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Dental Services
14. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients have been unable to obtain NHS treatment from a general dental practitioner in the period from December 1992 in (a) Clwyd and (b) Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Fortnightly returns submitted by family health service authorities suggest that between 4 December 1992 and 25 March 1994 authorities were unable immediately to secure NHS dental treatment for only eight patients in Wales, four of whom resided in Clwyd. It is likely that NHS treatment was secured in the period immediately following submission of the returns and it is significant that there are now over 51,000 more patient registrations in Wales than there were in December 1992.
Patients Charter
15. Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on progress with the patients charter.
Mr. Redwood : The patients charter has played an important role in raising the standard of services provided in Wales and performance continues to improve. Provisional figures show that all the waiting times guarantees had been achieved by 4 April 1994.
Local Authority Boundaries
16. Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he made of transport links between Llandridnod Wells and Llanelly Hill when considering the proposed new local authority boundaries.
17. Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to limit the spread of superstores in out-of-town locations.
Mr. Redwood : Government policy on retail development is set out in planning policies guidance note 6, "Town Centres and Retail Developments". This stresses the need for a suitable balance in providing for retail development between town centre and out-of-centre retail facilities. I have made clear my intention to encourage more investment in town centres and greater use of under-used land in and around those centres and will issue further guidance.
Housing
18. Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning his policies for enabling local councils to repair and modernise aging housing stock.
Mr. Redwood : We have made substantial resources available for home renovation in Wales. It must be for local councils to determine their priorities for repair and improvement from the resources that they have available.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what cash he has given to each of the boroughs and districts in Clwyd for the purpose of renovating housing stock.
Column 49
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Information on the allocation of capital resources for the renovation of private and public housing stock in each district in Clwyd for 1993-94 and 1994-95 is given in the following table :
£ million
|1993=94 |1994-95
Alyn and Deeside |4.311 |4.779
Colwyn |4.623 |5.568
Delyn |3.651 |4.815
Glyndwr |2.538 |2.925
Rhuddlan |5.315 |5.281
Wrexham Maelor |9.933 |10.758
Local Government Reform
19. Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest estimate of the cost of the proposed local government reform in Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The measures in the Local Government (Wales) Bill will result in transitional costs estimated on the basis of a report prepared by consultants to be between £65 million and £150 million over 15 years. Those will be offset from April 1996 by continuing savings in public expenditure. The precise level of those will depend on decisions to be taken by the new councils on such matters as staffing levels and management structures.
Drug Education
20. Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to review drug education in schools.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : All schools have to provide a curriculum which promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development and all pupils have to be taught about the effects of drug abuse on health as part of the national curriculum. It is for schools themselves to decide how to organise and provide drugs education. School inspectors consider the effectiveness of health education as part of their duty to report on the provision of education in schools.
The Welsh Office has issued a guide on "Drug Misuse and the Young", which contains advice on drugs education. Under the grants for education support and training programme, we have made grants available to local education authorities for measures to promote personal and social education, including education on health and drugs.
Training
21. Mr. Ray Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what numbers of males and females aged over 18 years are at present in full-time training in Wales ; and what were the numbers in each year since 1979.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Numbers in training are not collected by gender or age. The number of adults aged 18 and over in full-time training at 31 March 1989 and in subsequent years is as follows :
Year |Number --------------------------- 1989 |13,561 1990 |15,929 1991 |10,252 1992 |10,449 1993 |10,754 1994 |<1>9,587 <1> The figure for 1994 refers to the position for February. The figure at 31 March 1994 is not available. Note: Comparable figures for years prior to 1989 are not available.
Farm Workers
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will show the average income of (a) farmers and (b) farm workers in (i) cash and (ii) real terms, using 1985 as a constant, in each year since 1980 showing these incomes as a percentage of the average wage.
Mr. Redwood : Two of the main indicators of the average income of farmers are the cash income per farm and the average net farm income. Both are derived from the farm business survey. Neither of those estimates is available on a consistent basis before 1986-87 nor strictly comparable with the average wage. Details from both of those income measures together with information on the average income of hired full time agricultural workers are shown in the tables.
Cash income of the farm business
Years |Estimated cash |Real terms 1985
|income (£000 per |prices<1> (£000 per
|annum) |annum)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |18.2 |17.01
1988-89 |19.7 |17.43
1989-90 |19.6 |16.07
1990-91 |19.5 |14.55
1991-92 |23.3 |16.52
1992-93 |23.9 |16.37
Net farm income of the farm business
Years |Estimated net farm |Real terms 1985
|income (£000 per |prices<1> (£000 per
|annum) |annum)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |11.2 |10.5
1988-89 |15.8 |14.0
1989-90 |12.3 |10.1
1990-91 |10.5 |7.8
1991-92 |14.0 |9.9
1992-93 |16.9 |12.0
1993-94 (forecast) |22.6 |15.3
<1>Deflated by the Retail Price Index.
Hired full-time agricultural workers in Wales
Year |Cash terms (£ per|Real terms 1985 |Percentage of
|week) |prices<1> (£ per |average wage<2>
|week)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 |87.62 |110.77 |73.4
1982 |93.53 |108.88 |71.8
1983 |101.50 |113.03 |72.5
1984 |105.27 |111.63 |70.6
1985 |117.43 |117.43 |73.3
1986 |117.51 |113.65 |69.0
1987 |128.73 |119.53 |70.2
1988 |135.50 |119.91 |69.0
1989 |141.07 |115.82 |65.3
1990 |153.83 |115.31 |66.3
1991 |173.79 |123.08 |68.9
1992 |<3>204.18 |<3>139.47 |<3>75.4
1993 |189.54 |127.46 |67.4
<1> Deflated by the Retail Prices Index.
<2> Average earnings of all industries and services in Wales. It covers those whose pay
for the survey period at April each year was not affected by absence. Men aged 21 and
over and women aged 18 and over on 1 January in the year of the survey for 1981-1983 and
males and females on adult rates for 1984 onwards.
<3> Figures are inflated due to employees working, on average, 2 hours more overtime than
in other years, resulting in an extra £10 to £12 income per week.
Column 52
Asthma
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of asthma were reported in each Welsh health area for each year since 1979 ; and if he will set out the figures in the same manner as the Secretary of State for Health in her answer to the hon. Member for Knowsley, North (Mr. Howarth) of 30 March, Official Report , columns 887-90 .
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information is given in the following table :
Column 51
Hospital episodes <1> with a main diagnosis of asthma (ICD9 493)
In-patients and day cases by District Health Authority of treatment
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991-92<2>|1992-93<2>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |387 |366 |415 |385 |430 |494 |653 |584 |643 |694 |703 |664 |759 |695
East Dyfed |212 |232 |232 |277 |300 |291 |324 |352 |368 |391 |313 |356 |367 |424
Pembrokeshire |116 |119 |121 |110 |134 |186 |199 |198 |192 |218 |218 |246 |233 |235
Gwent |474 |460 |629 |483 |610 |678 |696 |910 |827 |901 |793 |697 |912 |1,032
Gwynedd |243 |255 |213 |246 |264 |269 |315 |409 |456 |438 |360 |396 |413 |292
Mid Glamorgan |575 |601 |688 |621 |719 |845 |1,072 |1,106 |1,113 |1,148 |1,006 |1,068 |<3>- |<3>-
Powys |100 |118 |114 |82 |114 |92 |92 |91 |89 |91 |137 |109 |176 |178
South Glamorgan |585 |641 |819 |768 |825 |894 |928 |1,019 |1,112 |1,303 |1,116 |1,185 |1,213 |1,038
West Glamorgan |392 |487 |540 |596 |654 |753 |614 |679 |787 |907 |902 |563 |<3>- |<3>-
Total |3,084 |3,279 |3,771 |3,568 |4,050 |4,502 |4,893 |5,348 |5,587 |6,091 |5,548 |5,284 |<3>- |<3>-
<1> Figures may understate the true position in that not all hospitals provide complete clinical information. Data relate to discharges and deaths for 1979 to 1990 and to finished
consultant episodes for 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Figures are presented according to the District Health Authority area (as at present) in which hospital treatment took place. 1992-93 information includes NHS Trusts.
<2> Provisional.
<3> Denotes not available.
Sources: Hospital Activity Analysis 1979 to 1990.
Patient Episode Database for Wales 1991-92 onwards.
Welsh Economic Council
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which members of the new Welsh economics policy committee have qualifications or experience in ecological sustainability or have published in the field ; and if he will give details.
Mr. Redwood : The Welsh Economic Council was set up to provide a discussion forum with individuals drawn from a wide spectrum of business and economic interests across Wales. Its core membership will be supplemented by additional individuals, who will be invited to meetings where their particular qualifications or experience could contribute to the discussions.
