The Food Standards Agency said it would provide an update on what the recent High Court judgement means for its inspection charging regime as soon as it is able under the legal process, after the apparent lack of a response so far came in for criticism.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) noted today that the FSA is pressing ahead with changing how discounts are to be applied, ‘as if nothing has happened, and with no regard for the survival of medium sized abattoirs’. AIMS’ veterinary director Peter Hewson described this as an ‘effective denial of the judgement of the High Court that FSA charges are unlawful‘, pointing out that a Court Order is awaited on what the FSA must do to remedy the situation.
“These plants provide the service to local farmers and retailers that ensures consumers can buy local meat and animal welfare is protected by keeping journey times as short as possible,” he said.
“The FSA Board has previously described discounts as a ‘subsidy’ to industry. Following the judgement, that is clearly not the case; the discounts have been partially recompensing industry for FSA overcharging. The sensible thing for FSA to do now is to park its work on the discount system until it has got its house in order.”
AIMS said the current charge out rates are ‘grossly over-inflated’. Official veterinarians being paid £20 to £30 an hour are being charged out at nearly £80 an hour, when the judgement is clear that most of that overhead cannot lawfully be included in charges, it said.
This means an abattoir killing about 10,000 livestock units a year faces charges of around £220,000 a year, which almost equivalent of half the plant’s wages bill and greater than the total costs of business rates, energy and water, he said.
“They bear no relationship to the value of the controls. The charges are not sustainable now and the FSA’s plans to remove all discount for such plants in the future will ensure their closure. Similar plants in the EU are paying £40,000 a year under the headage system provided for by the Official Controls Regulations,” he said.
AIMS wants to see charging done on a headage basis, which it said would be lawful, does not require discounts, is simple to administer and less prone to error, understandable and transparen and would require FSA to be more efficient and ‘less open to abuse by FSA contractors’.
“Immediate action is required to address the dire situation medium sized slaughterhouses find themselves in following the 24% increase in charges this year. Any delay will result in businesses closing as a direct result of FSA’s unlawful charges,” Mr Hewson said.