Previous Section Home Page

Public Appointments, South Yorkshire

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all the non-departmental public bodies to which this Department makes appointments in the county of South Yorkshire, with the total annual budget for each body and the number of appointments made or renewed for each body in each of the last four years.     [39570]

Mr. Sackville: None.

Treatment Costs

Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward measures to make all patients aware of the cost of their individual treatment under the NHS.     [39741]

Mr. Malone: The "Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS", issued in April 1995, sets out the information that NHS trusts are required to make available to members of the public. In most cases, this information will enable estimates of treatment costs to be made. There are no plans to advise patients of the cost of their individual treatment. Copies of the code are available in the Library.

Employment of Children

Mr. Couchman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for changes to the law on children's employment.     [40690]

Mr. Bowis: We have today issued a consultation document proposing some changes to the law on children's employment in England and Wales. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is undertaking a separate but similar exercise in Scotland. Copies of both consultation documents have been placed in the Library.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by (a) trust, (b) health authority and (c) region, the amounts allocated for the administration of the private finance initiative.     [40693]


Column 43

Mr. Sackville: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 2 May, columns 175-76, for the available information.

Clinical Negligence

Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State, pursuant to his answer of 29 March, Official Report, columns 683-84, when the necessary regulations to establish the special health authority to administer the clinical negligence scheme for trusts will be laid before Parliament; and if he will make a statement.     [40791]

Mr. Malone: We have today laid before Parliament an order and regulations to set up the special health authority to deal with the establishment and administration of a clinical negligence scheme for trusts under section 21 of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. The authority will be known as the national health service litigation authority.

It is my intention to appoint Sir Bruce Martin QC as the chairman of the authority, and Dr. Oscar Craig and Mr. Ronald Bradshaw as non-executive members.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the currently available methods for the detection of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in living humans.     [38559]

Mr. Sackville: While there are currently no reliable methods for ante-mortem detection of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in a small proportion of cases, it may be possible to confirm the diagnosis by a brain biopsy while the patient is still living.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is issued to pathologists and post- mortem technicians when handling cases involving or potentially involving transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.     [38548]

Mr. Sackville: The Department of Health issued guidance to national health service post-mortem staff on handling of bodies suspected to have had, or to have been at risk of developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome in April 1994. Further guidance from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens on precautions for work with human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies was issued in September 1994. Copies of each of these sets of guidance are available in the Library.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the locations where homogenisation and centrifugation of potential transmissible spongiform encephalopathies takes place.     [38851]

Mr. Sackville: Homogenisation and centrifugation of potential transmissible spongiform encephalopathies should take place in laboratories with containment level 2 facilities, with additional precautions as specified by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens in its guidance on precautions for work with human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Information


Column 44

about the locations of these laboratories is not available centrally.

Mr. Hinchcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance is issued to NHS personnel in maternity units in respect of patients who have received human growth hormone; and what procedures are operated for the handling of placenta and membranes;     [38852] (2) what is the procedures for the disposal of human tissue obtained for the purpose of identifying a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy where tests confirm infection;     [38553]

(3) how personnel involved in neurosurgical procedures are advised of potential health risks associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.     [38554]

Mr. Sackville: The Department of health issued the NHS with guidance on precautions for work with human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies produced by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens in September 1994. Copies of this guidance are available in the Library.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite as a sterilising agent for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies; how widespread is its use; and if he will make a statement.     [38555]

Mr. Sackville: The Advisory Committee on Dangerous pathogens guidance on precautions for work with human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies assesses sodium hypochlorite to be the disinfectant of choice when autoclaving--the method of choice for decontamination--is not practicable. Information on its use is not available centrally but it is believed to be used widely.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Department's assessment of the nature of the causative agent for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in humans.     [38556]

Mr. Sackville: There are currently three main hypotheses which identify a prion, virino or virus respectively as the causal agents for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in humans. Details of these hypotheses are contained in the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee's publication "Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: A Summary of Present Knowledge and Research", copies of which are available in the Library.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of occurrence for (a) suspected and (b) confirmed Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease, within the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available.     [38557]

Mr. Sackville: 115 suspected cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were reported to the national CJD surveillance unit in 1994. After further investigation, 59 of these were classified as definite or probable cases, of which 53 were sporadic CJD.


Column 45

Prostate Cancer

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has of increases in prostate cancer after vasectomy; and if he will make a statement.     [38549]

Mr. Sackville: Several studies have been undertaken both in this country and internationally into the possible causal links between vasectomy and prostate cancer. The findings of these studies have been inconclusive.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his current predictions for the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, within England, for the next 10 years.     [38558]

Mr. Bowis: The prevalence of dementia is 5 per cent. for people aged 65 years and over and 20 per cent. for people aged 80 years and over. The increase in the elderly population is likely to result in a rise in the numbers suffering from dementia.

