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EMPLOYMENT
Autumn Statement
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the programmes and purposes on which the extra cash announced in the autumn statement will be spent.
Mr. Jackson : The additional planned resources will go towards helping unemployed people, improving the skills of the work force and assisting small businesses and enterprise. The details of the plans will be announced in the departmental report that will be published early next year.
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Apprenticeships
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the numbers beginning apprenticeship as bricklayers, joiners, electricians, plasterers and plumbers in each year since 1981.
Mr. Jackson : Information is not available about apprenticeships according to the year in which they begin.
Training Credits
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training credits have been issued in the pilot areas to young people ; how many young people have taken them up ; what other information he has on the take-up of credits in those areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : As at 13 October 1991, some 27,000 training credits had been issued within the 11 pilot schemes. Over 12,000 of these have already been used by young people to obtain high-quality training of their choice. This number continues to rise. We hope to publish evaluation results from the first nine months of operating training credits in the spring of 1992. Evaluation will, of course, continue well beyond that, to identify the achievements of young people currently beginning training and the impact of credits on young people who leave school in 1992 and subsequently.
Employment Action
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest information he has about the number of people who have taken up places on employment action ; how many have left employment action ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : The information requested is not yet available. Employment action came into operation only on 1 October, but we are confident that, by the end of March 1992, there will be provision in place to help 30,000 people.
First Aid Code of Practice
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he proposes to take to provide further supplies of the first aid approved code of practice--ISBN 0 11 8855360--in HMSO outlets ; what reasons account for the shortfall ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive has already made arrangements for further supplies of this publication to be made available to HMSO outlets. The reasons for the present shortfall are the unexpectedly high demand for the publication and some small delay in reprinting due to minor changes being made in one of its annexes.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the level of employment in the Leeds metropolitan district (a) in manufacturing industries, (b) in the service sector and (c) in all industries and services for (i) male and female employees, (ii) full time and (iii) part time ; for each year since 1979 both as a number and as a percentage.
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Mr. Jackson : Information for employees in employment by district is only available from the censuses of employment for 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1989. This can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Low Pay
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the number and percentage of (a) men and (b) women working full time and part time earning less than (i) £2.00 per hour, (ii) £2.50 per hour, (iii) £3.00 per hour, (iv) £3.50 per hour, (v) £4.00 per hour, (vi) £4.50 per hour and (vii) £5.00 per hour in the (1) Leeds, West constituency and (2) the Leeds metropolitan district.
Mr. Jackson : The information available from the 1991 new earnings survey closest to that requested is given in the following tables :
Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire
Employees on adult rates whose pay was not affected by absence
and
whose hourly earnings-excluding overtime-were below the
following specified amounts
April 1991
|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.
|in sample|of total |in sample|of total
------------------------------------------------------------------
£2.00 £2.50
Full-time men |16 |0.5 |34 |1.2
Full-time women |11 |0.7 |32 |2.0
Part-time men |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
Part-time women |23 |2.2 |54 |5.2
£3.00 £3.40
Full-time men |94 |3.2 |204 |6.9
Full-time women |150 |9.5 |284 |18.0
Part-time men |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
Part-time women |209 |20.2 |420 |40.7
£3.60 £4.00
Full-time men |305 |10.4 |493 |16.8
Full-time women |371 |23.6 |523 |33.2
Part-time men |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
Part-time women |505 |48.9 |663 |64.2
£4.50 £4.80
Full-time men |753 |25.6 |948 |32.3
Full-time women |700 |44.5 |807 |51.3
Part-time men |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
Part-time women |773 |74.8 |819 |79.3
£5.40
Full-time men |1,305 |44.4
Full-time women |965 |61.3
Part-time men |<1>- |<1>-
Part-time women |877 |84.9
Source: New Earnings Survey.
"<1>-" denotes information not available.
Training Credits
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on progress towards the planned national extension of training credits for young people.
Mr. Howard : I am delighted to be able to announce today the seven training and enterprise councils and two local enterprise companies which will develop training credits schemes to operate from April 1993. These schemes, together with the existing 11 training credits pilots, will mean that some 20 per cent. of the national total of 16 and 17-year-old school leavers will be able to benefit from the increased opportunities offered by
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training credits. It remains the Government's intention to expand training credits progressively, so that by 1996, within the lifetime of the next Parliament, all young people aged 16 or 17 leaving full-time education will have the offer of a training credit. The TECs and local enterprise companies that will develop training credits schemes to operate from April 1993 :Calderdale and Kirklees
Isle of Wight
Merseyside
Northamptonshire
Staffordshire
South Thames
Mid Glamorgan
Caithness and Sutherland
Dunbartonshire
HEALTH
Meat Inspection
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet the Institution of Environmental Health Officers to discuss whether meat inspection should remain a local authority function.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave to her on 21 November at column 299 .
Hospices
Sir Geoffrey Finsberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total value of extra help provided by the Government for hospices over the last 12 months.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Sir R. Rhodes James) on 18 November at column 43 .
