Minister hears disease protest pleas

The protesters called on ministers to deliver aid

Small businesses hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis said they had received a sympathetic hearing from ministers after a protest at the Scottish Parliament.

Dumfries and Galloway business leaders held a "People's Protest" in Edinburgh claiming Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie had not delivered on promises of economic aid for the region.

After a meeting with Mr Finnie, representatives said they had received a sympathetic hearing but had not been given promises of any new money.

Mr Finnie later told the Scottish Parliament that the authorities appeared to be winning the battle against foot-and-mouth, but advised it was necessary to guard against complacency.

Many small firms have been affected by the crisis

Following a 30-minute meeting with Mr Finnie, John Kilgour of the Federation of Small Businesses said: "It wasn't a waste of time."

"The minister took the points on - but at the same time there is absolutely no hard cash coming on to the table."

He said the minister had indicated there was a time when it would be appropriate to put in money to aid the recovery and survival of businesses.

"But the minister did not give us an undertaking that any decisions would be made before an election was called," he added.

"And since he had no knowledge of an election being called at this point in time, we were dealing in supposition."

'Enormous sacrifices'

The protesters travelled to Edinburgh claiming Dumfries and Galloway - which has the bulk of Scotland's 180 confirmed cases of the disease - had "protected the whole of Scotland" from foot-and-mouth by making "enormous sacrifices".

Dumfries town centre manager John Dowson said that it was now time for "the government to recognise that" and approve an economic recovery plan which the community had submitted to the Scottish Executive.

Rosse Finnie: Sympathetic ear

He said: "Tony Blair and the government made a whole range of promises to the people of Dumfries and Galloway and none of them have been delivered."

Mr Dowson said that although financial help had been given to farmers in the area, the wider business community had received nothing and was facing disaster.

He said that a £40m recovery package - which had already been put to the Scottish Executive - was the only way to save a business community facing disaster.

He said: "There are some very positive things in there that can help us rebuild our community. So far we've had silence from them."

He said that the point of the protest was to ask Mr Finnie and First Minister Henry McLeish for "their backing" for the recover plan.

The Scottish Conservative deputy rural development spokesman Alex Fergusson said: "Local businesses are, justifiably, very angry about the lack of a survival package to help them through this foot-and-mouth outbreak.

'Worst is over'

"Without such a package, the eventual economic recovery of the region will be unnecessarily painful and prolonged."

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Finnie said the Scottish Executive was committed to building the basis for the recovery of the rural economy.

He said: "There is no room for complacency but by sticking doggedly to our policy for ridding Scotland of this terrible disease I can now say that the worst is over.

Alex Fergusson: "Justifiably very angry"

"We would not be where we are now but for the excellent support from farmers and rural communities in general.

"Nor should we forget the huge effort of the State Veterinary Service, the Army and the local authorities in helping to bring the outbreak under control.

"We must, of course, remain vigilant, but as we turn more to local mopping-up we can begin to concentrate on planning for recovery.

"To this end the executive is committed to working closely with those affected by foot-and-mouth."

He said that in addition to the estimated £150m of compensation to farmers for culled livestock, the executive has already committed more than £13.5m in support for affected businesses across Scotland.

Mr Finnie added: "Dumfries and Galloway has already, and will continue, to benefit greatly from additional resources targeted specifically at tourism and other businesses.

Blood tests

"Meeting the delegation from Dumfries and Galloway has provided me with first-hand accounts of how people are facing up to the difficult consequences of the disease."

In another development, the Scottish Executive announced that a programme of blood sampling will be carried out in the "Provisionally Free Area" outwith the infected regions of Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, as a precautionary measure.

The move is aimed at making sure no disease has spread from premises where animals were earlier slaughtered as part of the pre-emptive cull.

Around 4,000 samples will be taken from farms around dangerous contact premises. The samples will be tested at a specialist foot-and-mouth laboratory and results should be available later in the month.