§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on(a) the availability, (b) the qualifications required and (c) the cost of arrangements which he is making for an expanded corps of specialist inspectors to enforce new controls on gene release and related matters, envisaged in the Environmental Protection Bill.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 11 June 1990]: Discussions are being held with the Health and Safety Executive on an agency agreement whereby its inspectors would enforce the provisions in part VI of the Environmental Protection Bill. If such an agency agreement is reached, then inspectors with appropriate qualifications and experience will be recruited and given training by the executive and guidance by my Department. The newly appointed inspectors would form a team with existing Health and Safety Executive inspectors responsible for the enforcement of human health and safety controls over genetically manipulated organisms. There would thus be a unified system of enforcement.
The costs of such an agency agreement cannot be determined accurately at present but are likely to be of the order of £100,000 per annum at current prices.