A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related ...

1987 Cont 1
1987 cont Registered Establishments (Scotland) Act (c.40) made further provisions related
to residential and nursing homes. See 1988.
AIDS (Control) Act (c.33) required all health authorities to report annually on the
number of AIDS and HIV positive cases and the services available for treatment in their
areas. See 1992
The Government announced its intention to replace civic rates by a community charge.
See 1988.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) formed. See 1990.
The Disablement Services Authority established as a special health authority to take
over the artificial limb service, wheelchair service and the provision of appliances to war
pensioners; and to transfer these functions to regional and district health authorities in 1991.
The Health Education Council reconstituted as the Health Education Authority (a
special health authority).
The White Paper, "The Law on Child Care and Family Services", Cm.62, accepted
many of the proposals of the report on child care law published in 1985, including
streamlining procedures; increasing the rights of parents; providing better protection for
children at risk of violence or abuse; and introducing emergency protection orders and the
right of appeal of all parties against court decisions. See 1989.
A White Paper, "Housing - The Government's Proposals", Cm.214, set out the
Government's plans to reverse the decline of rented housing; to give existing council tenants a
choice of landlords other than local authorities; to ensure that public spending was targeted
on repair in public and private sectors; and to create "housing action trusts" empowered to
take over all or part of an inner city council's housing, refurbish it and then sell it or pass it on
to another landlord such as a housing association. See 1989.
"Promoting Better Health", Cm.249, set out measures to improve primary care
including new payments to family doctors to encourage preventive medicine and greater
efficiency; to extend the scheme of reimbursements for ancillary staff and premises; to
privatise the General Practice Finance Corporation; to introduce compulsory retirement of
family doctors at the age of 70, and incentives for inner city practice; to give nurses limited
powers to prescribe, and pharmacists incentives to widen their services. See 1988 and 1992
A White Paper on Fertilisation and Embryo Research, Cm.259, following the Warnock
report (1984), suggested setting up an Independent Statutory Licensing Body; and set out its
possible functions to licence the provision of defined infertility services, the storage of human
embryos and gametes, and research involving human embryos. See 1990.
The Department of Health and Social Security published "Hospital Medical Staffing:
Achieving a Balance" suggesting increasing the number of consultant posts; restricting the
number of training posts; and introducing a new career grade for doctors who did not wish to
progress to the consultant grade. See 1993 and 1994.
The Parliamentary Education, Science and Arts Committee published a report "Special
Educational Needs: Implementation of the Education Act 1981". See 1988.
The Government announced plans to remove the polytechnics from local authority
control; to introduce a national curriculum; and require all children to take tests in up to ten
basic subjects at four stages during their school career. See 1988.
The Committee on the Review of the University Grants Committee (chairman, Lord
Croham) recommended reconstituting the Committee as a smaller independent body with a
chairman from outside the academic world, and with broadly equal number of academic and
non-academic members with powers to attach conditions to grants. See 1988 and 1989.