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Eggs
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was (a) the number and (b) the value of eggs (i) imported into the United Kingdom and (ii) exported from the United Kingdom in each month since September 1989.
Mr. Curry : The number and value of shell eggs (i) imported into the United Kingdom and (ii) exported from the United Kingdom from September 1989 up to and including October 1990 (latest available figures) are set out in the table :
|'000 Eggs |Value £
--------------------------------------------
Imports
1989
September |58,044 |2,532,210
October |38,285 |1,513,155
November |74,354 |3,401,470
December |53,882 |2,643,422
1990
January |37,755 |1,670,107
February |34,982 |1,520,792
March |66,290 |3,226,961
April |54,212 |2,187,086
May |76,115 |3,053,742
June |72,839 |2,730,381
July |52,608 |1,992,012
August |65,622 |2,568,045
September |52,964 |2,424,870
October |50,136 |2,024,978
|------- |-------
Total |788,088 |33,489,231
Exports
1989
September |8,861 |332,546
October |9,874 |374,294
November |5,507 |277,352
December |5,889 |315,224
1990
January |9,580 |539,652
February |7,662 |349,428
March |6,347 |320,290
April |6,660 |329,901
May |7,231 |338,151
June |6,353 |288,356
July |12,767 |609,872
August |13,640 |474,317
September |9,353 |336,649
October |9,180 |352,955
|------- |-------
Total |118,904 |5,238,987
Global Warming
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply of 16 November, Official Report, column 250, whether the Agriculture Council meeting on 27 November discussed the relationship between European agricultural practices and global warming.
Mr. Curry : This topic was not on the agenda for this Council and was not discussed.
Rabies
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are now being taken to prevent the spread of rabies to the United Kingdom from the European continent following recent developments in the channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Eurotunnel has implemented agreed measures to prevent the possible entry of rabies-susceptible animals while the tunnel is being built. These include fencing, staged security zones, visual observation at openings in fencing and a system to ensure that any animals which are seen in the tunnel are reported.
Radiation Exposure
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish measured and estimated annual radiation dose equivalent uptakes in milliSieverts per annum by members of the general public living near Bradwell and Dungeness nuclear power stations arising directly from radiation in the local environment and from consumption of land produce ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : Information on radiation doses to the general public from radio activity in the marine and coastal environment and from consumption of locally produced foodstuffs around Bradwell and Dungeness power stations is published annually by this Department in the "Terrestrial Radioactivity Monitoring Report :
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Radioactivity in Food and Agricultural Products in England and Wales" and "Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report : Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters of the British Isles". The latest copies of both reports are in the Library of the House.Pesticides
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many pesticide products remain to be reviewed ; and how long he expects this work to take.
Mr. Maclean : This extensive list of information was announced on 1 November and is available in the Library of the House.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Purchasing
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.
Mr. Jack : The Department is bound by the Government's policy that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality (or fitness for purpose) and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and the GATT Government procurement agreement (GPA) where appropriate, the Department is obliged to award contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discrimination on grounds of nationality.
Personal Pensions
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer, during financial year 1991-92, of the 2 per cent. incentive payment paid from the national insurance fund to people with personal pensions.
Miss Widdecombe : On the assumption that by the end of 1990-91 the number of people with personal pensions is 4.5 million, the Government Actuary estimates that the revenue foregone by the national insurance fund in respect of the 2 per cent. incentive will be £600 million in 1991- 92.
Direct Payment of Benefits
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking to make clear to staff and claimants that the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 allows for benefit administered clerically to be paid directly into the bank account or building society belonging to a claimant, their spouse or other person acting on the claimant's behalf.
Miss Widdecombe : I am arranging for guidance to be issued to local social security offices clarifying the help and advice they can give to individual beneficiaries who have no suitable person to act on their behalf and who request payment direct to bank or building society accounts. The facility is already available for bulk payments of benefit to agents and appointees handling the affairs of customers.
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Disability
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to announce details of the disability employment credit scheme ; and on what basis the level of credit will be determined.
Mr. Scott : "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" (Cmd. 917) set out the basic structure of the proposed disability employment credit, which, in the light of research and discussion, has now been renamed disability working allowance. A number of responses were received from organisations and individuals which were helpful in working up the provisions relating to disability working allowance set out in the Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Bill.
A note giving more detailed information about the benefit, including elements which we propose to set out in regulations in due course, was published on 12 November 1990 and a copy was placed in the Library. This note included illustrative rates of benefit but the level at which the benefit would be introduced in April 1992 will not be settled until nearer the time.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to amend the payment rates of severe disablement allowance to take into account (a) those who do not have sufficient national insurance contributions, (b) those who have never worked and (c) women who have not worked outside the home for a number of years.
Mr. Scott : I have no plans to do so. Severe disablement allowance is already paid to people in these circumstances. From this month age- related additions have been introduced to SDA which focus most help on those who become disabled early in life.
Pensioners
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the extra weekly amount married and single pensioners would now receive if the earnings link had not been broken.
