Cattle Compensation (England) Order 2006

My Lords, I apologise to the noble Baroness. I certainly should have said something about TB and the dreadful effect on farmers throughout Great Britain. The noble Baroness wanted me to say something about badger culling and the latest position on that issue. I shall do that shortly. There is consultation on badger culling that closes on 10 March. I emphasise that we are not shying away from making a decision to control badger culling to control TB, but any policy must be based on evidence that it would be successful in the long term and that such a policy would be cost-effective, practicable, sustainable and humane. Any badger policy would have to be part of what can be described as a holistic approach, which balances cattle and wildlife controls. I am grateful to the noble Baroness for giving me the chance to say that.