| Previous Section | Home Page |
Metropolitan Police
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the crime
Column 306
clear-up rate for 1990 ; and if he will publish in the Official Report the number of crimes cleared up in the Metropolitan area in each of the past two years.Mr. John Patten : Figures published by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis show the clear up rate for notifiable offences recorded in the Metropolitan police district in 1990 was 17 per cent. and the number of crimes cleared up had risen from 131,400 in 1989 to 141,700 in 1990.
Police Pensions
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the annual expenditure for each of the years 1986 to 1990, inclusive, on ordinary police pensions ; and how many of the officers receiving pensions during each of these years were compulsorily retired on account of age.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Expenditure on police pensions in England and Wales was as follows :
£ million
|Gross |Police |Net
|expenditure<1>|officers' |expenditure
|contributions
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |386.9 |163.4 |223.5
1987-88 |423.1 |186.1 |237.0
1988-89 |457.0 |203.3 |253.7
1989-90 |512.5 |221.7 |290.8
<1> Includes annual payments, commutations, net transfer values and
refunds of contributions.
Information to answer the second part of the question is not held centrally.
Mr. Delbert Gordon
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the solicitor acting for Delbert Devon Gordon from Jamaica, Home Office reference G291458, was sent the explanatory statement for an appeal lodged in January 1990 ; when he intends to reply to the latest letter on this topic from the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch ; and if he will make a statement about the reasons for the lengths of time involved in his Department's dealings in this matter.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are substantial backlogs of appeals awaiting preparation of explanatory statements and these have regrettably delayed work on Mr. Gordon's case. However, the statement has been prepared and will be despatched to the appellate authorities very shortly. I will write to the hon. Member when this has been done. The appellate authorities will make arrangements for the explanatory statement to be forwarded to the appellant's nominated representative.
Commission for Racial Equality
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the recent post office investigation into leaked documents at the Commission for Racial Equality ; and what was the cost of the investigation and who paid for it.
Mrs. Rumbold : I understand that the outcome of this post office investigation was inconclusive and no action was taken. The cost, paid by the Commission for Racial Equality, was £2,303.
Column 307
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the number of redundancies declared under the recent restructuring proposals at the Commission for Racial Equality, giving an ethnic and gender breakdown.Mrs. Rumbold : I understand that three officers took compulsory early retirement or severance because of the recent structural changes at the Commission for Racial Equality. All were men--one African, one Asian and one white.
TRANSPORT
Red Routes
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the appointed establishment in personnel he expects as a consequence of the appointment of the traffic director of London red routes and any other additions to departmental staff ; and what increase he expects in net costs over current costs of parking control.
Mr. Chope : As to the establishment of the traffic director I refer the hon. Member to the explanatory and financial memorandum accompanying the Road Traffic Bill. I do not expect any permanent addition to departmental staff. The cost of enforcing the arrangements for on-street parking in London proposed in connection with the Road Traffic Bill cannot be estimated at this stage, but it is intended that enforcement action by the local authorities should be self financing.
London Traffic
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish his draft statutory objectives for the proposed London directors of traffic and the draft statutory guidance for traffic management and parking, respectively, as required by clauses 42, 43 and 54 of the Road Traffic Bill as at Third Reading in the House of Commons.
Fuel Efficiency
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures the Government are taking to ensure that fuel efficiency is promoted in car advertisements.
Mr. Chope : I have recently held discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority, which is now taking a more active role in controlling advertisements that stress high speed. This should have benefits in terms of both safety and fuel efficiency.
Wherever a new vehicle is offered for sale, the results of its official fuel consumption test are required by law to be displayed. Dealers are also required to have available my Department's publication "New Car Fuel Consumption--The Official Figures". This enables different models to be compared.
British Rail Land
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what land he has purchased within the past two years within the Wakefield constituency from British Rail.
Column 308
Mr. McLoughlin : No such land has been purchased within the past two years.
London Airports
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that no use will be made of Northolt airport for any present or future overflow traffic from Heathrow ; what plans he has to extend current civil and commercial traffic using Northolt airport ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : It is the Government's policy that airliners should take precedence at Heathrow and Gatwick, and that smaller airports around London should cater for business aviation operations displaced from the two major airports. There are no specific proposals to increase the use of Northolt by civil aircraft.
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the decision to abolish rules 1, 2 and 3 of the traffic distribution rules for airports will have on the number of permitted air traffic movements at RAF Northolt.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the reduction of aircraft noise over Ealing, Hanwell, Perivale, Greenford and Northolt ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : Older, noisier jet aircraft (the so-called chapter 2 types) will be progressively phased out over the next decade. That will mean individual aircraft will increasingly be only of the quieter types, which are less intrusive, and as a result the noise climate will improve.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to allow night flights at Heathrow airport after 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : When the present night restrictions were introduced, their objective was to improve the night noise climate around Heathrow and Gatwick without imposing unnecessary restrictions on the airline industry. That objective will be the starting point when we review the current night restrictions. As announced on 12 July 1990 we are conducting a major research project on the effect of aircraft noise on sleep. Its conclusions will be taken into account in the review.
EMPLOYMENT
Genetically Modified Organisms
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many laboratories have been registered as being in containment category 4 ; and how many projects using genetically modified organisms at containment level 4 have been approved in the last five years.
Mr. Forth : Eighteen centres with category 4 containment facilities are registered as having notified the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety (Dangerous Pathogens) Regulations 1981. No work involving the use of genetically modified organisms at level 4 containment has been notified under the Genetic Manipulation Regulations 1989.
Column 309
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many industrial large-scale plants using genetically modified organisms have been notified to the Health and Safety Executive in the last 10 years ; and how many were GILSP containment category 1, 2 or 3.Mr. Forth : Notification of the large-scale use of genetically modified organisms was only made mandatory in 1989. Since 1989, 38 centres have notified the Health and Safety Executive of work with genetically modified organisms classified as requiring good large-scale practice. No distinction is made between industrial and non-industrial large scale notifications.
Since 1989, one centre has notified work in large scale categories 1 to 3.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many laboratories have been registered as being in containment category 3 ; and how many projects using genetically modified organisms at containment level 3 have been approved in the last five years.
Mr. Forth : There is no requirement in United Kingdom law to notify containment level 3 facilities for naturally occurring pathogens. Since 1989, three projects have been notified to the Health and Safety Executive for work with genetically modified organisms at level 3 containment.
Silicosis
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action his office proposes to prevent the recurrence of the disease silicosis in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Commission is currently consulting with employers, trades unions and other interested parties on a proposal to set a maximum exposure limit of 0.4mg/m3 for respirable crystalline silica
Column 310
which is the main causative agent of silicosis. Such a limit, enforced under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988, should ensure very stringent control of exposure to respirable crystalline silica throughout industry.NORTHERN IRELAND
Building Control Fees
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the level of building control inspection fees and planning fees since 1980 ; and if it is his intention to increase the fees during the incoming financial year.
Mr. Hanley : Building control inspection fees were introduced in 1982 and increased in 1984, 1987 and 1990. Details of the charges are contained in tables 1 to 4 of SR 1982 No. 392, SR 1983 No. 388, SR 1986 No. 331 and SR 1989 No. 420. It is the Government's intention to consult later this year on a proposal to increase fees for prescribed building control functions during the financial year 1991-92.
Housing Executive Dwellings
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Housing Executive dwellings in (i) Coleraine, (ii) Magherafelt and (iii) Limavady council districts were system built ; in which estates in each council district they are located ; how many have been (a) replaced or (b) refurbished in each estate ; how many is it intended to replace over the next five years ; and what type of construction was used for these buildings.
Mr. Hanley : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I have been advised by the chief executive that the information requested is as follows :
Column 309
Council district |Estate/location |Number of |Type of |(a) |(b)
|system built |construction |Number |Number
|dwellings |replaced |refurbished
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Coleraine borough council |The Heights |138 |No fines concrete |Nil |138
| Coleraine
Coleraine borough council |The Heights |13 |Aluminium bungalows |Nil |13
| Coleraine
Coleraine borough council |Harper's hill |373 |Concrete construction|Nil |Nil
| Coleraine | with drylining
Coleraine borough council |Larkfield estate |35 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Kilrea
Coleraine borough council |Oakfield estate |20 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Kilrea
Coleraine borough council |Glen Estate |184 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Portrush
2.
