Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 2: Scotland
11. Comment
Scotland's assessment of the risk to human health

11.13 However, Scotland, like Wales, had its own statutory responsibilities for human and animal health, including enforcement responsibilities. These required it to make independent judgements. We looked at whether there was any independent effort to assess risk and to contribute to the wider debate on appropriate measures and what Mr Anderson called the 'evolutionary' process.

11.14 On the issue of risk, the MAFF perception that there was little likelihood of the disease being transmissible to humans was generally shared. When he received Mr Cruickshank's February 1988 submission to MAFF Ministers recommending a slaughter and compensation policy, Mr Thomson raised some pertinent questions about the rationale behind it. Thereafter, however, he let these questions lie. He told us that when he raised them it was simply as a 'proposition' to encourage MAFF to focus on issues that the Treasury might raise. ¹ His subsequent advice to Ministers was to follow the MAFF line.