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Remploy
Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans the Government have to sell off Remploy. [1666]
Mr. Forth: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on 8 November 1995, Official Report, column 934.
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many disabled people are employed in Scotland by Remploy (a) in Remploy factories and (b) in Interwork schemes. [806]
Mr. Paice: In Scotland, Remploy provide employment for 945 disabled people; 756 of these work in factories and 189 in Interwork.
Wakefield TEC
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what level of funding has been made available to Wakefield training and enterprise council for work in areas which have lost their mining industry. [121]
Mr. Paice: Over the last three years over £6 million has been available to Wakefield training and enterprise council to assist in areas affected by the closures of collieries. Other Government funding available to the TEC will also have benefited former mining areas.
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HEALTH
Medicines Monitoring Unit
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was given by his Department to the medicines monitoring unit in 1994-95 and 1995-96; and what level of funding for the unit is expected for 1996-97. [319]
Mr. Sackville: The level of funding from the Medicine Control Agency for 1994-95 for the Medicines Monitoring unit project was £111,424 and for 1995-96 it is expected to be £115,264.
Prescribed Drugs
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest available figure for the percentage of (a) hospital admissions and (b) community health services' patients receiving care as a result of adverse reactions to prescribed drugs. [544]
Mr. Sackville: The information is not available centrally. Information on the number of ordinary admissions and day cases associated with drugs, medicaments and biological substances causing adverse effects in therapeutic use in 1993-94 is published in "Hospital Episode Statistics, England, Volume 2", copies of which are available in the Library.
Accident and Emergency Admissions
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were admitted to hospital in each health region as (a) accident and emergency admissions and (b) surgical emergencies in each of the last five years; and how many have been admitted for these reasons so far this year. [321]
Mr. Sackville: The available information will be placed in the Library. The tables are based on raw data from the hospital episode statistics and have not been adjusted to take account of shortfalls in coverage.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration his Department has given to the possibility that the death of 19-year-old Stephen Churchill from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in May could be linked to BSE, what requests he has received for an inquiry into the cause of the death; and what was his response; and if he will make a statement. [152]
Mr. Sackville: The spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee, which provides the Government with independent expert advice on BSE and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, has advised that it is not possible to draw any conclusions in this case about a link with BSE as confirmed cases of CJD have been found in the same age group in other countries before the appearance of BSE. In addition, the case had no reported contact with BSE.
The question of an inquiry into the death of Stephen Churchill was first raised by the press. A number of letters have been received since in connection with the case. In view of the existence of the national CJD surveillance unit, which investigates the incidence and epidemiology
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of CJD in the UK since the advent of BSE; and of the SEAC, we do not consider that there is a need for an independent inquiry.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is currently undertaking into (a) BSE and (b) Creutzfeldt-Jakob dementia; and if he will make a statement on BSE in the food chain. [1663]
Mr. Sackville:
The Department of Health and the Scottish Office jointly fund the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) surveillance unit which investigates the incidence and epidemiology of the disease, paying particular attention to occupation and eating habits, so that any change in the pattern of CJD following the advent of BSE can be detected. The Department is also funding a series of studies at the Institute of Animal Health into time temperature combinations required to inactivate BSE and scrapie agents.
The Medical Research Council, the main body through which the Government fund medical research in the United Kingdom, receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and is carrying out research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathies aimed at increasing understanding of some of the biological processes involved in such diseases in man.
The independent expert spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee--SEAC--published "Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: A Summary of Present Knowledge and Research" on 7 February 1995. Copies of this report are available in the Library.
There is currently no scientific evidence to link BSE in cattle with the development of CJD in humans. All the information and evidence relating to the possibility of BSE entering the food chain is being looked at by SEAC.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those entering residential homes are considered severely or moderately disabled, according to the most recent statistics. [1128]
Mr. Bowis:
Information on the degree of disability of individuals on entry to residential homes is not available centrally. Most people entering residential care should be regarded as having a significant degree of disability or disfunction. At 31 March 1994, about 80 per cent. of all residents in residential care homes were in homes for elderly people and a further 2.5 per cent. in home specifically catering for adults with physical and/or sensory disabilities. The number of physically disabled residents in nursing homes was about 15 per cent. of all residents in nursing homes.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inquiries his Department has received in the last year concerning the transference of assets and its effect on residential care provision. [1131]
Mr. Bowis:
Around 40 letters have been received in 1995 and numerous telephone inquiries.
23 Nov 1995 : Column: 326
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per week of residential care is in (a) England and Wales and (b) the west midlands. [1133]
Mr. Bowis:
In 1993-94, the latest date for which information is available, the average expenditure per week on residential care for older people per local authority supported resident was approximately £265. Corresponding data for authorities in the west midlands are given as series HE1 in the unit costs section of "Key Indicators of Local Authority Social Services 1995", copies of which are available in the Library.
Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will define the distinctions recognised by his Department between illness and disability and infirmity. [1132]
Mr. Bowis:
The Department does not use specific definitions to distinguish between illness, disability and infirmity. The provision of health and social care is expected to be based on a full assessment of an individual's needs.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what inspections his officers are carrying out in dairies and supermarkets to ensure milk from (a) broken or (b) out-of-date cartons is not being recycled; [1262]
(2) when and from whom he first received representations as to the recycling of milk from broken or out-of-date cartons. [1263]
Mr. Sackville:
My Department was first approached by The Observer on 3 November 1995 about this matter.
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