§ 56. Mr. de Freitasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the approximate annual expenditure over the last 10 years for research into foot-and-mouth disease, and over the same period what is the approximate annual loss from this disease.
§ Mr. SoamesGovernment research into foot-and-mouth disease is carried out at the Research Institute at Pirbright, Surrey and financed through the Agricultural Research Council. Annual expenditure over the past 10 years has averaged £140,000. Over the same period compensation to owners of stock compulsorily slaughtered has been about £600,000 per annum. I have no reliable estimates of consequential losses.