To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid has been sent to Nicaragua by the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years.

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glasgow, Provan (Mr. Wray) on 20 June.

£ million at 1987–88 prices
	1982–83 outturn	1983–84 outturn	1984–85 outturn	1985–86 outturn	11986–87 outturn	21987–88 estimated outturn	1988–89 plans	1989–90 plans	1990–91 plans
Schools	9,608	9,721	9,519	9,320	10,077	10,633	10,630	10,585	10,552
Higher and further education	4,970	4,999	4,987	4,790	4,823	4,904	4,866	4,828	4,760
Miscellaneous educational services research and administration	833	884	896	895	937	975	1,032	1,066	1,079
Research Councils and related bodies	594	608	617	623	639	657	669	672	649
Total Department of Education and Science	16,006	16,106	16,019	15,629	16,476	17,169	17,197	17,150	17,040
Central government
Voted in Estimates
Schools
Building grants to voluntary and special schools	48	45	52	59	51	55	68	70	73
Music and ballet schools	5	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4
Assisted places scheme	11	18	26	32	40	49	53	54	54
City technology colleges	—	—	—	—	—	4	18	30	30
Higher and further education (including teacher training) Universities
Capital	152	142	139	145	155	154	147	141	140
Current	1,580	1,567	1,540	1,490	1,485	1,562	1,614	1,613	1,594
Voluntary and direct grant institutions
Capital	5	5	6	5	5	7	6	5	5
Current	108	106	97	93	92	95	93	89	89
Adult education	14	15	15	16	16	16	17	16	16
Postgraduate awards to humanities students and other student awards	8	5	5	4	5	6	5	5	5
Miscellaneous services, research and administration
Youth service	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Research programme and other education services	19	23	24	25	24	27	45	68	74
Administration and inspection costs	41	54	55	56	57	58	65	63	62
Compensation payments	5	5	6	6	7	7	7	7	7
Research Councils etc.
Capital	96	91	89	97	97	93	85	99	76
Current (including postgraduate science awards)	498	517	528	526	542	564	584	573	573
Total voted expenditure	2,594	2,601	2,589	2,562	2,582	2,703	2,812	2,841	2,806
Other central government Schools	-4	-5	-4	-4	0	0	0	0	0

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report a table based on table 12·1 of the public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 288–II, with all figures converted to 1987–88 prices.

The information requested is set out in the table. The figures have been revalued using the Budget assumptions about movements in the GDP (market prices) deflator, which is assumed to rise by 5 per cent. in 1987–88, 4·5 per cent. in 1988–89, 4 per cent. in 1989–90 and 3·5 per cent. in 1990–91. All figures have been rounded to the nearest £1 million, so that the totals shown may not equal the sum of their rounded components.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what account he took of the current relative level of contributions paid by men and women in the Medical Research Council's pension scheme and of the Government Actuary's calculations as to the cost of a widowers' pension within that scheme when issuing guidelines to the Medical Research Council indicating that widowers' pensions should be funded by increasing members' contributions in order that the cost be shared by employer and employees.

The Government's policy on implementation of the Social Security Act 1986 is that the cost of introducing additional benefits to existing public sector pension schemes must be shared by the employer and the employees. We are still discussing with the Medical Research Council and the Treasury the appropriate basis for applying this policy to the MRC scheme, taking account of all the relevant factors including the current level of contributions paid and the Government Actuary's calculations. A final decision has not yet been reached.

To ask the Attorney-General when he expects to be in a position to give the final outturn of costs incurred in relation to the proceedings on Mr. Anthony Cavendish's memoirs.

I will not be in a position to give the final figure for the costs of this case until after the conclusion of the proceedings, which are still at the interlocutory stage.

To ask the Attorney-General why Her Majesty's Government have not sought an injunction to restrain publication of the book written by the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Allason) under the pseudonym of Nigel West entitled, "The Friends: Britain's Post-war Secret Intelligence Operations."

The Government deplore the publication of books of this nature, and especially when advice from the D Notice Committee secretary has to any extent been disregarded.As regards legal action, this is not a case of an author who is or has been a Crown servant, and taking that fact into account, together with the contents of this particular book, the Government concluded that an application for an injunction to restrain the book's publication would be unlikely to succeed.

To ask the Attorney-General (1) for what reason the Treasury Solicitor approached Messrs Nilsson and Lamon regarding their circular to British booksellers about the book, "Spycatcher"; what form the approach took; what warnings it contained about the risk of criminal contempt on the part of Nilsson and Lamon and on the basis of what legal precedents; how the Treasury Solicitor became aware of the circular by Nilsson and Lamon; what is his general policy towards issuing warnings to organisations and individuals about the possible criminal nature of their actions or intended actions; and if he will make a statement;(2) what assessment he has made of the implications for Her Majesty's Government's obligations under the treaty of Rome and the European Convention on Human Rights of his attempts to prevent paperback editions of the book "Spycatcher" being distributed to British booksellers; and if he will make a statement.

These questions relate to a letter which is referred to in an affidavit before the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords, which is currently hearing the Government's appeal against The Guardian, The Observer and the Sunday Times newspapers. It would therefore not be appropriate for me to comment upon it while the proceedings continue.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has received a request from Rolls-Royce for launch aid in respect of the development of the RB211–524L engine; and if he will make a statement.

I have received an application from Rolls-Royce for launch aid under the Civil Aviation Act 1982 towards the development of the RB211 family of engines including the RB211–524L. This is being considered.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many written representations he has so far received on the subject of furniture fire safety regulations.

Some 275 representations have been received.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what video or film evidence he has so far received concerning the furniture fire safety regulations; and if he will list the film or video producers in each case;(2) if he has made any representation to the British Rubber Manufacturers Association in relation to procedure used during the fire safety test contained in the video sent to him by the association; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 21 June 1988]: The British Rubber Manufacturers Association video contains comparisons of the fires in a number of suites which were identical apart from the fillings. Rapid ignition was ensured, for experimental and video recording purposes, by the use of the small crib, ignition source 4 of the British standard, although the acrylic velvet generally ignites readily from a match. The test burn showing the cover burning off a substitute non-combustible mineral wool filling demonstrates very forcibly the contribution that a burning cover as part of the overall construction can make to the hazard of fire in furniture.I have made no representations to BRMA in response to this video.We have also received some short sales videos relating to fire blocking or barrier systems produced in-house by the manufacturers concerned.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the levy per tonne set each year since 1973 on steel production for the ECSC budget; and how much was raised each year by the levy on production from (a) British Steel Corporation works and (b) private steelmakers.

The ECSC levy is raised on the average value of the production of coal and steel by enterprises falling under the treaty of Paris. Details of the levy rate are as follows:

	Percentage
1973–79	0·29
1980-	0·31

Separate figures on the amount raised each year by the levy on production from the British Steel Corporation and private sector steelmakers are not readily available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications the Government have made since 1973 to the Commission of the European Communities under article 56.2.(b) of the treaty of Paris for workers in the steel industry; how many of their workers were employed in (a) British Steel Corporation works and (b) private steel works; and how much was received from the ECSC budget for each sector.

Since 1973, the Government have applied for ECSC contributions towards aid to be given under the iron and steel employees readaptation benefits scheme in respect of some 129,000 projected redundancies in the steel industry. Of these, some 102,000 were in respect of employees of the British Steel Corporation, and some 27,000 in respect of employees of private sector steel companies. To date, 85,173 former employees of BSC and 23,112 former employees for private sector companies have registered to receive aid under the Scheme.The ECSC contributes towards the cost of the scheme retrospectively, and to date the Government have received £158,255,862 towards aid paid to former steel employees. Of this, approximately 76 per cent. was in respect of former BSC employees, and approximately 24 per cent. in respect of former private sector employees.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been Britain's contribution each year since 1973 to the ECSC budget by way of the levy made on steel production.

The ECSC annual financial report provides figures on the ECSC levy revenue, broken down by industry and member state, only since 1981. The latest available figures are for the year 1986. The figures are as follows:

Levy Revenue from the United Kingdom Steel Industry in ECU
	Number
1981	11,122,803
1982	9,515,579
1983	12,661,061
1984	13,199,907
1985	13,838,549
1986	13,961,944

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the cost to manufacturers of household electrical equipment of requiring the fitting of electrical plugs to their products.

The cost of fitting plugs to household electrical equipment is subject to many factors, the details of which will be known only to the manufacturers. No Government estimate has been made of such a proposal and were it to be done it would require a substantial input from the industry.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what regulations oblige the manufacturers of household electrical equipment to fit electric plugs as standard; what comparable regulations exist in other member states of the European Community; and what plans he has to ensure a standardisation of the regulations.

Many manufacturers of electrical equipment are marketing equipment with a fitted plug and the number s growing but there is no statutory requirement which would oblige manufacturers of household electrical equipment to fit electric plugs prior to sale.There are no plans to impose such a requirement. The current legal position in other member states of the European Community is not at present available. There is no Community initiative to harmonise the national legislation governing the fitting of plugs to equipment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally disordered offenders are presently in prison in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

On 30 September last year, the most recent date for which figures are available, 315 inmates of prison department establishments in England and Wales were, in the opinion of medical officers, suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree with would satisfy the criteria in the Mental Health Act 1983 for detention in hospital for medical treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve current arrangements for dealing with civil emergencies in the metropolis.

Following recent major emergencies the Home Office is looking closely at the effectiveness of our present arrangements for responding to emergencies anywhere in the United Kingdom and at the possibilities for improvements. Officials will shortly be issuing a consultation paper to explore the issues with the emergency services and other interested parties, including local government associations; the Association of London Authorities and the London Boroughs Association will be included in this consultation process.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used in the compiling of lists of approved contractors and tenderers for work on civil defence facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Companies seeking inclusion on lists of approved contractors must first satisfy the Department that they are technically, financially and commercially able to perform the contracts for which they apply. The Property Services Agency, which manages civil defence building projects on behalf of the Home Office, applies similar criteria.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to utilise private sector expertise in the hardening against nuclear electro-magnetic pulse of civil defence communications systems in both local authority emergency centres and regional government headquarters; and if he will make a statement.

The private sector has provided assessments of equipment resilience and advice on protection measures; we expect to continue to draw on such expertise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to ensure that the new PABX telephone switchboard systems to be fitted in local authority emergency centres will fully meet all the operational requirements of such systems, including hardening against nuclear electro-magnetic pulse; and if he will make a statement.

Operational requirements for these systems have been prepared in consultation with local authority users, and an assessment of resilience against the effects of electro-magnetic pulse will be a requirement of the equipment specification.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what involvement Rainford Secure Systems has had in the drawing up of specifications for the new PABX telephone switchboard systems to be installed in local authority emergency centres; and if he will make a statement.

None, although before specifications were prepared, and in accordance with normal practice, information was sought from communications equipment suppliers, including Rainford Secure Systems, in order to establish the range of equipment and facilities likely to be commercially available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those local authorities which receive a lump sum and additional rate support grant for library facilities that are required to be made available to prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons; and if he will calculate the amounts for each of the past five years.

As the hon. Member will be aware, the question of rate support grants is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. As far as the system for funding prison libraries is concerned, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his earlier question on 28 January at column 305.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the numbers of planned hours of education, and the numbers of actual hours of education for inmates at Bullwood Hall prison and youth custody centre in each week since 1 April; what is the reason for any discrepancy; and what plans there are to ensure that education classes at this establishment take place as planned.

