Foot and Mouth (Hansard, 28 February 2002)

§ Mr. Andrew Turner
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason it was necessary for veterinarians to wait in excess of 24 hours before obtaining permission to slaughter animals identified as suffering from foot and mouth disease. [38210]

§ Mr. Morley
It is not the case that veterinarians had to wait more than 24 hours for permission to slaughter animals infected with foot and mouth disease. The1506W National Disease Control Centre (NDCC) was responsible for the confirmation of disease based on telephone reports from field staff. On 21 March, the then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food agreed that field staff could slaughter animals that they believed were infected with foot and mouth disease, without authority, if they were unable to contact the NDCC within two hours.
In a survey of Temporary Veterinary Inspectors, the British Veterinary Association found that it took TVI's on average, 14.5 minutes to get through to the NDCC and that the longest wait was 2 hours. The average response time by the NDCC was 10 minutes and the longest wait for a response was 4 hours.

§ Malcolm Bruce
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the incubation period for the foot and mouth disease is in(a) cattle and (b) sheep. [38523]

§ Mr. Morley
The incubation period for foot and mouth varies according to the infecting dose, the strain of the virus and the susceptibility of the infected animal. The most likely incubation period for all species is 5 days. The common range of incubation is accepted at between 3 to 8 days, although the maximum range is between 2 and 14 days.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the foot and mouth compensation payments were made by the(a) UK and (b) EU; and if she will make a statement. [39258]

§ Mr. Morley
All compensation payments related to foot and mouth disease have been made by the UK Government. EU Member States may claim up to 60 per cent of eligible costs incurred during the control of foot and mouth disease from the European Commission. In June 2001, my Department submitted a claim to the Commission based on estimated costs of £1,153 million. An updated claim based on costs of £1,663 million was submitted in October.
In accordance with Commission Decision 2001/654/ EC of 16 August 2001, detailed initial information has been submitted to the Commission in support of the UK's claim and we are in regular contact with Commission officials in furtherance of the claim.