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Mrs. Rumbold : The members of the committee have been invited to serve in a personal capacity with particular reference to the breadth of the committee's task. Full information on the teaching experience of all the members is not currently available ; however, Mrs. Ann Sharp and Ms. Lesley Abbott taught four-year-olds in reception classes for seven years and five years respectively. Ms. Abbott also taught a nursery class for one year and Mrs. Rose Johnson teaches from time to time both reception and nursery classes.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will consider inviting Margaret Clark,
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professor of education at Birmingham university, to serve on the recently announced committee of inquiry into the educational experience of under-fives ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) what consideration the recently announced committee of inquiry into the educational experience of under-fives will give to the recent review of research into the education of children under-five written by Professor Margaret Clark which was commissioned by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Rumbold : The committee of inquiry contains suitably qualified academics. I see no need to supplement their expertise other than through the various forms of expert evidence. Among these Professor Clark's review will without any doubt have a prominent place.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he expects to publish the Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools' document on quality in the area of education of under-fives ;
(2) what areas of consideration for the recently announced committee of inquiry into the educational experience of under-fives have not already been covered by (a) his Department's commissioned review of research into the education of children under five and (b) Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools' document on quality in the area of education of under-fives ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The report by Her Majesty's inspectorate, expected to be published on 22 May, deals with good practice in maintained schools only. Professor Clark's critical evaluation of the outcome of recent research on the under-fives was not so constrained. Neither study, however, addresses fully these issues which the committee is required to take into account : the diversity of needs and of types of provision ; demographic and social factors ; the nature of training for teachers and other professional staff involved in the education of children under five.
Government Data Network
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what considerations his Department has given to joining the Government data network ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : The Department is considering its requirements, and the extent to which these might be met by the Government data network, and will take into account advice from Racal Data Networks Ltd.
Academic Research Equipment
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Advisory Board to the Research Councils' survey of academic research equipment will be published ; if he will undertake to place a copy of the report in the Library as soon as it is published ; and if he will make a statement on the future funding of university research.
Mr. Jackson : I understand that the Advisory Board for the Research Councils will receive a report on its survey of academic research equipment later this month. Publication of the report is a matter for the board.
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As already announced, the Government intend to separate the funding of teaching and research in universities, through the Universities Funding Council, in order to encourage institutions to think more systematically about the quality of their performance in both areas. The level of public funding for university research will be reviewed in the normal way as part of the annual public expenditure survey, and by the UFC, the research councils, Government Departments and other publicly funded agencies.Bovine Immunodeficiency Disease
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department has received any applications for the funding of research into the bovine immunodeficiency virus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : No applications have been received. The Agricultural and Food Research Council's institute for animal health has recently started a small research programme on BIV using existing science budget funds. In addition, the institute has recently been awarded a grant from the Medical Research Council's AIDS-directed programme for work on BIV.
University Physics Department (Funding)
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the level of funding to each university physics department in England and Wales over each of the last five years for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Universities receive public funding in the form of block grants from the Universities Funding Council, which succeeded the University Grants Committee on 1 April. It is for each university to determine how its block grant, and the other income at its disposal, is distributed between Departments.
Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, if he will list in tabular form (a) the number of teachers in each local education authority in England and Wales, (b) the number of pupils in each and (c) the pupil-teacher ratio of each. Mr. Butcher I shall reply as soon as possible giving the figures for England. Welsh statistics are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales.
Research Vessels
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list, with dates, the home ports of vessels of the British Antarctic Survey during the last 10 years, giving reasons for any change of port.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The British Antarctic Survey vessels, which are both used to supply the survey's bases at the start of each austral summer, sailed from Southampton from 1979 to 1984, and since 1985 have used Grimsby. The change was made for reasons of efficiency in handling cargo, and for economies in the laying up costs of the ships during the summer months.
