§ 2.44 p.m.
§ BARONESS ELLIOT OF HARWOODMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average time elapsed between the taking of samples from a cow which has aborted and the notification to the owner of the animal concerned.]
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, the interval will vary appreciably with the type of sample material that is available and the number and complexity of tests involved. For samples tested last month at laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Scottish Agricultural Colleges, the average time was nine days. The noble Baroness will, however, be aware that under our Scheme arrangements a single negative test result will not suffice to release the animal from isolation; this must await confirmation from a further sample taken at least 14 days after the animal aborted.
§ BARONESS ELLIOT OF HARWOODMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. I would ask him whether he will press his noble friend to speed up in every possible way the results of these tests, and the notification, as there is an enormous increase of the disease if people are not notified fast enough.
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, again, the interest of my noble friend is well known in this matter, and my right honourable friend will be studying everything she has said. But I assure her that the Ministry press ahead as fast as possible in these matters.
LORD ROWALLANMy Lords, I thank the Minister for those answers, which give us great satisfaction, but at the same time it is something that we regret, and I do not know whether the Government realise that the first intimation that we had—
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I hesitate to interrupt the noble Lord, but perhaps he would couch his supplementary in an interrogatory form.
LORD ROWALLANMy Lords, I thought that I was doing so, but I may be wrong. Do the Government realise that the first information that reached us of the further postponement of the putting into operation of the eradication scheme was given to us at a meeting outside this House, when it was not specifically dealing with the cattle side, and that we were then told for the first time that the Eradication Scheme was not to be put into operation until October of next year?
§ LORD DENHAMMy Lords, with great respect to the noble Lord, I think we dealt with this subject rather fully on Tuesday, and I feel that it is a little outside the scope of this Question. However, what the noble Lord has said will be borne in mind.
THE EARL OF MANSFIELDMy Lords, do the Government realise that this is a question which, however important it may be from the point of view of those who keep cattle, is even more important from the point of view of human health? Are Her Majesty's Government aware of the great spread of brucellosis among the human population; and that unless immediate steps are taken to deal with the problem that spread will increase, thereby causing an immense amount of suffering to people who incur the disease, which is in all forms incurable?
§ LORD DENHAMYes, my Lords. Her Majesty's Government are certainly aware of the great urgency of this matter, and they are taking the steps which they consider are appropriate.
§ LORD KILBRACKENMy Lords, is it coming home to the noble Lord that in matters of brucellosis testing noble farmers, despite how he may feel, do not like being Lords in waiting?