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available as an option within the system would be more effectively achieved by supporting the development of an equivalent facility in this country.Mr. Bowis : The demand for the services of the proposed new International Peto Institute will become apparent when it comes into operation. Under the agreement between the United Kingdom and Hungarian Governments, the proposed new institute has to provide training in accordance with the standards established by the present Peto Institute. The Department of health has already provided funding under its section 64 scheme to the Birmingham Foundation for Conductive Education and the Hornsey centre. There are no current plans to issue guidance on conductive education.
Self-financing Regulatory Authorities
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many self- financing regulatory authorities her Department or its predecessors has set up since 1979 ; what is the annual running cost of each of the self- financing regulatory authorities in each of the last three years ; and what was the current staffing establishment at the latest available date, last year and two years ago.
Mr. Sackville : Since 1979, the Department has set up the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting as a self-financing regulatory body.
The total gross expenditure for 1992-93 was £8.657 million. Information on running costs for 1991-92 and 1990-91, and staffing for the last three years is detailed in "Public Bodies 1993" and earlier editions of the same publication. Copies of all editions are available in the Library.
London Health Authorities
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated by each health authority in (a) Inner London and (b) Greater London since March 1993 ; and what were the figures in each of the three previous years.
Dr. Mawhinney : Information is not yet available for the period since March 1993. Information for previous years is published in "Ordinary and Day Case Admissions for England", copies of which are available in the Library.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Agricultural Support
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of total agricultural support through direct payments is secured annually by (a) the largest 20 per cent. of farmers and (b) the smallest 20 per cent. of farmers.
Mr. Jack : I regret that the information is not available. While the farm business survey collects details of direct agricultural support payments from a sample of farms, it does not provide us with farm by farm returns which would be required to answer this question.
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Horticultural Imports
Sir Roger Moate : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations she has received about damage to United Kingdom growers caused by the importation of foreign horticultural produce, with particular reference to lettuces, tomatoes and cucumbers, at prices below the cost of production, packaging and transport ; and what powers exist either in the United Kingdom or the European Community to prevent such market distortions whether caused by EC or non-EC member states.
Mr. Jack : The Department has received representations from the NFU and growers about difficulties in the markets for salad crops. Market management of horticultural crops is a matter for the Commission. However, under the transitional terms provided for in the treaty of accession, the Commission may take measures in the event of exports from Spain to the rest of the Community disrupting markets. Some horticultural produce, including tomatoes and cucumbers but not lettuces, are currently subject to a reference price system which establishes minimum import prices at certain times of the year for produce from third countries.
Self-financing Regulatory Authorities
Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many self-financing regulatory authorities her Department has set up since 1979 ; what was the annual running cost of each of the self-financing regulatory authorities in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment now ; and what it was last year and two years ago.
Mr. Jack : Unfortunately this question could be answered only at disproportionate cost. I will write to the hon. Member to explain why this is the case.
Quangos
Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the number of quangos for which she is responsible ; how much in public funds has been given to each quango in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment of each quango ; and what it was five years ago.
Mr. Jack : Such information is contained in the publication "Public Bodies 1993" and earlier editions of the same publication. Copies of all editions are available in the Libraries of the House.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on parliamentary scrutiny of the use of public interest immunity certificates ; what proposals he has to improve such scrutiny ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Newton : Scrutiny of public interest immunity certificates is a matter for the Courts in each case.
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SCOTLAND
Quangos
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of quangos for which he is responsible ; how much in public funds has been given to each quango in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment of each quango ; and what it was five years ago.
Mr. Lang : Such information is contained in the publication "Public Bodies 1993" and earlier editions of the same publication. Copies of all editions are available in the Libraries of the House.
Rules and Regulations
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many rules and regulations his Department has passed in each of the last three years.
Mr. Lang : The numbers of statutory instruments, including orders, schemes, rules, and regulations but excluding instruments made jointly with other Departments, made by my Department in the years 1991, 1992 and 1993 are :
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|Number
---------------------
1991 |307
1992 |381
1993 |346
Not all such instruments will have contained substantive regulatory provisions ; information as to which instruments contained such provisions is not held centrally.
School Buildings
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the amount spent by each local education authority in Scotland on the repair and maintenance of school buildings in (a) 1978-79, (b) 1984-85 and (c) in each year since 1989-90 at constant 1993 prices.
Mr. Lang : The available information is given in the tables. The capital figures in table 2 include expenditure on new building work as well as on repairs and maintenance, information on which is not recorded separately.
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Table 1
Current expenditure by education authorities on repair and maintenance of
school buildings
£ million at 1992-93 prices
|1978-79|1984-85|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |0.825 |0.941 |1.233 |1.215 |1.226 |1.240
Central |4.081 |4.374 |4.065 |4.105 |4.471 |4.400
Dumfries and Galloway |0.850 |2.216 |2.889 |1.966 |2.875 |2.851
Fife |4.679 |5.878 |5.845 |6.359 |4.889 |5.697
Grampian |6.396 |9.848 |8.012 |8.439 |11.655 |15.726
Highland |2.303 |3.074 |4.394 |4.443 |4.012 |3.302
Lothian |12.949 |11.477 |8.182 |7.420 |7.309 |11.964
Strathclyde |58.646 |51.011 |49.342 |43.382 |43.785 |44.180
Tayside |4.351 |5.895 |5.705 |6.066 |6.844 |7.433
Orkney |0.186 |0.256 |0.265 |0.204 |0.220 |0.278
Shetland |0.325 |0.502 |0.574 |0.966 |1.322 |1.711
Western Isles |0.797 |0.500 |0.927 |1.166 |1.196 |1.001
Table 2
Capital expenditure by education authorities on school buildings
£ million at 1992-93 prices
|1978-79|1984-85|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |0.767 |1.423 |1.898 |3.491 |3.612 |2.718
Central |9.757 |1.688 |5.956 |5.175 |3.984 |5.877
Dumfries and Galloway |2.906 |3.702 |2.158 |1.527 |3.251 |3.787
Fife |6.604 |4.489 |6.938 |9.539 |4.432 |5.104
Grampian |19.942 |9.046 |4.671 |6.413 |7.624 |6.725
Highland |8.243 |1.273 |4.656 |3.437 |3.818 |5.119
Lothian |25.029 |9.258 |13.802 |10.425 |8.709 |18.011
Strathclyde |64.691 |31.117 |31.590 |25.984 |31.037 |29.226
Tayside |6.407 |3.294 |4.200 |3.467 |3.980 |5.458
Orkney |1.159 |1.953 |1.181 |1.422 |0.431 |1.154
Shetland |4.923 |2.850 |0.863 |0.922 |1.490 |4.001
Western Isles |1.131 |1.502 |1.890 |2.512 |2.990 |2.499
Notes:
1. The figures in table 1 have been compiled from local authority financial
returns and in table 2 from capital payment returns submitted by local
authorities to the Scottish Office. Both sets of figures have been adjusted
to 1992-93 prices using the GDP deflator.
2. Generally capital expenditure (table 2) is less in later years compared
with 1978-79. This reflects a substantial and progressive decline in school
pupil numbers which has reduced the requirement for new school building.
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Assisted Places Scheme
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet determined the level of fee remission grant which will be available to parents under the assisted places scheme in school session 1994-95.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend is making £10.251 million available for fee remission in 1994-95. Fifty-five schools across Scotland will participate in the scheme. This funding should enable the number of pupils currently benefiting to be maintained at slightly above 3,000.
Sea Birds
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest information he has on the number and species of birds found dead recently on the east coast of Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The Institute for Terrestrial Ecology, under contract to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is investigating levels of heavy metals and pesticide residues in samples of dead sea birds beached recently. Initial results indicate no significant level of contamination. Surveys of beached birds are carried out by various organisations and I understand that post mortems have been carried out to determine the general condition of dead birds. In many cases birds have been found to have suffered starvation.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what investigations are under way on the causes of deaths of sea birds on the east coast of Scotland.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds organised a survey of dead birds on beaches in east Scotland on the weekend of 26 and 27 February. The number of dead birds recorded was nearly 6,400, which is four times higher than a similar count last year.
