§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the reasons for the exclusion of dairy farmers in Cowal from the increase in milk quotas announced earlier in the current year for producers in remote areas in Scotland.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe limited volume of reserve quota available for allocation at 1 April this year was distributed to producers in remote areas where reductions in milk supply had created particular structural difficulties for production, processing or manufacturing, where the milk produced was effectively island or land-locked and where the addition of small volumes of quota could achieve the greatest benefit. There was insufficient quota for a more widespread allocation to Cowal and other peripheral areas within the mainland quota regions.