Written question asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative) on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 November 2010. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 November 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Meat Hygiene Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision he plans to make for funding of the functions formerly undertaken by the Meat Hygiene Service in each of the next three years.

Answer: The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) merged with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on 1 April 2010, the FSA continues to undertake the functions of the MHS.The FSA is currently developing a new policy for charging for these functions and will be launching a 12 week public consultation later this month detailing its proposals.The responses to this public consultation will be taken into consideration by the FSA in determining the final policy on charging for these functions. Ministers will also be consulted on the FSA's final policy before it is implemented.Any increases in charges to the meat industry arising from the new policy will not take effect until January 2012 at the earliest.

Secondary information