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Insulin Pen Needles
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on Government proposals on pen needles and insulin injection pens; and if he will make a statement. [82012]
Mr. Denham: We have received representations from most of the organisations consulted. We are considering them, and are seeking clarification on certain points before we make our final decisions.
Operating Department Practitioners
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice his Department has given to NHS trusts on the procedures they should adopt for checking the qualifications of those who apply for posts as operating department practitioners; [82078]
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(3) what research his Department has undertaken into the ability of operating department practitioners to provide care in areas other than the operating theatre, with particular reference to (a) accident and emergency, (b) cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and (c) intensive care units; [82075]
(4) what advice his Department has given to NHS trusts on whom they should notify if an operating department practitioner is dismissed for misconduct or incapability. [82079]
Mr. Hutton:
The Department has not undertaken any research on the ability of operating department practitioners to provide care in other areas. Guidance has been issued on good recruitment practice which applies to all National Health Service staff. All NHS employers have a "duty of care" to ensure that all their employees are qualified and competent to perform the duties for which they are employed. This duty includes ensuring that high standards of patient care are maintained at all times.
Responsibility for dealing with issues of misconduct and incapability are a matter for NHS trusts. The Department does not collect information on the numbers of cases of misconduct by operating department practitioners.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the establishment of a statutory regulation scheme for operating department practitioners; and if he will make a statement. [82076]
Mr. Denham:
Since 1 May 1997, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received eight representations about regulation of operating department practitioners.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of operating department practitioners in the NHS who work in areas other than operating theatres. [82077]
Mr. Hutton:
The information requested is not available centrally. Planning the number of operating department practitioners is a matter for local employers to determine in the light of local needs and priorities.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders convicted of (a) sexual offences and (b) violent offences have been released on home detention curfew on or since 28 January. [81947]
Mr. George Howarth:
No prisoner has been placed on home detention curfew who has been convicted of an offence to which part I of the Sexual Offenders Act 1997 applies. One offender has been placed on home detention curfew whose current sentence is for bigamy but this is not an offence to which part I of the Sexual Offences Act 1997 applies.
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Of the 3,730 offenders who have been placed on home detention curfew up to Monday 19 April, 617 offenders have a current conviction for an offence of violence.
Only prisoners serving less than four years are eligible for consideration for home detention curfew. All eligible prisoners must pass a risk assessment before they can be placed on home detention curfew. Prisoners who either pose a risk to the public or a risk of re-offending during the home detention curfew period, or are unlikely to comply with terms of curfew, will not be granted home detention curfew.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially-motivated assaults have been recorded in each of the last three years at (a) Tooting and (b) Wandsworth police stations. [81890]
Kate Hoey:
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that Wandsworth and Tooting police stations are part of Wandsworth Division and it is not possible to break down the figures below divisional level. He has provided the following information:
(2) how many cases of misconduct by operating department practitioners have been reported to his Department in each of the past five years; [82080]
| Financial year | Racial assaults |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 30 |
| 1998-99 | 66 |
It is not possible to provide figures for the financial year 1996-97 as the Metropolitan police's system did not then separate racial assaults from all other assaults.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of incitement to racial hatred were (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) the subject of arrest, in (i) Tooting and (ii) Wandsworth police stations in the last three years. [81888]
Kate Hoey: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that Wandsworth and Tooting police stations are part of Wandsworth Division and it is not possible to break down the figures below divisional level. He has provided the following information for incidents reported under section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986 in Wandsworth Division:
| Financial year | Reported | Investigated | Arrested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1997-98 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1998-99 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Refugees (Yugoslavia)
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has given to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of the number of refugees from Kosovo who will be offered protection in the United Kingdom. [81998]
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees from the Kosovan conflict the Government have agreed to accept into the United Kingdom. [82226]
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Mr. Straw:
I refer to my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 April 1999, Official Report, columns 6-9, to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Wilkinson).
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made to his European Union counterparts to coordinate the emergency admission of refugees from the Kosovo conflict. [82225]
Kate Hoey:
An emergency meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council was held on 7 April. The Council agreed that the first priority was to seek to protect refugees in the region. It was also agreed that the emergency relocation of refugees from the region should be co-ordinated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions he has made to accept refugees from the conflict in former Yugoslavia to the United Kingdom. [82224]
Mr. Straw:
We have always made it clear that the United Kingdom stands ready to receive some thousands of refugees from that region on criteria agreed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who gives priority to relieving pressure on the camps by giving priority to the most vulnerable and those with family links in the United Kingdom.
Under these arrangements, the first arrivals-- 161 refugees, mainly women and children--came to the United Kingdom on Sunday and are being looked after in Leeds. Reception centres are being staffed by the Refugee Council which is taking the lead in establishing a special reception service for Kosovan refugees arriving in the United Kingdom.
On arrival, the refugees were given a basic health check to determine if anyone needed immediate medical attention; none of the refugees needed immediate hospital treatment. At the reception centres, each refugee will be given a more thorough health check and be assigned a General Practitioner; children of school age will be assigned to a local school and refugees will be put in touch with any known relatives or friends.
People arriving under the UNHCR programme will be granted permission to enter in line with close family members already settled in the United Kingdom or 12 months' exceptional leave to enter to provide for their protection as requested by UNHCR. They will have
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access to the benefits system, NHS medical treatment and will be entitled to work. Other refugees arriving independently will be eligible to apply for asylum in the usual way.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last five years the number of television sets with stand-by units in prisons in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales. [81983]
Mr. George Howarth:
The information requested on the numbers of television sets with stand-by units for prisoners' use in England and Wales is not available in the form requested. The number of television sets with stand-by units in prisons in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
| Year | England | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 9,828 | 560 |
| 1999 | 4,526 | 412 |
These figures do not include television sets used in association and communal rooms for which information is not kept centrally.
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