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Column 81
relaxation of specific standards as authorised under the regulations is expected to comply with the EC standards by 1995. Private water supplies which require improvement to comply with the standards are to be the subject of programmes on which it is planned to issue further guidance later this year.Local Government Review
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in his review of local government, he will give consideration to the establishment of an independent commission similar to that being proposed for local government south of the border.
Mr. Lang : I have, of course, given very careful consideration to this matter. I have concluded that the establishment of a commission of the kind which my right hon. Friend has in mind would not be the best or most appropriate way forward for Scotland, where we have a local government system which is less diverse and more coherent, where the scale of the task is very different, and where we already have 16 years' experience of unitary authorities in the islands. My right hon. Friend proposes a commission which will advise him on changes in different parts of England, on a rolling programme : I do not see a need for a commission working in that way in Scotland. The absence of a commission will not, however, mean a less thorough consultative process in Scotland. We intend to start the consultative process within the next few weeks, by consulting on the broad principles which will underpin the new system.
Water Pollution
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, further to his answer of 15 April, Official Report, column 118, what are the arrangements for specific pollution incidents or other significant water quality failures.
Lord James Douglas Hamilton : The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 require a water authority to notify appropriate district or islands councils and health boards of any event affecting drinking water quality which may give rise to a significant risk to public health. The "Guidance on Safeguarding the Quality of Public Water Supplies in Scotland", issued in April 1990, sets out in detail the actions that the water authority should take. These include notifying the Scottish Office Environment Department of any significant water quality failure. A procedure has been agreed whereby the water authority reports initial details of any such incident as soon as possible after its occurrence. The information is updated as the event progresses, until normal water quality is restored.
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the reported cases of water pollution in Scotland in each year since 1975.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The full range of information is not available centrally. River purification boards, however, maintain records of water pollution incidents and publish details of these in their annual reports.
Column 82
Community Care
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 has been implemented in Scotland with reference to community care.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I refer the hon. Member to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (Commencement No. 5 and Revocation) (Scotland) Order 1990--SI1990 No. 2510 c65 S212--and to Scottish Office circular SW2/1991, copies of which are in the Library.
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the current and estimated costs of providing community care in (a) 1990, (b) 1991 and (c) 1992.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. Community care extends over a wide range of different services and expenditure on it is not separately classified as such. The Government have recognised the costs of the new community care arrangements to local authorities by taking £10 million into account in setting the level of aggregate external finance for 1991-92. Further costs will be considered in the course of future annual settlements of local government finance.
Assisted Reproductive Service
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the Scottish Home and Health Department's national acute services advisory group's review on an assisted reproductive service for Scotland will be complete ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I expect this review to be completed by the autumn of this year and I shall make a statement then.
Lothian Health Board
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many operations were cancelled or postponed by Lothian health board in each month from January 1990 to March 1991.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The latest available information is set out in the table.
Number of cancelled
in-patient and day case
admissions:
Total in-patients and
day cases
|Number
------------------------
January |109
February |83
March |118
April |102
May |90
June |94
July |98
August |60
September |83
October |199
November |197
December |117
January |175
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MV Antares
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if a date has been set for the fatal accident inquiry into the sinking of the Antares ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Investigations are continuing into the deaths of the crew of the MFV Antares. The date and location of the fatal accident inquiry have yet to be fixed.
Dentists
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many dentists were registered with the national health service in Scotland on (a) 1 October 1988, (b) 1 October 1989, (c) 1 October 1990 and (d) 1 April 1991.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The number of dentists registered with the national health service in Scotland on each of the dates in question is as follows :--
|Number of
|Dentists
-----------------------------------------
(a) 1st October 1988 |1,572
(b) 1st October 1989 |1,652
(c) 1st October 1990 |1,694
(d) 1st April 1991 |1,719
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advertising for the Scottish electricity privatisation has been placed in the Northern Ireland press or television ; and on what basis the level of advertising there was fixed.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The two Scottish electricity companies share offers are being advertised in Northern Ireland using the national press and business magazines. This is the approach which has been adopted for use in most of the United Kingdom. In Scotland, however, a broader marketing is aimed at the companies' customers.
Press and Public Relations Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts in the press and public relations office of his Department.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 26 April 1991] : The number of staff in the information officer grades employed in the Scottish Office Information Directorate and the number of vacant posts as at 1 April each year from 1979-80 to 1991-92 is set out in the table :
|Number of|Vacancies
|staff
----------------------------------------
1979 |22 |3
1980 |24 |-
1981 |20 |1
1982 |22 |-
1983 |20 |-
1984 |20 |-
1985 |19 |1
1986 |20 |2
1987 |22 |1
1988 |23 |1
1989 |28 |3
1990 |31" |-
1991 |33" |-
Listed Buildings (Demolition)
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State For Scotland how many listed buildings have been demolished in (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole in the past five years ; what information he has concerning the circumstances of such demolitions ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 26 April 1991] : Information is not readily available in the form the hon. Member has requested. The table shows the number of listed building consent applications notified to the Secretary of State in the period in question which involved demolition, either total or partial, and which were cleared for his interest.
Year |Strathclyde |Scotland (1April-31 March -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986-87 |52 |142 1987-88 |57 |154 1988-89 |46 |124 1989-90 |31 |107 1990-91 |39 |95
Information is not gathered on the action taken following the granting of consents. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nursery Education
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of local authority nursery school places provided by each of the education authorities, expressed as a percentage of the eligible children in each area.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 26 April 1991] : The table gives, for each education authority, the number of three and four- year-old children attending education authority nursery schools at September 1990 as a percentage of the 1990 mid-year estimate of the total three and four-year-old population, the range which is the relevant age group for nursery education.
