Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 1: Wales
4. Departmental responsibilities
Welsh Office Agriculture Department (WOAD)
State Veterinary Service in Wales

4.2 WOAD discharged the statutory and other duties of the Secretary of State for Wales that came within its remit, and provided advice to Ministers so that policies in this area were developed with proper regard to Welsh circumstances. ¹ It administered agricultural support schemes in Wales and most of the relevant regulatory arrangements. It advised on policy proposals and other initiatives emanating from the EU or MAFF, contributed to official discussions of such matters, and advised the Secretary of State about proposed changes in policy, in support arrangements or in the regulation of activities. ²

4.3 WOAD was also responsible for food safety issues affecting the meat industry, including slaughterhouse activity. This was mainly meat hygiene work, which covered the licensing of fresh meat plants after 1993. ³

4.4 WOAD was headed by an Under Secretary (Grade 3) and comprised three divisions - namely WOAD 1, 2 and 3 - all headed by Grade 5 officers. The key division in relation to BSE was WOAD 2, whose responsibilities included agricultural emergencies, farm animal health and welfare, meat hygiene, farm pollution, and agricultural research and development. ⁴ From March 1990, WOAD 2 was headed by Mr Alan Huws.

4.5 WOAD was a relatively small Department and the Secretary of State's role in agricultural matters was in practice limited. It therefore placed considerable reliance on MAFF for guidance on most issues. As with other Departments in the Welsh Office, responsibilities were sometimes delegated to lower levels than at MAFF. The WOAD Grade 3 had wide responsibilities, and thus delegated much of the detailed policy work to Grade 5 and Grade 7 level, which was where most of the submissions on BSE were produced. ⁵ Important policy submissions on BSE were usually prepared by taking the substance of a MAFF text, explaining to the Minister that a decision had to be made on an issue, advising whether MAFF's position appeared sensible and inviting the Minister to signify his agreement. ⁶ Frequently a submission to a Welsh Office Minister would annex MAFF's submission 'in order to avoid transcribing a great deal of detailed background information and analysis'. ⁷

4.6 Given that WOAD had no independent technical or scientific capability in the animal health area, it was unusual for its officials to disagree with a recommendation made by MAFF. Mr John Davies, Under Secretary (Grade 3) at WOAD, could recall two instances in which its 'position' differed from that of colleagues in London. These concerned the question of compensation for farmers who lost stock to BSE (see paragraphs 5.4-5.6), and the composition and work of the expert committee chaired by Dr David Tyrrell, although the lead here was taken by Welsh Office Health officials (see, for example, paragraphs 5.30 and 5.41-5.46). ⁸

4.7 When an agricultural issue had a specific Welsh dimension, WOAD was responsible for ensuring that it was considered by the Government: for example, a problem with sheep scab and its effect on livestock farming in the upland areas of Wales; and an anthrax incident in north Wales. Mr Denzil Davies, a Grade 7 officer in WOAD 2 between 1988 and 1990, said of these:

In situations such as this, WOAD would advise the Secretary of State for Wales so that specific Welsh interests could be put forward in government. BSE was an important issue during my time at WOAD for agriculture in Wales but its implications for the Welsh farming industry were no different to its implications in England. ⁹

4.8 Research into animal health matters was centrally organised through MAFF. ¹⁰ Following an internal reorganisation in MAFF in 1991, in which responsibility for research and development budgets was transferred from the Chief Scientist's Group to individual Policy Groups, WOAD devised procedures to ensure that these Policy Groups were kept aware of Welsh interests and priorities. In addition, an annual Welsh agricultural research and development strategy document was produced, following consultation with representatives of the farming industry in Wales, setting out Welsh research priorities. This document was submitted to the MAFF Policy Groups so that they could take account of Welsh priorities in drawing up their sectoral strategies. ¹¹

State Veterinary Service in Wales

4.9 The Welsh Office, like the Scottish Office, did not have a veterinary department of its own but relied on the State Veterinary Service (SVS), which was part of MAFF, for the provision of advice on veterinary and meat hygiene issues. ¹² This was because, when agricultural functions were transferred from MAFF to the Welsh Office, it was decided that it would not be expedient to split the SVS. ¹³ A Regional Veterinary Officer (RVO) was head of the SVS in Wales and supervised the implementation of the animal health and welfare policies of MAFF and the Welsh Office. He was also designated Veterinary Adviser to the Welsh Office (VAWO). ¹⁴ Dr David Williams, RVO and VAWO for most of the period covered by this Report, described his role as follows:

My input as Veterinary Adviser to the Welsh Office was almost entirely restricted to providing progress reports on the implementation of policies and figures on the number of BSE cases in Wales. ¹⁵

4.10 He also said that, when the Welsh Office required up-to-date information on BSE, it would 'quite rightly' turn to the BSE section at Tolworth in Surrey for that advice. ¹⁶ Meanwhile, Dr Williams had regular contact with Welsh Health officials through his attendance at meetings with the Chief Environmental Health Officers, at which the Welsh Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and members of the Health Professionals Group were present. These meetings included a veterinary slot during which Dr Williams gave a résumé of current issues, which included BSE. ¹⁷

4.11 The SVS's Veterinary Field Service (VFS) provided on-the-spot advice and services to farmers, including advice on disease prevention. In parallel, the Veterinary Investigation Service (VI Service) ran three Veterinary Investigation Centres (VICs) in Wales whose remit was to provide a surveillance function for disease in farm livestock and a diagnostic and advisory service to private veterinarians. ¹⁸ As in the rest of Great Britain, difficult diagnostic problems were referred to the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) at Weybridge in Surrey. Each VIC produced a monthly report of its activities, which was sent to a Senior Veterinary Officer at the VI Service headquarters at Tolworth. A compilation of the most interesting features of the reports was then published as a monthly feature in the Veterinary Record magazine. ¹⁹ According to Dr Peter Dawson, Assistant Chief Veterinary Officer and Head of the VI Service between 1987 and 1995, the Veterinary Record was distributed to private vets who were members of the British Veterinary Association, which also included vets in Government service. He was reasonably confident that every veterinary practice in the country would have received copies of this magazine. In addition, the VICs individually summarised any relevant information received and gathered, locally and nationally, and sent a summary report on a monthly basis direct to private vets in their geographical areas. ²⁰