Dear Sir/Madam
For comment - Draft High Level Control Strategy for Finding BSE in Sheep or Goats
This letter is to inform you that Scottish Government together with the other Rural Affiars Departments, Food Standards Agency (FSA), Department of Health, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency is developing a new UK control strategy should Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) be found to be naturally occurring in sheep or goats. A control strategy is a requirement of EU legislation.
The new strategy will replace the plan that was developed and consulted upon in 2004. The draft control strategy takes into account developments, since 2004, in scientific understanding and of the FSA's strategy to protect public health. We would welcome your comments on the draft new control strategy (appended) so that we can consider your views and revise the strategy as appropriate before it is presented to Ministers.
We would be grateful for your comments on the strategy by 28 November 2008. Please send your response to:
Ian.murdoch2@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
or
Ian Murdoch
The Scottish Government
Animal Health & Welfare Division
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
Edinburgh
EH14 1TY.
As the Scottish Government is committed to a greener Scotland we would prefer to receive your reply by email.
This consultation can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is. This may be your local public library.
The Scottish Government now has an email alert system for consultations (SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces Scottish Government distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all Scottish Government consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.
Handling your response
We need to know how to handle your response, particularly whether it can be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form along with your comments. This will ensure that we are clear about your wishes. All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.
Where respondents have given their permission, responses will be published in association with a report on the consultation. This will be available on the Scottish Government consultation web pages by 18 December 2008. Before publication all responses will be checked for potentially defamatory material. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the Scottish Government Library on 0131 244 4552. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made of this service.
Yours faithfully
Martin Morgan