§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the situation facing sheep producers who have been denied quota following the recent changes in the EC sheepmeat regime.
§ Sir Hector MonroUntil all the allocations of sheep annual premium quota have been completed, including those from the national reserve, I will not be in a position to say whether any producers will be left without quota. Quota is, however, transferable and it is open to sheep producers, including newcomers, to buy or lease quota within the prescribed transfer periods.
483W
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the size of the national sheep reserve available for distribution under the new EC sheepmeat regime.
§ Sir Hector MonroThe legislation provides for separate national reserves in the less-favoured and non less-favoured areas of the country. In both cases the size of the reserve depends in part on the amount of quota siphoned from sales of quota in the 1993 marketing year, since that quota is added to the respective reserve. As transfers of quota are still being processed, a final figure for the size of the reserves is not yet available.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on official hospitality in his Department in the financial year 1992–93.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 20 October 1993]: My Department spent £94,385 on official hospitality during 1992–93. This figure includes expenditure on official hospitality in connection with events in Scotland arising from the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community.