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Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the total amount spent on official hospitality by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies for each year since 1990.
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Mr. Goodlad: The following has been spent on official hospitality by the FCO and ODA, in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Year |£ pounds -------------------------------------- 1990-91 |5,178,849 1991-92 |5,700,606 1992-93 |6,946,298 1993-94 |7,488,121 1994-95 (to date) |3,592,503
The following has been spent on official hospitality by the ODA's agency, the Natural Resources Institute:
Year |£ pounds ------------------------------------ 1990-91 |3,836 1991-92 |4,813 1992-93 |3,624 1993-94 |4,952 1994-95 (to date) |938
There is no separate official hospitality budget for the FCO's agency, Wilton Park. The small amount involved is subsumed in the agency running costs and cannot be extracted without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the international organisations of which Britain is a member, showing in each case the date of joining.
Mr. Baldry: A list of international organisations for which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office makes provision is published in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departmental Report 1994, Cm 2502, pages 85-6, 93- 4.
Details of membership of other international organisations will be found in the appropriate supply estimates, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
It is not possible to compile a full list of commencement dates without disproportionate expense, but the generally accepted dates for the major international institutions may be seen in the United Nations Handbook 1994.
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the member states of the United Nations Organisation with which the United Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: The countries are Bhutan, Iraq, North Korea and Libya.
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the public appointments for which he is responsible (a) in the west midlands region and (b) in Shropshire, indicating in each
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case the duration of the appointment, the date when a new appointment is due, and the salary.Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff are employed by his Department; and what proportion of them are employed by each of the standard regions.
Mr. Goodlad: At 1 April 1994, the latest date for which data are available, the FCO employed 7,907 people, of whom 30.9 per cent. worked overseas. The percentages employed in the standard regions were:
South East--63.0 per cent, of which:
per cent.
Inner London
38.6
Outer London
0.9
Rest of South East
23.5
South West
0.1
West Midlands
0.1
Scotland
6.0
No staff were employed in other regions.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific actions have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to implement the resolutions to prevent illicit trafficking in nuclear materials, agreed to by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 38th general conference.
Mr. David Davis: That matter was discussed shortly before the IAEA general conference at the informal plutonium users group, which meets in Vienna under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom raised the issue of the physical security of nuclear installations in the light of the recent reports of smuggling of nuclear materials. The group is now considering specific proposals as to the role it might take, alongside the Interactional Atomic Energy Agency, to help improve security measures.
There are a number of projects already under way. Through the Overseas Development Administration, the United Kingdom contributes towards the International Science and Technology Centre in Moscow which is designed to provide work for Russian scientists, including those in the Russian nuclear industry.
We are also actively engaged in discussions with partners both in the European Union and the G7/G8 to ensure a co-ordinated international response to this problem.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the people granted entry clearance at posts abroad to come into the United Kingdom as overseas domestic workers since 1 May 1991 have (a) been interviewed by an entry officer and (b) received a copy of "Information for Domestic Servants Travelling to the United Kingdom"; and what proportion each of these is of the whole.
Mr. Baldry: Information on the number of overseas domestic workers granted entry clearance since May 1991, and the proportion of those who were interviewed
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by an entry clearance officer, is available only at a disproportionate cost. Since 20 May 1991, all overseas domestic workers granted entry clearance have been issued with a copy of the leaflet "Information for Domestic Servants Travelling to the United Kingdom".Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all the trusts, health authorities and other public bodies to which her Department makes appointments in the Greater London area, together with the total annual budget for each body and the number of appointments made or renewed for each body in each of the last five years.
Mr. Malone: A full answer could be provided only at
disproportionate cost.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health makes the following appointments to national health service bodies in the Greater London area:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Regional Health Authorities |Chairman and five | non-executives per board District Health Authorities |Chairman Family Health Services | Chairman Authorities NHS Trusts |Chairmen and up to three | non-executives per board Special Health Authorities for |Chairman and five London Post Graduate Teaching |non-xecutives per board Hospitals Special Trustees |Up to six Special Trustees per body Each appointment is for a period of up to four years. Requests for budget or income details should be made to the organisations directly.
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what priority is given to the NHS over the private sector for obtaining blood; and if she will publish guidance on this.
Mr. Sackville: It has always been the policy of the national health service to meet non-NHS hospitals' reasonable requests for blood on the basis of availability and clinical need. Private hospitals in this country, and private patients in NHS hospitals, use blood in very small quantities. NHS hospitals are constrained in that treatment for private patients must not be given to the detriment of NHS contracts. We see no need to issue further guidance.
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ensure self-sufficiency in both blood and blood products for England.
Mr. Sackville: In general, England has been self-sufficient in blood.
The EC directive which harmonises the licensing requirements for blood products promotes a policy of Community self-sufficiency in such products derived from the donations of voluntary and unpaid donors but
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does not forbid importation. This is consistent with our long-standing policy of seeking self-sufficiency in blood products sourced from our own volunteer donors. Nevertheless, whilst promoting self-sufficiency we also recognise the clinical freedom of doctors to choose the product most suitable for an individual patient. Some patients are receiving imported blood products where the clinician feels this is appropriate. The Bio Products Laboratory continues to make efforts to increase its share of the blood products market but the choice of product for the individual patient remains with the clinician.Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of chief executives of national health service trusts in each of the last four years have been paid on a
performance-related pay basis.
Mr. Malone: The information is not available centrally.
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed by her Department; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.
Mr. Sackville: The latest staff in post information at 1 July 1994 gives a total of 4,715 staff in the Department of Health. The proportions in each of the standard regions are shown in the table.
Region |Per cent. ----------------------------------------- Scotland |- Northern | 0.3 Yorks and Humberside |19.2 North West |14.0 East Midlands |1.1 West Midlands |2.7 Wales |- East Anglia |- South East |62.3 South West |0.5 Northern Ireland |- Overseas |- 1. Source: Quarterly whole time equivalent staff in post returns to Treasury. 2. Figures include inward loans and secondments, fixed term appointments and staff in Agencies. 3. Figures exclude casual and industrial staff and outward loans and secondments. 4. Figures do not add to 100 due to rounding.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the cost of the proposed mass measles immunisation programme; which pharmaceutical company will be awarded the contract to provide the amounts of vaccine needed; on what medical, social and public health grounds the decision to provide a mass measles immunisation programme was taken; if the proposed programme is separate from current vaccination arrangements; who will be targeted; and how the programme will be delivered.
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Mr. Sackville: The cost of the measles immunisation programme has been estimated at about £20 million. The contract for measles/rubella vaccine for the campaign has been awarded to two companies: SmithKline Beecham and Merieux.
The decision to undertake a comprehensive immunisation campaign against measles was based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation following analysis by two independent groups of data on serosurveillance of measles antibodies by age group, measles notifications to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and age-related case confirmation. The results indicated that an epidemic of measles was likely involving 150,000 cases--range 100, 000 to 200,000--in England and Wales, mostly affecting children aged five up to 16. Two-thirds of the cases would be in secondary school aged children. This is confirmed by experience in other European countries. Trends in measles notifications in 1994, the usual seasonality of measles and a marked increase in cases experienced in Scotland show that the epidemic is likely to occur in early 1995. Measles can lead to pneumonia, blindness, deafness, brain damage and even death. Measles is likely to be more serious in older children and we would expect many to be admitted to hospital and about 50 deaths to occur. As well as the morbidity and mortality associated with an epidemic, there would be considerable disruption to children's education. An estimated 300,000 working days would also be lost through parents needing to stay at home with sick children. The cost to the health service of treating a measles epidemic would be up to £30 million.
The main childhood immunisation campaign is separate from the measles campaign, and it will be continuing as usual.
Each district has an immunisation co-ordinator who will also be responsible for organising this campaign. This will be a school-based campaign. District health authorities have been charged with offering immunisation to all children in school forms where most children are aged five up to 16. This will include four-year-olds and 16-year-olds in those school years. Parent information leaflets and consent forms have been distributed through schools and most children will be immunised in school.
