To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at how many premises registered to house (a) cattle and (b) camelids his officials have been refused entry for the purpose of bovine tuberculosis (i) testing, (ii) tracing and (iii) following up of confirmed disease in each of the last 10 years. (293639)

DEFRA does not hold figures on the number of people who have refused entry to officials for the purpose of TB testing (including tracing tests).

Movement Restrictions are placed on any farms which refuse to comply when cattle testing is overdue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department and its predecessor of (a) research into bovine tuberculosis, (b) support from (i) local authority health officers and (ii) the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in respect of bovine tuberculosis and (c) any other support provided in respect of bovine tuberculosis (A) between 1986 and 1996 and (B) since 1997. (293640)

The information is as follows.

Research

The table provides a summary of TB research cost to the Department from 1998 to 2008-09 and the amount spent on the surveillance contract with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) and on the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT).

A finance review of all bTB expenditure and income in the last 10 years has recently been undertaken. The review has validated all data associated with bovine Tuberculosis expenditure to improve the quality of data provided. As such the table above has been amended to reflect the outcome of the review. This is also available on the DEFRA website.

We are unable to provide figures prior to 1998.

Council health officers and VLA

DEFRA does not receive financial support from local council health officers or the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in respect of bovine tuberculosis, however we are committed to tackling this disease in partnership with all DEFRA’s delivery bodies and the local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given to bringing (a) camelids, (b) sheep, (c) goats and (d) pigs within the scope of the regulatory regime for control of tuberculosis in England. (293677)

DEFRA takes TB in all species, not just cattle, seriously and is committed to dealing with it. Existing legal provisions do allow DEFRA to restrict movements to and from any herd/flock of farmed (mammalian) species suspected of being infected by bovine tuberculosis—so as to reduce the risk of disease spread. In resolving TB problems in such species, DEFRA relies on the co-operation of animal owners to agree testing, slaughter and compensation arrangements.

A review to identify possible new controls that might help better control TB risks to/from non-bovine species is in hand. Any new policy would need to be effective, affordable and proportionate to the animal and public health risks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of average payment per head to abattoirs for the dispatch of bovine tuberculosis reactor, inconclusive or dangerous contact cattle (a) between 1986 and 1996 and (b) since 1997. (293799)

No such estimate has been made. For most cattle compulsorily slaughtered on TB control grounds, DEFRA has received a net payment from abattoirs rather than incurred a cost.

Meat Hygiene Service officials inspect carcasses of such cattle when slaughtered in licensed abattoirs, a small proportion of TB affected cattle are condemned as unfit for human consumption e.g. if TB lesions are identified in more than one part of the carcase. In such cases DEFRA does makes a payment to the abattoir to cover its disposal costs. It is not possible to provide details of slaughter costs in the form requested: typically an abattoir will receive batches of cattle being slaughtered on disease control grounds rather than single animals—if one (or more) of these animals is condemned, the cost to DEFRA will be offset by the total salvage value received from those passed as fit for human consumption.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been slaughtered as bovine tuberculosis reactors, inconclusives or dangerous contacts in each financial year since 1986. (293800)

The following table provides the number of cattle slaughtered in England as bovine tuberculosis reactors, inconclusive reactors and direct contacts. Data for these three categories of reactors are available in calendar years for 1998 to 2008.

I am unable to provide data for TB reactors, inconclusives or direct contacts before 1998.