THE emerging story of Government mismanagement of the foot and mouth crisis confirms my view that agricultural matters such as these are better dealt with locally.

In Wales, for example, the decisive action of the Welsh Assembly limited the foot and mouth outbreak there.

The quick response to the outbreak in Wales contrasts with that in England where it took nearly three weeks before a co-ordinated and concerted approach was taken.

If Yorkshire had a regional assembly I believe we would have been much quicker off the blocks than the Whitehall-based mandarins in supporting rural communities.

With the issue of flooding also on the agenda wouldn't it be so much better to have a devolved regional body able to co-ordinate all the agencies and deal coherently with these sorts of problems in times of crisis to alleviate much of the frustration felt by people in Yorkshire?

Diana Wallis MEP,

Land of Green Ginger, Hull.

...THE foot and mouth fiasco must not be brushed under the carpet for an important reason not mentioned by Robert Goodwill (Letters, November 12), namely that import controls are so pathetic that any disease could easily appear tomorrow and all those animals would have been killed in vain.

To highlight this the National Pig Association's video "Traffic in Disease" has been sent to every MP.

I wonder how many have watched it and what they are going to do about it? Unless effective measures are taken to prevent re-infection farming animals will be too great a risk in this country.

Fred Henley,

Green Farm,

Southfield Lane,

Seaton Ross,

York.

Updated: 10:39 Monday, November 19, 2001