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HOME DEPARTMENT
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public interest immunity certificates he, or his predecessors, have been asked to sign in each year since 1979 ; how many he or his predecessors decided not to sign ; and if he will make a statement of his policy on signing of public interest immunity certificates.
Mr. Howard : No central record is kept of public interest immunity certificates signed or not signed since 1979. My policy is to sign public interest immunity certificates, in accordance with my legal duty, where I am
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satisfied that there is a public interest in protecting documents or information from disclosure in legal proceedings. It is for the court, in any particular case, to weigh the public interest asserted in the certificate against the competing public interest in the due administration of justice.Women's Royal Voluntary Service
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department expects to pay in grant to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service during the financial years 1993-94 and 1994-95 ; and if he will make a statement on the purposes for which that grant is paid.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Women's Royal Voluntary Service provides through some 145,000 volunteers a wide range of services to the community. Home Office grant in aid, which helps to fund the core administrative expenses of the service, amounts to £6.247 million in 1993-94. The level of grant in aid for 1994-95-has yet to be decided.
Prison Suicides
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to deposit in the Library copies of reports of the internal investigations into suicides in prisons at the request of hon. Members.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The internal investigation is a review which the Prison Service carries out for its own management purposes. In the case of deaths in custody, a full public inquest is conducted separately by the coroner.
Yugoslav Refugees
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 December to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Blunkett), Official Report, column 674, (a) how many refugees have been admitted to Britain from former Yugoslavia to the current date, (b) how many applications for asylum have been granted and (c) how many applications for asylum are under consideration.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on asylum applications by nationals of the former Yugoslavia, and on decisions made, in the period 1 January 1992 to 31 January 1994 is given in the table. The large majority of these cases--an estimated 6,640 at 31 January 1994--are under consideration and the applicants are being allowed to stay in the meantime.
In addition to consideration of asylum applications, the Government have, under arrangements announced in November 1992 and June 1993, offered to receive 1,000 particularly vulnerable individuals from the former Yugoslavia, and their close dependants, an estimated total of 4,000 people. As at 21 February 1994, 568 particularly vulnerable individuals and 781 dependants had arrived under these arrangements. Prior to this, 68 sick and wounded ex-detainees from Bosnia arrived in September 1992.
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Decisions<1> on applications<1> received for asylum in the United Kingdom
from nationals of the former Yugoslavia, excluding dependants,
1 January 1992 to 31 January 1994
|1 January 1992-
|31 January 1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asylum applications<1> |7,590
Decisions<2><3><4> |370
Recognised as a refugee and granted
asylum |5
Not recognised as a refugee but
granted exceptional leave to remain<5> |110
Refused asylum and ELR-after full
consideration |15
Refused under para 180F<6> |145
Refused on safe third country grounds<7> |95
Applications pending<4> |6,640
<1> Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5.
<2> Figures exclude information on applications made overseas.
<3> Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the
period.
<4> Information on withdrawals is not readily available and not shown in
the table.
<5> Usually granted for a year in the fist instance, subject then to
further
review.
<6> For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a
reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview
to establish identity (para. 101 prior to 26 July 1993).
<7> Refused on the grounds; that the applicant had arrived from a safe
third
country.
Staff Transfers
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the schemes his Department operates to assist staff facing financial hardship following a transfer, showing (a) the particular criteria and rules applying to each one, including the circumstances under which any loans can be written off, (b) the total amount loaned or granted under the schemes in 1992-93 and so far in 1993-94 and (c) the number of staff assisted in 1992-93 and so far in 1993-94.
Mr. Howard : Under authority delegated from the Treasury the Department may assist staff facing serious financial hardship following a transfer in the public interest. The assistance available depends on the circumstances of each case. It may include concessionary payment of an advance of salary, and concessionary payment of a housing cost supplement to assist with an increased mortgage. It may also include a special payment of part or all of any unavoidable shortfall between the equity released by the sale of a property and an outstanding approved bridging loan. The Department must be satisfied that :
(a) There is serious financial hardship : the individual must provide details of his or her income--including his or her spouse's and his or her outgoings.
