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West London Health Care NHS TrustRabbi Miriam Lawrence
Mrs. A. Richardson
Mr. B. Churcher
West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
Mr. D. Hoodless
Mr. J. Rounce
Health Service Commissioner
Mr. Brandreth : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to receive the annual report of the health service commissioner for 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : The health service commissioner has made his annual report on the performance of his functions in England, Scotland and Wales. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health, for Scotland and for Wales presented the report to the House on 6 July. It was published today--HC499--and copies have been placed in the Library.
Child Care
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision her Department makes for child care facilities for staff ; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes ; if her Department (a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 7 March, Official Report, column 89.
NHS Prescriptions
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether people absent from the United Kingdom but not visiting another country may receive NHS prescriptions ;
(2) if people sailing around the world remain eligible for NHS prescriptions.
Dr. Mawhinney : As a general rule, people travelling abroad for short periods may receive medication under the national health service, subject to the clinical judgment of their general practitioner, for a period of up to three months.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she received guidance from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens concerning Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ; and when the guidance will be published.
Mr. Sackville : The guidance was received at the end of March and is due to be published late August/early September.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 28 June, Official Report, column 539, what guidance to date has been issued to laboratory staff who may handle materials contaminated with the agents causing (a)
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and (b) bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Mr. Sackville : The following guidance has been issued to date :
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Code of Practice for the Prevention of Infection in Clinical Laboratories and Post-Mortem Rooms' (1978) ; DA(81)22 ; DA(84)16 ; Categorisation of Pathogens According to Hazard and Categories of Containment' (1st edition, 1984, extended 2nd edition, 1990) from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens ; and PL(92)CO/4 from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.Copies of the documents will be placed in the Library.
GP Fundholders
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to monitor the spending of funds by GP fundholders.
Dr. Mawhinney : Family health services authorities have statutory responsibility for monitoring expenditure by general practitioner fundholders.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by health authority and region the underspend or surplus carried forward by GP fundholders in the financial years 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Dr. Mawhinney : Final audited figures for 1992-93 and 1993-94 are not yet available.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will define patient care in relation to items upon which GP fundholders may spend their financial allocation ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The National Health Service (Fund-holding Practices) Regulations 1993 define the range of services general practitioner fundholders may purchase on behalf of their patients. Copies of the regulations are available in the Library.
Dental Services
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to raise the proportion of the cost of dental treatment paid by patients.
Dr. Mawhinney : National health service dental charges are kept under review, and decisions are made in the light of the Government's priorities for expenditure on the NHS.
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the proportion of the population who visit a dentist every six months ; and what assessment she has made of the effect of an increase in dental charges on attendance at dentists' surgeries.
Dr. Mawhinney : No such estimate can be made from the information available centrally. There is no evidence to suggest that increases in national health service dental charges have any significant long-term effect on attendance.
EDUCATION
Special Needs
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what percentage of disabled children with special educational needs were in mainstream schools in each year since 1979.
Mr. Forth : The total of all pupils who, at some time in their school career, have special educational needs is not
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collected centrally. The numbers of pupils with statements of special educational needs--including those who are disabled--in primary, middle and secondary maintained schools in England are not available pre-1985 but are set out below as at January of each year 1985-1993. They are also shown as a percentage of all pupils with statements in maintained schools including special schools.
Year |Pupils with |As percentage of all
|statements in |pupils
|mainstream schools |with statements in
|maintained sector
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |26,800 |19
1986 |30,000 |21
1987 |33,300 |23
1988 |40,900 |28
1989 |47,300 |32
1990 |54,300 |35
1991 |62,000 |42
1992 |71,200 |46
1993 |85,000 |49
<1> Includes non-maintained special schools.
National Testing
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what help he intends to provide for teachers assessing key stage 1.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has recently announced that he proposes, for 1995, to fund supply cover for teachers of seven-year-olds engaged on administering tests. This is in addition to the considerable amount of expenditure in support of the implementation of the assessment arrangements in schools--some £180 million--through the grants for education support and training programme over the last four years. A large proportion of this expenditure has been in primary schools.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to secure extra funding needed to pay the cost of using external examiners in the asessment of key stage 2 and key stage 3.
Mr. Robin Squire : It has not been the practice of this or previous Administrations to disclose details of discussions between Ministers. My right hon. Friend has found the necessary resources from within his Department's £7.5 billion vote programme.
Multi-cultural Education
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on changes in section 11 funding and their effect on multi-cultural education ; and what action he is taking in response.
Mr. Robin Squire : We have received many representations from hon. Members, local authorities and associations, teacher unions, minority ethnic communities and other interested parties about changes in section 11 funding.
My right hon. Friend will continue to monitor, through OFSTED, the standard of educational provision in all maintained schools, including provision for those pupils for whom English is not their first language. Additional support for the latter category through section 11 grants is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary.
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School Sports
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education which code of rugby is included within the required school sports contained within the national curriculum.
Mr. Robin Squire : Under the present national curriculum order for physical education, games are mandatory for all pupils from age five to 14. My right hon. Friend has recently published proposals that would extend this requirement to all pupils of compulsory school age. However, individual sports are not prescribed.
Child Care
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff ; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes ; if his Department (a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : London-based staff are able to use the Westminster holiday play scheme which is organised by the Office of Public Service and Science. The cost of places is shared equally by parents and the Department. In the year ending 31 March 1994, six members of staff used the scheme for their children on one or more occasions.
Darlington-based staff have access to a play scheme which was set up at the instigation of the Department for Education. Places are shared with other civil servants working in the Darlington area. In the financial year ending 31 March 1994, 105 children have used the scheme. The costs are borne largely on a pro rata basis by the participating Departments, with parents making a small daily contribution.
The Department does not currently subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.
Colleges (Minor Works Funds)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to monitor the use of minor works funds in colleges ; and what records are available to show the purposes for allocation of these funds in each college.
Mr. Boswell : The monitoring of the use of allocations from the Further Education Funding Council for England for minor works in colleges is a matter for the FEFC.
Minor works funds are paid to colleges by FEFC on production of contractors' invoices and architects' certificates. These are checked against a detailed schedule of works required at each college, prepared for FEFC by Hunter and Partners, chartered surveyors. The FEFC will also be conducting spot-checks of minor works at colleges in the coming months. Colleges are required as a condition of funding to have adequate systems of accounting, audit and internal control, and are thus in a position to demonstrate from their own records how their funds have been used.
Colleges are permitted to transfer recurrent funding received from FEFC to capital purposes, subject to any limits which FEFC may choose to impose. Colleges'
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governing bodies have operational autonomy, and are free to decide how to spend such funding in the best interests of their college. The FEFC must be consulted about transactions affecting land or buildings which involve capital sums in excess of £100,000, and where FEFC funds are likely to be required for maintenance of the property. Its consent is required where its funding is applied to developments significantly affecting the value of property, or where material disposals of publicly funded assets are envisaged.NORTHERN IRELAND
Motor Vehicles (Explosives)
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions since 1990 motor cars have been found to contain explosives, or had explosives placed underneath them, in Northern Ireland.
Sir John Wheeler : The available information is for all motor vehicles, including motor cars, and is as follows :
|Number of
|incidents
------------------------------------------
Vehicle Bombs |116
Under car booby traps |97
Figures for "finds" recovered specifically from motor vehicles are not available.
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions bicycles containing illegal explosive devices have been used by terrorists in incidents in Northern Ireland since 1990.
Sir John Wheeler : Once, on 30 March 1990.
Fire Safety
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the views of the fire service branch, Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), will be sought and taken into account during the present cross-Department review of fire safety legislation and its enforcement within the United Kingdom.
Mr. Tim Smith : Copies of the report of the scrutiny of fire safety legislation and enforcement have been sent to the Department for comment and for circulation to other interested bodies. Any comments submitted to the review team will be considered by Ministers when the consultation period has ended.
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the final decision on changes to fire safety legislation and its enforcement in Northern Ireland, following the current cross- Department review, will rest with Parliament.
Mr. Tim Smith : Full implementation of the recommendations in the report of the scrutiny of fire safety legislation and enforcement would require changes to both primary and subordinate legislation. Changes to primary legislation would require an Order-in-Council. Changes to subordinate legislation while subject to consultation, could be introduced without debate. However, no decisions on implementation will be made before consultation on the report ends on 31 October 1994.
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Drug Offences
Rev. William McCrea : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) men and (b) women were convicted of drug offences in Northern Ireland during (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993.
Sir John Wheeler : The information is as follows :
Persons convicted of drug offences in Northern Ireland: at all courts Year |Male |Female ---------------------------- 1992 |262 |12 1993 |401 |22
Homelessness
Rev. William McCrea : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were accepted as statutorily homeless in Northern Ireland during the last three years ; and how many are (a) over 21 years old and (b) under 21 years old.
Mr. Tim Smith : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. However, I am advised by its chief executive that the numbers of applicants accepted as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness in the last three years are as follows :
Year |Number of
|applicants
---------------------------------
1991-92 |7,494
1992-93 |7,549
1993-94 |7,216
Information is not recorded on the number of applicants over and under 21 years of age.
Child Care
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff : what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes ; if his Department (a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Wheeler : In the Northern Ireland civil service departments staff may contribute to staff child care costs where this is justified on value-for-money grounds. There are currently 36 subsidised places provided in registered nurseries. The Child Support Agency Northern Ireland subsidises 50 per cent. of the weekly cost up to a maximum of £30 and the Department of the Environment (NI) subsidises 35 per cent. of the weekly cost up to a maximum of £28. In addition eight holiday play schemes are assisted. The holiday play schemes which are located throughout Northern Ireland are deficit funded in their first year and thereafter 50 per cent. of accommodation and 40 per cent. of staff costs are funded. The Northern Ireland civil service does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or provide child care vouchers to staff.
The London Office currently subsidises four places in a registered nursery. The amount of the subsidy is 50 per cent. of the full cost each week.
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DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Child Care
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff ; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes ; if his Department (a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : This answer covers the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science and its agencies, the Central Office of Information, and Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Workplace nurseries are available to staff at the Civil Service college and the Chessington computer centre. Holiday play schemes are available to staff working in departmental buildings in London and at CCTA in Norwich.
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The Civil Service college contributed £11,819 to staff places at its nursery in 1993-94. Chessington computer centre contributed £39, 493 to staff places at its nursery in 1993-94.The Westminster holiday play scheme is available to all staff in London and is subsidised by reimbursing staff 50 per cent. of the cost incurred. The holiday play scheme available to staff at CCTA in Norwich is subsidised at a rate of £850 per annum.
The Westminster holiday play scheme is also available to COI staff in London and is subsidised by reimbursing staff 50 per cent. of the cost incurred.
A workplace nursery and holiday play scheme is available to HMSO staff in Norwich. In 1993-94, HMSO contributed £81,370 to the nursery and £1,757 to the holiday play scheme.
The Cabinet Office, the OPSS and its agencies, the COI and HMSO do not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.
When determining what child care assistance to provide, the Cabinet Office, the OPSS and its agencies, the COI and HMSO, in common with all other Departments, ensure that it is justified on value for money grounds.
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