§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken to put in place a system for measuring the performance of the Food Standards Agency; and if he will make a statement. [69088]
§ Ms BlearsAs a non-ministerial Government Department the system for measuring the performance of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the same as for other Government Departments. The FSA independently prepares its own submissions as part of Her Majesty's Treasury's (HMT) Spending Review although these are submitted to the HMT through my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. HMT approve the funding of the FSA on the basis of their submission and also agree a service delivery agreement setting out the main aims and targets to be achieved over the Spending Review period. A Departmental Report is prepared annually setting out the achievements of the FSA including an assessment of progress against each of the targets.