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WALES
Press Officers
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press officers were employed by his Office in (a) 1992, (b) 1993, (c) 1994, (d) 1995, (e) 1996, (f) 1997, (g) 1998 and (h) 1999. [116324]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I regret that figures are not available for the years before 1994 for the Welsh Office Press Office. From 1994 until the start of the National Assembly in July 1999 the Press Office had between eight and nine press officers.
PRIME MINISTER
Universal Primary Education
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to discuss the achievement of universal primary education at this year's G8 Summit. [116543]
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The Prime Minister
[holding answer 29 March 2000]: The World Education Forum in Dakar later this month will assess progress achieved in the decade since the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien. This is an important opportunity for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to providing education for the world's children, and to put in place a Framework for Action. At the G8 Summit in Okinawa in July Heads of Government will consider the outcome of the Dakar Forum and look at what more can be done to ensure that the target of universal primary education by 2015 is achieved.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has held with his EU and UN counterparts concerning the achievement of universal primary education. [116544]
The Prime Minister:
[holding answer 29 March 2000]: The Government are committed to the target of achieving universal primary education by 2015. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and Department for International Development officials are in frequent contact with their EU and UN counterparts about the achievement of universal primary education. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)--together with the World bank--are the convenors of the World Education Forum to be held in Dakar later this month.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Prime Minister on what date Lord Levy signed the Official Secrets Act. [117774]
The Prime Minister:
Lord Levy has not been asked to sign a copy of the Official Secrets Act, but he is, of course, bound by the Act's provisions.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 February 2000, Official Report, column 852W, what further visits since 22 February 2000, have been undertaken by Lord Levy on his behalf. [117784]
The Prime Minister:
Lord Levy visited Tunisia and Morocco in the week beginning 5 March.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those persons who have undertaken foreign visits on his behalf since May 1997, giving in each case details of the countries visited and the purpose of each visit. [117773]
The Prime Minister:
As has been the practice for previous Administrations, if it is helpful to the UK Government individuals may be asked to carry messages or undertake particular tasks on behalf of the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary. We do not maintain a record of such occasions.
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Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has asked for from NHS hospitals in England and Wales on the recent pressures they have faced; and what were the main issues of concern reported by those hospitals. [113849]
Ms Stuart:
The National Health Service Executive in England has held a series of seminars for local winter planning groups (which include NHS trusts) in each region to consider the main issues emerging from the winter period.
The main concerns reported by NHS trusts were peaks in emergency admissions from patients suffering from influenza and respiratory illness, staff shortages and the cancellation of operations because of pressure on critical care beds.
Mr. Hesford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's submission to the negotiations on the Working Time Directive on reducing working hours for junior doctors. [116883]
Mr. Denham:
We are firmly committed to reducing junior doctors' working hours. We have already agreed a new contract with junior doctors' negotiators which will, if accepted in their referendum, place an 56 hour limit on average weekly hours by February 2004.
An agreement was reached between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on 3 April as part of the Conciliation to extend the European Working Time Directive to the excluded sectors. If approved by the European Parliament, this will provide a sound footing for reducing junior doctors' working hours. Over the next decade, we will have to make sure we can meet the needs of patients and deliver improvements in patient care while at the same time reducing doctors' hours. That is why we and our European partners have argued for a realistic transitional period in order to implement fully the terms of the Directive as they apply to doctors in training. We are pleased that the Conciliation has achieved recognition of the need for flexibility during the transitional period.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the real-terms growth in funding for each NHS health authority area from 1999-2000 to 2000-01. [117266]
Mr. Denham:
The information requested is shown in the tables.
Table 1 shows real terms increases for health authorities for 1999-2000.
Table 2 shows real terms increases for health authorities for 2000-01. This includes the £660 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 27 March. This brings overall increases for health authorities to 6.2 per cent. in real terms (8.9 per cent. cash).
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