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Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals his Department has to fit flight data recorders or cockpit voice recorders to Chinook helicopters ; and what would be the costs involved in purchasing and fitting flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorder equipment.
Mr. Aitken : A programme to fit a health and usage monitoring system which incorporates an accident data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder is planned to start in 1997. We expect to issue, next year, an invitation to tender for the supply of this equipment, at which time industry will be asked to provide costed proposals.
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals his Department has to fit ground proximity warning systems to Chinook helicopters ; and what would be the cost of fitting and purchasing such equipment.
Mr. Aitken : There are no current proposals or costings available to equip Chinook with a ground proximity warning system. All RAF Chinooks are, however, fitted with radar altimeters.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings were held by Ministers, serving officers and officials with General Pinochet during his recent visit to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) Official Report, column 534, what is the annual cost for each service of providing cooks for serving officers.
Mr. Hanley : My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Legg : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next expects to visit Brussels to meet his NATO counterparts in order to discuss future peacekeeping operations.
Mr. Hanley : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence plans to visit Brussels to speak to his NATO counterparts at the Defence Planning Committee meeting in December. The agenda for that meeting has not yet been decided.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under which section of the Official Secrets Act 1989 he withholds data on energy efficiency within his responsibility.
Mr. Hanley : It is not my Department's policy to withhold data on energy efficiency. Because of the major organisational changes in the Department in recent years, however, it was not possible to provide full sets of figures in time for the first two editions of the Department of the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance". The 1994 edition will, however, have details for each year of the current Government campaign, for each of the three services, and we hope to be able to give complete data in the subsequent edition.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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.
Mr. Hanley : No specific instructions are issued to security staff in my Department's London buildings for
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dealing with those sleeping rough and beggars, but in the light of the continuing terrorist threat it is our policy to ensure that perimeters of buildings are kept clear at all times. Records are not maintained of specific incidents, but it is the policy of my Department's security staff to seek the assistance of the police where there is a problem.Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 January, Official Report, column 306, what was the conclusion of the discussions on the 1980s United States plans to update their offensive chemical capability ; and what were the factors behind reaching this conclusion.
Mr. Hanley : Throughout the discussions in question, the United Kingdom placed the highest priority on the negotiation of a verifiable and comprehensive worldwide ban on chemical weapons. However, faced with the Soviet Union's formidable offensive capability in chemical warfare and its persistent refusal to accept adequate verification measures to permit such a ban, the United Kingdom supported the USA's moves to modernise its limited retaliatory chemical capability. This modernisation was adopted by NATO as a force goal but was subsequently cancelled by the United States in 1991. As was stated at the time, this underlined to the Soviet Union the benefits of an early agreement on a negotiated ban. This ban is now in sight in the form of the chemical weapons convention which opened for signature in January 1993.
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the campaign, gallantry or other medals available to ex-service people who served during the Suez emergency in Egypt.
Mr. Hanley : One day's service in the Suez emergency in Egypt between 31 October 1956 and 22 December 1956 qualified for the award of the clasp "Near East" to the Naval General Service Medal or the General Service Medal 1918 Army and RAF. Between the above dates, naval personnel serving in ships engaged in operations off the Egyptian coast, and aircrew who completed one sortie over the operational land area in Egypt, also qualified for the clasp "Near East".
Service personnel who served during that emergency could also be considered for awards in respect of gallant and distinguished services. A list of those personnel granted awards was published in the London Gazette supplement of 13 June 1957.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action has been taken to fulfil his departmental commitment to discuss with Church authorities in Wales the need for repair grants arising from damage caused by atmospheric polluters.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Cadw has held discussions with Church authorities in Wales about support for general repairs to cathedrals. In my reply of 16 March to the hon.
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Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards), Official Report, column 698, I announced that over the next three financial years £675,000 will be set aside towards the restoration costs faced by Welsh cathedrals. This is additional to and separate from existing support for repairs to historic religious buildings, which totalled £557,331 in 1993-94.Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the number of salaried dentists employed in each family health services authority area on 24 March, together with the number of community dentists employed within the same areas ;
(2) what was the number of (a) general dental practitioners practising, (b) general dental practitioners' practices, (c) community dental practitioners and (d) salaried dental practitioners for each family health services authority area for each year since 1984 ; and if he will also explain these figures per 1,000 of the population resident in each FHSA area.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The available information relating to general dental practitioners and community dental staff is given in the table. Information relating to community dental staff is collected annually as at 30 September. Therefore, no information relating to 24 March is available centrally.
The table also gives the number of salaried dentists in post at 30 September 1993 and 30 April 1994 respectively. No salaried dentists were employed prior to 1993. The table includes one dentist, in Powys, who was not in post on 24 March 1994.
No information is held centrally on the number of general dental practitioners' practices.
Family Health Service Authority Area Clwyd |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |84 |21.2 1985 |87 |21.9 1986 |87 |21.8 1987 |97 |24.1 1988 |99 |24.4 1989 |108 |26.4 1990 |111 |27.1 1991 |105 |25.4 1992 |102 |24.6 1993 |114 |27.5 1994 |119 |28.7 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |13.8 |3.5 1985 |13.1 |3.3 1986 |13.3 |3.3 1987 |12.9 |3.2 1988 |13.4 |3.3 1989 |10.9 |2.7 1990 |12.2 |3.0 1991 |11.8 |2.9 1992 |10.6 |2.6 1993 |10.4 |2.5 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |- |-
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Family Health Service Authority Area Dyfed |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |77 |23.1 1985 |80 |24.0 1986 |83 |24.7 1987 |89 |26.2 1988 |91 |26.4 1989 |96 |27.6 1990 |98 |28.1 1991 |101 |28.9 1992 |105 |29.9 1993 |104 |29.6 1994 |104 |29.6 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |15.4 |4.6 1985 |14.6 |4.4 1986 |15.3 |4.5 1987 |13.6 |4.0 1988 |16.2 |4.7 1989 |14.2 |4.1 1990 |14.2 |4.1 1991 |13.7 |3.9 1992 |12.5 |3.6 1993 |12.6 |3.6 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |1 |0.3 1994 |1 |0.3
Family Health Service Authority Area Gwent |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |107 |24.4 1985 |109 |24.8 1986 |107 |24.2 1987 |114 |25.8 1988 |116 |26.1 1989 |123 |27.6 1990 |125 |28.0 1991 |139 |31.0 1992 |135 |30.0 1993 |135 |30.0 1994 |142 |31.6 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |20.0 |4.6 1985 |19.0 |4.3 1986 |18.2 |4.1 1987 |20.7 |4.7 1988 |18.3 |4.1 1989 |16.4 |3.7 1990 |16.3 |3.6 1991 |15.7 |3.5 1992 |15.5 |3.4 1993 |14.1 |3.1 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |- |-
Family Health Service Authority Area Gwynedd |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |62 |26.7 1985 |65 |27.9 1986 |65 |27.8 1987 |66 |28.1 1988 |63 |26.5 1989 |66 |27.6 1990 |69 |28.8 1991 |65 |27.2 1992 |66 |27.5 1993 |67 |27.9 1994 |66 |27.5 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |13.8 |5.9 1985 |13.1 |5.6 1986 |12.6 |5.4 1987 |10.2 |4.3 1988 |9.6 |4.0 1989 |8.9 |3.7 1990 |9.1 |3.8 1991 |8.8 |3.7 1992 |9.5 |4.0 1993 |8.3 |3.5 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |1 |0.4 1994 |2 |0.8
Family Health Service Authority Area Mid Glamorgan |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |118 |22.1 1985 |119 |22.3 1986 |121 |22.6 1987 |130 |24.3 1988 |131 |24.4 1989 |135 |25.1 1990 |134 |24.8 1991 |123 |22.7 1992 |133 |24.5 1993 |126 |23.2 1994 |122 |22.5 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |18.7 |3.5 1985 |17.7 |3.3 1986 |17.7 |3.3 1987 |19.5 |3.6 1988 |20.9 |3.9 1989 |18.9 |3.5 1990 |18.9 |3.5 1991 |18.3 |3.4 1992 |16.9 |3.1 1993 |9.0 |1.7 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |- |-
Family Health Service Authority Area Powys |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |25 |22.6 1985 |30 |27.0 1986 |32 |28.5 1987 |34 |30.1 1988 |35 |30.6 1989 |34 |29.2 1990 |34 |29.1 1991 |36 |30.4 1992 |35 |29.4 1993 |34 |28.5 1994 |32 |26.8 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |8.3 |7.5 1985 |7.9 |7.1 1986 |8.0 |7.1 1987 |7.9 |7.0 1988 |7.0 |6.1 1989 |6.2 |5.3 1990 |7.0 |6.0 1991 |7.0 |5.9 1992 |7.0 |5.9 1993 |5.0 |4.2 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |1 |0.8
Family Health Service Authority Area South Glamorgan |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |125 |31.7 1985 |129 |32.7 1986 |125 |31.6 1987 |127 |31.9 1988 |130 |32.3 1989 |132 |32.8 1990 |131 |32.3 1991 |129 |31.6 1992 |127 |30.9 1993 |133 |32.4 1994 |135 |32.9 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |15.5 |3.9 1985 |14.7 |3.7 1986 |13.8 |3.5 1987 |9.8 |2.5 1988 |16.7 |4.2 1989 |16.8 |4.2 1990 |16.2 |4.0 1991 |15.4 |3.8 1992 |16.2 |3.9 1993 |15.5 |3.8 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |- |-
Family Health Service Authority Area West Glamorgan |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |116 |31.6 1985 |123 |33.5 1986 |120 |32.7 1987 |123 |33.5 1988 |133 |36.1 1989 |133 |36.1 1990 |135 |36.5 1991 |134 |36.1 1992 |128 |34.5 1993 |130 |35.0 1994 |138 |37.2 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |13.7 |3.7 1985 |13.0 |3.5 1986 |11.8 |3.2 1987 |11.8 |3.2 1988 |11.8 |3.2 1989 |11.5 |3.1 1990 |12.3 |3.3 1991 |11.9 |3.2 1992 |11.8 |3.2 1993 |11.8 |3.2 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |- |- 1994 |- |-
Family Health Service Authority Area Wales |Number |<1>Rate ---------------------------------------------------------- General dental practitioners<2> 1984 |714 |25.4 1985 |742 |26.4 1986 |740 |26.2 1987 |780 |27.5 1988 |798 |28.0 1989 |827 |28.8 1990 |837 |29.1 1991 |832 |28.8 1992 |831 |28.7 1993 |843 |29.1 1994 |858 |29.6 Community dental practitioners<3> 1984 |119.3 |4.3 1985 |113.1 |4.0 1986 |110.7 |3.9 1987 |106.4 |3.8 1988 |113.9 |4.0 1989 |103.8 |3.6 1990 |106.2 |3.7 1991 |102.6 |3.5 1992 |100.0 |3.5 1993 |86.6 |3.0 Salaried dental practitioners<4> 1993 |2 |0.1 1994 |4 |0.1 <1> Per 100,000 resident population. <2> General Dental Practitioners (head count) treating NHS patients at 30 September except for 1994 when figures are at 30 April. <3> Staff in the community dental service (whole-time equivalents) at 30 September. <4> Staff in post (head count) at 30 September 1993 and 30 April 1994.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funds his Department has available for statutory or non-statutory contingent liabilities for claims of medical or surgical negligence when liability may be split between two NHS hospital trusts.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The excess costs above £30,000 of successful claims arising from clinical negligence are met from a pool, administered by the Welsh Office, which has a present provision of £3,000,000.
Where liability is split between NHS trusts, it is a matter for local determination how the first £30,000 of such a claim is met.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff are employed by the Royal Commission on ancient and historical monuments (Wales) ; and what is their average annual salary.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments (Wales) has 34.5 full-time equivalent staff in post. Their average annual salary is £23,555.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance that he issues to GP fundholding practices on the insurance cover that they should carry for claims of negligence made for the placing of inappropriate contracts.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : There is no intention to issue guidance to GP fundholders on the insurance cover that they should carry. All general practitioners are responsible for making their own arrangements to cover insurance risks.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on A-level results achieved in (a) Welsh colleges and (b) Welsh secondary school sixth forms in 1993.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Information on A-level pass rates is not immediately available by type of institution, but it will be possible to provide it before the end of the year.
As soon as the data are to hand, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools in Wales asked for grant-maintained status in (a) 1993 and (b) 1994.
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Sir Wyn Roberts : Seven schools applied for grant-maintained status in 1993. There have been no applications in 1994 to date.
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when Cwmcarn grant-maintained school applied to establish a sixth form ; and what was the result of this application.
Sir Wyn Roberts : I have not received an application from the school to establish a sixth form. I understand, however, that the school is currently consulting on proposals for a change of character as required by section 96 of the Education Act 1993.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has received on the number of employees in each NHS trust who would lose their jobs following the implementation of the current pay award.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : It is impossible to say to what extent any speculative figures for job losses in the trusts are directly attributable to the cost of pay awards.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had regarding the payment of salary to the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency by any other method other than pay-as-you- earn.
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