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Mr. Soames : Information is readily available only from 1989. At 31 March 1989 there were 52 mink farms in England ; at 31 March 1994 there were 12.

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will show the estimated number of arctic fox fur farms in the United Kingdom in (a) 1964, (b) 1974, (c) 1984 and (d) 1994.

Mr. Soames : The keeping of arctic fox is not subject to control in England, Wales and Scotland and information is not collected on the number of farms keeping this animal. In Northern Ireland, the keeping of arctic foxes is subject to licensing under the Arctic Fox (Importation and Keeping) Regulations 1988. No licences have been issued in Northern Ireland to keep this animal since the regulations came into force and information on the number of farms was not collected prior to the legislation being introduced.

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to her answer of 13 July, when it became Ministry policy not to discuss details of licences of mink farms ; why this decision was taken ; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Soames : It has been Ministry policy over a number of years not to disclose details of licences of individual mink farms ; this is to protect mink fur farmers from the attentions of individuals or organisations who might seek to disrupt by unlawful means the activity of licensed fur farming.

Durum Wheat, Italy

Mr. Marlow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 13 July, Official Report, column 656 about durum wheat, if she will make it her policy to gather information about the durum wheat areas measured by remote sensing in Italy and the action taken by the Italian authorities.


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Mr. Jack : Responsibility for ensuring that member states fulfil their obligations to prevent fraud rests with the European Commission. The Ministry does not have the resources to monitor the level of compliance in other member states.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are taken to ensure that market traders and slaughterers make sure that farmers declare whether their cattle come from a BSE-infected herd.

Mr. Soames : Responsibility for checking that animals presented for slaughter and intended for the production of bone-in beef for intra- Community trade are accompanied by declarations confirming that they do not originate from BSE-infected premises rests with the slaughterhouse operator. The health certification for bone-in beef which must accompany such consignments cannot be completed by the official veterinarian unless such a declaration has been seen. As far as the export of live calves to EC member states is concerned, it is the responsibility of the official veterinarian completing export health certification to ensure that, for each of the animals being exported, an owner's declaration has been received confirming, inter alia, that the animal is not the progeny of a dam in which BSE is suspected or has been officially confirmed. Where calves for export are sold through a market the official veterinarian must be in receipt of such declarations for each calf or, alternatively, a declaration from the auctioneer confirming that the required owner's declarations for all the animals to be exported have been received and retained. In addition, computer checks are carried out on the validity of owner or auctioneer declarations.

Rabbit Control

Mr. Marlow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will set out the areas of research funded by her Department with regard to establishing cost-effective and humane rabbit control.

Mr. Soames : Listed are the research projects currently funded by the Ministry on the control of rabbits by non-lethal means : 1. Predicting damage to winter wheat in relation to the density of rabbits and the timing of population control.

2. Developing humane, environmentally acceptable and cost-effective techniques for reducing rabbit numbers or otherwise preventing crop damage.

3. Modelling rabbit populations and designing control packages. 4. Irreversible immunocontraception for the control of wild rabbits.

5. The management of mammal pests in farm woodlands.

The Forestry Commission is carrying out research on the use of tree guards against rabbits.

Herbal Products

Mr. Cash : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether she will make it her policy in future not to introduce bans on herbal products, whether voluntary or compulsory, without first consulting the House.

Mr. Soames : Compulsory bans on foodstuffs can be made by means of orders under existing legislation. Such


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orders must be approved by Parliament. Voluntary bans on foodstuffs do not have the force of law and are not therefore appropriate for clearance by Parliament.

Mr. Cash : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for how many years since 1964 comfrey products have been consumed in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Soames : Consumers have been free to choose to consume comfrey products since they have existed. Since March 1993 there has been a voluntary trade withdrawal of certain comfrey products because of their potential to give a high intake of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. If consumers wish to continue consuming comfrey they may do so in the form of tea made from comfrey leaves as such products were not part of the voluntary withdrawal.

Animal Welfare

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action she is taking to harmonise animal welfare standards of the remaining European Union countries with British standards ; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Soames : The Government are pressing for the adoption of high welfare standards throughout the European Union. The arguments put by my right hon. Friend to the June Council of Ministers for improvements to the proposed rules on animal transport are a case in point.

Special Advisers

Mr. Milburn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many special advisers who left her Department in each of the last five years became (a) management consultants and (b) joined a firm of consultants ;

(2) if she will publish the names of the employers joined by special advisers who left her Department in each of the last five years

Mr. Jack : There is no requirement for special advisers to provide details of their employers after leaving Government service.

Mr. Milburn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many special advisers have (a) joined and (b) left her Department in each of the last five years.

Mr. Jack : The number of special advisers who have joined or left the Department in the last five years is as follows :


Year   |Joined|Left         

----------------------------

1990   |1     |1            

1991   |-     |-            

1992   |-     |-            

1993   |2     |1            

1994   |-     |1            

Commissions

Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many commissions her Department had with the Agriculture and Food Research


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Council for each year since 1979 ; how many such commissions she expects to make this year ; and what is the value of those commissions in (a) cash and (b) constant prices.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : My Department has issued a single commission for its research and development programme with the Agriculture and Food Research Council covering all its institutes each year. Details of the amounts spent in cash and constant prices are as follows :


Year                           |Cash     |Constant           

                                         |Prices<1>          

                               |£ million|£ million          

-------------------------------------------------------------

1979-80                        |30.4     |72.4               

1980-81                        |37.4     |75.2               

1981-82                        |44.3     |81.3               

1982-83                        |48.6     |83.2               

1983-84                        |51.3     |84.0               

1984-85                        |52.8     |82.3               

1985-86                        |51.8     |76.5               

1986-87                        |47.9     |68.7               

1987-88                        |44.2     |60.2               

1988-89                        |46.4     |59.2               

1989-90                        |46.0     |54.9               

1990-91                        |45.6     |50.3               

1991-92                        |34.5     |35.8               

1992-93                        |34.8     |34.8               

1993-94                        |36.0     |34.8               

To date, the value of the MAFF                               

 Commission with the                                         

 Biotechnology and Biological                                

 Sciences Research Council for                               

 1994-95 in cash and constant                                

 prices is                     |32.7     |30.4               

<1> using the GDP deflator (1992-93=100)                     

Institute of Food Research

Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on the Institute of Food Research for each year since 1986 in (a) cash and (b) constant prices.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information on MAFF funding of research and development at the Institute of Food Research for each year since 1986 in cash and constant prices is as follows :


Year               |Cash              |<1>Constant Prices                   

                   |£ million         |£ million                            

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1986-87            |7.6               |10.9                                 

1987-88            |7.5               |10.3                                 

1988-89            |8.0               |10.2                                 

1989-90            |7.7               |9.1                                  

1990-91            |7.0               |7.8                                  

1991-92            |5.8               |6.0                                  

1992-93            |6.1               |6.1                                  

1993-94            |5.8               |5.6                                  

<1>Using the GDP deflator (1992-93=100).                                    

Veterinary Service

Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest figures available for the number of vets employed by the State Veterinary Service.


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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The number of veterinary surgeons employed by the state veterinary service as at 1 June 1994 was 403. This figure includes veterinary staff at Tolworth HQ.

Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the current number of veterinary investigation centres in operation ; what plans there are to develop these centres ; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : There are currently 13 veterinary investigation centres and one veterinary investigation unit in operation in England and Wales. Last year two new purpose-built centres were opened at Bury St. Edmunds and at Luddington in Warwickshire. Major redevelopments have been carried out at a number of the centres and final plans are now being prepared for major redevelopment at Penrith and Thirsk veterinary investigation centres.

Resrarch and Developmentent Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current number of personnel employed in her Department's research and development programme ; and what were the figures for each year from 1979-80.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The numbers of personnel employed by my Department in its research and development programme are as follows :


           |Number       

-------------------------

1984-85    |2,264        

1985-86    |2,062        

1986-87    |1,924        

1987-88    |1,919        

1988-89    |2,201        

1989-90    |1,801        

1990-91    |2,514        

1991-92    |2,420        

1992-93    |2,552        

<1>1993-94 |2,575        

<1> Provisional figure.  

Figures include personnel at MAFF agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Figures prior to 1984 are not available.

Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been her Department's total research and development expenditure for each year since 1979 in (a) cash and (b) constant terms.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : My Department's total research and development expenditure for each year since 1981-82 in cash and constant prices is as follows :


                     |Constant           

Year       |Cash     |prices<1>          

           |£ million|£ million          

-----------------------------------------

1981-82    |106.8    |195.9              

1982-83    |113.9    |195.0              

1983-84    |118.6    |194.1              

1984-85    |119.4    |186.1              

1985-86    |118.4    |174.8              

1986-87    |118.3    |169.7              

1987-88    |113.8    |155.0              

1988-89    |115.0    |146.8              

1989-90    |112.2    |133.9              

1990-91    |119.1    |131.5              

1991-92    |121.5    |126.2              

1992-93    |132.9    |132.9              

<2>1993-94 |137.3    |132.9              

<1> Using the GDP deflator (1992-93 =    

100).                                    

<2> Provisional.                         

Figures for 1979-80 and 1980-81 are not available.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

Mr. Wallace : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the allocated budget for the environmentally sensitive area schemes in England and Wales for each year since 1989.

Mr. Jack : The provision for environmentally sensitive areas in England and Wales at the beginning of each financial year since 1989 is as follows :


        |England|Wales          

--------------------------------

1988-89 |8,300  |1,025          

1989-90 |8,430  |1,000          

1990-91 |7,850  |1,700          

1991-92 |8,687  |1,700          

1992-93 |21,442 |4,533          

1993-94 |30,200 |5,787          

1994-95 |31,234 |6,863          

Wheat Yields

Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the wheat yields for each county in England in 1986 to 1992, sorted by seven-year average, according to the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service study received by her Department in January 1993.

Mr. Jack : The average wheat yield for each county in England for 1986 to 1992 including the seven-year average, as presented in the ADAS study, is given in the table.

These figures are derived from the annual cereals production survey--CPS-- which samples about 3,000 cereal growers. However the CPS is not designed to produce reliable estimates of county yields, and in some counties with few cereal growers the sample size may be very small. Yields also tend to be more variable within counties than between counties. The figures at county level, therefore, cannot be regarded as entirely reliable.


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Wheat yields in England 1986-92 (by county)                                                        

                           |1986   |1987   |1988   |1989   |1990   |1991   |1992   |7 year         

County                     |harvest|harvest|harvest|harvest|harvest|harvest|harvest|average        

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greater London (SE)        |4.38   |4.61   |4.80   |5.98   |n/a    |n/a    |n/a    |4.94           

West Midlands              |5.43   |5.27   |n/a    |3.64   |5.52   |6.65   |6.49   |5.50           

Surrey                     |6.17   |5.56   |5.57   |5.15   |6.92   |5.86   |5.50   |5.82           

Lancashire                 |5.61   |4.64   |5.39   |4.62   |6.52   |6.68   |6.74   |5.74           

Devon                      |6.23   |6.24   |5.88   |6.39   |6.57   |6.21   |5.81   |6.19           

Greater London (E)         |4.12   |n/a    |5.00   |6.16   |n/a    |6.71   |n/a    |5.50           

Buckinghamshire            |6.73   |5.31   |5.62   |5.81   |6.37   |6.60   |6.00   |6.06           

Gloucestershire            |6.54   |6.10   |5.95   |5.12   |5.61   |5.72   |6.20   |6.03           

Cornwall                   |5.70   |5.87   |6.15   |6.85   |6.18   |6.34   |5.99   |6.16           

Berkshire                  |6.87   |5.80   |6.03   |5.87   |5.76   |6.48   |5.95   |6.11           

East Sussex                |6.18   |5.82   |6.32   |6.33   |6.58   |5.65   |6.56   |6.20           

Avon                       |6.12   |6.11   |6.33   |5.77   |6.61   |6.23   |6.24   |6.20           

Cumbria                    |7.10   |6.39   |5.55   |4.59   |8.52   |5.80   |6.42   |6.34           

Greater Manchester         |8.55   |n/a    |5.73   |5.00   |5.47   |6.81   |6.46   |6.34           

Staffordshire              |6.87   |6.25   |5.94   |5.82   |6.66   |7.52   |6.50   |6.51           

Merseyside                 |6.80   |5.81   |6.59   |5.71   |6.06   |6.91   |6.02   |6.27           

Derbyshire                 |6.76   |6.16   |5.77   |5.79   |6.42   |7.11   |6.20   |6.32           

Hertfordshire              |6.15   |5.57   |5.78   |6.77   |6.17   |7.05   |6.21   |6.24           

Bedfordshire               |7.04   |5.48   |5.66   |6.23   |6.15   |7.46   |6.29   |6.33           

Leicestershire             |7.16   |5.74   |6.22   |6.44   |6.18   |7.40   |6.27   |6.49           

Tyne and Wear              |6.53   |5.51   |5.55   |4.74   |8.01   |7.26   |7.70   |6.47           

Nottinghamshire            |7.07   |6.25   |5.63   |6.68   |6.57   |7.15   |6.23   |6.51           

Warwickshire               |6.65   |5.83   |6.06   |6.10   |6.28   |7.56   |6.63   |6.44           

Oxfordshire                |6.79   |6.00   |6.04   |6.32   |5.89   |6.72   |6.43   |6.31           

Northamptonshire           |6.86   |5.76   |5.99   |6.93   |6.59   |7.46   |6.52   |6.59           

Wiltshire                  |6.64   |6.32   |6.26   |6.42   |6.48   |6.88   |5.84   |6.41           

Isle of Wight              |7.80   |6.98   |6.08   |6.02   |5.19   |7.27   |5.94   |6.47           

Hereford and Worcester     |6.92   |6.16   |6.48   |5.86   |6.37   |7.38   |6.79   |6.57           

Shropshire                 |7.00   |6.31   |6.62   |5.95   |6.79   |7.67   |6.78   |6.73           

Cheshire                   |6.55   |5.68   |6.62   |6.07   |5.77   |7.84   |7.26   |6.54           

South Yorkshire            |6.98   |6.17   |6.41   |6.57   |6.72   |7.68   |6.46   |6.71           

Kent                       |6.84   |5.96   |7.20   |6.75   |7.06   |6.52   |7.24   |6.80           

Dorset                     |6.72   |6.54   |6.68   |7.12   |6.62   |6.45   |6.29   |6.63           

Hampshire                  |7.05   |6.08   |6.36   |6.48   |6.55   |6.45   |6.89   |6.52           

Somerset                   |7.07   |6.89   |5.71   |6.25   |6.67   |6.87   |6.40   |6.52           

West Yorkshire             |6.78   |6.46   |6.24   |6.86   |6.47   |7.25   |7.11   |6.74           

West Sussex                |6.69   |6.25   |6.85   |6.55   |7.40   |6.14   |6.50   |6.63           

Cambridgeshire             |6.72   |5.84   |6.16   |6.86   |7.22   |7.21   |6.76   |6.68           

North Yorkshire                                                                                    

 (Northallerton)           |7.41   |6.15   |6.56   |6.76   |7.49   |7.56   |7.35   |7.04           

Cleveland                  |6.93   |5.78   |6.34   |6.58   |7.85   |8.21   |7.61   |7.04           

Essex                      |6.88   |5.68   |6.38   |6.63   |7.10   |7.58   |7.08   |6.76           

Durham                     |7.17   |5.97   |6.87   |6.14   |7.87   |7.32   |7.69   |7.01           

North Yorkshire (Beverley) |7.62   |6.21   |6.00   |7.11   |7.87   |7.86   |7.12   |7.11           

Northumberland             |6.87   |6.61   |6.55   |6.80   |8.18   |7.90   |8.15   |7.30           

Lincolnshire               |7.45   |6.14   |6.37   |7.58   |7.34   |7.91   |7.10   |7.13           

Norfolk                    |7.02   |5.99   |6.35   |7.73   |7.85   |7.68   |7.38   |7.14           

Suffolk                    |6.92   |5.52   |6.40   |7.45   |7.86   |7.42   |7.52   |7.01           

Humberside                 |7.72   |6.77   |7.22   |7.58   |8.11   |8.20   |7.47   |7.58           

Trees

Mr. William Ross : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will show for each of the last three years the area planted with (a) conifers and (b) broad leaf trees under each scheme for private planting and indicate the average area of each scheme for (i) conifers and (ii) broad leaves.

Mr. Jack : The information for England is set out in the table.


          |1991-92|1992-93|1993-94        

------------------------------------------

Area Planted (hectares)                   

Conifer   |2,143  |2,097  |2,052          

Broadleaf |5,865  |6,766  |8,144          

          |---    |---    |---            

Total     |8,008  |8,863  |10,196         

                                          

Average Area Approved (hectares)          

Conifer   |1.3    |2.2    |2.6            

Broadleaf |2.0    |3.2    |3.0            

Arable Area Payments

Mr. Ainger : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the average yield used for the purpose of arable area payments for farmers for harvest year 1993-94 ; and how it was calculated.

Mr. Jack : As required by EC Council regulation 1765/92 the average yield figures for England are calculated on the basis of the historical average cereal and oilseed yields from 1986-87 to 1990-91, excluding the highest and lowest years during that period. The cereal yields determine the cereals, protein and set-aside payments, and the threshold for the simplified scheme. The oilseed yields determine the oilseed payment rate. The average yield figure for cereals used to calculate arable area payments in England is 5.93 tonnes per hectare, and the average yield figure for oilseeds is 3.08 tonnes per hectare.


Column 355

Horticulture Development Council

Mr. Willetts : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she has completed her consultation on the future of the Horticultural Development Council ; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I am pleased to announce that, having consulted the council and representative organisations in England, Scotland and Wales, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales and I have decided that the Horticultural Development Council should continue with its present constitution and functions for a further five years.

Our consultations with the industry have clearly demonstrated that the HDC commands a high level of


Column 356

confidence among growers. My right hon. Friends and I welcome this positive expression of industry support for the council's work. A strongly supported grower base for research and development is vital if our industry is to compete effectively in an increasingly tough marketplace.

Service Delivery Targets

Mr. Willetts : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress her Department has made in meeting service delivery targets set out in "Commitment to Service".

Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The list shows the percentages of cases dealt with by each regional service centre which have met the targets set in "Commitment to Service".


Column 355


Regional service centres comparative performance data for financial year 1993-94                                                                                                        

Unless otherwise specified                                                                                                                                                              

Percentage rates                                                                                                                                                                        

                              |Bristol      |Cambridge    |Carlisle     |Crewe        |Exeter       |Northallerton|Nottingham   |Reading      |Worcester    |<1>Total                   

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Farm woodland premium scheme                                                                                                                                                            

 Applications                 |100          |99           |100          |100          |100          |99           |98           |100          |98           |99                         

 Claims                       |99           |99           |100          |100          |100          |100          |100          |100          |100          |99                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Five year set-aside scheme                                                                                                                                                              

 1992-93 scheme year claims 100              100           100           100           100           100           99            99            99            99                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Environmentally sensitive areas                                                                                                                                                         

 Applications                 |90           |86           |100          |88           |<4>-         |100          |100          |100          |<4>-         |91                         

 Claims                       |95           |100          |96           |92           |100          |100          |100          |100          |<4>-         |98                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Nitrate sensitive areas                                                                                                                                                                 

Claims                        |96           |<4>-         |<4>-         |100          |<4>-         |100          |100          |100          |<4>-         |99                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Hill livestock compensation allowance                                                                                                                                                   

 1994 scheme claims           |99           |<4>-         |99           |98           |96           |97           |96           |<4>-         |99           |98                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Sheep annual premium scheme                                                                                                                                                             

 1993 scheme payments claims<2> 82           73            92            87            86            88            86            80            86            86                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Farm and conservation grant scheme                                                                                                                                                      

 Applications                 |100          |100          |100          |100          |95           |89           |100          |100          |93           |97                         

 Claims<3>                    |88           |96           |99           |100          |98           |98           |99           |100          |95           |98                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Agriculture improvement scheme                                                                                                                                                          

 Plan claims<3>               |100          |100          |97           |100          |100          |94           |100          |<4>-         |100          |97                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Ministers consent to a short-term letting or licence                                                                                                                                    

 Target                       |93           |98           |88           |85           |100          |98           |99           |100          |100          |98                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Permit to purchase strychnine                                                                                                                                                           

 Target                       |94           |97           |96           |100          |100          |95           |99           |100          |93           |97                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

 Injurious weed complaints                                                                                                                                                              

 Target                       |100          |100          |<4>-         |94           |<4>-         |100          |93           |100          |100          |98                         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Agriculture wage inspections                                                                                                                                                            

 Target<3>                    |100          |<4>-         |100          |100          |<4>-         |<4>-         |<4>-         |<4>-         |<4>-         |97                         

<1>Numerical totals processed expressed as a percentage of number received.                                                                                                             

<2>SAPS lower success rate is largely due to problems associated with quota allocations.                                                                                                

<3>Period July 1993 to March 1994.                                                                                                                                                      

<4>Not entered as numbers dealt with 10 or less-numbers of cases are included in calculation of total percentage success rates. Non plan claims for                                     

AIS, and AHDS, FHDS and FDGS schemes, omitted from table as numbers are de minimis.                                                                                                     

HEALTH

Deprivation Scores

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average tabular index deprivation score, used in the payment of general practitioners, for each


Column 356

family health services authority in order of deprivation and the average per capita spending for each family health services authority, in order of spending.

(2) what is the average primary care deprivation score for each family health services authority ; and what is the average deprivation score for all them, taken together.

Mr. Sackville : The information given below is a simple average of Professor Jarman's under-privileged area


Column 357

scores, grouped by FHSA. The electoral ward data have not been weighted by resident population. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) of 26 May, Official report , column 305 about the per capita spending figures for each family health services authority in England, which was placed in the Library.

The average under-privileged area scores for family health services authorities in England are :


                              |Average        

----------------------------------------------

City and East London          |36.57          

Camden and Islington          |29.62          

Lambeth, Southwark and                        

 Lewisham                     |28.60          

Manchester                    |28.49          

Birmingham                    |26.17          

Bradford                      |21.11          

Liverpool                     |20.55          

Ealing, Hammersmith and                       

 Hounslow                     |19.42          

Newcastle                     |18.51          

Wolverhampton                 |18.47          

Rochdale                      |18.10          

Salford                       |16.92          

Kirklees                      |16.05          

Sandwell                      |16.00          

Oldham                        |15.72          

Coventry                      |14.76          

South Tyneside                |14.35          

Bolton                        |14.15          

Brent and Harrow              |14.06          

Sunderland                    |13.69          

Calderdale                    |13.59          

Enfield and Haringey          |13.08          

Gateshead                     |12.63          

Tameside                      |11.82          

St. Helens and Knowsley       |11.20          

Leeds                         |11.03          

Cleveland                     |10.16          

North Tyneside                |9.51           

Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth |9.03           

Sheffield                     |8.64           

Redbridge                     |7.97           

Greenwich                     |7.49           

Walsall                       |6.70           

Wirral                        |6.60           

Bury                          |5.52           

Barnet                        |5.28           

Durham                        |5.22           

Wigan                         |5.11           

Doncaster                     |4.98           

Rotherham                     |4.33           

Croydon                       |3.97           

Lancashire                    |3.71           

Isle of Wight                 |3.49           

East Sussex                   |3.03           

Wakefield                     |2.86           

Sefton                        |2.80           

Hillingdon                    |2.34           

Trafford                      |1.88           

Barnsley                      |1.76           

Barking and Havering          |1.49           

Kensington                    |0.84           

Kingston and Richmond         |0.47           

Cornwall                      |0.43           

Dudley                        |0.28           

Humberside                    |0.05           

Stockport                     |-0.07          

Kent                          |-1.42          

Dorset                        |-1.68          

Northamptonshire              |-1.87          

Northumberland                |-2.31          

West Sussex                   |-2.59          

Devon                         |-2.82          

Nottinghamshire               |-3.00          

Suffolk                       |-3.02          

Bedfordshire                  |-3.02          

Derbyshire                    |-3.20          

Cumbria                       |-3.53          

Cambridgeshire                |-3.61          

Lincolnshire                  |-3.79          

Berkshire                     |-3.89          

Norfolk                       |-4.00          

Wiltshire                     |-4.04          

Hampshire                     |-4.21          

Shropshire                    |-4.26          

Somerset                      |-4.52          

Cheshire                      |-4.56          

Oxfordshire                   |-5.24          

Gloucestershire               |-5.42          

Bromley                       |-5.48          

Leicestershire                |-5.77          

Staffordshire                 |-5.89          

Essex                         |-5.99          

North Yorkshire               |-6.43          

Hereford and Worcester        |-6.54          

Avon                          |-6.60          

Solihull                      |-6.65          

Warwickshire                  |-6.82          

Hertfordshire                 |-7.44          

Buckinghamshire               |-7.74          

Surrey                        |-9.69          

The average figure for all family health      

services authorities in England is            

4.92.                                         

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average deprivation score for each district health authority ; and what is the average deprivation score.