NHS Salary Costs
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what have been the total salary costs for (a) managerial staff, (b) clerical and administrative staff and (c) nursing and midwifery staff since 1989 in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 25 November 1993, Official Report, column 151, and 17 December 1993, Official Report, column 1081.
Forestry Commission
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish details of those persons and institutions to whom Forestry Commission land has been sold in Wales during the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 52
Mr. Redwood : 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 1993 are held in the Library of the House. The lists provide the name of the purchaser where the purchaser has agreed that this can be made public.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 12 April, Official Report, columns 67-68, for which of those Forestry Commission sites sold, applications for clear felling have been granted ; and for which of the Forestry Commission sites sold applications have been made for further planting schemes.
Mr. Redwood : Applications for clear felling have been approved for the areas given as follows and applications have been approved for replanting all these areas.
County and name of |Area (hectares) |Area approved for
property |felling(hectares)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd
Bryndethol |7.0 |4.4
Maes Mynach |10.0 |9.6
Worlds End |84.0 |9.7
Dyfed
Allt Cae Ffynon Wen |3.0 |2.5
Allt Cilfrychen and Goredig |27.0 |10.7
Allt Cwm Tywyll |5.5 |5.5
Allt Penlan Fach |4.0 |0.6
Allt Pwll Priddog |19.0 |1.3
Cae Sarah |4.0 |4.0
Careg Fadog Wood |6.0 |5.9
Coed Newydd, Gwastad |48.6 |14.0
Cresselly Big Wood |48.0 |3.6
Cwm Bran Wood |8.0 |8.0
Factory Wood |3.0 |3.0
Gelli Cefn y Rhos |7.0 |5.5
Hafod Iwan |32.0 |18.0
Quarry Wood |7.0 |6.4
Tan y Lan |32.5 |15.5
Tan yr Allt |7.0 |1.5
Powys
Craig yr Henffordd |7.5 |6.8
Stocking Wood |8.0 |2.5
Bed Availability
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average number of (a) beds available and (b) new accident and emergency cases during 1993-94, by regional health authority ; and what were the figures per 1,000 population.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information given in the following table relates to 1992-93, the latest financial year for which figures are available.
Column 53
-------------------------------------------------------- Clwyd |2,252 |5.4 |102,931|248.3 East Dyfed |1,491 |6.3 |60,014 |252.9 Gwent |2,778 |6.2 |110,714|246.4 Gwynedd |1,434 |6.0 |45,268 |188.8 Mid Glamorgan |3,646 |6.7 |155,898|287.2 Pembrokeshire |437 |3.8 |25,760 |226.3 Powys |854 |7.2 |25,501 |213.9 South Glamorgan |2,933 |7.1 |84,446 |205.7 West Glamorgan |2,244 |6.0 |105,546|284.3 <1>Figures are given according to the district health authority area in which hospitals are situated. NHS Trusts are included. <2>Rate per 1,000 population using 1992 mid-year estimated population.
Statementing of Children
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by local education authority for 1984 and the latest date for which information is available (a) the number of educational psychologists employed, (b) the ratio of educational psychologists to school age children, (c) the number of children with statements and (d) the ratio of children with statements to the school age population.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information required is given in the following table. Data on educational psychologists were not collected prior to January 1992.
|Number of |Rate per 10,000 of
|educational |the school
|psychologists 1993|population 1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |20 |3
Dyfed |10 |2
Gwent |21 |3
Gwynedd |5 |1
Mid Glamorgan |19 |2
Powys |4 |2
South Glamorgan |10 |2
West Glamorgan |12 |2
|------- |-------
Wales |101 |2
Number of Rate per 10,000
children with of the school
statements of population<1>
special educational
needs
|1984 |1993 |1984 |1993
--------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |1,142 |3,219 |162 |490
Dyfed |814 |1,319 |144 |233
Gwent |1,658 |2,297 |215 |314
Gwynedd |987 |865 |242 |240
Mid Glamorgan |3,885 |4,016 |390 |422
Powys |308 |517 |154 |270
South Glamorgan |1,171 |1,374 |175 |202
West Glamorgan |2,268 |2,333 |376 |411
|-------|-------|-------|-------
Wales |12,223 |15,940 |248 |339
<1>The number of pupils per 10,000 of the full-time
pupils in maintained nursery, primary, secondary,
special and independent schools.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentages of ambulances in each service in Wales responded to emergency calls within (a) eight minutes and (b) 14 to 20 minutes in 1993-94.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The ambulance service classification in Wales and its standards for emergency call response times are as follows :
|50 per cent. within|95 per cent. within
|minutes |minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Urban areas
(Population density: more than 3 persons per acre-South Glamorgan) |7 |14
Rural areas
(Population density: between 0.5 and 3 persons per acre-Clwyd, Gwent, Mid and West Glamorgan) |8 |18
Sparsley populated areas
(Population density: less than 0.5 persons per acre-East Dyfed, Gwynedd, Pembrokeshire and Powys) |8 |21
Column 55
Information for the year ending 31 March 1994 is not yet available. The latest available information, for the nine months ending 31 December 1993, is shown in the following table.
