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Dear Consultee

CONSULTATION ON REVIEW OF COMPENSATION RATES FOR COMPULSORY SCRAPIE FLOCKS SCHEME

Martin Morgan wrote to you on 26 July with proposals for consolidation of the TSE (Scotland) Regulations, the TSE (Scotland) Amendment Regulations and the EUTSE Roadmap. In that letter reference was made to a forthcoming consultation on compensation rates for sheep and goats killed and destroyed under Schedule 6A of the TSE (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2004 (this enforces Annexe VII of the Community TSE Regulation on scrapie controls i.e. the Compulsory Scrapie Flocks Scheme ( CSFS)). I am now writing to seek your comments on the details of those proposed preliminary revised compensation rates.

The compensation rates, as set, when the CSFS was launched last year were intended to reflect average values of sheep across different breeds and sectors that might be covered by the scheme that balanced reasonable rates for the farmer, good value for the tax payer and importantly an incentive to report the disease.

We undertook to keep those rates under review and there is now the need to do so to better reflect compensation rates paid particularly for ewes and for animals removed under whole flock cull action. There is now good evidence to support that the rate of £90 for any ewe is disproportionately high for the majority of females removed under the scheme. There is also evidence that in some circumstances compensation rates paid under whole flock cull action has not represented the best value for money for the taxpayer in tackling scrapie.

In the longer-term, we propose to review the current compensation arrangements with the view to establishing a system that more accurately reflects average market value of animals across different breeds and sectors of the industry. We will consult on that separately following further consideration.

We would appreciate your views on proposals to:

1) Reduce the rates for ewes to

2) Retain the current rate of £50 for lambs

3) Reduce the rates for adult sheep and lambs by 50% when whole flock cull is employed.

4) It may also be appropriate in circumstances of whole flock cull where a farmer requests a valuation to reduce the compensation payable to 50% of the valuation or to possibly remove the option of valuation.

5) Introduce the option for SEERAD to appoint a valuer through the Institute of Auctioneers and Assessors in Scotland where there is cause to consider the standard rates to be unreasonably high for particular animals.

This consultation is less than 12 weeks which is the standard minimum period for a consultation exercise under the Government Code of Practice on Consultation. However, this is necessary in order to enable us to have domestic legislation laid in a timely fashion. Parallel consultations are being conducted by the Rural Affairs Departments in both England & Wales.

Please send your comments to Alastair Douglas, no later than 13 October 2005, at the address above. Alternatively responses can be e-mailed to scrapie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk . Your response cannot be made public until the enclosed respondee information form is returned to us and we are obligated to write to those who respond without completing it.

Yours faithfully

Stuart Baxter
Animal Health and Welfare 3

Annexe 1

Summary of proposed revised rates

No change to rates for female sheep under derogation or for lambs in flocks where ram has derogation.

No change to option of valuation by RICS nominated valuer -at farmer's expense- where a farmer thinks the rate unreasonable (except possibly for whole flock cull). However we propose to introduce the option of valuation by RICS nominated valuer where SEERAD thinks the rate unreasonable .

List of Consultees

Copies of this consultation document are available on request from: Alastair Douglas, Animal Health & Welfare Branch 3, SEERAD Tel: 0131 244 6129, fax: 0131 244 4755

It will also be published on the Internet on the following sites:

www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/current.htm

www.scotland.gov.uk/views/views.asp

www.wales.gov.uk/keypubconsultation/index.htm

www.ukonline.gov.uk/CitizenSpace/CSConsultationList

Organisations

Advocates for Animals

All DVMs

All Scottish Faith Groups

All Scottish Local Authority Chief Executives

All Scottish Political Parties

Blackface Sheep Breeders Association

Blue Faced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association

Border Leicester Sheep Breeders Assoc.

British Veterinary Association (Scottish Branch)

Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine

Charollais Sheep Society

Cheviot Sheep Society

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Crofters Commission

Food Standards Agency Scotland

Health and Safety Executive

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Sheep Strategy

Institute for Animal Health Neuropathogenesis Unit

Institute of Auctioneers & Appraisers in Scotland

LACORS

Lleyn Sheep Society

National CJD Surveillance Unit

National Farmers Union of Scotland

National Sheep Association (Scotland)

North Country Cheviot Sheep Society

NSP Breed Traits

Quality Meat Scotland

Road Haulage Association

Roslin Institute

Rowatt Research Institute

Royal Dick Veterinary College

Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, The

Royal Society of Edinburgh

Scotch Mule Association

Scottish Agricultural College

Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers

Scottish Association of Sheep Health

Scottish Association of Young Farmers' Clubs

Scottish Crofting Foundation

Scottish Enterprise

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Scottish Environment Services Association

Scottish Goatkeepers Federation

Scottish Rural Property and Business Assoc Ltd.

Scottish Texel Sheep Breeders Club

Scrapie and Related Diseases Advisory Service

Sheep Veterinary Society

Shetland Flock Book Trust

Shetland Livestock Marketing Group Ltd

Shetland Sheep Society

Suffolk Sheep

Tenant Farmers Association

Texel Sheep Society

The Highlands and Islands Sheep Health Association

University of Glasgow Veterinary School

Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Woman's Food and Farming Union

Contact point

Please send any comments on the proposal by 13 October to:

Alastair Douglas
Animal Health and Welfare 3 (Rm 358)
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
47 Robb's Loan
Edinburgh
EH15 1TY

Tel: 0131 244 6129
e-mail: scrapie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

We require your permission to make your response available to the public, and therefore would be grateful if you could return the Respondee Information Form along with your reply to enable us to handle your response appropriately.

We intend making all non-confidential responses available to the public in the following ways:

• In hard copy at the Scottish Executive Library, K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD by 10 November 2005. Copies of responses can be viewed by visiting the library or can also be provided by post. Charges for photocopies are made on a cost-recovery basis. To request copies by post and enquire about charges or make an appointment to view responses at the library, contact the Library on 0131 244 4552.

• In full or summary form on the Scottish Executive consultation web pages by 17 November.

We also intend to post a summary or analysis of responses received to the consultation on the Scottish Executive consultation web pages.

A new email alert system for SE consultations, SEconsult ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx ) now allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new SE consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultations activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

This consultation, and all other SE consultation exercises, can be viewed online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

Please return this form to:

Alastair Douglas
Animal Health and Welfare 3 (Rm 358)
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
47 Robb's Loan
Edinburgh
EH15 1TY
Tel: 0131 244 6129

e-mail: scrapie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

RESPONDEE INFORMATION FORM