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Severe Disablement Allowance
Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many hours of study people in receipt of severe disablement allowance will be able to undertake without jeopardising their benefit entitlement when the jobseeker's allowance is introduced; and if he will make a statement. [19753]
Mr Hague: I have been asked to reply.
On its introduction in April 1996, jobseeker's allowance will allow unemployed people to undertake part-time further education courses of up to 16 "guided learning hours" a week. Severe disablement allowance is paid to people who are incapable of work through sickness and therefore cannot be claimed at the same time as JSA. SDA rules on hours of attendance on educational courses apply only to those recipients aged between 16 and 19 and the current limit on part time education is 21 hours a week. We are considering whether we need to change these rules.
PRIME MINISTER
Nurses' Pay
Mr. Mark Robinson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about nurses' pay. [22336]
The Prime Minister: The report for 1995 96 of the Independent Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine was published on 9 February 1995. The review body recommended a 1 per cent. national increase in pay, with additional increases to be negotiated locally. The
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Government accepted the review body's recommendations in full. I am advised that offers have been made by 175 NHS trusts. Since the vast majority meet the nurses demand for a rise of 3 per cent., I assume that the offers are acceptable to them. It was that to which I was referring in the House yesterday.HEALTH
NHS Trusts
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if NHS trusts are permitted to appoint honorary non-executive directors in addition to the five paid non-executive directors. [20684]
Mr. Malone: There is no provision in either the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 or in the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 for the appointment of honorary non-executive directors for NHS trusts.
Psychiatric Services
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric beds were available in each health authority in 1979; and how many are currently available. [20686]
Mr. Bowis: Figures for 1979 are published in "SH3 National and Regional Summaries (DHSS Hospital Statistics) 1979" and for 1993 94, the latest year available, in "Bed availability for England, financial year 1993 94". Copies are available in the Library. Because of changes in the classifications of beds and health authority boundaries over the period, figures are not strictly comparable.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of each £1 spent on the psychiatric services is spent on (a) hospital beds and (b) community health services; and if she will make a statement. [20825]
Mr. Bowis: Information in the form requested is not available.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what current plans her Department has to fund Mindline; and if she will enter into discussions with MIND to do so. [20687]
Mr. Bowis: No such application for funding has been received.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health beds per 1,000 population were available in London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool in each year since 1991. [21914]
Mr. Bowis: Hospitals in the cities listed do not provide services exclusively for the populations of those cities. The information is not, therefore, available in the form requested.
St. Bartholomew's Hospital Site
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 18 April, Official Report , column 19 , on the future use of the site of St. Bartholomew's hospital, if future health-related services could include a privately funded casualty, emergency or
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acute hospital which could incorporate some of the existing facilities. [21063]Mr. Malone: A project team, led by Sir Ronald Grierson, will look at the practical options for future use of the St. Bartholomew's hospital site, taking into account its historic health care connections. The team will work with the Royal Hospitals trust and other interested parties.
Correspondence
Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the letter of 17 March sent to her by Roger and Michelle Gould regarding the medical condition and treatment of their son, Jo. [21676]
Mr. Bowis: No such letter has been received in the Department. If the hon. Lady will arrange for a copy to be sent to me I will ensure that it receives urgent attention.
Market Testing
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of staff employed and the establishment and running costs of the NHS Executive (a) information desk and (b) database relating to NHS market testing guidance. [21756]
Mr. Malone: The market testing information desk and data base is staffed and run by one half whole-time equivalent national health service executive executive officer at an approximate cost of £12,500 per year.
Emergency Vehicles
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency vehicles run by (a) the London ambulance service, (b) the Northumbria ambulance service, (c) the West Midlands ambulance service and (d) the Greater Manchester ambulance service are more than three years old; and what proportion of the fleet this represents in each case. [21926]
Mr. Bowis: This information is not available centrally.
NHS Pensions Agency Targets
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the key targets for 1995 96 for the NHS Pensions Agency. [22133]
Mr. Sackville: I have agreed the agency's key targets for 1995 96. These are:
Clearance
To clear 95 per cent. of the projected 28,200 pension awards within four weeks of the application being accepted by the Agency and 99 per cent. within eight weeks.
To send a substantive reply to all correspondence within four weeks of receipt.
Efficiency
To achieve a 7 per cent. increase in efficiency over three years, based upon the agency's cost-weighted activity index.
Financial
To deliver the business programme within the agreed allocations. Improvement
To reorganise the agency into multi-functional client-centred teams by 30 November 1995.
To implement a new pensions processing system by 31 March 1996.
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Medicines Control Agency Targets
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the key business targets for the Medicines Control Agency for 1995 96. [22134]
Mr. Sackville: I have today placed in the Library a copy of the Medicines Control Agency's business plan for 1995 96.
Selected List Scheme
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations her Department has had with the Department of Trade and Industry over the implications to United Kingdom investment of the selected list scheme. [20629]
Mr. Malone: There are regular discussions between Government Departments, including the Department of Trade and Industry, and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry about matters of mutual concern.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the level of industry investment into the seven therapeutic areas listed on the 1984 selected list scheme since the announcement of the categories. [20630]
Mr. Malone: This information is not available centrally.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what medical basis there is for retaining the category of contraception within the remit of the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs. [20638]
Mr. Malone: The basis for asking the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs to continue to review the therapeutic categories covered by the selected list scheme remains that there should be drugs to meet all real clinical need on NHS prescription as economically as possible.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis, and by whom, the category of contraception was chosen as one of the selected list of scheme categories. [20639]
Mr. Malone: Ministers decided which categories of drugs should be covered by the selected list scheme on the basis that they included a range of products at varying price levels which offered scope for savings while enabling all real clinical need to be met.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the hormonal contraceptives to be blacklisted under the current selected list scheme. [20640]
Mr. Malone: There are no plans to remove any hormonal contraceptive products from general practitioner prescription under the selected list scheme.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to remove the category of contraception from the selected list scheme. [20641]
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to extend the number of categories under the remit of the selected list scheme. [20642]
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on what basis the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs makes the decision that an oral contraceptive (a) offers a therapeutic benefit and (b) meets a clinical need; [20643]
(2) how the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs makes the decision that the range of oral contraceptives available
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on the NHS is sufficient to take into account the individual needs of women. [20644]Mr. Malone: The Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs is composed of a number of independent medical and pharmaceutical experts. It makes its recommendations on the basis of the clinical and scientific knowledge and experience of these members and after examining the relevant published information and any evidence submitted by the manufacturers of the drugs under review.
Birth Control
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's plans are for research into contraception and contraceptive methods. [20631]
Mr. Bowis: None. Research in this field is a matter for the Medical Research Council, which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives, other than educational, her Department has undertaken within the last 12 months in order to meet "The Health of the Nation" target for teenage conceptions. [20632]
Mr. Bowis: Priorities set by the national health service chief executive for 1994 95 required authorities to ensure the provision, within available resources, of the full range of NHS family planning services which are appropriate, accessible and comprehensive and that emergency contraception and services for teenagers, including counselling, are publicised and readily available. This requirement was reaffirmed in the priorities set for 1995 96.
Over £136 million per year has been spent on NHS family planning services in England. In addition, in1994 95, more than £340,000 was allocated to key voluntary bodies working towards "The Health of the Nation target on teenage conceptions".
In March 1995 the Department sponsored a Family Planning Association radio and magazine advertising campaign in London and Manchester to launch the Sexwise phoneline--a free, confidential service offering teenagers the opportunity to receive advice from a trained counsellor. There have been more than 45,000 calls to the line during its first six weeks of operation.
The Family Planning Association and the Health Education Authority, in collaboration with Brook Advisory Centres and the Birth Control Trust, have also recently launched a national radio and magazine advertising campaign to raise awareness of emergency contraception. This campaign is supported by a telephone helpline.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in the United Kingdom use hormonal contraception. [20633]
Mr. Bowis: According to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 1993 general household survey, 25 per cent. of women in Great Britain aged 16 to 49 use oral contraceptives.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost to the NHS of one year's course of hormonal contraception. [20634]
Mr. Bowis: Assuming that recommended doses were followed in all cases, the average net ingredient cost of one year's supply of hormonal contraceptives, including
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implants and injections, dispensed in the family health services authorities in England in 1994 was £18.39 per woman.This figure excludes dispensing costs or fees. Preparations for short-term and emergency hormonal contraception have also been excluded from the calculation.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures her Department has as to the cost to the NHS of (a) terminations and (b) maternities and births, resulting from (i) all pregnancies and (ii) unplanned pregnancies. [20635]
Mr. Bowis: The costs to the national health service of terminations and of maternities and births resulting from planned or unplanned pregnancies are not separately identifiable.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data her Department has on the increased likelihood of pregnancy when a woman changes the type of contraceptive pill she uses for family planning. [20636]
Mr. Bowis: None. The "Handbook on Contraceptive Practice", published by the Health Departments in England, Scotland and Wales and issued to doctors and nurses working in the family planning field, provides advice on avoiding the risk of pregnancy when patients need to change their pill formulation.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates her Department makes as to what proportion of pregnancies are (a) unplanned and (b) unwanted. [20637]
Mr. Bowis: The chief medical officer's report for 1990 estimated that almost half of all conceptions to women in England were in some sense unwanted or unintended.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether hormonal contraceptives are distinguished by her Department from other pharmaceutical products in any way. [20645]
Mr. Malone: Hormonal contraceptives are treated in the same way as other pharmaceutical products under the Medicines Act and the relevant European legislation. Unlike other products, people receiving hormonal contraceptives on NHS prescription do not pay a prescription charge in any circumstances.
Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many calls seeking post-coital contraception have to date been received by the helpline funded by the Health Education Authority and the Family Planning Association; and what specific advice is given to callers; [21733]
(2) what public funds have been used by the Health Education Authority and the Family Planning Association to finance their national advertising campaign and telephone advice service promoting the uptake of the morning- after pill; what was the total cost of those campaigns; and by whom were they approved. [21732]
Mr. Malone: The campaign budget for 1994 95 was £300,000. It is funded by the Health Education Authority through the Family Planning Association. All expenditure
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has been approved in the normal way. The helpline has received 30, 000 calls to date relating to all aspects of use of emergency contraception.Smoking
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage of people over 16 years old who smoke; what are the corresponding estimates for (a) 1965, (b) 1970 and (c) 1980; and if she will make a statement. [20908]
Mr. Bowis: The available data are shown in the table. Differences in the questions in the two surveys means that the data from the two sources are not directly comparable.
Percentage of adults aged 16
and over who smoke cigarettes
Great Britain
percentage
Year |Men |Women
------------------------------
1965<1> |54 |42
1971<1><,2> |51 |42
1980<3> |43 |37
1992<3,4> |29 |28
Notes:
<1.> Source: Tobacco Advisory
Council. Percentage of those
smoking manufactured
cigarettes, excludes those
smoking hand-rolled
cigarettes only.
<2.> No survey data are
available for 1970
<3.> Source: OPCS General
Household Survey.
<4.> The 1992 survey figures
are the latest available.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many were treated for lung cancer in the NHS in (a) 1993 and (b) 1994; what percentage of these were smokers; and if she will make a statement; [20909]
(2) what was the cost of treating people suffering from lung cancer on the NHS in (a) 1993 94 and (b) 1994 95; and if she will make a statement. [20910]
Mr. Bowis: The number of episodes of hospital care in the national health service in England with a main diagnosis of lung cancer is shown in the table:
Finished consultant episodes,
ordinary admissions
and day cases Malignant
neoplasm-bronchus or lung
(Diagnostic Codes ICD9 162.2-162.9)
|Number
------------------------------------
1992-93 |57,261
1993-94 (provisional) |56,317
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, 25 per
cent. sample.
Information on the smoking habits of patients is not available centrally, but it is estimated that four out of five cases of lung cancer are attributable to smoking. Information on the costs of treating patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer on the NHS is not available centrally.
BST in Milk (Cancer Risk)
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what investigations she has conducted into evidence from research at Musgrove Park hospital, Taunton, that consumption of milk from cows treated with bovine
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somatotropin may increase the risk of tumours developing in humans. [21073]Mr. Bowis: This research shows that increased cell division can occur in isolated intestinal tissue directly treated with the growth factor IGF-1. This result is not unexpected. Treatment of cows with BST can cause slight rises in the concentrations of BST and IGF-1 in milk, but the rises are very small compared with the natural variations in levels. There is no convincing evidence to suggest that IGF-1 can cause cancer. The ability of IGF-1 to cause cell division was one of the considerations taken into account by United Kingdom and European Union expert committees in their thorough assessment of the safety of milk from BST-treated cows. They concluded that the levels of IGF-1 and of BST in such milk will have no adverse effect on the health of consumers.
Electronic Tagging
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is her policy with regard to the use of electronic tagging for hospital patients. [21425]
Mr. Malone: Selection of electronic tagging or other security equipment for national health service units is a matter for local managers to determine in the light of local needs, priorities and resources. Tagging is used to increase the safety of patients, but is in itself unlikely to offer a complete solution to security or safety needs. It should be used as part of a wider local strategy which places an emphasis on staff and patient awareness.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued regarding the electronic tagging of hospital patients. [21426]
Mr. Malone: No specific guidance has yet been issued on the use of electronic tagging. Guidance will be contained in a supplement to the national health service security manual and a report on a recent survey of security in maternity units, both of which will be published in July.
Mr. Hinchcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will identify which (a) NHS hospitals, (b) private or voluntary hospitals or (c) care or nursing homes currently use electronic tagging; and if she will specify the category of patient involved. [21427]
Mr. Malone: Decisions on security measures in individual units are the responsibility of local management in consultation, where necessary and appropriate, with clinicians, patients and their relatives.
Parental Responsibility Agreements
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for making available joint parental responsibility agreements in registry offices for parents when registering the birth of their child. [21600]
Mr. Bowis: The Government are considering whether a supply of forms for the making of parental responsibility agreements can and should be made available in registry offices.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Post Office
Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the Crown post offices
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