§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the methods of calculation of the compensation paid to farmers for slaughtered confirmed cases of BSE; and what changes were made in this calculation between January 1990 and January 1994.
§ Mr. SoamesFrom 8 August 1988 up to 14 February 1990, compensation paid to farmers for a confirmed case of BSE was an amount equal to 50 per cent. of either the actual market value of the animal or of 125 per cent. of the average market price—AMP—for commercial grade Friesian dairy cows and heifers in milk and in calf, 147W whichever was the lower figure. Details can be found in the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1988, S.I. 1988 No. 1346.
This was changed from 14 February 1990 up until 1 April 1994, when compensation paid was an amount equal to 100 per cent. of either the actual market value of the animal or the AMP, whichever was the lower figure—BSE Compensation Order 1990, S.I. 1990 No. 222.
From 1 April 1994, the method of determining the ceiling for compensation was modified to reflect the increasing proportion of older cattle being slaughtered as BSE suspects. The monthly AMP was replaced by the indicative market price—IMP—which is a weighted average of prices of Friesian and Holstein cows, heifers in milk and in calf, and barren dairy cattle taking into account the age distribution of cattle slaughtered as BSE suspects in the month. The compensation paid out is an amount equal to 100 per cent. of either the market value of the animal or the IMP, whichever is the lower figure—BSE Compensation Order 1994, S.I. 1994 No. 673.
§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average compensation paid out per confirmed case of BSE between January 1990 and January 1994.
§ Mr. SoamesBSE compensation is paid on all cattle slaughtered whilst BSE suspects. Additional payments may be made in cases where BSE is not confirmed following laboratory examination. Between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 1993, 129,700 cattle were slaughtered as BSE suspects of which 110,101 were subsequently confirmed as having BSE. The total compensation paid out during that period was £92,709,724. The average compensation for all cattle slaughtered while BSE suspects was therefore £715 per animal. It is not possible without disproportionate cost to separate compensation into that paid for confirmed and unconfirmed cases of BSE.