§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give an estimate of (i) the cost of the additional £10 calf subsidy, (ii) the cost of the beef premium payments, and (iii) the cost of the storage payments he proposes to make to meat traders; and how these estimated costs would compare with the estimated cost of reintroducing the Fatstock Guarantee Scheme deficiency payments for beef at a level to provide the average price of £18 per live cwt. he undertook to ensure for beef producers.
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§ Mr. BishopThe increase of £10 a head on the calf subsidy represents additional payments of £35 million a year. Payments under the Beef Premium Scheme are estimated at £44 million up to the end of February 1975. It is not possible at this stage to estimate the cost of the proposed storage payments. The cost of reintroducing deficiency payments cannot be estimated with any precision to compare with these figures because of fluctuations in market prices.