§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to increase the rate of TB testing in Gloucestershire; and if she will make a statement. [79314]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 4 November 2002]: Since an additional £3 million was made available to the State Veterinary Service earlier this year, veterinary, technical and administrative staff have been recruited to bring the administrative and veterinary teams dealing with TB in the Gloucester Animal Health Divisional Office up to full strength. Twenty temporary and casual staff have been recruited specifically for TB testing in addition to the normal complement of veterinary officers. This is starting to have a significant impact across the range of critical TB areas.
In early October Defra announced additional measures for the control of bovine TB in England, which included a timetable for the imposition of movement restrictions on herds with overdue tests. Within the Gloucester region the backlog of overdue tests is being actively managed to ensure that the number of herds put under restriction early next year as a result of the new measure is kept to a minimum. A dedicated team of six administrative staff has been set up to support the process. Letters will be sent out shortly to those farmers potentially affected encouraging them to arrange early TB tests. Defra is also maintaining close liaison with the NFU at county level.