| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Baldry: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 February, Official Report, column 349. Future allocations have not been decided.
Column 306
SCOTLAND
Paediatricians
Mrs. Margaret Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total number of consultant paediatricians employed per regional health board; and what are the estimated required levels of staffing.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is shown in the table:
Consultants in medical and surgical paediatrics as at
30 September 1994 for each health board area, whole-time
equivalents (WTE)
|Whole-time
Health Board Area |equivalent
----------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |5.0
Ayrshire and Arran |4.4
Borders |2.0
Dumfries and Galloway |2.0
Fife |4.0
Forth Valley |1.0
Grampian |10.3
Greater Glasgow |25.6
Highland |3.0
Lanarkshire |4.0
Lothian |17.5
Tayside |9.5
Scotland |88.3
The figures do not take account of consultants in other specialties with a special interest in treating children.
In general, consultants are employed by NHS trusts. There is no establishment set; it is for individual trusts to determine local needs.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimate of the numbers of paediatricians currently in training; and if he will give a breakdown of the numbers per training establishment.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Provisional figures for 30 September 1994 show that there were 33 registrars and 21 senior registrars in training in paediatrics. Of these, five registrars and one senior registrar were overseas doctors. Information is not held centrally on the numbers employed in individual NHS trusts.
Taiwanese Inward Investment
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what efforts he has made in the past five years to attract Taiwanese investment; and what results he has had, giving the information by project, location, product and number of jobs created.
Mr. Kynoch: Taiwanese inward investment in Europe has generally been very low, and there are currently no manufacturing projects in Scotland which are Taiwanese owned. However, Locate in Scotland continues to be in touch with many Taiwanese companies, principally in the electronics sector. LIS is currently reviewing its operations in relation to Taiwan, taking into account the possibility that projects may be more likely to yield joint venture and licensing arrangements rather than direct inward investment.
Column 307
Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications his Department has received for the first round of objective 1, financial instrument for fisheries guidance funding in the highlands and islands; and if he will list those that have been approved so far.
Sir Hector Monro: Sixteen applications were received by my Department for the first tranche of awards under
Column 308
the financial instrument for fisheries guidance in the highlands and islands objective 1 area.Of these, 13 were eligible under the scheme for processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture produce, and three were eligible under the scheme for back-up facilities at fishing ports. The following were approved in December 1994:
Column 307
|Project costs |FIFG
Company |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processing and Marketing
Sco-Fro Ltd. |Provision of prawn processing equipment at Fort William |160,000 |64,040
Macrae Gairloch Ltd. |Establishment of a shellfish processing factory at Gairloch |240,000 |96,000
Johnston Seafayre Ltd. |Upgrading of building and provision of processing equipment at
|Stornoway |93,700 |37,480
Westray Processors Ltd. |Upgrading of existing shellfish processing factory and development of
|processing facilities at Westray |480,000 |192,000
Orkney Fishermen's Society Ltd. |Construction of a new shellfish processing factory at Stromness |719,683 |287,873
Easdale Seafoods Ltd. |Construction of a replacement processing factory at Seil Island by Oban|69,500 |27,800
Ports Facilities
Hugh Simpson Contractors |Expansion of ice-making facilities at Scrabster |915,000 |366,000
Heart Transplants
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were waiting for heart transplants at the latest available date.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: There were 15 people on the waiting list at 16 February 1995 with a further 20 undergoing assessment.
Column 308
Brunton Theatre
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what support was provided from (a) local and (b) national public funds for the Brunton theatre in Musselburgh for the last five years; and if he will make a statement on funding for that theatre in the future.
Sir Hector Monro: Funding for the Brunton theatre from local authorities and from the Scottish Arts Council, the main channel for Government support of the arts in Scotland, over the last five years was as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reference to revenue funding in the foregoing table relates to SAC's contribution to normal running costs; project funding relates to one off initiatives.
The future funding of the Brunton theatre is for the Scottish Arts Council and the local authorities to determine.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Jazz and Dance
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what is the policy of his Department on the subject of the establishment of a national jazz
Column 308
centre in London and on the advancement, development and support of jazz;(2) what is the policy of his Department (a) on the subject of the establishment of a national dance centre in London and (b) on the advancement, development and support of dance.
Mr. Dorrell: Under the long-standing "arm's-length" principle for arts funding and development, it is for the Arts Council to formulate strategies for each of the various art forms, including jazz and dance.
Media Concentration
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action he has taken on the EU Green Paper "Pluralism and Media Concentration" since 12 May 1993.
