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Column 287
Allocations
1991 1992 1993
|£ million|Per cent.|£ million|Per cent.|£ million|Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local authorities |123.31 |33.53 |131.24 |34.76 |217.59 |34.87
Voluntary sector |24.20 |6.58 |29.27 |7.75 |59.80 |9.58
Higher education |19.87 |5.40 |20.56 |5.45 |46.34 |7.43
Industrial training organisations |5.59 |1.52 |6.75 |1.79 |15.42 |2.47
TEC-LEC |1.03 |0.28 |6.40 |1.69 |22.56 |3.61
Government |192.91 |52.46 |182.53 |48.34 |261.14 |41.85
Miscellaneous |0.85 |0.23 |0.82 |0.22 |1.16 |0.19
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Total |367.75 |100.00 |377.57 |100.00 |624.01 |100.00
Information for 1990 broken down by sector could be obtained only by manual analysis at disproportionate cost. Figures for 1989 are available only from the Commission. All money allocated in 1990 which was not taken up was carried forward for use in 1991.
The figures for 1991 and 1992 relate to the final amounts paid to the sectors, whereas those for 1993 relate to amounts originally approved, since final claims for the programmes in question have not yet been submitted.
The figures for Community initiatives between 1991 and 1993 are included in the 1993 figures.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much ESF funding has been allocated in real and constant price terms to the Scottish voluntary sector in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information about European social fund support to the Scottish voluntary sector is set out in the following table. The Employment Department took over responsibility for the administration and payment of applications for ESF from the European Commission with effect from the 1990 calendar year ; information prior to this is only available from the Commission.
|Cash |1990 prices
|(£) |(£)
------------------------------------------------
1990 |5,574,325 |5,574,325
1991 |8,322,510 |7,866,267
1992 |10,267,161 |9,283,147
1993 |18,736,309 |16,377,892
Notes:
1. Figures for 1990-92 are amounts claimed at
final claim stage, while for 1993 the figure is
the amount originally approved since final
claims for the programmes in question have not
yet been submitted.
2. 1990 prices calculated using the GDP
deflator at factor cost.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many ACAS offices operate in the United Kingdom ; and if he will list them by geographical location.
Miss Widdecombe : There are currently 13 ACAS offices operating in the United Kingdom, grouped together in seven ACAS regions in England, together with Scotland and Wales. The offices are :
London region : London
Midlands region : Birmingham, Nottingham
Northern region : Newcastle
North West region : Manchester, Liverpool, Accrington
Scotland : Glasgow
Eastern and Southern : Fleet
South and West : Bristol
Wales : Cardiff
Yorkshire and Humberside : Leeds
Head office : London
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the total number of referrals made to ACAS in each of the past five years.
Miss Widdecombe : The number of referrals and requests for assistance made to ACAS in the last five years is as published in the ACAS annual reports for the years 1988 to 1992. These are as follows :
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|1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requests for collective conciliation |1,059 |1,164 |1,260 |1,386 |1,207
Referrals to ACAS arbitration |138 |169 |200 |157 |162
Requested advisory mediation work |985 |1,144 |964 |947 |787
Individual conciliation cases |44,443 |48,817 |52,071 |60,605 |72,166
Public enquiries |315,601|349,324|418,394|466,954|487,778
The figures for 1993 will be available in June 1994, when the ACAS annual report 1993 is expected to be published.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently in work ; what the figure was in 1979 and 1975 ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is shown in the following table :
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Workforce in employment: United Kingdom
(Seasonally adjusted)
|(Thousands)
-----------------------------------------
December 1975 |24,927
December 1979 |25,485
December 1993<1> |25,017
<1>Latest available.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for each year since 1984 the number of people in Great Britain surveyed by the labour force survey who, although they are without a job, have looked for a job within the four weeks prior to their labour force survey interview or are waiting to start a job they had already obtained, were not available to start a job within the two weeks following their labour force survey
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interview, and the number of people who were neither in employment nor unemployed on the International Labour Organisation measure but who said they wold like a job.Mr. Michael Forsyth : Both of the categories asked for in the question are defined as economically inactive' according to International Labour Organisation guidelines. Estimates from the labour force survey for the spring of each year since 1984 of the numbers in each group are given in the following table.
As shown by the analyses of these groups routinely published in the LFS help line section of the Employment Gazette, the majority of people who say they want work but are not actively seeking it are students ; looking after a family or home ; or long term sick or disabled.
Great Britain
People who say they would like work but are not actively seeking it
and/
or are not available to start
Thousands
Quarter |Total |Of which: seeking
|work, but not
|available to
|start<1>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring 1984 |2,414 |207
Spring 1985 |2,266 |222
Spring 1986 |2,316 |205
Spring 1987 |2,180 |206
Spring 1988 |2,184 |195
Spring 1989 |2,314 |221
Spring 1990 |2,198 |186
Spring 1991 |2,245 |218
Spring 1992 |2,221 |313
Spring 1993 |2,195 |310
Source: Labour Force Survey
<1> Numbers without a paid job who had either looked for work in the
past four weeks or were waiting to start a job they had already
obtained, but were not available to start within the next two weeks.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many indices of unemployment are calculated by each of the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The results of a survey of the more commonly used unemployment measures in 16 countries were published in the September 1992 Employment Gazette, a copy of which is available in the Library. To extend this to all OECD countries would incur disproportionate costs.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the unemployment statistics used in the Government's submission to the G7 jobs summit in Detroit, "Competitiveness and Employment : The UK Approach" represented the level of unemployment in the United Kingdom, or the monthly claimant count ; and if they were validated by the director of statistics in his Department.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Charts 4A and 4B in "The UK Approach" show unemployment rates which use the claimant count as the numerator. Figures based on the claimant count have the advantage of being monthly, up-to-date and available for a long run of years. The charts used figures from published sources. The director of statistics is responsible for the quality of all Employment Department labour market statistics published by the Government Statistical Service. The latest available labour force survey results, for autumn 1993, show a seasonally adjusted International
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Labour Organisation unemployment rate for Great Britain of 10.1 per cent.--close to the rate shown in chart 4B for that period.Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many changes to the method of calculating the monthly unemployment register and the claimant count there have been since the Government took office in 1979 ; and what has been the statistical effect on the count of each change at the time the change took place.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 26 October 1992, Official Report, column 496. Since that reply was given there has been one additional discontinuity.
In February 1994 the Northern Ireland system for administering unemployment benefits was fully integrated into the computerised national unemployment benefit system--NUBS--which has been operating throughout the rest of the United Kingdom since 1983. The changeover eliminated an overcount in the Northern Ireland figures leading to a slight downward revision of about 1,500 to the unadjusted level of claimant unemployment in Northern Ireland, and likewise to the United Kingdom figures.
Appropriate revisions have been made for past periods to maintain the consistency of the seasonally adjusted series. Full details are given on page S16 of the April Employment Gazette, which is available in the Library.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the labour force survey as a representation of the level of unemployment in the United Kingdom ; and what plans he has to improve it.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : As with any sample survey, estimates from the labour force survey are subject to sampling variability and "confidence intervals" are published with the results.
The LFS measures unemployment according to the ILO definition, which is used extensively by industrial countries throughout the world and by international organisations. While EC regulations require all member states to conduct an annual LFS, Britain has opted to conduct the survey on a quarterly basis to ensure more up-to-date results.
Official statisticians are always seeking ways of improving the quality and speed of publication of their surveys. For example, the introduction of computer assisted interviewing in the LFS has led to higher data quality and an improvement in the speed of publication of the results to just over three months from the end of the survey period.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his definition of the claimant count ; and what assessment he has made of the claimant count as an accurate measure of the level of unemployment.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The monthly claimant unemployment count covers all those people claiming unemployment-related benefits, that is unemployment benefit, income support or national insurance credits at Employment Service local offices, who declare for each day they claim that they are unemployed, capable of work, available for work and actively seeking employment.
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Students claiming benefit during a vacation and who intend to return to full-time education, and temporarily stopped workers, are excluded.The count is accurate at both national and local level because it is a by- product of the system for paying unemployment-related benefits and is a 100 per cent. count. Both the claimant count measure of unemployment and the internationally comparable measure produced by the labour force survey have shown similar trends over recent years and, since spring 1992, the two measures have been at similar levels.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the estimate of the level of unemployment in the United Kingdom in (a) February 1994 and (b) February 1979 ;
(2) what was the seasonally adjusted unemployment claimant count for February for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the regions in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ; and what were the comparable figures on the current series with the figures for February 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is available from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the cost to increase the frequency of the labour force survey from every quarter to every month ; and if he will do so.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The existing quarterly labour force survey costs about £8 million per year. Although no detailed assessment has been made, to increase the survey's frequency to every month, while maintaining the sample size, would lead to an approximately threefold increase in the survey's costs.
A switch to a LFS providing estimates for individual months would require a re-design of the existing quarterly survey, which would take up to two years to implement.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the seasonally adjusted figure published for registered unemployment for February 1979 using the series existing in February 1979 for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the regions in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Prior to 1982 the monthly unemployment figures were based on the number of registrants at jobcentres, not all of whom were claiming benefits. When registration at a jobcentre became voluntary and threatened the integrity of the count the basis of the figures was changed to become a count of those claiming unemployment-related benefits at Employment Service local offices--formerly unemployment benefit offices. The figures given in the table relate to the former basis and are not comparable with the consistent, seasonally adjusted, claimant count figures for the same period.
Seasonally adjusted registered
unemployment-February 1979
Region |Level
---------------------------------------------
South East |286,300
Greater London |140,800
East Anglia |33,500
South West |97,300
West Midlands |121,000
East Midlands |75,200
Yorkshire and Humberside |117,900
North West |196,200
North |115,100
Wales |86,000
Scotland |173,700
Northern Ireland |60,600
United Kingdom |1,362,500
HEALTH
NHS (Private Finance)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all those national health service projects worth over £250,000 which have been financed by private sector money since February 1993.
