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Skye Bridge

Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of tolls paid at the Skye Bridge tollbooth, after discounts, goes towards paying back the money owed on the project. [128286]

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Dr. Reid: Responsibility for tolls paid on the Skye Bridge is a matter for the Scottish Executive.

Fisheries

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of angler- caught (a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout caught in Scotland in each of the last five years; and what is his estimate of the number of each of these three categories of fish taken by seals in Scottish waters in each of these years. [128854]

Dr. Reid: Information on catches up to 1998, the latest year for which statistics have been published, are contained in the Statistical Bulletin, Fisheries Series published by the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department. A copy is available in the House of Commons Library. Information on the number of salmon, grilse and sea trout taken by seals is not available.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Robert Hamill

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the decision of the Greater Belfast Coroner not to hold an inquest into the murder of Robert Hamill. [127719]

Mr. Ingram: The decision of whether or not an inquest is held is entirely a matter for HM Coroner.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I are concerned that an inquest will not be held in Mr. Hamill's case and have asked for all the facts to be made available to us.

Fisheries

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of (a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout caught by anglers in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what is his estimate of the number of each of these three categories of fish taken by seals in Northern Ireland waters in each of these years. [128853]

Mr. George Howarth: Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

HEALTH

Influenza

Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many influenza vaccinations were given in the run-up to the winter of (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the flu vaccination programme in each of these periods; and what assessment he has made of the incidence of flu in the (i) immunised and (ii) non-immunised groups in each of those periods. [127302]

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Yvette Cooper: Manufacturers' data show that 7.6 million doses of influenza vaccine were distributed for winter 1998-99 and 7.8 million for 1999-2000.

Data on the incidence of flu in immunised and non-immunised groups are not routinely collected. Efficacy data are based on published studies, some of which have spanned several years, showing that current available influenza vaccine gives 70-80 per cent. protection against infection with influenza virus strains related to those in the vaccine. In the elderly, protection against infection may be less, but immunisation has been shown to reduce the incidence of pneumonia, hospital admissions and deaths.

NHS Trusts

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the total NHS trust extra contractual referrals for 1997-98 (a) from GP fundholding practices and (b) from health authorities, excluding GP fundholding practices; [124380]

(2) if he will publish, for each trust completing table 1 on pages 17 to 19 of "The New NHS Guidance on Out of Area Treatment Consultation Paper", the total trust adjustment for columns B, C and D. [124379]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The consultation on "The New NHS: Guidance on Out of Area Treatment Consultation Paper" took place between May and July 1998. In the light of this the information requirements for the out-of-area treatment (OAT) data collection exercise were modified.

The exercise to establish the 1999-2000 OAT adjustments was led by National Health Service trusts. It was carried out in two stages.

At stage 1, NHS trusts identified their 1997-98 extra contractual referral (ECR) income from health authorities and cost per case income from general practitioner fundholders. They then reduced these amounts to take account of activity that had already been put into contracts or service agreements. The data were validated by health authorities and submitted to regional offices. These data are shown in columns A and B of the table that has been placed in the Library.

At stage 2, the amounts established at stage 1 were analysed by NHS trusts. In agreement with health authorities the amounts were further reduced to take account of the activity which would be covered by new or expanded service agreements in 1999-2000. The amounts not covered by service agreements formed the base for the 1999-2000 OAT adjustment. This is shown in column C of the table. These figures, uplifted by 8.5 per cent., comprise the 1999-2000 OATs adjustment.

The information collected to establish the 1999-2000 OAT adjustment was provided by NHS trusts. The figures were derived from NHS trust ECRs but do not represent the totality of NHS trust ECRs.

The amounts in column C of table 1 formed the basis of the OAT adjustments made to health authorities.

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Table 2, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, shows NHS trusts' 1997-98 forecast ECR and cost per case income. This information was collected as part of the in-year financial monitoring returns.

The figures in tables 1 and 2 are not comparable.

TV Advertisements

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 26 June 2000, Official Report, column 356W, on television advertisements, if he will list the advertisements which were not provided with closed caption subtitling. [128518]

Ms Stuart: Further to the answer given on 26 June, I regret the information given the hon. Member was incorrect and the total number provided with closed caption subtitling was 32.

The three advertisements commissioned without closed caption subtitling were:

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)

Nurse Recruitment 2000--"Joe" (60 seconds version)

Nurse Recruitment 2000--"Joe" (30 seconds version).

Meat Inspection Charges Task Force

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish his response to the report of the Meat Inspection Charges Task Force. [R] [128735]

Ms Stuart: We are grateful to the Task Force and its chairman for the thorough and comprehensive investigation they have carried out into this complex issue. We are now urgently considering the Task Force's recommendations and will announce its conclusions once that consideration is complete.

Health Action Zones

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role health action zones will play in addressing the decline in children's activity levels and the increase in the number of overweight children; and if he will make a statement. [128385]

Mr. Hutton: All health action zones are working towards the key aims of reducing health inequalities and modernising services in the most deprived parts of England. HAZ programmes include a number of projects that focus on exercise and diet for children.

Care Leavers

Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have left local authority care since the implementation of the Children Act 1989 in (a) England and (b) Wales. [128776]

Mr. Hutton: The estimated number of children who have ceased to be looked after in England between the implementation of the Children Act 1989 (14 October 1991) and 31 March 1999 is 190,000.

The provision of data for Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.

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Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average size of the grant made by local authorities to care leavers going into (a) further education and (b) higher education; [128775]

(2) how many young people who were in local authority care have been awarded a university degree during the past year in England and during the previous two years in (a) England and (b) Wales. [128777]

Mr. Hutton: The information relating to England is not available centrally.

The information relating to Wales is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Hospitals (Adverse Incident Report)

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent advice he has issued to hospitals on the circumstances in which they must produce an adverse incident report. [128479]

Ms Stuart: In November 1999, the Minister of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), launched a series of standards underpinning the National Health Service Executive's "controls assurance" project. One of the standards outlines a number of key components of an effective system of risk management that all NHS hospitals must subscribe to, including incident reporting. A key criterion contained in the "risk management system" standard requires NHS hospitals to ensure that

Incidents, including ill health, are systematically identified, recorded and reported to management in accordance with an agreed policy of positive, non-punitive reporting.

Guidance supporting this criterion elaborates on certain circumstances requiring an adverse incident to be reported, and to whom. Further specific guidance is planned based around a more comprehensive "incident recording and reporting" standard which is currently being developed by the NHS Executive to augment the guidance contained in the Controls Assurance risk management system standard, and to underpin incident reporting requirements forming part of a new national incident reporting system planned in response to the Chief Medical Officer's recently issued report "An Organisation with a Memory".

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