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Conductive Education

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the value and achievements of conductive education. [5814]

Mr. Ancram: No formal assessment of the value and achievements of conductive education has been undertaken in Northern Ireland. In 1993, the Government sponsored a research project into the relative merits of conductive education and conventional approaches for particular categories of children at the Birmingham institute for conductive education.

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to make conductive education available for children where parents wish it. [5832]

Mr. Ancram: Under the 1991 international agreement with Hungary, the United Kingdom is guaranteed access to a number of places for children and for trainee conductors at the Peto institute in Budapest. In Northern Ireland, the making of provision for children with special educational needs is a matter for education and library boards in the first instance. I am aware that one board has been considering how conductive education techniques might be integrated into its special education provision, but no specific plans have yet evolved.

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many institutions provide conductive education for children with special educational needs; and how many children are currently receiving conductive therapy in each institution. [5813]

Mr. Ancram: Conductive education is provided at an independent school, the Buddy Bear trust school in Dungannon. There are three children enrolled.

Emergency Legislation

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to implement the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee of the UN in respect of repealing laws infringing civil liberties which were designed for periods of emergency. [5808]

Sir John Wheeler: My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 12 June, before the Human Rights Committee made its recommendations, that there is to be an independent review of emergency legislation.

Autistic Children

Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what facilities and services are available to identify and provide for the (a) educational, (b) medical, and (c) other needs of children with autism. [5835]

Mr. Ancram: It is the responsibility of the education and library boards to assess and provide for the special educational needs of all children in Northern Ireland with

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special educational needs, including autistic children. Placements may be made in special schools, in special units attached to mainstream schools or in mainstream schools themselves. One board operates an advisory and support service for autistic children and their families, and another has recently appointed a seconded teacher to assist and support special schools. As far as the health and personal social services are concerned, the assessed needs of children with autism are met within the learning disability programme of care.

Military Complaints Procedures Assessor

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to reappoint Mr. David Hewitt as independent assessor of military complaints procedures in Northern Ireland. [6792]

Sir Patrick Mayhew: I have today reappointed David Hewitt as independent assessor of military complaints procedures in Northern Ireland until 31 March 1997.

The Army's presence on the streets of Northern Ireland in support of the RUC has, of course, diminished greatly since the cessation of military operations announced by the IRA and the loyalist paramilitaries, but the Government believe that there remains a useful role for the independent assessor although the need for the post will be kept under review.

HEALTH

NHS Contracts

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 24 November, Official Report, column 336, if he will provide a breakdown of NHS contracts by (a) type and (b) region. [3330]

Mr. Malone: This information is available in the review of contracting, copies of which are available in the Library.

Hospital Medical Registrars

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner and registrar appointments have been filled by British citizens and how many from each country outside the United Kingdom over the latest convenient period; and what estimate his Department has made of the number who (a) complete their appointment and return home and (b) remain in the United Kingdom. [5352]

Mr. Malone: The information on general practitioners is not available. The available information for hospital medical registrars is given in the "Hospital Medical Staff England Tables", copies of which are available in the Library.

Paracetamol

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to consult consultants in toxicology at

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London teaching hospitals regarding the safety of the current formulation of paracetamol. [5498]

Mr. Malone: We have no plans to consult toxicologists at the London teaching hospitals regarding the safety of the current formulation of paracetamol.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Mr. Booth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has approved the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's revised code of practice. [6788]

Mr. Horam: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today laid before the House copies of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's revised code of practice. Copies have been placed in the Library.

Ritalin

Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what system is in place to monitor the scale of treatment of children with controlled drugs such as Ritalin and similar products; [5153]

(2) how many children in the United Kingdom are being or have been treated with Ritalin-methylphenidate in the last 10 years for which figures are available; [5154]

(3) how many children under six years of age in the United Kingdom are currently being treated with Ritalin; [5155]

(4) how much Ritalin has been manufactured in the United Kingdom in the last 10 years for which figures are available. [5156]

Mr. Horam: Information about the number of children treated with Ritalin is not available centrally. Ritalin is not manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide a breakdown of administration costs incurred to date and forecast for the future on PFI work. [5740]

Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply the then Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville), gave the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 2 May, Official Report, columns 175-76.

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide for schemes so far agreed under the PFI the level of financing costs above the current cost of Government borrowing for the scheme with (a) the highest financing costs and (b) the lowest costs. [5742]

Mr. Horam: Comparing private finance initiative projects with publicly funded alternatives is not a question of comparing interest rates. PFI projects are given approval only if the PFI approach brings improvements in cost-effectiveness for the national health service. The specific information requested is not available.

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide revenue forecasts for the current year and

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the next five years of expenditure on schemes provided under the PFI. [5741]

Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 6 December, Official Report, column 224.

Departmental Payments

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of bills to his Department were paid in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or, where no such contractual conditions existed, within 30 days of receiving goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice in the last year for which figures are available. [5703]

Mr. Horam: In 1994-95, the latest year for which figures are available, 91.9 per cent. of the Department's invoices were paid within the agreed credit period or within 30 days where no credit period had been set. For the period April to September 1995, this figure has increased to 95 per cent.

Suicides

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he collates in respect of the suicide rates among patients recently discharged from hospital. [6113]

Mr. Horam: None.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on suicides that have taken place in each of the last five years among (a) men and (b) women, indicating the method of suicide; [6112]

(2) how many suicides have taken place among men aged 15 to 24 years in each of the last 10 years. [6111]

Mr. Horam: Data on deaths from suicide--ICD ¹ E950-E959; E980-E989--are published in table 2 of the publication, "Mortality statistics; Cause; England and Wales; series DH2", copies of which are available in the Library.

The latest data available ² are for the years 1983-1992.

( ¹ International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision).
² The coding of causes of death in England and Wales was changed in 1993 to an automated system. Though the results from this are generally satisfactory, Office of Population/Censuses and Surveys have identified significant problems in the coding of external causes of death. Certifications of deaths in 1993 and 1994 which could have been due to external causes are all being examined and re-coded as necessary. More reliable data, comparable to that for previous years, will be available in the firth quarter of 1996.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many suicides have taken place in each of the last five years as a proportion of all annual deaths. [6110]

Mr. Horam: The numbers of suicides ¹ which have taken place in each of the last five years as a proportion of all annual deaths are shown in the table.

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	1990	1991	1992	1993(21)	1994(21)
Total suicides	5,544	5,486	5,486	4,894	4,787
Total deaths	564,846	570,044	558,313	578,170	551,455
Percentage	0.98	0.96	0.98	0.85	0.87

(21) International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision Codes

E950-E959, E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for 1990-1992; E950-E959, E980-E989 for 1993 and 1994

(22) Provisional.

The figures for 1993 and 1994 suicide deaths are Office of Population/Censuses and Surveys' current best estimates. The coding of causes of death in England and Wales was changed in 1993 to an automated system. Though the results from this are generally satisfactory, OPCS have identified significant problems in the coding of external causes of death. Certifications of deaths in 1993 and 1994 which could have been due to external causes are all being examined and re-coded as necessary. More reliable data, comparable to that for previous years, will be available in the first quarter of 1996.

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