HL Deb 29 January 1975 vol 356 cc477-8

2.59 p.m.

Lord BRAYE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in view of the fodder shortage throughout the country, which will increase before the summer, whether a fair means of distribution of the existing stocks could be devised, and whether animal feed imports could be increased if necessary.

The MINISTER of STATE, DEPARTMENT of INDUSTRY (Lord BESWICK)

My Lords, the National Farmers' Union have set up a voluntary self-help scheme for England and Wales, and counties with fodder to spare are sending supplies to areas in most need. Officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are assisting the NFU by drawing their attention, where the farmer agrees, to available supplies and by advising in any known case of particular need. The Government could not devise a fairer means of distributing existing supplies without taking over all stocks now in the hands of individual farmers. There are no restrictions on animal feed imports and we cannot see any difficulty in increasing them if necessary. However, our domestic harvest was at a record level and we expect to meet any additional grain feed requirements from increased home supplies.