GOVERNMENT moves to consider awarding interest on late payments to farmers for livestock slaughtered because of the foot and mouth crisis have been welcomed by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

Following vigorous lobbying by the CLA, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced that producers who are still waiting to be paid after weeks or even months of delay can apply for interest on the outstanding money. Contractors who have also not been paid for disposing of dead animals and cleansing infected sites can make similar claims.

Yorkshire regional CLA director Dorothy Fairburn said: "We are glad that the Government has acted on our appeals. Agreeing to consider paying interest on delayed payments, which have left many farmers and contractors in foot and mouth affected areas facing serious financial hardship and stress, is a much-appreciated gesture.

"DEFRA has emphasised that there is no guarantee interest will be paid on any claim, and it cannot guarantee the minimum period of delay at which interest will start to be paid, or at what rate. But ministers agreeing to consider applications for interest is an encouraging step forward."

Applications to DEFRA should give details of the date of the cull, or the dates when contract work was carried out, the outbreak number to which the cull corresponds, the farm holding number and the sum of money outstanding."

Updated: 08:51 Thursday, July 26, 2001