EBLEX is funded by statutory levy, meaning that it is enshrined in law and is not optional for producers of beef and sheep meat. Once every five years, producers can decide to call a vote on whether or not they wish to continue funding the activity undertaken by EBLEX. If the majority vote “no”, the levy board would be dissolved.
EBLEX levy is collected at the point of slaughter, or the point of sale in the case of live exports. We collect from nearly 200 abattoirs across England which are supplied by around 50,000 beef or sheep enterprises. We class all of these as our levy payers, as our total levy money is made up of a part from producers and a part from the processor. As of April 1, 2011, these rates are:
| Slaughter/
export levy
£/head | Producer levy
£/head
|
Cattle | £1.35 | £4.05 | Calves
(not exceeding 68 kg deadweight or under 6 months of age if exported)
| £0.08 (8p) | £0.08 (8p) |
| Sheep | £0.20 (20p) | £0.60 (60p) |
Levy income from 2009/2010 was £5.936 million (47.8 per cent) from the sheep sector and £6.491 million (52.2 per cent) from cattle. Spend is split accordingly across the species.