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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Responsibility for identifying Scottish bathing waters in terms of directive 76/160/EC lies with the Secretary of State for Scotland. The directive defines bathing waters as fresh or sea water where (a) bathing is explicitly authorised or (b) bathing is not prohibited, and is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers. The list of 23 bathing waters currently identified in Scotland was drawn up from nominations made by the river purification boards after consultation with district councils and was finalised following discussion with the European Commission. There are no plans at present to amend the current list. The position is, however, kept under review and any future amendments would be made by my right hon. and learned Friend taking account of, amongst others, the following objective criteria suggested for this purpose by the European Commission :
(1) facilities for access to the beach
(2) sanitary equipment
(3) facilities for changing
(4) parking space for cars
(5) lifeguards on the beach
(6) first aid service
(7) kiosks and shops (mobile shops)
(8) water sports facilities (boats, surfing, swimming lessons)
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Sewage Outfalls
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list the numbers, percentages and locations of long sea sewage outfalls ; and what are the quantities of treated and untreated sewage discharged at each location ;
(2) if he will list the numbers, percentages and locations of sewage outfalls which discharge at or above the low water mark ; and what are the quantities of treated and untreated sewage discharged at each location.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are approximately 800 local authority sewage outfalls in Scotland which discharge directly to estuaries or coastal waters. The detail sought is too lengthy for inclusion in the Official Report. A summary is, however, contained in the technical report "Sewage Works and Discharges Archive Report 1987" produced by the Scottish Development Department, a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide figures showing the total quantities of treated and untreated sewage discharged into the sea off the Scottish coast.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : In 1985, the latest year for which published information is available, approximately 755,000 cu m per day of sewage was discharged to Scottish estuarine and coastal waters. Of this, around 290,000 cu m per day was untreated and around 146,000 cu m per day received preliminary treatment. The balance received at least primary treatment.
Exhaust Emissions
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers he has to enforce stricter emission standards for car exhausts ; and whether he intends to use them.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The enforcement of emission standards is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. Plans for reductions of emissions are contained in the written answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 8 June 1990, at column 722.
Lochinver Harbour
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what decision he has now reached about the financing of the planned improvement works at Lochinver harbour.
Mr. Lang : This is a major and expensive project, the detail of which my Department is still considering. I or my noble Friend will write to the hon. Member when a decision is taken. I hope that will be very soon.
Youth Training
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations took place with Shetland islands council and Orkney islands council prior to the announcement of reductions in youth training funding for 1990-91 and the introduction of the new youth training contracts.
Mr. Lang : There has been a regular on-going dialogue between officials of the Training Agency and officials of
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Shetland islands council and Orkney islands council. In the period from January to May 1990 this included formal and informal consultations between officials about youth training funding for 1990-91 and the introduction of the new youth training contract.Under-age Drinking
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many off-sales licensees lost their licences or had their licences temporarily suspended in connection with the sale of alcohol to persons under age in each of the past five years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children appeared before children's panels in each of the past five years in connection with under-age drinking.
Mr. Lang : This information is not held centrally.
Reading Standards
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many 10-year-old children in Scottish state schools were recorded as experiencing reading difficulties in the school sessions (a) 1979-80 and (b) 1989-90.
Mr. Lang : This information is not available.
Nurses
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ensure that central records are kept detailing the numbers of state registered nurses who, on completion of their training, find employment within national health service hospitals, in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : No. The cost of compiling meaningful figures could not be justified as student nurses on completion of their training often find employment outwith the area of the health board in which they have trained.
Mentally Handicapped People
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to increase facilities for the profoundly mentally handicapped in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : The provision of facilities for the care and support of mentally handicapped people in the community is the responsibility of local authorities. Since 1980 the total number of day centre places has increased from 5,096 to 7,242 (provisional) and the number of residential places from 1,093 to 1878 (provisional). Separate figures on the limited amount of provision made specifically for persons who are profoundly handicapped are not available centrally.
It is for local authorities to seek to expand provision as necessary in this and other areas of their responsibilities in accordance with the resources available to them. The proposals in the White Paper "Caring for People" indicate the need to work for an increasing proportion of facilities and other services in the community.
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Casualty Departments
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that staffing levels within casualty departments in national health service hospitals in Scotland are increased ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : A variety of factors must be taken into account in determining appropriate staffing levels. The Government encourage health boards to ensure that staffing levels in all hospital departments including accident and emergency departments are established through the application of structured assessment methods.
Birch Point
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made in his investigations into the reasons for the movement of dumped materials outwith the Birch Point explosives disposal ground in the Firth of Clyde.
Mr. Lang : The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland fisheries research vessel Clupea was diverted from her programmed duties to undertake an underwater survey in and around the Birch Point disposal ground between 14 and 18 May 1990. As investigation of the dumping operations and fishing activity at the site has also been undertaken.
Following consultations with the various regulatory bodies and other interested parties, including local fishermen's representatives, a report of the investigation and the findings of the survey is being finalised this week. The report will be published before the parliamentary recess and copies of the published report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The initial investigation has confirmed that a further, closer survey of the dump site is needed. This will be undertaken by DAFS from 21 July to 5 August inclusive. In order for the survey to proceed all fishing activity in the area concerned will be prohibited for the duration of the survey. An order to this effect has been made under the Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984 and the fishermen have been advised.
Further guidance for fishermen in the Clyde area on what to do if explosive material is encountered in fishing gear is also in preparation in the light of the investigation and will be issued directly.
Community Care
Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his plans for the implementation of the community care policies set out in the White Paper, "Caring for People".
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to advise islands and regional councils of the level of funding likely to be made available to them for 1991-92 for the implementation of their community care responsibilities under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
Mr. Rifkind : We are fully committed to the policies set out in the White Paper "Caring for People" which are designed to improve social care services for vulnerable people. However, we have decided that it has become
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necessary to phase in the proposals in the White Paper. This is to allow a fuller preparation for the major shift in financial responsibility and the organisational changes required and in particular to allow local authorities time to accommodate the change without any need to impose an excessive burden on their community charge payers. The arrangements for Scotland will be as follows. On 1 April 1991 I will introduce the requirements for local authorities to set up the new arm's length inspection units for residential homes and the new complaints procedures. I will also introduce the new specific grant to accelerate the development of community services for people with a mental illness. The development of better services in the community for this group in particular is an important objective of our community care policy. In the first year I propose grant at 70 per cent. in relation to total costs of £3 million in order to provide increased community services for the mentally ill. We are already providing grants under existing powers for voluntary bodies providing services in the important field of drug and alcohol abuse and this will continue.Local authorities and health boards have already made a valuable start on the planning and development work required for community care and I would want this momentum to be maintained. I would also want authorities to continue with the important task of staff training, which the new course on community care at Dundee university is designed to meet. This will lead to the next phase of implementation on 1 April 1992 when I intend to implement the new community care planning arrangements. Development work will continue in 1992 and the final phase will be the implementation of the new income support and housing benefit arrangements on 1 April 1993 together with preservation of benefit rights for people already in homes at that date. Until then the present income support payments for those in private and voluntary residential and nursing homes will continue.
I will have regard to the financial implications of these proposals in announcing the local authority settlement, which I intend to announce next week.
The changes set out in the White Paper involve a substantial and complex task for local authorities. I am sure that phasing in the arrangements give more time to all concerned--local authorities, health boards, the voluntary and private sectors--to co-operate in preparation. It will enable the process to be more effectively managed.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Fishing Industry
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will provide separate details of landings of cod from area VIIa by east coast Scottish, west coast Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish vessels, in length bands, for the months of June 1990 and June 1989, indicating within each category the numbers of vessels and tonnages landed ;
(2) whether he will provide separate details of landings of other area VII species by Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish vessels, in length bands, for the months of June 1990 and June 1989, indicating within each category the numbers of vessels and tonnages landed ;
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(3) how many vessels declaring catches in area VII in June were spotted by the Royal Navy or by the fisheries inspection service in area VII ; and how many of these vessels were witnessed fishing in areas IV and VI ;(4) whether he will provide a breakdown of the landings in area VII for all species during the month of June by the respective producer organisations and the non-sectors.
Mr. Curry : I regret that it would be too expensive to give a detailed response to the questions posed by the hon. Member. I will however make a general statement about the alleged misreporting of cod in the Irish sea and off the west coast of Ireland.
The non-sector's quota of cod in the Irish sea for 1990 is 1,858 tonnes. Approximately half of this quota was apparently taken by Scottish vessels and landed into Scotland during June and early July. In addition, landings into Scotland of cod reported as taken from the west of Ireland (areas VIIb and VIIc), have shown a marked increase in the second half of June. The Irish sea cod fishery has had to be closed to the non-sector as its quota for the year has already been exhausted.
The industry has stated its view that some Scottish vessels have been misreporting fish caught in the North sea or off the west coast of Scotland as coming from the Irish sea or off the west coast of Ireland, and has asked that catches should be reallocated from the latter to the former areas.
Fisheries Department accept that the circumstantial evidence points to some misreporting having taken place. The Irish sea cod fishery is traditionally a spring and winter fishery and high catches in summer are unusual. The pattern of landings this year is very different from past experience. Moreover the rate of uptake by the non-sector has not been paralleled by the sector. However, Departments cannot act to penalise a particular group of vessels or to compensate Irish sea fishermen affected on the basis of rumour or circumstantial evidence ; they can act only following successful prosecution of offenders. Departments are examining all fishing documents and, if they can secure hard evidence of misreporting, they will prosecute. In the meantime, Departments are looking ugently at ways of limiting misreporting in future, and hope to be able to set up a system later this year. I know that the industry has in the past rejected tougher enforcement measures in view of their cost and inconvenience, but if it is serious about limiting misreporting, I hope that it will now accept the need for firm action.
If a system to limit misreporting can be established quickly, Departments will try to obtain more quota from another member state with the aim of reopening the Irish sea cod fishery to the non-sector later this year. However, such a swap would depend on the successful identification of another United Kingdom stock to offer in exchange.
Pesticides
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's policy in respect of the safety in respect to foodstuffs of the products alachlor, aldicarb and pyrethrin, and aflatoxin : and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Maclean : The Advisory Committee on Pesticides is currently reviewing alachlor and aldicarb. The pyrethrins are included in the routine review programme.
Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring food contaminant ; the Food Advisory Committee is considering the statutory limit which should be set for nuts and nut products.
EC Grants
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will list the recipients in the United Kingdom who have received grants from the European Community to the value of £8 million.
Mr. Curry : The United Kingdom has been awarded grants of £9.2 million by the European Commission under regulation 355/77 for 43 projects designed to improve the marketing and processing of agricultural and fisheries produce. A further £300,000 has been awarded for five projects to improve fishing port facilities. Full details on these grants were issued in a press release on 6 July 1990. A copy was lodged in the Library of the House at that time and sent to Members directly concerned including my hon. Friend the Member for Holland with Boston (Sir R. Body).
Organic Fruit and Vegetables
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he plans to take to reduce dependency on imports to satisfy demand for organically produced fruit and vegetables.
Mr. Curry : I am keen that British farmers should claim as large a share as possible of the small but growing market for organic produce. The hon. Member will know from the answer that he received to an earlier question, on 16 January, at column 215, that the Department already offers a wider range of support for organic production.
Hens
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to implement the recommendations of the draft of the European convention published by the Council of Europe in 1971 in respect of minimum space requirements for hens ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : We have no such plans. This draft has been overtaken by the final convention for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, published in 1976, and the recommendation made under it on 21 November for laying hens.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has conducted any research to establish how much space a caged hen requires in order to perform all her natural functions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : There has been much research into the space requirements of laying hens both in this country and in other member states of the European Community. This work is continuing. During the review of the battery hens directive, we will be pressing the Commission to take account of this research which indicates that a significant increase in the minimum space allowance for caged birds is required.
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Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to seek to bring poultry within the provisions of the Protection of Birds Act 1954 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Maclean : The provisions of this Act have been superseded by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Provisions for laying hens kept in battery cages are covered by Community law. It is my intention that all laying hens should be so covered. The battery hens directive requires the Commission to report on all systems of keeping laying hens by the end of 1992 and to bring forward appropriate proposals.
Protection of Farm Animals
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to implement the 1976 convention on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, in respect of poultry, pigs, and veal calves ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The specific recommendations made under the convention with respect to poultry and pigs have been implemented in this country by means of the appropriate codes of recommendations for the welfare of livestock. There is as yet no recommendation for veal calves but our ban on the traditional veal crate came into force at the beginning of this year.
Yucca Plant
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the use of products of the yucca plant on livestock farms.
Mr. Curry : Our technical advisers inform us that yucca extract is used in animal feed as a natural flavour enhancer. It is also reported to have a beneficial effect on protein utilisation. When included in feed it has the effect of deodorising slurry.
Bees
Mr. Allen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the health of bees in maintained.
Mr. Curry : The Importation of Bees Order 1980 prohibits imports of honey bees except under licence from countries of high bee health status. In addition Ministry bees officers inspect colonies in this country which have a history of disease or where disease is suspected. From 1992 the European Community Commission has proposed that national bee health measures should be replaced by European Community controls. Discussions are at an early stage and we shall continue to press for the best possible safeguards.
Field Drainage Grants
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much has been paid by way of field drainage grants for each year since 1981.
Mr. Curry : Grant paid on field drainage in England under the main capital grant schemes for the years 1981 to 1989 inclusive was as shown in the table :
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Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1981 |17.8 1982 |28.7 1983 |29.2 1984 |32.0 1985 |18.1 1986 |9.5 1987 |3.7 1988 |2.5 1989 |2.0 Source: MAFF statistics.
Livestock Holdings
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many field officers there are currently in the state veterinary service to inspect livestock holdings and to advise on animal welfare matters.
Mr. Maclean : There are currently 259.5 veterinary officers in the state veterinary service whose duties include animal welfare.
Fur Farms
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what specific welfare inspections are made by state veterinary officers during October and November of each year to ensure that the killing of mink and arctic fox on fur farms is humane.
Mr. Maclean : Ten welfare visits to fur farms were made during October and November last year. These were carried out to check on welfare standards generally and were not specifically directed to slaughter methods.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fur farms received animal welfare inspections by state veterinary officers in 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Maclean : The total number of welfare inspections of fur farms undertaken by state veterinary officers in each of these years was :
Year |Inspections ------------------------------------ 1987 |25 1988 |18 1989 |18
Mink Farms
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink farms are sited within (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30, (d) 40 and (e) 50 miles of environmentally sensitive areas.
Mr. Maclean : It is not possible to answer this without incurring disproportionate cost.
Registered Holdings
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many registered holdings in England are eligible for less-favoured area payments.
Mr. Curry : All 21,500 holdings in the LFA are eligible for enhanced rates of investment grant. A total of 14,400 claims for payment of HLCAs were submitted in 1989.
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Farm Animal Welfare Council
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make Farm Animal Welfare Council publications available to hon. Members through the form entitled "Demand for HMSO non-Parliamentary Publications".
Mr. Gummer : This is already the case.
Implementation Committee
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the national implementation committee ; what is its remit ; and if he will list the members and their qualifications.
Mr. Gummer : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Implementation Advisory Committee. As announced by my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Mr. Dorrell) during the report stage of the Food Safety Bill on 7 June at column 893, its terms of reference are "To advise Departments on draft codes of practice to be issued for consultation under Section 40 of the Food Safety Act 1990, covering the execution and enforcement of the Act and regulations and orders made under it."
The members of the committee are :
Mr. C. Cockbill
Food Standards Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Mr. M. Corbally
Principal Environmental Health Officer, Institution of Environmental Health Officers
Mr. E. Davison
Capital Grants and Animal Health and Food Standards Division, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland
Mr. M. Dimambro
City Environmental Health Officer, Cambridge
Mr. H. Farrand
Director Environmental Services, Coventry
Mr. B. Curtis
Environmental Health Officer, Department of Health
Mr. B. Kelly
Director of Environmental Health, Glasgow
Mr. D. Lord
Public Analyst, Lancashire
Miss L. Neville-Rolfe
Food Legislation Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Mr. J. Parker
Environmental Health and Food Safety Division, Department of Health
Mr. E. Ramsden
Director Environmental Services, Swansea
Mr. D. Walker
Deputy Chief Trading Standards Officer, Shropshire
Mr. B. Williams
Chief Trading Standards Officer, Gloucester
Mr. R. Wright
Director Consumer and Environmental Services, Barnsley
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