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News & Reports red tape
Efforts to cut red tape must not go too far, warns BVA THE BVA is urging Defra not to downgrade the role of vets in food safety and animal health and welfare following a report in The Guardian last week suggesting that the department was considering recommendations for cutting back on health inspections on farms and for using ‘non-vets’ to carry out bovine TB testing. The Guardian reported on November 26 that it had received leaked documents showing that plans to cut back on health inspections had been considered at a meeting at Defra the week before. According to the newspaper, the recommendations were made in a report by external consultants in relation to the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’, which is being driven by the Cabinet Office. The Guardian reported that, among other things, this examined the feasibility of
548 | Veterinary Record | December 6, 2014
reducing 45 forms of animal welfare, farm and environmental inspections, including checks for Salmonella, bovine TB and brucellosis. Commenting on the report on November 26, John Blackwell, the BVA President, said that the Association understood the pressures on public spending and the need for efficiencies and appropriate lessening of the regulatory burden on business, including the agriculture sector. ‘However,’ he said, ‘we cannot overstate the importance of any cuts or changes being carefully considered from a fully informed perspective and with an eye to long term-consequences, not simply short-term expediency. Cuts cannot come at the expense of animal welfare and health, which, if compromised, can have serious consequences for human health and food production.’
He pointed out that Defra worked closely with vets and was aware of the critical role they played in disease surveillance. It was also aware that local vets were regarded as a trusted source of key information to their clients, something that was fundamental to ensuring robust disease control and eradication strategies. ‘If these reports are true, our message to Defra is don’t downgrade the role of vets in food safety and animal health and welfare,’ said Mr Blackwell. ‘It is important to stress that any attempt to reduce regulation by government should not increase risk by reducing the pivotal role vets carry out in public health and food safety, alongside animal health and welfare.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g7418
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 29, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Efforts to cut red tape must not go too far, warns BVA Veterinary Record 2014 175: 548
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7418 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/22/548.1
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Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports red tape
Efforts to cut red tape must not go too far, warns BVA THE BVA is urging Defra not to downgrade the role of vets in food safety and animal health and welfare following a report in The Guardian last week suggesting that the department was considering recommendations for cutting back on health inspections on farms and for using ‘non-vets’ to carry out bovine TB testing. The Guardian reported on November 26 that it had received leaked documents showing that plans to cut back on health inspections had been considered at a meeting at Defra the week before. According to the newspaper, the recommendations were made in a report by external consultants in relation to the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’, which is being driven by the Cabinet Office. The Guardian reported that, among other things, this examined the feasibility of
548 | Veterinary Record | December 6, 2014
reducing 45 forms of animal welfare, farm and environmental inspections, including checks for Salmonella, bovine TB and brucellosis. Commenting on the report on November 26, John Blackwell, the BVA President, said that the Association understood the pressures on public spending and the need for efficiencies and appropriate lessening of the regulatory burden on business, including the agriculture sector. ‘However,’ he said, ‘we cannot overstate the importance of any cuts or changes being carefully considered from a fully informed perspective and with an eye to long term-consequences, not simply short-term expediency. Cuts cannot come at the expense of animal welfare and health, which, if compromised, can have serious consequences for human health and food production.’
He pointed out that Defra worked closely with vets and was aware of the critical role they played in disease surveillance. It was also aware that local vets were regarded as a trusted source of key information to their clients, something that was fundamental to ensuring robust disease control and eradication strategies. ‘If these reports are true, our message to Defra is don’t downgrade the role of vets in food safety and animal health and welfare,’ said Mr Blackwell. ‘It is important to stress that any attempt to reduce regulation by government should not increase risk by reducing the pivotal role vets carry out in public health and food safety, alongside animal health and welfare.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g7418
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 29, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Efforts to cut red tape must not go too far, warns BVA Veterinary Record 2014 175: 548
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7418 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/22/548.1
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
