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Prison Disturbances
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail the prison disturbances which have taken place over the last 10 years to include (a) the nature of the damage, (b) the number of staff and prisoners injured and (c) the overall cost of the disturbance.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 5 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prison disturbances over the past ten years.
Any action by two or more prisoners against the smooth running of a prison may be classed as a disturbance. Such disturbances may be either passive such as sitting down and refusing to leave the exercise yard, or active such as damaging the fabric of the prison and fighting staff.
The table below shows the number of disturbances since 1984.
Year |Number ------------------------- <1>1984-85 |38 1985-86 |38 1986-87 |45 1987-88 |42 1988-89 |67 1989-90 |67 1990-91 |105 1992-93 |142 1993-94 |147 <1> For this year only the figures are for a 15 month period.
I will write to you again about the more serious disturbances once this information is available.
Camp Hill
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by how much he intends to cut staffing levels at Camp hill ; and for what reason.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 5 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about staffing levels at Camp Hill prison.
There are no plans to reduce overall staffing levels at Camp Hill but the governor is considering replacing some prison officers posts with prison auxiliaries.
Deportations (Private Security Firms)
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce independent monitoring of complaints about private security firms used in deportations.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to her earlier question on this subject on 9 February 1994 at column 264.
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Police Redundancy
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce measures to require Metropolitan police officers with over 30 years' service, and who have previously refused to accept voluntary redundancy, to be made compulsorily redundant.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None at present.
Campsfield House
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are for Judge Stephen Tumim to inspect Campsfield house and to report to him.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend will be inviting Judge Tumim to inspect Campsfield house in due course as part of his future programme of inspections.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Departmental Publications
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for how many regular publications he was responsible in 1993-94 ; what was their circulation ; and how many were obtainable by subscription.
Mr. David Davis : During the financial year 1993-94 the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science and its executive agencies, together with the Central Office of Information and HMSO, produced 17 annual and 16 other regular publications. I will write to my hon. Friend with details of the titles and print-runs of each publication. None of these publications is available by subscription.
Civil Service Year Book
Mr. Luff : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what procedures are followed for the authorisation of the front cover design of the "Civil Service Year Book".
Mr. David Davis : Since 1922 the front cover designs of the "Civil Service Year Book" have been approved within the Cabinet Office.
HEALTH
Junior Doctors
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors applied for general practitioner training courses in each of the last five years ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally.
Family Planning Clinics
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women were seen at district health authority and trust family planning clinics in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sackville : The numbers of women seen in England were as follows :
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|Thousands
-------------------------------
1983 |1,448
1984 |1,487
1985 |1,454
1986 |1,406
1987-88 |1,319
1988-89 |1,115
<1>1989-90 |1,116
<1>1990-91 |1,060
1991-92 |1,046
1992-93 |1,030
<1> Figures are estimates
based on those districts
providing data and relate to
the number of first contacts.
Women can choose the source of their family planning advice and treatment. Guidance from the Department stresses the need for the balance of clinic and general practitioner provision to match identified local need ; 98 per cent. of GPs provide contraceptive services and more than two thirds of women seeking family planning advice now see their own or another GP.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to change prescription charges exemption arrangements.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : None. The existing exemption arrangements for retirement pensioners, which are the most generous in Europe, were challenged in the High Court on 26 April 1994. The court has referred the matter to the European Court of Justice and we must await the conclusion of the judicial process. It remains the policy of this Government not to impose prescription charges on state pensioners.
Nurses and Midwives
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the distribution of average gross weekly earnings per person for each of the national health service clinical nursing and midwifery grades, listing the percentage of each grade earning (a) under £140, (b) £150, (c) £160, (d) £170, (e) £180, (f) £190, (g) £200, (h) £210, (i) £220, (j) £230, (k) £240, (l) £250, (m) £275, (n) £300 and (o) those earning £300 and over in each year since 1989.
Mr. Sackville : This information will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the average gross weekly earnings and make-up of pay by type or allowance for each of the clincial grades for nursing and midwifery staff in each year since 1989.
Mr. Sackville : The information will be placed in the Library. We have used full-time staff data.
