§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest assessment is of the contribution that the closure of footpaths made to resisting the spread of foot and mouth disease. [72488]
§ Alun MichaelIn the early stages of last year's outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD), the extent to which the disease might have spread was highly uncertain. At this stage MAFF encouraged local authorities to close footpaths and other rights-of-way on a precautionary basis. On 28 March MAFF and DETR published guidance advising authorities to reopen footpaths as quickly as possible when reopening was justified by the veterinary risk assessment. It is not possible to quantify the impact that footpath closures had in helping to control the disease.
Responding to the recommendations of the Rural Task Force report published last October, the Government made clear that in any future outbreak of FMD, any restrictions on countryside access would take account both
1140Wof the requirements of disease control and of the impact on countryside users, the businesses that depend on them, and the wider rural economy. On the basis of the current veterinary risk assessment, closures of rights of way would probably be advised only within a 3 km radius zone around infected premises; this is set out in DEFRA's published Interim Contingency Plan for FMD.
There is no case in which FMD is known to have been spread by walkers; but the Royal Society's report "Infectious Diseases in Livestock", published last week, states at paragraph 3.24 that
There is a theoretical risk that tourists on footpaths close to infected areas can spread disease, particularly if their route brings them into intimate contact with animals, but the actual risks from this source are poorly understood and require proper investigation.The Government will respond in full to this and other recommendations from the FMD inquiries later this year.