§ 10. Sir John Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that only six exceptional events need be taken into account in varying a basic quota for milk production.
§ Mr. JoplingUnder the Community rules there are only six exceptional events which entitle a producer to have his quota calculated from a different base year. Producers who have invested in facilities for expanding production may also be given additional quota if they meet certain conditions.
§ Sir John FarrI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply, but may I ask whether he has had any evidence to suggest that these six conditions alone are too inflexible and insufficient in number? If I provide him with evidence that further exceptional conditions should be taken into account, will he take up the issue with the EC?
§ Mr. JoplingAs I have explained, the six exceptional events are enshrined in the rules. I shall be anxious to hear from my hon. Friend if he has evidence of other special hard cases which he thinks are worthy of note. I have been made aware of a number by hon. Members and I am considering all of those. It seems that some Labour Members appear to believe that the outgoers' payment is £650 per cow per year, whereas it is £650 per cow to be paid over five years.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownHas the Minister formed any estimate of the number of dairy farmers who will go out of business or have their livelihoods severely depleted? How many herdsmen will lose their livelihoods completely? How many of those employed in dairy processing will lose their livelihoods?
§ Mr. JoplingThe hon. Gentleman will understand that I am not able to make any estimates. I hope that relatively few farmers, farm workers and dairy workers will be made redundant and forced to leave their current activity. It is impossible to make assessments of the sort that the hon. Gentleman seeks.
§ Mrs. Kellett-BowmanIn making representations on hardship to the Commission in Brussels, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind instances where herds have been split because of the buying up of a partner, or death, leading to a substantial reduction in output for the relevant year?
§ Mr. JoplingI shall take account of those factors and bear them closely in mind.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that the six exceptional cases that he has listed are by and large those that might be ascribed to acts of God? The acts of man—for example, farmers who have invested under the FHDS scheme—are given second priority. Is it not ironic that the right hon. Gentleman should give greater priority to hardship cases arising from the act of God than to those arising from the act of man—himself?
§ Mr. JoplingI do not accept that all these events are acts of God. When I see that the sixth case is theft or loss of cattle, I hope that that is not so. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the other events are natural disasters, the destruction of fodder or buildings, epizootic diseases in animals, compulsory appropriation of land and serious illness of the producer. They are all serious matters and the rules of the Community dictate that they must be dealt with first before dealing with expanders.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonIs my right hon. Friend aware that the question refers to exceptional events that need to be taken into account? Will he therefore give a much more satisfactory answer to the supplementary question posed by my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton (Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop), who asked what would happen if dairy farmers could no longer continue in dairying? My right hon. Friend responded by saying that they could go into other forms of farming. What if there is no other sort of fanning into which they can go? Will he change the outgoers scheme to ensure that it is tax-free, instead of giving nonsensical replies of the sort that lie gave to my hon. Friend?
§ Mr. JoplingMy hon. Friend, who takes such a close interest in these matters, should recall that the basic purpose of the outgoers scheme is to get 2¼ per cent. of the total milk quota available for reallocation. The scheme is directed to the very people to whom my hon. Friend has referred, because the first 1¼ per cent. of the 2¼ per cent. will go to small fanners with fewer than 40 cows, who are 40 per cent. of all milk producers, to bring them back to their 1983 production patterns.
§ Mr. MacleanWhen can we expect an announcement on the special help that will be available to young farmers who have recently set up in business and are trying to build a viable home? I can see no sign of that in my reading of the 78 pages of draft regulations. Yet Mr. Poul Dalsager refers to that in article 3, page 18, which states:
The Member States may grant additional reference quantities to young farmers setting up after 31 December 1980.
§ Mr. JoplingYoung farmers who have set up in business and claim that they are on an expansionist course, and are committed to it, will have their cases considered by the tribunals once they are established.
§ Mr. Robert HughesThe EC rules on hardship claims use the words "serious natural disaster". The Minister used the phrase "serious natural setback". What is the difference?
§ Mr. JoplingI do not think that there is any difference. The hon. Gentleman will remember that the first of the six events is described as a natural disaster.