| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Right to Buy
Ms Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will announce the results of the consultation exercise on the changes to the right to buy maximum discount. [63772]
Mr. Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will announce the results of the consultation exercise on the changes to the right to buy maximum discount. [63807]
Ms Armstrong: We intend the Right to Buy scheme to continue, and that eligible tenants should continue to buy at substantial discounts. The annual cost of the scheme to the taxpayer is currently around £400 million a year at net present value. Tenants are, and will continue to be, eligible to claim up to 60 per cent. discount on a house and 70 per cent. discount on a flat, but we want to provide value for money to the taxpayer so the maximum cash limit of £50,000 will be reduced.
We announced plans on 28 July 1998, Official Report, columns 124-25, to reduce the limit to a fairer level which reflected more closely the actual cost of buying a local authority home in each of the nine English regions. The consultation period ended on 30 September. We had 197 responses. The great majority of these welcomed the proposal to reduce the level of discount.
Today the Housing (Right to Buy) (Maximum Discount) Order 1998, SI 1998 2997 has been laid before Parliament for approval.
Subject to Parliamentary approval, the change will come into force on 11 February 1999. For anyone applying to buy on or after that date, the maximum cash limits on discounts available under the Right to Buy, the preserved Right to Buy and voluntary sales of council housing will range from £38,000 in London and the South East to £22,000 in the North East.
The limits are based on 70 per cent. of the average value of local authority houses and flats in each region, and 65 per cent. in London where pressure on social housing is currently greatest.
The Right to Buy scheme was reviewed as part of the Housing Comprehensive Spending Review. We are strongly committed to promoting sustainable home ownership so the Right to Buy scheme will still provide tenants with the opportunity to buy at generous discounts.
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the President of the Council how many people in her Department are currently on secondment from private companies; and if she will list them, their companies and their current responsibilities within Government. [62825]
Mrs. Beckett:
None of the current staff of my department is on secondment from a private company.
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the President of the Council if she will list the special advisers in her Department and the issues on which they specialise; and to what level they have been security cleared. [62834]
10 Dec 1998 : Column: 255
Mrs. Beckett:
The Special Advisers in my Department are Ms Sheila Watson and Ms Nicci Russell. They support me on the full range of issues for which I am responsible. It would be inappropriate to give details about their individual levels of security clearance.
Mr. Robert Jackson:
To ask the President of the Council if she will list (a) the (i) task forces, (ii) review panels and (iii) advisory groups her Office has, (b) the remit of each and (c) the members of each together with their principal employment and their level of remuneration. [62807]
Mrs. Beckett:
My department has no task forces, review panels, or advisory groups.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide figures for the last five years relating to the prescribing on the NHS of the drug Ritalin to treat children with attention deficit disorder. [62975]
Mr. Milburn:
The number of National Health Service prescription items dispensed in the community and the net ingredient cost for methylphenidate hydrochloride are given in the table. Information about prescriptions dispensed in hospitals are not available centrally.
| Year | Prescription items (thousands) | Net ingredient cost (£000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 3.5 | 25.7 |
| 1994 | 6.0 | 52.3 |
| 1995 | 14.7 | 253.0 |
| 1996 | 47.7 | 811.7 |
| 1997 | 92.1 | 1,636.5 |
Notes:
1. The data are from the Prescription Cost Analysis system and cover all NHS prescriptions for methylphenidate hydrochloride dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors in England. Methylphenidate hydrochloride is the approved non-proprietary name for Ritalin.
2. The net ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic cost of a drug. This cost does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.
3. Total NHS prescriptions include prescriptions originating not only from general practitioners but also from hospital doctors where these are dispensed in the community. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England.
4. It is assumed that the majority of prescriptions for methylphenidate hydrochloride relate to the treatment of children with attention deficit disorder, which is currently the only licensed indication of this drug. However, a small number of prescriptions may relate to the treatment of patients with narcolepsy (a licensed indication of the drug in the 1980s).
Operating Theatre Practitioners
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning a compulsory registration system for operating theatre practitioners; and if he will make a statement. [62115]
10 Dec 1998 : Column: 256
Mr. Milburn
[holding answer 3 December 1998]: We have received a representation from the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland concerning a proposed compulsory registration system for operating theatre practitioners. The representation is now being considered.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which UK health authorities are meeting their target levels for the number of delayed discharges. [62976]
Mr. Milburn:
There are no national targets levels for the number of delayed discharges for health authorities. Health authorities may set targets, but these are locally managed.
Established good practice in hospital discharge seeks to balance the needs and wishes of patients and their carers with the requirement to make the most effective use of available resources. It is in no-one's interest for patients to stay in hospital for longer than they need to and hospital discharge procedures need to be sensitive to individual needs. Delays in discharge can reflect a variety of factors and these will vary between health authorities, depending on a variety of factors.
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private sector children's homes in East Sussex have been visited by social services inspectors in the last six months. [63032]
Mr. Hutton:
In the last six months East Sussex County Council Inspection Unit has visited the two private children's homes in East Sussex registered under the Children Act 1989.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of backdating the pension arrangements for widowers of female doctors so that they are in line with the pension arrangements for widows of male doctors. [62509]
Mr. Milburn:
The capitalised cost of backdating widowers' pensions to 1972 based on 1994-95 salaries has been estimated at around £350 million.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will amend the pension rights of the widowers of female doctors to make them equivalent to the pension arrangements made for widows of male doctors. [62510]
Mr. Milburn:
The National Health Service pension scheme provides the widowers of female doctors with the same pension rights as widows of male doctors.
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he met Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub to discuss the future of Harefield Hospital; and if he will make a statement. [63267]
Mr. Milburn:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub on Tuesday 1 December 1998 to talk about services in West London
10 Dec 1998 : Column: 257
and the regulation of clinical perfusionists. The Department recognises and pays tribute to the work undertaken by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub and his colleagues at Harefield Hospital. My right hon. Friend gave Sir Magdi his assurance of the Government's determination not to allow planning blight to set in while the longer term reconfiguration of services was considered. The consequences of any reconfiguration of services would be properly explored. Any service changes at Harefield Hospital will be subject to full public consultation.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |