| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 617
Divisions |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London | - | - | - | - | - |2.48 RF | -
South East |0.88 NF |1.60 RF |1.29 HU |1.50 RF |1.42 HU | - | -
Eastern |1.15 HU | - |1.23 RF | - | - | - | -
South West | - | - |1.55 RF |1.60 UPR |1.74 RF |2.18 HU |1.87 RF
Midlands | - |1.375 NF |1.20 RF |2.04 RF | - | - |2.30 LR
North West | - |1.60 RF |1.75 RF | - | - |1.50 RF | -
Yorkshire and Humberside | - | - |1.92 RF |2.19 RF |2.00 RF |1.50 RF |1.70 RF
Northern | - | - | - |1.91 NF |not available RF|1.25 RF |2.00 RF
Scotland | - | - | - | - | - |2.48 RF |1.60 LR
Key to Wages Council names.
HU=Hairdressing Undertaking.
LR=Licensed Residential Establishment and Licensed Restaurants.
NF=Retail Trades (Non-food).
RF=Retail Food and Allied Trades.
UPR=Unlicensed Place of Refreshement.
New Opportunities for Women Initiative
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what moneys have been deployed by way of the European Community's new opportunities for women initiative under article 11 of Council regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 (a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole in (i) 1991 and (ii) so far this year ; what kind of employment and training programmes were funded in this way ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : A total of £6,369,996 has been made available to Great Britain under the European Community initiative NOW for the period 1991 to 1993. The amount committed to successful Scottish projects was £999,411, with one project in Strathclyde of £142,336. The allocation of funds has been made over the life of the programme, rather than on a calendar-year basis.
All the projects aim to help women to take full advantage on equal terms of economic growth and technological development through the funding of transnational partnerships between organisations in two or more member states.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what moneys have been deployed by way of the European Community's NOW initiative under article 11 of Council regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 in England and Wales in (a) 1991 and (b) so far this year ; what kind of employment and training programmes were funded in this way ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : A total of £6,369,996 has been made available to Great Britain under the European Community initiative NOW for the period 1991 to 1993. The amount committed to successful projects in England and Wales was £5,260,435. The allocation of funds has been made over the life of the programme, rather than on a calendar-year basis.
All the projects aim to help women to take full advantage on equal terms of economic growth and technological development through the funding of transnational partnerships between organisations in two or more member states.
Column 618
Social Affairs Council
Mr. Duncan-Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the outcome of the meeting on 3 December of the Social Affairs Council in Brussels ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Social Affairs Council had a useful meeting on 3 December, adapting a number of instruments and making good progress on others.
The Council adopted a wide-ranging resolution concerned with the serious and deteriorating problem of unemployment throughout the Community. The resolution emphasised the importance of achieving sound economic growth and the conditions necessary for the creation and growth of businesses. The resolution underlined the importance of effective labour market measures-- in particular, quality employment services for those looking for a job and training which is geared to the needs of the labour market. The resolution identified various ways in which the Council and European Commission would continue to give high priority to the issue of unemployment, including in the forthcoming review of the European social fund. This resolution flows from the employment initiative launched by the United Kingdom presidency and was warmly welcomed by the Council.
Other useful measures agreed at the Council include a health and safety directive concerned with extractive industries, a resolution to promote the acceptance of vocational qualifications across the Community, and conclusions on the importance of ensuring timely and fully effective implementation and enforcement of EC social directives throughout the Community.
In discussion, progress was made on a range of further proposals in the social area including the HELIOS programme for disabled people, the directive on subcontracted workers, and instruments concerned with the free movement of labour and with health and safety at work. The working time directive was also discussed. However, the directive continues to pose significant difficulties for a number of member states and it was not possible for progress to be made on this instrument.
This meeting of the Council formed an important part of the aim of the United Kingdom presidency to make
Column 619
sensible progress on the EC social dimension, in ways which directly affect for the better the lives of individual citizens in the Community.Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Social Affairs Council on 3 December ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Chingford (Mr. Duncan-Smith) today.
SCOTLAND
Health Spending
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the planned spending on health for 1993-94 will come from savings not yet specified.
Mr. Stewart : The expenditure plans for health announced recently by my right hon. Friend represents the cash resources he has made available to the NHS in Scotland. However, we encourage health boards to seek to finance further improvements to patient services from efficiency savings.
Ozone Depletion
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many portable halon fire extinguishers are contained within his Department's buildings ; and what measures are being taken to ensure their recycling and replacement ;
(2) what measures have been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances in use by his Department identified as controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 do not reach the atmosphere ;
(3) how many chlorofluorocarbon domestic fridges are contained within his Department's buildings ;
(4) what targets have been set for the recycling of ozone-depleting chemicals within his Department's buildings ;
(5) what is the quantity of ozone-depleting substances recycled within his Department and returned to the manufacturer ;
(6) by what date his Department's use of ozone-depleting chemicals will conform to EC regulations on limits on these chemicals ; (7) how much funding has been allocated or spent to deal specifically with measures to reduce his Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances ;
(8) what action has been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances consumed by his Department are identified as controlled wastes when they are no longer in use ;
(9) if he will provide details from the maintenance and servicing record of the quantity and type of ozone-destroying chemicals used annually in his Department's refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for servicing and in leakages ; and what proportion is removed for recycling ;
(10) how many chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon installations are contained within his Department's buildings ;
Column 620
(11) how many refrigeration and air conditioning systems in his Department are equipped with automatic leak detection systems ; (12) what proportion of his Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances becomes controlled waste in terms of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ;(13) what guidance has been sought and received on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-destroying chemicals in use by his Department ;
(14) which current uses of ozone-depleting chemicals by his Department are considered essential.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 19 November] : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as the necessary information has been collated.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest available figures for his Department's total purchase of CFCs and HCFCs.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 19 November] : The information required could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Civil Servants
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants are employed by his Department (a) in London, (b) in Edinburgh and (c) elsewhere.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 7 December 1992] : At 30 November 1992 the number of civil servants employed by the Scottish Office, excluding the Scottish prison service, was 6,427 of whom 39 were located in London, 4,850 in the Edinburgh area and 1,538 elsewhere.
Schools (Disciplinary Proceedings)
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what role his Department has in any disciplinary proceedings in locally or directly managed schools.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December 1992] : Responsibility for teacher discipline in Scotland lies with education authorities, the managers of grant-aided and independent schools and, in respect of professional misconduct, the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
Prisons
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure has been incurred to date by the Scottish Office in undertaking the review of the prison estate announced in 1990 ; and when he expects a report to be published.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December 1992] : The review of the prisons estate in Scotland, which was completed earlier this year, was undertaken by officials from the Scottish Office and the Scottish prison service. It would be impractical to separate and quantify this part of their duties in expenditure terms. The results of this work are not intended to be published, but they will be of assistance in developing a strategy for the prisons estate which will make the most effective use of the increased level of funding for the Scottish prison service announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 2 December.
Column 621
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many qualified prison staff were employed at each Scottish prison at the latest available date ; and if he will show this as a percentage of the recommended complement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December 1992] : The complements and staff in post on 1 December 1992 for each establishment in the Scottish prison service are given in the table.
Establishment |Complement 1992-93|Staff in post |Percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aberdeen |130 |137 |105.4
Barlinnie |532 |543 |102.1
Barlinnie Special Unit |19 |19 |100.0
Castle Huntly |76 |74 |97.4
Cornton Vale |190 |193 |101.6
Dumfries |144 |147 |102.1
Dungavel |73 |70 |95.9
Edinburgh |415 |407 |98.1
Friarton |53 |53 |100.0
Glenochil |439 |429 |97.7
Greenock |162 |160 |98.8
Inverness |84 |89 |106.0
Longriggend |159 |162 |101.9
Low Moss |147 |142 |96.6
Noranside |73 |72 |98.6
Penninghame |38 |37 |97.4
Perth |392 |384 |98.0
Peterhead |255 |250 |98.0
Polmont |309 |307 |99.4
Shotts |402 |396 |98.5
Shotts Unit |26 |26 |100.0
|------- |------- |-------
Total |4,118 |4,097 |99.5
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure has been incurred to date by the Scottish Office in connection with proposals for privatisation, market testing and contracting-out in the Scottish prison service.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December] : The best estimate of cost to date, including staff time and consultancy fees, in connection with the market-testing programme for 1992-93 in the Scottish prison service is approximately £50,000.
Skye Bridge
Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what impact the securing of objective 1 status for the highlands and islands to EC structural funding would have upon the funding package of the bridge to Skye ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 7 December] : The level and scope of future structural fund support for the highlands and islands will be dependent on the outcome of negotiations on the future of the Community and the reform of the structural funds dues to be implemented on 1 January 1994. I cannot anticipate what view might be taken under the revised regulations of an application for assistance towards the cost of constructing the bridge to Skye.
Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy towards the application to other potential commercial operators of a prohibition
Column 622
similar to that imposed upon Caledonian MacBrayne in running a vehicle-carrying ferry in competition with the Skye bridge once complete ; and if he will make a statement.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December] : My right hon. Friend has no power to prevent a private operator from providing such a service. Any private operator would, of course, require to satisfy the appropriate certification requirements for ferry operators.
Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations or advice he has received from the European Commission concerning sanctuaries in the vicinity of Kyle of Lochalsh, in the light of the construction of the bridge to Skye ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December] : There have been no representations or advice received by my right hon. Friend from the European Commission concerning sanctuaries in the vicinity of Kyle of Lochalsh.
Lockerbie
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many police officers are now involved in detective work relating to Lockerbie and Pan AM 103.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 7 December 1992] : There are currently five officers of the Dumfries and Galloway constabulary engaged in work relating to the Lockerbie investigation.
Defence Initiative
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the Scottish defence initiative with specific regard to the funds available for this purpose to Scottish Enterprise and the local enterprise companies.
Mr. Stewart [holding answer 3 December 1992] : Scottish Enterprise announced on 3 September this year details of a three-year strategy to help companies adjust to falling defence orders, diversify into other markets and compete more effectively with other European contractors for remaining defence work. Based on an in-depth analysis of the Scottish defence sector, the strategy represents a significant step forward in helping companies respond to rapidly changing defence markets.
It is for Scottish Enterprise and the local enterprise companies to determine the priority and resources to be allocated to measures arising out of the initiative. Scottish Enterprise, however, attaches high priority to the initiative and measures associated with it ; and it is likely, therefore, that proposals arising out of the initiative included in local enterprise companies' business plans will be given favourable consideration by Scottish Enterprise in reaching its decisions about funding support.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Scrapie
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in considering the application by Dr. Narang and Professor Oxford to
Column 623
investigate the single-stranded DNA of scrapie, he will make it his policy that persons involved in doing similar research within his own Department do not form part of the application evaluation team.Mr. Soames : No, but the normal requirements of confidentiality and impartiality will be followed in this case as in all other proposals for ministry support.
Canthaxanthin
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive reports from departmental advisory committees relating to canthaxanthin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : This matter is not under consideration by departmental committees. The position is that the latest scientific data are currently being evaluated by the EC Scientific Committee for Food. I have instructed officials to keep in touch with developments.
Orchards
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will state, in tabular form, the amount granted for the grubbing- up of apple orchards in each of the last five years under the apple orchard grubbing-up scheme ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what proportion of the orchards grubbed-up, aided by his Department's apple orchard grubbing-up scheme, were (a) culinary and dessert apples and (b) cider apples ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what assessment of landscape and wildlife is made before the granting of aid under his Department's apple orchard grubbing-up scheme ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what mechanisms are in place to avoid conflicts of interest between his Department's apple orchard grubbing-up scheme and the Countryside Commission funded scheme providing incentives for replanting of traditional orchards in Somerset ; and if he will make a statement ;
(5) if he will conduct a departmental inquiry into the provision of grant aid for the grubbing-up of apple orchards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The apple orchard grubbing-up grant scheme opened to growers in February 1991. The final date for submission of applications was, 1 December 1992. To the end of September 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, grant of £1.6 million had been paid. All orchards grubbed-up under the scheme were of culinary and dessert apples. Cider apple orchards are not eligible for grant. The EC rules for the scheme do not permit member states to make eligibility for grant conditional upon an assessment of landscape and wildlife but applicants whose orchards are in a site of special scientific interest must consult the Nature Conservancy Council before grubbing-up. Applicants with orchards in nitrate sensitive areas or environmentally sensitive areas are
Column 624
recommended to seek the advice of the NSA or ESA project officer before making an application for grant. It is standard MAFF practice for policies such as this to be evaluated.There is no conflict between this scheme and the Countryside Commission's scheme which have quite different objectives. The apple orchard grubbing-up scheme is aimed at reducing over production of culinary and dessert apples in the Community. Grant is therefore limited to young, productive, commercial orchards with a 15-year restriction on replanting. The Countryside Commission's scheme is concerned with encouraging the conservation of old, traditional orchards and apple varieties.
Civil Servants
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many civil servants from his Department have been relocated from London to other parts of the United Kingdom (a) in the last five years and (b) in the last 10 years ; and to where they were relocated.
Mr. Curry : Apart from staff movements that occur routinely within any Department with a large regional organisation, over the past five years some 202 departmental posts have been relocated from London, of which 44 went to Guildford, 42 to Exeter, 19 to Norwich, 14 to Gloucester, 14 to Alnwick and 69 to Oxford. In the preceding five years, four London posts were moved to Alnwick.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to extend the protection and designation of environmentally sensitive areas to less favoured areas.
