HL Deb 23 April 2001 vol 625 c5WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their estimates of the cost to gross domestic product to date of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and the additional public spending to date arising from the outbreak. [HL1715]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

As my right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said on 22 March (Official Report, col. 358W) and 5 April (Official Report, col. 239W), it is not possible at this stage to make a robust assessment of the economic impact. The Treasury, MAFF and other interested departments are keeping a range of possible outcomes under review. My right honourable friend the Minister for Agriculture reported in his statement to the House on 9 April that, "we have committed more than £500 million to farmers so far" (Official Report, col. 706). At present it is not possible to estimate the final cost of the outbreak with any reliability.