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regeneration and not specifically with the Alexa tree. However we are aware of the great potential importance of the Alexa species for biochemical extractives. If the Brazilian authorities request support for collaborative research on the Alexa tree this will be considered sympathetically and could be looked at during the proposed ODA team visit to Brazil.I understand laboratory studies involving synthetic castanospermine are in progress but I have no knowledge of clinical trials at St. Mary's hospital, London. The hon. Member may wish to approach the medical authorities about this.
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Central America
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the level of British bilateral aid to each of the states in Central America for each year from 1979 onwards in (a) current and (b) constant prices.
Mr. Chris Patten : The figures for Central America and Mexico are as follows. The figures include investment by the Commonwealth Development Corporation but do not take account of joint funding provided to non- governmental organisations.
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|c|Gross bilateral aid to central America 1979-1987 in current prices|c|
£ thousands
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Costa Rica |623 |606 |570 |486 |1,838 |1,666 |12,685 |10,038 |2,584
El Salvador |448 |265 |41 |13 |0 |205 |103 |239 |411
Guatemala |14 |35 |15 |4 |0 |0 |0 |10 |1
Honduras |230 |335 |5,002 |2,272 |6,670 |3,446 |3,653 |1,258 |811
Mexico |1,186 |1,577 |1,464 |34,334 |2,827 |517 |773 |803 |630
Nicaragua |246 |127 |91 |49 |64 |9 |116 |86 |0
Panama |63 |94 |102 |62 |43 |49 |67 |70 |72
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |2,810 |3,039 |7,285 |37,220 |11,442 |5,892 |17,397 |12,504 |4,509
|c|Gross bilateral aid to central America 1979-1987 in constant 1987 prices|c|
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Costa Rica |1,127 |916 |773 |613 |2,204 |1,909 |13,751 |10,513 |2,584
El Salvador |811 |401 |56 |16 |0 |235 |112 |250 |411
Guatemala |25 |53 |20 |5 |0 |0 |0 |10 |1
Honduras |416 |506 |6,786 |2,864 |7,998 |3,949 |3,960 |1,318 |811
Mexico |2,146 |2,384 |1,986 |43,277 |3,390 |592 |838 |841 |630
Nicaragua |445 |192 |123 |62 |77 |10 |126 |90 |0
Panama |114 |142 |138 |78 |52 |56 |73 |73 |72
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |5,085 |4,595 |9,884 |46,915 |13,720 |6,752 |18,858 |13,096 |4,509
Nicaragua
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing in ranked order the per capita contributions made by Economic Co- operation and Development member states to Nicaragua for the latest year for which figures are available, including the total aid given by each Economic Co-operation and Development country for that year.
Mr. Chris Patten : The information is as follows :
|c|Net official development assistance from OECD member countries to|c|
|c|Nicaragua in 1987|c|
Donor |Net official development|Per capita
|assistance
|$US 000's |US $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norway |14,350 |3.430
Sweden |25,590 |3.047
Denmark |11,370 |2.216
Finland |7,390 |1.498
Netherlands |19,800 |1.350
Switzerland |3,210 |0.486
Austria |1,410 |0.186
Italy |10,300 |0.180
France |9,210 |0.166
Germany |6,240 |0.102
Belgium |770 |0.078
Canada |1,060 |0.041
Ireland |10 |0.003
Japan |290 |0.002
Australia |30 |0.002
New Zealand |- |-
United Kingdom |- |-
United States |- |-
|---- |----
Total |111,030 |0.157
Note: Figures relate to member states of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD. No
figures are available for non-DAC OECD members.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total emergency assistance given to Nicaragua in response to Hurricane Joan.
Mr. Chris Patten : Including our contribution through the European Community, the total emergency assistance given to Nicaragua by the United Kingdom in response to Hurricane Joan was £413,000.
Aid Policy
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what special allocations within grants for overseas aid will be made to ensure that women figure more highly in development projects, especially primary health care and education.
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Mr. Chris Patten : Our grant aid finances activities which benefit both women and men. We do not make special allocations for either but we aim to design projects to meet women's special needs and problems wherever an opportunity arises.
Improvements in primary health care and education are central to promoting conditions which allow women to play their full part in development. Our recent booklet "Women, Development and the British Aid Programme", copies of which are in the Library, explains how we are helping in these fields.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Chemicals and Fertilisers
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on the possibilities of declaring an amnesty for those farm chemicals and fertilisers currently the subject of banning orders.
Mr. Ryder : No representations have been made for an amnesty in respect of fertilisers since none of these are banned. There have however been a number of representations that an amnesty should be declared so as to permit the disposal of holdings of unapproved pesticide concentrates. In each instance it has been explained that no such amnesty is warranted, since those who can demonstrate that they have taken responsible steps towards achieving disposal--that is, by at least having made arrangements with a reputable specialist waste disposal contractor--need not fear that they will be penalised for illegal stockholding. Whenever the degree of risk permits, withdrawal of approval is phased so as to allow existing stocks to be used up.
Badgers
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly of 11 April, Official Report, column 440, whether he intends his Department to finance the additional research necessary on the tuberculosis vaccine for badgers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I intend my Department to contribute towards funding the further research referred to in my earlier reply.
Potatoes
Ms. Quin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East on 2 February, Official Report, columns 399-400, whether he intends to update regularly the statistics relating to the use of tecnazene on potatoes.
Mr. Ryder : Yes. Pesticide usage surveys are undertaken at regular intervals and the results are published.
Ms. Quin : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East on 2 February, Official Report, columns 399-400, whether he now has further details of the use of tecnazene on the 1988 potato crop throughout the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ryder : Details of the use of pesticides, including tecnazene, on the 1988 potato crop are still being collected.
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These figures will cover pesticide usage in England and Wales. Results available from the 1986 crop in Scotland were given in my answer to the hon. Member on 2 February at columns 399-400. Pesticide usage statistics are not collected for Northern Ireland.Cereals
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 13 April, column 689, what was the total tonnage and average price per tonne of all cereals imported into the United Kingdom in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Ryder : The following is the information :
T
|<1>Quantity (tonnes)|<2>Average price
|(£/tonne)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |3,517,365 |142.05
1987 |3,520,873 |133.28
1988 |3,370,401 |134.05
<1> Quantities rounded to the nearest whole tonne.
<2> Average prices have been calculated from import values on a cost, insurance,
freight basis.
Source: UK Overseas Trade Statistics.
ADAS
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people have been employed in the farm and countryside service of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service in each of the last three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : The number of people employed in the farm and countryside service of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service in the years requested is as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1987 |1,903
1988 |1,774
1989 |1,785
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of man years spent by his advisers working in Agricultural Development Advisory Service for each of the last three years on the following : (a) free advice, (b) extensification work and (c) chargeable advice ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : This information is in principle included in "Ministerial Information in MAFF" available in the Library of the House. However, publications to date have not distinguished between inputs to free and chargeable advice. It is anticipated such a distinction will be made in the 1989 version and the provisional figures for 1988-89 are 125 man years for free advice and 1,148 man years for chargeable advice. These figures exclude the activities of members of the State Veterinary Service who are not normally classified as "advisers".
An extensification scheme has not yet been introduced in the United Kingdom. Some ADAS manpower has been involved in advising policy makers on the preparation of a scheme, but it is not included in the figures and cannot be identified separately.
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Milk
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has of the use of penicillinase in milk ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : We have no evidence of such use, which would be an offence under section 2 of the Food Act 1984.
Mr Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his intentions with regard to the sale of green-top milk.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) on 23 February at columns 712-13.
Fishing Vessels
Dr. Godman : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on (a) the number of boardings of fishing vessels carried out by each European Community member state, (b) the proportion of such boardings which were of vessels registered in that country and (c) the number and outcome of prosecutions following such boardings over the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I regret that information on boardings of fishing vessels carried out by other member states and the number and outcome of prosecutions following such boardings is not available to me.
Food Labelling
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when Her Majesty's Government initially pledged themselves to introduce new laws to improve food labelling ; when that proposed legislation is expected to be introduced ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : We have for a number of years been following a policy of moving away from strict compositional standards for food (recipe law) which restrict consumer choice towards an improved system of food labelling, to ensure that consumers are given adequate information of food labels and are able to make an informed choice. European Community policy is also following the same course. As part of the Community's food law harmonisation programme, amendments to the Community food labelling directive, are expected to be adopted by the Council very shortly, following which these will need to be implemented into United Kingdom law.
The main changes for the United Kingdom are on datemarking of foods. Proposals on nutrition labelling are also under discussion in Brussels. These aim to standardise the presentation of nutrition information so that it is easier for consumers to compare products and to achieve a balanced diet. Other proposals for improved food labelling are also expected to be tabled in the run up to 1992.
Reprocessed Meat
Mr. Allen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will examine the use of mechanically reprocessed meat in pies and sausages and request that all products using such material shall be clearly labelled.
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Mr. Ryder : Mechanically recovered meat is used in a number of meat products including pies and sausages. The Food Labelling Regulations 1984 require that a treatment given to a food or food ingredient should be indicated in the appropriate place on the label if the omission of such an indication would mislead the purchaser.
Sea Bass
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he has made with the French to limit their fishing of sea bass in the Channel.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I announced on July 27 last year at column 298 -99 a series of new steps for the conservation of bass fisheries, involving an increased minimum landing size, mesh size restrictions and plans for the establishment of a series of nursery areas to give protection to juvenile bass. The measures do not involve proposals for quantitative restrictions on the adult bass fishery in the Channel. There is no evidence at present to support the need for such restrictions though we shall continue, however, to keep that fishery under review.
Rural Housing
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has had any discussions with interested parties on the provision of low-cost housing in rural areas.
Mr. Ryder : My right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales are, of course, responsible for policy on this matter in England and Wales, respectively. However, rural housing is an issue which is often raised with me in the context of agriculture and countryside matters. I therefore welcome warmly the statement made by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 3 February 1989 at columns 433-34 about new guidance to planning authorities in England, which is intended to increase the provision of low cost housing in rural areas.
I hope that following the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on the tax position of land sold to housing associations for this purpose, landowners will be encouraged to make suitable land available. An adequate supply of affordable housing to meet the needs of those who live and work in the countryside is an important element in the Government's policies for the diversification of the rural economy.
Tropical Timber
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, Official Report, 10 April, column 362, he will make a statement on his policy in relation to ensuring where possible that tropical timber is obtained from sustainable sources, in relation to sea defences and other such projects.
Mr. Ryder : The source from which timber is obtained cannot be the sole criterion in judging the merits of sea defence and similar projects. Nevertheless, where possible my Department would welcome proposals which utilise timber from sustainable sources.
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Potato Marketing Board
Mr. Hind : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his plans for the future of the Potato Marketing Board.
Mr. Ryder : I refer my hon. Friends to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill) on 19 April at column 175.
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Fishing (Aid)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the amount of Economic European Community financial support made available to the fishing industry of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, and Spain for each of the last available five years and the division of such support between catching, processing and port and market facilities.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The information held centrally is as follows. I shall write to the hon. Member about the other information as soon as possible.
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|c|EC Aid Scheme|c|
Mecus
|1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium Denmark France
Fishing Vessels and Aquaculture Grants |3.95 |4.27 |0.80 |0.41 |0.10 |4.62 |7.82 |7.26 |1.25 |3.29 |12.83|12.42|16.98|12.47|4.74
Market Support Measures |0.44 |0.46 |0.48 |0.27 |0.08 |1.52 |- |2.54 |1.45 |1.55 |3.21 |4.58 |6.76 |5.06 |18.22
Marketing and Processing Grants |0.72 |0.83 |0.12 |0.53 |0.97 |0.74 |2.81 |2.97 |0.94 |1.49 |0.82 |0.34 |4.27 |2.34 |1.78
Germany Netherlands Spain
Fishing Vessels and Aquaculture Grants |3.20 |2.90 |7.71 |4.41 |1.39 |2.07 |1.33 |4.73 |0.66 |0.57 |- |- |22.06|32.2 |18.14
Market Support Measures |1.40 |0.44 |0.17 |0.27 |0.49 |2.47 |1.11 |0.90 |- |0.06 |- |- |- |2.40 |19.38
Marketing and Processing Grants |0.57 |1.83 |0.95 |1.83 |1.34 |- |0.85 |1.20 |0.41 |0.81 |- |- |- |4.34 |6.63
Source:
(Mainly) EAGGF Financial Reports
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give his estimate of the extent of national aid for fishing in the latest available year in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland and Spain in each of the following areas (a) construction support, (b) lay-up subsidy, (c) social security support when not working, (d) fuel subsidy, (e) support for processing industry, (f) financial support for fishermen's organisations and (g) provision of port or market facilities.
Mr. Donald Thompson : This information is not centrally available. But some indication of the national aids given by these member states is contained in the 1986 OECD publication "Review of Fisheries".
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Set-aside Scheme
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farms have taken the option of the set-aside scheme for agricultural land ; what proportion of total agricultural land this represents ; and if he will give similar figures for the other countries in the European Economic Community.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 21 April 1989] : The information so far available is as follows :
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|Number of farms |Hectares set aside |Percentage of arable
|land<1> in member state
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |39 |383 |0.1
France |210 |2,409 |Less than 0.1
Germany |25,289 |170,635 |2.4
Ireland |97 |1,918 |0.2
Netherlands |98 |1,222 |0.1
Spain |180 |6,202 |Less than 0.1
United Kingdom |1,820 |57,613 |1.2
<1>May in member states other than the United Kingdom include some land not eligible for the scheme.
HEALTH
Medical Ethics
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on medical ethics in practice and protection for patients against unscrupulous operators.
Mr. Mellor : It is for the medical profession itself, and in particular the General Medical Council, to lay down
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ethical guidance for doctors taking into account changing attitudes in society, and to ensure that it is followed. Such guidance applies equally to private practice as to practice in the NHS.Column 377
Listeriosis
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his intention to make listeriosis a notifiable disease.
