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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Chechen Republic
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications he has had from the Chechen Republic in Russia about the state of relationships with Britain, the reasons for changes and any consequent actions by the Chechen Republic.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have no direct relations with the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, nor have we received any communication from it recently. However, I understand that it issued a public statement on 5 May denying Chechen involvement in the murder of Karen Reed and suspending links with Britain.
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Kuwait
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the contemporary environmental conditions in Kuwait in the aftermath of the Gulf war ; and what continuing involvement there is by British companies and agencies in the alleviation of those conditions.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The clean-up operations in Kuwait following the Gulf war are almost complete. There was a high degree of British participation in tackling the immediate environmental consequences, both bilaterally and through the United Nations Environmental Programme. By the end of 1991, all the oil fires were extinguished and no floating oil remained at sea.
In 1992, the United States ship Mount Mitchell conducted a research cruise on the extent of contamination in the Persian gulf. Since then, we have made no recent assessment of the environmental conditions in Kuwait, although scientific research into the long-term effects of the oil fires continues. The Regional Organisation for the Protection of the Marine Environment makes regionally based assessments. Meanwhile, Royal Ordnance plc continues to conduct minefield clearance operations in Kuwait.
Yemen
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether all British nationals who should have been evacuated from Yemen have now left the country safely.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : All British nationals who made it known to our embassy in Sana'a that they wished to leave the Yemen have been evacuated. Some have elected to remain.
Iraq
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of the meeting in Riyadh between the Gulf Co-operation Council and the European Union concerning Iraq and Bosnia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We welcome the statement following the ministerial meeting between the EC and GCC Foreign Ministers in Riyadh on 8 May. Ministers condemned Iraq for its failure to implement Security Council resolutions in full and its policy of selectivity in implementing such resolutions. They also expressed their concern at the continued repression of the civilian population by the Iraqi regime.
On Bosnia, both sides welcomed the Washington agreement on a Bosniac/Croat federation, and expressed full support for the efforts of the international community to reach a negotiated settlement in the basis of the EU action plan, and underlined the need for their countries to contribute to the political and economic reconstruction of the former Yugoslavia after a settlement. The GCC Ministers separately called for the lifting of the arms embargo for the Bosnian Government.
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East Timor
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what pressure he has put on the Indonesian Government to allow Amnesty International access to East Timor.
Mr. Goodlad : The Indonesian Foreign Minister confirmed to me when I was in Jakarta last month that he would consider inviting Amnesty International to visit Indonesia to discuss East Timor.
Bosnia
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made directly, or through NATO or the European Union, to the Bosnian Government concerning the shelling of Brcko and military activity around the town ; what action he has proposed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs sent messages to both President Izetbegovic and Dr. Karadzic on 27 April urging restraint, especially in the Brcko area. The Security Council on 4 May agreed a presidential statement to similar effect. We deplore the loss of innocent life whoever is responsible. The United Nations and NATO continue to monitor the situation closely.
HEALTH
NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 20 April, Official Report , column 541 , regarding trusts which failed to meet the capital return targets, when the information for 1993-94 will be made available.
Mr. Sackville : This information will be available once accounts have been audited and submitted to the national health service executive in December 1994.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the size of surpluses generated by trusts in each year since 1990-91, by region.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is shown in the table. There were no operational trusts in the 1990-91 financial year. Information for 1993-94 will be available in December 1994.
Region Retained
surplus/(deficit)
|1991-92|1992-93
|£000s |£000s
------------------------------------------
Northern |2,896 |5,427
Yorkshire |3,100 |2,991
Trent |153 |4,593
East Anglian |1,075 |533
North West Thames |6,145 |17,220
North East Thames |7,249 |13,165
South East Thames |1,082 |9,597
South West Thames |6,582 |4,116
Wessex |2,111 |4,105
South Western |12,483 |11,119
Oxford |104 |4,356
West Midlands |2,932 |4,177
Mersey |2,194 |(749)
North Western |50 |6,952
Notes:
1. Source: Audited accounts of NHS Trusts
1991-92 and 1992-93.
2. The figures for 1992-93 are
provisional, being subject to National
Audit Office review.
