Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve biosecurity for farmed animals.

Robust measures are in place to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond and recover from outbreaks. We monitor for new and emerging threats to our biosecurity through our Veterinary Risk Group (VRG) and the Human and Animal Infections Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) Group.

We are also promoting best practice while providing practical support to livestock keepers in England through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. As part of the Pathway cattle, sheep and pig keepers can apply for funded visits by their choice of vet.

Alongside access to disease testing and advice on improving the health, welfare and productivity of their animals these visits are a chance to get bespoke advice on improving biosecurity that reflects the circumstances on each individual farm.

We will also be opening a further application window of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund this spring. This includes £16.7 million of funding towards the costs of a list of items that improve the health and welfare of livestock, with a range of items that can also be used to improve biosecurity on farms.

When outbreaks of exotic notifiable disease do occur Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) stand up their established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist recovery.