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64 National Office of Animal Health65 Scottish Potato Trades Association
66 Scottish Seed Potato Development Council
67 Scottish Seed Growers Association
68 Scottish Seed and Nursery Trade Association
69 National Association of Wholesale Meat Salesmen for
Scotland
70 Scottish Timothy Seed Growers Association
71 Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers for Scotland 72 Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Association
73 Scottish Milk Marketing Board
74 Aberdeen and District Milk Marketing Board
75 North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board
76 Scottish Dairy Trade Federation
77 Royal Agricultural Society of England
78 Women's Farming Union
79 Fertiliser Manufacturers Association
80 Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers
81 Milking Machine Manufacturers Association
82 Institute of Refrigeration
My hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Mr. Thompson) has consulted the following organisations on fisheries research and development :
1 United Kingdom Association of Fishmeal Manufacturers 2 Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
3 Food and Drink Federation
4 National Federation of Fish Friers Ltd.
5 Scottish Fisherman's Federation
6 Shellfish Association of Great Britain
7 United Kingdom Association of Frozen Food Producers
8 Association of Fish Canners
9 Scottish Fish Merchants Association
10 Sea Fish Industry Authority
11 Herring Buyers Association
In addition, many of these organisations will have had meetings with my colleagues and me at which near market research and development will have been one of the issues discussed.
Pigs
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to prohibit the inclusion of animal products in feedstuffs for pigs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : No. The use of animal products in feedstuffs is already subject to the strict statutory controls laid down in the Diseases of Animals (Waste Food) Order 1983, the Diseases of Animals (Protein Processing) (Amendment) Order 1989.
Tropical Oils
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to encourage food manufacturers to voluntarily remove tropical oils from their products ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : No sir. The real issue is not between tropical or temperate oils but between saturated and unsaturated fats. United Kingdom traders and consumers are aware of the medical advice in the COMA report on diet and cardiovascular disease that overall fat consumption, and particularly saturated fat consumption, should be reduced and our nutrition labelling guidelines provide for the indication of fat and saturated fat contents of food products.
Rivers
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of funding allocated
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to field trials of the system of concrete deflectors for flow and flood control in meandering rivers currently being conducted on the River Roding and the River Wensum ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Thompson : I am aware of the field trials carried out on the rivers Roding and Wensum which were undertaken by the University of East Anglia with funding from the Thames water authority and the Anglian water authority respectively. There has been no funding from this Department for these trials.
Sheepmeat Regime
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the present state of the sheepmeat regime.
Mr. MacGregor : The regime that we negotiated in 1980 has served the United Kingdom well. Expenditure on the regime is, however, increasing rapidly and measures to restrain costs are needed.
Official Secrets Act
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all his advisory committees where members are required to sign the Official Secrets Act declaration.
Mr. Donald Thompson : There is no precise definition of my advisory committees, but in the following cases we ask members to sign the Official Secrets Act declaration in order to bring it to their attention ;
Agricultural Development and Advisory Service Commercial Management Board (formerly Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and Regional Management Board).
Review of the Organisation of Horticulture Research Group Steering Group on Food Surveillance.
Sheep Remains
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has made any changes to the regulations covering the treating process of sheep remains which are included in animal feed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Inspection of animals prior to slaughter in non-EC approved abattoirs is not yet a requirement of legislation in England and Wales. In October 1987 the Government announced that it is to be made so. We have since agreed in the Council of Agriculture Ministers in Brussels that ante-mortem inspection should be introduced in non-exporting abattoirs from 1 January 1991.
Veterinarians
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinarians from (a) each of the European Community countries and (b) elsewhere overseas are currently practising in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Donald Thompson [holding answer 7 March 1989] : The numbers of veterinarians from overseas currently registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and believed to be practising in this country are :
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|Numbers
---------------------------------
EC member states
Belgium |28
Denmark |3
France |4
Germany |19
Greece |3
Ireland |29
Italy |1
Netherlands |30
Spain |1
|---
Total |118
Other countries
Australia |173
Canada |22
New Zealand |75
South Africa |50
|---
Total |320
Public-house Tenants
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the current conditions of tenure of public-house tenants, and in particular about the desirability of making the current voluntary code of practice on this subject enforceable in the courts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I met the National Licensed Victuallers Association on 20 February and took note of the association's views on this matter. It was agreed that there should be a further discussion after the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission inquiry into the supply of beer has been made public.
ENVIRONMENT
Unleaded Petrol
69. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further steps he will take to promote unleaded petrol.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Measures to promote unleaded petrol are co -ordinated by the unleaded petrol group, which I chair. The Government provide a range of information and publicity material. On Friday, I launched Tyne and Wear lead-free petrol week, one of a series of national and local weeks which we support. Other initiatives are being pursued. Motability has responded to our request for help in encouraging the wider use of unleaded petrol : its campaign has the full support of Government.
Water Pollution
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many pollution control officers with responsibility for water pollution under COPA are currently employed ; and how many posts are vacant.
Mr. Howard : The information is not available in the form requested. At present, the 10 regional water authorities in England and Wales are responsible for the control of pollution from industrial, agricultural and domestic sources. When these functions transfer to the
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National Rivers Authority, approximately 450 staff working directly on these functions will transfer to the NRA, along with some 210 support staff. This excludes laboratory staff and others who also deal with other functions, and also excludes staff who will continue to work on pollution control and related functions for the PLCs. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution employs 11 inspectors on water pollution control activities mainly in connection with consents issued on behalf of the Secretary of State for water authorities' own discharges. There are no vacancies.Lowermoor Treatment Works
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if any claim for damages has been received from any reputable source in relation to the production by a farm animal of deformed offspring in the Lowermoor treatment works distribution area as a result of the contamination incident in July 1988.
Mr. Howard : I understand that the South West water authority has received no such claims.
Mr. Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent his Department's water inspectorate remains in contact with the South West water authority in conjunction with the supply of water from the Lowermoor treatment works ; and if it continues to monitor the authority's performance in supplying water in the Lowermoor distribution area.
Mr. Howard : The Department maintains regular contact with the South West water authority and receives a weekly summary of results of sampling in the distribution system served by the Lowermoor treatment works.
Tree Planting
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funding for tree planting has been given following the hurricane of 15 and 16 October 1987 ; to which bodies it has been given ; how many trees have been planted ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In the period to 1991-92, we are providing some £13 million for replacement planting of amenity trees following the storm. Most grants are being allocated through Task Force Trees, a special unit of the Countryside Commission ; others are administered by English Heritage. The bulk of aid from Task Force Trees has been given to local authorities, either in respect of their own trees or to assist planting by landowners ; Task Force Trees have also assisted conservation bodies. In the last planting season Task Force Trees estimated that some 500,000 trees were planted with their help, and surgery had been carried out on 30,000 trees. There is assistance from English Heritage for the restoration of parks and gardens of outstanding architectural or historic interest ; grants for parks and gardens of special historic interest are available from Task Force Trees. Other programmes of aid for replacing trees destroyed in the storm are administered by the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
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Environmental Protection
Mr. Robert Banks To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list his Department's priorities for protecting the environment.
Mr. Ridley : We will be following up this month's highly successful conference by continuing to take a lead internationally on the protection of the ozone layer. We will continue investing in research into the greenhouse effect. We will take forward our plans for establishing an integrated system of control over industrial pollution and reforming waste disposal legislation. We will further the implementation of the package of measures to protect the United Kingdom's marine environment agreed at the second North sea conference. We will continue to take steps to clean up power station and vehicle emissions and to promote the use of lead-free petrol. We will continue to support a high level of investment in sewage treatment and disposal in order to improve the quality of our rivers and beaches.
Bathing Waters
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department's recent announcement that in 1988, 254 out of the 380 designated British bathing waters met European Economic Community standards used the same basis of evaluation as his written answer on 5 May 1988 that 262 out of 374 bathing waters met European Economic Community standards.
Mr. Moynihan : No. As my hon. Friend the Minister for Water and Planning explained in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight) at column 572, the 1988 results reported on 21 February were assessed on a more stringent basis.
Drinking Water
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the drinking water supply in his Department's head office building meets the European Economic Community standard.
Mr. Chope : The Marsham street building is supplied with water by Thames Water, and since no drinking water is stored on the premises, the PSA does not take samples for analysis unless there is reason to suspect the quality of the water.
I am advised by Thames Water that in 1988, the last year for which complete records are available, the supply generally complied with the European Community directive.
Press and Public Relations and Statistical Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the latest figure for (a) the estimated expenditure by his Department on press and public relations during 1988-89 and (b) the budget for 1989-90 ;
(2) what are the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, in the press and public relations office of his Department ; and what is the proposed complement for 1989-90 ;
(3) what is the latest figure for the estimated spending in 1988-89 by his Department on (a) television
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advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material ; and what is the 1989-90 budget for each of these categories of spending.Mr. Ridley : Estimated outturn for paid publicity and associated staff costs for my Department, including PSA, is £6.4 million for 1988 -89. The budget for 1989-90 will be some £7.5 million. Expenditure is not broken down between different publicity media. The current complement for my Department's press office is 56.5, including three vacancies. The complement for 1989-90 has not yet been finalised.
Rating Reform
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each charging authority in England (a) the financial provision made for the administration of community charge registrations and collection preparations in 1989-90, and (b) the Government allocation aid grant for the same period.
Mr. Gummer : I have today laid in the Library a table setting out the resources the Government have made available to charging authorities towards their costs in preparing for the community charge. In addition, a further £55 million of expenditure will be supported through RSG in 1989-90.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines are to be issued to community charge registration officers with regard to the exemption of hospital patients from payment of the community charge.
Mr. Gummer : Preliminary advice was included in a practice note No. 2, "The Community Charge : Exemptions from the Personal Community Charge", published in June last year. More detailed advice will be included in a further practice note on exemptions, a draft of which is under discussion with the local authority associations.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of all written representations he has received in response to the draft community charge regulations.
Mr. Gummer : No, since we do not have the permission of those making the representations to do so.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what circumstances a community charge registration officer may refuse exemption to a severely mentally impaired person who has been issued with the relevant certificate by a medical practitioner.
Mr. Gummer : I would not expect a community charge registration officer to question the clinical judgment of a medical practitioner that an individual is severely mentally impaired.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines are to be issued to community charge registration officers with regard to how they establish relevant factors, such as where each member of the household works, in establishing sole or main residence for the purposes of community charge registration.
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Mr. Gummer : Community charge practice note No. 9, published in November last year, contains guidance for registration officers on establishing a person's sole or main residence. Copies of all community charge practice notes are in the Library of the House.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in his Department ; if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts ; and if he will give the staffing complements by grade, and differentiated between statistical and administrative posts, proposed for 1989-90.
Mr. Ridley : The numbers and grades of staff and complement of the statistical divisions of DOE(C) at 1 March 1989 are as follows :
|Staff in post as at 1|Present complement
|March 1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chief Statistician |5 |5
Statistician |20 |19
Senior Assistant Statistician |4 |6
Assistant Statistician |3 |2
G7 |3 |2
SEO |4 |5
HEO |16 |15
EO |33 |33
AO |44 |46
AA |16 |15
Secretary/typist |5 |5
|-- |--
Total |153 |153
<1> The statistical divisions in DOE(C) comprise Housing Data Statistics, Construction Industry
Statistics, Local Authority Statistics, Land and General Statistics, and Environmental
Protection Statistics.
There are also statisticians employed throughout the Department in posts of a largely administrative nature ; these number 13 at 1 March 1989.
Complements for 1989-90 have not yet been finalised.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by his Department in 1979-80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for 1989-90.
Mr. Ridley : Following is the information for DOE(C) :
Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1986-87 |1.1 1987-88 |0.6 1988-89 |<1>5.0 <1> Provisional O/T.
No expenditure was incurred on privatisation advisers prior to 1986-87. Cost incurred in 1989-90 will be announced in due course in the usual way. For PSA, expenditure in 1988-89 is £50,000.
Fees
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the total fees paid out by his
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Department to management consultants in 1979- 80 and each year to date ; and what is the estimate for the current year.Mr. Ridley : Information relating to the financial year between 1979 -80 and 1984-85 inclusive is not readily available and cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. Following is the information relating to the remaining financial years for my Department including PSA :
Year |£ million ------------------------------- 1985-86 |4.3 1986-87 |5.0 1987-88 |5.3 <1>1988-89 |8.0 <1> Estimate.
Waveney (Pipeline Scheme)
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce approval for the Waveney district council pipeline in-out scheme at Holton, Halesworth, Suffolk, Ref : FLAZ/10/32/T3535.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The council was informed on 10 March that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State does not propose to issue an additional capital allocation for this scheme. It will, however, be open to the council to carry it out as part of its normal capital programme if it considers it to be of sufficient priority.
Low-cost Rural Housing
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of his answer to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) of 3 February, Official Report, columns 433, on the role of the planning system in releasing land for low-cost housing in rural areas, he will incorporate his answer into "Planning Policy, Guidance" of 7 January 1988, paragraph 16, in order to allow local authorities to establish permanent low-cost rural housing.
Mr. Chope : We shall be incorporating my right hon. Friend's announcement into revised versions of PPG3 (land for housing) and PPG7 (rural enterprise and development) later this year. However, local planning authorities in rural areas are already entitled to treat local needs for low-cost housing as a material consideration in appropriate cases, on the strength of the recent announcement.
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