§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost of the specialist training in illegal meat for local authority enforcement officers; whether the 30 candidates being appointed as regional advisers following the specialist training will be in addition to the current levels of local authority enforcement officers; who has been appointed to run the training and under what procedure they were chosen; and whether the funding for the training is to be taken from(a) the Food Standards Agency funding and (b) his Department's central funding. [130085]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe cost of the specialist training in illegal meat for 26 United Kingdom local authority officers and four officers from the Republic of Ireland, including accommodation, venue hire and travel and subsistence, was £40,000. The training of the UK officers was funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and provided by Mallard Consultancy Ltd., following a competitive tendering process. The 26 candidates appointed as regional advisers in the UK will act in this capacity for 10 working days per year for the FSA. They will continue to be employed by their local authorities and, when not working on behalf of the FSA, will continue their normal work for their authorities. They are not additional staff for the local authorities. The FSA will reimburse the authorities for the cost of their time in carrying out work for the FSA.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the candidates undertaking specialist training in illegal meat for local authority enforcement officers completed their training. [130087]
1310W
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonAll 30 candidates who undertook the specialist training in illegal meat investigation and enforcement arranged by the Food Standards Agency completed their training.