§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by farmers as a result of the recent changes in the regional distribution of over-thirty-months scheme abattoir contracts. [120559]
§ Mr. Nick Brown[holding answer 3 May 2000]: The award of 20 contracts for over-thirty-months scheme (OTMS) abattoir services in the UK followed a competitive tender and looked to ensure that sufficient slaughtering capacity was available having regard to the main production areas. Where abattoirs have changed, some individual farmer's costs have increased a little because their abattoir is now further away; but others have decreased.