Welfare Milk (Hansard, 16 January 1990)

§ Mr. Bermingham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the proportion of total redeemed token value in the welfare milk scheme submitted by roundsmen in each year since 1979 in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Freeman
Information is not available in the form requested.

§ Mr. Bermingham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his proposals for apportioning revenue loss costs between farmers, dairies and distributors with respect to his proposed welfare milk scheme discount; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Freeman
The regulations laid on 5 January enable the dairy trade, on a voluntary basis, to accept tokens for the supply of liquid welfare milk and pass them up through the trade so that the cost of the price reduction can be shared equitably. The dairy trade has well-established mechanisms and procedures for deciding prices and discounts between milk marketing boards and distributors.

§ Mr. Bermingham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what negotiations have taken place with the milk trade and its constituent companies concerning proposals for changes to the welfare milk scheme; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Freeman
Before negotiations commenced we wrote to all suppliers explaining that as part of the Government's initiative to see whether better value for money could be obtained the cost of purchasing liquid welfare milk was to be examined. Detailed and extensive negotiations subsequently took place over a period of eight months involving over 40 separate companies and six major supermarket chains. Discussions were held with representatives from all sectors of the dairy trade including the dairy trade federations, the National Dairyman's Association and the milk marketing boards. Meetings were held with representatives of the British Retail Association, the National Farmers Union and the National Fedration of Self Employed and Small businesses. Following the decision to introduce a revised pricing structure, we have written to all suppliers explaining the decision together with details of the measures that we have introduced to enable the cost of the price reduction to be shared equitably throughout the trade.

§ Mr. Bermingham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations have been received by his Department with respect to current proposals to change funding arrangements for the welfare milk scheme; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Freeman
Following the announcement of the decision to implement a revised price structure for the supply of liquid welfare milk we have received representations from the English Dairy Trade Federation and the National Dairyman's Association. In response my noble Friend Baroness Hooper met with officers and members of the English and Scottish dairy trade federations on 9 January to hear the trade's views and make arrangements to discuss implementation of the new structure.