Alzheimer's Disease
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry about research into new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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Dr. Mawhinney : As part of the day to day operations of the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme, manufacturers have kept officials in touch with progress on development and licensing of new drugs, including those for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Dentists, South Yorkshire
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in practice in South Yorkshire take (a) NHS patients and (b) private patients only, but took NHS patients until 1990.
Dr. Mawhinney : At September 1993 the number of dentists providing national health service general dental services in South Yorkshire, which includes the family health services authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, was 481. The comparable number at 30 September 1990 was 444. Dentists are independent contractors who make their own decisions whether to accept patients under national health service arrangements.
Consultancies
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by general practitioner fundholders on consultancies in the latest year for which figures are available.
Dr. Mawhinney : Such information is not available.
NHS, London
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inquiries her Department has received about the NHS in London in each of the last 12 months.
Dr. Mawhinney : It is not possible to identify all inquiries about the national health service in London.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many former Conservative Members and agents have been appointed as chairpersons or members of the boards of National Health Service trusts ; and if she will name them.
Dr. Mawhinney : Those former Conservative Members currently serving on the boards of national health service trusts are listed : Chairmen
Lord Hayhoe Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust
Lord Jenkin of Roding Forest Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. J. Lee Christie Hospital NHS Trust
Sir Timothy Raison Aylesbury Vale Community Healthcare NHS Trust Mr. A. R. Favell Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust Non-executive directors
Sir Robert McCrindle Havering Hospital NHS Trust
Sir David Price Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust Mrs. M. Hicks South Warwickshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust Information on people who may be political agents is not available centrally.
Mr. Heald : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 16 December, Official Report, columns 814-15, whether she has given permission to more units to apply for national health service trust status.
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Mr. Sackville : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has given permission for a further four applications for national health service trust status. This will bring the total number of directly managed units applying for NHS trust status in the fifth wave to 12. Two further applications for mergers of existing trusts will also be subject to public consultation. An amended list which updates information which my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Mr. Trend) on 16 December 1993 at columns 814-15 has been placed in the Library.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the annual total cost of (a) remuneration and (b) expenses of members of the boards of NHS trusts.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what powers an NHS trust may make a payment to the NHS Trusts Federation by way of affiliation.
Dr. Mawhinney : A national health service trust may subscribe to the NHS Trust Federation under the powers in paragraph 16 of schedule 2 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the cost to NHS trusts of relaunching their corporate identities on becoming trusts.
Dr. Mawhinney : No such estimate can be made from the information collected centrally.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many first, second and third wave trusts failed to meet the targets of (a) earning a real return on capital of at least 6 per cent. and (b) remaining within external financial limits in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table. The majority of trusts had technical issues which affected their ability to meet their financial duties. This does not imply any failure in financial control. In a number of cases, the difference between actual financial performance and statutory target is deemed to be immaterial.
|1991-92|1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
First wave trusts
Failed to meet target of earning a real return
on capital of at least 6 per cent. |10 |24
Failed to meet target of remaining within
external financial limits |8 |12
Second wave trusts
Failed to meet target of earning a real return
on capital of at least 6 per cent. |n/a |27
Failed to meet target of remaining written
external financial limits |n/a |17
Third wave trusts
None operational in the years asked |n/a |n/a
NHS Joint Ventures
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many joint ventures were entered into between the private sector and NHS bodies in each of the last five years ;
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what was the cost or income to the NHS from these ventures ; and what measures are taken by her Department to monitor such ventures.Mr. Sackville : Information in the form requested is not available centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 14 April at column 293 and on 3 May at columns 456-58, and the reply I gave the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 2 November 1993 at columns 171-72 for the available information on private finance schemes. The Department does not monitor private schemes centrally. However, we conducted a special exercise earlier this year to assess the progress of the private finance initiative and it is our intention to repeat this at some future date.
NHS Contracts
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates her Department has made of the annual cost of negotiating and managing NHS contracts.
GP Fundholders
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost of allowances for computer equipment for (a) non-fundholding general practitioners and (b) fundholding general practitioners for 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : The provisional total reimbursement to all general practitioners for computer equipment in 1992-93 and 1993-94 was £40.2 million and £36.5 million respectively. The apportionment of these costs between fundholders and other GPs is not available centrally.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current estimate of the additional audit cost incurred as a result of the introduction of general practitioner fundholding.
