Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the response time of authorities to reports of blue tongue virus.

Defra and the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) keep veterinary and operational arrangements under continual review as part of its response to the current bluetongue outbreak. Suspected cases of bluetongue are investigated as part of established disease control procedures, and resources are deployed in line with operational priorities and disease risk. This Government continues to monitor the effectiveness of its response to the current outbreak and to work closely with industry and veterinary stakeholders to support disease surveillance and control activities.

The department recognises the pressures that the increased number of reports has placed on veterinary services and continue to monitor the situation closely. Farmers should also be reassured that expanded testing capacity is in place, with APHA operationally supporting The Pirbright Institute to deliver bluetongue testing.