HC Deb 10 July 1986 vol 101 cc260-1W
Sir John Wells

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he proposes to seek to extend planning controls to agricultural land; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Fenner

Questions of planning control are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, but it is not Government policy to seek to extend controls to agriculture unless control is warranted in particular types of case.

Mr. Dalyell

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date in May, (a) he, (b) his junior Minister and (c) his officials were first informed that there was a problem relating to caesium 134 and caesium 137 in the Welsh and Cumbria Hills.

Mr. Jopling

Immediately after the information was received by my officials, I was informed on 22 May that radiocaesium in excess of 1,000 Bq per kg had been found in a 12-week-old lamb in Cumbria. The results of monitoring, including this reading, were included in my Department's press notice of 30 May. Monitoring of foodstuffs had been taking place since early May but was intensified in areas such as Cumbria and north Wales where deposition levels were likely to be high in order to determine whether there was a need for further action. At the same time, an investigation was undertaken of the rainfall deposition patterns across the country in collaboration with the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology to establish more precisely the areas and likely volumes of produce affected. The results of the further sampling became available from the middle of June when it became apparent that there was a general pattern of elevated levels of radiocaesium in areas of high rainfall on 2 and 3 May. Since there was a possibility that sheep from these areas could go on to the market within the next few weeks my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I decided to introduce restrictions in England and Wales on the movement and slaughter of sheep for 21 days from 20 June. We have since been able to release some of the areas from 3 July and today, while retaining restrictions in the remaining areas until 24 July.