§ Lord Plumbasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to ensure that the draft European Community directive for Animal Identification (COM (92)148) will come into force on the proposed commencement date of January 1st 1993, and whether they will secure adequate finance for the establishment of a national database for the UK cattle populations.
The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)Adoption of this proposal is one of the priorities for our Presidency. It is unlikely to require the establishment of a central database, as it envisages that records will be held on-farm.