§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the annual cost to individual businesses of the proposed Food Standards Agency, indicating the level at which the levy will be set. [79244]
§ Mr. RookerWe have recently consulted on proposals for a levy of £90 per year on food retail and catering premises that are required to register with the local authority under the Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991. The money raised would fund the new costs of setting up and operating the Agency. The Agency's other costs will be met from existing food safety and standards budgets and related cost recovery schemes. Public consultation on the levy proposals ended on 24 March, and we are now considering carefully the responses we received.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the possible liability of Women's Institute markets for the levy included in his proposals for the Food Standards Agency; and if he will make a statement. [79613]
§ Mr. RookerUnder the proposals, published for public consultation on 27 January, the levy in connection with the Food Standards Agency would apply to food retail and catering premises registered under the Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991. Women's Institute markets, like other retail outlets, are required to register if held on five or more days in any five week period. Individual producers preparing food for sale from stalls run by WI Country Markets Ltd. are not themselves required to register, and are therefore outside the scope of the levy proposals.
Consultation on the levy proposals closed on 24 March. We are considering the comments we received before deciding how to proceed.