§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Official Veterinary Surgeons are employed by the Meat Hygiene Service; and how many of these carry out meat hygiene inspection tasks in person. [HL2370]
§ Lord DonoughueThe MHS directly employs 55 Official Veterinary Surgeons (OVSs). Veterinary Agencies/Practices supply the MHS with 531 (172 on a full time equivalent basis) OVSs on a contract basis.
In line with EU and GB statutory requirements, all Official Veterinary Surgeons, assisted where appropriate by Meat Hygiene Inspectors, carry out meat hygiene inspection tasks in person.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
In how many instances, where a British Official Veterinary Surgeon employed by the Meat Hygiene Service has been replaced by a veterinary surgeon trained in another European country, has the hourly rate charged for OVS services to the abattoirs been reduced. [HL2372]
§ Lord DonoughueBritish Official Veterinary Surgeons (OVSs) have been replaced by OVSs from overseas on numerous occasions and vice versa as a consequence of both national and local tendering. A change in the hourly rate is a common outcome of such re-tendering exercises. However, information regarding40WA the number of instances where a British OVS has been replaced by a veterinary surgeon trained in another European country and associated hourly rates is not available.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of the hourly rate charged to abattoirs for the employment of Official Veterinary Surgeons of non-British origin is paid directly to the OVSs concerned; what proportion, where applicable, to the employing contractor; and what proportion is absorbed by the Meat Hygiene Service. [HL2373]
§ Lord DonoughueMost non-British Official Veterinary Surgeons are employed by veterinary agencies/practices. Information on their rate of pay is a commercial matter. Contractors supplying the MHS with OVS services are paid an hourly rate based on the bids accepted as part of a national or local tendering exercise. The MHS currently applies an overhead rate of £4.47 per hour to contract OVS rates.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many veterinary surgeons employed by the company Eville and Jones are sub-contracted to the Meat Hygiene Service as Official Veterinary Surgeons; and, for the first quarter of 1999, what sum in excess of the salaries paid to those OVSs was paid to the company either as fees or as a percentage of the hourly rate for the supply of the veterinary surgeons. [HL2374]
§ Lord DonoughueA number of veterinary practices/agencies supply the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) with Official Veterinary Surgeons on a contract basis. Details of the number of employees supplied to the MHS by these individual companies are regarded as commercial in confidence. The salaries paid to such employees are a commercial matter for those involved.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they reconcile the statement by Lord Donoughue on 19 April (H.L. Deb., col. 941) that " … no junior vet … would be able to pursue the law against an abattoir owner" with his replies to Questions for Written Answer from the Countess of Mar (HL2124 and HL2125) to the effect that Official Veterinary Surgeons, whether junior or not, who are individually authorised to carry out various enforcement responsibilities, are able to pursue the law against abattoir owners. [HL2392]
§ Lord DonoughueAs I advised in my statement on 19 April and my replies to Questions for Written Answer from the Countess of Mar, the Meat Hygiene Service operates a hierarchy of enforcement. Within this system, Official Veterinary Surgeons (OVSs) have authority to undertake a range of the lower level of enforcement activities without prior consultation with their senior officers. They may consult with senior veterinary colleagues before taking such action.
41WAHowever, as I also advised on both occasions, any request for investigation with a view to prosecution must be agreed by the MHS Director of Operations before being passed to MAFF Investigation Branch for investigation. MAFF lawyers will decide whether or not to proceed with a particular case on the basis of the evidence gathered.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
What level of competence non-United Kingdom national veterinary surgeons are required to demonstrate in United Kingdom law enforcement practice before they commence their duties as Official Veterinary Surgeons employed by the Meat Hygiene Service; and how that competence is required to be demonstrated. [HL2393]
§ Lord DonoughueOfficial Veterinary Surgeons (OVSs) are not required to sit an examination in law enforcement practice. However, they are given both theoretical and practical instruction in law enforcement practice before they are designated as OVSs. In addition, OVSs have comprehensive instructions and guidance in the Operations Manual and have full support from their senior officers. Furthermore, all enforcement activities in the food sector are suitably balanced by the appeal mechanisms that the law provides.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether increased veterinary surgeons' hours, which are to be or have been imposed on abattoirs, will lead to any direct improvement in the hygiene standards of those abattoirs which are already producing Hygiene Assessment System scores of 95. [HL2395]
§ Lord DonoughueEU meat hygiene rules require an Official Veterinary Surgeon (OVS) to be present throughout the ante and post mortem inspection. The increased presence of the OVS on the spot enables him or her to exercise increased personal control of inspection and hygiene supervision. However, for premises already achieving HAS scores of 95 or more, further increases in veterinary supervision are unlikely to result in a significant improvement of the hygiene standards at such premises.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in small and medium abattoirs where hygiene inspections are currently carried out by Meat Hygiene Inspectors under the supervision of Official Veterinary Surgeons and an increase in veterinary surgeons' hours is proposed or has been implemented, they will require the OVSs to carry out meat inspection duties in place of Meat Hygiene Inspectors as a means of reducing the costs to the abattoirs concerned. [HL2396]
§ Lord DonoughueAs veterinary supervision is increased in licensed premises, the Meat Hygiene Service has undertaken that it will review the staffing42WA levels of Meat Hygiene Inspectors (MHIs) in individual premises. In practice, large plants which already have full time veterinary supervision are unlikely to see any change in the numbers of MHIs deployed. However, in smaller premises, where Official Veterinary Surgeon hours have increased, or will increase substantially, a reduction in inspection levels by Meat Hygiene Inspectors may be appropriate.
In addition, the Government's study of the impact of proposed charges in the slaughterhouse sector, announced on 21 April, will include an examination of the way in which such inspections are carried out so as to ensure that, when charges are set, they are as low as possible, consistent with maintaining public safety and honouring our obligations under EU law.