Magherafelt district council |Ashgrove estate |70 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Magherafelt
Magherafelt district council |Leckagh estate |111 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Magherafelt
Magherafelt district council |Mullaghbuoy estate |54 |Orlit |Nil |54
| Magherafelt
Magherafelt district council |Crawfordsburn |20 |Aluminium bungalows |Nil |20
| Maghera
Magherafelt district council |Sunnyside Park |83 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Maghera
Magherafelt district council |Mallon Villas |19 |Aluminium bungalows |Nil |19
| Draperstown
3.
Limavady borough council |Caman Park |29 |Timber frame |Nil |Nil
| Ballykelly
Limavady borough council |Columbia Park |43 |Cross wall |Nil |Nil
| Ballymonie
Note: At present the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has no plans to replace any of the above dwellings within the next five years.
Irish American Calendar
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the financial contribution made by Government Departments or public bodies to the publication of the Irish American 1991 calendar ; and which Government Department or public body approved the commentary in the calendar.
Mr. Hanley : The financial contribution made by Government Departments and public bodies was 19,000 US dollars. The commentary, approved by each of the bodies represented, was aimed at promoting Northern Ireland for business and tourism.
Short Brothers
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the implications for the other budgets within the department of Economic Development of expenditure on the privatisation of Short's.
Mr. Hanley : The costs associated with the privatisation of Short Brothers plc did not have any implications for other expenditure programmes undertaken by the Department of Economic Development. Additional funding as necessary was provided to the Department for this purpose.
Local Government Boundaries
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will request the Local Government Boundary Commissioner to consider the grouping of wards into district electoral areas while he is preparing his recommendations arising from his review of local government boundaries in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : It would require a change to the statutory remit of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner to enable him to group wards into district electoral areas. My right hon. Friend intends to review the procedure for determining boundaries at the earliest opportunity but it would not be practicable to undertake such a review at present without unduly delaying the work of the commissioner.
Student Loans
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of students attending all designated courses for student loans who are potentially eligible for student loans in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 7 March 1991] : The most recent estimate for the academic year 1990-91 of the number of students domiciled in Northern Ireland who are eligible for a loan is 27,000. Loan-bearing courses do not require designation if they are at institutions receiving support from public funds.
Column 312
The Department of Education for Northern Ireland may designate as loan-bearing courses of higher education at other institutions under regulation 4 of the Education (Student Loans) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990.WALES
Community Charge
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest figures for the money provided by his Department under the community charge reduction scheme for (a) Cardiff and (b) the other Welsh districts.
Mr. David Hunt : In 1991-92, £62 million will be distributed under the community charge reduction scheme to 67 per cent. of chargepayers in Wales. In Cardiff £5,339,064 will be distributed and the latest figures for each Welsh district are given in the following table :
Relief 1991-92
|Amount to be
|distributed
|1991-92
|£
------------------------------------------------
Cardiff |5,339,064
Alyn and Deeside |930,509
Colwyn |422,127
Delyn |985,579
Glyndwr |1,840,542
Rhuddlan |1,271,099
Wrexham Maelor |4,153,219
Carmarthen |1,209,675
Ceredigion |794,067
Dinefwr |1,043,059
Llanelli |1,783,624
Preseli Pembrokeshire |938,883
South Pembrokeshire |305,035
Blaenau Gwent |3,619,575
Islwyn |2,058,321
Monmouth |30,777
Newport |1,107,061
Torfaen |1,291,491
Aberconwy |213,118
Arfon |1,051,078
Dwyfor |524,813
Meirionnydd |619,281
Ynys Mon |1,335,028
Cynon Valley |3,129,318
Merthyr Tydfil |1,626,486
Ogwr |5,157,039
Rhondda |4,886,514
Rhymney Valley |2,830,399
Taff Ely |1,557,938
Brecknock |503,855
Montgomeryshire |282,259
Radnorshire |102,937
Vale of Glamorgan |158,560
Port Talbot |1,715,915
Lliw Valley |2,053,343
Neath |2,030,452
Swansea |3,117,960
Wales |62,000,000
Orimulsion
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what representations he has received regarding burning of orimulsion at Ince power station ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will list the organisations which have contacted his Department expressing opposition to the use of orimulsion at the Ince power station.
Mr. Baldry : I have been asked to reply.
I have received a number of representations about burning orimulsion at Ince power station. A letter from Friends of the Earth Cymru was forwarded to my Department by my hon. Friend the Member for Conwy (Sir W. Roberts) on 17 September 1990. A letter from Gwynedd county council was forwarded to my Department by the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 19 September.
I have also received representations from the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) and the hon. Member, both of which were received on 24 September.
Representations have also been made by Friends of the Earth to the Chester regional office of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Betting
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list the sums received per annum by way of betting and other duty by Her Majesty's Government on (a) off-course and on-course betting, (b) amusement machines, (c) casinos, (d) bingo, (e) football pools and (f) small lotteries.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : In the year ended 31 March 1990, receipts from betting and gaming duties were :
|£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Off-course betting |459
On-course betting |Nil
Amusement machines |Nil
Gaming machines ie amusement with prizes and
jackpot machines |97
Casino gaming |50
Bingo |66
Football pools |304
Small lotteries |Nil
Local Government Finance
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of the latest assumptions used in the public expenditure planning process as to the likely
Column 314
level of (a) housing capital receipts and (b) other capital receipts generated by local authorities in (i) England,(ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland in each of the planning years 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94.Mr. Mellor [holding answer 4 March 1991] : The Government do not plan local authorities' self-financed expenditure or capital receipts. The outlook for spending from local authorities' own resources is however taken into consideration during the annual public expenditure survey, although estimates of receipts are used only in respect of the forthcoming year. During the 1990 survey, it was estimated in broad terms that local authorities in England might generate the following levels of receipts in 1991-92 in respect of services within the English local authority block:
|£ billion
------------------------------------
Housing |1.8
Other |1.1
Levels of local authority capital receipts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not considered in the survey as these territories receive consequentials of the relevant parts of the English settlement.
Electricity Companies
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 January, Official Report, column 509, whether he will state the grounds on which costs incurred by the electricity distribution companies in their change of ownership were regarded as general overheads of their business.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 7 March 1991] : As I explained in my previous reply, the shares of the electricity distribution companies were issued and sold on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy, who received all the proceeds. There was therefore no supply of shares by electricity distribution companies to which input tax was attributable. Any related costs incurred by the companies as a consequence fell to be treated with other non-attributable costs as general overheads of the business.
Income Tax
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing how many people face marginal tax rates, both including and excluding social security, of (a) over 40 per cent., (b) over 50 per cent., (c) over 60 per cent., (d) over 70 per cent., (e) over 80 per cent., (f) over 90 per cent., and (g) over 100 per cent., (i) now and (ii) in each year since 1978-79.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 25 February 1991] : Information is available only for marginal deduction rates including social security. Such information as is available is contained in the table.
Numbers with marginal deduction rates at or above each
level
(thousands)
|1985-86|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91
-------------------------------------------------------
100 per cent.+ |70 |0 |0 |0
90 per cent.+ |130 |45 |45 |45
80 per cent.+ |290 |345 |210 |235
70 per cent.+ |290 |515 |415 |395
60 per cent.+ |450 |515 |420 |400
50 per cent.+ |680 |515 |420 |400
40 per cent.+ |n/a |n/a |455 |670
Notes:
1. Figures are based on pooled family expenditure
survey data and are cumulative.
2. Calculated for benefit units in receipt of
income-related benefits where at least one partner
works 24 hours per week or more.
SCOTLAND
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Lord Advocate's Department.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Responsibility for the recruitment of senior grades lies with the Civil Service Commission. Grade 1 to 7 posts in the Lord Advocate's Department are almost exclusively staffed by lawyers. The extent to which ethnic minority groups are represented in the legal profession in Scotland is mirrored in recruitment.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1 to 7) and overall in the Lord Advocate's Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities, respectively.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : As at 1 April 1990 there were 1,087 employees in the Lord Advocate's Department. Of this number 707 (65 per cent.) were women and 4 (0.3 per cent.) from ethnic minorities. The breakdown within grades 1 to 7 is as follows :
Total Women Ethnic minorities
Grades number
|of
|employees |Number |Percentage|Number |Percentage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-4 15.5 nil (0) nil (0)
5 |32.5 |2 |(6.1) |nil |(0)
6 |40.0 |3 |(7.5) |nil |(0)
7 |118.0 |48 |(40.6) |1 |(0.8)
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Lord Advocate's Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Following the 1987 survey the employment of persons from ethnic minorities is constantly monitored at all grades. There are no plans to make a statement at this time.
