Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme

EDM number 1148 in 1995-96, proposed by Edward O'Hara on 10/07/1996.

That this House notes that of the 256 throughput licensed slaughterhouses in the United Kingdom, 41 have been allocated work in connection with the over 30 months slaughter scheme and that of these 41, 19 have been allocated 82 per cent. of the total work; is concerned that these slaughterhouses were selected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food without any resort to any process of tendering and that the price per head negotiated with them is ú87.50, plus retention of hide for future use; is advised that this rate grossly exceeds the reasonable commercial rate for the work of around ú30 per head including value of the hide, and that on an estimated throughput of 20,000 head per week, this represents a weekly excess charge to the taxpayer of ú1.5 million; fears that this distortion of costs could have a disruptive and destructive effect throughout the meat market and could drive out of business many operators who have not had the opportunity to tender for participation in the scheme; and therefore calls upon Her Majesty's Government, as a matter of urgency, to review the present scheme and replace it with a scheme based on a tendering process, in respect of participation to achieve more reasonable market rates per head for cattle included in the cull.

This motion has been signed by a total of 34 MPs.