Veterinary Medicines Directorate (Hansard, 11 May 2001)

§ Baroness Hayman

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has been set the following performance targets for 2001–02.

Safety and Quality:

To provide high quality scientific assessment work.
To provide high quality policy advice to Ministers.
To comply with the timetables for entering suspected adverse reactions (SAR) reports set out in the plan and to report to the Veterinary Products Committee each quarter reviewing trends in SAR reports and identifying areas requiring evaluation.
Enter human reports onto the database within two working days.
Enter serious animal reports onto the database within two working days.
Enter non-serious animal reports onto the database within 10 working days.
To meet, in full, the requirements of the National Residues Surveillance Plans.
Standards of Service.
To comply with the timetables for handling applications under the centralised, decentralised and UK procedures set out in the plan.

Centralised Procedures:

All assessments (including maximum residues limits) to be submitted within timetables agreed with the European Medicines Evaluation Agency.

Decentralised Procedures:

All authorisations to be determined within the regulatory timetables.

UK Procedures:

93 per cent of new marketing authorisations to be determined or referred to the Veterinary Products Committee within 120 clock days; all to be determined within 210 clock days.

Type 1 variations

Average time to complete first assessment to be 25 clock days.
Average time to sign off assessment to be 50 clock days.
99 per cent of applications to be signed off by 60 clock days.

Type 2 variations

Average time to complete first assessment to be 55 clock days.
Average time to sign of assessment to be 110 clock days.
99 per cent of applications to be signed off by 120 clock days.

Old variations.

Average time to complete first assessment to be 70 clock days.
Average time to sign off assessment to be 140 clock days.
99 per cent of applications to be signed off by 150 clock days.

Renewals

Average time to complete first assessment to be 80 clock days.
Average time to sign off assessment to be 165 clock days.
99 per cent of applications to be signed off by 180 clock days.

Efficiency:

To continue to collect data for 2001–02 with a view to establishing a three year rolling efficiency index. To establish a numerical baseline for timeliness of delivery from the results of the customer satisfaction surveys.

Financial Control:

To recover from industry and government the full economic cost taken as a whole of its main business activities of licensing and surveillance, policy work and residue monitoring without any cross subsidy between businesses.