| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Sackville: The absenteeism rate for 1993 for the Department of Health including the Medicines Control Agency, National Health Service Estates and NHS Pensions Agency is 9.7 working days absence per staff year. Information for the Department, excluding the three agencies, for 1993 cannot be separately identified. Information is not available for 1991 and 1992.
1. Source: Occupational health service.
2. Working days absences exclude weekends and bank holidays for staff working a "Monday to Friday" week.
Cancer
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of (a) the cost of the organisational audit developed by the Macmillan Fund in measuring the effectiveness of cancer care services and
Column 11
(b) the minimum standards for breast cancer care proposed by the Macmillan Fund.Mr. Sackville: No such work has been commissioned centrally.
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many specialist breast cancer consultants there are in the NHS; (2) what is the average cost of supporting a cancer patient (a) at home and (b) in hospital.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Utting Report
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken in response to the criticisms made in the Utting report of 1991.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the Children Act report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Residential Child Care
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with local authorities and other providers of residential child care about standards of such care; and what proposals she has made for tackling current problems.
Mr. Bowis: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with representatives of local authority and independent sector organisations on a wide range of issues including that of residential care for children.
For the Government's report on action in this area, I refer the hon. Member to the Children Act report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential child care staff there were with relevant qualifications in each year since 1980; and what information she has about the turnover rate of (a) qualified and (b) unqualified residential child care staff.
Mr. Bowis: Information on qualifications and turnover of residential child care staff was collected in 1993 by the Local Government Management Board and published in "Social Services Workforce Analysis: 1993 Survey", copies of which are available in the Library. Information on qualifications and turnover of local authority social services staff is not available centrally.
EC Butter
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which regional health authority and district health authorities use European Community intervention board butter (i) for patients' use and (ii) for use in hospital coffee shops; and if she will make a statement;
Mr. Sackville: We are not aware of any regional or district health authorities currently buying intervention board butter. The main national health service purchasers are NHS trusts, of which the vast majority buy in the butter under national contract arrangements for use in hospitals in accordance with EEC regulation No. 2191/81, as amended. Eligible consumers within any hospital may include hospital in-patients and out-patients, and the hospital staff using the hospital catering facilities.
Column 12
NHS Trusts
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will state in respect of the appointment of the chairman of the Doncaster royal infirmary NHS trust (a) the salary awarded, (b) the term of office and (c) the number of hours per week required to be devoted to the job.
Mr. Sackville: Mr. Raymond Tonkinson was appointed as chairman of the Doncaster royal infirmary and Montagu hospital national health service trust for a two-year term, from 17 October 1994 until 30 November 1996. He is entitled to receive an annual remuneration of £17,145. Trust chairmen are normally expected to devote 16 to 24 hours a week to their duties.
Mortality Rates
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys intends to publish the figures on standardised mortality ratios by social class derived from the 1991 census.
Mr. Sackville: Standardised mortality ratios by social class are published 10-yearly. Those based on data from the 1991 census will be included in a volume in the decennial supplement series planned for publication in late 1997. The latest available information is in the occupational mortality decennial supplement 1979 80, 1982 83, copies of which are available in the Library.
Mental Health Task Force
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how and when the NHS executive and the mental health task force plan to review progress with local action plans to improve mental health services in London for severely mentally ill people, in accordance with the task force report on priorities for action.
Mr. Bowis: Progress is being carefully monitored by the national health service executive's regional offices. The mental health task force has worked with the regional offices to review local action plans and has recently completed a programme of follow-up visits to the district health authorities in London to check progress.
Blood
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to disallow the sale for profit of blood donated to the national blood transfusion service; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: The national blood service does not sell for profit the blood which is freely donated by our volunteer donors.
Skin Donations
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to amend the wording on organ donor cards to refer specifically to skin donation after death; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: Both the organ donor card and the national health service organ donor register already include among other options a request that "any part of my body can be used for the treatment of others".
Column 13
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress towards a national skin bank in the last three months.
Mr. Sackville: The United Kingdom Health Departments have commissioned a review to look into the current arrangements for the retrieval, storage and use of tissue, including skin, in the United Kingdom. The findings are not yet complete; when they are we shall give careful consideration to what skin banking arrangements will be needed for the future.
NHS Expenditure
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the level of underdrawing on capital allocations in each of the last five years by region (a) as a cash total and (b) as a proportion of total allocation made for that year.
Mr. Sackville: The information requested is shown in the table.
1989-90 Capital Underspending
|As a
|Cash |percentage of
Region |(£000's) |cash limit
--------------------------------------------------------
Northern |2,205 |3.92
East Anglia |4,034 |11.99
Oxford |256 |0.68
8
1990-91 Capital Underspending
|As a
|Cash |percentage of
Region |(£000's) |cash limit
--------------------------------------------------------
Yorkshire |1,268 |1.25
Trent |95 |0.08
Oxford |141 |0.30
South Western |176 |0.21
North Western |111 |0.11
1991-92 Capital Underspending
|As a
|Cash |percentage of
Region |(£000's) |cash limit
------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,712 |2.27
Yorkshire |4,140 |6.07
Trent |175 |0.13
East Anglia |8,959 |17.94
North East Thames |6,865 |8.81
South West Thames |2,576 |5.81
Wessex |136 |0.18
Oxford |356 |0.72
South Western |3,196 |3.53
West Midlands |2,203 |1.19
North Western |195 |0.16
1992-93 Capital underspending
|As a
|Cash |percentage of
Region |(£000's) |cash limit
------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |6,838 |9.25
Yorkshire |1,983 |3.53
Trent |269 |0.25
East Anglia |2,563 |5.16
North West Thames |1,587 |2.01
North East Thames |5,094 |8.66
South East Thames |941 |0.91
South Western |1,331 |2.73
West Midlands |6,114 |4.72
Mersey |477 |2.57
North Western |197 |0.18
1993-94 Capital underspending
|As a
|Cash |percentage of
Region |(£000's) |cash limit
------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |14,734 |20.69
Yorkshire |3,583 |21.52
Trent |167 |0.44
North West Thames |1,232 |13.11
North East Thames |11,216 |24.48
South West Thames |12,436 |265.67<1>
Wessex |1,442 |4.88
Oxford |107 |0.39
South Western |2,719 |15.05
West Midlands |36,363 |37.14
Mersey |793 |-58.42<2>
North Western |10,687 |13.41
<1> South West Thames' final capital limit was £4.681
million. After taking account of receipts, net spend was
-£7.897 million-capital receipts exceeded spending by this
amount-making the underspend against the cash limit
£12.436.
<2> Mersey Regional health authority's final cash limit was
-£1.907 million after transfers to trust external financing
limits. After taking account of receipts, net spend was
-£2.7 million-capital receipts exceeded spending by this
amount-making the underspend against the cash limit £0.793
million.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current level of underdrawing on capital allocations in each region.
Mr. Sackville: All regional health authorities currently expect to draw down all of their capital cash limits in 1994 95.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the average time taken to approve new capital schemes in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was (a) total NHS expenditure, (b) current expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (c) capital expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (d) expenditure on the family practitioner services, (e) expenditure on centrally funded NHS services and (f) expenditure on personal social services in England in each year since 1974 75 giving each in (i) cash terms, (ii) adjusted using the relevant pay and prices index and (iii) adjusted using the gross domestic product deflator;
(2) if she will give for each year since 1974 75 total capital spending on hospital and community health services and spending in net terms after deducting proceeds from land and property sales (a) in cash terms, (b) adjusted using the GDP deflator and (c) adjusted using the relevant index of NHS prices.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The information will be placed in the Library.
Column 15
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the per capita spending on health and personal social services in cash terms and adjusted for NHS pay prices and for input volume for each year for which estimates have been made from 1989 90 to the latest available year for (a) all ages, (b) births, (c) zero to four years, (d) five to 15 years, (e) 16 to 64 years, (f) 65 to 74 years and (g) 75 years and over, giving the amount spent on (i) hospital and community health services, (ii) family practitioner services, (iii) personal social services and (iv) total in England.
Column 16
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Estimates of spending per head by age group for the personal social services and for the family health services are no longer produced. The latest available are shown in the table.
Estimates for the hospital and community health services are still produced annually, but as a result of changes in data resources, definitions and the methodology used, comparable figures for a series of years cannot be produced. The latest estimates are also shown in the table.
Hospital and community health services 1992-93
|75 and
|All ages|Births |0 to 4 |5 to 15 |16 to 64|65 to 74|over
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£'s cash |420 |1,750 |390 |175 |265 |725 |1,605
Family health services 1989-90
|75 and
|All ages|Births |0 to 4 |5 to 15 |16 to 64|65 to 74|over
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£'s cash |105 |120 |80 |60 |95 |170 |240
1992-93 prices Real terms |125 |145 |95 |70 |115 |205 |285
1992-93 Adjusted for FHS pay and prices inflation |140 |155 |105 |80 |125 |225 |315
y
Personal social services 1989-90
|75 and
|All ages|Births |0 to 4 |5 to 15 |16 to 64|65 to 74|over
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£'s cash |85 |35 |115 |115 |30 |110 |475
1992-93 prices real terms |100 |40 |135 |135 |35 |130 |565
1992-93 adjusted for PSS pay and price inflation |105 |45 |140 |140 |35 |135 |580
Notes:
All figures rounded to nearest £5.
Estimates do not include capital expenditure.
Health Services (Demand)
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the most recently available estimates of the percentage changes in demand on the hospital and community health services due to demographic change for each year from 1972 73 to 1999 2000.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The available information is shown in the table.
Estimated percentage change in demand on
the hospital and
community health services due to
demographic changes
|Increase over
|previous year
Year |Per cent.
------------------------------------------
Estimated
1975-76 |0.1
1976-77 |0.2
1977-78 |0.3
1978-79 |1.0
1979-80 |1.3
1980-81 |1.1
1981-82 |0.6
1982-83 |0.7
1983-84 |0.9
1984-85 |0.9
1985-86 |1.1
1986-87 |0.8
1987-88 |1.5
1988-89 |1.1
1989-90 |1.0
1990-91 |0.9
1991-92 |0.8
1992-93 |1.1
Projected
1993-94 |0.8
1994-95 |0.7
1995-96 |0.6
1996-97 |0.7
1997-98 |0.6
1998-99 |0.6
1999-2000 |0.5
Notes:
1 Estimates for years 1975-76 to 1980-81
are based on the following age bands:
births, age bands 0 to 4, 5 to 15, 16 to
44, 45 to 64, 65 to 74, 75 to 84, and 85
and over.
Estimates from 1981-82 are based on;
births, age bands 0 to 4, 5 to 15, 16 to
44, 45 to 64, and single year age groups
between aged 65 to 89, and aggregated
years 90 and over.
2 Figures are based on data from the 1991
census.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give for April to September 1987 and for each subsequent six month period (a) the numbers of people admitted from waiting lists to hospital for in- patient treatment, (b) the numbers of people removed from in-patient waiting lists for reasons other than treatment, (c) the numbers of people admitted from waiting lists for day case treatment, (d) the numbers of people removed from day-case waiting lists for reasons other than treatment, (e) the numbers of people on in-patient waiting lists who self deferred and (f) the numbers of people on day-case waiting lists who self deferred.
Mr. Malone [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The information requested for admissions and self-deferrals is given in the tables. Information on the number of people removed from waiting lists for reasons other than treatment is not held centrally.
Admissions
6 months to: |Ordinary |Day case
September 1987 |801,755 |268,631
March 1988 |924,677 |347,273
September 1988 |941,363 |359,213
March 1989 |938,864 |392,646
September 1989 |939,516 |420,536
March 1990 |934,164 |454,266
September 1990 |910,557 |465,603
March 1991 |888,291 |496,554
September 1991 |918,376 |534,998
March 1992 |938,842 |601,316
September 1992 |901,687 |638,905
March 1993 |879,834 |691,201
September 1993 |829,580 |712,016
March 1994 |800,632 |768,249
September 1994 |796,780 |849,379
Self Deferrals Number at: |Ordinary |Day case ------------------------------------------------ September 1987 |40,766 |8,977 March 1988 |39,115 |8,361 September 1988 |40,753 |8,433 March 1989 |37,098 |8,769 September 1989 |38,224 |9,905 March 1990 |36,441 |9,735 September 1990 |39,274 |11,865 March 1991 |36,115 |11,998 September 1991 |33,868 |12,469 March 1992 |30,965 |13,151 September 1992 |35,992 |18,134 March 1993 |35,800 |19,095 September 1993 |41,550 |24,142 March 1994 |39,189 |25,185 September 1994 |43,538 |34,946 The numbers relate to the numbers who are waiting on the last day of the six-month period who have self-deferred and do not represent the total number who have self-deferred over the period.
TREASURY
Nicaragua (Debt Relief)
Mr. Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Government will take to encourage EU
Column 18
partners' support for the International Monetary Fund and Paris Club proposals to grant Nicaragua further debt relief.Mr. Nelson: The Government will continue to press other Paris Club creditors at all international meetings to offer all eligible countries including Nicaragua debt relief consistent with the agreement reached by the Paris Club last December. We will also continue to press for action on multilateral debt, along the lines we proposed in Malta and Madrid, for those countries which will still have unsustainable debt liabilities to the multilateral institutions even after generous Trinidad terms debt relief.
Golden Shares
Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what undertakings Her Majesty's Government retain a golden share; and in what circumstances rights relating to that golden share are to be used by Her Majesty's Government.
Sir George Young: The table shows all the companies in which the Government holds special--or "golden"--shares. Where this is applicable, the table shows the expiry date on or before which the Government may redeem a special share. Special shares are held by--or on behalf of--the Secretary of State with policy responsibility for the privatised industry. The rights attaching to individual special shares vary and it is not possible to define in advance the circumstances in which they will be exercised.
Companies in which special shares are held Company |Expiry date ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cable and Wireless |- Sealink Stena Line |- BT |- British Aerospace |- VSEL Consortium |- British Gas |- Rolls-Royce |- BAA |- Eastern Electricity |31 March 1995 East Midlands Electricity |31 March 1995 London Electricity |31 March 1995 Manweb |31 March 1995 Midlands Electricity |31 March 1995 Northern Electric |31 March 1995 Norweb |31 March 1995 Seeboard |31 March 1995 Southern Electricity |31 March 1995 South Wales Electricity |31 March 1995 South Western Electricity |31 March 1995 Yorkshire Electricity Group |31 March 1995 National Grid Company |- National Grid Holding |- National Power |- PowerGen |- Scottish Power |- Scottish Hydro-Electric |- British Technology Group |31 March 1997 British Technology Group International |31 March 1997 Northern Ireland Electricity |- Belfast International Airport |-
Crown Buildings (Insurance)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the main buildings, in which the Crown has an interest, for which there is neither buildings nor contents
Column 19
insurance cover; what considerations underlay the decision not to take out insurance cover; and if he will make a statement.Sir George Young: The Government's long-standing policy on insurance is that decisions on whether to insure commercially should be made on value -for-money grounds. Across Government as a whole, the cost of paying premiums could be expected to exceed the value of claims met by insurance companies. Therefore, use of commercial insurance, including buildings or contents insurance cover, by Government Departments and other Crown bodies is confined to a very small number of cases where special considerations apply.
Investment
Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the levels of investment in the United Kingdom and in the United Kingdom's main international competitors; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson: Information on investment levels is set out in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development annual publication, "National Accounts", available in the House of Commons Library.
VAT
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the European Commission's latest proposals for imposition of VAT in circumstances currently exempt under the sixth VAT directive, and its implication for charities.
Column 20
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The latest proposals from the European Commission which would affect the exemptions in the sixth VAT directive date from July 1992. No conclusions have been reached, and any possible impact on charities would in any case by negligible. The UK's zero rates are not affected.
