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RSPB
Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Ryder : My right hon. Friend and I met the chairman of the RSPB council on 17 November last year. We discussed the RSPB's consultation paper on the reform of the common agricultural policy. I also had an introductory meeting with the chairman on 3 November, and discussed a wide range of matters with him.
Third World
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the
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research being done by his Department or commissioned by his Department on the development and testing of seeds and the development and testing of agro-chemicals, intended for use in Third world countries.Mr. Ryder : My Department is neither conducting nor commissioning research specifically on the development and testing of seeds or agro- chemicals intended for use in Third world countries.
Fisheries
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the fishing industry regarding Government funding of fisheries and research and development.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I have recently held discusions about the Government's policy on funding of fisheries research and development with the Sea Fish Industry Authority and representatives of the fish industry sector and I await their response.
Pesticides
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the type and name of pesticides, which are banned in (a) France, (b) West Germany and (c) the Netherlands, but permitted in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : Council directive 79/117/EEC, prohibiting the placing on the market and use of plant protection products containing certain active substances, and its amending directives (183/131, 85/298, 86/214, 86/355, 87/181 and 87/477) list those pesticides that are prohibited throughout the European Community. A copy of this directive is available in the Library of the House.
Member states may also approve or prohibit other pesticides nationally, but there is no central register of such actions. The United Kingdom Government approve only pesticides that are submitted for specific uses within its territory and are supported by appropriate safety and efficacy data. Advice on these matters is given by an independent expert committee, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, to the six authorising departments, the Department of Health, the agricultural Departments and the Health and Safety Executive. Lists of approved pesticides are likely to differ between member states due to differing climatic and environmental conditions, the types of crops grown and differing agricultural practises.
Salmon Poaching
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what statistics he has received from water authorities in England and Wales about the incidence of salmon poaching in 1987 and 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given on 11 January 1989 concerning the number of prosecutions brought by water authorities. It is not possible to quantify the incidence of poaching which takes place.
Planning Permission and the Farmer"
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the cost to his Ministry
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of producing the recent HMSO publication "Planning Permission and the Farmer" and of producing and distributing to all farmers the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food leaflet promoting the publication.Mr. Ryder : The time spent by Ministry, Department of the Environment and Welsh Office officials in preparing the guide "Planning Permission and the Farmer" and the leaflet giving the key points in the guide cannot be identified separately from their other work and so no estimate of the overall cost is possible. Those elements of the production and distribution costs, falling to this Ministry, which can be identified amount to some £16,000, or some 7p per farmer in England and Wales. Because the guide is an HMSO publication, the printing and publication costs are not borne by this Ministry : such costs should be recovered by HMSO through revenue from sales.
Woodland Scheme
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications have been received for the farm woodland scheme to date in England and Wales ; and what is the area involved.
Mr. MacGregor : By 31 January 1989, almost 500 applications for the farm woodland scheme had been received by agriculture departments in England and Wales. These applications covered an area of more than 3, 000 hectares.
Beef
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for East Lothian on 6 February, concerning production and intervention buying of beef, if he will now give the relevant figures for Great Britain, excluding Northern Ireland.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The beef production figure provided in the earlier answer for the United Kingdom and EC total are Commission estimates. No separate estimates are made for Great Britain. Northern Ireland production accounted for about 15 per cent. of United Kingdom production in 1988 and if we take account of this, production in Great Britain would be 820,250 tonnes (10.7 per cent. of EC production). Intervention purchases in 1988 were 7,000 tonnes (1.8 per cent. of total Community production).
Food Industry
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to improve the standing of the British food industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The British food industry is one of the most efficient in the world providing the consumer with an extensive variety of high quality foodstuffs at reasonable prices. My Department works closely with the industry and consumers to encourage improvements in the production and marketing of food, and to ensure high standards of food safety and quality. The Department carries out an extensive scientific programme to monitor the most important fundamental aspects of the food
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industry's performance, and in particular operates a thorough and comprehensive system of surveillance to check on the safety and quantity of foods. The work has been described in detail in my Department's food surveillance reports including the latest one on the food chain, "Food Surveillance 1985-88".Bovine Somatotropin
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has received any advice or recommendations from his veterinary products committee following appeals by any of the companies involved in the experimental farm trials into the use of bovine somatotropin in cows.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The veterinary products committee provides advice in confidence to my Department at any stage of a product licence application, if appropriate.
River Esk (Pollution)
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what data his Department has on radioactive contamination of the River Esk near Ravenglass, Cumbria, including by isotopes of Americium and caesium ; how and by whom the monitoring is carried out ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Data obtained from my Department's monitoring work on radioactivity, including from isotopes of Americium and caesium, around the River Esk are published in aquatic environment monitoring reports which are available in the Library of the House. My Department also collects such data in respect of soils, grass and milk from the Ravenglass area, the results of which were summarised in a paper "The Science of the Total Environment" volume 35, pages 267-283 in 1984. Further data are published as the results of my Department's terrestrial environment monitoring programme which are available in the Library of the House. My Department also receives such data from British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) summaries of which are published by BNFL in reports entitled "Radioactive Discharges and Monitoring of the Environment" which are also available in the Library of the House.
I am satisfied, on the basis of this substantial monitoring work, that doses of radiation to members of the public in this area are well within the internationally required limits. My Ministry's monitoring shows that the dose to those few members of the public receiving the highest external exposure in 1987 in West Cumbria, allowing for the addition of dose from other pathways, was 0.11mSv as compared with the National Radiological Protection Board level of 0.5mSv per year.
Listeria
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the research projects he is funding into listeria monocytogenes and the research establishments where these projects are undertaken ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder [pursuant to his reply, 19 January 1989, c. 319] : The research projects my Department is funding on listeria monocytogenes and the research establishments
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where these are being carried out are set out in the table. These projects form part of the extensive ongoing research programme on food safety which my Department undertakes.Projects Funded by MAFF on Listeria Monocytogenes
A. Projects specifically on L.monocytogenes
1. Effect of heat and irradiation on survival of Listeria in chicken (Leicester University).
2. Effect of microwave cooking on the survival of L.monocytogenes in cooked and chilled foods. (Campden Food and Drink Research Association--CFDRA).
3. The thermal death characteristics of L.monocytogenes in foods (CFDRA).
4. Survey of Listeria in foods (MAFF, Food Science Laboratory). B. Projects including L.monocytogenes
1. Growth characteristics of food poisoning organisms at sub-lethal temperatures (CFDRA).
2. Investigate combinations of sub-lethal temperatures to preserve processed foods (CFDRA).
3. Recovery and detection of sub-lethally injured pathogens (CFDRA).
4. Microbial antagonism to increase the safety and stability of chilled foods (CFDRA).
5. Influence of food components and preservative factors on food borne pathogens (Institute of Food Research--Norwich).
6. Microbiological hazards in domestic and institutional handling of food (IFR--Norwich).
7. Influence of food components and preservative factors on food borne pathogens (IFR--Norwich).
8. Safety and quality of poultry products in relation to processing (IFR-- Bristol).
9. Define factors controlling microbial growth and develop predicture models (IFR--Bristol).
10. Heat induced tolerance of microorganisms (IFR--Bristol). 11. Bacteria and hygiene in abattoirs (IFR--Bristol).
12. Improve classification and identification of food microorganisms and maintain the National Collection of Food Bacteria (IFR--Reading).
13. Low socium chloride foods/microbiological safety and technological characteristics (British Food Manufacturing Industry Research Association-- BFMIRA).
14. Shelf-life prediction of chilled foods--food spoilage and poisoning (BFMIRA).
15. Rapid methods to assess the microbiological quality of foods (BFMIRA).
Mineral Hydrocarbons (Food)
Mr. Neale : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from the Food Advisory Committee on the use of mineral hydrocarbons in food.
Mr. Ryder : Following a review of new toxicological data by the Department of Health's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, the Food Advisory Committee has advised that mineral hydrocarbons are no longer acceptable for food and should be removed from direct food use and from food processing as quickly as practicable.
I propose to introduce regulations as soon as possible under the Food Act 1984 to implement the advice of the Food Advisory Committee to ban the use of these substances as food additives and in food processing. I should stress, however, that there is no evidence that these substances have to date produced adverse effects in humans.
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Mineral hydrocarbons are permitted by regulation for use on dried fruit such as prunes and currants to stop them sticking together, on citrus fruit to replace the natural wax coating lost in washing, on the protective rind of some cheeses, as a glazing agent on some sugar confectionery, and may occur as residues from the processing of foods such as confectionery, jellies, bread and sausages.One further use, in chewing gum bases, is being separately reviewed and the FAC has also been asked to review their use in the manufacture of food packaging materials.
I will make a further announcement about their use in chewing gum and food packaging materials when the Committee's further advice is received.
SCOTLAND
Football Grounds (Arrests)
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many arrests there were for offences committed inside Scottish football grounds in each of the past five seasons.
Mr. Rifkind : Figures for the period prior to the 1987-88 season are not held centrally and chief constables have indicated that it would be very difficult to compile the information at this stage. During the 1987-88 season 845 arrests were made.
Scottish Development Agency
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what financial assistance has been given by his Department or the Scottish Development Agency to (a) Standard Fireworks Ltd. and (b) Scottish Heritable Trust.
Rating Reform
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a complete list of subsections of sections and paragraphs of schedules to the Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 which have been, or are proposed to be in legislative proposals before Parliament, amended, substituted or inserted by later legislation, including those themselves the subject of further alteration ; and if he will provide the derivation and the date of the coming into force of each alteration listed.
Mr. Lang : The amendments and repeals which have been made to the Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 are detailed in schedule 12 part II, paragraphs 15-38 and schedule 13 to the Local Government Finance Act 1987. The dates from which these provisions take effect are laid down in the Local Government Finance Act 1988 Commencement (Scotland) Order 1988 (SI 1988/1456).
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list all orders made under the Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, including any subsequently revoked ; (2) if he will list all paragraphs of orders made under the Abolition of Domestic Rates etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, including any subsequently revoked, which have been the subject of later amendment, substitution or insertion ; and if he will provide the derivation and the date of the coming into force of each alteration listed.
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Mr. Lang : The information requested is as follows :
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Statutory Instrument |Statutory Instrument No. |Date of coming into force --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 Commencement Order 1987 |1987/1489 |18 August 1987 The Non-Domestic Rates and Community Charges (Timetable) (Scotland) Regulations 1987 |1987/2167 |7 January 1988 The Abolition of Domestic Rates (Domestic and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Regulations 1987-now revoked |1987/2179 |8 January 1988 The Abolition of Domestic Rates (Domestic and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Regulations 1988-these revoke and replace SI 1987/2179 |1988/1477 |15 September 1988 The Community Charges (Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 1988-now revoked |1988/157 |26 February 1988 The Community Charges (Registration) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations these revoke and replace SI 1988/157 |1988/1539 |1 October 1988 The Community Charges (Registration) (Scotland) (No. 2) Amendment Regulations 1988-these correct mistakes in regulation 7 of and Schedule 3 to SI 1988/1539 |1988/1611 |1 October 1988 The Standard and Collective Community Charges (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/631 |20 April 1988 The Standard and Collective Community Charges (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 1988-these amend regulations 2 and 3 of SI 1988/631 |1988/1540 |1 October 1988 The Personal Community Charge (Students) (Scotland) Regulations 1988-now revoked |1988/632 |20 April 1988 The Personal Community Charge (Students) (Scotland) Regulations 1989-these revoke and replace SI 1988/632 |1989/32 |3 February 1989 The Community Water Charges (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1538 |1 October 1988 The Personal Community Charge (Exemption for the Severely Mentally Impaired) (Scotland) Regulations 1988-now revoked |1988/1541 |1 October 1988 The Personal Community Charge (Exemptions) (Scotland) Regulations 1989-these revoke and replace SI 1988/1541 |1989/63 |9 February 1989 The Community Charges (Levying, Collection and Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1880 |22 November 1988 The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1904 |24 November 1988 The Local Government (Non-Domestic District Rates and District Community Charge) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1963 |2 December 1988 The Community Charge (Information concerning Social Security) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1889 |23 November 1988 Revenue Support Grant (Scotland) Order 1988 |1989/69 |12 January 1989 Housing Benefit (Social Security Act 1986 Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 |1988/1483 |21 September 1988
Investment Projects
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total number of inward investment projects brought to (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole by Locate in Scotland in each year since 1982, giving the number of jobs involved and the volume of expenditure.
Mr. Lang : (a) There have been 10 decisions to locate or expand inward investment projects in Greenock and Port Glasgow since 1982. Details of planned investment remain commercial in confidence. (b) The following table shows the number of decisions to locate or expand inward investment projects in Strathclyde in the years 1982-83 to 1987-88.
|Number of projects|Planned jobs |Planned investment
|(millions)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |15 |2,608 |98
1983-84 |26 |2,279 |82
1984-85 |38 |5,801 |432
1985-86 |33 |3,304 |315
1986-87 |26 |2,957 |345
1987-88 |62 |6,302 |226
(c) The following table shows the number of decisions to locate or expand inward investment projects in Scotland as announced in the years 1982-83 to 1987-88.
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|Number of projects|Planned jobs |Planned investment
|(millions)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |46 |5,400 |186
1983-84 |54 |6,900 |166
1984-85 |69 |9,443 |689
1985-86 |58 |8,217 |562
1986-87 |50 |5,084 |427
1987-88 |88 |11,852 |337
Community Care
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Griffiths report concerning community care and the needs of carers and what extra resources he intends to make available to achieve these objectives.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Griffiths report made a number of potentially far reaching recommendations which require careful consideration. My right hon. and learned Friend and I are currently studying the report carefully.
Teachers (Dismissal)
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the number of cases considered by education authorities in each year since 1983 under section 88 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 which (a) resulted in dismissal and (b) did not result in dismissal.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) on 17 January 1989 at columns 163-64.
