Foot and Mouth (Hansard, 9 July 2001)

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding help for businesses that have suffered losses due to the foot and mouth crisis. [2146]

§ Alun Michael
My predecessor as chairman of the Rural Task Force, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West and Royton (Mr. Meacher), and officials in former DETR and DEFRA, have held frequent discussions with DCMS Ministers and officials as I have done since taking on this role. The Minister for Tourism, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells), is a member of the Rural Task Force, and he and I have met twice since the general election. The Government have provided significant assistance for businesses indirectly affected by foot and mouth disease, including interest-free deferal of tax payments, extra central subsidy where local authorities grant hardship relief from rates, and the £50 million Business Recovery Fund administered by Regional Development Agencies.

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria she has published for the re-opening of public footpaths following the foot and mouth outbreak. [1735]

§ Alun Michael
On 23 May we issued revised guidance to local authorities, based on the latest veterinary risk assessment published at the same time, that it was safe to re-open all public rights of way outside 3 km protection zones around infected premises. The veterinary risk assessment concluded that the likelihood of footpath users transmitting the foot and mouth disease virus was extremely small. Nevertheless, as part of our drive to 375W eradicate foot and mouth disease all path users are urged to observe the precautions published in the codes of conduct issued with the guidance.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the advice her Department is offering to local authorities on the re-opening of footpaths after the foot and mouth outbreak. [1675]

§ Alun Michael
[holding answer 3 July 2001]Guidance was issued by the Government on 23 May, based on veterinary risk assessment, that footpaths outside 3 km protection zones around Infected Premises may be safely re-opened. That guidance remains in place.
As part of our strategy for rural recovery we want to see footpaths and other rights of way re-opened wherever it is safe to do so. This is essential in order to enable rural businesses to return to normal working and is fully consistent with our priority of doing everything possible to eradicate foot and mouth disease In addition I have announced my intention to lift the power of local authorities to impose a blanket ban on use of footpaths in an area except where a local authority can show it is needed to maintain the effectiveness of efforts to eradicate foot and mouth disease. I hope to make a further announcement shortly following the current consultation with local authorities.

§ Mr. Luff
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when and by what means the Government announced its intention to hold an inquiry into foot and mouth disease; if she will ensure that the inquiry considers(a) the merits of greater use of vaccination, (b) the role of the Environment Agency in specifying farms and other sites suitable for burial of carcases and (c) the implication for local communities of mass burial sites; and if she will make a statement. [841]

§ Mr. Morley
[holding answer 26 June 2001]There will be an inquiry, when the disease is finally over. We have always said we are keen to learn the lessons from this outbreak. The precise nature and scope of the inquiry will be a matter for the Prime Minister.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's plans to hold an independent public inquiry into the foot and mouth crisis. [269]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]It is right that we consider very carefully the full range of issues connected with the foot and mouth outbreak. The question of whether there should be a public inquiry is one for the Prime Minister.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to allow an independent audit of the official foot and mouth statistics. [273]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]There is no current plan to conduct an independent audit of the official foot and mouth statistics but the compilation and presentation of statistics will no doubt be among the areas to be considered when reviewing the issues arising from the outbreak.
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§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes there have been for official statistical purposes to the definition of foot and mouth carcase disposal since 20 February. [209]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]Carcase disposal has and continues to be defined for official statistics purposes by reference to the date on which disposal was completed. This is reflected in the statistical data published on the DEFRA website http://www.defra.gov.uk/. The only change has been in terms of the time taken to make information available; previously the time lag tended to make the situation appear worse than it was. Systems have been improved so that statistics are now entered much more quickly and give a more accurate picture.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date the Government defined the foot and mouth outbreak as an epidemic. [284]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]The Government have not set a date from which the outbreak should be considered an epidemic.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information the Government have received from studies of the genetic fingerprint of the virus responsible for the current foot and mouth epidemic in the United Kingdom; and what understanding further to the type O PanAsia strain identification of the virus. [285]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]We have looked at the genetic fingerprint of 27 isolates of foot and mouth disease virus during the current outbreak in the UK. These included representative samples from different areas of the country and from different time-points since February 2001. All were very closely related to the PanAsia strain of FMDV type O. Sequences studied in the Republic of Ireland, France and the Netherlands were essentially identical to the UK isolations.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what scientific advice the Government have received on the type and the overseas geographical source of the viruses responsible for the current foot and mouth epidemic in the United Kingdom. [283]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]The PanAsia strain of FMDV type O (the virus identified in the UK outbreak) is distributed over much of southern Asia. Pinpointing an exact origin has not been possible.
Work is continuing at the Institute of Animal Health to determine the complete genome sequence of the UK outbreak strain and to compare it with the genome sequences of viruses from South Africa, China and South Korea to obtain additional data about the extent of the relationships between those strains.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the duties of EU member state Governments in respect of information and instructions received from the EU concerning restrictions on imports from non-EU countries affected by animal disease outbreaks. [282]
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§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]It is the duty of each EU member state Government to transpose into national law all Community legal instruments adopted by the European Commission in relation to outbreaks of animal disease in non-EU countries and to enforce them accordingly.

§ Mr. Yeo
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the number of(a) calves, (b) lambs and (c) piglets that have been included in the foot and mouth cull but not recorded in official figures for the number of animals culled. [270]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 25 June 2001]Young animals culled as a result of foot and mouth disease are included in the total slaughter figure. This figure, including calves, lambs and piglets, is updated daily on the DEFR A foot and mouth disease website http://www.defra.gov.uk/.