§ Dame Peggy FennerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of the Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Veterinary Investigation Service. [40973]
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIn a written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. French) on 4 May,Official Report, columns 314–16, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave) announced the planned merger of the Central Veterinary Laboratory with the Veterinary Investigation Service in England and Wales to create an enlarged and strengthened executive agency. The new agency was launched on 1 October. It will be known as the Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
The VLA is well equipped to provide my Department with a comprehensive range of high-quality veterinary and scientific support and advice, and to meet both strategy and policy objectives in the fields of animal health and welfare, food safety and the environment. The merger will enable the agency to provide a more efficient and integrated service by reducing overheads, providing greater flexibility and exploiting synergies to further research and development, diagnostic services, surveillance and the investigation of new and emerging diseases.
Copies of the agency's framework document have been placed in the Library of the House.
Performance targets for the VLA will be announced at the start of the 1996–97 financial year. The 1995–96 targets announced in April this year for the CVL will continue to apply to the relevant parts of the enlarged agency.