§ David MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will use the veterinary laboratories at Stormont for foot and mouth blood testing as a supplement to Pirbright; [2739]
(2) what confidentiality or secrecy agreements temporary veterinary inspectors have to sign on joining her Department. [2759]
§ Mr. MorleyI replied to the right hon. Member by letter on 6 August 2001 and placed copies of my letters in the Library.
§ David MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to assist small farms following the foot and mouth outbreak. [2555]
§ Mr. MorleyI replied to the right hon. Member by letter on 13 August 2001 and placed a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent assessment is of the impact of foot and mouth disease on the economy of rural Northumberland and its market towns. [4683]
§ Alun MichaelFoot and mouth disease restrictions have had a massive impact on rural economies. We have commissioned a study to help quantify the impact on a selection of areas typical of those affected, and Newcastle university is currently undertaking research specific to Northumberlan.
Twelve market towns in the north-east, including Berwick-on-Tweed and six others in Northumberland, have been selected for inclusion in the market towns regeneration programme announced in the rural White Paper. This will help counter the effects of foot and mouth by providing a boost to the economies and communities of the towns and their rural hinterlands.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department has received in favour of treating the north of Northumberland as a foot and mouth disease free area; and if she will make a statement. [11085]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 30 October 2001]: The Department has received a number of representations on this subject. When the autumn movements arrangements were announced, Ministers said that foot and mouth free status would normally be gained on a county or unitary authority basis. However, it was also made clear that we would consider splitting counties between different foot and mouth disease status if circumstances warranted this. So far, this has been done only in Powys and north Yorkshire, but we are keeping other candidates, including Northumberland, under constant review.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the cases of FMD in sheep in Wales were diagnosed on the basis of clinical symptoms alone; and how many were confirmed positive by laboratory tests. [9852]
299W
§ Mr. MorleySince the start of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, the number of infected premises in Wales which had sheep present totals 107. Of these 107 premises, 94 had laboratory tests conducted of with 54 returned positive results.
Notes:
1. The 107 premises noted above may have contained other animals as well as sheep.
2. A negative lab result does not mean that infection was absent. Each case is confirmed on the basis of a clinical diagnosis of foot and mouth disease by the vet on the farm, supported by convincing clinical evidence.
Source:
DEFRA Disease Control System database as at I November 2001. The figures may be subject to revision as quality assurance of data is carried out.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations the Government have received about a public inquiry into the handling of the foot and mouth disease outbreak. [9850]
§ Hywel WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many representations she has received in favour of a public inquiry into the foot and mouth crisis. [9263]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government have received a number of representations from a variety of sources on this subject. These have mainly been from parish, district and borough councils.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of recent research into the relationship between the number of animals slaughtered during the foot and mouth outbreak and the promptness of the implementation of a 24 hour slaughter policy. [7723]
§ Mr. MorleyThe foot and mouth disease control policy is to slaughter all susceptible animals on infected premises within 24 hours of the infection being reported and, with allowance for limited local veterinary discretion, all susceptible livestock on contiguous premises within 48 hours.
The Department's implementation of the policy is likely to be one of the issues that will be examined by Dr. lain Anderson's lessons learned inquiry.
§ Paddy TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many individual payments have been made to farmers following foot and mouth disease of(a) £1,000,000 to £1,999,999, (b) £2,000,000 to £2,999,999, (c) £3,000,000 to £3,999,999 and (d) in excess of £4,000,000. [11799]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 1 November 2001]: The information on individual payments to farmers that you requested is as follows:
300W
Number of payments £1,000,000 to £1,999,999 56 £2,000,000 to £2,999,999 8 £3,000,000 to £3,999,999 3 In excess of £4,000,000 1
§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many infected premises were identified in Powys in the foot and mouth outbreak. [R] [12834]
§ Mr. MorleyThe number of infected premises cases in Powys is available on the DEFRA website www.defra.gov.uk. The website is updated daily.
As at 5 November 2001 there had been 69 infected premises in Powys.
§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many contiguous culls were started more than 48 hours after samples had been collected from infected animals on the contiguous infected premise in Powys in the foot and mouth outbreak. [R] [12835]
§ Mr. MorleyThe information requested is not available.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers the three inquiries into foot and mouth have to compel(a) Ministers and (b) officials to give evidence. [12612]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 6 November 2001]: Given their non-statutory nature, Ministers and officials may not be compelled by the two Government inquiries or the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food to give evidence. However, Ministers and officials are expected to co-operate fully with the two inquiries and the policy commission and compulsion is not an issue.