What discussions it has had with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales on how best to support rural areas to recover from outbreak…

There have been a number of discussions with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales about foot-and-mouth disease recovery. These include my regular meetings with the three UK Agriculture Ministers, which have recently focused on various aspects of foot-and-mouth disease, including recovery measures. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Mr Alasdair Morrison, also hosted a meeting of UK Tourism Ministers in April, at which the main item for discussion was the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on the tourism industry, and the recovery measures which would be put in place, particularly those planned by the British Tourist Authority. In addition to these meetings, Executive officials have been keeping in regular contact with officials from the National Assembly for Wales on foot-and-mouth disease recovery issues.