PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
RURAL COMMUNITIES (16 December 1997)

That this House expresses its strong support for rural communities throughout Britain; deplores the negligence of the previous government which led to the BSE disaster and recognizes the crises now facing agriculture and the beef industry; welcomes the action taken by the Labour government to implement the selective cull, to establish a national cattle traceability system, to guarantee the safety of food, to halt imports of potentially risky beef from 1st January, to restore consumer confidence and to make the case for the beef export ban to be lifted for cattle born after August 1996; notes the massive investment of public money to eradicate BSE and to support an industry which is vital for rural employment and for the rural landscape; calls on supermarkets to promote quality British beef; and urges the Government to do everything possible to help the industry to keep Britain farming and to reopen the export market for the best and safest beef in the world.

Sponsored by:
Michael Jabez Foster (Labour)