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British Sign Language
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information he has collected on the number of persons currently qualified in British Sign Language and to what levels; and what action he is taking to encourage the attainment of these qualifications. [92312]
Mr. Mudie: The Department does not have information on those holding qualifications in Sign Language. A number of qualifications in Sign Language and aiding communication for deaf people are included in Schedule 2(a) of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act and are therefore eligible for funding by the Further Education Funding Council. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has supported the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People in developing individual units in Sign Language which are designed to aid take-up of qualifications.
Commission for Racial Equality
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reply he has sent to recent representations from the Commission for Racial Equality on ethnicity and employment in higher education. [92379]
Mr. Mudie: Ministerial colleagues and I have received copies of the Commission for Racial Equality's summary report on ethnicity and employment in higher education. Most of the recommendations are for higher education institutions and their representative bodies. We have agreed to meet the Commission once the full report is published.
Correspondence
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average time for a substantive reply to be sent to hon. Members' correspondence; what proportion takes more than (a) four weeks, (b) six weeks and (c) eight weeks; and what is his estimate of the number of letters received in a year from hon. Members. [92443]
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Mr. Mudie:
I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403-06, which sets out performance against departmental targets for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year. More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Executive Agencies
Ms Bridget Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Pesticides Safety Directorate. [93153]
Mr. Nick Brown: I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Pesticides Safety Directorate were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Central Science Laboratory. [93154]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Central Science Laboratory were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
Mr. Hopkins:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Meat Hygiene Service. [93155]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Meat Hygiene Service were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
Mr. Savidge:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. [93156]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
22 Jul 1999 : Column: 657
Caroline Flint:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. [93157]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency were laid before Parliament today. Copies are being placed in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
Mrs. Dean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. [93158]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that the 1998-99 Annual Report and Accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
I should like to congratulate all staff on their achievements during the year.
Mr. Caton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out the standards of service for the British Cattle Movement Service. [93159]
Mr. Rooker:
The British Cattle Movement Service is making available its standards of service to organisations in the cattle industry and other groups with an interest. I am putting a copy of the BCMS Citizen's Charter in the Library of the House today.
BCMS is committed to issuing all cattle passports within 10 working days of receipt of a valid and complete passport application, and also to updating its database of cattle movements in all cases within 10 working days of receiving a valid and complete notification that an animal has moved. These are demanding standards, which I am confident BCMS will meet.
Copies of the BCMS Citizen's Charter will be sent to all cattle farmers in Great Britain later in the year.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has given to Meat Hygiene Service personnel on their future roles under the Food Standards Agency. [88291]
Mr. Rooker:
MHS personnel have been provided with a detailed question and answer briefing outlining their future roles under the Food Standards Agency (FSA). As the date for the launch of the Agency gets closer, further information will be provided.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct all operational staff of the Meat Hygiene Service to record in writing complaints made to them by staff or management of slaughterhouses, meat cutting plants and poultry processing plants concerning the conduct or performance of Meat Hygiene Service staff and to forward those records to the Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service for response within
22 Jul 1999 : Column: 658
a reasonable time, and require that those records be available for inspection by auditing staff of the Joint Food Safety and Standards Group. [88292]
Mr. Rooker:
No; this is not necessary. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) has already established modern customer complaints procedures which provide arrangements for dealing with complaints quickly at the point of service delivery, and those needing to be raised formally and escalated for senior management attention.
A simple guide was issued to all MHS customers in March 1999 outlining how customers can make complaints or comment about MHS services. These procedures meet the latest best practice principles promoted by the "Service First" unit of the Cabinet Office and are part of the MHS Quality Management System, which was registered by the British Standards Institution to the international standard BS EN ISO 9002:1994 in June 1998. The MHS is committed to continual improvement in delivering quality services, and it will continue to keep under review the effectiveness of its complaints mechanisms.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received on research conducted in the People's Republic of China about (a) the yields of genetically modified crops and (b) the quantities of chemical treatments used for such crops as opposed to non-genetically modified crops. [91731]
Mr. Rooker:
I have received no such reports about research conducted in the People's Republic of China.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of reports from the industry that genetically modified crops grown in the United States and in China produce higher yields and are treated with lower levels of chemicals than the equivalent non-genetically modified crops grown in the same countries. [92098]
Mr. Rooker:
I have received no such reports from either the United States or the People's Republic of China.
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