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Health Service
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what analysis has been undertaken by the Eastern health board of the state of health of the population in its area ; and what steps they have taken to produce a strategic health care plan.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 18 March 1993] : The director of public health in the Eastern health and social services board is required to produce an annual report on the health of the residents in the board's area, which represents an accurate analysis of the state of health of the population in the board's area. In addition, the board published its area strategy 1992-97 in 1992. This concentrates on the main issues affecting the health and social care status of its population and how improvements can be brought about.
Departmental Functions
Mr. Brandreth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the work of the Department of Agriculture (Northern Ireland) since 1979.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 18 March 1993] : Since 1979 grants totalling £492 million have been paid to support capital investments on farms. Cattle and sheep farmers have been paid £502 million under livestock subsidy schemes.
To facilitate animal disease control, the Department has introduced computerised animal health records to enable the movement of animals to be monitored for disease control purposes. The Department has continued to ensure that the animal health status of Northern Ireland remains among the highest in Europe. Since 1979 bovine brucellosis has been virtually eradicated and an enhanced eradication programme has been introduced last year with a view to achieving final eradication. Northern Ireland has been accepted last year by the European Community as an enzootic bovine leucosis -free region of the European Community. Cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy unfortunately appeared in the Province since late 1988. Measures have been introduced to bring these under control, to remove the slightest possible public health risk and to ensure that the maximum number of markets remain open for Northern Irish beef. Almost all meat plants and cold stores in the Province have been brought to and maintained at full EC approved status, approximately 500,000 cattle, million sheep, 1.1 million pigs and 46 million poultry are inspected each year by the Department's veterinary meat inspection service guaranteeing the consumer a safe and wholesome product.
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Over 17,000 veterinary certificates are provided each year to allow meat and meat products to be exported from the Province. During the period the Department has enhanced its residue testing programme, to allay public health concerns and to satisfy EC requirements Since 1979 significant scientific advances have been made and an extensive research and development programme continues. Research leading to more efficient utilisation of inputs, reduced levels of disease in plants and animals, improved crop varieties, and innovations in food processing is improving the competitiveness of the local agri-food sector.In managing the interface between agriculture and the environment a comprehensive knowledge of the impact of on-farm practices is coupled with the development of environmental awareness in farmers and the advent of environmentally safe activities.
Research in aquatic sciences has provided a sound basis for the conservation, sustainable exploitation and development of freshwater and marine aquatic resources.
Analytical and disease diagnostic programmes in plants and animals has provided an underpinning support to the continued high plant and animal health status in Northern Ireland.
The Department's staff have carried out over one third of a million personal consultations within the agri-food industry aimed at improving the efficiency of production and marketing and co-operation between individual businesses within the industry as a whole. Quality assurance schemes have been initiated within the agri-food industry to promote and sell quality assured products. The Department has also encouraged farmers and growers to adopt good health and safety practices by a fivefold increase in farm inspections resulting in a 33 per cent. decline in the number of fatal farm accidents. Since 1979 the Department has catered for a threefold increase in the number of students on full-time courses at agricultural colleges and in excess of a sevenfold increase in the number of participants on short courses. Throughout this period net expenditure on education and training has increased by only 1.9 per cent. in real terms. Landings of fish in Northern Ireland ports have increased from the 12,000 tonnes in 1979 to 22,900 tonnes in 1992. Development works grant axed by some £9.4 million have been carried out in the three main fishery harbours in the Province.
During the period 8,000 hectares of new planting has been carried out by the forest service and 3,500 hectares by the private sector. The conservation value of State forests have also been considerably increased. In the same period timber sales have increased in volume from 54,000 cubic metres to 200,000 cubic metres with an increase in sale value from £580,000 to £3.5 million.
A total of £87 million has been spent by the Department on capital projects to improve drainage infra-structure and to assist development. Currently some £17.5 million per annum is spent on new schemes and maintenance works to alleviate flooding and minimise risk to life and damaged property in rural and urban environmental protection and rehabilitation measures into the design and execution of drainage works. River corridor surveys form the basis of a fully integrated approach to achieving both nature conservation and land drainage objectives. Since 1990 1.32 km of river corridors have been surveyed.
