This consultation started on 6th January 2009 and ends on 30th March 2009.
We are seeking your comments on proposed draft revised Operating Procedures for Animal Health Dairy Hygiene (AHDH) Inspectors that are attached at Annex A.
Responses are required by 30 March 2009
Animal Health Dairy Hygiene is responsible for the enforcement on milk production holdings in England of Regulations (EC) Nos 852/2004, 853/2004 & 854/2004 and the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006. This responsibility is carried out in accordance with the Official Feed and Food Control (England) Regulations 2006, which apply the provisions of Regulation (EC) 882/2004 and that require Competent Authorities to carry out official controls in accordance with documented procedures.
The Procedures provide written instructions for inspectors and set out the responsibilities, tasks and procedures to be followed for carrying out their official control duties. The instructions also detail the system employed for risk categorisation and prioritisation of controls, the documents and equipment to be used and the procedures to be followed in the case of non-compliance.
The revised Procedures at Annex A include:
A new statement outlining AHDH enforcement policy.A revised section on enforcement that details the enforcement hierarchy and how informal and formal enforcement action should be undertaken.Adjustments to the risk rating and scoring system.Financial Implications/Impact
The financial impact of the changes on food businesses is considered to be neutral. The changes to the Procedures relate to the working practices of the inspectors and, where appropriate, have been designed to avoid significant changes to the frequency at which farms are inspected. An Impact Assessment has not therefore been completed. Please inform the FSA if you consider that there are additional costs and burdens associated with these revised procedures.
Queries
Enquiries relating to the contents of this letter and the attached consultation document can be addressed to the contact given above.
Comments on the consultation process itself We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the Consultation Feedback Questionnaire. If any of the mailing information used to send you this letter has changed, please advise us direct using the Feedback Questionnaire. If you would like to be included in future FSA consultations on other topics, please advise us of those subject areas that you might be specifically interested in by using the Feedback Questionnaire.
Comments from consultees and issue of guidance
To inform debate on the issues raised by this consultation, we shall make available copies of the comments received. A summary of the responses to the consultation will be placed on the FSA website. Individual copies of the comments will be available, on request from the Agency's Library and Information Services at Food Standards Agency, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH, telephone number 020 7276 8181/2. A small charge may be made to cover copying and postage. You should give at least 24 hours notice if you wish to visit the library.
Subject to the comments received on this public consultation, the aim is to issue the Operating Procedures later this year.
Publication of personal data and confidentiality of responses
As the publication of responses may include personal data, such as your full name and contact address details, please advise us of any objections to this by fully completing and returning the Publication of Personal Data Form (Annex C) together with your response to the consultation. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential.
In accordance with the provisions of freedom of information legislation, all information contained in your response may be subject to publication or disclosure. If you consider that some of the information provided in your response should not be disclosed, you should indicate the information concerned, request that it is not disclosed and explain what harm you consider would result from disclosure.
Any automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not be considered as such a request unless you specifically include a request, with an explanation, in the main text of your response.
Further information
A list of interested parties to whom this letter is being sent appears in Annex D. Please feel free to pass this document to any other parties with an interest in the subject matter herein, or send us their full contact details and we will arrange for a copy to be sent to them direct. A separate but similar consultation is being undertaken in Wales. A summary of the responses received will be published in due course. This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Consultation. The Consultation Criteria have been reproduced within Annex E.
For details about the consultation process (not about the content of the consultation) please contact: FSA Consultation Co-ordinator, Room 315B Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6NH. Tel: 0207 276 8630.
The following documents relating to this consultation are available: Consultation Letter and Annexes - Draft revised Animal Health Dairy Hygiene Operating Procedures
http://www.tellthemwhatyouthink.org/consultation/con-1881-draft-revised-animal-procedures
seen at 21:25, 10 January in All consultations.