Percentage of
ambulances arriving
within
|50 per cent. |95 per cent.
|standard response|standard response
|time |time
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |61 |97
East Dyfed |58 |94
Gwent<1> |51 |96
Gwynedd |56 |95
Mid Glamorgan |55 |97
Pembrokeshire |45 |90
Powys<1> |44 |88
South Glamorgan<1> |56 |94
West Glamorgan |57 |93
<1> Part of the area managed by the South and East Wales Ambulance NHS
Trust.
NHS Staff Statistics
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) men and (b) women were employed at the latest available date for each grade in the administrative and clerical pay group and the ancillary staffs pay groups of the national health service, for grades 0 to 12 in the senior managers pay group, for each grade in the ambulance staffs pay group and the ambulance officers pay group, and for general managers and chief executives in the national health service ; and if he will express the figures as numbers and as full-time equivalents.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The information available is given in the following table.
Column 55
Staff in post as at 31 December 1993<1>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative and clerical<3>:
Grade 1 |7 |5.0 |50 |26.8
Grade 2 |337 |315.9 |3,484 |2,469.4
Grade 3 |250 |247.8 |2,660 |2,310.1
Grade 4 |228 |223.1 |1,354 |1,270.4
Grade 5 |271 |266.4 |495 |478.3
Grade 6 |238 |235.1 |237 |224.0
Grade 7 |108 |105.3 |63 |58.1
Grade 8 |28 |28.0 |7 |7.0
Grade 9 |7 |7.0 |- |-
Grade 10 |7 |7.0 |- |-
Sandwich course student |2 |1.4 |- |-
Regional finance trainee |12 |12.0 |27 |27.0
General management trainee |5 |5.0 |9 |9.0
Not known<4> |32 |30.6 |184 |165.2
Ancillary:
Upholsterer |3 |3.0 |- |-
Scale A |63 |44.8 |282 |150.0
Scale B |1,943 |1,766.4|5,645 |3,295.8
Scale C |256 |241.4 |515 |370.3
Scale D |31 |31.0 |45 |30.8
Scale E |10 |10.0 |13 |9.6
Scale I |58 |57.1 |269 |216.2
Scale II |85 |84.9 |123 |116.0
Scale III |59 |59.0 |48 |47.1
Scale IV |62 |62.0 |44 |39.9
Not known<4> |10 |10.0 |176 |122.6
Senior managers<5><6> |128 |127.5 |48 |47.4
Ambulance staff<7>:
Trainee |33 |33.0 |7 |7.0
Ambulanceman/women |164 |114.8 |52 |34.2
Qualified |518 |518.0 |33 |33.0
Leading |107 |107.0 |2 |2.0
Ambulance officers<7>:
Band I |25 |25.0 |3 |3.0
Band II |44 |44.0 |3 |3.0
Assistant senior |15 |15.0 |- |-
Senior |8 |8.0 |- |-
Principal |1 |1.0 |- |-
General Managers/Chief Executives<6> |35 |35.0 |6 |6.0
<1> Includes staff employed by Health Authorities, NHS Trusts, the Welsh
Health Common Services Authority and those Family Health Service Authorities
using the health authorities payroll system.
Staff (other than medical and dental) paid on local payscales who cannot be
assigned to a staff group centrally are excluded. These staff numbered in
total around 532 whole-time equivalents at 31 December 1993.
<2> Whole-time equivalents.
<3> Excluding staff on managerial pay scales.
<4> Staff paid on local pay scales who can be assigned to a staff group
centrally but for whom no details of grade are available.
<5> All staff paid on senior manager pay scales.
<6> Excluding staff paid on local pay scales for whom no details of grade
are available, although they can be assigned centrally to the managerial
staff group. These staff numbered around 13 whole-time equivalents at 31
December 1993.
