§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of consultation on the Animal Health Bill before its publication. [14530]
§ Mr. MorleyWe have had to draw up this legislation swiftly to prepare for any emergency and there has not been time to consult in the way that we normally would. However, over the coming weeks and months, while the Bill is before Parliament we will consult widely on key provisions and their practical implementation.
With specific regard to the provisions on scrapie and TSEs, we signalled the possibility of introducing a compulsory programme of genotyping and breeding restrictions for TSE-susceptible sheep when we launched a public consultation exercise on the proposed national scrapie plan in July 2000. We are currently consulting stakeholders about the detailed arrangements including the timing of the introduction of a compulsory scheme.