In the nine weeks following Easter, only 43 class sessions were made available to inmates out of a total of 125 sessions planned for the period. The establishment is in dispute with the Prison Officers Association regarding the level of prison officer cover for education classes and it is not possible to state when the matter will be resolved. The loss of educational facilities for inmates at Bullwood Hall is very much regretted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish a table showing the number of crimes committed with violence per 1,000 population in each police authority area of the country for the latest convenient period;(2) if he will publish a table showing the number of robberies per 1,000 population in each police authority area of the country for the latest convenient period.

Because the numbers of offences are relatively small, numbers of offences are recorded per 100,000 population. Those for 1987 are given in the table. Figures in this form are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (table 2.6 of the issue for 1986, Cm. 233); the issue for 1987 will be published later this year. Copies of this publication are held in the Library.

Table 2.6
Certain notifiable offences recorded by the police per 100,000 population by police force area
England and Wales 1987 Number of offences per 100,000 population
Police force area	Violence against the person	Sexual offences	Robbery
Avon and Somerset	256	42	44
Bedfordshire	370	43	51
Cambridgeshire	246	48	18
Cheshire	232	37	16
Cleveland	400	60	21
Cumbria	281	31	13
Derbyshire	264	49	14
Devon and Cornwall	201	42	12
Dorset	187	26	12
Durham	339	59	14
Essex	228	36	20
Gloucestershire	188	40	18
Greater Manchester	289	50	83
Hampshire	205	66	16
Hertfordshire	199	43	17
Humberside	583	92	30
Kent	199	43	16
Lancashire	208	51	13
Leicestershire	268	42	30
Lincolnshire	259	56	13
London, City of	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Merseyside	340	40	116
Metropolitan Police1	312	53	250
Norfolk	194	34	12
Northamptonshire	349	53	26
Northumbria	319	49	37
North Yorkshire	201	34	9
Nottinghamshire	602	104	47
South Yorkshire	318	55	26
Staffordshire	395	49	17
Suffolk	241	49	13
Surrey	215	41	13
Sussex	175	49	24
Thames Valley	200	55	24

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the number of police officers per 1,000 population in each area of the country, excluding the number of officers serving at Gatwick airport from the Sussex forces.

The information is as follows:

Force	Police Officers per 1,000 population1
Avon and Somerset	2·18
Bedfordshire	1·98
Cambridgeshire	1·86
Cheshire	1·96
Cleveland	2·64
Cumbria	2·35
Derbyshire	1·96
Devon and Cornwall	1·95
Dorset	1·94
Durham	2·26
Dyfed Powys	2·07
Essex	1·92
Gloucestershire	2·25
Greater Manchester	2·69
Gwent	2·25
Hampshire	1·89
Hertfordshire	1·94
Humberside	2·32
Kent	1·96
Lancashire	2·29
Leicestershire	1·98
Lincolnshire	2·09
Merseyside	3·19
Norfolk	1·84
Northamptonshire	2·00
Northumbria	2·42
North Wales	2·09
North Yorkshire	1·95
Nottinghamshire	2·28
South Wales	2·40
South Yorkshire	2·27
Staffordshire	2·12
Suffolk	1·89
Surrey	2·18
Sussex	1·89
Thames Valley	1·86
Warwickshire	2·04
West Mercia	1·87
West Midlands	2·57
West Yorkshire	2·55
Wiltshire	1·97
City of London	159·60
Metropolitan	3·88
1 Latest Establishments and mid 1986 population figures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what form of Government monitoring and control there will be over the contents of programmes beamed at the United Kingdom by satellite television.

British Satellite Broadcasting Limited plans to launch a three channel direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) service for the United Kingdom in autumn 1989. This service will be regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority under the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984. Existing non-DBS satellite services are virtually all transmitted for reception and distribution via cable systems; and they are therefore subject to regulation by the Cable Authority under the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 in the same way as other cable services. We are considering introducing legislation to extend the authority's remit to all non-DBS services transmitted direct to the home whether or not relayed by cable. Services linked from Europe may be made subject to rules currently being discussed in the Council of Europe and the European Communities. Finally, the satellite television services will be subject to monitoring by the Broadcasting Standards Council.In all cases, regulation and monitoring is or will be undertaken by independent bodies. The Government have no wish or any plans to control any television services themselves.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether satellite television now being made for schools programmes; and if he will make a statement.

I am not aware of any satellite television service in the United Kingdom which provides schools programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present number of prisoners subject to rule 43 in prisons in England and Wales.

On 1 January 1988, the most recent date for which information is available, 1,916 male sentenced and unsentenced prisoners were segregated under rule 43 in prisons in England and Wales. Figures are not kept centrally for female prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales that take only rule 43 prisoners.

No prisons in England and Wales take only rule 43 prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of staff employed full time on education services in the following prisons: Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs, Brixton, Pentonville and Holloway.

At the present time, the complement of full-time teachers seconded by the Inner London education authority to the five prison establishments in central London is 24·5 posts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of category A prisoners at present held in prisons in England and Wales who are serving a life sentence.

On 16 June 1988, there were 252 confirmed and 11 provisional category A inmates in penal establishments serving sentences of life imprisonment. In addition there were 14 confirmed and two provisional category A inmates serving sentences of youth custody for life or detained during Her Majesty's pleasure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if his Department has evidence of misuse on any of the benzodiazepines;(2) if he or his officials have had discussions with the United Nations officials involved with the United Nations convention on psychotropic substances regarding the reports of misuse of benzodiazepines in other countries; and if he will make a statement;(3) whether the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has recommended adding benzodiazepines to the list of drugs controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act.

There is evidence that some benzodiazepine drugs, particularly temazepam, are subject to misuse. Neither my right hon. Friend nor I, or Home Office officials, have had recent discussions with United Nations officials about the misuse of benzodiazepines in other counties, but we are kept fully informed by them about world trends in drug abuse. On 1 April 1986, in preparation for the United Kingdom's ratification of the United Nations convention on psychotropic substances 1971 and following consultation with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, 33 benzodiazepine drugs, including temazepam, were brought within the controls of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as class C drugs. We are keeping this classification under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, he will list the names and constituencies of those candidates in the 1979, 1983 and 1987 general elections who failed to submit a return within the statutory period allowed.

The information requested is given in the return to an address on election expenses which is published after each general election (HCP426(87/88) for the 1987 election, HCP130(83/84) for 1983 and HCP374(79/80) for 1979). In the 1983 publication, the footnote reference indicating that a return of expense had not been received was omitted in error for the National Labour Party candidate in the Ashford constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to replace Staines police station; and whether he will make a statement;(2) whether he will make it his policy that any new police station for Staines will be sited in the town centre.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that Staines is high on the priority list of police stations to be replaced, but that no firm date for doing so has yet been set. The location of the new station will be determined after a thorough assessment of operational requirements and available sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received any further requests from the Nottinghamshire police authority for more policemen.

The latest application from Nottinghamshire police authority was received in May 1987 for 173 posts to be recruited over three financial years. On 18 May this year my right hon. Friend announced that he had approved 35 posts with effect from 1 June. The authority has been informed that he will consider the remainder of its application when he takes decisions on the next tranche of posts to be approved under the programme which my right hon. Friend announced in May 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the remit of the Broadcasting Standards Council to cover religious programming; and if he will make a statement.

The main purpose of the Broadcasting Standards Council is to act as a focus for public concern about violence and sex on television. Consequently, religious programmes are not likely to receive much attention from the council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to implement the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommendation that the prison department give urgent consideration to means of providing confidential but easy access to evidence; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Health to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Forth) on 29 March at columns 452–54.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will inquire into the circumstances in which Mrs. Nannete Ida Goodman of 12 Avenue terrace, Southend on Sea and whose date of birth is 5 October 1907, has not received her renewal passport for which she applied to Petty France on 19 April, despite her having explained the urgency.

