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Mr. Atkins : My Department is currently considering whether it is possible for the licensees of almshouses to benefit from the provisions of the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet considered the planning application from Safeway for the development of the Eltham Well Hall site in the London borough of Greenwich ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : I expect to announce my decision on this application soon.
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Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the Liverpool Federation of Council Tenants and Residents Associations in respect of the consultation paper, "Access to Local Authority and Housing Association Tenancies" ; and what his response has been.
Sir George Young : One of my officials acknowledged on 10 May a letter dated 20 April from the chair of the Liverpool federation which set out the federation's comments on the proposals in the Government's consultation paper, and on certain other aspects of housing policy.
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funds were approved under the RECHAR programme for the provision of a community hall at Widdrington, Northumberland.
Mr. Baldry : A European regional development fund grant of £225,000 was approved under the Tyne and Wear and South East Northumberland RECHAR programme for the provision of a community hall at Widdrington.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) of 29 April, Official Report , column 379 , for what reason the information on youth training recipients and income support is not available.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested by the hon. member for the City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) is not available because the Department does not collect current data on the income level of youth training participants or on their eligibility for income support. The youth cohort study provides information, on a sample basis, on incomes of certain age groups, but this information is dated and does not establish individuals' entitlement to income support.
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what plans he has to replace Members' filing cabinets in compliance with EU regulations ; and what will be the cost.
Mr. Ray Powell : Older four-drawer filing cabinets and those without anti-tilt mechanisms are being identified and replaced as part of agreed refurbishment programmes in order to meet British Standard 4438. A total of £35,000 has been set aside in 1994-95 for this work.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 6 May, Official Report , column 651 , what authorisation is required by
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Parliamentary Counsel to undertake drafting of amendments to Private Members' Bills ; and who authorised the drafting of the amendments to the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill which appeared on the notice paper published on Wednesday 4 May.Mr. Newton : Parliamentary Counsel undertakes drafting work at the request of Ministers. My right hon. Friend
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 6 May, Official Report, column 651, which Government Department gave instructions to Parliamentary Counsel to draft the amendments to the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill.
Mr. Newton : The Department of Social Security.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Lord President of the Council when the figure of £200 available to assist towards the cost of drafting of Bills of Members successful in the ballot for private Members' Bills was first set ; when it was last varied ; and what is its value when last set adjusted by the retail price index.
Mr. Newton : Pursuant to a resolution of the House of 29 November 1971, hon. Members who have secured one of the first 10 places in the ballot are entitled to claim not more than £200 towards the cost of drafting assistance for their Bill. This allowance has not been increased since it was introduced ; its value adjusted by the retail price index and expressed in March 1994 prices is £1,371.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 6 May, Official Report, column 651, what is his estimate of (a) the number of man-hours taken to draft the amendments referred to in his answer and (b) the cost to the Exchequer.
Mr. Newton : Work on drafting of amendments to the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill was carried out in parallel with other work being undertaken by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, and the time taken cannot be accurately assessed. This work did not involve any additional cost to the Exchequer.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans his Department has (a) to use the Internet, (b) to make available on the Internet press releases and other departmental information which the public may wish to have access to and (c) to use the Internet as a means of increasing the openness of his Department.
Mr. Newton : The Privy Council has no plans to use the Internet.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there are in (a) residential homes and (b) nursing homes in the villages of (i) Murton, (ii) Seaham, (iii) Peterlee, (iv) Easington colliery, (v) Easington village, (vi) Horden, (vii) Blackhall, (viii) Shotton, (ix) South Hetton and (x) Haswell ; and how many are at present vacant.
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Mr. Bowis : The most recent information available centrally relates to 31 March 1993 and is shown in the table. The information on location is based on that supplied by homes and has not been centrally validated.