Mr. Curry : Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) have already been designated in four parts of the English less favoured areas : the north Peak, Pennine dales, Shropshire borders (Clun) and west Penwith. In January of next year we plan to launch new ESAs in the less favoured areas of Exmoor, the Lake district and south west Peak. We also plan to hold consultations on further new ESAs for Dartmoor and the Shropshire hills, which we hope to introduce in the following winter.
Fish
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the quota for each species of fish in each of the British fishing grounds for each of the last four years.
Mr. Gummer : The information requested, reflecting all quota exchanges made during each year, is set out in the following tables.
Column 623
|c|North sea: quotas for the United Kingdom|c| Stock |Area |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Herring |IIa,IVa,IVb|75,989 |67,150 |65,930 |61,090 Herring |IVc,VIId |2,000 |2,050 |4,230 |3,980 Sprat<1> |IIa,IV |n/a |1,500 |1,500 |1,500 Cod |IIa,IV |55,800 |45,857 |43,570 |43,220 Cod |IIb |1,480 |670 |910 |1,270 Haddock |IIa,IV |55,541 |36,480 |37,115 |42,640 Saithe |IIa,III,IV |14,910 |12,136 |11,836 |9,820 Whiting |IIa,IV |44,040 |29,260 |34,452 |31,370 Hake |IIa,IV |380 |420 |420 |430 Mackerel |IIa,III,IV |710 |1,000 |1,530 |1,750 Plaice |IIa,IV |26,479 |31,597 |31,430 |48,030 Sole |IIa,IV |825 |1,670 |1,830 |1,070 <1>No allocation between Member States of EC availability in 1989. In 1990-92 United Kingdom fishermen had access to quota and also to EC availability not allocated specifically to Member States.
|c|West of Scotland: Quotas for the United Kingdom|c| Stock |Area |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Herring |Vb, VIa(N), VI |40,430 |40,430 |33,320 |33,320 Herring |VIa (Clyde) |3,200 |2,600 |2,900 |2,300 Cod |Vb, VI |9,700 |8,375 |8,330 |6,915 Haddock |Vb, VI |28,210 |19,385 |12,250 |9,985 Saithe |Vb, VI |5,310 |5,130 |4,405 |3,965 Pollack |Vb, VI |340 |400 |400 |400 Whiting |Vb, VI |9,400 |6,775 |5,550 |4,835 Mackerel |II, Vb, VI, VII|189,581 |191,030 |197,630 |234,950 Plaice |Vb, VI |1,210 |1,210 |1,460 |1,460 Sole |Vb, VI |20 |25 |30 |30 Megrim |Vb, VI |1,678 |1,618 |1,520 |1,520 Anglerfish |Vb, VI |3,370 |3,335 |3,230 |2,650 Nephrops |Vb, VI |15,620 |15,620 |13,185 |12,000
|c|Area VII (Channel and Irish Sea): quotas for the United Kingdom|c| Stock |Area |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Herring |VIIa |4,440 |5,180 |4,440 |5,180 Herring |VIIef |250 |250 |250 |500 Herring |VIIg-k |20 |20 |0 |30 Sprat |VIIde |7,140 |7,140 |7,140 |6,300 Cod |VII (ex VIIa)|2,250 |2,290 |1,960 |1,660 Cod |VIIa |6,500 |7,330 |3,765 |3,355 Haddock |VII |600 |730 |600 |600 Saithe |VII |2,150 |2,150 |2,150 |2,150 Pollack |VII |2,390 |2,440 |2,440 |2,440 Whiting |VII (ex VIIa)|2,160 |2,700 |2,700 |2,360 Whiting |VIIa |9,330 |7,395 |4,183 |3,865 Hake |Vb, VI, VII |6,260 |6,671 |7,150 |6,960 Plaice |VIIa |3,050 |2,613 |2,370 |1,840 Plaice |VIIde |3,400 |3,110 |3,110 |2,790 Plaice |VIIfg |590 |450 |450 |350 Plaice |VIIhjk |435 |435 |435 |170 Sole |VIIa |625 |589 |612 |295 Sole |VIId |780 |740 |820 |675 Sole |VIIe |590 |530 |473 |470 Sole |VIIfg |590 |450 |450 |350 Sole |VIIhjk |240 |215 |235 |120 Megrim |VII |2,240 |2,280 |2,280 |2,280 Anglerfish |VII |6,340 |6,340 |6,280 |5,950 Nephrops |VII |8,530 |8,530 |6,785 |6,565 Area=zones used by the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas. A map of these is attached to the Explanatory Memorandum dated 10 December 1991 setting out the TACs and Quota proposals for 1992.
