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Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report , column 744 , how long the expatriate Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police in Bermuda will be required to remain in post; and if he will name them; and indicate from which United Kingdom police force they came.
Mr. Baldry: Three and two years respectively. Mr. Coxall, assistant chief commissioner of the City of London police, and Mr. Mylod deputy chief constable of Hampshire have been appointed as commissioner and deputy commissioner.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the crime statistics in Bermuda for each of the past five years.
Mr. Baldry: The statistics which are readily available are for the five years up to and including 1993. These are:
|1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
------------------------------------------------------------
Crimes:
Against the person |409 |466 |428 |474 |483
Against property |3,558|4,291|4,515|3,936|5,216
Others, including drugs |1,173|861 |714 |792 |625
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 744, what training Her Majesty's Government are providing for Bermudian police officers with a view to their being appointed in future to the posts of commissioner and deputy commissioner of police.
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Mr. Baldry: The commissioner of police will address the training requirements of the Bermuda police when he takes up his appointment. Officers at all levels of the Bermuda police force regularly attend police training courses in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who paid for the report compiled by HM Inspector- General of the Dependent Territories constabulary; if the report is a private document; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: The report was paid for jointly by the FCO and the Government of Bermuda. It was compiled for the Government of Bermuda and is confidential to that Government.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the principal achievements of his recent visits to (a) Bangladesh and (b) India; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's visit to Bangladesh and India enabled him to judge personally the practical value of the United Kingdom's two largest bilateral aid programmes. In Bangladesh he urged the importance of political stability for foreign investors. In both countries he met the Prime Minister and gave high level support to the process of economic reform, notably in a well received speech at the centenary of the Confederation of Indian Industries in Calcutta. He also discussed the future direction of the massively successful Indo-British partnership initiative.
Executive Search Agencies
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidelines are operated by his Department as regards the use of executive search agencies to fill vacancies within his Department and his Department's executive agencies; and in what circumstances his Department employs executive search agencies instead of relying fully on departmental resources to fill vacant posts.
Mr. Goodlad: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 15 December, Official Report, column 760 . My Department's executive agencies make no use of executive search agencies, so there are no guidelines. Should my Department or an executive agency under its control decide to use an executive search agency, it would follow the guidelines set out in "Guidance on Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment".
Nigeria
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom Government will put pressure on the Government of Nigeria to release all prisoners of conscience.
Mr. Baldry: With our European Union partners we have consistently deplored all abuses of human rights, including the frequent use of detention without trial. We look to the Nigerian Government to respect all their international human rights obligations.
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Nigerian Government concerning the trial of Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa.
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Mr. Baldry [holding answer 25 January 1995]: With our European partners we have consistently urged the Nigerian authorities to release political detainees, or ensure fair judicial process. Mr. Saro- Wiwa's trial started on 16 January, and we and our EU partners are following developments closely.
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to Shell International concerning the trial of Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 25 January 1995]: No such representations have been made.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Uranium
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of (a) the low enriched uranium, (b) the highly enriched uranium and (c) the natural uranium imported into and exported from the European Union in each year since 1982, came into and out of the United Kingdom annually since 1982.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The information, where available, is given in the table.
United Kingdom share by value of European Union extra-EU
trade in uranium
Share of European Union extra-EU imports
Per cent.
|Low enriched |Highly enriched|Natural
Year |uranium |uranium |uranium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |8.2 |n/a |n/a
1989 |7.7 |n/a |n/a
1990 |8.5 |n/a |n/a
1991 |27.3 |16.8 |n/a
1992 |37.8 |n/a |n/a
1993 |28.1 |n/a |3.3
Share of European Union extra-EU exports
Per cent.
|Low enriched |Highly enriched|Natural
Year |uranium |uranium |uranium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1989 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1990 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1991 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1992 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1993 |15.8 |98.1 |49.1
n/a not available: data is confidential.
Source: EuroStat Comext database.
Manufacturing
Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of gross domestic product manufacturing currently represents; and what was the figure in 1979.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The information is available from the Central Statistical Office's "United Kingdom National Accounts"--the "CSO Blue Book". A copy of the "CSO Blue Book" is available in the Library of the House.
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British Coal Enterprise
Ms Estelle Morris: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from the west midlands regional forum of local authorities about the continued existence of British Coal Enterprise after March; and what plans his Department has to continue the financial contribution to job creation which British Coal Enterprise has made.
Mr. Charles Wardle: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Energy has received several representations from and on behalf of the west midlands regional forum of local authorities about British Coal Enterprise.
The Government and British Coal are continuing to explore options for the range of services provided by BCE. No final decisions have been taken about its future.
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met representatives of British Coal Enterprise to discuss their record and future plans.
Mr. Charles Wardle: My ministerial colleagues and I meet representatives from British Coal Enterprise as necessary to discuss a variety of issues.
Engineering Steel Prices
Mr. Hardy: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the average cost per tonne of engineering steel produced at the Sidenor works in Spain and the Klockner works in Germany during the last two years.
Mr. Eggar: The Government do not have access to this type of commercially sensitive detailed information about individual companies, and therefore is not able to provide a meaningful estimate of production costs at these plants.
Lyon Instant Coffee Factory, Greenford
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what powers he has to intervene in respect of the proposed closure of Lyons instant coffee factory in Greenford by Kraft, Jacobs and Suchard; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The closure is most unfortunate and we have every sympathy for the work force involved. However, manning levels are a matter for the commercial judgment of the company and it would be counter- productive for the Government to try to interfere in normal commercial processes. There are a range of facilities available to help redundant workers find new jobs, retain or set up businesses of their own.
Competitiveness White Paper
Mr. Patrick Nicholls: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he intends to update the White Paper, "Competitiveness, Helping Business to Win".
Mr. Heseltine: As part of its commitment to the continuous improvement of the United Kingdom's competitiveness, the Government plan to publish a second White Paper on competitiveness this summer. This will report on progress over the last year, extend the analysis of the UK's competitiveness and bring forward new initiatives to help business to win.
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Green Minister
Mr. Dafis: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will outline the main activities of the green Minister in his Department, in his role as green Minister, during 1994.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 25 January 1995]: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has designated me as the green Minister for the Department. During 1994, I and my predecessor as green Minister have continued to ensure that environmental considerations are integrated into the strategy and policies of the Department. Specific environmental initiatives taken during the year will continue to feature in the Department's report on its expenditure plans.
Commercial Lobbying
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) on how many occasions in the last four months he or any of his Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements; (2) on how many occasions in the last four months of which he has knowledge any civil servants in his Department have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answers 25 January 1995]: I refer to my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's answer of 25 January 1995, Official Report , column 197 .
HEALTH
Hepatitis C
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has available to determine the effectiveness, duration and commencement of United Kingdom screening for hepatitis C compared with European Union countries and the United States.
Mr. Sackville: Routine testing of all blood donations for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus was introduced in September 1991 when the expert committee advised that sufficiently reliable tests, including confirmatory tests were available. In considering their advice the expert committee took into account the experiences of other countries, including EU countries and the United States.
Mental Handicap Hospitals
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many long-stay mental handicap hospitals in England are still open.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Dulwich (Ms Jowell) on 27 October 1994 at column 821 .
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of remaining residents in long-stay mental hospitals in England.
Mr. Bowis: It is estimated that at 31 March 1994 there were 11,500 people with mental handicap needs and with
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a length of stay of one year or more, in national health service hospitals.Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many long-stay mental handicap hospitals do not yet have an agreed closure plan;
(2) what plans she has to close the remaining long-stay mental handicap hospitals;
(3) how many long-stay mental handicap hospitals have closed; (4) what are the closure dates of the remaining long-stay mental handicap hospitals.
Mr. Bowis: Under Departmental guidance HSG(92)42, copies of which are in the Library, health authorities should work with matching social services departments in planning the transfer of residents and the resources to support them to the community by a mutually agreed date. No deadlines have been set but the aim is to close the old long-stay mental handicap hospitals as soon as practicable. No central record is kept of proposed and actual closure dates.
