§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent assessment he has made of the animal welfare implications of the provisions within the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 which allows animal hauliers to assess themselves as competent to transport farm animals and horses over eight hours. [44239]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 8 June 1998]: When we made the 1997 Order five weeks after 1 May 1997, in fulfilment of a Community obligation which had previously been neglected, we made clear that we would review its provisions after they had been in force for a year. We will do this, thoroughly, after 1 July 1998.
The provisions regarding the assessment of transport staff are among those I shall wish to consider very carefully in the review. There was no practical alternative to allowing employers to assess their own staff (which can mean the self-employed assessing themselves) given the Order requires the assessments to be done by 1 July 1998. However, I shall be very happy to improve these arrangements if our planned public consultation indicates a practical way of doing this.