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Uganda
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from Uganda about the present circumstances of Richard Mukasa, recently in Campsfield house, Kidlington.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I have been asked to reply.
We have no information about Mr. Mukasa's circumstances.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Rough Sleepers and Beggars
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what instructions are given to security staff in his departmental offices in London for dealing with (a) those sleeping rough in departmental doorways and (b) beggars in the vicinity ; and how many problems have been experienced with each category in the last three months.
Sir John Wheeler : Responsibility for the security of the building occupied by the Northern Ireland Office in London lies with the major occupier, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Dentistry
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for a review of orthodontic services in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Ancram : There are no plans, at present, to undertake a specific review of orthodontic services. The Department of Health and Social Services has however recently commissioned an oral health review group to carry out an analysis of oral health in Northern Ireland, and to make recommendations for improvement. These recommendations will take account of orthodontic needs.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many clients were registered in Northern Ireland with general dental practitioners in each year since 1983.
Mr. Ancram : The registration of patients with general dental practitioners was introduced in October 1990. The registration details from October 1990 onwards are set out in the table.
Year |Number of --------------------------------- 1990 |198,585 1991 |788,496 1992 |976,312 1993 |1,010,180
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients are waiting for orthodontic treatment in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Ancram : Information on the total number of people waiting for orthodontic treatment in Northern Ireland is not held centrally.
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Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many general dental practitioners in Northern Ireland received remuneration for NHS treatments in each year since 1983.
Mr. Ancram : The information requested is set out as follows :
Year |Number of ------------------------------ 1983 |377 1984 |393 1985 |421 1986 |428 1987 |438 1988 |461 1989 |483 1990 |519 1991 |517 1992 |525 1993 |551
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many general dental practitioners in Northern Ireland were registered with the Dental Practice Board in each year since 1983.
Mr. Ancram : The equivalent body in Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency. The information requested is set out in the table :
Number of dentists on dental list at 1 July Year |Number --------------------- 1983 |360 1984 |379 1985 |397 1986 |414 1987 |424 1988 |447 1989 |467 1990 |491 1991 |517 1992 |525 1993 |541
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of individuals who received private orthodontic treatments in Northern Ireland during the period from 1983 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : Information on private treatment is not held centrally and it is impossible to give a realistic estimate.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many general dental practitioners qualified and took up national health service practice in Northern Ireland in each year since 1983.
Mr. Ancram : The information is not available in the form requested. However, the number of dentists joining the dental list in Northern Ireland in each year since 1983 is set out in the table :
Year |Number of
|dental list
------------------------------------
1983 |32
1984 |33
1985 |44
1986 |30
1987 |36
1988 |46
1989 |46
1990 |77
1991 |37
1992 |51
1993 |58
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dental de-registrations there were in Northern Ireland in the period 1985 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : The registration of patients with general dental practitioners was introduced in October 1990. Since then a total of 2,340 patients have been de-registered.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many NHS episodes of orthodontic treatment there were for Northern Ireland for the period 1983 to 1993 ; and what was the cost of NHS orthodontic treatment for Northern Ireland for the same period.
Mr. Ancram : The number of courses of orthodontic treatment in Northern Ireland from 1983 to 1993 is set out in the table. Information is not available for 1991 and 1992. Information on the cost of orthodontic treatment is not available prior to 1993. For 1993, the cost was £1,686,393.
Number of courses of orthodontic treatment Year |Number ---------------------- 1983 |13,380 1984 |10,562 1985 |9,671 1986 |11,667 1987 |5,842 1988 |19,391 1989 |22,692 1990 |25,365 1991<1> |n/a 1992<1> |n/a 1993 |17,464 <1> Due to technical difficulties in dental information system, figures are not available for these years.
Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what capital charges were levied on each regional adolescent psychiatric unit in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Ancram : There are no regional adolescent psychiatric units within Northern Ireland.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many beds designated specifically for adolescent psychiatry there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979 and at the latest available date.
Mr. Ancram : In Northern Ireland in each year since 1981 to December 1993 the average number of available
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beds in the child and adolescent psychiatry speciality has been 20. Information on the child and adolescent psychiatry speciality was not collected separately prior to 1981.Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children and teenagers suffering from serious mental illnesses were admitted to psychiatric hospitals in Northern Ireland in the period 1979 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : The information is not available in the form requested. The table provides information on the total number of children and teenagers with one or more admissions to mental illness hospitals/psychiatric units in Northern Ireland between 1989 and 1993.
Admissions of Children/Teenagers to Mental Illness Hospitals/ Psychiatric Units in Northern Ireland Year |Number ------------------------- <1>1989-90 |144 1990-91 |128 1991-92 |143 1992-93 |177 <1> Data prior to 1989-90 is unavailable.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the referral pattern for adolescent psychiatric services for Northern Ireland ; and what was the regional breakdown of contractual referral for each health board for the period 1979 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : The table shows the pattern of out-patient referral attendances in the child and adolescent psychiatric specialty in Northern Ireland since 1981.
Hospitals located within health and social services boards Year |Eastern |Northern|Southern|Western |Northern ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1981<1> |778 |8 |32 |12 |830 1982 |937 |6 |35 |2 |980 1983 |1,102 |12 |44 |8 |1,166 1984 |1,024 |11 |37 |2 |1,074 1985 |1,129 |5 |42 |10 |1,186 1986 |1,059 |8 |22 |4 |1,093 1987 |1,138 |4 |22 |4 |1,168 1988-89<2> |498 |- |32 |- |530 1989-90<2> |1,332 |- |768 |- |2,100 1990-91 |886 |147 |469 |- |1,502 1991-92 |897 |112 |280 |- |1,289 1992-93 |999 |138 |302 |- |1,439 <1> Information on the child and adolescent psychiatric speciality was not collected separately prior to 1981. <2> The data quality is not reliable for these years.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the most common forms of mental illness for children and teenagers ; and what was their incidence in Northern Ireland in the period 1979 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : The table shows the six most common diagnoses for children and teenagers and the numbers discharged from mental illness hospitals/psychiatric units with these diagnoses during the period 1989 to 1993 . Information on the incidence of these conditions is not available.
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Diagnosis |<1>1989-90|1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neurotic Psychosis (eg phobias) |88 |85 |85 |105 Other Symptoms and Syndromes (eg anorexia, bedwetting, tics) |54 |49 |46 |46 Adjustment Reaction (eg stress related depression) |26 |41 |41 |46 Personality Disorders |38 |46 |26 |34 Acute Stress Reaction |34 |42 |39 |34 Schizophrenic Psychoses |43 |34 |35 |26 <1>1989-90 is the earliest date from which the information is available.
Forensic Psychiatry
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing and para-medical staff in Northern Ireland are qualified in forensic psychiatry and working in (a) high security units and (b) admission wards in psychiatric hospitals mental health trusts.
Mr. Ancram : There are no high security units or mental health trusts in Northern Ireland.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many forensic psychiatric patients have been treated in Northern Ireland in each year since 1985.
Mr. Ancram : This information is not available.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many doctors are trained each year in forensic psychiatry ; and how many qualified in forensic psychiatry are practising in the NHS in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Ancram : During the period of higher specialist training, every junior doctor in psychiatry gets some training in forensic psychiatry and most undertake a six month period of training specifically in the sub- speciality. This enables all consultants to deal with routine forensic psychiatric cases which they may encounter in their day-to-day practice.
There is one consultant forensic psychiatrist currently working 70 per cent. of his time in the Prison Service and 30 per cent. in one of the health and social services boards. A second consultant forensic psychiatrist will be working 50 per cent. in the Prison Service and 50 per cent. in another health and social services board.
The intention is that each board will have a pool of knowledge so that all psychiatric patients who come before the courts will have access to forensic psychiatry.
Deaf People
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many extra-contractual referrals for individuals requiring specialist psychiatric services for deaf people were made in Northern Ireland in 1993- 94.
Mr. Ancram : None. Until April 1994 such services were designated as supra-regional and no charge was made.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the national referral patterns and regional referral patterns for all units providing psychiatric services for deaf people in Northern Ireland in each year since 1987.
Mr. Ancram : Separate statistics to show the numbers of people referred for psychiatric services in Northern Ireland who are deaf are not routinely collected. Referral patterns cannot therefore be established.
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Ambulance Services
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the NHS ambulance services in Northern Ireland which have contracts with private sector health care providers.
