Written question asked by Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour) on Thursday, 22 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 March 2012. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Monday, 16 April 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Schmallenberg Virus

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of mobile incubators in the diagnosis of (a) Schmallenberg virus and (b) other animal diseases.

Answer: The portable incubators were put in place in late March 2012 and this is one method of ensuring that deterioration of samples destined for a number of different types of testing is kept to a minimum. The introduction of portable incubators will not impact on the £2.4 million per annum staff cost savings due to the reorganisation of the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA).The AHVLA detected Schmallenberg so quickly because of its strong European and international links. The Agency's scientific expertise is centralised at its main research site in Weybridge and a critical part of its surveillance capability in this case was the strong relationships that it has with veterinarians through species groups. None of these elements are affected by the current changes to laboratory testing. These measures will continue to ensure the robustness of testing and the AHVLA is confident there will be no decline in the quality of service, including the ability to test for emerging diseases such as Schmallenberg.

Secondary information