Previous Section Home Page

Free Milk

Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will list those local education authorities which have made an application under the Welfare Food Act 1988 for the provision of free milk for under- fives in local education authority nursery units and classes.

Mr. Freeman : The following 24 local education authorities have been approved (under the Welfare Food Regulations 1988) to participate in the scheme to receive reimbursement of costs for the supply of milk to children under five in nursery schools and classes :

Avon County Council

London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Brent

Derbyshire County Council

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Durham County Council

London Borough of Hounslow

Inner London Education Authority

Kirklees Metropolitan Council

Leicestershire County Council

Liverpool City Council

Manchester City Council


Column 488

City of Newcastle upon Tyne

North Tyneside Council

North Yorkshire County Council

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Sheffield City Council

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Staffordshire County Council

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

In addition, the following six local education authorities have indicated they will be applying for approval to participate in the scheme :

Birmingham City Council

Cambridgeshire County Council

Hereford and Worcester County Council

Oxfordshire County Council

Metropolitan District of Sefton

London Borough of Sutton

Family Practitioner Committees (Expenditure)

Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give, for the last year for which figures are available, the total for England and Wales and a breakdown for each family practitioner committee of (a) the number of general practice premises and (b) the amount directly reimbursed to unrestricted principals in general practice for the cost of providing premises under the rent and rates scheme.

Mr. Freeman [holding answer 29 January 1990] : Information on the number of general practice premises is not collected centrally. Expenditure by family practitioner committees in England in 1988-89 on direct reimbursements to general medical practitioners under the rent and rates scheme is set out in the table. Information in relation to family practitioner services in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.


                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                    

Avon                             |1,530,724                                                                                         

Barking and Havering             |852,785                                                                                           

Barnet                           |901,554                                                                                           

Barnsley                         |345,840                                                                                           

Bedfordshire                     |1,032,585                                                                                         

Berkshire                        |2,246,091                                                                                         

Birmingham                       |1,666,604                                                                                         

Bolton                           |247,554                                                                                           

Bradford                         |720,774                                                                                           

Brent and Harrow                 |1,397,754                                                                                         

Bromley                          |695,912                                                                                           

Buckinghamshire                  |1,723,275                                                                                         

Bury                             |175,821                                                                                           

Calderdale                       |304,813                                                                                           

Cambridgeshire                   |1,505,494                                                                                         

Camden and Islington             |1,044,917                                                                                         

Cheshire                         |1,535,343                                                                                         

City and East London             |1,471,921                                                                                         

Cleveland                        |733,423                                                                                           

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly     |911,570                                                                                           

Coventry                         |480,872                                                                                           

Croydon                          |601,840                                                                                           

Cumbria                          |633,392                                                                                           

Derbyshire                       |1,531,595                                                                                         

Devon                            |2,180,958                                                                                         

Doncaster                        |342,820                                                                                           

Dorset                           |1,647,729                                                                                         

Dudley                           |358,425                                                                                           

Durham                           |1,090,251                                                                                         

Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow |1,517,446                                                                                         

Enfield                          |1,166,622                                                                                         


                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the impact upon those engaged in milk distribution from the discounting of welfare milk tokens ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman [pursuant to his reply, 23 January 1990, column 682] : I regret that the reply contained an error.

The second sentence in the second paragraph should read : "Milk Tokens will continue to be issued in respect of pregnant women and children under five in families receiving income support and to handicapped children aged five to 16 who, because of their handicap, are not registered at a school."

Residential Care

Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to increase financial provision for residential care to cover fully the cost of such care.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 29 January 1990] : I have been asked to reply.

No. It has never been the policy of the Government to undertake to meet all fees, however high, charged by independent residential care homes.

Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the actual costs of residential care and the sums provided to cover such care.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard [holding answer 29 January 1990] : I have been asked to reply.

We receive a considerable number of representations from a variety of interested organisations and individuals.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Meat and Bone Meal

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total amount of meat and bone meal exported from the United Kingdom by the United Kingdom rendering industry for each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Mr. Curry : Exports of flours, meals and pellets, of meat or meat offal, greaves, for the last two years that figures are available are as follows :


                            

                            

1987   |12,299              

1988   |13,228              

Source: Her Majesty's       

Customs and Excise Overseas 

Trade Statistics.           


Column 489





Flours and meals of meat and offals, greaves, unfit for human consumption                                                                                                                                                

                               |Kgs                           |Value £                       |Kgs                           |Value £                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

FR France                      |244,030                       |33,916                        |3,459,750                     |590,839                                                                                     

BE Belgium-Luxemburg                                                                         |1,889,862                     |215,350                                                                                     

NL Netherlands                                                                               |805,086                       |139,435                                                                                     

DE Federal Republic of Germany |23,000                        |6,468                         |73,000                        |20,557                                                                                      

IE Irish Republic              |158,645                       |20,109                        |2,092,155                     |332,794                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         



United Kingdom Exports (CDT) General Trade December 1988                        

Flours, Meals and Pellets, of Meat or Meat Offal: Greaves                       

December Year to Date

Country Kilograms Value (£) Kilograms Value (£)

FR France 2,012,225 363,330 7,222,394 1,270,181

BE Belgium-Luxembourg -- 0 273,620 39,974

NL Netherlands 93,180 19,711 1,826,385 370,451

DE Federal Republic of Germany 59,520 22,019 558,530 205,357 IT Italy 14,000 3,430 3,7650 9,370

IE Irish Republic 322,740 41,545 2,554,832 358,260

PT Portugal -- 0 80,000 18,310

SE Sweden 19,000 5,100 76,000 18,600

MT Malta 19,800 3,479 299,220 48,293

GH Ghana -- 0 16,050 6,138

ZA South Africa -- 0 5,000 3,645

LB Lebanon 60,000 13,920 60,000 13,920

IL Israel 18,000 6,035 92,000 38,271

SA Saudi Arabia -- 0 4,950 1,777

LK Sri Lanka -- 0 121,000 44,080

EC Total 2,501,665 450,035 12,553,411 2,271,903

Non-EC Total 116,800 28,534 674,220 174,724

All Countries Total 2,618,465 478,569 13,227,631 2,446,627



Note: Latest available data for 1989.                                           

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what European quality standards apply to the production of meat and bone meal.

Mr. Maclean : Standards for meat and bone meal are laid down in EC directives which are enacted in the United Kingdom by the Feedingstuffs Regulations 1988. These require that the product should be substantially free of hair, bristle, feathers, horn, hoof, skin and blood and of the contents of stomach and viscera ; and technically free of organic solvents.

Agriculture Industry

Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing (a) the amount borrowed and (b) the consequent liability for interest of the agricultural industry in each year since 1978.

Mr. Curry : The figures are as follows :


                         |in £ million at year end|in £ million                                                              

                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                             

1978                     |3,400                   |184                                                                       

1979                     |4,150                   |318                                                                       

1980                     |4,650                   |464                                                                       

1981                     |5,400                   |468                                                                       

1982                     |6,300                   |501                                                                       

1983                     |7,300                   |494                                                                       

1984                     |7,650                   |569                                                                       

1985                     |8,250                   |704                                                                       

1986                     |8,350                   |700                                                                       

1987                     |8,550                   |637                                                                       

1988                     |9,250                   |690                                                                       

1989                     |not yet available       |949 (forecast)                                                            

<1> Total liabilities include trade credit, most of which will not incur interest.                                           

<2> Interest paid excludes interest paid on loans taken out for land purchase.                                               

Bovine Somatotropin

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the study by the European Community Commission into the economic and social implications of the use of bovine somatotropin.

Mr. Maclean : The report (doc 8975/89) the Commission presented in October identified a number of issues which could arise were BST to be licensed and which it considered to need more study. The Commission has work in hand and a further report is expected this autumn.

