Foot and Mouth (Hansard, 10 April 2002)

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the conclusions of Professor Mercer's report on foot and mouth in Devon in respect of(a)the handling of the outbreak and (b)the lessons of the 1967 outbreak; [11725]

§ Margaret Beckett
[holding answer 1 November 2001]:The report of a committee of Devon County Counsellors chaired by Professor Mercer clearly provides a local perspective and reflects local views and conclusions. I am afraid I do not accept those conclusions. The recommendations of the Northumberland Committee were taken into account as appropriate during the 2001 outbreak. Inevitably, conditions have changed here and in Europe since the Northumberland Committee's report, and the 2001 outbreak was clearly different in nature and extent to the 1967–68 outbreak.
More generally, the Government's position is set out in its written response to Dr. lain Anderson's independent Lessons Learned inquiry, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what reports she has received from(a)the Army and (b)the Ministry of Defence, regarding their role during the foot and mouth outbreak. [48318]

§ Margaret Beckett
I have not received any reports from the Army or the Ministry of Defence regarding their role during the foot and mouth outbreak.

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimates she has made of the total cost to public funds of the three inquiries following the foot and mouth epidemic. [48202]

§ Margaret Beckett
The estimated cost of the Policy Commission into the Future of Farming and Food is £176,000 (including gross salary costs of secretariat members). The estimated likely cost of the Royal Society study is £320,000. £620,000 has been set aside for the Lessons Learned Inquiry, which expects to complete its work within its budget.

§ Mrs. Ann Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice on re-stocking is issued by her Department to farms culled out as part of the foot and mouth disease control measures in 2001. [46386]

§ Mr. Morley
The Department has provided a wide range of advice to livestock farmers on the re-stocking of farms. This was compiled with the help and co-operation268W of farmers' organisations and representatives and can be found on the Department's website at www.defra.gov.uk/footandmouth/farmers/index.htm
We have explained the procedure that must be followed when restocking which includes arrangements for the cleansing and disinfection of the premises, the testing of flocks of origin and inspection of animals once restocking has commenced. We have also sent out information on biosecurity and herd and flock health including a video on "Biosecurity" and leaflets on "Golden rules for a healthy herd: advice on restocking cattle herds", "Golden rules for a healthy flock: advice on restocking sheep flocks", "TB in cattle; reducing the risk" and "Brucellosis: a reminder for all cattle farmers". These include the recommendation that farmers consult their veterinary surgeon and develop an overall health plan for their herd or flock. This would not only be used for evaluating prospective purchases but could be incorporated into the farm management system.
To cover the wider issues associated with restocking, the Farm Business Advice Service offer up to five days of free business advice for farmers whose livestock have been slaughtered under FMD control measures. Seminars have also been run covering advice on both business and farming operational issues.

§ Laura Moffatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase levels of inspection of food contained in luggage from countries infected with foot and mouth disease. [46430]

§ Mr. Morley
The Government announced on 26 March a programme of work the aim of which is to reduce exotic animal and plant disease entering the country and then threatening our public health and livestock, agriculture and horticulture industries.
The programme includes assessing the disease risks posed by personal imports; work to achieve effective inter-agency enforcement co-operation on the ground, and looking at new, more effective ways of working. We will review, in the light of the risk assessment, the appropriate level and type of resources committed to inspection of luggage.

§ Mr. Levitt
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost of the recent foot and mouth disease outbreak to the(a)cattle, (b)pig and (c)sheep sectors. [46788]

§ Mr. Morley
The recent foot and mouth outbreak is estimated to have resulted in losses of some £3.1 billion to agriculture and the food chain. However, some £2.6 billion has been paid by the Government in compensation for slaughtered livestock and payments for disposal and clean up costs. Separate estimates for the different sectors are not available.