| Previous Section | Home Page |
Road Programme Director
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the present road programme director to leave his service; what severance terms and conditions have been agreed; and what assurances the director has given about subsequent employment by companies with a present or planned commercial interest in road design, build or management contracts.
Mr. Watts: I expect the present road programme director to leave the Highways Agency in summer 1995. The severance terms will be those provided for in the principal civil service pension scheme for staff who leave on early retirement. Any proposals from the current road programme director regarding subsequent employment will be subject to the terms of the business appointment rules as they apply to officials at grade 3 level in the civil service.
New Drivers
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has regarding the percentage of drivers involved in fatal accidents who (a) have passed their driving test in the previous year and (b) are under 21 years of age.
Mr. Norris: The information requested is not available.
Column 769
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has regarding the percentage of accidents on motorways involving drivers who (a) have passed their driving test in the previous year and (b) are under 21 years of age.
Mr. Norris: The information requested is not available.
Roads Expenditure
Mr. Haselhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will announce the allocation of capital resources for expenditure on local roads and transport in England for 1995 96.
Dr. Mawhinney: This year, a total of £960 million is to be allocated to local highway authorities and passenger transport authorities in England for capital expenditure on their local transport infrastructure in 1995 96. This consists of £278 million in transport supplementary grant and £682 million in annual capital guideline, supplementary credit approval, grant under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968 and grant under section 13 of the Industrial Development Act 1982. With the help of capital reserves and developer contributions, I therefore expect authorities to be able to spend over £1,000 million in total.
In this year's settlement, I am funding 37 packages of measures proposed by local authorities outside London to encourage public transport, cycling and walking and to offer attractive alternatives to car use. I am also providing funding for a number of measures in London, including the London bus priority network and the London cycle network.
I am setting aside resources for 10 new major public transport schemes which are expected to begin construction in 1995 96. They include the Croydon tramlink and Midland metro light rail schemes subject to satisfactory terms being agreed.
I am also accepting 28 new road schemes for funding for the first time. These include bypasses and relief roads designed to take traffic away from congested areas, and schemes designed to provide access to the national road network from key industrial areas. Table 1 sets out the national totals for different types of expenditure. Table 2 shows the total amounts of grant, credit approval and gross approved expenditure for each of the 108 local highway authorities, and the six passenger transport authorities. The Department's regional offices are notifying them today of their allocations. Table 3 contains the package allocations, and table 4 lists the new major road and public transport schemes accepted this year. Table 5 contains comparable information for London. Road safety remains a high priority. Within the overall total, the level of funding for local safety schemes has been maintained at the record level of £50 million allocated in each of the past two years. Some £117 million is being allocated for assessment, strengthening and maintenance of local authority bridges, and £141 million is for the structural maintenance of principal roads.
