Milk Marketing Board (Hansard, 27 January 1994)

§ 1. Sir David Knox
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she will next meet the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board to discuss the dairy sector.

§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mrs. Gillian Shephard)
I last met the chairman of the Milk Marketing Board before Christmas and I expect to meet him again shortly.

§ Sir David Knox
Will my right hon. Friend give the House the assurances that if the national milk records become the responsibility of the milk residuary board, dairy farmers will comprise a majority of that board, and that she will consult the Milk Marketing Board before making the initial appointments?

§ Mrs. Shephard
I hope that my hon. Friend will understand that, because of the duties laid on me by the Agriculture Act 1993, I cannot prejudge any decision or comment on any proposal that might come from the Milk Marketing Board. Suffice it to say that I intend to ensure that the interests of the 29,000 producers are at the fore of any scheme that is eventually approved, whichever aspect of it might be in my hon. Friend's mind.

§ Mr. Tyler
Is the Minister aware that there is widespread consternation at the delay in bringing into effect the marketing scheme? Is she also aware that there is a perception among dairy farmers, in particular, that she has been listening to the interests of the processors and the Dairy Trade Federation, but not to either the producers' or the consumers' interests? Will the Minister give us an undertaking that no new obstacles will be introduced into the discussions now, given the assurances that we were given by her predecessor in the Chamber arid in Committee?

§ Mrs. Shephard
The hon. Gentleman has perhaps not familiarised himself with the Department's announcements, made on 10 December and 24 January. If he examines those announcements, he should be perfectly reassured that the interests of the 29,000 producers are absolutely top priority, that the interests of 50 million consumers also have been taken into account and that we are talking about many billions of pounds worth of business. They are big decisions; I am absolutely aware of 404 the concern about the delay, but what matters more than any deadline is getting the scheme right, and that I intend to do.

§ Sir Peter Emery
Does my right hon. Friend accept that most milk producers in the west country are delighted that she is ensuring that there will be proper lead time before the scheme comes into operation? Will she ensure for the benefit of the consumer and producers that Milk Marque and other organisations will have the capital structure and the transport to deliver the goods?

§ Mrs. Shephard
As my right hon. Friend may have noticed from the announcements from the Ministry, the availability of capital, particularly to meet the board's existing liabilities, and transport matters are being closely examined.

§ Mr. Campbell-Savours
May I tentatively congratulate the Minister on appearing to adopt the approach taken by the Labour Opposition in the Committee considering the Agriculture Bill with regard to the construction of Milk Marque? Given that Milk Marque will be a very different animal from that proposed by the Milk Marketing Board, would it not be right for the Milk Marketing Board to release all those farmers from the contracts that they have signed, thereby enabling them to take a new decision that may well be different from the one they have already made?

§ Mrs. Shephard
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his congratulations—tentative or otherwise. May I say that I—like, I am sure, everybody on the Government Benches—regret his departure as Front-Bench spokesman on agriculture, fisheries and food? On the important matter of contracts, we shall, of course, consult on any revised reorganisation scheme that the Milk Marketing Board suggests. An important question for that consultation will be whether producers who have already signed contracts with Milk Marque should be allowed a period to consider their position.

§ Mr. Brandreth
I thank my right hon. Friend for the prompt replies on that issue that she has given farmers in my constituency. Does she share the concern that Mr. Gerry Fair and other distinghished farmers have expressed at the delay in the new arrangements? If the deadline of 1 April is passed, what might the new deadline be, given that we all agree that it is important to get it right rather than quick?

§ Mrs. Shephard
The board has stated that it proposes a new vesting day of 1 November.

§ Dr. Strang
Is the Minister aware that the Government must accept full responsibility for the disarray that has been created in the milk industry? If she has read the parliamentary proceedings of the Committee that considered the Agriculture Bill, she will have seen that the Opposition repeatedly attacked the Government for giving the Milk Marketing Board responsibility for bringing forward the new scheme when, clearly, the Government should have brought forward the revised arrangement after full consultation with the industry. Will she now apologise to the thousands of dairy farmers and the many thousands of other people who work in the industry for the quite unnecessary lack of confidence and insecurity that the Government created?

§ Mrs. Shephard
I consider that I have already explained the position perfectly satisfactorily to the House. I reiterate to the hon. Gentleman that it was always the case that the board would come forward with its proposals, there would be full consultation with producers and other parts of the industry, that we would consider those proposals and, if necessary, amendments to the proposals would be made. That is the position that we are now in. I should have thought that, from the position that the hon. Gentleman occupies, he would welcome the thorough examination that has been given to that extremely important question. I would at least have expected him to admit that it is right to take time in something that is as important as this.