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Velindre NHS TrustMorriston Hospital NHS Trust
Mid Glamorgan Ambulance NHS Trust
North Wales Ambulance NHS Trust
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish (a) the out-turn figure for lending to NHS trusts in Wales in 1993 94, (b) the capital projects to which it corresponds, (c) the latest estimated out-turn figure for lending to NHS trusts in Wales in 1994 95 and (d) the capital projects to which it corresponds.
Mr. Redwood: The out-turn figure for lending to NHS trusts in Wales in 1993 94 was £26.690 million. The latest estimate of out-turn for 1994 95 is £87.521 million which includes provision of £20 million for short term loans. For information on capital projects in the capital programme for 1993 94 and 1994 95, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my predecessor on 4 March 1993, Official Report , columns 252 58 and my reply of 16 March 1994, Official Report , column 698 .
Nursery Education
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provisions he is making to establish a task force to promote nursery education; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Richards: My right hon. Friend and I intend to consult all the main interest in Wales about how to fulfil the Government's commitment to provide places for all four-year-olds whose parents wish to take them up.
Green Belts
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to produce draft strategic planning guidance with particular reference to green belts.
Mr. Redwood: I am currently considering my response to the advice of the Assembly of Welsh Counties on strategic planning guidance in Wales including that on green belts.
Health Promotion Authority
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales.
Mr. Redwood: I will decide about the future of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales once the present review of health promotion has been completed.
Mental Handicap
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will call for a report into the decision and its implementation by Powys NHS trust whereby three elderly mentally handicapped women were moved from Brynhyfryd hospital to Llys Maldwyn hospital; and what assessment he has made as to whether the trust followed the community care guidelines and the all-Wales strategy for people with a learning difficulty.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 7 December 1994]: In accordance with the all-Wales mental handicap strategy, the number of residents at both Brynhyfryd and Llys Maldwyn hospitals is in decline. With the great majority of patients already resident in Llys Maldwyn, the Powys NHS trust decided to concentrate the nursing resources on
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one site and transfer patients requiring permanent nursing care from Brynhyfryd hospital.The trust board sought professional advice and was assured that there would be no adverse medical effects on their patients. Following the transfer to Llys Maldwyn, the hospital's director of medical services and the chairman of Powys Health Care NHS trust have both visited the three patients concerned and have confirmed that they are all well and have settled in their new surroundings. I have made clear that the patient's needs must be the overriding factor in determining where he or she receives care. I expect all trust and health authorities to be guided by this advice.
Trawsfynydd Power Station
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the precautions taken to ensure that the environment in Mid Wales is safe from damage as a result of the operation and closure of the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 7 December 1994]: All operations at Trawsfynydd nuclear power station, including decommissioning, are regulated by Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate to ensure that public health and safety are protected. Discharges and disposal of waste from decommissioning are subject to strict authorisation conditions imposed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Welsh Office under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. These conditions include a requirement for environmental monitoring to evaluate radiation exposure and to ensure compliance with national and international guidelines. The results of the environmental monitoring are published annually by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Welsh Office.
NHS Fraud
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning his policy towards combating fraud in the NHS in Wales.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 7 December 1994]: All health bodies in Wales are required to maintain appropriate systems of financial control in order to combat fraud in the NHS.
SCOTLAND
Building Refurbishment
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.
Mr. Lang: Property Holdings is responsible for much of the major refurbishment work in premises occupied by the Scottish Office. The Scottish Office carries out a considerable amount of small-scale refurbishment throughout its estate; individual projects costing more than £50,000 are set out in the following table:
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Building |Cost |Nature of
|refurbishment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92
Cameron House, Oban |75,000 |Provision of new carpeting, furniture and blinds
Pentland House, Edinburgh |60,000 |New furniture
Saughton House, Edinburgh |50,000 |Recarpeting corridors
St. Andrew's House, Edinburgh |60,000 |Recarpeting fourth floor
1992-93
Brandon Street, Edinburgh |107,700 |Reorganisation and new furniture for 200 staff
Brandon Street, Edinburgh |122,000 |New IT furniture to comply with legislation and new storage units
Longman Road, Inverness |140,000 |New IT furniture to comply with legislation; new storage units and recarpeting
Longman Road, Inverness |100,000 |Contributions towards refurbishment of building by Property Holdings
Pentland House, Edinburgh |65,000 |Uprating of entrance and public reception areas
Brooms Road, Dumfries |50,800 |New furniture
1993-94
Dover House, London |59,000 |Resiting radio studio and converting space to office use
James Craig Walk, Edinburgh |51,000 |Contribution towards rewiring of building by Property Holdings
Broom Road, Dumfries |52,000 |New IT and storage furniture and recarpeting
James Craig Walk, Edinburgh |140,000 |Upgrading of work processing training centre
Reported Offences
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases have been reported by the police to procurators fiscal in each procurator fiscal area in Scotland in each of the last five years broken down by offence category; how many of such cases have been marked for no further proceedings; and what percentage of each total this represents.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information is not available on the offence categories reported to individual procurator fiscal offices, or on the offence categories in respect of which no proceedings were taken. The Crown Office collects information on the total number of reports submitted to individual offices by all reporting agencies, and on the number of cases in which no proceedings were taken. The figures for Scotland as a whole are detailed below. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate will write to the hon. Member with a breakdown of the figures for individual offices.
|Total reports |Total marked "No
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989 |374,685 |45,092 |12.03
1990 |381,492 |40,813 |10.70
1991 |389,731 |35,326 |9.06
1992 |387,293 |35,587 |9.19
1993 |317,848 |35,590 |11.20
Overseas Students
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce legislative proposals to allow colleges to charge overseas students fees for those studying part-time who have no permanent United Kingdom connection; and if he will make refugees and asylum seekers exempt from such legislation.
Mr. Lang: My Department is currently consulting further and higher education institutions about the possibility of allowing them to charge part-time students from overseas a different rate of fees from home students. It is not our intention to change how individuals granted refugee status are treated. Institutions have specifically been asked as part of the consultation if they are likely to offer concessions to students who have applied for refugee status. Their responses will be taken into account in taking any proposals forward.
Redundancies
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the costs of redundancy payments to staff in each of the last five years.
Mr. Lang: Staff reductions are largely being achieved by natural wastage and voluntary early retirement. Costs of redundancy payments to staff in the Scottish Office and its associated departments and agencies are therefore relatively low and are detailed. Figures for the Scottish Prison Service are shown separately.
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|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Scottish Office |- |5,313 |6,839 |645,933|193,835
Scottish Prison Service |- |- |- |- |63,000
Internet
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be
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accessible via the world wide web server "open.gov.uk" or any specific departmental server.Mr. Lang: My Department's press releases are already available via the Internet. My officials are considering the provision of further selected information.
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Insolvency
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of processing individual insolvencies for the past seven years in terms of (a) payments to insolvency practitioners and (b) direct administrative expenses.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The net cost of processing individual insolvencies in Scotland was as follows:
<
|Payments to
Year |£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |0.42 |0.09
1988-89 |2.41 |0.50
1989-90 |7.52 |0.73
1990-91 |12.25 |1.11
1991-92 |18.50 |1.20
1992-93 |26.31 |1.62
1993-94 |24.60 |1.64
From 1 April 1993, the administrative expenses include the costs of the Accountant in Bankruptcy acting as interim and permanent trustee under the provisions of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1993.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost per case of processing individual insolvencies in Scotland in (a) 1992 93 and (b) 1993 94; what was the percentage change; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the change.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The average annual costs per live sequestration were £1,189 and £904 respectively in 1992 93 and 1993 94, a reduction of 24 per cent. Under the provisions of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1933, which were brought into effect on 1 April 1993, the costs of administering new sequestrations have been reduced and the costs of concluding existing cases also fell.
Hill Farmers
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is (a) the average indebtedness of hill farmers and (b) the resultant loan servicing charges for each year since 1988; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 7 December 1994]: The information requested for livestock farmers in the Scottish less favoured areas is set out in the following table.
Total liabilities
|At start of year|At end of year |Interest paid
|£ |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |26,983 |38,967 |2,881
1989-90 |30,187 |31,172 |3,782
1990-91 |31,528 |33,075 |4,149
1991-92 |33,169 |32,805 |4,215
1992-93 |38,060 |36,343 |3,594
Source:
Scottish Farm Accounts Scheme.
The sample of farms changes slightly from year to year and caution is therefore needed when comparing absolute levels between one year and the next but the average
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level of indebtedness has remained broadly constant over recent years.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus
Ms Corston: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken by the Ministry to restrict BIV-infected livestock from entering the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Browning: The Government have considered this very carefully, commissioning research and consulting not only independent scientific experts in this country but leading researchers in North America and Europe. There is no scientific evidence relating to BIV which would justify placing restrictions on livestock to be imported into the United Kingdom, and we are not aware that such restrictions have been imposed by any other country.
Greater Thames Estuary
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what responsibilities his Department has to protect habitats, flora and fauna within the flood plains of the Greater Thames estuary.
Mr. Waldegrave: As Minister, I have a duty under the Agriculture Act 1986 to balance the interests of conservation with agricultural efficiency, the socio-economic interests of rural areas and public enjoyment of the countryside. In carrying out my flood defence responsibilities, I am subject to the provisions of the Land Drainage Act 1991, as amended, and the Water Resources Act 1991 so far as the furtherance of conservation is concerned. Finally, I am also bound by the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 to comply with the requirements of the EC habitats and birds directives.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Battle: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the latest research on BSE.
Mrs. Browning: The Ministry has a wide-ranging BSE research programme, costing £5.4 million for 1994 95, based on the recommendations of the consultative committee on research into spongiform encephalopathies. The research is regularly reviewed by the Spongiform Encephalopathies Advisory Committee and all results of conducted research are published.
A new progress report on BSE in Great Britain will be made available shortly.
Sugar
Mr. Sumberg: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to defend British interests in the forthcoming discussion on the reform of the EU sugar regime.
Mr. Waldegrave: The Commission has recently issued its proposals to make adjustments to the sugar regime. We well understand the various concerns of the sugar sector. We will strongly defend the interests of the United Kingdom in the forthcoming negotiations.
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Environmental Programmes
Mr. Bill Walker: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made with his Department's environmental programmes.
Mr. Jack: Progress in the Department's environmental programmes in reported annually in the environment White Paper--"This Common Inheritance" --and the MAFF-IB departmental report. Copies of these publications are available in the Library of the House.
Food and Drink Industry
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how he intends to help develop export opportunities for the United Kingdom's food and drink industry.
Mr. Jack: We are giving the fullest support to Food From Britain which, since last year, has as its main task assisting our food and drink companies to export. Developing export opportunities in the most promising export markets--the EU countries and north America--is central to FFB's work, and there are plans to extend these efforts into further markets in Asia, central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the middle East. This financial year, FFB expects to provide services to 250 firms, including 50 that are completely new to exporting.
Hill Farming
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received regarding hill farming incomes; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack: We have received a number of written and oral approaches from hill farmers and their representatives and hon. Members on hill farming incomes in the context of this year's autumn review of economic conditions in the hills and uplands. All these views were carefully considered before we came to a decision on the rates of hill livestock compensatory allowances which will apply for the 1995 scheme.
Horse Exports
Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to ensure that the minimum value rule for horses exported to continental Europe has been implemented.
Mrs. Browning: The current directive on the welfare of animals during transport permits national rules on the protection of horses--which include the United Kingdom's minimum values system--to continue, and this we shall fight to retain. The rules have been in force in this country for many years and are fully implemented by Ministry staff.
Marketing Development Scheme
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many grants have been approved under the marketing development scheme.
Mr. Waldegrave: At 29 November 1994, 34 grant applications had been approved under the marketing development scheme.
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Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances
Sir Wyn Roberts: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors he will take into account in determining the levels of hill livestock compensatory allowance payable next year.
Mr. Jack: Rates of hill livestock compensatory allowances for the 1995 scheme were announced on 29 November. As in previous years, we took into account those factors which affected the net farm incomes of hill farmers this year, including the levels of support which hill farmers receive from the other livestock subsidy schemes and the returns from livestock markets. The decision was taken against the background of continuing pressure to reduce public expenditure.
Compassion in World Farming Trust
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the report from the Compassion in World Farming Trust entitled "For Their Own Good" published in October; and what response he has given.
Mrs. Browning: We are studying the report carefully, and will be responding shortly.
Live Animal Exports
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what initiatives his Department is pursuing to assist United Kingdom farmers who export live animals; what representations he has made to the European Union authorities on the subject; when he last attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers, and what was the outcome of the meeting; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Browning: Departmental officials are scrutinising urgently and fully all detailed proposals for alternative routes to transport food animals to mainland Europe, following the withdrawal of the main cross- channel ferry companies. The Department takes very seriously its responsibility for ensuring that only proposals which provide adequate welfare safeguards are allowed to proceed, but also recognises that legitimate proposals which meet these requirements should be permitted to start up with a minimum of delay.
