HC Deb 16 November 2000 vol 356 cc1054-5
2. Mr. Mark Todd (South Derbyshire)

When he last reviewed the costs of veterinary products available to farmers.[137132]

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Nick Brown)

On 30 March, we announced as part of the Government's strategy for agriculture an independent review of dispensing of prescription-only medicines by veterinary surgeons. Additionally, the Office of Fair Trading is conducting an investigation into certain aspects of the supply of veterinary medicines in the United Kingdom, including whether there is any evidence of anti-competitive practices that breach UK law.

I think that the House will also want to know, although the decision is not finally made, that I am considering commissioning a review of the costs and utilisation of all agricultural inputs, including veterinary products and interventions. I hope to have more to say about that next week.

Mr. Todd

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer, particularly the latter part of it. Farmers in my constituency regularly draw to my attention the price discrepancies between the veterinary products that they themselves can purchase and those that their competitors and colleagues in France can purchase there. Is it not another example of how British regulatory environments fail to support the competitiveness of British agriculture? It is another example given by the better regulation taskforce, which published its report yesterday on the environmental regulation of farming.

Mr. Brown

I think that my hon. Friend is on to a very strong point—although not so much the regulatory framework as the trading framework is at the heart of it. That is why I am considering taking a longer look at it with others who represent the different interests in the industry, including the interests of farmers. I welcome what my hon. Friend has had to say on the better regulation taskforce's work, and I commend Lord Haskins on the job that he has done.

Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)

The Minister will be aware of the onward march of the varroa jacobsini mite through the beehives of England. Is he aware that, under the veterinary medicines directorate rules, only the German-created drug Bayvarol may be used to fight varroa jacobsini—whereas, in the old days, we used to use good old-fashioned talcum power, which was more or less free. Bayvarol costs £10 per hive per year. That cost is putting bee farmers out of business and is having a significant effect on arable agriculture. Will the Minister pay particular attention to beekeeping in his review?

Mr. Brown

In fact, we have a research programme designed to help beekeepers. There is some money in my Department's research budget for precisely that purpose. The use of an intervention in one part of the European Union and doubts about whether it can be used in this country are precisely the matters that I want to be thoroughly examined.

Mr. Michael Clapham (Barnsley, West and Penistone)

My right hon. Friend will be aware that the cost of veterinary services can be crippling, particularly for the deer industry. The deer farm in my constituency—Round Green farm—told me this morning that the cost of a qualified vet being present at the abattoir when animals are dispatched is £43 an hour, while that of a meat inspector is £14 an hour. The time at the abattoir is split between the meat inspector and the qualified vet, but the industry is fearful that, as from next April, the regulations will change and a vet will be required to attend the abattoir all the time that animals are being dispatched. Will my right hon. Friend therefore look at that issue and ascertain whether it would be possible for a qualified meat inspector to be present at the abattoir, rather than a fully qualified vet?

Mr. Brown

My hon. Friend is right. I have already considered whether we could use meat hygiene inspectors, rather than qualified vets, under the EU directive, which is more than 30 years old. I have managed to convince my ministerial colleagues in the EU that we should review the directive, but of course that will take some time. In the meantime, the cost of the veterinary services represents a heavy burden on the small abattoir sectors. The Maclean report is now being considered in government and I hope to announce a response to that soon. I think that it is a response that my hon. Friend will welcome.

Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire)

We are all well aware that the high cost of veterinary products in Britain represents a heavy burden on British farmers. As has been said, those costs are higher than in the rest of Europe, but is not the real problem the over-zealous red tape of the kind highlighted by Lord Haskins in the better regulation taskforce report, published yesterday? That report paints a nightmarish scenario of farmers struggling against some of the strictest animal health and welfare controls in Europe, with hordes of pestering inspectors descending on them daily. When will the Government get off farmers' backs?

Mr. Brown

We have already had the red tape reviews, and the Government have accepted the overwhelming bulk of their recommendations, but we need to be careful because the culture of deregulation and the ferocious assault that was made on the Meat Hygiene Service in the late 1980s and early 1990s contributed to the SSE disaster that overwhelmed our country and had the most tragic implications for human health. So those who simply call for a bonfire of the regulations are wrong. Lord Haskins has adopted the right approach: he aims for better regulation, not no regulation.