---

Rural Communities (Recession)

On behalf of the Department, I am grateful for the appreciation expressed by my hon. Friend. If my memory serves me correctly, the number of inspectors has also increased to help the industry. As I was saying, the farmers affected will have lost their investment in Dairy Farmers of Britain and their May milk cheques. We have worked closely with the regional development agencies, the National Farmers Union and the receiver to ensure that farmers facing cash-flow difficulties are aware of business advice and support services available through Business Link, and so have access to relevant Government schemes, such as the enterprise finance guarantee scheme and the business payment support service run by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. That goes some way in rebutting the allegation made earlier that we are not doing anything for dairy farmers.