(b) There is a genuine loss : i.e. the equity released by the prospective sale will be insufficient to clear the bridging loan approved by the Department. The proposed sale price must be supported by an independent valuation arranged by Home Office accounts branch through the chief valuer's office of the Inland Revenue.
(c) The individual is making his or her maximum affordable contribution to meeting the shortfall : i.e. has taken out the maximum available and affordable mortgage and advance of salary. (d) The individual has acted reasonably in all transactions relating to the bridging loan.
Special payments in excess of £20,000 must be approved by the Treasury. The only loans made are advances of salary. No such advances have been written off.
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The other information requested is as follows :
G
1992-93
|Main Home Office|Prison Service
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Advances of salary |£98,105 |£575,377
Numbers of staff |11<1> |93<2>
Special payments |£507,403 |£975,882
Numbers of staff |15<1> |90<2>
Notes:
<1> 9 staff received an advance of salary and a special payment.
<2> 70 staff received an advance of salary and a special payment.
G
1993-94 (to 18 February 1994)
|Main Home Office|Prison Service
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Advances of salary |£92,062 |£606,884
Numbers of staff |6<1> |64<2>
Special payments |£98,753 |£1,089,329
Numbers of staff |5<1> |66<2>
Notes:
<1> 4 staff received an advance of salary and a special payment.
<2> 47 staff received an advance of salary and a special payment.
No payments have been made by the United Kingdom Passport Agency, the Forensic Science Service or the Fire Service College.
Accident and Emergency Services
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is proposing in regard to accident and emergency services following the Seymour report on the train crash in the Severn tunnel on Saturday 7 December 1991.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Seymour report does not make recommendations in respect of the emergency services. Lessons learnt in the course of the response to all major incidents are incorporated into the plans and procedures of the emergency services at the local level.
European Parliament Elections
Mrs. Gillan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are being made to inform citizens of other member states of the European Union resident in the United Kingdom of their right to vote in elections to the European Parliament.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Following the coming into force of the treaty on European Union, and of the European Parliamentary Elections (Changes to the Franchise and Qualifications of Representatives) Regulations 1994, citizens of member states of the European Union resident in the United Kingdom have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament on the same basis as existing electors and candidates.
Information sheets will be distributed to electoral registration officers ; the main political parties ; the embassies and consulates of other member states of the European Union ; British embassies and consulates in other member states ; the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux ; and specialist bodies including the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Spanish Institute. There will also be notices in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.
Application forms for Community citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral register will be available from
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electoral registration officers from 1 March, and must be returned by 29 March. Local political parties will be able to obtain copies of the form and the leaflet from electoral registration officers for use locally.Ministerial Instructions
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions since 1979 when Ministers have issued written instructions to override his Department's accounting officer's objections.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 24 February 1994] : There are no known instances since 1979 of Ministers in the Home Office issuing written instructions in pursuance of paragraphs 13 or 14 of section 6.1.5 of "Government Accounting".
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 10 February, Official Report, column 404 , what are his powers of direction in respect of the boards of non-departmental public bodies funded by his Department.
Mr. Sproat : This information was recently supplied to the National Heritage Committee during its inquiry into English Heritage. It is available in annex II to the published minutes of evidence taken before the Committee on 13 January 1994--HC 139-i--a copy of which is available in the Library.
Consultants
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will publish the fee to be paid to Capita Management Consultancy Ltd. in respect of its review of archaelogical services in London on behalf of his Department.
Mr. Brooke : The fees paid for consultancy contracts let by my Department such as are not required to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities are treated as commercial in confidence and are not, therefore, disclosed.
Cultural Exports
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what are the criteria which will inform his Department's review of the guidance and United Kingdom application forms for the export licensing of cultural goods described on page 52 of the Government's White Paper "Deregulation : Cutting Red Tape".
Mr. Sproat : The revision of the existing "Notice to Exporters" will set out the export licensing requirements under both United Kingdom legislation and the EC regulation 3911/92. It will, as now, explain the procedures by which an object might be considered of Waverley standard, as a result of which the Secretary of State would defer his decision on either a United Kingdom or an EC licence. The United Kingdom licence application will be revised to a similar--or possibly the same--layout to that of the EC licence application, once the latter has been revised in minor ways by the European Commission.
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Transfer of Functions Order
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 4 February, Official Report, column 995, if he will specify the costs relating to the preparation and promulgation of the Transfer of Functions (National Heritage) Order 1992.
Mr. Sproat : My Department paid £8,000 to the Treasury Solicitors' Department for the preparation of the Transfer of Functions (National Heritage) Order 1992. No separate charge was made by parliamentary counsel for the drafting work. In addition, there were other minor administrative and staffing costs associated with the preparation and promulgation which cannot be quantified separately.
Windsor Castle
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 19 January column 653, concerning the damage to medieval wall paintings at Windsor castle, how wide was the chase ; at what stage it became apparent that a medieval painting was involved ; what other changes were made to the internal medieval fabric of King John's tower during the re wiring of the castle ; what is the nature of the remedial conservation work ; what agency has been responsible for carrying out this work ; what plans there are to evaluate, expose and conserve the wall paintings ; why clearance was given for cutting a long chase in undisturbed medieval masonry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sproat : The chase was around 30 mm wide. It became apparent that a medieval wall painting was involved after the chase had been made ; the traces of paint patterns were very faint and barely discernible.
Generally existing chases were used during the rewiring, but one other new chase was made in the second floor room where the paintings were found, one new chase in the ground floor room and some limited chases in the staircase landing areas on each floor. No other changes were made to the internal mediaeval fabric.
The remedial conservation work consisted of Ronafix bonding and special lime mixes applied in the areas of the chases. The work was carried out by contractors employed by the royal household's property section. Longer-term conservation is being considered by English Heritage which has prepared an interim report and is planning a more detailed investigation. It will make recommendations regarding such things as long-term conservation.
The rewiring project was planned by the former Property Services Agency-- PSA--in 1987 and 1988. At that time the PSA and the Department of the Environment, which then had responsibility for the occupied royal palaces, regarded the project as maintenance and replacement and did not consider clearance to be required. Clearance procedures and liaison with English Heritage have improved substantially since the household took over the maintenance of the occupied royal palaces. Further information will be available when English Heritage's investigation has been completed.
Cable Television
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals there are to license cable television for Skipton.
Column 513
Mr. Brooke : I understand from the Independent Television Commission that it has not received any proposals for providing a cable system in Skipton.
Wrecks
Sir Cranley Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action his Department is taking to improve the management of protected wreck sites in English waters ; and what assessment he has made of whether adequate records of such sites are being kept.
Mr. Brooke : My Department is continuing to work closely with the joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee and English Heritage on what measures may be taken to improve the management of protected wrecks in English waters. Licensed divers are required to submit reports, countersigned by an archaeological adviser, which detail their activities and assess the status of site records ; the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites reviews the adequacy of such reports.
Sir Cranley Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to transfer responsibility for protected wreck sites in English waters to English Heritage ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Discussions are currently taking place on what future role English Heritage might take in relation to protected wrecks in English waters ; certain practical issues remain to be resolved.
Broadcasting
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make it his policy to encourage programme making in Wales and Scotland so as to increase the proportion of programmes made there ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Programme-making is primarily the responsibility of the broadcasters. However, provisions in the Broadcasting Act 1990 help to promote programme-making in both Wales and Scotland through the arrangements for S4C and the Gaelic television fund. Additionally, the Welsh and Scottish ITV companies, in common with all Channel 3 licensees, are required to produce 80 per cent. of their regional programming in the area of their licences.
The Government plan to publish a White Paper in the spring with proposals for the future of the BBC, including its role in programme production.
Column 514
PRIME MINISTERThermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if he or his officials have received a copy of the Touche Ross report prepared for BNFL on the economic prospects for THORP.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Buses
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to encouragge the development of markets for United Kingdom companies manufacturing low floor buses.
Mr. Sainsbury : A number of United Kingdom bus manufacturers have been involved, in London and Tyneside, in demonstration projects, which are supported by the Department of Transport, to evaluate the benefits of low floor buses.
The result of these studies will be widely disseminated and United Kingdom bus producers are well placed to take advantage of any subsequent increase in demand for such vehicles.
