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EDUCATION
Nursery Education
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many three and four-year-olds attended maintained nursery schools or nursery classes in maintained primary schools in each local education authority in January 1993.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 21 January 1994, Official Report, columns 857-59.
Photographs
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to buy or borrow photographs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Patten : I have no such plans.
Surplus School Places
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the numbers and percentages of surplus places in each local education authority ; if he will list in rank order the local authorities according to the proportion of surplus places in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools ; and what estimate he has made of the percentage of surplus school places in grant-maintained schools in each of the local education authorities.
Mr. Forth : The tables show the number and percentage of surplus places in each local education authority in England, in primary and secondary schools respectively, as at January 1991, the latest date for which comprehensive information is available. No information is available centrally on surplus places in special schools. The information set out in the tables was provided by LEAs in response to a survey by the Department and includes all primary and secondary schools which were LEA maintained at the survey date. Numbers of grant-maintained schools have increased significantly since that date and no estimate has been made of the
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current level of surplus school places in grant-maintained schools in each LEA. We intend, however, to make regulations under section 21 of the Education Act 1993 which will require both LEAs and the new Funding Agency for Schools to submit annual information on the numbers of surplus places in LEA-maintained and grant- maintained schools respectively, beginning this year. LEAs and the FAS will shortly be consulted about this requirement.
Capacity of maintained secondary schools in
England-January 1991
|Surplus |Percentage
|places |surplus
--------------------------------------------------------
Hammersmith |3,251 |41
Lambeth |3,852 |39
Manchester |13,350 |36
Wandsworth 1 |3,908 |36
Solihull |6,645 |33
Southwark |3,837 |33
Brent |4,480 |33
Sandwell |7,722 |31
Knowsley |3,925 |31
Doncaster |8,550 |30
Wolverhampton |5,740 |30
Nottinghamshire |26,198 |30
Liverpool |11,545 |30
South Tyneside |3,528 |29
Merton |2,544 |27
Sheffield |8,730 |27
Kensington and Chelsea |1,046 |27
Durham |13,626 |27
Wakefield |7,763 |27
Cumbria |9,673 |25
Salford |3,711 |25
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |5,425 |25
North Tyneside |4,942 |25
Leeds |15,684 |25
Dudley |5,134 |25
Newham |3,899 |24
Hillingdon |3,693 |24
Birmingham |17,171 |24
Wirral |6,580 |24
Coventry |5,657 |24
Lewisham |3,223 |24
Ealing |3,533 |24
Leicestershire |16,644 |23
Avon |14,904 |23
St.Helens |3,621 |23
Cleveland |11,298 |23
Oxfordshire |9,589 |23
Kent |26,589 |23
Trafford |2,955 |22
Walsall |4,667 |21
Calderdale |2,891 |21
Humberside |14,891 |21
Lancashire |20,135 |21
Enfield |3,976 |21
Warwickshire |5,796 |21
Bexley |3,436 |20
Kirklees |6,222 |20
Waltham Forest |2,706 |20
Sefton |4,519 |20
Gateshead |2,941 |20
Hertfordshire |15,153 |20
Essex |24,319 |20
Surrey |8,400 |19
Hackney |1,780 |19
Islington |1,715 |19
Derbyshire |12,487 |19
Greenwich |3,260 |19
Rotherham |3,761 |18
Befordshire |9,409 |18
Shropshire |5,718 |18
Barnsley |2,644 |18
Wiltshire |9,682 |18
Rochdale 2 |2,525 |18
Norfolk |7,682 |17
Wigan |4,025 |17
Gloucestershire |5,756 |17
East Sussex |6,350 |17
Hounslow |2,598 |17
Croydon |3,149 |17
Hereford and Worcester |9,570 |17
Havering |3,229 |17
Berkshire |8,825 |17
Buckinghamshire |5,564 |16
Northamptonshire |8,058 |16
Hampshire |13,601 |16
Bradford |8,331 |16
West Sussex |7,634 |16
Lincolnshire |5,440 |15
Suffolk |8,015 |15
North Yorkshire |7,404 |15
Cheshire |11,149 |15
Kingston-upon-Thames |1,117 |14
Tameside |1,854 |14
Dorset |5,941 |14
Devon |9,012 |14
Stockport |2,732 |14
Sunderland 2 |2,566 |13
Northumberland |3,727 |12
Bromley 1 |1,309 |12
Somerset |3,793 |12
Westminster |868 |11
Tower Hamlets |1,051 |10
Isle of Wight |1,101 |10
Oldham |1,692 |10
Cornwall |3,209 |10
Staffordshire |7,783 |10
Camden |1,148 |10
Bolton |1,612 |9
Bury |1,013 |9
Barking |717 |8
Richmond-upon-Thames |643 |8
Sutton 1 |513 |7
Harrow |466 |6
Barnet |983 |6
Cambridge |2,642 |6
Redbridge |695 |5
<1>Figures for secondary schools in these LEAs are
incomplete.