Mr. Ancram : The Eastern ambulance service HSS trust has just agreed a contract with a private clinic. The other three ambulance services in Northern Ireland have no contracts with the private health care sector.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many private patient journeys were undertaken by NHS patients in Northern Ireland for journeys to and from (a) nursing homes and (b) private hospitals in the period from 1985 to 1993 ; what ambulance charges were levied on these NHS patients and what was the total money earned from these charges for the same period.
Mr. Ancram : Whilst this information is not available in the format requested over the period 1987-88 to 1993-94 a total of 148 patient journeys were charged for. It is not possible to identify the numbers of private patient journeys undertaken to and from nursing homes and private hospitals. Consequently the charges levied and the total money earned is not available.
Information was not collected prior to 1987-88.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many private ambulance contracts there were for Northern Ireland in the period 1985 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : Over the period 1985 to 1993 no private ambulance contracts were in place in Northern Ireland.
Psychiatric Patients
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many psychiatric patients have been contracted out for treatment to the private sector in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many high security psychiatric patients were admitted to psychiatric wards in non high secure units in Northern Ireland for the period from 1985 to 1993.
Mr. Ancram : None. Psychiatric patients who require treatment in high security hospitals are transferred to special hospitals in Scotland and England. Sixteen patients from Northern Ireland were admitted to special hospitals in Scotland and England in the period 1985 to 1993.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing and para-medical staff
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working in psychiatric wards in mental health trust hospitals in Northern Ireland have sustained non-accidental injuries from patients in each year since 1985.Mr. Ancram : This information is not collected centrally.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications to the Independent Living (1993) Fund have been accepted.
Mr. Scott : I am informed by the Director of the Independent Living (1993) Fund that, as at 14 June, 585 applications to the fund have been accepted.
Child Support Agency
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's policy for dealing with correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members regarding the Child Support Agency ; what percentage of letters from right hon. and hon. Members he transferred for reply to the chief executive and other officials of the agency ; what criteria he applies when deciding which letters are transferred and which warrant a ministerial reply ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : In the nine months from September 1993 to May 1994, of a total of 6,894 letters from right hon. and hon. Members on child support matters, 24 per cent. were referred for reply to the chief executive of the Child Support Agency. The criteria for selection of such letters has not changed since the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 9 February at column 365.
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many letters he receives on average each month from right hon. and hon. Members relating to the operation of the Child Support Agency.
Mr. Burt : The number of letters received each month since September 1993 is in the table. The numbers have varied considerably from month to month.
|Number
-------------------------------
September 1993 |179
October 1993 |534
November 1993 |1,173
December 1993 |846
January 1994 |972
February 1994 |1,072
March 1994 |899
April 1994 |692
May 1994 |706
|-------
Total |6,894
Social Fund
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims were made for assistance from the social fund in the last year for which figures are available ; how many were accepted and how many were refused.
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Mr. Scott : Information for 1993-94 is in the table.
|Number
---------------------------------
Applications |4,039,357
Awards |2,146,714
Refusals |1,705,834
The number of awards and refusals is less than the number of applications because of applications which were withdrawn by applicants ; applications which had not been decided at the time of the count ; and applications where the applicant did not subsequently respond.
The figures do not include social fund cold weather payments as these are made automatically to those people who qualify.
Public Expenditure
Ms Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers of 20 May, Official Report, column 582, if he will publish a table setting out the principal components of (a) the £568 million spring supplementary estimate affecting cyclical social security spending, (b) the £274 million spring supplementary estimate affecting social security spending falling within the new control total and (c) the late-year reapportionment of social security spending from cyclical to new control total components ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : The principal components of the spring supplementary estimates for class XII, votes 1, 2 and 4 were presented and published on 15 February, reference HC199. This document is available in the Library.
The apportionment of expenditure between cyclical and new control total is statistically determined and develops progressively over the accounting period. Hence the apportionment of the outturn expenditure is not yet finalised. We currently anticipate a switch of around £200 million from cyclical to new control total expenditure.
Housing Benefit
Ms Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions about the real value of housing benefit and eligibility for housing benefit underlie the present public expenditure plans ; and what plans he has to amend the assumptions as a result of the public expenditure review conducted within the Department of Social Security.
