§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many compensation payments he has made to farmers with BSE-infected cattle; how many claims he has received; and how much has been paid in total so far;
295W(2) if he will introduce a scheme of full compensation to farmers with BSE-infected cattle; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what evidence he has as to whether existing compensation levels for farmers with BSE-infected cattle could be failing to encourage farmers to await diagnosis of BSE and encouraging premature submission of cattle for slaughter;
(4) what steps he is taking to prevent the products of BSE-infected cattle entering the food chain;
(5) if he will give details of the method by which his Department is calculating the compensation due to farmers with BSE-infected cattle.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonBovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was made a notifiable disease on 21 June. Compensation is not yet payable for affected cattle. However, as the Government announced on 7 July, compulsory slaughter with compensation will be introduced very shortly. The carcases of affected animals will be destroyed. Compensation for an affected animal will be at 50 per cent, of market value of the animal, valued as if healthy, up to a ceiling.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the numbers of BSE-infected cattle notified thus far by(a) county and (b) region in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonSince BSE was first identified the number of confirmed cases in Great Britain as at 22 July is as follows. BSE has not occurred in Northern Ireland.
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Number Eastern Bedfordshire 4 Cambridge 6 Essex 1 Lincolnshire 8 Norfolk 11 Northamptonshire 4 Suffolk 6 40 Midland and Western Cheshire 11 Derbyshire 3 Hereford and Worcestershire 14 Lancashire 6 Leicestershire 5 Nottingham 5 Salop 20 Staffordshire 10 Warwickshire 7 West Midlands 1 82 Northern Cumbria 11 Durham 1 North Yorkshire 16 West Yorkshire 1 Northumberland 1 30 South Eastern Isle of Wight l Kent 36 Oxford 8 Surrey 7
Number East Sussex 7 West Sussex 10 Berkshire 13 Buckinghamshire 12 Hampshire 20 114 South Western Avon 12 Cornwall 106 Devon 134 Dorset 41 Gloucestershire 26 Somerset 45 Wiltshire 20 384 Wales Clwyd 5 Dyfed 31 Mid Glamorgan 2 South Glamorgan 2 West Glamorgan 1 Gwent 5 Gwynedd 4 Powys 4 54 Scotland Borders region 1 Dumfries and Galloway 5 Highlands 1 Lothian 1 Shetland Isles 1 Tayside 2 11
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has figures to show the number of slaughtered BSE-infected cattle, the products of which entered the food chain.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonNo, but since the disease was made notifiable on 21 June all the heads of affected animals entering a slaughterhouse have been compulsorily retained by the Ministry in order to examine brain tissue for a definitive diagnosis.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he is giving farmers on early recognition of the symptoms of the disease bovine spongiform encephelopathy.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonAdvice to farmers, based on the current state of knowledge about the disease, is being provided through the local animal health offices and veterinary investigation centres of the Ministry's state veterinary service. There have also been a number of Ministry scientific presentations, publications and general articles on the subject including in particular one in theFarmers Weekly of 15 July.