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Mr. Gummer : The data on aspartame considered by the Food Additives and Contaminants Committee (FAC) (the predecessor of the Food Advisory Committee) comprised the case of need and a report from the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, containing its considered advice on the safety of the sweetener. This is contained in the FAC report on the review of sweeteners in food (FAC/REP/34). Copies of this report are already lodged in the Library.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will place a copy of the agreements between his Ministry and food companies, and advice given by his Ministry, relating to the labelling of products containing aspartame, in the Library.
Mr. Gummer : It is a statutory requirement to declare aspartame in ingredients lists under the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 (S.I. 1984 No. 1305). My Ministry has issued no further advice on this matter nor does it have any agreements with food companies about aspartame.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now ask his Food Advisory Committee to urgently review aspartame ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Gummer : Both the Food Advisory Committee and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment are currently reviewing the use of all sweeteners in food. I anticipate receiving their full report and recommendations early next year but in the meantime they will inform me if they see the need for any action earlier.Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has received from the United States Food and Drug Administration concerning the safety of aspartame ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : My officials have received information on the safety of aspartame from a number of sources including those originating in the United States of America. This information, together with new data produced and collected since aspartame was approved in this country seven years ago, is currently being considered by the independent Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT).
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a compulsory health warning on products containing aspartame ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The use of aspartame in a food product will appear in the ingredients list. There is no general health hazard arising from the use of this sweetener ; the small number of people who suffer from phenylkentonuria and should therefore not ingest aspartame have access to advice from their doctors to avoid products containing it.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to lay the regulations under the Food Safety Act 1990 that will control the process of food irradiation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The first essential step is to arrange for consultations to take place on our proposals. Only when these have been completed and the results assessed will regulations be laid.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the active ingredients which have been approved since 3 April ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : There is no provision in food law for the approval of "active ingredients" ; this is a concept confined to medicines legislation.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the pesticides which have been approved since 3 April, indicating whether it was a full or partial review in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The following approvals for agricultural pesticide products have been issued by my Department since 3 April :
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|Number -------------------------------------------- Experimental permits |21 Full or provisional approvals |98 Off-label approvals |11
of which :
Number |Approvals |of products ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New active ingredients Fenpropathrin |1 |A provisional approval |and an experimental permit Paclobutrazol |4 |Provisional approvals Reviewed active ingredient Alachlor (full review) |1 |Provisional approval ex- |tended for one year
My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible for the approval and review of non-agricultural pesticides.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report details of work he is sponsoring on pesticide effects on shepherds.
Mr. Gummer : All suspected adverse reactions reported by shepherds and others to licensed sheep dips are investigated under Medicines Act procedures. The findings will be fully taken into account as part of the review of ectoparasiticide products to ensure that modern standards on safety, quality and efficacy are being met. The review is expected to have been completed early in 1992.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields on 26 June, Official Report, column 204, if he will list the amount of money paid to Mr. Richard Kimberlin for each year he has provided expert advice ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Department has paid the following fees and expenses to Dr. Kimberlin for consultancy work commissioned with him :
|£ --------------------------- 1989 |4,279.00 1990 |3,128.34
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the National Rivers Authority about the emptying of sheep dips ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Sheep dip emptying has not been the focus of recent discussions with the National Rivers Authority, as last year sheep dips gave rise to only 13 out of 2,889 agricultural water pollution incidents. Nevertheless the guidance available on disposal is currently being reviewed to see how this can best be improved.
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Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a compulsory health warning on Sweet and Low saccharine granulated sugar substitutes along the lines of that used in the United States of America ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : I have no plans to do so. Saccharin has been cleared as safe by the independent expert advisory committees. At my request the committees have, however, recently reviewed saccharin. I expect to receive their recommendations very shortly when I can consider whether any further action is necessary.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to implement the new arrangements for community care ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : I refer to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on 18 July 1990.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost in staff time and resources within the Scottish Office of working to prepare for the implementation of the community care reforms.
