asked the Secretary of State for Employment in how many hospitals visited by the health and safety inspectors there was evidence of unclean kitchens; and how many outbreaks of food poisoning have been reported in each year since 1979.

Health and Safety Executive inspectors do not have the enforcement responsibility for unclean hospital kitchens. Hospital kitchens are visited by the environmental health officers of local authorities. This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. The reporting of outbreaks of food poisoning is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.