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list, with dates, those ports at which
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refitting or servicing has been carried out on (a) vessels of the British Antarctic Survey and (b) other research vessels of the Natural Environment Research Council.
|Year
-------------------------------------------------------------
Discovery:-
Viana do Castela, Portugal |1988
Cardiff |1987
Falmouth |1986, 1982
Tyne |1979-80, 1983-85
Humber |1981
Charles Darwin:-
Valparaiso, Chile |1988
Singapore |1987
Glasgow and Mombasa |1986
Falmouth
(Commissioned 1984) |1985
Challenger:-
Great Yarmouth |1988
Cardiff |1987
Southampton |1986
Tyne |1979-82, 1985
Falmouth
(no refit in 1983) |1984
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many cruises have in whole or in part been undertaken in the last 10 years by research vessels based at Research Vessel Services, Barry, on behalf of departments of the university of Southampton ; and what proportions these are of the total of such work.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : During the past 10 years, Southampton university has used NERC ships as sole user for a total of nine weeks. Most cruises in recent years have involved more than one user. In the past three years Southampton university scientists participated in 24 of a total of nearly 120 cruises on Discovery, Charles Darwin and Challenger. Southampton provided the principal scientist on seven of the 24 cruises. It is not possible to calculate the proportion of the total work involved, since figures are not available for the time used where the university was not the main user.
In Vitro Fertilisation (Report)
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the report of the Medical Council into children conceived by in vitro fertilisation, referred to in his answer of 26 July, Official Report, column 210, has yet been published.
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Mr. Jackson : The report has not yet been published. I understand that the Medical Research Council expects it to be published later this year.
Schools (Employment Statistics)
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will publish tables giving the most detailed information available, for England and Wales and by local authority, of the number of persons, full and part-time, other than fully qualified teachers, employed in schools including nursery schools and classes, breaking down the figures by nature of responsibilities undertaken and with an estimate of the full year salary costs and of average earnings per employee, at the latest available date ;
(2) what information is collected, and what studies have been made, concerning the number, qualifications and responsibilities of people employed in schools other than fully qualified teachers.
Mr. Kenneth Baker [holding answer 7 April 1989] : The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy publication "Education Statistics 1988-89 Estimates", a copy of which is in the Library, shows, separately for each respondent local education authority and for primary (including nursery), secondary and special schools, estimated full-time equivalent numbers of and associated expenditure per full-time equivalent pupil on support staff, premises related staff, administrative and clerical staff and mid-day supervisory assistants. It also shows for each authority estimated numbers of unqualified teachers and of school meals service staff broken down into organisers and clerical staff, mid-day supervisors and kitchen and canteen staff. Staff numbers are not broken down into full time and part time.
The Department collects information by local education authority on the number of student teachers and instructors in schools. The figures for January 1988 are set out in table 1. Local education authorities make returns to the Department of the Environment of their spending on non- teaching staff in schools. Table 2 sets out for 1986-87, the latest year for which firm data are available, spending by LEA on educational support staff, adminstrative and clerical staff and manual staff and on school meals staff. Information on average earnings per employee is not available.
No other information is collected, and no specific studies have been made, of the number and characteristics of persons employed in schools other than qualified teachers. The information given above is for England only : information for Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
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|c|Table 1|c|
|c|Student teachers and instructors in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special
schools (January 1988)|c|
Student teachers Instructors
LEA |Full time|Part time|Total FTE|Full time|Part time|Total FTE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |- |- |- |28 |39 |47.5
Barnet |- |- |- |16 |8 |19.3
Bexley |- |- |- |10 |5 |12.9
Brent |25 |- |25.0 |- |8 |3.3
Bromley |- |- |- |3 |8 |5.4
Croydon |- |- |- |1 |61 |23.6
Ealing |- |- |- |12 |12 |17.6
Enfield |- |- |- |9 |36 |22.9
Haringey |- |- |- |2 |- |2.0
Harrow |- |- |- |10 |30 |19.3
Havering |- |- |- |26 |50 |43.3
Hillingdon |- |- |- |13 |- |13.0
Hounslow |- |- |- |5 |53 |20.8
Kingston |- |- |- |- |9 |3.1
Newham |- |- |- |39 |6 |42.7
Redbridge |- |- |- |17 |10 |22.3
Richmond |- |- |- |- |42 |7.1
Sutton |- |- |- |4 |3 |6.1
Waltham Forest |- |- |- |40 |10 |46.3
ILEA |1 |- |1.0 |154 |1,094 |391.7
Birmingham |- |- |- |8 |9 |12.3
Coventry |- |- |- |14 |76 |50.7
Dudley |- |- |- |12 |3 |13.6
Sandwell |- |- |- |6 |6 |9.3
Solihull |- |- |- |9 |14 |13.9
Walsall |- |- |- |2 |2 |3.3
Wolverhampton |- |- |- |1 |6 |3.5
Knowsley |- |- |- |1 |2 |2.9
Liverpool |- |- |- |- |25 |10.4
St. Helens |- |- |2.0 |4 |2 |5.3
Sefton |- |- |- |3 |14 |8.7
Wirral |- |- |- |- |2 |0.6
Bolton |- |- |- |11 |12 |17.4
Bury |- |- |- |4 |3 |5.1
Manchester |- |- |- |27 |11 |31.8
Oldham |- |- |- |7 |2 |8.0
Rochdale |- |- |- |5 |- |5.0
Salford |- |- |- |1 |2 |1.6
Stockport |- |- |- |5 |3 |6.9
Tameside |- |- |- |- |- |-
Trafford |- |- |- |2 |9 |4.7
Wigan |- |- |- |13 |1 |13.2
Barnsley |- |- |- |1 |2 |1.3
Doncaster |- |- |- |14 |9 |18.5
Rotherham |- |- |- |15 |12 |19.8
Sheffield |- |- |- |13 |11 |18.5
Bradford |- |- |- |19 |9 |27.0
Calderdale |- |- |- |8 |3 |10.0
Kirklees |- |- |- |27 |21 |36.8
Leeds |1 |- |1.0 |9 |34 |31.1
Wakefield |- |- |- |9 |2 |9.8
Gateshead |- |- |- |- |32 |14.1
Newcastle upon Tyne |- |- |- |2 |2 |2.8
North Tyneside |- |- |- |5 |31 |12.0
South Tyneside |- |- |- |8 |- |8.0
Sunderland |- |- |- |8 |3 |9.5
Avon |- |- |- |2 |10 |7.6
Bedfordshire |- |- |- |25 |27 |36.5
Berkshire |- |- |- |17 |26 |27.6
Buckinghamshire |- |- |- |12 |14 |17.2
Cambrideshire |- |- |- |9 |18 |17.3
Cheshire |54 |9 |57.5 |2 |69 |12.3
Cleveland |- |- |- |10 |26 |23.1
Cornwall |- |- |- |14 |20 |21.1
Cumbria |- |- |- |7 |11 |10.4
Derbyshire |- |- |- |14 |14 |18.9
Devon |- |- |- |8 |30 |17.5
Dorset |- |- |- |1 |23 |9.0
Durham |- |- |- |40 |11 |43.7
East Sussex |- |- |- |12 |16 |16.7
Essex |- |- |- |123 |172 |171.0
Gloucestershire |- |- |- |5 |8 |6.8
Hampshire |1 |1 |1.2 |49 |88 |85.4
Hereford and Worcester |- |- |- |10 |4 |11.7
Hertfordshire |- |- |- |43 |76 |73.7
Humberside |- |- |- |7 |31 |23.0
Isle of Wight |- |- |- |1 |3 |1.9
Kent |- |- |- |26 |40 |42.8
Lancashire |- |- |- |5 |31 |18.1
Leicestershire |- |- |- |20 |24 |31.0
Lincolnshire |- |- |- |5 |28 |18.6
Norfolk |- |- |- |44 |23 |56.1
North Yorkshire |- |- |- |12 |47 |30.0
Northamptonshire |- |- |- |34 |36 |48.0
Northumberland |- |- |- |- |8 |4.3
Nottinghamshire |- |- |- |23 |1 |23.7
Oxfordshire |- |- |- |1 |37 |16.1
Shropshire |- |- |- |10 |44 |18.1
Somerset |- |- |- |5 |1 |5.1
Staffordshire |- |- |- |38 |8 |41.8
Suffolk |- |- |- |13 |24 |25.7
Surrey |- |- |- |7 |17 |14.9
Warwickshire |- |- |- |11 |27 |19.8
West Sussex |- |- |- |12 |11 |19.1
Wiltshire |- |- |- |8 |8 |10.8
England |84 |10 |87.7 |1,350 |2,974 |2,317.9
Table 2
|c|Expenditure on salaries and wages<1>|c|
|c|1986-87 financial year|c|