Mr. Lang : Some 25 officials within the Scottish Office have devoted a significant proportion of their working time within the past eight months to preparations for the implementation of the arrangements announced in the White Paper published in November 1989. This work has included preparing advice for Ministers on the content of legislation and other matters, drafting guidance documents for consultation purposes and taking forward discussions with local authority and voluntary sector interests. All this work would have been necessary regardless of the particular timetable chosen for implementing the proposals. The amount of time expended by individual officials has varied considerably and accurate calculations of the total cost could not be produced without disproportionate expenditure.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland exactly how much extra funding Scottish local authorities have been calculated to require to implement the community care reforms ; whether this can be broken down into region-by-region figures for Scotland ; and what are the calculations of need and precise method used to arrive at these figures.
Mr. Lang : The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities provided estimates of the additional costs involved for Scottish local authorities in total in implementing the proposals in the White Paper "Caring for People". Officials of my Department have discussed these with representatives of the convention and further discussions will take place in the light of the phased implementation plan. My right hon. and learned Friend will have regard to the financial implications of community care in announcing the local authority settlement later this week.
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Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what representations he has received from voluntary organisations in Scotland concerning the implementation of sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what consultations he has had with health authorities in Scotland concerning the regulations to be made under section 2(7) of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 in order to extend the rights of authorised representatives ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) when he intends to lay an order to bring into force section 3 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what monitoring his Department carries out as to whether local authorities in Scotland are fulfilling their duties under the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(5) what consultations he has had with voluntary organisations in Scotland concerning the regulations to be made under section 1 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(6) what information he has laid before Parliament under section 11 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(7) what research he has undertaken on the implementation by local authorities in Scotland of sections 4, 8, 9, 10 and 13 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(8) when he intends to lay an order to bring into force sections 1 and 2 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ; (9) what consultations he is having with local authority associations in Scotland concerning the implementation of sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will make a statement ; (10) what consultations he has had with local authority associations in Scotland concerning the regulations to be made under section 2(7) of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 in order to extend the rights of authorised representatives ; and if he will make a statement ;
(11) what plans he has for consulting upon and implementing sections 1, 2, 3 and 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 ; and if he will produce a simple guide to these sections shortly thereafter.
Mr. Lang : Sections 4, 8(1) and 9 to 14 of the Act have already been implemented. Progress on implementing the remaining provisions is dependent on the availability of resources and no consultations have been held about implementation of further provisions. I have received representations from the care in the community Scottish working group on the implementation of sections 1 and 2.
The first report to be laid before Parliament under the Act--"Care of Persons with a Mental Handicap or Mental
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Illness in Scotland"--is at present being printed. Scottish Office officials have met the Association of Directors of Social Work to discuss local authority progress in implementing section 13 of the Act and the need for further guidance. We will be considering what further monitoring arrangements are required.Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of persons who had (a) full and (b) partial national health service dentures made in the periods (i) April 1988 to April 1989 and (ii) April 1989 to April 1990.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Financial year figures are not available centrally. Calendar year figures are set out in the table :
|Number --------------------------------- 1988 Full dentures |104,830 Partial dentures |67,956 1989 Full dentures |95,529 Partial dentures |86,013
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Scottish universities and institutes of higher education make special provision for students with hearing impairments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : This information is not available. It is for the universities and other institutions themselves to decide what special arrangements should be made for students with hearing impairments.
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision has been made within mainstream primary and secondary state schools in Scotland in the five years ended June 1990 to assist children with hearing impairments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : Education authorities are responsible for ensuring that sufficient specialist assistance is provided for all children with special educational needs.
As for provision in mainstream schools for pupils with hearing impairment, individual authorities adopt varying approaches. Most children are taught by class teachers supported by visiting specialist teachers. Some authorities also have units for the hearing impaired housed in primary and secondary schools, although the bulk of the pupils' time is still spent in the mainstream class. Most children are taught using either the oral-aural approach or the total communication method, with the former more commonly used in the mainstream setting.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much will be transferred from the Department of Social Security to Scottish local authorities for their new responsibilities ; whether this can be broken down region by region for Scotland ; and how these figures are calculated.
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Mr. Lang : The amount of the proposed transfer of resources from the Department of Social Security to Scottish local authorities has not been determined yet. As indicated in the written reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on 18 July, the first transfer of such funds is now planned for 1993-94.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all those schools which have expressed an interest in opting out.
Mr. Lang : Parents at Holm primary school in Orkney have presented the school board with a formal request seeking a ballot on self-governing status.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many redundancies there were in the Borders region for every year since 1979.
Mr. Lang : There are no comprehensive statistics on redundancies. Information on the number of redundancies involving 10 or more workers confirmed to the Department of Employment as having occurred in the Borders region between 1979 and June 1990 is set out in the table.
Confirmed redundancies Year |Number ------------------------- 1979 |50 1980 |938 1981 |536 1982 |542 1983 |367 1984 |238 1985 |149 1986 |313 1987 |335 1988 |355 1989 |564 <1><2>1990 |174 <1> The figures for 1990 are provisional and may be subject to revision as later data become available. <2>January to June.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the unemployment levels for each Scottish region in October for every year since 1979.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 23 July 1990] : The tables provide the available information. For the period 1979 to 1982 data are available only on the number of registrants at jobcentres. From 1983 the available information is for unemployed claimants. Comparisons over time are affected by the various changes in coverage and in particular by the discontinuity between 1982 and 1983.
Number of claimants unemployed by Scottish region October<2> Region<1> |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Borders |3,486 |3,416 |3,379 |3,718 |3,189 |2,404 |2,087 Central |17,762 |18,303 |18,666 |18,487 |16,526 |12,491 |10,834 Dumfries and Galloway |7,312 |7,647 |7,949 |7,824 |6,852 |6,066 |4,352 Fife |18,247 |19,446 |21,144 |22,030 |20,245 |16,545 |13,244 Grampian |16,028 |16,769 |17,129 |22,432 |19,715 |15,374 |11,090 Highland |10,173 |12,501 |13,099 |13,528 |12,097 |10,268 |7,636 Lothian |43,428 |44,742 |45,624 |47,160 |43,414 |34,158 |26,864 Strathclyde |188,962 |192,194 |197,292 |194,455 |176,894 |146,133 |120,697 Tayside |24,880 |24,756 |25,753 |25,665 |22,884 |18,416 |14,959 Orkney |719 |737 |765 |859 |821 |701 |493 Shetland |709 |667 |697 |794 |743 |638 |410 Western Isles |1,719 |1,932 |1,814 |2,284 |2,082 |2,052 |1,459 <1> Regional totals are aggregates of wards. <2> Figures are not adjusted for seasonal variations.
Table file CW900724.049 not available
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further changes he proposes to make to alleviate the impact of the community charge on poorer families and pensioners.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The community charge benefit scheme is already helping those on lower incomes. This scheme is much more generous than the former rates rebate scheme and over 1 million people in Scotland are paying a reduced community charge as a result. The extension of the community charge relief scheme which my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland announced on 19 July means that many more former ratepayers, pensioners and disabled people will receive help with their bills and over a longer period.
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total number of (a) major and (b) intermediate surgical operations performed at the Mackinnon memorial hospital in Skye in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : There is no generally recognised classification of operations into major and intermediate and information is not held centrally in this manner. The total number of cases operated on in Mackinnon memorial hospital in 1988 and 1989 were 734 and 733 respectively.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the accurancy of the 1990 declarations made by Scottish fishing vessels as to catches of cod made in or attributed to area VII ; and what steps are taken to ensure that arrangements for the accurate declaration in log books of fish catches in area VII are being complied with.
Mr. Lang : Landings by Scottish fishing vessels of cod recorded as having been caught in International Council
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for the Exploration of the Seas area VII are being investigated and currently six cases are being prepared for submission to the prosecuting authorities. Inquiries are continuing in respect of a number of additional cases where some evidence of misreporting exists.Log books are examined when fishing vessels are boarded and at the end of each fishing trip when a copy of the log book pages are handed in to the local fishery office. Checks are made to ensure that the entries are compatible with the catch on board or landed and are consistent with any sightings of the vessel while it was at sea.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will name the Scottish fishing vessels which claim to have entered area VII and caught cod fish since 1 January ; and if he will list separately those which were (a) at the limit of their quota or (b) had not filled their quota for cod fishing in areas VIa or IV.
Mr. Lang : No. It would not be appropriate to name individual vessels in the manner requested. Under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984 information about an individual data subject cannot be disclosed, except in a limited number of circumstances, without that subject's consent.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements exist for identifying the names of fishing vessels that use the Caledonian canal from either east to west or west to east.
