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Guidance Notes

Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many pages of guidance notes have been issued by (a) his Department, (b) regulatory authorities and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years. [18650]

Mr. Boswell: This information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Dietary Supplements

Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive a copy of the forthcoming European Commission discussion document on vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements; and what plans he has to ensure that (a) copies of that document are available immediately upon its publication to (i) the Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy, (ii) other organisations representing practitioners of nutritional therapy and (iii) organisations representing consumers of dietary supplements, and (b) British consumers' access to such supplements is not adversely affected by any directive arising out of the consultation on that document. [19671]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 11 March 1996]: The timetable for the production of the proposed discussion document on vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements is in the hands of the European Commission. I understand that it is unlikely to be issued before the summer. The Ministry has undertaken to consult fully with all interested parties, including the Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy and organisations representing consumers of dietary supplements, as soon as the document is received. The consultation exercise will also be announced in the food safety information bulletin.

The Government's policy is to ensure that consumers have as much choice as possible in their access to vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements, provided that public health is not compromised. If any formal proposal for legislation on the sale of dietary supplements were to be made following discussion of the document, the United Kingdom position would reflect this policy.

Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what drafts of the forthcoming European Commission discussion document on vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements his Department has received; and if he will place copies of these drafts in the Library. [19672]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 11 March 1996]: My Department has not received any drafts of the forthcoming European Commission discussion document on vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements.

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Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his policy on the availability of vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements. [19673]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 11 March 1996]: The Government's policy is to ensure that consumers have as much choice as possible in their access to vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements, provided that public health is not compromised.

Scientists and Engineers

Mr. Ingram: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each grade in the headquarters division of his Department in each year from 1991 to the current year. [19798]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 11 March 1996]: The numbers of qualified engineers employed in my Department in the headquarters division of flood and coastal defence, excluding those based outside London, are as follows: At 1 March:

1991: 8
1992: 6
1993: 7
1994: 7
1995: 7
1996: 6

A number of those employed in the headquarters building and estates management division also hold engineering qualifications.

The numbers of full-time equivalent staff employed in the scientific grades in the headquarters divisions now represented by the chief scientist's group and the food safety and science group are as follows:

At 1 March

	(22)1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Assistant scientific officer	12	2	2	1	1	1
Scientific officer	37	17	14	18	12	13.6
Higher scientific officer	40.5	31	28.5	32	38.5	34.8
Senior scientific officer	28	33	31.5	32	34.5	29.4
Principal scientific officer	27.5	21	21	33.5	25.5	20.4

(22) Figures for 1991 include staff based at the food science laboratory, Norwich.

For open structure grades above grade 7, records do not separately identify posts held by staff with scientific qualifications. However, it is possible to give the following breakdown for senior grades in the headquarters divisions of the chief scientist's group and the food safety and science group as of 1 March 1996:

	Postholders whose qualifications include a scientific degree or equivalent
Grade 6	16
Grade 5	5
Grade 3	2

These figures include those on fixed-term appointments, but exclude any employed on a consultancy basis.

All the figures given apply to core Department headquarters divisions only. They do not include the large numbers of staff in other areas who hold scientific or

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engineering qualifications, for example, those in the directorate of fisheries research, many of the employees of the agencies, veterinary surgeons, economists and statisticians. It would be disproportionately expensive to list all of these.

HEALTH

Disability Living Allowance

13. Mr. Stott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the number of people with disabilities, including learning disabilities, living in national health service hospitals or residential accommodation who currently receive the mobility component of the disability living allowance. [18397]

Mr. Bowis: The Department of Health does not collect this information centrally.

26. Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on how the changes to the disability living allowance regulations have affected current NHS patients. [18410]

Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. Turner).

NHS Trust Boards

15. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with disabilities are members of national health service trust boards (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the overall total. [18399]

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with disabilities are members of NHS trust boards; and what percentage this is of the total. [18391]

Mr. Malone: This information is not available.

17. Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the representation on health boards of disabled people. [18401]

Mr. Malone: None. People from all sections of the community are encouraged to apply for non-executive appointments to national health service boards and several with disabilities have been appointed. They represent the interest of all sections of the community.

GP Fundholders

16. Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients in England are currently covered by general practitioner fundholders; and what the figures will be after 1 April. [18400]

Mr. Malone: Some 41 per cent. of the population in England is currently registered with a general practitioner fundholder. We expect this to increase to more than 50 per cent. from April.

Care in the Community

18. Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the Care in the Community (Direct Payments) Bill from groups of, and for, people with disabilities. [18402]

12 Mar 1996 : Column: 580

Mr. Bowis: Some 300 responses have been received to our consultation paper.

General Practitioners

19. Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he is taking to ensure an adequate future supply of general practitioners in the national health service. [18403]

Mr. Malone: The goal of the Government's medical staffing policy is to enable the national health service to secure an adequate and affordable supply of appropriately trained doctors in each sector and/or specialty, in order to provide a cost-effective, quality service to patients. We accepted the main recommendation in the second report of the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee, June 1995, to increase medical school intakes to 4,970 by 2000, which will mean an increase of 15 per cent. during the 1990s.

Clinical Staff

21. Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends taking to improve the morale of clinical staff in the NHS. [18405]

Mr. Malone: It is the responsibility of local employers to ensure good morale is maintained within the clinical work force. They now have greater freedoms than ever before to develop local employment strategies and implement flexible working arrangements which reflect and reward the valuable contribution of highly motivated and skilled staff.

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