§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the proportion of tenant farmers among the small dairy farmers to whom the Government intend to distribute £50 million.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe aim of the outgoers scheme is to provide compensation to those farmers who wish to give 435W up milk production. It is not possible to estimate in advance what proportion of applicants might be tenant farmers.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers there are in Devon who on the June 1983 census returns had fewer than 80 cows and whose principal activity was the sale of milk.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe information requested by my hon. Friend could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, according to the June 1983 census, there were 2,904 dairy holdings in Devon with less than 70 dairy cows and 644 holdings with between 70 and 99 dairy type COWS.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he proposes to send out the forms which will enable special cases to lodge an appeal relating to milk quotas; how he proposes to handle the appeals; and over what time scale.
§ Mr. MacGregorAs my right hon. Friend told the House on 7 June at column 432 in answer to a question from my hon. Friend, the Member for Sherwood (Mr. Stewart), we intend to submit shortly for the approval of Parliament draft regulations under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. Among other things, these regulations will provide for the creation of an independent tribunal and a series of local panels to consider applications from producers under the special case provisions. Application forms will be available soon after these regulations are approved by Parliament. The time scale will depend upon the number of applications, but I expect all cases to be examined during the summer and autumn.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to how the financial provision made by Her Majesty's Government to farmers who wish to give up milk production compares with provision made or proposed in each of the other European Economic Community states; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to publish a scale of levies to be paid to farmers whose annual milk production goes over their quota.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe amount of supplementary levy payable by producers under the dairy option depends on the extent to which over-production by some producers is offset by under-production by others. This will not be known until the end of each levy accounting period.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government will pay the super levy incurred by farmers who produce over quota on behalf of the farmers in the first year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorNo. Payment of the levy by Governments is not compatible with the provisions of the Community regulations. Moreover, to do so would undermine their primary objective which is to reduce production.