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Employment Relations Bill
23. Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to seek to extend the provisions of the Employment Relations Bill to Northern Ireland, with particular reference to carers. [71220]
Mr. Ingram: The Employment Relations Bill introduces a right to time off for domestic incidents, and carers would benefit, for example, by availing themselves of time off to take an elderly parent to hospital following a fall. Replication in Northern Ireland of the provisions in the Bill will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Peace Process
24. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the proposals for further progress in the peace process. [71221]
Marjorie Mowlam:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Mr. Temple-Morris), Official Report, column 377.
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 331
25. Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she last met the Northern Ireland trade unions; and if she will make a statement on the matters discussed. [71222]
Mr. Ingram:
The Secretary of State met the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on 2 December 1997. A range of topics was discussed including the peace process; fair employment including the report by the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights and the Policy Appraisal and Fair Treatment initiative; economic opportunities, trade union representation on public bodies; and policing.
26. Mr. John Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what settlement has been agreed for chief executives' pay in the Northern Ireland health service this year. [71223]
Mr. McFall:
In common with national policy, my predecessor the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) wrote to the Chairmen of Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) bodies in April 1998 asking that all practical steps be taken to ensure that the cost of individual pay rises for Senior Executives and other Senior Managers were restricted to 2.7% within the current financial year. Employers have been asked to include a compliance statement in their annual reports for 1998-99. I have recently announced a similar limit of 2.6% for next year for Chief Executives and other executives operating at board level.
27. Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on her policy to reduce the incidence of crimes of violence against the person perpetrated by members of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. [71224]
Mr. Ingram:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is on record as condemning all acts of violence, including those against the person perpetrated by members of paramilitary organisations. She has met with representatives of political parties and impressed on them the importance of bringing their influence to bear on paramilitary groups to stop such practices.
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 332
28. Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations she has had with the Northern Ireland parties on legislation to implement the Good Friday agreement. [71225]
Marjorie Mowlam:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today, Official Report, column 329, to my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Judy Mallaber).
29. Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the release of terrorist prisoners. [71226]
Mr. Ingram:
I refer my hon. Friend to the extensive debate on the Floor of the House regarding this issue on 9 December 1998, Official Report, columns 329-59. I also refer my hon. Friend to the further related debate on 27 January 1999, Official Report, columns 344-97, and in particular to columns 358-59.
30. Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners have been released under the accelerated release scheme set up by the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 to date. [71227]
Mr. Ingram:
To date there have been 242 prisoners released under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998. This is drawn from information received by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State as at 15 February 1999 from the Sentence Review Commissioners to whom prisoners apply for early release.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the support she has given to councils that have lost money with BCCI. [71201]
Mr. Ingram:
Lisburn Borough Council was the only district council in Northern Ireland which lost its investment with the collapse of BCCI. No direct support was given by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland as councils have the authority to make their own investment decisions. However, the Local Government Auditor did assist in a review of the council's investment procedures and provided advice on the way forward.
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 333
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies his Department has commissioned on the safety of synthetic pyrethroid products. [71541]
Mr. Rooker:
Applications for Marketing Authorisations for all veterinary medicinal products including synthetic pyrethroids must satisfy statutory criteria for safety, quality and efficacy. Applicants are required to submit details of scientific studies to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, where they are carefully assessed by specialists in qualified various scientific disciplines including biology, pharmacy, veterinary practice, toxicology and ecotoxicology.
Synthetic pyrethroids used as pesticides are similarly subject to strict statutory control. Ministers approve the marketing or use of a pesticide only after rigorous evaluation of scientific data. No approval is given to pesticides that pose any unacceptable risk to human beings, non-target species or the wider environment. All approved pesticides are subject to review and, if appropriate, approvals can be restricted or revoked entirely. Given the above statutory regulatory system no studies on the safety of synthetic pyrethroids have been commissioned by the Department.
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the services that KPMG have performed for his Department (a) since 1 May 1997 and (b) in the corresponding period prior to 1 May 1997, indicating the remuneration made in each case. [72002]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 22 February 1999]: From records held centrally, the services of KPMG have been sought on just one occasion since 1 April 1996 for a personnel study undertaken in March 1997 at a total VAT inclusive cost of £11,750. Information on the use of KPMG prior to 1 April 1996 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the Food and Drink Federation; and what issues were discussed. [72733]
Mr. Morley:
My right hon. Friend the Minister met the Director General of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) for an introductory meeting on 3 August when discussions covered Genetically Modified Organisms and the Food Standards Agency. Since then he has had frequent contact with FDF on a wide range of issues. He is to be principal guest speaker at the FDF President's Dinner on 4 March.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Etherington) of 11 February 1999, Official Report, column 414, on inhumane slaughter, what plans he has to outlaw inhumane slaughtering in the United Kingdom. [72697]
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 334
Mr. Morley:
The inhumane slaughter of farmed animals has long been contrary to the law in the United Kingdom. The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, and parallel regulations in Northern Ireland, implement EU requirements by making it an offence to cause any animal avoidable excitement, pain or suffering.
The Government have this week laid a statutory instrument amending these regulations: this is not, however, because it is necessary to strengthen the law on inhumane slaughter, but is in order to confine the conduct of slaughter which is carried out without stunning for religious reasons to licensed slaughterhouses.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the total number of staff (a) in his Department and (b) in each of the agencies for which he is responsible and their location in (i) London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) each of the English regions. [70484]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: Information on numbers of staff in my Department and their regional distribution is contained in the Cabinet Office publication "Civil Service Statistics 1998", which is placed in the Library of the House. Civil Service Statistics also contain staffing figures for each of my Department's agencies but does not have information on the regional distribution of their staff so I have asked Agency Chief Executives to reply separately on this.
| Region | Total staff |
|---|---|
| North | 472 |
| Central | 316 |
| South and East | 268 |
| South and West | 243 |
| Wales | 250 |
| Scotland | 193 |
MHS Headquarters staff are included in the Northern Region data. For operational reasons, the MHS includes some part of Cumbria in its Scotland Region and parts of Herefordshire and Shropshire in its Wales Region.
Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. David Chaytor, dated 11 February 1999:
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 335
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question concerning the location of staff in this Agency.
There are currently 199 staff in the Agency all of whom are based in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
| Region | Number of staff |
|---|---|
| Wales | 1 |
| South East | 5 |
| South West | 8 |
| West Midlands | 2 |
| North West | 1 |
| North East | 1 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 425 |
| East Midlands | 1 |
| Eastern | 121 |
These figures exclude casual staff and seasonal employees.
| Permanent staff | Non-industrial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 61 | 5 |
| South West | 62 | 1 |
| North West | 3 | 0 |
| Eastern | 272 | 31 |
| Wales | 15 | 5 |
| Totals | 413 | 42 |
24 Feb 1999 : Column: 336
| Number of permanent staff | |
|---|---|
| London | 22 |
| South East | 62 |
| Total London and SE | 84 |
| South West | 94.5 |
| West Midlands | 62.5 |
| North West | 13.5 |
| North East | 11 |
| Merseyside | 0 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 60 |
| East Midlands | 8 |
| Eastern | 64.5 |
| Wales | 45.5 |
| Scotland | 0 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 |
| Unreported/elsewhere | 0 |
| Total | 443.5 |
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