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Advisory Committees
135. Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the advisory committees coming under his Department and concerned in some way with public health which are covered by the Official Secrets Act whose members are required to sign the Official Secrets Act.
Mr. Freeman [pursuant to his reply, 14 March 1989, columns 159- 60] : I regret that in the list of the Department's advisory committeeswhose members are subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, an advisory committee on ethics of gene modification therapy in humans was included in error ; the Department is still considering whether to establish such a committee.
Food Safety
Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the membership of the committee on the microbiological safety of food.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : As I announced in the House on 21 February the chairman of the committee is Professor Sir Mark Richmond, vice chancellor of Manchester university. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I have decided to invite the following to be members :
Dr. Spence Galbraith, former director of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.
Professor John Arbuthnott, professor of microbiology, Nottingham University.
Dr. Tony Baird-Parker, microbiologist, Unilever Research Laboratories.
Mr. "Mac" Johnson, senior lecturer, Royal Veterinary College. Mr. John Moffitt, farmer.
Dr. Roy Spencer, director scientific services, Sainsbury plc. Professor George Glew, professor of catering studies, Huddersfield Polytechnic.
Professor John Norris, director of research, Cadbury-Schweppes, plc.
Mr. Brian Denyer, chief environmental health officer, City of Westminster.
Mrs. Rachel Waterhouse CBE, chairman, Consumers Association. Mr. David Clark, food technology manager, Trusthouse Forte plc. The Committee will be holding its first meeting shortly.
Vaccine Damage
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to announce a decision on the request made by the right hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, South for a judical inquiry into whooping cough vaccination and brain damage.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I regret that I am not yet in a position to consider this request because of other current litigation on this matter. I have written to the right hon. Member explaining the reason in more detail.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what analysis there has been of the vaccine damage payment cases which would indicate the incidence per hundred thousand vaccinations of damage such as to cause a payment.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to repy. During the five years 1983 to 1988, the number of vaccine damage awards made averaged 17 per year, and many of these related to vaccinations performed in earlier years. Almost all of the awards were on account of vaccinations performed under the childhood vaccination programme. I understand from the Department of Health that over the same period, an average of around 500,000 children per year have completed the primary courses of vaccination against each of diptheria, tetanus and polio, and 420,000 againts whooping cough ; 440,000 have been vaccinated against measles and 300,000 against rubella. Since the primary course for diptheria, tetanus, polio and whooping cough is three doses, this means that around 7 million doses of vaccine are administered to children each year in the primary vaccination programme. A further 2.5 million reinforcing doses are also administered.
The incidence of vaccine damage such as to cause an award to be made is therefore less than 2 per million doses of vaccine administered.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vaccine damage payments were made in 1988 ; and if he will categorise these according to the age of the child, when the vaccination took place, the year of the vaccination and the nature of the vaccination.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
Four payments were awarded in 1988 under the provision of the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979. Details are in the table.
|c|Vaccine damage payments scheme|c| |c|Claims received and awards made in each year|c| |c|since the scheme began|c| Year |Claims received|Awards made<1> ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1978<2> |1,988 1979 |551 |349 1980 |131 |255 1981 |72 |74 1982 |89 |43 1983 |93 |42 1984 |156 |29 1985 |76 |26 1986 |78 |15 1988 |39 |4 1989<3> |9 <1>Awards recorded for a particular year may be the outcome of claims made in earlier years. To analyse for each years claims the number that were eventually successful would be disproportionately costly. <2>Although the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 took effect from 22 March 1979, claims were invited when the scheme was announced in 1978. <3>To 28 February 1989.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the application form for a vaccine damage payment asks for (a) the date of vaccination alleged to have caused the damage, (b) the type of vaccination and (c) the age of the person when the vaccination took place.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
The vaccine damage payment claim form asks for the date of vaccination, the type of vaccination received and the date of birth of the vaccinated person. From this information, the age of the vaccinated person when the vaccination took place can be determined.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims for vaccine damage payments have been made in each year since the scheme began ; and what proportion in each year resulted in a payment.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available. The information which is available is in the table.
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|c|Vaccine damage payments scheme|c| |c|Claims received and awards made in each year|c| |c|since the scheme began|c| Year |Claims received|Awards made<1> ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1978<2> |1,988 1979 |551 |349 1980 |131 |255 1981 |72 |74 1982 |89 |43 1983 |93 |42 1984 |156 |29 1985 |76 |26 1986 |78 |15 1988 |39 |4 1989<3> |9 <1>Awards recorded for a particular year may be the outcome of claims made in earlier years. To analyse for each years claims the number that were eventually successful would be disproportionately costly. <2>Although the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 took effect from 22 March 1979, claims were invited when the scheme was announced in 1978. <3>To 28 February 1989.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if there has been any change in his departmental policy regarding the payment of vaccine damage payments following the case of Loveday v . Renton.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I have been asked to reply.
There has been no change in our policy of making a vaccine damage payment in every case where the qualifying criteria are satisfied. Whether these criteria are satisfied where pertussis vaccine is involved remains a matter for decision in each individual case.
ENVIRONMENT
Rural Villages (Sewerage System)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the rural villages within the Don Valley constituency that are not connected to a main sewerage supply system ; what proposals he has made to ensure that these villages are connected to such a system before the water industry is privatised ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : I understand that the following villages in the hon. Member's constituency are not connected to the public sewerage system : Hooton Pagnell (part), Hampoles, Skelbrooke, Brodsworth, Pickburn, Moorhouses, Marr (part), Stainton (part) and Tickhill.
Responsibility for sewerage services rests with the Yorkshire and Severn- Trent water authorities. It would be for them to provide main sewerage for the villages if they considered this necessary for effectually draining their areas.
The Water Bill provides for the general duty of sewerage undertakers to be spelt out in more detail and for the re-enactment with improvements of the provisions under which local authorities and others can requisition public sewers. Grants under the Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Acts will continue to be available.
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Fluoridation
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what other countries in the European Community fluoridate their public drinking water.
Mr. Moynihan : Fluoridation of public water supplies is permissible in a number of European Community countries and is mandatory in Ireland. It is carried out in the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who will monitor the safety of fluoride levels in the public drinking water after privatisation.
Mr. Moynihan : Water undertakers will continue to monitor fluoride levels in drinking water. The drinking water inspectorate to be established under the Water Bill will ensure that water undertakers are monitoring water quality consistently and satisfactorily and are complying with the standards set down in regulations made under the Bill. Where fluoride is added to the supply at the request of health authorities, the health authorities will continue to liaise with water undertakers to ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement between them.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities which have indicated to water authorities opposition to the proposals to fluoridate the public drinking water in their area.
Mr. Moynihan : This information is not held by the Department.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which water authorities have reduced the fluoridation of their water supplies since the Water Fluoridation Act 1985.
Mr. Moynihan : Severn Trent water authority has stopped fluoridating water supplies in the South Derbyshire area because of technical difficulties in the operation of its plants.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which water authorities have firm proposals to fluoridate their water ; and what proportion of the total population will be served as a result.
Mr. Moynihan : I am not aware of any water authorities which currently have firm proposals to fluoridate their water.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which water authorities are currently fluoridating their drinking water supplies ; and what proportion of the population now drinks fluoridated water.
Mr. Moynihan : The water authorities that are currently fluoridating one or more of their drinking water supplies are : Northumbrian, North West, Yorkshire, Severn Trent, Anglian, Thames and Welsh. Approximately 10 per cent. of the population of England and Wales receives fluoridated water. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has supplied information in respect of the Welsh Water Authority.
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the results of the Water Fluoridation Act 1985.
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Mr. Moynihan : The Water Fluoridation Act 1985 is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. My Department has made no assessment of the results of the Act.