<7> Excluding staff employed by the South and East Wales NHS Ambulance Trust,
for whom no details are available yet centrally for 31 December 1993. These
staff numbered around 509 whole-time equivalents at 31 December 1993.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many NHS trusts in Wales he expects to reach their target of six per cent. return on capital for the 1993-94 financial year.
Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it a condition of continued funding for the Prince of Wales orthopaedic hospital, Rhydlafar near Cardiff treatment centre that the centre discontinues the use of the Zimmer CPT artificial hip joint pending resolution of that hip joint's failure rate.
Mr. Redwood : No. Zimmer is on the Department of Health's register of approved manufacturers.
Sewage Infrastructure
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of Welsh Water plc and the Director General of Water Services in relation to the sum allocated for sewerage infrastructure renewal and not spent for the purpose allocated in the period 1989 to 1993 ; and what proposals he has to amend the financial arrangements with the regulated water company and the regulator in relation to each undertaking.
Mr. Redwood : I have not discussed this matter with the chairman of Welsh Water plc or the Director General of Water Services. By 1995, Dwr Cymru will have spent nearly £1.1 billion on capital investment, well in excess of the amount allowed for in price limits set at privatisation.
Mr. Geoffrey Drake
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what information he had regarding, and what consideration he gave to, the departure of Geoffrey Drake from his employment at Penrhyn quarries before appointing him chairman of the Gwynedd acute hospitals trust ;
(2) if he appointed executive selection consultants in relation to the appointment of the post of chairman of the Gwynedd acute hospitals trust ; and what references were (a) sought and (b) received in relation to Mr. Geoffrey Drake the previous managing director of the Penrhyn quarries subsidiary of Sir Alfred McAlpine plc. by himself and any such executive selection consultants concerning the post ;
(3) what consultations he had with the management of the Sir Alfred McAlpine Group prior to, and in relation to, the appointment of Mr. Geoffrey Drake as chairman of the Gwynedd acute hospitals trust.
Mr. Redwood : Executive search consultants were not involved in the appointment of Mr. Drake to chair the Gwynedd hospitals NHS trust. In selecting candidates for appointment, the Department makes such inquiries about
Column 58
individuals and undertakes such consultations as seem appropriate in each case. To disclose what those were in regard to Mr. Drake would be to breach the confidence of those involved.Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received in relation to the suitability of Mr. Geoffrey Drake as chairman of the Gwynedd acute hospitals trust (a) before his appointment and (b) since his appointment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 4 March, Official Report, column 910. Since that date I have received, and replied to, two further letters from the hon. Member about Mr. Drake's appointment.
Higher Education
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the numbers and percentages of students in higher education undertaking two -year diploma courses and three and four-year degree courses in each of the past 10 years.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The number and percentage of students in higher education in Wales who undertook either a two-year diploma course or a three or four-year degree course in 1992-93 is shown in the following table. Information for years prior to 1992-93 are not readily available and I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Full time undergraduate students in Wales, 1992-93
|Number |Percentage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
First degree
Three years |24,634 |52.8
Four years |11,506 |24.6
Higher National Diploma
Two years |4,085 |8.7
Other courses at University of Wales
Any length |3,304 |7.1
Other courses at other institutions
Any length |3,133 |6.7
|------ |------
All full time undergraduates |46,662 |100.0
Source: FESR & Universities' Statistical Record.
Press Relations
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to commence using electronic mail for the distribution of press releases.
Mr. Redwood : Some press notices are distributed to the media in London by the Central Office of Information's electronic service. I have no plans to extend this at present, but the matter is kept under review.
Column 59
HEALTH
NHS Nurses
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish details of the numbers of qualified, unqualified and learner nursing staff who joined the NHS in each year since 1991.
Mr. Sackville : The information for 1993 is shown in the table. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 21 June 1993, Official Report, columns 28-29 for information on previous years.
1993 |Numbers
-----------------------------------------------------
Qualified |12,590
Unqualified |n/a
WTE (1993)
Qualified |11,810
Unqualified |n/a
Pre-registration nursing
Initial entries and re-entries
Level 1 |<1>1992-93
Traditional |3,886
<1> Year ending 31 March 1993.
<2> Project 2000 learners are regarded as
supernumerary and are not included in workforce
numbers.
Totals taken from ENB Annual Report 1992-93 (Table
5.2).
Source: 1991 KM45 and KM46, 1992 onwards KM48.
n/a=not available.
All figures rounded to the nearest 10.
Figures for 1992 are based on returns from 12
regions. For 1993 numbers are based on returns from
11 regions and whole time equivalents on returns
from 12.
Child Care
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she intends to take in relation to child care following the ruling of the High Court on 16 March in relation to child minders hitting children in their care ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : We have now studied the High Court judgment. It gives a clear ruling that the Department's guidance on the use of corporal punishment by child minders should be read in the context of the whole guidance document. Local authorities should not apply guidance so strictly that a person seeking registration as a child minder under part X of the Children Act 1989, who is in conflict with part of it, is automatically found to be unfit to be a child minder. The Department considers it unnecessary to introduce regulations. We are considering whether further clarification of the guidance is desirable.
Health Authority Budgets
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the underspending or overspending for each regional health authority on its 1992-93 budget, showing in each case the net contribution to such spending changes made by (a) negligence claims, (b) capital accounts and (c) general practitioner fundholders.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table. Regional health authorities are not allowed to
Column 60
overspend their combined capital and revenue cash limits. In 1992-93, RHAs had general approval to carry forward up to 0.5 per cent. of their combined revenue and capital cash limits. The contribution of negligence claims and general practitioner fundholders to any underspending is not required for operational purposes, and is therefore not separately identifiable in the information available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairmen of regional health authorities for details.
Region |Total |Over/under(-)spend
|over/under(-)spend|on capital cash
|on cash limits<1> |limits
|£000 |£000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |-4,000 |-6,838
Yorkshire |-4,000 |-1,983
Trent |-2,465 |-269
East Anglian |-3,000 |-2,563
North West Thames |-5,629 |-1,587
North East Thames |0 |-5,094
South East Thames |0 |-941
South West Thames |-2,000 |1,334
Wessex |-3,042 |8,183
Oxford |0 |122
South Western |-7,018 |-1,331
West Midlands |0 |-6,114
Mersey |0 |-477
North Western |0 |-197
<1>This column represents the cash underdrawing against the combined
capital and revenue cash limit.
North Yorkshire FHSA
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by North Yorkshire family health services authority in 1993-94 ; and what is its budget for 1994-95.
Mr. Sackville : The 1993-94 outturn data are not yet available. Allocations for cash-limited general medical services expenditure and for the family health services authority's administration costs are determined by the regional health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority, Mr. John Greetham, for details.
Abortion
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS abortions were performed on women who were under 13 weeks pregnant and resident (a) in each regional health authority and (b) in each district health authority in England and Wales in 1992 ; and how many of these operations involved admissions and discharge of the patient on the same day.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested will be placed in the Library. The number of national health service abortions includes abortions carried out in the private sector on NHS patients.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in England and Wales on women who were resident in each health and social services board area in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : The information is not available in the form requested.
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Alcohol Concern
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grants have been made over the last five years to Alcohol Concern.
Mr. Bowis : Alcohol Concern receives grant from several sources. The Department of Health awarded the following amounts from 1989-90 to 1993-94. The figures include sums available to Alcohol Concern disbursement to voluntary agencies for providing local services for alcohol misusers. These amounts are given in brackets.
Year |Amount (£) |£ ------------------------------------------------ 1989-90 |583,000 |(200,000) 1990-91 |603,000 |(220,000) 1991-92 |1,723,500 |(1,310,000) 1992-93 |2,693,000 |(2,265,000) 1993-94 |2,575,650 |(2,130,000)
Redundancies
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what limits are placed on the total redundancy package for individuals in the health service ;
(2) what are the limits placed on individual redundancy payments for staff in the health service.
Dr. Mawhinney : Redundancy payments for national health service staff employed on national terms and conditions of service, other than general managers and senior managers engaged on short-term rolling contracts, are governed by section 45 of the General Whitley Council handbook, copies of which are available in the Library. The limit on the maximum amount which can be paid is covered by paragraphs 2.4, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of section 45. Although general managers and senior managers engaged on short-term rolling contracts do not benefit from the provisions of section 45, they are still entitled to statutory redundancy payments.
Staff over the age of 50 with more than five years service who are made redundant are entitled to premature retirement benefits provided by section 46 of the General Whitley Council handbook.
NHS Management Executive
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 13 April, Official Report , column 203 , if she will list the dates and locations for the first meetings of the eight regional outposts of the NHS management executive which the public may attend.
Dr. Mawhinney : The regional offices of the national health service executive are part of the Department of Health, not separate public bodies, and will therefore not hold public meetings.
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Northern and North Yorkshire Health Authority
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) revenue and (b) capital was spent on behalf of North Yorkshire patients by Yorkshire regional health authority in 1993-94 ; and what is the equivalent estimated expenditure of the new combined Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority in 1994-95.
Mr. Sackville : Information on revenue spending on the residents of specific districts is not collected by the Department since it is not required for operational reasons. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of the Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority, Mr. John Greetham, for details.
Capital is now largely spent by national health service trusts. The benefits of such expenditure are received by residents of any district health authority who are treated by particular trusts.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cash and standard price allocation for each health authority in the northern region in 1992-93 and 1994-95, and what was the effect of (a) regional bridging loans and (b) transitional allocations together with any underspending for 1992-93.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by North Yorkshire health authority in 1993-94 ; and what is its budget for 1994-95.
Mr. Sackville : It is the responsibility of regional health authorities to allocate resources to their district health authorities. Information on the total allocations and cash limits made by regions to districts is not required for operational purposes and is therefore not collected by the Department. The hon. Members may wish to contact the chairman of the Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority, Mr. John Greetham, to request details of the 1994-95 budget. Information on 1993-94 expenditure by North Yorkshire health authority will become available from the annual accounts when these are received later in the year.
Salmonella
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many salmonella cases occurred (a) nationally and (b) in each NHS region (1) in absolute terms and (2) per head of population for (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993.
Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table. Figures for 1993 are provisional.
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Reported cases of salmonellosis in England and Wales, 1992 and 1993
1992 1993
NHS region |<1>Number |<2>Rate |<1>Number |<2>Rate
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,569 |50.6 |1,629 |52.6
Yorkshire |3,273 |88.5 |2,888 |78.1
Trent |2,480 |52.3 |2,734 |57.6
East Anglia |1,347 |64.5 |1,385 |66.3
North West Thames |2,083 |58.0 |2,108 |58.7
North East Thames |2,058 |54.2 |2,134 |56.2
South East Thames |2,234 |60.2 |2,009 |54.1
South West Thames |1,946 |64.0 |1,770 |58.2
Wessex |1,871 |62.5 |1,893 |63.2
Oxford |1,582 |61.3 |1,665 |64.5
South Western |2,266 |68.3 |2,260 |68.2
West Midlands |2,879 |54.6 |2,673 |50.7
Mersey |1,131 |46.9 |974 |40.4
North Western |2,719 |67.7 |2,553 |63.5
Wales |1,917 |66.1 |1,978 |68.2
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |31,355 |61.2 |30,653 |59.8
<1> Figures are for laboratory confirmed cases of salmonella in humans
reported to the Public Health Laboratory Service.
<2> Rates are expressed as laboratory confirmed cases per 100,000
population.
In-patient Statistics
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing (a) for each year since 1990 the number of beds available for the in-patient treatment of (i) the mentally ill and (ii) patients with learning difficulties and (b) the number of residential care places available in private, voluntary sector and local authority care of those with (1) mental illness and (2) learning difficulties in each year.
Mr. Bowis : The information is shown in the table.
NHS available beds
|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
----------------------------------------------------
Mental illness |55,239 |50,278 |47,294
Learning disability |23,379 |21,382 |17,896
Staffed residential care places
|1990 |1991 |1992
------------------------------------------------
Mental illness
Local authority |5,730 |5,740 |5,560
Voluntary |3,080 |3,510 |4,300
Private |9,070 |9,270 |10,380
Learning disability
Local authority |14,030|13,760|13,400
Voluntary |7,890 |9,510 |11,200
Private |8,380 |9,380 |10,040
General Practitioners
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner fundholders underspent in 1991-92 ; what was the average underspend of those general practitioners ; and what information she has on how that underspend has been used.
Dr. Mawhinney : In 1991-92, 243 general practitioner fundholders made savings on their budgets averaging about £60,000. Savings so far have been used to clear waiting lists and to purchase equipment and improve practice premises to develop services for patients.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to deduct general practitioner fundholding overspends in previous years from any underspends in subsequent years.
Dr. Mawhinney : None. General practitioner fundholders' budgets have to be managed in year. Regional health authorities manage any fundholder overspends from within their allocations in the same way as any other accountable expenditure. Fundholders' savings are reinvested in patient care.
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