§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the recommendations of the Preston report on conditions in slaughterhouses and the action taken by his Department in respect of each.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonCopies of the report and of the Government's response, which was announced on 15 October 1987, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Of the recommendations which the Government accepted, meat inspection procedures in non-exporting and exporting plants were broadly aligned by the Meat Inspection Regulations 1987 and the Fresh Meat Export (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1987. We have already announced that ante-mortem inspection of animals in non-exporting premises is to be introduced from 1 January 1991. The system of regional liaison meetings envisaged in the report has been established and is proving to be of value.
In accordance with Community measures which have been adopted since the publication of the Government's response to the report, new arrangements for meat inspection charges are to be introduced from 1 January 377W 1991. The Community has also agreed on arrangements for collecting information on diseases found at slaughterhouses which should be passed back to those resonsible for production. Detailed rules for the implementation of these arrangements throughout the EC have yet to be determined. The Commission is developing proposals on the duties and qualifications of inspection personnel in slaughterhouses. Further measures to align standards in all plants will be developed, having regard to decisions in Brussels on the arrangements to be adoped for the completion of the single market.