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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure movement restrictions as a result of reported disease outbreaks are reviewed in a timely manner.

Defra recognises the impact that movement controls can have on animal keepers and other affected businesses and seeks to minimise burdens as far as practically possible, while maintaining the integrity of measures to mitigate risk of spread. To that end, movements from restricted zones to designated slaughterhouses are permitted under a general licence, and keepers can apply to move animals to live outside restricted zones under individual licences if pre/post movement tests indicate these moves are safe.

The situation, including the need for and size of movement controls, remains under continuous review.