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Departmental Decisions (Appeals)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those administrative decisions of his Department affecting (a) United Kingdom citizens and (b) non-citizens where there is no right of appeal. [6034]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Low Incomes
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to resume publication of the annual survey of statistics on low-income families.[6060]
A review in 1988 of the methodology used in these statistics revealed methodological weaknesses and it was recommended that they be replaced by the households below average income--HBAI--series. The latest edition of HBAI, for 1979 to 1993-94, was published on 14 November 1996 and a copy is available in the Library.
HEALTH
General Practitioners
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the general practitioner fundholding surpluses for each health district in the north west of England. [2942]
Mr. Malone: The latest information available relates to 1994-95 and copies of the tables have been placed in the Library.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners were employed by NHS trusts on 1 September; and which trusts employed them. [4166]
Mr. Malone: The information requested is not held centrally.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to ensure that sufficient numbers of general practitioners are recruited. [4170]
Mr. Malone: There are more general practitioners practising now than ever before, up from 24,035 at October 1995 to 26,830 at March 1996. We intend to publish proposals at the end of the year which will ensure that general practice continues to be an attractive option for doctors.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the amount of savings accrued in the budgets of fundholding general practitioners for each year of the scheme's operation; [4171]
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- (2) if he will make a statement on the total overspends incurred by fundholding general practitioners in each year of the scheme's operation. [4172]
Mr. Malone: In each year of the scheme, fundholding general practitioners in aggregate have made efficiency savings of between 3 and 4 per cent., and overspends normally below 1 per cent. of budgets set. GP fundholder savings are available to be reinvested for the benefits of patients in accordance with regulations.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there were for general practitioners in each health authority area in England on 1 September and on the same date in each year since 1990. [4232]
Mr. Malone: The information requested will be placed in the Library.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many single-handed general practitioners were practising per health authority in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96 and (c) 1996-97. [4186]
Mr. Malone: The available information will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average number of people allocated to a general practitioner in London; what is the highest and lowest number; and what was the equivalent figure for 1994 and 1995. [5189]
Mr. Malone: Information is not available centrally about patients allocated to general practitioners by health authorities.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the number of London NHS users who did not have access to a general practitioner (a) in 1994, (b) in 1995 and (c) at the latest available date; and what research his Department has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated in this area. [5166]
Mr. Malone: All patients have the right to be registered with a general practitioner and can expect their local health authority to find a general practitioner within two working days.
NHS Trusts (Finance)
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to amend the 1995-96 requirement for return on capital placed on NHS trusts during the next five months; and if he will make a statement. [4697]
Mr. Horam: We have no proposals to amend the 6 per cent. return on capital requirement placed on national health service trusts.
Mr Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service trusts there were in England in 1995-96; and how many failed (a) to break even, (b) to achieve their target rate of return on relevant net assets, (c) to stay within their external financing limit and (d) to meet one or more of these targets. [5588]
Mr. Horam: In 1995-96 there were 433 national health service trusts in England. Financial information for 1995-96 will be available shortly following analysis and validation of the trust audited annual accounts by the NHS executive.
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Mathematicians (Research Groups)
Mr. Deva: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the current research groups sponsored by his Department working on AIDS and cancer research contain qualified mathematicians in them. [4965]
Mr. Horam: The Department's policy research programme funds the clinical operational research unit at University college London, whose work includes the development and application of mathematical and statistical models and decision analysis related to clinical aspects of health care, including cancer. The majority of researchers within the unit are qualified mathematicians. The Department funds CORU by £210,000 per year.
Health Authorities (Finance)
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health authorities facing deficits at the end of this financial year as a result of general practitioner fundholders spending above their agreed budgets. [5379]
Mr. Malone: Information about projected health authority income and expenditure for the current year was recently placed in the Library. Details about possible causes of each individual surplus or deficit are not available centrally.
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health authorities are predicting budget deficits of more than £1 million for the coming financial year. [4169]
Mr. Malone: Health authorities are currently developing their financial plans for 1997-98. Information concerning these plans has not yet been collected centrally. Health authorities are required to submit their financial plans for 1997-98 to the executive in April 1997.
NHS Executives
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the current chairmen of area NHS executives who have been provided with corporate credit cards. [5136]
Mr. Malone: None of the regional chairmen have corporate credit cards.
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the names, (b) the duties and (c) the remuneration of the chairs of the regional offices of the NHS executive. [5287]
Mr. Malone: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds the chairmen of former regional health authorities have been issue with corporate credit cards; and if he will make a statement. [5182]
Mr. Malone: The issues of corporate credit cards to the chairmen of regional health authorities for expenditure incurred in undertaking their national health service business was a matter for each regional health authority.
Former Mental Hospitals
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that former mental hospitals within the former metropolitan regional health authorities are cleared and made safe. [5186]
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Mr. Burns: If a former mental hospital is owned by a national health service trust the responsibility for closure and subsequent security lies with the trust.
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