§ 18. Mr. P. Browneasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now announce the date upon which a compulsory slaughter and compensation policy for swine fever will be introduced.
§ Mr. SoamesYes, Sir. A compulsory slaughter policy for swine fever with compensation will be introduced in England and Wales and Scotland on Monday, 11th March, 1963. The Secretary of State for Scotland and I will be making a joint Order for this purpose in the near future. Full details of the Scheme were given in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Mr. Clive Bossom) on 31st July, 1961.
§ Mr. BrowneI am astonished and delighted to hear a straight answer to a straight question from my right hon. Friend. Would he appreciate how much good this will do in the farming industry, and could he tell me what would be the cost of this to the country per annum?
§ Mr. SoamesI am glad to have been able to astonish my hon. Friend. It would be of the order of about£1¼ million per year.