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Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to amend the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and transfers to the Scottish consolidated fund departmental expenditure limits/running costs provision for 1999-2000. [87024]
Dr. Reid:
Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Revised Estimates, the gross running costs provision for Class XIII, Vote 1 will be increased by £175,000 from £2,400,000 to £2,575,000. The increase is in respect of an increase in appropriations in aid from: VAT recoveries, fees and costs for legal work done by solicitors and receipts of rents and a transfer of £55,000 from Current Grants for the cost of Private Legislation
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Procedure. The running costs limit and the Departmental Expenditure Limit will be increased by £55,000 from £2,400,000 to £2,455,000. This will be offset by a corresponding reduction in expenditure by the Scottish Parliament within the Departmental Expenditure Limit from £13,807,018,000 to £13,806,963,000.
Balkans (Reconstruction)
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what European Union support is being given for longer-term reconstruction in the Balkans; and if she will make a statement. [86478]
Clare Short: The EU has provided 4,185 million euros for the reconstruction of the region since the end of the Bosnian conflict. In 1999, 170 million euros were allocated for the reconstruction of the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
The EU is reviewing its plans to take into account the consequences of the Kosovo crisis. The proposed Stability Pact for South East Europe will provide a framework for the regeneration of the Balkan region. The EU will play a key role in this process and in the financing of the international reconstruction effort in Kosovo.
Tobacco
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much British aid money has been invested in agricultural projects in developing countries which include the growing of tobacco crops for each year over the last five years. [86212]
Clare Short: Our policy is that development funds must not be used for any purpose which supports the tobacco sector. In line with this requirement, no British development money has been invested in bilateral projects which include the growing of tobacco crops in developing countries in any of the past 5 years.
Aid: GNP Ratio
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what official development assistance was provided by the UK in 1998 as a percentage of GNP; and what the performance was of other members of OECD's Development Assistance Committee. [86981]
Clare Short: As announced yesterday by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, the UK's expenditure on official development assistance (ODA) in 1998 is estimated at £2,315 million, representing 0.27 per cent. of GNP. This is an increase on the 1997 figure of 0.26 per cent. and reflects the Government's commitment to reverse the decline in UK development assistance. The average ODA/GNP ration for all OECD DAC Member Countries was 0.23 per cent. We will continue our strenuous efforts to also improve the effectiveness of international development programmes.
The figures exclude financial flows to countries in transition in Central and Eastern Europe and more advanced developing countries as defined in the DAC List of Aid Recipients.
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Guild Community Trust, Preston
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions he has had with the North West Regional Health Authority on the appointment of independent investigators to report on administration of the Guild Community Trust Preston during 1998 and 1999; and if he will make a statement; [85139]
- (2) in what ways he involved the Chairman of the North West Regional Health Authority in seeking the resignations of the non-executive directors of the Guild Community Trust Preston; [85224]
(3) if he will list the grounds on which he dismissed the Board of the Guild Community Trust Preston; [85223]
(4) if he will list those occasions on which the non-executive directors of the Guild Community Trust Preston sought advice on the way the trust was being run from the North West Regional Health Authority; and what advice was given; [85136]
(5) if he will publish the correspondence between his Department, the North West Regional Health Authority and the Chief Executive of the Guild Community Trust Preston during 1998 and 1999 on the Chief Executive's administration of the trust during this period; [85137]
(6) if he will list the (a) meetings and (b) communications between his Department and the Chief Executive of the Guild Community Trust Preston during 1998 and 1999 and state the reasons for each of those meetings and communications; [85138]
(7) what reports his Department has received on the administration of the Guild Community Trust Preston in its last two years; and what were their conclusions. [85140]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 May 1999]: A mental health report which appeared in the summer of 1998 raised concerns about the management of Guild Community Healthcare NHS Trust and, specifically, its Chief Executive. The Trust Board, after consultation with the NHS Executive North West, took the decision to suspend the Chief Executive and commission an independent panel to investigate his management style.
