§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they anticipate having a foot and mouth contingency plan in place. [HL2103]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Foot and mouth disease contingency plans for Great Britain, as required by Article 5 of Directive 90/423, were in place prior to the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease, as were veterinary operational instructions and local animal health office plans. All these were subject to ongoing review and updating.
Since the 2001 outbreak, Defra has prepared revised foot and mouth disease contingency plans. On 12 March 2002, Defra's interim foot and mouth disease contingency plan was published on the Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/contingency/contingency.htm).
33WAOn 3 July 2002, the interim plan was updated and a revised version published, and on 6 November 2002 Defra introduced the foot and mouth disease contingency plan, which was published on the Defra website. This publication was announced to the House in my Statement on the Government's response to the official inquiries.
To meet the requirements of Section 18 of the Animal Health Act, which comes into force on 24 March 2003, Defra is preparing a revised foot and mouth disease contingency plan following wide consultation, which will be laid before Parliament very soon.