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14 Dec 2005 : Column 2121W—continued
Worker Exploitation
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role his Department plays in tackling exploitation of workers in developing countries. [36201]
Malcolm Wicks:
The UK has played a leading role in ensuring that the international framework to promote international labour rights and to tackle abuses of those rights throughout the world is in place, particularly through its work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which is the UN specialised agency
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responsible for developing, promoting and monitoring labour standards. DWP as lead Department for the ILO play an active role in the ILO Committee on Multinational Enterprises and DTI fully supports the promotion and follow-up of the ILO Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy which seeks to enhance the positive social and labour effects of multinational corporations' operations throughout the world.
We also actively encourage UK-based international companies which operate in other countries, and which are subject to the laws applicable in those countries, to apply high standards of corporate behaviour, including those which protect workers' rights.
For example, DTI promotes the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which recommend standards of responsible business conduct for businesses operating in or from the 39 adhering countries and have written to the FTSE 100 companies to raise awareness of these expectations. We have also set out our approach to encouraging environmentally and socially responsible practice internationally in our International Strategic Framework on Corporate Social Responsibility published in March.
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HEALTH
Abattoirs
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what prosecutions of abattoirs for breaches of legislation on standards of hygiene have (a) taken place and (b) succeeded in each year since 1985 in which proceedings are complete. [34597]
Caroline Flint: Figures on prosecutions for breaches of legislation on standards of hygiene are only available for the period since the establishment of the Meat Hygiene Service in 1995. Prior to that date, enforcement responsibility lay with individual local authorities and no central record of prosecutions is available.
The table provides details of prosecutions pursued in relation to breaches of fresh meat and poultry meat hygiene regulations and legislation in respect of removal of specified risk material at licensed meat plants (abattoirs, cutting plants and cold stores).
| Prosecutions pursued | Successful cases | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 7 | 6 |
| 1997–98 | 21 | 20 |
| 1998–99 | 28 | 27 |
| 1999–2000 | 20 | 18 |
| 2000–01 | 6 | 6 |
| 2001–02 | 12 | 12 |
| 2002–03 | 6 | 5 |
| 2003–04 | 22 | 22 |
| 2004–05 | 18 | 14 |
| 2005–06 | 13 | 13 |
Acute Trust Hospitals
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the acute trust hospitals with major accident and emergency departments that do not also have paediatric services on the same site. [31888]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Age-related Macular Degeneration
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of cases of age-related macular degeneration caused by smoking in each year since 1997–98. [33268]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The data requested is not routinely collected. A paper from the British Journal of Ophthalmology in May 2005 estimated that approximately 28,000 cases of age-related macular degeneration in people aged 75 years and above in the United Kingdom may be attributable to smoking.
Agriculture and Fisheries Council
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the UK voted at the EU's Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in October on the application to accept genetically modified maize MON863. [35107]
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Caroline Flint: A vote on a proposal for the authorisation of food ingredients derived from genetically modified MON863 maize was taken at the European Union Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 24–25 October. The United Kingdom voted in favour of this proposal, having been satisfied that the necessary criteria of safety, consumer information, and nutritional quality had been met.
Alcohol-related Illness
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 710W, on alcohol-related illness, what the equivalent figures for 2004–05 were. [35423]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
(44)Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis
F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
K70—Alcoholic liver disease
T51—Toxic effect of alcohol
NHS Hospitals, England 2004–05
Notes:
A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.
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Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons alcohol-related referrals to the community mental health service in the Alnwick and Berwick areas have been suspended; and if she will make a statement. [24452]
Mr. Byrne: This is a matter for the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health National Health Service Trust.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many communication systems are in operation in the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services; which of them are interoperable with those of the police services; how they would be unified in the event that the ambulance services were merged; and what the unification would cost. [35711]
Caroline Flint: I am informed by Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire strategic health authority that there are three communication systems in operation in the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. The system in Wiltshire Ambulance National Health Service Trust is interoperable with those of the police services.
It has not yet been agreed how these systems would be unified or what the cost of unification would be as the planned structure for the new ambulance trust has not yet been finalised.
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