Dr. Mawhinney : The Jarman index of under-privileged area scores is used by the Department of Health only at family health services authority level for the purpose of calculating general practitioner deprivation payments.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 27 October 1993, Official Report, column 697.

Infant Mortality

Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current infant mortality rate in each regional health authority in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Sackville : The information is shown in the table.


Infant mortality rate for the United Kingdom by   

Regional Health                                   

Authority and Standard Area for 1992 and District 

Council Area for                                  

1991 (latest year for available data in Northern  

Ireland is 1991)                                  

                        |Infant                   

                        |mortality<1>             

--------------------------------------------------

United Kingdom          |<2>6.6                   

                                                  

England and Wales       |<3>6.6                   

                                                  

England                 |6.5                      

                                                  

Northern RHA            |7.1                      

Yorkshire RHA           |6.6                      

Trent RHA               |6.9                      

East Anglian RHA        |4.6                      

North West Thames RHA   |5.5                      

North East Thames RHA   |7.1                      

South East Thames RHA   |6.4                      

South West Thames RHA   |5.7                      

Wessex RHA              |5.5                      

Oxford RHA              |6.0                      

South Western RHA       |5.5                      

West Midlands RHA       |8.2                      

Mersey RHA              |5.7                      

North Western RHA       |7.7                      

                                                  

Wales                   |6.0                      

                                                  

Scotland                |6.8                      

                                                  

Standard Areas                                    

Borders                 |5.9                      

Central                 |6.1                      

Dumfries and Galloway   |7.4                      

Fife                    |6.7                      

Grampian                |6.0                      

Highland                |6.7                      

Lothian                 |7.3                      

Strathclyde             |7.3                      

Tayside                 |5.3                      

Orkney Islands          |8.4                      

Shetland Islands        |3.1                      

Western Isles Islands   |6.0                      

                                                  

Northern Ireland (1991) |7.4                      

                                                  

District Council Areas                            

Ards                    |3.2                      

Belfast                 |7.1                      

Castlereagh             |6.8                      

Down                    |9.2                      

Lisburn                 |5.3                      

North Down              |8.1                      

Antrim                  |5.5                      

Ballymena               |8.9                      

Ballymoney              |2.9                      

Carrickfergus           |17.4                     

Coleraine               |8.4                      

Cookstown               |8.1                      

Larne                   |4.6                      

Magherafelt             |4.8                      

Moyle                   |<4>9.1                   

Newtownabbey            |8.5                      

Armagh                  |7.8                      

Banbridge               |3.9                      

Craigavon               |9.1                      

Dungannon               |8.5                      

Newry and Mourne        |5.9                      

Fermanagh               |3.5                      

Limavady                |9.2                      

Derry                   |9.3                      

Omagh                   |7.7                      

Strabane                |14.9                     

<1>Rate per 1,000 live births.                    

<2>United Kingdom 1992 figure based on            

provisional numbers and                           

estimates for Northern Ireland 1992.              

<3>Data for the rates have been assigned to the   

area of usual residence                           

as stated at the registration of each event. If   

the address of usual residence                    

is outside England and Wales, these events have   

been included in the                              

England and Wales aggregate but excluded from the 

figures for individual                            

RHAs.                                             

<4>1990 latest year available.                    

Fundholding Practices

Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average level of funding per capita has been allocated for 1994-95 to fundholding general practitioner practices in (a) England and (b) each regional health authority to enable fundholding practices to purchase those services covered by the fundholding regulations.


Column 360

Dr. Mawhinney : Regional information on average fundholder budget allocations per capita is not directly comparable because of variations locally in the methods of compiling fundholder population data and differences in regional information systems. In addition, variations in average budgets per patient between regions are influenced by a number of factors, including differences in the age structures and relative levels of morbidity of regions, variations in local provider prices, as well as differences in historic referral and prescribing levels between practices in the scheme.

With these caveats, the following table shows estimated average budget allocations per patient made by regional health authorities to general practitioner fundholders in 1994-95.


