§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what charges are being set for milk hygiene enforcement work for 1992–93.
§ Mr. CurryFollowing consultation with interested parties the Government have today laid before Parliament regulations maintaining the current charge for milk hygiene inspection visits and increasing the charge for visits for sampling and testing of untreated milk undertaken by ADAS. The new charge will come into force on 27 November 1992.
419WThe Milk and Dairies and Milk (Special Designation) (Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 will increase the charge for sampling and testing visits from £47 to £63. This increase is necessary to assist the Government in meeting its ultimate objective of recovering the full costs of milk hygiene enforcement work. The charge for milk hygiene inspection visits will remain unchanged at £92—£71 for producers with fewer than 20 cows—as will the present exemptions from charges for pre-registration inspection visits, for farmhouse caterers and for suppliers in remote areas.
The current milk hygiene enforcement programme will be reviewed in the context of the arrangements that are being made to implement the new EC milk hygiene directive by 1 January 1994. The review will include an examination of the possibility of contracting out the work.