Column 770
Table 1
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------------
Grant eligible
Existing commitments |428.713
New major TSG road schemes |22.702
New major public transport schemes |16.750
Maintenance of principal roads |141.039
Bridges |117.000
IDA grant |4.000
Non-grant aided
Local safety schemes |50.000
Packages |64.000
Block SCA for minor works |64.167
ERDF SCA |22.000
Scheme specific SCA |29.629
|--------
Total |960.000
Key:
TSG-Transport supplementary grant
IDA-Industrial Development Act
SCA-Supplementary credit approval
ERDF-European regional development fund
Local authority capital expenditure 1995-96
|Government grant|Total borrowing |Gross approved
|(TSG) |approval |spending
|£ million |£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London boroughs
City of London |0.248 |2.623 |2.871
Barking and Dagenham |0.314 |1.160 |1.474
Barnet |0.133 |3.062 |3.296
Bexley |5.213 |6.181 |11.681
Brent |0.618 |2.517 |3.135
Bromley |0.503 |2.012 |2.515
Camden |1.342 |2.390 |3.732
Croydon |0.584 |1.903 |2.664
Ealing |0.000 |1.498 |1.759
Enfield |1.847 |2.694 |4.541
Greenwich |2.457 |3.386 |5.861
Hackney |0.207 |1.261 |1.854
Hammersmith and Fulham |0.743 |3.533 |4.395
Haringey |0.000 |1.768 |2.370
Harrow |0.812 |4.399 |8.319
Havering |0.227 |0.768 |0.995
Hillingdon |1.140 |3.273 |5.357
Hounslow |1.563 |2.822 |4.574
Islington |1.127 |2.662 |3.863
Kensington and Chelsea |0.000 |1.139 |1.314
Kingston upon Thames |1.924 |5.957 |8.272
Lambeth |0.532 |1.597 |2.362
Lewisham |0.880 |2.223 |3.475
Merton |0.000 |1.052 |1.198
Newham |1.815 |5.010 |7.772
Redbridge |0.383 |0.837 |1.220
Richmond upon Thames |0.308 |2.730 |3.038
Southwark |0.705 |2.464 |4.278
Sutton |0.234 |1.431 |1.854
Tower Hamlets |0.000 |1.707 |2.609
Waltham Forest |0.169 |1.470 |2.090
Wandsworth |0.535 |2.040 |2.575
Westminster |0.979 |3.110 |4.824
Note:
Gross approved expenditure exceeds the sum of grant and borrowing approval if an authority
holds unused grant from previous years.
Local authority capital expenditure 1995-96
|Government grant|Total borrowing |Gross approved
|(TSG) |approval |spending
|£ million |£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metropolitan Districts
Bolton |1,827 |2.770 |5.130
Bury |0.556 |1.162 |1.718
Manchster |5.564 |7.940 |13.504
Oldham |1.783 |2.630 |4.566
Rochdale |1.283 |2.034 |3.317
Salford |4.205 |5.145 |9.350
Stockport |1.235 |1.876 |3.336
Tameside |0.395 |1.180 |1.812
Trafford |0.000 |3.666 |6.995
Wigan |0.503 |0.994 |1.553
Knowsley |4.632 |9.788 |18.365
Liverpool |0.325 |3.746 |5.445
St. Helens |1.025 |1.617 |2.652
Sefton |0.563 |2.149 |2.812
Wirral |1.202 |2.871 |4.430
Barnsley |4.122 |5.133 |9.596
Doncaster |2.629 |3.897 |7.069
Rotherham |0.564 |1.607 |2.638
Sheffield |1.311 |9.852 |16.329
Gateshead |0.000 |1.336 |1.908
Newcastle upon Tyne |3.688 |4.618 |8.752
North Tyneside |0.415 |1.102 |1.601
South Tyneside |0.358 |0.807 |1.165
Sunderland |1.449 |2.116 |3.629
Birmingham |12.298 |20.112 |34.979
Coventry |2.016 |7.300 |13.350
Dudley |1.753 |3.960 |5.713
Sandwell |1.831 |3.760 |6.028
Solihull |0.898 |1.789 |2.732
Walsall |0.919 |2.779 |4.166
Wolverhampton |5.596 |8.974 |10.059
Bradford |1.675 |4.302 |6.253
Calderdale |1.156 |3.132 |4.288
Kirklees |1.845 |3.329 |5.174
Leeds |5.373 |12.593 |18.716
Wakefield |4.452 |5.666 |10.242
Note:
Gross approved expenditure exceeds the sum of grant and borrowing approval if an authority
holds unused grant from previous years.