Health Care, London
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the terms of reference and scope of the Tomlinson inquiry into delivery of health care in London ; what assistance the inquiry is obtaining from the King's fund study in the same field ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The terms of reference of Sir Bernard Tomlinson's inquiry are :
"To advise the Secretaries of State for Health and Education and Science on how the relevant statutory authorities are addressing the provision of health care in inner London, working within the framework of the reformed NHS, including the balance between acute and primary health services; and the organisation and provision of undergraduate medical teaching, postgraduate medical education and research and development; taking account of:
the health needs of London's resident and day-time population; the emerging purchasing plans of heath authorities and their likely impact on inner London hospitals;
future developments in the provision of acute and primary care; and
the need to maintain high quality patient care and, as a foundation for this, high standards of medical teaching and research and development."
I understand that Sir Bernard and members of his expert team have already held useful discussions with members of the King's Fund Commission studying health services in London, with a view to future co-operation.
GP Fundholders
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a list of those general practitioner fundholding practices in England which have set up private companies for aspects of their patients care.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is not held centrally.
Hospital Security
Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the security arrangements in NHS hospitals.
Mr. Dorrell : Security arrangements at NHS hospitals are the responsibility of and can best be determined by local hospital managers, in the light of their knowledge of their premises and the level of access necessary for patients, staff and visitors. To help local managers, the National Association of Health Authorities issued the NHS Security Manual to all health authorities in 1984. This is now being revised and updated with the help of a £37,000 grant from the Department.
The new manual will take account of the most recent developments in security and crime prevention techniques and is being developed in consultation with key experts in the field and other interested private and public sector organisations. It will be available for circulation to health authorities and NHS trusts early next year.
Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce changes to the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Bill was introduced in another place on 5 November.
Pregnancy Terminations
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which EC countries permit the treatment of non-resident women for legal termination of pregnancy.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
Mifegyne
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many briefing seminars concerning Mifegyne have been held by Roussel UK ; where they were held ; and approximately how many health personnel attended each seminar.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Roussel UK for the information requested.
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Mental Handicap
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on how financial support for the mentally handicapped in residential care is calculated regarding training, education, employment and other day care elements ; and how it is planned to be changed after 1 April 1993.
Mr. Dorrell : The provision of day care and other personal social services is the responsibility of local authority social services departments. They are responsible for assessing the need for services in individual cases and for deciding how this might appropriately be met. This will not alter after 1 April 1993.
Midwives
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives completed training in each of the last four years ; and how many new midwives positions were created in that period.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The number of student midwives who completed training in England in the last four years and became eligible for registration is as follows :
Year (ended |Number 31 March) ------------------------------------ 1988 |2,521 1989 |2,088 1990 |2,499 1991 |2,336 Note: These figures were provided by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.
Information regarding the number of new midwifery positions created in the same period is not centrally available.
Employment of Children
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring the outstanding provisions of the Employment of Children Act 1973 into force.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There are no plans to implement the Employment of Children Act 1973.
The main legislation governing the part-time employment of children under minimum school leaving age is the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. This sets out general restrictions governing hours of work and conditions of employment. Further restrictions are contained in local authority byelaws made under the Act. The provisions of primary legislation and byelaws serve as an effective framework to protect children who work part time.
Huntington's Chorea
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends in research into the cause and cure of Huntington's chorea.
Mr. Eggar : I have been asked to reply.
The Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid through this Department, is the main agency for funding medical research in this country. In the last
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financial year (1990-91) the council spent £100,000 on research relevant to Huntington's chorea. The council is always willing to consider for support soundly based new scientific proposals in competition with other applications. The health departments, universities and medical schools may also be funding some research on Huntington's chorea but information on this is not collected centrally.Hospitals, Liverpool
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the future of Mossley Hill, hospital.
Mr. Dorrell : Mossley Hill hospital has a secure future. Liverpool health authority are currently implementing plans to centralise mental health services on the Mossley Hill site. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Michael Emberton, the chairman of Liverpool health authority, for further details.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are any plans to amalgamate the Royal Liverpool teaching hospital and Broadgreen hospital, or to transfer services from one hospital to the other ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : I am not aware of any plan of the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals trust and the Broadgreen Hospital trust to amalgamate as a single trust. Any such proposal would need to be put to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State formally for consideration and would involve the dissolution of the two existing trusts and further public consultation.
Any transfer of health services is a matter for the providers of those services in consultation with purchasers. This is a matter for local discussion and decision.
Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he intends to seek tenders for private capital to finance the hotel residential accommodation at the proposed obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool ;
(2) how many tenders have been put out for the proposed obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool ;
(3) what is his Department's capital limit on the proposed obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool ;
(4) if his Department intends to provide funding for the whole of the capital cost of the acute block and the hotel accommodation for the proposed obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool ; (5) what are his Department's building cost estimates for the 163-bed acute block and the 100 hotel residential beds of the proposed obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool ; what were the trust application building cost estimates ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 12 November 1991] : Approval in principle was given by the Department in September to a new obstetric and gynaecology hospital in Liverpool. The base costs, for approval in principle purposes, was estimated to be around £16 million. This figure was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 10 September and was quoted in the trust application document. With additions for fees, equipment and on-costs (infrastructure) the cost is estimated to be £26.46 million to which will be added VAT and inflation.
