§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will(a) list in detail the total quality management initiatives implemented by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland and (b) supply evidence of the success of these initiatives since their implementation. [15425]
§ Mr. AncramInitiatives introduced by the Department of Agriculture are based upon the citizens charter, including chartermark. There are early signs that these initiatives are beginning to achieve the desired results.
The Department of Agriculture, in association with local industry bodies, has been instrumental in implementing a range of quality assurance schemes. These, along with success criteria, as determined by the number of businesses and level of production covered by each, are as follows:
Initiative Launch Date Businesses Approved Quality assured Output as percentage of Total Output Farm QA Scheme April 1991 (Beef) 6,143 50 Farm QA Scheme April 1992 (Lamb) 2,000 27 Pig QA Scheme October 1993 232 55