Local authority capital expenditure 1995-96
|Government grant|Total borrowing |Gross approved
|(TSG) |approval |spending
|£ million |£ million |£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Counties
Avon |2.169 |8.687 |12.224
Bedfordshire |5.606 |7.629 |13.235
Berkshire |0.967 |5.823 |9.880
Buckinghamshire |2.143 |3.965 |6.108
Cambridgeshire |2.270 |6.436 |9.080
Cheshire |12.435 |13.749 |26.212
Cleveland |0.179 |4.791 |7.531
Cornwall |4.105 |6.928 |11.135
Cumbria |1.336 |2.755 |4.129
Derbyshire |3.575 |5.449 |9.024
Devon |2.468 |7.856 |11.764
Dorset |1.701 |3.911 |5.612
Durham |1.006 |3.880 |6.230
East Sussex |4.526 |7.285 |12.224
Essex |2.661 |8.402 |11.063
Gloucestershire |2.697 |4.321 |7.693
Hampshire |9.681 |14.222 |23.903
Hereford and Worcester |1.893 |3.135 |5.028
Hertfordshire |5.626 |8.340 |13.966
Humberside |3.470 |7.316 |11.798
Isle of Wight |0.370 |3.609 |3.979
Kent |34.803 |44.879 |86.623
Lancashire |4.921 |11.518 |17.529
Leicestershire<1> |3.665 |8.179 |12.069
Lincolnshire |1.920 |5.261 |7.181
Norfolk |5.663 |9.059 |15.371
Northamptonshire |3.775 |5.526 |9.494
Northumberland |3.875 |4.730 |8.605
North Yorkshire |5.468 |7.564 |13.215
Nottinghamshire |4.682 |8.433 |13.115
Oxfordshire |1.007 |4.509 |6.314
Shropshire |1.462 |4.023 |5.542
Somerset |4.371 |6.856 |12.521
Staffordshire |6.668 |9.204 |15.872
Suffolk |4.141 |9.329 |13.470
Surrey |11.380 |16.121 |28.513
Warwickshire |1.352 |3.084 |4.444
West Sussex |0.816 |2.846 |4.254
Wiltshire |0.747 |3.295 |5.048
Note:
Gross approved expenditure exceeds the sum of grant and borrowing approval if an authority
holds unused grant from previous years.
<1> Includes £746,000 public transport grant (s56).
Local authority capital expenditure 1995-96
|Government grant|Total borrowing
|(s56) |approval
|£ million |£ million
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passenger Transport Authorities
Greater Manchester |0.000 |4.000
Merseyside |0.000 |8.626
South Yorkshire |4.919 |51.610
Tyne and Wear |0.000 |2.370
West Midlands |0.000 |8.870
West Yorkshire |0.000 |0.100
Package minor works allocations 1995-96
|£ millions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current packages
West Midlands-all boroughs inc. Centro |14.520
Leeds |3.800
Bournemouth and Poole |0.550
Brighton and Hove |0.850
Canterbury |0.250
Exeter |0.650
Hull |1.100
Ispwich |1.450
Oxford |1.350
Shrewsbury |0.850
Staines |0.400
Swindon |0.500
Winchester |0.750
New packages-funded for the first time in 1995-96
Bradford |1.600
Calderdale |1.400
Kirklees |0.950
Greater Manchester-inc. PTA |8.000
Merseyside-inc. Merseytravel |10.250
Wakefield |0.750
Ashford |0.250
Avon |2.350
Bedford/Kempston |0.300
Cambridge |1.650
Dartmoor |0.110
Central Leicestershire |1.900
Macclesfield |0.200
New Forest |0.120
North Staffordshire |0.750
Norwich |0.400
Greater Nottingham |1.600
Plymouth |1.000
Preston and South Ribble |0.500
Reading |0.400
Southampton |0.250
Teesside |1.100
Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth |0.350
York |0.600
|--------
Grand total |63.800
New major transport supplementary grant schemes (excluding London)
Authority |Scheme
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buckinghamshire |A413 Wendover Bypass
Hampshire |A325 Woolmar Road Link
Kent |B2006 Staplehurst Road Link, Sittingbourne
Oxfordshire |A421/B4031 Tingewick to A43 Improvement
West Sussex |A2300 Burgess Hill-A23 Link
Devon |A381 Salcombe Dip to Inverteign Drive, Teignmouth
Gloucestershire |A430 Gloucester South West Bypass
Somerset |A37 Improvements, Yeovil to Dorset Boundary-phase 1
Sandwell |A4034 Churchbridge Improvement, Sandwell
Hereford and Worcestershire |A422 Worchester Western Bypass and Link Roads
Staffordshire |A50 Victoria Place Link, Stoke on Trent
Oldham |A62/A627 Oldham Way Improvements
Cheshire |A534 Wheelock Bypass
Cumbria |A595 Dalton in Furness to Askam in Furness
Lancashire |A6 South Ribble/M65 Interface Improvements
Sefton |Aintree Park Lane Improvement
Northumberland |A189 North Seaton Duplication Stage 1
Leeds |Leeds City Centre Loop Phase 1
