§ 11. Mr. Maclennanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has received from the Scottish National Farmers' Union for the eradication of brucellosis; and what reply he has sent.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Norman Buchan)The union has made a number of proposals to extend the present scheme, principally related to compensation for the slaughter of reacting animals where they are only a small percentage of the herd. I am considering these proposals.
§ Mr. MaclennanI thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I recognise the scale of the task of identifying the active excretors out of the total number of reactors, but will my hon. Friend discuss with the National Farmers' Union the possibility of proceeding by way of area eradication schemes, and will he say what proposals he has for dealing with the problem of the release on to the market of reactors under the Accredited Herds Scheme?
§ Mr. BuchanI am willing to meet the union at any time it wishes me to do so, and I have been reading its proposal with interest. The scheme has been making reasonable progress. There are problems involved in the last point raised by my hon. Friend, but I am considering it.
§ Mr. StodartDoes the hon. Gentleman recall that his attitude and that of his right hon. Friend on brucellosis caused them to be described in the New Year as "guilty men" by the Chairman of the Scottish Milk Marketing Board? Will he say whether they have yet done anything to purge their guilt?
§ Mr. BuchanI have read the issue referred to, not only the remarks by the Chairman of the Scottish Milk Marketing Board at the end of the journal, but the remarks of "Kyle" at the beginning of the journal to the same general double-barrelled effect. We feel no guilt 1352 in this. The scheme is making reasonable progress, we are willing to discuss the proposals put forward by the union, and I think this is the best position at the present time.