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Prescriptions
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of prescription items have a cost of less than £5.50. [15639]
Mr. Malone: In 1995-96, it is estimated that 58 per cent. of all prescription items dispensed in England will have a total cost of less than £5.50. In the same year we estimate the average total cost of a single item to the national health service to be £8.80.
Departmental Suppliers
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that his Department identifies the size of its suppliers by the number of their employees. [15599]
Mr. Horam: None. The Department's policy is to achieve best value for money--VFM--from all its procurements. It agrees contracts with suppliers, irrespective of size, in order to achieve this objective. Recording this information would not help improve VFM or competitiveness and would add an unnecessary burden on suppliers.
Regulatory Bodies
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each regulatory body for which he is responsible indicating for each the percentage of business people on the board. [15737]
Mr. Horam: The information is shown in the table.
| Regulatory body | Percentage of business people on the board |
|---|---|
| Medicines Control Agency | 50 |
| Medical Devices Agency | 40 |
| Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority | 19 |
GP Fundholders
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department maintains on the use of general practice fundholders' savings (a) by general practitioner fundholding practices and (b) by regional health authorities. [9034]
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 98
Mr. Malone
[pursuant to his reply, 16 January c. 555]: The Department receives information from each family health services authority each year on the amount of savings used by general practitioner fundholders.
Monitoring of the detailed use of savings is a local responsibility. Information about this is not routinely collected centrally.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 January, Official Report, column 555, if he will list (a) by family health service authority, and (b) by region, the total savings made by general practitioners and the level of savings spent in each year since the inception of fundholding. [11108]
Mr. Malone:
I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on 24 November 1994, Official Report, column 321-22, and on 14 March 1995, Official Report, column 545-46, which provide the available information on savings made by general practitioner fundholders.
The available information on savings used by GP fundholders is given in the table.
Source:
Regional offices.
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 99
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 101
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the Department began its investigation into allegations of irregularities in payments made by training and enterprise councils to a national training provider; if the investigation is now complete; how many TECs are involved; and what was the total sum of money involved. [15085]
Mrs. Gillan [holding answer 13 February 1996]: The Department's investigation started in April 1994 and has been completed. The investigation focused primarily on claims on one training and enterprise council. There has been no financial loss to the Department. Close liaison with the National Audit Office and the police was maintained throughout, and police inquiries are continuing.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what will be the total cost to her Department of the "Going GM" conference to be held on 13 March in Huddersfield. [15192]
Mrs. Gillan: The cost of the "Going GM" conference on 13 March will not be known until after the event, as it is dependent on the number of delegates who attend on the day. The average cost per delegate as "Going GM" conferences is about £115, which compares favourable with the cost of any training day.
Schools (Outside Toilets)
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools with outside toilets there are currently in each local education authority. [15571]
Mrs. Gillan: The information is not collected centrally.
Handicapped Young People
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 years who (a) are disabled or, (b) have learning difficulties are currently in (i) full-time education, (ii) Government-funded training courses, (iii) employment and (iv) none of (i) to (iii). [15209]
Mr. Paice: The information available is in the following table:
Source:
Labour Force Survey, winter 1994-95.
(17) Age at previous 31 August.
(18) People with a health problem or disability that affects the kind of paid work they can do.
(19) The Labour Force Survey is known to under count the number of people in Government supported training and so in this table estimates are not shown separately from those in employment.
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 102
Key Stage Results
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary for Education and Employment what representations she has had from (a) Somserset local education authority, (b) other local education authorities in the southern examination group and (c) other local education authorities alleging (i) inadequacies and (ii) errors in the discs supplied by her Department on key stage 2 and key stage 3 results. [15451]
Mr. Paice: Representations have been received from a number of local education authorities, including Somerset, concerning the discs supplied. The data supplied to LEAs were collected for national analysis and are reliable for that purpose. LEAs were sent school level data in response to pressure from LEAs themselves but were warned that some of the data for individual schools were incomplete or had not satisfied the relevant national checks. Data collection procedures for 1996 are being amended and will be fully robust and suitable for providing school-by-school information for school performance tables.
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