Wakefield |A655 Normanton Bypass
North Yorkshire |B1228 Peasholme Green Bridge
Lincolnshire |A57/B1003 Ropewalk to Carholme Road, Lincoln
Northamptonshire |A605 Warmington Bypass and Improvements at Tansor
Nottinghamshire |A608 Improvement, M1 to A611, Annesley
Cambridgeshire |A15 Werrington to Glinton Phase 2
Norfolk |A149 Ormesby Bypass
Other schemes, non TSG (excluding London)
Cleveland |A179 Improvement, Hartlepool
Sheffield |Inner Ring Road, Northern Section, Stage1
Suffolk |A604 Haverhill Bypass Stage 2
New major public transport schemes (excluding London)
Authority |Scheme
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |Filton Abbeywood Station
Calderdale |Halifax-Huddersfield Railway Line
Merseyside PTA |Conway Park Railway Station
West Midlands PTA |Midland Metro, Line 1
Other public transport measures (excluding London)
East Sussex |London Road/Brighton Station Bus Priority
Hampshire |ENTRANCE-EC project
Avon |Avonmouth/Ashton Vale Park and Ride
Norfolk |Norwich Park and Ride- Cringleford
New major road and public transport schemes in London accepted this year Local authority |Scheme ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All London authorities |The London Cycle Network Barking and Dagenham |Choats Manor Way Link Road Bexley |Bexleyheath Town Centre Traffic Management Haringey |Spouter's Corner improvement Brent Hammersmith and Fulham Kensington and Chelsea Wandsworth |New stations, West London rail line
Clyde Port Authority
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the financial implications of the bid by Regis and Regis for the Clyde port authority.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 December 1994]: There are no financial implications for the Government arising from these bids.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was paid to Clydeport Holdings by the Clyde port authority after the payment of the levy to his Department following the sale of the port authority.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 December 1994]: The sale proceeds were £26.0 million; the levy £11.6 million. The Clyde port authority retained the remainder, £14.4 million. After the relevant expenses and liabilities had been met, all sums held by the authority were by virtue of section 7(2) of the Ports Act 1991 transferred to the successor company, Clydeport Holdings, upon the dissolution of the authority.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if Clydeport Holdings will have to pay a clawback on the proceeds of the Braehead site; and how much it will be.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 December 1994]: Yes. The amount has yet to be settled.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what grounds he paid the costs of the Clyde
Column 775
port authority's expenses for promoting a privatisation Bill; and what were those costs.Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 December 1994]: Some £528,593 was allowed after careful consideration of the authority's claim under section 13 of the Ports Act 1991.
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from
Column 776
residents in the Coventry and the Warwickshire areas regarding aircraft noise.Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 December 1994]: From January 1992 to date, the Department has received 23 representations from residents in the Coventry and Warwickshire areas regarding aircraft noise. These include 13 representations direct from members of the public, a further five representations forwarded by hon. Members on behalf of their constituents, and three from hon. Members themselves.
Column 775
HEALTH
Hospital Beds (Closures)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital beds have closed in London since the Tomlinson report was published.
Mr. Malone: The Tomlinson report used data for 1990 91. Provisional examination of the 1993 94 bed data for London suggests that the reduction in the number of available acute sector beds, excluding day beds, over the period 1990 91 to 1993 94 has been 1, 896.