My right hon. Friend has impressed on the European Commission and the Council of Ministers the importance of restoring public confidence by adopting at the Community level strict welfare controls and explicit enforcement arrangements: the last discussion in the Council of Ministers was in October when, regrettably, a number of member states successfully maintained their resistance to the kind of measures that we consider necessary.
We shall continue to press for the highest possible Community welfare standards for animals in transit. However, in the light of the continuing absence of agreement at the Community level, we are pressing ahead with the implementation of the proposals we circulated for comment in September for tighter national controls and a code of practice.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received during the last six months on the subject of the export of live animals from England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Browning: We have received a very large number of representations, the majority expressing dissatisfaction at the export of live animals for slaughter or further fattening.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reassessment he has made of the benefits accrued to the United Kingdom from the contributions made to the EU common agricultural policy.
Mr. Jack: The European Union, of which the common agricultural policy is an integral part, offers widespread benefits to the United Kingdom. In this context, we continually reassess our policies with a view to reducing the cost of the CAP.
Internet
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the world wide web server, "open.gov.uk", or any specific departmental server.
Mr. Jack: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) on 1 December 1994, Official Report, column 892. The Department is considering the use of Internet to provide further information from its range of published material.
Common Fisheries Policy
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now seek to renegotiate the concessions made to Spain and Portugal on the common fisheries policy in respect of Norwegian accession to the European Union.
Mr. Jack: The Norwegian chapters of the treaty of accession of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Austria, including those dealing with fisheries matters, will now be deleted following the outcome of the Norwegian referendum.
Apples
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) Worcester Pearmain and (b) Discovery apples were estimated to have been eaten in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the past year; by how many people; at what average cost and what was the average cost 10 and 20 years ago in real terms; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack: It is estimated that about 52 million Worcester Pearmain and 60 million Discovery apples were marketed in the United Kingdom in 1993. It is not possible to estimate how many individuals ate them, or the average retail cost.
Anti-rabies Controls
Mr. Key: To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food when he will introduce anti-rabies controls based on vaccination and blood testing as an alternative to quarantine for pet dogs and cats.
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Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones) on 1 December 1994, Official Report, column 892.
HEALTH
Primary Health Care
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the adequacy of funding and facilities at primary health care level to support her policy of changing the delivery of health care from secondary to primary locations.
Mr. Malone: Funding for the demand-led family health service programmes is up by 2.5 per cent. on last year's plans; in addition the cash-limited allocations to health authorities, announced Tuesday, include a special uplift of 2 per cent. in real terms for funding to support general practitioners' expenditure on staff, premises and computers.
Hospitals
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table which breaks down the data in table 17 of the Department of Health statistical bulletin 12/94, "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1983 to 1993 94", by regional health authority.
Mr. Sackville: A table setting out the information has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table which breaks down the data in table 15 of the Department of Health statistical bulletin 12/94, "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1983 to 1993 94", by regional health authority; and if she will also show the results in terms of finished consultant episodes by leading diagnosis per 100,000 population in each age group in each region.
Mr. Sackville: Tables setting out the information have been placed in the Library.
Community Care
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has to demonstrate that transfer of funding to Lancashire for care in the community is keeping pace with the transfer of responsibilities.
Mr. Bowis: Since 1990 91, Lancashire's total resources for social services, including community care, have risen from £92.9 million to £169.9 million. This is an increase of 56 per cent. in real terms compared to the national average of 49 per cent. Lancashire received a special transitional grant allocation of £19.8 million to meet its new responsibilities for community care in 1994 95. In addition, its resources for all social services, including the 1993 94 tranche of special community care grant, rose by 15.4 per cent. For 1995 96 Lancashire total resources for social services including community care will be increased to £185.4 million. It is for Lancashire county council to allocate these substantial resources efficiently and effectively to meet local needs and priorities.nb
Consultants
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the activity rate overall,
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and by speciality, in finished consultant episodes in each English NHS region for 1992 93; and if she will show in each case the volume change since 1991 92.Mr. Sackville: The information for the financial years 1991 92 and 1992 93 is contained in "Ordinary admissions and day case admissions for England", copies of which are available in the Library.
Operating Theatres
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operating theatre sessions have been cancelled in each region in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville: Regional tables setting out information on cancelled operating theatre sessions for the years 1990 91, 1991 92 and 1992 93--the latest available--are contained in the publication "NHS Operating theatres availability and use, England--Year Ending 31 March 1993". Information for 1989 90 and 1988 89 is set out in "NHS Operating theatres availability and use--England" for the financial years 1988 89 and 1989 90. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
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