Dr Neil Hudson MP continued his campaign to protect the UK from destructive animal diseases by calling on the new Labour Government to make good on their Opposition calls to fully fund the redevelopment of the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Headquarters in Weybridge.
Our primary defence against infectious animal diseases, the APHA's Weybridge site was at the centre of a major NAO report outlining its need for redevelopment. With the previous Conservative Government committing £1.2 billion to the project, and DEFRA assured Dr Hudson they were making the case to Treasury about the remainder, the new Labour Government has put this and any additional funding at risk by drawing it into their government-wide Spending Review.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Hudson commented:
"The coronavirus pandemic sent the UK one clear message: viruses do not respect borders.
"I learned this the hard way in 2001 where I was on the frontline of the grim and devastating culls that followed the Foot and Mouth Crisis. I saw sights then that do not bear repeating and have campaigned on the issue of biosecurity ever since.
"So with the growing and existing threats from Bluetongue, Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever and more, we cannot be complacent to the very real risks that could face animal and human health, our economy and trade standing, and the wider agri-food industry if a major outbreak were to occur and we were not fully equipped to deal with it.
"Having rightly joined with me in my leading the Cross Party calls for the Weybridge redevelopment when they were in Opposition, I urge Ministers to put their money where their mouth is, and urgently safeguard our biosecurity.
"Investing in the redevelopment of the APHA Headquarters is an investment in our nation’s biosecurity, our economy and the lives and livelihoods of future generations to come."
Dr Hudson, a Veterinary Surgeon who was on the frontline of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Crisis, has repeatedly issued stark warnings about the huge impact a major animal disease outbreak could have not just for animal health but for human health, food security and our economy too.
His comments came during DEFRA Questions in Parliament where he pointed to both new and ongoing disease threats such as bluetongue virus in the UK, African Swine Fever across Europe, and ongoing Avian Influenza and Bovine TB concerns.
Dr Hudson has repeatedly issued stark warnings over the need to fund the APHA, which currently needs and estimated £2.8 billion to transform the Weybridge site, but has only formally secured £1.2 billion from the Treasury. This was after he heard evidence from veterinary experts, Government officials and even the APHA’s Chief Executive during a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee that he was invited to attend on behalf of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, of which he was a member..
Some animal diseases can be zoonotic, meaning they can pass from animals to humans. He therefore pressed the DEFRA to redevelop the Animal Plant and Health Agency’s headquarters in Weybridge to protect the UK from the risks to animal and human health.
The APHA are an executive agency of the DEFRA responsible for protecting and animal and plant health and UK biosecurity. Their headquarters, however, needs an urgent redevelopment to ensure that its facilities are equipped to defend UK’s biosecurity.
This has been highlighted in reports by the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee, which dedicated an evidence session to this specific issue which Dr Hudson was invited to join, given his expertise on animal health. £1.2billion has already been guaranteed by the Conservatives, but a further £1.6 billion could now be required according to the National Audit Office.
While the Labour Party, when in Opposition, joined the calls for the full APHA redevelopment, the Minister replying to Dr Hudson in Parliament made no such commitment and the future of the site remains in a threatening limbo.
Dr Hudson also instigated and led a visit to the Headquarters for the delegation of the previous Parliament’s House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Select Committee of which he was a member.
The full exchange in the House of Commons:
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, asked:
"Animal and Plant Health Agency staff deserve our thanks for tackling a number of challenges facing our biosecurity with outbreaks of bluetongue in East Anglia, the advance of African swine fever across Europe and the already existing threats posed by avian influenza and bovine TB.
"Will the Minister support the APHA by affirming that the Government will fully commit to the redevelopment of their HQ in Weybridge, as they rightly called for an opposition to protect the UK's biosecurity, human and animal health?"
Mary Creagh, Minister for Nature, replied:
"Can I welcome the Honourable Gentleman to his new seat and congratulate him on winning the RSPCA Massingham Advocacy award?
"The Department remains vigilant to potential global disease threats and has in place robust measures to prevent and detect disease incursion. We will be looking at the funding as part of the spending review, but I pay tribute to those officials and veterinary officers who are working so hard to tackle the outbreaks that he mentioned."
