Proposed code of practice on feed law enforcement in Wales

The Agency conducted a public consultation between 10 October 2005 and 3 January 2006 on an earlier draft code of practice and comments from stakeholders indicated that the document should be amended further to make it more user friendly.

Also, following internal consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland (DARD-NI) and the Animal Medicines Inspectorate (AMI), both enforcement bodies decided that they will not issue a statutory code of practice as they are central Government agencies.

In light of feedback received, the code of practice has been amended along similar lines as the Code of Practice on Food Law Enforcement and guidance material has been removed from the main code of practice. The current version is shorter and more comprehensible, and clearly identifies the statutory duties that a feed authority must comply with. It is anticipated that a further document on guidance material will be produced for feed law enforcement officers in due course but the code of practice has been drafted specifically as a stand alone document.

The code of practice, when finalised, will apply to local authority enforcement services in Great Britain only. Consequently, all information relating to medicated feeding stuffs has been removed from the code of practice as it will not apply to AMI and DARD-NI who will both issue their own practice guidance separately.

The Agency is seeking comments on any aspect of the revised code of practice, particularly on:

• qualification of feed law enforcement officers (chapter 1.2)
• risk rating scheme (section 4 and Annexe 5)

Background
It is hoped that the final document will address one of the recommendations by the FVO concerning the lack of comprehensive guidance for feed law enforcement officers in the UK. The report by the FVO (Inspection No: 9149/2003) and a copy of the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) recommendation can be viewed at the links below.

The code of practice will be issued in England and Wales under Regulation 6, and in Scotland by Regulation 7 of the National Official Feed and Food Controls (OFFC) Regulations. Enforcement authorities and their appointed officers responsible for feed law enforcement should have regard to these provisions in their day-to-day enforcement activities. The Agency will also be evaluating performance against the code of practice as part of the Agency�s audit of local authorities.

The code of practice is now divided into six sections. Each section contains extracts of the law to ensure uniformity of the application of animal feed legislation across all enforcement bodies in Great Britain. It sets out the various enforcement powers associated with feed law such as the Feed (Hygiene and Enforcement) Regulations. It also aims to clarify the options available to enforcement officers and provide the required transparency to stakeholders on the way feed law is enforced.

This revised draft code contains information on enforcement activities currently undertaken, or to be undertaken, by local authorities in Great Britain and should also help to clarify enforcement as a result of emerging and new legislation. The code of practice reflects both existing feed legislation and the changes required as a result of the new European Union Feed Hygiene Regulation (EC No 183/2005), certain parts of which came into force on 1 January 2006.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Consultation feedback questionnaire (Word)

Consultation feedback questionnaire (pdf)

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Data protection form (Word)

Data protection form (pdf)

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk