§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to consult(a) the farming community, (b) conservation groups and (c) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the Animal Health Bill. [12346]
§ Margaret Beckett[holding answer 5 November 2001]: To ensure that we are prepared for any emergency we have had to act swiftly in preparing this legislation. There has not therefore been time to consult our stakeholders in the way that we normally would.
We nevertheless intend to consult representatives of those who are affected by these measures on how they will apply in practice. On foot and mouth disease in particular we will be consulting on the detail of the disease risk assessment, which is central to the new arrangements for compensation on infected premises.
66WOn TSEs, the national scrapie plan was subject to consultation in July 2000. That exercise indicated that genotyping would become compulsory at a future unspecified date. We will, however, consult organisations representing the sheep industry about the detailed use that should be made of the new compulsory genotyping powers and their timing.