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Emergency Admissions
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by health authority the total number of emergency admissions in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [90401]
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Mr. Hutton:
Figures for the years 1992-93 to 1997-98 have been placed in the Library.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to limit the fees which NHS trusts may pay to nurses working for nursing agencies. [90528]
Mr. Denham:
We are unaware of any occasions where National Health Service trusts have paid nurses fees while they are working for nursing agencies. Agency staff are normally paid directly by their agency, who in turn are paid by NHS trusts.
The NHS Executive is working with the Social Partnership Forum to review the use of bank and agency staff and alternative approaches to employment flexibility, with a view to recommending good practice guidance to NHS employers.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the new Commission of Inquiry into the HFEA/HGAC recommendations on cloning will be appointed. [90836]
Ms Jowell:
I hope to announce the membership of the Chief Medical Officer's expert advisory group shortly.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mrs. Brinton) of 6 July 1999, Official Report, column 498, concerning national standards for care homes, what the closing date for the consultation will be. [90925]
Mr. Hutton:
The consultation exercise has not yet begun. People will be given three months from the issuing of the consultation pack in which to submit their comments.
Mr. Hesford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the proposed Health Development Agency will be responsible for spending from the new Public Health Development Fund. [90739]
Ms Jowell:
The Public Health Development Fund will be administered by the Department.
Mr. Hesford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to ensure that the proposed Health Development Agency will be able to operate independently of Government when exercising its public health monitoring functions. [90740]
Ms Jowell:
We anticipate that the Health Development Agency will have the status of a Special Health Authority and operate at arm's length from the Department. The Agency will be accountable to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the delivery of its agreed work programme and objectives.
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Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the museums that have benefited from capital funding from the National Lottery and the amount which they have received. [90613]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
Current records show that National Lottery distributors have awarded a total of £588 million of capital funding to 526 museum projects. I have placed a full list of projects, with the amounts awarded, in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many hits the 24 Hour Museum website has received since it was launched. [90610]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
In the period from its launch on 13 May to 4 July 1999, the 24 Hour Museum website received 3,436,155 hits.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of local libraries that have IT capabilities. [90618]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
The latest statistics on use of ICT in public libraries were collected late in 1997 and showed the following trends in the then 191 UK library authorities:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Use of computerised book issue and discharge systems | 95 |
| Computerised catalogue system | 75 |
| Service points with public access to online catalogue | 48 |
| Public access to CDRom databases | 85 |
| Service points with access to Internet for public use | 5 |
The Library and Information Commission is currently updating these data as part of the development of the Public Library ICT Network, which will link all public libraries, where practicable, to the National Grid for Learning by 2002.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much National Lottery money has been spent to date on grants for library ICT projects. [90617]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
Lottery funding totalling £70 million for the ICT training of public library staff and the digitisation of material to support lifelong learning will be available through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) from early 2000. A related £200 million NOF programme for Community Access to Lifelong Learning, focusing substantially on the development of the public library IT network and community grids for learning, will be the subject of consultation later this year.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the number and location of sites in Wales that can and will provide
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digital television services; and how many television viewers in Wales will not be covered by digital service transmitters. [90738]
Janet Anderson:
Nine transmitters sites located in Wales are included in the launch phase for digital terrestrial television. They are as follows: Aberdare, Blaenplwyf, Carmel, Kilvey Hill, Llanddona, Moel-y-Pac, Pontypool, Pressely and Wenvoe.
| Welsh transmitter | Percentage |
|---|---|
| BBC | 70 |
| ITV/Channel 4 | 63 |
| SDN (including Channel 4 and S4C) | 60 |
| MUX B ONdigital | 77 |
| MUX C ONdigital | 31.5 |
| MUX D ONdigital | 31 |
British Library
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the building costs of the new building for the British Library; and if he will estimate the value of contracts associated with this construction with companies based in (a) London, (b) the South East of England, (c) England, (d) Scotland, (e) Wales and (f) Northern Ireland. [90858]
Mr. Alan Howarth [holding answer 13 July 1999]: The British Library St. Pancras project is working to a cash estimate of £511.1 million. The final figure may increase slightly when all the outstanding claims and final accounts have been settled. Some 160 contracts were let for the project which was completed two years ago. The construction cost data were not collected by company on a regional basis but by type of product.
CABINET OFFICE
Anti-discrimination Legislation
Ms Shipley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the Government's response to the Better Regulation Task Force review of anti-discrimination legislation. [91665]
Dr. Jack Cunningham:
I have today placed copies of the Government's formal response to the Better Regulation Task Force review of anti-discrimination legislation in the Libraries of the House. The Task Force has made a timely, constructive and challenging contribution to the Government's thinking on these highly important issues. The Government are committed to eliminating all unlawful discrimination, and have accepted the majority of the Task Force proposals. We believe this response to the Task Force, in tandem with our responses today on similar issues to the proposals put forward by the equality Commissions, sets out in the strongest possible terms our commitment to a modern and diverse society.
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