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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Animal Conservation Schemes

Mr. Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the support given by her Department to animal conservation schemes in each of the past four years. [1931]

Clare Short: DFID's purpose is poverty eradication, not conservation. DFID supports the sustainable management of wild animal populations where it is key to improving poor peoples' livelihood opportunities, for example through improved forest management and community wildlife initiatives.

The principal bilateral projects that DFID has supported over the past four years that contribute in this way to animal conservation are listed in Annexe 1.

Annexe 1: List of the principal DFID supported bilateral projects⁽¹⁾ over the past four years that contribute to animal conservation.

Name of Project	Country	Period of support	Amount (£)
Mbomipa Community Wildlife	Tanzania	1997–2001	1,973,000
Wildlife Intensification for Livelihood Development (WILD)	Namibia	1999–2002	1,040,000
Madikwe Community Wildlife Management	South Africa	1997–99	621,795
Amboro Rural Development	Bolivia	1996–2000	3,200,000
Mount Cameroon Project	Cameroon	1995–2002	10,602,000
Indonesian Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme	Indonesia	1998–2005	25,150,000
Cross River State Community Forestry Project	Nigeria	1996–2001	2,000,000
Forest Sector Development Project Phase II	Ghana	2000–04	11,963,000

⁽¹⁾ Includes projects of value £0.5 million or more. Excludes support through the Joint Funding Scheme (which are mostly under £0.5 million) and excludes DFID-funded research projects. Projects primarily concerned with freshwater and marine resources have also been excluded.

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HOUSE OF COMMONS

Recycling

John Austin: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what arrangements exist for (a) recycling and (b) re-using waste generated within the parliamentary estate; what facilities exist for the separation of waste generated within the parliamentary estate; and what proportion of such waste is recycled. [2488]

Mr. Kirkwood: This is a matter for the Serjeant at Arms; I have asked him to write to the hon. Gentleman.

HEALTH

Health Authority Borders (West Midlands)

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria he will use when deciding the borders of new health authorities in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement. [799]

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Mr. Hutton: Final decisions on the boundaries for the new strategic health authorities will be taken following a full public consultation exercise. Proposals for consultation are being drawn up based on two criteria:

i. The new strategic health authorities should be coterminous with an aggregate of local authority boundaries.

ii. The new strategic health authorities should be aligned with the local clinical networks.

Mental Health Services (London)

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of occupancy of all acute mental health units in London (a) in the last month for which figures are available and (b) in the same month in each of the previous five years. [413]

Jacqui Smith: The information available is not collected in the format requested. Figures for London can be identified for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 when the National Health Service Executive, London regional office was in existence. Prior to this 'London' cannot be identified. The table shows bed occupancy for wards classified as mental illness in London NHS Trusts for 1998–99 and 1999–2000.

Average daily bed occupancy rate, wards open overnight, mental illness sector, NHS Trusts in London, 1998–99 and 1999–2001

		Occupancy rate percentage (at midnight)
Trust name	1999–2000	1998–99
London	93.7	92.2
Barnet Community Healthcare NHS Trust	91.9	80.5
Bethlem and Maudsley	—	82.3
BHB Community Health NHS Trust	89.8	93.5
Brent, Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Mental Health NHS Trust	94.6	—
Camden and Islington Community Health Service NHS Trust	99.1	96.5
City and Hackney Community Services NHS Trust	94.0	94.9
Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health NHS Trust	97.3	—
Enfield Community Care NHS Trust	97.9	91.3
Forest Healthcare NHS Trust	93.1	95.0
Great Ormond Street Hospital For Sick Children NHS Trust	74.8	77.9
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust	94.2	100.0
Haringey Health Care NHS Trust	97.3	98.9
Harrow and Hillingdon Healthcare NHS Trust	97.2	98.5
Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust	95.6	96.8
Hounslow and Spelthorne Community and Mental Health NHS Trust	97.2	94.5
Kingston and District Community NHS Trust	98.6	94.0
Lewisham and Guys Mental Health	—	98.2
Newham Community Health Services NHS Trust	82.8	79.8
North West London Mental Health	—	98.0
Oxleas NHS Trust	94.5	91.8
Parkside Health	—	82.6
Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust	77.6	84.0
Riverside Mental Health	—	91.3
Royal Free NHS Trust	94.7	91.5
South London and Maudsley NHS Trust	96.2	—
South West London and St. Georges MH NHS Trust	88.5	96.0
St. Helier	—	95.0
Tower Hamlets Healthcare NHS Trust	87.1	93.2
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust	70.5	83.1
West Lambeth Community Care	—	97.1
West London Healthcare	—	98.3

Source:

DH form KH03

Care Home Standards

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received in connection with the implementation of standards 21.3 and 22.2 of the "National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People"; and if he will place them in the Library; [922]

(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of standards 21.3 and 22.2 of the "National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People" on the availability of beds in residential care and nursing homes; and if he will place it in the Library; [923]

(3) what estimate he has made of the impact on the number of care homes of the requirement of complying

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with the "National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People"; [924]

(4) what estimate he has made of the average amount that each care home will have to spend in order to comply with the "National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People". [925]

Jacqui Smith: National minimum standards will ensure that care provision is fit for the purpose and meets the assessed needs of residents.

The need for provision of particular facilities such as passenger lifts and the costs associated with their installation will vary from home to home.

In setting these standards we listened to the concerns of providers and produced a sensible set of standards which give providers a reasonable time to adapt, and achieved the support of national organisations representing consumers and providers. We made a number of specific changes to the proposed standards in response to the concerns raised in the comments we received. I am confident that these decisions will ensure that any improvements in the quality of care homes necessary will be achieved smoothly, and that stability in the care homes sector and sufficient capacity is maintained while changes are made.

Leigh NHS Walk-in Centre

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have presented to the NHS walk-in Centre at Leigh Infirmary since it opened; and of these how many had to be referred on to a local casualty department for treatment. [1329]

Mr. Hutton: The Leigh National Health Service Walk-In Centre opened on 1 June 2000 and in its first year 32,365 patients attended. 1,225 patients were referred to the local accident and emergency department from the centre.

Foot and Mouth (Milk Products)

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the safety of milk and milk products, with particular regard to the foot and mouth outbreak. [588]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 28 June 2001]: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advise that the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom does not pose a threat to the safety of milk and milk products from animals infected with the disease. In addition, the FSA advise that the current evidence indicates no increased public health risk from dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls released from foot and mouth pyres for the vast majority of people who consume milk or dairy products produced on land within two kilometres of the pyres. Farmers and their customers who consume milk exclusively from such a source have been advised that there may be a slightly higher, although still very small, additional risk. This advice is precautionary until the results of the FSA's testing programme are available.

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