§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) small, (b) medium and (c) large abattoirs have closed since May 1997. [136758]
§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 6 November 2000]: Abattoirs producing meat for sale for human consumption must be licensed in order to operate. They are classified as either full or low throughput. A licence may be revoked for a number of different reasons. These include where premises fail to comply with the requirements of the regulations or cease operating for commercial reasons.
The number of abattoir licences revoked in the United Kingdom since May 1997 is as follows:
Fresh meat Poultry meat, farmed game meat and rabbit meat Full throughput Low throughput Full throughput Low throughput England 21 46 13 10 Scotland 5 1 0 3 Wales 0 1 0 5 Northern Ireland 1 0 0 1 Total in Period 27 48 13 19