| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
European Union
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost in the last 12 months of sending Ministers and officials to meetings in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe in connection with his Department's handling of EU business. [4946]
Mr. Malone: The Department does not account separately for running costs expenditure on travel, subsistence and other overseas expenses connected with European Union business.
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of his Department's time and resources are spent dealing with administrative and policy matters connected with British membership of the European Union. [4956]
Mr. Malone: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mixed-sex Wards (West Yorkshire)
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those hospitals in West Yorkshire which have mixed sex wards. [4788]
Mr. Horam: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact chairmen of the trusts in West Yorkshire for details.
21 Nov 1996 : Column: 704
Fluoride
Mr. Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue advice that fluoridated toothpaste and fluoride supplements should not be used in fluoridated areas. [5002]
Mr. Malone: Advice is available in the Dental Practitioners' Formulary, the British National Formulary and information provided by the manufacturers of fluoride supplements, that systemic fluoride supplements should not be taken where water contains more than 0.7mg fluoride per litre. Fluoride toothpaste regarded as a cosmetic falls within the scope of the Cosmetic Product Safety Regulations 1989, as amended. In these pastes the fluoridating compound is restricted to 0.15 per cent. All fluoride toothpastes must be labelled as containing the substance. Copies of the DPF and BNF are available in the Library.
Mr. Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission studies to determine the current average fluoride content of bone in each age group for (a) long-fluoridated and (b) unfluoridared areas of Britain.[5001]
Mr. Malone: The Department has no plans to commission such studies.
NHS Network
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS executives are participating in the NHS network. [5185]
Mr. Dorrell: I have no departmental responsibility for the national health service network.
Resource Accounting
Mr. Tim Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department is making with the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting; and in respect of which financial year he expects to publish the first set of resource accounts. [4981]
Mr. Horam: The Department of Health is currently enhancing its accounting system to meet the requirements of resource accounting by 1 April 1997. The Department, in common with others, is preparing to implement resource budgeting in time to form the basis for the 2000 survey. As set out in the White Paper "Better Accounting for the Taxpayer's Money: The Government's Proposals--Resource Accounting and Budgeting in Government," the first published resource accounts for the Department and other departments will be in respect of 1999-2000. Copies of the White Paper, Cm 2929, are available in the Library.
Farmers (Suicide)
Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the findings of the research commissioned from the Warneford hospital, Oxford, into suicides among farmers; and if he will make a statement. [4909]
Mr. Burns: The Department of Health has commissioned Professor Keith Hawton, University of Oxford, to undertake a study on suicides in high risk
21 Nov 1996 : Column: 705
occupational groups, including an investigation of suicides among farmers. The study is in its final stages, and a report is expected in early 1997.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION
Environmental Auditing
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission if he will list the ways in which the National Audit Office has (a) demonstrated by example and (b) promoted externally, the ability to improve efficiency and competitiveness through environmental auditing; and if he will make a statement. [4509]
Sir Terence Higgins: The National Audit Office is committed to a policy of concern for environmental issues. Energy management practices in the National Audit Office headquarters building have resulted in better performance than is typical according to the Building Research Establishment's published data for the type of building, and the office is committed to reducing the use of energy in line with Government targets. The National Audit Office uses environmentally preferred products where possible, recycles waste, and works with its suppliers to achieve environmental objectives.
As part of its statutory reporting to Parliament, the National Audit Office has published a number of reports addressing a range of environmental issues, including anti-pollution measures, conservation programmes, and the impact of transport on the environment. A list of 17 such reports over the last five years has been placed in the Library. For example, the report by the Comptroller and Audit General entitled, "Buildings and Environment", published in 1994, examined how the Department of the Environment had set energy conservation requirements through the building regulations, and had promoted energy efficiency measures and awareness of their importance to households, building managers and the construction industry. The National Audit Office is also contributing to development work on Environmental Auditing for the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Live Animal Exports
13. Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Council directive 95/29/EEC to safeguard the welfare of live farm animals exported from the United Kingdom. [3732]
Mrs. Browning: The directive provides for the first time a framework within which we can seek to ensure that all member states fulfil their responsibility to enforce agreed Community-wide rules on animal welfare in transit.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the dates during 1995 and 1996 when his officials at Dover have requested advice under the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1994 due to their concern that a vessel was about
21 Nov 1996 : Column: 706
to sail in weather and sea conditions when unnecessary suffering or injury might have been caused to the livestock on board; [5397]
- (2) if he will list the dates during 1995-96 on which a notice has been served by his staff under the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1994 on ships leaving any United Kingdom port prohibiting them from sailing due to adverse weather and the risk of unnecessary suffering or injury to livestock on board; [5395]
(3) on what dates advice has been given to field staff as cited in his instruction "Advice to Field Staff, Carriage of Livestock in Rough Weather, October 1996"; [5399]
(4) on how many occasions during 1995-96 a written or verbal instruction has been issued that the decision to sail in adverse weather with livestock on board must rest solely with the master of the vessel; [5398]
(5) if he will list the dates during 1995-96 on which a notice has been served by his staff under the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1994 during a prospective channel crossing on any vehicle preventing it from boarding a vessel due to rough weather and the risk of unnecessary suffering or injury; [5396]
(6) what advice was given when Ministry inspectors at Dover telephoned the State Veterinary Service livestock transport adviser or the veterinary adviser, animal health and welfare section at Tolworth on 6 November about a prospective sailing by the M.V. Cap Afrique. [5400]
Mrs. Browning: Communication between the Ministry's staff at Dover and headquarters is frequent, and often by telephone and unrecorded. Discussions on the weather have the aim of assisting the staff at Dover to form a view. No notices have been served on ships or vehicles to prevent transport on grounds of rough weather. Guidance to staff on this matter is clearly set out in a document entitled, "Advice to Field Staff, Carriage of Livestock by Sea in Rough Weather". A copy is being placed in the Library of the House.
Feeding Stuffs (Contamination)
14. Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the extent of contamination of feeding stuffs; and if he will make a statement. [3733]
Mrs. Browning: Surveillance effort is concentrated on food for direct consumption, supported by periodic analyses of feeding stuffs whether for veterinary or pesticide residues or a range of contaminants controlled by the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1995.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |