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Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Housing Management Advisory Panel for Wales has just published "Taking Stock : A Guide to Local Housing Assessment".
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Epilepsy
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he intends to take following the recent seminars on epilepsy in Wales regarding (a) dissemination of the conclusions of the report, "Epilepsy, in Wales--a Study of the Needs of People with Epilepsy, Current Services and of Potential Developments", (b) the identification of potential strategies for development of support services and (c) the current and potential roles and
responsibilities of voluntary, statutory and professional agencies.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The seminars were paid for by the Welsh Office as part of our further consultations to assist consideration of this matter. The report of the seminars has only recently been received and is being carefully studied.
Disabled People
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by local education authority the number of (a) teachers, (b) nursery nurses and (c) teachers' aides employed who are disabled.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The information requested is not collected centrally.
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Immunisation
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of babies were immunised and vaccinated in each family health service authority area in the last year for which statistics are available and the two previous years ; and if he will provide a similar list for those children receiving their booster vaccination and immunisation injections.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Information relating to children immunised is collected by health authorities. The percentage of children resident at the end of the year in question and who had been immunised by their second birthday is given in the tables.
Information on the number of booster vaccinations is not collected in such a manner that would enable the Department to calculate a percentage of children vaccinated by a given birthday. However, the tables show the number of children aged four and under who received booster/reinforcing doses in each of the last three years, based on the district in which the dose was given rather than the district in which the child was resident. These figures do not represent the number of children who had received a booster/reinforcing dose by the age of four and under, as a child would be included in the figures only for the year in which the dose was given.
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Percentage of children immunised by their 2nd birthday
|Diphtheria|Tetanus |Pertussis |Polio |Measles
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90
Clwyd |91.8 |91.8 |79.2 |91.9 |85.0
East Dyfed |90.8 |90.9 |67.6 |90.8 |83.1
Gwent |90.4 |90.4 |69.9 |90.6 |82.1
Gwynedd |94.4 |94.5 |73.1 |94.6 |87.1
Mid Glamorgan |89.0 |89.1 |65.4 |89.3 |76.9
Pembrokeshire |93.8 |93.9 |82.1 |93.6 |86.5
Powys |95.0 |95.3 |78.3 |95.2 |91.1
South Glamorgan |86.6 |86.6 |72.4 |86.5 |75.2
West Glamorgan |90.7 |90.7 |69.5 |90.9 |81.7
1990-91
Clwyd |93.9 |93.9 |85.0 |94.0 |88.2
East Dyfed |94.3 |94.3 |75.3 |94.1 |88.0
Gwent |92.2 |92.2 |75.5 |92.4 |85.9
Gwynedd |94.9 |94.9 |80.0 |95.0 |88.3
Mid Glamorgan |92.1 |92.2 |75.0 |92.2 |82.6
Pembrokeshire |95.4 |95.4 |86.9 |95.5 |91.8
Powys |96.6 |96.7 |85.8 |96.9 |92.2
South Glamorgan |90.6 |90.7 |77.9 |90.6 |83.7
West Glamorgan |91.3 |91.3 |76.9 |91.2 |83.6
1991-92
Clwyd |94.8 |94.8 |89.1 |94.8 |90.5
East Dyfed |95.0 |95.0 |81.6 |95.1 |91.5
Gwent |91.1 |91.1 |78.5 |92.4 |86.9
Gwynedd |96.1 |96.2 |86.6 |96.2 |92.4
Mid Glamorgan |93.0 |93.1 |80.5 |93.3 |86.6
Pembrokeshire |95.2 |95.2 |89.2 |96.1 |92.0
Powys |96.1 |96.1 |89.6 |96.1 |92.3
South Glamorgan |93.0 |93.0 |84.9 |94.4 |88.3
West Glamorgan |93.1 |93.1 |83.2 |94.4 |89.0
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Percentage of children immunised by their 2nd birthday
|Diphtheria|Tetanus |Pertussis |Polio |Measles
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90
Clwyd |91.8 |91.8 |79.2 |91.9 |85.0
East Dyfed |90.8 |90.9 |67.6 |90.8 |83.1
Gwent |90.4 |90.4 |69.9 |90.6 |82.1
Gwynedd |94.4 |94.5 |73.1 |94.6 |87.1
Mid Glamorgan |89.0 |89.1 |65.4 |89.3 |76.9
Pembrokeshire |93.8 |93.9 |82.1 |93.6 |86.5
Powys |95.0 |95.3 |78.3 |95.2 |91.1
South Glamorgan |86.6 |86.6 |72.4 |86.5 |75.2
West Glamorgan |90.7 |90.7 |69.5 |90.9 |81.7
1990-91
Clwyd |93.9 |93.9 |85.0 |94.0 |88.2
East Dyfed |94.3 |94.3 |75.3 |94.1 |88.0
Gwent |92.2 |92.2 |75.5 |92.4 |85.9
Gwynedd |94.9 |94.9 |80.0 |95.0 |88.3
Mid Glamorgan |92.1 |92.2 |75.0 |92.2 |82.6
Pembrokeshire |95.4 |95.4 |86.9 |95.5 |91.8
Powys |96.6 |96.7 |85.8 |96.9 |92.2
South Glamorgan |90.6 |90.7 |77.9 |90.6 |83.7
West Glamorgan |91.3 |91.3 |76.9 |91.2 |83.6
1991-92
Clwyd |94.8 |94.8 |89.1 |94.8 |90.5
East Dyfed |95.0 |95.0 |81.6 |95.1 |91.5
Gwent |91.1 |91.1 |78.5 |92.4 |86.9
Gwynedd |96.1 |96.2 |86.6 |96.2 |92.4
