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1382980

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of widespread vaccination of the UK’s badger population for the purpose of reducing the spread of bovine tuberculosis; what evidence his Department has that vaccination will be effective in protecting livestock on farms in England; and whether his Department will make provisions to retain culling in areas where vaccination does not prove effective.
tabling member constituency	Torridge and West Devon
tabling member printed	Sir Geoffrey Cox
uin	83273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>Evidence indicates that vaccination reduces disease burden in the badger population, with field trials showing that vaccinated badgers were at least 54% (and up to 76%) less likely to test positive for TB. The same field trial found that when more than a third of the social group was vaccinated, infection risk to unvaccinated cubs reduced by 79% (Carter et al 2012 [1]).</p><p> </p><p>Both modelling in a post-cull environment in England (Smith GC &amp; Budgey R, 2021 [2]), and evidence from Ireland (Martin SW, et al. 2020 [3]), suggests that vaccination following culling should help maintain reductions in cattle TB incidence. In a trial of badger vaccination in Ireland, vaccination was found to be as effective as long-term continuous culling in lowering cattle TB incidence in four of the seven counties studied, which led to a policy change to gradually replace culling with vaccination.</p><p> </p><p>Logically, as badgers cause a proportion of cattle breakdowns and badger vaccination has been proven to reduce the disease burden in badgers, vaccination is expected to result in a reduction in cattle TB incidence where badgers are infecting cattle. However, there has been no trial in England to assess the magnitude or timing of these effects. Accordingly, we are developing a surveillance and monitoring system that will allow us to monitor levels of disease in wildlife and cattle. This will enable government and industry to be more agile in tackling the disease.</p><p> </p><p>Badger culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049833" target="_blank">https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049833</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248426" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248426</a>.</p><p>[3] <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105004" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105004</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 07/12/2021 12:25:35 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	1508 label Biography information for Sir Geoffrey Cox

1380119

registered interest
date	19/11/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to accelerate the implementation of a badger vaccination strategy alongside improved cattle testing, the roll out of a cattle vaccine and stricter movement of cattle.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	78498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2021 answer text <p>As set out in the Government response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s review of the Government’s strategy for achieving Officially Bovine Tuberculosis Free status for England, the next phase of the strategy focuses on developing a deployable cattle vaccine, wider rollout of badger vaccination and improvements to TB testing.</p><p> </p><p>Badger culling will not be halted immediately – as set out in the Government’s response to the January 2021 consultation[1], no new intensive cull licences will be issued after 2022 and new supplementary badger culling licences have been limited to a maximum of two years. Culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.</p><p> </p><p>We have awarded funding for a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex. The scheme, which will see vaccination deployed by the farming community, will help refine future delivery models for deploying large-scale farmer-led vaccination schemes. We are also undertaking Government-funded badger vaccination in an area where four-year intensive badger culling has ended. We are continuing to bolster our capability to deploy even more badger vaccination in post-cull areas from 2022.</p><p> </p><p>Developing a deployable cattle TB vaccine, with the objective of introduction within the next five years, is one of the Government’s priorities. In 2021, world-leading bovine TB cattle vaccination trials began in England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>A change from annual to six-monthly routine surveillance testing of cattle herds was introduced in the High Risk Area (HRA) counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire in September 2020 and was extended to the rest of the HRA from July 2021. Herds in the HRA that meet certain risk criteria can remain on annual surveillance testing. In addition, in July 2021 criteria for mandatory use of the more sensitive, supplementary interferon gamma blood test were changed in order to include new breakdown herds in the HRA with lesion and/or culture positive animals that were officially TB free (OTF) for less than eighteen months, following a previous breakdown with lesion and/or culture positive animals. A number of other options for improving the effectiveness of cattle testing, including pre- and post-movement testing, are currently being considered.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tuberculosis-proposals-to-help-eradicate-disease-in-england" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tuberculosis-proposals-to-help-eradicate-disease-in-england</a></p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 29/11/2021 17:00:27 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1379549

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of vaccinating the UK’s badger population to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis in England.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	76586
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>In its response to the Godfray Review[1], the Government set out its ambition to move from widespread badger culling to wider deployment of vaccination, with epidemiology-driven culling remaining as an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.</p><p> </p><p>We have clear evidence that badger vaccination reduces disease burden in the badger population. Logically, as badgers cause a proportion of cattle breakdowns, badger vaccination would very likely result in a reduction in cattle incidence where badgers are infecting cattle[2].</p><p> </p><p>Modelling of the potential badger control options for post-cull areas was carried out by APHA[3]. Vaccination was found to reduce the number of infected badgers per social group and was comparable with continued culling, indicating that vaccination could be used as an exit strategy from culling to maintain reductions in cattle bTB incidence.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england-2018-review-government-response" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england-2018-review-government-response</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://tbhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TB_hub_badger_vaccination_powerpoint_Sept_2021.pdf" target="_blank">https://tbhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TB_hub_badger_vaccination_powerpoint_Sept_2021.pdf</a></p><p>[3] Smith, G. C., &amp; Budgey, R. (2021). Simulating the next steps in badger control for bovine tuberculosis in England. PloSone, 16(3), e0248426. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248426" target="_blank">https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248426</a></p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 25/11/2021 11:16:53 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1360849

registered interest
date	18/10/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is on track to deliver its commitment to (a) enable the deployment of a cattle bTB vaccine by 2025 and (b) improve testing regimes for cattle; how many farmers and livestock keepers have implemented the bespoke advice on improving biosecurity standards on farms across England given to them by the bTB Advisory Service; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	58372
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>The Government is on track to deliver its ambition to enable the deployment of a cattle TB vaccine by 2025.</p><p> </p><p>Default six monthly routine surveillance testing of cattle herds was introduced in the High Risk Area (HRA) counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire in September 2020 and was extended to the rest of the HRA from July 2021. The additional TB tests have been scheduled and will be conducted from January 2022. Herds that have been in existence for at least six years and have not had a TB breakdown in that period and/or are accredited under the Cattle Health Certification Standards (CHeCS) for bTB qualify to remain on annual surveillance testing.</p><p> </p><p>Following a public consultation at the beginning of 2021, the Government refined its interferon-gamma testing policy for TB breakdown herds in the High Risk and Edge Areas. The more sensitive interferon-gamma blood test is now used to supplement the skin test in recurrent breakdown herds and those that suffer a TB incident within 18 months of a previous incident.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to implementing compulsory post-movement TB testing of cattle moved from higher risk areas of GB into annual surveillance testing parts of the Edge Area. Prior to implementing this policy change, we are considering responses to the recent call for views exercise on more sensitive TB testing options.</p><p> </p><p>We are awaiting a final report from the first iteration of the TB Advisory Service, on the implementation of biosecurity measures following the provision of bespoke advice visits to cattle keepers in the High Risk and Edge Areas of England. Information from this shall be shared once received.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/10/2021 08:20:12 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1231495

registered interest
date	04/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the development of a vaccine for cattle to prevent the spread of bovine TB.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	85092
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2020 answer text <p>Developing a TB vaccine for cattle is one of the Government’s priorities. A cattle vaccine could be a game-changer in terms of providing a strong additional tool to help eradicate bovine TB.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2020, we announced that the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) had granted permission for field trials of both the candidate Cattle BCG vaccine and the candidate skin test to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (the DIVA skin test).</p><p> </p><p>Like other veterinary medicines, both the Cattle BCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test will need VMD marketing authorisations before they can be deployed.</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that field trials will provide the evidence required for future marketing authorisations and for the DIVA skin test to be internationally recognised. The aim is to start field trials in 2021 and complete them in 2024.</p><p> </p><p>Provided the field trials go as hoped, and VMD considers the marketing authorisation applications satisfactory with respect to quality, safety and efficacy, the timeline envisages those authorisations being granted in 2025.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 09/09/2020 13:18:38 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1186761

registered interest
date	20/03/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when field trials of cattle vaccination and accompanied DIVA tests will commence.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	32721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2020 answer text <p>In order to start the field trials, we need permission from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) in the form of Animal Test Certificates (ATC). We submitted applications on 17 October and have more recently answered a number of detailed follow up questions and submitted further information requested by VMD. Subject to award of the ATCs, invitations to tender for delivery of elements of the field trials will commence as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 25/03/2020 16:31:19 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1147548

registered interest
date	01/10/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of vaccinating all cattle against the TB virus.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	292889
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Vaccination of cattle against the bovine TB bacterium is a part of our long-term eradication strategy. There are merits to cattle vaccination as it has the potential to reduce the prevalence, incidence and spread of TB. As with badgers, however, BCG (<em>M. bovis </em>- bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccination is not completely effective, and has no impact on already infected cattle. It also sensitises cattle to the tuberculin skin test used to identify animals infected with TB, so we need to licence an effective test that differentiates between the disease and the vaccine before deployment would be possible.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 07/10/2019 14:58:17 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1037847

registered interest
date	08/01/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers were vaccinated for TB in the last year for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	206346
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>Provisional figures for 2017 show 327 badgers were vaccinated under licence from Natural England. The number of BCG doses made available for badger vaccination was limited in 2017 due to a global shortage and the need to prioritise supplies for human vaccination. Global BCG vaccine supply is now improving and although complete figures for the number of badgers vaccinated in 2018 are not yet available, provisional data returned to date indicate that the number will be higher than in 2017.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 16/01/2019 17:16:06 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1037858

registered interest
date	08/01/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to expand the badger vaccination programme.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	206347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>Landowners and private groups across England can apply to Natural England for a licence to vaccinate badgers against TB. Animal &amp; Plant Health Agency (APHA) provides training for those who wish undertake such vaccination and Defra provides financial support for projects within the Edge Area under the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS).</p><p>BEVS, relaunched in 2018 following a global vaccine shortage, provides matched funding and training for groups that want to take part. Three groups were successful with their applications in 2018. On 13 September 2018 we re-opened the scheme and asked for expressions of interest from those wishing to apply to vaccinate from 2019. The application process closes on 25 January 2019.</p><p>A long-standing research programme at APHA to identify an oral vaccine and a palatable bait in which to deliver it is also ongoing. An efficacy study is currently in progress, with results due later this year.</p><p>We are currently considering the report of the TB Strategy review, conducted by a team led by Professor Sir Charles Godfray, the scope of which includes badger vaccination. A Government response to the review will be published later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 15/01/2019 13:42:08 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1037250

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to examine whether the use of the BCG vaccine on badgers has reduced the incidence of cattle-borne bovine TB.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	205812
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2019 answer text <p>Defra has funded research to model the impact of vaccination of badgers with BCG on the incidence of tuberculosis in cattle, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency has published an analysis of the effect of badger vaccination on the incidence of tuberculosis in cattle in the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project area.</p><p> </p><p>Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s TB Strategy Review report, published in 2018, considered the role of badger vaccination and the Government is currently considering its response.</p><p> </p><p>For further information, please use the following links:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0039250%20" target="_blank">https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0039250</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-analysis-of-the-effect-of-badger-vaccination-on-incidence-of-tb-in-cattle" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-analysis-of-the-effect-of-badger-vaccination-on-incidence-of-tb-in-cattle</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england-2018-review" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england-2018-review</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/01/2019 13:14:02 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew