HL Deb 24 April 1996 vol 571 cc98-9WA
Lord Brougham and Vaux

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What targets have been set for the Pesticides Safety Directorate in 1996–97.

Lord Lucas

My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has set the Pesticides Safety Directorate the following targets relating to financial performance, efficiency, the delivery of pesticides approval services and policy advice in 1996–97:

  • To achieve 100 per cent. recovery of costs;
  • To comply with budgetary controls resulting from the Public Expenditure Survey and the Supply Estimates;
  • To achieve an overall efficiency gain of 3 per cent.;

To meet the targets for delivery of services as follows:

Application stream notes Applications completed Maximum processing time (working weeks)
Technical Secretariat1
Normal 255 43
Administrative Fast 400 4
Fast 325 21
Experimental Permit 30 36
Off label 200 12
Other 205 —

Application stream notes Applications completed Maximum processing time (working weeks)
New Substances 1
Sift (EC and UK) 13 24
Active Substance — —
UK: National Rules 8 54
EC: UK Rapporteur 1 54
UK Reviews
Full 3
Other 4 —
EC Reviews
UK Rapporteur 7 —
Non-Rapporteur
(Monograph Co-ordination) 15 —
Total 1,466 —
Notes:
1 The processing time targets apply to 85 per cent. of applications received except the EC and UK sifts for New Substances, where the figure is 100 per cent.
2 The quality of the directorate's scientific and policy work will be subject to separate quality audits.
3 Details of performance in 1995–96 will be set out in the agency's annual report and accounts to be published during July 1996.