FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE (Hansard, 21 October 1952)

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (LORD CARRINGTON)
My Lords, noble Lords will, I am sure, be pleased to hear that in recent weeks the amount of foot and 777 mouth disease in this country has been so much reduced that after midnight tonight, if all goes well, there will be only one infected area left. In September there were thirteen outbreaks, compared with nineteen in August and fifty-one in July. So far this month, there have been only three outbreaks, all in Hampshire, and no outbreaks have been reported since October 6. Since November 1, 1951, there have been 582 outbreaks in all, and the compensation payable to farmers amounts to about £2,738,000. On the whole, the position in Western Europe is much less ominous than it was a year ago. and there is at present no reason to expect this autumn a major invasion of the disease from the Continent such as we experienced last autumn and earlier this year.
The Committee appointed under the Chairmanship of Sir Ernest Gowers to review the policy and arrangements for dealing with foot and mouth disease in Great Britain is now taking evidence. My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture does not propose to consider any major change in policy or procedure until the Report of this Committee is available. Your Lordships may, however, be interested to knew that, at an international conference convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations at which thirteen European countries, including the United Kingdom, were represented, it was agreed to recommend that a European Commission for foot and mouth disease should be appointed to stimulate and co-ordinate national and international control of this disease. This recommendation still has to be studied in detail by the Governments concerned, but a body of this kind could, I think, do much to prevent a repetition of last year's disastrous epidemic in Europe and minimise the risk of disease spreading to this country.

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord very warmly indeed for his reply, which is, I think, the most encouraging statement we have heard on this subject from the Government. May I he permitted to ask the noble Lord some further questions? First, can he say when the Gowers Committee are likely to report? Secondly, do the terms of reference of the Gowers Committee include preventive measures used abroad—I am thinking particularly 778 of the preventive measures that have been taken in Mexico where the disease has been completely wiped out? Finally, does the noble Lord consider that the reduction in the number of outbreaks indicates that the present epidemic may die out in the near future?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, to take the noble Lord's last question first, I think the progress is very encouraging, and although I am not going to prophesy, I think I can say, as I said in my original answer, that we do not expect this autumn a major invasion from the Continent as we had last year. The Gowers Committee will, I hope, be in a position to report in between six and nine months' time. Their terms of reference make it possible for them to include in their investigations any matters relating to foot and mouth disease which they consider important.