| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Unemployment Benefit Claimants
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in each month since April 1996 have signed on and received unemployment benefit when they had a working partner who was working 16 hours or more a week. [4911]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information requested is not available.
HEALTH
Medical Research Council
Mr. Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many research projects were refused funding by the Medical Research Council in each of the last three years. [3064]
Mr. Ian Taylor: I have been asked to reply.
| Year (academic) | Declined |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 1,085 |
| 1994-95 | 1,224 |
| 1995-96 | 1,282 |
The MRC's mission is to support high-quality research, and applications are rejected because they are not rated and ranked sufficiently highly to succeed in the competition for funds.
Rikki Neave Case
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his special inspectors to complete their investigation of Cambridgeshire social services and the case of Rikki Neave; and if he will make a statement. [4197]
Mr. Burns: We take very seriously the evidence of management failings and poor practice by Cambridgeshire social services department which have come to light in the Rikki Neave case. I have therefore asked the social services inspectorate to conduct an inspection of child protection services in Cambridgeshire next spring, following completion of the independent audit of child protection practice already commissioned by Cambridgeshire. Inspections are normally completed within three weeks of their start date, and I shall take a keen interest in the team's findings.
19 Nov 1996 : Column: 526
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to issue interim guidance to social services departments to prevent a repetition of cases similar to that involving Rikki Neave; and if he will make a statement. [4198]
Mr. Burns: The Children Act 1989 provides a clear statutory framework within which local authorities must work to protect children from abuse. Section 31 sets out the circumstances in which authorities may apply for care orders or supervision orders if they are satisfied that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. "Working Together Under The Children Act 1989", the Government's guide to inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse, provides clear and detailed guidance on the handling of cases of child abuse. It emphasises the importance for all agencies of taking decisive action when this is clearly indicated to protect children at risk of significant harm. We see no need to supplement "Working Together" with interim guidance at this stage.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often approval has been sought from his Department for the closure of accident and emergency departments in the past 12 months; and if he will indicate in each case if the closure was subject to prior consultation. [3892]
Mr. Horam: Consultation is required by law on any substantial change in services proposed by a health authority. If the local community health council contests the proposals they are automatically referred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health for a decision. One proposal substantitally to change an accident and emergency service has been referred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the last 12 months.
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria govern the recommended distance between (a) minor accident treatment service units and (b) accident and emergency departments. [3893]
Mr. Horam: The distance between these facilities will vary according to local conditions. Health authorities are responsible for determining what is needed in their area.
Mentally Ill Patients (Deaths)
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to health authorities and NHS trusts on the burial to mentally ill patients who have died in their care. [3931]
Mr. Horam: The Department issued guidance entitled "Patients who die in hospital" to health authorities and NHS trusts in January 1992, copies of which are available
19 Nov 1996 : Column: 527
in the Library. This guidance includes a section on funerals for those who die in hospital where no arrangements are made by relatives.
Dental Services
Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental inspections were undertaken by the community dental service from 1990 to the latest available date in each school, including special schools, within the Sunderland health authority area. [4418]
Mr. Malone: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the savings in dental health costs to Sunderland health authority resulting from artificial fluoridation of public water supplies for the five years after the implementation of the proposed scheme. [4416]
Mr. Malone: Studies have consistently shown that the prevalence of dental decay in fluoridated areas is between one third to one half lower than in comparable non-fluoridated water areas. Cost savings can be expected from reductions in the need for dental treatment in fluoridated areas.
Tuberculosis
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many confirmed human cases of tuberculosis have been reported in each month since 1978; and if he will make a statement; [4489]
- (2) if he will list the annual percentage of confirmed human cases of tuberculosis reported for each year since 1978, by region; [4712]
(3) what was the percentage of children (a) vaccinated and (b) unvaccinated against tuberculosis in each year since 1978 by region. [4726]
Mr. Horam: Information is not held centrally in the forms requested. The number of notifications of tuberculosis to the Office for National Statistics, and formerly the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, are published by local authority in the publications "MB2 Communicable Disease Statistics," annually, and "MB2 Infectious Disease Statistics", quarterly. Numbers of tuberculin skin tests by age and result and BCG vaccination by age are given in the Department of Health's publication, "Vaccination and immunisation, summary information, England". Information in this form has been published annually since 1988. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to undertake a programme of vaccination promotion for tuberculosis; and what assessment he has made of the benefits of such a programme. [4463]
Mr. Horam: The Government recommend that Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine to protect against tuberculosis should be routinely offered to all school children the ages of 10 and 14 years. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the United Kingdom health departments on immunisation, reviewed this recommendation and advised that the
19 Nov 1996 : Column: 528
schools immunisation programme should continue. Ministers have endorsed this and health authorities were advised of the result of the review in July 1996. In addition, immunisation continues to be offered to certain high-risk groups outside the routine school programme, including babies born to parents from countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis.
The Health Education Authority published an information leaflet for parents about BCG immunisation for schoolchildren last year. This is currently being revised and will be qualitatively evaluated later this year. The Department of Health is also funding a pilot project to provide appropriate and non-intimidating information about tuberculosis for asylum seekers and refugees. The BCG programme has been a main plank of the UK's successful tuberculosis control programme.
Ambulance Service
Sir Anthony Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the level of funding of the ambulance service and about its response times. [4420]
Mr. Horam: Expenditure on ambulance services in England rose by 8 per cent. in real terms between 1991-92 and 1994-95, to a total of £533 million.
In 1995-96 ambulances responded to more than 2.6 million emergency calls within the patients charter target times, compared with some 2 million in 1992-93.
Superannuation (Nurses)
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects to announce his decision on whether practice nurses can re-enter the NHS superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement;[4259]
- (2) if he will undertake an actuarial study of the cost of allowing general practice nurses to re-enter the NHS superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement.[4400]
Mr. Malone: We are currently considering the case for allowing general practitioners' practice staff to enter the national health service pension scheme and will announce our conclusions as soon as possible.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |