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Schools (Performance)
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the costs of (a) publishing and (b) distributing the booklet, "School Performance Information 1996". [12648]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The costs of making these booklets ready for publication and for distributing them to parents, schools and others amounted to £113,815--just under 80p per copy.
Baglan Hospital
Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when it is now proposed to approve the construction of the Baglan hospital; and if he will make a statement. [13035]
Mr. Hague: My Department informed the Glan-y-Mor NHS trust and Lechyd Morgannwg Health on 24 January 1997 that the outline business case has been approved. This enables the trust to seek funding under the private finance initiative.
Inward Investment (Aberavon)
Mr. John Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the new industries that have been brought to the Aberavon constituency from abroad in each of the past five years. [13036]
Mr. Hague: Since 1 January 1992, there have been 12 inward investment projects recorded for the Aberavon constituency promising 405 new jobs, 420 safeguarded jobs and capital investment of £75.6 million. One of these involved investment by an overseas company new to the area and that was recorded in 1993.
28 Jan 1997 : Column: 159
I am also pleased to announce today that Sumitomo will be setting up a new subsidiary in Baglan creating over 80 new jobs in a project of almost £3 million to manufacture flat flexible cables.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he (a) encouraged the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group to develop an expression of interest to reconfigure the Welsh ambulance services and (b) requested it to submit its proposals to him by June;[13197]
- (2) if he will place in the Library copies of correspondence between his Department and the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group concerning the group's outline expression of interest of 1996 and subsequent correspondence referring to future expressions of interest on ambulance service mergers. [13195]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Any proposals to reconfigure ambulance trusts are matters for the trusts themselves in conjunction with respective commissioners. They have not been asked for an expression of interest or set a timetable for its submission. I welcome the work being undertaken by the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group and I am aware that the group's objective is to submit joint proposals for the future provision of ambulances in Wales by June 1997. If the proposals include a possible reconfiguration of trusts, that would be subject to public consultation in the usual way.
Correspondence between the Department and NHS trusts is treated as management in confidence.
Local Government Finance
Sir Wyn Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will announce his decisions on the 1997-98 local government revenue settlement; and if he will make a statement. [13385]
Mr. Hague: I have given careful consideration to the representations that I have received on my provisional settlement proposals. I chaired a meeting of the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance on 16 December, at which settlement matters were discussed; and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State met representatives of police authorities in Wales on 10 January.
Having taken account of all the representations, I have decided to confirm total standard spending at £2,931.3 million and aggregate external finance at £2,577.9 million for 1997-98. The increase in TSS is £66.3 million or 2.3 per cent. on 1996-97. The increase in AEF is £64.1 million or 2.6 per cent. TSS includes £169.2 million for community care and £340.6 million to fund police services. I believe that my proposals provide local authorities with a fair level of funding in 1997-98 given the overall level of resources available and other spending needs.
AEF will comprise £1,732.7 million in revenue support grant; £584 million in distributable non-domestic rates; £244.5 million in specific grants, including police grant; £0.2 million for Dyfed-Powys police authority to damp the effect on council tax payers in its area of a reduction of over 2 per cent. in its police grant and SSA allocations
28 Jan 1997 : Column: 160
resulting from methodology changes in the police funding formula; and £16.5 million to damp council tax increases to ensure that no council tax payer in Wales faces an increase in their bill of more than 15 per cent., excluding community council precepts and discretionary non-domestic rate relief. Actual council tax levels will depend on the budgetary decisions of individual local and police authorities.
The £16.5 million within AEF for council tax reduction is less than the provisional amount of £18.3 million announced to the House on 12 December. Changes to local authority standard spending assessments from provisional to final stage and adjustments to local authorities' base budgets resulting from consultation mean that less money is needed to maintain the 15 per cent. threshold. The balance of £1.8 million is added to revenue support grant.
I propose to lay the local government finance report (Wales) 1997-98 before the House on 3 February. At the same time, I shall be laying the special grant report (Wales) 1997 and the limitation of council tax (relevant notional amounts) report (Wales) 1997-98.
I am placing final settlement details for individual local authorities and police authorities in the Library. My decisions are subject to the approval of the House of Commons.
Mrs. Clwyd:
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 25 November, Official Report, column 1, when he expects to be able to report to Parliament the results of his review of export licensing controls. [12628]
The Prime Minister:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough (Mr. Sykes) on 22 January, Official Report, columns 600-01 on progress on the Government's response to the recommendations made by Sir Richard Scott following his inquiry into the export of arms and arms-related goods to Iraq.
Mr. Hawksley:
To ask the Prime Minister where the European Council at the end of the United Kingdom's presidency of the European Union in 1998 will be held. [13499]
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to announce his decision on the location of the June 1998 European summit conference. [13058]
The Prime Minister:
The European Council will be held in Cardiff.
Miss Lestor:
To ask the Prime Minister what decision he has made in respect of a pardon for Derek Bentley. [13155]
28 Jan 1997 : Column: 161
The Prime Minister:
My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary is considering carefully the latest request for a posthumous free pardon. He will make an announcement as soon as a decision has been reached.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister for Children. [12721]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 27 January 1997]: I have no plans to do so. The Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns), has ministerial responsibility for children's services at the Department of Health. However, all Government Departments are aware of the need to consider children's interests and there are many mechanisms in place, both formal and informal, to ensure inter-departmental co-operation on children's issues. These arrangements work well, especially now they have been expanded by the forming of the children's services strategy group which brings together central and local government and the major voluntary organisations to look at key issues. This group is co-ordinated by the Department of Health.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28 January.[11691]
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.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the current arrangements for patients giving consent to dental work. [12380]
Mr. Malone:
We have no plans to review these arrangements. The General Dental Council, in its guidance on professional conduct and fitness to practise, advises that dentists must obtain valid consent prior to treatment and have a duty to explain what treatment they propose to provide. The form that the patient signs before treatment and the general dental services regulations reflect this.
Mr. Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve NHS oversight of courses of treatment proposed by dentists. [12466]
Mr. Malone:
The dental reference service provides independent professional dental patient examination and related services in response to requests from general dental practitioners, national health service managers, health departments and the Dental Practice Board, by which it is managed. Funding was provided in 1996-97 for the expansion of the DRS to 60 dentists.
Mr. Thurnham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the trends in the incidence of dental caries among school children (a) in Bolton and (b) nationally since 1979. [12470]
28 Jan 1997 : Column: 162
Mr. Malone:
The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry conducts annual surveys of dental caries prevalence in children within a four-yearly cycle comprising those aged five, 12 and 14, throughout Great Britain. BASCD began these surveys in 1985-86 in England and Wales. The tables show the mean number decayed, missing and filled in the deciduous teeth only of five-year-old children, in the permanent teeth only of 12 and 14-year-old children in Bolton, and the figures for five, 12 and 14-year-olds in England.
| Bolton | England | |
|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | 2.67 | 1.73 |
| 1989-90 | 2.82 | 1.62 |
| 1991-92 | 3.52 | 1.66 |
| 1993-94 | 3.36 | 1.74 |
(15) Deciduous teeth only.
| Bolton | England | |
|---|---|---|
| 1988-89 | 2.03 | 1.49 |
| 1992-93 | 2.18 | 1.15 |
(16) Permanent teeth only.
| Bolton | England | |
|---|---|---|
| 1986-87 | 3.79 | n/a |
| 1990-91 | n/a | 2.14 |
| 1994-95 | 2.52 | 1.67 |
(17) Permanent teeth only.
n/a = no data available.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the largest national health service payment to a single dentist in 1995-96 working alone. [13158]
Mr. Malone: The largest gross fee payment in 1995-96 to a national health service dentist who had no other dentists working for him was £546,000.
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