Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 2: Scotland
8. Statutory framework and responsibilities
Legislation on animal health

8.8 Following the 1955 Transfer of Functions Order, the Secretary of State for Scotland was jointly responsible with the MAFF Minister for most animal health matters. This arrangement was consolidated in the Animal Health Act 1981, ¹ which provided that the two Ministers would be jointly responsible for determining policy but that operational responsibility for endemic disease would lie with the MAFF Minister. The exception to this was control of disease caused by Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, tuberculosis and warble fly. The Secretary of State for Scotland had full policy and operational responsibility for handling outbreaks of these diseases in Scotland. In the case of BSE, almost all the secondary legislation introduced in response to the outbreak was made under the Animal Health Act 1981, which applied to the whole of Great Britain and therefore could be used to make joint Orders and Regulations.