Birds (Shetland)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what information he has of the level of breeding success for the red-throated diver, Arctic skua, great skua, puffin and kittiwake in Shetland in 1988 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what was the total population size of Arctic terns in Shetland in 1980 ; and what proportion this represents of the British and EEC populations, respectively ;
(3) what information he has on research conducted or commissioned to identify the key factors that have influenced the breeding success of Arctic terns in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement ; (4) if he will list the estimated number of young that the Shetland Arctic tern population has successfully reared in each of the last five years ; and what the breeding success of this bird has been in other areas in the United Kingdom over the same period.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I am seeking up-to-date information from the Nature Conservancy Council and I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Licensing Laws
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for amendments to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 with particular reference to any steps to overcome the nuisance of persons consuming alcohol in inappropriate public areas to the detriment of local amenity ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The recent review of the 1976 Act has revealed a large measure of support for a number of the reforms canvassed in the consultation paper issued in 1986 and I hope to be in a position to state the Government's intentions in that regard shortly. Meantime, however, I have to say that there is much disquiet about the easy availability of alcohol to young people, including under-age purchasers, through some supermarkets and other off-licences ; and we propose tighter controls on these outlets. We have also received many representations about the proliferation of regular late night extensions ; and we propose a much tighter control in that regard, for example, by requiring that applicants shall show good reason why the particular locality needs or would benefit from such extension. We shall also consider a stricter regime for residential areas ; and we propose to ban repeated applications within two years of any unsuccessful application.
So far as the consumption of alcohol in public places is concerned, our consultations with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) show a strong preference for an experiment in the use of precisely targeted local bye-laws ; and we shall now embark on detailed discussions with these bodies as to how this may best be taken forward. This would not, however, require legislation since local authorities' existing powers would suffice to cover the making of such instruments.
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A1 (Traffic Flow)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the latest available figures for traffic flows at peak times on the A1 road between (a) Edinburgh and Tranent, (b) Tranent and Haddington, (c) Haddington and Dunbar and (d) Dunbar and the English border, and if he will make a statement on the growth trend of traffic on the A1 over the last 10 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 6 February 1989] : Information on traffic flows is contained in the following table :
+
1987 Average Daily Peak Flows<1>
(vehicles per hour)
|AM |PM
-------------------------------------------
Edinburgh-Tranent |1,450|1,700
Tranent-Haddington |1,050|1,300
Haddington-Dunbar |750 |850
Dunbar-National Boundary |450 |500
<1> For Haddington-Dunbar single day
count.
Information on traffic growth is not available for the last ten years but the statistics held show annual growth rates of 4.9 per cent. between Tranent and Haddington in the period 1980-86 ; 5.3 per cent. between Haddington and Dunbar in the period 1981-87 ; and 3.3 per cent. between Dunbar and the national boundary in the period 1978-88. With the opening of the Musselburgh bypass in December 1986 a comparison between traffic flows prior to and since that date, on the section from Edinburgh to Tranent, is inappropriate.
These figures compare with the nationally recorded growth of 3.4 per cent. per annum over the period 1976-87.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Harland and Wolff
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the Chairman of Harland and Wolff to discuss the proposed management/employee buy-out bid ; and if he will make a statement.
30. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of Harland and Wolff.
Mr. Tom King : I last met the chairman of Harland and Wolff on Monday to discuss his proposal for a management-led buy-out. Other discussions with possible acquirers are also continuing. It is clear that under public ownership there can be no future for the yard and it is therefore a matter of urgency to try and achieve a private sector solution to Harland and Wolff's problems.
Human Rights
12. Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if it is the policy of his Department to consult the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights before introducing new legislation which affects human rights in Northern Ireland.
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Shorts plc
13. Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of Shorts plc.
Mr. Tom King : The Government believe that the best prospects for Shorts are in the private sector. An information memorandum was issued on 10 January to a number of prospective purchasers inviting them to submit preliminary proposals. From these a short list of potential buyers will be drawn up and detailed negotiations will start as soon as possible.
At the request of a number of interested parties, the date for receipt of preliminary proposals has been extended from 10 February to 17 February.
Political Reform
14. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made towards the establishment of a cross-community devolved assembly in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Mawhinney : Clearly, there needs to be agreement between the political representatives of the two communities before such an assembly can be convened. Over the past year, the leaders of all the main constitutional political parties in Northern Ireland have told my hon. Friend that they support the objective of devolved institutions involving both communities. We hope that ways can be found to enable the parties to make progress in discussions between them.
Anglo-Irish Agreement
15. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the review of the operation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement to be completed.
Mr. Tom King : Work is continuing on the review of the working of the intergovernmental conference under article 11 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It is not possible, at this stage, to say when it will be completed.
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