Mr. Sackville : The private finance initiative is helping the national health service to capture the skills and expertise of the private sector to give better services, higher quality and more resources for the NHS. Private finance will mean additional capital spending on top of the £2.1 billion public capital in 1994-95. New delegated limits for the NHS, introduced in April 1993, have removed obstacles that were inhibiting effective use of private finance. Only schemes with a capital cost over £1 million must be submitted centrally and, therefore, information is not available centrally on all schemes with a capital cost over £250,000. The table lists 20 schemes of over £1 million capital cost which have been approved since February 1993.
NHS projects using private capital over £1 million approved since February 1993
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Health Agency : lease of office accommodation.
Yorkshire Regional Health Authority : clinical waste incineration. Hastings and Rother NHS Trust : Conquest Hospital staff residences.
West Middlesex Hospital : endoscopy unit.
North Bedfordshire Health Authority : residential accommodation at Steppingley and Biggleswade.
Bolton Health Authority : clinical waste incineration.
New River Health Authority : lease of office accommodation. Leicester Mental Health Services : lease of new Trust Headquarters.
United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust : generating station. William Harvey Hospital (Ashford) : clinical waste incineration. Barnet Health Authority : residential accommodation in Hendon. Plymouth and Torbay Health Authority : clinical waste incineration.
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Health Authority : staff residences at Carlton Gate.
East Sussex Health Authority : residential accommodation for continuing care of the elderly.
Brent and Harrow Health Authority : provision of residential accommodation.
Doncaster Healthcare NHS Trust : clinical waste incineration. Kent and Canterbury Hospitals NHS Trust : staff accommodation. St. James' NHS Trust, Leeds : combined heat and power plant. Hertfordshire Health Agency : lease of office accommodation. Hillingdon Health Agency : lease of office accommodation.
Domiciliary Care Agencies
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement a system of registration and inspection of domiciliary care agencies.
Mr. Bowis : Local authorities are already able to inspect such agencies on a voluntary basis. We have no current
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plans to introduce compulsory registration of domiciliary care agencies, but we will review the position next year as part of our overall review of inspection.Correspondence
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South of 18 March asking her to state the intended publication date of the Bloomfield report on proposals for dental remuneration.
Dr. Mawhinney : I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 13 April.
Nurses
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what expressions of concern she has received about the pay levels of junior nurses ;
(2) what representations she has received from the nursing organisations regarding hours and conditions of nurses and junior nurses.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the current annual average working hours for nurses ; and what were the figures for 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Dr. Mawhinney : The normal working hours for all whole-time nurses employed under Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council terms and conditions are 37.5 per week, any additional hours worked would be at the request of the employing authority. Information on annual average working hours is not available centrally.
Dental Services
Mr. McKelvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will be giving the Government's response to the Bloomfield report on general dental services in the national health service.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 18 February at column 1042 .
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from (a) the public and (b) the dental profession concerning the timing of the response to the Bloomfield report and the oral health strategy ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have recently received written representations from some members of the dental profession and a few from the public concerning the timing of our announcement of proposals for the national health service dental service.
Health Services (Merseyside)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the waiting list on Merseyside for treatment of arthritis ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : Information on waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment by specialty and by
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regional health authority, district health authority and trust is given in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics : England", which is published twice yearly. The latest figures are for September 1993 and copies are available in the Library.Information on waiting times to first out-patient appointment is not yet collected centrally.
Health Services (Merseyside)
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans there are to establish a rheumatology service for the Merseyside region ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) what special facilities are provided for the treatment of psoriasis on Merseyside.
Mr. Sackville : District health authorities and general practitioner fundholders are responsible, as the purchasers of health care, for ensuring that patients have access to a comprehensive range of hospital and community health services. There are well-developed services for the treatment of psoriasis and rheumatology for the people of Merseyside. The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Donald Wilson, chairman of North West regional health authority, for details of existing services and any plans for their development.
St. Helens Hospital
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaints she has received from (a) elected Members and (b) patients from the St. Helens and Knowsley area concerning the waiting times at St. Helens hospital ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : We are not aware of any such complaints. No patients have to wait longer than one year for in-patient or day case treatment at the St. Helen's and Knowsley hospitals national health service trust, and 80 per cent. are seen within six months.
Abbots Langley Hospital
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with Abbots Langley hospital with regard to the pension arrangements for staff.
Private Prescriptions
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Norfolk family health services authority regarding private prescriptions ; and what guidelines she has issued to FHSAs on the subject.
Dr. Mawhinney : An official in the Department has recently had a conversation with Norfolk family health services authority about private prescriptions. Guidance will be issued to all FHSAs shortly.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring her Department undertakes of the amount of private prescriptions being dispensed ; and if she will provide a breakdown by FHSA of the number of private prescriptions dispensed, and the price at which they were dispensed.
Dr. Mawhinney : None. These transactions are outwith the national health service.
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NHS Pensions
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has issued to health authorities and trusts as respects the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 with regard to pensions.
Dr. Mawhinney : The national health service executive issued guidance on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 to the NHS in November 1993. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library. This guidance includes specific references to pensions and an appendix which provides advice on evaluation of pensions comparability and the assessment of pension packages.
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