As the campaign is on a greater scale than other immunisations carried out in schools, additional staff may be contracted by the health authority to work with the existing school health service during the campaign or to immunise any children missed by the main campaign in November. This may include health visitors, practice nurses or general practitioners. Staffing arrangements will be a matter for local decision according to local circumstances.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she intends to take to improve the control of cross-infection in dental practice; what measures are intended to improve both the opportunity for and take-up of postgraduate education in the clinical management of cross- infection by dentists and their teams; and how she will monitor the control of cross-infection in dental surgery and practice.
Mr. Malone: The maintenance of clinical standards is primarily a matter for the dental profession. The
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Department, however, issues guidance which covers the control of cross-infection in dental practice. The latest advice from the Department is contained in a letter from the Chief Dental Officer in July 1993, copies of which are available in the Library.Central funds are provided to postgraduate deans to provide those postgraduate and continuing education courses that are necessary. That includes the control of cross-infection.
Dentists have a responsibility in their terms of service to observe appropriate cross-infection control procedures. Inspection of practices is undertaken by family health services authorities.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she intends to take to review dental manpower in England and Wales; and what forward planning her Department currently undertakes to plan for future dental manpower needs over the next five-year period.
Mr. Malone: The Department, together with the British Dental Association, regularly conducts reviews of the need for dental manpower.The current review, which began in 1992, has been deferred so that future developments can take account of Government proposals for the future of national health service dentistry
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide figures on the morbidity and mortality rates associated with the administration of general anaesthetics and sedatives for the purpose of dental surgery in England and Wales for each year since 1985.
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
Deaths associated with the administration of general anaesthetics for dental treatment England and Wales Year |Number of deaths ------------------------------------------------------ 1985 |4 1986 |3 1987 |5 1988 |1 1989 |3 1990 |3 1991 |0 1992 |4 1993 |1
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she plans to provide national standards or guidelines for the administration of general anaesthesia and sedation for children undergoing dental surgery.
Mr. Malone: In October 1992, the United Kingdom health Minister gave the clinical standards advisory group the remit
"to advise on standards of clinical care for, and access to and availability of services to National Health Service patients referred to out-patient and community health services for dental treatment that may require the administration of a general anaesthetic". The group is currently preparing its report.
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations were undertaken by the relevant bodies
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within the national health service concerning the plans to close the blood transfusion centre at Brentwood; and what assessment has been made of the impact of the closure on the total volume of blood available from donors in east London and the speed of its supply to hospitals there and in south Essex.Mr. Sackville: The proposal to close the Brentwood transfusion centre is part of the proposals for reorganisation of the National Blood Transfusion Service currently out for consultation. The results of the consultation will be carefully considered before decisions are made.
The proposals are mainly about processing and administration. The amount of blood collected in east London and Essex should not be affected. The National Blood Transfusion Service's mobile teams will continue to go to all areas as they do now, wherever centres are amalgamated or not. New locally based teams would be set up and sessions would be easily accessible to donors.
The National Blood Authority is committed to maintaining and wherever possible improving the service it provides to hospitals. One of its key proposals is to establish a network of stockholding units. The National Blood Authority is satisfied that the proposed structure will enable it to continue to respond to emergency demand for blood without detriment to patient care.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that regional health authorities consult directors of social services as to their occupational therapy requirements.
Mr. Bowis: Regional health authorities are required to consult with all employers to calculate the overall demand for non-medical education and training, including occupational therapy. Social services directors are therefore included in this consultation process. The national health service executive and regional health authorities meet regularly with the professional bodies and associations, including the College of Occupational Therapists, to discuss the number of training commissions placed each year. On 13 September 1994, the chief inspector, social services inspectorate, wrote to all directors of social services reminding them of their role in collaborating with regional health authorities in forecasting the numbers of occupational therapists needed to staff their services in future.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each year since 1979 (a) the number of occupational therapy student training commissions funded in each regional health authority and (b) the number of actual students undertaking such commissions.
