'Pay now, argue later' says RNA
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• The Road Haulage Association has urged the government to "pay up now and argue later' in a meeting with MPs on loans for livestock hauliers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.
RHA Chief executive Roger King met rural taskforce chief Michael Meacher and Transport Minister Lord Whttly this week in a bid to work out the details of a small loan guarantee scheme.
Meacher told King such a scheme fell foul of European Commission rules. But he invited King to come back with definitions of what constituted a livestock haulier, criteria for help, and a formula for aid.
"They should pay up now and argue later," says King. "A similar scheme for fishermen took 18 months to work out. We can't even wait 18 days."
The meeting came as the government announced a £50m recovery fund for tourism and other rural businesses—but hauliers are excluded from such help by Eli rules.
Meacher explains that transport sectors in EU member states are barred from finance packages because they undermine European competition. But King argues that livestock haulage is part of the farming community rather than transport.
"We are not unduly optimistic," he concludes. "Meacher is 100% behind us but the government isn't sovereign these days."