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Mental Illness
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new policy proposals she has to reduce the number of inmates and remand prisons who are transferred to mental institutions shortly after their arrest. [20803]
Mr. Bowis: It is well-established Government policy that offenders suffering from mental disorder should, where necessary, receive care and treatment from the health and social services rather than in the criminal justice system. The transfer to hospital of prisoners requiring specialist psychiatric care plays an important part in this.
The development of services for mentally disordered offenders and others with similar needs is a high priority for the national health service. My Department is working closely with the Home Department in establishing initiatives, such as multi-agency working in courts and the provision of specialist training, to ensure that mentally disordered people who come into contact with the criminal justice system obtain the care they need at the earliest possible stage.
Cannabis
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new proposals she has to legalise the therapeutic use of cannabis. [20806]
Mr. Bowis: Any consideration of the therapeutic use of cannabis would have to take account of the potential risks associated with short and long-term use. If, as a result of research, evidence became available that the quality, safety and efficacy of a cannabis-based preparation was suitable for the grant of a product licence under the Medicines Act 1968, the Misuse of Drugs Act controls, for which my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is responsible, could be modified to make such a medicine available to patients.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department have (a) a statutory requirement to admit members of the public to all board
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or committee meetings and (b) a statutory requirement to hold open meetings for the public. [20886]Hospitals, London
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when she received the South Thames regional health authority submission on changes to London hospitals; and approximately how many hours she spent studying it before 4 April; [21068]
(2) when she received the North Thames regional health authority submission on changes to London hospitals; and approximately how many hours she spent studying it before 4 April. [21069]
Mr. Malone: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 18 April at column 120 .
St. Bartholomew's and London Chest Hospital
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated land value of (a) the St. Bartholomew's hospital site and (b) the London chest hospital site. [21102]
Mr. Malone: The estimated land values of the St. Bartholomew's hospital site and the London chest hospital site are £65 million and £1.5 million respectively.
Health Services, London
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the increased investment in primary care, revenue and capital, in London in 1992 93, 1993 94and 1994 95; and what is planned for 1995 96 and1996 97. [21103]
Mr. Malone: Total expenditure on primary care by family health services authorities in London in 1992 93 and 1993 94 together with increase over the previous year is shown in the table. Figures for 1994 95 are not yet available. No comparable planned figures are available for 1995 96 and 1996 97.
£000
|1992-93|1993-94
----------------------------------------------------
Total expenditure |859,482|926,820
Increase over previous year |101,848|67,338
Notes:
1. Source-Annual Accounts of FHSAs. Figures for
1993-94 are provisional, being subject to National
Audit Office review.
2. Figures relate to all FHSAs in London.
3. The figures are for total FHSA expenditure (
services and administration) excluding general
practitioner fundholder expenditure on hospital
services. Services expenditure is for both cash
limited and non cash limited services, including
general medical services, pharmaceutical services,
optical services and dental services administered
by FHSAs. Expenditure on dental services centrally
administered by the Dental Practice Board is not
included. Expenditure on administration is both
revenue and capital expenditure. The accounting
policy in respect of capital changed between the
two years: in 1993-94 capital charges were
introduced in respect of FHSAs.
Survey Organisations
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the polling or public survey organisations employed by her Department in the financial year 1990 91; what were the values of
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individual contracts with these organisations; and what were the purposes of the research undertaken; [18171](2) how much was spent by her Department on contracts with polling or public survey organisations in the financial year 1994 95; [18172]
(3) if she will list the polling or public survey organisations employed by her Department in the financial year 1994 95; what were the values of individual contracts with these organisations; and what were the purposes of the research undertaken; [18173]
(4) what was the total amount of money spent by her Department on contracts with polling or publicsurvey organisations in each financial year since1990 91; [18189]
(5) if she will list the polling or public survey organisations employed by her Department in the financial year 1993 94, the values of individual contracts with these organisations and the purposes of the research undertaken; [18180]
(6) if she will list the polling or public survey organisations employed by her Department in the financial year 1992 93, the value of individual contracts with these organisations and the purposes of the research undertaken. [18181]
(7) if she will list the polling or public survey organisations employed by her Department in the financial year 1991 92, the values of individual contracts with these organisations and the purposes of the research undertaken. [18182]
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 5 April 1995]: A list of research projects commissioned from polling or public survey organisations for the financial years 1990 91 to 1994 95 will be placed in the Library. The cost of each individual survey is a matter of commercial confidentiality. Total costs of surveys in each year since 1990 91 are estimated as follows:
|£ million
------------------------------
1990-91 |2.5
1991-92 |3.4
1992-93 |5.5
1993-94 |6.7
1994-95 |5.3
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Relocation Costs
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list for each agency and the central Department for which he is responsible (a) the total amount of removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to officials who were required to relocate as part of their employment, (b) the amount of each of the highest three claims that were concluded and settled and (c) the average amount of each claim in each of the last three years. [19655]
Mr. Dorrell: The Department of National Heritage was created in April 1992. It has two agencies--the Royal Parks Agency, created in April 1993 and the Historic Royal Palaces Agency, created in October 1989. The information requested is shown in the following table:
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|Total amount of |Amounts of |Average amount
|removal costs (£) |highest claims (£) |of each claim (£)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DNH central department
1992-93 |nil |n/a |n/a
1993-94 |nil |n/a |n/a
1994-95 |nil |n/a |n/a
RPA
1992-93 |n/a |n/a |n/a
1993-94 |nil |n/a |n/a
1994-95 |nil |n/a |n/a
HRPA
1992-93 |nil |- |-
1993-94 |2,521 |Two claims only: 2,021 and 500|See data re actuals
1994-95 |6,682 |One claim only: 6,682 |See data re actuals
Overtime and Sickness
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list for each agency and the central Department for which he is responsible (a) the total hours of overtime worked for which payment has been made, (b) the total amount paid in overtime and (c) the total time in days and its monetary equivalent lost through sickness in each of the last three years. [19680]
Mr. Dorrell: The Department of National Heritage was created in April 1992. It has two agencies--the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) created in April 1993 and the Historic Royal Palaces Agency (HRPA) created in October 1989. The information requested is shown in the following tables:
(a) and (b) Table 1-Overtime
|Total hours of |Total amounts paid
|in
|overtime worked |overtime (£)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DNH central department
1992-93<1> |Figures not available|Figures not available
1993-94 |Figures not available|157,661.61
1994-95<2> |Figures not available|133,420.94
RPA
1992-93 |Not applicable |Not applicable
1993-94 |23,197 |289,570.13
1994-95<2> |16,877 |213,354.78
HRPA<><3>
1992-93 |Figures not available|584,000.00
1993-94 |Figures not available|650,000.00
1994-95<2> |Figures not available|723,000.00
Notes:
<1> DNH did not have its own financial and management accounting arrangements in place
until August 1992; for the year 1992-93, the information is therefore not available in
the format requested.
<2> The 1994-95 figures (for year ending 31 March 1995) may change slightly as year-end
accounts are finalised.
<3> The HRPA figures cover both overtime and premium pay (for excess hours worked at
weekends and on Public and Bank holidays. It is not possible to disaggregate the two.
c) Table 2-Sickness
Number of days
lost through
sickness:
|DNH central |RPA |HRPA
|department
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |366 |Not applicable|2,090
1993 |1,803 |2,350 |3,376
1994<1> |- |- |-
Notes:
<1> 1994 data is not yet available.
1. It is not possible to give figures for the monetary equivalent of days
lost through sickness as there are too many variables in this calculation
and it would be difficult to rely on the accuracy of any such
calculations.
EMPLOYMENT
Workplace Fatal Injuries
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons under 16 years died at a place of employment in each year since 1990. [20689]
Mr. Oppenheim: The number of fatal injuries to persons under the age of 16 reported to health and safety enforcement authorities in each year since 1990 91 is shown in the following table:
Fatalities<1> Year |Employees<2> |Non-employees|Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990-91 |0 |46 |46 1991-92 |0 |33 |33 1992-93 |1 |32 |33 1993-94<3> |1 |29 |30 <1> Figures are for Great Britain: as reported to the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agricultural and railway inspectorates, and to local authorities. <2> Includes trainees. <3> Provisional.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current percentage of adult males who are currently unemployed or economically inactive. [20824]
Mr. Oppenheim: The latest estimates from the labour force survey for winter 1994 95 show that 34.8 per cent. of males aged 16 and over in Great Britain are ILO unemployed or economically inactive, a category which includes students, the long-term sick and disabled and retirees.
Over four out of five of the economically inactive males included in this percentage state, in reply to the LFS, that they do not want a job; many of them are aged 65 or over.
Employment Service
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what support schemes for employees who take early retirement, early severance or voluntary redundancy are currently being operated by the Employment Service in the London region; how long these schemes have been in operation; and what plans there are to extend the cover of operation of these schemes. [21046]
Column 559
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Harriet Harman, dated 26 April 1995 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about early retirement, early severance and voluntary redundancy schemes in the London Region.
Schemes are operated on a regional basis and the majority of the following information therefore relates to the London and South East region of the Employment Services (ES).
Voluntary early retirement and early severance schemes have been operated for a number of years by the Department of Employment (ED), such schemes being offered when the prevailing circumstances justify them and are not run separately for the ES. The need for schemes is considered each year by ED, on a regional basis. Schemes are operated where it is clear that staff surpluses will occur that cannot be accommodated in other ways.
During the current financial year 89 staff in the ED Group in London and the South East left on early retirement. Of these 58 were from the ES. The staff involved were mainly from the more junior grades and in outlying locations (only three were from the Greater London area) for whom redeployment into other alternative posts elsewhere was not a realistic alternative.
With unemployment continuing to fall sharply in the region, a similar scheme has just been announced for the current financial year. This will provide ED Group staff London and South East with 170 retirement opportunities. Most of these opportunities are likely to affect ES staff.
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Staff who take retirement under these schemes are offered retirement seminars to advise on financial planning and other matters. At this stage there are no plans for further schemes which would affect ES staff.I hope this is helpful.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of staff actually employed in the region and the number of established positions which allocated resources allow for in the region, for the Employment Service in the London region, for each of the past 12 months, expressing the data by staff grade; and if he will make a statement about the staffing levels of the Employment Service in the London region. [21045]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Harriet Harman dated 26 April 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the levels of staffing in the London region of the Employment Service (ES) over the past 12 months.
The information you have requested is recorded on an ES Regional basis rather than for specific geographic areas. I have therefore provided the following information for the ES London and South East Region (LASER).
In common with all ES regions, LASER was allocated resources for the 1994/95 financial year on the basis of expected business volumes. The staff allocation for this twelve month period was 13,450. This is shown by grade and compared with actual usage in the following table.
Column 559
Staff allocation Staff usage
1994/95 1994/95
Grade |Permanent|Casual |Total |Permanent|Casual |Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 |1.0 |0.0 |1.0 |1.0 |0.0 |1.0
5 |1.0 |0.0 |1.0 |1.0 |0.0 |1.0
6 |4.0 |0.0 |4.0 |3.9 |0.0 |3.9
7 |26.0 |0.0 |26.0 |26.4 |0.0 |26.4
SEO |69.0 |0.0 |69.0 |74.8 |0.0 |74.8
HEO |543.0 |0.0 |543.0 |459.0 |0.0 |459.0
EO |3393.0 |0.0 |3393.0 |3276.3 |3.5 |3279.8
AO |8048.0 |365.0 |8413.0 |8187.7 |611.0 |8798.7
AA |829.0 |1.0 |830.0 |367.0 |109.0 |476.0
Others |158.0 |12.0 |170.0 |107.8 |7.9 |115.7
Total |13072.0 |378.0 |13450.0 |12505.8 |731.4 |13237.2
Staffing levels and associated resource levels are determined largely, though not exclusively, by levels of unemployment. In LASER, unemployment fell by 15% between April 1994 and March 1995, although the fall was much sharper in some parts of South East England (up to 25%) than in the Region as a whole. This meant that staffing had to be reduced in LASER in phase with this and in fact staffing fell from 14,329 in April 1994 to 11,820 in March, or 17.5% As it is not possible to forecast with any reliability monthly changes in unemployment levels, ES Regions are not allocated staffing resources on a monthly basis.
It is also not possible to say with any precision how staffing will move in the year ahead, although during the 1980s unemployment rose more rapidly in London and the South East than in other Regions. That trend is now being matched by a more rapid decline in LASER, particularly outside London, although it is not possible to forecast with confidence whether this will continue. LASER is currently resourced on the basis that it will need an average of 11,650 staff during the current financial year.
