§ Mr. Laurance Reedasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many closing orders and cleansing and sterilising regulations have been imposed on shellfish beds in British coastal waters during the past five years; and what were the reasons for such orders.
§ Mr. AlisonIn the last five years, there have been no closing orders in England and Wales under the Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations, 1934. These Regulations also make provision for any necessary cleansing and sterilising requirements. The only such requirement made in the last five years was in a 1966 Order for the cleansing of oysters harvested from a particular area of a river estuary in the South-West of England where previously there had been a total ban on the lifting of shellfish.