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Enterprise Zones
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what environmental protection measures deriving from European Community directives and regulations, apply to currently established enterprise zones ; how environmental assessment measures apply to enterprise zones ; and if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of implementation of environmental impact assessment in the United Kingdom.
Mr. David Hunt : European Community directive 85/337/EEC deals with environmental protection measures and directly affects enterprise zones. It has been fully implemented in Great Britain, in England and Wales through the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988. DOE circular 24/88 and Welsh Office circular 48/88 explain that provision should be included in planning schemes for enterprise zones designated since the directive, for the environmental assessment of projects within the scope of annexes I and II to the directive. I understand from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland that similar arrangements are in force in Scotland. The indications from the first year of operation are that these implementation measures are fully effective, but my Department is commissioning research to monitor the position in Great Britain.
I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, that, so far as Northern Ireland is concerned, the main regulations required by the European directive on environmental assessment have been made and others are in the process of being made. The regulations that have been made are fully implemented.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Submarines (Decommissioning)
Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement about his Department's plans for the decommissioning of nuclear submarines.
Mr. Alan Clark : I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 24 October at column 646 .
Clyde Lee Conrad
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has consulted his counterparts and the Justice Minister in the Federal Republic of Germany, to ascertain whether United States Army Sergeant Clyde Lee Conrad divulged to the Governments of Hungary and Czechoslovakia details of deployments of United Kingdom Lance missiles by the British Army of the Rhine.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is not our policy to comment on such matters.
Greenpeace Book
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the Greenpeace book of the nuclear age, published in October.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry of Defence library has ordered a copy of this publication.
Middle East (Arms Sales)
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which countries in the middle east the United Kingdom has sold (a) short-range fighter aircraft, (b) aircraft with long-range bomber capacity and (c) chemicals capable of being used to produce chemical warfare agents, in each year since 1979.
Mr. Alan Clark : It has been the consistent policy of successive Administrations not to provide details of defence exports to specific countries.
Trident
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the awarding of the contract for the third Trident class submarine (SSBN 07) ; and what is the percentage break clause provision ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the progress of the construction of HMS Vanguard and HMS Victorious ;
(3) if his Department has any estimate of the additional costs to the Trident programme incurred by the strike at VSEL in 1988, which will be borne by his Department ;
(4) in which years it is now expected that each of the four Trident class submarines will become operational ;
(5) what are the currently projected programme acceptance and contract acceptance dates for the fourth Trident class submarine (SSBN 08), and the projected percentage break clause provision for this contract.
Mr. Neubert : Construction of SSBNs 05 (Vanguard) and 06 (Victorious) continues to progress well. We remain on course to achieve the initial deployment of Trident in the mid-1990s. The additional cost to the Trident programme of last year's strike at VSEL is not expected to exceed £10 million. Revised terms are being sought for future contracts, under which such additional costs will be no longer fall to the Ministry of Defence.
We intend to place the order for SSBN 07 by the end of this year. The tender for SSBN 08 will be invited in due course following the SSBN 07 order. I anticipate that the contracts for both SSBN 07 and 08 will include standard break clauses which provide for reimbursement to the contractor of properly incurred costs up to 100 per cent. of the contract value.
For reasons of security, I am not able to comment on specific acceptance dates or to give the planned in-service dates for individual submarines.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if there has been any cost escalation in the Trident programme, subsequent to the submarine-launched development testing of the Trident D5 missile ;
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(2) if there have been any changes to the expected first delivery or in-service dates of the Trident programme, due to the submarine-launched development testing of the Trident D5 missile ; (3) if there have been any major changes in specification, in terms of launch ability, accuracy, range and so on, to the envisaged capability of the Trident programme, subsequent to thesubmarine-launched development testing of the Trident D5 missile.
Mr. Alan Clark : The submarine-launched development testing of the Trident D5 missile has not resulted in any changes to the timetable for the missile's planned introduction into service with the Royal Navy, nor has it resulted in any major changes to the missiles's specification. The United Kingdom pays a fixed development charge for Trident and is not liable for the development costs of rectifying the cause of the recent missile failures.
Experimental ELF Transmitter
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department is still considering alternative sites to the Glengarry Forest site for the placement of an experimental ELF transmitter.
Maple Flag Exercises
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what types of Royal Air Force aircraft participated in Exercise Maple Flag 21 ; over what period the exercise was held ; and how many work-up training sorties for this exercise were conducted over the United Kingdom.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Information on Exercise Maple Flag was provided to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 10 May 1989 at column 472. Only the minimum essential amount of work-up training was conducted in the United Kingdom in preparation for these exercises.
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on planned Royal Air Force participation in Maple Flag exercises in the coming year.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is planned that nine Royal Air Force Jaguar aircraft will participate in Exercise Maple Flag at Canadian Forces base Cold Lake, Alberta in 1990.
Nuclear Weapons (Verification Research)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if her Majesty's Government will take steps actively to co-operate in verification research relating to nuclear weapons at sea ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The United Kingdom is not involved in negotiations relating to nuclear weapons at sea. However, we follow developments in this field of verification research closely, and consult our allies on such matters as and when appropriate.
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Public House, Knightsbridge (Assault)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken in respect of the assault on 6 September on a black soldier by two members of the Household Cavalry at a public house in Knightsbridge ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The incident is being investigated by the special investigation branch of the Royal Military Police. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member once our investigation is complete.
Departmental Stocks and Supplies
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current level of his Department's stocks and supplies stolen or vandalised ; what progress has been made to introduce bar coding and other improved security measures ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information is not available in the form requested. In the case of crimes reported to the Ministry of Defence police, statistics are published in annex E to the annual report to the chief constable, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. However, similar information is not available in respect of those crimes reported to and investigated by Home Department police forces or the Services police.
Bar coding is being gradually introduced into the Ministry of Defence as a means of obtaining data but is not a security measure in itself. The Department is mindful of the need for adequate security measures and these are regularly appraised and updated as necessary. It is not, however, our policy to publicise these measures.
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Scottish Crime Return 1988
Property |General crime type |Offences |Percentage detected |Employee |Forces |Other |At gate |Value |Recovered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crown: |Life threatening |2 |100 |2 |9.60 |9.60
MOD, PSA, |Assaults non-police |7 |100 |3 |4
DOT, DHSS, |Sexual offences |1 |100 |1 |1 |380.00 |380.00
C and E, |State offences |1 |100 |4 |13,041.81
United States |Public order offences|15 |67 |3 |2 |5 |2
forces, Visiting |Malicious mischief |185 |27 |20 |37 |23 |632,282.00 |558.49
forces |Theft by opening
|lock-fast places |39 |10 |2 |3,889.98 |789.50
|Fraud |560 |20 |26 |33 |2 |37,019.78 |5,461.87
|Other theft act |797 |25 |57 |138 |7 |123 |135,862.03 |52,589.06
|Forgery |435 |1 |6 |13,205.71
|Drugs offences |1 |100 |7.00
|Customs offences |527 |18 |19 |80 |1 |90 |23,686.97 |959.61
|Traffic offences |218 |100 |82 |140 |37 |144 |10,538.79 |3,890.00
|Other offences |84 |83 |33 |32 |29 |9 |1,053.64 |501.00
|Bomb hoaxes |17 |24 |1 |9 |1 |15.00
------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |2,889 |27 |258 |477 |102 |372 |870,992.31 |65,139.13
-------
Non-Crown: |Assaults non-police |31 |94 |16 |16 |1 |1
Service |Sexual offences |7 |57 |4
personnel, |Public order offences|125 |57 |41 |31 |4 |3114,000.00 |14,000.00
Other civilian |Malicious mischief |70 |13 |2 |12 |7,985.38
Dockyard |Theft by opening
management, |lock-fast places |84 |21 |9 |3 |5,258.76 |752.71
Commercial |Fraud |62 |87 |18 |43 |2 |5,332.48 |1,026.56
company, |Other theft act |540 |36 |41 |136 |1 |111 |68,153.01 |26,908.92
Royal |Forgery |10 |100 |10 |602.00
Ordnance |Drugs offences |3 |100 |0 |2 |2 |25.00 |25.00
factory, Royal |Customs offences |2 |100 |2 |2 |16.50 |16.50
Mint |Traffic offences |76 |96 |20 |64 |39 |1,535.70
|Other offences |63 |68 |37 |11 |4 |8 |2,062.36 |842.70
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
|Totals |1,073 |47 |194 |324 |10 |168 |104,971.19 |43,572.39
-------
Total Crown and non-Crown 3,962 32.4 452 801 112 540 975,963.50 108,711.52
Total No Crime=150.
