§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many firms are paying(a) more and (b) less for supervising operations since the Meat Hygiene Service took over the supervision of meat hygiene. [10337]
§ Mr. RookerThe Meat Hygiene Service took over responsibility from local authorities for meat hygiene and inspection in licensed fresh meat premises on 1 April 1995.
Information on the actual costs for meat inspection under local authorities is not available. Overall, the total cost of meat inspection has been substantially reduced, from an estimated cost of the service provided by local authorities of £45 million per annum to the total cost of the service provided by the Meat Hygiene Service in 1995–96 of £35 million. There is clear evidence that some local authorities were subsidising their costs in some way. This has inevitably meant that some individual operators are paying more than they did previously. On the other hand-meat inspection charges to other operators have fallen.