ;
(2) when the national health service estates information systems group was established ; and to whom it reports.
Mr. Sackville : The group was established on 1 April 1992 and is part of National Health Service Estates, an
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executive agency of the Department of Health. It provides services to the NHS and other clients on a range of estates information systems and software products on a recover of cost basis. It also contributes to reducing the net cost of the agency's services by marketing activity. As part of the agency it is accountab ; and what has been its annual budget since it was established, in the current year and its projected annual budgets.Mr. Sackville : The group employs 16 full-time staff.
Since the group was established its annual budgets have been :--
|£ million
------------------------------
1992-93 |1.5
1993-94 |1.6
As the service is provided on a recovery of cost basis, projected annual budgets will be in line with anticipated demands for its services.
Mentally Ill People (Housing)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many active clients the four mental health teams have set up under the homeless mentally ill initiative ; and of these, how many have moved into potentially permanent accommodation ;
(2) if she will list for each of the four mental health teams set up under the homeless mentally ill initiative (a) the number of active clients, (b) how many have moved into potentially permanent accommodation and (c) how many clients were lost.
Mr. Bowis [holding answer 2 December 1993] : The four community psychiatric teams set up under the homeless mentally ill initiative, for which figures are available, have had continuing contact over a period of time, with 1,222 clients ; 301 of these have moved into potentially permanent accommodation.
These figures are broken down by each of the teams in the table, which also shows the number of clients lost.
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|Clients |Potentially |Lost
|permanent
|accommodation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus team (Bloomsbury and Islington) |280 |100 |30
Mental health team (South East London) |349 |102 |28
Joint homelessness team (Westminster) |443 |66 |92
HELP team (East London and City) |150 |33 |32
|------- |------- |-------
Totals |1,222 |301 |182
Notes:
1. The figures provided by the FOCUS team are estimates.
2. A fifth team set up for Kensington and Chelsea has been running for less than one year.
Valid data for this team are not yet available.
3. The category potentially permanent accommodation' has not been taken to include the hostels
which have been set up under the HMI.
4. The exact definition of client' varies between teams.
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The figures indicate that the HMI has been very successful in making contact with this vulnerable group of people and bringing a significant proportion of them into care.Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people entered a registered care home under the homeless mentally ill initiative (a) before and (b) after April 1993.
Mr. Bowis [holding answer 2 December 1993] : Some homeless mentally ill initiative hostels have been set up as residential care homes. These hostels admitted 33 homeless mentally ill people before April 1993 and 27 after that date. In addition 49 homeless mentally ill people identified by the HMI community psychiatric teams entered other residential care homes before April 1993 and 19 after that date.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units of permanent accommodation have been provided as part of the homeless mentally ill initiative announced in July 1990.
Mr. Bowis [holding answer 2 December 1993] : We have funded up to 150 specialist short-stay hostel places : five hostels are already open providing 61 places. More hostels are being developed. Negotiations are currently taking place with interested parties, including the Housing Corporation, over the provision of permanent places to accommodate homeless mentally ill people in London.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Regina v. Brown
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Attorney-General whether he will place a transcript of the Regina v. Brown appeal in the Library ; and whether the case is being sent to further appeal.
The Attorney-General : No transcript of the judgment of the Court of Appeal is yet available.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has invited the Court of Appeal to certify that a point of general public importance arises in relation to the meaning to be attached to the word "use" when applied to personal data within section 5 of the Data Protection Act 1984, and to grant leave to appeal on this point to the House of Lords. It is expected that the matter will be listed in the Court of Appeal before Christmas 1993 in order that the court may consider the application made by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Advertising
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Attorney-General how much his Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising ; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.
The Attorney-General : The expenditure on press advertising by the Departments for which I am responsible in the financial year 1992-93 was £330,360. Corresponding figures for 1979-80 and 1985-86 can be provided only at disproportionate cost. There was no expenditure on either television or radio advertising in any of the years in question.
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Press and Publicity Officers
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Attorney-General how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department ; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.
The Attorney-General : There are currently eight full-time and one part-time press and publicity officers employed in the Departments for which I am responsible. There were no such officers employed in 1985 or 1979.
Jonathan Goldberg QC
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Attorney-General if the Serious Fraud Office intends to refer the conduct of Jonathan Goldberg QC in the Levitt case to the Bar Council.
The Attorney-General : No. I understand that the matter has already been referred to the Bar Council.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Information Security
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about the operation of his Department's sensitive documents unit ; how many staff are employed in its operation ; and approximately how many documents per annum come within its purview.
Mr. David Davis : The Cabinet Office has no "sensitive documents unit". However, all Cabinet Office records are reviewed for continuing sensitivity in the period before their release by a team of up to four part -time reviewers who form part of the Cabinet Office records section. Records are reviewed in accordance with the guidelines contained in chapter 9 of the Open Government White Paper (Cmnd. 2290) of July 1993. Records that are withheld are subject to regular re-review. Approximately 100 linear feet of records are dealt with during a year.
Advertising
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much his Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising ; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.
Mr. David Davis : Expenditure by the Office of Public Service and Science on press advertising in the last financial year was £608,957, of which £589,838 was incurred in connection with the citizens charter. There was no expenditure in this period on television or radio advertising.
The corresponding information for 1985 and 1979 is not available in the form requested.
Government Car Service
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers ; and how many vehicles are involved.
Mr. David Davis : During 1992-93, the charge to the Office of Public Service and Science for use of the Government Car Service by its departmental Ministers and the Government Whips was £420,088.
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Cloud Research
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what help he gives to encourage research (a) on how clouds modulate the climate system, (b) on cloud radiation problems and (c) on cloud profiling radar.
Mr. David Davis : The Government make funds available under the science budget to the research councils, which determine their priorities in accordance with the terms of their royal charters. Such research is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Science and Engineering Research Council.
The NERC is paying specific attention to these matters through a special topic called "Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation", at a total cost of £733,000. It is also supporting four training awards and four research grants, at a total estimated cost of approximately £700,000.
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The SERC has assisted in some preliminary studies for a spaceborne profiling radar, as a contribution to the global energy and water experiment of the world climate research programme. It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of this work from other SERC operations.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Mink Farms
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink farms have operated in each county in England in each year since 1984 ; and what is the current figure.
Mr. Soames : Information is readily available only for the last five years. The number of licensed mink farms in England by county, from 1989 to 1993, is shown in the table.
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As at;
|31 March 1989 |20 February 1990|20 February 1991|12 March 1992 |22 July 1993
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buckinghamshire |1 |1 |- |- |-
Cheshire |2 |1 |1 |1 |-
Cornwall |2 |2 |1 |2 |1
Dorset |1 |1 |1 |- |-
Gloucestershire |1 |- |- |- |-
Greater Manchester |1 |1 |- |- |-
Hampshire |2 |2 |1 |1 |1
Hertfordshire |1 |1 |- |- |-
Humberside |2 |2 |2 |1 |-
Isle of Wight |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Lancashire |14 |12 |9 |8 |4
Lincolnshire |1 |1 |- |- |-
Norfolk |1 |1 |1 |1 |-
North Yorkshire |1 |1 |- |1 |-
Northumberland |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
South Yorkshire |1 |1 |1 |1 |-
Staffordshire |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Suffolk |4 |4 |3 |3 |2
West Sussex |1 |- |- |- |-
West Yorkshire |11 |8 |2 |3 |2
Wiltshire |2 |1 |- |- |-
|-- |-- |-- |-- |--
Totals |52 |43 |25 |25 |13
Fur Farms
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what animals other than mink or Arctic fox are kept on fur farms in the United Kingdom ; what county or region they are in ; what number of each particular animal are kept ; and what is the minimum statutory cage size for the particular animals concerned.
Mr. Soames : No information is kept on the numbers or locations of particular species kept for fur farming except in respect of mink in the United Kingdom and Arctic foxes in Northern Ireland. There is no legislation governing the minimum cage size for fur-bearing animals.
Rare Breeds
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps her Department is taking to assess the effectiveness of rare breeds in conservation grazing schemes, with particular reference to the Hebridean sheep ; and if she will study the means by which set-aside arrangements can be adjusted to help conserve rare breeds and control pernicious weeds.
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Mr. Jack : Our current research on conservation grazing does not include any work specific to Hebridean or other rare breeds of sheep. However a recent change to the EC set-aside rules has introduced the possibility of limited grazing of set-aside land in the autumn, including grazing by rare breeds.
Incinerators
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the incinerators in the north-west licensed to incinerate BSE-infected cattle and scrapie-infected sheep ; and how many such carcases were destroyed in each of the last 12 months at each incinerator.
Mr. Soames : Incinerators are not specifically licensed for this purpose. One incinerator plant in the north-west in Derbyshire has held a contract with the Ministry for the disposal of carcases of cattle suspected of being affected with BSE since 1 July 1993. Specific information relating to this incineration plant as with all others contracted to the Ministry is classed as
commercial-in-confidence.
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress her Department is making to implement measures to conform to EC
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Regulation 2078/92 regarding premium payments for the preservation of rare breeds of domestic animals ; and if she will make a statement.Mr. Jack [holding answer 7 December 1993] : Our proposals for implementing EC regulation 2078/92 are based on a careful assessment of environmental priorities and the needs of the countryside. They do not include premium payments for the preservation of rare breeds of domestic animals but do include measures which will benefit local breeds such as, for example, Exmoor ponies in the case of the Exmoor environmentally sensitive area.
Potatoes
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is her estimate of the tonnage of (a) seed potatoes of each variety and (b) ware potatoes by market description growing in England and Wales in (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993 ; what tonnages of each were sold for (x) home and (y) foreign seeds, and for human consumption by category ; and what was the estimate made in 1992 in each case.
Mr. Jack : The total amount of certified seed grown in England and Wales in 1992 was 35,000 tonnes. A breakdown by variety is given in the table. For 1993 the estimate is 48,000 tonnes, but no varietal split is yet available. However, a breakdown by area grown is given in the table :
Tonnage of certified seed by
variety grown in 1992
|Tonnes
-----------------------------------
Accent |112.1
Ailsa |77.5
Alcmaria |52.9
Aminca |18.9
Arran Comet |140.4
Arran Pilot |23.9
Asterix |3.3
Ausonia |535.4
Balmoral |119.4
Bintje |77.5
Cara |4,547.2
Cleopatra |50.0
Colmo |328.2
Concorde |65.6
Concurrent |85.0
Costella |1.0
Cultra |22.0
Desiree |1,350.7
Duke of York |0.9
Dundrod |12.0
Epicure |0.3
Estima |6,120.2
Fambo |110.0
Fianna |3.5
Foremost |0.7
Hermes |-
Home Guard |93.2
Kennebec |44.3
King Edward |675.6
Kondor |150.9
Lady Rosetta |45.0
Manna |4.0
Marfona |3,491.0
Marianna |-
Maris Bard |1,364.9
Maris Peer |602.1
Maris Piper |1,415.8
Minerva |362.8
Morene |5.0
Nadine |910.0
Obelix |212.3
Ostara |223.6
Penta |128.6
Pentland Crown |121.4
Pentland Dell |1,002.4
Pentland Hawk |14.4
Pentland Ivory |4.0
Pentland Javelin |378.2
Pentland Lustre |1.2
Pentland Squire |698.8
Pink Fir Apple |25.0
Premiere |588.0
Record |1,157.4
Red Pontiac |29.2
Rocket |-
Romano |3,189.5
Russet Burbank |-
Sante |445.0
Saturna |2,419.6
Sharpes Express |6.3
Shula |-
Ulster Chieftain |3.0
Ulster Sceptre |43.0
Vanessa |214.2
Wilja |1,200.6
Total |35,287.2
Area of certified seed by variety grown
in 1993.
Variety |Hectacres
------------------------------------------
First early
Accent |2.6
Alcmaria |1.6
Aminca |0.4
Arran Comet |5.8
Arran Pilot |0.9
Colmo<1> |13.6
Concorde |4.4
Concurrent |2.8
Duke of York<1> |2.9
Dundrod |1.2
Foremost |0.6
Home Guard |5.3
Manna |0.2
Maris Bard |110.1
Minerva |19.2
Nikita |0.2
Ostara |19.2
Pentland Javelin |24.2
Premiere<1> |20.3
Provost |0.7
Rocket |0.5
Sharpes Express<1> |0.6
Ulster Sceptre |0.1
Vanessa |6.8
Second early maincrop
Ausonia |14.2
Baillie |0.4
Balmoral |1.6
Bintje<1> |6.0
Brodick |2.0
Cara |232.0
Cornado |0.8
Desiree |75.2
Estima |196.9
Fambo |21.0
Fianna |2.3
Kerr's Pink |0.4
King Edward<1> |28.8
Kingston |1.7
Kondor |7.2
Lady Rosetta |30.5
Marfona |131.5
Maris Peer |43.4
Maris Piper |55.0
Morene<1> |3.5
Nadine |58.0
Obelix |3.0
Panda |5.5
Pentland Crown |6.6
Pentland Dell |54.2
Pentland Hawk |2.0
Pentland Squire |53.0
Picasso |10.9
Pink Fir Apple |0.4
Record |17.5
Red King Edward<1> |1.3
Remarka |0.6
Romano |102.9
Sante |4.1
Saturna |107.2
Stroma |11.5
Wilja |58.5
|-------
Total |1,595.5
<1> Denotes non-immune variety
Estimates of England and Wales seed tonnages sold for (x) home and (y) foreign use are not available. However, current estimates for the United Kingdom are :
Seed (tonnes) Year grown |1992 |<1>1993 |<2>1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (x) home use |515,000 |488,000 |n/a (y) foreign use (exports) |30,000 |42,000 |69,000 <1> Estimate. <2> Estimated in 1992.
A breakdown by market description of the ware potatoes grown in 1992 and 1993 is not available at the England and Wales level. However, utilisation of potato crops marketed in 1992 and 1993 calendar years is given below. These figures are subject to revision.
G Ware (tonnes) Year |1992 |<1>1993 |<2>1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ware for human consumption |6,821,000|6,026,000|6,902,000 of which: Ware for foreign market: raw |120,000 |113,000 |98,000 Ware for foreign market: processed (raw equivalent) |76,000 |63,000 |76,000 <1> Estimate. <2> Estimated in 1992.
Agricultural Tenancy
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations she has received on reform of the law relating to agricultural tenancy ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : Since we published proposals for reform in February 1991, my right hon. Friend has received around 300 representations, almost all of which have expressed support for reform of the kind proposed.
Advertising
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much her Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising ; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.
Mr. Jack : Expenditure on advertising by MAFF in the financial years 1985-86 and 1992-93 was as follows :
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|(a) TV |(b) Radio|(c) Press
--------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |nil |nil |£29,000
1992-93 |£475,000 |nil |£19,000
Figures prior to 1982-83 are not available in this form since they do not distinguish between expenditure on advertising and other paid publicity.
Sheep Dip
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations she has received over the past 12 months on the use of organophosphate sheep dip ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The Minister has received a number of representations over the past 12 months on the use of organophosphate sheep dip. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Fry) on 1 December.
Press and Publicity Officers
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in her Department ; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.
Mr. Jack : The number of press and publicity officer currently employed by MAFF is 33. The corresponding figure for 1985 is 30. A figure for 1979 is not readily available.
Information Security
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether she has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.
Mr. Jack : The security requirements for IT systems and services used by central Government Departments including MAFF, are stated in the HMG IT security policy document. This document is supported by use of the CCTA risk analysis and management method and baseline security for IT systems risk analysis methods and by supporting advice and guidance published by the HMG IT security authorities. These are regularly reviewed to ensure best practice, have been developed specifically for use within government and have been in operation in some time. The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information.
Fishing Licences
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fishing licences have been issued in England and Wales to (a) under 10 m vessels and (b) over 10 m vessels up to the most recently available date.
Mr. Jack : As at 1 December some 3,900 10 m and under licences had been approved, or were likely to be
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approved, for issue to fishing vessel owners in England and Wales. There were some 1,690 licensed vessels over 10 m in overall length in the English and Welsh fleet.Animals (Transit)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will indicate how many animals were found at ports to be unfit to travel further in (a) 1992 and (b) so far in 1993.
Mr. Soames : In 1992 the number of farm animals inspected at portal lairages in Great Britain and found unfit for their international journey was 28,070. Since 1 January this year veterinary inspection of animals for journeys extending beyond United Kingdom territory has been carried out at the point of origin. Numbers of animals so inspected and found to be unfit for their journey are not recorded centrally.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many letters she has received from members of the public indicating that they have seen unsatisfactory treatment of animals in transit so far this year ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : Very few representations are received giving first-hand accounts of unsatisfactory treatment of animals in transit. The great majority of the letters received about the transport of animals are the result of general campaigns by animal welfare organisations.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations have been received on the subject of the transportation of live animals since 1 November.
Mr. Soames : Since 1 November the Government have received nearly 17,000 pieces of correspondence, and 10 petitions representing 740 signatures, on the transportation of animals.
Ministers (Foreign Visits)
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the Ministers in her Department who since June 1987 have visited (a) Saudi Arabia, (b) Malaysia, (c) Singapore and (d) South Africa on official business ; and which such visits included party political activities in addition to official duties.
Mr. Jack : In 1988 the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor) visited Malaysia and Singapore, in 1991 the Minister of State, Baroness Trumpington visited Saudi Arabia and in 1992 the Parliamentary Secretary, Earl Howe, visited South Africa on official business. None of these visits included party political activities.
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