Mr. Lang : All vessels which pass through the Caledonian canal are logged by the canal office of the British Waterways Board.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will set up an inquiry into misdeclaration by Scottish fishing vessels of cod catches since January.
Mr. Lang : The circumstances which have given rise to allegations of misreporting of cod catches by Scottish fishing vessels are being investigated.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Department of
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Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland officials have (a) witnessed fishing vessels either registered or based at Scottish ports enter into area VII or leave area VII either in anticipation of a catch or with a catch on board and (b) sighted Scottish fishing vessels within area VII.Mr. Lang : The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland is responsible for patrolling only that part of ICES area VII which is adjacent to the south-west coast of Scotland. Aerial surveillance during April, May and June 1990 identified six Scottish fishing vessels in that area.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Scottish fishing vessels have entered into area VII since 1 January.
Mr. Lang : The information on entry to ICES area VII is not available in the form requested. However, records show that Scottish vessels which landed fish (of all species) into Scotland from ICES area VII have made a total of 446 trips to that area since 1 January 1990. Many Scottish fishermen traditionally fish area VII.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state which fishing vessels reported to DAFS at Scrabster their movements (a) in a westerly direction across the 4 deg W line since 1 January and (b) in an easterly direction across the 4 deg W line since 1 January.
Mr. Lang : It is assumed that the question relates to vessels making radio reports to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. These reports were made to Ullapool or Aberdeen rather than to Scrabster. A total of 1,649 reports were received in the period 1 January to 30 June 1990. Of these, 887 were from vessels proceeding east to west, 731 from west to east and 31 from vessels fishing close to the 4 deg W line.
In the same period 24 vessels which were unable to make radio reports called in to Scrabster voluntarily. Of these 15 were heading west and nine were heading east.
The large number of vessels involved precludes listing them individually.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what catches were recorded by Scottish vessels from ICES area VIId, VIIb and VIIc in June.
Mr. Lang : Landings into Scotland by Scottish vessels during June for ICES areas VIIb and VIIc were as follows. No landings from area VIId were recorded in June by Scottish vessels.
|Area VIIb |Area VIIc Species |<1>Tonnes landed|<1>Tonnes landed -------------------------------------------------------------------- Cod |135 |1 Haddock |24 |20 Plaice |18 |- Whiting |9 |- Saithe |102 |- Catfish |1 |1 Dabs |1 |- Dogfish |3 |- Ling |1 |1 Megrims |3 |3 Monkfish |12 |5 Skate |1 |1 <1>Rounded to the nearest tonne.
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Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the incidence of calling in in respect of Scottish vessels landing at each Scottish port in June 1989 and June 1990 broken down by length of vessel.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 23 July 1990] : It is assumed that the question refers to calling in vessels for inspection, when crossing the 4 deg line. No vessels were called into port for physical inspection in either June 1989 or June 1990.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many Scottish vessels landing area VII catches at Peterhead failed to radio in ;
(2) what was the average number of days at sea per trip recorded for June in respect of Scottish vessels landing at Peterhead having declared fishing in sea area VII ;
(3) how many Scottish vessels landing area VII catches at Peterhead in June had radioed in ; and what percentage were physically summoned for inspection.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 23 July 1990] : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 July.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will order a full investigation into the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland monitoring of fish landings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 23 July 1990] : As I have already indicated to the hon. Member, urgent consideration is being given to fisheries enforcement procedures, in the light of recent developments.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students in each Scottish local authority area received (a) mandatory awards and (b) discretionary awards in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Lang : The information is not available in the form requested. Awards under the students' allowances scheme--broadly equivalent to mandatory awards--are administered centrally and do not distinguish between individual local authority areas. The total number of such awards offered to Scottish domiciled students in session 1989-90 was 65,825.
Discretionary awards for students attending other full-time courses of further or higher education are the responsibility of individual education authorities under the Education Authority Bursaries (Scotland) Regulations 1988, as amended. Information on these awards is not held centrally.
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the achievements of (a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
Mr. Lang : Small firms continue to play an important and dynamic role in the regeneration of the Scottish
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