§ Mr. Charles KennedyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at what stage he required changes to the registration procedures for the over-30-months scheme relating to notification of the date of birth of cattle rather than the month of birth; how many cattle have gone into the scheme without a date of birth record; and if he will make a statement. [19841]
Dr. John Cunningham[holding answer 9 December 1997]: Compensation under the over-30-months scheme is payable only on animals over thirty months of age on the date of slaughter. Producers are therefore required to complete a declaration for each animal presented on which they must confirm that the animal is over thirty months of age and declare the date of birth or number of teeth. This requirement was introduced in June 1996.
If a producer chooses to enter the date of birth, the year and month of birth are often sufficient to confirm that the animal is over thirty months of age. The date becomes an issue only when the month and year of birth entered on the declaration by the producer makes it unclear whether the animal is over thirty months. On these relatively rare occasions, the date of birth is required to establish whether the animal was over thirty months of age on the date of slaughter and therefore eligible for compensation.
The information requested by the hon. Member about the numbers entering the Scheme without a date of birth record is not known. However, apart from steers, which must be accompanied by a cattle identification document/cattle control document, most animals are likely to have entered the Scheme without a date of birth record.