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SCOTLAND

Health Care International

Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if it is his policy that Health Care International will be permitted to seek contracts to treat NHS patients ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Stewart : The Health Care International business plan is based on overseas and private business. If however, health boards wish to use HCI to the benefit of patients and they provide value for money my right hon. Friend would not object to HCI or any other private hospital accepting NHS patients in circumstances where the hospital could offer a specific medical technique not readily available elsewhere or where the NHS saw a need for particular waiting lists to be reduced more quickly than the service itself was in a position to achieve.


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European Council

Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings of the European Council of Ministers took place in the past year ; how many Scottish Office Ministers have attended in each case ; which Minister attended ; and what was the subject discussed at each of these meetings.

Mr. Stewart : The European Council of Ministers meets on average 125 times each year.

Since the beginning of 1993 Scottish Ministers have attended the following meetings :


Date                                            |Minister                                       

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25 January 1993         |Environment/           |Secretary of State                             

                        |Transport Council                                                      

18 March 1993           |Fisheries Council      |Sir Hector Monro                               

24 June 1993            |Fisheries Council      |Sir Hector Monro                               

20 September 1993       |Joint Foreign Affairs/ |Secretary of State                             

                        |Agriculture Council                                                    

21 September 1993       |Agriculture Council    |Secretary of State                             

20 October 1993         |Fisheries Council      |Sir Hector Monro                               

29-30 November 1993     |Justice/Interior Issues|Lord Fraser                                    

20 December 1993        |Fisheries Council      |Sir Hector Monro                               

12 April 1994           |Fisheries Council      |Lord Fraser                                    

27-28 May 1994          |Justice/Interior       |Lord Fraser                                    

                        |issues                                                                 

3-4 June 1994           |Regional Policy        |Mr. Stewart                                    

In addition to the above, Scottish Office officials have also attended a further 15 Agriculture Councils and four Education Councils since the beginning of 1993.

Agendas for meetings of the Council of Ministers usually cover a number of different subjects, but all within the area of responsibility of the particular Council. Ministers generally report to Parliament on the outcome of discussions at the Council of Ministers.

Raymond Gilmour

Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what meetings and discussions his right hon. Friend the Minister of State was involved in the prosecution of the case of Raymond Gilmour when the right hon. Gentleman occupied the office of Solicitor-General for Scotland ; what were the subjects of discussions ; and if he will make a statement.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is not the policy of the Crown to reveal details of private meetings and discussions between prosecutors. Such matters must, for sound reasons of public policy, remain confidential.

Breast Screening

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what procedures are used by Ayrshire and Arran health board to arrange appointments for women for breast screening ; in what circumstances this is done without the patient's prior approval ; whether this procedure is adopted by other health boards ; and if Ayrshire and Arran health board has assessed the costs to them of arranging appointments where the patient has failed to turn up or cancelled her appointment.

Mr. Allan Stewart : National appointment procedures are followed in each breast screening centre. An initial letter inviting the patient to attend on a specific


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appointment date is sent to each patient based on a list which has been endorsed by the patients' GPs. Experience has shown that if they are offered a firm date, some 80 per cent. of women invited in this way are able to attend without the need for any further letters. The screening centres have assessed the economic implications of call-up and have taken this into account by calling up enough patients to ensure that the maximum numbers are screened after allowing for non- attenders. This still enables all patients to be screened timeously.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the national health service has spent on its breast screening programme in each of the last five years.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 June 1994] : Expenditure on the Scottish breast screening programme has been as follows :


£ million                               

Year    |Revenue|Capital|Total          

----------------------------------------

1989-90 |1.7    |3.0    |4.7            

1990-91 |2.8    |0.7    |3.5            

1991-92 |3.4    |-      |3.4            

1992-93 |3.5    |-      |3.5            

1993-94 |3.7    |0.2    |3.9            

Health Service Waiting Lists

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people not on waiting lists for treatment were waiting to see a specialist in the national health service at the end of March.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 15 June 1994] : Information on waiting times to first out-patient appointment is set out in the NHS "Patient Treatment and Waiting Time Bulletin". Copies of the bulletin, which is published quarterly, have been placed in the Library of the House.

Crosshouse Hospital

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department will be taking to seek further compensation for design faults at Crosshouse hospital from the architects Boissevain and Osmond.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 June 1994] : None. In December 1989, Ayrshire and Arran health board accepted an offer of payment from Boissevain and Osmond of £470,000, together with the abandonment of the architect's claim for outstanding professional fees. I am satisfied that this represented a reasonable and acceptable conclusion to the dispute.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the contacts between his Department, the North Ayrshire and Arran NHS trust and Ayrshire and Arran health board concerning the further repair of Crosshouse hospital.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 June 1994] : The management executive of the national health service in Scotland maintains regular contact with all health bodies concerning major capital investment proposals.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the latest faults in the roof and drainage


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systems of Crosshouse hospital were identified ; and whether these were included in Ayrshire and Arran health board's original damages claim with the architects responsible for the building of the hospital.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 June 1994] : Faults in the roof and drainage systems of Crosshouse hospital have been evident since the hospital opened in 1982 and were included in Ayrshire and Arran health board's damages claim against the architects responsible.

HOME DEPARTMENT

May Report

Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that Sir John May's report will be published before the summer recess.

Mr. Maclean : The final report of Sir John May's inquiry will be published as soon as practicable.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount given by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each of the last five years ; how many people were compensated in each of the last five years ; how many were compensated for loss of earnings ; and if he will break down these figures by category of occupation.

Mr. Maclean : Information about the total amount paid and the numbers of people compensated each year are given in the board's annual reports, copies of which are held in the Library of the House. The board does not collate centrally information about the numbers of people compensated for loss of earnings or categories of occupation. The available information is summarised as follows :


Year              |Compensation Paid|Number of                          

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1989-90           |72.7             |27,926                             

1990-91           |109.3            |35,190                             

1991-92           |143.7            |39,249                             

1992-93           |152.2            |36,638                             

<1>1993-94        |165.7            |40,635                             

<1>The figures for 1993-94 are provisional, and subject to audit.       

West Midlands Probation Committee

Mr. Hawksley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs his Department incurred in defeating the High Court action by the West Midlands probation committee.

Mr. Maclean : I will write to my hon. Friend when the costs have been settled.

Young Offenders

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of 16-year-old (a) men and (b) women being held in prison establishments in England and Wales on 10 June.

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.


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Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 16 June 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what was the number of sixteen year old (a) men and (b) women being held in prison establishments in England and Wales on 10 June.

The latest available provisional information is for 30 April 1994. On that date there were 386 sixteen year olds (377 males and 9 females) held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.

Life Sentences

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the prison population in England and Wales is serving a life sentence.

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. Tom Cox, dated 16 June 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what percentage of the prison population in England and Wales is serving a life sentence.

The latest available information is for 31 March 1994. On that date life sentence prisoners accounted for 8.8 per cent. of the sentenced prison population in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.

London Church of Christ

Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy toward the London Church of Christ.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Our policy towards new religious movements, including the London Church of Christ, is that such groups must be allowed to practise freely so long as their actions remain lawful. We do not believe that legislation should be introduced to restrict the establishment or operation of cults or new religious movements. The existing criminal law is sufficient to regulate the behaviour of individuals who may infringe the rights of others.

Crown Prosecution Service

Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Home Office research into the reasons for the termination of cases by the Crown Prosecution Service was completed ; and what were its findings.

Mr. Maclean : A report on the Home Office study of termination of cases by the Crown Prosecution Service is nearing completion, and will be published later in the year. An article summarising key findings of the study was published by the Home Office research and statistics department in research bulletin No. 32. A copy of the bulletin is available from the House Library.

Domestic Burglaries, London

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest trend in domestic burglaries in London.


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Mr. Maclean : The information available centrally shows that there were 114,778 offences of burglary in a dwelling recorded in the Metropolitan police district in 1993. This represents a fall of 10 per cent. over the previous 12 months.

Child Crime Victims

Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the Government's policy concerning the establishment of a service which would specifically help children who are the victims of crime ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maclean : There are no plans to establish a service specifically to help child victims of crime. Government help for all victims of crime is provided principally through the voluntary organisation Victim Support, which helps families when they or their children have been victims of crime. Help for child victims is also available from other sources, such as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Childline, as well as from statutory agencies.

Immigration

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 May, Official Report , column 253 , when the hon. Member for Linlithgow may expect to receive the letter on the case of Mrs. Carole Raja.

Mr. Charles Wardle : I wrote to the hon. Member on 14 June.

Sentencing

Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of (a) male juveniles and (b) female juveniles convicted of an indictable offence received a custodial sentence in 1993-94 ;

(2) what percentage of (a) men and (b) women convicted of an indictable offence received a custodial sentence in 1993-94.

Mr. Maclean : Information for 1993 will not be available until the autumn.

Information for 1992 on persons sentenced to immediate custody by age and gender is published in table 7.15 of the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1992", a copy of which is in the Library.

Prisoners (Mental Health)

Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales were made subject to hospital orders under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983 ; and how many were transferred to hospital under section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in the year 1993-94.

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 26 May 1994] : Some 156 persons were made subject to hospital orders with restrictions--sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983--in 1992, of whom 51 had previously been transferred from prison to hospital under section 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Information for 1993-94 is not yet available.


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Information on prisoners transferred to hospital under section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is published annually in the Home Office statistical bulletin "Statistics of Mentally Disordered Offenders England and Wales" of which the latest edition is that for 1992.

Prison Statistics

Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of prisoners per 100,000 population in (a) each EC country, (b) each other Council of Europe country and (c) the United States of America at the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 26 May 1994] : All the EC countries are covered by the statistics collated by the Council of Europe. The latest available information is given in the table.

An article on "International Comparisons of Prison Populations" by Collier and Tarling--Home Office research bulletin No. 23, pages 48 to 54--showed that the figures for different countries are unlikely to be strictly comparable because the definitions of prisons and prisoners vary from one country to another, reflecting different legal and administrative systems. Examples of differences in the definitions are the inclusion or exclusion in a country's figures of juvenile offenders and mentally disordered offenders. The table is not a reliable indication of punitiveness since it takes no account of the relative levels of crime or of the proportions successfully prosecuted.


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Comparisons of prison population per 100,  

000                                        

of national population by country, 1992    

Country              |Number per           

                     |population           

-------------------------------------------

Austria              |88                   

Belgium              |71                   

Bulgaria             |102                  

Cyprus               |32                   

Czech Republic       |129                  

Denmark              |66                   

Finland              |65                   

France               |84                   

Germany<1>           |79                   

Greece               |60                   

Hungary<1>           |146                  

Iceland              |39                   

Ireland, Republic of |62                   

Italy                |80                   

Luxembourg           |92                   

Netherlands          |49                   

Norway<1>            |59                   

Portugal             |93                   

Slovak Republic      |123                  

Spain                |90                   

Sweden               |63                   

Switzerland          |77                   

England and Wales    |91                   

Scotland             |105                  

Northern Ireland     |114                  

USA                  |547                  

<1> For these countries 1992 data was      

unavailable, published 1991 data has been  

used instead.                              


 

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