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Prison Roofs
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the maintenance costs for (a) flat roofs and (b) pitched roofs in prison establishments for the last five years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is not possible to provide the information requested, as maintenance costs are not recorded in such detail as to allow work to various types of roofs to be readily identified.
Prisons (Fire)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outbreaks of fire have occurred within prison establishments in the last five years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information on the number of fires occurring in prison establishments in England and Wales is as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1988 |435
1989 |313
1990 |421
1991 |555
<1>1992 |642
<1> To 13 December
1992.
Prison Inspections
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken to speed up the publication of inspection reports for Her Majesty's prisons ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Director-General of the Prison Service has been giving priority to securing speedier publication of the chief inspector's reports on individual prison establishments. Forty of these reports have been published to date this year, including some that had been delayed by staffing and operational difficulties last year. The time taken to clear for publication reports submitted by the chief inspector on his 1992 inspections has as a general rule now come down to under four months in the case of full inspections and under three months in the case of short inspections. The inspectorate's own preparations for publication normally take an additional month.
Action to implement the chief inspector's recommendations starts as soon as we know what his findings are and is not delayed until the publication date.
Prison Accommodation
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the certified normal accommodation system for prison capacity ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Prison Service has no plans to review the system for certifying normal accommodation. Section 14 of the Prisons Act 1952 provides that cells may only be used where they are certified by an inspector. This function is carried out by Prison Service area managers.
The certification process enables the Prison Service to establish the total capacity of the estate. For 1993-94 the Prison Service will be providing additional help to area managers in taking stock of the accommodation available in each establishment.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to improve prison reception areas.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The standard design specifications for new prisons require a self-contained unit for the reception and discharge of prisoners in humane conditions, and in a logically ordered and efficient manner. Where practical, these specifications are also used for designing improvements to existing prisons.
Between 1991-92 and 1993-94 improved reception and discharge facilities have been opened or are being provided at 17 prisons. In addition, an admissions guide on good practice in the management of arrangements for the reception and induction of prisoners has recently been issued to all Prison Service establishments. This is intended to enable staff to identify how best to provide prisoners with the support and information they need. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that self-catering facilities are available to all long-term prisoners ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Facilities to enable long-term prisoners to cook their own food and prepare additional meals in the evenings are provided in a number of establishments, particularly dispersal prisons. The provision of similar facilities will be considered elsewhere when resources allow.
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Police Cells
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to ensure regular HMI inspection of police cells.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary already visit police stations, including the custody areas, during their regular inspection programme and will comment on any deficiencies.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many occasions of suicide and attempted suicide took place in police cells during 1991-92.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There were 10 cases of deaths in police custody areas in England and Wales during 1991 in which an inquest verdict of suicide was returned. A further two cases have been reported in 1992, to date. Figures for attempted suicide are not recorded centrally.
Prisons (Disabled Access)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken to improve access for disabled persons within prison establishments.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The current design specifications for the construction of new prisons reflect the needs of disabled prisoners, staff and visitors. Wherever practical, these are used as the basis for modernisation work in existing buildings. The specifications require that circulation routes should be suitable for wheelchairs and provide for access ramps and for lifts in certain buildings together with lavatories for use by the disabled.
Between 1990-91 and 1993-94, a total of 18 schemes within the programme for modernising existing prisons have or will result in improvement specifically for the benefit of disabled people. In addition, other improvements have been made by local management, of which there is no central record.
Schengen Agreement
Mr. Bell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effect on the United Kingdom of the Schengen agreement coming into force on 1 January 1993.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It is now clear that the Schengen convention will not come into effect on 1 January 1993.
