---

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of differences between (a) the data held on the British Cattle Movement Service Online Tracing System, (b) the data held by the British Cattle Movement Service and (c) the records of cattle keepers themselves; what plans she has to rectify these differences; and if she will make a statement. [85363] Alun Michael: I am assured that there is no difference between the information held on the cattle tracing scheme website (CTS Online) and that held on the main database held by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). The online database is a copy of the main database. The differences that exist between the Government's central database and on-farm records represent those births, deaths and movements that the keeper has taken steps to record on one but not on the other. Our programme of on the spot farm inspections bring these differences to light and we work with keepers to sort their records out. Where serious discrepancies are found, individual animals or, in the worst case, the whole herd of cattle will have a movement restriction placed upon them until the problems are rectified.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

85363; 396 c314W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Databases Cattle Farmers Livestock Transport Cattle tracing system British Cattle Movement Service

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk