§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the reasons for the holding up of imported food supplies intended for miners' families; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. FennerThe importation of all animals, animal products and related items are subject to stringent and well-established animal health rules to ensure that the risk of importing disease is minimised. A major provision is that such imports must be accompanied by necessary information about the origin of the produce, the processing which it has received and its subsequent handling. The imports which were consigned to Hull were not accompanied by this essential documentation and were therefore detained. We are confirming the rules with exporting countries to try to avoid a repetition of the problems which arose on this consignment, the rest of which has now been released.