Durham: staffed residential home places available and vacant and nursing home beds, in certain villages, 31 March 1993 Residential homes Nursing homes Village |Places |Places |Beds |available|vacant |available ------------------------------------------------------------- Murton |47 |5 |34 Seaham<1> |169 |16 |262 Peterlee<2> |72 |15 |100 Easington colliery |0 |0 |54 Easington village<3> |59 |15 |46 Horden<2> |30 |2 |52 Blackhall |31 |8 |112 Shotten south<4> |50 |1 |0 Hetton |0 |0 |88 Haswell |0 |0 |0 <1>Including Dawdon, Seaham. One of the homes in Seaham is dual registered. <2>Horden, Peterlee has been allocated to Horden rather than Peterlee. <3>Including Easington unspecified. <4>Including Shotten colliery and Shotten.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider funding research into the possible causes of deformed limb birth defects ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Further to my response to an earlier question on this subject from my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Thompson) on 20 April at column 544, the Department is currently considering the question of further research.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the names and full-time occupations of all the non-executive directors appointed to health trusts in each regional health authority in London.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 17 January at column 385 . Details of the additions and amendments that apply to the entries relating to London have been placed in the Library.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those isotope departments and pathology laboratories which are eligible to apply for accreditation by her Department ; if she will list those pathology laboratories and isotope departments which have been (a) granted or (b) refused accreditation ; and if she will indicate the grounds on which accreditation was refused.
Mr. Sackville : Neither isotope departments or pathology laboratories have to be accredited by the Department. There are several professional accreditation schemes but participation by laboratories is voluntary. Information is not kept centrally on details of applications to these schemes or their outcome. A clinician who wishes to administer-- inject into--a human being a radioactive
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substance is required to hold a certificate, issued under the provisions of the Medicines (Administration of Radioactive Substances) Regulations 1978, before administering such a product. The site where such a clinician is based does not need to be accredited.Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will list the principal results achieved by the East Gloucestershire Health Trust since its formation in April 1991 ; and what it is doing to meet the targets laid down in her "The Health of the Nation" White Paper.
Mr. Sackville : East Gloucestershire national health service trust is a good example of how the NHS reforms are benefiting patients. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Thompson, the chairman of the trust, for details.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the names and numbers of hospitals which are planned for closure in inner London in the next five years.
Dr. Mawhinney : Proposals for changes to hospital services are developed in the light of discussions between hospitals and local health authorities. Proposals for significant changes in the pattern of services are subject to public consultation. No hospital or hospital department will close unless suitable alternative services are available.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has of the extent of the link between poverty and ill health.
Mr. Sackville : A wide range of factors--including genetic predisposition, environment, exposure to risk, lifestyles--are associated with the incidence of ill health. Some, but not all, of these are linked with income levels. The Department keeps in touch with research developments in this field.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of TB were reported by each region and for England as a whole in (a) 1992 and (b) 1993 ;
(2) how many deaths from TB occurred in (a) England and (b) each region in 1993 ;
Mr. Sackville : The information requested for 1992 is shown in the tables. Figures for 1993 are not yet available.
|Tuberculosis |Tuberculosis |notifications|deaths |- 1992 ------------------------------------------------------------------- England |5,597 |520 North |268 |22 Yorkshire and Humberside |498 |47 East Midlands |356 |50 East Anglia |77 |19 South East |2,567 |178 South West |199 |44 West Midlands |869 |84 North West |763 |76
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has recently decided that a tuberculosis inter-departmental working group should be established to decide what further prevention and control measures might be necessary to help maintain the United Kingdom's excellent record in combating the disease.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost of drug treatment in primary care for TB in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table.
Net ingredient cost of antituberculous drugs in England |£ thousands ------------------------------------ 1989 |1,139 1990 |1,163 1991 |1,363 1992 |1,418 1993 |1,471 Notes: 1. Antituberculous drugs are contained in the British National Formulary section 5.1.9. 2. The figures for 1991 to 1993 are on a different basis to earlier years and so not directly comparable. The 1989 to 1990 data are based on a sample of 1 in 200 prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors only in England. The data from 1991 cover all prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations requesting compensation for side-effects she has received from patients who have taken the steroid prednisolone ; and what action she is taking.
