Christopher Fraser, MP for South West Norfolk, has called on the Government to rethink local council animal health funding cuts following news of the outbreak of Avian Flu on the Norfolk/Suffolk border.
Christopher Fraser said: “I understand that local council health teams across the country were promised funding by DEFRA for the current financial year specifically to prevent and control animal disease. It appears that DEFRA failed to keep track of budgets which it had agreed with individual councils, and that more was promised than was available. Now DEFRA has told large rural councils that they will have to make significant savings in their animal health budget in a year when they have had to face Foot & Mouth, Blue Tongue and now Avian Influenza.
“The Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services has warned that this funding cut will result in animal health officers across the country losing their jobs at a time when the government is expecting strict enforcement of disease control measures.
“Why is it that councils, rather than the Government, have to foot the bill? This is a disgraceful situation and highly irresponsible. I have written to the Secretary of State for the Environment today to register my concern for Norfolk and to urge him to reconsider. It is imperative that Norfolk and Suffolk have the funds they need to contain and control the incidence of Avian Flu, and I fear the Government’s mistake could prove to be a disastrous false economy if the outbreak spreads.”
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