The Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2023: business and regulatory impact assessment

Costs

Option 1: Do Nothing (Status Quo)

No additional costs or savings are anticipated with this option. However, compensation would continue to be paid at full market value for cattle presented unclean at slaughter and also where there has been non-compliance in isolating infected cattle, potentially causing further infection throughout the herd and resulting in higher compensation costs. Additionally, no changes would be made to tighten the pre-movement testing requirements around cattle entering Scotland from a HIA, and consequently full compensation would have to be paid for any breakdowns caused as a result of these movements, whereas tighter measures should result in less breakdowns, saving taxpayer money on compensation costs.

Option 2: Introduce changes to TB controls - amend the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2007

End the practice of accepting a clear final short interval test (SIT) at the end of all TB breakdowns as a valid pre-movement test

A pre-movement test acts as an assurance that cattle moving into a new herd are not infected with TB, and this is used for any moves of cattle from a High Incidence Area (HIA) (currently all HIAs are in parts of England and Wales) or for cattle that have lived any of their life in a HIA.

As such, this change would result in an extra cost of the pre-movement test to farmers in the HIA where their farm has had a breakdown and they are selling cattle to Scotland. Currently farmers can use a government-funded test which releases their herd from movement restrictions following a breakdown as a valid pre-movement test. There will be occasions where there is undisclosed infection in the cattle which are moving. This can happen, especially in a HIA, where recurrence of tuberculosis is a feature. The risk is that undetected infected cattle may move from a herd and infect the new recipient herd, in this case bringing disease into Scotland and putting Scotland’s OTF status at risk.

The figures in this table demonstrate infected cattle are still moving into Scotland and in some cases infection is not being found prior to moving these cattle to a new premises. There are typically very low numbers of reactors in Scotland and so any number of reactors is significant for OTF status.

By introducing a further, bespoke pre-movement test in incidents where there is known to have been recent TB infection due to a breakdown, this would create an additional measure that would lessen the risk of undisclosed infection moving into Scotland, thus further protecting Scotland’s OTF status.

Shorten the period during which a pre-movement test with negative results remains valid, from the current 60 days to 30 days after tuberculin injection

As with the above policy, pre-movement testing is in place for any moves of cattle into Scotland from a HIA (currently all HIAs are in parts of England and Wales) or that have lived any of their life in a HIA.

This policy will not result in an increased cost for cattle keepers undertaking pre-movement testing, however this will shorten the period in which they have to move these cattle where the test remains valid. Shortening the period that the pre-movement test remains valid, from the current 60 days to 30 days, would reduce the risk of a negative testing beast becoming infected in the period between the test and the movement to the new destination. This would lower the risk of TB being spread to the post-movement destination and reduce the risk of cattle moving to Scotland bringing TB with them, which could impact on Scotland’s OTF status.

The figures below represent how many reactors and inconclusive reactors (which are then found to be a reactor) are found annually in England and Wales through pre-movement testing.

Shortening the period in which these tests can be undertaken before the move would reduce the risk of further spread of infection within the herd prior to the move to a herd in Scotland. This would protect Scotland’s OTF status and ensure that rates of TB remain low and stable.

Additionally, this change also aligns with the requirements of the EU Animal Health Law. The EU Animal Health Law came in place on 21 April 2021 and the accompanying Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/6882 Article 10 (1)(d)(ii) requires that the traded animals have been subjected to a test for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex with negative results, during the last 30 days prior to departure. This would bring the requirements for cattle moving between domestic countries in line with export requirements. WOAH recommendations for importation of bovids states that they should ‘originate from a herd free from infection with M. tuberculosis complex and have been tested for infection with M. tuberculosis complex with negative results within 30 days prior to shipment’ and thus changing this period would mean Scotland remains in line with the international standard. Not meeting these requirements would affect international trade relationships.

Reduce compensation for unclean cattle at slaughter

The following options were considered:

• Reduce compensation by more than 50%
• Reduce compensation by 50%
• Reduce compensation by less than 50%
• No reduction to compensation (status quo)

This policy is being introduced to incentivise the presentation of clean animals at the slaughterhouse and to encourage the farmer to take better care of their animals. Where Scottish Ministers require the slaughter of cattle for TB purposes, the carcase belongs to the Scottish Government who will organise the disposal of the carcase through a slaughterhouse. Where the meat would be safe for human consumption, the Scottish Government may receive money from the slaughterhouse, known as ‘salvage’. Any income received by the Scottish Government will be less than the compensation which Scottish Ministers pay to the owner of the cattle. The farmer is paid full compensation and any salvage money reduces the cost to the taxpayer by contributing to the invoice for compensation. In the instance that the animal is unclean at the slaughterhouse, the abattoir is required to take measures to make the animal acceptable for slaughter for human consumption. These measures incur a subsequent penalty for the salvage on the carcase and this would come at a cost to the taxpayer. This policy would only apply where the animal has a long term build up of dirt, as opposed to instances where the animal has become unclean in transit which can easily be washed off.

This proposal would reduce this compensation by 50% which would save the taxpayer money in the instance that salvage is lost due to cattle being presented unclean by the farmer, ensuring that the cost to the taxpayer is not higher than necessary. A reduction of 50% would bring Scottish Government policy in line with policy in England. The savings from this policy are likely to be minimal however, as there have been no known cases where animals have been rejected for slaughter due to being unclean in the abattoirs which serve Scotland, but it is considered necessary to have a statutory provision which protects against the potential loss of salvage.

Include requirements for ‘isolation’ in legislation to ensure that proper isolation of reactors and inconclusive reactors is undertaken

Where test positive cattle are not properly isolated, this puts other cattle which are free from infection at risk and may result in further disease circulation within the herd. The more cattle which are infected, the higher the compensation that the Scottish Government pays for the compulsory slaughter of these animals.

Including statutory requirements for ‘isolation’ within the TB Order would make the specific legal obligation clearer when cattle keepers are required by a notice to isolate their cattle. As a reduction to compensation for cattle not properly isolated is a further amendment to this Order, it is important that there is a clear and accessible definition for isolation to support farmers in meeting these requirements.

It is not anticipated that there are any costs related to this proposal, however this may reduce the number of cattle which become infected due to improper isolation, and thus reduce the further spread of infection and the compensation costs associated with this.

Reduce compensation for reactors or IRs which are not properly isolated

The following options were considered:

• The penalty should be more than 95%
• I agree with a 95% reduction in compensation
• The penalty should be less than 95%
• No reduction to compensation (status quo)

As with the above proposal, where test positive cattle are not properly isolated, this puts other cattle which are free from infection at risk and may result in further disease circulation within the herd. The more cattle which are infected, the higher the compensation that the Scottish Government have to pay for the compulsory slaughter of these animals, at the expense of the taxpayer.

Given the extra risk that improper isolation brings to the remaining herd, reducing compensation by 95% for instances of clear non-compliance is a justified proposal. This would encourage good isolation practices and reduce the risk of onward infection on farm and the associated higher costs of compensation.

This proposal will ensure that the compensation cost is not met by the taxpayer where there has been a failure to properly isolate animals which are affected, or suspected of being affected, with TB. This encourages compliance with legislation to ensure that herds are protected from further spread of infection and protects the taxpayer from meeting the cost of increased compensation from a failure to isolate animals carrying (or suspected of carrying) infection.

The intention of this policy is to deter keepers from disregarding the requirement to isolate at the risk of infecting further cattle with TB. A 95% reduction was deemed to be justifiable, as the cost of a consequent onward spread of disease as a result of a failure to isolate would come at a significantly higher cost to the taxpayer.

Additional amendments not consulted on

In 2018, an amendment was made to introduce a compensation cap for reactors slaughtered for tuberculosis. The legislation has been amended, and now puts in place a compensation cap for all bovine animals caused to be slaughtered for reasons of tuberculosis.