DAERA’s Minister Muir agrees to release legacy assets of the Residual Milk Marketing Board to the Dairy Council NI
Date published:
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has announced that legacy assets from the Residual Milk Marketing Board (RMMB) will be released to the Dairy Council NI.
Following the dissolution of the RMMB, all assets, amounting to £76,882.60, transferred to the then Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). Legislation stipulated that the legacy assets must be transferred to a body corporate or other organisation connected with milk production in Northern Ireland, or beneficial to relevant producers or to persons engaged in the production of milk in Northern Ireland.
The Department launched a targeted consultation to seek views on how to best dispose of the assets with organisations that represent the interest of dairy producers on 13 August 2024. The consultation ran until 08 October 2024. The Department considered all consultation responses received and confirmed that the assets will be released to Dairy Council NI.
Minister Andrew Muir said: “I would like to thank all stakeholders who responded to the consultation and for making their views known on how best to distribute the legacy assets of the Residual Milk Marketing Board. I am delighted to announce that my department will be releasing the legacy funds to the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland. I hope that the funds will prove useful towards promoting the importance of dairy providing good nutrition in schools.”
Information on the consultation can be found on the DAERA consultations page.
Notes to editors:
- Milk Marketing Boards were a statutory producer-run, product marketing board which aimed to preserve and increase incomes of farmers who produced milk throughout the UK. The Milk Marketing Board for Northern Ireland was founded in 1955. The Boards had the sole right to purchase raw milk ex-farm and sold that milk for farmers, paying farmers in proportion to the milk provided by them. Farmers had to be registered with the Milk Marketing Board. Milk Marketing Boards across the UK were abolished in 1994.
- The Milk Marketing Board (Residuary Functions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (the “1995 Regulations”) as amended by the Milk Marketing Board (Residuary Functions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (the “2002 Regulations”) is the legislation that stipulated that the legacy assets must be transferred to a body corporate or other organisation connected with milk production in Northern Ireland, or beneficial to relevant producers or to persons engaged in the production of milk in Northern Ireland.
- The Board was dissolved on 1 August 2004, by the Milk Marketing Board (Dissolution) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004. As a result, the remaining work of the Board (which related solely to the pursuance of outstanding levy debt cases against former producers) transferred to the Department. At that point the Department agreed terms with the Board’s solicitors (Peden and Reid) who continued to pursue the outstanding levy debt cases.
- Prior to a decision being taken on the potential distribution of the finalised assets United Dairy Farmers (a voluntary dairy producer co-operative that assumed much of the assets, liabilities and employees of the former Milk Marketing Board (NI) left off) filed a High Court case, naming the Department as a co-defendant with Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee, in relation to certain pension liabilities on the basis that the former liabilities of the Milk Marketing Board resided with the Department following the Board’s dissolution in 2004. At that stage officials considered it appropriate to put any action in relation to the distribution of the assets on hold pending the outcome of the case, to provide funding for any legal costs to the Department arising from the action.
- On 27 August 2014 the Honourable Mr Justice Deeny found in favour of the Department and ordered that the costs of the case be borne by United Dairy Farmers. Following the expiry of the appeal period and with no appeal being lodged, the Departmental Solicitor’s Office proceeded with the recovery of relevant legal costs. This action was completed in July 2015.
- Stakeholders contacted for the consultation included the UFU, The Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers’ Association, AgriSearchNI and the Dairy Council for NI.
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