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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to review the six day standstill rule.

If livestock move on to a farm the standstill rule requires the farmer to retain all livestock on their farm, in most instances for six days, before being able to move any of them off again. There are a number of exemptions such as moves to slaughter. The aim is to find the balance between reducing the risk of undetected disease spread and the need to trade.

In 2018, officials discussed the rule with representatives of the industry. It was agreed that a review of the rule would need to await the delivery of the new Livestock Information Service (LIS) as this will be a key source of movement data. The LIS will replace the current separate species movement reporting services in England. Delivery is planned to commence in late 2020 and should take approximately 2 years. Any consequent proposals to change the standstill arrangements will be assessed on an epidemiological risk basis and will be subject to public consultation.