Foot-and-mouth help for rural businesses falls short

A new injection of money from the Government to help businesses damaged by the foot-and-mouth outbreak has fallen short of recommendations.

A report on rural recovery after the foot-and-mouth epidemic by Lord Christopher Haskins, published this week, recommended that the Government provide a further £40m to help both farmers and the tourist industry recover from the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The Government responded by offering just over half of the recommended sum.

Margaret Beckett, secretary of state for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, said the Government would give £24m to the Business Recovery Fund. But only £15m of this is "new" money.

The British Hospitality Association said that although the cash injection was only small it would certainly help the industry.

But Colin Evans, a campaigner with the Powys Rural Business Campaign in Wales, which is suing the Government for compensation for losses caused by the outbreak, did not agree. He said the money was not enough and was not going to the right people.

Evans added that lot of restaurants around the Breacon Beacons were up for sale because they had hardly done any business over the summer, and these were the people who needed the assistance.