Estimated average budget allocations   

per patient                            

made by regional health authorities    

to general practitioner fundholders    

in 1994-95                             

Region                 |1994-95        

                       |£              

---------------------------------------

Northern and Yorkshire |180            

Trent                  |160            

Anglia and Oxford      |160            

North Thames           |150            

South Thames           |160            

South and West         |160            

West Midlands          |160            

North West             |170            

                                       

England                |160            

Cornwall Health Care Trust

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the national health service will underwrite the legal costs of the non- executive directors of the Cornwall health care trust in respect of the forthcoming libel action.

Dr. Mawhinney : No decision on the question of underwriting the costs can be made until the outcome of a preliminary hearing is known later this year.

Nurses

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many learner or student nurses were employed in England in each year since 1979.

Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 17 December 1993, Official Report, column 1017.

General Practitioner Lists

Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions she has had with the North East Thames regional health authority regarding the number of patients on doctors' lists ; and how many patients were removed at the instigation of the doctor in the area in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) in the last year for which figures are available ;

(2) what discussions she has had with North East Thames regional health authority regarding the reasons doctors give when removing patients from their lists ; how many patients were removed from lists in the last period for which figures are available without any reason being given to the patient ; and what percentage of the total this represents ;


Column 361

(3) what discussions she has had with North East Thames regional health authority regarding the number of patients on doctors' lists ; and how many patients in the area covering the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency were removed at the instigation of a doctor in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available ;

(4) what discussions she has had with the North East Thames regional health authority regarding the reasons doctors give when removing patients from their lists ; how many patients in the area covering the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency were removed from lists with no reason being given in the last period for which figures are available ; and what percentage of the total number this represents.

Mr. Bowis : No discussions have taken place. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Ynys Mo n (Mr. Jones) today for the available information.


Column 362

Mental Health

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it costs on average to keep someone in a long-stay mental hospital at 1993- 94 prices ; how much it costs to resettle someone in the community for a year at 1993-94 prices ; and what are the consequences for funding of health services in the community of the difference between those costs.

Mr. Bowis : It is not possible separately to identify the cost of care in a long-stay psychiatric hospital.

HIV

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing the growth in each NHS region of persons with a positive HIV diagnosis in each year since 1988.

Mr. Sackville : The information requested is given in the table.


Column 361


Yearly trend in report of HIV-1 Infected Persons: Geographical     

area of reporting laboratories, England to end December 1993       

                    Number of                                      

                   reports each year                               

Region            |1988  |1989  |1990  |1991  |1992  |1993         

-------------------------------------------------------------------

England                                                            

Northern          |33    |29    |37    |24    |36    |20           

Yorkshire         |47    |41    |53    |52    |71    |44           

Trent             |42    |44    |90    |42    |82    |89           

East Anglia       |26    |27    |18    |35    |43    |29           

North West Thames |502   |548   |734   |770   |568   |615          

North East Thames |316   |390   |416   |593   |585   |661          

South East Thames |179   |224   |262   |335   |310   |326          

South West Thames |57    |68    |93    |146   |138   |111          

Wessex            |29    |37    |45    |42    |80    |38           

Oxford            |50    |34    |37    |53    |49    |63           

South Western     |41    |40    |54    |58    |42    |36           

West Midlands     |47    |42    |92    |66    |90    |80           

Mersey            |32    |14    |17    |14    |26    |18           

North Western     |104   |69    |76    |82    |135   |90           

Legal Fees

Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the amount spent on legal fees by each district health authority in each year since 1983-84.

Mr. Sackville : Information on the amount spent on legal fees by district health authority is not available centrally.

Health Promotion

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct commissioning agencies to continue to employ sufficient public health doctors, with sufficient support from other health professionals, to monitor the health of their local populations, advise on priorities in the commissioning process and provide leadership to the health alliances mentioned in "The Health of the Nation".

Dr. Mawhinney : Health service guidelines issued in November 1993, HSG(93)56, copies of which are available in the Library, set out clearly the requirement for district health authorities to employ public health doctors.

Mr. John Shepard

Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she intends to take regarding (a) the conduct of Mr. Peter Raine, executive director of Brent


Column 362

social services department, in relation to investigation of the case of the late John Shepard, (b) maladministration and racial discrimination within Brent social services department, and (c) Mr. Raine's failure to present a report on Mr. Shepard to Brent social services committee and the suspension of a black home-help organiser.

Mr. Bowis : I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave the hon. Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng) on 18 July, Official Report, column 20 and 19 July.


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