§ Earl Howeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the anticipated cost of the review recently commissioned by the Food Standards Agency of its own performance; and why the agency felt it appropriate to commission such a review given that the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee recently reported on these matters. [HL133]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)The board of the Food Standards Agency has commissioned an external, independent review to assess whether the agency has delivered its published objectives and, in doing so, has operated in accordance with its key values; to assess the extent to which the agency operates effectively as a United Kingdom-wide body in a devolved policy area; and to appraise how the agency is viewed by its stakeholders. The terms of reference of the review allow my noble friend Lady50WA Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, as the independent reviewer, to investigate the performance of the agency in any of its functions, and to draw on any relevant evidence in so doing. The anticipated cost of the review of the FSA is £15,000 to £25,000.