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Column 328
Table to show the number of persons not in receipt of
unemployment benefit nor income support, during
unemployment,
in each benefit office in Greater Manchester on
Thursday 12 May 1994
Office |Number (See note
|below)
-------------------------------------------------------
Altrincham |509
Hyde |325
Marple |142
Stockport A |330
Wythenshawe |299
Stockport B |332
Stockport C |309
Rusholme |190
Rochdale |490
Ashton-in-Makerfield |157
Ashton-under-Lyne |261
Atherton & Tyldesley |160
Bolton A |200
Bury A |422
Bolton B |284
Bolton C |268
Denton |187
Eccles |187
Failsworth |256
Didsbury |365
Stretford B |527
Farnworth |127
Heywood |211
Horwich |123
Irlam |71
Leigh |318
Levenshulme |239
Little Borough |102
Middleton |155
Newton Heath |304
Oldham B |700
Swinton |172
Prestwich |335
Radcliffe |115
Manchester C |179
Salford A |347
Hindley |109
Worsley |198
West Houghton |90
Wigan A |585
Wigan B |257
Note:
The vast majority of these persons will have been in
receipt of a Class 1 National Insurance credit at the
time.
National Insurance
Mr. Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of persons nationally who are currently in receipt of class 1 national insurance credits only, during unemployment.
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Terry Lewis, dated 20 October 1994:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the total number of persons, nationally, who are currently in receipt of Class 1 National Insurance credits only, during unemployment.
The information you have requested is not fully available. However, the number of persons nationally, who were registered as unemployed and receiving neither unemployment benefit nor
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Income Support on 12 May was 281,318. The vast majority, but not all, of these persons, would have been receiving Class 1 National Insurance credits only. More recent data can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.It must be noted that of these persons, 47,598 were yet to have their unemployment benefit entitlement established.
I hope this is helpful.
Training Projects
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the European Community objective 3 training allocations and amounts of assistance to be given to projects in (a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 18 October 1994]: European social fund grants for objective 3 are allocated to projects through sector managers, operating at Great Britain level, though in some sectors separate allocations for Scotland have been made at the outset.
Since the process of considering and approving applications for 1994 is still going on it is impossible as yet to give figures for the overall levels of assistance under objective 3 which will go to projects in Scotland as a whole or to projects in Strathclyde or Inverclyde.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Food Safety
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evaluation he has made of the potential for deregulation in food safety.
Mrs. Browning: Our food law deregulation plan involves taking a critical look at all existing regulations. We have already said that this will not undermine proper requirements for food safety and consumer protection but there will undoubtedly be opportunities for updating or simplification.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many species are infected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Mrs. Browning: BSE is, by definition, a disease of cattle. Spongiform encephalopathies have also been diagnosed in other animal species in Great Britain and elsewhere and in three of them--cats, nyala and greater kudo--strain typing has indicated a possible common origin with BSE.
Bovine Immune Deficiency Virus
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has had recently on bovine immune deficiency virus.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department is undertaking into the bovine immune deficiency virus.
Mrs. Browning: Representations have been received from Members of this House and a farmer in Cheshire whose herd is being investigated. Studies have been commissioned at the Central Veterinary Laboratory on the
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inactivation of BIV in milk by pasteurisation, and further research is under way at the Institute of Animal Health.Beef
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the export of beef to other members of the European Union.
Mr. Waldgrave: The Government have worked hard to enable our beef exports to continue since the new European Union trade rules on BSE were introduced in July.
Bovine Welfare
Mr. McAvoy: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the welfare of bovines.
Mrs. Browning: The welfare of bovines is protected on the farm by regulations and codes of recommendation made under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 and in transit by the Welfare of Animals during Transport Order 1992.
The Farm Animal Welfare Council, which advises Ministers on the welfare of all farm animals, is studying the on-farm welfare of dairy cows, and will report in due course.
Set-aside Land
Mr. John Greenway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further plans he has to improve the use of set-aside land.
Mr. Jack: As I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) earlier, we want to improve environmental benefits from set- aside, and to develop alternative non-food crops which can be grown on set- aside land.
Animal Transportation
20. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what agreement has been reached with other European Union countries about the transportation of live animals.
Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Luff).
21. Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he is making in promoting the consumption of speciality foods.
Mrs. Browning: We fully support speciality food and drink producers in their efforts to sell more of their products at home and abroad. The Department provides help through Food From Britain for groups of these producers aimed at improving their marketing. I intend myself to take every opportunity of demonstrating my close interest in the success of this dynamic sector of the food industry whose products are of such high quality, and I shall be visiting one of the regional groups next month.
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Fur Farms
22. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on fur farming.
Mrs. Browning: Welfare conditions on fur farms are monitored regularly by the State Veterinary Service and we are seeking European Community legislation to set standards for all fur farms. Security standards for mink farms are set by the Mink Keeping Order 1992.
Oilseed Rape
23. Mr. Denham: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the use of set-aside land for the growing of oilseed rape, with a view to its conversion into bio-diesel fuel.
25. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the use of land set aside for the growing of oilseed rape with a view to its conversion into bio- diesel fuel.
Mr. Jack: Oilseed rape can be grown on land set aside under the arable area payments scheme, provided that it is processed into an approved non-food product. The approved non-food uses include the conversion of rapeseed oil into bio-diesel fuel.
Dioxin Contamination
24. Mr. Skinner: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that the farms in Bolsover, north Derbyshire, are now free from dioxin contamination.
Mrs. Browning: When the problem of dioxin contamination was first discovered, the Ministry undertook that it would monitor dioxins in the milk from farms in the Bolsover area for as long as was necessary. Further samples of cows' milk taken this July from these farms were found to contain dioxins at levels similar to those in samples taken last year. These results indicate that the Bolsover area remains largely free from unacceptable levels of dioxins, other than from the farm previously found to be the most heavily contaminated. This finding is not unexpected as dioxins are known to be very long lived. I have placed the full details of these latest findings in the Library.
Food Marketing
26. Mr. Clappison: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to improve the marketing of agricultural produce domestically and abroad.
Mr. Waldegrave: The new marketing development scheme, launched on 15 June, provides £10 million-worth of assistance over the next three years to help develop new marketing ideas. Abroad, assistance to United Kingdom exporters is given by Food From Britain. Our export promotion division also helps the industry to identify new overseas markets.
Chemical Pollution
27. Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to reduce chemical pollution arising from farmlands.
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Mr. Jack: The Government operate an extensive programme of measures to control chemical pollution from farmland. Recent measures include the extension of the nitrate sensitive area scheme to protect a further 28 water sources; the proposed designation of 72 nitrate vulnerable zones in England and Wales where agricultural activities will be controlled; the issue and promotion of codes of good agricultural practice for the protection of air, soil and water from agricultural activities; a code of practice for the safe use of pesticides on farms and holdings; and a £10 million research and development programme. In addition we recently announced that in seven river catchments including Slapton Ley we will be carrying out an extensive promotion campaign to provide farm waste management plans aimed at avoiding water pollution.
British Food
28. Mrs. Angela Knight: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has further to promote British food.
Mr. Waldegrave: Food From Britain, which is partly funded by my Department, has a substantial programme of action in support of British food exporters which includes organising a strong British presence at overseas food trade fairs. My hon. Friend will be visiting the SIAL exhibition in Paris next week to demonstrate our continuing support for this export activity.
Sugar
29. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met other members of the EC Council of Agriculture Ministers to discuss the future of the sugar regime.
Mr. Jack: The future of the sugar regime was last discussed at the December 1993 Agriculture Council. At that meeting, it was agreed that the existing regime would be reviewed before 1 July 1995. Proposals from the Commission are expected shortly.
Badgers
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food how many badgers were culled at the Highgrove estate, Tetbury, in each month since November 1993; and how many of those badgers culled were infected with tuberculosis.
Mrs. Browning: A total of 15 badgers were culled on the Highgrove estate in a badger removal operation which started on 5 April and finished on 26 July this year. Of these, three were taken in April and 12 were taken in July. All were negative for M. bovis.
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what grounds licences to kill badgers on the Highgrove estate were issued in mid-August 1994; how many badgers were killed; and how many were found to have bovine tuberculosis.
Mrs. Browning: A detailed epidemiological investigation by Ministry veterinary staff attributed the confirmed cattle TB herd breakdown which occurred on the Highgrove estate in November 1993, to infection by badgers. The results of the badger removal operation that followed were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 October 1994, Official Report, column 334.
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Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers were killed under licence in 1993 and 1994 to date; and how many were found to have bovine tuberculosis.
Mrs. Browning: A total of 1,094 badgers were trapped and killed in Ministry badger removal operations in 1993. Of these, 302 were positive for M. bovis. So far in 1994, a total of 1,448 badgers have been trapped and killed in Ministry badger removal operations. Of these, 257 were positive for M. bovis; 460 results are pending.
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food what is the cumulative total of badgers killed arising from efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in British cattle since 1964.
Mrs. Browning: The cumulative total of badgers killed in Ministry badger removal operations since 1974, when controls began, is 15,443. It is not known how many badgers died underground when gassing was used by the Ministry as a means of badger control between 1975 and 1982.
Rabbits
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy that viral haemorrhagic disease will not be released into the countryside as a wild rabbit control method.
Mrs. Browning: The deliberate introduction and spread of the virus causing viral haemorrhagic disease in rabbits is prohibited by the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1993. The Ministry has no plans to amend this legislation.
Abattoirs
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the prevalence and use of mobile abattoirs.
Mrs. Browning: At present there are no mobile abattoirs in use in England. All slaughterhouses, including mobile abattoirs, must meet the structural and hygiene standards set out in the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1992 and have to be licensed by the appropriate Agriculture Department.
Livestock Transport
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farm animals were identified as being unfit to travel in 1993.
Mrs. Browning: Figures for 1993 are not available. In Great Britain between March and August 1994, the number of farm animals for export rejected by veterinary inspectors as unfit to travel was 10, 867.
Birds (Illegal Import)
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the illegal import of birds from non-EU countries into the United Kingdom through other EU countries.
Mrs. Browning: In the absence of harmonised detailed animal health rules for the quarantine of captive birds imported into the Community from third countries, and in the light of a number of other factors including the presence of Newcastle disease in several member states, the Government decided in December 1993 to maintain,
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temporarily, the requirement that all captive birds imported in the United Kingdom, whether directly from a third country, or from or through another member state, undergo a period of at least 35 days quarantine in approved quarantine premises. The only exception to this requirement are those birds imported from other member states which are accompanied by official veterinary certification confirming, among other things, that the birds in question have been resident in a member state for a period of least 35 days or, if imported into the Community from a third country, have undergone an equivalent period of quarantine before import into the United Kingdom.The Ministry is concerned about reports of illegal imports of birds from third countries into the United Kingdom via other member states which are intended to evade quarantine. Such imports pose a serious disease risk to the UK poultry industry and to the domestic captive bird population. Where information about illegal importations is sufficiently precise the Ministry's investigation branch undertakes formal investigations, in liaison with local authorities, who are responsible for the enforcement of the relevant import legislation. A number of investigations are currently under way.
Meat and Livestock Commission Levy
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes he proposes to the way in which Meat and Livestock Commission levy is collected.
Mr. Jack: A review of the MLC was published on 1 March and included a recommendation that the levy should be collected at slaughter only. Comments on the review have now been received from the industry and my right hon. Friend hopes to make an announcement shortly.
Milk
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate has been made of the impact of Milk Marque's proposals upon (a) employment in the milk processing industry, (b) the level of imports of dairy products and (c) the level of investment by dairy companies.
Mr. Jack: My Department has not made any such estimates.
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate has been made of the impact of Milk Marque's pricing regime upon (a) the price of liquid milk, (b) the price of dairy products, (c) the level of employment in the milk processing industry, (d) the level of investment in the dairy industry and (e) the output of butter and cheese.
Mr. Jack: It is estimated that the effect of Milk Marque's pricing regime might be to add up to p per pint to the price of milk sold for liquid consumption. This estimate takes no account of the beneficial effort of abolishing the present milk marketing board levy of over 1 p per pint on direct sales by producer/retailers. No estimates have been prepared by my Department in respect of the other matters mentioned.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what his Department's
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priorities are concerning the promotion of animal welfare; and if he will make a statement.Mrs. Browning: The Department has the stated aim of protecting farm animals by encouraging high welfare standards. Every opportunity is taken to further this aim.
Learning Resources
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many learning resource packs of the "Food--A Fact of Life" programme have been sold since the launch of the initiative in June 1991.
Mrs. Browning: Sales to date of complete packs of "Food--A Fact of Life" total 3,174. This figure includes a small number of complimentary packs presented to schools and advisers who participated in the various development trials.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many learning resource packs of the "Food--A Fact of Life" programme have been sold to schools for (a) stage 1 and (b) stage 2.
Mrs. Browning: Sales to date of complete packs of "Food--A Fact of Life" total (a) 2,247 for stage 1 and (b) 927 for stage 2. These figures include a small number of complimentary packs presented to schools and advisers who participated in the various development trials.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much income has been generated from the sales of learning resource packs of the "Food--A Fact of Life" programme; and how the income from these sales is to be spent.
Mrs. Browning: The gross receipts received from sales of packs of "Food--A Fact of Life" up to 1 October 1994 total £115,846. All this money has been reinvested in the programme.
SCOTLAND
Nursing and Midwifery
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received opposing his plans for the provision of nursing and midwifery education in Scotland; if he will make it his policy that nursing training in the borders will not be centralised to the Lothian region; and what savings are expected to be made from the proposed arrangements.
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Mr. Lang: My announcement on 16 May 1994 that the management executive of the NHS in Scotland would be tendering with tertiary education for the provision of pre-registration nursing and midwifery education and training has been generally welcomed. Representations received have related to concerns about the future locality of this training and the implications for staff in the existing colleges of nursing and midwifery. The future locality of the training currently delivered at the Scottish Borders college of nursing and midwifery and, indeed, the numbers of its staff to transfer to the education sector, cannot be predicted since this must await the outcome of the tendering process which is now due to be completed in July 1995. Even where future training is to be delivered in centres different from the current provision, the management executive will ensure that a good geographical spread of clinical placements--that is the practical element of the courses--still exists for each branch of training of nursing. Since the contracts will not be awarded solely on cost grounds, the contracting process is unlikely to result in substantial savings, but I believe that costs can be contained within the existing provision.
Dementia
Ms Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he plans to take to improve arrangements for consultation between health boards and local authorities for future provision of long-stay care for people with dementia.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The Secretary of State has no immediate plans to adjust the firmly established procedures that currently exist between health boards and local authorities for co-operation in the planning and delivery of services for all vulnerable client groups.
Earnings
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles, the earnings of full-time workers on adult rates of pay broken down by (i) male manual, (ii) male non-manual, (iii) all males, (iv) female manual, (v) female non-manual, (vi) all females and (vii) all workers.
Mr Stewart: The information requested, taken from the 1993 "New Earnings Survey", is given in the table:
Average gross weekly earnings (£)<1> April 1993
|Male full-time |Female full-time
|employees |employees
All full-time |All |Manual |Non-Manual |All |Manual |Non-Manual
employees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
272.1 |304.2 |245.8 |373.5 |217.5 |162.0 |236.6
<1> For full-time employees on adult rates, whose pay was unaffected by absence.
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Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles, the distribution of earnings for those earning under (i) £120, (ii) £150 and (iii) £160; what is (x) the point below which 10 per cent. of earners fall and (y) the point which 10 per cent. of earners exceed, broken down by (i) male manual, (ii) male non-manual, (iii) all males, (iv) female manual, (v) female non- manual, (vi) all females and (vii) all workers in total and by the standard industrial classifications.Mr. Stewart: The information requested, taken from the 1993 "New Earnings Survey", is given in the table.
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Categories requested that are not present have not met the reliability criteria--sample of at least 50 and a standard error no higher than 5 per cent.
All employees<1> April 1993
Percentage of LowestHighest dec
employees with
average gross
weekly earnings
|<£120|<£150|<£160|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Divisions 0-9 (all employees)
male
manual |4.0 |10.1 |15.3 |149.8|349.5
non-manual |6.5 |10.9 |13.7 |147.3|553.5
all |5.2 |10.5 |14.5 |148.8|488.0
female
manual |64.3 |77.9 |81.4 |- |203.3
non-manual |25.9 |39.1 |42.9 |62.0 |371.0
all |39.3 |52.6 |56.3 |48.3 |320.4
all employees |21.5 |30.7 |34.5 |67.2 |432.4
Division 4 (Other manufacturing industries)
male
manual |- |8.9 |12.5 |151.8|230.0
Division 5 (Construction)
male
manual |- |- |13.0 |156.9|365.0
all |- |- |10.6 |158.2|402.2
all employees |4.2 |8.5 |15.5 |151.7|383.2
Division 6 (Distribution, hotels and catering; repairs)
male
all |6.1 |19.4 |25.5 |130.8|367.0
all employees |37.4 |54.6 |58.8 |55.5 |284.2
Division 7 (Transport and Communication)
male
manual |5.8 |11.5 |13.5 |137.7|316.7
Division 9 (Other Services)
female
non-manual |14.7 |19.0 |23.4 |86.9 |404.2
all |35.7 |40.4 |44.1 |- |389.6
all employees |28.7 |33.1 |36.2 |48.1 |439.1
<1> All employees on adult rates, whose pay was unaffected by absence.
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Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles, the distribution of gross hourly earnings for female part- time workers, giving the percentage of female part-time workers with hourly earnings less than (i) £3, (ii) £3.20, (iii) £3.60, (iv) £4, (v) £4.20, (x) in total and (y) broken down by the standard industrial classifications.
Mr. Stewart: The information requested is not available. No category met the reliability criteria of the "New Earnings Survey"--sample of at least 50 and a standard error no higher than 5 per cent.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles, the figures for female part-time workers (i) average gross weekly earnings, (ii) average weekly hours, (iii) average gross hourly earnings, (iv) median gross hourly earnings (v) lowest decile of gross hourly earnings and (vi) the highest decile of gross hourly earnings (x) in total
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and (y) broken down by the standard industrial classifications.Mr. Stewart: The average gross weekly earnings of female part-time employees on adult rates, whose pay was unaffected by absence, at April 1993 was £85.70. The remaining categories did not meet the reliability criteria of the "New Earnings Survey"--sample of at least 50 and a standard error no higher than 5 per cent.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles (i) average earnings, (ii) median earnings, (iii) average hours including overtime and (iv) overtime hours, broken down by the standard industrial
classifications into (x) males, (y) females and (z) all workers; (2) if he will list, for the combined regions and islands areas of (a) Highland, (b) Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Western Isles (i) average earnings, (ii) median earnings, (iii) average hours including overtime and (iv) overtime hours.
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Mr. Stewart: The information requested, taken from the 1993 "New Earnings Survey", is given in the table. Categories requested that are not present have not met the
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