To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement of the use of primates in BSE research commissioned by his Department. [9127]

The Department has commissioned no research on BSE which involves the use of primates.

	Basic rate in ecu/kg			Sterling rate for cull cows and bulls liveweight £/kg			Sterling rate for cull cows and bulls deadweight £/kg			Sterling rate for clean cattle liveweight £/kg	Sterling rate for clean cattle deadweight £/kg
Date	Cows		Bulls	Cows		Bulls	Cows		Bulls
29 April 1996		1.0			0.86			1.71		1.11	2.22
18 June 1996		1.0			0.86			1.71		1.01	2.02
1 July 1996		1.0			0.83			1.66		0.98	1.96
14 July 1996		1.0			0.83			1.66		0.93	1.86
5 August 1996		1.0			0.83		1.66		1.41	0.93	1.58
1 September 1996		1.0			0.83		1.66		1.41	0.88	1.50
21 October 1996		0.9			0.75		1.50		1.28	0.80	1.36
1 November 1996		0.9			0.73		1.46		1.24	0.78	1.33
2 November 1996		0.9			0.73		1.46		1.24	0.73	1.24
1 February 1997		0.9			0.69		1.38		1.17	0.69	1.17
1 April 1997		0.9			0.67		1.34		1.14	0.67	1.14
1 July 1997		0.9			0.65		1.30		1.10	0.65	1.10
4 August 1997	0.8		0.9	0.58		0.65	1.15		1.10	0.65	1.10

1. The sterling rate of compensation has been reduced on six occasions as a result of green pound fluctuations.2. Compensation is fixed in terms of payments per kilogram live weight. Where cattle are not weighed live, a coefficient—of 2 for cows and 1.7 for all other cattle—is applied to the recorded dead weight.3. A depressive top-up payment for clean cattle—heifers and steers—originally set at 25p/kg was available for the first six months of the scheme. The original top-up payment is still available for clean cattle that were over 30 months of age on 17 June 1996.4. With effect from 25 November 1996, the minimum period during which an animal has to be present on a UK holding before becoming eligible for the scheme was increased from three months to six months.5. With effect from 4 August 1997, payment will be limited to a maximum weight of 560 kg per animal.6. All basic rates of payment in ecu or sterling apply to cows and bulls unless otherwise indicated.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to help beef farmers cope with recent changes in the compensation regime. [9539]

The changes to the compensation arrangements for the over-30-months scheme, which will apply from 4 August, have been introduced to reduce scheme expenditure, which is considerable. Providing financial assistance to offset the impact of the changes would frustrate the objective of reducing scheme expenditure.Nevertheless, in the period leading up to 4 August, it is recognised that some farmers will accelerate their culling patterns to benefit from the current compensation rates. The Intervention Board has made provision for abattoirs to slaughter more animals than would otherwise have been accepted in this period, although it can not rule out the possibility that demand will exceed the capacity available.

To ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the cost to farmers of the introduction of the weight limit on cull cattle compensation. [9542]

The effect of the weight limit on farmers' incomes will depend on the weight of the animals being presented. For a typical suckler cow farmer culling five cows per year, each weighing 620 kg, the reduction in