§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many of his staff, full-time equivalent, were involved in the supervision of abattoirs in 1988–89 and 1989–90;
(2) if he will list the number of man years of his staff involved in poultry meat inspection in 1988–89 and 1989–90.
§ Mr. MacleanLocal authorities are responsible for the supervision of slaughterhouses and for meat inspection. Officers of my Department visit plants to advise on hygiene and welfare standards. The manpower involved for 1988–89 was approximately 41 man years and we expect that it will be of a similar order for 1989–90. Of this, we estimate that in 1988–89 and 1989–90 seven man years were spent on poultry meat premises.