§ Mr. Charles KennedyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to promote awareness of the beef assurance scheme throughout the industry. [16654]
Dr. John CunninghamI have no plans for any specific new measures to promote awareness of the Beef Assurance Scheme. When the scheme was set up the Agriculture Departments sent details of the scheme to every beef farmer in the country as well as to a wide range of organisations representing the farming and food industry. The scheme has, however, had a low uptake. There are currently only 73 members herds, spread across country.