LEA Schools Nursery, School Meals
Primary, Secondary and
Special
|Educational Support|Administrative and |Manual Staff<4> |All Staff
|Staff<2> |Clerical Staff<3>
|£'000 |£'000 |£'000 |£'000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |1,118 |671 |1,907 |1,439
Barnet |2,575 |1,049 |3,393 |2,475
Bexley |573 |764 |2,710 |1,013
Brent |2,551 |635 |4,002 |3,836
Bromley |1,218 |850 |2,198 |1,668
Croydon |1,359 |1,183 |3,260 |2,610
Ealing |2,608 |1,093 |3,017 |1,372
Enfield |2,077 |870 |2,918 |1,912
Haringey |3,584 |906 |3,668 |3,388
Harrow |1,633 |747 |2,559 |1,002
Havering |1,255 |884 |3,031 |1,833
Hillingdon |1,287 |1,646 |3,188 |1,388
Hounslow |2,192 |820 |2,325 |1,968
Kingston-upon-Thames |490 |754 |1,056 |917
Merton |821 |454 |858 |310
Newham |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
Redbridge |843 |1,072 |2,546 |1,473
Richmond-upon-Thames |848 |288 |1,227 |907
Sutton |788 |661 |1,485 |1,108
Waltham Forest |2,436 |1,131 |3,191 |1,973
ILEA |32,962 |28,499 |65,565 |30,930
Birmingham |9,577 |2,850 |9,508 |11,227
Coventry |341 |1,554 |4,247 |2,861
Dudley |1,507 |1,113 |1,807 |1,941
Sandwell |2,965 |925 |3,268 |2,433
Solihull |1,564 |553 |1,408 |1,586
Walsall |1,952 |1,789 |4,703 |3,355
Wolverhampton |2,799 |785 |3,235 |2,234
Knowsley |1,050 |586 |2,423 |2,468
Liverpool |3,073 |1,476 |8,889 |4,229
St. Helens |1,207 |598 |2,050 |2,393
Sefton |1,373 |794 |2,797 |2,900
Wirral |1,299 |959 |3,263 |2,847
Bolton |1,789 |642 |2,760 |2,703
Bury |1,007 |415 |1,495 |1,674
Manchester |5,031 |1,786 |6,547 |7,645
Oldham |1,766 |649 |1,954 |2,438
Rochdale |1,420 |906 |2,833 |2,642
Salford |1,939 |762 |2,861 |2,400
Stockport |1,385 |950 |2,357 |2,603
Tameside |2,086 |725 |2,033 |2,878
Trafford |831 |514 |2,102 |1,296
Wigan |1,398 |1,129 |3,565 |2,978
Barnsley |1,461 |775 |2,368 |2,695
Doncaster |1,834 |911 |3,768 |3,942
Rotherham |1,325 |762 |2,507 |2,849
Sheffield |5,425 |1,544 |6,492 |6,547
Bradford |4,412 |1,194 |5,544 |4,184
Calderdale |1,221 |393 |1,591 |2,179
Kirklees |2,583 |1,085 |4,013 |4,543
Leeds |4,629 |2,184 |7,257 |7,589
Wakefield |2,166 |728 |3,198 |3721
Gateshead |1,243 |636 |2,153 |1,858
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne |2,904 |938 |2,870 |3,647
North Tyneside |1,567 |673 |2,047 |2,092
South Tyneside |1,097 |335 |1,501 |1,672
Sunderland |2,585 |821 |2,716 |3,346
Avon |5,305 |3,021 |7,523 |8,770
Bedfordshire |3,149 |2,151 |4,711 |4,798
Berkshire |3,759 |2,333 |7,641 |2,537
Buckinghamshire |4,766 |2,016 |6,352 |2,961
Cambridgeshire |3,557 |1,852 |5,264 |3,613
Cheshire |7,224 |3,196 |9,382 |9,103
Cleveland |4,540 |1,741 |6,286 |7,827
Cornwall |2,296 |965 |3,518 |3,222
Cumbria |2,957 |1,139 |4,782 |4,865
Derbyshire |8,623 |1,640 |8,823 |11,136
Devon |3,717 |1,880 |7,147 |6,751
Dorset |2,000 |1,518 |5,332 |1,353
Durham |3,666 |1,125 |7,520 |6,302
East Sussex |2,709 |2,245 |4,211 |4,278
Essex |6,307 |4,610 |13,098 |10,710
Gloucestershire |2,491 |1,495 |3,546 |2,873
Hampshire |2,005 |9,363 |13,637 |9,623
Hereford and Worcester |1,907 |1,766 |5,700 |302
Hertfordshire |5,962 |3,589 |9,172 |8,400
Humberside |5,823 |2,066 |2,961 |10,240
Isle of Wight |806 |417 |1,166 |735
Kent |5,186 |5,058 |7,275 |10,275
Lancashire |6,032 |3,957 |12,227 |13,511
Leicestershire |5,503 |2,945 |8,685 |7,592
Lincolnshire |2,888 |1,314 |3,463 |2,404
Norfolk |4,022 |1,592 |4,795 |4,703
North Yorkshire |3,014 |2,089 |5,484 |5,212
Northamptonshire |2,273 |2,348 |4,987 |4,450
Northumberland |1,580 |620 |3,416 |3,339
Nottinghamshire |7,285 |3,005 |10,734 |9,717
Oxfordshire |3,849 |1,426 |4,517 |2,817
Salop |1,812 |1,189 |3,684 |3,350
Somerset |2,242 |1,364 |3,163 |3,705
Staffordshire |6,729 |3,229 |9,677 |6,642
Suffolk |2,511 |1,772 |4,288 |3,720
Surrey |2,389 |3,623 |7,025 |6,336
Warwickshire |2,802 |1,379 |3,266 |3,281
West Sussex |2,2391 |1,744 |4,747 |3,302
Wiltshire |2,022 |1,448 |5,014 |3,083
England Total |295,899 |171,524 |486,435 |401955
Notes:-
<1> The figures quoted are based on LEA returns to DoE on Form RO1.