Life Prisoners
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement about the changes in the procedures for reviewing the cases of persons sentenced to life imprisonment.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I intend to bring the procedures applying to prisoners subject to a mandatory life sentence more closely into line with those which, since 1 October 1992, have applied to prisoners who are either "discretionary life sentence prisoners" as defined in section 34 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 or prisoners who have been certified under paragraph 9 of schedule 12 to that Act as prisoners to whom section 34 would have been applied if it had been in force at the time that they were sentenced. These new arrangements will also apply to any prisoners
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sentenced to life imprisonment for an offence for which life imprisonment is the maximum penalty who are not "discretionary life sentence prisoners" and to any who have not been certified under paragraph 9 of schedule 12.The effect of these changes will be that in respect of all Parole Board reviews of the cases of mandatory lifers that commence in their local establishment after or on 1 April 1993, subject only to exceptions that may be necessary to safeguard the interests of third parties or the welfare of prisoners, or where disclosure would otherwise be against the public interest, all the papers that are before the board will be made available to those prisoners, in advance of the board's consideration. They will also be provided with the reasons for Parole Board recommendations and ministerial decisions regarding release. An implementation date of 1 April 1993 has been chosen in order to give Prison Service staff sufficient time to arrange for the necessary preparation and disclosure of the relevant papers to prisoners and for the Parole Board to provide the necessary training for its members.
Lebanese Nationals
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards Lebanese nationals applying for asylum : and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : All applications for asylum are carefully considered on an individual basis in full conformity with the provisions of the 1951 United Nations convention and 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees, and refugee status is granted where appropriate.
In addition, for some years Lebanese nationals who have expressed a fear of return to Lebanon, but who could not demonstrate that they were refugees within the meaning of the 1951 convention, have generally been allowed to remain here, exceptionally, outside the immigration rules.
The Lebanese civil war ended last year and the situation there has now improved significantly. Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has decided that in all the circumstances this concession is no longer justified. Asylum applications made by Lebanese nationals from today will be assessed on their individual merits in the same way as those from nationals of most other countries. The United Kingdom will, of course, continue to honour fully its obligations under the 1951 convention and 1967 protocol.
Shops Act 1950
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the European Court of Justice judgment relating to the Shops Act 1950 to be delivered ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : I have been asked to reply.
The European Court of Justice has today held that the prohibition in article 30 of the EC treaty does not apply to national legislation prohibiting retailers from opening their premises on Sundays. The Court thus accepted the argument that the relevant local authorities and I advanced on behalf of the United Kingdom that the Shops
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Act 1950 is compatible with article 30. The House of Lords and other courts that referred cases to the European Court will now apply its ruling.Parliament has given to local authorities the primary role in enforcing the law about Sunday trading in their areas. Cases in progress can proceed and local authorities can continue to issue summonses or seek injunctions.
I have considered whether I should also take action to enforce the law, but I have decided that the public interest does not require intervention by me at present. I shall continue to keep the position under review.
Questions of policy are for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary. He announced the Government's proposals to the House on 26 November and said that the Government will be bringing forward a Bill to enable Parliament to consider the options as soon as is practicable.
Crime Prevention
Ms. Glenda Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to introduce the crime prevention measures recommended by the committee chaired by James Morgan.
Mr. Jack [pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1992, c. 645] : My right hon. and learned Friend and I have carefully considered the recommendations in the report and the views of those organisations that submitted comments on it. I welcome the report's endorsement of the partnership approach to crime prevention, which is now the cornerstone of the Government's policy. Also accepted are its general findings on the valuable contributions that each of the local partners can and do make to creating safer communities. However, I have concluded that the future development of effective crime prevention partnership groups and schemes does not depend on the report's recommendation that local authorities are given a statutory crime prevention role. In forming this view, I am mindful of not adding new burdens to local authorities and the fact that a great deal in this field can be done within the existing statutory framework. In this respect, the Government's view is that the lead on crime prevention should, for the most part, be determined by local circumstances. Nor am I persuaded that the appointment of local authority crime prevention co- ordinators requires central funding. I am grateful to the Morgan working group for the effort it invested in its task. Its report, and earlier Home Office guidance, has stimulated the growth of local crime prevention action groups across the country.
I have placed in the Library of the House a copy of the Department's response to the recommendations in the report which are directed at the Home Office.
HEALTH
Medical Care Abroad
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action she has taken to ensure that medical care provided by Spanish hospitals under United Kingdom holiday insurance schemes is administered by suitably qualified personnel ;
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(2) what steps she has taken to ensure that medical treatment provided abroad by British holiday insurance companies for British holidaymakers is of a standard consistent with that provided within the British Isles ;(3) what steps she is proposing to take to prevent British holidaymakers to Spain, who fall ill, from receiving unsolicited and unwarranted treatment in the course of private hospitalisation paid for by holiday insurance companies.
Dr. Mawhinney : The standard of health care supplied abroad under commercial holiday insurance is a private matter between the insurer, the insured person and the service provider.
NHS Trusts (Contracts)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each contract made with NHS trusts by (a) Her Majesty's Government and (b) regional health authorities for the most recent available year.
Dr. Mawhinney : The National Health Service Management Executive contracts centrally with units providing designated supra-regional services. For information on individual contracts I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 23 October at column 394.
Detailed information is not available centrally on contracts placed by regional health authorities.
Wellhouse Trust
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allocations in the current financial year were made by the North West Thames health authority directly to reduce the projected deficit of the Wellhouse Trust ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : Health authorities do not make allocations to trusts. North West Thames has however agreed to allocate £1.4 million to Barnet district health authority, the principal purchaser of services from the Wellhouse Trust. This is to enable it to increase the value of its contract for patient services during 1992-93.
Orthopaedic Services
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the statistical information used in the preparation of the Tomlinson report relating to the percentage of patients waiting longer than one year for admission to hospital for elective orthopaedic surgery in (a) inner London, relative to England as a whole and (b) the four Thames regions, relative to the national average.
Mr. Sackville : Information about waiting times by district health authority and specialty is given in the publication "Hospital Waiting List, In-Patients and Day Cases"--ISBN 1 85839 003 6, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the British Orthopaedic Association on the provision of orthopaedic and trauma services in inner London ; and if she will make a statement.
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Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list (a) the hospitals in inner London which provide a comprehensive orthopaedic and trauma service and (b) the total number of beds available to London orthopaedic surgeons for carrying out elective and traumatic surgery.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Nurse Prescribing
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the reasons for delaying the introduction of nurse prescribing ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Competing priorities in the last public expenditure survey obliged us, very reluctantly, to postpone implementation of nurse prescribing. We will introduce nurse prescribing as soon as resources permit.
Hospital Readmissions
Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients discharged from the acute departments of NHS hospitals were readmitted to an NHS hospital within a month in the last 12 months period for which there are figures ; and what were the comparable proportions for the comparable periods 10 and 20 years ago.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not collected centrally.
Romanian Adoptions
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions have been held by her Department with the Romanian Committee for Adoptions ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : A meeting, originally scheduled for December, to review the working arrangements of the adoption agreement will take place early in the new year.
NHS Premises (Fire Safety)
Ms. Eagle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to provide extra funding to the national health service with a view to bringing NHS premises up to the standards required by fire safety legislation ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol South, (Ms. Primarolo) on 3 November at columns 179 -80.
Casualty Departments
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and information is given to hospital managers and doctors to guide them in the preparation of policies and care philosophies for patient- centred management of casualty departments.
Dr. Mawhinney : It is for provider hospitals to determine the pattern of local services and to develop training programmes that provide staff with the requisite skills.
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Patient Discharges
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy in respect of the extent to which a nurse manager in charge of a ward should be able to override a consultant's decision to discharge a patient.
Dr. Mawhinney : Guidance was issued by the Department, in health circular HC(89)5, a copy of which is available in the Library. It makes it clear that no patient should be discharged from hospital without the authority of the doctor holding responsibility for that patient, unless there are clearly agreed protocols for this authority to be delegated.
