BSE (Hansard, 12 June 1997)

§ Mr. Edwards
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the BSE situation in Monmouthshire. [2528]

§ Mr. Win Griffiths
The BSE epidemic is in decline in Monmouthshire and throughout Wales. The number of new cases has fallen sharply: separate figures are not available for Monmouthshire, but the number of reported cases in 1996 for Wales was about 50 per cent. below that for 1995.

§ Mr. Edwards
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the Government's plans to compensate beef farmers in Monmouthshire as a result of the BSE crisis. [2527]

§ Mr. Griffiths
Producers in Monmouthshire and elsewhere have received direct financial aid—amounting to some £250 million for the UK as a whole—since the start of the beef crisis. In addition to this, significant sums are being spent on expanded intervention arrangements, on the calf processing scheme and on the over 30-months scheme.