Food Standards Agency (Hansard, 21 April 1998)

§ Mr. Clifton-Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many responses he received to the consultation on the White Paper, "A Food Standards Agency: a Force for Change"; and of those how many were (i) broadly in favour of the proposals, (ii) broadly opposed to the proposals, (iii) in favour of including nutrition within the Agency's remit and (iv) in favour of the proposed funding arrangements. [39013]

§ Mr. Rooker
As of 17 April, 1,011 responses have been received. We are analysing these in detail and will make a statement in the near future.
All but a handful broadly welcomed our proposals, but crude analysis of numbers does not do justice to either the complexity of the issues or the subtlety of respondents' arguments.
Many major interest groups including consumer, public health, local authority, medical and other academic bodies favour including nutrition within the remit of the Agency, but others, including representatives of the food industry, remain opposed to the Agency having responsibility for nutrition.
571W
A wide range of respondents, including production, manufacturing, retail and consumer groups, opposed funding the Agency through charges on industry, arguing that food safety and standards activity should be funded by the taxpayer. Many respondents raised points on the organisation and administration on the proposed licensing/registration scheme. The Government have undertaken to consult again on the options for the scheme before proposals are finalised.

§ Mr. Clifton-Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to ensure that the composition of the Food Standards Agency reflects all sectors of the food industry. [39016]

§ Mr. Rooker
Our proposals on the composition of the Agency's Commission are set out in the White Paper "The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change" (Cm3830) which was published for consultation on 14 January.

§ Mr. Clifton-Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that the remit of the Foods Standards Agency is limited to matters of food safety and does not include general public health issues. [39017]

§ Mr. Rooker
Our proposals on the remit of the Food Standards Agency were set out in the White Paper "The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change" (Cm3830) which was published for consultation on 14 January. The Bill establishing the Agency will specify the scope of its remit on food standards and safety.

§ Mr. Clifton-Brown
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements will be made within the Food Standards Agency to ensure the protection of commercially confidential material. [39015]

§ Mr. Rooker
Within the parameters which will be set out in the Bill to establish the Agency, and subject to the requirements of the forthcoming freedom of information legislation, the Agency will be expected to establish and make public its own procedures for protecting legitimate commercial confidentiality. However, as our White Paper "The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change" (Cm3830) explains, it will publish information where there is a clear need for this to be in the public domain.