Transplants
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of organ or eye donations that could have been used for transplants and the actual numbers of transplants in the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville : The table gives the number of organs and corneas donated and the number of organs transplanted in the United Kingdom for the latest period for which information is available. The principal reason why donated organs are not used is because of clinical unsuitability. The United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority collects data on and publishes the reason for not using organs, in its annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Period-1 January 1992 to 30 November 1992 United Kingdom<1> Organ |Number donated |Number transplanted -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kidney |1,532 |1,473 Heart |286 |254 Heart/Lung |52 |43 Lung |90 |73 Pancreas |47 |23 Cornea |3,518 |2,187 <1> Information provided by the United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority.
Ozone Depletion
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many castrophic leaks of ozone-depleting substances have occurred within her Department's buildings in the last five years ; (2) how many refrigeration and air conditioning systems in her Department are equipped with automatic leak detection systems ; (3) what quantity of HCFC 22 is purchased by her Department per annum ;
(4) if she will provide details from the maintenance and servicing record of the quantity and type of ozone-destroying chemicals used annually in her Department's refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for servicing and in leakages ; and what proportion is removed for recycling ;
(5) what are the latest available figures for her Department's total purchase of CFCs and HCFCs ;
(6) how many CFC and HCFC installations are contained within her Department's buildings;
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(7) how much funding has been allocated or spent to specifically deal with measures to reduce her Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances ;(8) how many chlorofluorocarbon domestic fridges are contained within her Department's buildings ;
(9) to ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of her Department's consumption of ozone depleting substances becomes controlled waste in terms of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ;
(10) what is the quantity of ozone-depleting substances recycled within her Department and returned to the manufacturer.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will give an undertaking to purchase only ozone-friendly fridges that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons or hydrochlorofluorocarbons for her Department ;
(2) what action has been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances consumed by her Department are identified as controlled wastes when they are no longer in use ;
(3) what measures have been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances in use by her Department identified as controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 do not reach the atmosphere ;
(4) by what date her Department's use of ozone-depleting chemicals will conform to EC regulations on limits on these chemicals ; (5) how the departmental Green Minister has promoted protection of the ozone layer with specific policy measures ; which possible measures have been considered and rejected ; and on what grounds ; (6) what targets have been set for the recycling of ozone-depleting chemicals within the departmental buildings.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 30 November at columns 74-75.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which current uses of ozone-depleting chemicals by her Department are considered essential.
Mr. Sackville : Equipment in the national health service that still requires ozone-depleting agents includes refrigeration equipment and plant, which uses the less damaging hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and certain fire extinguishing systems where no alternative materials are currently available. For chlorofluorocarbons used for essential medical purposes I refer the hon. Member to the reply my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 12 March 1992 at column 628.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been sought and received on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-destroying chemicals in use by her Department.
Mr. Sackville : The Department has been following technical developments both nationally and internationally and the information acquired is, and will continue to be used, in the preparation of guidance for the national health service. Guidance on refrigerants and air conditioning will be issued next year.
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Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many portable halon fire extinguishers are contained within departmental buildings ; and what measures are being taken to ensure their recycling and replacement.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is not available centrally. Guidance will be issued in spring 1993 to assist the national health service to control the use of halon in accordance with the Montreal protocol.
Limited List Prescribing
Sir Michael Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if her Department will carry out a survey among United Kingdom pharmaceutical companies to establish how many potential new treatments for conditions covered by the proposed new limited list regulations are currently being investigated in their research and development laboratories ;
(2) what positive measures her Department will take to persuade United Kingdom pharmaceutical companies to continue research projects in the 10 therapeutic categories covered by the proposed new limited list regulations ; and whether such intentions would be incorporated into a revised pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Department does not collate information from the pharmaceutical industry on current research projects, and has no plans to do so. It is for the companies concerned to determine their research and development priorities within the framework provided by the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.
Stallington Hospital
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will establish an inquiry, following the North Staffordshire district health authority's report into Stallington hospital, into whether all similar hospitals are currently adequately staffed and resourced ; and if she will make a statement.
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