§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had on a ban on swill feeding in the last two years. [76173]
§ The Prime MinisterI have of course been made aware of the ban on swill feeding as part of the discussions I have had with regard to Foot and Mouth Disease.
On 20 November 2001, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met with the Associated Swill Users and agreed to investigate the possibility of providing free business advice to those former swill feeders affected by the ban. The Government applied for, and has now received, approval from the European Commission to fund, via the State Aid process, a scheme to provide free business advice to those affected by the ban on swill feeding.