UK Government Ducking Responsibility
UK - Scotland’s farming union has expressed its anger at the response of the UK Secretary of State Hilary Benn to the welfare and financial crisis facing Scottish farmers. Farmers have found their businesses crippled by the movement restrictions introduced following the release of Foot and Mouth Disease from the UK government-regulated laboratory in Pirbright
18 October 2007
2 minute read
At the meeting last night in London with Mr Benn, and in meetings both before and after that with MPs from all parties, NFUS clearly spelt out the scale of the crisis facing the Scottish livestock industry and the measures needed to address this. The Union also explained that they had discussed these measures with the Scottish Government and on the basis of these discussions were now approaching UK Government, because of their clear responsibility to fund the rescue package.
The reasons NFUS believes responsibility lies with the UK Government are as follows:
- UK Government has responsibility for regulating the Pirbright laboratory, from where the foot and mouth virus escaped.
- UK Government contingency funds – used for similar measures during the 2001 outbreak – sit within the UK Treasury.
- The animal health budget is reserved to Defra, despite policy and implementation being devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Speaking from London after the latest meetings and ahead of the debate in the Commons later today, NFUS President Jim McLaren said:
“I was shocked at the response from Mr Benn. He effectively said Scottish problems were not his problems and, even so, they were not of a scale to merit action at a UK level. Even if we can ignore the fact that the UK Government has responsibility for this disease getting out in the first place, that is a devastating message he is sending the Scottish industry and rural communities.
“I have no desire for this issue to be used as a political football – we simply need emergency aid which we believe, for a variety of moral, financial and legal reasons, is the responsibility of UK Government. There is a crisis on farms across Scotland and we cannot accept that the UK Government has no responsibility.
“The arguments Mr Benn made were totally inconsistent, a point recognised by all the major opposition parties who attended the meeting last night. For the vast majority of Scottish farmers, the scale of this crisis is worse than it was in 2001. As the UK Government will not address Scotland’s problems, we will continue our discussions with the Scottish Government who have already clearly recognised the crisis we face. Time is running out for thousands of farms.”
