§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what improvements in the co-ordination of rural policy and departmental operation have been achieved since the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. [9297]
§ Alun MichaelMajor benefits are expected to flow from bringing together responsibilities for farming and food, environment and conservation and the rural affairs portfolio within one Department, although the benefits–both policy and operational–will be realised gradually. On foot and mouth disease, there was already close joint working between Departments, via the Cabinet Office co-ordination machinery and via the rural task force, which brought together both Departments involved and external stakeholders. The establishment of DEFRA has offered scope for further integration. Great efforts are being made to establish a new culture within the Department, with clear aims and objectives through a process in which stakeholders and staff at every level have been involved. We are also seeking to develop close partnerships as a way of working within the new Department, across Whitehall and with partners at a regional and local level throughout England as well as on the international stage. The new Department has created a post at Board level to bring together general weight of DEFRA field delivery as a whole.
§ Brian CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what restrictions will apply to the provision of grants to rural businesses as part of the extension of the Business Recovery Fund announced on 18 October; [10101]
(2) what the deadline for grant applications is under the Business Recovery Fund announced on 18 October. [10100]
§ Alun Michael[holding answer 25 October 2001]Regional development agencies have played a crucial role in responding to the needs of businesses affected by foot and mouth disease. I am grateful to them for their positive response to the challenges and the high degree of co-operation we have received from them in recent months. As with earlier tranches of money, it will be for the individual regional development agency to decide on the best way to allocate the Business Recovery Fund (BRF) in its region and to set the deadline for applications according to local circumstances. Regional development agencies must ensure that grants are consistent with the European Commission's state aids rules as well as the guidance issued by this Department. A copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House when published.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statistical information she has collated on the impact foot and mouth disease has had on(a) farm incomes and (b) output. [10471]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department is very much aware that the outbreak has had a considerable impact on farming and a range of industries throughout the UK. DEFRA is currently working with a number of other Government Departments to estimate the economic impact of the outbreak and the results of this work will be made publicly available.
734WIn addition, an estimate of total income from farming (TIFF) for 2001 will be published on 29 November 2001. This will include the effects of foot and mouth disease and other factors that have affected income in 2001.
§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many contracts have been concluded between her Department and farms infected by foot and mouth near Thirsk for the cleansing of their premises. [10179]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department has now agreed 59 contracts, with 54 farmers and five contractors in the Thirsk area, for the cleansing and disinfection of premises affected by foot and mouth disease.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals were slaughtered as a result of foot and mouth disease, broken down by those from infected farms and those culled for protective purposes, weekly since March. [9911]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 24 October 2001]The Animal Health Act 1981 provides the powers to require the slaughter of any animals affected with foot and mouth disease (FMD), suspected of being affected, which are or have been in contact with affected animals or have been exposed to the infection of FMD.
The following table sets out the breakdown of the number of animals slaughtered by Infected Premises (IPs), Dangerous Contacts (DCs), and Slaughtered on Suspicion (SOSs) by week.
735W
Week ending IPs DCs SOSs 2001 25 February 2,094 817 653 4 March 31,851 7,525 0 11 March 65,846 11,946 0 18 March 104,513 41,093 0 25 March 165,748 124,876 0 1 April 234,986 244,347 11,242 8 April 234,986 244,347 11,242 15 April 107,204 466,970 20,390 22 April 65,359 339,171 17,241 29 April 56,029 166,125 17,966 6 May 31,059 73,882 8,112 13 May 15,025 36,743 9,985 20 May 18,655 43,590 940 27 May 25,572 67,021 4,712 3 June 23,738 48,482 171 10 June 12,552 46,270 2,283 17 June 25,855 42,333 954 24 June 13,291 39,888 2,098 1 July 11,030 17,107 471 8 July 19,546 30,539 1,072 15 July 11,310 26,693 666 22 July 11,303 24,354 44 29 July 12,995 15,494 1,612 5 August 21,215 24,102 496 12 August 9,928 16,700 689 19 August 8,996 14,355 829 26 August 7,020 4,005 0 2 September 11,152 27,887 0 9 September 14,696 23,295 1,145 16 September 3,584 9,772 380 23 September 1,840 8,905 117 30 September 2,122 3,890 1,250 7 October 0 183 80 14 October 166 1,914 0 21 October 0 387 324 Grand total 1,316,704 2,473,669 126,183 The grand total for dangerous contacts is believed to be a slight underestimate of the true figure. These figures may be subject to change as quality assurance of the data is carried out.
§ Mr. HeathTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason blood tests requested by her Department in July on 22 farms in north Somerset were delayed until October. [7888]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 15 October 2001]DEFRA Head Office gives permission for local Animal Health Offices (AHOs) to start blood testing (serosurveillance) around former infected premises but it is left to the local AHO to decide on its priorities for sampling based on a number of factors. In the case of north Somerset, the AHO is also responsible for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
The blood tests are part of the extensive on-going programme of testing sheep flocks inside foot and mouth disease protection and surveillance zones and so far over 1.1 million samples have been taken across the country. The 22 farms in north Somerset fell within a surveillance zone straddling the borders of two testing regions. Those in the Somerset part of the zone were sampled in advance of those in north Somerset.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons were for the change in Government policy on the criteria for classifying outbreaks of foot and mouth disease that came into effect in April. [7728]
§ Mr. MorleyOur policy for confirming an outbreak of foot and mouth has not changed. There are, however, a number of different scenarios which would lead to animals being slaughtered to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease;
Infected premises
Where foot and mouth disease has been confirmed on the basis of clinical findings by a veterinary surgeon or positive laboratory tests or both.Dangerous contacts
Premises where it is believed that animals have been exposed to foot and mouth disease infection by virtue of a known contact with infected animals or by contact through movements of vehicles, persons or things believed to be contaminated with virus.Contiguous premises
A category of dangerous contacts where animals are believed to have been exposed to infection because of their proximity to a neighbouring infected premises.Slaughter on suspicion
Premises where on veterinary examination there are insufficient grounds to confirm disease but where there are clinical signs that cannot exclude the possibility of disease being present. Animals are culled and samples taken to confirm the presence/absence of disease. Cases giving positive results or those that are subsequently confirmed on clinical grounds, are classified as infected premises.