§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many inspectors are currently available to carry out meat inspections in each region. [23112]
§ Mrs. BrowningI have asked the chief executive of the Meat Hygiene Service to reply to my hon. Friend direct.
Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. Harry Greenway, dated 2 April 1996:
195WAs Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), your question regarding meat inspection staff has been passed to me for reply. [23112]The MHS currently employ, nationally, 509 red meat and 163 poultry meat inspectors on a full time basis. In addition it utilises 69 inspectors (62 red meat; 7 white) on fixed term contracts of 100 weeks duration. There is also a pool of 222 staff (203 red; 19 white) used on a casual basis. As you will appreciate, these last two sets of figures in particular fluctuate according to demand.These meat inspection staff are supervised by Official Veterinary Surgeons (OVSs). The MHS directly employs 39 OVSs and in addition contracts out work to 110 full-time equivalent vets to supplement them. 3 vets are also utilised on a casual basis.The MHS is divided into 6 regions and the above figures are broken down as shown on the attached table.
Meat inspection staff employed by the MHS as at 27 March 1996 Region/Department Grade North Central South and East South West Wales Scotland Total Authorised meat inspector Permanent 119 67 97 46 32 73 434 Temporary 14 9 17 11 6 2 59 Casual 50 32 35 37 24 23 201 Sub total 183 108 149 94 62 98 694 Senior poultry meat inspector Permanent 8 7 5 3 5 5 33 Temporary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Casual 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Sub total 8 7 5 3 5 6 34 Poultry meat inspector Permanent 27 13 46 11 23 10 130 Temporary 3 2 0 2 0 0 7 Casual 2 4 3 3 6 0 18 Sub total 32 19 49 16 29 10 155 Total 252 160 223 128 110 132 1,005 P = Permanent, T = Temporary (100 week contract), C = Casual. OVS = Official Veterinary Surgeon, AMI = Authorised Meat Inspector, PMI = Poultry Meat Inspector.