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Fixed Penalties
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many charges of breach of the peace have been dealt with by way of fixed penalty by the procurator fiscal at Kilmarnock in the past 12 months; and how many of these have involved criminal injuries. [31068]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: I am advised by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate that, during the period from 1 May 1995 to 23 May 1996, the procurator fiscal at Kilmarnock issued 198 fixed penalty notices in respect of charges of breach of the peace. The procurator fiscal does not have information available to him to indicate how many, if any, of such cases resulted in awards by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Agency. As to whether personal injury was involved in any of the cases, this information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In general, it is unusual for a breach of the peace charge to involve personal injury to any party.
Computerised Tomography Scanners
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the hospitals that have CT scanners; and if he will make a statement. [31157]
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: There are 28 CT scanners in the following NHS hospitals in Scotland:
| Hospitals | CT Scanner |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen royal infirmary | 2 |
| Western infirmary, Glasgow | 1 |
| Glasgow royal infirmary | 1 |
| Royal infirmary, Edinburgh | 2 |
| Ninewells | 1 |
| Western general, Edinburgh | 1 |
| Southern general | 2 |
| Stobhill, Glasgow | 1 |
| Raigmore, Inverness | 1 |
| Crosshouse hospital | 1 |
| St. John's at Howden | 1 |
| Royal Alexandra hospital | 1 |
| Victoria infirmary, Glasgow | 1 |
| Queen Margaret hospital | 1 |
| Royal hospital for sick children, Yorkhill | 1 |
| Law, Carluke | 1 |
| Dundee royal infirmary | 1 |
| Stirling royal infirmary | 1 |
| Perth royal infirmary | 1 |
| Falkirk royal infirmary | 1 |
| Hairmyres, East Kilbride | 1 |
| Monklands hospital | 1 |
| Dumfries and Galloway royal infirmary | 1 |
| The Ayr hospital | 1 |
| Inverclyde royal hospital | 1 |
Information on CT scanners in independent sector hospitals is not available centrally.
Sheriffs
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost saving achieved per day through the use of a temporary instead of a full-time permanent sheriff in Scotland. [25470]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 16 April 1996]: Temporary sheriffs provide cover for the absences of permanent sheriffs and more generally offer a useful element of flexibility in the handling of court business.
Temporary sheriffs are paid a daily rate of £282 plus travel and subsistence expenses. The daily rate for a permanent sheriff, based on working 220 days per annum is £345.
Information Directorate
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost to date of media monitoring carried out on behalf of the information directorate; and if he will make a statement. [25489]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 16 April 1996]:The contract for media monitoring was awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering exercise. The actual cost of the contract is a matter of commercial confidence.
4 Jun 1996 : Column: 408
Animal Foodstuffs
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the current means of ensuring prohibited foodstuffs are kept out of the foodchain; what assessment he has made of their effectiveness; and what criteria he adopts to assess their effectiveness. [29914]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson [holding answer 17 May 1996]: It is a statutory requirement that cattle organs prohibited from human consumption--those which could potentially contain the BSE agent (the head including the brain but not the tongue, the spinal chord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestine)--are removed from carcases in the abattoir and stained with a distinctive dye. Such material is then rendered and disposed of at licensed landfill sites. Compliance with this requirement is supervised by the Meat Hygiene Service, an executive agency of the Great Britain agriculture Departments. The State Veterinary Service monitors the effectiveness of those operations on a regular basis to ensure that the statutory controls are being complied with.
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the test for mammalian feed in animal foodstuff will be made available for public analyst services and protective services departments of local authorities. [29916]
Mr. Robertson [holding answer 17 May 1996]: The ELISA test used for the detection of mammalian protein in animal feed is currently not available for use in other laboratories. The purification process for the preparation of samples prior to test has been patented and is available. For the immunological test, however, because of the difficulties experienced with validation and the limited stocks of antisera currently available, it is not possible to make the test more widely available. Nevertheless, materials can be submitted to MAFF for testing at the one veterinary investigation centre that is currently equipped to carry out the test, subject to available capacity.
Commercially available ELISA kits were tested with a view to assisting other laboratories to introduce testing, but these proved not to be sufficiently consistent in sensitivity, specifically for use for statutory purposes.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what trials have been conducted by his Department regarding the test for mammalian feed in animal foodstuff; and when these trials began. [29915]
Mr. Robertson
[holding answer 17 May 1996]: During validation of the test on samples collected on farms in Great Britain by the State Veterinary Service, a total of 1,577 samples were analysed between June 1994 and January 1996.
Mr. Watson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes and additions to the list of chairpersons and non-executive directors of NHS trusts in Scotland have occurred since 25 January 1993 and what are the current levels of annual remuneration. [27049]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
[holding answer 2 May 1996]: The information requested by the hon. Member has been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
4 Jun 1996 : Column: 409
Landlords
9. Mr. Stephen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to encourage small landlords. [29780]
Mr. Clappison: The Housing Bill includes provisions to encourage landlords into the private lettings market.
Standard Spending Assessments
15. Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received about the current year's standard spending assessments; and if he will make a statement. [29786]
Sir Paul Beresford: We have received a number of representations from local authorities and their associations. Proposals for change are examined with the local authority associations.
Packaging Waste
16. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the Government's proposals under the European directive on packaging waste. [29787]
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the provision of a conscience clause in the draft regulations, now being prepared by his Department, under the Environment Act 1995, concerning the shared legal obligations and recovery in recycling of packaging waste; and if he will make a statement. [30646]
Mr. Clappison: I and colleagues are fully aware of concerns that the regulations which we are presently preparing on producer responsibility for packaging waste should not compel businesses to join a scheme if, for whatever reason, they do not wish to do so. I can offer a full reassurance on this matter. There will be two routes for businesses obliged under the regulations to discharge their obligation. They will be free to discharge it alone, or by joining a collective scheme. One of the central provisions of the enabling legislation was that the individual route should be a valid option for an individual business and this will be fully reflected in the regulations. This should become clear when the draft regulations are issued for consultation.
Water (London)
18. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State of the Environment if he will make a statement about water supplies in London. [29789]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Most of London receives its public water supplies from Thames Water, although some of the outer London boroughs are supplied by Three Valleys Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water or North Surrey Water. The quality of the public water supply is very high. The Environment Agency's recent report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, published on 1 May, states that water resource problems are not expected in the Thames Water and North Surrey Water areas this summer, whatever the
4 Jun 1996 : Column: 410
weather. In the other companies' areas, no restrictions are anticipated given a normal summer although hosepipe and inessential use bans may possibly become necessary in parts of these areas if the summer is very hot and dry.
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