Column 309
Mr. Dorrell: My Department has consulted widely within the UK media industry about the content of the EU Green Paper on pluralism and media concentration. The views expressed will be taken into account in preparing the Government's response to the Commission's imminent consultation exercise.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what parliamentary proceedings are envisaged in respect of the second round of consultation initiated by the European Union on the Green Paper,"Pluralism and Media Concentration"; and if a second document is expected from the EU on pluralism and media concentration in order to tie in with the second round of consultations now taking place.
Mr. Dorrell: A copy of the Government's response to the consultation exercise will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Preparation of the response will commence once we have received the further documentation promised by the Commission.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Set-aside Land
16. Sir Ralph Howell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what voluntary schemes now exist to promote public access to set- aside land.
Mr. Jack: Last September, we launched a new voluntary countryside access scheme to encourage farmers who have suitable set-aside land to make that land available to the public for walking and other forms of quiet recreation.
Food Industry (Deregulation)
17. Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken to encourage deregulation in the food industry.
Mrs. Browning: We have made significant progress since we published the food law deregulation programme in September 1993.
Animal Welfare
19. Mr. Sedgemore: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to enforce animal welfare rules at an EC level.
Mrs. Browning: The European Commission has responsibility for overseeing the enforcement by member states of EC rules. We regularly remind the Commission of its responsibilities in this area, and draw its attention promptly to any apparent shortcomings in other member states of which we become aware.
Rhubarb
20. Mr. Dunn: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what he is doing to encourage the development of the British rhubarb industry.
Mr. Jack: We encourage the development of all horticultural product in the United Kingdom, not least rhubarb, which I know many hon. Members regard with special affection.
Column 310
Common Agricultural Policy
21. Mr. Gapes: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the prospects for reform of the common agricultural policy following EU enlargement.
Mr. Waldegrave: The accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden on 1 January is unlikely to have major implications for the common agricultural policy. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear to the House, however, fundamental changes to the CAP will be needed before the eastern European countries can join the European Union.
24. Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Prime Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has for tackling fraud in the CAP.
Mr. Waldegrave: Fraud against the CAP is a Community problem which must be tackled collectively by Community institutions and member states. Clearly, fraud must not be allowed to pay and the Government will continue to press the Commission for further reforms of the CAP, to reduce the scope for fraud, and for tougher penalties to be applied to those proved to have benefited from aid to which they were not entitled.
Live Animal Exports
22. Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his most recent legal advice on the banning of live exports.
Mrs. Browning: As I announced on 1 February, Official Report, column 643, the conclusion of the legal advice available to me is that a ban on live exports can not be reconciled with Community law, because it would be disproportionate.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what considerations underlay the issue of permits for the export of sheep and calves to Belgium from Brightlingsea on 10 February; what information was available from Nieuwpoort when the permits were granted as to when the animals would be able to be unloaded; how long the animals remained on the boat; how long the boat spent on the open sea; what assessment he has made as to the fulfilment of the requirement as to the feeding, watering and resting of the animals; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 20 February 1995]: In accordance with the requirements of the legislation protecting the welfare of animals during transport, our veterinary inspectors needed to be satisfied that the arrangements for safeguarding the calves during the voyage were in place, including suitable facilities for their feeding aboard the vessel. Officials were in close touch with the competent authorities in Belgium regarding this consignment of calves.
The ship sailed at 2100 hours on 10 February and arrived at Nieuwpoort at 0620 hours. It docked at 0930 hours. I understand that information was received from the customs clearance officer, shortly after docking, that the mayor of Nieuwpoort had served a notice preventing the landing of animals from the ship until Monday 13 February at 0900 hours. Following discussions at the town hall, the customs veterinarian requested the unloading of the calves to prevent unnecessary suffering. This commenced at 0940 hours and was completed at 1010
Column 311
hours. The calves were fed abroad the vessel and at the Grotteheme lairage.A Ministry veterinary officer accompanied the calves on their journey as far as the Grotteheme lairage and reported that the calves appeared to travel satisfactorily. They were subsequently moved to two premises in Holland where they were inspected by the Dutch veterinary authorities who report that the animals were in healthy condition.
Sugar
23. Mr. John Greenway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he has made in negotiations with his EU counterparts on reform of the sugar regime.
Mr. Jack: In negotiations so far, my right hon. Friend has called for reductions in sugar prices, argued that if any quota cuts are needed to enable the Community to meet its general agreement on tariffs and trade obligations, these fall on those member states responsible for surplus Community production, and supported measures to maintain the viability of the cane refining sector. Substantive discussion is expected to continue at the Agriculture Council on 27 and 28 March.
