Written question asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative) on Thursday, 28 October 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 November 2010. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Thursday, 4 November 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Meat Hygiene Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of reviewing the (a) responsibilities and (b) efficiency of the Meat Hygiene Service following its transfer to the Food Standards Agency.

Answer: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for delivering official controls in all approved fresh meat establishments in Great Britain under EC Regulation 854/2004. It is not within the remit of the FSA to review its delivery responsibilities under this legislation.In 2007 the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) implemented a number of efficiency programmes. As a result of these programmes the cost of delivering meat official controls in Great Britain has reduced significantly from £91.3 million in 2006-07 to £68.1 million at the end of 2009-10, and in Northern Ireland has reduced from £7.1 million in 2007-08 to £6.6 million at the end of 2009-10. Further savings of £0.6 million from the creation of the FSA's Integrated Corporate Services will be attributed to corporate support for meat official controls. Following the merger with the MHS, the FSA has launched an Operations Programme to review all official controls delivered on behalf of the FSA to maximise its efficiency and effectiveness.

Secondary information