Pensioners
Sir Andrew Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) in rank order and (b) by county (1) the total number of people of pension age and above in each constituency; (2) the percentage of the population of pension age and above in each constituency.
Mr. Sackville: The available information requested has been taken from the 1991 census of population for England and Wales and will placed in the Library.
Breast Cancer
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the rate of breast cancer in Israel following the banning of the use of lindane; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: In the 1970s, Israel had a high level of breast cancer compared to other countries. This fell during the period 1976 to 1986. Researchers and scientists in Israel suggested that a cause might be the withdrawal of louse powder containing lindane, used on cattle: they noted that before 1986 the Israeli population had been exposed to very high levels of lindane in milk. Levels reported in milk in Israel were up to 1,200 times higher than the highest residues observed in the United Kingdom as reported in the 1993 annual report of the working party on pesticide residues, copies of which are available in the Library.
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research projects she has commissioned which are investigating the links between exposure to lindane and the incidence of breast cancer; and if she will list them.
Mr. Sackville: None. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The MRC is an independent body deciding what research to support on its own expert judgement. The Department of Health expert committee on carcinogenicity has been asked to advise on any relationship between organochlorines, including lindane, and breast cancer when it next meets in March 1995, and will consider the latest available research.
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has made to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food concerning the banning of lindane.
Mr. Sackville: The approval and review of pesticides is the joint responsibility of six Government Departments, including the Department of Health. Ministers are advised by a body of independent experts, the Advisory
Column 778
Committee on Pesticides. This committee last reviewed the non-agricultural uses of lindane in 1992. It found a very substantial body of evidence indicating that lindane presents no unacceptable risk to human health when used in accordance with statutory directions. Furthermore, there was no epidemiological evidence to suggest that lindane causes an increased risk of cancer, even among those who work with the compound. It therefore advised that approvals should continue.The Advisory Committee on Pesticides is currently reviewing lindane's agricultural uses and its review should be completed by spring 1995. Additionally, the Department of Health expert committee on carcinogenicity will consider the latest available research on any relationship between organochlorines, including lindane, and breast cancer, when it next meets in March 1995.
Blood
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to ensure that a change to fewer and larger blood collection sessions will not lead to a substantial drop in the number of donors;
(2) what plans she has to ensure that the closure of five regional blood transfusion centres will not lead to a shortage of blood supplies throughout the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sackville: It is the responsibility of the National Blood Authority to ensure that an adequate supply of blood is available to meet the needs of hospitals. The authority has made it clear that, under its proposals, whatever services hospitals receive now they will receive in future. With regard to blood collection, the authority's proposals envisage an increase in the number of collection team bases to provide more effective coverage of the country.
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) where she proposes to site the new blood stockholding units; and what facilities they would provide;
(2) what is her estimate of (a) the number of jobs which will be lost by the closure of five regional blood transfusion centres and (b) the cost in redundancy payments to those made redundant; (3) what criteria were used to decide which five of the present 15 regional blood transfusion centres should be closed.
Mr. Sackville: These are matters for the National Blood Authority to consider in the light of its thorough and widespread consultation. The results of the consultation will be carefully considered before decisions are made.
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to estimate the annual budget required by the National Blood Authority.
Mr. Sackville: As part of the business planning process, the National Blood Authority estimates the running costs of the Blood Transfusion Service, the Bio Products Laboratory and the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory, and takes account of income from blood handling charges, and sale of manufactured blood products.
Column 779
Community Care
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she will seek to ensure that community psychiatric nurses and other members of community teams focus on the needs of people with severe mental illness and long-term problems following the recommendation by the Audit Commission.
Mr. Bowis: By issuing good practice guidance and by focusing the mental illness specific grant on the severely mentally ill.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider how bridging finance could be made available for the reprovision of community care in place of some hospital care following the recommendations of the Audit Commission.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. member to the reply I gave the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 12 December, Official Report, column 470.
