These regulations would increase the fees payable in respect of cattle, sheep and pigs presented for veterinary inspection under the Fresh Meat Acts and the Pigs and Bacon Acts. The present rates of fees are quite inadequate to meet the cost of the veterinary inspection service provided by my Department and it is necessary that they be brought more into line with that cost. It is proposed to raise the fee for cattle from 45p to £1 per head and that for sheep from 8p to 17p per head. In the case of pigs the increase would be from 12p to 25p per head. I propose to bring the increases into effect on 6 March 1978.
The cost of providing the veterinary inspection service at meat export plants has increased steadily over the years. This is attributable to increased salaries, inflation, and the need to provide a more intensive system of veterinary control at factories in accordance with EEC rules. The cost has risen steeply in the past few years and the position is that the receipts meet less than half of the cost of the service.
In 1977 receipts from fees amounted to £700,000 while the cost of the service was in excess of £2 million. The new rates of fees are expected to bring in £1.6 million in a calendar year. When they are viewed in the context of the present-day values of livestock the rates of fees are very modest. Without veterinary control and certification we could have no meat export trade.
The proposed increases have been cleared by the National Prices Commission. These fees do not apply to abattoirs catering for the home market only, which are under local authority supervision.