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Mesothelioma
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of deaths of (a) men and (b) women in England, Wales and Scotland for which mesothelioma is mentioned on the death certificate for each year since 1968. [15215]
Mr. Sackville: This information is shown in the table:
Deaths in Great Britain where
Mesothelioma was specifically
mentioned on the death certificate,
1968-1991.
|Male |Female|Total
------------------------------------
1968 |115 |39 |154
1969 |123 |36 |159
1970 |145 |49 |194
1971 |141 |40 |181
1972 |169 |43 |212
1973 |182 |42 |224
1974 |185 |58 |243
1975 |218 |52 |270
1976 |256 |56 |312
1977 |273 |60 |333
1978 |328 |63 |391
1979 |340 |93 |433
1980 |355 |102 |457
1981 |395 |73 |468
1982 |411 |91 |502
1983 |474 |95 |569
1984 |534 |84 |618
1985 |531 |83 |614
1986 |599 |101 |700
1987 |702 |106 |808
1988 |751 |111 |862
1989 |767 |132 |899
1990 |763 |117 |880
1991<1> |861 |148 |1,009
<1> Provisional.
Surgery (Qualifications of Staff)
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the circumstances in which a person with no formal medical qualifications was asked to assist in a hip replacement operation at Newham general hospital; who was the employee; and what was his or her contract of employment. [15837]
Mr. Sackville: This is a matter for Newham Healthcare national health service trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman, Mrs. Rosemary Walters, for details.
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grades of personnel, other than qualified medical practitioners and nurses are, under health service regulations, permitted to participate in surgical operations; and what records are kept of such occasions. [15836]
Mr. Sackville: The law does not specify who may participate in an operation. Theatre nurses, operating department assistants and operating department orderlies working under the direct supervision of medical staff may assist in some operations where needed, within the limits of their competence.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make available in the Library copies of the written evidence submitted to, and the transcripts of oral evidence taken by, the Warnock committee which produced the report on human fertilisation and embryology; and if that evidence and those transcripts have ever been published. [15838]
Mr. Sackville: Copies of written evidence to the committee of inquiry into human fertilisation and embryology and responses to the Warnock report from organisations were placed in the Library in 1985, where the organisation consented. Transcripts of oral evidence to the committee were not made. Organisations who gave oral and written evidence to the committee are listed in the appendix to the Warnock report. Some of them are believed to have published their own evidence.
Community Care Forum
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 1 February, Official Report , column 1036 , if she will list the schedule
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of dates for the meetings of the Community Care Forum, its terms of reference, and who is to be appointed to the chair. [15774]Mr. Bowis: The first such meeting will be held on3 April and chaired by an official from this Department.
Orsett Hospital
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assurances about maintenance or planned improvements of service delivery were given to her predecessor when authority was sought to close the accident and emergency department at Orsett hospital in Thurrock; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: [holding answer 7 March 1995]: The then Basildon and Thurrock health authority envisaged a continuing major role for Orsett hospital in the provision of health care in the district.
EDUCATION
Hearing Impaired Children
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many vacancies exist for teachers of the deaf; [15456] (2) how many teachers of the deaf have qualified in each of the last three years. [15457]
Mr. Robin Squire: The results of a DFE survey covering the 1993 94 financial year indicate that in the 87 local education authorities that completed the survey, 68 teachers completed their training to gain a mandatory qualification in the teaching of hearing impaired children.
The same survey indicated that there were 24.2 vacancies for teachers of hearing impaired children in the 87 LEAs concerned. Figures are not available for earlier years, but a similar survey is currently being undertaken covering the 1994 95 financial year.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Eastham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many further education colleges in the north-west have not met their targets for (a) 1993 94 and (b) 1994 95; [15674]
(2) which colleges of further education in the north-west have made the biggest claims for demand lead element in 1994 95; and what vocational training contributed most to these demand lead element bids; [15676]
(3) what are the consequences for colleges that have been awarded grants but not achieved their targets; in which cases reimbursement of public funds will be sought; and how the reimbursement will be operated. [15675]
Mr. Boswell: These are matters for the Further Education Funding Council. I have written to the FEFC's chief executive, Sir William Stubbs, and asked him to respond to the hon. Member's questions directly by letter.
National Curriculum
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of the Dearing review of the national curriculum. [15593]
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Mr. Forth: The estimated total cost of the Dearing review of the national curriculum is £4.7 million, comprising:
i. £755,000 for the interim and final Dearing reports on the national curriculum;
ii. £528,000 for work on slimming down the curriculum by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority and its advisory groups, excluding SCAA internal staff costs;
iii. £2 million for the consultation on the revised curriculum proposals, including the cost of publishing and distributing the consultation documents and a report on the outcome of consultation; iv. £1.4 million for publication and distribution of the final subject documents in January 1995, excluding staff costs.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total cost of the work on the national curriculum before the Dearing review. [15592]
Mr. Forth: Central Government expenditure on the national curriculum between 1988 and 1993 was an estimated £469 million. Some £350 million of this was in the form of grants for education support and training to support expenditure by local education authorities and schools mainly on books, equipment and training. The £469 million also includes the full grants to the former National Curriculum Council and the School Examinations and Assessment Council, and thus includes some expenditure on the curriculum and assessment which was not directly concerned with the national curriculum.
Secondary Education Advisory Council
Mr. Don Foser: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of (a) setting up and (b) winding up the Secondary Education Advisory Council and the National Curriculum Council. [15595]
Mr. Forth: I will write to the hon. Member.
Whittingham Communities Primary School
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when she will be in a position to give a full answer to the letter from the hon. Member for Walthamstow of 27 February, regarding Whittingham school: and when the council of the London borough of Waltham Forest will be giving a decision on the rebuilding of Whittingham school. [15850]
Mr. Robin Squire: My letter of 13 March to the hon. Member explained the position on the proposals to establish the Whittingham community primary school. I expect a decision to be made shortly and shall advise the hon. Member of the outcome.
School Inspections
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of (a) an average primary school Office for Standards in Education and (b) an average secondary school Ofsted inspection for the most recent year for which figures are available. [15594]
Mr. Forth: This is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools, who heads the independent Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
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Funding Agency for Schools
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of setting up the Funding Agency for Schools.
Mr. Robin Squire: The sum of £1.044 million was spent on the FAS headquarters in York, initial staff-related costs, and other miscellaneous items prior to the agency's formal establishment on 1 April 1994.
Asbestos
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps her Department has taken over the last year to inform local education authorities and grant-maintained schools of the dangers of school buildings containing asbestos for individuals carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work; [15147] (2) what consideration her Department has given to the sending of a guidance note to head teachers informing them of the dangers of asbestos for individuals carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work on school buildings; and if she will make a statement. [15149]
Mr. Robin Squire: General information and advice about asbestos is set out in the Department of the Environment's booklet "Asbestos Materials in Buildings", which was revised most recently in 1991. The Department for Education will shortly be issuing, as part of a document dealing with building matters generally, additional guidance about asbestos.
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration her Department has given to the risk of voluntary staff facing exposure to asbestos dust when carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work on school buildings. [15148]
Mr. Robin Squire: All work with asbestos is regulated by the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987. These regulations impose duties on employers, including local education authorities and schools, to protect their employees from exposure to asbestos, but also extend this duty to include the protection of anyone else who may be affected by the work. Schools can seek professional advice about asbestos either from their local education authority or other sources. They should certainly do so if they believe that asbestos poses any threat to staff or pupils. Detailed guidance is available in the Department of the Environment booklet "Asbestos Materials in Buildings".
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration her Department has given to encouraging local education authorities to survey school buildings so as to create detailed registers of school buildings that contain asbestos; and if she will make a statement. [15150]
Mr. Robin Squire: Responsibility for the condition of school buildings and the health and safety of pupils and staff lies with local education authorities and school governors. Although the Department would suggest that in all cases the presence of asbestos in school buildings should be recorded and its condition monitored, how local education authorities and schools exercise their responsibilities for health and safety must be for them to decide.
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Teachers' Pay
Mr. Forman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial provision has been made by central Government for increases in teachers' pay in 1996 both in cash terms and in percentage terms. [15267]
Mr. Robin Squire: The provisional figure for the aggregate total standard spending on all services in 1996 97 is £44,073 million. Individual service shares will be decided in next year's settlement.
Grant-maintained Schools
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the capital allocation to each grant-maintained schools in Birmingham since their establishment; and what information she has on the annual capital expenditure of each school. [15443]
Mr. Robin Squire: These matters are now the responsibility of the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member with this information.
Standard Spending Assessments
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with which bodies she consulted prior to
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the announcement of the standard spending assessment for education. [15044]Mr. Robin Squire: The Government consulted the local authority associations through the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance and the working groups which support it. In addition, my right hon. Friend and other Ministers and I regularly meet representatives of local education authorities and other bodies; discussions cover a range of issues including education funding.
Green Fold School
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the registered capacity of Green Fold school in Bolton, Lancashire when it was first opened in 1981; what has been the registered capacity for each year since then; and what is the latest projection. [144434]
Mr. Robin Squire: Our records show that in 1981 Green Fold special school had approval for 80 "educationally sub-normal (severe)" boys and girls aged three to 18. The capacity remained the same until 1988, when the then Secretary of State gave approval for the school for 60 boys and girls with severe learning difficulties aged three to 11. The capacity has remained at this level for each year since then. Any change to this figure would require Bolton local education authority to submit proposals to the Secretary of State under section 183 of the Education Act 1993.
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