LABOUR yesterday demanded a statement from Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg on the bill for tackling the beef crisis, after the Government's disclosure that it would cost #1bn more than previously thought.
The new figure of #2.5bn - announced by junior Agriculture Minister Angela Browning at the end of Tuesday night's debate on BSE - was raised by Shadow Agriculture Minister Dr Gavin Strang.
He told Speaker Betty Boothroyd that Mr Hogg had said last Thursday that measures associated with BSE would cost around #1.5bn over the next three years.
``I assumed that he made an error in reading his brief, since previous written answers and the Minister's own eradication plan had previously put the figure at around #2.5bn,'' Dr Strang said.
He fully appreciated that Mr Hogg was away at present (at talks in Luxembourg), but he hoped that ``in due course the Minister will give us a clear statement on these costs. They are large sums of money and it is only right that the House be properly informed.''
Shadow Treasury Chief Secretary Andrew Smith said: ``The Chancellor must come clean on the true state of the public finances and how he proposes to meet these added costs.
``He must make clear whether demands will be met from within departmental budgets or whether they will be a further drain on the contingency reserve. The weakness of the economy and the public finances leaves the Chancellor with less room for contingencies when he needs it most.
``The mounting pressures from the cost of BSE, social security overruns and possible blocked sell-off of Ministry of Defence housing throw the Chancellor's sums into chaos.''
About #112m in extra aid for British beef farmers was agreed by the EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg yesterday. The aim is to sustain the beef industry by compensating producers for lower market prices following the crisis. Mr Hogg said: ``There is an urgent need to help beef farmers in the short term.''
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