<2>Figures for secondary schools in these LEAs are
calculated on a
slightly different basis since directly comparable
figures are not available.
Capacity of maintained primary schools in
England-January 1991
|Surplus |Percentage
|places |surplus
--------------------------------------------------------
Wandsworth |9,096 |39
Liverpool |19,481 |32
Hammersmith |2,981 |29
Gateshead |6,422 |28
Brent |6,585 |26
North Tyneside |3,802 |24
Southwark |5,511 |24
Doncaster |7,076 |22
Wigan |7,811 |22
Hertfordshire |20,503 |22
Staffordshire |24,485 |22
Wolverhampton |6,116 |22
Knowsley |4,004 |21
Oxfordshire |10,004 |21
Lambeth |4,479 |21
Northumberland |4,902 |21
Bedfordshire |9,782 |21
Berkshire |14,013 |20
Hackney |3,019 |19
Barnsley |4,220 |19
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |4,515 |19
Islington |2,958 |19
Newham |4,587 |18
Humberside |16,347 |18
Wiltshire |9,682 |18
Coventry |6,022 |18
Durham |11,516 |18
Sheffield |9,048 |18
Nottinghamshire |17,253 |18
Hillingdon |3,754 |18
Hampshire |24,719 |17
Rotherham |4,346 |17
Suffolk |7,902 |17
Leeds |8,335 |17
Hereford and Worcester |9,296 |17
Cheshire |17,045 |17
Salford |4,171 |17
Buckinghamshire |11,252 |17
Cleveland |10,391 |16
Bradford |6,370 |16
Richmond-upon-Thames |1,845 |16
Calderdale |3,324 |16
Shropshire |5,396 |16
South Tyneside |2,619 |16
Essex |22,611 |16
Solihull |3,332 |16
Kensington and Chelsea |1,090 |16
Manchester |7,617 |16
Bexley |2,914 |15
Tower Hamlets |2,864 |15
East Sussex |7,955 |15
Wakefield |4,314 |15
Sunderland |4,674 |15
Norfolk |10,842 |15
North Yorkshire |9,524 |15
Walsall |3,823 |14
Cambridge |9,401 |14
Warwickshire |7,305 |14
Devon |10,575 |13
Sutton |1,619 |13
Greenwich |2,718 |13
Stockport |3,557 |13
Surrey |11,084 |13
Lincolnshire |7,236 |13
Gloucestershire |5,506 |12
Derbyshire |10,230 |12
Merton |1,639 |12
West Sussex |6,940 |12
Croydon |3,389 |12
Cumbria |5,674 |12
Ealing |3,016 |11
St. Helens |1,886 |11
Kent |15,431 |11
Kirklees |3,291 |10
Trafford |1,878 |10
Camden |972 |10
Westminster |891 |10
Corporation of London |21 |10
Bromley |2,259 |10
Avon |6,359 |9
Lewisham |1,609 |9
Dudley |2,551 |9
Leicestershire |7,204 |9
Northamptonshire |4,714 |9
Barking |1,368 |9
Havering |1,971 |9
Waltham Forest |1,445 |8
Birmingham |8,711 |8
Rochdale |1,784 |8
Barnet |1,463 |7
Hounslow |1,226 |7
Somerset |2,524 |7
Sefton |1,944 |7
Oldham |1,319 |6
Bolton |1,602 |6
Wirral |1,953 |6
Redbridge |796 |5
Tameside |968 |5
Isle of Wight |357 |5
Kingston-upon-Thames |485 |5
Harrow |888 |5
Lancashire |6,754 |5
Enfield |765 |4
Dorset |1,165 |3
Cornwall |744 |2
Sandwell |328 |1
Bury |0 |0
Paintings and Photographs
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) paintings and (b) photographs there are on the walls of his rooms.
Mr. Patten : There are six drawings by Augustus John, Royal Academy ; one oil painting, "Tobias and the Angel"--late 18th century north Italian school--and one engraving of Beata Beatrice by D. G. Rossetti. I look forward to showing these to the hon. Member at an early opportunity ; he is welcome to bring his camera.
Lecturers
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what changes have taken place in the past three years in the totals and proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time lecturers currently employed in further and higher education ; and what are the financial consequences ;
(2) what is his latest calculation on the proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time lecturers currently employed in further and higher education in England.
Mr. Boswell : The information is not available in the form requested, but table A gives details of full and part-time lecturer numbers in England. Table B gives details of expenditure on lecturers' salaries since 1990-91.
It is for individual institutions to determine their staffing levels and to meet the consequent costs within the total funding available to them from all sources.
Table A
Full-time and part-time lecturer numbers
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------
LEA maintained Institutions<1>
Full-time |55 |53 |52
Part-time |22 |24 |23
Universities<2>
Full-time |39 |41 |42
Part-time |3 |3 |3
PCFC Institutions
Full-time |22 |22 |n/a
Part-time |3 |4 |n/a
Table B
Expenditure on lecturers' salaries
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------
LEA maintained Institutions<1>
Full-time |1,175 |1,254 |n/a
Part-time |151 |180 |n/a
Universities<2>
Total |866 |1,017 |n/a
PCFC Institutions
Total |n/a |1,200 |n/a
Note: Figures shown are the latest available.
<1> Institutions now within the futher education sector, but
not including
sixth form colleges.
<2> Universities refer to universities funded by the
Universities Funding
Council.
n/a = not available.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will provide a figure for the number of staff in his Department covered by statutory sick pay.
Mr. Boswell : A total of 2,127 at 1 January 1994.
Lowestoft Middle School
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to announce a decision on the Suffolk county council application to build a new middle school at Lowestoft ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : Suffolk's proposals are currently under consideration. My right hon. Friend will announce a decision on them as soon as possible.
Muslim Girls School, Bradford
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he received an application from the Muslim Girls community school in Bradford for voluntary-aided status ; what further information he requires about the application before reaching a decision ; when he expects to announce a decision ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : We have received no such application. Because of the Secretary of State's role in these matters, it is not appropriate to comment on any proposals which may come before him for decision.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Staff
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the right hon. Member for
Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will publish details of the number of people working full and part time at the House of Commons.
Mr. Beith : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 18 January 1994, Official Report , column 520 .
Committee of Selection
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Selection what criteria the Committee of Selection uses to fulfil the requirement of paragraph 2 of Standing Order No. 86 (Nomination of Standing Committees) to have regard to the qualifications of hon. Members nominated to serve on Standing Committees.
Sir Fergus Montomery : In nominating hon. Members to serve on Standing Committees, the Committee of Selection is required to have regard not only to the qualifications of hon. Members, but also to the composition of the House. For Bills certified by the Speaker as relating exclusively to Scotland, the Committee is required to nominate not fewer than 16 Members representing Scottish constituencies. Hon. Members
Column 525
interested in serving on particular Standing Committees may submit their names to the Committee for its consideration.Statutory Instruments
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will (a) list the number of statutory instruments passed and (b) what percentage of these were subjet to the affirmative procedure for each year since 1977-78.
Mr. Newton : This information is available under the delegated legislation section of the Sessional Returns.
WALES
Council House Sales
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will free from restrictions the cash held by local authorities from council house sales receipts for a phased programme of construction of homes to rent and for a phased programme of modernisation and refurbishment ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will permit an increase in the percentage of council house sales receipts being made available for use by local authorities.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : No changes are planned. The rules already allow all capital receipts from council house sales to be used for new capital spending where there is no outstanding loan debt. Changing the requirements of section 59 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 would increase public borrowing.
Consultants
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on which occasions since 1979 his Department has employed the services of external consultants ; and if he will give details of the purposes for which they were employed and the cost of employing them.
Mr. Redwood : This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mink Farms
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 7 December, Official Report, column 181 , what was the result of the application for a licence in respect of a mink farm at Llanybydder, Dyfed, established in February 1988 ; when that farm was in operation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The application for a licence was withdrawn.
Welsh Language
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what level of funding will be available for the training of teachers to enable them to teach Welsh as a second language ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : £176,000 has been made available for 1993-94 by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales to help colleges meet the criteria for primary initial teacher training courses. These require that students must have the opportunity to learn Welsh. The council has yet to decide on the level of funds for 1994-95.
Column 526
Student teachers on one or two-year initial teacher training courses in Welsh receive a bursary of £1,000 under the Department for Education trainee teacher bursary scheme. This financial incentive is aimed at maintaining teacher supply in the shortage areas, including Welsh.The sum of £3 million has been made available in 1993-94 through the grants for education support and training programme for the in-service training and support of teachers of Welsh as a first and second language. Local education authorities have been directed to target the majority of these funds towards the training of teachers responsible for teaching Welsh as a second language. I am currently considering authority bids for 1994-95 and expect to make an announcement on the level of funding shortly.
In deciding on the future level of funds to be made available account will continue to be taken of the supply, demand and training needs of teachers of Welsh as a second language.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funding will be available to finance the training of teachers to a level of teaching proficiency through the medium of the Welsh language ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Mainstream funding for teaching provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales does not distinguish between Welsh medium and English medium teaching.
The Department has put in place an incentive supplement scheme aimed at increasing the supply of teachers trained to teach through the medium of the Welsh language. Expenditure under this scheme will amount to some £160,000 in 1993-94. I intend to make a similar level of funding available for 1994-95.
The sum of £264,400 has been made available in 1993-94 under the grants for education support and training programme for training to enable teachers to transfer from English medium to Welsh medium teaching. In addition, £12 million has been made available through the programme in 1993-94 for the in-service training and support for teachers on subject teaching. Local education authorities have been directed to target the majority of these funds, in both English and Welsh medium schools, towards the training needs of teachers in the national curriculum subjects requirements. I am currently considering authority bids for 1994-95 and expect to make an announcement on the level of funding shortly.
In deciding on the future level of funds to be made available account will continue to be taken of the supply, demand and training needs for Welsh medium teachers.
Business Statistics
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the numbers of business start-ups and bankruptcies in Wales in each year since 1979.
Mr. Redwood : Official estimates of bankruptcy orders are compiled for Wales and England combined and are not separately available for Wales. The best available guide to trends in numbers of business starts comes from VAT data. The number of VAT registrations in Wales is available for each year from 1980 onwards and is as follows :
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Wales-VAT registrations
|Number
---------------------------
1980 |7,100
1981 |7,100
1982 |7,700
1983 |8,000
1984 |7,600
1985 |7,300
1986 |7,800
1987 |8,700
1988 |10,900
1989 |10,900
1990 |10,200
1991 |8,400
1992 |<1>7,400
<1> The estimate for 1992
is not compatible with
those for earlier years
due to the effects of the
increase in the VAT
threshold from £25,400 to
£35,000 introduced in the
March 1991 Budget.
Source: Department of
Trade and Industry.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his assessment of the performance and effectiveness of TECs in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The performance of Welsh TECs is closely monitored against the targets agreed in their business plans and they are also subject to two formal reviews of performance each year. It is my intention to publish information on Welsh TEC performance in the context of the quartile tables of key performance indicators prepared for TECs in England. This information will be available in the early part of the 1994-95 financial year.
Lecturers
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what changes have taken place in the past three years in the totals and proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time lecturers currently employed in further and higher education ; and what are the financial consequences ;
(2) what is his latest calculation on the proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time lecturers currently employed in further and higher education.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Except for the university of Wales, information on part-time lecturers in the further and higher education sectors is not available. Academic staff of all grades may undertake lecturing duties, and the tables which follow give the available information on numbers of all academic staff and those in the lecturer grades at the university of Wales and at other publicly funded institutions in both sectors in Wales. Staff of the Open university are excluded.
University of Wales<1>
|Lecturers<2>|All academic
|staff
----------------------------------------------------
1990-91
Full time |2,190 |2,764
Part time |175 |236
1991-92
Full time |2,238 |2,853
Part time |131 |199
1992-93
Full time |2,278 |2,913
Part time |121 |195
<1> At December.
<2> Includes readers, senior lecturers and
lecturers.
Source: University Statistical Record.
Other further and higher educational
establishments<1>
|Lecturers<2>|All academic
|staff
----------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |4,038 |4,331
1991-92 |4,198 |4,334
1992-93<3> |4,279 |4,330
<1> At March. Includes information for the
polytechnic of Wales
(1990-91, 1991-92) and the university of Glamorgan (
1992-93).
Information on part-time staff by grade not
available.
<2> Includes readers, principal lecturers, senior
lecturers and lecturers.
<3> Provisional.
Source: Department for Education.
Decisions about the deployment of staff are for individual institutions. The deployment of staff does not affect the allocation of money to institutions from the funding bodies.
Magor-Castleton Motorway
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many submissions were received in the consultation exercise on the proposed Magor to Castleton motorway ; and how many were (a) in favour and (b) opposed to the proposal.
Sir Wyn Roberts : A report on the results of the consultation and the issues raised is in preparation. The information requested will be made public when a decision is taken on whether or not to proceed with any of the published routes.
Milk
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many gallons of milk were consumed in Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available ; and how many gallons of milk were produced in Wales in that year.
Mr. Redwood : Milk Marketing Board statistics for milk production in Wales are published in Welsh Agricultural Statistics. The volume of milk produced and sold through milk marketing schemes in Wales in 1992 was 1,455 million litres or 320 million gallons. Total liquid milk consumption figures are not separately available for Wales.
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a figure for the number of staff in his Department covered by statutory sick pay.
Mr. Redwood : The head count of Welsh Office staff eligible to receive statutory sick pay is 2,430.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Independent Review Tribunal
40. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what discussion he has had with the Home Office regarding the proposed independent review tribunal for dealing with alleged miscarriages of justice ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 529
Mr. John M. Taylor : None. Officials in my Department and the Home Office are working together on the proposed new arrangements for considering alleged miscarriages of justice.
Legal Aid
41. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to improve the legal aid system.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The legal aid scheme is kept under constant scrutiny to ensure that it is operating as efficienty and effectively as possible. In addition, it is part of the subject matter of the fundamental review of my Department's expenditure which is curently under way.
Judges and Barristers
42. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to broaden the social background of (a) judges and (b) barristers.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor's policy is to appoint to judicial office entirely on merit those members of the legal profession who satisfy the relevant statutory conditions for appointment and are best qualified to fill the posts. However, the Bar is an independent profession and the selection of prospective barristers is therefore a matter for the Bar Council and not an area in which the Government can directly intervene.
Commercial Leases
43. Mr. Waterson : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to amend the current law relating to privity of contract in commercial leases ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government will implement the recommendations in the Law Commission's report "Landlord and Tenant Law : Privity of Contract and Estate"--Law Com. No. 174--for all future leases including commercial leases, as soon as there is a suitable legislative opportunity.
Medical Ethics
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the work of the Law Commission in relation to medical ethics.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Law Commission is reviewing the law and procedures relating to decision making on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults, which involves consideration of ethical questions in relation to medical treatment and research.
Column 530
Leasehold Flats
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he intends to introduce legislation to create a commonhold tenure for occupiers of leasehold flats.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government intend to introduce the commonhold legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows. The commonhold system will not be restricted to flats, but will be available for use with other types of property.
HEALTH
NHS Trusts (Salaries)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish details of the code of practice in relation to salaries and pay rises of NHS trust chief executives.
Dr. Mawhinney : Guidance on determing rates of pay for executives in national health service trusts was set out in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's letter of 22 January 1991 to all NHS trust chairmen. That is the standing advice and copies are available in the Library. The chief executive of the National Health Service Management Executive also wrote to chairmen of all third wave trusts on 20 January 1993 explaining how the 1992 public sector pay restraint affected executive pay appointments at that time. Copies of that letter are also available in the Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issued draft codes of conduct and accountability on 13 January to the NHS for its views and, subject to consultation, these will be put into effect from 1 April 1994. One of the main new features will be the publication, in annual reports, of the total remuneration from NHS sources of chairmen, executive and non- executive board members.
Loans
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each scheme operated by her Department under which loans are available, the objectives of the scheme, the number of unrecovered loans, the total value of unrecovered loans, the average number of unrecovered loans for each year since 1990, the average value of unrecovered loans for each year since 1990 and the annual cost of recovering loans.
Mr. Sackville : The table gives information on schemes operated by the Department under which loans are available. It also provides information on any unrecovered loans. It excludes loans to staff, which are recovered through their salaries. It is not possible except at disproportionate cost to provide information on the annual cost of recovering loans.
Column 531
Loans |Objective
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loans repayable to DH when children's homes close |Under section 58 of the Children Act 1989, providers of some children's
or change use |homes (which were formerly approved schools) are required to
|repay past grants and loans to the Department of Health when the
|home closes or changes its use. Central Government capital was
|invested under section 104 of the Children and Young Persons Act
|1933 for the establishment and refurbishment of approved schools
|and this continues to be recoverable under the Act. We hold no
|records of any unrecovered loans
Loans under section 64 of the Health Services |To support the agreed national activities of the voluntary sector in
and Public Health Act 1968 |relation to the health and personal social services. This is achieved
|by providing grants to voluntary organisations towards their
|administrative (core) costs and for certain national projects and,
|exceptionally, for well defined regional and local activities.
