The Food Standards Agency Board has agreed to recommend a number of proposed changes to the current Meat Hygiene Service charging regime, which currently regulates the UK meat industry. The Board also reaffirmed its support for small rural abattoirs during the development of the new charging policy.

Changes to the current charging system operated by the Meat Hygiene Service, an executive agency of the FSA, have been recommended to reduce the current subsidies made to the industry.

The Board will recommend to Ministers that the Agency carry out a full public consultation on the following proposals:

 - introduce time-based charging for MHS services, which would replace the current charging arrangements, where most meat plant operators are charged a flat rate based on throughput

 - reduce current subsidies, which would result in hygiene charges paid by meat plant operators increasing by 12% (inclusive of inflation) by 2009/10

 - introduce new charges for controls on the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) from 2009/10. In the first year of charging this will recover 5% of the costs of these controls (approximately £0.5m)

If agreed by Ministers, a full public consultation will be carried out at the beginning of September.

FSA Chief Executive Tim Smith said: “The Board has made an important decision today. It's important that we take this opportunity to make improvements to the inspection regime, and maintain standards of public health and animal welfare in the business for many years to come.

“We've thought long and hard about the proposed increase in charging. I think everyone is agreed that the level of subsidy from Government to the industry has been too high in recent years and the changes we are proposing should ensure that the system will become fairer for both the industry and the taxpayer. The MHS is making huge strides on its own cost reduction plan. Its five regional offices are in the process of being closed and the gross cost of operations will have fallen by £14.4m by 2009/10.

“I am committed to making sure that there is continuing support for the smallest operators. The FSA will continue to play its part in giving confidence and protection to all parts of the industry to help it to deliver to the consumer the safest and best product possible.”

While the proposed increases will reduce the subsidy to the industry in Great Britain from £28m to £25m, the MHS’s overall plan is to reduce operating costs of £91m to £74m by 2012/13.

Time-based charging will enable the MHS and the respective food business operator to establish a working relationship that will have a much greater commercial discipline and will encourage the use of MHS resources in a much more effective way.

The FSA is also working with the European Commission (EC) to try to develop a more risk-based approach to the regulation of the meat industry and to lessen the regulatory burden on the industry as a whole. This is an important element to the FSA's policy, and the regulator's relationship with the industry will play a crucial part in making the case to the EC.