§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the factors leading to increases in the running costs of(a) retail butchers and (b) small abattoirs in recent years. [20364]
§ Mr. RookerThe Government carry out a cost compliance assessment on the financial implications of all new legislation and the likely effects on small businesses such as retail butchers and small abattoirs. These Regulatory Appraisals (previously known as Cost Compliance Assessments) are placed before Parliament when legislation is laid and are available from the Library of the House. We are not in a position to take follow-up action to determine how accurate are the estimates made, nor to update them for the effects of inflation.