Migration

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people have emigrated from the United Kingdom in the last 10 years; and if he will provide a breakdown by age and

nationality.     [38207]

(2) how many immigrants have entered the United Kingdom in the last 10 years; and if he will provide a breakdown by age and nationality.     [38208]

Mr. Sackville: The information for the years 1983 to 1992 is published in tables 2.1 and 2.9 of "International Migration, 1992". Information for 1993 is published in tables 17 and 19 of "Population Trends", volume 81. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.

These tables do not include people migrating to or from the Irish Republic and it is also highly likely they exclude people admitted as short-term visitors who are subsequently granted an extension of stay for a year or longer, for example as students, on the basis of marriage, or because they applied for asylum. Estimates of net international migration from 1986 to 1993, including such people, are given on page 5 of "Population Trends", volume 81.

Boneloc Cement

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is his calculation of the total number of patients on whom Boneloc cement was used; and where in the United Kingdom it was used.     [39819]

Mr. Sackville: Section 118 of the Medicines Act precludes the disclosure of information which is provided about products in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Hip Replacements

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proposals he has to reduce the percentage of revision of total hip replacement operations.     [39821]

Mr. Sackville: The Department of Health plans to support research and evaluation programmes aimed at improving the safety, performance and life of total hip


Column 46

replacements. These include assessment of the clinical performance of implants by explant studies; the development of techniques to predict long-term clinical outcomes from short-term clinical data; and the development and assessment of new materials and technologies. The Department of Health is also supporting an analysis of the data from a five-year outcome study of total hip replacements in the Trent region.

Herbal Medicines

Mr. Stott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct the Office of Fair Trading to investigate misleading advertising of unlicensed herbal medicines.     [38663]

Mr. Sackville: The Medicines Control Agency regulates the advertising of medicinal products, both licensed and unlicensed. The Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994 prohibit the advertising of a relevant medicinal product in respect of which no product licence is in force. The Department has sufficient powers in existing legislation to monitor the advertising of medicinal products, whether licensed or not.

The Office of Fair Trading is empowered to undertake investigations into complaints against specific advertisements rather than particular sectors of advertising activity.

Spending Statistics

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the latest available figures for (a) the district health authorities' spend per capita and (b) the family health services authorities' spend per capita for (i) London, (ii) Birmingham, (iii) Manchester, (iv) Liverpool, (v) Leeds and (vi) Newcastle.     [40194]

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the per capita spending figure for each (a) district health authority, (b) family health services authority and (c) commissioning agency for 1993 94, 1994 95 and 1995 96.     [40282]

Mr. Sackville: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 12 December 1994 at column 465 .

Figures for 1994 95 and 1995 96 are not yet available.

Information is not available centrally for commissioning agencies, as they exist only as a managerial arrangement for some district health authorities and family health services authorities, and are not statutory bodies.

Management Costs

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will itemise by health authority spending per head of weighted population on management costs.     [40280]

Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Members for York (Mr. Bayley) and for Dulwich (Ms Jowell) on 27 October, Official Report, column 848.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will itemise spending on (a) M1 management costs and (b) M2 management costs by (i) health authority


Column 47

and (ii) trust for each year for which figures are available, by both amount and percentage of income;     [40281]

(2) what measures of management and administrative costs in (a) trusts and (b) health authorities his Department maintains.     [40283]

Mr. Malone: We shall be publishing information shortly on management costs in national health service trusts and on the costs of running health authorities for 1994 95. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 19 October at columns 363 64 , for the details of what information will be provided about trusts' management costs for 1994 95 and what other measures of management costs have been provided previously. The 1994 95 information on the costs of running health authorities will cover all staff and non-staff costs with the exception of costs incurred in direct service provision--for example, health promotion, AIDS co-ordination; inherited costs--for example, premature retirement payments and costs of medical negligence claims--and capital charges on health centres and on surplus property in the process of disposal.

Cancer

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the incidence of mouth cancer in the United Kingdom for each of the past 10 years.     [38099]

Mr. Sackville [holding answer 27 October 1995]: The information for the United Kingdom is shown in the table.


Registration in the     

United Kingdom on oral  

cancers ICD9<1> codes   

140 (lip), 141 (tongue),

 142 (salivary glands), 

143 (gum), 144          

(floor of mouth), 145 ( 

other and unspecified   

parts of the mouth)     

from 1980 to 1989.      

Year    |Persons        

------------------------

1981    |2,344          

1982    |2,345          

1983    |2,273          

1984    |2,277          

1985    |2,201          

1986    |2,239          

1987    |2,380          

1988    |2,618          

1989    |2,481          

1990<2> |2,567          

<1>International        

Classification of       

Diseases, 9th Revision. 

