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Sheep Dipping: Advice Leaflet
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they propose to revise the leaflet Sheep Dipping issued jointly by the Health and Safety Executive, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Department of the Environment in December 1995; and, if so, whether they will ensure that liaison takes place between the Department of Health, the British Medical Association and the providers of laboratory facilities, as well as dipping contractors,
- as to the feasibility of the current advice on health surveillance.[HL946]
Lord Donoughue: Yes, the leaflet has been revised and updated. The revised version was issued on 12 March and copies are being sent to all known sheep farmers. I will send the noble Countess a copy and copies will be placed in the Library of the House. Guidance in the leaflet sets out a step by step approach to the treatment of sheep against ectoparasites and emphasises the precautions which should be used to minimise the risk to dippers and to the environment. Dippers and their employers are strongly advised to follow the advice in the leaflet and on sheep dip labels.
The leaflet is published jointly by the Health and Safety Executive, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Environment Agencies. The Department of Health and representatives of sheep farmers and dipping contractors were consulted during the revision of the leaflet.
Fruit Imports from USA
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What were the total imports from the American continent of the following fruits, by weight, in 1990 and the latest date for which records are available: peaches, apples, nectarines, pears, grapes, cherries and kiwi fruit.[HL959]
Lord Donoughue: UK imports of peaches, apples, nectarines, pears, grapes, cherries and kiwi fruit (fresh, preserved, prepared including juice) from the American continent in 1990 and 1996, as recorded in the Overseas Trade Statistics, are shown in the following table.
| Weight in tonnes | ||||
| 1990 | 1996 | |||
| Apples | 66,911 | 49,338 | ||
| Cherries | 4,355 | 3,623 | ||
| Grapes | 41,808 | 85,882 | ||
| Kiwi fruit | 451 | 653 | ||
| Peaches, including nectarines(1) | 274 | 2,146 | ||
| Pears | 6,848 | 5,689 | ||
(1) Peaches and nectarines were not separately identifiable in 1990. In 1996, imports were: peaches--326 tonnes; nectarines--1,820 tonnes.
Data for 1996 are provisional and subject to amendment.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Donoughue: The Working Party on Pesticide Residues carries out an annual monitoring programme for pesticide residues, including organophosphates, in
Key:
MRL= Maximum Residue Level.
(2) Includes results from the Working Party's 1989-90 and 1991 Annual Reports.
(3) Most recent results are apples (1996), pears (1995), grapes (1995), cherries (1993), kiwi fruit (1992).
(4) The Working Party's surveys of peaches and nectarines during the period in question have not included samples imported from the American continent.
Lord Whaddon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Donoughue: The BSE Inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Phillips, started its public hearings on 9 March. After having considered the volume of material to be assessed and the complexity of the issues under review, the inquiry has requested an additional six months in which to complete its work. The Government have agreed, and set a revised date for delivery of the inquiry's report on 30 June 1999.
Lord Blackwell asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Lottery is already supporting to a significant degree the acquisition of musical instruments and to date the Arts Council of England has made 354 awards totalling £19.438 million to this cause.
The Earl of Clancarty asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Funding Agreements, including performance targets, for the national museums and galleries were introduced last year and cover the period 1997-98. They are already available in the House Library. New agreements for the 1998-99 financial year are being prepared and will be placed in the House Library in due course.
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State has informal discussions with the directors of a number of national museums and galleries from time to time on a range of subjects, and the subject of the loans policy of these institutions has been touched upon. The funding of works of art or artefacts from the national museums and galleries is a matter for the trustees of each institution. At this stage no formal advice on the matter has been sought or given.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert): We are satisfied that the activities of all United States aircraft in the Gulf area, including those of electronic warfare aircraft, are properly co-ordinated with other coalition air operations.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many tests were conducted for residues of organophosphates on peaches, apples, nectarines, pears, grapes, cherries and kiwi fruit imported from the American continent in 1990 and the latest year for which records are available; and what were the findings.[HL960]
1990 results(2)
Most recent results(3)
Commodity Tests MRL exceedances Tests MRL exceedances
Peaches(4) -- -- -- --
Apples 386 1 4 0
Nectarines(4) -- -- -- --
Pears 26 0 29 0
Grapes 44 0 435 0
Cherries 0 n/a 99 0
Kiwi fruit 0 n/a 13 0
What is the latest progress of the inquiry into BSE under Lord Justice Phillips.[HL971]
Whether they consider that Lottery funds should be used to support musical instrument tuition in schools, including both provision of instruments and support for teaching costs.[HL897]
Whether they will publish and place in the Library of the House the funding agreements, including
16 Mar 1998 : Column WA99performance targets, between all national museums and galleries and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for the past three years.[HL911]
Whether the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport took advice from the directors of national museums and galleries before suggesting that their contents should be hired out to furnish the United Kingdom premises of bankers, lawyers, accountants and others.[HL885]
Whether they are satisfied that the jamming operations of United States "prowler" aircraft now deployed in the Gulf area will not interfere with possible United Kingdom air operations there.[HL940]
In the light of the complaints sent to the Minister for the Armed Forces (referred to in the debate on 2 February (H.L. Deb., col. 489)), whether they are satisfied that Gulf War veterans who report to the Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) may do so with confidence; and whether these complaints undermine the credibility of the records collected for
16 Mar 1998 : Column WA100
- research purposes by MAP doctors since the departure of Group Captain Coker.[HL836]
Lord Gilbert: The purpose of the Medical Assessment Programme is to undertake clinical assessments of, and provide as full a diagnosis as possible to, Gulf veterans who are concerned about their health. It is not a research programme. However, our policy is to publish anonymised collated results from the MAP from time to time, based on the diagnostic data collected in the course of these assessments. If, as a result of a complaint made or for any other reason, the Ministry of Defence came to believe that any diagnostic data held by the MAP was not valid, then appropriate steps would be taken to ensure that any such deficiency was rectified.
The Government are committed to ensuring that the Medical Assessment Programme has the confidence of both the Gulf veterans themselves and the medical community. For this reason, the Ministry of Defence has already announced that a full audit of the MAP will take place later this year, focusing on all aspects of patient care and on the service provided. We take very seriously any complaints received form Gulf veterans who have attended the MAP and these are thoroughly investigated in each case. Investigations into the matters raised in
the two letters referred to by the noble Countess
in the debate on 2 March 1998 (Official Report,
cols. 488-489) are still in progress.
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