I propose to answer Questions Nos. 342 and 343 together.
My Department has been made aware by teachers and schools of concerns about the gradual accumulation, over a period of years, of unwanted chemicals which are no longer required for school work and also of chemicals in containers on which the labels are no longer present, and which cannot be identified. Responsibility for the management of their own chemical stocks and for ensuring the safety of students, staff and property rests with individual schools. My Department is co-operating with school management authorities in planning, developing and implementing a strategy to assist individual schools and teachers in dealing with the issue.
In October 1996, my Department published a manual, "Safety in School Science: A Code of Practice", and issued it to all schools. It contains general guidelines for best practice in school science, including a section on laboratory organisation and management which deals with matters such as storage, stock control and waste disposal.