My Lords, I join in the thanks to the noble Countess for introducing this debate by way of a Motion to Annul. I am staggered by the expertise that there is—not, of course, just from the noble Countess, but from around the House—on what is, as the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, said, a very complex matter.
Hearing about battles that were fought four years ago, I feel like a newcomer to a reunion party that noble Lords are holding tonight. I was the only person who was not part of those or even present—though I see I did vote on that occasion as I have looked in Hansard. I have not read every word of the debate as it went on for nearly three hours, if Hansard is correct.
We recognise that TSEs are a public health issue and that variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a truly terrible disease. I know that noble Lords would like, first of all, to pay tribute to the victims of the human variety and their families. BSE and scrapie are also, of course, very important animal health issues.
These regulations revoke the TSE (England) Regulations 2002. They provide the necessary powers to administer and enforce the directly applicable requirements of the European Union Regulation 999/2001 which lays down the rules for the prevention, detection and eradication of TSEs.
I hope that noble Lords will forgive me if I remind the House why we need these regulations. The EU regulation sets out the objectives for TSE monitoring, control and eradication. However, it does not always say how these objectives should be delivered or set out what should be done if individuals do not co-operate. That is what our national legislation does. The 2006 TSE regulations set out in detail how the requirements of the EU regulation will be delivered and provide the necessary powers to enforce them.
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for referring to the Merits Committee, because if he had not I was going to do so. In their consideration of the regulations, committee members reported that the regulations,"““effect a welcome consolidation of a number of instruments dealing with controls to eradicate TSEs””,"
and were glad to hear of our claims that these regulations were written in clearer and more understandable English than some other regulations. The new regulations are much simpler and clearer than those they replace. Noble Lords will have noticed that they are also half the length.
The new structure of the regulations divides them into common provisions and schedules covering the main areas of control for TSEs. This structure makes the regulations much easier to use and understand. They are largely a consolidation and updating of the existing provisions in this area. They are both reasonable and proportionate and are not gold-plated. However, they do introduce a number of limited changes and I have been asked by the House to deal with one or two of those.
A common appeals procedure has been introduced, replacing the various appeals procedure that existed under the 2002 regulations. This was an issue which the noble Countess raised last time and it was of general interest to the House.
Schedule 3 of the regulations includes a new table compensation system for cattle killed under BSE control and eradication measures. This table is in line with that introduced by the Cattle Compensation Order (England) 2006 and brings BSE compensation into line with Defra compensation arrangements for TB, brucellosis and EBL in cattle. Changes have also been made to the compensation rates for female sheep or goats and lambs or kids in Schedule 4, following a consultation in autumn 2005.
The regulations also slightly amend the requirements for testing cattle aged over 30 months intended for human consumption. These requirements were originally introduced by the regulations of last year and are included in Schedule 2 of these regulations.
A robust system of testing was set down as a prerequisite by the FSA before cattle aged over 30 months could enter the food chain. I was grateful for what the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, said about that. Industry was consulted widely before the introduction of the controls. The evidence indicates that the controls are not discouraging abattoirs entering this market.
The introduction of the OTM testing regime has led to a return of older beef to the food chain and is a very welcome boost in difficult times to the food industry and beef farmers. Farmers are generally receiving prices from the market that are well in excess of previous Over Thirty Months Scheme rates for their older cattle. It was encouraging too to hear what the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, said about consumer attitudes to BSE.
As I said previously, these provisions simply provide the powers and controls that are necessary to ensure that the directly applicable European legislation is enforced properly. A concern was raised on the previous occasion—four years ago—that the regulations gave inspectors the power to kill any TSE-susceptible animals. In revising the regulations, we have given regard to these concerns. The schedules clearly identify where the provisions apply to bovines, sheep or goats respectively.
I turn to some of the questions that were raised. Some of the questions were detailed, quite understandably so, and I shall write a general letter to the noble Countess with answers to those questions which I do not answer in the next few minutes.
A number of noble Lords, including the noble Countess, the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, and the noble Lords, Lord Hylton and Lord Greaves, referred to the qualifications of inspectors. Regulations are enforced by these inspectors, who are either from the State Veterinary Service—they are of course qualified veterinary surgeons—or the Meat Hygiene Service, which oversees abattoirs. They are either vets themselves or qualified meat technicians.
I turn to powers. I know that the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, is very interested in this topic. We have met it in various Bills that we have debated at the Dispatch Box in this Session. I was referred in the course of debate to Rule 17(1) relating to powers of entry. This rule represents no change from previous regulations. The rule states that an inspector shall, on producing a document which shows his authority, have a right at all reasonable hours to enter any premises. These premises will include domestic premises provided that they are used for a purpose in connection with these regulations. If the domestic premises are outside the scope of these regulations, the inspector would be acting ultra vires unless he or she had obtained a warrant before entering.
It is a strong power—I do not want to deny that. No warrant would be required if, for example, the office of the farm—if we are talking about a farm—was in the dwelling house. If it was not found there and it was not reasonable to expect that it might be found there, the inspector would be acting outside his powers. The powers are quite clearly laid down in Rule 17. It is an example of the English used being more understandable.
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations 2006
Proceeding contribution from
Lord Bach
(Labour)
in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 7 March 2006.
It occurred during Debates on delegated legislation on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations 2006.
Type
Proceeding contribution
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679 c737-40 
Session
2005-06
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House of Lords chamber
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2024-01-26 17:56:46 +0000
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