HC Deb 11 December 1985 vol 88 cc913-5
8. Mr. McQuarrie

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is yet in a position to announce the amount of aid to be granted to the farming industry in Scotland following the current year's bad weather.

Mr. Younger

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 28 November.

Mr. McQuarrie

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. I hope he will not take it unkindly if I say that it is too little and too late. Farmers in Scotland lost £150 million due to the severe weather crisis, and they were looking for rather more help. Is my right hon. Friend prepared to meet the president of the Scottish National Farmers Union to discuss the continuing crisis? Will he deplore the most unhelpful remarks about Government aid made by the representative for North-East Scotland at the European Assembly?

Mr. Younger

I note my hon. Friend's comments I appreciate that, in view of the very difficult conditions, farmers in Scotland would have liked the maximum amount that could be found. I believe, however, that £16.9 million is a pretty good response and shows how seriously we take the difficulties. I am grateful to the farmers for having received this reasonably well. I frequently meet the president of the Scottish NFU, and he knows that he can always see me if he wishes.

Mr. Eadie

Is the Secretary of State aware that the agriculture community in Scotland feel that the Government have betrayed them? Is he further aware that it is a matter not just of financial aid but of services? As Lord Gray wrote to me stating that the service provided by the Lasswade laboratory in my constituency is essential and that consideration was being given to the matter, would it not be in the interests of the agriculture community if a decision were taken about that facility, which is so important to that community as well as to the staff there?

Mr. Younger

I quite appreciate that the agriculture community considers that important, but I cannot agree that farmers in general in Scotland appear to have been let down by the Government. We have provided vast sums of extra money to help them with many difficult problems, and I know that that is greatly appreciated. As for the laboratory at Lasswade, discussions about possible locations for the establishment of a unit to ensure that essential services are maintained in Scotland are continuing.

Mr. Bill Walker

Is my right hon. Friend aware that farmers in north Tayside appreciate the help that has been given, as they realise that they were not alone in suffering from bad weather? They have made their recognition of the fact that others suffered clear in comments to the press.

Mr. Younger

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and agree with his assessment. Farmers know that they can count on a firm response from the Government when they ask for help. This settlement shows that.

Mr. Steel

Is the Secretary of State aware that those of us who represent parts of Scotland that were particularly badly hit by the severe weather find that our farmers agree with the president of the Scottish National Farmers Union, who described the Government's announcement as "a severe disappointment"? In the interests of open government, will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that he and his colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food assessed that about £26 million was needed, but that they lost their battle with the Treasury?

Mr. Younger

The right hon. Gentleman is quite wrong. My colleagues and I worked hard to get the best possible package for farmers. The general view in rural areas is that it was a pretty good effort.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Will my right hon. Friend accept one word of criticism? It is that the package appears to have been designed to help most those who need it least and to help least those who need it most. Why was it not possible to include in his package help for hay farmers and others, especially tenant hay farmers, who receive no public funding and who were virtually wiped out during the summer?

Mr. Younger

I am afraid that I do not agree with my hon. Friend's general assessment. What help there is goes to those who need it most. I am sympathetic to the case that he has mentioned and to those who concentrate on hay production in his constituency, but we had to consider first the livestock producers, who were likely to find that they had animals to feed but no hay with which to feed them during the winter. They had to be the top priority. I am sorry that it was not possible to help everybody who suffered as a result of difficult weather conditions.

Mr. Home Robertson

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that this long-delayed package falls miles short of the expectations that were raised by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at the Conservative party conference? What does the right hon. Gentleman say to Scottish livestock producers and poultry farmers who now face the prospect of unfair competition from Irish farmers, who had the benefit of a much more generous aid package, including cheap grain from European stores?

Mr. Younger

It is not at all clear that that form of aid will help those whom it is intended to help. As for general assistance, the hon. Gentleman can always say that he would rather have had more money. I ask him to think whether he would have got anything like as much from any other Government. I doubt very much whether he would.

Mr. Donald Stewart

I welcome the assistance that has been given, but will the Secretary of State explain why there was less assistance for crofters than for farmers? Is this part of the Government's philosophy—giving more to those who have more?

Mr. Younger

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his general welcome, but the one thing on which most people would agree is that crofters are treated extremely generously by public funds.