Thought I’d check out the Institute of Animal Health’s annual reports to the Charity Commission, as a follow up to my earlier post on FMD – uncomfortable issues still to answer. Low and behold, there’s the evidence of staff cuts, and lack of capital spending to replace out of date facilities.

STAFF NUMBERS AND COSTS
The average number of persons employed by the Institute (including members of the Governing Council) during the year was as follows:

	2006	2005	2004
Number of Employees	500	560	574
*Wages & salaries	*£12,412m	**£13,841	£13,489m
Social security costs	£936k	£1,042m	£1,008m
Pension costs	£2,375m	£1,280m	£1,242m

* Included within wages and salaries is £2,857,000 (2005: £2,412,000) which relates to an exceptional payment in respect of redundancy costs.

**Note from 2005 annual report says: “The restructuring programme has necessarily been a painful experience with the loss of just under 100 employees.”

LACK OF GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT
In the Institute’s 2004 annual report, it says:

In April 2003 external consultants were engaged to carry out a Master Plan and Feasibility Study to consider what is needed to ensure the long term continuation of the essential role of Pirbright, and future UK needs. The recommendation was to build new laboratories and ancillary buildings on the Pirbright site.

The proposed development includes the opportunity for the Virology Department of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge to move to the Pirbright campus. The estimated cost of this redevelopment is £120m and we are currently working with our main funders, BBSRC and Defra, to secure the funding to enable this vision to be realised.

In the Institute’s 2005 annual report, it says:

BBSRC, OST and Defra formally agreed the £120m funding of the Institute’s Pirbright site redevelopment, recommended after a review by external consultants in 2003, and the project is now moving ahead with a 2010 completion date . The proposed redevelopment includes the opportunity for the Virology Department of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge to move to the Pirbright site.

In the Institute’s 2006 annual report, it says:

Nothing. Airbrushed out. But in the a separate summary document required by the Charities Commission, it says about the year ahead, which is 2007:

Notwithstanding the positive events of last year, the Charity still faces challenges in the future from a reduction in funding from one of its key funders, Defra, and ever increasing competition for funds.

So there you have it. Budget cuts and no investment. And the result of all this, from Defra’s press web page on the Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak:

[In Defra's own interim report of 9th August] The report indicates that infection may be contained to the Surrey area. It concludes that it is very likely that the source of infection is the Pirbright site where Merial Animal Health Ltd and the Institute for Animal Health are located.

Conclusion – Government at fault, no escaping the evidence. The cost to the country of this failure at Pirbright must be many, many millions.