§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many different officers of his Department are involved in the consideration or processing of an application for approval under EC directive 88/657 in order to export poultry meat preparations to other member states.
§ Mr. MacleanApplications are originally submitted to the Ministry's regional meat hygiene adviser—RMHA— who requests a veterinary officer to make visits to the premises in order to offer advice on the changes needed for compliance. Plans are sent to the plans unit at Wolverhampton for scrutiny. After the necessary work has been completed, the final visit, leading to his recommendation for approval, is carried out by the RM HA. This recommendation is endorsed by a senior veterinarian at meat hygiene division's headquarters in Tolworth. These steps are aimed to ensure that the premises complies fully with EC requirements, that approval is likely to be endorsed by any future inspection carried out by EC Commission inspectors and that consistent standards are achieved across the country.