§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the swine fever animal welfare payment scheme approved by Parliament on 7 March is not being implemented, leaving farmers with money overdue; and whether, under these circumstances, they will be paying interest on the money owed to farmers under this scheme. [HL1790]
§ Baroness HaymanOn 26 August 2000 the Pig Industry (Disposal) Scheme (PWDS) was introduced. The scheme ran until 30 December 2000, by which time it had cost the Government £14 million, of which £9 million has been paid direct to pig producers. Part of the agreement between the Government and the National Pig Association/National Farmers Union on the PW(D)S was that the industry would provide top-up funding. The funding for the top-up would be collected in the form of an industry levy of 20p per pig slaughtered.
The only vehicle available to introduce a compulsory levy on pig producers was a Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) originated development scheme under the 1967 Agriculture Act. Following formal consultation procedures on a Pig Industry Development Scheme (PIDS), that ended on 23 January, an order was progressed through Parliament. This order passed into law on 14 March.
Partly because of the reduced throughput of livestock for human consumption as a result of the FMD outbreak, producers realised that it could take well over two years to collect the £4 million that was required to meet the industry's obligations under PIDS. To help producers at this time of crisis, my right honourable friend the Minister decided to short-circuit this delay by providing an interest-free government loan so that the top-up could be paid quickly. As he announced at the time, the money will reach producers in the course of April and May.