3. Surplus/(Deficit) is after interest,
dividend payable on Public Dividend
Capital, extraordinary and exceptional
items.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will itemise where trusts deposited their surpluses in each year since 1990-91.
Mr. Sackville : It is for trusts to make their own arrangements for depositing cash not required for immediate use, within the constraints placed on them by statute. Information on where individual trusts deposit their money is not available centrally, but such arrangements as they do make are subject to independent audit. Paragraph 7 of schedule 3 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 states that trusts can invest surplus cash in securities of the Government of the United Kingdom or in such other manner as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, approve. Approval has been given for investment in certain United Kingdom public sector institutions, banks which are authorised institutions under part I of the Banking Act 1987, and building societies authorised under the Building Societies Act 1986.
Speech Therapy
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists expressed in whole-time equivalents are employed in Wandsworth district health authority ; and what is the percentage in post against funded establishment.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Mrs. Peacock) on 14 January at columns 317-20.
Cosmetic Surgery
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards are in place to prevent the carrying out in the United Kingdom of liposuction operations by surgeons whose EC practice certificate has been withdrawn.
Mr. Sackville : Practitioners are required to register annually with the General Medical Council, which will also keep a record on a specialist list of any certificate issued in compliance with EC directive 94/16/EEC (Specialist Medical Training).
As the United Kingdom competent authority for registration of medical practitioners, the General Medical Council is also responsible for the recording of details of specialist certification from members of the EC who enter this country to practise. The registration details of surgeons offering plastic surgery are available, to patients seeking liposuction treatment, through their general practitioner, who will have access to the latest details carried in the General Medical Council's registers.
Audiology
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of how many of the London hospital audiology departments have a sufficient staff ratio
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to meet the needs of the served population and of the adequacy of funding available to the London hospital audiology departments to meet the needs of the served population ; how much it is costing London hospital audiology departments to use agency staff rather than permanent staff ; and if she will make a statement.Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 15 February at column 666. Local health authorities are responsible for purchasing audiology services to meet the needs of their populations. The hon. Member may wish to write to the chairmen of the London health authorities for details on the level of service that they purchase and to the chairmen of trusts about the costs of agency staff.
Paediatric Care, Hastings and Rye
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements will be available for comprehensive tertiary paediatric care for children from Hastings and Rye in the South Thames region.
Mr. Sackville : Children from Hastings and Rye are first referred to the Conquest hospital for immediate identification of the problem. East Sussex health authority purchases specialist tertiary care in one or two cases per year from Guy's and St. Thomas's national health service trust.
DDT
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will undertake a survey of all former armed forces personnel in order to identify possible medical conditions arising from the use of DDT during service.
Mr. Sackville : No. Surveys of people allegedly affected by events during their employment would not normally be undertaken by the Department. We are not aware of any reports of medical conditions in former armed forces personnel arising from the use of DDT during service. On the known toxicity of the pesticide, none would be expected in normal use.
General Practitioners and Pharmacies (Regulation)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she regulates the qualifications and service training of laboratory staff carrying out tests for cholesterol and glucose in general practitioners' surgeries and high-street pharmacies.
Mr. Sackville : There is no requirement for staff carrying out tests for cholesterol and glucose in general practitioner surgeries and pharmacies to be regulated. Self-testing diagnostics are available for both of these tests and quite often the same products are used in GP surgeries and pharmacies.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP fundholders and pharmacies carrying out personal scientific medical investigations are required to be licensed and participate in external anonymous quality control procedures ; to what extent they are subject to inspection ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : General practitioners and pharmacies are not required by law to be licensed, participate in
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external quality control procedures or be subject to inspection. Many GPs participate in voluntary professional schemes and pharmacies are subject to the terms of a professional code covering these issues.Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are available to deal with local pharmacies which provide prescription drugs to patients which are dispensed beyond their "use by" date ; and what checks are made to ensure the quality of prescription materials.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's inspectors include expiry date checking as part of their regular monitoring of professional activities in pharmacies. Any breach of the rules could result in prosecution under section 64 of the Medicines Act and/or reference to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's Statutory Committee. The drug testing scheme administered by family health services authorities provides an independent check on the quality of drugs and appliances dispensed.
Child Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has available on the proportion of social services department budgets in each English local authority devoted to child care and associated services ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Information provided by local authorities for 1993-94 is shown in the table.
Percentage of Social Services Budgets allocated to Children's
services
in 1993-94
|Children |All |Per cent.
|services |services
|(£000s) |(£000s)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |29,658 |103,297 |28.7
Bedfordshire |16,094 |52,773 |30.5
Berkshire |27,063 |78,187 |34.6
Buckinghamshire |12,147 |59,092 |20.6
Cambridgeshire |16,147 |61,811 |26.1
Cheshire |28,071 |86,152 |32.6
Cleveland |19,853 |65,754 |30.2
Cornwall |7,818 |44,535 |17.6
Cumbria |11,077 |47,134 |23.5
Derbyshire |30,428 |101,876 |29.9
Devon |27,417 |101,634 |27.0
Dorset |7,550 |54,657 |13.8
Durham |9,506 |56,659 |16.8
East Sussex |21,487 |88,643 |24.2
Essex |24,844 |135,032 |18.4
Gloucestershire |12,013 |47,080 |25.5
Hampshire |32,895 |123,865 |26.6
Hereford and
Worcester |18,982 |62,829 |30.2
Hertfordshire |24,601 |95,086 |25.9
Humberside |26,241 |98,180 |26.7
Isle of Wight |3,788 |13,390 |28.3
Kent |52,564 |158,253 |33.2
Lancashire |44,264 |159,021 |27.8
Leicestershire |26,727 |84,245 |31.7
Lincolnshire |13,148 |48,761 |27.0
Norfolk |9,129 |48,219 |18.9
Northamptonshire |20,533 |56,723 |36.2
Northumberland |10,980 |31,860 |34.5
North Yorkshire |13,483 |60,648 |22.2
Nottinghamshire |36,322 |118,701 |30.6
Oxfordshire |16,263 |55,688 |29.2
Shropshire |11,811 |38,168 |30.9
Somerset |11,088 |42,350 |26.2
Staffordshire |26,800 |92,254 |29.1
Suffolk |11,532 |57,687 |20.0
Surrey |20,268 |87,676 |23.1
Warwickshire |11,631 |40,986 |28.4
West Sussex |15,253 |67,361 |22.6
Wiltshire |14,618 |49,870 |29.3
Isles of Scilly |3 |160 |1.9
Bolton |9,262 |32,450 |28.5
Bury |4,817 |18,598 |25.9
Manchester |26,939 |72,424 |37.2
Oldham |8,670 |26,796 |32.4
Rochdale |7,779 |26,952 |28.9
Salford |8,472 |34,618 |24.5
Stockport |5,858 |32,382 |18.1
Tameside |10,365 |27,112 |38.2
Trafford |6,418 |23,068 |27.8
Wigan |7,180 |27,594 |26.0
Knowsley |7,830 |19,532 |40.1
Liverpool |29,511 |88,343 |33.4
St. Helens |6,162 |19,784 |31.1
Sefton |9,092 |34,919 |26.0
Wirral |10,503 |42,571 |24.7
Barnsley |8,203 |22,982 |35.7
Doncaster |5,333 |29,196 |18.3
Rotherham |5,467 |29,907 |18.3
Sheffield |15,049 |69,179 |21.8
Gateshead |7,147 |26,430 |27.0
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |10,397 |42,485 |24.5
North Tyneside |8,457 |26,475 |31.9
South Tyneside |6,106 |19,056 |32.0
Sunderland |11,234 |34,334 |32.7
Birmingham |50,408 |159,420 |31.6
Coventry |11,640 |42,807 |27.2
Dudley |6,579 |26,998 |24.4
Sandwell |10,905 |40,664 |26.8
Solihull |7,094 |21,293 |33.3
Walsall |7,027 |25,916 |27.1
Wolverhampton |12,336 |36,963 |33.4
Bradford |20,538 |61,877 |33.2
Calderdale |6,120 |25,572 |23.9
Kirklees |12,010 |43,385 |27.7
Leeds |23,697 |91,986 |25.8
Wakefield |11,499 |34,059 |33.8
City of London |638 |3,399 |18.8
Camden |16,253 |48,770 |33.3
Greenwich |20,653 |43,852 |47.1
Hackney |26,271 |64,213 |40.9
Hammersmith and Fulham |17,014 |43,613 |39.0
Islington |14,012 |50,189 |27.9
Kensington and Chelsea |16,001 |37,089 |43.1
Lambeth |37,501 |86,431 |43.4
Lewisham |16,502 |51,256 |32.2
Southwark |26,499 |60,343 |43.9
Tower Hamlets |18,381 |51,193 |35.9
Wandsworth |26,780 |67,315 |39.8
Westminster |23,413 |57,081 |41.0
Barking and Dagenham |6,645 |21,852 |30.4
Barnet |9,820 |41,323 |23.8
Bexley |5,576 |20,473 |27.2
Brent |15,609 |41,528 |37.6
Bromley |9,583 |31,469 |30.5
Croydon |18,327 |47,523 |38.6
Ealing |13,410 |43,654 |30.7
Enfield |8,209 |34,877 |23.5
Haringey |19,208 |42,937 |44.7
Harrow |5,975 |23,473 |25.5
Havering |7,336 |26,588 |27.6
Hillingdon |7,317 |28,622 |25.6
Hounslow |13,344 |34,832 |38.3
Kingston upon Thames |6,068 |18,247 |33.3
Merton |7,496 |24,981 |30.0
Newham |19,573 |50,441 |38.8
Redbridge |8,210 |27,906 |29.4
Richmond upon Thames |3,765 |19,117 |19.7
Sutton |6,611 |21,435 |30.8
Waltham Forest |13,038 |43,894 |29.7
Note: Figures relate only to direct service provision. Planned
expenditure on strategic matters and regulation is excluded.
Source: Local Authority budget returns (form RA93/94).
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that housing needs identified under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 are being met by local authorities ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty, in prescribed circumstances, to provide accommodation for children and young people.
Statistics
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) pregnancy, (b) NHS abortion, (c) venereal disease and (d) AIDS, were identified in persons aged (i) under 16 years, (ii) 16 to 18 years, (iii) 18 to 25 years and (iv) over 25 years, in the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville : The information will be placed in the Library.
Child Fatalities
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to introduce a system to identify death through neglect in child fatality cases.
Mr. Bowis : Information on cause of death is available from the existing system of death registration, using the international classification of diseases, which already identifies neglect under the following categories ; criminal neglect, abandonment or neglect of helpless persons, lack of food or water, exposure and destitution.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many persons diagnosed as suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have previously been blood donors.
Mr. Sackville : Of 156 cases reported to the national Creutzfeldt Jakob disease surveillance centre unit since 1 May 1990, 22 are believed to have given blood at some stage in their lives. There is no epidemiological evidence of any risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease through blood or blood products. However, individuals with central nervous system diseases or risk factors for Creutzfeldt Jakob disease are now excluded from blood donation.
Bed Shortages
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for Health with whom the obligation of payment rests when a patient is discharged from hospital because of a lack of long-stay beds and is still in need of continuing care in a private nursing home.
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Mr. Bowis : Under the new community care arrangements health and local authorities have been required to agree their respective responsibilities for long-term care and procedures governing hospital discharge.
Drug Abuse, Hampshire
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the expenditure by her Department in the last year for which figures are available for (a) drug rehabilitation and (b) health education in relation to drug abuse ; and what proportion of that funding was spent in Hampshire.
Mr. Sackville : Health authorities were allocated £20.043 million in 1992-93--towards the costs of developing services for drug misusers. The Wessex regional health authority "AIDS (Control) Act" Report for that year shows expenditure of £1.437 million, of which £665,014 is recorded for Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Winchester district health authorities. Copies of the "AIDS (Control) Act" report are available in the Library.
The specific grant for alcohol and drug misuse services was £2.3 million in 1993-94, of which £42,841 was awarded to four schemes for drug misusers in Hampshire.
Section 64 grants to support the work of the voluntary sector nationally in the drugs field in 1993-94 totalled £788,970. A further £92,803 was paid in 1993-94 to voluntary agencies and other organisations concerned with services for drug addicts.
The Department spent £5.47 million in 1993-94 on national anti-drug and solvent misuse publicity campaigns.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of deaths in Hampshire that were drug related for the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Bowis : The number of deaths due to drug dependence and non- dependent abuse of drugs, excluding alcohol and tobacco, in Hampshire in 1992 was 10.
In addition there were 56 deaths due to poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances.
Disabled People
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy that disabled facilities grants be made available in respect of disabled people under the age of 18 years.
Mr. Sackville : Disabled facilities grants are already available to disabled people under 18 years of age, under the Children Act 1989. These grants are one of a series of house renovation grants arising from the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which was amended by the Children Act (Consequential Amendment of Enactments) Order 1991, so that children with disabilities are also eligible.
Patient Numbering System
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress in introducing the new patient numbering system for the national health service.
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Mr. Sackville : The national health service number replacement programme is currently on schedule to deliver a new national health service number to England and Wales in 1996.
NHS Trusts, Sheffield
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each NHS trust within the Sheffield district health authority area, those chairmen and non-executive directors who live (a) within and (b) outside the Sheffield district health authority boundary.
Dr. Mawhinney : All chairman and non-executive directors appointed to national health service trusts within the area covered by Sheffield district health authority live within the authority's boundaries, with the following exceptions.
Northern general hospital NHS trust
Non-executive director
Professor F. Sharp
Central Sheffield University hospitals NHS trust
Non-executive director
Dr. I Rennie
Sheffield children's hospital NHS trust
Non-executive director
Mr. R. Pickford
Professor M. Tanner
Community health Sheffield NHS trust
Non-executive director
Mrs. M. Dale
Mrs. M. Perkins
TRANSPORT
Maritime Safety
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to consult trade unions when seeking to move staff employed by the Marine Safety Agency-designate in Southampton to alternative posts elsewhere.
Mr. Norris : The Marine Safety Agency has no plans to move staff employed in Southampton to alternative posts elsewhere.
Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects Lord Donaldson to publish his report on maritime safety.
Mr. MacGregor : We intend to publish his report tomorrow at 2.30 pm ; copies will be placed in the Vote Office on publication.
Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving (a) maritime transport sinking or (b) collisions have occurred in the Irish sea and the English channel during the last five years.
Mr. Norris : The figures given in the table relate to incidents involving one or more United Kingdom-registered merchant or fishing vessels where it has been established that the accident happened in either the Irish sea or the English channel.
The figures only are given for the years shown as information relating to a particular sea area and type of accident can only readily be obtained from the Marine
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Accident Investigation Branch computerised accident database. The database contains data from 1991 onwards only. To obtain the information requested for 1989 and 1990 would entail a great deal of research of the manual records for those years.
Year |Losses |Collisions and
|Contacts
------------------------------------------------------------
Irish sea
1991 |5 |5
1992 |4 |3
1993 |3 |6
1994 to date |- |-
English
channel
1991 |10 |10
1992 |10 |9
1993 |7 |9
1994 to date |1 |4
Driving Licences
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for driving licences to contain photographs and fingerprints.
Mr. Key : We will shortly start public consultation on our proposals to incorporate photographs on driving licences. We have no intention to include fingerprints.
Crossrail
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much public money has so far been spent on the Crossrail project.
Mr. Norris : I understand from London Underground Ltd. and British Rail that they have so far spent around £110 million on the Crossrail project.
Air Traffic Control
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number and percentage of occasions annually on which the final approach separations used when there is no additional wake vortex separation requirement for (a) Leeds-Bradford and (b) Humberside airports are less than the legal minima ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : I have not made an assessment. I understand that there are standard procedures for reduced separation in the vicinity of an aerodrome which permit the distance between aircraft following one another to be reduced below the minimum radar separation by instead using visual separation. Visual separation may be used when the air traffic controller can see both the leading and following aircraft ; or when the pilot of the following aircraft can view the preceding aircraft and maintain a safe distance. Visual separations are used whenever weather conditions permit. Controllers constantly monitor separations and take immediate action if distances between aircraft are below safe limits.
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Market Testing
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost of the work associated with the market testing of shipping and seamen, with particular reference to the cost of consultants engaged and the cost of preparing the in-house bid.
Mr. Norris : The market testing of the registry of shipping and seamen involved expenditure of £19,100, excluding VAT, on consultants to support the in-house bid team. Consultants were not used to support the client side. Other costs associated with the market test were absorbed within the normal running costs of the registry of shipping and seamen and are not readily available.
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