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Mr. Sackville : The information requested will be placed in the Library. Intensive therapy beds are also included in the acute beds total. Private beds are those in private acute hospitals with operating theatres and are those in other private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984.
Palliative Care
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to monitor the implementation of Department of Health circular EL(93)14 dealing with funding arrangements for specialist palliative care needs in nursing homes ;
(2) if she will list the health authorities which have formally drawn up procedures to provide nursing home-owners with information about the specialist palliative care needs of individual service users ; and how the health authority will ensure that such needs are met in accordance with Department of Health circular EL(93)14 ; (3) what is her assessment of the progress of implementing Department of Health circular EL(93)14 relating to funding arrangements for specialist palliative care needs in nursing homes ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : As circular EL(93)14 makes clear, where a person in a nursing home requires specialist palliative care, the provision of any such care which is additional to general nursing care is the responsibility of the appropriate health authority. Copies of the circular are available in the Library.
Arrangements for this need to be agreed locally between health and local authorities in order to deliver responsive care to patients. The Department does not formally monitor the detail of such agreements.
Last September's national community care monitoring exercise showed that collaboration between health and social services authorities is generally improving, although there is scope for some further clarification of local arrangements. Since then, as a precondition of local authorities' community care special transitional grant, we have again required them to submit evidence that they have reached agreement with health authorities over their respective responsibilities for continuing care.
Health Service Expenditure
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of net and gross hospital and community health service capital and net and gross national health service capital expenditure for each year since 1973-74 expressed in 1993-94 prices, adjusted by (a) the gross domestic product deflator and (b) changes in input unit costs.
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Mr. Sackville : The precise information is not available in the format requested. Hospital and community health service gross current expenditure figures will be placed in the Library from 1976-77, the first year for which these figures are available. Expenditure estimates adjusted for input unit costs are not yet available at 1993-94 prices.
Market Testing
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance she has issued on market testing for clinical services to ensure the quality of services in the clinical setting ;
(2) what assessment she has made as to the extent to which recommended Government guidelines for market testing were complied with in respect of the tendering process for awarding a private contract for the pathology services for the North Hertfordshire trust.
Mr. Sackville : The document "Market Testing in the National Health Service (Revised Guidance)", which set out the principles and methods to achieve quality in any service being market tested, was issued in June 1993. Copies of the document are available in the Library. The market testing of pathology services in the North Hertfordshire trust was already in train at that time. Chief executives are responsible for the proper conduct of market testing exercises in their trusts.
Electro-convulsive Therapy
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has for banning the use of electro-convulsive therapy on children ;
(2) how many children received electro-convulsive therapy in the last year for which figures are available ;
(3) how many hospitals currently use electro-convulsive therapy as part of their programme for treating mentally disturbed children.
Mr. Bowis : Treatment in any particular case is a matter for local clinical decision by the medical practitioner or practitioners involved who are familiar with the particular case and complexities of the condition. Information on the use of electro-convulsive therapy is collected not on a hospital basis but by hospital episode. According to the latest unpublished figures available, no patient under the age of 15 received ECT in 1991-92. An unpublished survey in 1992 by the child and adolescent psychiatry section of the Royal College of Psychiatrists recorded that ECT was used very rarely on those under 18 and only where patients were very ill.
Pathology Services
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she received from the independent assessors nominated by the Royal College of Pathologists on awarding the private contract for pathology services for the North Hertfordshire trust ; and what action was taken as a result of that advice.
Mr. Sackville : The advice of the assessors nominated by the Royal College of Pathologists was given in confidence to the North Hertfordshire trust. We understand that the trust has found the advice valuable in its discussions on the detail of the service to be provided under contract.
Column 927
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her review of pathology services ; when her report is due to be published ; and what is the implication for her review of a decision to award a contract for pathology services to a private company before it is completed.
Mr. Sackville : The strategic review of pathology services is due to report to the Department in June. The Department will then consider the content of strategic guidelines for the national health service on the maintenance and development of high quality, cost-effective clinical services responsive to the needs of patients and users. The review is not intended to delay progress on local initiatives.
Psychiatric Wards
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she proposes to take to ensure that women who are admitted to psychiatric hospital are guaranteed the choice to be treated on a women-only ward if they so wish.
Mr. Bowis : The patients charter requires health authorities to provide services which respect patients' privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs. In line with this the "Mental Health Key Area Handbook" advises health authorities that one of women's particular concerns is the choice of a single-sex ward or single-sex area.
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of serious assault have been reported by women who are patients in mixed psychiatric wards for each year since 1989.
Mr. Bowis : Health authorities are responsible for ensuring there is secure accommodation for all patients and incidents should be monitored locally.
Hospital Catering
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and which hospital trusts operate two standards of catering for patients, one of which requires a payment by the patient.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is not held centrally.
Hearing Aids (Children)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which agency is responsible for monitoring the provision and maintenance of hearing aids for (a) pre-school children, (b) children at school and (c) young people aged 16 years and above who are in full-time education ; and what plans there are to change the present arrangement ;
(2) which agency monitors the provision of insurance on hearing aids for children and young people ; and what plans there are to change the present arrangement ;
(3) if she will list the conditions under which children and young people are entitled to be provided with the most appropriate hearing aid whether or not this is part of the national health service range of hearing aids.
Mr. Bowis : Hearing aids are available under the national health service for anyone who needs one. It is for the clinician concerned to decide which aid is most
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appropriate in each case, whether it is from the standard range or purchased by hearing aid centres from a commercial source. As hearing aids are provided on loan there is no requirement for the patient, or in the case of a child under 16, the child's parent to insure the device. We have no plans to change these arrangements.Hospitals
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by region (a) the hospitals that have closed since 1990 and (b) the hospitals that have opened since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : Decisions on opening or closing facilities are for local management. The Department requires formal notification only where proposed closures are contested by the community health councils.
NHS Buildings
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will undertake and publish a survey of the state of maintenance of buildings and plant of NHS hospitals in England, in order to identify any shortfalls leading to danger to patients.
Mr. Sackville : No. Since the removal of Crown immunity from the national health service in 1991, all NHS bodies are required to meet their statutory duties to make safe any hazardous buildings or plant.
Smear Tests
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in each region were found to have been misdiagnosed as a result of the improper administration of pre-cancer smear tests in 1993.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she has taken to ensure that no further problems arise in the cervical smear testing system.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally. In 1993 there were a few isolated instances where women were recalled for further tests because of inadequacies within the screening programme. These were addressed locally. The chief medical officer has recently announced a package of initatives to strengthen quality within the programme and copies of press release 94/37 detailing these are available in the Library.
Suicide
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by region the number of suicides for each year since 1990 ; and if she will publish the available data on their employment status.
Mr. Bowis : The number of suicides, including undetermined deaths, in each region for the years 1990 to 1992 are shown in the table. Information on employment status at the time of death is not routinely recorded on death certificates.
Year
Region |1990 |1991 |1992
--------------------------------------------------
Northern |345 |341 |362
Yorkshire |432 |428 |437
Trent |515 |520 |526
East Anglian |261 |251 |245
North West Thames |403 |445 |401
North East Thames |445 |443 |379
South East Thames |493 |466 |474
South West Thames |326 |325 |349
Wessex |346 |359 |350
Oxford |293 |264 |284
South Western |416 |389 |419
West Midlands |584 |533 |555
Mersey |250 |244 |216
North Western |485 |559 |544
|-------|-------|-------
England |5,594 |5,567 |5,541
Voluntary Organisations
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have been received for section 64 funding from April 1994 ; how many have already been processed ; and how many have been refused.
Mr. Bowis : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 8 February at col. 197.
School Catering
Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the application of the Welfare Food Amendment Regulations 1992 to schools catering for under-fives.
Mr. Sackville : The policy intention was that the 1992 amendment regulations should simply delete references in the Welfare Food Regulations 1988 to the Nurseries and Childminders Regulation Act 1948, insert appropriate references to the Children Act 1989 and incorporate other changes to harmonise with the 1989 Act. There was no intention to change any entitlement under the regulations. However, we have received legal advice that the unintended effect of the amendment regulations was to remove the possibility of schools running classes for under-fives from participating in the welfare food scheme. This means that an estimated £3.3 million including £0.52 million in Scotland and £0.18 million in Wales paid between April 1992 and April 1994 will have been paid on a basis which is incorrect on the strict interpretation of the law. In addition, a number of schools have been registered under the scheme without statutory authority. We intend to continue registering new applicants and making payments on an extra-statutory basis to ensure that schools may participate in the welfare food scheme so as to provide free milk to children under five in line with the policy intention. Appropriate statutory authority will be obtained as soon as possible. The total amount to be paid on this basis, initially estimated at a cost of £150,000 per month in England, £22,000 in Scotland and £13, 000 in Wales will be reported in notes to the relevant Departments' appropriation accounts for 1993-94. There is no possibility of any child losing entitlement under the welfare food scheme as a result of the above arrangements.
District Health Authorities
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population covered by the Winchester district health authority live in the county of Hampshire.
Column 930
Mr. Sackville : The latest population estimates relate to mid-1992. At that time 99.2 per cent. of the population covered by the Winchester district health authority lived in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the total annual budget of the Winchester district health authority ;
(2) what was the total annual budget of the Basingstoke and North Hampshire district health authority ;
(3) what was the total annual budget of the Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire district health authority ;
(4) what was the total annual budget of the Southampton and South West Hampshire district health authority.
