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Early-day Motions
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place a copy of his letter concerning an early-day motion tabled by the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) and others in the Library; and on how many occasions since May 1997 he or his predecessor has entered into correspondence about an EDM. [100175]
Mr. Ingram: A copy of my letter of 9 March 2000 to my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) has been placed in the Library. It is not appropriate to comment on correspondence between Ministers and hon. Friends.
HEALTH
Hospital Waiting Times
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which health authority (a) more than 10 per cent. and (b) less than one per cent. of patients have been waiting for in-patient treatment for more than one year. [116068]
Mr. Denham: The information is given in the table.
| Health authority | Percentage waiting 12 months or more |
|---|---|
| North Essex | 10.90 |
| Gloucestershire | 0.90 |
| Bradford | 0.90 |
| Solihull | 0.80 |
| Doncaster | 0.40 |
| Sunderland | 0.10 |
| Dorset | 0.04 |
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NHS Volunteers
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken to implement the NHS Executive Working Party report entitled, "Making a Difference: Strengthening Volunteering in the NHS". [116443]
Mr. Denham: The National Health Service Executive has taken, and continues to take, action on the recom-mendations of the "Making a Difference: Strengthening Volunteering in the NHS" report. A response to the recommendations aimed specifically at the NHS Executive is summarised in Health Service Circular 1999-023, copies of which are available in the Library.
NHS Scientific Staff
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review pay and grading of scientific staff in the NHS. [116441]
Mr. Denham: On 15 February 1999, the Department published proposals for modernising the National Health Service pay system in "Agenda for Change". Initial discussions with NHS trade unions on pay modernisation resulted in a Joint Framework of Principles and Agreed Statement on the Way Forward which was published on 8 October 1999. Negotiations continue, aiming for a pay system which pays fairly for work done, with career progression based on responsibility, competence and satisfactory performance.
The National Advisory Group for Scientists and Technicians is collaborating with the professions to develop a human resource strategy that will underpin the career development of scientists in the NHS.
Public Bodies
Mr. Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many board members he appoints to each non- departmental public body. [116337]
Mr. Denham: Full lists of the non-departmental public bodies to which my right hon. Friend makes appointments are published in "Public Bodies 1999" (ISBN 0 11 430159 X) and in the "Department of Health Public Appointments Annual Report 1999", copies of which are available in the Library.
Severalls Hospital, Colchester
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the sale of Severalls Hospital, Colchester. [116469]
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Mr. Denham:
Severalls Hospital land adjoins part of a larger developable site owned by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Colchester Borough Council, Essex Rivers Healthcare National Health Service Trust and North East Essex Mental Health National Health Service Trust.
In partnership with the trusts, the National Health Service Executive and National Health Service Estates are working to review the disposal strategy to maximise the income from the land sale to help meet the current and future healthcare need.
Mr. Ian Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made concerning the establishment of the Food Standards Agency; and if he will make a statement. [117044]
Ms Stuart:
The provisions establishing the Food Standards Agency under the Food Standards Act 1999 are due to come into force on 1 April. The Food Standards Agency will act as a non-ministerial Department, which will be accountable to Parliament through Health Ministers. As of 1 April, I will have day-to-day responsibility for parliamentary business relating to food safety and standards matters, including questions from Members. I will also be responsible for dealing with relevant correspondence from Members of this House. Details of the Food Standards Agency's role and organisation will be placed in the Library.
Arson
Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will respond to the report of the Scoping Study in relation to arson prevention in England and Wales. [117116]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I am pleased to announce today that the Government have accepted all of the main recommendations of the Scoping Study.
We have pledged quite clearly our determination and commitment to providing safer communities. The police and fire services have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a safer society, not just by reducing crime and the fear of crime, but also by reducing the number of deliberate fires and associated deaths and casualties.
The report of the Arson Scoping Study was published last May and set out a series of recommendations aimed at addressing the growing problem of deliberate fires. The report was welcomed as an enormous opportunity for the Government and the police and fire services to reduce the pain and suffering caused by deliberately set fires.
When the report was published we made it clear that we wanted to hear the views of chief officers, local authorities, the insurers and all those involved in the administration of justice, all of whom have a crucial role to play in translating the recommendations into action. I am pleased to say that the response to the Scoping Study has provided a strong mandate to carry forward all of its key recommendations and for a refocusing of efforts to prevent arson.
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I am writing to those same organisations today to explain how we intend to take the recommendations forward. In particular, I want to see the efforts of Government, police and fire authorities, the insurers and other local agencies integrated and co-ordinated as the Scoping Study recommended so that the whole effort achieves more than the sum of its parts. We shall be taking steps to put these arrangements in place shortly. I also accept, with the strong endorsement of the police and fire services and the insurers, the recommendation to create a new Government-led Arson Control Forum to take forward the arson prevention strategy.
Arson prevention must become a core activity of the police and fire services and we must work in partnership with other agencies and with business to eliminate deliberately set fires. The success of this approach will mean a safer society for us all.
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priorities will be set for placing juvenile offenders when the Detention and Training Order comes into operation. [117117]
Mr. Straw:
The Detention and Training Order (DTO) will come into force on 1 April 2000. It will become the main custodial sentence for juvenile offenders aged 12 and under 18, replacing detention in a young offender institution for under-18s and the secure training order. Detention under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 will remain available for the minority of young offenders aged 10 and under 18 who commit grave crimes.
Subject to parliamentary agreement to an Order laid on 27 March, for under-18s sentenced to custody under the DTO or section 53, and those remanded to Prison Service custody or direct to local authority secure accommodation, new, more co-ordinated arrangements for the juvenile secure estate will start operation in April. The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales will commission and purchase places from the Prison Service, the Secure Training Centre (STC) contractors and Local Authority Secure Units (LASUs). This will give it considerable influence over the management of custodial placements for under-18s, and enable more appropriate and cost-effective use of facilities. The Board has drawn up commissioning and placement strategies to support its proposed new role and a copy of these has been placed in the Library.
Initially, there will be 13 Prison Service establishments holding under-18s, three STCs and 200 to 300 places the Youth Justice Board expects to purchase from LASUs, through current negotiations (LASUs have 480 places in total, but have to keep enough free for local authority placements for welfare purposes or for those placed in secure accommodation following a remand to ordinary local authority care). So altogether, there will initially be some 3,200 places for youth justice purposes.
Of these places, 2,800 will be provided by the Prison Service. There is £51 million being invested in a substantial capital development programme throughout the juvenile estate, plus improvements in education, training and work designed to prevent re-offending and drawing on "what works" evidence-based research. This
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will, over time, make its establishments better equipped to deliver the acceptable and positive environment required to meet the needs of those held within them. However, the Government and the Youth Justice Board believe that further steps should none the less be taken to protect the most vulnerable under-18s. Within its total budget for secure placements in 2000-01, the Board will push this process as far as it can during the coming year, particularly in respect of the 100 girls under 18 serving custodial sentences.
Beyond this, what the Youth Justice Board can do to move them elsewhere, and how quickly, depends on the numbers remanded and sentenced to custody by the courts and the physical and financial resources available to cater for them. If the numbers decline, the new powers will provide further opportunities to place more of these vulnerable young people in LASUs and STCs. In all placement decisions, the focus will be on matching the needs of individual young people to the available accommodation, based on the evidence of "what works", not least in reducing crime. The Board will monitor establishments' performance--within the Prison Service, LASUs and STCs--against service specifications to ensure regimes are of an appropriate standard and that the well-being of the young people is being properly addressed.
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