§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will apply the 90-head limit on the beef special premiums per age group of animals, and not on a per farm basis.
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§ Mr. Gummer[pursuant to the answer, 18 June 1992, c. 626]: For the beef special premium, the most significant change in Great Britain is that the new scheme will be introduced on-farm from March 1993. This will give British beef producers the maximum possible flexibility to take advantage of the new, higher rate of premium. This can now be granted up to twice in the life of each animal: the first premium between the ages of 10 and 22 months and the second premium once it has reached 23 months. The headage limit of 90 animals per producer per year will apply separately to claims for first and second premium. Claims will also be limited by stocking density and by a regional ceiling. The exact rate of premium for the 1993 scheme year will depend on the green rate on 1 January 1993, but if currencies were aligned today the premium would be worth about £56.87.
There will be tough anti-fraud measures to ensure that we can identify eligible animals. Details will be announced early in the new year.
The current arrangements for claiming premium at slaughter and at live markets will continue broadly as they are at present until 31 March 1993.
The EC rules for the new scheme do not allow payments of premium to be made before 1 November in the year of claim, when they provide for payment of an advance of 60 per cent. of the combined value of first and second premium claims. The balance will be paid before 30 June of the following year. These arrangements will apply to claims at slaughter until 31 March 1993 as well as to claims under the new on-farm scheme.
Producers claiming premium at slaughter will be entitled to one premium claim only on each animal and this will count against the 90-head limit on claims for the first premium. Claims at slaughter until 31 March 1993 will also count towards producers' stocking density for 1993 and towards the regional ceiling.
The new suckler cow premium scheme will be largely unchanged. The three main changes are the introduction of individual quotas; stocking density limits on producers' claims; and new arrangements for the timing of payment, which will be the same as for the beef special premium scheme. The EC rules allow some flexibility in fixing the application period and this will be announced later. The exact rate of premium for the 1993 scheme year will depend on the green rate on 1 January 1993, but if currencies were aligned today the premium would be worth about £66.35.