Administrative Costs
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his estimates of the budgeted and actual expenditure on (a) Her Majesty's Treasury administration and (b) Inland Revenue administration, for each year from 1979 to 1994 in 1993 prices.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 19 January 1995]: The table details the administration expenditure for HM Treasury and Inland Revenue going back to 1979 80 in 1993 94 prices. The table compares the gross voted administrative expenditure, including capital, less appropriations in aid- budget-to the outturn expenditure-actual-for the same expenditure. Over the period, there have been several significant changes to the way public expenditure is recorded. The most significant changes have been the delegation to Departments for capital expenditure on information technology in 1980 81; of accommodation costs in 1983 84 and of superannuation in 1993 94. There have also been some machinery of Government changes, including in 1992 93 the transfer of some of the DTI's regulatory functions to the Treasury. Recalculation of the figures to compensate for these changes could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Column 19
Administration expenditure 1979-90 to 1993-94 at 1993-94 prices £'000
Inland Revenue HM Treasury
|Gross |Receipts |Net |Gross |Receipts |Net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80
Budget |1,119,064|-56,672 |1,062,392|23,690 |-935 |22,754
Actual |1,095,171|-56,672 |1,038,499|23,073 |-972 |22,101
1980-81
Budget |1,205,609|-58,803 |1,146,806|26,817 |-998 |25,819
Actual |1,173,089|-47,299 |1,125,790|25,315 |-1,106 |24,209
1981-82
Budget |1,173,955|-61,536 |1,112,419|31,509 |-1,410 |30,099
Actual |1,123,844|-61,536 |1,062,308|29,252 |-1,599 |27,653
1982-83
Budget |1,140,582|-59,824 |1,080,757|37,221 |-1,537 |35,684
Actual |1,134,764|-59,824 |1,074,940|36,007 |-1,491 |34,517
1983-84
Budget |1,338,337|-66,532 |1,271,805|47,572 |-1,161 |46,411
Actual |1,327,700|-66,532 |1,261,168|46,046 |-1,317 |44,730
1984-85
Budget |1,342,929|-66,873 |1,276,055|48,729 |-1,345 |47,384
Actual |1,341,829|-66,873 |1,274,956|45,661 |-1,628 |44,033
1985-86
Budget |1,407,281|-65,555 |1,341,726|48,159 |-1,489 |46,670
Actual |1,407,201|-65,555 |1,341,645|46,772 |-1,495 |45,278
1986-87
Budget |1,492,638|-67,886 |1,424,751|47,936 |-1,767 |46,169
Actual |1,491,212|-67,886 |1,423,325|45,966 |-1,686 |44,280
1987-88
Budget |1,542,576|-78,314 |1,464,262|53,282 |-1,796 |51,486
Actual |1,536,849|-78,314 |1,458,534|51,451 |-1,670 |49,782
1988-89
Budget |1,532,516|-74,966 |1,457,550|54,733 |-1,743 |52,990
Actual |1,506,931|-74,691 |1,432,240|51,740 |-1,673 |50,067
1989-90
Budget |1,594,402|-72,384 |1,522,019|50,912 |-1,855 |49,057
Actual |1,588,420|-72,384 |1,516,036|49,413 |-1,730 |47,683
1990-91
Budget |1,534,456|-68,994 |1,465,463|53,809 |-1,710 |52,099
Actual |1,528,990|-68,994 |1,459,997|51,869 |-1,886 |50,183
1991-92
Budget |1,747,570|-102,262 |1,645,308|63,835 |-1,732 |62,104
Actual |1,733,464|-102,262 |1,631,202|61,590 |-1,887 |59,703
1992-93
Budget |1,762,968|-98,478 |1,664,490|64,862 |-1,678 |63,124
Actual |1,694,685|-98,478 |1,596,207|62,190 |-2,268 |59,922
1993-94
Budget |1,843,192|-171,278 |1,671,914|86,913 |-16,286 |70,627
Actual |1,820,538|-159,089 |1,661,449|82,070 |-16,367 |65,703
Schedule E Tax
Mr. Churchill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a tax allowance under schedule E tax, so that an individual, employed through an agency, who has to meet his or her own accommodation and travel expenses when having to work away from home under contract, is able to set such expenses against tax as in the case of an employee required to work at a remote location to his or her usual place of work.
Sir George Young [holding answer 20 January 1995]: This is a matter which we keep under active review, but to date it has not been possible to find a solution which does not infringe the general rule that the tax relief is not available for the normal costs of home to work travel.
