Surrey County Conservatives

SCC Conservatives condemn DEFRA’s funding cuts (27th November)

Conservative Councillors today criticised the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for cutting animal health funding to SCC at a time when Foot & Mouth, Bird Flu and Bluetongue have and are afflicting the UK’s farming communities.

In a year when Foot & Mouth exclusion zones were established around the site of a Government laboratory causing widespread disruption to the farming community in Surrey, SCC’s Conservatives feel that the decision to cut funding is really difficult to understand.

Peter Martin, SCC’s Executive Member for the Environment, remarked; “Over the summer and autumn Guildford, Waverley, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath and Woking in particular were dramatically affected by the outbreak of Foot & Mouth. The County’s Trading Standards officers, in concert with other SCC staff, our Borough and District colleagues and Surrey Police, did a fantastic job to ensure that the outbreaks were monitored and contained, and fully supported the DEFRA operations.

Surrey Trading Standards received considerable praise for the work they put in to dealing with the outbreaks, and that was well deserved.

It seems very odd, therefore, that DEFRA have decided to cut funding for animal health. Such a cut would limit the scope of Surrey Trading Standards’ activities, and is to Surrey’s detriment”.

Jim Smith, who proposed a motion at Full Council condemning the cuts added, “DEFRA’s decision to cut funding for animal health is both counterproductive and something of a slap in the face to our hard working staff who have excelled themselves this year under testing circumstances. I should like the Secretary of State to explain why it is that he is following this course of action”.

David Munro, Executive Member for Transport, commented, “I am baffled as to how DEFRA can seriously be cutting funding for animal health at a time when Trading Standards officers all over the country, not just in Surrey, have been working incredibly hard to limit outbreaks of a number of diseases. Our staff here have had to deal with Foot & Mouth, and their colleagues in other counties have had to contend with Bluetongue and Bird Flu. This would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious”.