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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Building Refurbishment
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.
Mr. Jack: The refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years are as follows:
|Work undertaken |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92
London-Woburn Place |Redecorate and install new
|carpets, IT cabling and
|security measures |220,000
Tolworth-Government Offices |Convert canteen block into
|offices and a smaller, refurbished
|restaurant | 1,310,000
1992-93
Guildford-Government Offices |Modernise kitchens and
|restaurant, and replace aged
|building services in one block |520,000
Lowestoft-Fisheries Laboratory |Redecorate and refit the reception
|area, and replace windows
|in one block |120,000
Penrith-Agricola House |Modernise offices, including
|new fittings, redecoration and
|removal of asbestos |170,000
Trowbridge-Offices |Modernise offices including new
|windows, new fittings and
|redecoration |60,000
Weybridge-Central Veterinary Laboratory |Modernise some laboratories,
|offices, the reception area,
|canteen and kitchen |360,000
1993-94
Bristol-Government Offices |Redecorate including new fittings |150,000
Guildford-Government Offices |Redecorate and install new windows
|and new fittings in one block |120,000
Worcester- Government Offices |Redecorate and install new fittings|260,000
Energy Expenditure
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Mr. Jack: It is impractical to separate the energy costs of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service agency from the energy costs of the MAFF main estate, as in many cases they share the same buildings. However, the total costs of energy used by (a) the MAFF main estate and the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and (b) MAFF's other agencies over the last three years are as follows.
|(a) |(b)
|£ |£
----------------------------------------
1991-92 |2,507,731|1,261,640
1992-93 |2,541,730|1,493,300
1993-94 |2,638,715|1,537,000
In the main, the increases are due to the introduction of information technology equipment, the modernisation of laboratories and other specialist buildings, and an increase in the work load of agencies and regional offices and a rise in tariffs over the period. The Ministry is stepping up measures to encourage staff to be more energy conscious, and is increasing investment in energy efficiency measures where these are cost effective.
Milk
Mr. Olner: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the total quantity of milk
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produced by the United Kingdom dairy industry in each of the last four years for which information is available;(2) what is the total quantity of milk consumed in the United Kingdom in each of the last four years for which information is available.
Mr. Jack: Details of milk production, and its utilisation in the years 1990 to 1993, are shown in the table.
Milk production and utilisation in the United Kingdom
|(Million litres)
|1990 |1991 |1992<1> |1993
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production (output for
human consumption) |14,548 |14,016 |14,011 |14,095
Liquid consumption, comprising:
Sales through Milk Marketing
Board schemes for liquid
consumption |6,780 |6,745 |6,722 |6,778
Imports of liquid milk |36 |51 |143 |97
Other sales<2> |355 |403 |488 |553
<1> 366 days.
<2> Includes milk consumed in farm households, sales of liquid milk outside Milk Marketing Board schemes, exports,
and milk used for farmhouse manufacture of butter, cheese and cream.
Slaughter Industry
Mr. Olner: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what subsidies or other support are available from the European Union to support the development or modernisation of the United Kingdom slaughter industry.
Mr. Jack: Assistance for capital investments is available under the processing and marketing grant, which is an EU scheme with national back- up. In the slaughtering sector, this is limited by EU exclusions intended to avoid increasing overcapacity, but associated activities such as boning and cutting may be eligible for support.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Mrs. Browning: A further report on BSE in Great Britain is available today. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
The report provides information about the effect of the ruminant ban on the course of the epidemic, the continuing decline in the incidence of the disease, the measures taken to control the disease, and to protect animal and human health, and the on-going research programme.
The number of cases of BSE being reported at present is 41 per cent. fewer than at the same time last year and for the first time there is a downturn in the incidence of BSE in five-year-old animals. Both changes are attributed to the ban of feeding ruminant protein to ruminant animals, which was introduced in 1988.