Scottish Crime Return 1988
Property |General crime type |Offences |Percentage detected |Employee |Forces |Other |At gate |Value |Recovered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crown: |Life threatening |2 |100 |2 |9.60 |9.60
MOD, PSA, |Assaults non-police |7 |100 |3 |4
DOT, DHSS, |Sexual offences |1 |100 |1 |1 |380.00 |380.00
C and E, |State offences |1 |100 |4 |13,041.81
United States |Public order offences|15 |67 |3 |2 |5 |2
forces, Visiting |Malicious mischief |185 |27 |20 |37 |23 |632,282.00 |558.49
forces |Theft by opening
|lock-fast places |39 |10 |2 |3,889.98 |789.50
|Fraud |560 |20 |26 |33 |2 |37,019.78 |5,461.87
|Other theft act |797 |25 |57 |138 |7 |123 |135,862.03 |52,589.06
|Forgery |435 |1 |6 |13,205.71
|Drugs offences |1 |100 |7.00
|Customs offences |527 |18 |19 |80 |1 |90 |23,686.97 |959.61
|Traffic offences |218 |100 |82 |140 |37 |144 |10,538.79 |3,890.00
|Other offences |84 |83 |33 |32 |29 |9 |1,053.64 |501.00
|Bomb hoaxes |17 |24 |1 |9 |1 |15.00
------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |2,889 |27 |258 |477 |102 |372 |870,992.31 |65,139.13
-------
Non-Crown: |Assaults non-police |31 |94 |16 |16 |1 |1
Service |Sexual offences |7 |57 |4
personnel, |Public order offences|125 |57 |41 |31 |4 |3114,000.00 |14,000.00
Other civilian |Malicious mischief |70 |13 |2 |12 |7,985.38
Dockyard |Theft by opening
management, |lock-fast places |84 |21 |9 |3 |5,258.76 |752.71
Commercial |Fraud |62 |87 |18 |43 |2 |5,332.48 |1,026.56
company, |Other theft act |540 |36 |41 |136 |1 |111 |68,153.01 |26,908.92
Royal |Forgery |10 |100 |10 |602.00
Ordnance |Drugs offences |3 |100 |0 |2 |2 |25.00 |25.00
factory, Royal |Customs offences |2 |100 |2 |2 |16.50 |16.50
Mint |Traffic offences |76 |96 |20 |64 |39 |1,535.70
|Other offences |63 |68 |37 |11 |4 |8 |2,062.36 |842.70
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
|Totals |1,073 |47 |194 |324 |10 |168 |104,971.19 |43,572.39
-------
Total Crown and non-Crown 3,962 32.4 452 801 112 540 975,963.50 108,711.52
Total No Crime=150.
Advanced Avionics Architectureand Packaging Development
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose and estimated cost of the advanced avionics architecture and packaging development.
Mr. Alan Clark : The advanced avionics architecture and packaging programme will consider the potential for modular avionics architecture in order to enhance operational capability and to reduce costs of ownership. Some minor studies are being undertaken but it is too early to give an estimate for any follow on work.
Anthorn Military Establishment
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the purpose of the military establishment at Anthorn.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There is a NATO naval communications installation at Anthorn.
Aircraft Tail Fins
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the tail fins of Royal Air Force aircraft are in bright colours ; what proportion of front-line fast jet squadrons have these colours applied ; which other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air force has adopted this policy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Many RAF squadrons paint the tail fins (and other parts) of their aircraft with the insignia of their squadron or their squadron numbers. This helps to create an esprit de corps, and facilitates identification in
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peacetime. Although the RAF does not have a formal policy to identify aircraft in this way, all markings used have official approval. No record is kept of the number of front-line fast jet aircraft or squadrons with such insignia.The policy of other NATO Governments and air forces on such markings is a matter for them, but I understand that it is normal practice for squadrons to identify aircraft with their own insignia.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Farmers
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has of the number of working farmers in England who derive more than half of their income from occupations outside agriculture or forestry ; and what estimates he has of the recent trend in these figures.
