How much did MPs understand about the RBCT?

MPs have to make tough decisions, so would expect them to fully understand the evidence for any particular problem, right? In reality, due to what political scientists call bounded rationality, this is never the case - decision makers always lack complete information, for financial, technical or political reasons. Often this means that decisions are incremental rather than wholly rational or radical step changes.

Nevertheless, there are some things that the civil service - themselves subject to the problems of bounded rationality - can do. For example, they can organise meetings, briefings and seminars for MPs to help them understand the issues for any given policy. In 2004, Defra did just that for bovine TB. Back then, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) was in full swing, although the reactive cull had been stopped.

A transcript for the seminar - imaginatively entitled 'Bovine TB Seminar for MPs' used to be available on the web here and I made use of it in my paper on farmers' understandings of TB (available for free here). It seems Defra have done some tidying and it has disappeared both from their new website and their archived site, although I expect the National Archives might have a link to it somewhere, but you can view a copy here.

The transcript makes for fascinating reading, revealing the extent to which those MPs fully understood the RBCT and the way they approach their work. Whilst John Bourne and Defra staff received some tough and intelligent questioning from MPs like Owen Patterson and Andrew George, there are also some comedy gold moments from Bill Wiggin where the seminar drifts off into misunderstandings around BSE and the over 30 month scheme, and then with Sir Nicholas Winterton - the latter who arrives late and procedes to lambast John Bourne over his work. Perhaps, however, this reveals something more interesting about John Bourne's views on the restrictions on the RBCT. Given all the criticism that was thrown at the RBCT, its interesting that this wasnt remarked more on at the time.

You can read the full transcript here, but here's the excerpt where Nicholas Winterton takes on John Bourne:

Sir Nicholas Winterton MP (Macclesfield): I apologise to our panellists for arriving late. I have growing concern about what I have heard. I come from Cheshire and my dairy farmers are deeply worried about the spread of TB in cattle and the apparent failure of the authorities, most of whom are here, to do anything about it...I ask our distinguished panellists why are we prepared to slaughter cattle at huge expense in very large numbers, yet are apparently not prepared to slaughter the source of TB in cattle in larger numbers? I understand people’s emotional connection to badgers and even to fallow and red deer, but if the animals are spreading it according to the maps we have been given with the brief, we are talking about a crisis situation. When will we get on top of it?...I am sorry, but I come from a rural background and clearly the disease is closely associated with badgers. Is it that they are cuddly little beasts and we do not really want to slaughter them? It is costing us, Professor Bourne, millions of pounds.

Professor John Bourne: I am slaughtering badgers. We are doing it in the way that the Government have indicated that we can do it. We are trying to answer the question whether proactive culling will contribute to the control of cattle TB. I am not having you criticising me for doing the job that we are doing, in what I believe to be a most effective way.

Sir Nicholas Winterton MP: You have not said whether you believe the restrictions imposed on you are limiting what you can do.

Professor John Bourne: We would prefer to have worked without those restrictions.

Sir Nicholas Winterton MP: Thank you very much. That is a very good answer.