Salmon Advisory Committees
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of meetings
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held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of the reports and submissions produced by the Salmon advisory committee in each of the last three years.Mr. Jack: The Salmon advisory committee examines and reports on those matters relating to the conservation and development of salmon fisheries in Great Britain which are referred to it by fisheries Ministers. Since it was established in 1986, it has issued six reports, all of which have been published. Of these the following were produced within the last three years:
"Factors Affecting Emigrating Smolts and Returning Adults" - published 1993.
"Run Timing of Salmon" - published 1994.
The secretariat for the committee is provided by officials from the Department's salmon, whaling and inland fisheries division, which also supplies the secretary. An assistant secretary is provided by the Scottish Office. The committee reports direct to fisheries Ministers.
Information on the number of meetings held during the last three financial years and on the Committee's budgeted and actual expenditure is given in the table below.
A
|1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Committee meetings |4 |3 |<1>3
Sub-group meetings |5 |19 |<1>18
Budgeted expenditure <2> |33,000 |34,000 |29,000
Actual expenditure <2> |19,338 |12,411 |<3>20,000
<1> Number of meetings planned.
<2> Does not include secretariat costs which are met from MAFF
and SOAFD running costs.
<3> Estimate.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Pergau Dam
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the selection process for contractors on the Pergau dam project; and which firms were selected.
Mr. Baldry: Tendering arrangements are the responsibility of the overseas government. In the case of the Pergau project, the client, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, with the agreement of the Malaysian Government undertook negotiations direct with the Balfour Beatty/Cementation International consortium.
Thomas Cook
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify the components of payments to Thomas Cook as travel agency consultant in 1992 93 mentioned in the document deposited in the Library referred to in his answer of 2 November, Official Report, column 1182.
Mr. Baldry: All payments made to Thomas Cook under the terms of this contract were reimbursements of travel expenditure incurred on behalf of ODA. ODA made no payments to Thomas Cook as travel agency consultant.
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KPMG
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify the objectives of the contract awarded to KPMG by the Overseas Development Administration in 1992 93 to provide an offshore financial services consultancy referred to in the information placed in the Library to supplement his answer of 2 November 1994, Official Report, column 1182; and if he will state the country of territories to which this assistance was given.
Mr. Baldry: These consultancy services were provided to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis. The terms of reference, which include the contract objectives, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Bilateral Aid (World Bank)
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been (a) the total external finance and (b) the proportion of total external finance from the World bank group for each country receiving official British bilateral aid for each of the past five years.
Mr. Baldry: Due to incomplete coverage in available statistical information, it may not be possible to provide a comprehensive breakdown in the format requested. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as our inquiries are complete.
Somalia
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on civilian conditions in Somalia.
Mr. Baldry: Conditions vary according to the security situation. Food is generally available throughout the country, but in areas where unrest continues social services are limited and food supplies may be interrupted.
WALES
Out-of-town Planning Applications
Mr. Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-of -town planning applications have been referred to him in the first nine months of 1994; and what percentage of these have been rejected.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Between January and September 1994, 12 out-of-town centre retail applications came before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State as references under the Town and Country Planning (Shopping Development) (England and Wales) (No. 2) Direction 1993, or as departures from the development plan or as a result of call-in requests. It was decided not to intervene in 10 cases; two are still under consideration. In addition nine such proposals came forward on appeal of which one has been dismissed, two were withdrawn by the appellants and six have yet to be determined.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last Session of Parliament were not answered on the
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ground that the information sought was not held centrally by the Department.Mr. Redwood: The information available on the Polis system, shows that 61 parliamentary questions were not answered on the ground that the information sought was not held centrally.
Dentists
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many full- time salaried dentists the Gwynedd family health service authority are authorised to employ; how many are in post; and how many he expects will be in post on 1 January 1995.
Mr. Richards: The Gwynedd family health services authority has permission to employ the full-time equivalent of four salaried dentists. Currently, one salaried dentist is employed for three days per week.
Recruitment of suitable personnel to fill the approved posts is the responsibility of the authority. The Welsh Office is funding the advertising costs of the recruitment campaign.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many NHS patients have been deregistered by dentists in the last year in each of the health districts in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Richards: The information supplied by family health services authorities, shows that the numbers of patients deregistered by their dentists during the period 4 December 1993 to 2 December 1994 are as follows:
|Adults |Children|Total
----------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |6,737 |49 |6,786
Dyfed |2,754 |2 |2,756
Gwent |2,817 |0 |2,817
Gwynedd |2,597 |0 |2,597
Mid Glamorgan |567 |0 |567
Powys |0 |0 |0
South Glamorgan |1,820 |25 |1,845
West Glamorgan |44 |0 |44
|--------|--------|--------
Total |17,336 |76 |17,412
This information is supplied for management purposes only and is not statistically validated.
The latest statistics available from the Dental Practice Board indicate that the number of patients registered with a dentist in Wales at 30 September 1994 was only 0.75 per cent. less than that for 30 September 1993.
Air Pollution
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will enlarge the number of urban air quality monitoring stations in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Government's air quality monitoring network in Wales covers all the main air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and ozone. An expansion of the urban monitoring network is being considered for the United Kingdom as a whole, and the needs of Wales will be carefully considered as part of this.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the role of the
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Environment Agency in improving local conditions concerning air pollution by large scale industrial establishments with special reference to chimney stacks; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Gwilym Jones: Large scale industrial establishments with the potential to cause air pollution generally require authorisation by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the integrated pollution control provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This function will be transferred to the new Environment Agency.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the locations of the urban air quality monitoring stations in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Government fund the following types of air quality monitoring:
Enhanced urban air monitoring network
Two sites at Cardiff and one at Swansea
Smoke and sulphur dioxide network
Nine sites at Cardiff, Newport, Pontypool, Neyland, Port Talbot, Cwmgwrach, Glynneath, Welshpool and Wrexham.
Nitrogen dioxide survey
Twenty five Welsh local authorities are monitoring nitrogen dioxide at one hundred sites, some of which are rural, as part of a United Kingdom survey.
Lead in air monitoring
One site in Cardiff
In addition, many Welsh local authorities regularly undertake independent air quality monitoring in their areas funded from their own resources.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he gives to planning authorities in Wales concerning new developments which may affect air quality; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Planning policy guidance note 1, "General Policy and Principles", sets out the general principles that the planning system must take account of in order to protect the environment. Minerals planning guidance note 2, "Applications, Permissions and Conditions", contains advice on the control of dust, smoke and fumes when considering planning applications for mineral workings. In addition, processes with potential to cause air pollution are covered by the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and detailed guidance has been issued to the regulatory authorities on the standards to be applied to protect air quality.
Traffic Pollution
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to eradicate pollution by traffic; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Government's approach was set out in "This Common Inheritance: The Third Year Report", Cm. published in May. A range of measures is being taken including tighter emission standards and changes to fuel composition which should lead to a progressive decline in traffic pollution. A crackdown on offending vehicles was announced in October, and further measures are under consideration.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current total of cases of BSE recorded in each county in Wales.
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Mr. Gwilym Jones: The cumulative total of confirmed BSE cases from November 1986 to week ending 2 December 1994 in each county in Wales is as follows:
- County |Total ------------------------------ Clwyd |2,147 Gwynedd |591 Powys |1,915 Dyfed |6,930 South Glamorgan |384 West Glamorgan |100 Mid Glamorgan |215 Gwent |954
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many BSE cases were recorded in each of the last five years in each county in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The number of confirmed BSE cases in each of the last five years in each county in Wales is as follows:
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|1994
County |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |(to 712)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |181 |381 |571 |607 |320
Gwynedd |30 |81 |174 |177 |92
Powys |132 |252 |514 |587 |343
Dyfed |583 |1,257 |2,000 |1,827 |933
South Glamorgan |22 |58 |114 |107 |43
West Glamorgan |8 |10 |34 |30 |14
Mid Glamorgan |37 |41 |43 |46 |33
Gwent |90 |154 |265 |246 |111
Public Appointments
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are employed by (a) advisory bodies and (b) tribunals to whose boards he appointed in (i) 1979 and (ii) 1993.
