§ Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the change in(a) investment, (b) prices and (c) employment in the diary industry since the introduction of Milk Marque. [16460]
§ Mr. BaldryOn employment and the price of milk for processing, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer he was given by my predecessor on 26 June 1995,Official Report, column 525. We do not monitor retail prices, but in general the price of cheese and butter has gone up since 1 November 1995 while the price of liquid milk has remained fairly static. As regards investment in the diary industry since the abolition of the milk marketing boards, several companies have demonstrated their confidence in the new arrangements by undertaking or announcing major investment programmes.