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Bovine Tuberculosis

DEFRA is not ruling anything in or anything out, but if the hon. Gentleman reads the document that we have published today, he will note that we suggest three different scenarios for consultation. He is right that none of them gives the state a role in any culling process. It would be carried out by farmers not only for the reason of cost that he suggests, but because of practicality, as well as the capacity of the Government to deliver. Farmers and farming bodies have understood that during conversations that other Ministers and I have held with them. There is a general desire that farmers should have ownership of any policy that is pursued. On effectiveness and farmer compliance, the hon. Gentleman put his finger on one of the real question marks over how effective a culling policy could be if compliance was not high. The Krebs trials that reported last night showed that the more edges there are, the greater the edge effect. It is better, if possible, to have coherent areas in which culling is intensive and widespread. It is a problem if farmers and landowners in such areas do not want culling to take place on their land because there is no way in which the Government would compel them to cull. The discussions that we have had with farmers and the industry show that they do not envisage that threats to farmers would be a major problem. On the contrary, they rather think that the scheme would be more effective if it were run by farmers because local farmers could get together to organise any possible cull. The Krebs trials have not finished yet. Although the culling has finished—the last culling took place about two weeks ago—the independent science group is still evaluating the latest figures. As the group has indicated, we expect that the latest figures will show more benefit than the earlier ones because, as I said, the evidence suggests that the longer repeated culling goes on, the greater the reduction of bovine TB. The data will be provided as they come through during the consultation and, no doubt, afterwards. On pre-movement testing and costs, I remind the House that the costs to the taxpayer at present are more than £90 million a year. I hope that there is cross-party support for the idea that the taxpayer should not shoulder all the costs and that they should be shared if the Government are doing something that we think will help farmers. In respect of the hon. Gentleman’s question about valuations, there is no appeal.