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The Cabinet Secretaryfor Finance and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasuryon 24 October 2007 seeking reimbursement of £25 million, whichwe estimate to be the cost of the support package that I announced on that day.The package includes the cost of the Sheep Welfare Scheme. We still await a formalresponse.

The Scottish Governmentfully expects to continue having a positive working relationship with the Departmentfor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As at 2 November 2007, 60,632 animals have been slaughtered under the SheepWelfare Scheme. The following table shows the number of animals presented to collectioncentres within the local authority areas listed. These animals were subsequentlyslaughtered. The local authority areas listed are those which contain one or morecollection centres.

Local Authority Area	Number of Animals Presented (and Slaughtered)
Aberdeenshire	1,388
Angus	873
Argyll and Bute	11,080
Dumfries and Galloway	6,507
Highlands	5,291
Orkney Islands	2,358
Perth and Kinross	3,653
Scottish Borders	3,641
Shetland Islands	18,565
South Lanarkshire	4,048
Stirling	3,228
Total	60,632

 

There is no specificallocation of funds through the Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13 forthe establishment of rural abattoirs. However, grants may be available through the programme on a competitivebasis under the Agriculture Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme towards the constructionof new facilities, or the upgrading of existing facilities, as well as the purchaseof plant and equipment. In certain circumstances assistance can also be made availabletowards wider business development costs such as feasibility studies and businessplans. Under the new programme £60 million has been allocated to the Food Processingand Marketing Grant Scheme.

While we have considerablesympathy with the case put forward by NFU Scotland requesting funding for Scottishfarmers following the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, it does not fullyreflect recent developments (such as the reopening of export markets and availabilityof Private Storage Aids for pig meat). We discussed the matter of compensation withthe NFU Scotland and the wider industry, taking into account NFU Scotland estimatesof need. We also took account of funding available to the Scottish Government. Thepackage of measures that I announced on 24 October 2007 provides immediate relief to those most hard pressedas a result of foot-and-mouth disease while supporting the long term viability of the industry.

The draft speech receivedby Scottish Government officials on the morning of the 8 October 2007 announcement was a late draft. Defra officials had notedthat it may be subject to revision.

The information requestedis provided in the following table which shows that as of 2 November 2007, a total of £292,965 has been processed for payment.The local authority areas listed are those which contain one or more collectioncentres.

Local Authority Area	Payments Processed
Aberdeenshire	£20,835
Argyll and Bute	£92,040
Dumfries and Galloway	£87,555
Orkney Islands	£19,230
Perth and Kinross	£17,925
Shetland Islands	£10,500
South Lanarkshire	£37,260
Stirling	£7,620
Total	£292,965

 

This information isnot recorded. The Sheep Welfare Scheme was introduced to prevent light lambs fromsuffering and dying on the hills as a consequence of measures taken to reduce therisk of spreading foot-and-mouth disease.

There were such reportsin the Edinburgh Evening News on 14 August 2006, and 31 January, 9 February and 7 March 2007.

The First Ministerwas reflecting on a general understanding that the possibility of school closures had been underconsideration for some time by the City of Edinburgh Council’s previous administration.