What recent discussions she has had with dairy farmers on the price of milk.

Provided that competition law is respected, the Government do not get involved in discussions about price. However, issues around the state of the industry are regularly discussed in the dairy supply chain forum, which is chaired by my noble Friend Lord Bach.

I thank my hon. Friend for that response. Notwithstanding that, with milk prices low and dairy farmers struggling, will he assure dairy farmers that today's statement on bovine TB will not have a detrimental effect on milk prices and producers?

The measures that we have announced this morning—we also have an urgent question on the matter later—will help the dairy industry. There will be no quick fixes in the measures on bovine TB, but they will make a difference in the medium and long term.

Does the Minister share my concern and unhappiness about the fact that several efficient long-standing milk producers in my constituency have gone out of dairy production? Is he worried that the dairy trade and the superstores exercise too much influence? They make huge profits while dairy farmers, who manage the land that is so important to this country, are forced out of business by the price that they receive.

I agree that it is worrying when efficient dairy farmers go out of business. Many may choose to do that for commercial or other reasons. However, farm-gate milk is at its highest level since October 2001 and there is also the dairy premium. It is important to consider all the issues, including the role of supermarkets, which, as the hon. Gentleman knows, is constantly reviewed by the independent competition authorities.

We all recognise the problem with the milk industry. It is not on the farmers' but the purchasers' side. We have an oligopoly in Britain, with large supermarkets exercising their purchasing power. Does my hon. Friend feel frustrated that while the Department is trying to knit together deals with farmers and supermarkets, other Departments are considering ideas to strengthen the position of supermarkets by extending the hours and taking out further competition?

If the issue to which my hon. Friend refers is the suggestion that Sunday opening hours may be extended, he has an ally in me as a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. I have already dealt with the question about milk in my reply to Sir Nicholas Winterton. The independent competition authorities constantly review the role of the supermarkets.

The Minister says that the Department will not get involved in determining the price of milk, yet in Northern Ireland, at the most recent auction of United Dairy Farmers, which is the largest processor, it fell by more than 10 per cent. We believe that that happened as a result of the recent common agricultural policy reforms. Does the Minister believe that there will be a viable milk industry in the United Kingdom if the Government succeed in achieving another major reform of CAP?

Yes, I do. Those who know our dairy industry and our climate all recognise that the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland and my part of the world, is extremely well suited to dairy farming. We could do extremely well if the common agricultural policy were reformed even further, as our dairy farmers would flourish.

Further to the point made by Sir Nicholas Winterton, the retail price of a litre of milk in 1996 was 63p. In 2004, it was 62p—a fall of 1p. But the price that farmers are paid for a litre of milk has fallen by 7p over that same period. Somebody else is making 6p a litre more, and I think that we know who that is likely to be. May I urge my hon. Friend to use his good offices to introduce a more co-operative approach between the retailers and the dairy farmers, before irreparable damage is done to the dairy industry?

I can assure my hon. Friend that we will do that. My noble Friend Lord Bach and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend Jim Knight, are meeting fellow Ministers in the Department of Trade and Industry shortly to discuss the supermarket code of practice and competition matters affecting the dairy sector.

We have heard about the parlous state of dairy farming from hon. Members on both sides of the House. According to the statement today, the costs to dairy farmers are going to increase further because of the cost of the pre-movement test. Why will the Minister not insist that vets should not charge farmers more than they charge DEFRA for those tests?

If the Conservatives are suggesting that there should not be a fair balance of costs between the taxpayer and the industry, that is very interesting. We think that it is right that if the Government are introducing measures that will benefit the dairy industry through reducing the levels of bovine tuberculosis, the costs should at least be fairly shared.