<2> Nursery assistants, nurses and medical staff, laboratory, workshop and technology assistants and technicians employed
in schools.
<3> Clerks, typists, receptionists and telephonists who look after the administrative needs of the education service.
<4> Caretakers, cleaners and midday supervisory assistants.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Advisory Committee on Pesticides
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of the members of his advisory committee on pesticides.
Mr. Ryder : I published such a list on 26 January 1989, and a copy is lodged in the Library of the House.
Organic Farming
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any proposals to encourage the replacement of existing intensive farming systems with organic alternatives.
Mr. Ryder : It is for individual farmers to decide whether to switch from intensive to organic farming systems. However, I am anxious that our own farmers should meet as large a share as possible of the increasing
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demand for organic produce. To this end I encouraged Food From Britain to establish the United Kingdom register of organic food standards which is currently drawing up agreed standards for the production and processing of organic food and is to provide an independent verification system. In addition, our agricultural advisory services now offer specialised advice to organic producers ; UKROFS is being consulted on research needs ; and the possibility of including an organic option in any extensification scheme that may be adopted under the European Community arrangements is under active consideration.Intervention Stores
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the amount of foodstuffs, by weight and at current prices, held in the United Kingdom each year since 1979 under European
Column 435
Economic Community intervention policies in the following categories (a) butter, (b) beef, (c) wine and (d) cheese ; and if he will make a statement.Column 436
Mr. Ryder : The information requested is as follows :
Column 435
Tonnes
Butter Beef Wine Cheese
Year ending |Held in intervention |Privately owned and |Held in intervention |Privately owned and
|stored against EC aided |stored against EC aided
|contracts |contracts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |19,148 |4,674 |25,588 |2,055 |Nil |Nil
1981 |29 |17,976 |10,247 |2,093 |Nil |Nil
1982 |8,830 |26,085 |13,025 |310 |Nil |Nil
1983 |108,331 |8,294 |16,781 |365 |Nil |Nil
1984 |144,430 |10,097 |52,430 |29,200 |Nil |Nil
1985 |201,688 |4,309 |85,029 |7,633 |Nil |Nil
1986 |237,632 |7,066 |55,985 |5,970 |Nil |Nil
1987 |159,930 |6,118 |54,067 |4,983 |Nil |Nil
1988 |24,179 |448 |25,412 |4,357 |Nil |Nil
Note: Current valuation figures for intervention butter and beef are £1,422.46/tonne and £1,322.71/tonne respectively.
Sheep Dips
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the approval process for organophosphate-based sheep dips took into account the regularly occurring residue impurities in technical grade organophosphates.
Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress towards European Community harmonisation of veterinary medicine licensing and distribution.
Mr. MacGregor : Common rules making the issue of licences for many veterinary medicinal products conditional upon a satisfactory assessment of safety, quality and efficacy were established in 1981. In February this year the Council received from the Commission proposals to extend the scope of these rules, and to harmonise the records which distributors are required to keep. The distribution system itself would not be affected. An explanatory memorandum (4228/89) has been submitted to the Scrutiny Committee, and I have also asked interested bodies to let me know their views.
Sole
Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the European Community quota for Holland for sole for each of the last three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : Sole quotas for the Netherlands for each of the last three years were as follows :
tonnes
Geographical Region |1986 |1987 |1988
(Zones of International
Council for the
Exploration of the Seas
(ICES))
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III a, b, c, d |50 |70 |80
II, IV |15,050 |10,530 |10,530
VII a |300 |330 |275
VII h, j, k |80 |80 |80
VIII a, b |105 |305 |275
|--- |--- |---
Total |15,585 |11,315 |11,240
Sources:
Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3721/85 of 20 December 1985-Official Journal of European Communities (OJ) No. L361 of 31
October 1985.
Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4034/86 of 22 December 1986-OJ No. L376 of 31 December 1986.
Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3977/87 of 21 December 1987-OJ No. L375 of 31 December 1987.
The figures shown above do not take into account quota exchanges. In the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 the United Kingdom has concluded important quota exchanges with the Netherlands giving the United Kingdom valuable additional opportunities of sole in the Irish sea, south coast of Ireland area and North sea of 590 tonnes, 430 tonnes and 655 tonnes respectively. So far in 1989 we have negotiated an additional 725 tonnes of sole from the Netherlands through quota swaps.
Pesticides
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of those pre-1965 pesticide ingredients which have been re-reviewed, indicating in each case the year of re-review and whether or not the ingredient was approved.
Mr. Ryder : The information requested by the hon. Gentleman may be found in table 1 of the information paper on the programme for routine reviews of approved pesticides which was made available to the public on 16 March 1989 and a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Of the 36 active ingredients or groups of active ingredients listed in table 1, numbers 2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33 were first cleared for supply and use in the United Kingdom before 31 December 1965.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to complete his re-review of pre-1965 pesticide ingredients.
Mr. Ryder : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 23 March 1989 at column 726.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of all pre-1965 pesticide ingredients currently in use which have not yet been re-reviewed ; and when he expects each ingredient to be reviewed.
Column 437
Mr. Ryder : Such a list is already available in table 3 of the information paper on the programme of routine reviews of approved pesticides, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those pesticide ingredients which he is currently reviewing ; and if he will indicate in each case the year of the ingredient's initial approval.
Mr. Ryder : Pesticide active ingredients which are currently under review are listed in tables 1 and 2 of the information paper on the programme for routine review of approved pesticides, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The year in which each was initially cleared is as follows :
|Year
------------------------------------
2-aminobutane |1972
Alachlor |1969
Bromoxynil |1967
Captan |1962
Diazinon |1956
Dimethoate |pre-1958
Dinocap |1964
Fenbutatin oxide |1983
Fentin acetate |1965
Fentin hydroxide |1964
Furmecyclox |1979
Ioxynil |1964
Iprodine |1976
Methyl bromide |1964
2-Phenylphenol |1967
Tecnazene |1970
Tributyltin oxide |1976
Foot and Mouth Disease
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will identify those European Community countries that vaccinate against foot and mouth disease in cattle.
Mr. MacGregor : Cattle are vaccinated against foot and mouth disease in all European Community countries except Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to stop the testing for foot and mouth disease by British veterinary staff of imported livestock ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : No tests for foot and mouth disease are carried out on imported livestock. Livestock susceptible to the disease, from countries which have had outbreaks within the last two years or where vaccination is practised, are required to be tested with negative results before export and also to undergo 21 days supervised post-import quarantine. There are no plans to remove these requirements from our import controls.
Badgers
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further work is necessary before field trials can begin of the tuberculosis vaccine for badgers which has been developed by the Middlesex hospital.
Mr. MacGregor : Further work is necessary to check whether accidental contact with the vaccine could lead to desensitisation of cattle infected with tuberculosis so that they would no longer be reactors when tuberculin tested.
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Veterinary Medical Products
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those products which the European Economic Community veterinary medical products committee have recommended as being suitable for product licences for each of the last three years.
Mr. MacGregor : The committee on veterinary medicinal products has not yet reached a conclusion on any of the product licence applications referred to it.
Alphachloralose
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under what circumstances his Department authorises the use of alphacholoralose against wild birds ; and how many such licences were granted in each of the last three years.
Mr. Ryder : Under section 16(9)(d) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 my right hon. Friend is the appropriate authority for the purpose of issuing licences under section 16(1)(i), (j) and (k) of the Act for the use of prohibited methods to kill or take wild birds.