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what forms of grant aiding of abattoirs are permitted under EC regulatory requirements.
Mr. Soames : The long-standing system of EC grants for projects for the marketing and processing of agricultural
Column 626
produce, which did not apply to slaughterhouses, closed on 30 September 1992. There is currently no replacement EC scheme. Compliance with EC slaughterhouse standards has never brought with it any guarantee of help to defray the costs involved. Nor, though it is quite common for new statutory standards to be introduced, is it usual for grant aid to be provided to enable them to be achieved. The provision of such aid would be quite unfair on those who have already made the commitment of there own funds to come up to standard or those who have maintained their premises to comply with existing GB legislation and will have to do little to comply with the new rules.Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of (a) the capacity of slaughtering facilities in the United Kingdom, (b) the extent to which the capacity of slaughtering facilities in the United Kingdom meets the demand for such activities and (c) the extent to which the capacity for slaughtering in the United Kingdom meets the requirements of small butchers to select livestock for slaughter.
Mr. Soames : The Meat and Livestock Commission estimates the theoretical Great Britain slaughter capacity after 1992 will be nearly 300,000 livestock units a week, compared with average weekly slaughterings in 1990-91 of fewer than 200,000 livestock units. Where demand exists for particular types of slaughtering facilities, the market will no doubt ensure that this is met.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what EC mechanisms exist to ensure that all EC countries apply the regulations relating to abattoirs consistently ; and what differences he has identified between the United Kingdom's approach to the use of veterinary personnel for inspection in abattoirs and that adopted by other EC countries.
Mr. Soames : All member states have to notify the Commission when and how they have implemented EC directives. In the red meat sector the Commission has a veterinary inspectorate which visits each member state regularly to ensure that the EC legislation is being properly applied.
The United Kingdom has traditionally made less use of veterinary personnel for food hygiene work than most other member states. The Government consider that veterinary surgeons have an important role at abattoirs in the protection of human and animal health, and therefore accepted the requirements in the EC Fresh Meat Directive 91/497 for all abattoirs to be supervised by a veterinary surgeon and for all animals to undergo veterinary ante-mortem inspection. This is already the position in
Column 627
most other member states, many of which also use qualified veterinary surgeons for post-mortem inspection which will normally continue to be done by meat inspectors in this country.The United Kingdom has successfully resisted EC proposals for compulsory veterinary supervision of meat products plants.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) to what extent the welfare of casualty livestock being transported is taken into account in the implementation of EC regulations on abattoir standards ;
(2) to what extent animal welfare considerations have been taken into account in determining implementation of EC regulations relating to abattoir standards.
Mr. Soames : The structural and handling requirements of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1992 take account of the need to protect the welfare of animals. The requirement for veterinary ante-mortem inspection of all animals post-1992 will provide further safeguards.
Casualty animals must receive speedy and compassionate treatment. No sick or injured animal should be transported at all if to do so would cause it unnecessary pain or suffering. Under the Fresh Meat Regulations all slaughterhouses have to have facilities to isolate animals which are diseased or injured or suspected of being diseased or injured. I am aware, however, that some large slaughterhouses may be reluctant to take in casualties and I will monitor the situation closely next year.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the European Commission on derogation for small abattoirs to be permitted to slaughter increased numbers of livestock.
Mr. Soames : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister gave regarding safeguarding small traditional slaughterhouses on Wednesday, 3 December, Official Report, columns 223-24.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has made of the need for the increased movement of animals for slaughter arising out of EC requirements on slaughterhouse specifications.
Mr. Soames : None. There is no evidence that farmers always send animals to the nearest slaughterhouse and, of course, many animals go for slaughter via livestock markets.
Sheep Dips
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement on the action he is taking to avoid damage to health through the use of certain organo-phosphorus sheep dips.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH) apply to sheep dipping operations. They are enforced on farms by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors. During visits to farms, HSE inspectors
Column 628
draw attention to specific legal requirements and give advice and guidance on the precautions to be taken to prevent risks to health. Enforcement action is taken where necessary.HSE has published a leaflet entitled "Sheep dipping : Protect your health". The leaflet provides guidance to farmers on compliance with COSHH when engaged in sheep dipping operations. It warns of the hazards of sheep dips and sets out the precautions to be taken before, during and after dipping.
| Next Section
| Home Page |