The UK government is developing a vaccine strategy for animal health and considering vaccine banks, environment minister Baroness Hayman confirmed at a NOAH (National Office of Animal Health) event at Labour Party conference.

Baroness Hayman, the Lords minister with responsibility for animal welfare, biosecurity and veterinary matters, told the fringe event that healthy animals are a precondition for growth and that the government has moved to a prevention-first approach. 

She said access to veterinary medicines, and the innovation behind them, matters to the government’s ambition for the UK to be the best place in Europe to develop vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.

Fiona Harvey, environment editor at the Guardian, chaired the panel, which also included NOAH chief executive Dawn Howard, NFU president Tom Bradshaw and member of the environment, food and rural affairs committee, Josh Newbury.

Baroness Hayman said vaccinating livestock is becoming more routine, but that its trade implications must be understood first before they are more widely introduced. 

Dawn Howard called for the vaccine strategy to come with a clear business case for investment, not only guidance on use. She said there is a strong rationale for UK vaccine manufacturing capacity, given the current geopolitical context, and this should be backed by clear long-term policy. 

Around 90% of veterinary medicines used in the UK are manufactured in or supplied via the EU, Howard said, and new products can often be licensed in the EU 18 months to two years before the UK, while there is a risk some may never reach the UK at all. 

Biosecurity, and illegal meat imports in particular, ran through the discussion. 

Josh Newbury described border biosecurity as “the frontline of our nation’s defence”. He warned that first-hand experience of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak is being lost, and that departmental silos remain a barrier to progress. Tom Bradshaw contrasted the UK’s border checks process with that in Australia and called for core standards for imports.

Baroness Hayman acknowledged that responsibility for illegal imports spans several departments, including the Home Office, the Department for Transport and the Food Standards Agency. For that reason, she has set up a cross-government ministerial group alongside an industry working group.

Elsewhere, the minister recognised the ongoing bluetongue outbreaks and said that the government will shortly be reviewing how they can support farmers better next year. Panellists agreed that preparedness of this kind will matter more as a warming climate brings new disease threats.

Reflecting on the minister’s comments, Dawn Howard said: “We welcome the minister’s confirmation that a livestock vaccine strategy is in development. To make a difference on farms, it needs to come with a clear business case for investment and long-term policy that gives companies the confidence to bring vaccine manufacturing to the UK. 

“Efforts toward preventing a major disease outbreak must be planned across government, not by Defra alone, and it was positive to see this recognised at our event.”

Later this year, NOAH will be publishing an updated set of Livestock Vaccination Guidelines which will support farmers and vets in using vaccines alongside the government’s forthcoming strategy.