| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Travel and Accommodation Expenses
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Lord President of the Council what were the total costs, in respect of hon. members' (i) travel and (ii) accommodation (a) between Parliament and home or constituency, (b) on approved visits to the European Parliament, (c) on Select Committee visits and (d) on visits associated with other parliamentary duties in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [16255]
Mr. Newton: This information as provided by the Fees Office is set out in the table below. There is no specific provision for accommodation costs when travelling between Parliament and home or constituency. Costs of visits to the European Parliament are recorded in total, and are not differentiated as between travel and subsistence. Information in respect of Select Committees, parliamentary delegations, and other Committee costs, is a matter for the right hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed (Mr. Beith) on behalf of the House of Commons Commission.
| Year | Cost of travel between Parliament, home, and constituency | Cost of approved visits to European Parliament | Visits associated with other parliamentary duties |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | (b) | (d) | |
| 1992-93 | 6,865,405 | 29,939 | 146,220 |
| 1993-94 | 7,422,321 | 50,503 | 166,732 |
| 1994-95 | 7,693,378 | 45,704 | 187,914 |
| 1995-96 | 7,544,154 | 54,428 | 207,574 |
| 1996-97(34) | 5,796,850 | 38,147 | 195,828 |
(34) Part-year--April to December inclusive.
Written Questions
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Lord President of the Council, of the written parliamentary questions in the past 12 years for which the costs of answering have already been
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 536
calculated, which were the 10 questions which cost most to answer; and which hon. Members asked those questions. [16250]
Mr. Newton:
Records are not kept in a form which makes it practicable to provide the information requested.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Keith Hill: To ask the Lord President of the Council how many people are employed by his Department to provide advice on the application of equal opportunities; and at what cost in the last year for which figures are available. [14475]
Mr. Newton: The Privy Council Office has a staff of fewer than 40. None is exclusively devoted to personnel management duties, and no meaningful cost figure can be calculated for staff effort devoted to equal opportunities issues.
HEALTH
Private Beds
11. Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of private beds currently available in national health trust hospitals. [14737]
Mr. Horam: This information has not been collected since 1991.
Projected Deficits (Cornwall)
12. Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the projected deficits of the NHS in Cornwall in the coming financial year. [14738]
Mr. Malone: National health service bodies are currently developing their financial plans for 1997-98 and will submit these to the NHS executive in April.
Worcester District General Hospital
13. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the private finance initiative scheme to build a new Worcester district general hospital. [14739]
Mr. Horam: Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS trust is currently negotiating with their preferred private sector partner prior to submitting the full business case for the proposed private finance initiative scheme.
New Hospitals
14. Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new hospitals have opened in the last three years. [14740]
Mr. Horam:
Twenty-five major hospital developments have been completed in the NHS during the last three years at a total cost of nearly £700 million.
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 537
15. Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new hospitals or hospital extensions have been considered under the private finance initiative; for how many of these private finance has been forthcoming; and what is his estimate of the average delay caused for those hospitals considered under the private finance initiative but which subsequently go ahead on the basis of public funds alone. [14741]
Mr. Horam:
Full business cases recommending the use of private finance have been submitted for the provision of 25 new hospitals or hospital extensions each with a capital value of more than £1 million. Fourteen of these private finance schemes have reached contract signature. None of these 25 new hospitals or hospital extensions has subsequently gone ahead on the basis of public funding alone.
16. Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the change in the number of administrators in the health service since the abolition of the regional health authorities. [14742]
Mr. Malone:
This information will not be centrally available until later this year. The Government are determined to tackle unnecessary bureaucracy and to secure maximum improvements in health care. The simplification and streamlining of national health service management through the merger of district health authorities and family health services authorities, the abolition of regional health authorities, the reduction in the running costs of the Department of Health and the measures announced in October 1995 to reduce trust management costs and health authority running costs reflect the Government's determination to achieve this aim. In all these measures will release some £300 million for direct patient care.
17. Mr. William O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effects of the revised funding formulae for the Wakefield health authority on provision of hospital and community services in 1997-98 in the Normanton constituency. [14743]
Mr. Horam:
Wakefield health authority, which includes the hon. Member's constituency, has a net increase in its allocation targets.
18. Mr. Wareing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints he has received in the last 12 months about operations being cancelled within 24 hours of appointment. [14745]
Mr. Horam:
The information is not available centrally.
19. Mr. Loyden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote the provision of social respite for carers. [14746]
18 Feb 1997 : Column: 538
Mr. Burns:
Informal carers make a key contribution to the aims of community care by enabling many people to be cared for in their own homes. Promoting effective support for carers is one of our major priorities.
Local authorities receive very substantial resources for community care provision. They are expected to provide an appropriate range of respite and other support services to meet local needs. They have a built-in incentive to do so: failure to support carers in this way would be likely to lead to greater demand for more costly long-term residential care placements.
Our commitment to promoting effective support for carers is underwritten by on-going monitoring and development work, in particular by the social services inspectorate. This has enabled us to provide authorities with informed, practical guidance on assessing and meeting the needs for local respite care services in the most effective way.
20. Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers there were in the NHS (a) in 1989 and (b) at the latest available date.[14747]
Mr. Malone:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Glasgow, Rutherglen (Mr. McAvoy) on 3 December 1996, Official Report column 787. Information for 1996 will be centrally available later this year.
21. Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to meet the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. [14748]
Mr. Horam:
We have no plans to meet the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, but look forward to continuing to receive regular advice from it.
22. Dr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to modify the rules, regulations and guidelines concerning the use of electro-convulsive therapy in the treatment of persons suffering from mental illness. [14749]
Mr. Burns:
There are no current proposals to make any changes to the rules or regulations concerning the use of electro-convulsive therapy. The question of guidelines on the use of ECT is a matter for professional clinicians who administer it. In 1995 the Royal College of Psychiatrists' special committee on ECT published a practical set of guidelines for psychiatrists who prescribe and administer ECT.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |