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Mr. David Davis: Gibraltar is within the European Union as part of the United Kingdom by virtue of article 227(4) of the EC treaty, although Gibraltar remains outside certain areas of Community policy. These issues have not been formally raised in EU Council of Ministers' meetings over the past two years.
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Gun Running (Rwanda)
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to Zaire about gun running in Rwanda and other central African countries. [23615]
Mr. Baldry: We have no evidence on which to base formal representations to the Government of Zaire about the illegal supply of arms to Rwanda or other central African countries.
SCOTLAND
A1 Dual Carriageway
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on proposals by the Miller Amey consortium to depart from certain aspects of the confirmed plan for the A1 dual carriageway between Tranent and Haddington, and if he will require the contractor to design and construct this section of road in accordance with the confirmed plan. [21813]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The contract awarded to Miller/Amey joint venture was on a "design and build" basis. This form of contract encourages the contractor to optimise the design, thus bringing benefits in which both the taxpayer and the industry can share. The amended proposals are subject to completion of their statutory procedures, including consultation, in the normal way. It is too early to say at this stage what the final outcome will be. The Scottish Office has found that alternative proposals by contractors can often deliver improved value for money. This, of course, means that the funds voted by Parliament for trunk roads in Scotland will be able to purchase more new construction than would otherwise be possible using traditional tendering methods.
Gemini Housing Association
Mr. Michael J. Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what records are kept at the Glasgow office of Scottish Homes of the numbers of hours staff spend with Gemini Housing Association Ltd; and if he will make them available for public inspection; [23111] (2) which officer in Scottish Homes is empowered to give leave of absence to those employees of Scottish Homes who wish to participate in the activities of Gemini Ltd; [23112]
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(3) on what terms the Gemini Housing Association is allowed to use office equipment and stationery belonging to Scottish Homes at its Glasgow offices; and what charge is made; [23113](4) what method is used to fill vacancies which occur on the steering committee of Gemini Housing; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the constitution of the Gemini Housing Association; [23114]
(5) if he will list the members of Gemini Housing Association and those who have resigned since it was formed; [23115]
(6) what is the monthly rent and rates that Gemini Housing Association pays to Scottish Homes for use of their Glasgow offices; [23116]
(7) if the officers of Scottish Homes who attended the Gemini meeting at Campsie street on 28 April were paid from Scottish Homes' budget; [23117]
(8) to what extent resources given by the chief executive of Scottish Homes to Gemini Ltd exceed the normal start up grants given to newly formed housing associations; and when approval was given by the Scottish Homes Board. [23118]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is a matter for Scottish Homes. I have asked its chairman, Sir James Mellon, to write to the hon. Member.
Historical Documents
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what special training is given to persons who have responsibility for assessing the historical significance of documents held by his Department. [23279]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Scottish Office documents of historical significance are transmitted to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, whose staff are responsible for selection on historical grounds. These members of staff--curatorial officers of the Scottish Record Office--are qualified archivists, trained by the SRO itself and, increasingly nowadays in possession also of a diploma in archive administration. In addition, they are supervised in the early stages of their work on these records by senior colleagues to ensure that they
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follow consistently general guidelines laid down over the 25 years or so that the present system has been in operation.Population Statistics
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of people likely to be living in Scotland aged (i) 65, (ii) 75 and (iii) over 85 years in (a) 1996, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005. [23157]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 9 May 1995]: Projected population figures are given in the table.
Year
Age |1996 |2000 |2005
----------------------------------------
65 |50,600|49,000|49,800
75 |38,600|36,100|37,300
85 and over |82,600|92,100|96,400
Residential Care
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of private sector long-term residential places for elderly people in Scotland in 1995 and in 2000; and if he will make a statement. [23159]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 9 May 1995]: The number of private sector residential care home places which will be required for elderly people in the year 2000 cannot be estimated as it will depend on a number of factors. These include not only the numbers of elderly people at that time and their state of health but the extent to which this form of care is available in other sectors. Cost and quality of residential care will influence the distribution between sectors. At present, the cost of care in homes run by local authorities is substantially more than in homes in the private and voluntary sectors. However, there is no indication that the quality of local authority care is higher. The numbers of residential care home places for elderly people in each sector in Scotland and England at 31 March 1994 are set out in the table below.
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Scotland England
|Number of places |Places per 1,000 |Number of places |Places per 1,000
|population aged 75+ |population aged 75+
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local authority |8,356 |26.0 |67,401 |19.9
Private |4,693 |14.6 |163,202 |48.3
Voluntary |4,139 |12.9 |39,359 |11.6
|-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Total |17,188 |53.5 |269,962 |79.9
Long-stay NHS Patients
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the numbers of beds available in each region for long-stay NHS patients in 1995; what is his estimate of the number in 2000; and if he will make a statement. [23160]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 May 1995]: The latest available information is as follows:
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Average available beds by Health Board area of treatment; quarter
ending 31 December 1994<1><2>
|Geriatric long-stay|Young chronic sick |Psychiatric |Mental handicap
|beds |beds |speciality total |total beds
|beds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland<3> |7,393 |290 |10,964 |3,398
Argyll and Clyde |614 |38 |1,094 |226
Ayrshire and Arran |460 |- |651 |132
Borders |141 |3 |239 |5
Dumfries and Galloway |256 |- |367 |86
Fife |432 |12 |685 |302
Forth Valley |506 |- |612 |523
Grampian |742 |24 |1,041 |296
Greater Glasgow |1,392 |131 |2,117 |660
Highland |308 |7 |399 |106
Lanarkshire |699 |19 |990 |440
Lothian<4> |1,080 |33 |1, 658 |435
Orkney |49 |- |- |-
Shetland |81 |- |- |-
Tayside |587 |22 |1,059 |186
Western Isles |44 |- |51 |-
Notes:
<1> Provisional.
<2> Includes Joint User and Contractual hospitals.
<3> Health Board totals may not tally with Scotland totals due to the effects of rounding.
<4> Average available staffed beds. Includes all beds whether classified as long-stay or otherwise.
Source:
Information and Statistics Division.
There are no centrally imposed targets for long-stay bed provision in the NHS for the year 2000. The pace of change in the number of long-stay NHS beds is directed by patient needs and by the rate at which alternative provision becomes available in the community. The organisation of long-stay care and care services in the community are determined by continuous joint assessment of local needs involving health boards and local authorities. The aim is to secure the most effective package of services, both in hospital and the community, that meet the specific needs of patients and carers.
University Entrance
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the appropriate age group has attained university entrance standards in each year since 1979. [23386]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The previous general entry requirement of the Scottish Universities Council on entrance was of three or more SCE higher grades at A-C lapsed in 1993. Minimum entry requirements for all ages of applicants are now at the discretion of individual institutions.
The percentage of Scottish school leavers gaining three or more higher grades at A-C is given in the table. Information is not available on the same basis for years earlier than 1981 82.
Scottish school leavers by highest SCE qualification
Academic year |Number of |Percentage with
|three or
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981-82 |88,607 |21
1982-83 |90,988 |21
1983-84 |89,737 |21
1984-85 |85,819 |21
1985-86 |83,076 |21
1986-87 |80,356 |21
1987-88 |76,059 |23
1988-89 |72,695 |24
1989-90 |67,900 |26
1990-91 |62,072 |27
1991-92 |60,596 |28
1992-93 |57,796 |29
1993-94 |58,194 |30
Irvine Housing Association
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement indicating the latest position in respect of the bid by Irvine Housing Association to take over some of the housing stock of Irvine development corporation in advance of the general disposal of the corporation housing stock. [23493]
Mr. Kynoch [holding answer 9 May 1995]: I understand that Irvine Housing Association has yet to finalise its funding from the private sector. I have asked the development corporation to advise the hon. Member with the transaction has been concluded.
Pupil-teacher Ratios
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the pupil-teacher ratio in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in Scotland in each year since 1979. [23603]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested, for education authority primary and secondary schools, is given in the table.
The figures for the years 1985 and 1986 are estimates due to industrial action by teachers during those years. The figures for 1994 are provisional.
