§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will raise with his fellow Agricultural Ministers in the EEC the need to coordinate at a high level the degree of inspection against white rust, in the interests of plant health throughout the EEC.
§ Mr. StrangThe Council of Ministers adopted in December a directive on organisms harmful to plants which will 185W require stricter measures against transmission of white rust of chrysanthemums within the Community. Member States have up to two years to implement the directive but the Netherlands authorities, whose action we greatly appreciate, readily agreed to my right hon. Friends suggestion that for white rust the new requirements should be applied immediately where material is to be sent to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his latest discussions with the National Farmers Union on the question of compensation to chrysanthemum growers whose nurseries have been affected by white rust.
§ Mr. BishopRepresentatives of the union were told on 20th January that no compensation can be paid for diseased material, and that at this stage in the eradication campaign we do not think there is a strong enough case for embarking on a general scheme of compensated destruction of healthy material. We agreed, however, to look at the case again in the light of the further progress in eradication which we hope will be made during February.