§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the options for the lifting of the Over Thirty Month scheme with regard to(a) biodiversity, (b) prime meat market prices, (c) the viability of the beef market, (d) the viability of British meat and meat products and (e) British meat exports and (f) Government finances. [142275]
§ Mr. BradshawMinisters are still considering the FSA advice on replacing the OTM Rule with testing. No direct assessment has been made on the impact of possible changes to the OTM Scheme on biodiversity although it is recognised that the marketing of slower maturing native breeds suited to environmental management would be facilitated by any changes to the Scheme.
Defra has commissioned a study co-ordinated by the MLC (involving all sectors of the meat chain) to investigate the impact on the beef market of any changes to the OTM rule and OTMS exit. It is expected that the impact of a re-introduction of OTM beef would be reduced by import substitution and that the effect on prime beef prices would be minimal once the market adjusted. However the Government are investigating with the EU Commission the possibility of introducing an underpinning temporary market support measure to insure against any disruption to the market. British meat and meat products would be expected to benefit from the increased availability of competitively priced good quality lean beef, domestically produced.
EFSA is currently considering whether export controls on UK beef from cattle born after August 1996 could be reduced.