Figures for numbers of pupils attending nursery schools have been used because there are no reliable figures for the number of places and because many children attend nursery school part-time.
Number of three and four year olds in education authority nursery
schools with percentages in relation to the three and four year old
population, September 1990
Education authority |Three and four |Percentage of
|year olds in |three and four
|nursery schools |year olds in
|September 1990 |nursery schools
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borders |470 |19.5
Central |2,732 |41.4
Dumfries/Galloway |630 |17.8
Fife |4,388 |47.6
Grampian |3,391 |26.1
Highland |730 |13.6
Lothian |8,457 |45.9
Strathclyde |18,911 |30.9
Tayside |3,326 |34.27
Orkney |102 |20.4
Shetland |137 |20.5
Western Isles |- |-
Scotland |43,274 |33.0
Food Hygiene
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to complete consultations with interested bodies concerning proposed food hygiene regulations for Scotland ; which bodies will be consulted ; when draft legislation will be published ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 26 April 1991] : Comments have been invited by 20 May on our proposals to amend the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 1959. Following consideration of the results of the consultation, the new regulations will be laid before Parliament ; it is proposed that these will come into force from 1 October 1991. The changes were outlined in my reply to the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) on 26 February. The following representative bodies have been consulted.
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Scottish Food Co-ordinating Committee.
Association of Public Analysts of Scotland.
The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.
Scottish Milk Marketing Board.
Scottish Dairy Trade Federation.
Company of Scottish Cheesemakers.
Handmade Cheese Association of Scotland.
Scottish Association of Master Bakers.
The Federation of Bakers (Scottish Area).
Sea Fish Industry Authority.
Scottish Fishermen's Federation.
Aberdeen Fish Curers' and Merchants' Association.
Herring Buyers Association.
Glasgow Wholesale Fish Trade Association.
Scottish Federation of Fishermen's Co-operatives Ltd.
Scottish Federation of Fishmongers
The Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotland
Scottish Salmon Smokers Association (Mr. H. Neil)
Scottish Salmon Growers Association
Highlands and Islands Fishermen's Association (SG)
British Trout Association
Scottish Salmon Smokers Association (Mr. Norman MacLean) Scottish Shellfish Growers Association
Scottish Fish Merchants Federation
Shellfish Growers Association
Wholesale Grocers' Association of Scotland
Scottish Grocers' Federation
The Scottish Licensed Trade Association
The Brewers' Association of Scotland
Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Association
Meat and Livestock Commission
National Association of Wholesale Meat Salesmen of Scotland Scottish Quality Beef and Lamb Association
Co-operative Union Ltd
Association of Scottish Chambers of Commerce
National Farmers' Union of Scotland
Scottish Consumer Council
Scottish Trades Union Congress General Council
Institute of Food Science and Technology (Scottish Branch) Scottish Tourist Board
The National Trust for Scotland
Column 86
Association of Bed and Breakfast OperatorsScottish Development Agency
Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society
Institute of Refrigeration/Refrigeration Industry Board British Direct Marketing Organisation
Small Farmers Association
Highlands and Islands Development Board
Hamper Industry Trade Association Ltd
British Railways Board (ScotRail Headquarters)
The Post Office
Road Haulage Association (Scottish Area)
Association for Consumer Research
Consumers Association Ltd
Consumers in the European Community Group
Co-operation Union (Parliamentary Committee)
National Consumer Council
National Consumer Protection Council
National Federation of Consumer Groups
National Federation of Womens Institutes
The Brewers Society
British Crayfish Marketing Association
British Egg Products Association
British Retailers Association
British Sandwich Association
British Soft Drinks Council
British Sugar Refiners Association
The Champagne Association
Co-op Milk Trade Association
Crab Processors Association
The Crystalised Fruit Dealers Association
The Delicatessen & Fine Food Association
Federation of British Kippers & Herring Merchants Association Federation of British Port Wholesale Fish Merchants Association Federation of Edible Nuts Association
Federation of Fresh Meat Wholesalers
Federation of Street Traders Union
Fleetwood Fish Merchants Association
Great Yarmouth Mediterranean Herring Exporters Association Institute of Fisheries Management
Institute of Grocery Distributors
Institute of Market Officers
International Meat Trade Association
Joint Consultative Council of the Fresh Fruit, Vegetable & Flower Industries
Joint Council of British Potato & Vegetable Merchants Association Livestock Traders Association
London Fish Merchants Association
London Meat Traders Association Inc.
Meat and Livestock Commission
Meat Marketing Board
Mushroom Growers Association
National Association of British Market Authorities
National Council of Associations of Fresh Meat Wholesalers National Council of Wholesale Egg Distributors
National Dairymans Association
National Dried Fruit Trade Association
National Edible Oil Distribution Association
National Egg Marketing Association
National Egg Producers & Retailers Association
National Federation of Fish Friers
National Federation of Fishmongers Ltd.
National Federation of Fruit & Potato Trades
National Federation of Inland Wholesale Merchants
National Federation of Licensed Victuallers
National Federation of Meat Traders
National Federation of Poultry Meat Merchants
National Federation of Wholesale Grocers & Provision Merchants National Federation of Wholesale Poultry Merchants
National Game Dealers Association
National Joint Council of British Potato & Vegetable Merchants Association
National Market Traders Federation
National Union of Licensed Victuallers
National Union of Retail Confectioners
North of England Wholesale Grocers Association
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