§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of the Carlisle court case against British Transport Hotels and British Railways on 2nd February 1977 for dirty restaurant cars, he will cause a national survey to be made by his health inspectors of British Railways restaurant cars.
§ Mr. MoyleI have no plans for such a survey. Enforcement of the Food Hygiene Regulations is the responsibility of local authorities. The case to which my hon. Friend refers followed an inspection of the kind undertaken by authorities in discharging this responsibility. I understand that there is a continuing informal dialogue between British Transport Hotels and a number of local authorities on food hygiene matters. I also understand that British Transport Hotels are reviewing arrangements for supervision of all aspects of catering—including food hygiene—on British Rail restaurant cars.