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Local Authority Contracts
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which agency monitors local authority contracts with private sector providers. [12454]
Mr. Bowis: Local authorities are responsible for monitoring contracts with providers.
Residential and Nursing Care
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number, type and value of contracts issued by local authorities to the private sector for nursing and care home beds. [12456]
Mr. Bowis: Information on contracts between local authorities and independent sector providers of residential and nursing care beds is not collected centrally.
Pharmacies
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many small independent pharmacies there are in the United Kingdom; how many there were in 1992; and what estimate he has made of how many supermarkets have opened pharmacies since 1992. [12120]
Mr. Malone: It is not possible to give the information in the form requested. In the financial year 1992-93 there were 6,579 independent pharmacies in England. The comparable figure for 1994-95 was 6,330. Independent pharmacies are defined as including chains of four or less and exclude pharmacies in health centres, for which a breakdown is not available. No information is available centrally on supermarkets which have opened pharmacies. Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
DEFENCE
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the total cost for himself and other departmental Ministers for each year since 1991-92, including the current year of (a) overseas travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers and their advisers, (b) car and chauffeuring costs of Ministers, (c) ministerial security costs and (d) domestic travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers. [6382]
Mr. Soames:
Details of overseas visits by Ministers in my Department were set out in the answer of 19 July given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Knowsley North (Mr. Howarth), Official Report, columns 1369-75. The
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costs of visits overseas by Ministers falling to my Department since then, including the cost of officials where they can be identified, are as follows:
Information on the cost of ministerial cars and chauffeurs was set out in the letter of 28 November 1995 from my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones), a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of running his departmental office, and that of his predecessor, for each year since 1990-91 including the current year, broken down into (a) telephone bills, (b) total staff costs, (c) press and communications, (d) entertainment, (e) alcoholic drinks, (f) non-alcoholic drinks, (g) stationery, (h) office refurbishment and (i) other. [6381]
Mr. Soames:
Details of the cost of running my right hon. Friend's departmental office are not held in a form which would allow them to be identified separately for each financial year since 1991-92. The costs which have been identified for the last and present financial years are as follows:
The cost of domestic visits by Ministers in each financial year since 1991-92 could be identified only at disproportionate cost. Costs falling to my Department since 1 April last year have been identified, however, and are as follows:
Secretary of State for Defence:£64,830
Minister of State for the Armed Forces:£95,228
Minister of State for Defence Procurement:£26,359
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence:£2,735
The cost to my Department of ministerial security is not separately identifiable. Ministerial protection is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
Secretary of State for Defence:£17,670
Minister of State for the Armed Forces:£14,702
Minister of State for Defence Procurement:£8,362
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence:£7,469
Note: Figures include overseas and domestic visits undertaken up to 20 December 1995.
| 1994-95 | 1995-96(14) | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Telephone | 1,757 | 1,083 |
| Staff | 649,474 | 383,961 |
| Newspapers (including periodicals) | 1,017 | 508 |
| Stationery | 4,957 | 7,653 |
| Entertainment (including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) | 1,911 | 461 |
(14) To 31 October 1995.
The cost of refurbishing my right hon. Friend's own office in each of the financial years in question is as follows:
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1990-91: Nil
1991-92: £380
1992-93: £881
1993-94: Nil
1994-95: Nil
1995-96: Nil 1
1 to 31 October 1995.
Royal Yacht
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 582, if he will list for the 35 days of royal duties carried out by the royal yacht (a) the destinations, (b) the period spent at sea and (c) the members of the royal family conveyed. [11563]
Mr. Soames: I regret that whilst preparing the answer to this parliamentary Question, my officials found that my earlier answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 582, contained an error. In 1995 members of the royal family were embarked aboard Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia for 36 days, not 35 as previously stated.
In 1995, Britannia carried out royal duties on the following occasions:
| Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| 19-21 March | Capetown | Her Majesty the Queen |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | ||
| 24-25 March | Capetown | Her Majesty the Queen |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | ||
| 31 May-2 June | Falmouth/Avonmouth | Her Majesty the Queen |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | ||
| 12-13 June | Portsmouth | HRH The Princess Royal |
| 15 June | Portsmouth | HRH The Duke of York |
| 19-21 June | Kiel | HRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent |
| 26-27 June | Dundee | HRH The Prince of Wales |
| 28 July-2 August | Cowes | HRH The Duke of Edinburgh |
| 4-14 August | Western Isles | Her Majesty the Queen |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | ||
| 18-20 August | London | Her Majesty the Queen |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh |
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, columns 582, how much was received by his Department in (a) 1994 and (b) 1995 for the use of the royal yacht for trade promotion; and from where the payments were received. [11568]
Mr. Soames: Charges for the use of Britannia are not levied on the sponsors of commercial events when she is used to promote British exports and attract inward investment to the United Kingdom. However, all additional costs incurred, over and above normal running costs, are paid for by the Government Departments and organisations concerned.
Mr. Tony Banks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, columns 582, what duties were carried out by the
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royal yacht in 1995 during the period she was at sea but not on royal duties or trade promotion. [11569]
Mr. Soames:
In 1995, HMY Britannia was engaged in the following activities during the period she was in transit to or from royal duties or trade promotion:
| Date | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 14 March | Walvis Bay | Her Majesty's High Commission, Namibia (lunchtime reception) |
| 1-10 April | Simon's Town | Self maintenance period |
| 10 April | Simon's Town | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (lunch) |
| 21 April | Tema | Overseas Development Agency (seminar and lunch) |
| 4 October | Pireaus | Her Majesty's Ambassador (evening reception) |
| 26 October | Lisbon | Her Majesty's Ambassador and the right hon. Douglas Hurd (dinner and evening reception) |
HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) HMS Fearless and (b) HMS Intrepid (i) last put to sea and (ii) will next engage in military manoeuvres.
Mr. Soames: HMS Fearless was last at sea on 9 June 1995. She is currently in dock at Portsmouth undergoing routine maintenance and is scheduled to return to operational duties at the end of March. She is next planned to participate in military exercises at the end of April.
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