| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Nurses
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to increase the recruitment of nurses. [12007]
Mr. Richards: It is a matter for NHS trusts and other employers to recruit the number of nurses they require to provide services.
Hospital Closures
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospitals were closed in (i) 1992,
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 818
(ii) 1993, (iii) 1994 and (iv) 1995 giving in each case their location. [12005]
Mr. Richards:
The information is given in the following table. However since 1992 one hospital has also opened, in Clwyd.
| Hospital | Location |
|---|---|
| Closed in 1992: | |
| Catherine Gladstone | Clwyd |
| Talgarn | Mid Glamorgan |
| Children's ENT | South Glamorgan |
| Closed in 1993: | |
| Druid | Gwynedd |
| Garth Angharad | Gwynedd |
| Llwyn View | Gwynedd |
| Pontypool and District | Gwent |
| Energlyn | Mid Glamorgan |
| Coed Du | Clwyd |
| Closed in 1994: | |
| St. David's | Powys |
| Mount Pleasant | West Glamorgan |
| Parc | Mid Glamorgan |
| St. Lawrence | Gwent |
| Port Talbot | West Glamorgan |
| Allt yr yn | Gwent |
| St. David's | Gwynedd |
| Broughton | Clwyd |
| Closed in 1995: | |
| Stanley Sailors | Gwynedd |
| Pen y Fai | Mid Glamorgan |
| North Wales | Clwyd |
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 819
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many wards were closed in (i) 1992, (ii) 1993, (iii) 1994 and (iv) 1995. [12004]
Mr. Richards: The information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) hospital beds and (b) acute hospital beds were closed in (i) 1992, (ii) 1993, (iii) 1994 and (iv) 1995. [12003]
Mr. Richards: Information relating to the actual number of beds closed is not collected centrally. However, the average daily number of available beds in each of the last four years is given in the following table.
| All hospital beds | Acute hospital beds | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 18,640 | 8,799 |
| 1992-93 | 18,078 | 8,651 |
| 1993-94 | 17,475 | 8,441 |
| 1994-95 | 16,834 | 8,479 |
Welsh Language
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make an order under section 6(1)(o) to extend the provisions of the Welsh Language Act 1993 to those bodies identified by the Welsh Language Board as appropriate to the purposes of the Act but not currently within its ambit. [11974]
Mr. Hague: I intend to make an order under section 6 of the Act later this year. Which bodies are to be designated as public bodies under the terms of the Act is a matter still under consideration.
Anaesthetics and Psychiatry Posts
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of (a) anaesthetics and (b) psychiatry posts are currently unfilled; and if he will make a statement. [12008]
Mr. Richards: Information on medical staff in the NHS in Wales is collected by means of an annual census of staff in post at 30 September. The latest available information, which relates to whole-time equivalent numbers at 30 September 1994, is given in the following table.
| Filled by a locum | Not filled by a locum | |
|---|---|---|
| Anaesthetics | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Psychiatry(22) | 0.7 | 0.7 |
(22) Includes the specialties of mental handicap, mental illness, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychotherapy and old age psychiatry.
Private Hospitals and Clinics
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many private hospitals and clinics there are currently (a) in Wales, and (b) in each of the health districts. [12006]
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 820
Mr. Richards:
The latest available information, which relates to 31 March 1995, is given in the following table.
| Health district | Private hospitals | Private clinics |
|---|---|---|
| Clwyd | 1 | 1 |
| East Dyfed | 1 | 1 |
| Gwent | 2 | 1 |
| Gwynedd | 1 | 1 |
| Mid Glamorgan | -- | -- |
| Pembrokeshire | -- | -- |
| Powys | -- | -- |
| South Glamorgan | 1 | 2 |
| West Glamorgan | 1 | -- |
| Wales | 7 | 7 |
Training for Work Programmes
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 780, how many trainees (a) in total and (b) in each training and enterprise council area for whom a first stage payment is made are still in employment eight weeks later. [12460]
Mr. Hague: Information on individual trainees is not collected in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. However aggregated information is available on the claims made by TECs for first and second stage job outcome payments and this has been provided in the following table. To take account of the time lag in claiming second stage payments, information has been provided on the first stage payments to the end of the second quarter, 10 September 1995, and the second stage job outcome payments to the end of the third quarter, 31 December 1995. The earliest opportunity for claiming the latter payments is eight weeks after the payment of first stage job outcomes.
| TEC | First stage payment | Second stage payment |
|---|---|---|
| Gwent | 484 | 434 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 905 | 615 |
| North East Wales | 310 | 66 |
| Powys | 152 | 92 |
| South Glamorgan | 467 | 340 |
| Targed | 231 | 165 |
| West Wales | 736 | 493 |
| Total | 3,285 | 2,205 |
Source:
TEC claims: first stage payments to 10 September 1995 second stage to 31 December 1995.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 780, if he will publish by individual TEC areas a breakdown of the NVQ levels attained by trainees undertaking training for work programmes. [12459]
Mr. Hague: The information requested is contained in the following table.
TEC management information statistics.
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 821
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 821
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 780, what percentage the long-term unemployed represent of (a) entrants to training for work, (b) those for whom a first stage payment is made and (c) those still in employment eight weeks later (i) in total and (ii) by individual TEC areas. [12461]
Mr. Hague:
The information requested is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of state for Wales if he will make extra moneys available to Clwyd local education authority to enable Llay Park infants school to be rebuilt. [12426]
Mr. Richards:
My right hon. Friend is making available more than £508 million for local authority capital spending in 1996-97. It is for individual local authorities to determine how the resources that are made available are allocated between services, including education, in the light of their statutory responsibilities and their perception of local needs and priorities.
Mr. Win Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about maintaining the identity of the 13 traditional counties of Wales; and what response he has made. [12464]
Mr. Gwilym Jones:
My right hon. Friend and I have received three representations, all from Mr. Peter Boyce of the Association of British Counties about promoting
"the use of the 13 traditional counties as the main geographical areas in common parlance in Wales".
I have written to Mr. Boyce, expressing our view that the new structure of 22 unitary authorities is that which best meets the needs of local government in Wales, but that it is for other institutions and organisations to consider what structure meets their needs.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what considerations he has given to reinstituting the 13 geographical counties as the standard geographical framework for Wales; and if he will make a statement. [12419]
Mr. Hague:
None. I am not aware that there is such a thing as a standard geographical framework. The structure of 22 unitary authorities was decided upon by Parliament with regard to what is best for local government in Wales.
31 Jan 1996 : Column: 822
It is for other institutions and organisations to consider whether that structure meets their needs and those of their users, customers or associates.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future role of the 13 traditional geographical counties in Wales. [12417]
Mr. Hague:
The Government acknowledge the continuing strength of the affection which many people in Wales have for the traditional 13 counties, which is expressed, for example, in the organisation of many sporting, social, voluntary and cultural societies on the basis of the traditional counties' boundaries. I see no reason why such arrangements should not continue.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |