BRITISH CATTLE MOVEMENT SERVICE IN LINE FOR E-GOVERNMENT

28 May 2002 02:13 PM

The British Cattle Movement Service's online Cattle Tracing System is in line for a prestigious accolade after being short listed for the final stage of the "Government Computing" Innovation Awards 2002.

The Cattle Tracing System Online service, which has helped encourage greater use of IT and the internet among the farming community, has been short listed for the Best Project for Service - government to business award.

CTS Online enables farmers to supply information about the birth and movements of their cattle to the British Cattle Movement Service via a free, user-friendly website, giving farmers unhindered electronic access to details of their holdings held by Government.

One of its core goals has been to make available electronically the paper-based communications between cattle farmers, markets, abattoirs and BCMS, a branch of DEFRA's Animal Health Directorate. BCMS receives each year 2.75m paper applications for cattle passports and six million movement notification cards, which are sorted and scanned at BCMS' Workington offices.

The CTS Online website went live on February 21, 2001 and to date, more than 13,000 cattle keepers, representing 12 per cent of all livestock owners, have used the facility. Sixteen per cent of all new birth registrations, totalling nearly 5,000 animals a week, are received via CTS online.

Farmers benefit from CTS Online by receiving fewer calls and letters from BCMS requesting clarification of missing or inaccurate data. Validation of birth notifications results in a faster issue of cattle passports. An accurate database helps ensure tractability of British beef and supports efforts to secure greater export opportunities.

David Evans, BCMS director, said: "I am delighted to see this innovative and popular project get the recognition is deserves. Our customers love our web service - it puts them in control."

Karen Swinden, chair of the judging panel, said she was impressed with the quality of the short listed entrants. "They indicate that people throughout the public sector are showing great imagination in the campaign to deliver services to the public more efficiently through the use of IT."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1 CTS Online is one of 20 Government projects short listed for awards covering six categories. Among the other projects short listed for the Government to Business Award are DEFRA's Foot and Mouth Disease Interactive Map; the Inland Revenue's Internet Corporation Tax Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's DVLA Online scheme.

2 The innovation awards have been running annually since 1996 and are sponsored by Syntegra, the global consulting and systems integration business of BT. The awards will be announced on June 12.

3 As part of the Europe-wide drive towards ensuring tractability of beef from "farm to fork", British farmers have been required by law to register cattle births, deaths and movements.

4 CTS Online is a partnership between DEFRA's Animal Identification and Trade Branch, Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly and serves farmers in England, Scotland and Wales.

5 Farmers and other can gain access through their supplied passports or by contacting the BCMS helpline at enquiries@bcms.defra.gov.uk or telephone (0845 050 1234)

Press Enquiries: 020 7238 6094;Public Enquiries: 08459 335577; Press Notices available via DEFRA website
http://www.defra.gov.uk

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