§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they propose to take to improve administration in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in response to the points made in page 63 of Farmers Weekly of 12 January. [HL571]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)The Government are committed to reducing the burden of regulations wherever possible. That is why we asked the industry to identify its concerns in September 1999, set up review groups to examine them and have since acted on the recommendations. The Government have taken note of the points made in theFarmers Weekly article. When the further details promised are published or made available, and clarify the concerns, we will consider whether changes can be made to benefit all producers.