§ Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements she will be making to reduce the costs on the meat slaughtering industry; and 537W what consideration she has given to (a) withdrawing the burden of veterinary supervision or (b) directly reimbursing veterinary costs.
§ Mr. SoamesThe Government's policy is that the cost of the meat inspection service should be recovered from the industry. We have taken a number of steps to minimise costs, including in particular the introduction in mid-1993 of an upper limit on local authority charges. We have developed in consultation with the industry a hygiene assessment system, the results of which will help local authorities to ensure that supervision effort is targeted at the plants which present the greatest risk. We have no plans to withdraw the requirement for veterinary supervision, which is a fundamental element of the European single market legislation.
The new meat hygiene service, due to be launched in April 1995 to take over responsibility for meat hygiene enforcement, will be required to meet demanding financial and management targets to ensure that it delivers a cost-effective service.