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Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure

Status: Closed Opened: 9 Jun 2022 Closed: 24 Feb 2023 15 recommendations 21 conclusions 1 report

The UK faces a significant threat from animal diseases, such as Bovine Tuberculosis - which is the subject of controversy over the badger culling that has traditionally been used to control it - and ‘zoonotic’ diseases which can transmit from animals to humans – as is believed to have been the origin of the Covid … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal heal… HC 42 16 Nov 2022 36 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
8 Recommendation Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of… Rejected

While the APHA and the Chief Veterinary Officer said that animal diseases had not gone...

While the APHA and the Chief Veterinary Officer said that animal diseases had not gone down in their priorities, the Department and the APHA said that animal disease is one amongst a range of national risks that need to be managed.14 The Department stated that it thought there was a … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating that Defra already highlights the threat from animal diseases in the National Risk Register and participates in other risk assessment processes.
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HM Treasury
20 Conclusion Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of… Rejected

The Chief Veterinary Officer explained that animal disease outbreaks are ranked on a scale from...

The Chief Veterinary Officer explained that animal disease outbreaks are ranked on a scale from one to five with five being the most severe outbreak level and that the current assessment is that the UK has the capacity to cope with a level three outbreak. The APHA and Chief Veterinary … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government explicitly disagrees, stating that Defra already highlights animal disease threats in the National Risk Register, contributes to the National Security Risk Assessment, and has its own risk assessment processes, including chairing the HAIRS group and co-funding international monitoring.
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HM Treasury
21 Conclusion Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of… Rejected

The APHA and Chief Veterinary Officer cited the recent example of Avian Influenza.

The APHA and Chief Veterinary Officer cited the recent example of Avian Influenza. This is likely to be categorised as a level three outbreak. While the APHA said that it had coped well in managing this outbreak it had to deprioritise its other work. In particular, it had meant delaying … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the committee’s conclusion, stating that Defra already highlights animal disease threats in the National Risk Register and National Security Risk Assessment, and has various existing risk assessment and surveillance mechanisms in place.
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HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
13 Jul 2022 Colin Dingwall · Animal and Plant Health Agency, David Holdsworth · Animal and Plant Health Agency, Professor Christine Middlemiss · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Sarah Homer · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs View ↗

Who gave evidence

5 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Colin Dingwall · Senior Responsible Owner for the SCAH Programme Animal and Plant Health Agency 1
David Holdsworth · Chief Executive Animal and Plant Health Agency 1
Professor Christine Middlemiss · UK Chief Veterinary Officer at Department for Env… Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1
Sarah Homer · Director General, Portfolio Delivery Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1
Tamara Finkelstein · Permanent Secretary Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1