§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Ben Bradshaw)A progress report on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in Great Britain was placed in the Library of the House today.
The report explains primarily how we have managed BSE during 2003. The encouraging reduction in BSE in cattle continues. This shows that the controls that have been put in place are continuing to have an important effect.
The report explains the background to our application to the European Commission to be classified as a Moderate BSE risk, which will help to re-open exports markets for UK beef; it also outlines the progress of the TSE surveillance programme. It provides an overview of TSE research and sets out progress on the national scrapie plan, as well as our continuing efforts to ensure compliance with the rules on specified risk material and animal feed.
The report is being published on DEFRA's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/index.html.