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Absenteeism
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what estimate he has made of absenteeism rates in days per annum for staff in his Department for each of the years (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95 and (f) 1995-96. [11353]
Mr. Boswell: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, selected aggregated data on sickness absence in respect of calendar years has been available since 1985, in the form of reports from Her Majesty's Treasury and more recently the Civil Service Occupational Health and
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Safety Agency (OHSA). Figures for the Department based on these data, (and which necessarily include some of the agencies in the period 1990 to 1994), are as follows:
| Year | Average number of days sick absence per staff year |
|---|---|
| 1989(12) | 6.3 |
| 1990(13) | 7.5 |
| 1991 | 8.7 |
| 1992 | 8.0 |
| 1993 | 8.4 |
| 1994 | 7.4 |
(12) Figures are based on a 10 per cent. sample.
(13) Figures are based on a 20 per cent. sample.
Spanish Fishing Vessels
Dr. Godman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow, dated 9 January, which countries or organisations were party to the negotiations following which 22 Spanish fishing vessels gained access to the Norwegian exclusive economic zone in 1994; and if he will make a statement. [11031]
Mr. Baldry: The negotiations for a free trade area between the EC and EFTA culminated in the European economic area agreement which came into effect in 1994. Inter alia this negotiation involved an increase in fishing opportunities in Norwegian waters in recognition of a substantial reduction in tariff barriers for fish products. This gave limited access to Spain, Portugal and Ireland as well as a substantial increase in United Kingdom quotas.
Fish Farming
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many rainbow trout fattening ponds there are in Northern Ireland; if they require a culture licence; what chemicals they use; and if they may discharge chemicals without consent into a watercourse. [10665]
Mr. Ancram: I have been asked to reply.
There are 104 ponds at which small-scale production of not more than 500 rainbow trout per year is authorised. All sites where trout are artificially fed require a fish culture licence under section 11 of the Fisheries Act (NI) 1966. Chemical treatment is not a feature of fish husbandry at these sites. Chemicals may not be discharged into a watercourse without consent.
EU Funding
Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much in (a) ecus and (b) pounds by standard region and in total the United Kingdom received under the European financial instrument for fishery guidance over the last available five years. [11656]
Mr. Baldry:
The European financial instrument for fisheries guidance was introduced on 1 January 1994. Allocations are not made on a regional basis as awards are made according to how they meet selection criteria.
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No central records of awards by standard regions is therefore kept. However, payments made in financial year 1994-95 and for the first half of 1995-96 were as follows:
| 1994-95 | 1995-96 (up to September) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mecu | £ million | Mecu | £ million | |
| Scotland (Objective 1) (Highlands and Islands) | 0.97 | 0.79 | 0.86 | 0.72 |
| Northern Ireland | ||||
| (Objective 1) | 0.95 | 0.78 | 0.04 | 0.035 |
| Non-Objective 1 areas | ||||
| (England, Wales and the remainder of Scotland) | 4.3 | 3.54 | 0.47 | 0.395 |
| Total | 6.22 | 5.11 | 1.37 | 1.15 |
Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much in (a) ecus and (b) pounds by standard region and in total is allocated to the United Kingdom from the European financial instrument for fishery guidance under the present structural funds agreement. [11657]
Mr. Baldry: The European financial instrument for fisheries guidance was introduced on 1 January 1994. Allocations are not made on a regional basis as awards are made according to how projects meet selection criteria. Allocations of Community funds under the United Kingdom's sectoral plan for 1994-99 are in the table.
| Mecu | £ million | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland (Objective 1) (Highlands and Islands) | 19.8 | 16.5 |
| Northern Ireland (Objective 1) | 15.12 | 12.6 |
| Non-Objective 1 areas (England, Wales and the remainder of Scotland) | 88.7 | 73.92 |
| Total | 123.62 | 103.02 |
| Mecu | £ million | |
|---|---|---|
| Objective 1 areas | ||
| Scotland (Highland and Islands) | 2.53 | 2.11 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.26 | 0.21 |
| Non-Objective 1 areas | ||
| England | 3.69 | 3.08 |
| Wales | 0.07 | 0.06 |
| Scotland | 1.80 | 1.50 |
| Total | 8.35 | 6.96 |
Further PESCA funding is due to be awarded to the United Kingdom from the Commission's Community Initiative reserve. Details are awaited from the Commission.
