Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 July 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 July 1999. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Thursday, 15 July 1999 on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Question: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, for what reason the UK Government has elected not to operate the EU Surplus Food Scheme in the United Kingdom.

Answer: Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reason the UK Government have elected not to operate the EU Surplus Food Scheme in the United Kingdom. [90701] Mr. Rooker: Uptake for the scheme was disappointing and we were unable to utilise fully the quantities of beef set aside by the Commission for the UK. The Government therefore considered that the scheme did not provide good value for money, nor achieve its primary objective of making a serious contribution to the disposal of UK stocks of intervention beef.

Secondary information