Housing Co-operatives
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the result of his Department's review of policy on housing co-operatives ; when part IV of the Housing Act 1988 will come fully into force ; and when section 124 of the Housing Act 1988 will come into force.
Mr. Trippier : I expect to receive the report of the housing co- operative review committee shortly. Part IV of the Housing Act 1988 will come fully into force on 5 April 1989. Section 124 of the Housing Act 1988 came into force on 10 March 1989, and I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) on 10 March at column 699.
Hazardous Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the benefits to the United Kingdom of the import of hazardous and toxic wastes for processing or disposal.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The import of difficult wastes for specialist treatment and safe disposal provides employment and helps our balance of payments. Such imports often also result in a global environmental advantage, for example if there is no suitable treatment facility in the country where the waste originates.
Departmental Estates (VAT)
Mr. Heddle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the additional cost to be borne by each Department of state in respect of unrecovered value added tax on rents paid by its commercial or industrial estate (a) from 1 August 1989 to 4 April 1990 and (b) for the fiscal year 1991-92.
Mr. Chope : Landlords have not yet decided whether or not to exercise their option to tax rents, so it is therefore impossible to offer meaningful estimates of any additional costs which might be borne by Departments.
Water Charges
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what communications he has had with the chairman of the Yorkshire water authority about the increase in its charges to consumers which come into effect from the 1 April and about the derogations of legislation regarding sewage ; and if he will make a statement.
Common Land
Mr. Nicholas Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation to safeguard common land on the basis of the proposal of the common land forum.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 8 March, at column 523.
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Drinking Water
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the water supplies in England and Wales that are in breach of the EEC directive on water quality in respect of safety limits on lead in drinking water ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : No water leaving water mains in England breaches the EC directives standard for lead. However, certain types of water can dissolve lead from lead service pipes and plumbing in properties. In areas where such water is supplied water undertakers investigate whether additional water treatment would reduce lead levels significantly. In most of these areas action has already been successfully taken, but in the following areas action is still being investigated :
Water Authority |Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anglian Water Authority |Eriswell
Yorkshire Water Authority |Haisthorpe
|East Hull
North West Water Authority |Swinden
|Crosby
|Parts of Greater Manchester
| and Lancashire (served by Lake
| District supplies)
|Longridge and Ribchester
| (served by Dilworth source)
| Preston (served by White Bull
|Parts of Blackpool and Wyre
| (Barnacre source)
|Blackburn, parts of Blackpool
| and Flyde (fed from Hodder
| Treatment Works)
|Rainhill (Vyrnwy source)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number and location of breaches in the precautionary standard for pesticides in drinking water in 1988 for each division in supplies provided by the Severn-Trent water authority ; and if he will list by location how much these breaches exceeded the standard laid down.
Mr. Moynihan : I am informed that during the period December 1987 to November 1988 there were breaches of standard of 0.1 microgram per litre for pesticides, specified in the EC drinking water directive, in water supplies leaving the following treatment works of the Severn Trent water authority : Barbourne, Mitcheldean, Mythe, Witcombe, Campion, Strensham, Rugby, Melbourne, Hallgates, Nanpanton, Wing, Church Wilne, Whitacre, Trimpley, Costford, Bomere, Ford, Meolfre, Astley, Norton, Elkesley, Far Baulker, Farnsfield and Fishpool. I understand that Witcombe is now not used for public supply and that breaches of the standard at Bomere, Ford, Moelfre, Astley, Norton, Elkesley, Far Baulker, Farnsfield and Fishpool were transient and that most samples from these works complied with the directive.
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The levels of pesticides in these supplies were below those which would be considered a risk to health.Seal Skins
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the illegal import of blueback or whitecoat skins which have been illegally imported into the United Kingdom in contravention of EEC directive 85/444.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing) on 6 March 1989 at column 426.
Air Pollution
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure maintenance of standards after the change to a system of self regulation of air pollution in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have no plans to change to a system of self-regulation of air pollution in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure conformity to EEC guidelines on air pollution, within the proposed restructuring of the air inspectorate.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Regulations have been laid which come into force on 31 March and will give formal effect to the air quality standards set in three EC directives.
