HC Deb 20 February 1900 vol 79 cc582-4
MR. PRICK () Norfolk, E.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, in the event of there being no fresh outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the county of Norfolk within the present week, he can remove the present restrictions from all the districts scheduled, or at all events from some of them.

*MR. AKERS DOUGLAS (for Mr. LONG)

My right hon. friend asks me to state that it will not in any case be safe for him to withdraw all restrictions on the movement of animals in the scheduled district or any part thereof so soon as the end of the present week, but in the absence of any further outbreak of the disease he proposes to issue an order to further modify those restrictions in the course of a day or two with a, view to meet the more pressing cases of hardship and difficulty to which they give rise. In the meantime it is most satisfactory to him to be able to state that no further extension of the disease has been reported.

MR. STEVENSON () Suffolk, Eye

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is able to grant under special conditions special licences for the movement of stock from a farm situated outside the scheduled area into a farm situated within that area, in cases in which it is shown that grazing requirements render that movement necessary.

MR. AKERS DOUGLAS (for Mr. LONG)

My right hon. friend asks me to state that, in the absence of any further outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Norfolk, he proposes to issue in the course of a day or two a further order which will afford relief in cases of the class to which the hon. Member refers.

MR. STEVENSON

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is now able to reconsider the area of the scheduled districts.

MR. AKERS DOUGLAS (for Mr. LONG)

My right hon. friend asks me to say that he does not consider that it would be safe as yet for him to reduce the area of the scheduled district, but, as I have already stated, he proposes in the absence of any further outbreak of the disease to further modify the restrictions in the course of a day or two.

MR. F. W. WILSON

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he can comply with the request of the executive committee of the Norfolk County Council, that in the event of there being no fresh outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in the county of Norfolk the scheduled district should be reduced by omitting the petty sessional divisions at the extremities, viz.: North and South Erpingham, Forehoe, and Diss, as these areas are far from the present seat of the disease.

MR. AKERS DOUGLAS (for Mr. LONG)

My right hon. friend asks me to state that the suggestion of Norfolk executive committee has been carefully considered, but he does not consider that it would be safe as yet for him to reduce the area of the scheduled district. The further order which he hopes to be able to issue in the course of the next day or two will materially reduce the hardship and difficulty to which the restrictions give rise.