Replacement Funding
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organisations are receiving grants under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968; how many of these grants are due to (a) expire or (b) be reduced from March 1995; and what proposals she has to assist these organisations to secure replacement funding.
Mr. Bowis: There are some 382 voluntary organisations due to receive 523 grants from the Department under our section 64 general scheme during 1994 95; 238 of these are due to expire on 31 March 1995. Many will be core grants, eligible for consideration for renewal. The general presumption is that all core grants will be subject to a degree of tapering, particularly in their later years.
Mentally Ill People
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consult the Home Office and the Department of the Environment to develop solutions to the problems of housing for mentally ill people, including mentally ill offenders, following the recommendations of the Audit Commission.
Mr. Bowis: Officials meet regularly with colleagues from other Departments to discuss a wide range of issues concerning mentally ill people, including housing.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency departments it is currently proposed to close.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally. It is the responsibility of each health authority to ensure that there is an accident and emergency service available to all people in its area.
Low Birth Weights
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage of babies born in each (a) regional health authority and (b) district health authority who weighed less than 2.5 kg at birth in the latest year for which figures are available.
Column 780
Mr. Sackville: The latest year for which information is available is 1992 and was published in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys annual monitor DH3 93/1 "Infant and Perinatal Mortality 1992: RHAs and DHAs"; comparable data for 1993 will be published on 21 December 1994 in the annual monitor DH3 94/2 for 1993. Copies of the monitor will be available in the Library.
Hospital Developments
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances health authorities or trusts are told that they will not be allowed to go ahead with agreed schemes of new hospital development without there first being a guarantee of parts of the capital cost being funded from the private sector; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: When health authorities and national health service trusts seek approval from the NHS executive for new capital schemes, they now are required to explore the option of private finance.
NHS Research and Development
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she accepts the recommendations of the report of the NHS research and development task force chaired by Professor Anthony Culyer; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: Since Professor Culyer's report "Supporting Research and Development in the NHS" was published on 14 September, we have had valuable discussions about it with the academic and research communities and beyond. The broad thrust of the report has been welcomed.
I have now decided to introduce a new system of funding and supporting research, based largely on the report's proposals, to come into effect from 1996 97. The key points are:
--The introduction of a "single funding stream" for NHS research and development, service support for Research and Development and research facilities.
--The intention to raise Research and Development funds by a levy on purchasers of health care.
--Changes in the advisory structure for Research and Development, including revised terms of reference and membership for the Central NHS Research and Development Committee (CRDC). The CRDC will have a new role advising the NHS to invest its Research and Development funds.
--The creation of a new national forum to bring together the major health- related research funders to provide advice for the NHS and the Government.
I am also announcing today that an extra £8 million will be available in 1995 96 for research commissioned by the NHS. The intention is to set a framework for funding and supporting research in the NHS for the long term and to provide a clear focus for future discussions about the detail of implementation. These decisions follow my recent announcement of a £40 million increase for 1995 96 in the earmarked funds dedicated to meeting the NHS costs of medical and dental education and research. Together, they underline the Government's strong commitment to the NHS research base and using it to develop further a knowledge-based service.
Column 781
A note giving further details of the new funding system has been placed in the Library.Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the national health service continues to support undergraduate medical education following the recommendations made by the NHS research and development task force chaired by Professor Culyer.
Mr. Malone: I have asked Dr. Graham Winyard, national health service executive health care director, to chair an advisory group to make recommendations by March 1995 on future arrangements for allocating funds and contracting for NHS service support and facilities for teaching medical undergraduates. The aim is for the new arrangements to take effect, after appropriate consultation, in April 1996.
Membership of the advisory group will be drawn from a range of interests in the NHS and in education. A copy of the terms of reference will be placed in the Library.
Capital Funding
Mr. Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list (a) NHS trusts and (b) directly managed units which have received funding from (i) the Department of Health and (ii) the private sector for capital projects in each of the last four years, showing in each case the amount of funding involved.
Mr. Sackville: I shall let the hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.
