§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many letters were sent by the British Cattle Movement Service where the name on the envelope did not match the address; and what was the cost of writing a second time to correct the mistake; [50042]
(2) what was the cost of replacing the faulty software in respect of advertising the British Cattle Movement Service. [50043]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 10 July 1998]: The British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) issued approximately 109,000 leaflets giving details of the BCMS Helpline going live on 1 July, in the week beginning 29 June. We estimate that around 50 per cent. had the wrong name matched to the addresses. The letter of apology sent to livestock farmers, which again provided the BCMS Helpline details in case farmers had missed the previous publicity, cost around £45,000.
The cost of replacing the faulty software was £256.45. The fault concerned mail address labels only, and was entirely unconnected with the integrity of the BCMS database.