The need to allocate resources to planning for a Brexit no deal has has forced Defra to delay its response to the review of AHDB.
Defra and the Scottish and Welsh governments ran a Request for Views on the levy for 10 weeks in autumn 2018. Around 900 responses were received from a wide variety of levy payers and others, who gave their views on the continuing need for AHDB and the statutory levy, and what the levy board should deliver.
Defra had planned to publish a Summary of Responses early in 2019, but the Department has told the NPA its work on these responses has ‘paused’ while it transfers resources onto Brexit-related work, in particular, preparing for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal.
Work on the Summary of Responses, its publication, and how it takes forward any changes to AHDB has all been postponed until ‘later this year’.
“We realise this will be frustrating to those of you who gave views constructively. We will return to this as a priority as soon as we are able,” Defra told organisations that contributed to the review.
