Elin backs farmers seeking foot-mouth compensation

Nov 6 2007 by Steve Dube, Western Mail

ANGRY Welsh farmers won the support of their Minister last week in their bid to force the UK Government to pay compensation for the devastating effects of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Wales Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones told the annual autumn conference of NFU Cymru that the UK Government was morally responsible for the leak of the virus into the English countryside, and she would continue to press for compensation under the “polluter pays” principle.

“The NFU are looking to test that principle against the UK Government in a court of law. I wish you well,” she said.

“I’m not responsible for what the UK Government does but I’m responsible for saying that it’s their responsibility and that farmers have been hit through no fault of their own.”

Ms Jones was responding to NFU Clwyd chairman Ken Bellis who asked, “Why is it that the UK Government has set aside £13bn for consequential losses for people who invest in companies and lose their share money and hands out £30m to save Northern Rock but in Wales we get £6m and only £3m of that goes to farmers?”

NFU Cymru president Dai Davies contrasted the £27m made available by the Scottish Executive for the 3.5 million Scottish ewes to the £6m from the Welsh Government for 4.5 million ewes in Wales.

Ms Jones said the Scottish decision to pay farmers £6 per ewe had “raised expectations” but she said a similar move here would cost £27m – nearly as much as this year’s Tir Mynydd budget for hill and upland farm support.

She said, “I can’t match that, and neither does the Welsh finance minister have such a generous allocation.”

She said it showed the need to reform the Barnett formula for allocating UK funds to the constituent countries, under which Ms Jones said Scotland gets a better deal than Wales.

“I will keep up the pressure on Defra and the Westminster Government to fund Welsh farming, and I will discuss options with my colleagues in Cardiff,” she said.

NFU Cymru vice-president Edmund Bailey said the UK Government was reneging on its responsibilities and “doing their best to wheedle out of their responsibilities like thieves who steal away in the night, taking with them our ability to trade”.

Mr Bailey said, “This is a Government that’s high on moral principles, that stresses education at every opportunity, yet they are teaching our youth how to shirk their responsibilities.

“We accept what Elin Jones has said that they haven’t got the money to match the Scottish generosity, but, they must, as must Scotland, keep pressurising the Treasury for this, and more compensation.”

Earlier, Elin Jones said her first priority in facing the twin threat of foot-and-mouth and bluetongue is to keep Wales free of disease.

That had been a success during the foot-and-mouth outbreak because of movement restrictions that were handled under devolved animal health powers.

“I’ve always been a cynic about the need to keep full animal movement records but I saw the point,” she said, detailing the hours her officials spent tracing every animal movement from the disease zone into Wales before being able to relax controls. Bluetongue was a different matter, with some farmers calling for Wales to join the protection zone in order to free up cross-border livestock movements and trade.

“This would only increase the risk of bluetongue coming to Wales,” she said.

The third disease that had “hijacked” her first three months in post was bovine tuberculosis, and she said Government and farmers had to co-operate to eradicate the disease.

“There is one $64,000 question you want me to answer but today is not the day for an answer,” she said. “Culling badgers will not get rid of bTB, but neither will ignoring TB in wildlife.”

The Minister said she and her officials were looking to introduce a support package for young farmers, but she said the greatest challenge for Wales was climate change.

“All my policies will be in the context of climate change and the One Wales Government is committed to significantly increasing local food procurement and that will provide alternative markets for farmers,” she said.

“But the challenge for many farmers is this: our school children cannot live on lamb alone. Hospitals and schools need to offer a varied range of food. If we are to increase local food procurement there needs to be a greater variety produced on Welsh farms. It can’t be just red meat.”