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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 16 December 2016 (HLWS369), when in 2017 they intend to apply for Officially TB free status in the Low Risk Area of the country, and what the process for applying for that status will be.

We aim to apply to the European Commission for Officially TB Free status (OTF) of the Low Risk Area of England (LRA) later in 2017. In brief, the application process entails the submission by the UK of a dossier with evidence demonstrating to the Commission that the LRA complies with the requirements specified in Council Directive 64/432/EEC (essentially a very low and stable herd incidence and prevalence of bovine TB for the last six years). The dossier will also have to set out the legislation and control measures that are in place to protect the favourable disease status of the LRA.

All this evidence will be reviewed by the relevant Commission officials who may request further information from the UK before reaching a conclusion. If the Commission is satisfied with the evidence it will make a recommendation for the other EU Member States to recognise the LRA as an OTF region of the UK. Following ratification of the Commission’s recommendation by a majority of the EU Member States sitting at the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF), the Commission will publish a formal declaration of OTF status in the Official Journal of the EU.