Since 1988 the environmentally sensitive areas schemes has attracted a total of over 1,000 farmers to enter 19,400
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hectares of land in five-year agreements with the Department to use environmentally friendly farming practices. Since 1979 the Department has undertaken some 170 projects to improve the recreational value of waterways for the general public.In 1989 the Department was given lead responsibility for rural development and structures are now in place to promote integrated rural development. An independent Rural Development Council was established to act as an advice and resource centre for rural community groups and funding is available from Government, the European Community and the International Fund for Ireland. The first two projects to receive capital funding under the programme were officially launched in 1992.
Health Service
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effect on accident and emergency services across the city of Belfast of the Eastern health board's acute services proposals.
Mr. Hanley : The Eastern health and social services board is currently consulting the public about its proposal for acute hospital services and has not yet therefore reached decisions. However, I know that the board regards as a high priority the need to ensure that high-quality accident and emergency services will continue to be available and will take this into account in reaching its conclusions.
Departmental Functions
Mr. Sykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the work of the Department of Education (Northern Ireland) since 1979.
Mr. Hanley : This has been a period of major progress in education. The Government's investment in the education service is at its highest-ever level with spending on education at £1.2 billion on 1992-93, an increase of 8.2 per cent. over final outturn for 1991-92 excluding the youth training programme. From 1979 to 1992 expenditure has increased by 31 per cent. in real terms and pupil-teacher ratios have improved from 19.1 to 18.3.
Educational standards have shown significant improvement : the proportion of school leavers with at least one A-level has increased from 21.1 per cent. in 1979-80 to 31.7 per cent. in 1990-91, while the proportion leaving with no GCSE/O-level passes has fallen from 27 per cent. to 13.0 per cent. over the same period. We are implementing a programme of education reform begun in 1989 ; this will further improve the quality of education, increase parental choice, and ensure that Northern Ireland continues to enjoy its deserved reputation for high educational standards.
Education reform legislation has encouraged the development of integrated schools, and introduced the themes of education for mutual understanding and cultural heritage to the curriculum. In addition, the cross-community contact scheme has facilitated projects, involving just over one third of schools and 300 youth clubs, in which young people from the two sides of the community learn to work together.
The number of students entering further education has increased by a third to just over 80,000. A major review of
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further education has recently been concluded. This will lead to a restructuring of provision to ensure that it fully meets the demands of the future.Major structural changes have taken place in tertiary level education in Northern Ireland since 1979, including the merger of the Ulster polytechnic with the New University of Ulster to create the University of Ulster in 1984-85. Since the merger, the number of students attending the two Northern Ireland universities has increased by almost 40 per cent. in 1984- 85 to 26,579 in 1991-92. Northern Ireland currently has the highest participation rate in higher education in the United Kingdom--30 per cent. in 1991-92 compared with 23 per cent. in Great Britain
There has been a significant increase in the number of arts events in Northern Ireland and in the numbers attending them. Facilities for the arts have also been greatly improved. These range from major refurbishments such as that of the grand opera house to the provision of local arts centres. The Ulster orchestra has become one of the most important regional orchestras in the United Kingdom and is now firmly established on the international scene, having toured in Europe, Korea and the United States.
Every district council area now has, or is in the process of building, a major indoor sports facility and all but one has its own indoor swimming pool. Leisure provision in Belfast has been particularly extensive and the level of indoor sports participation in the city is the highest in the United Kingdom.
A fundamental review of the way the education service is administered has just been introduced.
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made from names supplied by the Public Appointments Unit ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Mates [holding answer 19 March 1993] : None.
Departmental Spending
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage shares of total departmental spending was accounted for by non- departmental public bodies in each year since 1979.
Mr. Mates : The information requested is as follows :
Year |Percentage --------------------------------- 1979-80 |28.80 1980-81 |32.02 1981-82 |27.97 1982-83 |28.25 1983-84 |28.56 1984-85 |28.46 1985-86 |28.28 1986-87 |29.01 1987-88 |29.00 1988-89 |28.58 1989-90 |27.98 1990-91 |29.26 <1>1991-92 |35.17 <2>1992-93 |41.50 <1> Includes teachers' salaries. <2> Figure from four departments only.
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Water Privatisation
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultation has been undertaken in relation to the proposed plans for the privatisation of the water service in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Atkins [holding answer 17 March 1993] : There has been no formal consultation to date. However I have had representations from a number of district councils and the Northern Ireland Consumer Council. Privatisation will require legislation and the proposal for a draft Order in Council will be published for consultation in the normal way.
Labour Statistics
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed at the latest available date in (a) the potato industry, (b) the milk industry and (c) wool industry in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East (Mr. Ross) on 1 March 1993, concerning employment in the dairy industry in Northern Ireland ( Official Report, column 24 ).
Comparable information is not available for potatoes or wool.
Education Colleges (Capital Expenditure)
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effect of the imposition of value-added tax on all capital expenditure projects initiated by colleges of higher and further education after 1 April ; what consultations he has had with the appropriate funding councils on this ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 19 March 1993] : In Northern Ireland there will be no change in the current
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status of colleges of further and higher education on 1 April 1993. The question is not therefore relevant in the Northern Ireland context.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Potatoes
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the price of potatoes for processing in each Community country ; and what studies have been made of the impact of the differences on (a) employment in the United Kingdom and (b) the trade gap.
Mr. Curry : Information on the price of potatoes for processing in all the other 11 member states is not available. However in the Netherlands potatoes are currently £27-£32 per tonne compared to £25- £50 per tonne, depending on variety, in Great Britain. Our analysis indicates that, in the context of the system of supported prices under our potato marketing scheme, processed potato imports have grown from 250,000 tonnes to 556,000 tonnes (raw equivalent) over the last 10 years. Although these imports were mainly at the cheaper end of the market, we estimate that they represent a loss to the Great Britain economy of some £125 million. This clearly also represents a loss of production and thus employment in favour of the continent.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the trend in consumption of (a) potatoes and (b) processed potatoes over the last decade.
Mr. Curry : The latest available information is as follows :
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Household consumption of fresh potatoes and potato products
lb/person/year |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fresh potatoes |134.0 |130.0 |130.1 |133.5 |126.3 |122.8 |119.1 |116.0 |114.6 |110.2
Instant potato |1.6 |2.1 |1.8 |1.6 |1.6 |1.1 |1.4 |1.0 |1.0 |1.2
Canned potato |0.4 |0.5 |0.6 |0.6 |0.7 |0.7 |0.8 |0.8 |0.7 |0.7
Crisps and potato |12.2 |13.0 |12.8 |14.2 |15.0 |16.4 |15.6 |15.9 |16.0 |16.7
products
Frozen chips etc |13.0 |12.7 |13.6 |13.7 |14.9 |16.2 |16.7 |17.5 |16.0 |17.8
Total potatoes |161.2 |158.2 |158.9 |163.5 |158.4 |157.2 |153.5 |151.1 |148.4 |146.6
Fresh as a percentage of |83.1 |82.1 |81.9 |81.7 |79.7 |79.1 |78.1 |76.7 |77.3 |75.1
total
Source: National Food Survey (NFS).
Mr. Gale : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from potato growers about the proposed EC potato regime.
Mr. Curry : In addition to meetings with the Potato Marketing Board and the National Farmers Union, I have received and continue to receive numerous representations from growers, most of whom support the retention of our national arrangements in the context of the proposed regime.
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those other EC member states which have existing price and quota arrangements for the production of potatoes.
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Mr. Curry : Ad hoc intervention arrangements exist in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and the Netherlands operates intervention for seed potatoes only. No member state, other than the United Kingdom, has quota arrangements.
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what support he has received from within the potato industry for the abolition of the potato marketing scheme.
Mr. Curry : We have received representations from the Potato Processors Association, the British Retail Consortium, the Potato Growers Action Group and a number of individual growers in favour of abolition.
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Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to make an announcement on the proposed regime for potatos.
Mr. Curry : In Standing Committee on 3 March I made it clear that the Government, in negotiation of the Community regime, will not be pressing for the retention of the quota and market support elements of the potato marketing scheme.
The draft regime will come back to the Council of Ministers for decision as soon as the European Parliament has given its opinion. That opinion is not expected before April.
Wild-caught Birds
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the overall mortality rate, dead on arrival or dying in quarantine, of wild-caught birds imported into the United Kingdom in (a) 1990 and (b) 1991.
Mr. Soames : The percentages given below relate to imports into Great Britain and are drawn from the Ministry's studies, "Importation of Birds--Mortality Statistics from Quarantine Returns", copies of which were placed in the Library of the House. The statistics do not distinguish wild- caught from captive bred birds.
Overall mortality rate
|Per cent.
------------------------------
1990 |12.32
1991 |14.81
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment has been made of whether all slaughterhouses in England and Wales have now fitted to their electrical stunning equipment a device to prevent the delivery of a current below that which the equipment has been set to deliver.
Mr. Soames : Local authorities enforce welfare legislation in slaughterhouses. Guidance was issued by MAFF to local authorities and slaughterhouse operators during 1992. State veterinary service monitoring has revealed the need for further guidance, which is currently being prepared.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to bring forward the regulations under section 1 of the Welfare of Animals at Slaughter Act 1991 requiring occupiers of slaughterhouses to ensure compliance with welfare at slaughter regulations.
Mr. Soames : I plan to consult interested parties shortly.
Poultry
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that imported poultry is produced meeting the same standards as United Kingdom poultry and meets the same requirements for health marking.
Mr. Soames : Imported poultry meat is required to comply with the Imported Food Regulations 1984, which includes a requirement for health markings.
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Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect he estimates the latest EC directives on poultry hygiene will have on the number of poultry meat inspectors currently employed.
Mr. Soames : My previous answer on this subject ( Official Report, 8 March 1993, column 465 ) described the Government's plans for implementing EC Council Directive 92/116/EEC on poultry meat hygiene. Our officials have established a working group of representative interests to advise on the controls to be applied to the new system of inspection involving the use of plant staff to carry out on-line poultry meat inspection. Our detailed proposals for implementing the new directive will be issued for public consultation in due course. No reliable estimate can be made, in advance of the work described above, of the extent to which the responsibilities of poultry meat inspectors employed by local authorities will be taken over by trained plant staff acting under the supervision of the official inspection team. However, it is likely that poultry meat inspectors will increasingly assume a supervisory role in those plants permitted to use plant staff for on-line inspection, with a consequent reduction in their numbers, in those plants.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what records are kept of the number of diseased birds that are identified at individual slaughterhouses.
Mr. Soames : The Department introduced last year a statistical survey of the numbers of poultry condemned on the grounds of disease or other reasons, in the majority of licensed poultry slaughterhouses in Great Britain. This survey has improved the collection of information about condemnations by individual local authorities, which was not previously compiled on a systematic basis.
Our officials will shortly be sending to participating local authorities and other interested organisations the preliminary results of this survey.
North Sea (Pollution)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans there are to hold an independent inquiry into the levels of radioactive pollution in the North sea ; if he will make it his policy to deny British Nuclear Fuels plc any licence to dump radioactive waste in the North sea until an inquiry has been completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food undertakes a regular programme of monitoring of radioactivity in United Kingdom waters. Results are published in aquatic environment monitoring reports, "Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters of the British Isles", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. These results show that radioactivity levels in the North sea are well below those which would pose a threat to man or to the marine environment and I do not plan any further inquiry. We do not license dumping of radioactive waste in the North sea.
Comfrey
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those organisations which he consulted prior to his decision on the availability of comfrey and its derivatives.
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Mr. Soames : My decision on the availability of comfrey tablets and capsules followed recommendations from the committee on toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment and the food advisory committee. In arriving at my decision I took account of views expressed on herbal preparations generally by the organisations listed.
Organisations concerned
British Diabetic Association
British Herbal Medicine Association
British Health Food Trade Association
British Medical Association
British Retailers Association
British Society for Nutritional Medicine
Child Accident Prevention Trust
Consumers Association
Consumers in the European Community Group (UK)
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Authority
Council of Welsh Districts
Faculty of Public Health Medicine
Federation of Synagogues
Health Education Authority
Health Food Manufacturers Association
Health Through Food
Health Visitors Association
Hyperactive Children's Support Group
Infant and Dietetic Foods Association
Institute of Health Food Retailing
Kent County Council
LACOTS
London Borough of Hackney
Medical Research Council
National Association for Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
National Association of Health Stores
National Consumer Council
National Federation of Women's Institutes
Natural Medicines Society
New Statesman and Society
Nutrition Society
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland
Proprietary Association of Great Britain
Royal College of Physicians
Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain Scottish Department Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy
Somerset County Council
TNO Nutrition and Food Research
University of Glasgow Department of Child Health Yorkhill University of Reading Department of Food Science and Technology Welsh Consumers Council
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