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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 19 July 1993
HEALTH
Clinical Medical Officers
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of consultant community paediatricians, clinical medical officers and senior clinical medical officers in each of the last five years.
Dr. Mawhinney : The available information is shown in the table.
|c|Community health service medical staff-England 30 September
each year|c|
|Consultant community|Senior clinical |Clinical medical
|paediatrician |medical officer |officer (all
|(all specialties) |specialties)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |n/a |1,133 |1,713
1988 |n/a |1,188 |1,669
1989 |n/a |1,181 |1,653
1990 |n/a |1,151 |1,620
1991 |n/a |1,158 |1,509
Notes:
1. n/a means not available.
2. Most clinical medical officers work in paediatrics, and provide child health surveillance. The
decline in their numbers reflects the growing number of general practitioners taking on this work. We
estimate that over 60 per cent. of children under five are now receiving these services from their GP.
Sugar-free Drugs
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of drugs used by children are available in a sugar-free form.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available in the form requested.
In respect of oral liquid medicines, records held by the United Kingdom Licensing Authority show that 1,797 products are currently licensed for human use but not all of these would be indicated for use in children. Within these 1,797 licensed products, 218 are sugar free.
Neonatal Units
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trusts or directly managed units had neonatal units in 1991-92.
Mr. Sackville : In 1991-92, 27 trusts and 172 directly managed units provided cots intended for neonatal intensive care.
Source : SD2A ; KHO3 return.
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many neonatal intensive care beds there are ; what is the average time a baby spends in such cots ; and how many babies used such cots in 1991-92.
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Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 21 June at columns 27-28. Information about the number of babies using these cots and their length of stay is not available centrally.
Dentists
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much funding for national health service dentists has increased in real terms in the past three years.
Dr. Mawhinney : The latest information is shown in the table :
NHS Dental Services:
Gross Expenditure<1> England
Year |Gross expenditure |Gross expenditure |Percentage increase|Percentage increase
|(cash £ million) |(real terms £ |(real terms) Year |(real terms)
|million<2>) |on year<2> |1988-89 to
|1991-92<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |1,118.4 |1,288.4 |<3>-5.4 |-
1990-91 |1,229.6 |1,311.5 |1.8 |-
1991-92 |1,521.0 |1,521.0 |16.0 |<3>11.7
Sources: Information for the general dental services (GDS) is from the relevant year's appropriation account.
Information for the hospital dental service (HDS) and community dental service (CDS) are from the annual health
authority accounts up to 1990-91 and from health authority annual financial returns for 1991-92.
Notes:
<1> Total expenditure on national health service dental services combines gross expenditure on the GDS, HDS and CDS,
respectively. Gross expenditure includes income from patient charges, net of refunds.
<2> Gross domestic product deflator used to calculate real terms at 1991-92 prices.
<3> Compared with real terms figure of £1,361.5 million for 1988-89.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what period of notice dental practitioners are required to give patients before they are removed from their national health service register ; and in what form the notice is required to be.
Dr. Mawhinney : Dentists are required by their terms of service to give a patient three months notice in writing of their intention to terminate a continuing care or capitation arrangement. Exceptionally, a dentist may make a written application to the family health service authority for permission to terminate an arrangement sooner.
Insulin Treatment
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the insulin pen and the needles it uses are available on prescription.
Dr. Mawhinney : Insulin pen injection systems and the needles they use are not available on prescription. Their inclusion in the general practitioner prescribable list must, like all new additions to the list, be subject to the availability of resources.
Community Pharmacists
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to require community pharmacists to provide additional services without receiving additional payment ;
(2) to what extent she intends to fund the new professional allowance for community pharmacists from the new existing global sum.
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Dr. Mawhinney : The 1993-94 pay settlement will be as a first step towards specifically recognising the professional services many pharmacists provide. The detailed elements of the pharmacists' remuneration structure, of which the proposed professional allowance would be one, are all funded from within the global sum.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis her proposed threshold of 2,000 NHS prescriptions per month for payment of the professional allowance to community pharmacists was calculated.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is her policy that community pharmacies make a demonstrable contribution to the national health service only if they dispense more than 2,000 prescriptions per month.
Dr. Mawhinney : A threshold of 2,000 national health service prescriptions per month was one part of one element of the original pay offer for the transitional year of 1993-94 which was designed as an interim step towards a longer-term structure. We are reviewing the terms of that offer in the light of discussions with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether her proposal of a 2000 NHS prescription per month threshold for payment of the new professional allowance to community pharmacists has been formally withdrawn ;
(2) what assessment she has made of the rate of progress of the negotiations with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee on remuneration for community pharmacists ; and what steps she is taking to put further proposals to the committee.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) why the proposed meeting between her officials and the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee on 13 July did not take place ;
(2) when she expects her Department to put a new set of proposals concerning the remuneration of community pharmacists to the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee.
Dr. Mawhinney : The rate of progress of the negotiations with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee on pharmacists' remuneration for 1993-94 has been much slower than we would have wished. The pay offer made on 12 March remains on the table, but the Government are considering the points made in discussions with the committee since then and hope to be in a position to table a revised offer shortly. We were not ready to do so by 13 July and so that meeting provisionally rescheduled for that day was postponed.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the proposed increase of 1.5 per cent. for 1993-94 in the global sum for payment of community pharmacists is intended to cover the increased drug costs and other expenses incurred by community pharmacists on behalf of the NHS as well as provide for an increase in their reumuneration ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The proposed increase is intended to cover both the labour and overheads elements of pharmacists' remuneration. The reimbursement of the cost of the drugs they dispense is dealt with separately.
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Managers' Salaries
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 23 June, Official Report, column 182, if she will provide comparable information on the average annual cost of employing (a) a district general manager group 1, (b) a district general manager group 2, (c) a district general manager group 3, (d) a unit general manager group 1, (e) a unit general manager group 2, (f) a unit general manager group 3 and (g) a unit general manager group 4.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not available centrally.
GP Partnership Staff
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner partnerships employ a psychologist and counsellor.
Dr. Mawhinney : As at 1 October 1992, general practitioners in England employed 169 counsellors--whole-time equivalent. Details are not available centrally on the number of psychologists, as a separate category, who may be similarly employed.
Great Yarmouth and Waveney Health District
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations she has received on the proposal to split the Great Yarmouth and Waveney health district ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) if she will make it her policy to consider putting the Waveney part of the Great Yarmouth and Waveney health district into a new authority comprising Great Yarmouth and Norwich rather than the plans proposed by the East Anglian regional health authority ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : East Anglian regional health authority has commenced public consultation on its proposals to merge parts of Great Yarmouth and Waveney health authority with neighbouring health authorities and we have received two representations on these proposals. They were from my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney himself and from the chairman of the Great Yarmouth and Waveney General Practitioners Forum. When this period of formal consultation is completed it will be for East Anglian regional health authority to consider the response, including any alternatives that may have been put forward. The goal of purchasing health authorities is to improve health and health services, and to improve and extend standards of clinical care, and to prevent illness. To achieve this local health authorities need to work for and with local people. This is what we expect the East Anglian regional health authority to bear in mind before making recommendations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
Generic Drugs
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what incentives her Department employs to encourage general practitioners to prescribe generic drugs ; and how much has been spent in each of the last three years on such incentives.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have a range of initiatives to encourage general medical practitioners to prescribe more
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effectively including, where appropriate, generic prescribing. These include, from 1991-92, incentive schemes which cost £100,000 in their first year of operation.Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of drugs prescribed per annum are generic.
Dr. Mawhinney : In 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, 43 per cent. of drugs were prescribed generically.
Child Migrant Scheme
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 14 July, Official Report, column 533, what records are retained relating to the child migrant scheme.
Mr. Bowis : The Department holds some 105 files relating to policy on the child migrant schemes, dating from 1910 to 1959. Fifty of these have been opened to the public under the normal provisions of the public records legislation. The remainder are closed. So far as we are currently aware, the Department does not hold case files on individuals who emigrated under the child migrant schemes, but we are making further inquiries about this.
NHS Reforms
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 23 November, Official Report, columns 496-98, if she will update the table provided on the cost of implementing the NHS reforms.
