Tim Farron, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming and Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale has criticised the Government after a report issued today called the animal health facility at Pirbright "shabby and dilapidated". DEFRA, who were responsible for the facility, were heavily criticised by the report, along with several other organisations.
Local MP Tim Farron has today warned the Government that they may have seriously under estimated the amount of blue tongue vaccine. Mr Farron has obtained information through a parliamentary question to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that an order has been placed for 22 million doses of the BTV8 vaccine which must be administered twice to cattle in order to be effective. This is unlikely to be sufficient to vaccinate the vast number of farm animals in Britain against the disease, which is likely to become more prevalent as summer approaches.
This week a group of Liberal Democrat MPs, including Health Spokesman Norman Lamb, Tim Farron and Jenny Willott, met with lawyers for victims of Vioxx to discuss the situation of British sufferers of Vioxx, who have been denied access to justice by the US courts. Both Tim and Jenny have constituents who have suffered heart attacks and are trying to take legal action.
Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, has issued the following statement following his resignation from his post as Countryside spokesman for the Liberal Democrats:
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP and Lib Dem Countryside spokesman Tim Farron has spoken of the need for a standardised labelling system for British poultry and other meat so that increasingly discerning consumers can be sure of the origin of the meat that they are purchasing.
Tim Farron is to meet with Transport Minister Rosie Winterton to discuss the use of North West concessionary (NoW) cards in the Lake District. This meeting was requested by the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale when it came to light that this scheme cost more for the South Lakeland District Council because of the high tourist rate of the Lake District.