§ Mr. Roseasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consult the medical officer of health of Manchester Corporation to consider methods of dealing with rodent infestation; and what advice has so far been given to local authorities in view of the increasing immunity of rodents to existing poisons.
§ Mr. StodartResearch into better methods of controlling rats and mice is continuously undertaken by the Ministry's Pest Infestation Control Laboratory and there is a regular flow of technical information and advice to local authorities based on the results of this work. This includes advice on controlling rodents which have developed an immunity to the standard poison warfarin. There is also liaison between our local technical officers and the responsible local authority officers. I am not aware of any special problem in Manchester necessitating consultation with the Medical Officer of Health outside these normal arrangements and he has not asked for advice.