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Abattoirs

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Wales – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 1 March 1993.

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Photo of Mr Cynog Dafis Mr Cynog Dafis , Ceredigion and Pembroke North 12:00, 1 March 1993

I hope that the Secretary of State and the Minister will appreciate that the costs that have been imposed on small and medium-sized abattoirs because of the current interpretation of the European hygiene regulations are crippling, especially for those abattoirs that now provide slaughter close to the point of production, produce excellent quality meat and have an excellent record on animal welfare—just the sort of business that we should encourage.

The most significant specific problem facing those abattoirs is the requirement for official veterinary surgeons to be present at the ante-mortem inspection, when that job is perfectly capable of being done by meat inspectors. Will the Secretary of State ensure that meat inspectors will be allowed to carry out that work, because it would have a significant effect in improving the prospects for small abattoirs?

Secretary of State

Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Minister

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