§ Mr. JackTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement setting out the(a) policy and (b) economic reasons for paying a slaughter premium for cull cows. [105298]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 19 January 2000]: The EU Slaughter Premiums for adult cattle and calves are paid in partial compensation for the cuts in support prices which will be made on 1 July in each of the years 2000 to 2002. Those price cuts will affect the price of most animals sold on the EU market, including cull animals. While the price paid for animals slaughtered under the Over Thirty Months Scheme in the UK is set by Commission Regulation rather than by market forces, the Agriculture Council decided not to exclude such animals from Slaughter Premium, because to do so would be to discriminate against UK producers.