Defra Vet Labs Could Close
The government is considering proposals to close down laboratories at eight Defra veterinary centres, Prospect Union says.
According to the union, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has submitted plans to the environment secretary for the closures of labs at Langford, Aberystwyth, Truro, Thirsk, Winchester, Luddington, Carmarthen and Preston.
AHVLA, described as “undertaking a review of its delivery network”, proposed that the labs be closed by April 2013, cutting 90 jobs – a third of the laboratory staff employed in the AHVLA's regional network.
National secretary, Geraldine O'Connor, acknowledged that demand for laboratory services would not change and would therefore be undertaken by the remaining labs across the country. She admitted: “There may not be the capacity for those labs to absorb the extra workload and outsourcing some functions is inevitable.”
Defra claims the closures would save ￡2.4 million a year, but Prospect Union argues that any savings would be outweighed by the potential cost of failing to detect diseases such as foot and mouth quickly.
A spokeswoman for AHVLA said that, pending final agreement, “we are discussing the proposals internally but no decisions have yet been made.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
