§ Mr. NichollsTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to report on the outcome of the independent review of slaughterhouses, and of the recent consultations on the Government's proposals to limit meat inspection charges; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Gummer[pursuant to his reply, 31 March 1993, c. 251–52]: I have now considered recommendations from my officials to refuse to grant licences to slaughterhouses in England. I am delighted that, following very thorough scrutiny of all the applications and an intensive programme of advice from my veterinary officers specialising in meat hygiene, we have been able to license 438 slaughterhouses, almost all the premises for which applications were made. I have refused only seven applications, all of them from premises which had failed on successive inspections to comply with the basic hygiene requirements of the regulations.
A small number of slaughterhouses which have not yet agreed a work plan to upgrade their premises have been given a time-limited licence to 31 May to enable outstanding problems to be resolved. No further licence will be issued unless by the end of that period the operator has agreed to a satisfactory work plan. The state veterinary service will continue to be flexible in finding practical solutions in individual premises. But we will not allow businesses which have invested in meeting the new structural standards to be disadvantaged by unfair competition from plants where structure-related hygiene problems persist.