HL Deb 15 December 1970 vol 313 cc1311-4

4.19 p.m.

LORD DENHAM rose to move, That the Draft Meat and Livestock Commission Levy (Variation) Scheme (Confirmation) Order 1970, laid before the House on November 25 last, be approved. The noble Lord said: My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord St. Aldwyn, I beg to move that this Order be approved. The formidable array of agricultural and food Orders that appear on the Order Paper I should like, with your permission, to deal with in the following way. I should like to speak first on the Meat and Livestock Commission Levy (Variation) Scheme (Confirmation) Order 1970—which is before the House at this moment. Secondly, I should like to take together the Farm Capital Grant Scheme 1970, the farm Capital Grant (Scotland) Scheme 1970, the Ploughing Grants (Variation) Scheme 1970, and the Ploughing Grants (Scotland) (Variation) Scheme 1970. I should then like to speak to the Horticulture Improvement Scheme 1970 by itself, and, finally, to speak to the last two Orders—the Farm Amalgamations and Boundary Adjustments Scheme 1970, and the Farm Structure (Payments to Out-goers) Scheme 1970—together. I hope that this will be convenient to your Lordships.

LORD CHAMPION

My Lords, we shall be happy to accept that arrangement, which appears to be an eminently suitable one.

LORD DENHAM

My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Lord.

The Draft Meat and Livestock Commission Levy (Variation) Scheme (Confirmation) Order 1970 is very narrow in scope. As the House will know, the Meat and Livestock Commission is financed mainly by the proceeds of a levy on the meat and livestock industry, in accordance with Section 13 of the Agriculture Act 1967. Subsection (5) of that section requires that no charges under a levy scheme shall be made in respect of livestock slaughtered under the Diseases of Animals Act 1950. Earlier this year Parliament passed the Agriculture Act 1970. Subsection (6) of Section 106 of that Act provides that the exemption from the Commission's levy must be extended to include animals slaughtered in accordance with any scheme made under Section 106 for the eradication of brucellosis in cattle. The Brucellosis Incentive Scheme was, in fact, made under Section 106 in July of this year, so the House will see that this Order is very much a technicality and the need for it arises automatically out of the 1970 Act. All the Order does is to confirm the necessary exemption from the levy. My Lords, I beg to move.

Moved, That the Draft Meat and Livestock Commission Levy (Variation) Scheme (Confirmation) Order 1970, laid before the House on November 25 last, be approved.—(Lord Denham.)

LORD CHAMPION

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord, who has explained this Order to us in suitably brief terms, that this is almost a formal matter. Indeed, it arises under the Act of 1970 and the Brucellosis Order to which he has referred. But when the Order was debated in another place, the honourable Member for Derbyshire, West asked the Minister a question to this effect. A voluntary eradication scheme was introduced under the Act in July of this year, and animals have been slaughtered under that scheme. The honourable Member asked the Minister whether, in those cases where animals had been so slaughtered, any money paid would be returned to the farmer concerned. The question I am asking is: has money been paid in respect of animals slaughtered under that voluntary scheme; and, if so, will it be repaid? When the honourable Member for Derbyshire, West put that question, the Minister replied that he would write to the honourable Member and tell him all about the matter. We do not know what he told him, so I shall be extremely grateful if the noble Lord will tell us exactly what has happened.

I know that it is rather wide of the Order before us, but I wonder whether the noble Lord can tell us anything about the voluntary eradication scheme: whether it has been reasonably successful: whether it looks as though it is a useful sort of introduction to the compulsory scheme that will begin in 1971. I am sure that the Department will know something about this, and I hope that the noble Lord will be able to tell the House exactly how this whole matter is now working out.

LORD DENHAM

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his reception of this Order. I should like to reply, first, to his point about the question which the Member for Derbyshire, West asked in another place. The noble Lord asked whether money would be returned to any farmer who had paid in respect of slaughtered animals. I am informed that the purpose of this Order is only to confirm a practice which is already in existence, and that up till now no payment has been requested on a reactor. Therefore no farmer has suffered, and the Order merely puts into proper form a practice which has been going on.

The noble Lord also asked about the incentive scheme, and how it had been working since it started on July 13 this year. Although it is perhaps early days to draw any firm conclusion, I can say that so far it has been very encouraging. For example, in the time between the start of the scheme in July and the end of October, we have received more than 8,000 applications in Great Britain. Obviously, this compares favourably with the 6,800 applications received during the whole of 1969 for the old brucellosis accredited herd scheme. Also, of those in the old scheme eligible to transfer to the incentive scheme, more than 80 pet cent. have elected to do so. In the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, this voluntary scheme will certainly serve as an extremely good way of preparing the ground for the compulsory scheme when it comes into force next year.

On Question, Motion agreed to.