Secure Hospital Beds
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made with the provision of the additional 550 medium secure hospital beds which the Government plan to have in place by 1996; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: There were no medium secure places by 1979 in response to the Glancy report recommendations which were published in 1974. The number of purpose-built national health service medium secure places has increased from 602 in January 1992 to 712 at the end of December 1994.
A further 446 places currently being developed are due to open by December 1996, and will take the total to over 1,150. We have allocated £47 million in centrally-funded capital to support this development, and additional places are being funded through the main NHS capital programme.
Blood
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what volume of blood donated was used within the NHS, annually, from 1989 to the present day.
Mr. Sackville: The last year for which complete information is available centrally about the number and usage of blood donations is 1993. Complete information is not available centrally for earlier years.
In 1993 there were a total of 2,312,000 donations of whole blood and 120,000 plasmapheresis donations.
An individual donation may be put to a number of uses as a number of components may be harvested from it. In 1993 the figures for the use of donations were:
Whole blood--106,000 of which 97.9 per cent. was NHS
usage;
Red Cell Components--1,959,000 of which 99.5 per cent. was NHS usage;
Platelets--842,000 of which 99.3 per cent. was NHS usage; Fresh Frozen Plasma--266,000;
In addition some 486,000 litres of plasma were recovered from whole blood donations and 60,000 litres of plasma from plasmapheresis donations.
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Patients Charter
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it a mandatory requirement for all health authorities and national health service trusts to inform patients if treatment is not being provided on economic grounds.
Mr. Malone: The patient's charter already sets out the right of all patients to receive health care on the basis of their clinical need, not on their ability to pay, their lifestyle, or any other factor. Health authorities are responsible for purchasing health care to meet the needs of their local population.
Suicide Statistics
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has ben the suicide rate for (i) each local health authority, (ii) each regional health authority and (iii) nationally among (a) young men, (b) young women, (c) all men, (d) all women and (e) the population as a whole for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
Mr. Bowis: This information will be placed in the Library.
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the number of terminally or very seriously ill people who commit suicide with or without assistance from others.
Mr. Sackville: The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys routinely collects information relating to deaths registered in England and Wales for which there is a statutory requirement to do so. For each death it is possible for the certifying registered medical practitioner to record on the death certificate
"Other significant conditions CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEATH but not related to the disease or condition causing it".
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Analysis of this information could, if present, provide an indication of the presence of terminal illness or very serious illness. The information, however, would be unlikely to be complete, difficult to interpret, and could be provided only atdisproportionate cost.
A death known and recorded as having been assisted by a person or persons unknown would not be recorded as a suicide.
Mundesley Hospital
Sir Ralph Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern the sale of the Mundesley hospital.
Mr. Sackville: Regional health authorities manage the disposal of surplus property by virtue of regulation 3(1) of the Functions Regulations, SI 1991/554, subject to the Health Authorities Land Transactions Directions 1989. These directions require RHAs to dispose of land in accordance with property transactions in the NHS, part of the "Estatecode" issued by the Department.
Sir Ralph Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the effect on the hospital of the vandalism committed between June and December 1994.
Mr. Sackville: As this information is not available centrally, my hon. Friend may wish to contact Sir Stuart Burgess, chairman of Anglia and Oxford regional health authority, for details.
Consultant Rheumatologists
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant rheumatologists were practising in each health authority area in each year since 1986.
Mr. Malone: The information is shown in the table:
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Whole-time equivalents of consultant rheumatologists by region as at 30
September 1986-1993
Region |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |15 |15 |15 |16 |16 |16 |18 |17
Yorkshire |7 |7 |7 |7 |8 |9 |10 |12
Trent |16 |17 |17 |18 |18 |18 |18 |18
East Anglia |10 |10 |10 |11 |10 |9 |11 |7
North west Thames |21 |22 |20 |20 |21 |24 |19 |17
North east Thames |30 |23 |28 |23 |30 |28 |31 |27
South east Thames |27 |24 |24 |26 |28 |28 |27 |27
South west Thames |15 |15 |15 |15 |17 |19 |13 |18
Wessex |20 |21 |20 |20 |18 |17 |21 |21
Oxford |12 |11 |13 |14 |14 |13 |13 |12
South Western |5 |6 |8 |8 |8 |9 |7 |7
West Midlands |12 |10 |11 |11 |13 |13 |12 |14
Mersey |4 |5 |4 |4 |5 |8 |6 |6
North Western |17 |15 |16 |18 |19 |16 |15 |16
SHAs |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2
England Total |210 |200 |210 |210 |230 |230 |220 |220
Note:
1.Figures for 1990 and 1991 are estimates.
2.Regional figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number; England
figures to the nearest 10. Regional figures may not sum to the England totals
because of rounding.
Physiotherapists
Mr. Sims: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to introduce legislation to protect the patients of physiotherapists in the private sector.
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Mr. Bowis: In order to practise within the national health service or local authorities physiotherapists must be registered under the provisions of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960.
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The Government are considering what action may be needed in the light of concerns about the activities of unregistered practitioners.Recovered Memories
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the "Recovered Memories" report by the British Psychological Society, a copy of which has been sent to her.
Mr. Bowis: We have received a copy of this report and we welcome its publication by the British Psychological Society, as we accept that psychologists, both as scientists and clinical practitioners, can make an important contribution to the understanding of human memory phenomena. Although strong arguments have been made for and against "false memory", there is a dearth of clear evidence and work which examines these matters is helpful.
Regulatory Bodies
Sir Gerard Vaughan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about the composition of regulatory bodies for health care professionals.
Mr. Malone: Information relating to the composition of regulatory bodies for health care professionals will be placed in the Library.
Smoking
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of a total ban on cigarette advertising on (a) the prevalence of smoking amongst the population as a whole and (b) the prevalence of smoking among the 11 to 15-year-old age group.
Mr. Sackville: In 1992 the Department of Health reviewed all the available evidence on the effect of tobacco advertising on tobacco consumption. The findings were published as a discussion document. "Effect of Tobacco Advertising on Tobacco Consumption", copies of which are available in the Library. The Government concluded on the basis of the evidence reviewed that a ban on tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom would not have a major impact in reducing levels of smoking.
The Department of Health review did not identify any studies which seek to quantify the effect of a ban on the prevalence of smoking amongst children aged between 11 and 15. The report "Why Children Start Smoking" Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 1990--identified a number of risk factors in this age group associated with starting to smoke. The report concluded that
"greater awareness of cigarette advertising is associated with a slightly increased likelihood of starting to smoke in the future. However, the effect appears to be small in comparison with some of the other influences on children such as the example set by parents and siblings".
Consultants
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will undertake an inquiry to establish the extent to which NHS consultants are not fulfilling their NHS contracts.
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Mr. Malone: No. National health service employers are responsible for ensuring that individual NHS consultants are fulfilling their contractual obligations.
Uniform Complaints Procedure
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she intends to introduce legislation to implement the findings of the Wilson committee in respect of a uniform complaints procedure; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Malone: We welcomed the publication of "Being Heard", the report of the Wilson committee, and support its central recommendation for a simpler, speedier national health service complaints system. Over 600 responses were received to the consultation exercise on the report, raising some complex issues. We are carefully considering our response to the report in the light of this and will make an announcement as soon as our present considerations are complete.
Hospitals (Safety)
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review safety in hospitals to ensure the proper protection of patients and staff; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: The Government place great importance on the creation of a safe and secure environment in hospitals as part of quality health care. Specific arrangements for the safety of patients and staff in hospitals, whether in relation to health and safety requirements or security, are a matter for local national health service employers. Guidance on both of these areas has been made available to hospitals by the NHS Executive ((EL(93)66) and (HSG(94)51)), copies of which are available in the Library.
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