I just want to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for raising this very important topic today in the Chamber. Sheep scab is one of the biggest health issues facing sheep farms in my constituency. As a farmer myself, I've injected ivermectin into sheep and have also done dipping. I've also had an ivermectin injection in my own finger. So, I know exactly what it takes to treat sheep scab promptly. Because without proper treatment, people can have serious economic loss to the business and welfare issues for those sheep affected. The Minister knows this is a topic I'm quite keen on, because she and I have met in a previous life to discuss this. 

There are solutions to the problem. In Scotland, sheep scab is a notifiable disease. Maybe this is something the Minister would consider, and maybe potentially a compulsory annual clearance of commons to treat sheep for scab to make sure, before they return to the commons, that they don't go back with any infection. I think it would also help if there was greater surveillance of the disease by Welsh Government, and, also, consideration given to the use of surveillance blood tests in the flocks that are using common land, because it is possible to use blood tests to detect the antibodies that the sheep who have been exposed to scab might have before they develop clinical signs of the disease.

I hope the Minister will take these points on board. As she knows, I'm very keen to work with her to address this problem, because it does affect our own farm and it's an absolute nightmare of a disease. Thank you.