HC Deb 06 March 1997 vol 291 cc1016-7
11. Mr. Cox

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the cost to the United Kingdom to date of the European beef ban on United Kingdom exports; and if he will make a statement.[17556]

Mrs. Browning

The UK beef market has been affected by the European Union ban on exports of beef, together with a fall in beef consumption. Since 1 April 1996 the overall cost of the BSE eradication and compensation schemes amounts to £949 million. Forecast expenditure on BSE-related measures in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is £1,010 million and £580 million respectively.

Mr. Cox

Is the hon. Lady aware that the figures that she has given are for ever on the increase? That is a clear indication of the total incompetence with which the Government have handled this issue. We have suffered the loss of the European beef market and the cost of the slaughter of cattle; yet despite all the promises and all the talk, there is—as we heard in earlier exchanges—no prospect of the beef ban being lifted. Where do the British agriculture industry and beef industry go from here? What further costs are we to bear?

Mrs. Browning

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman did not hear me correctly: £580 million is clearly less, not more, than £1,010 million and therefore the figures are on a declining scale, year on year. There is a commitment to the industry and to the related parts of the industry chain that we will ensure their future by putting public money behind them. It is a matter of regret that the hon. Gentleman and his party do not consider the industry important enough to support its future in that way.

Mr. Fabricant

Does my hon. Friend think that the beef crisis was helped or exacerbated by the shadow Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith), asking whether it was true that members of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee were not feeding British beef to their children and grandchildren?

Mrs. Browning

The hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) and his colleague the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) played an important role at the beginning of the crisis. However, their attempts to thwart the beef industry have not succeeded and I am pleased to say that many retailers are reporting that domestic beef sales are higher than they were before March last year, despite the actions of the Opposition.

Mr. Campbell-Savours

May I have a straight answer, without the usual ministerial wriggles? Is it not true that, if Labour's policy in 1990 of an animal identification system had been in place, there would have been no cull, the taxpayer in this country would have been millions of pounds better off and the BSE crisis would have already ended?

Mrs. Browning

No—the hon. Gentleman is trying to rewrite history, as is his custom. Of course we want to have traceability and animal identification—that is an important part of transparency in the industry—but to suggest that those methods could have rewritten history in respect of contaminated feed is wrong.