§ Mr. MartlewTo ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Commissioners will suspend rent payments on those farms which they own on which cases of foot and mouth disease have been confirmed. [157147]
§ Mr. Stuart BellThe Commissioners fully recognise the seriousness of the foot and mouth crisis, not least in Cumbria where they have a number of confirmed cases and much of their land is subject to exclusion orders.
Any request to help in case of hardship will be considered on its merits. Tenants who have had cases of foot and mouth confirmed among their livestock, as well as those who are subject to consequential losses, will be given sympathetic consideration in accordance with the Church Commissioners' long standing policy.