To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timescale is for the next stage of work of the bovine TB Vaccine Programme Advisory Group. (146620)

The Vaccine Programme Advisory Group provides advice on the science needed to progress towards a vaccine for use in the field.

The research programme for producing an effective vaccine against tuberculosis in badgers and cattle remains broadly in line with the timetable outlined in the 1997 Krebs Report. This estimated:

I. Years 1 to 5: Identification of candidate vaccines and development of differential diagnostic tests;

II. Years 5 to 10: Experimental investigations of vaccination protocols;

III. Years 10 to 15: Field trials.

The first stage started in 1999 and is ongoing. The second stage has also started. Work on badger vaccines includes a project on developing oral formulations and a three-and-a-half year vaccine field trial to gather safety data and assess efficacy on injectable Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The cattle vaccine research programme includes a natural transmission study looking at various candidate vaccines.