The application has been traced, and a replacement passport was posted to Mrs. Goodman yesterday. The application form indicated an intention to travel during June or July for holiday purposes, but no specific travel date or destination were shown, and no indication of urgency was given. The application was not therefore given priority at the Passport Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he next plans to meet representatives of local authorities to discuss the changes in housing benefit.

Officials meet regularly representatives of the local authority associations through the housing benefits standing committee, and its sub-groups, to discuss housing benefit matters. The next meeting of the standing committee is on 21 July 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he has taken to remedy past inequalities in employment practices in his Department, in compliance with the codes of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission, respectively.

The Department has adopted a programme of action in support of its equal opportunity policy including the following measures to promote positive action to assist women and ethnic minority staff:

Monitoring of recruitment has been introduced and managers are encouraged to utilise all possible advertising outlets to attract in particular applicants from ethnic minority groups, for example, through use of ethnic minority press and radio. youth clubs and local ethnic employment groups.

The Department participates in the Civil Service Commission's advertising campaign which aims to recruit staff from ethnic minority groups; and in the commission's national schools liaison network, as well as a continued commitment to schools liaison at a local level.

Promotion board monitoring studies, to identify harriers to the success of women and those from ethnic minority groups, are being carried out.

Specific developmental training for women from HEO grade and above is provided. The Department is reviewing the development of equal opportunity training for all grades including the nature and delivery of the training.

Job sharing and part time working is encouraged and publicised in departmental training for women in management grades.

A "keeping in touch" scheme was introduced on 1 June 1988 which will enable officers to maintain regular contact with the Department whilst taking career breaks for domestic reasons and assist in their eventual return to work.

On the wider front, as part of our equal opportunities initiatives we commissioned Isobel Allen's research study on women doctors, "Doctors and their Careers" recently published by the Policy Studies Institute. This compares the career patterns of male and female doctors. We will be discussing the findings with the medical profession and others involved in the training and development of doctors at two seminars in July and November, and will take such Further action as is indicated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list the 10 lowest spending and the 10 highest spending health authorities on in-patient servies for acute and elderly patients; and what are the amounts so spent per resident in the areas.

I regret that comprehensive information on each health authority's in-patient expenditure specifically on acute or elderly patients is not collected centrally. However, from financial year 1987–88, the annual financial returns of health authorities will include a district-based analysis of hospital expenditure over a range of separate specialties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims have been received in (a) the Greenock office and (b) the Port Glasgow office of his Department from former British Shipbuilders Ltd. employees about 13 weeks arrears of supplementary benefit; how many of these claims have been accepted; what was the average payment; and what were the reasons for refusal in each case.

Local offices are not required to keep statistics of this kind. Some information on claims from former employees of British Shipbuilders Ltd. is, however, available from local unofficial records:

	Greenock office	Port Glasgow office
Claims received to date	650	554
Claims processed	650	385
Claims paid and average amount (where known)	350 @ 350	not available

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to publish the low income families statistics for 1987.

No. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 29 March at column 448 and my subsequent reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Carttiss) on 19 May at columns 563–64.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of persons in low-income families in Scotland (i) on supplementary benefit, (ii) below 100 per cent. of supplementary benefit and (iii) below 140 per cent. of supplementary benefit for each of the years 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1985, as reported for Great Britain in the DHSS low-income families tables.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 27 May 1988 at columns 413–14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table, extrapolating from his Department's paper, "Households Below Average Income: A Statistical Analysis", showing the proportion of individuals and children below various income thresholds held constant in real terms and analysed by family type and economic status both before and after housing costs.

It is not possible to project "Households Below Average Income" tables forward to later years on a reliable basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give those district health authorities that have ethics committees along with any information he has on the qualifications of such committees; and if he will make a statement;(2) to whom ethics committees in district health authorities report; if these reports are published; and if he will make a statement.

