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Mull Slaughterhouse, Isle of MullScarnish Slaughterhouse, Isle of Tiree
Blackwaterfoot Slaughterhouse, Arran
Tayside Region
*E C Matheson and Sons Ltd, Brechin
*Dundee Public Abattoir, Dundee
*FMC (Meat) Ltd, Perth
Strathmore Meat Ltd, Forfar
H W Irvine, Blairgowrie
Orkney Islands
*Hatson Slaughterhouse, St Ola
Pierowall Slaughterhouse, Westray
Stronsay Slaughterhouse, Stronsay
Shetland Islands
Boddam Slaughterhouse, Boddam
Laxfirth Slaughterhouse, Laxfirth
Mid Yell Slaughterhouse, Mid Yell
Vementry Slaughterhouse, Sandsting
Western Isles
Stornoway Abattoir, Stornoway
Craigston Slaughterhouse, Isle of Barra
Leverburgh Slaughterhouse, Isle of Harris
Locheport Slaughterhouse, North Uist
Strombane Slaughterhouse, Lochmaddy, North Uist
Note : --All abattoirs which are EC approved are denoted by an asterisk.
Two of the abattoirs listed are currently suspended from engaging in intra- Community trade in sheepmeat. The suspension is applied until structural or operational requirements are attended to and it would not be appropriate to identify those plants that may be suspended at any one time.
Scottish Natural Heritage
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many posts will be required by the proposed natural heritage agency ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Scottish Natural Heritage will inherit the staff of the Countryside Commission for Scotland and the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland. I am not yet in a position to quantify the total complement of staff which the new body will require.
Agricultural Land
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average price per hectare of average quality arable agricultural land in Scotland on the latest available date ; and what was the comparable price in the previous year.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Agricultural land price statistics do not differentiate between land qualities or distinguish arable land from other types of agricultural land. The average prices of farms sold with vacant possession and remaining in agriculture during 1987 and 1988, the latest years for which complete records are available, were as follows :
|1987 |1988
|(£ per hectare)|(£ per hectare)
----------------------------------------------------------------
All farms |848 |758
Lowground farms |1,130 |994
Heart Operations
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average length of time patients in the Greater Glasgow health board area must wait before receiving coronary heart bypass operations.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : During the financial year 1989-90, the median waiting time for coronary heart bypass operations in hospitals in the Greater Glasgow health board area was 63 days for urgent cases and 167 days for routine cases.
Forestry
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to introduce legislation relating to the United Kingdom forestry industry.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government have no plans to introduce legislation relating to the United Kingdom forestry industry.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, following the European Commission report on forest damage in Europe, his Department intends to raise in the European Community the issue of forestry policy in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The European Community does not have a common forestry policy. Responsibility for forestry policy rests with the individual member states.
Firearms
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what category of certificate has been issued to cover the firearms displayed on HMS Plymouth on the River Clyde at Glasgow.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Special Olympics Games
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland why was it decided that no Scottish Office Minister should attend the opening ceremony of the European Special Olympics Games in Glasgow on Saturday 21 July.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : It had been planned that a Scottish Office Minister would attend, but in the event because of circumstances arising none was able to do so.
Rating Valuation
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost per domestic dwelling of carrying out the last valuation exercise for rating purposes in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : This information is not available. The 1985 revaluation in Scotland covered both domestic and non-domestic property and the cost of valuing different classes of property is not separately identifiable.
Milk
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to prevent in the future the sale of untreated or unpasteurised milk in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Rifkind : The present restrictions in Scotland on the retail sale of raw milk for human consumption have, since their introduction in 1983, been fully justified by the dramatic decline in the incidence of reported milk-borne infections.Proposals have recently been received from the EC Commission aimed at generally improving the health rules and standards for the production and marketing of raw milk across the Community. They seek to establish microbiological and antibiotic residue levels, but, as presently drafted, would not of themselves outlaw the sale of raw milk that met the prescribed standards.
These proposals, which, if adopted, would not come into force until 1993, are presently the subject of public consultation, but our aim in any discussions on them will be to maintain the high public health standard of milk which we have achieved.
Water Pollution
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends fully to implement the recommendations of the 1984 SDD report regarding ferruginous discharges into rivers and streams.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : While the Scottish Development Department (SDD) did not produce any report on this subject in 1984, it was reviewed in a report "Water Pollution Control in Scotland--Recent Developments" published in August 1983. This report did not make any specific recommendations regarding ferruginous discharges, but if the hon. Member would care to write to me with details of his particular concerns, his letter will receive careful attention.
Bed-and-Breakfast Establishments
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to make regulations exempting small bed-and-breakfast establishments in Scotland from non-domestic rates ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Rifkind : As I announced on 19 July I have decided, having considered the many responses received to the consultation paper on this subject, to prescribe that dwellinghouses that are made available for letting as bed-and-breakfast accommodation to no more than six persons per night are to be included within the statutory
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definition of domestic subjects. This will ensure that the occupiers of such premises are not liable for non-domestic rates. The relevant regulations--the Abolition of Domestic Rates (Domestic and Part Residential Subjects) (No. 2) (Scotland) Regulations 1990--have been laid before Parliament today.These regulations implement our proposal for clarifying the boundary between domestic and non-domestic subjects in the case of bed-and-breakfast establishments, thus ensuring the consistent treatment of such premises for rating purposes. I am confident that they will be welcomed by the operators of many small establishments, especially in rural areas.
Scottish Bus Group
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make available the prices paid for individual subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Transport about the publication of sale prices of the subsidiaries of the National Bus Company. Sale prices of the subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group will be made available in due course once privatisation has been completed.
A1 (Roadworks)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the timing of proposed works to the A1 road at Pencraig hill in East Lothian.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 25 July 1990] : A report has been received from Lothian regional council which considers the provision of crawler lanes on a short section of dual carriageway at Pencraig hill to prevent the build-up of "platoons" of traffic behind slow- moving vehicles at this location. The scheme will now be reviewed by the new A1 steering group which is required to identify a programme of overtaking opportunity schemes between Edinburgh and Morpeth. In the first instance, the group will require to identify five overtaking opportunity schemes by next spring for early implementation, and Pencraig hill will be considered in this context.
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