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Medical Students

Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the percentage of applicants to (a) colleges of nursing and (b) medical schools who were offered a place, broken down by ethnic group in 1995. [37096]

Mr. Forth [holding answer 12 July 1996]: Data on colleges of nursing are the responsibility of my right

17 Jul 1996 : Column: 584

hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. Data on UK domiciled applicants and acceptances to first degree courses in medicine in the UK, autumn 1995 entry, are as follows:

Ethnic group	Applicants	Accepted applicants	Percentage accepted
Asian Bangladeshi	156	39	25
Asian Chinese	143	58	41
Asian Indian	1,034	433	42
Asian Pakistani	633	163	26
Asian Other	480	180	38
Black African	230	31	13
Black Caribbean	55	5	9
Black Other	39	7	18
Other ethnic groups	248	92	37
White	5,984	3,174	53
Unknown	190	53	28
Total	9,192	4,235	46

SCOTLAND

Union (Benefits)

Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out the (a) strategic and (b) economic interests which require the maintenance of the union between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [35992]

Mr. Michael Forsyth: The Union between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom has provided political and financial stability for nearly 300 years. It has been the cornerstone of the prosperity enjoyed by all the peoples of the United Kingdom. The creation of a tax-raising Scottish Parliament as proposed by Opposition parties would threaten the existence of the Union and the benefits of partnership would be lost.

Newchurch and Co.

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will update his answer of 9 January, Official Report, column 131, concerning the consultancy contracts awarded by (a) Scottish health boards and (b) NHS trusts to Newchurch and Co. in relation to private finance industry contracts. [37346]

Lord James Douglas Hamilton: Newchurch and Co. has been engaged as a consultant by the following health bodies in relation to private finance schemes:

Hairmyres and Stonehouse NHS Trust
Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity NHS Trust
Grampian health board
New Hairmyres hospital
New day case unit and maternity facilities
Kincardineshire health services

Each contract was awarded following an open, competitive process.

17 Jul 1996 : Column: 585

Scottish Diet Action Group

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will publish the Scottish diet action group report; and if he will make a statement. [37395]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The action plan prepared by the Scottish diet action group, which I have chaired, will be published on 25 July 1996. The plan will provide an innovative framework for tackling the dietary shortcomings which have contributed to our poor health record over many years.

New Hospital, Stonehaven

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received about the new Stonehaven hospital through the postcard campaign. [37358]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. Friend has received 1,386 postcards about Grampian health board's proposals for improved health services in Kincardineshire.

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to (a) Grampian health board and (b) the consortium led by Grampian Healthcare NHS trust of the tendering process for the new hospital in Stonehaven. [37377]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Up to 4 July 1996, the costs incurred by Grampian health board and by Grampian Healthcare NHS trust were around £83,000 and £200,000 respectively. This exercise will result in significantly improved health services for the people of Kincardineshire.

GP Fundholding

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of patients in each health board area is registered with a GP fundholding practice. [37443]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is set out in the table:

	Percentage
Scotland	42.7
Argyll and Clyde	30.5
Ayrshire and Arran	13.1
Borders	53.2
Dumfries and Galloway	34.7
Fife	39.4
Forth Valley	35.5
Grampian	68.3
Greater Glasgow	51.3
Highland	25.6
Lanarkshire	42.0
Lothian	44.9
Orkney	--
Shetland	--
Tayside	49.5
Western Isles	23.1

17 Jul 1996 : Column: 586

Internet

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure that major publications from his Department are accompanied by a simultaneous electronic release of the text on the Internet. [37240]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: A number of recent Scottish Office publications have been accompanied by a release on the Internet. The possibility of making wider use of the Internet as a publishing medium is being kept under review.

Hospital Readmissions

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients, in each of the last five years, were readmitted to hospital within three months of leaving, in each health board area. [37337]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The total number of patients readmitted to hospital within three months of discharge for the last five available years is given in the table. Over the same period, total discharges increased by almost 21 per cent. The reason for a patient being readmitted is not necessarily related to the reason for original admission. The longer after discharge that a patient is readmitted, the less likely it is that the reasons are related.

Health board	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Argyll and Clyde	11,005	12,517	14,063	15,788	16,092
Ayrshire and Arran	9,973	11,110	13,204	15,933	16,106
Borders	2,829	2,983	3,420	3,781	4,125
Dumfries and Galloway	4,180	4,632	5,175	5,795	6,243
Fife	8,245	9,510	10,544	10,643	11,811
Forth Valley	8,577	9,727	10,235	10,478	10,448
Grampian	16,975	17,445	18,584	19,194	20,300
Greater Glasgow	54,412	53,707	57,881	65,211	68,451
Highland	6,190	6,537	7,548	7,839	8,776
Lanarkshire	15,544	16,807	18,662	21,422	22,694
Lothian	31,448	34,256	38,442	43,630	48,019
Orkney	355	453	439	426	500
Shetland	620	627	687	768	771
Tayside	15,633	16,303	16,890	18,835	20,386
Western Isles	782	866	971	999	1,065
Scotland	186,768	197,480	216,745	240,742	255,787

Contracts

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number, nature and value of contracts awarded by his Department to Coopers and Lybrand, KPMG, Price Waterhouse, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Andersen, Grant Thornton, BDO Stoy Hayward, Pannel Kerr Forster, and Robson Rhodes and their subsidiaries and associates, during 1995 and 1996. [37326]

17 Jul 1996 : Column: 587

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested for 1995-96 is as follows:

	Nature of Contract	Value £
Coopers and Lybrand	Advice on IT strategies	7,708
Coopers and Lybrand	Priority base budgeting review	2,370
Coopers and Lybrand	Financial accounts	663
Price Waterhouse	Examination of urban programme funding	5,500
Price Waterhouse	Review and report on Historic Scotland treatment of VAT	4,000
Ernst and Young	VFM study	10,827

This information relates only to the appointment of management consultants. Information relating to appointments for services provided by lawyers, surveyors, civil engineers, auditors, etcetera. is not included as this information is not held centrally.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will report on the progress of each PFI health project in Scotland, indicating in each case when a contract was signed or when a preferred bidder was selected or when a preferred bidder is likely to be selected. [37371]

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Progress on PFI schemes in health in Scotland is set out in the tables:

Contracts signed

Scheme	Procured by:
1990
Rutherglen elderly care beds	Greater Glasgow health board
1991
Darnley elderly care beds	Greater Glasgow health board
Irvine elderly care beds	Ayrshire and Arran health board
1992
Ruchill elderly care beds	Greater Glasgow health board
Shettleston elderly care beds	Greater Glasgow health board
Bellshill elderly care beds	Lanarkshire health board
1994
Clinical waste disposal	Northern health board consortium
1995
Clinical waste disposal	Lothian/Forth Valley health boards
Cumbernauld elderly care beds	Lanarkshire health board
Irvine elderly care beds	Ayrshire and Arran health board
CT/MRI scanner	Edinburgh royal infirmary
1996
Hospital information system (January)	Law hospital
Ferryfield house (February)	Edinburgh Healthcare

Preferred bidder selected1996

Scheme	Procured by:
March
New Hairmyres hospital	Hairmyres and Stonehouse NHS Trust
April
Stobhill mental health	Greater Glasgow Community Mental Health NHS Trust
June
New Law hospital	Law Hospital NHS Trust
East Ayrshire hospital	Ayrshire and Arran Community Trust
Hospital information system	Perth and Kinross Healthcare NHS Trust
Southern Isles hospital	Western Isles health board
Medicine for the elderly	Southern General Hospital NHS Trust
July
Kincardine health services	Grampian health board

17 Jul 1996 : Column: 588

Preferred bidder--planned dates

Scheme	Date
Renfrewshire healthcare geriatric assessment	August 1996
Yorkhill--hospital information system	September 1996
New RIE Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS Trust	September 1996
WGH Redevelopment Western General Hospital NHS Trust	September 1996
Dumfries and Galloway acute and maternity--day case maternity	October 1996
Dundee Healthcare--acute psychiatric unit	April 1997

No date has been finalised for preferred bidder for the following schemes:

Procurement by:	Scheme
Highland Communities NHS Trust	Acute psychiatric unit
Stirling Royal Infirmary NHS Trust	Rehabilitation unit

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