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Offshore Companies
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms exist between the United Kingdom Government and the Governments of the (a) Isle of Man and (b) Channel Islands to ensure the regulation of companies operated by United Kingdom nationals from the United Kingdom and registered in (a) and (b). [7367]
Mr. Sackville: I have been asked to reply.
Information passes regularly between regulatory bodies of the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies. Each of the Crown dependencies regulates companies incorporated within its jurisdiction in different ways. Companies operated in the United Kingdom by United
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Kingdom nationals are subject to regulation under United Kingdom law in respect of activities carried out in the United Kingdom wherever they are registered.
NHS Trusts (Expenditure)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts had overspendings (a) in excess of £10 million, (b) in excess of £5 million and (c) in excess of £1 million, as at 30 September. [471]
Mr. Malone: All trusts are obliged to break even on income and expenditure taking one year with another.
Elderly Infirm People
Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average cost of keeping an elderly infirm person in (a) a hospital bed, (b) a nursing home and (c) a residential care home. [6722]
Mr. Burns: Information is not collected in the form requested.
Nerve Gas Attack (Tokyo)
Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to obtain and assess clinical data arising out of the nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995; when these data were passed on to the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down; and what discussions his Department has held with the Ministry of Defence on these data. [6964]
Mr. Horam: In July 1995, an official from the Department attended a conference in the United States of America at which the nerve agent attacks in Tokyo and Matsumoto were discussed. The Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment was also represented at that conference. Since then, there have been a number of discussions between Ministry of Defence and Department of Health officials, and the Department has set up a small working group to develop guidance on managing the effects on health of incidents where chemicals, including nerve agents, are deliberately released. The group's membership includes national health service and military medical experts and staff from Porton Down.
Hospital Staff (Yorkshire)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors and nurses have been employed in NHS hospitals in each year since 1990 in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Doncaster and (c) Mexborough; and how many vacancies for doctors and nurses in South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Mexborough are currently unfilled. [2675]
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Mr. Malone: Individual hospital units cannot be separately identified in the Department of Health's hospital and community health services work force censuses, but staff can be sub-divided between those working in hospitals and those working in the community on the basis of their area of work. The table shown gives information available centrally for South Yorkshire--defined as Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield district health authorities--and Doncaster district health authority. It is not possible separately to identify figures for Mexborough.
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993(10) | 1994 | 1995 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yorkshire(9) | ||||||
| Hospital doctors | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1,310 |
| Nursing and midwifery staff | 9,370 | 9,440 | 9,070 | 10,880 | 9,300 | n/a |
| Doncaster DHA | ||||||
| Hospital doctors | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 230 |
| Nursing and midwifery staff | 1,970 | 1,920 | 1,930 | 1,990 | 1,960 | n/a |
| Excluded from figures above: | ||||||
| Learners(8) | ||||||
| South Yorkshire(9) | 1,740 | 1,310 | 660 | 540 | 150 | n/a |
| Doncaster DHA | 430 | 380 | 260 | 120 | 50 | n/a |
Notes:
(8) Learners are nurses on traditional nurse training courses and are directly employed by the NHS HCHS. Project 2000 training was introduced in 1989 and has gradually replaced traditional pre-registration nurse training. Project 2000 students are funded by bursaries. They are supernumary not employees, and are thus excluded from the count of NHS HCHS nursing staff. Figures for Project 2000 students are not available by health authority.
(9) Figures for 1993 should be treated with caution due to the effects in that year of the process of transferring responsibility for the provision of census information from regional health authorities to individual NHS trusts. Comparisons over a longer period of time are likely to give a more reliable comparison.
n/a = Not available. It is not possible to provide figures for hospital doctors below regional level before 1995 and to provide numbers of nursing and midwifery staff in hospital areas of work after 1994.
All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 whole-time equivalents.
Source:
Department of Health annual medical and dental and non-medical work force censuses.
Information about the number of vacancies for doctors and nurses currently unfilled in South Yorkshire, including Doncaster and Mexborough, is not available centrally.
Figures on vacancies for HCHS nurses and midwives are collected by the office of manpower and economics and published in the annual reports of the review body for nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine; copies are in the Library.
