Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 9 Jun 2022 Closed: 24 Feb 2023 Parliament page
The UK faces a significant threat from animal diseases, such as Bovine Tuberculosis - which is the subject of controversy over the badger culling that has traditionally been used to control it - and ‘zoonotic’ diseases which can transmit from animals to humans – as is believed to have been … Read more
15 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 3 events
24 Feb
2023
Report published
16 Nov
2022
Report published
13 Jul
2022
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Jul 2022
View on parliament.uk
Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
Colin Dingwall · Animal and Plant Health Agency David Holdsworth · Animal and Plant Health Agency Professor Christine Middlemiss · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Sarah Homer · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health in… HC 42 16 Nov 2022 36 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
8 Recommendation Rejected
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
While the APHA and the Chief Veterinary Officer said that animal diseases had not gone...
While the APHA and the Chief Veterinary Officer said that animal diseases had not gone down in their priorities, the Department and the APHA said that animal disease is one amongst a range of national risks that need to be … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating that Defra already highlights the threat from animal diseases in the National Risk Register and participates in other risk assessment processes.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Rejected
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Chief Veterinary Officer explained that animal disease outbreaks are ranked on a scale from...
The Chief Veterinary Officer explained that animal disease outbreaks are ranked on a scale from one to five with five being the most severe outbreak level and that the current assessment is that the UK has the capacity to cope … Read more
Government Response
The government explicitly disagrees, stating that Defra already highlights animal disease threats in the National Risk Register, contributes to the National Security Risk Assessment, and has its own risk assessment processes, including chairing the HAIRS group and co-funding international monitoring.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Rejected
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The APHA and Chief Veterinary Officer cited the recent example of Avian Influenza.
The APHA and Chief Veterinary Officer cited the recent example of Avian Influenza. This is likely to be categorised as a level three outbreak. While the APHA said that it had coped well in managing this outbreak it had to … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the committee’s conclusion, stating that Defra already highlights animal disease threats in the National Risk Register and National Security Risk Assessment, and has various existing risk assessment and surveillance mechanisms in place.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 35 of 15 classified
Accepted 24
Acknowledged 5
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 3
Total 15 recs + 21 conclusions