Home Ownership
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will identify those measures in each of his last two Budgets which were specifically intended to promote home ownership; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken [holding answer 20 January 1995]: The last two Budgets have given general encouragement to home ownership by promoting sustained economic growth. In addition, they have included specific measures to encourage local authority and housing association tenants to become home owners.
Civil Servants
Mr. Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Departments have reported an offer of employment from an outside employer since February 1993 as required under the civil service management code; and how many of these records were followed by an application to join the company concerned.
Column 22
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 18 January 1995]: Eight Treasury staff have reported offers of employment from an outside employer since February 1993, one of which was followed by an application to join the company concerned.
In addition, 56 staff in other Departments responsible to the Chancellor have reported offers of employment from outside employers since February 1993, 53 of which were followed by applications to join the company concerned.
PRIME MINISTER
MI5 Headquarters
Mr. Cox: To ask the Prime Minister what are the procedures that need to be followed by a hon. Member to be able to visit the MI5 headquarters; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister: It is not normal practice for the Security Service to host visits to Thames house by hon. Members.
Seals
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) of 24 March 1994, Official Report , columns 343-44 , what was the outcome of the discussions with Russia on seal hunting.
The Prime Minister: The British mission in Moscow raised this issue with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March last year, and left the Russians in no doubt of the strength of United Kingdom public opposition to the practice of seal culling. We continue
Column 23
to take suitable opportunities to raise this matter with the Russians.Weapons of Torture
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Prime Minister if he will set up a Government inquiry into the sales of weapons of torture by British companies to states where Amnesty International has documented torture.
The Prime Minister: The Government give careful consideration to proposals for the export of weapons. In considering such proposals, special care is taken over the political and military implications of allowing consignments to go overseas. Particular attention is paid to countries with poor human rights records, where equipment might be used for internal repression. I do not therefore believe there is any need for a Government inquiry.
Social Development Summit
Ms Corston: To ask the Prime Minister if he will participate in the world summit on social development on 6 to 12 March in Copenhagen.
The Prime Minister: I will make a decision on attendance nearer the date.
Ms Corston: To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he gave to sending an official British representative to the preparatory meeting in New York sponsored by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and the United Nations Development Programme for the world summit on social development in Copenhagen in March.
The Prime Minister: Officials from the Foreign Office, Overseas Development Administration and Department of Employment are in New York attending the final preparatory committee meeting for the world summit on social development, which will take place in Copenhagen in March. Some of those officials attended the seminar sponsored by UNRISD and UNDP, which took place in the week prior to the preparatory committee meeting.
Holocaust Museum
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister if he will support the creation of a Holocaust museum in London comparable with those in other major capital cites in Europe and north America.
The Prime Minister: I understand that the imperial war museum is considering creating a new museum which would cover the holocaust and other 20th century acts of genocide. That is a matter in the first instance for the trustees of the imperial war museum to consider.
Nex Steps Agencies
Mr. Steen: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 16 January, Official Report , column 275 , if he will list the Government Department next steps agencies with regional offices in the west country specifying in each case (a) its location, (b) the number of staff in each and (c) the annual cost.
Column 24
The Prime Minister: The table lists next steps agencies with offices in the west country. The information requested about these offices is not held centrally. This is a matter for the next steps agencies concerned.
Next Steps Agencies with Offices Located in the West Country ADAS Agency
Army Base Repair Organisation
Defence Research Agency
Disposal Sales Agency
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Driving Standards Agency
Employment Service
Government Property Lawyers
HM Prison Service
Highways Agency
Hydrographic Office
Insolvency Service
Land Registry
Marine Safety Agency
Meteorological Office
Ordnance Survey
Radiocommunications Agency
RAF Training Group
Social Security Benefits Agency
Social Security Child Support Agency
Social Security Contributions Agency
Social Security War Pensions Directorate
Valuation Office
Vehicle Certification Agency
Vehicle Inspectorate
Departments operating fully on Next Steps lines :
Customs and Excise
Inland Revenue (excluding Valuation Office)
| Next Section
| Home Page |