Dental Services
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is spent on dental treatment of the molars as a proportion relative to the remaining 20 teeth.
Mr. Malone: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes she plans to the chairmanship for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: Following consultation with my colleagues in the Scottish Office, the Welsh Office and the Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland, I am pleased to announce that from 16 December the chairman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will be Ruth Deech, who is principal of St. Anne's college, Oxford.
Professor Sir Colin Campbell steps down after four years as chairman of the authority.
I would like to place on record the Government's appreciation of Sir Colin's unstinting commitment to the demanding work of the authority and to the aims of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. Under his leadership the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has become an internationally respected regulatory body which enjoys the confidence of the public, Parliament, the professions and the research community.
Management Costs
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the estimated annual savings in NHS
Column 782
management costs arising from the Health Authorities Bill arising from (a) the abolition of the regional health authorities, (b) the elimination of overlapping functions between regional health authorities and the Department of Health, (c) reductions in the number of health authorities and (d) merger between the family health service authorities and the district health authorities.Mr. Malone: We estimate that, when the Health Authorities Bill is fully implemented, it will lead to annual savings in national health service management costs of approaching £150 million. Of this, over £100 million per year will arise from the abolition of regional health authorities and the remainder from the replacement of family health services authorities and district health authorities with unified health authorities, including savings from the reduction in the number of DHAs in preparation for the creation of HAs. Savings from the elimination of overlapping functions between RHAs and the NHS executive have not been separately identified but, as well as forming part of the savings at regional level, will contribute to the savings of some £50 million to be made in the running costs of the Department of Health by 1997 98.
All these savings will be put into patient care.
District Health Authorities
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) surpluses and (b) deficits were recorded by each district health authority in each of the last three years.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 12 December 1994]: The information will be placed in the Library.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Biwater Group Ltd.
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for aid and trade provision finance have been made by the Biwater Group Ltd. since 1983; to which country these applications pertained; what were the costs of the contracts and amount of aid and trade provision sought; and which of the applications were (a) granted and (b) refused, giving details of the dates, countries and contracts involved and the amount requested or granted.
Mr. Baldry: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Sir M. Lennox-Boyd) on 17 February, Official Report , column 937 , and to his reply to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) on 14 February, Official Report , column 568 . In addition to the projects listed, the Biwater Group Ltd. currently has one ATP project under offer and subject to negotiation and one under consideration; given their status, both these projects are commercial in confidence. Information on unsuccessful applications is not maintained centrally in either ODA or DTI and such information could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.
Population Control
Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been made
Column 783
available in the current financial year to the United Nations Population Fund; and for what purpose.Mr. Baldry: Our contribution for the 1994 95 financial year to the United Nations Population Fund's core programme was £8.5 million. This included an exceptional grant of £1.5 million to assist with follow-up work to the international conference on population and development.
Additional sums have been made available for specified purposes from bilateral programmes.
Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been made available to the International Planned Parenthood Federation in the current financial year; and for what purpose.
Mr. Baldry: Our contribution for the 1994 95 financial year to the International Planned Parenthood Federation's core programme was £7.5 million with an extra £0.45 million for its sexual health programme. Additional funds have been available for specified purposes from bilateral programmes.
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money Her Majesty's Government pledged at the Cairo Conference on population and development to a programme to promote reproductive health and an improved quality of life and if it is his policy that this will be money additional to the existing budget and no taken from other projects that fall into the category of social development.
Mr. Baldry: At Cairo, we said we expect to commit £100 million for population and reproductive health programmes in 1994 and 1995. Funds to meet the spending against these commitments will be made available from within the overall aid programme in the relevant years. These commitments will not be at the expense of other on-going projects in the social field.
Crown Agents
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to change the external financing limit for the current year for the Crown Agents.
Mr. Baldry: The external financing limit for the Crown Agents as set out in the statistical supplement to the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1994 95--Cm 2519--has been increased from zero to £3.5 million. This is due to a classification change and has no consequence for public expenditure.
| Next Section
| Home Page |