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What Help for Dairy Farmers?
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Description
On 19 January the Conservative MP for Stone asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 'what assistance his Department has provided to dairy farmers in Staffordshire as a result of the entry into administration of Dairy Farmers of Britain?' His detailed response is quoted below but, simply put, he outlined existing farm payments without any additional financial intervention. The Secretary of State responded: Jim Fittzpatrick, Minister of State, DEFRA, replied 'We worked closely with Dairy Farmers of Britain (DFoB) Members Council, the Receivers (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and others towards our common goal of minimising the impacts of those affected, particularly farmer members of DFoB including those in Staffordshire, following DFoB's entry into administration last June.' 'We ensured that all available assistance was given to those facing difficulties. This included advice from DFoB Members Council, the Receiver, National Farmers Union and Regional Development Agencies. For example, Business Link's Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and HMRC's Business Payment Support Service, which might enable those affected to defer certain tax and national insurance payments.' 'The Secretary of State also wrote to both the British Bankers' Association and the Agricultural Industries Confederation to ask their members to consider any short term cash flow problems faced by farmers sympathetically. In the succeeding weeks, 97 per cent. of the 1,813 active DFoB members found new contracts and buyers for their milk.' 'Dairy farmers, including those in Staffordshire, are eligible for payments under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). The Rural Payments Agency has made continued progress in making more timely SPS payments and this has helped farmers' cash flow, with around £1.5 billion (just under 78 per cent.) paid by the end of December under the 2009 scheme.' 'In addition, dairy farmers are eligible for funding under DEFRA's £600 million Rural Development Programme for England 2007-13. This includes over £107 million which is being targeted specifically at the livestock sector to help it meet the particular challenges that it faces. Through this, Advantage West Midlands are able to assist farmers through capital investments to increase competitiveness or diversification into other activities.' | |||