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Mr. Alan Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of the adults who applied for national insurance numbers were refused by the Contributions Agency in each of the last five years ; and of these how many were (a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority background.
Mr. Hague : The administration of the issue of national insurance numbers is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 27 June 1994 :
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency I am responsible for answering questions about relevant operational matters. I have been asked to reply to your question about what proportion of the adults who applied for National Insurance numbers (NINOs) were refused by the Contributions Agency in each of the last five years ; and of these how many were (a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority background.
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The Agency is unable to provide the details you have requested as no such records are kept. But over the last 5 years more than 1 million adults have applied for and have been given a NINO. In order to obtain a NINO an adult must usually attend a Social Security office in person and complete the appropriate application form. In addition suitable evidence of identity must be provided. NINOs are only needed by people who are paying NI contributions so that we can keep a record of their contributions, or by people who have claimed certain Social Security benefits. A NINO is likely to be refused when it is not needed for either of these purposes or when there are doubts about the validity of the application.I am sorry that the precise information you have requested is not available but I hope that my reply has proved helpful. If you think I could give you any more details on this topic, I would be happy to try and do so.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the income support live load for the area directorates in England and Wales (a) for each quarter's date of count since May 1991 to the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) for each of the E, A and P cases ; and what was the percentage change in each of the case types outlined in (b) between May 1991 and the most recent date for which figures are available ; (2) what was the income support live level for the area directorates in Scotland (a) for each quarter's date of count since May 1991 to the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) for each of the E cases, A cases and P cases ; what were the percentage changes in each of the case types outlined in (b) and for each area directorate (i) between May 1991 and the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) between May 1993 and the most recent date for which figures are available.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available. Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Henry McLeish, dated 27 June 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Questions requesting various statistical information concerning Income Support cases from the area directorates in England, Scotland and Wales from May 1991. I have enclosed the information you requested and a copy has been placed in the Library.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the most recently available income support live level for each of the local office and benefit agency districts in Scotland for each of the E, A and P cases ;
(2) what is the most recently available figure for the income support live level (a) in each of his Department's offices and (b) by each Benefits Agency district in Scotland.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available. Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Henry McLeish, dated 27 June 1994 :
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The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the Income Support live load in each Scottish Benefits Agency branch and district office. I have enclosed the information you requested and a copy has been placed in the Library.I hope this reply is helpful.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the cost of administering the scheme for industrial injuries disablement benefit for chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Mr. Scott : The administration of industrial injuries disablement benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Paddy Tipping, dated 27 June 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the administrative cost of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
There are two stages to the take on of claims for the new prescribed disease chronic bronchitis and emphysema (PD D12), for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit has been available since 13 September 1993 for people who have worked for at least 20 years underground in a coal mine.
Our current estimate of the administrative cost for the two stage take-on of claims to PD D12 is £15.7 million. This is based on an estimated 80,000 claims and covers the three financial years 1993-94 to 1995-96.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases in each Benefits Agency district in Scotland in the most recent period for which data are available an application for (a) community care grant, (b) budget loan and (c) crisis loan met the criteria but was refused because of budgetary constraints or insufficient priority ; and what that was as a proportion of the total number of (i) applications and (ii) refusals in each of the Benefits Agency districts.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available. Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Henry McLeish, dated 27 June 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the operation of the Social Fund in Scotland.
I have enclosed the information you requested, relating to 1993-94 and 1994 -95 to date, and a copy has been placed in the Library. The Social Fund Computer System (SFCS), introduced to Scotland during the period March 1993 --January 1994, collects statistical items differently from the previous system and they are not directly comparable with previous years. The old system recorded reasons for refusal per application, whereas the SFCS records reasons for refusal per item requested. In cases where a partial award is made, a reason for refusal will also be appropriate. Therefore, the sum of all the reasons for refusal will not equal the number of application refusals.
Social Fund Officers (SFOs) ensure that the highest priority needs are met while adopting as consistent an approach as
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possible. The Area SFO (District Office Manager) issues guidance on the order of priorities (high, medium or low) and the level of priority which can be sustained from the budget available to the District. Similarly, the District Office's budget, which must not be exceeded, has to be managed so that, as far as possible, similar levels of need can be met throughout the year.I hope you find this reply helpful.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for help from the social fund for budgetary loans and crisis loans were refused on the grounds of inability to pay ; and what that was as a proportion of the total number of (a) loan applications and (b) loan refusals for each of the Benefit Agency districts in Scotland for each year since 1990-91 for each local office.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available. Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Henry McLeish, dated 27 June 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the operation of the Social Fund in Scotland.
I have enclosed the information you requested and a copy has been placed in the Library. The Social Fund Computer System, introduced to Scotland during the period March 1993--January 1994, collects statistical items differently from the previous system and they are not directly comparable with previous years.
The actual level of refusals on the grounds of inability to repay is very low. Money advice may be given to people in these circumstances on ways to reduce expenditure in order to maximise disposable income.
The guidance to Social Fund Officers advises that where a loan application is received, the possibility that a non-repayable Community Care Grant may be more appropriate should be considered first.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all current proposals for closures of children's wards and beds in east London ; and if she will indicate on the basis of them being implemented (a) the number of children's beds remaining and (b) the number of children in the east London area.
Dr. Mawhinney : The provision of services for children in east London is for the national health service to decide locally, taking account of all the local circumstances and the needs of patients.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives her Department has taken to further the development of patient participation.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Department is involved in many projects which develop patient participation. These include patient representatives' projects in Brighton and Bristol, involvement of patients in the development of information for patients and regular meetings with the Patients Forum. The Department also supports the work of community health councils which are appointed by Parliament to represent patients' views.
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We are conducting research to find out patients' views about the development of the patients charter. We have also met patients' organisations to look at charter standards.In 1992 the National Health Service Executive issued guidance on "Local Voices" which sets out ways in which the public could be consulted about health services. In April 1994 the National Health Service Executive issued a leaflet "Including Local People" which included examples of good practice that showed how purchasers have involved local people. I wrote in January this year to all district health authorities to ensure that the arrangements were in place to seek and act upon the views of local people. The responses to that letter indicate that most health authorities have made significant progress.
The chief executive of the National Health Service Executive has written to regional directors to ensure that the appropriate action is taken locally and will report to me later this year.
The National Health Service Executive funded the College of Health's research into consumer audit. The College of Health has developed consumer audit as a means of obtaining qualitative feedback from patients about health care. The consumer audit guidelines were published in March 1994.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department has issued on charging patients or their carers for (a) domiciliary care, (b) day care, or (c) respite care within the national health service.
Mr. Bowis : None. There are no charges for these services when delivered to national health service patients.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by her Department or agencies for which it is responsible to (a) Coopers and Lybrand (b) KPMG Peat Marwick, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) Price Waterhouse, (e) Arthur Andersen, (f) Touche Ross, (g) Grant Thornton, (h) Robson Rhodes and (i) Pannell Kerr Forster for (i) privatisation, (ii) market testing, (iii) management advice (iv) accounting, (v) audit, (vi) consultancy and (vii) any other services in 1980 to 1983, 1984 to 1987, 1988 to 1991 and 1992- 1993.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security (Mr. Hague) gave him on 24 June, Official Report, columns 342-44, for information prior to 1992-93, which includes information on health projects.
Information for 1992-93 is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the figures for post-operative deaths by district health authority for each of the last two years for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville : Accurate information about post-operative deaths in each district health authority is not available. Information on deaths in hospitals in the national
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health service in England was published in table 17 of the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin entitled "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics : England 1981 to 1991-92". Information is given on the percentage of cases in the acute sector discharged dead by regional health authority. A copy is available in the Library. Post- operative deaths which occur after patients have been discharged from hospital are not recorded.Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what decisions her Department has taken in respect of TECs over the last 12 months ; and if she will make a statement on her Department's involvement with TECs over the same period.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific guidelines and advice is available for the prescription of the salt of gold sodium aurothiomolate to treat severe conditions of active rheumatical arthritis and its possible side effects.
Dr. Mawhinney : Decisions about the use of sodium aurothiomolate in the treatment of rheumatical arthritis are matters for the medical practitioners concerned.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will discuss with the north Staffordshire repetitive strain injury support group the setting up of a working party to develop an action programme to prevent repetitive strain injury and to respond to the needs of those suffering from it.
Mr. Sackville : Prevention of repetitive strain injury when caused by work is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive, which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency departments there were in London in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) 1993 ; and how many there are planned to be in the year 2000.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Sir M. Neubert) on 22 February, Official Report columns 210-11.
It is the responsibility of local health authorities to assess and secure the health services, including accident and emergency, needed by their resident populations.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) beds and (b) hospitals she plans to close in the next eight years.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change in the number of NHS hospital beds she expects by (a) 1996, (b) 1999 and (c) 2002.
Mr. Sackville : It is not possible to make detailed predictions about the future disposition and numbers of
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hospitals or hospital beds. These are matters for local determination. Changes will occur with fluctuations in local need and the development of clinical practice.Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority's restriction on non-emergency treatment.
Mr. Sackville : It is the health authority's role to assess the health needs of its resident population and secure services to meet those needs.
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place with the social work profession on the implications of the possible closure of the obscene publications branch at Scotland Yard for children who can become victims of pornography and organised child abuse.
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department in terms of protecting children from the abuse associated with the production of child pornography of the proposed reduction in the resources of the obscene publications branch at Scotland Yard.
Mr. Bowis : The organisation of the obscene publications branch is a matter for the Metropolitan police. I refer my hon. Friend to the Adjournment debate on 22 June, Official Report, columns 332-40.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if Her Majesty's Government will ensure that any European directive harmonising rules relating to the sale, dispensing and prescribing of vitamin and mineral supplements shall not reduce the existing scope of legally available alternative medicines available in the United Kingdom nor the work of qualified practitioners of nutritional therapy and medical herbalists.
Mr. Sackville : In general, alternative medicines and vitamin and mineral supplements for which medicinal claims are made are subject to the provisions of the Medicines Act but herbal remedies prepared and prescribed by herbalists for individual patients are exempt from the licensing requirements. No proposals have been made for a directive to harmonise the status of vitamin and mineral supplements and we have no plans to change the existing arrangements governing the availability of alternative medicines.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she received the report of the Welsh Health Planning Forum published on 23 June ; and what is her assessment of its conclusions on the impact of bed closures and the potential for keyhole surgery and day case operations.
Mr. Sackville : We have not had the opportunity to study the report. The national health service has already
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achieved a 160 per cent. increase in day cases between 1982 and 1992-93. We are determined to promote all practices that improve the quality of care for patients.Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died from skin cancer in 1993.
Mr. Sackville : Data from 1993 are not yet available. In 1992, in England, there were 1,065 deaths from malignant melanoma of skin (ICD 172) and 457 deaths from other malignant neoplasm of skin (ICD 173).
International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers have been reported in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : The latest available information is shown in the table.
|Malignant melanoma |Other malignant |of skin (ICD<1> 172)|neoplasm of skin |(ICD<1> 173)<2> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ England<3> |3,661 |30,250 Wales<3> |220 |1,748 Scotland<4> |477 |4,111 Northern Ireland<4> |46 |573 <1> International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision. <2> Other malignant neoplasm of skin is under-registered. <3> 1988 data. <4> 1991 data.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated current cost per case of treating a patient with (a) malignant melanoma of the skin and (b) other malignant neoplasm of the skin.
Mr. Sackville : The costs of specific procedures or those associated with specific diagnoses are not available centrally.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the mortality and incidence rates, per 100,000 population, for malignant melanoma of skin, ICD 172, and other malignant neoplasm of skin, ICD 173, for each year since 1991.
Mr. Sackville : The latest available information is shown in the table.
? Incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 population in England for malignant melanoma of skin (ICD<1> 172) and other malignant neoplasm of skin (ICD<1> 173) |Incidence|Mortality |(1988) |(1992) --------------------------------------------------------------- Malignant melanoma of skin |7.7 |2.2 Other malignant neoplasm of skin |63.5 |0.9 <1>International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data has been collected by her Department on the administrative costs of (a) fundholding and (b) non-fundholding arrangements in general practice.
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Dr. Mawhinney : The administrative costs of purchasing by general practitioner fundholders are about 2 per cent. of budgets set. Comparable information about the purchasing costs of district health authorities on behalf of non-fundholding general practitioners is not available.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the misclassification of necrotising fasciitis on (a) death certificates and (b) hospital finished consultant episodes and data of disease and treatment.
Mr. Sackville : No studies have been done to ascertain what doctors record on the death certificates of patients who have had necrotising fasciitis. From 1990 to 1992, when necrotising fasciitis was given as the underlying cause of death, this was coded by Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys as "fasciitis unspecified" using the international classification of disease index.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for publishing league tables for NHS hospitals.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I shall tomorrow publish the first National Health Service performance tables : copies will be placed in the Library at 11 am and available in the Vote Office.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) where the two new special hospitals are to be built ; and when they will become operational ;
(2) if she will make it her policy that special hospitals shall not be granted trust status ;
(3) when the Reed report on special hospitals will be published ; and what has been the reason for the length of time between its completion and publication.
Mr. Bowis : We have not reached any firm conclusions on the future of high security services. There are no current plans to build new special hospitals or to change the status of existing special hospitals. The report of the working group on high security services raises important issues about service development which require careful consideration by this and other Government Departments. We hope to publish the report soon.
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance her Department has given to NHS trust hospitals about charging patients for use of private beds when no NHS beds are available ;
(2) what guidelines her Department issued about the use of empty private beds in trust hospitals when all NHS beds are full.
Mr. Sackville : All beds in national health service hospitals can be used by patients receiving NHS treatment.
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