HC Deb 30 March 2001 vol 365 cc815-6W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has held with(a) MAFF and (b) the Environment Agency, in respect of the environmental hazards posed by the burial of animal carcases arising from the animal slaughter undertaken because of the spread of foot and mouth disease. [156403]

Mr. Meacher

My Department is working in close co-operation with MAFF and the Environment Agency to ensure the fulfilment of the environmental requirements of Article 3(2) of the Animal Waste Directive (90/667/EEC) on the burial of animal carcases. Each proposal for the burial of carcases is the subject of a site-specific risk assessment carried out by the Agency. No carcase burial has been carried out at a site where, in the view of the Agency, there is an undue risk of environmental pollution (eg contamination of groundwater).

Mr. Kidney

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will include Stafford Borough Council in the list of authorities able to give relief from business rates to rural businesses affected by the foot and mouth outbreak. [156255]

Mr. Meacher

Any local authority can give discretionary hardship rate relief and the Government underwrite 75 per cent. of the cost. As part of the package of measures to help business meet the costs imposed by the effects of the foot and mouth outbreak, Government have agreed to increase their support by underwriting 95 per cent. of the costs of hardship rate relief in 151 rural local authorities for properties below £12,000 rateable value. The list of rural local authorities, which does not include Stafford Borough Council, is based on sparsity of population, a standard definition of rurality.

Mr. Gill

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish a summary of the measures he is taking to promote economic recovery from the effects of foot and mouth disease. [156201]

Mr. Meacher

I set out a package of short term practical measures to help rural business in my statement to the House on 20 March 2001,Official Report, columns 191–210, which included the deferral and rearrangement of payments to Customs, Inland Revenue and of business rates. I also announced a new scheme to enable rural local authorities to offer discretionary hardship rate relief of which further details were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Luff) on 26 March 2001, Official Report, columns 425–26W. The Rural Task Force is continuing to look at the scope for additional measures to help rural businesses severely affected by the effects of foot and mouth disease.

Mr. Todd

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on what basis he set the limit of rateable value for businesses able to claim serious hardship as a result of foot and mouth disease. [156117]

Mr. Meacher

There is no such limit. All businesses irrespective of their size that are adversely affected by the foot and mouth outbreak, or are suffering hardship for other reasons, may be granted rate relief at the discretion of local authorities. The authority granting rate relief on these grounds is required to fund 25 per cent. of the cost of providing that relief with central government meeting the rest.

On 22 March, the Government announced an increase in the central government contribution from 75 per cent. to 95 per cent. of the cost of giving hardship rate relief to small businesses which are suffering from the adverse effects of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. This financial help is being made available to local authorities and targeted at vulnerable small businesses, where rates liabilities represent a greater proportion of turnover and profits than for larger firms.

This additional funding is available for relief granted in 151 rural local authorities in England to properties with a rateable value of up to and including £12,000. This will embrace 77 per cent. of the total number of 494,000 business properties located in these areas. This level of rateable value is used in targeting relief on small businesses in other parts of the rating system. Discretionary relief is made available under the village shop rate relief scheme for properties within that threshold, and it is also used to define a small property outside London for the purposes of the transitional relief scheme introduced following the revaluation on 1 April 2000.