§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the representations he has had from farmers and farming organisations alleging inconsistencies or anomalies in secondary milk quota allocations; and whether he is satisfied with progress to date on these matters.
§ Mr. JoplingI have received a number of representations from individuals and from farming organisations concerning decisions of the tribunal and its local panels in particular cases. The tribunal is a judicial body and I am content that the Dairy Produce Quota Regulations provide it with a satisfactory framework in which to operate.
Despite strenuous efforts on the part of the tribunal and local panels, for which I am extremely grateful, progress with the very high number of cases calling for attention is taking longer than I would wish. I am therefore taking steps to increase the number of tribunal members to 90 in order that the cases can be dealt with as quickly as possible.
§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement as to the guidelines and criteria adopted by secondary milk quota panels in their allocation of such quotas to applicant farmers; and how many unsuccessful applicants proceed to further appeal procedures.
§ Mr. JoplingThe chairman of the Dairy Produce Quota Tribunal for England and Wales has issued clear guidance to the local panels and copies have been sent to all milk producers. For convenience, I am arranging for copies of this guidance to be placed in the Library of the House.
It is difficult yet to be precise about the number of appeals, but the proportion seems to be around 20 per cent.