The present restructuring proposals for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will have no adverse effect upon the ability of the United Kingdom to conform with these or any other EC requirements concerning air pollution.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether any agreement has been reached within Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to guarantee employment conditions during restructuring of the air pollution inspectorate ;
(2) if he will give a breakdown of the geographical and industrial remits proposed for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution air inspectorate.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Proposals are being developed for the reorganisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in order to integrate its responsibilities for air pollution control, radioactive substances, water pollution and other wastes on a regionalised basis related to industry groupings. Three regions are proposed to cover the north, south west and south east and it is proposed to retain the existing air district offices as outstations. Consultations are continuing with staff representatives on the management implications of the proposals.
Repossessions
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total number of private dwelling repossessions for the second half of 1988 ; what was the comparable figure for 1987 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Trippier : The information asked for is given in the table. I draw the attention of the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Mr. Hoyle) on 10 March at column 698 .
|c|Number of properties taken
into possession by building
societies|c|
|Number
-------------------------------
Second half 1988 |6,380
Second half 1987 |11,230
|c|Number of
propeties taken into
possession by local
authorities|c|
|Number
----------------------
1987-88 |330
1986-87 |490
Global Environmental Declaration
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the global environmental declaration made by 24 Governments at the Hague conference on 11 March.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We are considering the declaration of 11 March.
Radon
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Official Report, 9 February, column 769, on the former Medical Research Council radon source radioactive wastes at Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, he has yet received confirmation sought of the Medical Research Council that no radioactive residues remain at the Barton-le-Clay caves.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Yes.
Barium Sulphate Waste
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Official Report, 8 March, column 524, on radioactive barium sulphate waste at Amersham, when he expects the site effluent treatment plant to be decommissioned.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Amersham International plc intend to start decommissioning the existing site effluent treatment plant at Amersham in 1992.
Hinkley C (Inquiry)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has made any evaluation of the evidence presented to the Hinkley C nuclear inquiry by the Irish Sea Project and Ms. Penelope Boyce on radioactive liquid waste discharges from United Kingdom nuclear plants.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has considered those parts of the evidence submitted to the inquiry by the Irish sea project and Ms. Penelope Boyle that are relevant to the Department's interests.
Home Improvement Grants
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of applications for
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home improvement grants and the number accepted for each year since 1979 by metropolitan districts in the north- west of England at constant prices.Mr. Trippier : I will write to the hon. Member.
Fee Competition
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department now uses fee competition in seeking tenders for professional services from the private sector.
Mr. Ridley : The Property Services Agency, which is part of my Department, has operated fee competition arrangements for professional services on major works projects since July 1984. Fee bids are now sought for all projects of £1 million value and over. The introduction of these arrangements has resulted in substantial initial fee savings.
Consumers (Consultation)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements there are for consulting consumers on the work and decisions of his Department.
Mr. Ridley : My Department consults widely on its work and decisions including the issue of over 40 consultation papers in 1988.
Wildlife Poisoning
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each of the last five years the number of cases of wildlife poisoning in England caused by the illegal use of pesticides or poisons ; and if he will identify the species involved ; and if possible the poison or pesticide involved.
Mr. Ryder : I have been asked to reply.
Incidents involving the poisoning of wild birds and mammals by pesticides are investigated through my Department's Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme. The number of incidents (and the chemicals involved) in England, during the period 1984-88, in which the deaths of wild birds and mammals were attributed to the deliberate abuse of agricultural pesticides are listed in Table one. However, it should be noted that it is not always possible to determine whether incidents were due to accidental misuse of deliberate abuse. The species involved in these incidents were :
Mallard, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Moorhen, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Feral Pigeon, Turtle Dove, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Raven, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Jay, Blackbird, Robin, Starling, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Yellow Bunting.
Fox, Badger, Hedgehog.
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