The independent Galbraith Report was presented to the non-executive team in December 1998. It concluded that there had been a clear and significant loss of confidence in the trust's Chief Executive and that his position had become untenable. Then the Chairman of the Trust resigned. I have received briefings from the North West Regional Office of the NHS about the investigation which was commissioned by, and reported to, the Guild Trust Board.
The circumstances at the Guild Trust, Preston were the subject of letters, e-mails, telephone and face-to-face conversations involving non-executive directors of the trust, officials at the NHS North West Regional Office and officials in my Department over a lengthy period.
In May the non-executive directors of the Guild Trust were asked to resign in the best interests of the NHS and the staff and patients of the trust because there had been an irreversible breakdown in relations with one another. Two agreed to resign and I dismissed the three who refused.
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The Chairman of the North West Region of the NHS, who is my representative in these matters, was involved at all stages in my consideration of the situation at the Guild Trust and my decision to seek the resignations of the non-executive directors.
The Department, including the NHS Executive North West, communicates on a regular basis with NHS Trusts about management issues. The extent and diversity of these contacts make it impractical to compile a definitive list.
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that the impact of the use of computerised systems in respect of call-outs by Staffordshire Ambulance service is disseminated to other ambulance services in the United Kingdom; [85537]
Mr. Denham:
Staffordshire Ambulance service has reported impressive response times which we commend. Information about its work, including its use of computerised systems, has been widely disseminated through publication of its response times, presentation of its results to Ministers by the chief executive, and at a national meeting of health authority commissioners focusing on its methods.
Other ambulance services in England have adopted the approaches promoted by Staffordshire.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted by, or on behalf of, his Department into the health risks of the use of bovine serum in the manufacture of MMR vaccines. [85534]
Ms Jowell:
No research specific to bovine material and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been conducted by, or on behalf of, the Department of Health. All bovine blood products used in the manufacture of MMR vaccines comply with European guidelines on minimising the risk of transmitting agents causing spongiform encephalopathies via medicinal products, which address the sourcing and processing of bovine material used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The product used in the manufacture of MMR vaccine is not serum, but bovine albumin. This is not United Kingdom sourced.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were referred for radiotherapy treatment in each year from 1989 to date; and if he will make a statement. [85695]
Mr. Denham:
The Department does not collect information about numbers of patients referred for radiotherapy. The following information indicates first out-patient referrals for clinical oncology at Royal
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Shrewsbury Hospital (only available since 1994-95), a proportion of whom will have been referred for radiotherapy treatment.
(2) what assessment he has made of the response rate times achieved by Staffordshire Ambulance service. [85536]
| Year | Seen | Did not appear |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 350 | 3 |
| 1995-96 | 492 | 5 |
| 1996-97 | 1,115 | 27 |
| 1997-98 | 632 | 21 |
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be informed of the outcome of its bid for a linear accelerator; and if he will make a statement; [85698]
- (2) pursuant to the letter of 12 April from the Under-Secretary of State for Health, if his officials have considered the financial terms of funding a second linear accelerator at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital; and if he will make a statement; [85696]
(3) what reasons underlie the length of time taken by the NHS Executive, West Midlands Regional Office to consider the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital's business case for funding to replace its cobalt unit with a new linear accelerator; and if he will make a statement. [85716]
Mr. Denham: The National Health Service Executive-West Midlands Regional Office is carefully considering the business case and hopes to make a decision as soon as possible. The prime consideration will be establishing a safe and sustainable service. There are several factors underpinning this, and the Regional Office needs to satisfy itself that all the issues have been addressed before approving the business case. In particular, the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which is not itself a cancer centre, will need to demonstrate that robust working links have been developed with the North Staffordshire cancer centre. In addition, work currently taking place on developing a national framework for radiotherapy services, as well as wider regional cancer strategy will inform the decision. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be informed as soon as a decision has been reached.
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