§ Lord Mottistoneasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have for amending the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Trumpington)We have laid before Parliament today the Dairy Produce Quotas (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990.
The regulations provide a basis for making additional allocations of milk quota to producers with outstanding tribunal awards, small family farms and producers in remote areas, as described in the reply which I gave on 13th March {Official Report, cols. 1539-1540). These allocations are intended to help those categories of producer who have suffered disproportionately from the introduction of quotas and subsequent cutbacks in production.
The proposals which we originally put to the Commission contained provision for the loan of quota to new entrants. The Commission's view, however, is that no satisfactory basis exists in Community law for the issue of quota to new entrants on temporary and conditional terms. We have considered whether quota should instead be granted outright to new entrants but have decided against this course. In reaching this conclusion we took into account the strong opposition of the National Farmers' Union to the gift quota to new entrants. We have therefore decided to allocate the 22- million litres of quota originally earmarked for a new entrants' scheme to family-type farms, which will now receive an increase of 4 per cent. of their existing wholesale quota, and to holders of development awards, which will be made up to approximately 80 per cent. of the original figure after abatement to take account of subsequent across-the-board quota cutbacks.
By ensuring that almost all of the quota is allocated before the end of the current quota year we shall also reduce the potential burden of supplementary levy on all over-quota producers. This represents a potential saving to the industry of £ 29 million.
The amendments also provide for priority treatment to be given to producers affected by restriction orders served because of the lead contamination of animal feed. Many of those affected will have had to keep animals on farms longer than they otherwise would and their milk production will have increased accordingly. Provision is made for them to receive a priority reallocation of unused quota at year-end subject to the same conditions as producers affected by restriction orders served for animal health reasons.