§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to introduce the outgoer and ongoer elements of the pig industry restructuring scheme; and what projection has been made of the funds to be allocated to each element in each of the three years of the overall scheme. [122990]
§ Mr. Nick Brown[holding answer 22 May 2000]Under state aid rules, the European Commission must approve the Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme (PIRS) before it can be introduced. To begin that process, the scheme was formally notified to the Commission on 30 March. The Commission has since carried out its initial study of the scheme and raised a number of questions; my officials have already answered these. The outgoers element of the scheme will be introduced as soon as possible following Commission approval. At present we are working towards introducing the ongoers element in early autumn. The outgoers scheme will operate using a sealed bid system, with the expectation that a good proportion of the £26 million plus the additional funds for which bids have been made will be available for the ongoers element.