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Pharmacists Review Panel
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what contacts he maintains with the independent pharmacists' review panel; and if he will make a statement. [30600]
Mr. Hague: Welsh Office officials maintain regular contacts with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee on matters concerning the provision of pharmaceutical services in Wales.
Ambulance NHS Trusts
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with chief ambulance officers and the chairmen of the Welsh ambulance trusts concerning (a) financial viability, (b) revisions of boundaries (c) mergers and (d) potential efficiency savings; and if he will make a statement. [30696]
Mr. Hague: I have had no consultations with ambulance NHS trusts on border changes or mergers. All NHS trusts, including ambulance trusts, are monitored regularly by my Department to ensure financial viability. For 1996-97, I have asked health authorities to make 3 per cent. efficiency savings across Wales which will be reflected in the contracts which they strike with all trusts.
Dispensing Doctors
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the level of profit made by dispensing doctors in dispensing on the NHS free
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samples from pharmaceutical companies; what plans he has for an abatement scheme to recover these costs; and if he will make a statement. [30694]
Mr. Hague: It is for the independent Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration to make recommendations on the level and distribution of net incomes for doctors taking part in the NHS. Among the evidence available to it each year is a comparison of the earnings and expenses of dispensing and non-dispensing doctors.
Payments to doctors in respect of practice dispensing have been subject to an abatement, known as the discount scale, since 1983. The discount scale represents the difference between the list price of all drugs dispensed in general practice and the net acquisition cost of the same drugs.
Cattle Slaughter Scheme
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 20 May, Official Report, column 66, what plans he has to set up rendering capacity in Wales in conjunction with the 30-month and cull cow slaughter scheme. [30698]
Mr Hague: We are continually monitoring all aspects of the operation of the over 30-month slaughter scheme; we are actively considering a variety of options for increasing throughput of cattle under the scheme.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of (a) beef cattle and (b) dairy cattle slaughtered so far in Wales under the 30-month compensation scheme. [31115]
Mr. Hague: The total number of cattle from Wales slaughtered under this scheme at 30 May 1996 is 7,383.
No breakdown between beef cattle and dairy cattle is available.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the number of (i) male and (ii) female employees, (b) the number of officials employed at each of the principal grades and the number and percentage of women employed at each of these grades and (c) the number of staff employed at administrative grades and the number and percentage of these staff who are women in his Department on 1 April. [30548]
Mr. Hague: The information requested is given in the following table:
| Administrative Grades | Total | Male | Female | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Civil Servants | 68 | 53 | 15 | 22 |
| G6 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 22 |
| G7 | 146 | 107 | 39 | 27 |
| SEO | 118 | 95 | 23 | 19 |
| HEO | 293 | 173 | 120 | 41 |
| EO | 460 | 202 | 258 | 56 |
| AO | 522 | 142 | 380 | 73 |
| AA | 526 | 211 | 315 | 60 |
| Total | 2,156 | 1,001 | 1,155 | 54 |
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Private Investigators
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what use his Department has made of private detective agencies or investigators during 1995-96 and 1994-95; what agencies have been employed; for what purposes; and at what cost to his Department. [30564]
Mr. Hague: In 1994-95 private investigation services were used by my Department on eight occasions at a cost of approximately £670. In 1995-96 such agencies were used on three occasions at a cost of approximately £310.
Private investigation agencies have been used in cases of damage to trunk road furniture and recovery of rent. The companies are not named for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
Refereeing (Insurance)
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of providing all-Wales insurance cover for school staff supervising or refereeing sporting activities and how this would compare with (a) each local education authority providing cover for their schools and (b) each school taking out its own insurance policy; [30707]
- (2) if he will make it his policy to insure all staff in schools when they are supervising or refereeing sporting activities. [30710]
Mr. Hague: No such estimate has been made. It is for local education authorities in respect of county and controlled schools, and the governing body in the case of voluntary-aided and grant-maintained schools, to ensure that insurance is adequate to cover staff involved with school sporting activities.
Specialist Beef Cattle
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends to announce exemptions from the 30-month ban in respect of specialist beef cattle. [31080]
Mr. Hague: Comments from interested organisations were invited on 3 May on a proposal to establish a voluntary mature beef assurance scheme, which would allow cattle aged over 30 months from specialist beef herds which met the scheme's conditions to be sold for human consumption. Comments are being considered, and the next steps will be announced as soon as possible.
Performance Bonds
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 20 May, Official Report, column 65, how many (a) unconditional on-demand bonds, (b) performance bonds, (c) parent company guarantees, (d) advance payment bonds and (e) retention bonds were required by his Department in the last five years. [31227]
Mr. Hague: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the concern
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caused by the BSE crisis to Welsh agriculture; and what has been the cost to public funds to date of measures taken to deal with BSE. [31099]
Mr. Hague: My hon. Friend and I have met the farming unions, farming delegations and others, and are well aware of their concerns. As regards the cost of Government measures introduced to deal with this crisis I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Northampton, North, (Mr. Allen) Official Report, columns 321-22.
Cattle Trading
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action his Department is taking to ensure that cattle trading in Welsh markets is not subject to (a) cartels and (b) other unfair trading practices. [31079]
Mr. Hague: The Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce is working to enable the carcases of clean beef animals over 30 months old and cull cows to be put into cold storage until rendering capacity is available to deal with them. This should help maintain a competitive market for these animals.
HEALTH
GP Fundholding
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the statutory regulation will be in place requiring former general practitioner fundholding practices to apply accumulated savings to discharge outstanding liabilities; and what have been (a) the number of fundholders and (b) the financial amounts involved prior to the introduction of this statutory regulation over the last five years. [26725]
Mr. Malone: This regulation has been in effect since 1 April 1996. One fundholding practice left the scheme with both undischarged liabilities and savings before that date. In 1995-96 the practice overspent by £148,000. By agreement with the health authority, it returned £45,000 of its £92,000 savings from earlier years, towards the overspend, with the balance being met from contingency funds.
Free Prescriptions
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of providing free prescriptions and optical and dental treatment to students on the ground of low income; and what proportion of those students were in full-time higher education for each year since 1990. [29040]
Mr. Malone: The information is not available.
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proposals he has to modify the exemption list in relation to prescription charges and the criteria for the eligibility for the list; and if he will make a statement; [30186]
- (2) what proposals he has (a) to extend the range of medicines which are issued free of charge and (b) to widen the list of conditions entitling the sufferer to free prescriptions; and if he will make a statement. [30185]
4 Jun 1996 : Column: 377
Mr. Malone: We do not plan to extend the arrangements to include other groups of people, medical conditions or medicines. Our prescription charge exemption and remission arrangements are among the most generous in Europe.
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