114. Lord Hamiltonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the fact that Ulster beef is disease-free as a result of the Northern Ireland Diseases of Animals Act, 1958, he will encourage the expansion of beef production; and if he will make a statement on his plans for incentives in this field.
§ Mr. Peart:As I said in my statement in the House on 4th December, the Government recognise that devaluation gives home production a new opportunity for competitive beef production, while the foot and mouth epidemic makes it even more important that full use should be 164W made of calves that are suitable for rearing for beef. I also said that I shall be making an announcement before the Christmas recess about the basis on which the Government will approach this problem in the forthcoming Annual Review.