§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) when the draft dangerous pathogen regulations of 737W the Health and Safety Executive will become mandatory; who will be expected to comply with them and who will be exempt; and if he will make a statement;
(2) whether the Porton Down chemical defence establishment will be required to comply with the dangerous pathogen regulations of the Health and Safety Executive currently in preparation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 16 July 1980, 559–61]: The Health and Safety Commission published a consultative document "Dangerous Pathogens—Draft Regulations and Draft Guidance Notes" in October 1979. Under the proposals in this consultative document, all establishments in Great Britain proposing to work with certain specified pathogens would be required to notify the Health and Safety Executive. The chairman of the Health and Safety Commission tells me that many comments have been received in response to the consultative document. The commission will want to consider these before submitting its final proposals to Ministers in the autumn.
CURRENT LEVELS OF FOODSTUFFS HELD AS INTERVENTION STOCKS IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (thousands of tonnes) Public storage Aided private storage Total Cereals 2,258 844 3,201 Milk Products (i) Butter 230 110 340 (ii) SMP 178 — 178 (iii) Cheese — 44 44 Beef 166 — 166 Pigmeat — 46 46 Olive Oil 71 — 71 Note: Sugar eligible for storage refunds has not been included because refunds relate to an orderly marketing, rather than an intervention measure.