<2> Provisional.        

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths there were from mouth cancer for each of the past 10 years in the United Kingdom.     [38100]

Mr. Sackville [holding answer 27 October 1995]: The information for the United Kingdom is shown in the table.


Deaths cause by oral    

cancers ICD9<1> codes   

140 (lip), 141 (tongue),

                        

142 (salivary glands),  

gum (143), floor of     

mouth (144), other and  

unspecified parts of    

the mouth (145), in the 

United Kingdom in the   

years 1983 to 1994      

Year    |Persons        

------------------------

1984    |1,152          

1985    |1,142          

1986    |1,064          

1987    |1,130          

1988    |1,150          

1989    |1,157          

1990    |1,121          

1991    |1,092          

1992    |1,209          

1993    |1,100          

1994<2> |1,235          

<1>International        

Classification of       

Diseases, 9th revision  

<2>provisional.         

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current incidence of (a) mouth cancer and (b) testicular cancer.     [38101]

Mr. Sackville [holding answer 27 October 1995]: The number of registrations in England and Wales in 1990 (provisional) of mouth cancer (ICD9 codes 140 (lip), 141 (tongue), 142 (salivary glands), 143, (gum), 144 (floor of mouth), 145 (other and unspecified parts of the mouth) is 2,154.

The number of registrations in England and Wales in 1990 (provisional) for testicular cancer (ICD9 code 186) is 1,322. International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

National Lottery Funding, Northamptonshire

Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is, to the latest convenient date, the total sum allocated under the national lottery and total sum allocated to applications in (a) Northamptonshire, (b) the Corby borough and (c) the East Northamptonshire district.     [38336]

Mr. Sproat: The total sum allocated under the national lottery, as at 20 October, is £546 million--£546,146,920.04. There have been no awards, to date, for projects based in the Corby borough. A split between projects in the East Northamptonshire district and Northamptonshire are not available. There have been 12 awards to projects based in Northamptonshire with a total grant of £2,375,755.

National Lottery Administration Costs

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what have been the administration costs to date of the (i) Arts Council Lottery Board, (ii) Sports Council Lottery Board, (iii) National Heritage Memorial Fund, (iv) National Lottery Charities Board and (v) Millennium Commission.     [38748]

Mr. Sproat: As at 30 September, total administration costs for each of the lottery distributors were as follows:


Column 49


Distribution body                      |£                                  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Arts Council of England            |2,539,411                          

The Scottish Arts Council              |368,953                            

The Arts Council of Wales              |302,947                            

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland   |110,015                            

The Sports Council (of England)        |2,543,000                          

The Scottish Sports Council            |391,493                            

The Sports Council of Wales            |327,451                            

The Sports Council of Northern Ireland |304,255                            

The National Heritage Memorial Fund    |2,641,402                          

The National Lottery Charities Board   |4,706,848                          

The Millennium Commission              |3,101,839                          

                                                                           

Total                                  |17,337,614                         

The sums include start-up costs.                                           

George III Coronation Bible

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what attempts her Department has made to find a purchaser who will keep in the United Kingdom the bible on which King George III swore his coronation oath in 1761; and if she will make a statement.     [39023]

Mr. Sproat: A licence to export the George III coronation bible was applied for in March this year. The granting of the licence was objected to by my Department's expert adviser and the case was referred in the normal way to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art.

My Department accepted the committee's recommendation that a decision on the export licence application should be deferred for three months to give an opportunity for a purchaser to come forward to offer to buy the bible at or above the fair market price of £350, 000. A news release announcing this decision was widely circulated on 19 June 1995.

At the end of the three-month period no offer to purchase had been made, nor were my officials aware of any other interest in purchasing the bible. The export licence was therefore issued and the bible exported in September of this year.

A report on this case is contained in the 1994 95 report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art which was presented to Parliament on Tuesday 24 October, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ernest Bevin School, Winsford

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration her Department is giving to listing the school where Ernest Bevin was educated at Winsford, Somerset; and if she will make a statement.     [39080]

Mr. Sproat: There is no proposal for the listing of any school in Winsford under consideration within my Department at the present time. However, if the hon. Member could provide photographs and location plan of the school where Ernest Bevin was educated, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will ask her advisers at English Heritage for an assessment of whether it is of special architectural or historic interest. As the hon. Member may be aware, Bevins house, Winsford, the birthplace of Ernest Bevin, is already listed in grade II.


Column 50

Drugs in Sport

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many persons tested positive in the Sports Council drug testing programme in 1994 95.     [39787]

Mr. Sproat: The Sports Council publishes a report on its doping control programme annually containing, among other information, statistics on the number of tests taken and the number of positive reports. In 1994 95, the Sports Council reported that 60 persons tested positive for banned substances and there were seven refusals out of a total of 4,374 tests.

