HL Deb 24 October 2001 vol 627 c134WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will give the total cost to public funds so far of the foot and mouth epidemic, indicating separately the costs of compensation to farmers, cost of services provided by the Ministry of Defence, and the total paid to all civilian contractors. [HL656]

Lord Whitty

Unfortunately not all the information is held in the form requested. However, to date the cost of the foot and mouth epidemic for DEFRA stands at £1.567 billion (excluding the cost of the livestock welfare disposal scheme). From this amount £1.051 billion has been paid out as compensation to farmers, and £348 million has been paid out to civilian contractors.

For providing military assistance, the Ministry of Defence charges departments only for costs such as overtime, allowances and travel and subsistence which as of 31 July stood at £5.34 million. The full cost of FMD to the MoD is expected to be approximately an additional £12 million but the final figure will not be known for some time yet.