Approval in principle does not signal a specific allocation of capital. Any proposal to use private sector
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capital must be demonstrated to represent value for money and would require the approval of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. His approval has not been sought in relation to this scheme.Estimates of building costs are made by the relevant health authority, whose responsibility it is to seek tenders. The district health authority has not yet reached that stage.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Public Limited Companies
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing which completed inspectors' reports relating to public limited companies have not been published over the last 10 years.
Mr. Redwood : The table lists all inspections into public companies under sections 432 and 442 of the Companies Act 1985 (or their predecessor sections) where the inspectors have submitted their final report since 1 November 1981 and that report remains unpublished. The decision whether to publish the reports marked with an asterisk remains under consideration. Substantial interim reports on Bryanston Finance Limited and Dunlop Holdings Limited were published on 22 March 1983 and 17 February 1981 respectively.
Date of |Company Name |Date of report
appointment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 May 1975 |Bryanston Finance Ltd. |27 April 1987
[now Ramor Investments Ltd.]
25 July 1980 |Dunlop Holdings Limited|12 November 1981
8 March 1982 |Euroflame Holdings plc |27 June 1987
11 March 1983 |British Anzani plc |*28 November 1986
25 February 1983 |Hartley Baird plc |21 December 1983
9 May 1985 |Hartley Baird plc |23 May 1986
26 May 1989 |Blue Arrow plc |*4 June 1991
23 June 1989 |The Bestwood plc |*26 March 1991
6 February 1990 |BOM Holdings plc |*2 August 1991
Supervisory Bodies
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which no unelected person would be able to sit on the councils of the bodies recognised as supervisory bodies under the Companies Act 1989.
Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which auditing firms criticised in the inspectors' report would be required to return the audit fee to the company.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which it would be a criminal offence for the recognised supervisory bodies to recommend passive auditing guidelines.
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Caparo Judgment
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now propose legislation under which the Caparo judgment would be reversed.
Mr. Redwood : We have no plans to do so.
Vehicle Prices
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the relative pre-tax pricing of vehicles in the United Kingdom for ordinary car buyers and for fleet buyers and for purchases of the same vehicle on the continent ; and what plans he has to introduce legislation or take other steps to safeguard the consumer's interests in this area.
Mr. Redwood : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about car prices. A reference relating to the supply of new motor cars was made to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on 9 May 1990. In making the reference the Director General of Fair Trading drew attention to concern about apparent differences between prices in the United Kingdom and other European countries. On 31 October 1991 the Commission delivered their report to the Secretary of State who is currently considering it. The report will be published as soon as is practicable. The contents of all MMC reports remain confidential until publication. If the MMC find no adverse effects the Secretary of State has no power to act. If the MMC have reached any adverse findings he will decide what steps, if any, should be taken to remedy the situation. He will also consider whether or not to announce a period of consultation before reaching his conclusions if the report is adverse.
Office of Telecommunications
Mr. Hain : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for the Office of Telecommunications for each year since it was established (a) staffing levels and (b) its annual cost at both actual and current prices.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 22 November 1991] : The staffing levels and the annual expenditure of OFTEL in each financial year since it was established are as follows :
Staff level Financial expenditure
|(actual) |actual |1990-91 prices
|£k |£k
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |53 |1,668 |2,373
1985-86 |91 |2,792 |3,765
1986-87 |109 |3,404 |4,444
1987-88 |115 |3,573 |4,424
1988-89 |117 |3,825 |4,419
1989-90 |118 |4,291 |4,655
1990-91 |130 |6,424 |6,424
<1>1991-92 |150 |7,375 |6,893
<1> provisional
Note: OFTEL's expenditure is fully recovered from licence fee income.
Mr. Hain : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the annual salary of the Director General of Telecommunications for each year since his appointment, giving year-on-year percentage rises.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 22 November 1991] : The figures requested are as follows :
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Year ended |Salary |Percentage 30 June |£ |increase -------------------------------------------- 1985 |50,000 |- 1986 |55,022 |10.0 1987 |60,224 |9.5 1988 |62,903 |4.4 1989 |66,341 |5.5 1990 |71,780 |8.2 1991 |81,915 |14.1 1992 |87,805 |7.2
Trade Statistics
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the total exports and imports of the United Kingdom with the other countries of the European Community for the years 1989 and 1990 and the first six months of 1991 together with the export to import ratio for each period.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 22 November 1991] : Information on United Kingdom visible trade is regularly published in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", which is available in the Library of the House.
European Co-operative Statute
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the United Kingdom Government's policy on the draft European co- operative statute.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 18 November 1991] : The Draft European Co-operative Statute is still at a draft stage. Should a formal proposal emerge from the Commission, the Government will consult widely among interested organisations, as is the normal practice.
TRANSPORT
Overloaded Lorries
10. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new proposals he has to reduce the problem caused by overloaded lorries.
Mr. Chope : About twice as many vehicles will be weighed by the vehicle inspectorate this year as five years ago.
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