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Offshore Operators
Mr. Salmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he will take to ensure that offshore operating companies are not able to avoid their legal and financial obligations relating to the payment of fines under health and safety prosecutions if they have been taken over ; what time scale he envisages for this action ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Eggar [holding answer 14 December 1993] : I am not convinced of the need to take steps for this purpose.
Safety Regulations
Mr. Donohoe : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what responses were received by his Department to his recent consultation on relaxation of the Furniture and Furnishings Fire (Safety) Regulations 1988 and the Night Wear Safety Regulations 1985 ; which bodies expressed support for relaxing these regulations ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will make a statement on what conclusions his Department has reached on the relaxation of the Furniture and Furnishings Fire (Safety) Regulations 1988 and the Night Wear Safety Regulations 1985.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answers 20 January 1994] : The recent consultation exercise on the Furniture and Furnishings Fire (Safety) Regulations 1988--as amended--and the Nightwear Safety Regulations 1985, in the context of the deregulation initiative, brought forward responses from a wide range of business and consumer interests. The detailed responses are being analysed and it is too early to reach conclusions on what changes--if any--are appropriate.
HEALTH
NHS Administration
Mr. Alexander : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers and administrators are currently employed by (a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities and (c) family health service authorities; at what cost to taxpayers; and what were the corresponding figures in 1991 and 1992.
Dr. Mawhinney : The available information is shown in the tables.
4
Table 1
General and senior managers and administrative and
clerical staff
employed in the Regional/District Health Authority
structure at
30 September-whole time equivalents.
|1991 |1992
----------------------------------------------------
General/senior managers |10,640 |10,470
Administrative and Clerical |100,660|82,530
Table 2 General and senior managers and administrative and clerical staff employed in Family Health Service Authorities in England ------------------------------------------ General/senior managers |790 |1,040 Source: DH Form KM49. Notes: 1. Table 1 provides the numbers of staff in regional health authority and district health authority headquarters and directly managed units; NHS trusts, the London ambulance service, special health authorities and other statutory authorities are excluded. 2. A small number of FHSA staff are employed by the RHAs and are included in table 1. These staff are excluded from the FHSA figures given in table 2. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 whole-time equivalents. 4. 30 September 1992 is the latest date for which information is available.
Table 3Salaries and Wages Costs of General and Senior Managers
in England
£000s
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Regional Health Authorities |24,142 |46,922 |59,106
District Health Authorities |223,221 |277,179 |290,149
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
Regional Health Authorities |114,146 |131,275 |109,104
District Health Authorities |1,050,370|1,056,824|920,570
Sources:
1. Annual accounts of RHAs and DHAs for 1990-91.
2. Annual financial returns of RHAs and DHAs for 1991-92 and
1992-93.
Notes:
1. The figures are for RHAs and DHAs. They include directly
managed units, but exclude NHS Trusts, special health authorities
and
other statutory authorities.
2. 1992-93 figures are provisional.
3. The figures for general and senior managers should be treated
with
caution because the national increase in their number-and hence
salary
costs-is largely due to the reclassification of other professional
and
administrative staff as general and senior managers.
Table 5
Salaries and Wages Costs of all Staff in FHSA's in England
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
|£000s |£000s |£000s
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Family health services authorities |67,393 |88,564 |111,480
Source: Annual accounts of FHSAs.
Notes:
1. Salaries and wages costs are not identified in separate
categories for FHSA staff. The majority of expenditure will be for
administration/management staff.
2. Figures for 1992-93 are provisional.
3. "Salaries and wages costs" represent all employers' costs
including gross salaries, national insurance and employers'
pension costs.
Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are currently in operation for cross-departmental co- ordination of Government policy in relation to alcohol misuse and its consequences ; and what plans there are for future co-ordination.
Mr. Bowis : The Government remain committed to taking effective action to deal with the consequences of alcohol misuse both for the individual and the community.
Action is focused on the promotion of sensible drinking habits including meeting the targets set out in "The Health of the Nation". I therefore welcome my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's decision to transfer responsibility for the co-ordination of Government policy on alcohol misuse to EDH(H), the cabinet sub-committee responsible for "The Health of the Nation" and to expand its membership accordingly.
University College London Hospitals
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the further efficiency measures she has suggested to University College London hospitals.
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Dr. Mawhinney : We have made clear our commitment to retaining University College London Hospitals as a world-class centre of medical teaching and research. UCLH is already undertaking a major cost improvement programme in 1993-94, and North East Thames regional health authority is discussing with the unit how services can be provided most efficiently in future.
Family Health Services Authorities
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the budget of each family health services authority convened by the London implementation group for each year from 1990 to 1995.
Dr. Mawhinney : Expenditure for the years 1990-91 to 1992-93 of each family health service authority whose area falls wholly or in part in the London initiative zone is shown in the table. Budgets are not set for family health services as most elements of expenditure are demand-led and funded accordingly. Budgets for FHSA cash-limited expenditure are issued by regional health authorities and are not available centrally.
Gross expenditure of family health services authorities
Authority Year
|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
|(£) |(£) |(£)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brent and Harrow |55,948,634|51,986,077|60,799,056
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow |72,582,053|71,167,352|81,032,384
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster |42,428,334|41,604,503|48,133,097
Barking and Havering |39,570,512|38,935,837|44,089,197
Camden and Islington |44,465,457|40,875,179|48,336,119
City and East London |72,327,505|73,706,590|86,561,387
Enfield and Haringey |50,226,717|50,373,635|58,238,102
Redbridge and Waltham Forest |48,575,570|48,033,524|55,881,603
Greenwich and Bexley |44,170,728|45,761,746|51,332,685
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham |80,328,536|83,416,519|95,336,498
Croydon |32,996,828|31,720,157|35,950,625
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth |63,235,072|66,298,721|74,237,746
Notes:
1. Source: Audited accounts of the authorities, total gross expenditure.
2. Payments to general dental practitioners for general dental services
are not included in 1991-92 and 1992-93 as the Dental Practice
Board assumed responsibility for such payments from 1 April 1991.
3. The authorities included are those which fall wholly or in part within
the London initiative zone as defined in "Making London Better",
February 1993.
Medical Services Funding
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the funding for general medical services by region in each of the last three years ; and what is projected for the next two years.
Mr. Sackville : Expenditure on general medical services by region for the years 1990-91 and 1992-93 is shown in the table.
Projected expenditure for future years is not available : most elements of general medical services expenditure are demand led and funded accordingly. Budgets for
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cash-limited expenditure on the general medical services are issued by regional health authorities and are not available centrally.
General medical services expenditure by region
Region |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
|£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |122,989,021|136,007,122|147,860,526
Yorkshire |149,405,550|170,025,108|184,184,461
Trent |190,445,047|213,810,189|234,363,722
East Anglian |89,778,335 |102,767,280|113,709,212
North West Thames |158,263,698|177,377,481|194,216,444
North East Thames |164,796,569|181,707,722|203,234,834
South East Thames |156,317,652|179,843,993|196,151,536
South West Thames |121,078,560|141,373,233|149,872,536
Wessex |122,291,245|140,076,992|151,505,080
Oxfordshire |109,953,026|123,917,087|138,089,077
South Western |157,299,584|175,559,932|185,364,931
West Midlands |204,916,256|230,471,586|252,117,604
Mersey |95,638,944 |108,302,334|118,200,670
North Western |148,830,792|169,855,541|184,091,576
Notes:
1. Source: Family health services authorities' annual accounts.
2. 1991-92 and 1992-93 figures include practice fund management
allowances and general practitioner fundholder expenditure in
respect of staff costs reimbursements. Expenditure in relation to
general practitioner fundholder prescribing and hospital
purchases
is excluded.
Ministerial Cars
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will quantify the cost of the factors which led to an increase in the cost of cars for Ministers in his Department since 1990-91.
Mr. Sackville : Four main factors have led to the increase in the cost of Government car service cars for Ministers in the Department. First, the effect of inflation on GCS costs, particularly pay, vehicles and fuel. Secondly, during this period the GCS restructured its charges to reflect the fact that it had been under-recovering its full costs in 1990-91. Thirdly, the rate of value added tax has increased from 15 per cent. to 17 per cent. Fourthly, there was the provision of an additional vehicle for an extra Minister in 1992, which accounts for some 20 per cent. of the increase.
In Vitro Fertilisation
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost to the NHS of the IVF programme over the past four years ; how many babies have been born as a result of this programme ; and how many embryos (a) have been donated, (b) are currently in storage and (c) were destroyed.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested cannot be separately identified.
Educational Qualifications
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list in rank order for each district council in England the number and percentage of adult residents who have no post-18 educational qualifications.
Mr. Sackville : Information from a 10 per cent. sample from the 1991 census will be placed in the Library. In the table, local authority districts are ranked according to
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percentage of residents aged over 18, who have no qualifications obtained after age 18--other than those usually obtained at school.Information
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what considerations underlay her decision not to collect information centrally on (a) response times by ambulance services, (b) hospitals which failed to treat patients within the waiting time set out in the patients charter, (c) the disease optic neuritis, (d) the number of child patients unable to receive paediatric intensive care owing to shortage of paediatric intensive care beds, (e) the number of general practitioners receiving gross payments of £200,000 or over per year, (f) district health authorities running at (i) a surplus or (ii) a deficit on the number of people wishing to be inoculated against influenza, (g) waiting times for outpatient treatment by (i) regional health authorities and (ii) district health authorities, (h) the use of Concorde flights by health staff and (i) the number of children refused orthodontic treatment because of the limitation on extra- contractual referrals ; and if she will reconsider her decision in each case.
Dr. Mawhinney : The main thrust of the national health service reforms is the devolution of responsibility to appropriate levels, allowing those providing services to be fully in charge of planning and delivery. It would be counter to those reforms for the centre to impose unnecessarily restrictive monitoring systems and to require returns for, and about, every step in the process of procuring and delivering health care.
Social Classes
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each district council in England the proportion of the district population in social classes 3G4 and 5.
Mr. Sackville : The available information, based on a 10 per cent. sample from the 1991 census will be placed in the Library. As there is no social class 3G, the table shows social class
IIIM--skilled-manual.
GPs (Misconduct)
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about the length of time on average involved in determining cases involving complaints against general practitioners accused of professional misconduct.
Dr. Mawhinney : Since we announced an independent review of all national health service complaints procedures, chaired by Professor Alan Wilson, a large number of representations have been received by the review committee, many of which have referred to the length of time taken to deal with complaints made by individuals.
Market Testing
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health iuf she will list, by region and district, the responses made to NHS management executive circular EL(93)37 indicating the number of individual services (a) currently being market tested and (b) planned to be market tested.
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Mr. Sackville : We have no plans to publish this information. As stated in paragraph 2 of the annex to EL(93)37, the information will be available as a source of management information for the national health service and national health service management executive.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place a copy in the Library of the advice circular to the national health service from the Government Actuary's Department in relation to the pension package minimum equivalence with respect to contractors seeking work from a Government Department under market testing and competitive tendering, where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Regulations) 1981 apply ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Government Actuary Department has not issued a general circular to the national health service as a result of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981--TUPE.
The national health service management executive issued guidance on TUPE on 5 November 1993, copies of which will be placed in the Library.
Although pensions are not covered by the TUPE regulations, the management executive guidance suggests that advice on pensions equivalance may be obtained from the GAD on a case-by-case basis.
Cars
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list in rank order for each district council in England the number of households without a car.
Mr. Sackville : Information from the 1991 census will be placed in the Library. In the table, local authority districts are ranked according to the percentage of households with no car.
Long-term Illness
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many households in each district council in England include an occupant suffering limiting long-term illness ; and what percentage this group constitutes of the area's total households in each case.
Mr. Sackville : Information from the 1991 census will be placed in the Library.
Health Authority Expenditure
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was (a) the total final cash allocations and (b) the actual outturn expenditure for each district health authority in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : Cash allocations to districts are issued by regional health authorities and are not recorded centrally. Information on revenue expenditure by district will be placed in the Library.
Abortion
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of terminations of pregnancies were funded by the NHS in 1992.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested will shortly be published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in monitor AB 94/1.
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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Dementia
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 20 years in each of the last five years have suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob dementia ; and of these how many had not had any growth treatment previously.
Mr. Sackville : We are not aware of any people under the age of 20 in the United Kingdom proven to be suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the last five years.
GPs (Staff)
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the average reimbursement to GPs for salaries for receptionists, practice managers, secretaries and administrators in each year since 1990- 91, excluding the GP fundholding management allowance.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally.
Patients' Notes
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) who, apart from doctors, has access to patients' notes in hospitals ; (2) whether hospital managers have right of access to patients' notes.
Mr. Sackville : Personal health information is handled on a strict "need to know" basis in the national health service. Besides doctors and other health professionals, managers and administrative staff may also need to see patients' notes in order, for example, to plan services and arrange appointments. Individual members of staff should only have access to that part of the information which is necessary for them to carry out their duties. Advice to the NHS on this will be included in the guidance on confidentiality which we hope to issue for consultation shortly.
GP Fundholders
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has as to the use to which GP fundholders have put surplus funds from 1991-92.
Dr. Mawhinney : All savings must be used for the benefit of patients. The detailed rules setting out the uses for which general practitioner fundholders may use savings are in paragraph 24 of the National Health Service (Fundholding Practices) Regulations 1993, copies of which are available in the Library.
Hospital Closures
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans the Edgware health trust has to build new office premises in the grounds of the Barnet general hospital ;
(2) what plans there are for the closure of Edgware general hospital.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Wellhouse Trust comprises the Edgware and Barnet general hospitals. Barnet health agency's five-year strategy proposes the development of Barnet hospital and the reshaping or closure of Edgware hospital. The period of public consultation ends on 31 January. Any formal proposal to close Edgware hospital would be subject to separate public consultation.
Column 887
Casualty Services, London
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has received the report of the accident and emergency reference group on casualty services in London ; and what plans she has to publish it.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what form the accident and emergency reference group reported for the London implementation group ; and if she will publish this report.
Dr. Mawhinney : The accident and emergency reference group was set up to advise the London implementation group on accident and emergency services in London. The group has not been asked to produce a report.
Asthma
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to include the reduction of asthma in the objectives of "The Health of the Nation" ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : We believe that further development and research is necessary before national targets in respect of asthma can be set. In 1992- 93 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, spent over £1.5 million on research into asthma and areas which may be relevant to the condition.
Family Health Services Authorities
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health who are the members currently appointed to each of the family health services authorities.
Dr. Mawhinney : Members of family health services authorities are appointed by regional health authorities.
Barnet Health Agency
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to public funds of the production and distribution of the publication "Focus on Health--A Strategic Framework 1993-1998" by the Barnet health agency in terms of (a) managerial costs, (b) production costs and (c) distribution costs.
Dr. Mawhinney : Barnet health authority is still consulting on its five-year strategy. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Alan Jacobs, chairman of the authority, for details.
Infertility Treatment
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she proposes to raise the matter of an upper age limit on the availability of infertility treatment within the European Community ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has stated in its second annual report that it will be addressing the issue of treatment for post-menopausal women in the coming year. The Government will consider this matter further after they receive the authority's advice.
Column 888
Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health who are the members currently appointed to the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy.
Mr. Sackville : Current membership of COMA is :
Members--
Dr. K. C. Calman
Government Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health
Dr. P. Aggett
Agricultural and Food Research Council, Institute of Food Research, Norwich
Dr. S. Bingham
Non-clinical Scientist, Dunn Clinical Nutrition Unit, Cambridge Professor F. Cockburn
Samson Gemmell Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow
Ms A. Foster
Director, Scottish Consumer Council
Dr. G. Fowler
Clinical Reader in General Practice, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford
Professor Grimley Evans
Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford
Professor A. A. Jackson
Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton
Professor W. P. T. James
Director, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen
Professor M. Marmot
Professor of Community Medicine, University College and Middlesex Medical School
Ex-Officio Members--
Professor K. Alberti
Director of Research and Development, Northern Regional Health Authority, Chairman of Nutrition Programme Committee
Dr. J. Chambers
Health Education Authority
Dr. H. Denner
Chief Scientist (Food), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Dr. Hine
Chief Medical Officer, Welsh Office
Dr. M. Kemp
Medical Research Council
Dr. Kendell
Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Office
Dr. McKenna
Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Social Security, Northern Ireland
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