Eighty per cent. of birds found were guillemots, but other prominent species were shag and razorbill. The total number of dead birds will never be known exactly, but an estimate of 50,000 total fatalities is still valid.
Forestry Commission
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which forests have been sold by the Forestry Commission in each of the last five years ; to whom they were sold ; for how much they were sold ; and to what use they were put after sale.
Sir Hector Monro : Lists giving details of the areas of forest land sold by the Forestry Commission from the start of the disposals programme in July 1981 to December 1992 are held in the Library of the House. The lists provide the name of the purchaser and the price paid where the purchaser has agreed that this information can be made public. The Commission is compiling a list of the areas sold in 1993 and a copy will be placed in the Library shortly. The Commission does not maintain records of the subsequent use of the woodlands it sells. However, woodlands cannot normally be converted to another use without planning permission.
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Freshwater Fishing Rights
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list full details, including the price of the lease from the Forestry Commission, of the freshwater fishing rights, excluding salmon, on Loch Awe and Loch Avich ; and for what reasons the lease was not put up for public auction.
Sir Hector Monro : The Forestry Commission's fishing rights on Loch Awe and Loch Avich are leased to the Loch Awe Improvement Association for three years from 1 May 1992. The rent is £1 per annum ; the association manages the fishings on behalf of the commission and issues day permits to the public.
The lease was not offered on the open market because the commission considered that a lease to the association would be more successful in conserving the fish stocks and increasing the availability of authorised fishing for freshwater fish in the lochs, in accordance with the objectives of the Loch Awe and Associated Waters Protection Order 1992.
Motorways
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many miles of motorway are currently (a) open, (b) under construction and (c) planned in Scotland either (i) as new motorway or (ii) as existing motorway being widened.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In Scotland there are 159 miles of trunk road motorway and a further 15 miles on non-trunk motorway, responsibility for which lies with local authorities.
Twenty-two miles of new motorway is currently under construction, with a further 58 miles of new motorway planned.
Much of the motorway network constructed in the 1960s and 1970s is reaching the end of its structural life and requires major maintenance or reconstruction. Some of this work may involve widening.
Health Care International
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what system he has to monitor adherence to the conditions of authorisation as set out in the annex of the letter of authorisation for the Health Care International hospital at Clydebank dated 6 October 1987 and signed by N. S. Munro, assistant secretary, Scottish Home and Health Department.
Mr. Stewart : The Scottish Office has regular contact with senior representatives of HCI. These discussions cover matters relevant to the development of the hospital at Clydebank, including those specified in the authorisation.
Outdoor Education Centres
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names, location and county of each of the outdoor education centres in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
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GPs (Drug Sales)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the annual value of sales of Adifax, Tenuate, Dospan and Duromine direct to general practitioners ;
(2) what plans he has to control the supply of dangerous drugs direct to general practitioners.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : This information is not available. The sale of medicinal products direct to GPs for private purposes is outwith the national health service.
The supply of dangerous drugs direct to general practitioners is already strictly regulated under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its subordinate legislation. Under regulations 9(4) (a) and 14(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985, an authorised supplier may supply schedule 3 drugs to a general practitioner only upon receipt of a written requisition.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will investigate allegations as to the sale of addictive dangerous drugs to general practitioners and their subsequent sale to customers for slimming purposes, without medical examination, at prices far in excess of the cost to the NHS ;
(2) what safeguards are in place to protect patients from being given addictive, hallucinogenic drugs for slimming purposes, without prior medical examination or control and supervision.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : If an allegation is made that a GP working within the NHS has breached his/her terms of service, it would be for the health board to consider in the first instance. The subsequent disciplinary procedure may involve the Secretary of State or the General Medical Council--GMC--at a later stage. Allegations of professional misconduct against a medical practitioner, whether or not he/she is working within the NHS, should be directed to the GMC.
The safeguards in place to protect patients are as follows. All practising doctors in the United Kingdom must be registered with the GMC. A doctor found guilty of serious professional misconduct such as the prescription or supply of dependence--inducing drugs other than in the course of bone fide treatment, can be struck off or suspended from the register of the GMC.
Also, detailed and specific guidance on the prescribing of drugs likely to cause dependence is provided in the British National Formulary--BNF--which is published
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jointly by the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. The BNF is provided free of charge to all GPs within the NHS.Glasgow development agency
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will investigate the withdrawal of Glasgow development agency funding from projects in the city ; and if he will take steps to ensure the loss of this money is made up.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The question of funding support from the local enterprise company for individual projects in the city of Glasgow is a matter for Glasgow development agency.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans the Glasgow development agency has to reduce funding to (a) the Glasgow regeneration fund, (b) Glasgow works and (c) the Glasgow education business partnership.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : This is a matter for the local enterprise company, which I am sure will be happy to discuss the matter with the hon. Member.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will investigate the reasons for Glasgow development agency's withdrawal of funding from Firhill business centre ; and if he will take steps to save the project.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The organisation, decision making and performance of Glasgow development agency are matters for the board of the local enterprise company itself, and for Scottish Enterprise.
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will investigate the reasons for Glasgow development agency's withdrawal of funding from Firhill business centre ; and if he will take steps to save the project.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The level of support which Glasgow development agency provides for the Firhill business centre is a matter for the local enterprise company, but my right hon. Friend is not aware of any decision on its part to withdraw funding.
Dentistry
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the amount spent per child on general dental services, including in the calculation those not registered with a general dental practitioner.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 11 March 1994] : The information requested is as follows :
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General dental service expenditure on children in Scotland: 1992-93
(a) |(b) |(c) |(d) |(e)
Gross expenditure |Number of |Number of children |Cost per registered|Cost per child in
|the
(£000) |registered children|in the population |child (£) |population (£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29,626 |702,037 |1,153,147 |42.20 |25.69
Notes:
1. The gross expenditure on general dental services (GDS) in column (a) comprises capitation payments, weighted entry
payments, child item of service payments for treatments given under capitation, and child item of service payments for
treatments given on an occasional basis in the financial year 1992-93.
2. Column (b) is the number of children registered with a general dental practitioner (GDP)at September 1992.
3. Column (c) is for June 1992.
4. Children may also be treated in the community or hospital dental services as well as in the general dental service.
Children who are not registered with a GDP may receive GDS treatment on an occasional basis.
5. There is also some non-fee expenditure on general dental services (eg, reimbursement of non-domestic rates,maternity
payments, and employer's superannuation payments)which cannot be apportioned between child and adult treatments.In the
financial year 1992-93, this represented approximately 4 per cent. of expenditure on the GDS.
Child Care
Ms Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spends on child-care provision for the under-fives and out-of- school provision for children aged over five either directly, excluding provision for departmental staff, or indirectly through resources made available to local authorities or other organisations ; what form of provision is thereby provided ; how many places are thereby provided ; and if he will make a statement on child care.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 March 1994] : Good quality day care has a valuable part to play in the development of young children. Out- of-school care can help older children to develop a broad range of interests and to adopt a positive approach to the use of their leisure time.
The Scottish Office supports the provision of various forms of day care through the urban programme and through grants under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. In 1993-94 almost £7 million has been made available from these sources. Grants for out-of-school care projects are also available through local enterprise companies under the initiative launched last year by the Secretary of State for Employment.
Within the local authority expenditure settlement for 1993-94 provision of £30.37 million was made for day care for children. The latest available information about the form and level of day care provision in Scotland is contained in the Scottish Office Bulletin "Services for Children 1991 and 1992", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public interest immunity certificates he has signed in each year since 1990.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 15 March 1994] : In 1993, I signed two public interest immunity certificates and in each of the other years none.