Dr. Mawhinney : The reforms are firmly in place, and much of the spending referred to is now absorbed in purchasers' baselines and providers' prices. It is for them to decide how they allocate these resources.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Immigration
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from hon. Members during (a) the first quarter of 1992 and (b) the first quarter of 1993 to delay the removal of passengers refused entry at British ports of entry and, for both periods, how many representations resulted in (i) the delay of the passenger's removal for up to a week, (ii) the delay of the passenger's removal for more than a week and (iii) reversal of the immigration officer's decision.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available centrally.
Citizenship Applications
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for British citizenship under section 4(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981 have been (a) made, (b) granted and (c) refused in each quarter since January 1992 ; and how many of those granted have been on the grounds of service in the armed forces.
Mr. Charles Wardle : One application was received in June 1992, one in November 1992 and one in January
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1993. Of these, one has been granted, one has been refused and one has not yet been decided. The application which was granted was made on the grounds of service in the armed forces.Immigration Rules
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken by his Department to investigate cases referred from overseas posts in order to assess whether the maintenance and accommodation requirements of the immigration rules have been met.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available. Staff are instructed to give priority to cases referred by overseas posts for decision or for inquiries to be made.
Race Relations
Mr. Peter Shore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the sums paid to the London borough of Tower Hamlets under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 in each year since 1990 ; and what is the estimated payment for the years 1993-94, 1994- 95 and 1995-96.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The amount of section 11 grant provision payable direct to Tower Hamlets in respect of each financial year from 1990 is set out in the table :
Financial year |£ --------------------------------------------- 1989-90 |297,795 1990-91 |4,732,150 1991-92 |6,486,671 1992-93 |8,202,381
The figures for the year 1989-90 relate to grant in service areas other than education. It is not possible to isolate precise figures for the grant payable to the inner London education authority during this period in respect of education provision within Tower Hamlets. The grant figure for 1990-91 includes education provision transferred from ILEA.
The figure for the year 1993-94 is a prediction based on best estimates as supplied by Tower Hamlets. It is not possible to give details of figures for the years 1994-95 and 1995-96 at this stage.
Genetic Engineering
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of Home Office inspectors have an expert knowledge in the genetic engineering of animals ; and what account has been taken of the extent of unpredictability of this technology in deciding how to evaluate the likely suffering endured by animals during scientific procedures involving genetic engineering.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Three inspectors--14 per cent. of the inspectorate--have genetic engineering as a specialist area, but all inspectors are well briefed on the techniques used and the likely consequences of transgenic technology.
Inspectors are aware of the potential for unpredictable problems associated with the manipulation of genetic material and all applications for such work are carefully
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considered and monitored to ensure that the earliest appropriate end points are set and observed for any work authorised. The independent Animal Procedures Committee considered the issues raised by work in transgenics in detail during 1990 and considered the existing controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 adequate.Crime Prevention
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in stimulating private sector interest in crime prevention initiatives ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The cornerstone of the Government's approach to crime prevention is partnership and we will continue to encourage participation by the private sector. Current indications of the private sector's interest include the following.
The private sector provided support, estimated at the equivalent of more than £13 million, to Car Crime Prevention Year and continues to contribute to the campaign in a number of ways ; Crime Concern, the independent crime prevention organisation, has been successful in encouraging the involvement of the private
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sector, raising £1.9 million in general sponsorship from this source in 1992-93 ; the membership of National Board for Crime Prevention which holds its first meeting on 26 July includes three senior executives from the private sector ; local business and industry is represented on the steering committees of each of the 20 safer cities projects. The private sector has contributed sponsorship and is involved in other ways in local crime prevention schemes promoted by safer cities projects ; the Dixon Group plc has seconded to the Home Office one of its directors for a period of two years to carry out an assignment on business crime.Entry Clearance
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases entry clearance was refused to applicants from (a) Pakistan, (b) India, (c) Bangladesh and (d) the Indian subcontinent as a whole on grounds of the primary purpose rule in the last three years ; and how many of these applicants were (i) men and (ii) women.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information is given in the table.
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