THE Government is coming under increasing pressure to provide better financial support for rural businesses hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents 50,000 members in rural business, is calling for the Government to scrap interest for affected borrowers under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme which has been extended to sectors such as tourism and retail.

It also wants capital repayments under the scheme to begin only when a business has returned profit.

The CLA is now gathering evidence from rural businesses to back its demands and will be presenting the evidence to the Government.

"During his recent visit to the three counties, Michael Meacher told me that he needs hard evidence of the financial impact and scope of the crisis so that he can convince the Treasury on this issue," said Geoffrey Hopton, CLA director.

Ammunition

"We are now surveying all CLA members in Herefordshire and Worcestershire to give us the ammunition to persuade the Government of our case.

"We would also be glad to receive information from other affected businesses.

"Our initial inquiries revealed that turnover for rural businesses has fallen by an average of 45 per cent across sectors such as tourism, leisure activities, corporate hospitality and equestrianism.

"This is a massive problem and rural businesses are not asking for handouts, they just want breathing space to get back on their feet."