HC Deb 10 June 1993 vol 226 cc418-9
2. Mr. Bates

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the implementation of beef suckler cow and ewe premium quotas.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Michael Jack)

Most allocations of quota to sheep producers have now been made. Allocations of suckler cow premium quota will begin in the autumn.

Mr. Bates

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer and I take this opportunity to welcome him warmly to his new post. Together with our right hon. Friend, he makes a formidable team, with the formidable task of defending the interests of the British farmer—a task for which they are more than well qualified.

Is my hon. Friend aware of the concerns expressed by landowners about the implementation of the beef suckler and ewe premium quotas? Is he further aware that the European Council of Ministers recently suggested that it was up to member states to produce measures to protect the legitimate interests of both landowners and tenants? What measures does he propose in this context?

Mr. Jack

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words of welcome. I will certainly take up his challenge to fight for British farmers and growers and their interests. Those interests, in respect of quota payments, are well served by the fact that they are valued at £495 million. I am aware of the concerns of landowners about this measure. My Ministry has received a legal submission from the Country Landowners Association on the matter. We are studying it carefully; but I trust that my hon. Friend will balance his view against the fact that expenses are involved in the line that he is pushing.

Sir Jerry Wiggin

I welcome my hon. Friend to his new post and I tell him, on behalf of the Agriculture Select Committee, that we look forward to having him before us in due course.

We welcome the transferability of the sale and lease of these subsidies, but will my hon. Friend also examine the underlying philosophy behind them, recognising that they have a regional element, so there must be some way of attaching them at least to areas, if not directly to the land in question? The interests of landowners, both landlords and farmers, must be taken into account.

Mr. Jack

I thank my hon. Friend for his first, searching question on the subject. Perhaps it is worth bearing in mind that one of the concerns of landowners is that when those with quota move off, that will affect the economic value of the land—but we have tried to take that into account in the construction of the national reserve, for which those without quota can apply when taking over land.