Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the Pollack compensation scheme; and how his Department plans to fund this scheme.

Using MMO landings data from 2023, approximately 50 vessels would be eligible for the scheme. In 2023 these vessels landed around 220 tonnes of pollack, with a value of around £800,000. Compensating for 50% of the 2023 value would cost around £400,000. This data is being verified by MMO.

Funding for the compensation will be found from Defra’s existing budget.