Foot and Mouth (Hansard, 15 January 2002)

§ Paul Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of decontamination and cleansing of farms was following foot and mouth infections. [26026]
291W

§ Mr. Morley
On premises where secondary cleansing and disinfection has been completed, the average cost per farm is about £39,000.

§ Paul Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the change in animal welfare and costs arising from the closure of livestock markets as a result of the foot and mouth epidemic and their replacement by sales via other means. [26035]

§ Mr. Morley
Livestock markets were closed to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. Markets will be reopened as soon as the disease risk assessment allows. In the meantime, livestock producers have found other means of selling their stock and it will be for them and their organisations to decide on how they should best proceed when markets are again available. The costs and benefits of livestock markets is one of the issues we will be considering post-FMD and in the light of the inquiry reports.

§ Tony Cunningham
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much compensation was paid to farmers in Cumbria as a result of foot and mouth. [26048]

§ Mr. Morley
To date the total compensation paid to farmers in Cumbria, as a result of foot and mouth, is £421.8 million. This includes all compensation paid for animals slaughtered (including those slaughtered under the 3km cull) and for seized and destroyed items.

§ Mr. Breed
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which date her Department will use to consider when exports and livestock markets may resume following the foot and mouth disease crisis; and if she will make a statement. [27624]

§ Mr. Morley
On 18 December, the Government announced changes to the livestock movement controls which we intend to introduce in February 2002 provided there is continued progress in eradicating FMD.
From the start of these arrangements, cattle markets will be allowed to resume, but for sheep and pigs, slaughter markets only will be allowed initially. The question of whether to allow other sheep and pig markets will be kept under review in the light of veterinary and scientific advice.
When markets do re-open, they will be subject to strict conditions to ensure that an appropriate level of biosecurity is maintained.
Exports of meat from FMD-free counties in Great Britain to EU countries resumed towards the end of last year but at this stage it is not possible to give a firm date for the removal of all remaining FMD restrictions on intra-community trade. The EU Standing Veterinary Committee will meet on 15 January to consider further proposals to relax the export restrictions, imposed on animals and animal products of species susceptible to FMD, introduced to prevent the spread of the virus.

§ Mr. Peter Duncan
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of blood tests taken from(a) sheep, (b) cattle and (c) other livestock during the foot and mouth outbreak tested positively for the FMD virus. [27025]
292W

§ Mr. Morley
Information on blood tests taken by species is not available. However, of the 2,372 premises from which samples were taken, 56 per cent. returned positive results.
Details of numbers of premises sampled, by county and by premises status, along with the numbers returning positive results, are available in the Library of the House.
Note: 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 4 December 2001. These figures may be subject to change while the data validation exercise is being carried out.

§ Mr. Peter Duncan
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many appeals against valuations for FMD compensation were outstanding on 8 January. [27027]

§ Mr. Morley
On 8 January 2002 there were 1,293 unresolved cases as a result of owners appealing against the valuations of livestock compulsorily slaughtered as a result of foot and mouth disease. Of these, 150 are in Scotland.

§ Mr. Breed
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the recommendations made by each of the working groups at the International Conference on Control and Prevention of Foot and Mouth Disease held in Brussels in December 2001; what plans she has to implement those recommendations in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [27656]

§ Mr. Morley
The Conference's working groups usefully highlighted some of the key areas the European Union needs to address and we will be working with our European partners in due course on a Commission proposal for a replacement European Council Directive concerning the prevention and control of foot and mouth disease. The outcome from the UK's own independent inquiries into the foot and mouth outbreak will also inform these deliberations.
The conference identified the need to develop a broad range of disease control options, based on science and including emergency vaccination, to meet particular circumstances. It was agreed that flexibility in the choice of methods of controlling and eradicating the disease and improved communications are required and that there is an urgent need for tests to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals. The conference also considered ways of preventing future outbreaks, including tightening import controls at the European border.
Copies of the final conference report have been placed in the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries. It can also be viewed on the DEFRA website www.defra.gov.uk/footandmouth.