§ 8. Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire)If he will make a statement on the Scottish livestock industry. [70827]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Calum Macdonald)The Scottish livestock industry is working to recover from blows that have affected its performance in recent years. The Government are providing a record amount of aid to farming in Scotland—almost £500 million—and since taking office we have provided an extra £82 million of targeted special aid to the livestock sector. We also made the breakthrough in getting the EU beef export ban lifted via the date-based export scheme.
From 1 July, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
§ Mr. PatersonI thank the Minister for that reply. I recently talked to a major exporter of high-quality Scottish beef in Inverurie who said that, until the ban on beef on the bone is lifted, his business of exporting top-quality roasts to Italy, France and Belgium cannot be restarted. Therefore, no serious meat concern in Scotland will go to the considerable expense of dedicating an entire abattoir to export business. Last year, the risk of getting new version Creutzfeld-Jakob disease was one in a billion; this year, it is lower. When on earth will the Government apply common sense to the issue?
§ Mr. MacdonaldIt was the previous Government, of whose party the hon. Gentleman is a member, who caused the export ban to be imposed in the first place. We have made progress—the date-based export scheme was agreed in November and we shall shortly host a visit from the Commission to study the details of the scheme and to inspect premises. After that, we shall need to work hard to relaunch the export industry successfully. I am sure that there is a market for Scottish and British beef, and we need to work hard to ensure that we win that market.
§ Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)Will the Minister assure the livestock industry that, if national envelopes are introduced as a result of the negotiations on Agenda 2000 and reform of the common agricultural policy, the Government will use all the money in the national envelope to benefit agriculture?
§ Mr. MacdonaldI cannot anticipate the outcome of the negotiations. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, Lord Sewel, the Minister responsible for agriculture, is in Brussels and engaged in discussions on Agenda 2000. Current proposals would be a step in the right direction, but we need to do much more work to ensure that they are fair to British farming, including the Scottish industry.