§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Food Standards Agency complied with its obligation to consult those directly affected in the case of is proposed ban on sheep intestine on its decision. [68500]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 9 July 2002]: As no new legislation was being put forward the Food Standards Agency were under no statutory obligation to consult interested parties on the recommendations of the core stakeholder group. The agency did, however, consult over 1,000 interested parties in May of this year. The consultation gave the opportunity for a wide range of interested parties to comment on what was, in effect, a report considering the agency's possible policy options.
As it is the agency's stated aim to conduct its business in an open and transparent way it decided to obtain the views of those most likely to be directly affected at the earliest opportunity, even though they were not proposing new legislation.