Specified Risk Material (Hansard, 10 November 1999)

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received on the consequences that transferring the costs of operating specified risk material controls from public funds to industry will have on the agriculture industry. [96250]

§ Ms Quin
My Ministerial colleagues and I have received a considerable number of representations on the impact of charges for the specified risk material controls on the agriculture and slaughterhouse industry over the past 12 months.
It was in response to these representations that we decided to defer the introduction of these charges initially for the current financial year and subsequently, as my right hon. Friend the Minister announced on 20 September, until 2002–03 at the earliest.

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much funding has been given to farmers in England and Wales to alleviate the added costs of enforcing the controls on specified risk material in each of the past two years; and what funding will be provided in the current financial year. [96246]

§ Ms Quin
The costs of enforcing the specified risk material controls have been, and will continue to be, borne by the Government during this period. Enforcement of these controls has not therefore given rise to any added costs to farmers.

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the costs of enforcing the specified risk material controls in the UK relative to those of equivalent systems in other EU states. [96262]

§ Ms Quin
The costs of supervising and enforcing the specified risk material (SRM) controls in the UK in the 1998–99 financial year was £17 million.
No-EU-wide SRM controls are in force and individual Member States operate national controls where it is deemed necessary. Such information as is available on the costs in other EU Member States is contained in a report on meat inspection charges and other enforcement costs published in September 1999 by the Meat and Livestock Commission. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.