Veal Exports
25. Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on veal exports.
Mrs. Browning: Veal production in this country has been estimated by the Meat and Livestock Commission at under 500 tonnes in 1993 and, therefore, exports are very limited. I shall be opening a MAFF seminar tomorrow to look at the prospects for developing the market for veal from welfare-friendly husbandry systems like those in this country, including exports.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been confirmed in the United Kingdom for the latest available date.
Mrs. Browning: As at 3 February, a cumulative total of 144,437 cases of BSE have been confirmed in the United Kingdom. I am pleased to announce that, in the month to 3 February, the number of new suspected cases is down by 46 per cent. on the same period last year.
Potatoes
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with representatives of potato growers about recent price rises; what action he expects to take; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what recent representations he has received on the price of potatoes; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what action he intends to take to prevent the price of potatoes rising above the rate of inflation; and if he will make a statement.
Column 312
Mr. Jack: I have received eight letters from right hon. and hon. Members and one from a member of the public. I have explained that, in a free market, the price of potatoes is a function of supply and demand. A cold wet spring, summer drought and a wet harvest have resulted in a reduced potato crop with attendant quality problems throughout Europe this season. This has led to average retail prices rising by 61 per cent. in the 12 months to mid-January. Prices are now easing and are expected to continue to do so as supplies of the new crop from the Mediterranean arrive in Europe.
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what amount of potatoes were exported to each country from the United Kingdom in the past 12 months.
Mr. Jack: Provisional figures for exports of fresh potatoes during the period 1 January 1994 to 30 September 1994, the latest available information, are as follows:
|Weight |Value
Exports |tonnes |£000
-------------------------------------------
Total |101,693|18,842
of which
to EC |70,419 |12,980
to non-EC |31,274 |5,862
Irish Republic |35,730 |7,223
Portugal |18,019 |2,679
Canary Islands |13,174 |1,816
Spain |8,505 |1,514
Sweden |3,030 |1,320
Morocco |8,343 |1,200
Netherlands |3,120 |493
Germany |1,774 |394
Italy |1,566 |351
Egypt |1,405 |299
Hungary |1,008 |277
Slovenia |873 |212
Algeria |1,114 |173
St. Lucia |528 |132
France |531 |131
Belgium-Luxembourg |725 |103
Other |2,248 |526
Note:
Totals may vary due to rounding.
Source:
Customs and Excise.
Enzootic Bovine Leukosis
Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of enzootic bovine leukosis have occurred; how many infected cattle have been identified in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement on the future of the cattle health scheme in respect of enzootic bone leukosis.
Mrs. Browning: The number of confirmed cases of enzootic bovine leukosis, and the number of cattle involved, over the past five years is as follows:
Year |Cases |Number of cattle -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990 |0 |0 1991 |3 |4 1992 |1 |4 1993 |25 |63 1994 |9 |26
More cases were identified during 1993 and 1994 because a national testing programme has been under way during this period.
A management review of the Ministry's animal health and veterinary group considered that the voluntary livestock health schemes, with the exception of the poultry scheme, were not central to MAFF's activities and that the Ministry should withdraw from them, leaving other bodies to take them on if desired. We issued a consultation document on 24 October 1994 indicating that we recognised the force of this argument and were minded to withdraw from or transfer responsibility for some of the schemes.
A considerable number of responses have been received from industry and professional organisations on the future of all of the schemes and these are currently being considered. An announcement will be made in due course.
Meat and Livestock Exports
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what were the total earnings arising from the export of (a) calves, (b) veal, (c) live sheep and lambs, (d) lamb and mutton, (e) live cattle over six months of age, (f) beef, (g) other livestock and (h) other meat in each year since 1983;
(2) if he will list by type and purpose the number of livestock animals exported from Britain in each year since 1983.
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 20 February 1995]: Information on the value of exports and on the number of livestock exported in the detail requested is available from the annual publication "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom". These were issued as DTI "Business Monitor" MA20 until 1988 and as CSO "Business Monitor" MA20 thereafter.
These publications are available in the Library of the House. The relevant data are currently presented in the parts of tables VI and VII of MA20 relating to SITC division 00 and 01.
Information on incomes arising from these exports is not separately available.
Non-departmental Public Bodies (Pay)
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will (a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated option (i) from 1 April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.
Mr. Waldegrave: Of the bodies which MAFF sponsors, some jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales, departmental pay arrangements currently apply to three--the royal botanic gardens, Kew; Horticulture Research International and Food from Britain. All are in discussions with the Ministry on the timing and nature of the arrangements to apply in future.
Bobby Calves
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many bobby calves were slaughtered in Great Britain each year since 1970.
Column 314
Mrs. Browning: The number of bobby calves that are slaughtered are not separately recorded. However, the information does allow the number of slaughtered calves to be split by weight as shown in the table.
Slaughter of calves in Great Britain (
th.head)
|<1>Light|<2>Heavy|Total
|calves |calves |calves
---------------------------------------------
1970<3> |- |- |350.0
1971<3> |- |- |254.5
1972<3> |- |- |149.4
1973<3> |- |- |140.4
1974 |377.3 |36.1 |413.3
1975 |470.6 |50.4 |521.0
1976 |261.8 |32.9 |294.7
1977 |231.3 |32.0 |263.3
1978 |126.6 |27.6 |154.2
1979 |122.7 |21.5 |134.9
1980 |122.6 |21.5 |144.1
1981 |93.7 |25.2 |118.9
1982 |68.7 |24.5 |93.3
1983 |85.9 |31.2 |117.1
1984 |94.4 |38.0 |132.4
1985 |69.9 |31.0 |100.8
1986 |59.1 |19.3 |78.4
1987 |46.0 |19.7 |65.7
1988 |23.4 |11.1 |34.4
1989 |20.9 |6.7 |27.6
1990 |38.0 |7.3 |45.3
1991 |40.7 |8.3 |48.9
1992 |25.5 |6.8 |32.2
1993 |14.7 |3.8 |18.4
1994<4> |18.8 |3.5 |22.3
<1> Less than 64 kg dressed carcase weight.
<2> Between 65 kg and 127 kg dressed carcase
weight.
<3> Before 1974, figures were collected for
total calves only.
<4> Provisional.
Advertising
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his Department and its agencies for each year since 1979 in 1994 prices.
Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 13 February 1995]: Expenditure on all forms of advertising on television, radio and in newspapers and magazines by MAFF for each year since 1979 was as follows:
|£
---------------------------------
1982-83 |3,000
1983-84 |27,000
1984-85 |26,000
1985-86 |29,000
1986-87 |54,000
1987-88 |12,000
1988-89 |380,000
1989-90 |116,000
1990-91 |53,000
1991-92 |262,000
1992-93 |494,000
1993-94 |517,000
1994-95 |<1>104,000
<1> To date.
Note: 1. All figures include
expenditure on recruitment
advertising.
Figures prior to 1982 93 are not available in this form, since they do not distinguish between expenditure on advertising and other forms of paid publicity.
Column 315
Advertising by agencies is a matter for their chief executives. I have asked them to reply direct to the hon. Member.Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 23 February 1995:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on all forms of advertising undertaken by the Agency since 1979 at 1994 prices.
CVL became an Executive Agency in April 1990 and our expenditure on advertising since that date is set out below:
|£
--------------------------------------
1990-91 |24,011.00
1991-92 |24,593.00
1992-93 |63,686.00
1993-94 |7,656.00
1994-95 (January) |9,367.00
Much of this expenditure was on
appointment advertisements. The
figures for 1991-92 and 1992-93 also
include other associated costs of
CVL's recruitment campaigns.
Letter from Guy Stapleton to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 15 February 1995:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on all forms of advertising undertaken by the Agency since 1979 at 1994 prices.
The Intervention Board has spent the following sums on recruitment advertising since 1989/90. Papers for earlier years have been disposed of under the Agency's records management policy. 1989/90: £60,847
1990/91: £22,711
1991/92: £15,541
1992/93: £ 1,727
1993/94: £ 2,150
1994/95: £ 4,469
In addition the Agency has once or twice a year placed notices in the trade press to inform farmers and traders of late changes in European Community deadlines. Figures for this expenditure are not separately identified.
Letter from A. M. Kerr to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 23 February 1995:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate, to your Question about expenditure on advertising.
The Directorate was launched as an executive agency on 1 April 1993. The agency spent a total of £480.58 in 1993/94 on local advertisements to fill staff vacancies at junior administrative level. No expenditure on advertising has been directly incurred so far this financial year. Recruitment is more generally handled by the core Department and the advertisement costs associated with that will be included in the reply provided by the Minister.
Letter from Dr. J. M. Rutter to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 13 February 1995:
The Minister of State has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on advertising in the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible as Chief Executive.
The Directorate was not established as a Next Steps Agency until 2 April 1990. Since that date, no expenditure has been incurred on paid advertising i.e. TV, cinema and radio commercials, press and outdoor advertisements.
| Next Section
| Home Page |