Mid Glamorgan |93.0 |93.1 |80.5 |93.3 |86.6
Pembrokeshire |95.2 |95.2 |89.2 |96.1 |92.0
Powys |96.1 |96.1 |89.6 |96.1 |92.3
South Glamorgan |93.0 |93.0 |84.9 |94.4 |88.3
West Glamorgan |93.1 |93.1 |83.2 |94.4 |89.0
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Tourism
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new initiatives the Welsh tourist board will be embarking on in the summer of 1993 to attract visitors to Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The WTB has launched a major new £2.5 million advertising and promotional campaign for 1993-94 as part of its ongoing marketing strategy to support the tourism industry in Wales. This includes television advertisements, campaign posters, direct mailing/response advertising for the autumn, main and spring seasons. In addition to this, the WTB has earmarked nearly £800,000 for campaigns in selected overseas target markets with a much greater emphasis on European database marketing activities.
Elderly People
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on how many people over the age of 65 years live alone in Wales ; and how many people aged 65 years or more living alone have suffered from dementia in each of the last five years.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : The 1991 census recorded that there were 174,049 persons of pensionable age living alone in Wales. Information on those over the age of 65 years living alone is not available. Information on the number of people aged 65 years or more living alone who have suffered from dementia is not available centrally.
Pollution, Pontypool
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many copies of his Department's report on polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and furans in the Pontypool environment--the Panteg monitoring project--have been printed ; and to whom it has been distributed.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Two hundred. Copies were provided for local Members of Parliament ; the Chairman of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs ; the EEC ; the regulatory authorities ; ReChem International Ltd ; Torfaen borough council ; property holders in the Panteg area on whose land significant testing had been carried out and the secretary of Mothers and Children against Toxic Waste.
The Welsh Office is also making the report available to other interested parties at £25 each.
Public Appointments
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list all those non-departmental public bodies in Wales, for which he advises on the membership ; and if he will list the members so appointed ;
(2) if he will list the members of all the non-departmental public bodies for which he has responsibility.
Mr. David Hunt : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 23 March 1993 at columns 549-50 , listing current appointments I have made to public bodies in Wales. Information on appointments made by other Government Ministers is contained in "Public Bodies 1992" available in the Library of the House.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Fund
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to the report by the Social Security Consortium entitled "The Social Fund : Failing the Poorest", a copy of which has been sent to him ; what action he will be taking ; and if he will make a statement on the findings of the report.
Mr. Scott : We have noted the report, which is based on the research we commissioned from York university's social policy research unit--SPRU. We are carefully considering the operation of the social fund in response to the SPRU research, along with a number of other authoritative reports and our own close monitoring of the fund.
Methods of Payment
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to introduce financial inducements to pensioners and other benefit recipients to obtain their benefits through banks rather than post offices.
Miss Widdecombe : We have no such plans.
Severe Hardship Claims
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table listing the number of severe hardship claims made and awards granted for each of the last 12 quarters in each district.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Alan Milburn, dated 12 May 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if he will publish a table listing the number of severe hardship claims made and awards granted for each of the last twelve quarters in each district. The complete range of information you have requested is not available except at a disproportionate cost. This is primarily because statistics regarding severe hardship claims are maintained clerically and not in the format requested. Additionally, the Benefits Agency district arrangements were introduced only in April 1991, and statistics prior to this relate to the former local office structure.
I have, however, appended the national figures for Severe Hardship claims and awards for the period requested. I should emphasise that these relate to claims made rather than individual customers. I hope you find this reply helpful. Copies of this letter will be placed in the Library.
National severe hardship claims and awards Quarter ending |Number of claims |Number successful ------------------------------------------------------------------------ June 1990 |6,573 |4,600 September 1990 |7,417 |5,329 December 1990 |6,558 |4,952 March 1991 |10,699 |8,050 June 1991 |13,031 |10,356 September 1991 |16,269 |13,021 December 1991 |15,163 |12,372 March 1992 |23,539 |19,646 June 1992 |25,258 |20,716 September 1992 |28,160 |23,127 December 1992 |25,107 |19,917 March 1993 |36,937 |30,839
Income Support
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the latest available figures for (a) income support recipients, (b) those in receipt of a family premium and (c) those in receipt of lone- parent premiums in the district council areas of Derbyshire.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Harry Barnes, dated 12 May 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if he will give the latest available figures for (a) Income Support recipients, (b) those in receipt of a family premium and (c) those in receipt of lone parent premiums in the district council areas of Derbyshire. The complete range of information you have requested is not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. This is because information regarding the number of Income Support recipients is not collected on the basis of district council areas. Additionally, statistics are not routinely collected that reflect the number of customers in receipt of a family premium.
Information concerning lone parent premiums and the number of Income Support recipients in the Benefits Agency's offices in Derbyshire is in the Official Report Vol. 224 Col. 300.
However, estimates of the numbers of recipients receiving family premium and lone parent premium nationally are available from the Annual Statistical Enquiry (ASE). This is a point in time survey based on a one per cent. sample of all people in receipt of Income Support.
The latest information from the ASE relates to May 1991. The estimates from this were 4,487,000 recipients of Income Support, 1, 318,000 recipients of the family premium and 871,000 recipients of the lone parent premium.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the latest available figures for (a) claimants, (b) adult dependants who are in receipt of income support and (c) the number of children in such households in the district council areas of Derbyshire.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
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Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Harry Barnes, dated 12 May 1993 :As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if he will give the latest available figures of (a) claimants, (b) adult dependants who are in receipt of Income Support and (c) the number of children in such households in the district council areas of Derbyshire. The complete range of information you have requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because information regarding the number of Income Support recipients, their children or adult dependants, is not collected on the basis of district council areas. However, information concerning the number of Income Support recipients by Benefits Agency office in Derbyshire can be found in the Library.
Estimates of the numbers of adult dependants and children nationally are available from the Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry (ASE). This is a point in time survey based on a one per cent. sample of all people in receipt of Income Support.
The latest information from the ASE related to May 1991. The estimates from this were 4,487,000 recipients of Income Support, 763, 000 partners, 2,368,000 children under 16 and 129,000 dependants aged between 16 and 19.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Pensions
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals living in the Falkland Islands are currently in receipt of a British state retirement pension ; what would be the additional cost of granting them inflation-proofed pensions ; and if he will seek to conclude as soon as possible a reciprocal agreement in respect of the Falkland Islands.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 5 May 1993] : In December 1991, the latest date for which figures are currently available, 14 people resident in the Falkland Islands were receiving United Kingdom retirement pensions. The additional cost of paying them inflation-proofed pensions would be approximately £11,000 per year, at 1992 rates. However, any concession on indexation for the Falklands would lead inevitably to pressure to treat pensioners living in other countries in the same way. To inflation-proof United Kingdom pensions worldwide, for the 355,000 British pensioners who do not receive index-linked payments, would cost some £275 million a year. We therefore have no plans to conclude a reciprocal agreement with the Falkland Islands.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Rabies
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to revise the legal provisions and the inspections practice of Her Majesty's Customs to keep rabies and other notifiable diseases out of the United Kingdom following the opening of the channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : An order will shortly be presented to the House which will provide the legal backing for policing and frontier controls in respect of the channel tunnel. The order will not introduce any new rabies control measures,
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but will adapt our current procedures at ports of entry around the United Kingdom to the unique physical circumstances of the channel tunnel. Animal health controls at the channel tunnel and its terminals will be just as strict as those presently in force at sea ports and airports. In addition, the channel tunnel concessionaires have established a number of preventive measures to prevent animals entering the tunnel, and more will be put in place once the tunnel is operational.Ozone Depletion
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been commissioned by the Government on the implications of the depletion of the ozone layer for agriculture in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Gummer : The Government will be spending over £0.5 million in 1993-94 on research to examine the effects of
ultra-violet-B--UV-B--radiation on agricultural crops. The project sponsors, titles, contractors and estimated costs for 1993-94 are as follows :
Agricultural and Food Research Council
Effects of UV-B irradiation on cell cycle gene expression and DNA repair in developing wheat (Tricticum aestivum L.) leaves. University of Manchester, with Horticulture Research International.
£54,000.
The molecular basis of UV-B perception and response in plants. University of Glasgow.
£38,000.
Molecular mechanisms involved in UV-B induced changes in gene expression for photosynthetic proteins.
Horticulture Research International.
£43,000.
The interactions of enhanced UV-B and water stress on oil seed rape cultivars with differing UV-B sensitivity.
University of Cambridge.
£67,000.
Characterise the molecular basis of gene regulation by environmental stress, including UV-B.
Horticulture Research International.