|While the section 64 power allows loans to be made, none has been
|made under the section 64 general scheme to date. Any proposal to
|make a loan would require approval of the Treasury
Loans to the Medicines Control Agency |There are potentially two kinds of loan which the Department can make
|to the Medicines Control Agency.
|When the MCA became a trading fund its net assets were financed by
|public dividend capital and originating debt. The originating debt is
|to be repaid to the Department over a five-year period in
|instalments. The MCA was given the option, which it has taken up,
|to re-borrow an equivalent amount to that repaid - this amounts to
|£330,000 in the current financial year.
|As regards its recurrent and capital costs, the MCA is a self-financing
|agency which recovers its costs through licensing fees. However,
|loans may be made to the MCA for effective management of cash
|flow.All loan repayments would be recovered as they fall due.
Loans to NHS Trusts |The objective of the trust loans system is to provide finance for capital
|expenditure and for the effective management of cash flow at NHS
|trusts. All loan repayments are recovered as they fall due. None of
|the loans can be categorised as unrecovered.
Family Health Services Authorities
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 10 December, Official Report , column 394 , what was the number of secretaries,
Column 532
receptionists, administrators and practice managers in each of the 12 family health services authority areas which fell wholly or partly within the London initiative zone in each of the last five years.Dr. Mawhinney : The available information is shown in the table.
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Staff type |1 October 1989|1 October 1990|1 October 1991|1 October 1992|1 April 1993 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management and Administration<1> |n/a |573.8 |676.3 |772.1 |758.4 Secretary/Clerical<2> |405.5 |3,620.2 |1,297.0 |1,319.2 |1,197.7 Receptionist<3> |2,612.1 |- |2,530.6 |2,497.7 |2,396.7 The data relate to whole-time equivalent staff. <1> No data are available for management and administrative staff for 1989; the figure for 1990 relates only to practice managers. <2> The figure for the secretary/clerical category for 1989 relates to staff employed only as secretaries; the receptionist category relates to staff employed as receptionists, and as secretary/receptionists. <3> The figure for secretary/clerical category for 1990 includes receptionists.
Hepatitis B
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target she has received from the World Health Organisation in relation to hepatitis B universal vaccination ; and what plans she has to meet that target ;
(2) what plans she has to implement a hepatitis B universal vaccination strategy ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Targets for the introduction of hepatitis B vaccine into national immunisation programmes were set by the global advisory group of the World Health Organisation's expanded programme on immunisation in 1991, the recommendations being endorsed by the World
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Health Assembly in 1992. These targets called for countries with a prevalence of hepatitis B virus carriers of 8 per cent. or greater to include hepatitis B immunisation into their national immunisation programmes by 1995 and for all countries to include the vaccine by 1997. Target groups and strategies may vary with local epidemiology. The carrier rate in the United Kingdom is significantly below 1 per cent.Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1982 and is recommended for those at high risk of infection. Immunisation strategy is kept under review in the light of a range of factors, including the current low prevalence of the disease in this country.
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Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the bodies and individuals from whom she has received representations calling for a universal hepatitis B vaccination programme in children.
Mr. Sackville : No recent representations have been received from organisations. We are aware that some professional interests favour universal immunisation. Policy is kept under review in the light of a range of factors including current prevalence.
Occasional letters have been received from interested individuals. These cannot be listed for reasons of confidentiality.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies her Department has undertaken of (a) the most common method of transmission of hepatitis B and (b) the causes of primary liver cancer.
Mr. Sackville : In the United Kingdom the most common form of acquisition of hepatitis B is known to be through unprotected sexual activity both between men and women and between men. This accounts for perhaps 60 per cent. of those cases in which a cause is identified. Transmission routes for hepatitis B are well understood. The Department has not received recent proposals for further study in this area or of the causes of primary liver cancer.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned into the duration of antibody responses to hepatitis B vaccination in children.
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Mr. Sackville : None, but the possibility of the need for booster doses of vaccine continues to be kept under review.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the incidence of hepatitis B in each EC country in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville : The available information on reported cases among European Community countries which have submitted data to the World Health Organisation is :
|1991 |1992
------------------------------------
Denmark |71 |51
Germany |5,081|5,987
Italy |3,262|2,985
Netherlands |264 |252
Portugal |609 |738
England and Wales |488 |489
Differences in populations and surveillance systems should be borne in mind in assessing these figures.
NHS Private Income
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the total private income in the NHS for 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 ;
(2) what was the private income of the NHS in each region and special health authority in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table.
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