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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on trends in the level of avian influenza outbreaks.

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, each of the four UK administrators are an integral part of the decision-making process and are represented at the National Disease Control Centre ‘bird table’ meetings. Representatives of each devolved administration also sit on both the Animal Disease Policy Group (a UK wide policy decision making group) and the joint Government – Industry Avian Influenza Core group.

Further information on the avian influenza situation and controls in Northern Ireland can be found on the DAERA-NI website at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/avian-influenza-ai.