BSE sampling cost transfer to farming industry: consultation

Proposal to share the cost of BSE sampling between the farming industry and the taxpayer

To establish national incidences of BSE it is an EU requirement that all EU-born cattle (excluding those born in Romania and Bulgaria) over 48 months of age that die or are killed other than for human consumption (commonly known as 'fallen stock') are tested for BSE. (For fallen stock cattle born in Romania and Bulgaria or outside the EU the relevant age for testing is 24 months or older, but there are a negligible number of these cattle in the UK.)

The carcases of fallen stock cattle that require BSE testing are transported to government approved sampling sites where trained staff takes a small sample of brain material for testing before the carcases are incinerated. The farming industry currently pays all the costs of transportation and destruction of the carcases by disposal sites, with the cost of taking fallen stock samples, at a price of £6.25 excl VAT/ £7.50 incl VAT (per sample), transporting the samples to the relevant laboratory, and the laboratory tests being borne by the taxpayer.

We propose to transfer the cost of taking fallen stock samples for mandatory BSE testing from the taxpayer to the farming businesses that already have to submit these carcases to such disposal sites for sampling and processing. This would result in a more equitable sharing of the cost of BSE surveillance between the farming industry and the taxpayer, by transferring the cost from the taxpayer to those farming businesses in Scotland that receive and benefit from the EU BSE surveillance programme, while continuing to safeguard public and animal health (by monitoring for incidence) in a proportionate way. The taxpayer would continue to pay for the cost of transporting the samples to the government approved testing laboratory and for the testing itself.

Over the financial years 2016 and 2017, the average number of samples taken annually in Scotland was 22,083. On this basis, the total annual average cost of this proposal to the cattle farming industry in Scotland would be £165,622 (incl VAT) per year, with an equivalent saving to the taxpayer. The cost per holding would depend upon its number of fallen stock cattle aged over 48 months per year. As there are approximately 12,619 cattle holdings in Scotland, the average would be two fallen stock cattle aged over 48 months per year, giving an average annual cost per holding of £15.00 (incl VAT)

Questions

Have you any comments on the proposal to transfer the cost of sampling fallen stock cattle from the taxpayer to the businesses in Scotland, which benefit from the service?