All health authorities are required to have a committee to advise them on the ethical aspects of clinical research. The objectives and composition of these local ethical committees are described in circular HSC(IS)153 of June 1975, a copy of which is in the Library. The reports are not normally published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any proposals to change the national criteria on the replacement of National Health Service ambulances.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) on 12 May at column 241. The review of purchasing policy referred to in that reply is expected to be completed later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what have been the annual savings as a result of the introduction of the limited list of drugs available on the National Health Service in 1985; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mrs. Taylor) on 22 January at column 895.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services why Leicester staff of his Department have discontinued their practice of visiting the Leicester night shelter to take fresh claims.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) on 16 June at column 288.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the prescribed period between YTS terminal date and eligibility to start a further education course of less than 21 hours per week for a claimant in receipt of income support or unemployment benefit; and if he has any plans to change this period.

A person starting an education course of less than 21 hours a week could receive income support immediately if he or she had been: on a YTS course for the previous three months; or on a YTS course or receiving benefit for at least three months out of the last six months.Otherwise, a person must receive unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, or income support, for three months before starting the course. There are no plans to change this period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 25 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines in 1986 were repeat prescriptions.

I regret that the information requested is not available. Repeat prescriptions are not separately identifiable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps are being taken to ensure that represcription of benzodiazepines is done under controlled conditions.

General practitioners are free to decide how best to issue repeat prescriptions to suit the needs of the patient. Many general practitioners already operate control systems which ensure the patients are regularly reviewed. We have made it clear in the White Paper "Promoting Better Health" that family practitioner committees will be expected to review prescribing patterns in future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will undertake a sample survey of benzodiazepines prescribing so as to obtain a profile of the patients taking these drugs, relating numbers to the period of time for which the drugs have been taken.

The Department has in the past supported research into prescriptions for minor tranquillisers and investigations into techniques for the cessation of tranquilliser consumption but has no plans to undertake a survey of benzodiazepine prescribing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his estimate of the number of long-term chronic users of the benzodiazepines; and what is the source of the estimated figures;(2) what estimate he can give of the proportion of the 25 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines in 1986 which was prescribed to patients who had been taking the drug for longer than two to four weeks.

I regret that the information requested is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussion he has had with relevant medical bodies regarding controls on the use of benzodiazepines; and what conclusions were reached.

Representatives of the Committee on Safety of Medicines had useful and informal discussions with the Royal College of Psychiatrists prior to the issue of "Current Problems" No. 21. However, in recognition of the current concern about benzodiazepines, issues about the prescribing of these drugs are soon to be the subject of discussions between professional organisations and the chief medical officer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services in which areas of the United Kingdom leaflets approved by the local drug and therapeutic committee and warning about the risk of benzodiazepine addiction are being circulated; and what action is being taken by his Department to encourage the wider circulation of such leaflets.

Leaflets and other literature approved by local drug and therapeutic committees are issued on local initiative, and information about them is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the money provided by his Department for drug services has gone to help those suffering from addiction to benzodiazepines; and what steps are being taken by his Department to direct money to this area.

Under the central funding initiative set up to develop drug misuse services, grants totalling £339,000 were made to four projects specifically for those dependent on tranquillisers. Each year funds are allocated to regional health authorities (£6·5 million in 1988–89) specifically for the development of drug misuse services. It is for health authorities to allocate these funds to individual services, since they are best placed to determine local needs. Many of the services financed from these allocations, and the other 184 projects funded under the central funding initiative, provide help for those dependent on tranquillisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if there is evidence of a change in the prescribing of the benzodiazepines following the notice sent to doctors by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in January which recommended restricted prescribing of these drugs.

Official statistics about prescribing of benzodiazepines for the period following January 1988 will not be available until the beginning of 1989 at the earliest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many public inquiries he has authorised into the management of individual hospitals in each of the past 10 years and of these how many were concerned with the management of surgical divisions within hospitals.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many consultants were suspended from employment by health authorities; how long was the average length of suspension; of those suspended how many were subsequently dismissed from their National Health Service employment and with what compensation in each of the past five years; and how many of those so dismissed have continued to work in private practice.

I regret that the information requested is not routinely collected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to change the disciplinary powers available to health authorities in relation to alleged clinical or other misconduct by consultants; and if he will make a statement.

We are expecting a report shortly from the joint working party established in March 1987, to review hospital and community doctors' and dentists' disciplinary procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to lay a commencement order in respect of the Hospital Complaints Procedure Act 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Hospital Complaints Procedure Act 1985 is now in force at National Health Service hospitals.

[holding answer 18 January 1988]: Directions on the complaints procedures to be operated in respect of complaints by hospital patients have been made. A copy of the direction and covering circular has been issued to health authorities arid is available in the Library. Health authorities will be required to ensure that the procedures are brought into effect not later than 29 July 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide a functional breakdown, showing numbers in post and grades, of staff of his Department in London dealing with National Health Service management and policy, and showing the formal means of communication with regional and district health authorities.

[holding answer 25 May 1988]: The functional breakdown requested, showing numbers and grades of staff, is given in the table.The Department communicates formally with regional and district health authorities by means of health circulars and health notices. NHS Management Board members regularly meet NHS regional general managers and their teams; and staff in the Department and health authorities communicate on a regular basis within their own spheres of responsibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish tables using the assumptions in his answer to the then hon. Member for Kensington of 4 February, Official Report, column 737, but using expenditure and benefit figures appropriate for families in Bradford for which he has sufficient data, and with an additional column showing the extent of the differences that will result from the changes in benefit in April.

[holding answer 14 June 1988]: The information requested is set out in the tables. It should be

Old benefit system at hypothetical rates April 1988

Bradford Local Authority

Married couple with two children aged four and six

Earnings head

Tax

NI

FIS

Child benefit

Rent

Rent rebate

Rates

Rate rebate

Fares to work

Free school meals

Free welfare milk

Net weekly spending power

60·00

0·00

3·00

28·70

14·50

19·98

17·40

8·62

5·87

5·85

2·55

1·83

93·40

70·00

0·00

4·90

23·70

14·50

19·98

16·15

8·62

5·47

5·85

2·55

1·83

94·85

80·00

1·22

5·60

18·70

14·50

19·98

14·90

8·62

5·07

5·85

2·55

1·83

96·28

90·00

3·92

6·30

13·70

14·50

19·98

13·65

8·62

4·67

5·85

2·55

1·83

96·23

100·00

6·62

7·00

8·70

14·50

19·98

12·40

8·62

4·27

5·85

2·55

1·83

96·18

110·00

9·32

9·90

3·70

14·50

19·98

10·88

8·62

3·70

5·85

2·55

1·83

93·49

120·00

12·02

10·80

0·00

14·50

19·98

8·80

8·62

2·89

5·85

2·55

0·00

91·47

130·00

14·72

11·70

0·00

14·50

19·98

5·50

8·62

1·59

5·85

2·55

0·00

93·27

140·00

17·42

12·60

0·00

14·50

19·98

2·20

8·62

0·00

5·85

2·55

0·00

94·78

150·00

20·12

13·50

0·00

14·50

19·98

0·00

8·62

0·00

5·85

0·00

0·00

96·43

160·00

22·82

14·40

0·00

14·50

19·98

0·00

8·62

0·00

5·85

0·00

0·00

102·83

170·00

25·52

15·30

0·00

14·50

19·98

0·00

8·62

0·00

5·85

0·00

0·00

109·23

New benefit system from April 1988
Bradford local authority
Married couple with 2 children aged 4 and 6
Earnings head	Tax	NI	Family credit	Child benefit	Rent	Rent rebate	Rates	Rate rebate	Fares to work	Net weekly spending power	Difference between systems
60·00	0·00	3·00	40·32	14·50	19·98	5·22	8·62	0·98	5·85	83·57	-9·83
70·00	0·00	4·90	34·65	14·50	19·98	3·64	8·62	0·00	5·85	83·44	-11·41