Ministerial Offices
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of new furniture for his private office during the year 1993-94.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 15 March 1994] : Such purchases are included within my Department's overall administration expenditure which is published every year in the annual report.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many bottles of (a) whisky and gin and (b) sherry and port were consumed by his private offices in 1993-94.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 15 March 1994] : Detailed information of this sort could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. George Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many people have died each year in Scotland from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease over the past five years ;
(2) if he will list the dates and locations of each death in Scotland from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease over the past five years and the respective dates on which the Department of Health's Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance units were first notified of each suspected case ; and in any case where notification was not provided before death, if he will explain why notification was not provided earlier ;
(3) what is his Department's procedure for notifying health authorities of suspected cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 7 March 1994] : The number of people in Scotland who have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in each of the past five years is as follows :
|Definite|Probable|Possible
---------------------------------------------
1989 |5 |- |-
1990 |3 |- |-
1991 |5 |- |-
1992 |4 |- |-
1993 |5 |2 |2
The location of deaths from CJD, both definite and probable, for the period 1 May 1990 to 30 April 1993 is given in figure 1 of the second annual report of the CJD surveillance unit. Of the cases notified to the CJD surveillance unit before death, this occurred on average 61 days before death. However, in five cases diagnosis was made at post mortem by the CJD surveillance unit's dedicated pathology laboratory. This is an important source of data for the unit as there is no diagnostic test for CJD in life.
There is no departmental procedure for notifying health boards of suspected cases of CJD, since the information would already be known to the clinician involved in the case. Information on suspected cases is available from the unit's annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Management Systems
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer's Department's computer-aided facilities management systems cost ; from whom they were purchased ; how many person hours were required to commission them ; what the estimated and actual saving has been from their operation ; and to what extent the use of such systems accounts for the apparent rise in theft noted in his answer to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) of 16 February, Official Report, column 783.
The Solicitor-General : The Departments for which I am responsible have no computer-aided facilities management systems in place. rom agencies of either the Government of South Africa, or the prosecution or judicial authorities of South Africa prior to committal proceedings against Mr. Paul Bennett ;
(2) what representations he received from agencies of either the United States Government or the United States prosecution or judicial authorities prior to committal proceedings against Mr. Paul Bennett.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Attorney-General why a public immunity interest certificate was originally applied in the case of Paul Bennett ; in what circumstances ; and for what reason it was subsequently lifted.
The Attorney-General : Paul James Bennett was committed for trial on 22 May 1991 at Southwark Crown court by the Horseferry Road magistrates court. He then sought judicial review of the committal on the ground that he had been brought within the jurisdiction in circumstances which were unlawful.
The applicant sought discovery of a number of documents relating to communications between police forces or prosecuting authorities, both in this country and abroad, in connection with the detention and investigation of crime and the apprehension of offenders. That is a class of document which ordinarily attracts public interest immunity and in July 1992 the then Home Secretary signed a public interest immunity certificate in respect of those documents. In the event the question of disclosure did not arise for decision at that stage because the divisional court dismissed the application for judicial review on the ground that it had no power to inquire into the circumstances by which a person had been brought within the jurisdiction.
That ruling was the subject of a successful appeal to the House of Lords, which remitted the case to the divisional court on 24 June 1993. That court considered the question of disclosure on 19 October 1993. The Crown agreed on the advice of counsel that the court should be invited to order discovery of the documents, on the ground that they went to the heart of a factual dispute which had by then been made material by the decision of the House of Lords. The court upheld the claim for public interest immunity, but accepted that, in the circumstances of the particular case, the balance of the competing public interests lay in disclosure.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Quangos
Mr. Steen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the number of quangos for which he is responsible ; how much in public funds has been given to each quango in each of the last three years ; what is the current staffing establishment of each quango ; and what it was five years ago.
Mr. Eggar : Such information is contained in the publication "Public Bodies 1993" and earlier editions of the same publication. Copies of all editions are available in the Libraries of the House.
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