To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for which diseases quarantine restrictions on animals can operate; and if he will make a statement.

Quarantine restrictions on imported animals are currently applied in relation to foot and mouth disease, Newcastle disease and rabies. Considerable importance is attached to quarantine and the Government believe that such measures should be maintained as long as they are necessary to prevent the introduction of disease.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries where caseous lymphadenitis is found.

Caseous lymphadenitis is known to occur in many parts of Africa, south America, Asia, Europe, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of (a) sheep and (b) goats affected by restrictions for caseous lymphadenitis by county.

Restrictions are at present imposed on (a) one flock in Buckinghamshire and one consignment undergoing post import on-farm isolation in Nottinghamshire (b) two herds in Buckinghamshire, two herds in Oxfordshire, and one herd each in Berkshire, Surrey and Lancashire. The flock of sheep in Buckinghamshire and one of the two goat herds in Buckinghamshire are on the same premises and subject to the same restriction notice.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from which country the current outbreak of caseous lymphadenitis originated; and if he will make a statement.

The current outbreak of caseous lymphadenitis appears to be associated with the import of goats from West Germany.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to prevent further cases of caseous lymphadenitis from being imported into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

We continue to rely on certification by exporting countries that sheep and goats sent to the United Kingdom come from premises which are free from caseous lymphadenitis and the herd of origin has shown no clinical serological or pathological signs of the disease in the previous three years. Animals should also be examined immediately prior to export. Ministry veterinary officers, local veterinary surgeons and producers have been asked to be vigilant for any signs of the disease and have found infection in April in a group of sheep which were undergoing post import on-farm isolation.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields of 9 May, Official Report, column 132, if he will list the contaminants now found in pigfeed; and if he will make a statement.

No present problems with contaminants have been reported and feedingstuffs associated with recent contaminants have been withdrawn.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many pigs have now been slaughtered as a result of the contaminated pigfeed; from which counties they came; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will list the up-to-date information concerning the number of farms and pigs affected by contaminated pigfeed on a county-by-county basis.

The total number of pigs that to date have been slaughtered for welfare reasons and the number of farms where pigs were affected by contaminated pigfeed, county by county, is as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether there is any evidence of the scrapie agent being present in sheep milk.

No transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, including sheep scrapie, has been shown to transmit through milk. Scientific studies on scrapie have shown that the agent is not found in milk.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the frequency of infections by (a) the scrapie agent in the muscle (meat) of scrapie-affected sheep and (b) the BSE agent in the muscle (meat) of BSE-affected cows.

Scientific studies have shown that the scrapie agent is not found in the muscle (meat) of sheep naturally affected by scrapie. By analogy with scrapie, a very similar disease to BSE, the BSE agent is not expected to be found in the muscle of affected animals. Studies are nevertheless under way to confirm this.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a summary of the results of any research work on whether the scrapie agent can be vertically transmitted by an infected ram.

There has been much work carried out in this area, all of which has shown that the scrapie agent is not found in the reproductive organs or semen of scrapie-infected rams.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if there is any restriction on the use for human consumption of sheep meat and offals including those from scrapie-infected sheep.

No specific controls apply since scrapie is not a risk to human health.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries that have now banned the import of all live British cattle.

Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, USA and the USSR.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will take action against France and Germany under article 170 of the treaty of Rome for their banning of beef imports from the United Kingdom in contravention of article 30 of the treaty of Rome;(2) if he will formally join with the European Commission in proceedings against France and Germany for their banning of beef imports from the United Kingdom in contravention of article 30 of the treaty of Rome.

The action taken by France and Germany to ban imports of beef from the United Kingdom offended Community rules and I supported the Conmmission's intention to institute legal proceedings should these bans remain in place. However, as I announced in the House on 7 June, those bans were lifted following discussion in the special Agricultural Council.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the names and number of cases of BSE detected at each abattoir;(2) how many cases of BSE were

Over 98 per cent. of suspect cases of BSE have been reported on farm. Up to 31 March 1990, 133 suspect cases had been reported in markets (of which 92 were confirmed) and 203 suspect cases reported at abattoirs (of which 149 were confirmed). A breakdown of abattoirs involved is not available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether the Government will initiate a programme to look for the possible occurrence of spongiform encephalopathy in dogs;(2) if he will investigate the incidence of canine spongiform encephalopathy among breeding bitches in licensed and unlicensed puppy farms;

There have been no reports of naturally occurring or laboratory-induced spongiform encephalopathy in dogs. Nevertheless, as recommended by the Tyrrell committee, the health of dogs is being monitored by veterinary surgeons and a study is being planned on hounds, which are traditionally fed fallen livestock.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who is responsible for the disposal of the carcases of BSE-affected cattle; and what proportion are (a) incinerated, (b) disposed of in toxic waste tips and (c) disposed of in domestic refuse tips.

The disposal of carcases of BSE-affected cattle is the responsibility of the Ministry. Nationally about two thirds are incinerated and one third are disposed of by burial on licensed waste disposal sites approved by local authorities for this purpose. Information on the classification of individual sites is not held centrally.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made in developing a test for identifying BSE in live cattle; and how soon he expects such a test to be available.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 21 May at column 86.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what regulations are currently in force to prevent the use of drift nets of over 5 km in length on United Kingdom boats; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that no United Kingdom vessel uses drift nets as long as 5 km and indeed the substantial proportion are between 200 and 400 m in length. There is no general length restriction in force but there are several regulations which limit drift nets in specific fisheries or areas to well within 5 km in length.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the annual accidental catch of birds and marine mammals by United Kingdom drift net boats is reported to him; and if he will make a statement.

It is known that fishermen in the United Kingdom may accidentally catch mammals and birds in their nets, but there is no evidence that this occurs on a significant scale. The drift net fisheries around our coast are quite modest and do not give rise to the sort of environmental problems associated with the very large-scale drift netting operations in the Pacific, about which there has been justified concern.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that the use of veterinary products that are likely to affect the wider environment, whether licensed or not, are recorded, regulated and monitored; and if he will make a statement.

All veterinary medicinal products must be licensed under the Medicines Act. They are assessed for safety, quality and efficacy before any licence is issued. The likely impact on the environment is taken into account by independent scientific experts on the Veterinary Products Committee as part of that assessment process. My Department is currently carrying out a review to ensure that all licensed veterinary medicinal products meet up-to-date standards. Any person who causes or knowingly permits veterinary products to pollute any controlled waters is liable to prosecution by the National Rivers Authority under the Water Act 1989. Under the Animals and Fresh Meat (Examination for Residues) Regulations 1988 farmers must keep records of medicines administered to animals and these are subject to checks by members of the state veterinary service.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from the Veterinary Products Committee regarding the review of the licence for Aquaguard for use on salmon farms; and if he will make a statement.

I hope to make a statement shortly.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has measured the quantity of antibiotics released into the marine environment as treatment for diseases of farmed fish; and if he will make a statement.

All veterinary medicines including antibiotics used for treating fish diseases are assessed for safety, quality and efficacy under the Medicines Act before a licence is issued. Any likely impact on the marine environment is taken into account by independent scientific experts on the Veterinary Products Committee as part of that assessment process. When a licence for such a product is due to expire, evidence of environmental impact is carefully assessed before any decision is made to renew the licence. Antibiotics used for treating fish disease are available only on prescription from a veterinary surgeon.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been conducted by him into antibiotic residues in farmed salmon; and when and where the results will be published.

Surveillance for antibiotic residues in farmed salmon is in progress and the results will be published in the food surveillance paper series once the work has been completed. It would be premature at this stage to make a statement.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries that have now banned all imports of British beef.

The following countries have notified a ban on imports of British beef: Austria, Bahrain and Turkey.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct veterinary surgeons to conduct post mortem investigations in cases of hound ataxia to ensure that it is not unrecognised canine spongiform encephalopathy.

I am not aware that any cases of hound ataxia have occurred in Britain in recent years. No cases of spongiform encephalopathy have been identified in canines but the state veterinary service investigates suspect cases in various species referred to it.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy not to allow the export of live horses to Europe for slaughter to start again.

The Government's policy is to maintain controls to prevent the export of horses for slaughter.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will consider the introduction of a certificate of receipt system for the slaughter of casualty animals;(2) whether he will consider a review of the Slaughterhouses (Hygiene) Regulations 1977, to prevent the slaughter of casualty animals without a veterinary officer's certificate.

The Slaughterhouses (Hygiene) Regulations 1977 already require a veterinary health certificate for animals known or suspected to be injured or diseased, and for carcases of such animals, intended to be presented at the slaughterhouse, subject to certain exceptions. These relate to injuries of recent origin, such as during transit when a veterinarian will not be available, and for welfare reasons to sheep and lamb carcases, where a declaration by the owner is acceptable.It is an offence to allow casualty animals or their carcases to enter a slaughterhouse uncertified under any other circumstances.I am already considering whether any changes to the regulations may be desirable.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will introduce regulations to ban the removal of meat from a bovine head until the skull and brain of the head have been removed from the head by an authorised boning plant;(2) whether he will introduce regulations to ensure that the trimming of meat from bovine heads is allowed only after the removal of the skull and brain.

Cattle which show signs of BSE, or are suspected of having the disease, are slaughtered and do not go for human consumption. The ban on brains and other specified offal is an ultra-precautionary measure applying to clinically healthy animals.Nevertheless, we are aware of concerns about particular methods of brain removal. Wherever possible, head meat should be removed before the skull is opened so that brain tissue does not come into contact with the meat. We have conducted studies into the methods employed for removing brains where this is not feasible. The Tyrrell committee has been asked to review our findings and I shall consider whether any further action is desirable having regard to the committee's advice. In the meantime, the state veterinary service is ready to give advice if needed.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will ban the slaughter of beef cattle presented for slaughter at a slaughterhouse, where those cattle have been transported more than 20 miles.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will reconsider the contents of his circular of 27 April, reference DGM/90/32, concerning the phasing in of Project 2000 in Wales; and if he will take urgent steps for full implementation of Project 2000 throughout Wales at the earliest possible date, if possible by autumn 1991 in line with the original proposals.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) on 24 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will seek to ensure that dispensation is achieved from European Community harmonisation regulations in order to safeguard the right of people in Wales to continue to use herbal remedies.

European Community legislation applies equally in all member states. Herbal remedies currently available are controlled by the Medicines Act 1968 and subject to the provisions of the EC directive 75/319/EEC for the regulation of proprietary medicinal products. We are not aware of any proposals for further harmonisation directives concerning herbal remedies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to maintain employment in the steel industry.

I am naturally anxious to maximise employment throughout the Welsh economy, including the steel industry. However, employment in any individual sector must take account of demand for products.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the amount of (a) perinatal and (b) neonatal mortality in each district health authority and management division in Wales in each of the years 1986 to 1989.

The information is given in the tables. Care should be taken in interpreting mortality rates derived from fewer than 20 events, and these are marked in the tables with ².

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will review the co-ordination between the National Rivers Authority in Wales and the Forestry Commission with a view to overcoming the acid rain problem affecting rivers and lakes in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

The Forestry Commission is in close touch with the National Rivers Authority about the problem of acid rain affecting rivers and lakes in Wales, and I see no need to review the arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications have been approved for farm woodland schemes in 1988–89 and 1989–90 for (a) Carmarthen district, (b) Dyfed, (c) Wales and (d) Britain.

The number of applications approved under the farm woodland scheme since its inception on 1 October 1988 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of nursing staff employed (a) at 31 March 1989 and (b) at 31 March 1983 in national health service hospitals, homes and clinics in Wales; what were the corresponding whole-time equivalents; and how many of them had nursing qualifications.

The available information which relates to total nursing and midwifery staff, employed by the NHS, and in post as at 30 September is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will issue guidelines to health authorities in Wales to ensure that when regulations regarding the ambulance service are being drawn up, or amended, prior consultation takes place with the local medical committee representing general practitioners in the area; and if he will make a statement.

No. The management of the service at a local level is the responsibility of the relevant district health authority. It is for the health authority concerned to determine whether consultation is appropriate when changes in operational policy are being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what special measures he is taking to assist beef producers in Wales.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on Thursday 7 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of people who have not so far paid the poll tax; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was current spending on (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wales local education authorities for each of the years from 1980, inclusive and county by county.

I have made no such estimate. I have every confidence that the vast majority of Welsh charge payers are law-abiding and will pay their community charge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average cost in Wales per person of collecting the poll tax.

The average cost in Wales per person of collecting the community charge will be about £7 in 1990–91 based on local authority budget returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received seeking changes in the poll tax legislation; and if he will make a statement.

I have received representations on a variety of matters. The Government are reviewing the operation of the community charge system. It is too early to say what changes might be made or whether legislation will be needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the presence of toxic algae from the dumping of sludge and chemicals in Liverpool bay; and if he will make a statement.

I am advised by the National Rivers Authority that it has not detected the presence of any potentially toxic algae in the Liverpool bay area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has of illnesses and viral infections in Wales following swimming in the Irish sea; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was capital spending on Wales local education authority schools for each of the years from 1980 and county by county.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

The information requested is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were pupil numbers in (a) primary and (b) secondary local education authority schools in Wales and in each county including the percentage change, year on year, for each of the years since 1980 inclusive.

The information as at January of each year is given in the tables:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been expenditure per pupil in real terms for each year from 1980 inclusive, in Wales and by county,in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

The information requested is shown in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the amount of cash in real terms for employment training in Wales for each of the years from 1980 including the current year and the proposed amounts for 1991; and if he will make a statement.

Employment training commenced on 5 September 1988. The budgets for 1988–89 and 1989–90 were £13·671 million and £32·741 million respectively. For 1990–91 the budget is £30·279 million. This is a reflection of the overall decline in unemployment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will visit Deeside high school, Queensferry, and meet members of staff;(2) if he will visit Deeside high school and meet the parent-teachers association and school governors to discuss with them school closure plans.