Miss Widdecombe : The full-rate, basic retirement pension, if it had been uprated since 1979 by the higher of prices or earnings, would today be £58.65 per week. For a married couple where the wife is receiving a pension based on her husband's contributions, the combined amount payable would be £94.05. The extra amounts received would therefore be £11.75 and £18.95 respectively. This would cost national insurance contributors an extra £5.5 billion in 1990-91. What really matters to pensioners is their total income from all sources ; this rose on average by 31 per cent. between 1979 and 1987.
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will list, for each member state of the European Community, the rate of weekly state retirement pension for (a) a single person and (b) a married couple.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to the 1989 edition of the Department's publication, "Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the European Communities", a copy of which is in the Library. These tables set out the levels of pension in the national currencies together with the sterling equivalent converted according to the purchasing power parity figures as shown in the introduction to the tables.
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Computer Centre, Swindon
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the computer centre at Oak house, Swindon, became operational ; and if he will make a statement on the progress of implementing the Department's new computer systems.
Mr. Jack : I am pleased to be able to announce that Oak house, Swindon, started processing income support and pensions payments on 3 December. This additional processing centre, run by Sema Ltd. under the direction of the Information Technology Services Agency, will enable the implementation of the operational strategy in local offices to be completed by the middle of next year. A total of 387 local offices have now been connected and 75 per cent. of new income support claims are being processed by computer, thus giving better service to the public, improved job satisfaction to the staff and savings in administration.
DEFENCE
Dockyards (Radiation)
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum total radiation dose recorded for any Chatham dockyard worker registered in the defence radiological protection services' record- keeping system ; over what period it accrued ; and what are the 20 highest doses recorded.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The maximum lifetime total radiation dose for a Chatham worker currently registered in the DRPS's record-keeping system is 511.6 milliSieverts. This total dose was accrued over the period 1 January 1968 to 5 December 1983. The 20 highest doses recorded for workers so registered are shown in the table :
Highest Radiation Doses/Chatham Dockyard Cumulative dose (mSv) 511.60
420.21
403.13
396.99
393.58
387.46
366.57
365.44
352.88
348.27
340.57
325.06
320.74
307.87
307.43
304.86
298.44
297.05
295.45
288.07
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will give a breakdown for Rosyth dockyard of annual individual radiation exposure for Rolls-Royce personnel in the bands of (a) nought to 10, (b) 10 to 20, (c) 20 to 30, (d) 30 to 40, (e) greater than 50, (f) greater than 70 and (g) greater than 100 milliSieverts for each year since 1979 ;
(2) if he will give a breakdown for Devonport dockyard of annual individual radiation exposure for Rolls-Royce
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personnel in the bands of (a) nought to 10, (b) 10 to 20, (c) 20 to 30, (d) 30 to 40, (e) greater than 50, (f) greater than 70 and (g) greater than 100 milliSieverts for each year since 1979 ;(3) if he will give a breakdown for Chatham dockyard of annual individual radiation exposure for Rolls-Royce personnel in the bands of (a) nought to 10, (b) 10 to 20, (c) 20 to 30, (d) 30 to 40, (e) greater than 50, (f) greater than 70 and (g) greater than 100 milliSieverts for each year since 1979 ;
(4) if he will give a breakdown for the Clyde submarine base at Faslane of annual individual radiation exposure for Rolls-Royce personnel in the bands of (a) nought to 10, (b) 10 to 20, (c) 20 to 30, (d) 30 to 40, (e) greater than 50, (f) greater than 70 and (g) greater than 100 milliSieverts for each year since 1979 ;
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The information requested by the hon. Member is a matter for Rolls-Royce and associates.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the distribution of total radiation exposure for Chatham dockyard workers in the ranges (a) nought to five milliSieverts, (b) five to 10, (c) 10 to 15, (d) 15 to 20, (e) 20 to 25, (f) 25 to 30, (g) 30 to 35, (h) 35 to 40, (i) 40 to 45, (j) 45 to 50, (k) greater than 50, (l) greater than 100, (m) greater than 200, (n) greater than 300, (o) greater than 400, (p) greater than 500, (q) greater than 600, (r) greater than 700 and (s) greater than 750 milliSieverts, in numbers and in terms of percentage of the overall work force.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : A breakdown of cumulative radiation exposure for workers registered in DRPS's record-keeping system as working at Chatham dockyard, including those who have left MOD but whose last MOD establishment was Chatham, is shown in the table :
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the collective commitment made by the United Kingdom, along with the United States of America and Soviet Union, at the first United Nations special session on disarmament in 1978 to negative security assurances and
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the renunciation of the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states, remains the policy of Her Majesty's armed forces in the Gulf.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government are well aware of their responsibilities and undertakings as set out in their negative security assurance to the United Nations.
Military Doctrine
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions his officials have discussed military doctrine with their Soviet counterparts in the last two years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There have been a number of defence exchanges between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in the last two years, during which a wide range of matters have been discussed, including military doctrine. There was also a military doctrine seminar in Vienna from 16 January to 5 February this year, in which both British and Soviet representatives took part.
Conventional Forces
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to the inclusion of maritime confidence- building measures in the further discussions on conventional force reductions in Europe.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The mandate for the conventional forces in Europe follow-on talks (CFE1A) specifically excludes naval issues.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether those British tanks that will be removed as part of the conventional forces in Europe agreement will be sold or destroyed.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The CFE treaty provides for reductions in tank holdings required by the treaty to be by destruction or conversion to certain forms of non-military use. The possibility exists of transferring excess equipment to allies provided national limits on equipment holdings are not exceeded. No final decision on the manner of United Kingdom tank reductions has yet been taken.
Nuclear Submarines
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects his programme of inspections of nuclear-powered submarines to be completed.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The programme of inspections of our nuclear- powered submarines is continuing and will be completed as soon as possible.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make it his policy to publish a declassified summary of the results of his inspections of the Royal Navy's in-service nuclear-powered submarines.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : No. It is not our general practice to comment on the material state of individual nuclear-powered submarines.
Radiation Exposure
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which groups of service personnel are monitored for levels of radiation exposure.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Groups monitored for exposure to ionising radiation include : nuclear submarine operating, maintenance and training personnel ; radiographers employed in hospitals, non-destructive testing units, clearance diving teams, explosives ordnance disposal units and in general medical, dental and nuclear medicine units ; users of high-voltage equipment (which may emit X-rays) such as radar operators and security personnel ; health physicists ; personnel involved in handling and maintaining nuclear weapons ; personnel employed in NBC training, and personnel employed as instrument calibration technicians and storekeepers.Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records relating to service personnel are held on the national register of radiation workers.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The national register of radiation workers keep records of annual and cumulative lifetime doses on all service personnel who have been dosimeter wearers at any time since 1978 with the exception of those who have requested to opt out of the scheme.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many inspections have been made by radiological protection advisers of nuclear- powered submarines in each year for the last 10 years.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It is not the function of a radiation protection adviser (RPA) to carry out inspections, but rather, as required by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985, regulation 10(1), to advise the employer.
SCOTLAND
Greater Glasgow Health Board
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to Greater Glasgow health board in advertising and assessing competitive tenders for its medical records and secretarial services ; and what was the outcome.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Advertising and assessment costs were approximately £5,000. The board is currently considering how to obtain the best quality service and value for money in the future.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been allocated by Greater Glasgow health board to the Glasgow North county medical team for the years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information is as follows :
|Salaries |Supplies
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |151,000 |6,000
1990-91 (projection) |224,000 |10,500
1991-92 (at current prices) |224,000 |<1>16,000
<1> This includes resources for additional equipment.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the proposed start and completion dates for the Seafield units to be built by Greater Glasgow health board to house patients from Lennox Castle.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The first unit is sited at Rodger drive, Rutherglen. Building commenced in October 1990 and will finish in October 1991.
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Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what capital projects are to be cut from Greater Glasgow health board's programme following the reduction in the capital investment grant.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Capital allocations to individual health boards for 1991-92 have still to be decided.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how long the Glasgow county medical team will be in the temporary accommodation at Waverley Park school.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The team has been using this accommodation as an administrative base since the week commencing 29 October 1990, when it was relocated from Maryhill health centre. The current accommodation provides more space, is functionally acceptable, and will be used until longer-term accommodation is located.
AIDS
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the expenditure in Lothian region on patients with HIV for the years 1989- 90 ; and what is the expected expenditure for 1990-91.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Lothian health board has estimated that its total expenditure on HIV and AIDS-related services was approximately £2,275,300 in 1988-89 and £2,621,700 in 1989-90. For 1990-91 the board anticipates total expenditure of around £6,158,200 on such services. The board cannot readily distinguish between expenditure on persons with HIV and on those with AIDS.
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on HIV and drugs media campaigns for each of the years from 1984 to 1990.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : In Scotland health education at national level is the responsibility of the Scottish health education group. The following table gives details of expenditure incurred by the group on HIV/AIDS and drug misuse media advertising and related activities :
£000
|HIV/AIDS|Drugs
------------------------------------
1984-85 |- |285.0
1985-86 |8.5 |235.0
1986-87 |86.6 |286.2
1987-88 |53.2 |297.1
1988-89 |46.9 |206.5
1989-90 |77.4 |150.0
1990-91 |<1>115.2|<1>68.0
<1>Provisional.
From 1988-89 the mass media campaign on drug misuse has been conducted on a Great Britain-wide basis, and the contributions made by the Scottish Home and Health Department towards the costs are shown in the following table :
|£000
----------------------
1988-89 |160
1989-90 |200
1990-91 |<1>300
<1>Provisional.
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Nurses
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland who will be the validating body for certification of nurses following the introduction of Project 2000 ; and who will be legally responsible for student work on the wards on their branch regime following its introduction.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for Scotland is currently in negotiation with a number of appropriate agencies about the validation of Project 2000 courses. Project 2000 students will not be health board employees but will be subject to the regulations of their college. They will work in wards under the direction and supervision of registered nurses.
Lanarkshire Health Board
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when representatives of Lanarkshire health board last met with Scottish Office officials ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Representatives of Lanarkshire health board last met with Scottish Office officials on 27 November to discuss the board's accountability review submission.
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