Mr. Freeman : The Department is currently reviewing the list of notifiable diseases and, as part of this review, will consider whether listeriosis should be made notifiable.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning the need to make listeriosis a notifiable disease.
Student Midwives
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives who started before April 1988 are on grades D, E and F ; and how many who started after April 1988 are on grades D, E and F.
Mr. Mellor : We do not hold this information centrally.
Denture Replacements
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has recently had with regional health authorities to ensure that denture replacements are made available to patients in hospital ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Health authorities will be well aware that if in- patients lose or break their dentures, arrangements should be made for the hospital dental service to supply a replacement as soon as possible.
Toxocariasis
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases have been reported each year since 1979 of persons suffering from toxocariasis.
Mr. Freeman : The information available on human toxocara infection is limited. The communicable disease surveillance centre receives around one hundred reports of laboratory identifications each year ; however, the true incidence of infection is unknown.
Computers
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances have been detected in his Department of computer (a) hacking, (b) viruses, (c) logic bombs, (d) Trojan horses or (e) other types of computer misuse, whether perpetrated by authorised or unauthorised users of computers ; and how many unsuccessful attempts have been recorded.
Mr. Freeman : There have been no instances detected and no unsuccessful attempts recorded.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in view of evidence from the United States of America and France, that personal health records are being maliciously damaged by the implantation of computer viruses, what precautions are being taken against similar breaches of United Kingdom public health and medical records held on computer files.
Mr. Freeman : It is not the policy of the Department of publicise the measures taken to ensure the security of medical data since such information would be of assistance to potential attackers.
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Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on all recorded cases of unauthorised access to his Department's computer files.
Mr. Freeman : There have been no recorded cases of unauthorised access.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of his Department's policy on review of the security of its computer files.
Mr. Freeman : The Department regularly reviews its computer security arrangements, but it would not be appropriate to publish details of procedures and arrangements.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he can quantify the risk of damage by hackers to sensitive computerised files in his Department.
Mr. Freeman : Computer systems containing sensitive information are subject to physical and local security measures designed to remove or minimise the risk of damage, including that by hacking, to that information. The Department does not consider it sensible to publish details of risks and counter-measures involved.
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether staff are briefed about computer hacking and computer viruses ; whether there are contingency plans to deal with computer downtime caused by unauthorised penetration ; and what plans exist to deal with penetration of particularly sensitive systems.
Mr. Freeman : Staff are briefed on a wide range of security risks and counter measures including those by hacking and viruses. Security contingency plans include provision for potential computer downtime caused by unauthorised access. These arrangements vary according to the level of sensitivity of the information held. The Department considers that the effectiveness of these arrangements would be reduced if details were made public.
Data Protection
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has taken to protect data in transit by electronic means.
Mr. Freeman : Electronic transmission of data is subject to physical and logical security measures appropriate to the level of sensitivity of the data transmitted. The Department does not consider it sensible to publish details of the security measures taken.
AIDS
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what scientific evidence was considered by the Committee on Safety of Medicines before it gave its approval for a licence to the drug AZT for the treatment of AIDS.
Mr. Mellor : The Committee on Safety of Medicines considered a range of scientific matters relating to the safety, quality and efficacy of this drug. The information supplied by a pharmaceutical company to support a licensing application is commercially confidential.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what evidence there is on the reversibility of the side effects of the drug AZT and on the effect on the AIDS virus if the drug is discontinued ;
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(2) what are the known side effects on AIDS patients of the drug AZT.Mr. Mellor : Zidovudine (AZT) has been associated with a range of side effects as set out in the ABPI Data Sheet Compendium 1988-89 (pages 1634-6). A copy is in the Library. Many patients do develop side effects due to the potency of this drug and the seriousness of their illness. Doctors are advised to monitor patients very carefully and adjust the dosage or even stop the drug altogether should side effects occur. Reversibility of side effects depends upon their nature and severity and upon the clinical state of the patient. Little information is available about the effects of discontinuing treatment on the AIDS virus, however there have been reports of a rise in the blood levels of the viral antigen.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths are known to have resulted from the use of the drug AZT.
Mr. Mellor : None that we are aware of. The Committee on Safety of Medicines has received three adverse reaction reports where patients being treated with Zidovudine (AZT) have died. Unfortunately all of these patients had a limited life expectancy due to the nature of their illnesses, and it is not possible to establish that any of these deaths resulted from the use of this drug.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence there is of the efficacy of the drug AZT (a) in prolonging the lives and (b) in improving the quality of life, of British AIDS patients who have been treated with it ; and if he will make a statement.
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