---

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

International Criminal Court

Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what steps the British Government are taking to ensure that a date is set

18 Nov 1996 : Column: 403

for the holding of the plenipotentiary diplomatic conference on the establishment of an international criminal court during 1996; [4654]

(2) what assessment he has made of (a) progress towards and (b) the timetable for the establishment of an international criminal court; and if he will make a statement. [4652]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor: We are active participants in the process to consider the establishment of an international criminal court. We supported the recommendations of the preparatory committee that up to nine weeks were required for further preparatory work, and that a date for an international conference should be set in 1998. Progress made by the preparatory committee in 1997 will need to be reviewed by next year's general assembly.

Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has recently received regarding the establishment of an international criminal court. [4653]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor: We have received representations about the establishment of an international criminal court from hon. Members, non-governmental organisations and members of the public.

Major General Prabowo

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet Major General Prabowo during his forthcoming visit to Britain. [4737]

Mr. Hanley: I met General Prabowo on 12 November during his private visit to the UK to thank him on behalf of the British Government for securing the safe release of the four British Hostages in Irian Jaya.

HEALTH

EDS

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts his Department, agencies and associated bodies have had with EDS for each year since 1985; what was the value of each contract; if he will indicate for each contract (a) if it was completed, (b) what modifications were made at the request of (i) the company and (ii) the Department and (c) if work under contract is being undertaken in-house; and if he will make a statement on the number of job reductions in his Department arising from the contracting out of work by EDS. [3815]

Mr. Horam: Neither the Department of Health, nor its agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies have entered into contracts with Electronic Data Systems since 1985. Information on contracts in the Department's non-executive NDPBs and advisory bodies is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Tattooing and Skin Piercing

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 5 November, Official Report, column 435, what are the current licensing requirements for skin piercing businesses. [3987]

18 Nov 1996 : Column: 404

Mr. Horam: The current licensing requirements for skin piercing businesses in London and in the rest of England and Wales are described in section 3 of "Regulation of Skin Piercing: a Consultation Paper" issued jointly by the Department of Health and the Welsh Office on 3 October 1996. Copies are available in the Library.

Adoption (Guatemala)

Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the delays incurred by UK citizens waiting to adopt children from Guatemala. [4199]

Mr. Burns: I understand that some prospective adopters who made private arrangements to adopt children from Guatemala have been advised by the Guatemalan authorities that these are not acceptable and that only assessments approved by the United Kingdom Government will be accepted on behalf of United Kingdom citizens. This may have led to some delays in individual cases.

Stroke Treatment

Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which health authorities have specialist acute stroke units; [3982]

(2) what percentage of those who have had a stroke in each of the last three years for which figures are available were admitted to hospitals; [3980]

(3) what percentage of those admitted to hospital for strokes in each of the last three years for which figures are available (a) died within one month of the original attack and (b) died within six months of the original attack. [3981]

Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally.

Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities have specialist stroke rehabilitation units. [3983]

Mr. Horam: Health authorities commission appropriate specialist services for their communities in line with their local needs, resources and priorities. Information on what services each health authority commissions is not collected centrally.

Depression

Mrs. Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to reduce the cost of mental depression to the United Kingdom economy; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness to date. [3894]

Mr. Burns: Mental illness is one of five key areas in "The Health of the Nation" strategy. The majority of depressive disorders are treated in primary care by general practitioners. We are taking action and promoting initiatives to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the condition in primary care. For example, we are working to develop GP training in the recognition and management of depression and to encourage audit of the management of the condition in primary care; in addition, we collaborated with the Royal College of General

18 Nov 1996 : Column: 405

Practitioners and the Royal College of Psychiatrists on the recent "defeat depression" campaign, which aimed to improve detection and prevention of the condition.

Mrs. Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 October 1996, Official Report, column 759, if he will commission research into the impact of mental depression on the United Kingdom's economy; and if he will make a statement. [3896]

Mr. Burns: We are already undertaking a range of research into depression. For example, the Department's policy research programme has commissioned a number of studies into severe mental illness, many of which are related to depression. We expect to spend some £500,000 on these studies in 1996-97. In addition, we have made £2.4 million available over the next five years within the policy research programme's mental health research initiative. Many of the commissioned studies within the initiative relate to depression. Work currently being undertaken by the personal social services research unit under the policy research programme is looking at the economic impact of mental disorders, which include depression. The Medical Research Council, the main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research, has a comprehensive portfolio of research on depressive illness. In particular, it funds a number of trials which examine different types of treatment and therapies for depression. Total funding for this research amounted to almost £0.9 million in 1994-95.

Ambulance Response Times

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the maximum ambulance response times (a) in an emergency, (b) for discharge from hospital and (c) for an out-patient attendance. [3895]

Mr. Horam: At present all ambulance services in England are expected to respond to 50 per cent. of emergency calls within eight minutes. Urban ambulance services are expected to respond to 95 per cent. of emergency calls within 14 minutes and rural services within 19 minutes.

There are no national standards of discharge or outpatient attendances but local standards may be included in individual contracts for patient transport services.

Special Advisers

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many special advisers are employed by his Department; and if he will list their names. [3932]

Mr. Horam: The Department of Health employs two special advisers, Mr. Tony Hockley and Mr. Tim Rycroft.

Hip Replacement and Appointment Cost

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current average cost of (a) a hip replacement operation and (b) an out-patient's appointment in the NHS in England. [3934]

Mr. Horam: In 1994-95 the average cost in England of an out-patient attendance was £57.40. The information requested on hip replacement operations is not available centrally.

18 Nov 1996 : Column: 406

MRSA

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has given trusts and health authorities to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. [3921]

Mr. Horam: The Department issued guidance to the national health service in September 1994 on the control of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and in March 1995 on the general control of infections in hospitals. In May 1996, the Department issued new guidance on the control of infection in residential and nursing homes and a leaflet "MRSA: what nursing and residential homes need to know". Copies of this guidance are in the Library.

---