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CEN TC 145 WG 4

CEN TC 148

CEN TC 148 WG 2

CEN TC 148 WG 4

CEN TC 162 WG 2

CEN TC 196

CEN TC 198 WG 1

CEN TC 201 WG 1

CEN TC 202 WG 1

CEN TC 212

CEN TC 214

CEN TC 231

CEN TC 269

CEN TC 23 SC1

CEN TC 54

CEN TC 93

CEN TC 114 WG 2

CEN TC 128

CEN TC 140

CEN TC 143 WG 1

CEN TC 144 WG 2

CEN TC 144 WG 7

CEN TC 147

CEN TC 148 WG 1

CEN TC 148 WG 3

CEN TC 151 WG 12

CEN TC 162 WG 4

CEN TC 196 WG 3

CEN TC 198 WG 2

CEN TC 201 WG 3

CEN TC 211

CEN TC 212 WG 3

CEN TC 214 WG 1

CEN TC 233

CEN/CENELEC TC 1

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how much time is used by Health and Safety Executive staff in recording work undertaken ;

(2) if he will explain the reasons for the use of work recording systems in the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr. Forth : The HSE's principal resource is the time of its professional and administrative staff. Work recording plays a key part in the process of planning, monitoring and accounting for the time of staff allocated to particular activities, thus ensuring that resources are applied to meeting priority objectives.

The time spent by the HSE's staff in recording their activities is part of the administrative work associated with these activities, and is not itself separately recorded.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects the financial benefits of closing the Health and Safety Executive's Cricklewood laboratory and moving the work to Sheffield to be realised.

Mr. Forth : Many of the financial benefits of the relocation will begin to accrue from the outset, as the move will eliminate some of the requirements for support staff, London pay differentials, travel and subsistence, postage and telecommunication services, and so on. Other financial benefits will be felt at a later stage. For example, the expected lower turnover of staff when the laboratory is in Sheffield will be a major advantage, not only in terms of the research and laboratory services division's--RLSD--effectiveness but in reduced recruitment and training costs, etc.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will identify the number of premises, in each of the Health and Safety Executive regions which are subject to the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984 which have not yet been issued

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with a fire certificate by the Health and Safety Executive in accordance with the Fire Certificates (Special Premises) Regulations 1976.

Mr. Forth : Information is not readily available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to assist the Health and Safety Executive in overcoming the problems of under-reporting of accidents and the low level of registration by employers.

Mr. Forth : I am satisfied that the Health and Safety Executive is already taking and planning effective action to encourage both the reporting of accidents and registration by employers.

During visits to all workplaces, HSE inspectors give advice and guidance, remind employers of their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and related legislation including the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1984 and when appropriate take action to secure compliance.

As part of planned preventive inspection, inspectors continue to seek out and inspect new and unregistered workplaces. To complement this, special initiatives have been, and will continue to be, mounted on a local or regional basis aimed specifically at both registered and unregistered small firms in defined geographical areas. Planned publicity for such targeted initiatives enables the HSE to get the health and safety message across and stimulate better standards of compliance with the legislation.

Additionally, between 1 July and 31 December 1991, the HSE plans to carry out a pilot exercise in seven areas to assess the feasibility of employing visiting officers to identify establishments for inspection. One of the objectives of the exercise, which will complement normal inspection arrangements is to seek out and indentify establishments not registered with the HSE.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the costs of attendance by Health and Safety Executive personnel at CEN committees is borne by the Health and Safety Executive and what by the European Commission.

Mr. Forth : The travel and subsistence costs of Health and Safety Executive staff attending CEN committees are at present met by the Health and Safety Executive. I understand that there are now arrangements whereby the CEC will pay to CEN a proportion of the costs of chairmen of committees and of the convenors of working groups. The Health and Safety Executive is discussing with the British Standards Institution how it will recover its share of such costs.

Agricultural and Factory Inspectors

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the differences in the quality of work required from principal agricultural inspectors and factory inspectors 1A.

Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive does not differentiate between the quality of work required from principal agricultural inspectors and factory inspectors 1A.

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Health and Safety Commission

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission about the effect of inflation on the level of activity of the Health and Safety Commission ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Forth : None. Once again, the Government have met in full the Health and Safety Commission's request for funds for the current financial year. In his letter to the Secretary of State enclosing the plan of work for 1991-92 and beyond, the commission's chairman confirmed that these funds enable the commission to take forward its plan of work for this financial year with no additional bid for resources. The plan of work will be published later this month.

Employment Medical Advisory Service

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what criteria are used to assess the suitability of appointed doctors ; and how many doctors have had their status as appointed doctors withdrawn by EMAS ;

(2) what proportion of doctors appointed by EMAS have qualifications in occupational health ;

(3) how many appointed doctors are currently registered with EMAS ; and how many days' training, on average, each received from EMAS staff.

Mr. Forth : There are currently 1,369 appointed doctors registered with EMAS. Approximately 40 per cent. of doctors currently appointed by EMAS hold formal qualifications in occupational health, and all are encouraged to take the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's 30 to 50 hours introductory course in occupational health.

