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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each year since 2012, what is the number of (1) carcases, and (2) diagnostic samples, submitted to each of the Veterinary Investigation Centres and contractor post-mortem examination facilities.

The number of carcases submitted to each of the Veterinary Investigation Centres and contractor post-mortem examination facilities for each year from 2012 to 27 October 2016 is shown in Table 1 attached.

The number of diagnostic samples submitted to each of the Veterinary Investigation Centres and contractor post-mortem examination facilities for each year from 2012 to 27 October 2016 is shown in Table 2 attached.

It should also be noted that since 2012 the number of Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and non-APHA facilities has changed as a result of ‘Surveillance 2014’, the public consultation, Ministerial agreements and subsequent APHA project that made changes to the way veterinary scanning surveillance is delivered in England and Wales. As part of this some of the former Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency Regional Laboratory sites closed and the non-APHA facilities began operations from late 2014 to provide post-mortem examination (PME) services only. However, in addition to carcase submissions to the non-APHA contractor PME facilities, a small number of non-carcase diagnostic samples have also been received at these facilities.