HC Deb 10 March 1997 vol 292 cc49-50W
Mrs. Helen Jackson

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide details of any financial support given to the rendering industry in Government grant or European aid in(a) 1995 and (b) 1996, indicating the amounts given to each rendering company. [18494]

Mr. Baldry

In 1996, 18 rendering companies received about £66 million of temporary financial assistance under the rendering industry support scheme 1996. Payment have been based on loss of income from meat and bonemeal and tallow by comparison with 1995–96, with adjustments to take broad account of renderers' actual levels of throughput and costs in 1996–97. This support

Age 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2 25 43 81 64 38 18 13 12 4
3 419 805 2,055 4,150 1,653 1,016 456 479 232
4 1,229 2,681 4,860 10,062 15,181 5,887 3,374 1,765 1,267
5 855 2,539 4,098 6,358 12,603 15,167 5,863 3,342 1,410
6 256 1,043 2,017 2,691 4,700 7,876 8,085 3,083 1,368
7 76 240 600 985 1,369 2,078 3,182 3,035 988
8 23 72 143 264 490 636 823 1,068 802
9 9 20 47 96 170 252 290 335 271
10 6 10 20 35 40 102 127 124 75
11+ 2 9 14 27 43 41 70 78 65
Unknown 240 312 704 1,129 858 697 628 489 266
Total 3,140 7,775 14,609 25,861 37,146 33,770 22,911 13,810 6,748

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of bovine infective units of BSE needed to infect a mouse by intra-cerebral injection. [18201]

Mrs. Browning

Titres of infectivity are measures of the concentration of the infectious agent in a particular tissue based upon mortality rates in animals inoculated with different amounts of the tissue. The unit of expression of the concentration of infectivity in a given tissue is therefore relative to the animal species used for the assay. Titres of infectivity also vary from case to case, between tissues and with stage of incubation.

forms part of our package of measures designed to maintain essential links in the meat supply and disposal chain in the aftermath of the BSE crisis.

Details of any other UK or EU funded grants or financial assistance which may have been paid to rendering companies are not held centrally.