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Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidance in respect of the provision of Claudius II for the treatment of laryngectomies; and if he will make a statement. [7107]
Mr. Burns:
No. Claudius II is a telephone aid, and cannot be regarded as treatment for laryngectomy patients.
Sir Ivan Lawrence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken to assess the risks of dental fluorosis posed to children who drink fluoridated water and ingest fluoridated toothpaste; and if he will make a statement. [7040]
Mr. Malone:
The Department of Health has not itself commissioned any research into fluoridation and fluorosis. Government policy on fluoridation is based on extensive research carried out over many decades independently of the Department, which we continue to monitor and evaluate.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that the special conditions attached to the community care special transitional grant are extended to five years from 30 March 1997 and that 90 per cent. of the grant available for purchasing care by the local authority is required to be spent in the independent sector. [7117]
Mr. Burns:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) on 27 November, Official Report, column 298.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the geographical position and size of bacterial meningitis clusters occurring in each month over the last five years. [7678]
Mr. Horam:
Enhanced surveillance of clusters of suspected meningococcal infection was instigated in April 1995. Collation of retrospective data on clusters reported before this time is incomplete. Data on the number of cases associated with clusters by region and month are shown in the tables. The definition of a cluster for reporting is:
In 1996, up to the end of October, 27 clusters were reported involving a total of 94 cases. Many of these cases are not confirmed by laboratory tests. Cases associated with clusters have therefore formed a very small proportion of all cases reported this year.
"two or more suspected cases occurring within onset of one month in the same educational setting".
| Regions | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglia and Oxford | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (5) | 2 (5) |
| Northern and Yorkshire | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 4 (15) | 3 (7) |
| North Thames | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| North West | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) |
| South Thames | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) | 1 (3) |
| South and West | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) |
| Trent | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (3) | -- |
| West Midlands | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 (4) | 1 (2) | -- |
| Wales | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) | -- | -- |
| Total | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 (6) | 8 (27) | 8 (19) |
A cluster is defined as two or more suspected cases with onset within one month in the same educational setting. Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cases.
Prepared by the immunisation division, CDSC to 3 December 1996.
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| Regions | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglia and Oxford | -- | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 2 (10) | 2 (7) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| North Thames | 1 (2) | -- | 1 (2) | -- | 2 (18) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| North West | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) |
| South Thames | -- | -- | 1 (2) | 2 (8) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| South and West | 1 (3) | 3 (6) | 1 (2) | -- | -- | -- | 1 (3) | -- | -- | -- |
| Trent | 1 (8) | -- | -- | 2 (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| West Midlands | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 (7) | -- | -- | -- | 1 (2) |
| Wales | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Total | 5 (23) | 6 (15) | 4 (8) | 5 (14) | 3 (20) | 1 (7) | 1 (3) | -- | -- | 2 (4) |
A cluster is defined as two or more suspected cases with onset within one month in the same educational setting. Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cases.
Prepared by the immunisation division, CDSC to 3 December 1996.
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Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those factors that his Department has evaluated as potentially enhancing the transmission of bacterial meningitis. [7674]
Mr. Horam: Meningococcal infection--meningitis and septicaemia--occurs throughout the year but infections reach a peak in the winter months. Research suggests that risk factors for meningitis include smoking, passive smoking, damp and other prevalent infections such as influenza. Group C infections are more likely in closed and semi-closed communities.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the recent cases of bacterial meningitis involving students (a) living in halls of residence and (b) attending colleges, universities and schools. [7675]
Mr. Horam: Detailed data on single cases of confirmed meningococcal infection occurring in schools, universities and colleges are not collated at a national level. From the age distribution of confirmed cases reported in 1996, 161--13 per cent.--of cases have occurred in school-age children and 278--22 per cent.--have occurred in young adults aged 15 to 24 years--many of whom will be in full-time education. Nearly one half of all cases still occur in children under five years of age.
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Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria his Department uses to determine whether an individual is part of a high-risk group when notified of a case of meningitis. [7676]
Mr. Horam: Persons at highest risk of meningococcal disease include infants and pre-school children with a second smaller incidence occurring in adolescence. Some persons with specific immunological disorders may also be at increased risk.
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