§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state(a) when the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was positively identified, (b) when bovine spongiform encephalopathy was made a notifiable disease, (c) when offals from cattle were banned for use for human consumption, (d) when compensation for farmers for bovine spongiform encephalopathy-infected cattle was introduced, (e) when research into the possibility of transmission of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy infective agent from generation to generation was begun; and (f) if he will make a statement about the sequence of events, and their respective timings.
§ Mr. MacleanIt was made notifiable in June 1988 as soon as research and field investigation had established a clear clinical picture and techniques had been developed to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Without such action it is not possible to deal with any disease, let alone a new disease never previously reported in cattle.
The feeding of ruminant-based rations to ruminants was banned from July 1988 as soon as studies had confirmed this to be the most likely cause of the disease.
In April 1988 the Government set up an independent working party under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Southwood to look at BSE, in particular at any human health implications. An interim recommendation was made in June 1988 that, although there was no evidence of a risk to humans, as a precautionary measure all cattle suspected of having BSE should be slaughtered and 408W destroyed to take them out of the food chain. The Government acted promptly on this and the slaughter policy began on 8 August that year.
A research committee under the chairmanship of Dr. David Tyrrell was established to advise on research in relation to BSE and the other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies following another interim recommendation. In January this year the Government announced that over £12 million would be spent over the next three years as part of a comprehensive programme of research which had been started as soon as the disease was first identified. The Southwood report was published in February last year. It welcomed the Government's action to deal with the disease, including the prompt implementation of its interim recommendations, and concluded that the risk of transmission to humans was "remote". All its final recommendations have been implemented.
The Government's commitment to protecting and reassuring the public following the emergence of BSE is clearly shown by the action taken, which includes, in addition, the ban from November 1989 on the use of certain offals which, although not recommended by Southwood, represents a further safeguard to consumers.