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Paediatric Intensive Care
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatric intensive care beds are available in each NHS region; and if he will list the hospitals at which they are provided, indicating the numbers in each case. [104031]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 January 2000]: The table shows hospitals within each National Health Service region providing paediatric intensive care in January 2000.
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Vulnerable Adults (Protection)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the benefits of providing vulnerable adults with the same protection as is given to vulnerable children. [104366]
Mr. Hutton: While the majority of adults are well looked after by their families and paid carers, research has shown that abuse of vulnerable adults is nevertheless widespread. The protection of vulnerable adults who are at risk of abuse is therefore vital, and is a major concern of the Government.
In recent years the Department has funded a national helpline, run by Action on Elder Abuse, which enables people to seek advice on how to deal with incidents of abuse. The Department also has funded the production of training materials aimed at helping managers and care staff in residential care settings for older people better to understand the types and causes of abuse of their residents, how to expose abuse, and how to prevent it happening in the first place.
Currently, the Department is leading the work on producing guidance for developing multi-agency codes of practice for dealing with abuse of vulnerable adults. The consultation period of the draft guidance has now ended, and the final document titled "No Secrets" will be published shortly.
To offer further protection to vulnerable adults at risk of abuse, the Care Standards Bill, now in another place, contains provisions for a statutory work force ban mechanism to parallel that in the Protection of Children Act 1999.
Mr. Tony Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the Food Standards Agency appointed to date; and what criteria were used for their appointment. [100788]
Mr. Milburn:
The selection process for the Board members of the Food Standards Agency has not yet been completed. However, I am pleased to be able to announce today that I have appointed Professor Sir John Krebs as the Chairman of the Agency. Sir John is a Royal Society Research Professor in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University and was formerly Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council.
Sir John's Deputy will be Ms Suzi Leather, currently chair of Exeter and District Community NHS Trust. Ms Leather has twenty years of experience in consumer representation. The Chief Executive of the Agency will be Mr. Geoffrey Podger, who is currently Head of
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the Joint Food Safety and Standards Group (of the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), forerunner to the Agency.
The names of the Agency's Scottish Board member and Welsh Board member are the subject of further announcements today by my colleagues in Scotland and Wales. We hope to be able to announce the names of other Board members of the Agency in the near future.
The approach adopted--as we said in the White Paper "A Force for Change"--has been that people should be appointed who have a proven record in relevant fields and who together provide a balance of relevant skills and experience. A majority of those appointed will come from a wider public interest background without any specific affiliation.
Mrs. Gilroy:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on the recent meeting of the British-Irish Council. [103441]
Marjorie Mowlam:
The inaugural summit meeting of the British-Irish Council, established under the Good Friday Agreement, was held at Lancaster House, London on Friday 17 December 1999.
| Topic | Lead Administration |
|---|---|
| Drugs | Irish Government |
| Social Inclusion | Scottish Executive and Cabinet of National Assembly for Wales |
| Environment | British Government |
| Transport | Northern Ireland Executive Committee |
| Knowledge Economy | Jersey |
In addition, the Council agreed an indicative list of other issues suitable for the Council's work, including areas which members are already taking forward bilaterally:
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agricultural issues such as plant quarantine; rural development and rural depopulation; the development of renewable raw materials and energy crops; salmon fisheries; sea fisheries and aquaculture;
health issues;
regional issues: including links between cities, towns and local districts;
consideration of interparliamentary links (noting paragraph 11 of the Memorandum on Procedural Guidance);
energy issues;
cultural issues;
tourism;
sporting activity;
education issues;
approaches to EU issues;
minority and lesser-used languages;
prison and probation issues.
The next summit meeting of the Council will take place in Dublin in June 2000 and will focus on the issue of drugs.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) at what rate 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for over six months left the unemployment count in March 1998; [102110]
- (2) if he will provide a breakdown of the average monthly rate at which 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for over six months left the unemployment count for each year from 1990 to 1999; [102112]
(3) what has been the average monthly rate at which 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for over six months have left the unemployment count since April 1998. [102111]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answers 9 December 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
(12) Average of the 10 months January to October 1999
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