Mr. Curry : No estimates are available.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has of the proportion of the total number of working farmers in England who are aged (a) over 60 years, (b) over 50 years and (c) under 40 years ; and what estimates he has of the proportions for (a), (b) and (c) for : (i) the south-west region, and (ii) Somerset.
Mr. Curry : The nearest available information is as follows. It is taken from the results of a sample inquiry conducted for the EC farm structure survey 1985. The percentages are based on the number of holdings farmed by persons, excluding those farmed by firms and institutions. Information is not available at county level.
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Percentage distribution of farmers by age group: 1985
Age group |England |South west region
|per cent. |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 35 years |6.9 |6.6
35 to 44 years |20.5 |20.7
45 to 54 years |26.5 |26.6
55 to 64 years |27.4 |27.4
65 years and over |18.8 |18.7
All ages |100.0 |100.0
Butter Fat
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research is being undertaken, or is proposed to be undertaken by his Department into alternative uses for excess butter fat.
Mr. Curry : My Department does not undertake any such research and has no plans to do so. However, European Community funds for market research into dairy products are available to industry from the milk co- responsibility levy receipts and, in 1988-89, some £849,000 was allocated for this purpose. Of this, about £186,000 was earmarked for research projects concerned with the use of cream in products other than butter and another £186,000 for market research into certain cheeses.
Alar
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's current policy towards use of the apple spray Alar following the decision by Uniroyal to withdraw it from sale for food use, after the disclosure in tests of (a) lung tumours in mice and (b) liver tumours in rats.
Mr. Gummer : The current approvals for Alar have been under review since February this year. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides in April considered all available data on daminozide, the active ingredient of Alar, and its breakdown product UDMH. It concluded these did not show a health risk, but asked the manufacturers to provide as quickly as possible the results of further tests being carried out on UDMH. A summary of the interim results arrived in September and was reported to the ACP ; the supporting data have just become available and are being studied urgently. The doses of UDMH given to both rats and mice were massive compared to any amounts likely to be encountered by humans. Animals dosed with significant amounts showed no more tumours than the control group but very large doses produced some effects and the ACP is now considering whether or not these indicate any change in its assessment of risk. Its recommendation to Ministers will be made public.
These tests were reported in September to a group of international experts on pesticide residues working jointly to the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation. It recommended that an acceptable daily intake of 0.5mg/kg body weight/day could safely be set for daminozide.
The decision of the manufacturers to withdraw Alar was taken on commercial grounds since they have stated publicly that they do not believe its use on food crop poses a significant risk to public health. However, they have also
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stated that even if continued registration of their product is successful they believe that growers and the food industry would be reluctant to return to their product.Mr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recommendations were made at its last meeting by his advisory committee on pesticides with regard to the use of Alar.
Mr. Gummer : The advisory committee did not make any
recommendations at its last meeting on the use of the product Alar.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-examine the procedures whereby the apple spray Alar was given clearance by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides in the light of the withdrawal of the product by its makers Uniroyal.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond). I see no reason to re-examine the procedure of the ACP.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what stocks of the apple spray Alar exist in this country ; whether users will be permitted to exhaust these ; and what plans he has to order their withdrawal.
Mr. Gummer : I have no quantitative information about stocks of Alar in this country.
I have no plans to order withdrawal of Alar stocks from growers. Continued usage of their stocks will depend on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides during its review of daminozide.
Salmonella
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his replies of 17 May, Official Report, columns 212-13, and of 19 June, Official Report, column 44, whether those provisions awaiting implementation on 19 June have now been implemented.
Mr. Gummer : Yes. New orders come into force today which extend compulsory testing for salmonella to include hatcheries and include registration requirements which will apply from 2 April 1990, for breeding and laying flocks and hatcheries. Codes of practice on the production of final feed for livestock and animal protein were introduced on 7 August. The adoption of these measures reflects the Government's determination to tackle the salmonella problem at each point along the chain from poultry feeding stuffs, through the breeding flocks and hatcheries to the laying houses and then on to the home.
Farm Workers
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many farmers were employed in each county in England in (a) June 1988 and (b) June 1989 ;
(2) how many farm workers were employed in each county in England in (a) June 1988 and (b) June 1989.
Mr. Gummer : The figures for 1988 have recently become available and are shown in the tables. The processing of the June 1989 census is continuing and will be published as soon as possible.
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Numbers of Farmers, Partners and Directors on Agricultural holdings. England, June 1988.
Farmers, partners and
directors
Whole-time Part-time
County by Standard |Principal Farmers and |Other Partners and |Total |Principal Farmers and |Other Partners and |Total |Total Farmers Partners
Statistical Region |Partners |Directors |Partners |Directors |and Directors
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |303 |116 |419 |81 |56 |137 |556
Cumbria |4,485 |1,590 |6,075 |985 |644 |1,629 |7,704
Durham |1,502 |496 |1,998 |396 |268 |664 |2,662
Northumberland |1,659 |624 |2,283 |384 |319 |703 |2,986
Tyne and Wear |191 |59 |250 |43 |31 |74 |324
North Region |8,140 |2,885 |11,025 |1,889 |1,318 |3,207 |14,232
Humberside |2,398 |1,091 |3,489 |664 |489 |1,153 |4,662
North Yorkshire |6,009 |2,246 |8,255 |1,444 |1,049 |2,493 |10,748
South Yorkshire |916 |342 |1,258 |308 |198 |506 |1,764
West Yorkshire |1,681 |521 |2,202 |1,025 |412 |1,437 |3,639
Yorks & Humberside |11,004 |4,200 |15,204 |3,441 |2,148 |5,589 |20,793
Derbyshire |2,387 |734 |3,121 |808 |468 |1,276 |4,397
Leicestershire |1,758 |645 |2,403 |557 |39 |896 |3,299
Lincolnshire |3,954 |1,595 |5,549 |1,134 |925 |2,059 |7,608
Northamptonshire |1,178 |450 |1,628 |417 |297 |714 |2,342
Nottinghamshire |1,280 |538 |1,818 |367 |300 |667 |2,485
East Midlands Region |10.557 |3,962 |14,519 |3,283 |2,329 |5,612 |20,131
Cambridgeshire |2,439 |883 |3,322 |710 |512 |1,222 |4,544
Norfolk |3,131 |1,066 |4,197 |1,111 |685 |1,796 |5,993
Suffolk |2,174 |818 |2,992 |760 |540 |1,300 |4,292
East Anglia Region |7,744 |2,767 |10,511 |2,581 |1,737 |4,318 |14,829
Bedfordshire |819 |337 |1,156 |239 |164 |403 |1,559
Berkshire |443 |121 |564 |256 |119 |373 |937
Buckinghamshire |1,049 |327 |1,376 |524 |251 |775 |2,151
East Sussex |1,169 |305 |1,474 |700 |324 |1,026 |2,498
Essex |2,107 |855 |2,962 |757 |607 |1,364 |4,326
Greater London |252 |96 |348 |106 |53 |159 |507
Hampshire |1,629 |517 |2,146 |804 |411 |1,215 |3,361
Hertfordshire |721 |265 |986 |269 |161 |430 |1,416
Isle of Wight |307 |72 |379 |128 |76 |204 |583
Kent |2,311 |685 |2,996 |1,316 |747 |2,063 |5,059
Oxfordshire |1,239 |413 |1,652 |469 |302 |771 |2,423
Surrey |816 |194 |1,010 |555 |222 |777 |1,787
West Sussex |1,181 |326 |1,507 |563 |280 |843 |2,350
South East Region |14,043 |4,513 |18,556 |6,684 |3,717 |10,401 |28,957
Avon |1,279 |349 |1,628 |445 |206 |651 |2,279
Cornwall (Incl Isle of Scilly) |4,400 |1,107 |5,507 |1,703 |762 |2,465 |7,972
Devon |7,193 |1,811 |9,004 |2,097 |1,094 |3,191 |12,195
Dorset |1,784 |520 |2,304 |724 |440 |1,164 |3,468
Gloucesterhire |1,874 |507 |2,381 |846 |428 |1,274 |3,655
Somerset |3,612 |977 |4,589 |1,262 |681 |1,943 |6,532
Wiltshire |1,768 |579 |2,347 |635 |378 |1,103 |3,360
South West Region |21,910 |5,850 |27,760 |7,712 |3,989 |11,701 |39,461
Hereford & Worcester |4,059 |1,297 |5,356 |1,629 |856 |2,485 |7,841
Shropshire |3,290 |973 |4,263 |929 |599 |1,528 |5,791
Staffordshire |2,853 |853 |3,706 |963 |498 |1,461 |5,167
Warwickshire |1,433 |480 |1,913 |550 |295 |845 |2,758
West Midlands |285 |79 |364 |118 |73 |191 |555
West Midlands Region |11,920 |3,682 |15,602 |4,189 |2,321 |6,510 |22,112
Cheshire |2,804 |883 |3,687 |836 |435 |1,271 |4,958
Greater Manchester |893 |292 |1,185 |374 |184 |558 |1,743
Lancashire |3,732 |1,302 |5,034 |1,093 |652 |1,745 |6,779
Merseyside |344 |108 |452 |90 |70 |160 |612
North West Region |7,773 |2,585 |10,358 |2,393 |1,341 |3,734 |14,092
England |93,091 |30,444 |123,535 |32,172 |18,900 |51,072 |174,607
Source: June census.
Note: Figures exclude minor holdings not included in June census.
Numbers of workers and salaried managers engaged on agricultural holdings.
England. June 1989
County by Standard All workers (excluding Salaried manage
Statistical Region salaried managers)
|Male |Female |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |450 |112 |562 |27
Cumbria |4,192 |670 |4,862 |81
Durham |1,687 |483 |2,170 |30
Northumberland |2,540 |487 |3,027 |86
Tyne and Wear |312 |97 |409 |9
|---- |---- |---- |----
North Region |9,181 |1,849 |11,030 |233
Humberside |5,196 |1,779 |6,975 |237
North Yorkshire |8,159 |3,331 |11,690 |298
South Yorkshire |1,287 |474 |1,761 |34
West Yorkshire |2,353 |782 |3,135 |71
|---- |---- |---- |----
Yorkshire and Humberside |16,995 |6,366 |23,361 |640
Derbyshire |2,563 |739 |3,302 |48
Leicestershire |2,543 |816 |3,359 |97
Lincolnshire |9,183 |4,127 |13,310 |437
Northamptonshire |2,062 |476 |2,538 |114
Nottinghamshire |2,526 |1,068 |3,594 |121
|---- |---- |---- |----
East Midlands Region |18,877 |7,226 |26,103 |817
Cambridgeshire |5,085 |2,983 |8,068 |256
Norfolk |8,646 |4,901 |13,547 |396
Suffolk |5,351 |2,528 |7,879 |325
|---- |---- |---- |----
East Anglia Region |19,082 |10,412 |29,494 |977
Bedfordshire |1,550 |662 |2,212 |86
Berkshire |1,201 |433 |1,634 |109
Buckinghamshire |2,025 |760 |2,785 |153
East Sussex |2,150 |1,347 |3,497 |127
Essex |4,731 |2,694 |7,425 |281
Greater London |676 |521 |1,197 |51
Hampshire |4,565 |2,436 |7,001 |362
Hertfordshire |1,732 |567 |2,299 |116
Isle of Wight |550 |297 |847 |23
Kent |7,064 |8,202 |15,266 |385
Oxfordshire |2,863 |923 |3,786 |193
Surrey |2,306 |1,751 |4,057 |193
West Sussex |3,548 |2,800 |6,348 |288
|---- |---- |---- |----
South East Region |34,961 |23,393 |58,354 |2,367
Avon |1,923 |1,445 |3,368 |99
Cornwall (including Isles of Scilly) |4,306 |1,349 |5,655 |70
Devon |7,411 |1,763 |9,174 |157
Dorset |3,297 |853 |4,150 |149
Gloucestershire |3,092 |1,274 |4,366 |167
Somerset |5,087 |1,731 |6,818 |152
Wiltshire |3,770 |876 |4,646 |230
|---- |---- |---- |----
South West Region |28,886 |9,291 |38,177 |1,024
Hereford and Worcester |6,454 |3,763 |10,217 |251
Shropshire |4,594 |1,541 |6,135 |125
Staffordshire |3,788 |1,027 |4,815 |83
Warwickshire |2,292 |845 |3,137 |113
West Midlands |462 |304 |766 |15
|---- |---- |---- |----
West Midlands Region |17,590 |7,480 |25,070 |587
Cheshire |4,141 |974 |5,115 |164
Greater Manchester |1,111 |488 |1,599 |23
Lancashire |4,855 |1,860 |6,715 |155
Merseyside |649 |283 |932 |15
|---- |---- |---- |----
North West Region |10,756 |3,605 |14,361 |357
|---- |---- |---- |----
England |156,328|69,622 |225,950|7,002
Source: June census.
Note: Figures exclude minor holdings not included in June census.
Column 571
Deer (Tuberculosis)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the measures he (a) has taken or (b) plans to take to control the spread of tuberculosis from farmed deer, indicating whether the Government or the farmers bear the cost of each measure ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Legislation making tuberculosis in deer a notifiable disease and giving power to require the testing of deer (which will be used in known infected herds) came into force on 1 June 1989. Marking and movement record requirements came into force on 1 September 1989. The cost of administering these schemes falls to the Government, but the cost of testing, marking and keeping of movement records falls to individual farmers. A compulsory slaughter with compensation scheme was introduced also on 1 September 1989 with the Ministry paying compensation at 50 per cent. of the value of the slaughtered animal subject to a ceiling of £600 per animal. Several meetings of the deer health scheme advisory group have been held and agreement has been reached to introduce a deer health scheme within the next few weeks. Details of charges under the scheme are still being discussed.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the research projects he is carrying out or funding to look into the level of tuberculosis in wild and farmed deer and methods of controlling the spread of the disease ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Research on the development of diagnostic tests for detecting tuberculosis in deer is currently being carried out at my Department's central veterinary laboratory. This forms part of a wider programme, designed to safeguard human health by reducing the incidence of tuberculosis in cattle and wildlife through improved diagnostic tests and the development of a vaccine for badgers. My Department has recently invited proposals to begin in 1990-91 under the open contracting fund on the following topics : the ecology of deer as it relates to domestic animal husbandry and the possible spread of tuberculosis and pathogenic mycobacteria ;
Column 572
further work on improving the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests for deer.Food Safety Directorate
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his plans to set up a food safety directorate, including the date for its introduction and the powers it will have.
Mr. Gummer : I shall make a further announcement shortly.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 22 June, Official Report , column 249 , if he will publish the results of his first quarterly survey into the incidence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy at EEC approved and non-EEC approved slaughterhouses.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 3 July 1989] : In the period April to June 1989, 17 suspected cases of BSE were reported at EC approved slaughterhouses, of which 16 were confirmed, and nine at non-EC approved slaughterhouses of which five were confirmed.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many confirmed cases of BSE have been reported to him to date in cattle first identified as infected by BSE by veterinary inspection at (a) fatstock markets and (b) slaughterhouses.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 19 October 1989] : Since BSE became notifiable on 21 June 1988 up to 30 June 1989, a total of 58 suspect cases of BSE were identified at markets, of which 39 were confirmed, and 85 cases were identified at slaughterhouses, of which 62 were confirmed.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of confirmed cases of BSE for each county of England and Wales for the four -week periods ended (a) 16 July, (b) 16 August, (c) 16 September and (d) 16 October.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 19 October 1989] : The information is as follows :
Column 571
Number of cases confirmed in 4 week periods ending:
County |(a) |(b) |(c) |(d)
16 July |16 August |16 September|16 October
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |10 |9 |13 |11
Bedfordshire |- |- |2 |1
Berkshire |- |3 |1 |4
Buckinghamshire |3 |- |1 |6
Cambridgeshire |1 |- |2 |-
Cheshire |4 |1 |13 |16
Clwyd |1 |- |2 |11
Cornwall |38 |31 |42 |32
Cumbria |9 |11 |11 |1
Derbyshire |4 |2 |10 |7
Devon |10 |61 |63 |70
Dorset |40 |39 |41 |59
Durham |4 |1 |1 |1
Dyfed |4 |9 |21 |20
Essex |1 |- |3 |1
Glamorgan Mid |- |- |- |5
Glamorgan South |2 |- |3 |2
Glamorgan West |- |- |1 |-
Gloucestershire |20 |17 |18 |17
Gwent |3 |3 |3 |6
Gwynedd |2 |1 |2 |3
Hampshire |21 |12 |22 |23
Herefordshire and Worcestershire |8 |3 |7 |10
Hertfordshire |1 |1 |7 |2
Humberside |1 |3 |1 |-
Isle of Wight |3 |4 |2 |1
Kent |4 |3 |7 |13
Lancashire |6 |7 |7 |3
Leicestershire |5 |5 |14 |14
Lincolnshire |2 |3 |4 |5
London |- |- |1 |-
Norfolk |9 |8 |6 |7
Northamptonshire |6 |4 |1 |5
Northumberland |1 |2 |3 |-
Nottinghamshire |- |- |5 |2
Oxfordshire |6 |4 |6 |3
Powys |1 |3 |9 |8
Shropshire |14 |- |20 |27
Somerset |25 |35 |53 |38
Staffordshire |7 |3 |13 |7
Suffolk |3 |2 |3 |8
Surrey |1 |3 |2 |7
Sussex East |5 |4 |8 |9
Sussex West |5 |13 |16 |10
West Midlands |1 |1 |2 |-
Warwickshire |1 |- |8 |4
Wiltshire |36 |28 |43 |26
Yorkshire North |14 |19 |16 |16
Yorkshire South |2 |1 |1 |-
Yorkshire West |2 |1 |- |3
|------- |------- |------- |-------
|376 |360 |540 |522
SCOTLAND
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has held with (a) the Scottish Business Group and (b) the Scottish TUC in the past 12 months.
Mr. Lang : My right hon. and learned Friend has attended four meetings of the Scottish Business Group since October 1988. He is due to meet the general council of the Scottish Trades Union Congress on 10 November.
Hospital Redundancies
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each hospital board the total number of redundancies following the award of private contracts to the nearest available date.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The number of staff of health boards who have become redundant as a result of contracts awarded to private contractors in the period to 1 October 1989 is shown in the table. There have been no redundancies for this reason in other health boards. The vast majority of those made redundant were offered posts by the successful private contractors and a substantial proportion of those took up the offer of employment.
?
Health Board |Number of staff made
|redundant
---------------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |98
Ayrshire and Arran |35
Fife |20
Grampian |243
Greater Glasgow |1,840
Lothian |666
Tayside |236
Housing
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing (a) for all Scotland and (b) for each district council a breakdown per 1,000 of the population of public spending on housing from 1977-78 to 1988-89 at constant prices.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested at (a) is set out in the table.
Public spending
on housing per 1,
000 of the
Scottish
population
(at 1988-89
constant prices)
|£000
------------------
1977-78 |275
1978-79 |266
1979-80 |279
1980-81 |261
1981-82 |257
1982-83 |227
1983-84 |241
1984-85 |213
1985-86 |188
1986-87 |185
1987-88 |205
1988-89 |202
The data required
to provide the
information
requested at (b)
are not available
centrally.
Column 575
Interest Rates
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Business Group about the effect of high interest rates on the Scottish economy.
Mr. Lang : Subjects discussed at meetings of the Scottish Business Group are normally confidential and it would not be appropriate for me to divulge them.
Historic Buildings
Mr. Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Government propose to take to preserve the textile mills of Scotland, which are listed buildings regarded as being
architecturally important, from dereliction and neglect.
Mr. Rifkind : Listed status affords a building statutory protection. The maintenance of a listed building, as of any other building, is the responsibility of its owner. Listed building consent procedures ensure that any changes to a listed building will, as far as possible, preserve its character.
I give historic building grants for buildings which are of outstanding architectural or historic interest. Since 1985, repairs to former textile mills at Forfar, Dundee and New Lanark have been grant assisted.
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