As in all ES Regions, staffing levels are managed so as to keep as close a match as possible through the year between the levels of
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business to be performed and the staffing resources allocated. That this has been done successfully has been borne out by the fact that LASER placed 487,000 clients into jobs during the last financial year, 9.5% above target. Of these 37.8% were long term claimants (against a target of 36.0%) and 4.1% people with disabilities, against a target of 3.6%I hope this is helpful.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have (a) a statutory requirement to admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings and (b) a statutory requirement to hold open meetings for the public. [20874]
Column 561
HOME DEPARTMENT
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total cost to the public purse of administering the change of the criminal injuries compensation awards to a tariff scheme. [20407]
Mr. Maclean: A precise figure is not available, but the total additional cost was probably in the order of £1 million.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) firefighters, (b) police officers and (c) nurses have been made criminal injuries compensation awards under the tariff scheme which are less than they would have received under the old scheme; and, for each of these categories, what was the average amount by which each claimant received reduced remuneration. [20408]
Mr. Maclean: Under the tariff scheme offers of awards were made to 10 firefighters, 226 police officers and 60 health professionals, including doctors and nurses. Until the cases are reassessed under the 1990 scheme by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board it will not be possible to say whether there was any difference in the awards payable under the two schemes.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he plans to take with regard to claimants for criminal injuries compensation. [20409]
Mr. Maclean: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) on 6 February at column 113 and to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 5 April at column 1250 , pursuant to a reply given on 9 March.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claimants were awarded compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority under the tariff scheme; and what action he now proposes to take with regard to those awards. [20406]
Mr. Maclean: At 31 March 1995, 4,891 monetary awards had been offered or paid under the tariff scheme. All applications received on or after 1 April 1994 are now to be considered or reassessed under the 1990 scheme. Where a higher award results, the board will pay the balance to the applicant. In other cases the tariff award will be allowed to stand.
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on legislation to place the criminal injuries compensation scheme on a statutory basis. [20745]
Mr. Maclean: Meetings and correspondence between Ministers are confidential.
Mrs. Currie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days a year the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board sits to consider claims; and if he will make a statement. [20616]
Mr. Maclean: Claims are decided initially by individual board members or by staff under delegated authority. Only where those decisions are appealed do board members sit in panels of two or three, usually for a week at a time, with a number of panels operating
Column 562
simultaneously. In 1993 94 the resulting number of sitting days were 969.Mrs. Currie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases are currently outstanding with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; and what is the average length of time taken to settle a claim. [20617]
Mr. Maclean: At 31 March 1995, some 38,500 1990 scheme cases-- including nearly 19,000 appeals cases--and some 72,000 former tariff scheme cases--which now fall to be considered or reassessed under the 1990 scheme- -were outstanding. The board does not maintain statistics on the time taken to deal with cases in a form which enables the average time per case to be calculated, but the board normally aims to make a first decision within nine months of receipt of an application and to hear an appeal within 18 months of an application for appeal.
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new policy decisions he plans to reduce the number of prisoners who are transferred to mental institutions (a) before sentence and (b) after sentence; and if he will make a statement. [20804]
Mr. Maclean: It is well established Government policy that offenders suffering from mental disorder should, where necessary, receive care and treatment from the health and social services rather than in the criminal justice system. The transfer to hospital of prisoners requiring specialist care plays an important part in this. The development of services for mentally disordered offenders and others with similar needs is a high priority for the NHS. My Department is working closely with the Department of Health in establishing initiatives, such as multi-agency working in courts and the provision of specialist training, to ensure that mentally disordered people who come into contact with the criminal justice system obtain the care that they need at the earliest possible stage.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have (a) a statutory requirement to admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings and (b) a statutory requirement to hold open meetings for the public. [20885]
Mr. Howard: None. However, the Data Protection Registrar is under a duty, under section 36 of the Data Protection Act 1984 to disseminate information about the operation of the Act.
Fingerprints
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the abandonment of the advanced fingerprint recognition system. [20685]
Column 563
Mr. Maclean: The national automated fingerprint identification system--NAFIS--which is being procured by the Government on behalf of the police forces of England and Wales, remains on schedule for implementation from 1998. So far as the termination of the contract between the AFR Consortium and IBM for the provision of automated fingerprint recognition services is concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 5 April at columns 1249 50.
Miscarriages of Justice
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 19 April at column 193, if he will list the recently completed investigations to which he refers and the cost in each case. [20775]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 April to the question from the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) at column 271.
Phoenix Database
Mrs. Golding: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will have access to the Phoenix database when it comes into service. [20466]
Mr. Maclean: The following organisations, all of which currently have access to the police national computer criminal names file, will have access to the Phoenix criminal justice record service database when it comes into service:
All police forces maintained under the Police Act 1964, or the Police (Scotland) Act 1967
The Metropolitan police
The City of London police
Regional crime squads, including the Scottish crime squad National Identification Service
Scottish Criminal Record Office
National Criminal Intelligence Service
Regional criminal intelligence offices
Royal Ulster Constabulary
Isle of Man police
Jersey police
Guernsey police
British Transport police
Ministry of Defence police
Dover Harbour Board police
National Ports Office
HM Customs and Excise
The following four organisations will have access to the database for maintenance, development, or training purposes only:
Hendon data centre
Central police national computer training centre
Home Office technical policy division (maintenance and development)
The Police Staff college, Bramshill (training access only) In addition, as I announced to the House on 22 March at column 200 , six Government Departments and agencies
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