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Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she has put into effect to provide for the increase in the number of asthma sufferers ; and what further measures she has considered to provide for any further increase.
Mr. Sackville : Approximately 90 per cent. of general practitioners have been approved to run a continuing programme of chronic disease management for asthma. In 1992-93 the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, spent over £1.5 million on research into asthma and areas which may be relevant to the condition. The Department's centrally commissioned research programme is undertaking four studies on asthma. In 1992 the Department set up the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants--COMEAP--which has since set up a sub-committee to advise on the link between exposure to low levels of air pollution and asthma. As part of "The Health of the Nation" programme the Government are promoting a smoke-free environment.
Ethnic Monitoring
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 314, on the ethnic origin of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, if the results of the survey are yet available.
Mental Health Care (Management)
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the leadership programme for top managers in mental health will be delivered, so as to develop inspirational leadership, creative thinking, and enhancement of the personal abilities of senior staff ; and what contribution carers of severely mentally ill people will make to this programme.
Mr. Bowis : The programme will be delivered by means of three, three -day residential workshops held over a period of nine months ; and by the pursuit of individual goals and objectives within each participant's organisation ; supported by networking activities between participants. The programme, which commenced in May, will evolve in response to the needs of the individual participants. It is probable that, in due course, it will include a contribution from both users of mental health services and their carers.
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued regarding the post-registration experience and training appropriate in the management and care of mentally disordered persons with behaviours that may challenge for (a) nurses with a learning disability mental health registration and (b) doctors with a registration in psychiatry.
Mr. Bowis : The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has statutory responsibility for determining the kind, standard and
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content of training courses leading to registration, and further courses for those already registered, as nurses, midwives and health visitors. Statutory responsibility for validating and approving courses and institutions rests with the four national boards. Standards of education and training for psychiatrists are the responsibility of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.Health Visitors
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the compatibility between "The Health of the Nation" targets, the Children Act 1989 and a reduction in the number of health visitors.
Mr. Sackville : Whole-time equivalent nursing and midwifery staff in the community have increased by 14.8 per cent. between 1988 and 1992 and by 1.4 per cent. between 1991 and 1992. Responsibility for meeting targets set out in "The Health of the Nation" and the requirements of the Children Act 1989 are not the sole responsibility of health visitors although their contribution is valued.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were employed in each district health authority area in September 1988, expressed as whole time equivalents.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 4 July 1994] : The information will be placed in the Library.
Redundant Hospitals
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the compatibility with her policy of open government of the refusal of health authorities to disclose the selling price of redundant hospitals.
Mr. Sackville : Details of individual land and property sales are commercially sensitive and exempt from disclosure. It is for the regional health authority managing the transaction to determine with their professional advisers if the sale price can be released after completion of the sale.
Hospital Treatment
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the average number of hospitals available for treatment of a patient in respect of a single episode of illness under the national health service.
Mr. Sackville : All acute hospitals provide a wide range of services for acute and chronic illness. Some hospitals provide specialist services for wider populations which would not be viable if they were duplicated in every hospital.
Nurse to Patient Ratio
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 25 February, Official Report , column 514 , if she will give the qualified nurse to patient ratios for which the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 18 April at column 401 .
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Regional Health Authorities
Mr Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the latest figures and list the number of staff employed by the regional health authorities in the last three years.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing for each of the 14 former English regional health authorities (a) the number of core regional health authorities staff, (b) the number of other regional health authority-employed staff and (c) total regional health authority staff for each year since 1990.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information available is shown in the tables.
