| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
PRIME MINISTER
Bletchley Park
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the current ownership of Bletchley park. [12031]
The Prime Minister: The freehold of Bletchley park is owned in part by the Secretary of State for the Environment and in part by British Telecommunications.
Sellafield
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Prime Minister when he was first notified of the current proposals by UK Nirex Ltd. to build a rock characterisation laboratory near Sellafield. [11915]
The Prime Minister: I was made aware of the proposals in September 1992. UK Nirex Ltd. made them public in October 1992 when it published a consultative document outlining the rock characterisation facility concept.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 21 January. [10662]
Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 21 January. [10663]
The Prime Minister: This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Nuclear Tests
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Prime Minister how much money to date has been paid to the Australian Government in compensation for the nuclear testing carried out by the United Kingdom in the 1950s; what
21 Jan 1997 : Column: 580
work Her Majesty's Government are currently carrying out with the Australian authorities in this area; and if he will make a statement. [11455]
The Prime Minister: No such compensation has been paid. In 1968, Australia signed an agreement with the UK confirming that the clean-up of all test sites had been completed satisfactorily. However, in the interests of wider Anglo-Australian relations, in 1993, the UK agreed to make an ex gratia payment of £20 million, and now regards the matter as closed.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the dates he has visited Wales since 10 April 1992 in his official capacity. [12098]
The Prime Minister: I have visited Wales on official business on the following occasions since 10 April 1992:
3-4 September 1992
11 June 1993
28 October 1994
13-14 June 1996
HEALTH
Performance Targets (Ambulance Services)
11. Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the performance targets set for ambulance services. [10366]
Mr. Horam: The patients charter standard is that a person dialling 999 for an ambulance can expect it to arrive within 14 minutes in an urban ambulance service area or 19 minutes in a rural service area. In 1992-93 ambulances reached 2 million calls within the patients charter target, and by 1995-96 this had increased to some 2.6 million, which is 91.4 per cent. of emergency calls.
21 Jan 1997 : Column: 581
Mental Health Services
12. Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about mental health services. [10367]
Mr. Burns: I have received several representations from various sources including professional bodies and voluntary organisations concerned with the care of mentally ill people. I have meetings with these organisations on a regular basis.
Mental Health
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total number of admissions to psychiatric hospital via court disposals under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years. [12037]
Mr. Burns: Information on psychiatric admissions to national health service facilities is contained in the Department of Health's statistical bulletin "In-patients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation, England: 1989-90 to 1994-95"--the latest year for which information is available. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to psychiatric hospitals there were in each of the last five years. [12036]
Mr. Burns: The information available centrally relates to admissions under the mental illness specialties in national health service hospitals and is published in tables 5.20 and 5.21 of the publication, "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England: 1996", copies of which are available in the Library.
GPs' Lists
13. Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the right of general practitioners to remove patients from their list. [10368]
Mr. Malone: General practitioners' terms of service provide that a doctor may have a person removed from their list. Health authorities have powers to assign patients to a GP if they have difficulty in registering.
Community Care Services
14. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of National Mencap to discuss community care services for people with learning disabilities. [10369]
Mr. Burns: I met representatives of National Mencap on 21 October 1996 to discuss a number of issues relating to community care.
Long-term Care
15. Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue a national charter for long-term care. [10370]
Mr. Burns: We have no plans to do so.
21 Jan 1997 : Column: 582
Animal Experiments
16. Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research projects are currently being funded by his Department involving the use of animals; and what species are involved. [10371]
Mr. Malone: Eleven projects involving the use of animals are currently receiving funding from the Department. We have commissioned these projects in response to public health concerns about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, BSE and food poisoning. Those studies chiefly involve the use of mice, but chickens and rabbits are also used. All of these projects conform to the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which is administered by the Home Office. I have placed a list of these projects in the Library.
The Department also supports a range of research activity in the national health service and non-departmental public bodies, some of which involve the use of animals but detailed information on them is not held centrally.
NHS Funding
17. Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to alter the basis of funding of the national health service. [10372]
Mr. Horam: None. The Government remain firmly committed to a national health service which is funded mainly from general taxation, and available to all on the basis of clinical need and regardless of ability to pay.
Dental Services
18. Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental check-ups were carried out in Berkshire in the last year for which figures are available. [10373]
Mr. Malone: During 1995-96, payments for almost 233,000 dental examinations for adults were scheduled in the Berkshire family health services authority.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 166, on categories of treatment relating to dentists' pay (1) what assessment he has made of the breakdown of the (a) adult item of service percentage in the case of the highest earning national health service dentist in 1995-96 and (b) the child item of service percentage in the case of the previous years; and if he will make a statement; [12102]
- (2) for what reasons the gross fee earnings for 1991-92 and 1994-95 indicate no amounts for capitation. [12103]
Mr. Malone: The dentist in 1995-96 is a general dental practitioner who has registered patients and receives fees for item of service treatment and registration fees. The dentist in the previous years is a general dental practitioner providing, in the main, orthodontic treatment for patients who have been referred by other general dental practitioners with whom they are registered and who receive capitation payments for them.
21 Jan 1997 : Column: 583
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Pendle's question of 12 December 1996 on national health service dentists' earnings by decile. [12104]
Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 January 1996.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 220, how many dental (a) assistants and (b) nurses were employed by the highest paid national health service dentists in each year between 1991-92 and 1995-96. [12106]
Mr. Malone: Information on the number of dental nurses employed by individual dentists is not available. The information available on the number of dental assistants 1 is in the table.
| Dental assistants(21) | |
|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 3 |
| 1992-93 | 3 |
| 1993-94 | 3 |
| 1994-95 | 3 |
| 1995-96 | 6 |
(21) Assistants are fully qualified dentists, who do not have their own health authority contract number but work on that of a principal.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 220, what were the number of dental practices listed for the highest earning national health service dentists in each year between 1991-92 and 1995-96. [12105]
Mr. Malone: To give this information would be in breach of the open government code of practice, which exempts information which could facilitate an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
30. Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what current proposals he has to increase the number of dentists practising in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [10385]
Mr. Malone: As announced in the recent White Paper, "Primary Care: Delivering The Future", the Government will make available to health authorities in England funds for selected schemes to improve the availability of general dental services in certain areas.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |