FSA Consultation letter, 23 May 2005
Views and comments are sought on the attached draft Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Charges) (England) Regulations 2005, which will allow the current system of Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) charges for meat inspections to continue on 1 January 2006. Responses are requested by: 15 August 2005
For a copy of the document, see: Draft Meat (Hygiene And Inspection) (Charges) (England) Regulations 2005
Consultation details
These regulations will apply in England alone, but consultation will take place on similar regulations that will apply in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland .
Background
The charges to which this consultation relates are prescribed in Directive 85/73/EEC (amended and consolidated by Directive 96/43/EC). This directive provides a system of charging for various veterinary checks and controls on certain products of animal origin. The directive is currently implemented in the Great Britain by the Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Charges) Regulations 1998. These charges are paid to the MHS, which is an Executive Agency of the Food Standards Agency.
From 1 January 2006 , new EU Food Hygiene Regulations will supersede a large amount of EU food hygiene legislation, which will be revoked with effect from that date. The revoked legislation does not include Directive 85/73/EC. That is to continue to apply for a further year, with the difference that references in it to EU legislation revoked from 1 January 2006 are to be read instead as if they were references to the new EU legislation.
It is as a consequence of this that the proposed new national Regulations are needed in order to continue the current charging arrangements from 1 January 2006 . These regulations will revoke the current Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Charges) Regulations 1998. National legislation referred to in the 1998 regulations is revoked from 1 January 2006 by the draft Food Hygiene ( England ) Regulations 2005. This legislation consists of:
Effect of the regulations
The regulations will maintain the current system of MHS meat inspection charges, updated to refer to the provisions of the new EU food hygiene regulations using terminology and interpretations that are applicable to them. They continue the current standard charges and continue to provide that the MHS will consult industry customers on any proposed changes to the level of time based inspection charges.