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Next Steps Agencies

Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of people

20 Jun 1996 : Column: 611

employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32737]

Sir John Wheeler: The information requested for the agencies under the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments is listed:

Agency	Total staff	Female staff	Grades of female staff (all grades include analogous ranks)
Valuation and Lands Agency	311	108	17 Staff Officer (SO) 3 Executive Officer (EOI) 9 Executive Officer II (EOII) 48 Administrative Officer (AO) 31 Administrative Assistant (AA)
Government Purchasing Agency	58	26	1 Deputy Principal (DP) 5 SO 1 EOI 7 EOII 12 AO
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency	122	69	1 Grade 7 9 DP 8 SO 3 EOI 6 EOII 29 AO 13 AA
Forensic Science Agency of Northern Ireland	123	48	11 DP 3.5 SO 8.5 EO 17 AO 1 Support Grade Band 1 (SGB1) 7 Support Grade Band 2 (SGB2)
Training and Employment Agency	1,377	674	2 Grade 7 18 DP 24 SO 171 EOI 111 EOII 255 AO 1 SGB1 5 SGB2 86 AA 1 Industrial
Industrial Research and Technology Unit	158	55	1 Grade 7 2 DP 5 SO 2 EOI 15 EOII 24 AO 2 SGB2 4 AA
Northern Ireland Prison Service	3,676	530	3 Grade 6 6 Grade 7 6 DP 16 SO 27 EOI 25 EOII 78 AO 47 AA 2 SG2 1 Governor 4 2 Governor 5 4 Principal Prison Officer 12 Senior Prison Officer 174 Basic Grade Prison Officer 5 Organist 17 Auxiliary Officer 15 Searchers 1 Night Patrol Officer 23 Cleaner
Compensation Agency	124	79.5	2.5 Grade 6 3.5 Grade 7 1 SO 4 EOI 18 EOII 22.5 AO 27 AA 1 Other
Child Support Agency	1,097	671	2 Grade 7 3 DP 12 SO 15 EOI 109 EOII 401 AO 129 AA
Social Security Agency	5,826	3,817	3 Grade 7 14 DP 58 SO 211 EOI 785 EOII 1,751 AO 995 AA
Health Estates Agency	126	30	1 Grade 7 1 DP 1 SO 3 EOI 4 EOII 10 AO 10 AA
Construction Service	720	143	1 Grade 7 6 DP 4 SO 10 EOI 16 EOII 64 AO 7 SGB2 35 AA
Planning Service	417	182	3 Grade 7 7 DP 20 SO 23 EOI 16 EOII 65 AO 10 SGB2 38 AA
Roads Service	2,354	412	1 Grade 7 3 DP 18 SO 33 EOI 59 EOII 179 AO 14 SGB2 100 AA 5 Industrial Staff
Water Service	2,398	358	1 Grade 7 5 DP 15 SO 21 EOI 59 EOII 4 ASO 185 AO 185 AO 8 SGB2 58 AA 2 Industrial Staff
Environment and Heritage Service	380	131	1 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 14 DP 15 SO 8 EOI 20 EOII 31 AO 3 SGB2 25 AA 13 Industrial Staff
Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency	321	95	1 DP 1 SO 3 EOI 4 EOII 51 AO 35 AA
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland	256	194	4 SO 6 EOI 15 EOII 111 AO 58 AA
Land Registers Northern Ireland	224	149	1 Grade 6 4 DP 10 SO 4 EOI 25 EOII 82 AO 8 SGB2 15 AA
Public Records Office Northern Ireland	81	31	2 Grade 7 1 DP 2 SO 4 EOI 1 EOII 14 AO 2 SGB 2 5 AA
Rate Collection Agency	261	163	1 DP 6 SO 6 EOI 19 EOII 121 AO 4 SGB2 6 AA
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland	192	22	1 SO 11 EOI 2 EOII 6 AO 2 AA

Non-general service grades have been included with the figures for the equivalent general service grade.

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20 Jun 1996 : Column: 614

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of confirmed BSE cases in each of the last 36 months. [33307]

Mr. Ancram [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The numbers of cases in the last 36 months are as follows:

1993
29
32
46
28
38
45
69
1994
52
43
49
30
11
29
21
27
28
25
29
19
1995
21
20
16
12
12
12
13
7
14
9
21
13
1996
13
11
14
10
4

Copyright

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when his Department will enter discussions with the Copyright Licensing Agency with a view to ensuring compliance with copyright law. [33761]

Sir John Wheeler: No negotiations have yet taken place between the Northern Ireland civil service and the Copyright Licensing Agency.

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Public Appointments

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently on the central list of the Northern Ireland Office public appointments unit for appointment to non-departmental and other public bodies. [32922]

Sir John Wheeler [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The current number is 4,538.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Forest Enterprise (Disabled People)

9. Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with Forest Enterprise regarding the continuing employment opportunities for people with disabilities in English woodlands previously owned by the Forestry Commission. [32370]

Mr. Boswell: While Forest Enterprise has no such responsibility for woodlands which it has sold, the new owners must comply with the statutory requirements for employing people with disabilities.

Food Agency

10. Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to set up an agency for food. [32371]

Mr. Douglas Hogg: No. Issues of food safety are best dealt with by the Government Department with responsibility for the whole food chain.

Farming (Environmental Management)

11. Mr. Thomason: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what programmes the Government have introduced to promote good environmental management by farmers; and what similar programmes were in existence in 1979. [32372]

Mr. Boswell: The Government's agri-environment programme provides a wide range of voluntary incentive schemes to encourage environmentally beneficial farming practices. There was no such programme in 1979.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

12. Mr. Garnier: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to pay an official visit to Harborough to meet farming representatives to discuss BSE. [32374]

Mrs. Browning: I have no immediate plans to visit Harborough, but my colleague the Minister for Rural Affairs regularly meets the National Farmers Union county branch.

13. Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the costs of BSE measures. [32375]

Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Southend, East (Sir T. Taylor).

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20. Mr. Canavan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement about the action he is taking on BSE. [32382]

Mrs. Browning: The UK Government have prepared a report setting out the detailed programme on which we are embarked to eradicate BSE in the United Kingdom. This report has been widely circulated at home and abroad and copies have been sent to all hon. Members.

Food Safety

14. Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met consumer representatives to discuss measures to ensure the safety of food in the UK. [32376]

27. Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met consumer representatives to discuss measures to ensure the safety of food in the United Kingdom. [32389]

Mrs. Browning: The Minister held one of his regular meetings with the chairmen of consumer organisations on Wednesday 8 May. He also met the Consumers Association to discuss bovine spongiform encephalopathy on the same day.

I met consumer organisations on 3 April and with the consumer panel on 25 April.

Common Agricultural Policy

15. Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will report progress on reforming the community agricultural policy; and what further initiatives he intends to take. [32377]

Sir Roger Moate: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what mechanisms are in place for taking forward proposals for fundamental reform of the common agricultural policy; when he expects there to be substantial negotiations about reform; and what is his target date for achieving such reforms. [33247]

Mr. Baldry: This Government very much welcome the Commission's acknowledgement that the CAP cannot remain as it is. At the Prime Minister's insistence, the Madrid European Council requested the Commission to come forward with more detailed ideas for reform and I expect to see these during the course of the year. Meanwhile, the Agriculture Council next week will address reform of the fruit and vegetables regimes.

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