§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action is being taken to help farmers still affected by the radioactive fall-out from the Chernobyl explosion; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SoamesHelp to farmers who are still subject to post-Chernobyl sheep restrictions centres on "mark and release" arrangements, which enable essential controls to be applied with minimal disruption to normal farming practices, and compensation payments which mitigate any adverse economic effects.
In addition, we continue to pursue our scientific monitoring and research efforts which are designed to identify areas for early derestriction and to enable potential technical remedies to be evaluated.