Oral Ministerial Statement by Hilary Benn on Foot and Mouth and Bluetongue - 8 October 2007
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Statement on Foot and Mouth and Bluetongue
With permission, Mr Speaker I would like to make a statement on this summer’s outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease and on Bluetongue.
On 3rd August Foot and Mouth Disease was confirmed in Surrey. In line with the contingency plan control measures, including a national ban on the movement of susceptible animals, were put in place immediately.
The following day the strain of virus was confirmed as 01-BFS-67. As this strain was not currently circulating in animals, this pointed to the Pirbright laboratory site as a potential source.
I therefore commissioned the Health and Safety Executive to investigate, and Professor Brian Spratt to lead a team of experts in a review of biosecurity arrangements. I am today placing in the Library a copy of these two reports, along with all of the Defra epidemiology reports.
It cannot be said with complete certainty exactly how the virus escaped from the Pirbright site. However, the reports concluded that the most likely explanation was accidental release from the drainage system.
Whatever the route of escape, it should not have happened and we are determined that it does not happen again. I have accepted all of the recommendations in the reports from the HSE and Professor Spratt, and I have set up a review of the regulatory framework for handling animal pathogens led by Sir Bill Callaghan.
A rigorous Improvement Plan has been developed for the Pirbright site to be implemented before full operations with live virus can re-commence and a review, led by BBSRC, will assess the funding, governance and risk management at IAH. In addition a safety alert was issued to all animal pathogen category 3 and 4 laboratories, which will be followed by a round of inspections.
Epidemiological surveillance indicated that it was highly unlikely that the virus had spread outside of the Surrey area. Therefore, given that this surveillance went beyond the EU requirement, that the 30-day minimum time had elapsed, and that no further cases had been identified, the protection and surveillance zones were lifted on 8th September.
Unfortunately, as we now know, there was undetected infection outside of the surveillance zone. On 12th September Foot and Mouth Disease was confirmed in a third case in Surrey and controls were re-imposed. There have now been eight infected premises in total.
On 25th September, given that the disease was confined to Surrey, we created two FMD areas in Great Britain; a temporary Risk Area in the South East and a Lower Risk Area in the rest of the country where certain movements were permitted under licence. Markets re-opened in the Low Risk area last Thursday, and on a visit to Skipton market I was able to see the difference this will make to the farming industry.
The EU has now confirmed that the export of meat can resume from this Friday (12th) from Scotland, Wales, and the North and South West of England. We will continue to work with the Commission to increase the areas from which exports can happen.
Working in partnership with the farming community has been an integral part of our approach to responding to this outbreak and I have listened to the views of the industry about what further steps can be taken to alleviate very real economic and welfare pressures.
Because this outbreak has arisen from an unusual set of circumstances, I am announcing today a package of assistance for the English livestock sector, amounting to £12.5m. The Devolved administrations are proposing to introduce their own schemes.
Subject to the EU state aid rules I intend to make the following available to the farmers most affected:
- £8.5m of assistance to hill farmers, who have been particularly hard hit. This one-off payment will be paid directly to them using the system we already have in place for the Hill Farm Allowance, and will be equivalent to just over 30% of their 2007 payment;
- An increase in the level of subsidy for the Fallen Stock Scheme for farmers in the FMD Risk Area from 10% to 100%. This will not only apply to existing members of the scheme but will be available to all livestock keepers in the Risk area. It will apply to stock which have had to be killed on farm for welfare or other reasons. I anticipate the cost being less than £1m;
- An additional contribution of up to £1m to the Arthur Rank Centre for disbursement to Farming Help charities. These charities focus on providing advice, and practical and emotional support to farming families; and
- £2m for promotion and marketing of lamb, beef and pork both domestically and in our export markets.
The public sector is a major purchaser of meat and I am asking ministerial colleagues to increase opportunities for small and local producers to tender for their business.
We are also determined to do as much as possible to reduce the burden of red tape on farmers at this difficult time. Therefore, I have agreed:
- A delay from 5th January 2008 to the end of April in enforcing the requirement for livestock hauliers to have a certificate of competence for non-export journeys over 65km;
- To seek a derogation from the Commission for grassland farmers to apply above the annual nitrogen application limit of 170 kg/ha, one of the requirements for farmers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones; and
- A one month extension until 13th December for the closing date of the current consultation on implementation of the Nitrates Directive.
In addition I would like to draw to the attention of the House that Natural England and the Rural Payments Agency are not enforcing certain cross-compliance requirements for agri-environment schemes and the Single Farm Payment where breaches of those requirements are caused directly by restrictions relating to Foot and Mouth or Bluetongue, and that the Secretary of State for Transport announced last week that to assist movement of the backlog of animals the rules on drivers’ hours for livestock hauliers would be relaxed for a limited period as markets reopened.
I also welcome the decision by the EU on 3rd October to raise the age at which vertebral column of cattle is considered Specified Risk Material from 24 to 30 months and which will facilitate the sale from butchers of beef with animals in this age bracket.
This decision is subject to a three month scrutiny period by the European Parliament and in the meantime the Food Standards Agency will be undertaking a public consultation.
As if an outbreak of Foot and Mouth was not enough, on 22nd September the first case of Bluetongue was found in East Anglia. Bluetongue is very different to FMD. It is spread by midges, rather than animal to animal, and we cannot stamp it out by slaughtering infected animals. However, the cases we have seen so far are in a limited geographical area and seem to result from midges being carried over the North Sea on the wind. As this happened in August when movement controls were in place because of FMD, this may help in controlling the spread.
By 28th September the increase in cases indicated that the disease was circulating in our midge population and we confirmed the presence of Bluetongue in Great Britain. The Bluetongue temporary area was therefore replaced by a control zone and protection zone.
A clear understanding of the spread of the disease is now crucial to help the industry, with the support of government, to anticipate what may happen and what the appropriate response should be. This requires farmers in the zones to be vigilant and, for the sake of their industry, to report all new cases, so that we can monitor whether spread is occurring. We will keep this approach under review with the industry, not least because the effects of Bluetongue movement controls mean that decisions on control should be taken by the industry and not just by Ministers.
Mr Speaker, this has been an exceptionally difficult summer for the farming industry. I know from talking to many farmers and their representatives just how hard and distressing it has been, and still is, and I am grateful to the industry for their forbearance and support.
I would also like to express my thanks to all those people from Defra, Animal Health and elsewhere whose professionalism, dedication and commitment has helped us to deal with these outbreaks. I am sure the House will wish to express its thanks too.
I will, of course, keep the House informed of developments.
Page published: 8 October 2007