Last-ditch effort to save school milk
29 July 1999
Last-ditch effort to save school milk
By Philip Clarke, Europe Editor
A LAST-DITCH attempt to save the school milk scheme was made this week, when the School Milk Forum – a pressure group made up of trade and farming interests – took its campaign to Brussels.
The 10-strong delegation met senior commission officials on Wednesday (28 July) to press their case against plans to scrap the programme.
Under the scheme, local authorities which provide school milk can claim an EU subsidy of 10-12p a pint.
Currently an estimated 20,000 primary schools and one million-plus children benefit in the UK.
But the cost to the EU as a whole is estimated at over £70 million. In an attempt to save money, the commission has proposed to halve the budget from October, and do away with it all together late next year.
A final decision is expected in September, though the NFU believes the commission could change its mind, following recent pressure from the EU farm council in support of the proposal.
“Without this scheme, British children will be deprived of opportunities to drink school milk, which will erode the associated health benefits that are so necessary,” said NFU president, Ben Gill.
There is also concern that, if school children do not get into the habit of drinking milk, demand could suffer in the longer term.
UK producers faced a £200 million capital cost to meet the higher welfare conditions laid down by EU farm ministers last month, yet their market was being undercut by cheap foreign imports.
If the industry was to survive, it must be offered some protection from those countries whose production methods fall below those in the EU and UK, they told Mr Brown.