£167,000 (1992-93 cost. 1993-94 estimated cost is unavailable). Department of the Environment
Impact of increased UV-B radiation (the impacts of UV-B on natural and cultivated vegetation in the United Kingdom ; mapping the risk of UV-B impacts on cultivated and natural vegetation in the United Kingdom ; and, the impacts of UV-B on plant pathogens and host-pathogen interactions).
University of Lancaster.
£84,000.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Responses of crops to UV-B radiation.
University of Lancaster, with Horticulture Research International. £74,000.
Foot and Mouth Disease
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether foot and mouth disease was present in any of the countries from which the imported cattle, currently subject to his Ministry's attempts to trace those which have been vaccinated, have originated ; how
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many of the animals imported into the United Kingdom have not yet been traced ; and what factors are responsible for the time it is taking to locate the remaining suspect animals.Mr. Gummer : There have been no confirmed reports of the presence of foot and mouth disease in either the Czech Republic or in Poland in recent years.
The vast majority of Czech cattle, for which the tracing exercise began first, have now been located and good progress is being made in tracing the Polish cattle.
Some difficulties have been experienced in tracing those animals which have passed through the hands of several owners since they were originally imported. Tracing has also been made more difficult by the keeping of poor movement records by some owners and some retagging of livestock following change of ownership.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date the last consignment of livestock suspected of having been vaccinated against foot and mouth disease was received into the United Kingdom ; and after what period of time there is no risk of a latent carrier of the disease transmitting that disease to other animals.
Mr. Gummer : The last consignment of livestock suspected of having been vaccinated against foot and mouth disease--FMD--arrived in this country on 25 March 1993. All imported FMD-seropositive animals have been inspected by the State Veterinary Service. There is no evidence of clinical disease in any of the animals or suggestion that any of the animals are carriers. Studies elsewhere have shown that carrier animals may be the source of subsequent disease outbreaks up to two and a half years after the carrier animal was first infected.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to ensure that any animal slaughtered because of vaccination for foot and mouth will be destroyed and not allowed to enter the food chain.
Mr. Gummer : All animals found to be vaccinated against FMD will be either re-exported or slaughtered. There is no risk to public health from vaccinated animals entering the food chain.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to ensure that farmers who came to be in possession of vaccinated cattle are not made responsible for meeting the direct losses incurred.
Mr. Gummer : The resolution of the problem is a commercial matter and it is for the current owners and importers to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement with the exporter in the country of origin for the animals' re-export or slaughter.
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
Mr. Cash : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects the working party on naturally occurring toxicants in food to complete its study of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in milk and in herbal remedies ; whether the report of that study will be published ; and what pyrrolizidine alkaloids the study has so far found in milk samples.
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Mr. Soames : The working party on naturally occurring toxicants in food has completed its study of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in milk. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids were not detected in any of the milk samples taken. A project to study the metabolism of pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in herbal ingredients has recently commenced and is due for completion in 1995. The results of all these studies will be published. Data on pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the herbal remedy comfrey have already been published.
he will list all payments made to individuals by Government Departments, Government agencies and local authorities which are subject to a means test.
The Prime Minister : The information requested is not available centrally. The main source of income-related payments is the social security system which provides benefits administered by the Benefits Agency and local authorities. These benefits include income support, family credit, disability working allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
A number of Departments operate income-related assistance for a variety of special purposes. For example :
The Department of Education operates a system of mandatory and discretionary grants for people in higher education. Such awards consist of two parts, fees and maintenance, the latter of which is means tested. The scheme is administered by local authorities. The Department of the Environment provides a scheme for home renovation which is administered by local authorities.
The Lord Chancellor's Department operates the scheme for legal aid.
The Department of Health is responsible for the NHS low income scheme which provides help with NHS charges, optical costs and fares to hospital to receive NHS treatment.
Alan Clark (Diaries)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister what consideration has been given to the confidentiality guidelines set out in the advice to Ministers manual in relation to the submission by the right hon. Alan Clark, former Minister of State for Defence Procurement, of his diaries to the Cabinet Office for review prior to publication.
The Prime Minister : Paragraph 19 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" requires former Ministers to submit their memoirs to the Secretary of the Cabinet before publication and to conform to the principles set out in the Radcliffe report of 1976 (Cmnd 6386). In offering comments, the Secretary of the Cabinet takes account of the recommendations in the Radcliffe report about the protection of confidential relationships within Government.
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to monitor the incidence of kwashiakor, marasmus and malaria in Iraq ; and by what mechanism Her Majesty's Government monitor the condition of the Iraqi people.
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The Prime Minister : The United Nations conducted an assessment mission to Iraq in March 1993 which included a survey of the health of the population. As a result, WHO and UNICEF have included programmes to help relieve the situation in the United Nations plan of action. As well as official United Nations reports we also receive independent reports from non-governmental organisations working in Iraq.
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