Numbers of regional health authority headquarters staff by
function
(WTE) March 1994; March 1993; July 1992 (core staff only);
September 1990 (total staff only)
|Core Staff|Other |Total
--------------------------------------------------------------
1994
Northern |159 |1,328 |1,487
Yorkshire |179 |1,311 |1,490
Trent |231 |572 |803
East Anglian |141 |392 |533
North West Thames |134 |292 |426
North East Thames |139 |546 |685
South East Thames |237 |333 |570
South West Thames |161 |292 |453
Wessex |242 |335 |577
Oxford |167 |651 |818
South Western |183 |1,165 |1,348
West Midlands |196 |1,029 |1,226
Mersey |179 |907 |1,086
North Western |265 |1,165 |1,431
|--- |--- |---
Total |2,613 |10,318 |12,930
1993
Northern |318 |1,410 |1,728
Yorkshire |343 |2,731 |3,074
Trent |299 |566 |865
East Anglian |163 |413 |576
North West Thames |220 |316 |536
North East Thames |211 |622 |834
South East Thames |338 |323 |660
South West Thames |262 |527 |789
Wessex |308 |285 |593
Oxford |184 |606 |790
South Western |228 |1,147 |1,375
West Midlands |428 |2,347 |2,775
Mersey |194 |931 |1,125
North Western |410 |1,148 |1,558
|--- |--- |---
Total |3,905 |13,371 |17,276
1992
|Core staff
----------------------------------------
Northern |656
Yorkshire |518
Trent |509
East Anglian |292
North West Thames |361
North East Thames |580
South East Thames |604
South West Thames |611
Wessex |331
Oxford |567
South Western |559
West Midlands |1,168
Mersey |313
North Western |785
|-------
Total |7,854
1990
|Total
----------------------------------
Northern |2,740
Yorkshire |3,050
Trent |3,340
East Anglian |1,330
North West Thames |1,750
North East Thames |2,710
South East Thames |2,210
South West Thames |2,080
Wessex |1,430
Oxford |1,670
South Western |1,800
West Midlands |4,640
Mersey |1,740
North Western |3,130
|-------
Total |33,620
Notes:
1. Data separated into core' and
other' functions were not
collected before 1992.
2. 1992 RHA total staffing is not
available.
3. 1990 figures are from the
September census data and cannot
be disaggregated into core' and
other' staff.
4. Figures in the Total' column
include consultants, senior
registrars and ambulance staff on
RHA payrolls.
5. No RHA staffing figures are
available for 1991.
Palliative Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued regarding the funding of dedicated social work services in (a) hospice units and (b) within palliative care services generally ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Local authorities are responsible for the cost of social work support to the national health service.
Domiciliary Care
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the legal powers of local authorities to run voluntary registration schemes for providers of independent domiciliary care ; whether they are able to levy charges to cover the cost of such schemes ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Whether legal powers exist will depend on the purpose for which the scheme is established and how it is used. Local authorities should seek their own legal advice based on the terms of each scheme.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the turnover of each trust in each year since its inception.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested, for years 1991-92 and 1992-93, has been placed in the Library. Information for 1993-94 will not be available until the annual accounts have been audited.
Cost Improvement Programmes
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a table showing the annual cost improvement programmes of provider units in each region in each of the last four years.
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Mr. Sackville : This information is not audited and used for management purposes only.
Running Costs
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a table showing the running costs of her Department in each region for each year since 1987-88.
Mr. Sackville : Information about departmental running costs by region is not available. Details of the Department's gross running costs are provided in the Department's annual reports for 1993-94, Cm 2212 and 1994-95, Cm 2512, copies of which are available in the Library.
Extra-contractual Referrals
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department maintains on extra-contractual referral numbers in each region.
Mr. Sackville : The national health service executive quarterly monitoring system collects information by region on their actual spend on extra-contractual referrals compared with their planned levels of spend. Figures on the number of extra-contractual referral numbers in each region are not collected.
NHS Review Costs
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total cost to date of carrying out the NHS functions and manpower review and of any changes made in the light of the review's findings.
Dr. Mawhinney : No estimate has been made of costs incurred to date as a result of changes in the light of the review's findings.
Life-threatening Pregnancies
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of hospital beds in south Manchester hospitals for women with life-threatening pregnancies.
Mr. Sackville : It is the responsibility of district health authorities to ensure that comprehensive health services are available for all their residents, within available resources. The right hon. Member may wish to contact Professor Robert Boyd, chairman of Manchester health authority, for further information.
Ambulances
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct (a) West Yorkshire, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Nottinghamshire, (d) South Yorkshire, (e) East Sussex, (f) Berkshire, (g) Avon and (h) West Country and Hampshire NHS ambulance trusts immediately to remove bull bars from all vehicles, and instruct all ambulance services that the fitting of bull bars to emergency vehicles is prohibited on the grounds of safety.
Mr. Sackville : I will be consulting the Ambulance Service on this issue.
Community Care
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will bring forward regulations under the powers provided under section 49 of the National Health Service
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and Community Care Act 1990 to enable staff to transfer from health authority to local authority employment in connection with care in the community.Mr. Bowis : The regulations as described will not now be made. This is because they would not have helped secure the outcome envisaged. A more detailed explanation of the reasons for this decision has been placed in the Library.
Health Service Administration
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington of 25 November, Official Report , column 136 , what were the total salary costs for (a) managerial staff, (b) clerical and administrative staff and (c) nursing and midwifery staff in (i) 1992-93 and (ii) 1993-94.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Analyses of salaries and wages costs for hospital and community health services in England are shown in the table. The figures for 1992-93 remain provisional. The information for 1993-94 is not yet available.
Hospital and community health services salary costs for 1992-93<1>
£ thousands
Region |General |Administrative |Nursing and
|and senior |and clerical |midwifery staff
|managers |staff costs |costs
|costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |22,651 |66,316 |310,239
Yorkshire |27,774 |56,606 |263,872
Trent |26,396 |96,330 |411,226
East Anglia |17,082 |46,580 |205,326
North West Thames |23,251 |72,170 |222,335
North East Thames |33,957 |91,814 |338,310
South East Thames |30,011 |95,480 |339,045
South West Thames |30,514 |75,583 |281,358
Wessex |23,209 |56,258 |243,234
Oxford |18,677 |60,063 |228,857
South Western |10,006 |34,065 |118,118
West Midlands |42,224 |139,484 |548,150
Mersey |11,094 |29,209 |115,032
North Western |30,247 |96,395 |415,600
SHAs |7,993 |29,805 |98,219
NHS trusts |143,145 |459,743 |2,091,859
|------- |------- |-------
Total |498,171 |1,505,901 |6,230,780
Source:
Annual accounts and financial returns 1992-93 of regional and district health
authorities in England, national health service trusts and special health
authorities.
Note: Figures vary from those supplied in the earlier answer to the hon. Member
for Darlington, of 25 November 1993, Official Report, column 136, due to the
latest validated data being used. Salaries and wages costs incurred by family
health services authorities are excluded as corresponding costs are not
identified on the same basis. Salary costs are the gross pay costs of directly
employed staff including employers' national insurance and superannuation
contributions except for nursing and midwifery staff where the costs of agency
nurses are also included.
Asset Sales
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 24 June, Official Report, columns 364-65, if she will make it her policy to require the total income from NHS asset sales as shown in regional health authorities accounts to be itemised, showing the income from individual large disposals.
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Mr. Sackville : No. Income from the sale of individual assets is commercially confidential and the release of price-sensitive information could disadvantage future asset sales.
Press and Public Relations
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 2 March 1994, Official Report, column 763, what was the total expenditure on press and public relations by (a) her Department, (b) The national health service management executive and its outposts and (c) health authorities in 1993-94 ; what was the estimated expenditure on press and public relations in 1993-94 ; and how much is projected to be spent in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Mr. Sackville : Functions which are commonly associated with press and public relations for the Department of Health including the national health service executive are carried out by the Department's information division. Expenditure on manpower and running costs for 1993-94 was £1.897 million. This information is not yet available for health authorites.
Projections of expenditure for 1994-95 and 1995-96 are not available.
Advertising
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 6 December 1993, Official Report, column 61, how much (a) her Department, (b) the NHSME, (c) trusts and (d) health authorities spent on (i) television advertising, (ii) radio advertising and (iii) press advertising in each year since 1987 ; and how much is projected to be spent in 1994-95.
Mr. Sackville : Information for the Department of Health, including the national health service executive, is as follows :
Year |£ million
----------------------------------------------------
1987-88
Television |1.874
Radio |0.540
Press |1.900
1988-89
Television |1.662
Radio |0.205
Press |1.196
1989-90
Television |3.549
Radio |0.127
Press |2.739
1990-91
Television |1.900
Radio |0.005
Press |2.258
1991-92
Television |4.489
Radio |0.015
Press |3.104
1992-93
Television |2.773
Radio |0.020
Press |1.976
1993-94 (estimated expenditure)
Television |2.548
Radio |0.818
Press |1.475
Decisions have not yet been made on the use of advertising for 1994-95. Information for health authorities and trusts is not available centrally.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what financial or other support his Department gives to voluntary organisations promoting energy efficiency for low-income households ; what is the value of such assistance in the current financial year ; what advice on energy efficiency and reducing fuel bills is available to householders from his Department ; what additional funds have been made available in 1994-95 to low income householders to improve efficiency following the introduction of VAT on domestic fuel ; if there is a target for the number of households to benefit from such assistance ; what progress has been made towards achieving these targets ; what health and safety considerations are made when installing draughtproofing in households to ensure adequate ventilation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Tim Smith : My Department provides financial support to eight energy projects engaged in the delivery of draughtproofing to low income households under the action for community employment programme. This assistance will amount to some £440,000 in 1994-95. Advice on energy efficiency and reducing fuel bills in the home is available through targeted publicity campaigns and the distribution of a wide range of publications on energy saving measures. Following the introduction of VAT on domestic fuel an additional £1 million is available for energy efficiency measures in low-income homes in 1994-95, effectively doubling the budget for these measures. It is planned that an estimated 12,000 households will benefit from such assistance in the current year. Some 3,100 households have benefited to date.
The ACE energy projects follow a mandatory set of instructions designed to ensure that combustion ventilation within the household will be adequate after draughtproofing. These instructions were drawn up in conjunction with the Building Research Establishment. In addition, each householder receives a safety leaflet giving advice on how to maintain an adequate supply of air to the heating appliance.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Hong Kong
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, columns 397-98, if he will list each account of the meeting or of matters arising at the meeting
Column 424
which were transmitted to (a) the Foreign Office in London, (b) the United Kingdom high commissioner in Malaysia and (c) other Government Departments.Mr. Goodlad : A single account of the meeting was transmitted from Hong Kong to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and to the British high commissioner in Malaysia on 17 January 1985. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was sent a copy of the minutes of the meeting in 1992.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, columns 397-98, what is the present relationship between Mr. Chooi Mun Sou and the Hong Kong Government ; when and by which officials this relationship was commenced ; and how much money has been paid to him and his company by the Hong Kong Government.
Mr. Goodlad : Mr. Chooi Mun Sou is the senior partner of a firm of solicitors instructed by the Attorney-General of the Hong Kong Government in December 1985 to act in proceedings in the Malaysian courts. It is not the practice of the Hong Kong Government to disclose the fees that they pay to individual professionals engaged to act on their behalf.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, columns 397-98, who was the person from the
Attorney-General's Department who attended the meeting ; and in what capacity and on what basis each of the persons at the meeting were present.
Mr. Goodlad : The name of the person from the Attorney-General's chambers was not recorded. The names of the other people who attended the meeting, and the capacity in which they attended, were given in my answer of 14 June, Official Report, column 398.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the name of the Hong Kong Government official who authorised the addifavit sworn by C. M. Adkins and filed with the High Court in London on 15 June 1990.
Mr. Goodlad : Ms Adkins was employed by solicitors acting for the Hong Kong Government and as such was authorised to swear affidavits on behalf of the Hong Kong Government.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, column 397-98 , if he willlist each occasion on which the minutes of the meeting on 17 January 1985 as recorded by the Hong Kong side have been made subject to a public interest immunity certificate ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : The document in question was the subject of a certificate claiming public interest immunity in the course of Lorrain Osman's seventh application for habeas corpus.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, column 397-98 , if he willlist the files taken to the meeting on 17 January 1985 by the late Sir John Brembridge.
Column 425
Mr. Goodlad : I understand that no files or papers were taken to the meeting by the late Sir John Brembridge.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, column 398 , what is the practice of his Law Officers and the Law Officers of Hong Kong, relating to the circulation of information contained in a witness's or defendant's statement to parties not connected to an investigation.
Mr. Goodlad : It is not the practice of the Attorney-General in Hong Kong to supply copies of statements of witnesses or defendants to third parties but, exceptionally, he may do so, in the interests of law enforcement, to other law enforcement Departments.
Macedonia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the European Court of Justice decision on the Greek sanctions on Macedonia.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We continue to regard the Greek action against Macedonia as unjustified and to support the Commission's decision to take the case to the European Court of Justice. The Court's decision not to indicate interim measures does not address the main case before the court, or the legality of the Greek action under Community law.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there has been a recent withdrawal of Serbian forces along the Macedonian border near Straza.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Yes. Under an agreement brokered by UNPROFOR on 1 July, the Serbian forces occupying Straza Peak, and the Macedonian forces observing them, withdrew. UNPROFOR has set up an observation post on the hill.
Caspian Sea
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 22 June, Official Report, column 181, if he will make a statement on the view submitted by the Government of the Russian Federation to Her Majesty's embassy in Moscow about the legal status of the Caspian sea and the implications of those Russian views on the
British-Azerbaijani memorandum signed in February on oil and gas projects in the Caspian sea.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The note from the Russian Foreign Ministry set out the Russian views on the status of the Caspian sea--namely, that this is a single eco-system to be used jointly by all Caspian states. It also stated that steps taken by any Caspian state to obtain any advantages as regards the area and resources of the Caspian sea are contrary to the interests of other Caspian states and cannot be recognised.
The memorandum on co-operation between the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan in the field of energy indicates the intention of the two Governments actively to encourage increased co-operation in areas of oil and gas exploration and development. This work continues.
Column 426
Bangladesh
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the practice in Bangladesh of issuing fatwas against dissidents, with particular reference to Tushma Nasreen ; and what representations he has made about this.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The EU presidency has raised with the Bangladesh authorities our concerns for Ms Nasreen's safety. It has called on extremists to refrain from making illegal threats and announced that it will take action against those who ignore the warning.
Middle East
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the visits undertaken by members of the royal family to (a) Bahrain, (b) Egypt, (c) Iran, (d) Iraq, (e) Israel, (f) Jordan, (g) Kuwait, (h) Lebanon, (i) Oman, (j) Qatar, (k) Saudi Arabia, (l) Syria, (m) the United Arab Emirates and (n) the Yemen since 1979.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Members of the royal family have paid official visits to these countries during this period as follows : (
(a) Bahrain--The Queen (1979), The Duke of Edinburgh (1989), The Prince of Wales (1986), The Princess Royal (1991), The Duke of Gloucester (1984, 1989), The Duke of Kent (1981) ;
(b) Egypt--The Prince of Wales (1981), The Princess of Wales (1982), The Duke of Gloucester (1992), The Duke of Kent (1992) ; (
(c) Iran--none ;
(d) Iraq--none ;
(e) Israel--none ;
(f) Jordan--The Queen (1984) ; The Duke of Kent (1993) ; (
(g) Kuwait--The Queen (1979), The Prince of Wales (1989, 1993), The Princess Royal (1987, 1991), The Duke of Gloucester (1984), The Duke of Kent (1981) ;
(h) Lebanon--The Princess Royal (1982) ;
(i) Oman--The Queen (1979), The Duke of Edinburgh (1990, 1991), The Prince of Wales (1986, 1992), The Duke of Gloucester (1980), The Duke of Kent (1985, 1989) ;
(j) Qatar--The Queen (1979), The Prince of Wales (1986), The Princess Royal (1991), The Duke of Gloucester (1984, 1989), The Duke of Kent (1981) ;
(k) Saudi Arabia--The Queen (1979), The Prince of Wales (1986, 1989, 1990, 1993), The Duke of Kent (1993) ;
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