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Rubella Vaccination
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the rubella vaccination programme with particular reference to the vaccination of schoolgirls between the age of 10 and 14 years. [10742]
Mr. Horman: When the measles, mumps and rubella--MMR--vaccine was introduced into the routine pre-school childhood immunisation schedule in 1988, it was accepted that a continuingly high uptake of the vaccine would mean that it would be possible, in due course, to stop routinely immunising schoolgirls against rubella. It was also acknowledged when planning the measles/rubella immunisation campaign conducted in schools in November 1994, that a successful campaign would make it possible to bring forward the end of the schoolgirl rubella programme. Vaccine uptake in the measles/rubella campaign was very high at around 92 per cent. and uptake of MMR vaccine in infants is also consistently high at 92 per cent. In the light of the success of both the ongoing MMR programme and the measles/rubella campaign, the independent joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation concluded that immunisation levels against rubella among children were sufficiently high and advised that the routine immunisation of girls between 10 and 14 was no longer appropriate.
Ministers accepted the committee's recommendation and health authorities and all doctors were told in October 1995 that the routine immunisation of schoolgirls against rubella should be ended.
The policy of providing protection against rubella remains unchanged. In announcing the decision to end the routine immunisation programme, the Departments stressed that health authorities should continue with their other existing rubella screening and immunisation programmes. Health authorities should both continue to ensure that MMR vaccine is offered to any children of school leaving age who have not been immunised and also maintain their procedures to ensure that, where and when appropriate, women of childbearing age are both screened for rubella antibodies and offered immunisation. This will ensure that both girls and boys receive rubella vaccine if missed before.
Copies of the appropriate executive letter and Chief Medical Officer's update are available in the Library.
Mr. Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the location and address of the site for the new headquarters of the Northern and Yorkshire outpost of the NHS executive. [11112]
Mr. Malone:
A new headquarters building for the national health service executive Northern and Yorkshire regional office is being constructed at the Mountjoy science park in Durham. The postal address for the new building has not been finalised.
Mr. Barron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of unauthorised access to identifiable
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personal health information have been recorded in each of the last three years; and how many of these were by access through IT equipment or NHS networks. [11474]
Mr. Horam:
There is no central collection of statistics on recorded instances of unauthorised access to identifiable personal health information, whether via computer systems or paper records.
Mr. Barron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the NHS HealthNet network to meet the demands of healthcare professionals for the effective protection of identifiable patient health data; [11470]
(3) if he will place in the Library details of the security policy and technical specifications proposed for the new NHS HealthNet network. [11469]
Mr. Miller:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress in developing policy on the secure management of identifiable personal health data to be transmitted on HealthNet. [11188]
Mr. Simon Coombs:
To ask the Secretary of State for health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that the confidentiality and integrity of patient data transmitted on the proposed HealthNet network will be maintained; [11680]
Mr. Horam:
Over the past two years the Department of Health sought advice from security experts and from representatives of the clinical professions, following which the national health service chief executive wrote to all health authorities and trusts in December 1995 enclosing the networking security policy, codes of connection and the security guide, EL (95) 108, copies of which are available in the Library.
(2) what progress his Department has made towards developing for NHS staff a code of guidance for protecting identifiable personal health information transmitted on NHS networks; and if he will make a statement; [11468]
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that bodies within the NHS implement security policies which protect the confidentiality of patients' personal health information transmitted on computer networks. [11681]
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