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Interest Rates
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effects of a 0.5 per cent. increase in interest and mortgage rates on (a) inflation and (b) economic growth over one year. [4275]
Mrs. Liddell: The effects of changes in interest rates cannot be precisely estimated. In general, increased interest rates can be expected to result in lower underlying inflation and economic growth in the following year than would have occurred otherwise.
Budget Projections
Ms Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to publish the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the assumptions for the 1997 Budget projections. [5077]
Mr. Gordon Brown: The report is being published today as a Command Paper. Copies are available in the Vote Office.
WALES
Welsh Assembly
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what studies his Department has undertaken of the effect on jobs and investment in Wales of the creation of a Welsh Assembly. [2936]
Mr. Ron Davies: None, but my Department is keeping these issues under review.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the non-departmental public bodies in Wales exercise powers previously exercised by local authorities. [3737]
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Mr. Ron Davies:
Both the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils exercise powers to fund education institutions that were previously exercised by local authorities.
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the non-departmental public bodies in Wales are (a) specialist and advisory and (b) executive; and what is the annual grant-in-aid to each. [3738]
| Advisory NDPBs and tribunals(4) | 1997-98 Grant-in-aid budget £ |
|---|---|
| Environment Agency Advisory Committee for Wales | Nil |
| Agriculture Dwelling House Advisory Committee | Nil |
| Hill Farming Advisory Sub-Committee | Nil |
| Historical Buildings Council for Wales | Nil |
| Ancient Monuments Board for Wales | Nil |
| Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales | 500,000 |
| Staff Commission for Wales | 11,000 |
| Welsh Council for Post Graduate Medical and Dental Education | Nil |
| Welsh Scientific Advisory Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Medical Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Optical Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Dental Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Nursing and Midwifery Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Committee for Post Graduate Pharmaceutical Education | 5,968 |
| Library and Information Services Council (Wales) | 9,000 |
| Place Names Advisory Committee | Nil |
| Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board | Nil |
| Welsh Committee on Drugs and Alcohol Misuse | 10,000 |
| Valuation Tribunals (Wales) | Nil |
| Registered Inspectors Appeals Tribunal (Wales) | Nil |
| Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales | Nil |
| Agricultural Land Tribunal (Wales) | Nil |
| Rent Assessment Panel for Wales | Nil |
(4) Generally, advisory NDPBs do not employ staff or incur expenditure on their own account.
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Speech Therapy
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to recruit more speech therapists in Wales. [4459]
Mr. Win Griffiths: The recruitment of NHS staff is a matter for individual Trusts. Additional funding is being provided from 1997-98 onwards to increase the numbers of students being trained and to enhance the number of clinical placements across Wales. This will encourage recruitment in areas where qualified Speech and Language Therapists are required. I will be keeping a close watch on progress in recruiting qualified Speech and Language Therapists.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Drugs Research Unit
Mr. Rhodri Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the terms of reference of, and funding provisions for, the drug utilisation research unit at Queen's University, Belfast. [4012]
Mr. Worthington [holding answer 16 June 1997]: A contractual agreement between the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland and the Queen's University of Belfast sets out detailed terms of reference for DURU, listed below.
The Unit (DURU) shall:
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Running costs of DURU are met by an annual grant provided by the Department of Health and Social Services, as stated in the agreement with the Queen's University of Belfast. Funding for the year ending March 1997 amounted to £312,667.
Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the terms of reference and membership of the review committee on the work of the drug utilisation research unit, Queen's University, Belfast; what representations she has received concerning the outcome of the review committee's recommendations; and if she will make a statement. [4013]
Mr. Worthington
[holding answer 16 June 1997]: The terms of reference for the review of DURU were to assess four dimensions of the unit's work, comprising: scientific quality; policy, service relevance and value; management and accountability; and options for future management and funding.
The Review Team comprised the following three members: Professor Mike Rawlins, Department of Pharmacological Science, University of Newcastle; Professor Peter Noyce, Department of Pharmacy, University of Manchester; and Dr. Colin Bradley, Department of General Practice, University of Birmingham.
The Department has received written correspondence regarding the outcome of the review of DURU from Martin Caton (MP), David Morris (MEP) and Dr. McGavock, Director of DURU. The decision not to renew the contract for DURU was based on the Review Team's recommendations and peer review of those recommendations. Nothing subsequently raised in correspondence to the Department gives cause to change the original decision.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the number of plastic baton rounds used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary since the batch with an excessive muzzle velocity was supplied in 1994. [4550]
Mr. Ingram:
A total of 7,437 plastic baton rounds have been used by the RUC since ammunition manufactured in 1994 was issued on 18 May 1994.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the (a) number of people injured by plastic baton rounds since 1994 and (b) rate of injury per round used; and what are the figures for the previous three year period. [4549]
Mr. Ingram:
There have been 94 alleged injuries associated with incidents involving use of plastic baton rounds between 1 January 1994 and 24 April 1997. This is a rate of one alleged injury for each 94 rounds fired (compared with a rate of one injury for each 95 rounds fired for the period 18 May 1994 to 25 April 1997).
