§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made since the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease to strengthen measures for dealing with any new outbreak. [100551]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government's Response to the Reports of the Foot and Mouth Disease Inquiries (Cm 5637, November 2002) sets out measures taken and work in hand to implement the lessons learned from the 2001 outbreak. Progress has been made in many areas. Measures of particular note are
the Animal Health Act 2002, which adds to powers to deal swiftly with outbreaks in England and Wales. Similar legislation is in preparation in Scotland.1289Wan improved Foot and Mouth Disease Contingency Plan which is currently subject to consultation prior to being laid before Parliament at the end of this month; this includes enhanced preparedness for emergency vaccination;tighter controls on animal movements and markets, and higher standards of biosecurity in use of livestock vehicles.In addition preventive measures have been taken, for example to minimise illegal imports of meat and meat products and to ban swill feeding.