§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on compensation for30W consequential losses being suffered by (a) the tourist industry and (b) rural business in general as a result of foot and mouth disease; and if he will made a statement. [154180]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyI maintain close contact with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on a variety of issues including foot and mouth disease.
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales is a member of the UK Government Rural Taskforce set up to examine the effect of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease across the rural economy as a whole. Following the initial meetings of this taskforce, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment announced on 20 March a package of UK-wide measures to help businesses cope with the impact of foot and mouth. These included a new information campaign to get the public back to areas of the countryside which they can safely visit and an immediate package of short-term practical help for rural businesses, involving the Small Business Service and the banks.
In addition, the National Assembly for Wales has already issued a Tourism Charter and announced a £1.5 million marketing package through the Wales Tourist Board aimed at reassuring visitors to Wales. They have also made available £12 million to local authorities to enable them to grant rate relief to businesses affected by foot and mouth disease, £1 million additional funding to help the agri-food sector in Wales recover from the effects of foot and mouth disease, and £0.5 million to match pound for pound voluntary donations from the public to help relieve rural distress.