Household Insurance
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the current average household insurance premiums for (a) self- contained flats, (b) two-bedroom houses and (c) four-bedroom houses in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.
The figures in the tables are from the 1992 family expenditure survey and are of direct payments by households. The figures are for United Kingdom standard regions as data by parliamentary constituency are not available. The survey has a small number of households in some of the categories, so the figures are subject to large sampling variations. The figures are average weekly expenditure, rounded to the nearest 10p. The survey does not distinguish between self-contained flats and non-self-contained flats.
Column 513
Per week
United Kingdom standard region |Structural |Contents |Households with
|insurance |insurance |contents and/or
|structural
|insurance
|£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Average household insurance premiums for flats
North |2.20 |1.00 |2.00
Yorkshire and Humberside |<1>- |0.90 |1.00
North West |1.80 |1.80 |2.30
East Midlands |2.00 |1.10 |1.70
West Midlands |2.20 |1.10 |1.80
East Anglia |<1>- |1.30 |1.70
Greater London |3.50 |2.70 |4.00
Rest of the South East |3.10 |1.40 |2.40
South West |2.90 |1.60 |2.50
Wales |<1>- |1.50 |1.50
Scotland |2.30 |1.50 |2.50
Northern Ireland |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
(b) Average household insurance premiums for 2 bedroom houses
North |2.40 |1.30 |2.70
Yorkshire and Humberside |2.30 |1.30 |3.20
North West |2.20 |1.70 |3.50
East Midlands |2.10 |1.40 |3.10
West Midlands |2.20 |1.50 |3.10
East Anglia |2.40 |1.40 |3.00
Greater London |3.90 |2.60 |5.80
Rest of the South East |3.20 |1.70 |4.40
South West |2.70 |1.70 |3.90
Wales |2.20 |1.20 |3.00
Scotland |2.80 |1.50 |3.20
Northern Ireland |2.20 |1.00 |2.20
(c) Average household insurance premiums for 4 bedroom houses
North |3.50 |2.50 |5.90
Yorkshire and Humberside |3.90 |2.00 |5.20
North West |4.50 |3.00 |7.10
East Midlands |4.40 |2.70 |6.60
West Midlands |4.70 |2.90 |6.90
East Anglia |3.80 |2.20 |5.70
Greater London |5.90 |4.40 |9.80
Rest of the South East |4.80 |2.70 |7.20
South West |3.80 |2.00 |5.60
Wales |4.30 |2.60 |6.60
Scotland |4.80 |2.70 |6.40
Northern Ireland |3.70 |1.90 |5.40
<1> Data not available as there are five or fewer reporting households.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of homes in the United Kingdom are not currently covered by a household insurance policy by parliamentary constituency.
Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.
Estimates of the proportion of households in the United Kingdom not currently covered by a household contents insurance policy are given for United Kingdom standard regions, based on the 1992 family expenditure survey. Similar information on structural insurance is not available from the family expenditure survey.
Households with no contents insurance United Kingdom standard |Per cent. region ------------------------------------------------------------------------- North |28 Yorkshire and Humberside |27 North West |26 East Midlands |20 West Midlands |27 East Anglia |13 Greater London |38 Rest of the South East |20 South West |20 Wales |30 Scotland |24 Northern Ireland |44
Column 516
HEALTH
Nurse-Patient Ratio
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average qualified nurse-patient ratio in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table. The number of in-patients is not collected centrally. The table shows the number of ordinary admissions, which is the term used for in-patient consultant episodes.
|Ordinary admissions |Qualified nursing and
| midwifery staff (ex-
| cluding community)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |7,335,448 |206,110
1989-90 |7,476,626 |209,300
1990-91 |7,524,192 |206,150
1991-92 |7,759,202 |207,500
1992-93 |7,829,403 |210,230
Notes:
1. Ordinary admissions are taken for the year 1 April to 31 March.
2. Qualified nursing and midwifery staff are as at 30 September-ie for
the 1988-89 year the figure is as at 30 September 1988.
3. Figures for qualified staff show all qualified nursing and midwifery
staff, including senior nurses and midwives but excluding those
nurses who have transferred to senior management terms and who
cannot be identified separately from other senior managers. It also
excludes pre and post registration learners and Project 2000 nursing
students.
Column 517
GP Fundholders
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will update her answer of 26 January 1993, Official Report, columns 689-94, on general practitioner fundholders' management allowance payments in each year from 1990-91 to 1993-94 for each family health services authority and regional health authority.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information provided on 26 January was obtained through a one-off exercise to review the management allowance carried out in November 1992.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of general practitioner fundholders' budgets were spent in the private sector for each of the years for which figures are available.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 7 February at column 52.
Alcohol and Drug-related Deaths
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by region the number of (a) accidents and (b) deaths that were alcohol or drug related since 1990.
Mr. Bowis : The information is shown in the tables.
The figures for alcohol show those cases where cause of death has a clear association with alcohol in England and Wales from 1990 onwards. Other cases have not been included where the evidence of association is less clear.
Alcohol is implicated directly or indirectly in a number of causes of death including accidents, suicide and diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver, stroke, cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus. Studies undertaken since 1985 suggest that a reasonable estimate of all alcohol- associated deaths would be around 25,000 per year in England and Wales.
The figures for drugs show those cases where cause of death has a clear association with drugs in England and Wales from 1990 onwards. Information on accidents which do not lead to death is not available.
Alcohol-related deaths in England and
Wales<1>, regional health authority
1990-1992
|1990 |1991 |1992
------------------------------------------
England and Wales |1,939|1,971|2,016
Northern |111 |137 |131
Yorkshire |96 |105 |110
Trent |117 |124 |132
East Anglian |68 |57 |60
North-West Thames |194 |202 |177
North-East Thames |170 |142 |145
South-East Thames |131 |150 |152
South-West Thames |130 |123 |114
Wessex |83 |104 |96
Oxford |98 |95 |111
South-Western |131 |102 |97
West Midlands |193 |209 |241
Mersey |117 |120 |144
North-Western |174 |176 |186
Wales |120 |114 |104
<1>Includes deaths to persons whose usual
residence is outside England
and Wales. These details are excluded
from any subdivision of
England and Wales.
The following International
Classification of Diseases codes (ICD)
were
used where the underlying cause of death
is linked to alcohol
consumption.
ICD 291 Alcoholic psychoses.
ICD 303 Alcoholic dependence syndrome.
ICD 305.0 Non-dependent abuse of
alcohol.
ICD 425.5 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
ICD 571.0 Alcoholic fatty liver.
ICD 571.1 Acute alcoholic hepatitis.
ICD 571.2 Alcoholic cirrhosis of liver.
ICD 571.3 Alcoholic liver damage,
unspecified.
ICD 980 Toxic effect of alcohol.
Drug-related deaths in England and
Wales<1> regional health authority
1990-1992
|1990 |1991 |1992
------------------------------------------
England and Wales |2,060|2,097|2,393
Northern |122 |110 |134
Yorkshire |169 |150 |177
Trent |136 |143 |167
East Anglian |72 |71 |92
North-West Thames |168 |186 |174
North-East Thames |178 |186 |208
South-East Thames |206 |205 |225
South-West Thames |128 |117 |128
Wessex |104 |110 |113
Oxford |75 |75 |88
South-Western |118 |91 |150
West Midlands |165 |161 |179
Mersey |98 |92 |108
North-Western |202 |258 |286
Wales |87 |101 |117
<1>Includes deaths to persons whose usual
residence is outside England
and Wales. These details are excluded
from any subdivision of England
and Wales.
The following International
Classification of Diseases codes (ICD)
were used where the underlying cause of
death is linked to drug misuse.
ICD 070 Viral hepatitis.
ICD 292 Drug psychoses.
ICD 304 Drug dependence.
ICD 304.0-304.9, by type of drug,
excluding 304.6
(Absinthe addiction and glue sniffing).
ICD 305 Non-dependent abuse of
drugs.
ICD 305.2-305.9 by type of drug.
ICD 960-979 Poisoning by drugs,
medicaments and biological
substances (includes overdose).
Paediatric Nurses
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by district health authority the number of community paediatric nurses employed.
Mr. Sackville : This information is contained in the "Directory of Paediatric Community Nursing Services" issued by the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom, copies of which are available in the Library.
Private Patients
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private patients in national health service hospitals within the Trent regional health authority received treatment in each medical discipline in 1991-92.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is shown in the table. The figures are provisional estimates for 1991-92 :
Private patients treated in NHS hospitals in
Trent region
All causes: 1991-92
Specialty |Finished
|consultant
|episodes
------------------------------------------------
General Surgery |672
Urology |41
Trauma and Orthopaedics |393
ENT |167
Ophthalmology |502
Oral Surgery |74
Neurosurgery |58
Cardiothoracic Surgery |57
Paediatric Surgery |37
Anaesthetics |30
General Medicine |274
Clinical Haematology |29
Cardiology |112
Dermatology |4
Genitourinary Medicine |4
Neurology |9
Rheumatology |12
Paediatrics |16
Geriatric Medicine |12
Obs and Gyn (Obstetrics) |139
Obs and Gyn (Gynaecology) |277
Radiotherapy |12
Radiology |15
Clincal Pathology |3
|---
Total |2,949
Source: Hospital Episode System
1991-92-provisional estimate.
Episodes may not total, due to rounding.
Public Bodies
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of which non-elected bodies whose membership in whole or in part is appointed by her (a) meetings are open to the public, (b) there is scrutiny of financial procedures by independently appointed audit and (c) there are rules governing the declaration of interests.
Dr. Mawhinney : The public bodies for which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible are listed in the publication "Public Bodies", copies of which are available in the Library. Regional health authorities, district health authorities, family health services authorities and national health service trusts are required to have at least one public meeting per year.
The Health Education Authority, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting hold public meetings. NHS tribunals are held in public if the respondent or applicant requests it.
NHS authorities and trusts and executive non-departmental public bodies-- NDPBs--are subject to audit by either the Audit Commission or the National Audit Office. The Public Accounts Committee scrutinises the activities of all such bodies and may summon the chief executive of a NHS authority, NHS trust or NDPB to give evidence if any issue of probity arises or if there is any suggestion that it is not conducting its operations as economically, efficiently and effectively as it should.
NHS authorities, trusts and NDPBs have rules governing the declaration of interests, and these rules will be further strengthened from 1 April 1994.
Column 520
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all the organisations and agencies over which her Department has, in whole or in part, rights of nomination ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The non-departmental public bodies--both executive and advisory--tribunals and national health service bodies over which my right hon. Friend has rights of nomination are listed in "Public Bodies 1993", a copy of which is available in the Library. My right hon. Friend also makes appointments to the advisory boards of the three next steps agencies for which the Department of Health is responsible :
The NHS Estates Agency
The Medicines Control Agency
The NHS Pensions Agency.
Health Warnings (Eggs)
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what source of detailed evidence the chief medical officer of health bases his health warnings against eggs ; and if he will reconsider the justification for continuing that warning.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 4 November 1993 at column 456. The Chief Medical Officer's advice stands.
Local Authority Homes
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each year since 1990 (a) the number of elderly residents supported by local authorities, by type of home, (b) the number of mentally ill residents supported by local authorities, by type of home and (c) the number of people with learning disabilities, by type of home.
Mr. Bowis : The available information for residential care homes for the period 1990 to 1992 is given in the following publications : "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and for Younger Physically Handicapped People : Local Authority Supported Residents Year Ending 31 March 1992 England" and "Residential Accommodation for People with Mental Illness and People with Learning Disabilities : Local Authority Supported Residents at 31 March 1992 England". Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
Diseases
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each year since 1990 the number of notifications of (a) cholera, (b) dysentery, (c) tuberculosis, (d) diphtheria, (e) whooping cough, (f) scarlet fever and (g) measles.
Mr. Sackville : The number of cases notified for selected diseases in 1990 and 1991 are listed in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys publication, "Communicable Disease Statistics" series MB2, Nos. 17 and 18 respectively, copies of which are available in the Library.
The information is shown in the table for 1992. The data have been checked as correct and will be the figures that are given in the published volume in April.
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