§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will calculate the cost per 100 birds of introducing the more humane and hygienic standards regarding battery-produced eggs recommended by the European Economic Community Commission as expeditiously as is practicable.
§ Mrs. FennerThe Commission proposed that from 1995 the minimum floor space allowance for a laying bird kept in a battery cage should be 500 sq cm. If egg production were to be maintained at present levels, it is estimated that the overall capital cost—at 1981 prices—of implementing this proposal in respect of the 44 million such birds in the United Kingdom would approach £30 million.