Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of stress caused by tuberculosis testing on the rate of abortion in cows.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bovine TB is one of the most significant and costly animal health problems facing our cattle keepers, it has a devasting impact on affected rural businesses. Routine and targeted bTB testing of cattle herds, using effective and validated tests, is a key part of our bTB eradication strategy.
No specific assessment of the potential impact of stress caused by tuberculosis testing on the rate of abortion in cows has been commissioned by Defra.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of cattle that failed the tuberculosis skin test were subsequently found to have tuberculosis lesions at post mortem in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cattle that test positive for TB must be isolated from the herd and are rapidly removed. In 2021, a total of 27,855 cattle were slaughtered for TB disease control purposes in England. The vast majority (94%) of these cattle had a positive result to a TB test, the remaining 6% were considered direct contacts or had 2 inconclusive results and compulsory slaughtered. Visible lesions were found, through post-mortem examination, in 4,869 (18.7%) of the 26,105 TB test positive animals identified in 2021. The absence of visible lesions of TB at post-mortem examination of test positive cattle does not indicate absence of infection.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impacts of tuberculosis (a) initial testing, (b) test failure followed by further testing after 60 days and (c) test failure of stock retained on a farm beyond the intended timescale on farm labour.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A) Details on the number of cattle tested for bovine TB together with the number of test positive animals are included in our regularly published statistics. Here is a link to the latest statistical notice: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/historical-statistics-notices-on-the-incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain-2022-quarterly
B) We have assumed that the reference to ‘failed tests’ relates to cattle with an “inconclusive reactor” test result. Inconclusive reactors (IRs) are cattle that have a differential bovine-avian reaction to the skin test that is not strong enough to classify them as reactors. These animals remain isolated from their herd while awaiting the results of a retest at 60 days. IRs that do not give a negative result at the retest are deemed to be test reactors and removed. Defra and APHA do not view an inconclusive test result as a ‘failed test’. In the High Risk Area of England, 40% of officially TB free herds that only disclosed IRs went on to have a TB incident within the following 15 months. This was similar in the Edge Area (36%) and Low Risk Area (25%). This indicates that IRs are an important predictor of the presence of infection and supports the policy of restricting IRs that pass their 60-day re-test (‘resolved IRs’) to their disclosing herd for life.
C) Defra has made no assessment on the impact on farm labour caused by any overdue tests for cattle with inconclusive test results.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's policy is on whether farmers whose cattle are permanently housed indoors with precautions to prevent badger ingress should pay insurance in case tuberculosis is subsequently detected at the abattoir.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not get involved in cattle keepers’ decisions relating to their bovine TB insurance cover.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential presence of tuberculosis in badgers on land owned by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not have information on the location of land owned by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust. Therefore, no assessment has been made on the potential presence of tuberculosis in badgers.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has held discussions with the Environment Agency on its objections to plans for the North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has not formally objected to Shropshire Council’s proposals for the North West Relief Road. As a statutory consultee, it has been involved in detailed discussions with Shropshire Council and its representatives for several years. Throughout this period, the Environment Agency has offered detailed opinion and advice on several critical matters. Some of these have been resolved and/or noted by the Council. However, the Environment Agency has outstanding concerns about issues to do with protecting the water resources aquifer from which Severn Trent Water draws water supplies for the town of Shrewsbury. The Environment Agency does not consider the information supplied by the Council and its representatives to demonstrate an appropriate level of assessment and risk mitigation. It is for the Council to decide if it wishes further information to be formally submitted to enable the Council Members to make an informed decision. The Environment Agency continues to work with Shropshire Council to resolve this issue and is committed to keeping stakeholders informed.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what account her Department takes in the formulation of food policy of (a) reducing the carbon footprint of food produced and (b) educational research within the industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Delivering a sustainable and nature positive food system that helps us to meet our climate and environmental goals is a priority for Defra.
We have recently launched the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) which will focus on improving the measurement and communication of supply chain greenhouse gas emissions for the food and drink sector. This will enable the sector to better target efforts to reduce emissions. The FDTP will also develop a mandatory methodology to be used when producing voluntary eco-labels for food and drink products. This will improve consistency in how information about environmental impacts is communicated to consumers, which in turn will create a level playing field to enable comparisons between products and enable consumers to make better informed food choices in line with their values.
In addition, the Government is committed to exploring the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions in the agriculture sector. This will enable us to understand where the greatest decarbonisation opportunities could be across the sector, considering all options.
In the Net Zero Growth Plan, the Government has committed to developing a harmonised approach to measuring carbon on farms and will set out how we will support farmers to undertake carbon audits by 2024.
We work closely with a range of experts including scientists, social researchers and economic analysts and routinely review and integrate relevant research into policy development.
Improvements in livestock productivity can reduce emissions, create a more efficient sector and reduce the impacts of pollution to water and air. Defra is funding research exploring ways to reduce emissions from livestock, including investigating the finishing and slaughter age in beef cattle and the effects on management, productivity and emissions.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage young people to work in the agriculture industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Attracting bright new talent that is diverse and inclusive into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming.
We want to raise awareness of agriculture and horticulture as an exciting and attractive career path, and of the incredible range of opportunities available to them in the farming and land management industry.
The Government is contributing towards the establishment of a new professional body, The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH). This initiative is aimed at removing the fragmentation that exists within the current learning and skills landscape for farming businesses, enabling the industry to drive forward greater uptake of skills, creating clear career development pathways and promoting the sector as a progressive, professional and attractive career choice.
The Government is also reforming post-16 technical education to provide clearer routes into skilled employment in agriculture and other sectors. A key part of this is the introduction of the new Technical Level programmes (T-levels) which include pathways in agriculture, environmental and animal health and care. Alongside apprenticeships this provides more opportunities and pathways for young people looking for careers in agriculture and horticulture.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of badger culls in tackling bovine TB and (b) reliability of the TB test used to identify cattle for slaughter; and what estimate her Department has made of the (i) annual cost of bovine TB in Shropshire and (ii) level of bovine TB in that county.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Evidence suggests that the badger cull has been effective in reducing bovine tuberculosis (TB) incidence in cull areas by 45% after three years of culling and 50% after four years. TB statistics for England show that disease incidence (i.e., the rate at which new cases or ‘breakdowns’ are detected in officially TB free herds) in the High Risk Area, where approximately 80% of all the TB-affected (breakdown) herds are located, has been decreasing since 2017. The percentage of cattle herds under TB restrictions in England (prevalence) is at its lowest level (4.5%) since 2010 (4.2%), having peaked at 6.4% in March 2018.
The cornerstone of TB control in cattle and other species is the accurate detection and removal of animals infected with the bovine TB bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) before they can spread the disease to other animals. The main screening test for TB in cattle in Great Britain is the single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin (SICCT) test. This is commonly known as the tuberculin skin test, which is used throughout the world to screen cattle, other animals and people for TB. It is the internationally accepted standard ante-mortem technique for detecting M. bovis infection in most species of mammals, including cattle.
All the official tests used in the ante- and post-mortem diagnosis of TB in cattle are thoroughly validated and evaluated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The SICCT test has a very high specificity, generating on average only one false positive result for every 5,000 - 6,000 uninfected cattle tested. However, it is only moderately (80%) sensitive, with about one in five bTB-infected cattle potentially missed by the test. This is why APHA uses the more sensitive (but less specific) interferon-gamma blood test to supplement the primary skin test in some herds affected by TB incidents. This helps accelerate the detection and removal of all the infected animals in such herds and reduce the risk of repeat (recurrent) breakdowns.
In September 2020 my Department increased the frequency of routine TB surveillance testing for most cattle herds in Shropshire from annually to every six months, with the first additional skin herd tests starting in March 2021.
As a result of the increased frequency of testing, 583,056 animal TB tests were completed in Shropshire in 2022. This resulted in a total of 1,981 cattle being compulsory slaughtered for TB control reasons in 2022 out of 583,056 animal TB tests completed in the county, at an estimated net compensation cost of £1.8M. This was lower than the peak of 2,357 cattle slaughtered in 2011, out of 425,787 TB tests completed in the county.
There were 232 new TB herd incidents detected in Shropshire in 2022, which is the lowest annual figure since 2007 and substantially fewer cases than the peak of 353 in 2013. 11.1% of herds in Shropshire were under TB restrictions at the end of the year.
For the complete and most recent set of official historical statistics for TB in cattle in Shropshire, published by my Department at the beginning of March, please see:
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent wild fires in summer 2023.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In December 2021, the Home Office published the Wildfire Framework for England which identifies responsibilities, clarifies relationships and facilitates coordination at Government level and between key wildfire stakeholders in England. This multi-agency approach mitigates the risks and impacts of wildfire to people, property, habitats and wildlife and to provide an effective response to wildfire incidents.
In addition to the promotion of sustainable land management practices to mitigate against wildfire and the provision of prevention and response training modules to land managers, Defra works closely with stakeholders and other Government departments to coordinate proactive public communications during periods of high wildfire risk.