Mr. Sackville : Revenue expenditure in 1992-93 of these authorities was :
I
Authority name |Total revenue
|expenditure (£)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire DHA |177,799,025
Southampton and South West Hampshire DHA |149,568,600
Winchester DHA |70,717,287
Basingstoke and North Hampshire DHA |74,965,717
Source: Annual accounts of health authorities (England) 1992-93.
Notes: The figures are provisional.
The figures shown include an amount for capital charges.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population covered by the Basingstoke and North Hampshire district health authority live in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Sackville : The latest population estimates relate to mid-1992. At that time 99.9 per cent. of the population covered by the Basingstoke and North Hampshire district health authority lived in the county of Hampshire. Following enlargement of the authority on 1 April 1993 this proportion was still 99.9 per cent.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population covered by the Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire district health authority live in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Sackville : The whole of the population covered by the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire district health authority lives in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population covered by the Southampton and South West Hampshire district health authority live in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Sackville : The latest population estimates relate to mid-1992. At that time 99.9 per cent. of the population covered by the Southampton and South West Hampshire district health authority lived in the county of Hampshire.
GP Fundholders
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total sum of the budgets of those general practitioner fundholders who practice in the county of Hampshire.
Dr. Mawhinney : Regional health authorities are responsible for managing the general practitioner
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fundholding scheme in their areas and only regional information is available centrally. For local information the hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Alastair Service, chairman of the Wessex regional health authority.Family Health Services, Hampshire
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total budget for Hampshire family health services authority in the financial year 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : Budgets are not set for family health services authorities 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 recorded centrally.
Wessex RHA
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage of population covered by Wessex regional health authority who live in the county of Hampshire.
Mr. Sackville : The latest population estimates relate to mid-1992. At that time 48.1 per cent. of the population covered by Wessex regional health authority lived in the county of Hampshire. Following enlargement of the authority on 1 April 1993 this proportion became 50.5 per cent.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total annual budget for Wessex regional health authority for 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : The current cash limit for the Wessex region in 1993 -94 is £1,328,000,000.
Personal Social Services
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the English local authorities which currently have a policy of charging for personal social services other than residential care ; and if she will specify which authorities charge for (a) day care, (b) home care and (c) other services.
Mr. Bowis : Local authorities are not required to inform the Department of their policies for charging for day and domiciliary services.
Bed Bureaux
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health authorities had bed bureaux in (a) 1990 and (b) 1994 ; and if she will list them.
Dr. Mawhinney : This is a matter for individual health authorities. The information is not available centrally.
Meningitis
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been thus far of the national publicity campaign on meningitis.
Mr. Sackville : The figure is £55,318.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the national publicity campaign on meningitis and septicaemia planned for February is going ahead.
Column 932
Mr. Sackville : Yes. The chief medical officer wrote to all doctors on 3 February with an example of the new public information leaflet on meningitis and septicaemia. Further copies of the leaflet have been sent to all general practitioners to be made available to the public. Leaflets will also be issued in April to college students and there will be a further wider student distribution in September. Supplies of leaflets have also been provided for the National Meningitis Trust and Meningitis Research. Further steps are under consideration. Copies of the leaflet will be placed in the Library.
Private Treatment
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice or guidance has been issued regarding hospital staff advising patients to pay for private treatment because health authority contracts have been completed or because the waiting lists are long.
Mr. Sackville : None. The national health service will remain available to all on the basis of clinical need, not the ability to pay.
Stanley Royd Hospital
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will seek a report from the mental health task force regarding the steps that are being taken to close Stanley Royd hospital, Wakefield ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Wakefield was one of 20 district health authorities visited recently by the mental health task force to see how purchasers and providers were approaching the replacement of the large hospitals and to draw out good practice.
The task force will issue an overview report shortly. The reprovision of the facilities at Stanley Royd is being monitored by the task force along with all the other long-stay mental illness hospitals.
Wakefield health authority and the Pontefract and Wakefield community trust are working closely with other local organisations to develop a range of residential facilities, day care, community units for the elderly and acute facilities which will enable the residents of Stanley Royd hospital to be cared for within the community and for the hospital to close in 1995. There was full consultation on the reprovision of mental illness services last year.
Family Health Services Authorities
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been employed by FHSAs for every year since their creation (a) in total and (b) by region.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 31 January 1994] : The numbers of staff employed are shown in the table.
Family Health Service Authorities (FHSA) Staff by
Region as at 30
September 1990-92
|1990 |1991 |1992
--------------------------------------------------
Northern |320 |370 |420
Yorkshire |420 |450 |440
Trent |420 |520 |620
East Anglia |220 |280 |280
North West Thames |280 |540 |570
North East Thames |380 |580 |600
South East Thames |390 |340 |500
South West Thames |390 |420 |450
Wessex |280 |320 |330
Oxford |310 |270 |290
South Western |310 |340 |370
West Midlands |720 |640 |670
Mersey |190 |340 |320
North Western |510 |520 |610
|-------|-------|-------
Total |5,130 |5,930 |6,470
Source of Data:
1. For 1990 the Department of Health Non Medical
Workforce Census.
2. For 1991 and 1992 the Department of Health Non
Medical Workforce Census and KM49 return.
Notes:
1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10
whole time equivalents (wte)
2. Totals may not add due to the effect of
rounding.
EDUCATION
National Curriculum Council
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the capital cost of fitting out, furnishing and decorating the premises in York formerly used by the National Curriculum Council.
Mr. Robin Squire : These costs were incurred in 1989-90 at the time the National Curriculum Council moved into the premises. The costs are not identifiable from the National Curriculum Council's published accounts but the Department's records indicate that they amounted to some £0.5 million.
Further Education Funding Council
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total annual budget of the Further Education Funding Council for the financial year 1993-94.
Mr. Boswell : The Further Education Funding Council's total grant for 1993-94, including recurrent and capital grant, is £2.701 billion. This includes £24.9 million for the council's own running costs.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the Further Education Funding Council's budget supports institutions in Hampshire.
Mr. Boswell : The Further Education Funding Council's recurrent funding allocations to institutions for 1993-94 covered the period 1 April 1993 to 31 July 1994 and amounted to £3.201 billion. Allocations to institutions in Hampshire amounted to £100 million or about 3.1 per cent. of the total.
Grant-maintained Schools, Hampshire
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total budget for each grant-maintained (a) primary school and (b) secondary school in Hampshire for the year 1993-94.
Mr. Robin Squire : Total budgets for grant-maintained schools in Hampshire for the year 1993-94 are as follows :
Column 934
|Total budget
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------
(a) Primary Schools
Abbotswood GM Middle School |1,063,488
Ashley Junior School |412,452
Blackfield Junior School |708,049
Calmore GM Middle School |680,246
Front Lawn Middle School |538,515
Hordle CE Primary School |321,215
Lyndhurst Middle School |<1>248,715
Mill Rythe County Infant School |<1>111,572
The Priory School |449,363
St. Joseph's RC Primary School |725,609
St. Paul's RC Primary School |446,334
St. Peter's CE Junior School |<1>131,535
St. Peter's RC Primary School |392,168
(b) Secondary Schools
All Hallows RC School |2,621,982
Applemore School |1,188,404
The Arnewood School |2,594,778
Bay House GM School |3,345,885
Bohunt School |2,414,511
The Burgate School |1,674,107
Cams Hill School |<1>689,689
City of Portsmouth Boy's School |2,284,162
Crofton School |2,732,703
Hardley School |1,982,987
Oaklands RC Comprehensive School |1,444,983
Purbrook Park School |859,604
Ringwood School |1,807,935
St. Edmund's Catholic School |<1>671,235
St. George Catholic School |774,246
Testbourne Community School |849,834
Testwood School |2,065,880
Note: The amount shown for total budget includes Annual
Maintenance Grant, Special Purpose Grants for
Restructuring, Development, Premises, VAT, Transitional
Grants and Capital Grants payable to the schools in
1993-94.
<1>Became GM on 1 January 1994 hence AMG amount included
is provisional.
Nursery Education
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what evidence Her Majesty's Government have come to the conclusions that equal benefits can be obtained from nursery education and other forms of pre-five -year-old provision ; if he will list the sources which he has considered and which evidence (a) supports and (b) does not support his conclusions ; and what are his reasons for considering that the evidence in (a) above is of greater weight than that in (b) above.
Mr. Robin Squire : Evidence on the educational benefits of nursery education and other forms of pre-school provision comes from a wide variety of sources. A summary commissioned in 1985 by the then Secretary of State was published in 1988 in "Children Under Five : Educational Research and Evidence" by Margaret Clark. The findings of these and subsequent investigations are not conclusive, but overall the evidence suggests that good quality pre-school education can benefit children wherever it takes place.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received concerning the changing of the spending formula in section 11.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
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We have received many representations from local authorities and associations, teacher unions, ethnic minority communities and other interested parties about the reductions in section 11 funding which we regret it has been necessary to make. Among these, there has been widespread support for the approach, which we have announced we are adopting from 1994-95, of paying grant in the form of an annual budget to each grant recipient, instead of as a fixed percentage of actual costs.ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Advertising
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list all television advertising, newspaper advertising, radio advertising and other promotional campaigns with a budgeted cost in excess of £10,000 conducted by (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) his agencies (i) in the current financial year and (ii) planned for 1994-95, showing for each one the objectives and mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of the advertising.
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