Foot and Mouth Disease Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Louise Jones
Main Page: Louise Jones (Labour - North East Derbyshire)Department Debates - View all Louise Jones's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Foot and Mouth Disease
Louise Jones Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
I am always grateful for invitations from hon. Members and feel that I am permanently on tour, but the hon. Gentleman is right that I have not yet had the opportunity to visit, although the Secretary of State has. Last week, when I was at a conference in York, very senior officials from the APHA gave me a very detailed briefing on the work they do. I share in the thanks to those people who play a huge role in keeping our country safe.
Louise Jones (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)
As a child, I distinctly remember the creeping fear on my family’s farms as foot and mouth moved ever closer. I realised that even as a child, and I feel sick just thinking that we could ever go back there. Many farmers in my constituency have repeatedly raised their concerns over infectious diseases entering the UK. Please can the Minister assure me, and them, that we are doing everything to take this very seriously, and that we have contingency plans in place?
Daniel Zeichner
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reflecting on the awful experiences of 20 years ago. I assure her that we have excellent people, to whom I have just referred, who are working extremely hard to minimise the risk of any further outbreak. We are doing everything we can to prevent that from happening.