§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the costs of training poultry meat inspectors compare with those in other EEC countries.
§ Mr. BishopI regret that the detailed information needed for such a comparison is not available.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what 702W contribution he has made, or intends to make, towards the costs of training poultry meat inspectors in Great Britain.
§ Mr. BishopThe Government have decided to provide assistance towards the setting up of the local authority poultry meat inspection service which is required to be in full operation by August 1979. Grants at the rate of 50 per cent. of the eligible expenditure will be payable in respect of staff employed and trained for this purpose. The detailed arrangements are to be discussed with the appropriate organisations.
The payments will rest on the authority of the Estimates and the confirming Appropriation Act. Supplementary Estimates will be presented in due course. The great bulk of this expenditure will be incurred in England and, to take account of it, the appropriate Ministry cash limit for 1978–79 will be increased by £1 million.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the difference in cost of the training of a poultry meat inspector and an authorised meat inspector; and whether he will specify the reasons for the difference.
§ Mr. BishopAs there are variations in the costs of training both types of inspector, no useful comparison can be made.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the costs of training a poultry meat inspector are uniform throughout the whole of the United Kingdom; and, if not, whether he will list the highest and lowest cost by area, region and country.
§ Mr. BishopCosts will vary because of a number of factors. It is too early in the training programme to make the detailed comparisons requested.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement about discussions with the British Poultry Federation on the EEC poultry meat hygiene regulations.
§ Mr. BishopMy officials have maintained close contact with the federation on these matters. A meeting with federation representatives was held earlier this 703W week at which most aspects of the phasing-in of the poultry meat inspection service were discussed.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what type and length of training is required, and to what standard, for an authorised meat inspector and a poultry meat inspector.
§ Mr. BishopThe basic qualification for an authorised meat inspector is the Royal Society of Health's certificate in meat inspection. Candidates for the certificate must attend a course, the duration of which varies considerably between colleges—with a maximum of about 500 hours—in addition they must complete at least 250 hours of practical experience of meat inspection in a slaughterhouse.
The basic qualification for a poultry meat inspector is the Royal Society of Health's certificate in poultry meat inspection. Candidates for the certificate must complete a course comprising 59 hours of theoretical and 420 hours of practical training.