Mr. Sackville : Several representations have been received from patients who have taken steroids. Separate information is not held on representations made from those who have taken prednisolone. It is not the Department's policy to become involved in individual claims for compensation. This is a matter for individuals themselves to pursue with the companies concerned, if necessary, through the courts, as in other areas of health care.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines she has issued concerning the steroid prednisolone and its possible side-effects ;
(2) what discussions she has had with the manufacturers of the steroid prednisolone concerning its possible side-effects.
Mr. Sackville : The Department of Health has not issued specific guidelines about prednisolone. However, prescribing information on prednisolone and other corticosteroids is available to doctors in product data
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sheets which are produced by the manufacturers and authorised by the licensing authority, and in the British National Formulary" which the Department of Health sends free to all prescribers. These provide extensive warnings about the side-effects of corticosteroids. Specific advice about the risk of immunosuppression in patients taking systemic corticosteroids and the association with disseminated chickenpox was recently sent to all doctors and pharmacists in the bulletin "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance" volume 20 : 1 February 1994, copies of which are available in the Library. Following a review of the safety of corticosteroids by the Committee on Review of Medicines in the mid-1980s there were communications with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry--ABPI--and individual companies, as a result prescribing information in product data sheets was revised. In the light of the recent recommendations made by the Committee on Safety of Medicines-- CSM--regarding severe chickenpox in association with corticosteroids, the product information available forcorticosteroids is being further revised. A large number of manufacturers are involved and will shortly be approached individually in writing on this matter.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the criteria for a GP fundholder removing patients from his or her list.
Dr. Mawhinney : General practitioner fundholders are no different from any general practitioner in this respect.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many laboratories report a smear test as cytology negative when no endocervical material has been seen on the slide.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 25 April at column 64 .
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ensure equity of income and resources between primary health care in inner cities and elsewhere.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 1 November 1933 at column 60 .
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is (a) the remit and timetable and (b) the membership of the new working group on health and inequalities.
Mr. Sackville : The terms of reference and membership of the variations sub-group of the Chief Medical Officer's "Health of the Nation" working group are as follows :
Terms of reference--
For the current Health of the Nation key areas :
By spring 1995 to prepare a report for the Chief Medical Officer as to how the Department of Health and the national health service can make best use of existing information in tackling ethnic, geographical, socio-economic and gender variations in health status, with particular reference to the strength of observed relationships and evidence about the effectiveness of interventions.
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By the end of 1994 to prepare a report for the departmental research directorate in areas in which new epidemiological and research information is needed to inform the targeting of interventions for high risk groups of the population and further understanding of underlying processes relevant to policy on longer-term intervention.To support the Public Health Information Strategy with the health variations aspects of its work.
Membership
Dr. J. Metters ( Chairman )--Deputy Chief Medical Officer-- Department of Health
Dr. S. Adam--Director of Public Health, North Thames (West) Dr. J. Chambers --Health Education Authority
Professor M. Marmot--Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London
Professor M. Pringle--Department of General Practice, The Medical School, Nottingham
Dr. J. Fox--Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
Professor S. McIntyre--Medical Research Council Medical Sociology Unit, Glasgow
Professor P. Fonagy--Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London
Dr. K. Kelleher--Director of Public Health, Wolverhampton Dr. A. Peatfield- -Medical Research Council Observer
To be confirmed--Economic and Social Research Council Observer Dr. D. McInnes--Department of Health (Health Promotion Division) Mrs. J. Griffin-- Department of Health (Research and Development Division)
Mr. K. Guinness--Department of Health (Health Promotion Division) Dr. S. Gupta--Department of Health (Health Promotion Division) Dr. A. McConville-- National Health Service Executive Headquarters Mr. R. Willmer--Department of Health (Statistics Division) Miss E. Lynam ( Secretariat )--Department of Health
Dr. K. Binysh ( Secretariat )--Department of Health
Dr. L. Catan ( Secretariat )--Department of Health
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 318, if she will publish a breakdown of the reported 750 redundancies by occupation, gender, ethnic origin and age.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many, and what percentage of, women of child-bearing age were registered by general practitioners for contraceptive care in each year since 1990 and in each month since 1 April 1993 ; and how many women were seen in family planning clinics, in each year since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : The information on women registered with general practitioners for contraceptive care is not available centrally. For information about attendances at family planning clinics, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 5 May at columns 627-28.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average length of stay in hospital for patients in the surgical specialties.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 6 May at columns 661-62.
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Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of managers and clerical and administrative staff employed by each regional health authority for each year since 1989.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 4 November 1993 at column 458 and the letter sent to him on 30 November 1993 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. A copy of the letter is available in the Library.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many senior managers in the NHS there were on each spinel point, 1 to 30 ; what was the flat salary on each point ; what was the annual cost of employment per whole-time equivalent on each point since the introduction of these grades ; what was the number of unit general managers in groups one to five, the salary range in each group, and the annual cost of employment per whole-time equivalent on each point since the introduction of these grades ; and what was the number of district general managers in groups one to three, the salary range in each group and the annual cost of employment per whole-time equivalent on each point since the introduction of these grades.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State gave him on 27 July 1993 at columns 835-39 and to my subsequent reply on 6 December 1993 at columns 71-72. The tables provide the latest--1993--salary figures for national health service senior managers and unit and district general managers.
Table 1 Basic salaries of NHS senior managers 1993 Spine point |1993 (£) ------------------------------------ 1 |47,300 2 |45,470 3 |43,730 4 |42,040 5 |40,420 6 |38,870 7 |37,370 8 |35,940 9 |34,560 10 |33,230 11 |31,950 12 |30,720 13 |29,540 14 |28,400 15 |27,310 16 |26,260 17 |25,240 18 |24,280 19 |23,350 20 |22,450 21 |21,590 22 |20,760 23 |19,950 24 |19,190 25 |18,450 26 |17,740 27 |17,060 28 |16,400 29 |15,770 30 |15,160 Notes: 1. All salary rates effective from 1 September. 2. Senior managers' salaries may be enhanced by performance-related pay nationally and geographical allowances in the south-east of England.
Table 2. Salary range for unit and district general managers 1993 Grade |1993 |£ ------------------------------------------ DGM1 |49,130-70,950 DGM2 |46,400-67,020 DGM3 |42,460-61,560 UGM1 |42,460-61,560 UGM2 |37,300-53,980 UGM3 |33,660-48,830 UGM4 |29,120-42,150 UGM5 |- Notes: 1. All salary rates effective from 1 September. 2. General managers' salaries may be enhanced by performance-related pay nationally and geographical allowances in south-east of England. 3. The UGM5 grade was assimilated into UGM4 with the restructuring in 1990.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing the total amount spent on administration by (a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities, (c) special health authorities, (d) family health services authorities, (e) trusts and (f) the Department of Health/NHS executive, in 1993-94, in each case breaking the figure down to show expenditure on (i) salaries and wages and (ii) establishment expenses.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information is not yet available.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the revenue and capital allocations for regional health authorities in 1994-95.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 26 April at columns 153-56 for revenue allocations for 1994-95. Similar information for capital allocations is shown in the table. Most hospital and community health services capital investment now takes place at national health service trusts. This does not feature in capital allocations made to regional health authorities.
Region |1994-95 |Capital |(£000) (1) |(2) --------------------------------------------- Northern |28,436 Yorkshire |9,474 Northern and Yorkshire |37,910 Trent |10,466 East Anglia |5,188 Oxford |9,240 Anglia and Oxford |14,428 North West Thames |39,246 North East Thames |24,492 North Thames |63,738 South East Thames |3,777 South West Thames |11,590 South Thames |15,367 Wessex |19,228 South Western |4,188 South and West |23,416 West Midlands |28,068 Mersey |19,496 North Western |8,432 North West |27,928 England |221,321 Notes: 1 Column 2 is the 1994-95 capital allocation for each region as at March 1994. 2. Further sums for specific purposes will be added to allocations during the year.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what employment safeguards exist for nurses, midwives, or health visitors who publicise misconduct or mismanagement in the NHS.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 31 March at column 1051.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 6 May, Official Report, column 665, if she will list those national health service establishments that she or members of her team have already arranged to visit before 9 June.
Mr. Sackville : A number of visits are being arranged but final decisions on whether they take place will depend on parliamentary business and other factors.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) consultants, (c) nurses, (d) administrators and (e) others currently serve in the national health service and at what annual cost ; what were the comparable figures in real terms five, 10 and 15 years ago ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 22 March 1994] : The information is shown in the tables. The latest staffing information available is as at 30 September 1992 and the latest expenditure information is for the 1992-93 financial year. Comparable expenditure figures for 1977- 78 are not available. The number of managers has been deliberately increased since the mid-1980s--not just since the reforms--because the service was previously undermanaged. Much of the increase arises from the reclassification of existing staff--including many senior nurses--as managers. General and senior managers still account for only 2 per cent. of the total national health service workforce in England and 3 per cent. of the total NHS expenditure on salaries and wages. The number of administrative and clerical staff in clinically-related posts has increased over the last few years in order to free clinical staff to concentrate their skills and experience on direct patient care.
Table 1 Numbers<1> of doctors, consultants, nurses and midwives, administrators and other NHS staff in England-whole-time equivalents. |1977 |1982 |1987 |1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Doctors<2> |24,250 |27,250 |28,040 |32,360 Consultants<3> |10,470 |11,980 |13,280 |15,290 Nursing and Midwifery<4> |340,760|394,040|397,910|397,090 Administrators-including General and Senior managers introduced from 1986 |99,040 |108,800|114,600|151,700 Others<5> |272,530|285,490|239,360|214,220 |-------|-------|-------|------- Totals |747,050|827,560|793,190|810,660 Source: Medical Workforce Census. Non Medical Workforce Census. Form KM49. Notes: <1>All the figures have been independently rounded to the nearest 10. <2>Medical staff, locum doctors, and locum consultants. Locum consultants cannot be separately identified for 1977, for consistency they are included with doctors for all years. <3>Medical and dental consultants-but excluding locum consultants. <4>The nursing and midwifery figures exclude agency nurses and agency midwives. Figures for 1977 are not directly comparable with 1982 and later years due to a reduction in the length of their working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours. From 1989 Project 2000 nurse training was introduced. To maintain comparability with earlier years the figures for 1992 include 18, 300 Project 2000 students. Unlike traditional nurse learners, these students are not employees and are not normally included in workforce figures. <5>The "Others" figure includes the following staff groups; dental (excluding consultants), professional and technical, professions allied to medicine, scientific and professional, ancillary, maintenance, works, ambulance (including ambulance officers and control assistants), and others who have not been classified elsewhere.
Table 2 Expenditure on salaries and wages by health authorities and NHS trusts in England in real terms |1982-83 |1987-88 |<5>1992-93 |£000s |£000s |£000s ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doctors<1> |[1,285,586] |858,424 |1,151,866 Consultants<2> |[note 1 refers] |785,139 |960,449 Nurses and Midwives |4,627,292 |5,338,438 |6,089,087 Administrators<3> |1,155,881 |1,245,645 |1,992,881 Others<4> |3,341,250 |3,302,913 |3,335,078 |------- |------- |------- Total |10,410,009 |11,530,559 |13,529,361 Source: Annual accounts and annual financial returns of district, regional and special health authorities and NHS trusts. Notes: <1> The yearly figures for doctors are not directly comparable because the 1982-83 figure for doctors includes expenditure on consultants. Separate figures were not available. For subsequent years separate figures have been provided. <2> The consultant figure is for medical and dental consultants. <3> 1987-88 and 1992-93 figures also include general and senior managers following redesignation of staff groups. <4> "Others" consists of all salaries and wages not included in the four other categories. <5> Figures for 1992-93 are provisional. <6> Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator has been used to convert figures to 1992 prices. <7> Comparable figures for 1977-78 are not available.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the conveyancing and start-up cost of each wave of NHS trusts.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 5 May 1994] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford) on 17 May 1993 at column 29 and to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 18 May 1992 at column 63. The final amount allocated towards start-up and conveyancing costs for fourth wave trusts was £34,742,000.
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