HL Deb 16 July 2001 vol 626 cc94-5WA
Baroness Byford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will re-consider the case for paying consequential loss to farmers adversely affected by the temporary closure of the Over Thirty Months Scheme. [HL180]

Lord Whitty

As a result of the suspension of the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) beef and dairy producers have had to retain eligible cattle longer than they would wish, incurring feeding and other costs and without income from the scheme. It has been the policy of successive governments that compensation should not be paid for consequential losses arising from animal disease controls. Nevertheless the Government appreciate that producers of clean cattle which cannot be marketed at under 30 months of age by virtue of foot and mouth disease movement restrictions will suffer a significant loss of return when such cattle are eventually sold into the OTMS. We are alive to this problem and are considering what action might be appropriate in the context of further measures.

Our first priority must, however, be to isolate and eradicate the disease, so that normal patterns of marketing can be restored. Once this has been done, we will be in a better position to determine the extent to which producers have been obliged to retain cattle which would have been sold at under 30 months of age but which had subsequently to go into the OTMS, and the extent of resultant losses.