§ Lord Burlisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the outcome of the quinquennial and better quality services reviews of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. [HL1064]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)After having undertaken both a consultation exercise and detailed reviews of the functions, form and performance of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate over the past five years, I have concluded that it should remain an executive agency for another term. The reviews established that the retention of agency status would be the most appropriate means of delivering high quality and cost-effective services over the next five years.
The better quality services stage of the reviews has specifically identified measures to ensure continuous improvement in VMD's quality of service and cost-effectiveness.