Mr. Eoin Ryan:

I will deal with the letter and hand over to my colleague, Mr. Ford, to talk about valuation. The letter was based on a recommendation of the TB forum. I will read out a sentence to demonstrate that this was recommended in the TB forum report. Page 6 of the report states, "Provision of biosecurity advice to farmers ... should include detailed biosecurity advice to assist farmers in reducing the potential risk posed by introduced cattle ..." It also states we should "develop revised risk categories which are simple, clear, and convey sufficient information", which should be printed on bTB related correspondence to farmers and would "include a summary of their bTB history and of inward movements into their herd in the previous five years." The letter is based on a clear recommendation of the TB forum. One of the things we are doing is taking on board the feedback from the farming organisations. There is a clear commitment in the new strategy that communications like this, which would enable farmers to reduce their own risk and protect their own herd, will be agreed with the TB forum.