Each doctor is provided with appropriate induction training prior to being appointed and all appointed doctors are normally given the opportunity to attend a one-day seminar run by EMAS on an annual basis in each HSE area/region. No records are maintained of the time spent training individual doctors.

The local senior employment medical adviser is required to ensure that any doctor seeking an appointment is suitable and competent and has the necessary facilities and equipment to carry out the required duties.

The Health and Safety Executive does not maintain historical data on the number of doctors who have had their status as appointed doctors withdrawn, but in recent years several hundred appointments have been no longer required as a result of legislative change.

Disabled People

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number and locations of the TECs which have any links with employment rehabilitation centres or asset centres or which have sought to place trainees with disabilities in these centres.

Mr. Jackson : The information is not held centrally. I know that training and enterprise councils will decide carefully what is best for people with special training needs.

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Field Operations Divisions

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many categories of work are required to be recorded on the field operations division WR1 form.

Mr. Forth : Three forms WR1, currently in use by different parts of the field operations divisions, make provision for a combined total of 78 different categories of work to be recorded.

Employment Rehabilitation

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidance has been given to training and enterprise councils on the services that can be provided by the employment rehabilitation service.

Mr. Jackson : Training and enterprise councils have been advised that they are able to access the facilities of the employment rehabilitation service--ERS--as part of making appropriate arrangements for trainees with special needs.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what advice or guidance has been given in writing to employment rehabilitation and asset centre managers and staff on the role of psychology assistants ; and whether in all cases the psychology assistants are working under the direct supervision and control of a higher or senior occupational psychologist.

Mr. Jackson : Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the employment rehabilitation service.

Mr. Jackson : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on 16 April 1991, Official Report, columns 157-59 .

Wath Recycling

Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many visits have been paid to the premises of Wath Recycling by officials of his Department, including the Health and Safety Executive in connection with the toxic waste held at these premises since this material arrived in the summer of 1989.

Mr. Forth : Inspectors and specialist inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive have paid a total of 21 visits to the premises of Wath Recycling Ltd. in connection with the toxic waste held at the premises since its arrival in the summer of 1989.

Training

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will publish the anticipated unit cost per week of training disabled students by training and enterprise councils and local enterprise councils ;

(2) if he will publish the anticipated unit cost per week of training able- bodies students by TECs and LECs ;

(3) what percentage of financial resources made available by central Government to training and enterprise

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councils and local enterprise councils is to be allocated specifically for the training of disabled students by TECs and LECs.

Mr. Jackson : My Department funds each TEC on the basis of an agreed average unit cost per trainee week and per output achieved. The funding of training for able bodied people or people with disabilities is a matter for negotiation between TECs and their training providers. Funding arrangements for LECs are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what percentage of students seeking training at TECs and LECs will be (a) disabled and (b) able-bodied ;

(2) what is the anticipated demand for training by disabled students through TECs and LECs.

Mr. Jackson : Forecasts are not available of the number of trainees with disabilities who may require and or obtain places on programmes run by TECs and LECs. The Government are committed to equal opportunities and action has been taken to ensure that there is no discrimination against people with disabilities.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Decommissioning Scheme

Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with representatives of fishing organisations on the introduction of a decommissioning scheme.

Mr. Gummer : I regularly meet individual fishermen. Most recently I spent two days in north-east Scotland where I talked individually to a large number of fishermen from the region.

Agricultural Tenancies

Mr. Mans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what objectives he is setting for his consultative paper on agricultural tenancy legislation.

Mr. Gummer : Any reform must ensure that there is more land to let.

Milk

Mr. Burt : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Milk Marketing Board on proposed changes to the milk marketing scheme.

Mr. Gummer : In March the Milk Marketing Board submitted proposals setting out the terms on which it might transform itself into a voluntary co-operative.

Beef

14. Mr. Alison : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to help British beef producers and to reduce the levels of beef intervention stocks.

Mr. Gummer : In the long term we will be pressing the Community to replace the present intervention system with a mechanism which provides more direct help to the farmer.

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Slaughterhouses

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of the slaughtering industry in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Maclean : The Government fully support the principle of common health standards for all meat plants after 1992 and believe that there will continue to be opportunities for businesses of all sizes producing high- quality British meat products.

Organic Farming

Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the extensification scheme for organic farming.

Mr. Curry : My right hon. Friend the Minister has made clear the Government's intention to introduce a scheme under EC rules to help farmers who wish to convert to organic production. I hope that the European Commission's proposals on agriculture and the environment will provide the legal basis for the type of scheme we have in mind.

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for encouraging the growing and sale of agricultural and horticultural produce free of additives, pesticides and non-organic fertilisers.

Mr. Maclean : My right hon. Friend the Minister and this Department have been long-time supporters of organic farming.

We expect to commission research projects shortly in hill grazing of livestock and on a mixed arable and pig unit.

Research is already under way on pests and diseases in organic winter wheat.

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