In practice my Department issues licences only to local authorities of competent pest control contractors and for a limited number of species, namely feral pigeon, house sparrows and in one case, herring gulls. The number of licences issued in the last three years were :
|Number
---------------------
1986 |685
1987 |738
1988 |589
Milk (Testing)
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there will be no reduction in the number of milk samples being tested as a result of the closure of research stations in the south-west, the north-west, the south midlands and Kent ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : The only regular milk testing carried out by my Department is to ensure that untreated milk producers comply with one of the conditions of their licence. This work will not be significantly affected by the closure of certain microbiology laboratories, since the samples in question will be transported to other laboratories. The comprehensive testing carried out by the Milk Marketing Board (which includes monthly testing for brucellosis on behalf of the Ministry) will not be affected at all.
Research (Funding)
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the impact on the Agriculture and Food Research Council of funding reductions already announced ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : Commissions by my Department with the Agricultural and Food Research Council will be reduced by £1.6 million in 1989-90, as part of the £5 million reduction in Government funding which has been
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announced for that year. Decisions on the future programme of commissioned work will depend on the consultations we are currently holding with industry organisations. The implications of changes in funding for the staff and research establishments of the Agricultural and Food Research Council are matters for that organisation.Salmonella
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of additional funding awarded to the Institute of Animal Health for research on salmonella contamination ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on 21 March at columns 514-15. My Department was already spending around £700,000 in 1989-90 on research at the Institute of Animal Health on enteric diseases of poultry, including salmonella. Two new salmonella projects have now been added at a cost of £173,000 in 1989-90.
Veterinary Surgeons
Mr. Paice : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is proposing to take to consider the supply and demand for veterinary surgeons, particularly in the light of the Riley report.
Mr. MacGregor : Consideration of the Riley report is a matter for the Universities Funding Council. I am concerned, however that there appears to be a growing shortage of British-trained veterinary surgeons. After discussions with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for Scotland, I have decided that it would be sensible and prudent to review the demand for veterinary surgeons in both the public service and the private sector. The study will also consider the supply of veterinary education and the demand from home and overseas students and will have regard to the potential funding from the Universities Funding Council and other sources. I shall be announcing the details as soon as possible.
PRIME MINISTER
Climatic Changes
Q34. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Prime Minister what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to arrest world climatic changes.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the Government's reply to the first report from the Environment Committee, Session 1987-88 (Cm. 552).
The United Kingdom continues to play a full part in international consideration of the climate change issue, in the WMO/UNEP intergovernmental panel on climate change, the EC and in other special fora.
Budget
Q78. Mr. Marland : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding the Budget.
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Q152. Mr. John Browne : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding the Budget.
Q190. Mr. Malins : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding the Budget.
The Prime Minister : The proposals in the Budget have been widely welcomed.
EC Fraud
Q134. Mr. Fishburn : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding fraud in the European Economic Community.
Q185. Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding fraud in the EEC.
Q204. Sir Hugh Rossi : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received regarding fraud in the European Economic Community.
The Prime Minister : I have received a small number of representations.
British Intelligence (History)
Q192. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister when she expects an announcement to be made on the possible publication of the volume prepared by Professor Sir Michael Howard in the series entitled the "Official History of British Intelligence" ; what criteria are being used in determining whether publication can take place ; whether publication with appropriate deletions is being considered ; on whose authority Sir Michael Howard was commissioned to write his volume ; what has been the cost to public funds of work on this volume ; and what assessment she has made of the utility and cost-effectiveness of the commissioning of official histories on intelligence matters which are not subsequently published.
The Prime Minister : The "Official History of British Intelligence in the Second World War" was commissioned in 1971 by the Government of the day. The right to decide on publication of this history, as with all official histories, rests exclusively with the Government. Four volumes of the "History of British Intelligence" have already been published, volume I in 1979, volume II in 1981, volume III, part 1 in 1984 and volume III part 2 in 1988. The decision about timing and form of publication of the volume commissioned from Professor Sir Michael Howard, the direct cost of which was in the region of £10,000, will be taken in the light of our best judgment of the national interest.
Griffiths Report
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Prime Minister when she intends to announce the Government's conclusions on the report by Sir Roy Griffiths ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Department of Health to the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 6 April.
Engagements
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 11 April.
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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 11 April.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 11 April.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 11 April.
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