Mr. Redwood: Information on the number of staff employed by advisory bodies and tribunals for 1979 is not available. The information for 1993 is as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
<1> Ten Welsh Office staff were seconded to the Local Government Boundary
Commission (six secondees) and the Local Government Reorganisation Advisory
Committee on Staffing Matters (four secondees).
<2> Became an executive body on 21 December 1993 following Royal Assent to the
Welsh Language Act.
<3> Sea fisheries committees are funded by local authorities.
<4> Secretary of State for Wales appoints 17 of the 56 members of sea fisheries
committees.
<5> Five Welsh Office staff were seconded to the rent assessment panel. The
Secretary of State for Wales appoints 30 of the 51 members of rent assessment
panels.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people have been prosecuted for non-payment of (a) poll tax and (b) council tax; what are the amounts of money uncollected; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Information about the number of people prosecuted is not collected centrally. It is estimated that £36,700, 000 community charge and £10,800,000 council tax due to 31 March 1994 in Wales was uncollected at 30 September 1994.
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British Rail Land
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the chair of Railtrack to discuss the mechanics to ensure the release of land owned by British Rail and required for important public sector infrastructure projects and to avoid unnecessary delays to such projects.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Decisions on releasing railway land are for the commercial judgment of the British Rail Property Board or Railtrack plc. I have no powers to intervene.
Schools (Finance)
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total figure for the financial balances held by all (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools.
Mr. Richards: Details of the financial balances held by county schools are contained in outturn statements published by local education authorities under section 42 of he Education Reform Act 1988. I am, however, unable to provide this information at present as some authorities have yet to submit their 1993 94 statement to the Welsh Office. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information is available.
Alzheimer's Disease
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of sufferers from Alzheimer's disease, and the proportion of these residing without any family carer, for (a) each health authority and (b) Wales as a whole.
Mr. Richards: The information requested is not held centrally.
Respiratory Illness
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospital admissions there were for each month in 1991, 1992 and 1993 for (a) acute respiratory
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complaints and (b) bronchitis by local health authority and trust.Mr. Richards: Information on admissions is not collected centrally. The available figures relate to the numbers of finished consultant episodes. In view of the volume of data requested, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) males and (b) females, together with the overall total, were in full-time employment in each travel-to-work area in Wales and for Wales as a whole in December in each of the last 10 years; and in each case and for each year what proportion this figure represents as a percentage of the total population.
Mr. Redwood: Information on the number of male and female employees in full-time employment by travel-to-work area is available only from the 1981, 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1991 censuses of employment. Information on the total population of travel-to-work areas is only available from the 1981 census of population and, on an approximate basis, from the 1991 census of population. Information on male and female full-time employment and the population of Wales is available for each of the last 10 years. All these data are available form the Nomis databases which can be accessed on-line by the staff of the Library of the House.
Credit Unions
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many credit unions were operating in each district
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council authority area in Wales and in Wales as a whole in 1980, 1990 and in each year since.Mr. Gwilym Jones: Information for each district council area is not available; information for each county council area is as follows:
|1980 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |- |- |- |1 |3
Dyfed |- |- |- |- |-
Gwent |- |- |- |- |-
Gwynedd |- |- |- |- |-
Mid-Glamorgan |- |- |4 |5 |5
Powys |- |- |- |- |-
South Glamorgan |- |- |1 |3 |4
West Glamorgan |1 |1 |1 |2 |2
|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------
Wales |1 |1 |6 |11 |14
Council of Ministers
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last attended a meeting of the European Council of Ministers in an official capacity as a United Kingdom Cabinet Minister.
Mr. Redwood: I have not attended a meeting of the Council of the European Union as a United Kingdom Cabinet Minister.
University of Wales Hospital NHS Trust
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding the appointment of a chief executive designate for the University of Wales Hospital NHS Trust.
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