Pupil-teacher ratios at September Year |EA Primary |EA Secondary ---------------------------------------------------- 1979 |20.3 |14.4 1980 |20.3 |14.4 1981 |20.3 |14.4 1982 |20.4 |14.3 1983 |20.3 |14.0 1984 |20.4 |13.7 1985 |20.4 |13.5 1986 |20.4 |13.2 1987 |20.4 |13.0 1988 |20.3 |12.7 1989 |19.7 |12.4 1990 |19.5 |12.2 1991 |19.5 |12.4 1992 |19.3 |12.6 1993 |19.5 |12.8 1994 |19.3 |12.9
School Leavers
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of school leavers has attained no academic qualifications in each year since 1979. [23387]
Lord James Douglas Hamilton: The proportion of school leavers who have attained no academic qualifications has dropped from 28 per cent. in 1981 82 to 9 per cent. in 1993 94. The table below covers the
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period from 1981 94. Information prior to 1981 82 is not available on a comparable basis. The percentages listed do not include school leavers with English GCSEs or A-levels, nor do they include pupils who have attained SCOTVEC modules while at school.Scottish school leavers with no SCE qualifications Academic year |Number of leavers |Percentage with no ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1981-82 |88,607 |28 1982-83 |90,988 |26 1983-84 |89,737 |26 1984-85 |85,819 |25 1985-86 |83,076 |24 1986-87 |80,356 |19 1987-88 |76,059 |15 1988-89 |72,695 |12 1989-90 |67,900 |11 1990-91 |62,072 |10 1991-92 |60,596 |10 1992-93 |57,796 |10 1993-94 |58,194 |9
Epilepsy
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths were attributed to epilepsy in Scotland in each year since 1990 in each health board area for which information is available. [22842]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 May 1995]: The information is given in the table.
Epilepsy<1> recorded as underlying cause of death
Health board area |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |<2>1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |8 |8 |7 |8 |11
Ayrshire and Arran |3 |7 |3 |11 |10
Borders |1 |1 |2 |0 |1
Dumfries and Galloway |4 |0 |0 |1 |1
Fife |3 |6 |5 |2 |6
Forth Valley |7 |5 |3 |4 |5
Grampian |13 |12 |9 |12 |13
Greater Glasgow |26 |27 |20 |13 |18
Highland |4 |0 |0 |0 |1
Lanarkshire |15 |10 |9 |6 |7
Lothian |15 |16 |14 |11 |7
Orkney |0 |0 |0 |0 |2
Shetland |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Tayside |12 |7 |15 |9 |7
Western Isles |2 |2 |1 |0 |0
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Scotland |114 |101 |88 |77 |89
<1> International Classification of Diseases (9th Revision) Codes 345.0-345.9.
<2> 1994 figures are provisional.
Epilepsy<1> mentioned on death certificate but not as underlying
cause of death
Health board area |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |<2>1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |19 |21 |15 |19 |22
Ayrshire and Arran |13 |11 |11 |18 |18
Borders |4 |5 |1 |0 |5
Dumfries and Galloway |8 |4 |2 |5 |3
Fife |11 |10 |10 |7 |8
Forth Valley |11 |10 |8 |7 |6
Grampian |10 |16 |9 |13 |17
Greater Glasgow |29 |30 |31 |43 |40
Highland |6 |8 |8 |4 |7
Lanarkshire |14 |12 |26 |25 |27
Lothian |28 |23 |29 |20 |37
Orkney |1 |1 |2 |0 |0
Shetland |3 |2 |1 |1 |0
Tayside |17 |18 |19 |16 |10
Western Isles |0 |0 |1 |0 |4
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Scotland |174 |171 |173 |178 |204
<1> International Classification of Diseases (9th Revision) Codes 345.0-345.9.
<2> 1994 figures are provisional.
Cultybraggan Civil Defence Facility
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a list of (a) Ministers (b) civil servants who are entitled to use the civil defence facility underneath Cultybraggan training camp, near Comrie, in the event of it having to be used as an emergency centre of Government in time of war; and if he will make a statement. [23188]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 May 1995]: Arrangements for designating individuals to be deployed to regional Government headquarters have been discontinued and lists of such individuals are no longer maintained.
It is anticipated that formal arrangements for the deployment of designated staff to regional Government headquarters would be reintroduced only in the event of a return to a threat situation such as that which existed during the cold war.
Fatal Accident Inquiries
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fatal accident inquiries are to be held in the current year in relation to the deaths of hospital patients in (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole; and if he will make a statement. [23374]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 May 1995]: It is for the Lord Advocate to determine in the light of the circumstances in individual cases whether a fatal accident inquiry is appropriate. It is not possible to estimate how many fatal accident inquiries will be held in any particular year.
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fatal accident inquiries are to be held in the current year in relation to the deaths of hospital patients in (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole in each of the past 10 years; how many of these cases led to disciplinary action being taken against medical practitioners and other parties; and if he will make a statement. [23375]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 11 May 1995]: The Crown Office does not hold records centrally of the number of hospital patients whose deaths were subsequently the subject of a fatal accident inquiry. The costs of obtaining this information manually from the records of the 49 procurator fiscal offices in Scotland would be prohibitive. Decisions about disciplinary action following fatal accident inquiries would be for the relevant NHS employer.
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Prosecution of Parents
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was (a) the number of parents prosecuted under section 43 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, (b) the number of respondents who pleaded guilty, (c) the number of respondents found (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty after trial and (d) the average penalty, and the scope of penalty from minimum to maximum, imposed on those pleading guilty or found guilty in each full year for which statistic are available. [23190]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is not separately identifiable in the Scottish Office Home and Health Department's classification of crimes and offences.
Public Bodies
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which non- departmental public bodies within the responsibility of his Department are subject to scrutiny by (a) ombudsmen, (b) the National Audit Office, (c) the Audit Commission and (d) other monitoring officers; which are covered by citizens charters; in which performance indicators apply; and in which members are liable to surcharge. [23958]
Mr. Lang: As regards executive NDPBs, I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright) on 1 May, Official Report , column 10-11 . No advisory NDPBs are subject to the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Commissioner per se, although the administrative actions of administrative staff of the Scottish Office acting on behalf of the body would fall within his remit, as would those of the Horse Race Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal for Scotland and the Rent Assessment Panel for Scotland. The actions of members of the children's panel advisory commitees, which are administered by the local authorities, are subject to the scrutiny of the Local Authority Commissioner, as are the administrative actions of the administrative staff of children's panels, who are local authority employees. The expenditure of advisory NDPBs, the Horse Race Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal for Scotland and the Rent Assessment Panel for Scotland forms part of the total expenditure of the Scottish Office, whose accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The financial affairs of children's panels, which form part of official authority expenditure, are scrutinised by the Accounts Commission for Scotland. There are no other statutory monitoring officers which scrutinise the work of NDPBs, although all such bodies sponsored by my Department are answerable through me to Parliament. In accordance with the recommendations of a joint report by the Treasury and the Office of the Minister for the Civil Service in 1988, all NDPBs sponsored by my Department are subject to a comprehensive review at least every five years.
The only NDPBs sponsored by my department whose members are subject to surcharge are the seven river purification boards.
Teacher Training
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people since the 1993 deadline
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have been refused entry to postgraduate teacher training on the grounds of non-conversion to degree equivalents of non-degree qualifications; and if he will make a statement. [23728]Mr. Lang: All-graduate entry to the teaching profession in Scotland has long been an objective of both Government and teachers. In 1987 the Government announced that only those with degree qualifications would be eligible for entry to postgraduate teacher training after academic session 1989 90. Candidates who had begun a non-degree or degree equivalent course before 31 January 1987 were, however, eligible for entry in the seven years up to and including academic session 1993 94 in recognition of the fact that, prior to 1987, degree equivalent qualifications had been treated on the same basis as degrees.
My Department is aware of 18 cases in which the 1993 deadline for holders of non-degree qualifications was missed. Clearly, it must be disappointing for the individuals involved to have missed this deadline despite the very substantial transitional period which had been allowed. It may be possible for holders of non-degree qualifications to upgrade them to a degree by means of the credit accumulation and transfer scheme operated by higher education institutions.
Charter Mark
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which public bodies, arm's-length organisations, executive agencies and quangos under the operational control of the Scottish Office are now in receipt of the charter mark; and which ones are not. [24062]
Mr. Lang: The following seven organisations within the area of responsibility of The Scottish Office (and no others) listed in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1994", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library have received charter marks:
1992
HM Prison, Dungavel, now part of the Scottish Prison Service executive agency
1993
Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust
1994
Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network
Edinburgh NHS Trust department of chiropody and podiatry South Ayrshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Law Hospital NHS Trust: William Smellie maternity unit
State hospital, Carstairs
HEALTH
Severance Payments
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications were received by the NHS management executive for authority to pay severance payments in excess of those laid down by the standard NHS regulations in each year since 1990; how many were approved; and what was the total sum involved each year in each health authority. [20681]
Mr. Malone: The information requested is shown in the table.
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Applications received by the NHS Executive for authority to pay
severance payments in excess of those laid down by standard
NHS Regulations
Authority |Received |Approved |Amount
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993-94
Salisbury HA |1 |1 |8,000
1994-95
Mid-Downs HA |1 |1 |7,000
Anglia and Oxford |1 |1 |20,322
South Thames RHA |3 |<1>2 |38,391
North Thames RHA |1 |1 |116,000
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth HA |1 |1 |14,000
Camden and Islington |1 |<2>- |-
NHS Supplies Authority |2 |1 |72,881
<1> One still under consideration.
<2> Under consideration.
GP Fundholding
Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population is covered by general practitioners who are fundholders in (a) the north-east region of England and (b) each family health service authority in the north-east region of England. [21307]
Mr. Malone: The percentage of the population covered by a general practitioner fundholder in family health services authorities in the north- east region of England is shown in the table.
FHSA |Coverage per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |30
Durham |43
Northumberland |45
Gateshead |42
Newcastle |27
North Tyneside |16
South Tyneside |34
Sunderland |10
|--------
North East England |32
The Health of the Nation"
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce social, economic and environmental targets into "The Health of the Nation" programme; and if she will make a statement. [22671]
Mr. Sackville: None. "The Health of the Nation" is a Government-wide strategy to improve the health of the population. Many Departments have a role to play within their own policy areas. The immediate priority is to ensure that good progress is made towards achieving the targets already identified, although we keep the range of targets under review.
Central Register of Suspended Doctors
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce a central register of doctors suspended by hospitals and require all hospitals to refer to that register before employing a doctor. [22738]
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Folic Acid
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration she has given to making folic acid 0.4mg available on prescription for pregnant women; and if she will make a statement. [23542]
Mr. Sackville: Folic acid 0.4mg is already available on prescription for women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
Cancelled Operations
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in total, in each region and in each district in the fourth quarter of 1994 95. [23621]
Mr. Malone: This information is not available centrally.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many wards at Chelsea and Westminster hospital are (a) for the use of private patients, (b) in use for NHS patients and (c) not in use; and how many beds there are in the wards in each category. [23619]
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally. The right hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Keith Bright, chairman of Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS trust, for further information.
Children in Care
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has funded into how best to improve the standard of care, quality of life and outcome for children in care; and if she will make a statement. [23412]
Mr. Bowis: The Department of Health funds an extensive programme of research on child care. The work funded between April 1991 and March 1994 is summarised in "The Centrally Commissioned Research Programme", copies of which are available in the Library. Two research reports which focus specifically on the development of improved methods to assess and monitor outcomes of children in care are the linked HMSO publications--"Looking After Children: Assessing Outcomes in Child Care" and "Looking After Children: Research into Practice". These are also available in the Library.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding will be available to local authorities to develop detailed records of assessed needs of children in care; [23411] (2) what funds she has allocated for the monitoring and assessment system being piloted by 39 local authorities as a follow up to, "Looking After Children: Research into Practice"; and if she will list the authorities involved. [23413]
Mr. Bowis: About £400,000 has been made available in the financial year 1995 96 to support the "Looking After Children: Good Parenting Good Outcomes" project. The 39 authorities listed will receive free forms, training materials, training courses, access to consultants and a helpline. The Department is currently considering whether the same development package of support can be made
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available to other authorities, if and when they commit themselves to using this system.Bedfordshire
Bexley
Bradford
Bromley
Buckinghamshire
Camden
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Dudley
Durham
Gateshead
Gloucestershire
Hackney
Hammersmith and Fulham
Hampshire
Hereford and Worcestershire
Hertfordshire
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston
Kirklees
Lambeth
Leicestershire
Lewisham
Merton
Norfolk
Northants
North Yorkshire
Richmond
Salford
Somerset
St. Helens
Stockport
Suffolk
Sunderland
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Wigan
Wolverhampton
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