Mr. Hague : The assumptions which have been used to forecast housing benefit expenditure are set out in paragraphs 70 to 80 of the 1994 Social Security departmental report "The Government's expenditure plans 1994-95 to 1996-97". We have assumed that housing benefit will be uprated in April 1995 by 3.25 per cent. and in April 1996 by 3 per cent. the assumed values of the adjusted version of the retail prices index excluding housing costs ; see paragraphs 61 and 74 of the report. The assumptions for real rent increases are given in paragraph 78 of the report--private rents increasing by 6.5 per cent. and local authority rent by 5 per cent., both in real terms. The forecasts have used the current rules for eligibility and include all changes to the eligibility rules announced last year. Future expenditure plans will be examined in the light of any changes arising out of the present review of housing benefit.
Column 683
HEALTH
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed as having AIDS dementia.
Mr. Sackville : Up to the end of March 1994, 410 of a cumulative total of 9,025 AIDS cases reported in the United Kingdom had HIV encephalopathy at the time of their diagnosis. This may not have been the sole AIDS defining illness present at the time the case was reported to the communicable disease surveillance centre. An unknown number of persons diagnosed with AIDS go on to develop HIV encephalopathy at a later stage. The number of such cases would not be known to CDSC since reports give only those AIDS indicator diseases present at the time of the AIDS diagnosis.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bedspaces for people with AIDS there are currently (a) in London and (b) nationally for (i) respite care, (ii) residential care, (iii) nursing care, (iv) terminal care and (v) AIDS dementia care.
Mr. Sackville : Information is not available centrally. Details of facilities for people with AIDS are contained in regions' AIDS (Control) Act reports, copies of which are available in the Library.
Additionally, the 1994 directory of hospice and palliative care services, compiled by the hospice information service and published by the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund, lists all available hospice and palliative care services in the United Kingdom. A number of these facilities now cater for people with AIDS-related illness and some have been established specifically for them. A copy of the directory is available in the Library.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bed spaces for people with AIDS are being developed (a) in London and (b) nationally for (i) respite care, (ii) residential care, (iii) nursing care, (iv) terminal care and (v) AIDS dementia ; and what other services are currently available for people with AIDS dementia.
Mr. Sackville : Information in the form requested is not available centrally.
Regional and district health authorities plan all their services for people with HIV/AIDS in the light of identified need. The Department is currently funding a research project to identify the extent of need for services for people with AIDS dementia in the Thames area. The research findings are due to be reported early in 1995.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training services are being provided for staff working with people with AIDS dementia, and by whom.
Mr. Sackville : The Department makes available topsliced funding for HIV/AIDS prevention--£49.2 million in 1994-95--which includes provision for the training of a wide range of staff in the care of people with HIV disease.
English National Board course 280 includes training for nurses on identification and responses to the psychiatric
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needs of people with HIV. The Bethlem royal hospital and the Maudsley hospital have developed a national course specifically for nurses working with people with AIDS dementia. The course was developed with Department of Health support and students from throughout the United Kingdom have attended. The educational pack on HIV for doctors, funded by the Department, contains a module on the needs of a person with AIDS-related psychiatric conditions.Health Authority Expenditure
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita spending figures are for each regional health authority, district health authority and family health services authority for 1993-94 and 1994- 95.
Mr. Sackville : Information is not yet available.
Morning-after Pill
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has about the likely incidence of complications and death arising from the use of the morning-after pill ; what plans she has to allow such pills to be available over the counter rather than on prescription ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The emergency contraception pill is a combined oral contraceptive which contains higher doses of hormones than many oral contraceptive pills. It is used for only a short duration of time and doctors are advised not to prescribe it to women who may be at risk of thromboembolic disorders. No reports of deaths associated with the use of this product have been received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and information on precautions and side-effects is contained in the product particulars authorised by the Medicines Control Agency.
Applications for medicinal products to be reclassified to allow supply without prescription are normally made to the Medicines Control Agency by the company holding the licence for that product. Any change would be subject to advice from the relevant Medicines Act committee and the results of statutory consultation with all interested organisations.
Ambulance Services
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the NHS ambulance services which have contracts with private sector health care providers ;
(2) how many private ambulance contracts there were in the period 1985 to 1993.
Mr. Sackville : The information is not available centrally.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private patient journeys were undertaken by NHS patients in England and Wales for journeys to and from (a) nursing homes and (b) private hospitals in the period from 1985 to 1993 ; what ambulance charges were levied on these NHS patients ; and what was the total money earned from these charges for the same period.
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