| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
WALES
National Assembly for Wales
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish, before the summer adjournment, the most recent draft concordat between his Department and the National Assembly for Wales. [92328]
Mr. Michael: Work on the concordat is proceeding well. I hope to be in a position to put a draft concordat to the Assembly Cabinet shortly. I do not intend to publish the concordat in advance of that. The Assembly will have full opportunity to consider the concordat in due course.
Police (Gas Sprays)
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his responsibilities are in relation to Government policy on the use by police of (a) MIBK and (b) CS gas spray. [92639]
Mr. Michael: None. These are matters for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date he last used a train in the course of his official duties. [92665]
Mr. Michael: In undertaking my official duties, it has been my practice to use both road and rail travel, whichever is the most expedient and efficient. I last travelled by train on 16 March 1999 from Port Talbot to London.
SCOTLAND
Departmental Travel
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many kilometres have been travelled on his Department's business in each of the last three years broken down by (a) foot, (b) bike, (c) bus, (d) train, (e) tram, (f) light-rail, (g) plane, (h) motorbike, (i) car, (j) taxi, (k) river-taxi and (l) other modes of transport; what plans and targets his Department has to reduce the kilometres travelled by private transport by his Department's employees; and if he will make a statement. [91021]
Dr. Reid
[holding answer 13 July 1999]: The information on business travel is not collected in the form requested and therefore cannot be provided. As published in the Integrated Transport White Paper in July 1998, the Government have set a target that all Government Department headquarters buildings and main buildings occupied by Executive Agencies and Government Offices for the Regions should have green transport plans by March 1999 and all other key buildings by March 2000.
23 Jul 1999 : Column: 723
It has been agreed with the Government Office for London that an office of our size is not required to produce a specific plan.
Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the number, grade and previous experience of his staff in (a) London and (b) Edinburgh; [91321]
Dr. Reid:
The staffing of my office is currently the subject of review following the establishment of the Scottish Executive and I will make a statement on any proposed changes when necessary.
At present the number and grades of staff in post in (a) London and (b) Scotland are as follows:
(2) how many staff he plans to employ during the next 12 months in (a) his London Office and (b) Scotland; and what will be the grade of those staff. [91400]
| (a) London | (b) Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Civil Service | 3 | -- |
| Special Advisers | 1 | 1 |
| C2 | 1 | -- |
| C1 | 1 | 1 |
| B3 | 2 | -- |
| B2 | 1(1) | (1) |
| B1 | 2(1) | -- |
| A3 | 12(1) | 1(2) |
| A1 | 4 | -- |
| Total | 27(3) | 3(3) |
The figures are actual staff in post to which need to be added the figures in brackets which are vacancies.
The staff concerned have previously worked in either The Scottish Office or the Lord Advocate's Department and have been assigned to my office on loan from the Scottish Executive.
Ministerial Residence
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has an official residence in Scotland. [91649]
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date he last used a train in the course of his official duties. [92663]
HEALTH
Ashworth Hospital
Mr. Singh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his response to the Committee of Inquiry into the Personality Disorder Unit, Ashworth Special Hospital. [92647]
23 Jul 1999 : Column: 724
Mr. Dobson:
I am today publishing my response to the Inquiry Report. Copies have been placed in the Library. We have accepted the broad substance of the Inquiry Report and are taking appropriate action to ensure that their concerns are properly addressed.
Dr. Fox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much expenditure his Department (a) has incurred to date and (b) has forecast that it will incur in the future, on preparations for possible United Kingdom entry into the European single currency; and if he will make a statement. [91554]
Mr. Hutton:
Following the publication of the Government's Outline National Changeover Plan, the Department is considering what preparations may be necessary.
Mr. Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what category D drugs are currently not readily available in the United Kingdom; and what assessment he has made of the consequent impact on the percentage of generic drugs in the total prescribing mix. [92135]
Mr. Denham:
For every drug which has been placed in category D of part VIII of the Drug Tariff it has been established that, at a particular point in time, community pharmacies in England and Wales may not be able to buy stock at the Drug Tariff price. However, we have no evidence at present of supplies being unavailable from any source, or of patients being unable to obtain the medicines that they need.
The pattern of drugs dispensed should not affect the proportion of prescriptions written generically.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total spent by each NHS Regional Executive on funding cancer care advisers in the two most recent years; and if he will make a statement. [91981]
Mr. Hutton:
Each of the National Health Service Executive regional offices has an appointed cancer co- ordinator to provide a focus for maintaining cancer policy implementation. In addition, regional offices have their own arrangements for supporting this work, drawing on relevant experience both within the regional office and from the NHS more widely, including buying in expertise as and when necessary. This means that the total expenditure on cancer co-ordination and its support cannot readily be identified separately on a consistent basis across regional offices.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when NHS Direct will be made available to people living in Hendon. [92363]
Mr. Denham:
NHS Direct is currently available to 2.7 million people in London and will be extended to cover a further 1.9 million people in London by
23 Jul 1999 : Column: 725
December of this year. NHS Direct will cover the whole of the capital, including residents in Hendon, by the end of the year 2000.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has made to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People's paper "Waiting to Hear". [92334]
Mr. Hutton
[holding answer 22 July 1999]: The National Health Service Executive established a working group to take a closer look at hearing aid services and the part they play in a modern NHS. Innovative ways of developing services in this area are currently being considered.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many public inquiries have been established under section 84 of the National Health Service Act 1977 in each of the last 10 years. [92110]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 22 July 1999]: Since 1989, two public inquiries have been established under Section 84 of the National Health Service Act 1977.
They are the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry, established October 1998, and the Inquiry into The Personality Disorder Unit, Ashworth Special Hospital, established February 1997.
Mr. Oaten:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current budget is for research and development work on equipment for disabled people, under section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. [92304]
Mr. Hutton
[holding answer 22 July 1999]: The Department has no specific budget for this work, which is currently funded under the National Health Service research and development strategy and programmes including MedLINK and the Teaching Company Scheme. Details of these funding sources are listed in the annual report laid under section 22 of the Act.
Mr. Oaten:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals his Department has to promote research and development into disability equipment. [92303]
Mr. Hutton
[holding answer 22 July 1999]: The Department promotes research and development work on equipment for disabled people through the annual report laid under section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. Copies are sent to research groups, charities, funding bodies, journal publishers, trade associations and other organisations. A range of programmes and schemes fund work in this field. Calls for proposals are announced on the Department's website and in relevant newsletters and journals.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |