Speeches by Kirkham.

“Sorry to interrupt, you said the amount there, but how many birds would that equate to out of the £1.78 million?”

“Thank you. Out of those 1.78 million birds, do you have any idea for how many of those compensation had been paid? Would those be figures that you would be able to work out?”

“If it turns out that it is not published frequently, would you commit to publishing it more frequently so people can have access to that data?”

“So you could say at any one time, but do you know how frequently that is published?”

“Thank you very much. We had some figures given to us from the BBC from DEFRA, which said, “Over 1.78 million birds have been culled since 5 November 2024.” How frequently do you publish data about the number of birds being culled as a result of avian flu?”

“Just very quickly, what is the status of avian flu in the UK?”

“We are running out of time; very quickly, what assessment have you made of the potential cost to poultry farmers and the impact on trade as a result of avian flu vaccinations, or will that come in the interim report of the taskforce?”

“Just very quickly, what is the status of avian flu in the UK?”

“What is the rationale behind waiting for 48 hours?”

“We understood from earlier evidence that the Port Health Authorities at the border has been physically making those border checks, but it is only there for a few hours a day. The border control police has been there all the time, but of course it has a whole array of things that it needs to check for. Do you think that…”

“We are running out of time; very quickly, what assessment have you made of the potential cost to poultry farmers and the impact on trade as a result of avian flu vaccinations, or will that come in the interim report of the taskforce?”

“What is the rationale behind waiting for 48 hours?”

“So, it could be three days from reporting. Is that standard, or is there delay? Is it common to have delays?”

“If it is 48 hours after you confirm the sign-off, how long can there be between the reporting of the issue on a farm and the sign-off?”

“It was raised with me when I spoke at a food and farming conference last week in Cornwall that there has been concern that DEFRA only pays compensation for healthy birds. Sometimes, I think, it is paid at the point of cull, and there has been concern about when the cull is delayed. Could you explain what you are doing …”

“We understood from earlier evidence that the Port Health Authorities at the border has been physically making those border checks, but it is only there for a few hours a day. The border control police has been there all the time, but of course it has a whole array of things that it needs to check for. Do you think that…”

“Sorry to interrupt, you said the amount there, but how many birds would that equate to out of the £1.78 million?”

“Thank you. Out of those 1.78 million birds, do you have any idea for how many of those compensation had been paid? Would those be figures that you would be able to work out?”

“If it turns out that it is not published frequently, would you commit to publishing it more frequently so people can have access to that data?”

“You are the ones who have to call them out, are you not? You are the ones who tell them that there is a pollution incident, so it is up to you to report.”