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list those sportspeople who were tested for illegal substances during 1995, indicating those who were drug free and those found to be drug positive.      [39797]

Mr. Sproat: This information is not available centrally. The names of those tested, and who subsequently test positive, are reported by the Sports Council's doping control unit to the governing body of the sport under whose authority testing has taken place. It is the responsibility of the individual governing body to decide when and how to release that information. Not all substances prohibited in sport are controlled substances. Sports organisations themselves decide on the parameter for controlling drug misuse in sport.

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much of the Sports Council funds are allocated to anti-drug information.     [39786]

Mr. Sproat: In 1994 95, the Sports Council's doping control unit spent £86,099 on education and information, supplemented by expenditure by the Sports Councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

National Stadium

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the role of her Department in awarding lottery funds to the proposed national stadium.     [39789]

Mr. Sproat: None. It has always been an important point of the national lottery that the distribution of proceeds should be handled at arm's length from the Government. The award of lottery funding for the new national stadium will be a matter for the Sports Council lottery awards panel when the successful bidder has submitted a formal application.

Sports NVQs

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made on national vocational qualifications for sport; which are the awarding bodies; and what is the role of the Minister of Sport.      [39784]

Mr. Sproat: There are currently 16 NVQs available in sport. The Sports Council is working closely with sports governing bodies on an on- going programme to implement NVQs in sports where they do not already exist. The awarding bodies for NVQs in coaching are: City and Guilds, Royal Society of Arts and the Business and Technology Education Council. The National Council for Vocational Qualifications, along with the Department


Column 51

for Education and Employment, has responsibility for the administration of NVQs, but as Minister for Sport I take a keen interest in the development of NVQs in sport.

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the NVQs now available for sports; and when she expects NVQs to be available for all sports organisations.     [39783]

Mr. Sproat: There are currently 16 NVQs available in the coaching of sport. These are: canoeing, karate, cricket, skiing, badminton, squash, basketball, swimming, exercise and fitness, target shooting, football, table tennis, gymnastics, tennis, hockey and windsurfing. NVQs are also available in sports administration and management. The Sports Council is working closely with sports governing bodies on an on-going programme to implement NVQs in sports where they do not already exist.

Football Dishonesty Inquiry

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment she has made of the inquiry into football financial dishonesty held by the football authorities; what is the role of the Department of National Heritage; and when she expects the report to be passed to her.     [39798]

Mr. Sproat: The football governing bodies are independent of Government and the Department of National Heritage therefore has no role in the FA Premier league's commission of inquiry into player transfers. I am satisfied that the commission's first interim report, concerning Mr. George Graham, and the subsequent rule changes and codes of conduct adopted by the Premier league indicate that the football authorities are serious in their commitment to ensure the highest possible standards within the game. I look forward to the commission's subsequent reports when they are ready.

Sports Coaches (Training)

Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the annual expenditure of the training and promotion of sports coaches by Her Majesty's Government.     [39788]

Mr. Sproat: The majority of Government support for sport and active recreation is channelled through the GB Sports Council. The Sports Council's grant to the National Coaching Foundation, which provides services for 70,000 coaches throughout the UK, is £1,550,000 for 1995 96. Additional support for coaches is provided through the council's grants to national governing bodies of sport and through other Sports Council funded sports development projects nationwide. The Government's sportsmatch scheme helps fund a small number of schemes which involve the training and promotion of sports coaches. The sports policy statement "Sport: Raising the Game" also identified a number of ways in which coaching would be extended and improved in schools, through clubs, further and higher education and elite athletes.

Yorkshire Air Museum

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action her Department is taking to preserve the Yorkshire air museum based at Elvington, North Yorkshire, after the closure of Royal Air Force


Column 52

Elvington, with particular reference to (a) the air shows carried out there and (b) the allocation recently awarded to the museum from national lottery funds; and if she will make a statement.     [39518]

Mr. Sproat: The decision to close RAF Elvington is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. The Yorkshire air museum would be free to make an offer for the site, should it be placed on the open market, and the Yorkshire and Humberside Museum Council would be able to advise the museum on this and other matters. I understand from the national heritage memorial fund that the closure of RAF Elvington would not affect the grant awarded to the museum from the heritage lottery fund.

Public Appointments, South Yorkshire

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if she will list the public appointments for which her Department is responsible in the county of South Yorkshire, indicating in each case the duration of the appointment, the date when a new appointment is due, and the salary;     [39458]

(2) if she will list all the non-departmental public bodies to which her Department makes appointments in the county of South Yorkshire, indicating the total annual budget and the number of appointments made or renewed for each body in each of the last four years.     [39437]

Mr. Sproat: My Department does not have responsibility for any public appointments or appointments to non-departmental public bodies in the county of South Yorkshire.


Next Section

  Home Page