§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farm visits have been made by Health and Safety Executive inspectors in total this year to date, and in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. NichollsI have been asked to reply.
The total number of farm visits made by the Health and Safety Executive Her Majesty's agricultural inspectorate for the past five yeas is as follows:
Year Number 1982 29,591 1983–84 27,255 1984–85 29,468 1985–86 30,562 1986–87 30,605 Figures for this year so far are not yet available.
§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of public funding devoted to monitoring and enforcing safety legislation in agriculture by the Health and Safety Executive; what proportion is devoted separately to monitoring and enforcing legislation regarding pesticides use; and if he will give the relevant information for each of the last five years and the projection for 1988.
§ Mr. NichollsI have been asked to reply.
The salary budget for the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate for each of the last five years is as follows:
408W
NHS Community Psychiatric Nursing Staff (Mental Illness) Whole-time equivalent Region 30 September 1982 30 September 1983 30 September 1984 30 September 1985 30 September 1986 Northern 70 72 95 121 158 Yorkshire 73 90 132 167 199 Trent 112 124 175 215 260 East Anglian 47 52 88 101 106 North West Thames 99 108 123 163 168 North East Thames 111 108 132 140 137 South East Thames 50 80 147 163 208 South West Thames 137 134 165 207 209
Financial Year Salary Budget £ 1983–84 2,835,000 1984–85 2,972,000 1985–86 3,092,000 1986–87 3,322,000 1987–88 3,472,000 The budget for 1988–89 is not yet available.
The monitoring and enforcement of pesticides legislation is undertaken as part of the agricultural inspecorate's overall work programme and no separate budget allocation is made.
§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many Health and Safety Executive inspectors are presently engaged in monitoring and enforcing existing legislation with regard to the use of pesticides; how many farm visits have been made this year to date; and how does this information compare with 1986.
§ Mr. NichollsI have been asked to reply.
On 1 October 1987 the Health and Safety Executive employed 142 agricultural inspectors and 528 factory inspectors in the field. Their duties include responsibility for pesticide safety. Figures for the number of farm visits made since 1 April 1987 to date are not yet available. On 1 October 1986, 156 agricultural inspectors and 543 factory inspectors were employed in the field. Agricultural inspectors made 30,605 visits to farms during 1986–87. A recruitment competition for factory and agricultural inspectors has just started.