§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the additional funding he has made available to farmers since May 1997 to cover the costs of food safety and public assurance measures which would otherwise have been met by the agricultural sector. [60716]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesSeparate figures for Wales are not available. However, the Government decided that charges for implementing the Specified Risk Material (SRM) controls in licensed slaughterhouses and cutting804W plants would not be recovered from the industry from 1 April 1998 as originally intended. This represents a saving to the industry in Great Britain of around £35 million.
The Government also decided to meet the costs of setting up the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) and of running it for its first full year of operation; the CTS became operational in September this year. This represents another total saving of £35 million to the industry in Great Britain, £15 million in start-up costs and £20 million in running costs including enforcement.