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Meat Hygiene
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What criteria are used by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in the event of a report by one or more of his officers of alleged contraventions by meat plant operators of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations, to determine whether alleged offenders should be prosecuted; and[HL2803]
Whether, in making a decision whether to prosecute a meat plant operator for alleged breaches of Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food takes account of the adequacy and fairness of previous enforcement action.[HL2804]
Lord Donoughue: In considering whether alleged offenders should be prosecuted, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food follows the code for Crown prosecutors in the same way that the Crown Prosecutions Service does and considers available evidence and whether it is in the "public interest" for a prosecution to proceed. Regard is paid to previous enforcement action as part of that consideration.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many times since the commencement of duties of the Meat Hygiene Service on 1 April 1995 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
have undertaken prosecutions against operators slaughtering animals in unlicensed slaughterhouses; and how many of these prosecutions have been successful.[HL2827]
Lord Donoughue: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has undertaken seven prosecutions against operators slaughtering animals in unlicensed slaughterhouses since 1 April 1995. All have been successful.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What evidence they have to demonstrate that the Hygiene Assessment Scheme measures the hygiene
of carcases produced in United Kingdom slaughterhouses, in terms of microbiological standards and the keeping qualities of fresh meat; and whether the scores produced in respect of specific slaughterhouses give any indication of the microbiological standards achieved by them.[HL2829]
Lord Donoughue: The results of a survey carried out by Hudson et al published in the Veterinary Record 139 (14 December 1996) showed a significant negative
correlation between HAS scores and the total viable bacterial counts of beef carcases.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many hours are dedicated to training veterinary surgeons on the implication of the Hygiene Assessment Scheme.[HL2830]
Lord Donoughue: Hygiene Assessment System training for veterinary surgeons is an integral part of the conversion training and no separate estimate of hours is available.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in providing details of Hygiene Assessment Scores to meat plant owners and operators, a distinction is made between those aspects which are marked down because of failure to comply with statutory requirements and those which are marked down as a result of failure to conform with non-statutory requirements; and[HL2867]
Whether they will distinguish, in their publication of monthly Hygiene Assessment Scores relating to specific meat or cutting plants, how many points have been lost by each plant as a result of failure to conform with non-statutory requirements; and[HL2869]
What provisions are made for meat or cutting plant operators to appeal against Hygiene Assessment Scores calculated for their plants; to whom the appeals are made; and what criteria are used in determining those appeals; and[HL2870]
How many of the criteria used for assessing meat plant Hygiene Assessment Scores reflect, or can reflect, non-statutory requirements.[HL2932]
Lord Donoughue: The Hygiene Assessment System monitors the hygiene of licensed slaughterhouse and cutting plant operations, it does not assess their compliance with statutory or non-statutory requirements.
Slaughterhouse and cutting plant operators may appeal against the HAS scores calculated for their plants according to the procedures set out in the Meat Hygiene Service operations manual.
Polish Import Duties
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 7 May (WA 116), whether they will specify which countries will be affected by the higher import duties on wheat, pork, poultry and dairy products introduced by the Polish Government on 1 April; and[HL2796]
Whether they will publish a list of duties imposed by the European Union on agricultural goods imported from Poland.[HL2797]
Lord Donoughue: The duties imposed by the Polish Government on 1 April removed trade preferences which had previously applied in respect of certain agricultural goods imported from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria. The EU was not affected by those measures, but trade restrictions on imports of yoghurt from the EU introduced earlier this year continue to apply. Details of duties applied by the EU to agricultural goods imported from Poland are set out in the Annexes to the EU/Poland Association Agreement, as updated by the Adaptation Protocols. Publication of this information in the Official Journal is expected shortly.
The Tote
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will encourage the racecourse owners, collectively, to take over the Tote, with a view to establishing a Tote monopoly on British racecourses, and directing more money into the racing industry.[HL2820]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn): In accepting the recommendations of the Tote Review Steering Group, the Government have rejected the possibility of the Tote being transferred to racing without consideration. However, the respective legitimate interests of the taxpayer and racing will be the subject of further discussion and consultation during the detailed evaluation of sale options for the Tote, amongst which is the possibility of a sale to racing or specific bodies within racing.
Extradition Conventions: Ratification
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have ratified the Convention on Simplified Extradition Procedure between the member states of the European Union of 1995; and if not, why not.[HL2780]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The United Kingdom has not ratified the Convention. Primary legislation is required to ratify, and it is not possible, at this stage, to say when parliamentary time will be available.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which states have ratified the Convention on Simplified Extradition Procedure between the member states of the European Union of 1995; and on what date their ratification became effective.[HL2781]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The states which have ratified the 1995 Convention on Simplified Extradition
Procedure between the member states of the European Union, and the effective date of that ratification are set out in the table below.| States which have ratified the 1995 Convention | Effective date of ratification |
| Denmark | 19 November 1996 |
| Germany | 11 December 1998 |
| Portugal | 13 October 1997 |
| Spain | 22 January 1999 |
| Sweden | 18 July 1997 |
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have ratified the Convention Relating to Extradition between the member states of the European Union of 1996; and, if not, why not. [HL2838]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The United Kingdom has not ratified the Convention. Primary legislation is required to ratify, and it is not possible, at this stage, to say when parliamentary time will be available.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which states have ratified the Convention Relating to Extradition between the member states of the European Union of 1996; and on what date their ratification became effective. [HL2839]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The states which have ratified the Convention Relating to Extradition between the member states of the European Union of 1996, and the effective date of that ratification are set out in the table below.
| States which have ratified the 1996 Convention | Effective date of ratification |
| Denmark | 17 September 1997 |
| Finland | 7 April 1999 |
| Germany | 11 December 1998 |
| Portugal | 6 October 1998 |
| Spain | 9 December 1997 |
Prisoner Statistics
Lord Dholakia asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many prisoners were held two in a cell designed for one person (a) on average in 1998-99 and (b) on the latest available date.[HL2763]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The provisional average number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one in 1998-99 was 12,024. The provisional number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one at the end of April 1999 was 11,526. Data are subject to validation by prisons.
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