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Abattoirs
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received from the Food Standards Agency about the Restriction on Pithing (England) Regulations 2000 with particular reference to the impact on working practices in abattoirs. [139649]
Ms Stuart: The Food Standards Agency has advised that many abattoirs may have to modify their current working practices to compensate for the ban on pithing. I understand that to minimise the risk of injury to staff from involuntary kicking by stunned animals, abattoirs will need to hoist and slaughter animals very quickly after stunning. To achieve a short stun to slaughter time modifications may be required to enable staff to operate out of the range of kicks. In some cases this may mean abattoirs will have to adapt buildings and/or equipment.
The Food Standards Agency is undertaking a consultation exercise on the introduction of the Restriction on Pithing (England) Regulations 2000. One of the main purposes of the consultation exercise is to obtain information, direct from stakeholders, on the potential effects the new legislation will have. The Agency will advise me if any additional information is obtained by this exercise which closes on 30 November.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made as to the likely rise in the number of days employees in abattoirs may be absent as a result of the prohibition on pithing. [139617]
Ms Stuart [holding answer 22 November 2000]: No estimate has been made as to the possible rise in employee absence in abattoirs following the introduction of the pithing ban.
The Food Standards Agency is leading the consultation exercise on the introduction of the Restriction on Pithing Regulations (2000). One of the main purposes of the consultation exercise is to obtain information, direct from stakeholders, on the potential effects the new legislation will have. Once the consultation exercise ends on 30 November more information may be available.
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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on the commercial liability of abattoirs of the Restriction on Pithing (England) Regulations 2000 with specific reference to (a) small abattoirs and (b) large abattoirs; and if he will make a statement. [139619]
Ms Stuart [holding answer 22 November 2000]: The Food Standards Agency is conducting a consultation exercise on the introduction of the Restriction on Pithing (England) Regulations 2000.
One of the main purposes of the consultation is to obtain information, direct from those most affected, on the possible impact of the new legislation. The consultation documents specifically request information on the financial implications to both small and large abattoirs, and in particular asks if modifications to slaughterline procedures will be required.
Once the consultation exercise ends on 30 November, the Agency will closely examine the responses it has received and make an assessment on the commercial impact on abattoirs of all sizes.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate has been made as to the number of employees in abattoirs likely to suffer injury as a result of the prohibition on pithing; [139620]
- (2) if the prohibition of pithing under the Restriction on Pithing (England) Regulations 2000 will create a significant increase in risk to the safety of employees in abattoirs. [139622]
Ms Stuart [holding answer 22 November 2000]: The Food Standards Agency is conducting a consultation exercise on the introduction of the Restriction of Pithing Regulations (2000). As part of this exercise the Agency is seeking information on the potential impact of the Regulations including any possible impact on worker safety.
Pithing is currently practised in many abattoirs to immobilise stunned animals to reduce the risk of worker injury through involuntary kicking.
Safety in the workplace is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). I understand the HSE is, in collaboration with the meat industry, developing guidelines and procedures that will help to minimise any potential risk to abattoir employees.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the basis is for his policy forbidding the use of pithing in abattoirs; [139618]
- (2) if the practice of pithing bovine animals in abattoirs gives rise to a significant risk to human health. [139623]
Ms Stuart [holding answer 22 November 2000]: The ban on pithing is being introduced as part of a wider package of measures which implement European Union Decision 2000/418/EC. The Food Standards Agency advises me that, overall, these measures will provide benefit to consumers in terms of further reducing the risk of possible exposure to BSE infectivity. This is also the view of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee.
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The ban was included in the EU Decision on the advice of the Commission's Standing Veterinary Committee, following research that found that pithing could give rise to the contamination of blood with small fragments of brain tissue. This, in turn, could lead to the contamination of the edible parts of the carcase.
Deaf People
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding is available to health authorities and primary care groups specifically to enable deaf people to access counselling services throughout the National Health Service; [139788]
- (2) what funding is available to health authorities, and primary care groups to facilitate the provision of general medical services for deaf people. [139789]
Mr. Hutton: Services for deaf people are funded in the same way as for other groups of the population. All key local stakeholders are involved in the planning, prioritisation and delivery of the local health improvement programmmes and service agreements, which provide the means for addressing local issues, such as services for deaf people.
Family Data
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the number of man-hours per year it will take local authority social services departments to collect and process the core data set of information on children and families required by the draft Children's Social Services Core Information Requirements Data Model. [140520]
Mr. Hutton: The children's social services core information requirements do not impose new tasks on councils. They were developed collaboratively with representative local authorities and published for consultation on 18 October. They are the Department's response to long-standing requests from local authority social services that a "minimum data set" for children's services be mapped and published. The core requirements comprise statistical information collected by central Government and the additional information that local authorities need themselves to plan and manage children's social service effectively. Most authorities do already collect the bulk of the specified information, either routinely or as and when required. The requirements are intended to assist local authorities in their negotiations with software suppliers to commission information systems that best suit their needs and promote the greatest possible efficiency in children's services.
NHS Dentistry
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentists needed to ensure that everyone has access to an NHS dentist. [140636]
Mr. Hutton: It is not possible to estimate with accuracy the number of National Health Service dentists needed to ensure that everyone has access to a NHS dentist. There are now 17,692 dentists in the General Dental Service (traditional, high street dentists) in England compared to 16,303 in 1997.
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Although the number of dentists has consistently risen, the amount of time they spend treating NHS patients has dropped. This is because, on average, dentists have increased the amount of time that they devote to private practice and more are working part-time.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for health authority area the ratio of NHS dentists to the population in each of the last 10 years, indicating for each year the areas where there has been a shortage of NHS dentists and the number required to make up the shortfall. [140641]
Mr. Hutton: The information for England has been placed in the Library.
This information does not necessarily reflect whether there was a shortage of National Health Service dentists. A number of other factors also have a strong bearing. Such factors include the varying level of commitment of dentists to the NHS and different levels of demand.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by health authority area, how many (a) adults and (b) children registered with NHS dentists in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of adults and children respectively. [140638]
Mr. Hutton: The information for England has been placed in the Library.
The information shows that the number of patients registered with a dentist has declined since 1993. This is mainly due to dentists choosing to increase their private practice, to more dentists working part-time, the reduction in the registration period in 1996 and a drive to eliminate duplicate registrations.
Comparable data for 1991 are not available because registration was only introduced in October 1990 and the number of patients registered was still growing until 1992.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are undertaking dental studies; and how many new students entered dental schools in each of the last 10 years. [140637]
Mr. Hutton: In January 2000 there were 4,185 students in training in the United Kingdom. The table shows the number of new pre-clinical students entering dental schools in the United Kingdom for the academic years 1991-92 to 2000-01.
(38) Provisional data
Source:
Higher Education Funding Council for England Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
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