Dr. Mawhinney : General practitioner fundholders fundholding accounts are independently audited each year by the Audit Commission. The total estimated costs in the 1993-94 audit year are about £1.3 million. This is under 0.1 per cent. of budgets set.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost of management allowances made to general practitioner practices which became fundholders on 1 April.
Dr. Mawhinney : Management allowances are re-imbursements against expenditure. Therefore, information for the 1993-94 financial year will not be available until after the year end.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total of budget underspends retained by fundholders in each region and district in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Dr. Mawhinney : Audited underspends are held by family health services authorities on behalf of general practitioner fundholders for up to four years for reinvestment in patient care. Final audited figures for 1992-93 and 1993-94 are not yet available.
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EMPLOYMENT
Advertising
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 24 March, Official Report, column 368, by what date he intends to place each market research report in the Library.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Market research on a number of Employment Department campaigns has been conducted. The results will be available later in May. I will send a copy to the hon. Member at that time.
Health and Safety
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions have been brought by the Health and Safety Executive against (a) regions of the National Rivers Authority, (b) regional water companies, (c) regional electricity companies and (d) "next steps" agencies in each of the last five years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information available is as follows : (a) Regions of the National Rivers Authority (NRA).
No informations were laid during the financial years 1989-90 to 1992-93-- provisional.
(b) Regional Water Companies.
One information was laid in England and Wales during the five years 1988-89 to 1992-93--provisional. The regional water councils control the industry in Scotland.
(c) Regional Electricity Companies.
The number of informations laid in England and Wales is set out in the following table :
Year of |Information hearing |laid ------------------------------------ 1988-89 |1 1989-90 |2 1990-91 |1 1991-92 |- <1>1992-93 |9 <1> Provisional.
The information available for Scotland is as follows :
Year of |Information hearing |laid ------------------------------------ 1988-89 |- 1989-90 |1 1990-91 |- 1991-92 |- <1>1992-93 |- <1> Provisional.
The figures for England and Wales relate only to electricity distribution ; the Scottish figures concern power generation as well.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions have been brought by the Health and Safety Executive against (a) county councils and (b) district councils in England in each of the past five years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information available for local authorities in England is provided in the following table :
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Year of |Informations hearing |laid --------------------------------------- 1988-89 |22 1989-90 |21 1990-91 |32 1991-92 |21 <1>1992-93 |47 <1> Provisional
It would not be possible to identify figures separately for county and district councils except at disproportionate cost.
Ms Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what research his Department has commissioned in the last two years on the relationship between working hours, rest breaks and accidents in the workplace.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No research on this specific topic has been commissioned by the Employment Department in the last two years. Professor J. M. Harrington of the University of Birmingham institute of occupational health was commissioned last year to identify and evaluate pertinent medical and scientific literature relating to the effect, if any, of hours of work on employees' health. The Health and Safety Executive has previously commissioned the study "Shiftwork, Health and Safety--an overview of the scientific literature 1978-1990", by Waterhouse, Folkard and Minors, 1992.
Sunday Working
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding proposed changes in the ability of staff in (a) cinema retailing kiosks, bars or restaurants and (b) cinemas themselves, to work on Sunday.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Cinema Exhibitors Association has sought guidance as to whether the employment measures of schedule 4 to the Sunday Trading Bill will extend to employees in cinemas selling refreshments and souvenirs.
Training Schemes
Sir Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all Government-operated employment and training schemes and the cost of each scheme each year since 1987 ; the number of providers on each scheme ; how much grant each provider has received each year since 1987, in total and each year ; the average payment to the providers for each person engaged on the schemes ; the average payment to providers on North Norfolk Action and the cost of providers in total for each of the workstart schemes and per person who has found full-time employment on each workstart scheme.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. G. Johnson to Sir Ralph Howell, dated5 May 1994 :
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The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about Government operated employment and training schemes. I am replying in absence of the Chief Executive.The Government has operated a large number of employment and training schemes over the period covered by your question, and it has not been possible to assemble all the information required for the reply in the normal timescale. Mr. Fogden will write to you again shortly with all the details that are available, but our people have told me that some of the information that you require is not held centrally.
I am sorry that we cannot reply to your question as speedily as usual.
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