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Contact Lenses
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to amend the leaflet, "Contact Lenses and You", published by his Department, to make reference to acanthamoeba; and if he will make a statement. [19502]
Mr. Malone: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to amend the leaflet, "Contact Lenses and You", since it already makes reference to the necessary aspects of lens care and hygiene relevant to acanthamoeba.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has taken to ensure that the leaflet "Contact Lenses and You" is available at opticians. [19503]
Mr. Malone: My Department has ensured widespread availability firstly by taking out a series of press notices in leading eye care professional journals setting out the necessary information for obtaining these leaflets; and secondly through direct promotion by the relevant eye care professional bodies.
Property Sale, Harrogate
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the procedures adopted by his Department for the sale of the former Yorkshire regional health authority building in Harrogate; and if he will make a statement. [19698]
Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for York (Mr. Bayley) on March 1996, Official Report columns 288-89.
Myodil
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the numbers of United Kingdom citizens rendered disabled by Myodil. [19680]
Mr. Malone: None, as this information is not centrally available.
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Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received from, and what assistance it has given to (a) the Myodil Action Group and (b) the Arachnoiditis Trust since 1987; [19678]
- (2) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into seeking a cure for arachnoiditis.[19679]
Mr. Horam: We have received a number of representations from arachnoiditis sufferers and organisations representing them since 1987. The Government have offered financial assistance to the Arachnoiditis Trust for three years through the general scheme of grants to voluntary organisations under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to help fund a pain management nurse. Since making its grant application, the Arachnoiditis Trust has re-assessed its priorities and has declined to take up our offer of funding.
My Department has not directly commissioned research into a cure for arachnoiditis. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. The MRC is always willing to consider high quality research proposals.
Scientists and Engineers
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each grade in the headquarters division of the Department of Health in each year from 1991 to the current year. [19796]
Mr. Horam: Information for Department of Health headquarters only is not available prior to April 1995. Information for 1995 is shown in the table.
| April 1995 | |
|---|---|
| Senior scientific officer | 19 |
| Higher scientific officer | 13 |
| Scientific officer | 9 |
| Assistant scientific officer | 1 |
| Total | 42 |
| Engineering staff (all grades) | Nil |
Tobacco Advertising
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what immediate measures he will take to tighten the voluntary agreements on tobacco advertising. [20027]
Mr. Horam: The voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising was comprehensively renegotiated at the end of 1994 and strengthened substantially in a number of areas, particularly in relation to the protection of children.
Meningitis
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what money has been given for research into meningitis in each of the last five years. [19224]
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Mr. Horam [holding answer 6 March 1996]: The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The MRC, which is currently doing research in this area, receives its grant in aid from the Office of Science and Technology, which is part of the Department of Trade and Industry. The Department of Health commissioned a two-year clinical trial of candidate meningococcal vaccines in 1993 at a cost of £198,528. The NHS is known to have spent £88,900 on two meningitis-related research projects since 1991.
WALES
Mr. Mark Griffen
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will enable Mark Griffen of Buckley to have essential treatment at the Breakspeare hospital, Hertfordshire. [17341]
Mr. Richards: Responsibility for arranging treatment for Mark Griffen remains a matter for the Clwyd health authority.
I understand that the health authority has recently issued a press statement to explain its action to date and the arrangements under way to secure the necessary treatment for Mark Griffen.
Nursing Homes
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was (a) the average daily number and (b) the number per 1,000 people aged 75 years and over, of (i) occupied geriatric beds, (ii) long-stay beds in NHS nursing homes and (iii) places occupied in (1) local authority residential homes, (2) voluntary residential homes, (3) private residential homes and (4) private nursing homes in Wales for the latest year for which information is available. [18912]
Mr. Richards: The information is given in the following table. There are no NHS nursing homes in Wales.
| Number | Rate(37) | |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily occupied geriatric beds in NHS hospitals (1994-95) | 2,704 | 12.7 |
| Places occupied by residents of all ages in: | ||
| Local authority residential homes for the elderly (at 31 March 1994) | 4,957 | 23.2 |
| Voluntary residential homes for the elderly (at 31 March 1994) | 972 | 4.5 |
| Private residential homes for the elderly (at 31 March 1994) | 6,722 | 31.5 |
| Private nursing homes (at March 1995) | 10,969 | 51.3 |
(37) Per 1,000 population aged 75 years and over using the 1994 mid-year estimate.
11 Mar 1996 : Column: 492
Full-time Education
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of 16-year-olds stay on in full-time education. [18924]
Mr. Richards: The information requested is as follows:
| Number | Percentage of mid year population | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools(39) | 13,074 | 39 |
| Further and Higher Education Institutions(40) | 10,770 | 32 |
| Total | 23,844 | 72 |
(38)Numbers enrolled at January for schools, November for further education institutions and December for Higher education institutions. Age at 31 August prior to academic year. Provisional.
(39)All maintained and independent schools.
(40)Includes the University of Wales. Full-time, short full-time, short course and sandwich students.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the number of extra pupils that will be coming into full-time statutory education in each of the next three years and the number of teachers that will need to be employed on the basis of the pupil-teacher ratio of 1989-90. [19918]
Mr. Richards: The available information is as follows:
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Welsh population of an age to receive statutory full-time education(41) | 433,100 | 435,000 | 435,900 | 435,900 |
| Change on previous year | -- | 1,900 | 900 | 0 |
Source:
Government Actuary's Department 1994 based population projection.Notes:
(41)At January each year, aged 5-15 or 16 but not yet of school leaving age.
The 1989-90 pupil/teacher ratio for all pupils within Welsh schools, including the pupils who were younger than five or over the school leaving age, was 18.1. No assessment has been made centrally of the need for additional teachers.
School Pupils
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of children in Wales are in (a) primary schools, including voluntary primary, (b) comprehensive and grant-maintained comprehensive schools, (c) nursery schools, (d) private schools and (e) selective state grammar schools. [18926]
Mr. Richards: The following table shows the percentages as at January 1995. All maintained secondary schools in Wales are comprehensive.
| Percentage(42) of all pupils | |
|---|---|
| Primary schools: | |
| LEA and grant maintained (including voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools) | 57.3 |
| Secondary schools: | |
| LEA maintained comprehensives | 37.4 |
| Grant maintained | 1.9 |
| LEA maintained nursery schools | 0.7 |
| LEA maintained special schools | 0.7 |
| Independent schools | 2.0 |
| Total | 100 |
(42)Percentages have been calculated by dividing the number of full-time and part-time pupils in each type of school by the total number of full-time and part-time pupils in each type of school by the total number of full-time and part-time pupils in all schools.
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