Volume 5: Animal Health, 1989-96
4a. Implementation, enforcement and monitoring of the animal SBO ban
The summaries of returns

4.123 Summaries of returns for slaughterhouses, rendering plants, collection centres, knacker's yards and hunt kennels were compiled initially by Mr Hutchins of the Meat Hygiene Veterinary Section, followed by Mr Simmons from July 1991, and subsequently by Mr Fleetwood from March 1995. The summaries were compiled from reports submitted to SVS headquarters at Tolworth following VFS staff visits to those premises. The summaries were circulated widely within MAFF. ¹ Officials from the Scottish Office Agricultural, Environmental and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD) and the Welsh Office Agriculture Department (WOAD) were later included on the distribution list.

4.124 Mr Crawford explained the procedure in oral evidence:

The divisions sent reports to the region concerning the division, a summarised report of the divisional findings. They went from region to Tolworth to Simmons or Hutchins and he then summarised them to give us a national picture, but he would identify within that summary if there were specific problems. ²

4.125 Mr Crawford added that unless there was a particular reason he would not see the individual reports. ³ Mrs Brown noted that she would not see individual reports unless there was a problem with a particular plant. ⁴

4.126 Unfortunately there are substantial periods for which these summaries have not been provided. These are identified in the sections below.

4.127 Mr Crawford suggested to the Inquiry that the 'embarrassing answer' to the questions surrounding the existence or location of reports of visits to slaughterhouses from June 1991 to early 1993 was that a 'cabinet full of reports' had gone missing during office cleaning upon a change of personnel in MAFF. ⁵