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the total cost of the privatisation of the electricity industry in Scotland ; how much is expected to be spent on (a) pre-sale costs, including marketing and (b) direct sale costs, including stamp duty and underwriting fees in each financial year ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 316
Mr. Allan Stewart : Expenditure on electricity privatisation in Scotland is published annually in the Appropriation Accounts. The annual outturn figures in respect of pre-sale costs are as follows :
|£
------------------------------
1987-88 |616,000
1988-89 |2,111,000
1989-90 |3,811,000
For 1990-91 £9.5 million has been provided to cover both pre-sale and direct sale costs. Direct sale costs will be announced after the sale in the usual way.
The costs involved are small by comparison with the expected proceeds from the sale.
Enterprise Companies
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will show the planned expenditure for the new local enterprise companies for 1991-92 as distributed between training and economic development.
Mr. Allan Stewart : These are operational matters for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and I have asked the chairmen to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the planned expenditure of Scottish Enterprise for (a) economic development and (b) training in 1991-92 ; and what were the equivalent figures in 1990- 91.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Details of planned expenditure for Scottish Enterprise in 1991-92 together with equivalent figures for 1990-91 were published in table 3.6 of the Scottish Office departmental report "Serving Scotland's Needs" (Cm. 1515). The figures in that table for 1991-92 do not include the increases announced by my right hon. Friend on 2 February and 26 February. A breakdown of total expenditure which includes the £9.6 million announced on 2 February will be published in the Supply Estimates ; but those estimates will not include the additional £13.6 million for employment training announced on 26 February, which will feature in a supplementary estimate to be taken later in the year.
For the reasons explained in my reply to the hon. Member on Wednesday 19 December 1990 full details of planned expenditure on training in Scotland in 1990-91 are not available. The relevant figures published in table 3.6 of "Serving Scotland's Needs" are estimates of comparable Scottish Office estimate provision for training expenditure within the Scottish Enterprise area.
HEALTH
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his initiative to reduce hospital waiting lists.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is the time patients wait for treatment which is important, not total numbers on the list. I am pleased to inform the hon. Member that about half of all national health service in-patients are admitted
Column 317
immediately and that of the remainder, half are admitted within five weeks. The problem of excessive waiting times is therefore concentrated on a minority of national health service patients. We are continuing the special waiting list fund in 1991-92 with a further £35 million to tackle this problem. Regions will match their allocations pound for pound bringing to £60 million the amount which will be available to reduce the number of patients who wait excessively long. £9 million from the fund has been earmarked for 80 of the worst lists in the country, which are to be investigated by a team from Qa Business Services.The National Health Service management executive is agreeing targets with all 14 regional health authorities for substantial reductions in the numbers of long waiters by March 1992.
Product Licences
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the average time taken to grant product licences.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : During the past year the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has been reorganised into separate businesses, licensing procedures have been streamlined and additional professional staff have been allocated to licensing work. As a result there have been substantial improvements in the agency's performance.
The agency is justifiably proud of its' position as the fastest licensing authority in the world for new drug substances. It wishes to retain this position. The director of the Medicines Control Agency has recently reported that it has actively sought to improve its performance in this area over the past 12 months.
In the abridged (established drug substances) licensing area there has also been considerable progress. The time to reach a licensing decision on standard and complex applications has reduced from 16 months in September 1990 to 10 months in January 1991 and will be further reduced to four months by April 1992. For those applications which have to be submitted to a committee set up under section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968 the time taken has reduced from 19 months in September 1990 to 13 months in January this year and will be seven months by April 1992. These are net times and do not include the time industry may take, often significant, to respond to questions raised by the agency about their applications.
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average time taken to grant product licences for parallel imports.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : During the seven months from 1 January 1990 to 31 July 1990, the latest period for which figures are available, the average time taken from date of application to date of grant of a parallel import licence was 18 months.
Medical Products
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to propose to the European Commission that products under article 5 of the draft directive on the legal status of the supply of medical products for human use should be listed on the assumption that products with the same brand name in different member states are identical unless the manufacturers otherwise specify.
Column 318
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : No. Under current proposals the draft directive on the classification of medicinal products for human use requires member states to publish a list of products subject on their territory to medical prescription and to communicate the list to the Commission and to other member states. The form in which the list would be produced is still the subject of negotiation.
| Next Section
| Home Page |