Mr. Bowis: Figures on the number of occupational therapy student training commissions funded in each regional health authority are not available before 1991. The figures in the table are taken from the annual balance sheet of regional health authorities commissions and detail the number of occupational therapy students funded by regional health authorities since 1991. Information on the number of actual students undertaking such commissions is not held centrally.
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Number of occupational therapy student training places in regions 1991-93 England Region |1991 |1992 |1993 Number of funded places -------------------------------------------------- Northern |30 |53 |58 Yorkshire |60 |61 |80 Trent |102 |110 |90 East Anglia |30 |30 |30 Oxford |135 |88 |44 North-west Thames |60 |80 |80 North-east Thames |38 |57 |76 South-east Thames |24 |73 |<1>76 South-west Thames |44 |44 |45 Wessex |0 |<2>30 |31 South Western |115 |58 |<3>60 Mersey |70 |40 |41 North Western |52 |57 |57 West Midlands |64 |64 |70 ------- |-------|-------|------- Total |824 |845 |838 Source: National Balance Sheet (March 1994)<4> <1> Figure amended from 100 to 76 since March 1994. Includes training places funded by individual Trusts within S E Thames region (which itself purchased 42 places.) <2> Figure amended from 0 to 30 since March 1994. <3> Figure amended from 46 to 60 since March 1994. <4> Figures include all training commissions which include 2 year accelerated courses, 3 and 4 year degree courses and 4 year in-service and part-time courses.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has been taken on the recent social services inspectorate report on occupational therapy; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: Following publication of the report, senior managers of local authority occupational therapy services were invited to two seminars in February and March to discuss the report's findings and exchange ideas on developing good practice. A report of these seminars has been placed in the Library.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Health and I met on 26 July with the local authority associations, the Local Government Board, the Association of Directors of Social Services and the College of Occupational Therapists to discuss the report. We drew particular attention to the need to adopt strategies for the effective and efficient use of occupational therapists. A further meeting is planned to take stock of progress.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts the Health Education Authority has placed with external providers in the last three years; and what was the nature of the work contracted for and the cost.
Mr. Malone: This information is not held by the Department as this is an operational matter for the Health Education Authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the authority for details.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on what date she first knew of the appointment of the former chief executive of the National Health Service to the board of BUPA;
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(2) if she gave permission for the former chief executive of the NHS to join the board of BUPA.Mr. Sackville: Sir Duncan Nichol's application for permission to accept an outside appointment following retirement from Crown service was received on 24 May 1994. The application was to accept the appointment from 1 October, that is six months after his last day of service. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was told of the application soon after its arrival in the Department. The established rules relating to business appointment were scrupulously observed. Permission was granted by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments and with my right hon. Friend's agreement. Permission was subject to the condition that Sir Duncan takes no part in any dealings between BUPA and the national health service executive for two years from his last day of service.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the trusts which have failed to produce a 6 per cent. rate of return on their assets for the financial year 1993 94; (2) if she will list (a) the trusts which have reported a deficit and (b) the amount of the deficit, for the financial year 1993 94; (3) if she will list the trusts which have failed to operate within external financing limits for the year 1993 94.
Mr. Sackville: We expect the information to be available in December. It will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the directors of trusts who hold directorships of companies which (a) are doing business and (b) are seeking to do business with the NHS.
Mr. Malone: The code of conduct for national health service boards requires that information about the private interests of non-executive directors of NHS trusts that might be material and relevant to NHS business should be recorded in a public register maintained by each trust. Such information is not available centrally.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the trusts which have borrowed money for capital spending projects; and how much each has borrowed for the financial year 1993 94.
Mr. Sackville: This information will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the last quarterly report, prepared by the NHS executive, of trusts in financial peril.
Mr. Sackville: Quarterly reports prepared by the national health service executive represent fast track management information. This information is not audited and is used for internal management purposes only, and is not suitable for publication.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health upon what basis the figure for management costs, to be published by NHS trusts in their annual accounts, is to be calculated; and whether the salaries of all staff who work in corporate management functions will be included in the operational definition of management costs.
Mr. Malone: I shall be making an announcement in due course.
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