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continue the work of the Department's (DHSS) Prescribing Information Unit of visiting general medical practitioners to encourage safer and more cost-effective prescribing and to collect further data on prescribing habits, consultation profiles, locum and home visit arrangements and other information necessary to understand present behaviour and to develop better prescribing practice;
develop the work of the Prescribing Information Unit by advising, supporting and assisting the officers of the Health and Social Services Boards in making general medical practitioners aware of their prescribing patterns;
collect and collate all available data on drug utilisation and construct a comprehensive prescribing data-base;
support the work of the Royal College of General Practitioners in updating and disseminating the use of the practice formulary and other guides to rational prescribing, and to analyse the reluctant benefits;
seek the optimal format for conveying new essential drug information to general medical practitioners;
compile statistics on self-poisoning;
identify inappropriate prescribing;
relate utilisation to indices of morbidity and analyse the reasons for intra and inter-regional variations;
encourage and assist all hospital medical staff in improving the rationality and cost-effectiveness of their prescribing by the development and application of agreed hospital formularies and to assess the success of self-regulation.
| Year | Alleged injuries | Rounds fired | Injuries/rounds fired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 14 | 523 | 1/37.3 |
| 1992 | 8 | 77 | 1/11 |
| 1991 | 10 | 323 | 1/32.3 |
These statistics are based on total security force firings.
Mr. Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when plastic baton rounds were first used in Northern Ireland; how many rounds have been used to the latest available date; and how many deaths and injuries have been caused to (a) adults and (b) children over that period. [4553]
Mr. Ingram: Plastic baton rounds were first used in Northern Ireland in 1973, and a total of 65,204 rounds have been used. There have been 14 fatalities associated with their use. There have been 565 alleged injuries associated with incidents involving plastic baton rounds since 1981 when records of these were first kept.
Of the 14 people killed, seven were under 16 years of age. The last fatality was in August 1989.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Royal Ulster Constabulary discovered that plastic baton rounds in use since 1994 had excessive muzzle velocities; on what date they were withdrawn; and how many of the faulty rounds were used by the RUC between those two dates. [4547]
Mr. Ingram:
Rounds manufactured in 1994 entered service with the RUC on 18 May 1994. The RUC received notification from the MOD on 24 March 1997 that some 1994 rounds were outside the agreed specification.
All 1994 rounds were withdrawn by 25 April 1997.
The number of rounds with muzzle velocities in excess of the upper limit which were supplied to the RUC or actually used is not known.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the rules for the use of plastic baton rounds by the Royal Ulster Constabulary; on how many occasions they have been used by the RUC since the batch with an excessive muzzle velocity was issued in 1994; and if she will list the dates on which and places where they were used. [4551]
Mr. Ingram:
The use of plastic baton rounds is governed by section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 which provides that "A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large."
The RUC's operational guidelines specify that baton guns will be used only "in accordance with the principle of the minimum and reasonable amount of force necessary in the protection of life and property, the preservation of the peace and the prevention and detection of crime." They also place limitations on the firing of baton rounds at a range of less than 20 metres to situations where the safety of police officers or others is seriously threatened, direct that firing should be at selected persons and not indiscriminately at the crowd, and aimed so that they
19 Jun 1997 : Column: 279
strike the lower part of the target's body direct. A higher point of aim is permitted only if the safety of police officers or others is seriously threatened and the attacker's body is shielded from the firer.
In his 1996 Inspection of the RUC Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary reported that "The RUC conditions/restrictions in use are clearly defined and accord with those issued by the Home Secretary to Forces in England and Wales, save that the authority levels for use of baton rounds and their subsequent operational controls are lower."
The RUC, in conjunction with ACPO colleagues, in England and Wales is currently revising guidelines on the use of baton rounds with a view to recommending common guidelines for use by police throughout the United Kingdom.
I will write to the hon. Member with the further information he requests once it has been prepared.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the RUC discovered that plastic baton rounds in use since 1994 had an excessive muzzle velocity; and if she will make a statement. [4548]
Mr. Ingram:
The RUC received notification from the MOD on 24 March 1997 that some rounds manufactured in 1994 were outside the agreed specification.
Mr. Sedgemore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the numbers of each type of injury caused by plastic baton rounds since 1994. [4552]
Mr. Ingram:
It is not possible to provide the information in the form requested. There have been 94 alleged injuries from incidents involving the use of plastic baton rounds from 1 January 1994 to 24 April 1997.
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