§ 8. Mr. BeithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to deal with the current problems in the beef sector. [2898]
Dr. John CunninghamI am continuing in my efforts to remove the ban on UK beef exports. I will also be seeking fundamental reform of the beef regime in forthcoming negotiations in Brussels.
§ Mr. BeithWhile I welcome all the work that the Minister is doing to deal with the serious situation in the beef industry, can he tell us when we can be sure that no beef can be imported into this country which fails to meet the exacting standards expected of British farmers, when we can expect to have developed a tracing scheme that could benefit herds in grass-fed areas like Northumberland, and when we can hope for some 447 compensation for British farmers similar to that obtained by European farmers from European funds for fluctuations in the green pound?
Dr. CunninghamI have announced action on beef imports. I very much hope that people who are importing beef into this country—it is projected to total 160,000 tonnes this year—are acting responsibly on their own account. I would much prefer a European Union-wide scheme for the removal of specified risk materials from all beef, but I have made it clear, and do so again today, that 1 am giving the European Union Agriculture Council until its July meeting to introduce that action on an EU-wide basis. If it does not do so, I shall act unilaterally—reluctantly, but unilaterally—by laying orders in the House to ensure that all beef and bovine products imported into Britain are subject to the same rigorous controls on health grounds that British beef is. I cannot be clearer than that. That action was open to the previous Administration but, for reasons that I do not understand, they declined to take it.
In addition, my hon. Friend the Minister of State is working to accelerate progress on the cattle traceability scheme which I hope we shall have in place early in 1998. It is essential that we have a recognised and accepted scheme if there is to be any hope of the ban being lifted. Great progress has been made in Northern Ireland, but much less progress has been made in the rest of the UK.
Finally, I am aware of and have had discussions with Sir David Naish about the claims for compensation, and I am considering the matter.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownI, too, add my congratulations to the right hon. Gentleman and his team. I am sure that he is as concerned as I am about the plight of beef farmers, given that the market for over-30-months old beef is now half what it was at the time of the announcement on 20 March. It is a pity that no Labour Back Benchers are asking him questions about the matter on behalf of their constituents. Given that the beef market is so dire, will he deny the rumour circulating today that he is thinking about reducing the OTMS payments?
Dr. CunninghamI am not confirming or denying any rumours in the press; what is more, I have not seen them myself.
§ Mr. SkinnerDoes my right hon. Friend recall that when we were trying to wrestle with the problem created by the Tory Government and when about £3 billion was lost—money that could have been spent on hospitals, schools and so on—he heard some of us reminding the Government at that time that while there was compensation of a kind for farmers, some people were left out completely? Casualties included people in the meat production trade and lorry drivers who were sacked on the spot and did not get a penny-piece. When my right hon. Friend is devising schemes, not mentioning Florence or November in any judgment he makes, will he bear in mind the casualties who should be looked after?
Dr. CunninghamYes, but the reality is that the mishandling of the BSE crisis in this country has been a scandal that has cost the taxpayer approaching £2 billion—[HON. MEMBERS: "How much?"]—two billion pounds, and the costs continue to rise. The previous 448 Administration made no proper public expenditure provision for those costs in the medium term and developed no policy for the disposal of the thousands of tonnes of dead animals around the country that may have had BSE. We have inherited a series of desperately difficult circumstances. My hon. Friend has mentioned two or three other problems that were also neglected by the previous Government.
§ Mr. ThompsonI am sure that many of us accept that the Minister is genuinely doing all that he can to get the ban lifted. Does he recognise that the only power that we have left is the power of persuasion? Many of us are not satisfied that our colleagues in Europe are as keen to get the ban lifted as we are. Is the Minister satisfied that they are as keen as he is?
Dr. CunninghamWe are bound by the European legislation that came about as a consequence of the BSE crisis. We cannot wish that legislation away. We have to meet its requirements, which were agreed by the previous Administration. We have to work within the terms of the legislation and the Florence agreement, negotiated by the previous Government. I am doing everything I can to meet those conditions as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we are thinking of ways to try to alleviate the problems that beef producers are facing, such as the action that I mentioned to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith).