§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to improve the present beef shortage.
§ Mr. BishopThere is no present beef shortage.
§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he will now take to discourage the practice of feeding dogs fresh home-reared beef and veal, in view of the present economic situation.
§ Mr. BishopI see no reason for attempting to influence the decisions of dog owners.
§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce a payment for cattle already slaughtered.
§ Mr. BishopThe beef premium is already payable on eligible cattle when slaughtered.
§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the cost of storing 50,000 tons of beef he proposes to take off the market for four months.
§ Mr. BishopUnder the Community scheme of aids for private storage no such quantity is mentioned. The cost will depend on the response of those who plan to participate in the scheme.
§ Mr. Corrieasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now put a bottom on the beef market by introducing a guaranteed price.
§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement indicating his proposed pricing policy for beef from March 1975 onwards.
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§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will reconsider his policy towards bringing in a guarantee for beef producers;
(2) in view of the position of beef producers and the cutback in production, if he will take further steps designed to safeguard the supply of beef to the consumer.
§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he is satisfied that the measures agreed by the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) in Brussels on 15th and 16th July have strengthened the beef market and have assured reasonable returns to producers as he assured the House of Commons on 17th July;
(2) in view of the large number of calves now being slaughtered, whether he will now fulfil his promise and act to restore producers' confidence as an essential prerequisite to safeguard our future supplies of beef;
(3) whether he now thinks that there is a need for a system of beef marketing; and whether he will therefore reintroduce the fatstock guarantee scheme.
§ Mr. Morganasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to reintroduce a guaranteed price for beef to the producer; and what other measures he proposes to adopt in order to give this sector of agriculture some degree of confidence for the future.
§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he is proposing to fulfil his undertaking to guarantee the price of beef to producers at £18 per live cwt.
§ Mr. BishopI would refer the hon. Members to my right hon. Friend's speech in the House yesterday.
§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the level of calf slaughterings for the past three months compares with the corresponding period a year previously; if he is satisfied that home-grown beef supplies can continue to provide their traditional share 13W of domestic consumption; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopThe information requested is given below:
Calf Slaughterings ('000 Head) 1973 1974 July 8.6 27.2* August 10.1 41.1* September 13.1 48.2* * Provisional. Source: (Weekly Estimated Slaughterings).
The numbers in 1972 and 1973 were unusually low and the current level is comparable with the general level in the 1960s when our breeding herd was much smaller. The calf slaughtering rate is in any case only one of a number of factors governing future home production and I am satisfied that home-produced supplies will continue to provide their traditional contribution to domestic consumption. In addition I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's speech in the House on 31st October.