Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 32
52nd Report - Resilience to threats from animal disease
Published 5 Nov 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Resilience to threats from animal disease All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Department said it is undertaking a range of strategic capability building work that will improve long-term resilience, including redeveloping the National Biosecurity Centre at Weybridge, developing a multi-species livestock tracing system, and modernising APHA’s systems and processes. The Department recognised that there is no long-term strategy that brings all its work together in a comprehensive way and confirmed that it will be working on this over the next 18 months. The Department also explained 43 C&AG’s report, paras 4.8-4.9 44 Dr Alexander Waller (TAD0001); The Pirbright Institute (TAD0008); Royal Society of Biology (TAD0009); Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) (TAD0012); British Veterinary Association (TAD0013), NFU (TAD0015) 45 Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Statement of Intent: UK Veterinary Vaccine Availability, 11 September 2025 46 The Pirbright Institute (TAD0008) 47 Letter from Defra to Committee, 18 September 2025 48 Letter from Defra to Committee, 18 September 2025 16 that this will form part of a larger piece of work led by the Cabinet Office to strengthen the UK’s resilience to a range of biosecurity threats across human, animal and plant health.49 49 Qq 59-60 17
From: Public Accounts Committee, 52nd Report - Resilience to threats from animal disease (HC 885), 5 November 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-second Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 5 January 2026).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifth-second report from Session 2024-26
Published 19 January 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the Committee's recommendations it addresses, giving target implementation dates between February 2026 and Summer 2027.
- On preparedness, the department and APHA, working with the Welsh and Scottish Governments, "will review and update as required" disease control strategies for four higher-risk diseases by March 2027, and review all strategies on a rolling three year cycle.
- On vet vacancies, the department is establishing a government veterinary services working group to create a workforce strategy, and "will consult" on reform of the Veterinary Surgeon's Act.
- On APHA modernisation, milestones run from spring 2026 to autumn 2026, but progress "is dependent on future funding arrangements, and additional funding may be required".
- On illegal meat imports, the department is "actively considering increases to the funding" for Dover Port Health Authority, and says funding decisions will take account of preventing the costs of major disease outbreaks.