Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 2: Scotland
11. Comment
The SBO Regulations

11.6 The first occasion was the introduction of the SBO Regulations in Scotland three months later than in England. On food safety matters Scotland had slightly different primary legislation, which meant it had to consult on and introduce its own Regulations on SBO. As discussed in Chapter 3 of Volume 6, it took some months to settle what was to go into the 1989 SBO Regulations for England and Wales, a passage of time that was reflected in the making of the Scottish Regulations. In November 1989 the process was suddenly accelerated at Mr Gummer's instigation. Moreover, a last minute decision was taken to add intestines used for sausage and haggis casings to the banned tissues. As the chronology shows, the Scottish Office sought time to consult and to consider the implications for Scottish interests, as was its duty. This was speedily done and agreement reached to follow suit.

11.7 However, two things then happened. First, defects quickly became apparent in the MAFF Regulations which would need amending Regulations. Second, the MAFF Regulations were prayed against and debated just before Christmas. The Scottish Regulations were not made until late January 1990.

11.8 The consequence was that a category of organs removed from the human food chain at English and Welsh abattoirs from November 1989 continued to be available for human consumption through Scottish abattoirs until late January. The extent to which this delay resulted in an increase in actual exposure to the risk posed by BSE to human health is uncertain. It will have depended upon the number of subclinical cases slaughtered in Scotland during the period in question and the extent to which any of the SBO from those animals entered the human food chain. It seems unlikely that the delay had great practical significance.

11.9 Given the state of knowledge and perceptions at the time, we do not think it was unreasonable that the Scottish Office decided not to make defective and possibly unlawful Regulations while the legislative aspects were being sorted out. Nevertheless, it is plainly desirable that measures such as the SBO ban should be synchronised throughout the UK.