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HEALTH

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received on the health effects of the incineration of BSE-affected cattle; and how many suitable incinerators are available. [23840]

Mr. Horam: BSE--affected cattle are currently incinerated at nine incinerators authorised under part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for animal carcase incineration. The Act requires that conditions are included in authorisations to achieve the objective of ensuring that the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost are used to prevent, minimise and render harmless emissions.

Public Bodies

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department were listed incorrectly in the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright) on 4 May 1995, Official Report, column 276. [26425]

Mr. Horam: I regret that the reply given by my predecessor contained two errors. The Standing Dental Advisory Committee was incorrectly listed as publishing its advice to Government as a statutory requirement; additionally, the Health Advisory Service was incorrectly listed as publishing an annual report as a statutory requirement. In neither case is there such a requirement.

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made during 1994-95 from names supplied by the public appointments unit; and if he will list them. [25956]

Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 17 January 1995 at column 440.

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base, and which (a) publish their advice to Government, (b) publish an annual report and (c) lay an annual report before Parliament (i) under a statutory requirement and (ii) voluntarily. [20098]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 12 March 1996]: The following Department of Health advisory non-departmental public bodies have a statutory basis:

Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee;
Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products;
British Pharmacopoeia Commission;
Clinical Standards Advisory Group;
Committee on the Safety of Medicines;
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation;
Medicines Commission;
Standing Dental Advisory Committee;
Standing Medical Advisory Committee;

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Standing Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee;
Standing Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee;
Unrelated Live Transplant Regulatory Authority.

The following Department of Health advisory non-departmental public bodies are required to:

Publish their advice to the Government:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
None;
(ii) voluntarily:
Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy;
Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee.
Publish and annual report:
(i) under a Statutory requirement:
Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products;
British Pharmacopoeia Commission;
Committee on the Safety of Medicines;
Medicines Commission.
(ii) voluntarily:
Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards;
Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food;
Committee on the Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment;
Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy;
Committee on the Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment;
Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment;
Health Advisory Service.
Lay an annual report before Parliament:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products;
British Pharmacopoeia Commission;
Committee on the Safety of Medicines;
Medicines Commission.
(ii) Voluntarily:
None.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Ms Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of a possible link between the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and forceps deliveries of babies. [25203]

Mr. Bowis: Forceps deliveries have not been shown to be associated with the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

Ms Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children (a) in England as a whole and (b) in each standard planning region. [25204]

Mr. Bowis: Information on the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not available centrally. Recent research suggests that severe hyperkinetic disorder, which is one form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is found in about one in 200 children.

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Psychiatric Care (Minors)

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric beds have been provided for children and adolescents by (a) the NHS and (b) the independent sector for each year since 1979. [26186]

Mr. Bowis: Information on the number of psychiatric beds provided for adolescents is not available.

Data on the number of child psychiatric beds are contained in "Bed availability for England", copies of which are available in the Library. The latest year for which data are available is 1994-95.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been admitted to psychiatric care for each year since 1979. [26187]

Mr. Bowis: The information is shown in the table.

Admission to psychiatric care in national health service hospitals: England 1979-1986, 1989-90 to 1994-95

	Age group
Year	0-14	15-19
1979	1,910	5,810
1980	2,040	5,960
1981	1,990	6,030
1982	1,890	5,450
1983	1,890	5,460
1984	1,870	5,530
1985	1,900	5,440
1986	1,780	5,270
1989-90	2,600	5,600
1990-91	2,600	5,000
1991-92	2,300	4,900
1992-93	2,900	5,600
1993-94	3,100	5,700
1994-95(4)	3,100	5,400

(4) Provisional figures

Notes:

1. Figures for 1979 to 1986 are based on calendar years and are derived from the Mental Health Enquiry.

2. Figures for 1989-90 to 1994-95 are estimates based on the number of hospital episodes in the financial year. The two sources are not consistent in their definition of admissions so there is some discontinuity in the data. Reliable data are not available for 1987-88 and 1988-89.

Source:

1979 to 1986 Mental Health Enquiry.

1989-90 to 1994-95 Hospital Episode Statistics.

Nursing and Residential Homes

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the maximum number of beds permitted by his Department in (a) a nursing home and (b) a residential care home. [26188]

Mr. Bowis: We make no such prescription for either category of home.

Prescription Drugs

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the percentages of fatal side-effects of prescription drugs which are not reported under the yellow card scheme. [26276]

Mr. Malone: Under the yellow card scheme, reports of suspected adverse reactions to licensed medicines are received from doctors, dentists and coroners. A report of a suspected adverse drug reaction does not necessarily

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mean that the reaction was caused by the drug. The scheme is voluntary and not all adverse reactions are reported. The percentage of all fatal adverse reactions which are not reported through the scheme is not known.

Cancelled Operations

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide a quarterly analysis of the number of operations cancelled in each region since figures have been published. [19497]

Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library figures by (a) district health authority and (b) regional health authority, of the number of operations cancelled on the day of, or the day after, admission to hospital and the number of those patients not readmitted within a month for (i) the second and (b) and third quarter of 1995-96. [19471]

Mr. Horam [pursuant to his reply, 7 March 1996, c. 324]: I regret that my previous reply contained an error. The percentage of operations cancelled in 1994-95 should read less than 1 per cent., not 0.01 per cent.

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