Food Surpluses

Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will raise at the next meeting of the Agriculture Council the sums being spent on the disposal of food surpluses.

Mr. Curry : My right hon. Friend is well aware of the considerable success the United Kingdom Government


Column 494

have had in bringing about reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), in particular through the measures agreed in February 1988. These reforms are beginning to bear fruit. Surplus stocks are a fraction of what they have been ; expenditure is well below the financial guideline. In negotiations in the Council of Ministers of the Commission's price proposals, we will be seeking to ensure that this progress towards a more rational and sustainable CAP is maintained.

Turkeys

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to protect the traditional farm fresh turkey sold uneviscerated.

Mr. Maclean : We have ensured that the EC Commission is in no doubt about the importance we attach to our right to permit farmers to market uneviscerated poultry. We shall oppose any proposal which might seek to prohibit this.

Pollution (Farms)

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what forms of assistance are available to farmers seeking to deal with on- farm pollution problems.

Mr. Curry : My Department offers a free initial visit to farmers by an ADAS expert and grants to meet 50 per cent. of the cost of new investment to handle, store and treat farm waste.

Basking Sharks

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total catch in United Kingdom waters of basking sharks in 1989.

Mr. Curry : There is no requirement on United Kingdom fishermen to report catches of basking sharks but these are thought to be minimal. Norway may take basking sharks in United Kingdom waters as part of the annual EC-Norway fisheries arrangements, but catches in 1987, 1988 and the first part of 1989 were nil.

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any proposals to control catches of basking sharks by issuing licences.

Mr. Curry : No. The data available indicate that there has been no decline in the stock in Community waters since 1978.

National Fruit Collection

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will play a co-ordinating role in relation to the responsibilities for science in relation to the decision to move the national fruit collection from Brogdale to Wye college.


Column 495

Mr. Maclean : The arrangements for moving the national fruit collection to Wye college and for its subsequent maintenance there will be covered by a contract between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the college. This will include any Ministry-funded scientific work in the collection. A small advisory group of independent scientists will oversee compliance with the contract. We see no need for further co-ordination.

Live Cattle Imports

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those countries currently enforcing bans or partial bans on live cattle imports from the United Kingdom.

Mr. Maclean : Member states of the European Community, Australia, Austria, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States of America.

Non-governmental Organisations

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the meeting between non-governmental organisations represented by Tony Juniper, Peter Knights, Dave Currey, Peter Wilkinson, Karen Bradbury, Colin Booty and David Williams and officials of his Department on 30 January.

Mr. Maclean : Officials from my Department and the Department of the Environment had a useful exchange of views with these representatives on the trade in wild-caught birds and possible measures to reduce mortality among imported birds.

Lead-contaminated Feed

Mr. Steen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to lift restrictions on the movement and sale of cattle affected by lead-contaminated feed ; and what progress has been made in meeting compensation claims.

Mr. Maclean : I announced further measures on 1 February which will ease livestock restrictions. We shall continue our comprehensive research programme with a view to lifting all restrictions as quickly as possible, consistent with the need to ensure that the food chain remains fully protected.

There is no provision for statutory Government compensation in the event of incidents of this kind. The National Farmers Union is, however, advising its members on the subject of compensation.

Scrapie

Mr. Martlew : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will prohibit the sale of meat for human consumption from sheep that are suspected of having scrapie.

Mr. Curry : No, because scrapie has been present in this country for at least two centuries without any evidence to suggest that it has been, or can be, a risk to humans. Nor has research over 20 years identified any such risk.


Column 496

Sheep

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's procedure to ensure that the Economic Community sheepmeat premium is paid annually in respect of eligible sheep.

Mr. Curry : The annual ewe premium provided for by the EC sheepmeat regime is paid annually to eligible claimants.

Food Irradiation

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any further representations concerning the irradiation of food.

Mr. Maclean : I receive letters about food irradiation as about other topical matters.

Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the Government's policy towards the irradiation of food.


Next Section

  Home Page