§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the costs of the BSE crisis in Scotland to public funds; and if he will make a statement. [18005]
§ Mr. Raymond S. Robertson[holding answer 28 February 1997]: The Government's concern has been to provide support in a way which benefits all parts of the beef chain and enables a recovery of market confidence. The current estimates of the extra amounts paid out as a result of the BSE crisis in Scotland to the industry under the following schemes to 31 December 1996 are as follows:
£ million Beef special premium and suckler cow premium schemes: top-ups 16.6 Beef marketing payment scheme 7.0 Over-30-months scheme: producers payments 65.9 slaughter and rendering fees 13.5 Calf processing scheme 2.6 Slaughtering industry (emergency aid) scheme 1996 10.0 Also, in the period 1 April 1996 to 31 December 1996, the EU agreed to accept 10,901 tonnes of beef into intervention from Scotland at an estimated buying-in cost of around £22 million.