§ Mr. NichollsTo ask the Prime Minister what assessment Her Majesty's Government have made of the overall economic consequences for areas where foot and mouth disease has been discovered; if he will identify the consequential losses that flow from the disease with a view to proposing a package of financial measures to assist; and if he will make a statement. [153975]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 March 2001, Official Report, columns 753–54W.
The overall economic consequences cannot be quantified until the full extent of the outbreak is known. However, the situation is clearly a serious one. That is why I have asked my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment to chair a Task Force to consider the implications of the outbreak for the rural economy, both immediately and in the longer term and to report to me on appropriate measures.