Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Intervention Board : BSE, the cost of a crisis report / by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

  • National Audit Office
Date:
1998
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Intervention Board : BSE, the cost of a crisis report / by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    @ The main features of other schemes; and @ Administrative matters where the Ministry is still facing difficulties. Some of these measures are now intended to help secure the lifting of the European Union ban on the export of British beef and beef products, and this is noted where applicable. 5 | The ban on sale of over thirty month cattle for human consumption has the objective of safeguarding consumers. The Over Thirty Month Scheme has the dual purposes of protecting public health and supporting the beef industry. The scheme provides financial support by enabling the Board to purchase bovine animals over 30 months old when they reach the end of their useful lives, slaughter them, and dispose of the carcasses safely, mainly by rendering and incineration. Sale of animals into the scheme is voluntary - farmers may choose to keep their animals for milking or breeding. [Paragraphs 2.2 to 2.5] G The Ministry and the Board had to set up the scheme within a very short time and under extreme pressure, to meet urgent political worry and concern. In doing so, they had to deal with problems arising from the large number of animals eligible for entry to the scheme and the insufficient capacity of rendering, incineration and storage facilities. The European Union Regulations came into effect on 29 April 1996 and the scheme was fully operational by early May 1996. By November 1996 the Board had increased the weekly slaughter rates from 25,000 to 60,000 and by March 1997 had arranged for the slaughter and disposal of about 1.35 million cattle. [Paragraphs 2.6 to 2.11, 2.51] Ed The National Audit Office regard these as impressive results in the circumstances; but they were achieved at considerable cost to the UK and European Union taxpayer, especially in the early stages. The scheme is now one of the pre-conditions for lifting the export ban. The National Audit Office’s main findings and conclusions on different aspects of the scheme are as follows:
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