HC Deb 07 June 1984 vol 61 cc254-5W
18. Sir William van Straubenzee

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he now expects to announce details of an outgoers scheme for United Kingdom milk producers.

20. Mr. Latham

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now outline any help which he proposes to give by way of national aids to milk producers following the recent agricultural price settlement.

26. Mr. Geraint Howells

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to pay compensation to dairy farmers for loss of business; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Jopling:

I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Gentleman to my reply on 25 May, at column 559, to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Baker).

22. Mr. Adley

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to reply to the recent letter from the hon. Member for Christchurch about dairy farmers.

Mr. Jopling

My hon. Friend should by now have received a reply to his recent letter. I regret that it was not possible to reply more quickly.

23. Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is now satisfied with the prospects for the smaller dairy farmer.

Mr. Jopling

I refer my hon. Friend to the arrangements I announced on 25 May, at column 559, in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, North (Mr. Baker).

24. Mr. Strang

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much the United Kingdom's share of total European Economic Community milk production will decline as a result of the regulations imposing production quotas; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Jopling

The production quotas agreed for milk give milk producers a guaranteed quantity to which Community price support arrangements apply. Although production beyond that limit will be levied it will not be prohibited. It is thus not possible to say how levels of United Kingdom production will compare with total levels of European Community production.

27. Mr. Colvin

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he is making about the transferability of milk production quotas.

Mr. Jopling

Discussions are taking place with the various interests concerned to see what arrangements would be appropriate to our circumstances.

30. Mr. Renton

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is now in a position to announce details regarding the ownership, sale and transferability of milk production quotas.

Mr. Jopling

We are considering with the interests concerned what provision would be suitable in our circumstances.

34. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in laying down criteria for assessing appeals over milk quota allocations, he will give special consideration to those areas of the country for which 1983 was a poor year for milk production.

Mr. Jopling

The criteria for producers who wish to be considered as special cases are set out in Council regulation (EEC) No. 857/84 and Commission regulation (EEC) No. 1391/84. Special consideration to those for which 1983 was a poor year for milk production can be given only if they meet the criteria laid down.

38. Mr. Maclean

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on allocation of quotas to the moderately-sized dairy producer who has not expanded in the last few years.

Mr. Jopling

A number of representations have been received suggesting that dairy farmers who have not expanded their production since 1981 should receive an allocation effectively reflecting their 1981 production level.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the capital value of the average small dairy farm, as defined for the purposes of table 27 of the latest annual review White Paper, Cmnd. 9137, for sale as a going concern before the quotas were introduced.

Mr. Jopling

Balance sheets for samples of farms are obtained as part of farm management surveys. The average valuations shown by the survey in England and Wales of total farm business assets, including owner occupied land valued at conservative market prices, on small dairy farms as defined in table 27 of the White Paper on the "Annual Review of Agriculture 1984" (Cmnd. 9137), at an average valuation date in February 1983 were approximately £59,500, £141,000 and £119,000 per farm for tenanted, owner-occupied and mixed tenure farms respectively and £114,000 for all tenure types taken together. The corresponding figure for all tenure types taken together in Great Britain is £115,500.